On Monday, March 30, the thirteenth workshop of the European Projects Hub for the Social Economy took place—a capacity-building day hosted at Relife Student Housing and dedicated to exploring small-scale projects within the framework of the Creative Europe cooperation call.

The meeting opened with a speech by Jacopo Bottacchi, who presented the support pathway offered by the European Projects Hub, outlining the opportunities provided by the programme.

Inside the call: tools and criteria

Gaia Bacin from Weco Impresa Sociale then led participants through a technical deep dive into the Creative Europe call, illustrating its objectives, eligible actions, and admissible activities. The session provided essential operational guidance for organisations interested in applying, with a focus on eligibility criteria, partnership building, and available budget.

A specific focus was placed on evaluation criteria—relevance, project quality, project management, and dissemination—key elements for structuring a competitive proposal in a highly selective context. In 2025, out of 1,029 proposals submitted for small-scale projects, only 88 were funded, with scores well above the minimum threshold. This highlights the need to design solid, clear, and distinctive projects.

Designing with awareness: DOs and DON’Ts

Valentina Crepaldi from Impacto Centro Studi offered a practical perspective on the design process, presenting an overview of the main DOs and DON’Ts of the call.

Key recommendations included starting from a clearly defined problem, focusing on a single project objective, and developing simple and coherent activities—especially for first-time applicants. For more experienced organisations, strategic positioning, proposal differentiation, and a focus on measurable and competitive impact are crucial.

Several elements contributing to a strong project were highlighted: alignment between objectives and activities, clarity of roles within the partnership, precise definition of target groups, and the ability to generate tangible benefits aligned with European priorities such as sustainability, inclusion, and digital transition.

Common mistakes were also analysed, including overly complex project design, lack of clear European added value, absence of an effective dissemination strategy, and difficulty in defining measurable impact.

Coherent projects = competitive projects

A key takeaway from the morning was the central role of coherence between objectives, activities, results, and impact. A competitive project is прежде всего readable, linear, and well-structured, with a clear logic guiding each phase of the design process.

Before applying, it is essential to verify key aspects such as clarity of objectives, quality of cooperation among partners, measurability of impact, and robustness of the project structure.

In a highly competitive context, being eligible is not enough—projects must stand out. As highlighted during the workshop, “if it needs to be explained, it’s too complex”.

The idea acceleration lab

The final part of the morning was dedicated to a hands-on workshop session, where participants engaged in an idea acceleration exercise led by Gaia Bacin (Weco Impresa Sociale) and Valentina Crepaldi (Impacto Centro Studi). Through guided reflection and starting from selected cross-cutting objectives—“Transnational circulation of works and artists” or “Innovation”—participants outlined their project ideas by identifying problems and needs, beneficiaries, expected results, and activities.

Supported by the European Projects Hub team, participants gathered the key elements needed to build an effective abstract and begin translating their ideas into successful project proposals.

The event saw the participation of numerous organisations interested in exploring the opportunities offered by the Creative Europe programme. Those wishing to continue the journey will now be able to activate the Hub’s support, initiating a project development pathway in view of upcoming deadlines.

European Projects Hub for the Social Economy is co-designed with Weco Impresa Sociale and supported by Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo and the Turin Chamber of commerce.