European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF)
Are partners required?
Is mobility required/involved?
Key areas of focus
Background
The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIFs) are the European Union's main investment policy tool. With a budget of €454 billion for 2014-2020, it supports job creation and economic growth. The funds are distributed through these programmes:
- European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
- European Social Fund (ESF)
- Cohesion Fund (CF)
- European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)
- European Maritime & Fisheries Fund (EMFF)
Key facts
The ESIF are jointly managed by the European Commission and the EU Member States who negotiate to decide what can be funded by the ESIFs and priorities are set out within national or regional multi-annual programmes. Member States may choose to emphasise different activities in different regions of the EU and eligibility therefore depends on the scope of the programme in each region or country.
ESIFs are devolved to the member states where they are allocated via national or regional government departments or other agencies. In the UK, agencies helping disseminate these funds include the Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in England and WEFO in Wales. While applications to these funds do not require partners outside the UK, it should be noted that the criteria for these are tightly focused on jobs and growth. Whilst these funds can be challenging to access, there are some smaller grants available which may be more accessible.
The key areas of investment for ESIF are:
- Jobs, growth and investment
- Digital single market
- Energy union and climate
- Internal market
- Economic and monetary union
- Justice and fundamental rights
- Migration
UK contact point(s)
The European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIFs) is an umbrella framework so there may be different contact points for each of the funding programmes it contains. For more information and signposting to relevant contact points:
- In England, calls alerts for these funding programmes are posted on the gov.uk website.
- In Scotland, visit the Scottish Government website for more details.
- In Wales, visit the WEFO website.
- In Northern Ireland, visit the website of the Department of Finance, which is part of the Northern Ireland Executive.