Swiss-Estonian Cooperation Program me
SUPPORT MEASURE AGREEMENT
between
the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
and
the State Shared Service Centre,
on
the Support Measure
Biodiversity Programme
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, acting through the Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as the ‘SDC’) and
the State Shared Service Centre (hereinafter referred to as the ‘NCU9,
hereinafter collectively referred to as the ‘Parties’,
referring to the Framework Agreement, including its Annex 1 (Country-Specific Set-Up) between the
Swiss Federal Council and the Government of the Republic of Estonia concluded on 21 November
2022 as well as to the Regulations on the implementation of the second Swiss Contribution to selected
Member States of the European Union to reduce economic and social disparities within the European
Union issued by Switzerland and setting out the general rules and procedures on the implementation
of the Swiss-Estonian Cooperation Programme (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Framework Agreement’
and ‘Regulations 9, and
considering the financing of the Support Measure Biodiversity Programme (hereinafter referred to as
the ‘Support Measure 9 in the Republic of Estonia,
have agreed as follows:
Article 1 — General provisions
The legal framework as defined in Article 2 of the Framework Agreement shall apply.
Article 2 — Objective and eligibility period
1. The Support Measure is assigned to the following thematic area: Nature conservation and
biodiversity.
2. The objective of the Support Measure is Protecting the environment and the climate.
3. The Support Measure starts on 01 .05.2024 and ends on 31 .08.2028. Only expenditures
incurred during this period are deemed to be eligible in accordance with Chapter 6 of the
Regulations.
Article 3 — Obligations of the Parties
1. Switzerland agrees to grant a contribution of up to 6,93 million Swiss francs for the
implementation of the Support Measure according to the budget (Annex B).
2. The contribution of Switzerland shall cover a maximum of 85% of the total eligible
expenditures of the Support Measure as specified in Chapter 6 of the Regulations.
3. Switzerland’s contribution to the Support Measure is based on:
a) the final version of the Support Measure Proposal 7F-10768.01 dated 15.04.2024 attached
to this Support Measure Agreement (Annex A); and
b) the conditions put forward by Switzerland as part of the final decision to support the Support
Measure and communicated to Republic of Estonia by means of the letter 7F-1 0768.01 dated
27.03.2024 appended hereto (Annex D).
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4. In accordance with Article 7 of the Framework Agreement the responsibility of Switzerland
with regard to this Support Measure is limited to providing funds in accordance with Article 3
paragraph 1 of this Support Measure Agreement.
5. The Republic of Estonia shall ensure the timely provision of the co-financing for the total
eligible expenditures of the Support Measure, as described in Article 4 paragraph 5 of the
Framework Agreement and in Article 3.1 paragraph 1 and Chapter 6 of the Regulations.
6. Costs for staff of the Programme Operator, Programme Component Operators and Partners
who are assigned to carry out tasks for the Support Measure, comprising actual salaries plus
social security charges and other statutory costs included in the remuneration, are eligible
expenditure under this Support Measure, within the limits set in the budget in Annex B of this
Support Measure Agreement and in accordance with Chapter 6 of the Regulations.
Article 4 — Implementation responsibility
1. The NCU and the Paying and Audit Authorities shall have the roles and responsibilities
defined in the Regulations, in particular in Article 3.1 to 3.6, and further specified in the
Country Specific Set-up.
2. The Programme Operator of this Support Measure is the Ministry of Climate. It is responsible
for preparing and managing the Support Measure and for performing the following tasks:
a) preparing the Management and Control system of the Support Measure to ensure the
effective implementation of the Support Measure;
b) concluding the Support Measure Implementation Agreement with the NCU;
c) preparing the Annual Support Measure Reports, the Support Measure Completion Report,
Reimbursement Requests and submitting them to the State Shared Service Centre;
d) organising meetings of the Support Measure Steering Committee and preparing minutes of
the meetings;
e) planning and implementing the communication activities of the Support Measure in
cooperation with the programme component operators;
f) submitting proposal to the Ministry of Finance for the modification of the Country specific set
up of the Framework Agreement and to the State Shared Service Centre for the modification
of the Support Measure Agreement;
g) fulfilling other tasks of the Programme Operator arising from the Regulations.
3. The Programme Components have the following Programme Component Operators:
a) Programme Component 1 “Development of innovative monitoring technologies/solutions and
improvement of Environmental databases and systems”: Programme Component Operator —
the Estonian Environment Agency.
b) Programme Component 2 “Implementation of a systematic assessment of the social and
conservation outcomes of protected areas”: Programme Component Operator the —
Environmental Board of Estonia.
