|
Presentation of Enviropea |
|
The environment has become one of the biggest priorities for national and European decision makers over the last decade and especially in past few years. In Lisbon in 2000, the EU stated its goal of becoming the most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world. In Goteborg in 2001, the European Union put the environment and sustainable development at the heart of its strategy for the future. These two strategies have led to an explosion in the number of programmes and funds whose goal is to protect the environment, be it through promoting research, demonstrating proven technologies or encouraging cooperation between nations and organizations. At the same time, the demand for these funds has increased, leading to considerable competition among project holders. This plurality of programmes, intense competition and complicated technical, financial and administrative requirements can be daunting for organizations in search of funding.
Given this situation, Enviropea was created in Paris, France, in 2002 by the members of the former technical assistance team for the European programme “LIFE – Environment” in France. The association works to promote understanding of and participation in European policies and programmes in the fields of the environment and energy. The team is composed mostly of engineers, specialized in the fields of energy and the environment and experts on the sources of funding available to realize projects in these fields.
Part public service organization, part clearinghouse, part consulting agency, Enviropea’s goal is to contribute to the protection of the environment by increasing awareness and understanding of different French and European environmental programmes and facilities, and by offering its assistance to organizations seeking funds from them. To do so, Enviropea works both with public organizations (i.e. the French Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development) and directly with private and public project holders. We hope to help organizations achieve their short term goals by receiving the funds they need to carry out their projects, but we also hope to give them a broader and longer-term vision of the environment in Europe. |
|
|
Enviropea’s work has, until recently, mostly taken place in France. This work can largely be described along two axes:
Information and Communication
In terms of information and communication, Enviropea publishes a bi-monthly newsletter (in French, though we will work in the future to translate relevant information into English) containing information on the latest developments in European policies and programmes for the environment, including news, calls for proposals, new funding instruments and policy developments.
Enviropea has a contract with ADEME (the French Agency for the Environment and Energy) to update the French National Contact Point website (Eurosfaire) for the European Programme for Research (the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Development, or FP7) with news concerning the themes “Energy” and “Environment.” Enviropea also publishes guides to sources of funding for the environment, such as a guide to European funding for the environment, published in cooperation with the MAPROC (Mission d'Appui aux Programmes Communautaires), ADEME and the Ministry of Ecology. Finally, we also organize and participate in conferences concerning various environmental and energy themes.
Enviropea has developed a particular expertise in policies and funding for the fields of eco-innovation/eco-technologies, biodiversity and climate change - see the section "our themes" for more information about these three fields. For eco-innovation, we organized a conference on sources of funding for eco-innovation and eco-technologies in 2006, and published a guide to funding in this field in cooperation with ADEME.
Enviropea is currently working on several projects concerning funding options for Biodiversity, including a brochure published in May 2009 on European and French funds for biodiversity. We also provide assistance and information to organizations interested in presenting a project under the “Nature and Biodiversity” themes of the LIFE + programme.
Assistance to Project-holders
The second main area of work for Enviropea is in offering direct assistance to organizations seeking sources of funding for their environmental projects. These organizations can be businesses, NGOs or other civil society associations, local or regional authorities, universities and research institutes, or others. We organize personalized workshops with project-holders to explain European policies for the environment and help identify the source of funding most appropriate for their project. We also assist organizations in their applications for funding and in redefining their strategies to orient their work towards the European level.
In addition, since 2002 Enviropea has had a contract with the French Ministry of Ecology to review French proposals for the European programme for the environment – “LIFE+” – before they are sent to the European Commission for selection. This consists in a two-day consultation with each project holder in the months preceding the deadline for each call.
Enviropea has also recently started working with organizations carrying out projects in the French Overseas Departments and territories. The European Union and France have given particular attention to these zones, as they are at the heart of major environmental issues such as biodiversity protection and climate change mitigation. There is a wealth of programmes available to fund projects in these regions; Enviropea assists organizations working in these regions in finding the programme that best suits their project. on coordination and administration tasks for this project.
European projects
Over the last couple of years, Enviropea has also become active in European projects for the environment. These projects are mostly in cooperation with countries from the Western Balkans. See our "projects" section for more information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Association
