The proposal for 100% financing of ERDF projects will not now be brought forward.

Contrary to our report earlier this week, the European Regional Development Fund has not so far been included in this rule change.

This is, nonetheless, a big rule change in EU funding terms & is a response to the economic crisis.  The decision awaits formal approval by the EU national governments on 18-19 June.  If approved as expected, then it may mean a rapid acceleration in take-up of ESF grants in the next couple of years.

ESF is the main EU funding instrument for training; its total budget for the current EU programme period 2007-13 is €75billion.  Although part of the EU budget, ESF is mainly managed at national, regional & local levels. Whereas Leonardo & EQF are about transnational cooperation and innovation, ESF is much more about actual training delivery.  The cliche used is Leonardo is a small research lab & ESF is the big factory.  The allocation of ESF, like the Regional Fund, is prioritised in favour of the poorest regions. There is also a small pot of ESF for transnational cooperation.

Normally ESF requires match-finance, usually from a public authority.  This can be a stumbling block.  100% is obviously a lot more attractive & should generate a lot of project activity.  But national govts are extremely unlikely to add to the overall ESF pot before 2013.  The strong possibility is that ESF availability will be severely diminished post 2010.

Now really is a good time for organisations looking to access grant aid for training purposes to consider the ESF.

Links for further info:
today’s European Commission decision

intro to ESF

In response to the economic crisis, the European Commission is expected this week to change the rules on EU regional and training grants.  At present, project promoters have to finance between 15-50% of project costs when they obtain a grant from the European Regional Development Fund or the European Social Fund.  This is often an important stumbling block.

The Commission is expected to propose 100% financing from ERDF and ESF for 2009 and 2010 projects.

No new money is proposed to be added to the EU budget to finance this rule change.

In 2008, the European Parliament called on the European Commission to propose an EU sport programme as well as Preparatory Action in the field of sport as of 2009. The Parliament approved a budget of €6 million for 2009.

Priorities in the 2009 Preparatory Action are:

1. Providing policy support for the identification of future policy actions in the area of sport through studies, surveys, conferences and seminars
2. Testing the establishment and functioning of suitable networks and good practices through call for proposals
3. Promoting greater European visibility at sporting events (two events already identified – 2009 Mediterranean Games in Pescara, Italy and the 2009 European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Tampere, Finland

Item 2 will support transnational projects promoting:

• health-enhancing physical activity
• education and training in sport
• sport for persons with disabilities
• gender equality in sport

The budget available for item 2 is € 4,000,000.

EU co-financing will be provided to a maximum of 80% of the total project costs. The external co-financing can be partly made up of contributions in-kind.

Projects must start between 01.12.2009 and 31.03.2010 and end no later than 31.03.2011. The eligibility period for costs will begin on the date specified in the contract, i.e. the project start date.

The deadline for submission of applications to the European Commission is 31.08.2009

Links:

• Texts relating to the call for proposals (EAC/21/2009)
• European Commission 2009 Annual Work Programme on grants and contracts for the preparatory actions in the field of sport and special events [C (2009)1685]

This may offer new financing opportunities for golf developers, where their projects are in accordance with local and regional development priorities.

Contact Golf Europa and your local council Economic Development Unit for more information.

Lots of EU funding has now moved east but golf continues to be used as a successful tool of regional economic development.

A quick trawl of the web shows the GolfPark Darkov project in the Czech Republic, a 9-hole golf course with a driving range to broaden the tourism offer in Karviná.

It’s not just the European Regional Development Fund that is being used.  See the website of an innovative Czech training project, “Golf – specific activity of tourism, principles and rules in the golf resort” using the European Social Fund.

The official Ministry of Finance website for Structural Funds in Estonia shows a similar mix of ERDF and ESF golf projects developed in Estonia.  Courtesy of Google Translate, we can see a list of golf-related projects approved since 2004 in English (a couple of the projects are not golf-industry projects).  The list is an interesting indication of how golf is once again forming part of EU regional economic growth programmes.

Link to Ministry of Finance list – appears in Estonian, then use Google Translate to read in English.

Golf Europa will return to look again at this subject.  Feel free to call for advice: +358 40 360 1623 or skype: golf.europa

The study will look into public and private sources of sport funding and into financial streams within particular sports.  It will also address possible cross-border obstacles that could affect the financing of sport.  This invitation to tender was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 14 March 2009.

Deadline for the receipt of tenders is 30 April 2009.

This Study is Action 37 in the Pierre de Coubertin Action Plan annexed to the European Commission’s 2007 White Paper on Sport.

More information:

Tender ref: MARKT/2009/04/E

European Commission Sports Unit website

Tenders Electronic Daily: study on internal market barriers to sport funding

£10,000 grants are available now for projects that encourage healthier life styles, such as taking-up active leisure pursuits.  Some Councils, e.g. Wigan, already work in partnership with their local health authority & golf clubs.  Doctors in Wigan can prescribe subsidised golf on Wigan Council golf courses for patients needing a more active lifestyle.

This call for applications offers other clubs the chance to do the same.  The grant might not go direct to the golf club but, working in partnership with local partners (doctors, councils & charities), it could be an excellent way to open up the club to new customers and, at the same time, make a positive contribution to public health in your area.

Visit the Coalfields Regeneration Trust website or contact Golf Europa for more info.

However, some golf operators across Europe have tried and failed to access ERDF grants. Why?

The answer is that the rules on who can benefit from ERDF vary across Europe.

It is important to remember that the rules on ERDF funding are set at a variety of levels: European, national and regional. National governments have quite a lot of flexibility to fix their own rules and priorities for ERDF.