Article 5 — Support Measure Steering Committee
1. The Programme Operator shall establish the Support Measure Steering Committee as
defined in Article 4.11 of the Regulations. The Support Measure Steering Committee shall
assume the following tasks:
a) as defined in Article 4.11 of the Regulations.
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2. The Support Measure Steering Committee shall be composed of the following members:
a) The NCU the State Shared Service Centre;
-
b) The Programme Operator the Ministry of Climate;
—
c) The Swiss Contribution Office;
d) The Programme Component Operator- the Estonian Environment Agency;
e) The Programme Component Operator the Environmental Board of Estonia;
-
3. By the initiative of the Support Measure Steering Committee members the Chair has the right
to invite the representatives of the partners and other organisations to the Support Measure
Steering Committee meetings, who will act as observers.
4. The following members shall have a voting right:
a) The Programme Operator the Ministry of Climate as Chair;
-
b) The NCU
c) The Swiss Contribution Office.
5. The quorum shall be constituted by the NCU, the Swiss Contribution Office and the
Programme Operator.
6. Decision-making in the Support Measure Steering Committee shall be based on consensus
by the members with voting rights.
7. The Programme Operator shall act as secretary and shall assume the tasks set forth in the
Article 4.11 paragraph 7 of the Regulations.
8. The Steering Committee meeting shall take place at least once a year in line with Article 4.11
paragraph 6 of the Regulations.
9. The Steering Committee may also take decisions through a written procedure at the initiative
of any member with voting rights.
Article 6 — Programme Operator competences for modifications of the Support
Measure
1. The Support Measure may be modified in accordance with the Article 4.12 of the Regulations.
2. In accordance with Article 4.12 paragraph 4.a of the Regulations the Programme Operator is
entitled to modify Programme Components (md management expenditures of a Programme
Operator), provided the following conditions are cumulatively met:
a. the modification shall not contradict with the agreed outputs and outcomes of the Support
Measure;
b. the modification must not change the duration of the Support Measure;
c. the financial consequences of the modification must be within the following limits:
i. for reallocations within one Programme component: funds reallocated between different
budget items must be less than 20% of the initial budget of the Programme component
and less than CHF 100 000 (one hundred thousand Swiss francs);
ii. modifications may not be split with the intention of circumventing this restriction.
3. Switzerland shall be informed about the modification by means of the next Reimbursement
Request under Article 8.2 paragraph 3 of the Regulations and the next Annual Support
Measure Report under Article 4.13 of the Regulations.
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Article 7— Advance payments
1. In accordance with Article 8.3 of the Regulations no advance payments are foreseen in this
Support Measure.
Article 8— Policy dialogue
1. A policy dialogue is not foreseen for this Support Measure.
Article 9 — Procurement
1. The procurements under this Support Measure Agreement shall be made in accordance with
Chapter 7 of the Regulations.
2. The initial procurement plan, including those procurements that are selected by Switzerland
in accordance with Article 7.2 of the Regulations, shall be annexed to this Support Measure
Agreement (Annex C).
3. This procurement plan shall be updated following the approval of further Programme
Components and submitted to Switzerland for selection in accordance with Article 7.2 of the
Regulations within 20 working days. The periodically updated procurement plan shall be
submitted to Switzerland with the Reimbursement Request.
Article 10 — Post-completion obligations and ownership of assets
1. The post-completion obligations related to the assets (operating assets as well as equipment,
installations and buildings) financed by the Swiss contribution under this Support Measure as
well as their ownership are described in Article 4.15 of the Regulations.
2. For the duration of the Support Measure the assets provided with the Swiss Contribution are
in the ownership of the acquirer and shall be used in accordance with Article 4.15 paragraph
6 of the Regulations.
3. The NCU or the Executing Agency shall ensure that the receiving entity agrees under contract
to fulfil the obligations set out in Article 4.15 paragraph 2 of the Regulations concerning
equipment, installations and buildings financed by the Contribution.
4. In accordance with Article 4.15 paragraph 7 the Parties shall agree in writing following the
completion of the Support Measure on the use and ownership of the assets provided with the
support of the Swiss Contribution.
5. The ownership of the proprietary rights in and to the results of the activities performed under
this Support Measure, any intellectual property rights, including copyright, and the right to any
revenues generated by the intellectual property rights shall be agreed in writing by the Parties
on completion of the Support Measure.
