When a potential beneficiary is interested in utilising CONNECTA 2, the following steps should be taken.

Potential beneficiaries are national authorities/administrations in charge of digital, energy and transport infrastructure, public utilities in charge of operating and maintaining the infrastructure, private companies who may enter into public-private partnerships in the framework of the infrastructure projects to be supported and implemented, regional and international organisations and Western Balkans inhabitants, with a special focus on minorities and vulnerable groups. The potential beneficiaries should keep the National IPA Coordinators (NIPAC) informed and must submit the application for CONNECTA 2 assistance through the NIPAC.

1. The pre-application form on this website defines the concept of the proposed sub-project together with a preliminary budget. It should be completed by the applicant, screened by relevant stakeholders (NIPAC, European Union Delegation/Office (EUD/EUO), Energy Community Secretariat (EnCS), Transport Community Treaty Secretariat (TCTS) and IFIs) and returned to CONNECTA 2 at chris.germanacos@connecta-ta.eu. The applicant should examine the criteria which are also in the application forms included in this website. CONNECTA 2 will then review the pre-application and liaise with DG NEAR. If the assignment is not suitable for CONNECTA 2, it will advise the applicant accordingly.

    

2. If the assignment is suitable, then the application form on this website should be completed by the applicant which should include comprehensive details on the scope and budget. The form should be returned, through the NIPAC, to chris.germanacos@connecta-ta.eu. CONNECTA 2 will then review the application and work with the applicant regarding any gaps and/or clarifying what is needed. The completed application will then be screened by relevant stakeholders and then sent to DG NEAR for the final decision on whether CONNECTA 2 should proceed with the requested assignment. These stakeholders are listed in the boxes within the application. If the answer from DG NEAR is negative, the potential beneficiary will be informed accordingly.

    

3. If the answer from DG NEAR is still positive, then CONNECTA 2 prepares a Request for Approval (RFA) to mobilise, including budget, indicating person days and incidentals, workplan, detailed scope of work and experts’ CVs. The final RFA will be sent to DG NEAR by CONNECTA 2. When everything is satisfactory to DG NEAR, it will issue an administrative order for CONNECTA 2 to commence the assignment.
   
   Criteria for CONNECTA 2 involvement in a project

The first key step of any application is to look at Sections 4.1 and 4.2 of the Terms of Reference of CONNECTA 2 which are on this website and the eligibility criteria in the application form.

Overall, for all applications it should be indicated why CONNECTA 2 is the right instrument bearing in mind that it is there mainly to fill gaps in the investment project preparation cycle which need to be bridged quickly. CONNECTA 2 is not meant to be a shortcut for circumventing the normal WBIF procedure for Technical Assistance grants.