The European Helpdesk unlocks EU Funds for social inclusion

The European Helpdesk unlocks EU Funds for social inclusion

On 16th April the partners of the HELPDESK project hosted over 90 participants from across Europe in Brussels to share the project’s results that will help to unlock EU funds for social services. The HELPDESK (Social sErviceS helpdesk on EU Funds) project was launched in May 2022 with the aim to develop tools to support Managing Authorities, Intermediate Bodies and Social Service Providers to facilitate access and simplify the use of EU funds for social services.

The event was opened by European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit. Speaking via video, Commissioner Schmitt stressed the importance of social services in society to deliver vital support to citizens and highlighted the need to ensure that EU funding can be accessed by the entities that can provide such support. Commissioner Schmit praised the HELPDESK project for its remarkable work to help social services navigate the funding landscape, particularly its Facilitation Toolkit which could help to alleviate the administrative burden of ESF+ applications and implementation.

The project brought together the expertise of 16 partners consisting of EU NGOs spanning nearly all social sectors and national stakeholders from 5 countries (Spain, Italy, Sweden, Belgian, Czech Republic). Over the last two years, the project has developed several key tools including:

• HELPDESK Website  available in all EU languages
• HELPDESK Facilitation Toolkit for Social Services Projects, to help Managing Authorities streamline the project management process and help services effectively respond to the administrative and technical challenges encountered at every stage of the project cycle in 10 languages. This tool can also be used by social service providers in their advocacy work toward Managing Authorities.
• HELPDESK E-Training for Social Services, on how to successfully fund their EU projects from the start of the call process to beyond the final reporting period.
• HELPDESK Policy and Technical Guidance for Managing Authorities, social services and the European Commission.
• HELPDESK booklet of inspiring practices on the access to and the use of EU Funds for social services.

• Country Fact sheetsto help social services better understand the functioning of ESF+ and ERDF in each EU Member State and provide relevant contacts and information sources to access EU funds.
• Policy Guidance for Managing Authorities, the European Commission and social service providers with recommendations and practical steps on how to improve access to EU Funds in 10 European languages.

Moving forward, the 16 project partners have committed to supporting the sustainability of the Helpdesk to optimise the use of EU funds for social inclusion and called on the European Commission to do the same.