OPEN CALL FOR APPLICATIONS Procedure BG-RRP-11.022
The National Culture Fund, acting as the Monitoring and Reporting Structure under the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria, informs you that the procedure for selection of project proposals BG-RRP-11.022 – Grant Scheme “New Generation of Local Cultural Policies for Small Municipalities” is now open for applications.
Specific objectives of the procedure are:
- Specific objective 1: Support for cultural operators through whom the municipality implements its cultural policies (mandatory, at least 80% of the project budget)
- Specific objective 2: Support for the municipal administration to develop new cultural policies and partnership tools in the field of cultural development.
Eligible applicants:
Eligible applicants are municipalities that are not regional centers, i.e., excluding: Vidin, Vratsa, Montana, Lovech, Pleven, Varna, Targovishte, Dobrich, Shumen, Veliko Tarnovo, Gabrovo, Razgrad, Ruse, Silistra, Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil, Pernik, Sofia Municipality, Burgas, Sliven, Stara Zagora, Yambol, Kardzhali, Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Smolyan, Haskovo — municipalities that provide targeted funding on a competitive basis to cultural operators for the development of cultural content and promotion of all types of arts, based on established/approved/adopted mechanisms for the selection of cultural operators, and that have an approved Culture Fund/Program and rules for its operation in accordance with Article 36 of the Cultural Heritage and Development Act (CHDA), or a draft set of rules in accordance with the same act.
Funding amount:
The total funding under this procedure is BGN 9,900,000.00 excluding co-financing by applicants (i.e., grant funding).
Grant funding intensity – The procedure provides non-repayable funding ranging from BGN 40,000 to BGN 200,000, with mandatory co-financing by the final recipients amounting to 25% of the grant funding. The minimum grant amount per applicant is BGN 40,000. The maximum grant amount per applicant is up to BGN 200,000.
Eligible activity categories under Specific Objective 1:
- Activities for developing and creating one or more new cultural products and/or further development and enhancement of already established events and festivals and/or new combinations of existing cultural products organized by municipalities, including hiring and payment of specialists and experts and provision of a team for development and creation of one or more new cultural products/content in the fields of theatre, music, cinema, audiovisual arts, literature, literary translation, dance, circus, visual arts, architecture, design, folklore, as well as critical literature.
- Travel expenses for participation of artists, performers, technical staff, and other participants directly involved in the cultural product, necessary for the presentation, in accordance with the Domestic Travel Regulations.
- Transportation/cargo of artworks, sets, equipment, materials, and others according to the specifics of the cultural product, necessary for its presentation.
- Activities for public presentation of works from the cultural and creative industries sector before a Bulgarian audience.
- Activities for presenting the newly created cultural products to an audience (rental of venues, equipment, etc.).
- Activities for dissemination, advertising, and promotion of the presented works within the applicant municipality.
- Activities for insurance, storage, and security of artworks and equipment at the presentation venue.
- Activities for adapting the created cultural product(s) into new formats for different channels or unconventional locations and audiences to spread the product(s) and reach new or socially isolated audiences.
- Activities for creating digital content to broaden access to the cultural product(s) (mobile apps, virtual tours, digital exhibitions).
Eligible activity categories under Specific Objective 2:
- Activities related to the development/creation and implementation of new tools for development and management of cultural policies, including analyses and studies on creation and development.
- Knowledge and know-how transfer activities from other municipalities within Bulgaria and EU member states.
Project implementation period:
The duration of the project investment implementation should not exceed 12 months from the date indicated by the applicant in the “Project start and end date” field. The final date for completion of activities under individual projects must be no later than March 31, 2026.
Application period: 2 months
The guidelines defining the conditions for application and conditions for implementation of approved investments are published at:
https://eumis2020.government.bg/bg/s/Procedure/Info/e731f460-a3f3-4b6c-a84e-136fb21794e4
Applicants may request clarifications regarding the guidelines up to 21 days before the application deadline. Requests for clarifications are submitted via the electronic application module, section “Clarifications on the procedure”. Clarifications address application conditions and do not contain opinions on the quality of proposals. Clarifications are binding for all applicants.
Applicant questions and clarifications from the Monitoring and Reporting Structure are published in the ISUN2020 Information System: https://eumis2020.government.bg (in the procedure documents) within 10 days from receipt but no later than 14 days before the application deadline.
Application deadline: August 13, 2025, at 17:30, via the ISUN 2020 Information System.
Proposals for investment implementation must be submitted electronically and signed with a qualified electronic signature (QES).
