Technical Documentation Fund – Macedonia

The project “Opening of municipal capacities for implementation of projects” invited municipalities and centers for the development of planned regions to submit requests for financial assistance in the preparation of technical documentation for priority infrastructure projects within the framework of the Technical Documentation Fund. The project and calls are implemented by the UNDP and the Regional Development Bureau.

The Technical Documentation Fund represents an instrument for financial and technical support in the implementation of local, intermunicipal and regional infrastructure projects level FTD was established with the support of the UNDP project “Opening of municipal capacities for implementation of the project” (hereinafter referred to as the Project), financed by the Swedish International Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Bureau for Regional Development.

The project is implemented in partnership with the Bureau of Regional Development, the Ministry of Local Self-Government, municipalities and centers for regional development and other partners and stakeholders on a national and local level.

The key difference from the previous call is that the focus of this call is on a typical project which have the potential to reduce air pollution from various pollutants (for example, solid particles, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, methane, ammonia and others). For that purpose, the projects should include measures that will reduce the emissions of such polluting substances from some of their key sources (for example, traffic, heating systems, solid waste) that are under the jurisdiction of the units.

The main purpose of this call is to provide projects with high-quality technical documentation that will be suitable for the requirements of key international and domestic sources of financing.

Categories and Types of Projects

• Improvement of the transport system infrastructure and traffic regime:
  • Improvement of the transport infrastructure in order to reduce traffic congestion (on pr., roundabouts, new roads, bypasses, access local roads to bypasses, use of technology for tracking and managing traffic flows, such as intelligent traffic systems and centers for traffic management).
  • Encouragement to use public transport (for example, modern bus stations).
  • Improvement of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
  • Encouraging the use of electric and hybrid vehicles (for example, placing battery chargers on vehicles at appropriate locations).
• Improvement of social infrastructure (reconstruction, renovation, and upgrading of public facilities under the jurisdiction of the municipality with the application of appropriate measures):
  • Measures for energy efficiency (for example, insulation of buildings with modern facade systems, replacement of window and door systems, LED lighting and sensor lighting, reconstruction/isolation of roofs)
  • Introducing renewable sources of energy (for example, photovoltaic systems)
  • Replacement of polluting and less polluting systems for heating the facility (eg, liquid or solid fuel with natural gas, heat and geothermal pumps, systems equipped with appropriate filters for particle removal, etc.)
  • Introduction of green roofs on public buildings and/or gardens around them
  • Reconstruction of permanent objects with the introduction of technologies for energy efficiency.
• Infrastructure for the environment:
  • Projects for the management of solid waste (for example, closure or remediation of private landfills, facilities for collection, sorting and recycling of waste, according to national regulations and strategies)
  • Replacement of conventional with energy-efficient public lighting
  • Green spaces and urban parks using smart systems
  • Other projects for energy efficiency and energy savings, as well as projects for renewable sources of energy.

Funding Information

• Within the framework of this call for funding, at least 11 grants for the preparation of technical documentation were provided, including:
  • Large projects/grants (up to 50,000 US dollars) are intended for projects from the municipality with a seat in a city with more than 25,000 inhabitants, or projects that will be submitted by the country to the center for the development of planned regions.
  • Small projects/grants (up to USD 20,000) are intended for projects from municipalities based in a city or village of up to 25,000 inhabitants.
• The grant funds are intended for financing the preparation of technical documentation, that is, for the necessary design and related consulting services. The costs for the possibly necessary auditing services will be additionally covered by the UNDP/Project and not part of the grant.
• Currently, grantees can be used for the development of conceptual and/or basic projects and related documentation necessary for the provision of construction solutions (e.g., elaborate and other technical documentation in the area of environmental protection, work protection, fire protection, urban project).
• Grantees cannot be used for the preparation of independent urban planning documentation and feasibility studies.
• Applicants for the grant (municipalities and centers for development in planning regions) will be obliged to finance at least 20% of the requested funds from the grant according to the estimated costs for the preparation of the provided technical documentation.
• Below mentioned funding shows the minimum necessary co-financing in the case of a request for the maximum value of the grant. If the costs for the preparation of the technical documentation exceed the maximum available funds, then the grant recipients will be obliged to provide the necessary additional funds in order to fully cover the costs.
  • Large projects/grants (up to USD 50,000)
    • Minimum co-financing: 10,000
    • Maximum budget per project: 60,000
  • Small projects/grants (up to USD 20,000)
    • Minimum co-financing: 4,000
    • Maximum budget per project: 24,000

