This is an summary of the most frequently asked questions of the CFP9 concept note stage which deadline was September 16th 2014.
Q: Is it required to have a pre-feasibility study completed before applying for the EEP funding in the Innovation window?
A: No, it is not required. However, all studies completed before applying can be beneficial for the application.
Q: Does the Audited financial report need to be provided in Euros? We are based in Kenya and therefore our audit report is in Kenyan shillings.
A: No, Audited financial report can be in local currency.
Q: Can we submit unaudited financial report and provide our audited financials report when it will be available? Do we have to submit the audited financial statements for the Partners also?
A: Yes, You can submit unaudited financials, but make a note of that in your proposal that the audited financial statements will be provided at a later stage. You have to have the audited financial statements of the lead applicant only.
Q: What does the following mean: “The maximum grant allocation for a selected project can fall in the range €100,000-300,000 depending on the level of verifiable project co-financing brought in by the project.” Presumably that the more co-financing, the more funding you can provide? How much co-financing is required as a start?
A: See the section “VI. EEP S&EA funding” on the CFP7 concept note guidelines. For the minimum grant amount of 100,000.00 EUR, you would need a minimum of 30,000.00 EUR co-funding.
Q: Can the 30% co-financing of the applicants be in kind contribution (time spend by the researchers, space, utilities, equipment, and students)?
A: No, in kind contribution is not accepted as part of own co-funding.
Q: I would like to find out whether it’s possible to apply to both of the CFP9 and CFP10 windows?
A: Yes, it is possible to apply for both CFP’s windows, but please note that the requirements are quite different for each CFP.
Q: Can our organisation submit two applications in total, each for different country/countries? You say in the guidelines that: “Each organisation should submit ONLY ONE application for a given country.”
A: Yes, You can submit more than one application if they are located in different countries. It is however needed to be kept in mind that the funds available for each call are limited.
Q: May a Project Company (name xxx) or University register as the lead member?
A: Yes, Any registered company or Universities are eligible to apply for EEP.
Q: We have co-financing and other requirements for the grant application, but we are a startup company and we do not have an audit statement which I see is required just wondering if we could still put in our application?
A: Yes, You can submit an application but please highlight how the project management and financial administration is going to be organized as well as an estimation on future expected turnover.
Q: Is it acceptable to include governmental departments on the list of partners?
A: Yes, can be included as partners but however not as the main applicant
Q: Can we submit our concept note application to eep.eco@kpmg.fi email address?
A: No, Concept note application must be completed and submitted via online portal before the deadline. Applications that are submitted after the deadline will be rejected.