An Introduction to European Funding
The European Structural Funds
Most of the money that the UK receives from the European Union comes from the Structural Funds. These account for over a third of the European Union Budgets. The UK’s allocation from the Structural Funds for the period 2000 – 2006 is over £10 billion. Bradford District receives approximately £7 million per year through the Structural Funds.
The European Structural Funds provide grants to promote social inclusion and economic regeneration, particularly in areas that have undergone structural change and industrial decline. Usually, a Structural Funds grant will only be up to a maximum of 50% of the cost of a project. The Structural Funds are allocated under four main funding streams:
- The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF): funded projects that promote economic development, industrial diversification and social inclusion. It is only available in areas where there has been serious economic decline or market failure; these are known as ‘Objective 1’ or ‘Objective 2’ areas.
- The European Social Fund (ESF): funded projects that promote employability, especially amongst people who are excluded from work and training opportunities. Mainly a training fund, ESF can also fund research activities and equal opportunities schemes. It is available in all UK areas, but in Objective 2 areas ESF must be used to complement the ERDF activities.
- ESF and ERDF
Although ESF and ERDF are both part of the structural funds, they have different purposes, and there are important differences in the rules and eligibility criteria for each fund. For example, ESF will fund only revenue costs (i.e. day-to-day running costs) of a project, while ERDF can also be used to fund capital costs (i.e. buildings and equipment).
- The European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF):
The EAGGF funds the restructuring and diversification of rural areas. It provides funding within the England Rural Development Plan (ERDP). There are seven land-based schemes (clicking on the titles will take you to the relevant pages on DEFRA’s website):
and three project-based schemes:
More information and application details for funding from the ERDP can be found on the ERDP website.
- The Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG): funded projects to modernise the structure of the fisheries sector and related industries; it is not available in the Bradford area, but more details can be found on the DEFRA website:
