Last month, the French organisation ‘Départements et Régions Cyclables’ ran an info day for its members on the opportunities that can be found for cycling-related projects using European funding. The main goal of the info day was to demystify the European funding and to make it more accessible.

The info day was well attended with over 80 representatives of the public authorities in the DRC’ network. The aim was to explain how the 2014-2020 funding program of the European Union (EU) could be extremely beneficial to cycling measures, particularly as cycling can make a strong contribution towards the EU’s Europe 2020 strategy and its goal of intelligent, durable and inclusive growth. Cycling, for example, helps to reduce gas emissions and also employs over 650,000 people across Europe. To further increase these beneficial impacts, the actors involved in cycling and related policies should ensure that cycling project do receive European funding.

To simplify the application process, the info day focused on four major points. Firstly the analysis of the operational programs (OP), which define the funding priorities for each region or country. Tools like the ECF’s EU Funds Observatory for Cycling are very useful and facilitate the work for anyone who are searching for funding opportunities. The ECF’s observatory lists the references related to cycling in the different operational programs around Europe, helping to identify when funds are available.

The other points featured during the info day included how to find out if your project is eligible for a specific fund, contacting the managing authorities or contact points in charge of the specific programs, as well as advice on how to look for relevant calls for proposals.

The Départements et regions cyclables’ info day ’ is a good example of how to raise awareness on the role EU funding can play in the development of cycling and cycling infrastructure. The ECF would encourage similar events to be organized in other European countries. 

If you want to know more about EU funding on cycling, you can check out the ECF’s website here, which includes the EU Funds Observatory for Cycling.