EUNIC is well placed to play a leading role in driving and expanding the importance of culture in the SDG agenda and in strengthening cultural cooperation as a dimension of sustainable development. With the aim to support and drive further this commitment, shared by an increasing number of EUNIC members, this year's Cluster Fund Call will give special attention to project proposals that show an integrated approach to culture and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals through their activities. With this, EUNIC aims to increase action in this field and to raise awareness of the untapped potential and role of culture in addressing the SDGs.

As source of inspiration, some example cluster strategies explicitly addressing the SDGs as well as some research papers on the topic published by EUNIC members are gathered here.

The purpose of the yearly EUNIC Cluster Fund is to co-finance clusters’ projects that contribute to the principles of international cultural relations and to the collaborative implementation of the EUNIC Strategic Framework for 2020-2024.

All EUNIC clusters are invited to apply with a cultural relations project until Tuesday 9 November. Clusters can apply for up to 15,000 euros, which can constitute a maximum of 50% of the total project budget. Submitted proposals need to involve a minimum of three EUNIC Full Members, furthermore a close collaboration with the EU Delegation or European Commission Representation is strongly encouraged. Clusters are also encouraged to involve a minimum of three key local cultural partner organisations. Partners can be civil society organisations as well as public bodies. The project needs to be aligned with the local cluster strategy. In line with EUNIC's organisational commitment to the topic of fair collaboration in cultural relations, partnerships at eye-level should be at the core of the design and implementation of all submitted projects, including active participation and governance of all partners to ensure ownership by all.

Timeline

• 2 September 2021: Publication of the Cluster Fund Call for Proposals 2021
• 2 November 2021: Last day to request optional feedback by email from the EUNIC Office
• 9 November 2021 (at 23:59 CET): Deadline for submission of proposals
• End of November 2021: Final award decision by EUNIC Board of Directors
• Beginning of December 2021: Publication of selection results
• January 2022 – December 2022: Implementation period
• 15 December 2022: Deadline to submit final project report and final payment invoice

How to apply?
The following documents need to be submitted:

• Application form completed in English (template available here)
• Estimated budget (in EUR) completed in English (template available here)
• Draft cluster strategy (only if not already previously submitted to the EUNIC office)

All necessary documents can be found in the Cluster Fund application package online here.

EUNIC Office support

Do not hesitate to contact the cluster management team if you have any questions about the call or the application process:
Sybilla: sybilla.britani@eunicglobal.eu and Michelle: michelle.sun@eunicglobal.eu.

Clusters can request optional feedback on their proposal from the EUNIC office until 2 November.

Want to have more information? The cluster management team is happy to answer any questions during the upcoming webinars on the Cluster Fund Call:

• Thursday 9 September at 4pm CEST
• Tuesday 21 September at 10am CEST
• Tuesday 5 October at 10am CEST
• Thursday 7 October at 4pm CEST.

Sign up for these webinars here.

Find the EUNIC Cluster Fund Call for Proposals 2021 and all relevant documents for your application in the resource centre.

You can find previous Cluster Fund projects on our website. Use the 'SDG' keyword filter to find projects that have directly addressed SDGs.