Champions for the Digital Decade Financial Support to Third Parties
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Funding Description – Champions for the Digital Decade (C4DD)
What the Grant Funds
The Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) scheme under the EU-funded project “Champions for the Digital Decade – C4DD” (GA 101195051) finances National Digital Skills & Jobs Coalitions (NCs) to perform three mandatory activity lines:
1. Activity 1 – Web Development & Maintenance
• NEW NCs: design, build, host and launch an interoperable national website/database fully connected to the EU Digital Skills & Jobs Platform (DSJP).
• EXISTING NCs: upgrade, technically maintain and secure an already operational national website (previously financed e.g. under CEF-TC 2019–2020).
2. Activity 2 – Services, Content & Community-Building
• Curation and publication of KPIs-driven content (training offers, good practices, events, funding, news, skills intelligence, stakeholder engagement, webinars and peer-learning sessions, press relations, social media).
3. Activity 3 – Post-Editing & Localisation
• Bi-directional translation (via eTranslation + human post-editing) between English and the NC’s official language(s); mandatory minimum 45 items pushed to the Core Platform and 120 items pulled/translated from it.
Eligible Applicants
• Solely National Digital Skills & Jobs Coalitions (legal entity or consortium representing the Coalition) from EU Member States or associated countries.
• Both *newly established* NCs (without a site) and *existing* NCs (with a site that needs upgrades) are eligible.
• Applicants must be able to sign a grant agreement and manage cascade funds in line with EU financial rules.
Financial Envelope & Grant Size
• Total FSTP budget: €180 000.
• Indicative grant per NC: the coordinator will apply a flat-rate envelope of approx. €20 000–€30 000 depending on (i) new vs. existing website and (ii) country size / estimated workload.
• Funding rate: up to 100 % of eligible direct costs (no co-funding required).
• Project duration: 15 months from individual Grant Agreement signature.
• Payment schedule:
– 60 % pre-financing on signature
– 30 % mid-term (upon activity 1 & 2 milestones)
– 10 % balance after final reporting & acceptance.
Key Administrative Facts
• Call identifier: C4DD-FSTP
• Opening date: 17 June 2025
• Deadline: 31 August 2025 – 23:59 CET
• Submission tool: EU-Survey online form (English only).
• Type of action: Cascade funding (HORIZON lump-sum style).
Important: Only one application per country will be funded. In countries with multiple NCs, applicants must demonstrate national endorsement and coordination.
🎯 Objectives
📊 At a Glance
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🇪🇺 Strategic Advantages
EU-Wide Advantages & Opportunities of the “Champions for the Digital Decade – Financial Support to Third Parties” Call (C4DD)
1. Direct Alignment with Flagship EU Agendas
• Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030 – contributes to the headline target of 80 % basic digital skills among EU adults and 20 million ICT specialists.
• European Skills Agenda & Pact for Skills – NC activities feed real-time data and good practices into EU-level policymaking, strengthening evidence-based decisions.
• Single Market Deepening – harmonised web standards and interoperable data flows foster a genuine EU-wide digital-skills marketplace.
2. Pan-European Network Effects for National Coalitions (NCs)
• Critical Mass of Content & Users – connecting 27+ national websites to the Digital Skills & Jobs Platform (DSJP) multiplies traffic, visibility and impact of every single NC.
• Cross-border Community Building – joint webinars, peer-learning exchanges and shared repositories reduce duplication and accelerate replication of successful initiatives.
• EU Branding Power – “Digital Skills & Jobs” umbrella lends instant credibility, facilitating partnerships with tech multinationals, ministries and regional authorities.
3. Interoperability & Standardisation Benefits
• Common Technical Specifications – a single API/template lowers development costs and ensures seamless integration of local data sets into the Core Platform.
• Unified KPIs – identical metrics (e.g. 20 good practices, 50 training offers) allow apples-to-apples benchmarking across Member States, revealing gaps and strengths instantly.
4. Economies of Scale Through Cascade Funding
• Low Administrative Burden – FSTP model delegates micro-grant management to the C4DD consortium, sparing NCs heavy Horizon Europe bureaucracy.
• Leverage Ratio – even modest grants (share of €180 000) often unlock national co-funding or private sponsorships, multiplying EU money 2-4x.
• Fast Time-to-Contract – simplified grant agreements enable website launches or upgrades within weeks, a pace rarely possible in direct EU calls.
5. Cross-Border Skills Intelligence & Labour Mobility
• Comparable Taxonomies – standard labelling of training offers makes it easier for workers to find courses in neighbouring countries, supporting free movement.
• EU-Level Data Lake – aggregated analytics inform where specific digital roles are in shortage or oversupply, steering ESF+, Erasmus+ and national retraining budgets.
6. Multilingualism & Cultural Localisation
• Free Access to eTranslation – NCs cut translation costs by up to 70 %, redirecting savings to content creation and outreach.
• Bidirectional Knowledge Flow – local best practices surface in English for EU consumption, while EU policy updates reach citizens in their native language, increasing uptake.
7. Enhanced Visibility & Stakeholder Engagement
• Shared Editorial Calendar – synchronising news/events across NCs and the DSJP boosts media coverage and organic SEO, driving more learners to each platform.
• Central Social-Media Amplification – content published nationally can be echoed by EU channels (e.g. EU Digital Skills Twitter >90 k followers), magnifying reach at zero cost.
8. Data-Driven Policy & Funding Synergies
• Evidence for Recovery & Resilience Facility (RRF) – NC analytics help justify digital-skills components in national RRF plans.
• Smart Specialisation – regional authorities can align ERDF/Interreg projects with the gaps highlighted by NC dashboards.
9. Competitive Edge for Applicants
• First-Mover Advantage – early NCs set de-facto standards for future funding rounds, becoming reference hubs for advanced topics (AI, quantum, cyber).
• Readiness for Upcoming Programmes – participation strengthens eligibility for DIGITAL Europe large-scale consortia (e.g., Advanced Digital Skills Calls 2026-2027).
10. Sustainability & Long-Term Impact
• Open-Source Components – shared code lowers maintenance costs post-grant and fosters continuous community enhancements.
• Institutional Anchoring – integration with ministries, universities and industry associations ensures that NC portals remain operational after the 15-month EU funding window.
Bottom Line: By plugging into a continent-wide architecture, National Coalitions unlock economies of scale, richer content, and policy influence that no purely national project could match. The C4DD cascade grant is therefore a high-leverage gateway to long-term relevance in Europe’s digital-skills ecosystem.
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