Questions & Answers

The UfM Secretariat is not a donor institution and does not fund the implementation of the projects. It supports the project’s development, the search for the necessary financial resources as well as political and technical support. It also cooperates with the project promoters to facilitate all steps needed to start project implementation. The Secretariat facilitates access to a network of partners and donors and accompanies the promoters in their fundraising and preparation of implementation strategy.

The promoter shall fill in and submit the online application form, uploading required supporting documents.

The Secretariat will acknowledge the receipt, register the application and initiate the assessment. The technical staff of the UfMS shall review whether the project fulfils the eligibility and selection criteria.

The technical assessment shall be completed and the promoter informed of the outcome, i.e. whether the project has been recommend for labelling to the Senior Officials or not, at the latest in three (3) months from the submission of all the required information.

The Senior Officials shall decide whether the UfM Label is to be granted in a two-step process, usually not exceeding three (3) months. The promoter may be invited to present the project in the meeting of the Senior Officials.

The decision of the Senior Officials is communicated to the promoter in writing through an official notification letter signed by the Secretary General.

In line with the UfM’s commitment to regional cooperation between the North and South, as well as its encouragement of South-South collaboration, eligible projects shall

(1)            fall at least under one of the UfM’s priority areas and

(2)            have a regional dimension in that they are implemented

• in at least three (3) UfM Member States or
• in partnership or coalition of entities from at least three (3) UfM Member States or
• for direct benefit of people from at least three (3) UfM Member States or
• with the objective of piloting innovative solutions for broader application in the Mediterranean region.

(3)            have secured at least 50% of the total budget and demonstrate the origin of the funds.

The eligible projects are assessed against the following criteria (selection criteria):

• technical quality including

o               clearly defined objectives, methodology and a logical framework (performance indicators, targets and results);

o               defined stakeholders and intended beneficiaries (disaggregated data); o facilitates knowledge sharing and technology transfer;

o               visibility and communication plan.

• feasibility including

o a realistic timeframe and calendar of implementation with milestones;

o a detailed budget including all contributions and resource allocation;

• the number of UfM Member States contributing and/or benefiting from the project

o to be evidenced by letters of endorsement from the competent authorities.

The UfM Secretariat carries out its project analysis based exclusively on the criteria for UfM labelling. It does not carry out in-depth technical studies, such as for example feasibility studies or environmental assessments, or technical reviews of any existing studies but relies on those already completed by the promoter or by potential funders. The political, economic, social, environmental or any other responsibility lays entirely with the project promoter(s).

An application form can be submitted in English and/or French.

Promoters can submit applications for the UfM label at any time, as the Secretariat generally does not work through calls for proposals with pre-set deadlines.

As for the calendar, all depends on the maturity of the application and the quality of the documentation provided. The Secretariat aims to provide an initial response to proposals within the first month of receipt and carry out a more in-depth assessment in the following two months.

Following a positive first evaluation, the internal assessment and complete appraisal of a project prior to its submission to the 43 Member States for labelling can take anywhere from one to three months depending on the calendar of scheduled Senior Officials’ Meetings. Therefore, an average of four to five months in total is to be foreseen between the submission and the potential labelling.

Eligible projects shall have secured at least 50% of the total budget and demonstrate the origin of the funds.

In addition, and in the case where the project is not 100% funded, the application form must contain a detailed budget including all contributions and resource allocation;

The UfM label enables project promoters to mobilize stakeholders and resources and facilitate access to a network of potential donors and partners.

The promoter shall comply with the labelling guidelines and with the obligations in case the label is granted.

These include in particular

• sharing progress reports (at least two per year) and any other documents relevant to the project implementation;
• facilitating, upon request, access on site to UfMS staff for the purpose of monitoring;
• promoting the label and use it in matters pertaining to the project including in public communication and for purposes of visibility;
• responding without delay to any request of UfMS for information.

As an intergovernmental organisation and public institution working towards regional integration and prosperity, the UfM and its Secretariat must remain vigilant as to not create market distortions. In the case of a promoter being a private company, the latter has to demonstrate that it has public sector support and that the direct promotion of the project would not risk triggering an unfair competitive advantage vis-à-vis other private companies.

Likewise, the project has to demonstrate its added value and complementarity to existing efforts and initiatives and be coherent with local, national, and/or regional strategies.

For further questions regarding the project cycle, assessment or labelling process you may contact the Directorate for Operations and Partnerships at projects.info@ufmsecretariat.org.

The UfM Secretariat operational budget is financed up to 50% by the European Commission and, for the other half, by contributions from its member states.