Some of the new Member State governments, eg Czech Republic, have identified golf tourism as a priority for ERDF funding. Others have not – but that’s not necessarily the end of the story. There are large pots of ERDF and other Structural Funds to be used by 2013 (eg Romania €20 billion) and money unused after 2013 has to be handed back to Brussels. Spending priorities can change over the lifetime of a programming period. If your national and regional authorities have not yet identified golf tourism as a priority, then consider making representations, ideally not as one individual but as a group or sector.

The rules at European level do allow the private sector to benefit from ERDF. An important decision was taken by the EU Council of Ministers in December 2005 that private costs are eligible for ERDF grant support “but only for Member States with a GDP below 85% of the EU27 average and East German Lander”. The Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 laying down the general provisions on ERDF and other Structural Funds defines a “beneficiary” as: “an operator, body or firm, whether public or private …”.

The aim of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is to use public money to stimulate economic development and create jobs in the poorer European regions. Clearly, private sector involvement is crucial if regional economic development is to be successful and sustainable in the long-term.

The issue of private sector involvement in ERDF, however, is a perennial grey area. In some Member States, private sector access to ERDF is restricted. In others, definitions such as “normal profits” can cause much confusion.

In the UK, ERDF rules generally do not exclude the private sector but ERDF grants are not paid directly to profit-making private sector companies. But in certain circumstances, the fund can help the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Private sector companies are encouraged to present applications in partnership with a public sector body.

Going back to the examples quoted above, Carnoustie and The K Club qualified for ERDF grant aid because their applications were linked with the local authority (Carnoustie) or the national tourism agency (The K Club).

The key message to all private sector golf operators across Europe is don’t be put off – golf development has the potential to be considered eligible for ERDF support provided you identify and communicate how your project meets your regional development priorities. Your chances of success are likely to increase if you work in partnership with your relevant public sector bodies and with others in the golf industry in your region.

]]> http://golfeuropa.co.uk/?feed=rss2&p=55 0 http://golfeuropa.co.uk/?p=49 http://golfeuropa.co.uk/?p=49#comments Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:05:47 +0000 spope http://golfeuropa.co.uk/?p=49

Grant aid from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is financing the development of new golf courses across Europe.

The ERDF is the second largest EU financial mechanism, after the Common Agricultural Policy. It provides grant aid to the poorest regions in the EU ranked according to GDP per capita to part-finance investment projects which stimulate job creation.

ERDF had a significant impact on golf development in certain EU Member States, such as Ireland and Portugal, in the 1980s and 1990s. €20 million of ERDF aid was spent on golf course construction in Ireland in the 1989-99 period with grants going to approximately one third of all new Irish courses built in that period. Portugal continued to use ERDF for golf course construction with grants available between 2000-06 up to a maximum of €3.7 million per project.

ERDF is now helping to stimulate golf supply and demand in other EU Member States, where golf tourism is expanding (eg Greece, Italy and the new Member States of Central and Eastern Europe, Malta and Cyprus).

ERDF projects stimulating “golf demand” include advertising campaigns run by golf tourism promotion agencies, eg see the Golf Highland website.

ERDF projects stimulating “golf supply” include new golf course construction, remodelling of existing courses and extensions to clubhouse facilities to cater for new golf visitors.

Variations in the use of ERDF exist because of:

• differences in golf markets between different countries ; and
• devolution of responsibility for ERDF away from Brussels and national governments towards individual regions.

Where golf architects are assisting golf developers with advice on external funding issues, they should be aware of the possible availability of ERDF grant aid for golf development.

ERDF impacts on golf supply not only through the provision of significant financial resources but also through the conditions attached to receipt of an ERDF grant. These conditions include requirements that golf clubs:

• do not discriminate against women;
• do not restrict access to golf tourists ; and
• comply fully with EU environment legislation.

These legal requirements should, of course, be implemented regardless of grant aid availability. ERDF’s key function, in this respect, is to sharpen the legal spotlight.

Overall, the ERDF has been shown to have made a very positive contribution to golf development in some countries. This fact may come as a surprise to some, particularly in England, where golf has been little used as a tool of regional economic development.

For regional development authorities considering use of ERDF for golf development for the first time, following are some suggestions of good practice:

1. Start with a golf tourism strategy – as in Wales – which analyses the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing a particular golf market. Individual ERDF golf projects should then be developed in accordance with the strategy. Piecemeal projects, with no supporting strategic framework, may struggle to gain approval and, if approved, may struggle to survive in the long-term;
2. Seek to develop clusters of golf courses attractive to golf tourists – which have the potential to multiply golf’s contribution to local economic development;
3. Be proactive – as Shannon Development did with the Doonbeg project on the West Coast of Ireland in seeking potential applicants for ERDF grant aid rather than passively awaiting the market’s response;
4. Involve the private sector – as in Ireland – where representatives from the golf tourism industry were full members of ERDF decision-making committees;
5. Set maximum grant amounts – as in Portugal – that can be awarded for ERDF golf grants;
6. Ensure golf developers and conservationists work together – as at Doonbeg in Ireland – to implement EU environmental obligations fully and to prevent project implementation delays;
7. Develop local partnerships – as at Dora in Scotland – which involve local authorities and give access to their EU funding expertise; and
8. Reclaim derelict industrial land – as at Dora – by using ERDF to develop golf courses on redundant brownfield sites and not just in prime tourism development and environmentally sensitive areas.

These and other items of good practice offer the possibility that the ERDF will continue in the years ahead to increase its influence on developments in the European golf market.