TecEuropa Program

The Galicia Europa Foundation launched in 2015 the specialization program in community funding “TecEuropa” with a double objective:

• To provide the technical staff of public entities and the third sector of Galicia with an overview of the different sources of Community funding and, above all, the opportunity to understand the logic of EU intervention through the different funds and programs available.
• Create a network of technicians in Galicia to share experiences and knowledge, as well as to eventually develop joint projects.

• A week-long stay in Brussels, where theoretical training is provided on EU policies and the financial resources that support them, complemented by visits to EU institutions and contact with European officials.
• Two days in Santiago de Compostela for practical training in the drafting of applications and the management of European projects.

Staff at the service of Galician public and private non-profit organizations working on European projects or with Community funds in a broader sense. Some of the vacancies are reserved for the staff of the entities that are members of the FGE board of trustees: Xunta de Galicia, Axencia Galega de Innovación, Deputación de A Coruña, Deputación de Lugo, Consorcio da Zona Franca de Vigo and Abanca.

Since its launch, TecEuropa has brought together a total of 185 participants, a third of whom come from the regional public sector, almost thirty local entities (from small municipalities such as Pontenova or Vedra to large ones such as Lugo or A Coruña), as many from social entities such as COGAMI, 22 provincial councils, 17 of the three Galician universities, 13 entities dedicated to R & D & I such as CTAG or ITMATI, 9 cross-border entities such as EGTC-GNP, 3 business associations and 2 chambers of trade. This specialization program therefore has a very varied participation that links various professional experiences and points of view on the use of European funds in multiple areas.

The Galicia Europa Foundation announces a limited number of training places in each edition. Participants – selected according to the interest of their entity, experience and training – can request reimbursement of accommodation and living expenses in Brussels. Attendance at activities is free.

Following their participation in the TecEuropa program, attendees rated the experience positively for:

• The opportunity to get first-hand information on the work of the European institutions.
• The overview provided by the community funding.
• The contact established with people from other entities in Galicia who develop European projects or manage community funds.
• The possibility of sharing the experiences of different factors in different phases of the execution of the funds: managing authority, intermediates, beneficiaries…
• This is an opportunity to reflect on public and private intervention when facing challenges in Galicia such as unemployment, demographic decline or the fight against climate change.

TecEuropa responds to the main objective of the FGE as an instrumental entity dependent on the Xunta de Galicia: to promote the rapprochement between Galicia and Europe. It is also a transversal program to the areas of action of the FGE:

• Defending Galician interests before the EU: the feedback obtained through the participants in TecEuropa is very valuable to contribute, for example, to the debate on the community budget after 2020 from a Galician perspective.
• Promotion of Galician participation in European projects: the creation of a network of professionals should serve to take advantage of each other’s experiences for the benefit of all, in order to design better projects and, in short, to achieve a greater impact of European funds in Galicia, both those of shared management (EIE) such as centralized management (H2020, Life, Erasmus +, etc.)
• Information and training on the EU in Galicia: TecEuropa seeks to improve the skills of different professionals to participate in projects with a European dimension.