Article 11 — Reimbursement procedures, reporting, audits, compliance
Reimbursement procedures, reporting, auditing and compliance rules are set out in the
Framework Agreement and the Regulations.
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Article 12 Annexes
-
The following Annexes are governed by this Support Measure Agreement:
Annex A: Final version of the Support Measure Proposal 15.04.2024 including Logframe
Annex B: Budget
Annex C: Initial Procurement Plan
Annex D: Decision Letter from SDC
Article 13— Amendments
The Support Measure may be modified in accordance with Article 4.12 of the Regulations. In the
cases as described in Article 4.12 paragraph 8 of the Regulations, the modification of the Support
Measure shall be formalised by way of an amendment to this Support Measure Agreement. This
shall be done by the Parties signing the amendment.
Article 14 Suspension and termination
-
The Support Measure Agreement may be suspended or terminated in accordance with Article
4.16 of the Regulations.
Article 15— Entry into force and duration
1. This Support Measure Agreement covers the duration of the Support Measure as stated in
Article 2 paragraph 3.
2. This Support Measure Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the last signature of
the Parties and remain in force until all obligations under it have been fulfilled.
Signed in Tallinn and Riga, in two original copies in the English language.
For the Swiss Agency for Development and For the State hared Service Centre
~p~in /
C/hj4~oph Liechti Urmo Merila
Head of the-swiss Contribution Office Deputy Director General
Date Date
/fP~1. 2oz~
Swiss-Estonian Cooperation Programme
Annex A: Final version of the Support
Measure Proposal 15.04.2024 including
Logframe
on
the Support Measure
Biodiversity Programme
Second Swiss Contribution
Estonia
Support Measure Proposal
15.04.2024
Title Bio-Diversity Programme
Executing Agency Ministry of Climate
Partner State Support Measure n/a
Code (if any)
Support Measure Type Programme
Content
1. Basic information 4
2. Strategic Support Measure description 5
2.1 Lead 5
2.2 Context and relevance 5
2.3 Impact hypothesis / Objectives 10
2.4 Intervention Strategy 11
2.5 Beneficiaries 12
2.6 Programme Component Characteristics and regional focus 13
2.7 Overview Swiss Support Measure Partners 13
2.8 Sustainability 14
2.9 Overview tentative budget 14
2.10 Other strategic issues 14
3. Support Measure readiness 15
3.1 Context 15
3.2 Preparation process and documents 15
3.3 Application for funds from Support Measure Preparation Fund 16
4. Operational Support Measure description 16
4.1 Applying organisation (Executing Agency) 16
4.1.1 Financial and personnel information (only to be completed for non-state
institutions) 16
4.1.2 Organisation structures of Executing Agency and Support Measure 16
4.1.3 Support Measure management team 18
4.1.4 Programme and project management experience 19
4.2 Detailed intervention strategy and activities 20
4.2.1 Detailed description of activities and intervention strategy 20
4.2.2 Detailed description of selection process for Programme Components 22
4.2.3 Communication activities 22
4.2.4 Detailed implementation schedule 23
4.3 Logframe 25
4.4 Swiss Support Measure Partner(s) 28
4.5 Stakeholder consultations 28
4.6 Tentative Budget 29
4.6.1 Detailed tentative budget 29
4.6.2 Tentative Disbursement Plan 30
4.7 Risk Analysis and Risk Management 31
4.8 Monitoring and Steering 32
4.9 Other operational issues 32
5. Annexes 32
Annex 2: Overview of Implementation locations 34
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Basic Programme Component Information 34
6. Programme Component Operator 35
6.1 Basic Information 35
6.2 Programme Component Operator Management 35
6.3 Programme Component Management 36
6.4 Programme and Project Management Experience 37
7. Programme Component Description 38
7.1 Short Summary 38
7.2 Activities and Expected Results 38
7.3 Beneficiaries 40
7.4 Sustainability 40
7.5 Budget 40
7.6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management 40
8. Annexes 41
Basic Programme Component Information 41
9. Programme Component Operator 41
9.1 Basic Information 41
9.2 Programme Component Operator Management 42
9.3 Programme Component Management 43
9.4 Programme and Project Management Experience 45
10. Programme Component Description 46
10.1 Short Summary 46
10.2 Activities and Expected Results 46
10.3 Beneficiaries 48
10.4 Sustainability 49
10.5 Budget 49
10.6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management 50
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1. Basic information
Title Bio-Diversity Programme
Support Measure Type Programme
Objective Protecting the environment and the climate
Thematic Area Nature conservation and biodiversity
Planned Duration [months] 52
Requested Swiss contribu- 6 930 000
tion (CHF)
Requested co-financing 85%
rate of Switzerland [%]
Name of the Executing Ministry of Climate
Agency
Type of entity National administration
If type of entity is “other”, -
describe the type briefly
Name of contact person Kairi Toiger
Position Senior Officer, Financial Department, Ministry of Climate
Correspondence address Suur-Ameerika 1, 10122 Tallinn, Eesti
E-Mail Kairi.Toiger@ kliimaministeerium.ee
Webpage and social media https://kliimaministeerium .ee/
(if any)
https:I/www.facebook.com/kliimaministeerium
https:f/twitter.com/MOEestonia
https://www.youtube .com/channel/UCfeXqaJwOLCpLx7-
Xl 69F6w
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfeXgaJwOLCpLx7-
Xl 69F6w
Phone +372 6262 931 Mobile
Has the Executing Agency previously received funding from the Yes~ NoD
Swiss Contribution?
