Beginner's Guide To SEP Ltd continued...

What are European Funds?

The European Union gives aid to less developed regions of Europe in the form of European Structural Funds. Western Scotland is one of various regions within the UK which received and benefit from these Funds. SEP Ltd helped organisations access European Funds. The Funds were targeted on specific problems or areas of economic need. The two main types of European Funding that Western Scotland received and that SEP Ltd administered were:

• European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
• European Social Fund (ESF).

Over £1,000 million of ERDF and ESF has been invested in Western Scotland since 1988.

European Funds are delivered through three 'objectives'. Objective 1 is for the regions in the European Union which need most help.

Objective 2 is for regions with urban problems, declining traditional industries, rural problems, or declining fishing industries.

Objective 3 is linked to national programmes to improve peoples' skills. Western Scotland receives funding from Objective 2.

As well as these Objectives, smaller amounts of European Funds are available through Community Initiatives. The Clydebank and Port Glasgow areas were able to access funding through the URBAN II Community Initiative administered by SEP Ltd.

A Scotland-wide programme, Innovative Actions, was administered and managed by SEP Ltd. The Programme provided funding to engage public and private sectors in a Scotland-wide partnership aimed to enhance the economy's competitiveness by developing and delivering radical actions and mechanisms to stimulate innovation.

During 2000-06, four Community Initiatives operated in Scotland: LEADER, targeted in rural areas; INTEREG, focusing on cross-border co-operation; EQUAL, providing funding to support innovative work on equal access to the labour market across Scotland; and URBAN II, designed to support economic development in a particular community.