Step 4. Putting a bid together - ERDF and ESF

Working together
Objective One funds have to deliver a broad advantage to communities within Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and not benefit a single private applicant.

For businesses in particular, therefore, partnerships are particularly important as a way of ensuring money from Objective One is not used to give one firm a competitive edge over its rivals.

Partnerships may also be very valuable for non-profit organisations with a common goal that can share resources in order to make a project more effective or realistic.

Projects that support what more than one organisation is trying to achieve, or link to different initiatives, are also likely to benefit more people - and in that way ensure that Objective One money has the greatest impact. (Demonstrating this added value is also likely to increase the chances of the project being approved for funding.)

Working together Partnerships may involve:

For businesses, although firms do compete against each other, improving everyone's standards means that Cornish clusters will be increasingly competitive regionally, nationally and internationally, winning more business and generating benefit for our economy.

Where public sector partners work with businesses - even where a private company finds most of the match funding - the public partner will still be accountable as lead sponsor for the delivery of the project, including responsibilities for ensuring benefits are achieved and monitoring progress. Public sector partners will also play a vital role in preparing project applications.

Finding partners
The fundamental starting point is to identify partners who have a mutual need or aims that coincide with yours. That way you may be able to develop a stronger, more strategic project with added synergy - that shares the goals of a number of partners. This will also reduce duplication and confusion, ensuring Objective One money is used in the most efficient way for the broadest benefit.

One way to find a potential partner may be to look at their capacity to provide match funding for Objective One. Details of some potential partners can be found in the section Finding Match Funding - although this is not a comprehensive list.

Information on Gateway and Key Funds and the IAPs, and their contacts, is contained in the Objective One directory.

Further advice on the suitability of partners and other possible sources of funding will be available from the Government Office of the South West, the Regional Development Agency and the other sources of advice identified in the section Finding Match Funding.

Application forms
As explained in the background section, Objective One investment comes from four different European funds, each of which has its own application process.

(For Gateway & Key Funds the process for seeking funding will depend on the individual fund or plan and you will need to contact the relevant fund manager for details - see Objective One directory).

For applications forms for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Social Fund (ESF) contact the European Secretariat, GOSW, Mast House, 24 Sutton Road, Plymouth PL4 0HJ. Tel 01752 635000, fax 01752 635090 or visit the GOSW web site www.gosw.gov.uk (see the website section on new European programmes).

Preparing your application
When preparing an application, there are a number of sources of advice and technical help available - and the first point of contact should be the Objective One office - Helpline 0800 0280 120.

There are also various agencies, such as Cornwall Enterprise, and private consultants who can offer advice on developing project ideas and putting together applications - although they may well charge a fee for this service and will have different levels of expertise.

Being “SMART”
Because Objective One funds are public money, there is a legal obligation that it is handed out and accounted for properly. This also means the process for granting funding has to be very stringent. To be certain of success, therefore, applications need to not only meet all the eligibility criteria, they have to be well thought through and researched, with adequate supporting justification.

To do this, applications need to be SMART - which means they have to be: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound.

Making sure every application is developed in these terms will of course not only make it more likely to succeed, it will also save wasting time and money on developing ideas that will not work - or can not be proven to be workable.

Making your application – final checklist
If you do decide to apply direct for money from Objective One, when completing the ERDF form you will have to bear in mind the vital questions below which form the basis for all applications:

Only when all these questions can be answered in full, with appropriate supporting evidence, is an application likely to be ready to be submitted.

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