Abbreviations:
EELIS — Estonian Nature Information System
KAUR — Estonian Environment Agency
KeA — Environmental Board of Estonia
KeMIT Information Technology Centre of the Ministry of the Envi
—
ronment
KESE — Environmental Monitoring Information System
MoC — Ministry of Climate
NCU — National Coordination Unit
2. Strategic Support Measure description
2.1 Lead
The goal of the Programme is the creation of preconditions for the improvement of conserva
tion status of threatened habitats and species through decision making that relies on high-
quality data, e. g.:
• Implementation of innovative monitoring solutions.
• Ensuring operative data transition between different databases.
• Making environmental data more accessible for public.
• Setting up and validating digital toolset for the governance.
• Evaluation of management effectiveness planning of protected areas, revision of site-
based conservation objectives and measures for protected species and habitats and
additional compilation of site-based management plans.
• The evaluation and additional compilation of national action plans for species and hab
itats and the revision of protected categories of species (category I, category II and
category Ill).
The intervention will build on the results of various past and ongoing initiatives, like applied
research projects on nature conservation in relation to climate change and on existing state
monitoring and planning systems for protected areas.
2.2 Context and relevance
Current Situation
Estonia’s land area is 45,339 km2, which is slightly larger than Switzerland and the sea area is
36,622 km2. 60% of Estonia is covered with forest and mires and 20.5% of the land is under
nature protection. Also, 18.7% of the sea is protected. With a unique location, Estonian nature
is very diverse, and it is especially important for migratory birds, who stay here to rest and nest.
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During the migration period, millions of birds pass through Estonia, and it is the bottleneck for
most of the Artic waterbirds.
Although in a significant share of Estonia nature values are protected, the status of biodiversity
in Estonia is far from being without concern. Of the 15,000 species assessed during 2017-
2021 for the update of the Red List in Estonia, only half are in status “Least Concern”, which
means that the other half of the species are ,,Near Threatened”, ,,Vulnerable”, ,,Endangered”,
Critically Endangered” or ,,Extinct in the Region”. Unfortunately, the population sizes of mam
mals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles have seen an alarming average drop of 68% since
1970 in the whole world. According to the EU Habitats Directive reporting (2019) 57% of the
habitats and 56% of the species in Estonia are in favourable status, which is better than in
most of the EU member states (in EU, only 14.7% of the habitats and 27.5% of the species
are in favourable status). But 44% of the species and 43% of the habitats are in unfavourable
(inadequate or bad) conservation status in Estonia.
We must continue to preserve and improve the status of the species and habitats. To do so,
we have created a network of protected areas and system to assess the status of the species
and habitats. However, it is not enough and Estonia must contribute to global target to protect
at least 30% of land and sea area. At the moment, there are six national parks, 234 nature
conservation areas, 148 landscape conservation areas, 312 limited-conservation areas and
1,847 species’ protection sites in Estonia (November 2022) (Looduskaitse statistika I Keskkon
naportaal). Approximately 70% of the protected area in Estonia is managed according to man
agement plans. However, all protected areas still do not have an appropriate management
plan or existing management plans are based on out-of-date data. Only 52% category I (i.e.
rare and at risk of disappearence) species, 12% of category II species (i.e. species in danger
of disappearance if the existing factors continue operating) and 2% of category Ill species (i.e.
species whose population is endangered by the deterioration or damaging of habitats and has
been reduced to a point where they are believed to move into the endangered category if the
causal factors continue operating) have a national action plan. Relevant and updated site-
based management plans and national action plans with specific targets are necessary to as
sess the efficiency of the implemented measures. A systematic understanding is needed to
understand which of the applied conservation measures are fit for purpose and what needs to
be changed. Most management plans lack the level of detail.
