Guidance for requesting a Letter of Support

One of the aims of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) is to contribute to the alignment between policy and funding provided in the EU system. Apart from awarding projects a Flagship status and otherwise linking projects to the Strategy, it also means that funding programs are increasingly asking Policy Area Coordinators to assess if project proposals contribute to the objectives of the EUSBSR, and if so issue letters of support/commitment to project applicants.

PA Culture kindly asks projects, as a general rule, to request such a letter of support minimum 3 weeks before the submission deadline to allow the Policy Area Coordinators to assess if the project concerned contributes to their strategy and to consult with the international Steering Group. The request for support should contain all the relevant information which the Policy Area Coordinators needs to assess the project and should describe how the project contributes to the cultural and creative sectors in a BSR macro-regional context.

As a general rule the Policy Area Coordinators will assess projects applying for letters of support on the basis of the same criteria as Flagships are assessed (see "How to become a PA Culture Flagship"). The criteria for Flagships include that the topic of the project is relevant for the implementation of the PA Culture Actions described in the Policy Area´s chapter of the EUSBSR´s Action Plan (page 71 – 73) and in the PA Culture Flagship Criteria. Furthermore the general objectives of the EUSBSR, as described in the EUSBSR's Action Plan (page 17-18), have to be complied.

For further details regarding Flagship tasks, functions, structure and added value, please refer to the EUSBSR Action Plan chapter on Governance Of The Strategy (especially page 14-15 and 17-19).