Eligible Funding

• In order to be accepted, the costs must meet the following criteria:
  • Necessity for successful achievement of objectives – preparation of technical documentation
  • Costs to be reasonable, to be able to justify and meet the requirements of good financial management, to include the costs of minimizing the cost of infrastructure projects during their implementation, including fair conditions for competition and ensuring good value for money (value-for-money). This should be achieved through the implementation of competitive tender procedures in the selection of contractual parties (Designers)
  • Compliance with the requirements of the tax regulation in the country
  • Present yourself in the proposed budget, which is part of the request for funds/grant.

Ineligible Funding

• Grant funds cannot be used for the following activities:
  • Support for political parties
  • Support for potentially illegal activities
  • Capital investments
  • Activities outside the agreed geographical scope
  • Projects with potentially long and complicated procedures for securing the necessary building approvals (for example, in the case of unresolved property-legal relationships)
  • Regranting on third parties
• In addition, the Project will not accept the allocation of funds to cover the following types of costs:
  • Fees of employees in the municipalities/development centers of the planning regions, theirs per diem or travel expenses
  • Payment of debts or losses
  • Payment on loans and interest
  • Changes in exchange rate differences
  • Depreciation expense for equipment
  • Purchase of land or real estate
  • Purchase of vehicles
  • Payment of costs for which funds are provided by other donors (avoidance of double financing).

Ineligible Projects

• Types of projects that are not accepted within this call are:
  • Construction on new public facilities (on a street, school, building, municipal building, etc.)
  • Sports halls, except those that are used or used primarily and managed by them
  • Infrastructural projects that require solving property-law issues (eg, unclear or disputed property-legal relations).
  • Infrastructural projects that serve only on a single user and/or on a large enterprise according to the rules of the EU for autonomous, partner or related enterprises.
  • Infrastructural projects connected with the environment which is not in accordance with it national and EU strategies, legislation and guidelines.

Eligibility Criteria

• The final user of the prepared technical documentation can be any public institution financed by the municipality/s covered by the grant application, which operates in the territory of that municipality/s, such as public utility companies and utility maintenance companies infrastructure, schools, kindergartens and other institutions. Such an institution can also play the role of a partner in the application. However, the application must be submitted and signed, and the implementation must be guaranteed by a responsible person from the municipality or the appropriate center for the development of the planning region. The participation of the end user in the implementation, for example, the production of the required technical documentation, should be described and explained in the Application Form.
• Each municipality can submit only one request for a grant. The same applies to the centers for the development of planning regions. Likewise, a municipality that submitted an independent request for a grant cannot be part of a request for a grant submitted by the appropriate center for the development of the planning region.
• Centers for the development of planning regions can submit only one request, regardless of the number of municipalities in the planning region.
• UNDP and BRR reserve the right to accept or reject any project proposal that is not listed in the group of permitted and non-permitted projects, followed by a written explanation to grant applicants. The request for a grant submitted by a municipality can result in a maximum of two Project Programs, for two sets of technical documentation in order to secure a maximum of two building approvals according to the applicable regulation. Exceptions to this are projects that do not require a building permit (eg, replacement of heating systems in public/municipal buildings). The request for a grant submitted by the development centers of the planning regions can result in a maximum of one Project Program per municipality covered by the call.
• Grant winners from the previous call have no restrictions to call this call.
• As for the geographical coverage, the grant program is available to all 80 municipalities, the city of Skopje and all planning regions.
• Individual municipalities, the city of Skopje, and the Center for Development of Planned Regions may be applicants for a grant within this call. In addition, applicants must appoint appropriate professional and administrative personnel for the implementation of the project, including participation in training and other events organized by the project.
• Note: when appointing professional and administrative staff, attention will also be paid to the gender balance of implementation teams and training within the initiative.

For more information, visit UNDP.