-          When and how should I make the payment?

• The payment of the fees will need to be made shortly after the project is accepted. The EU-DRIVERS Secretariat (c/o ESMU) will send you an invoice for the amount of 4500€ for the three-year period of the project (plus VAT where applicable). This fee is not refundable.

-          Will I have to sign a contract?

• Yes, you will have to sign an agreement committing to the three years of the project.

-          What are the consequences if our partnership wants to quit the project? Are there any cancellation fees?

• The fee of 4500€ is not refundable.

-          Is the attendance mandatory for all the events? Are the three partners required to attend? Can someone from my institution represent me if I am not able to attend?

• Yes, the attendance is mandatory and that is for your own benefit, so you can share the progress of the project. In principle the same person should attend all times, in only exceptional cases can we allow a replacement.

-          We are only two partners, can we still apply?

• To participate it is crucial that the project you propose is a partnership between a higher education institution, a business or community organization and local/regional authorities, thus we need three partners.

-          What type of support and coaching will be provided to the project?

• The workshops will be aimed at developing participants’ leadership and boundary-spanning skills through practical knowledge-sharing regarding the show case projects, their challenges and barriers, solutions and successes. Experts in the field will guide you and you will have the possibility of establishing a network with the other consortia participating in the EU-DRIVERS pilot projects. You can also benefit from the virtual community and its resources.

-          Does the Academic Partner have to be a University or can it be any type of Higher Education Institution?

• It can be any type of Higher Education Institution.

-          The participant from the Higher Education Institution has to be in a middle to senior academic management position. Is there any requirement regarding the participants from the local government and from the private sector?

• Although there is no specific requirement, it is advisable that the representatives from the local authorities and the private sector are also senior decision-makers.

-          Is it essential that the projects are already existing ones or can we develop a new project?

• We require that the projects are existing ones which can be developed further.

-          Will there be any funding available in the scope of EU-DRIVERS for the development of the partnership projects?

• Unfortunately EU-DRIVERS can not support the local costs of your project, but through its workshops you can benefit from practical knowledge-sharing regarding your show case project, its challenges and barriers, solutions and successes. Each team will receive support and coaching in the ‘know what’ and ‘know how’ of partnership working both in and between the four planned leadership workshops in the three years of the project.

-          Will the online platform for the Community of Practice work after the lifetime of the project?

• Yes, the online platform will continue to operate after the lifetime of the project.

-          My Organization is an NGO, can we participate as representatives of the private sector?

• Yes, an NGO can be the private sector partner

-          Can a Research Centre be the Academic partner?

• A public Research Centre might be accepted as the Academic partner, although these cases have to be analyzed in a one-to-one basis.

-          Can a development agency participate?

• Yes