The compilation of management plans has been a time-consuming process and needs to be
revised. To achieve and maintain the good status of protected areas in Estonia, it is crucial to
continue the successful interventions and replicate them in areas where the status of habitats
and the functioning of ecosystems is still not good. To do so, an appropriate framework in
Estonia, including a methodology and an action plan for its implementation, for the assessment
of effectiveness of biodiversity conservation measures needs to be established. An effective
framework will allow Estonia to understand the main factors hindering the protection of biodi
versity and design better targeted conservation and restoration measures. Also, surveys, in
ventories and monitoring must be carried out to observe how the conditions change over time.
There are more than 50 different types of biodiversity monitoring schemes implemented every
year and mostly it is carried out by humans. Also, the status and abundance of game species,
including large carnivores is monitored. The volume of the monitoring depends on the available
budget and also on the available specialists and developed methodologies. Often, monitoring
can be carried out in a specific period (e.g spring, summer, vegetation period, nesting period,
etc.) and limited number of specialists are not capable to cover the necessary area in one year.
For decades, same methodologies have been used in monitoring, but technology is evolving
at a tremendous rate and sometimes more specific data is needed (e.g. DNA data to assess
whether the population is strong and genetically diverse and how it changes over time).
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New solutions and technology should be used more in biodiversity monitoring as this can be
helpful in the absence of specialists and with the help of technology larger areas could be
covered during the short suitable period for monitoring. Also, thanks to the new technology
additional valuable information can be collected, which is necessary in decision making (e.g.
the size of a specific species’ habitat etc). There are already 3D bird radars, bird sound recog
nition applications, artificial intelligence (Al), affordable cameras, remote monitoring solutions,
etc., which could be adjusted and tested in the biodiversity monitoring. We have already tested
some solutions on a smaller scale like Al in the monitoring of the game species, drones, sen
sors, acoustic and telemetry transmitters. Potential of the technology is not sufficiently recog
nized and as new methods are costly to test on a large scale and long time period, good solu
tions are often discarded (e.g eDNA). It is necessary to implement old and new methods at the
same time in a short period in order to allow smooth transition and providing enough time for
the new solution to justify itself. Also, one reason for using the same methodologies for dec
ades, is the reason of uninterrupted data series that new methodologies could affect. Imple
menting old and new at the same time is necessary to understand whether and how much the
results differ and this gives the opportunity to continue uninterrupted data series.
Nature related data is inserted and processed mainly in two systems in Estonia: Estonian Na
ture Information System (EELIS) and Environmental Monitoring Information System (KESE).
Both systems need to be improved to make them more user-friendly and easier to use, both
for public servants and ordinary citizens. Those systems are not prepared for today’s and f u
ture needs. The current system does not provide sufficient information to assess whether the
conservation actions are adequate to sustain resilient ecosystems and halt biodiversity loss.
The present system does not take into account socio-economic impacts. Also, some of the
important data is maintained in third-party systems (e.g PlutoF Biodiversity Platform) and ig
noring this data in decision making would be a mistake. It is necessary to create connections
which would enable data transfer between systems. Authorities lack the tools and sufficient
competences to analyse the effectiveness of conservation measures and conduct a multi-pur
pose interpretation of large datasets in an interdisciplinary manner. Decisions made using the
monitoring results depend on the volume and quality of the data. Among other things, it is
necessary to speed up the data flow. For example, information of the protected species must
be transformed from one system into another manually (from KESE to EELIS), which is time-
consuming and there is always a risk that important data is not taken into account in the plan
ning process or while issuing permits. Also, the analytical capacity should be improved, which
can be done by improving information systems and creating automatic solutions that can
quickly analyse great amount of data in a few moves. This will ensure the quality, transparency
and reliability of the data.
Nature information must be public, easy to understand and attractive. According to the survey
carried out in Estonia in 2020, 21% of Estonians think that environmental data is not accessible
and according to the survey carried out in 2022, interest in the environmental issues has de
creased compared to 2020. Information systems as important resources were rarely men
tioned. It is also necessary to promote citizen science. Citizen science can be defined as the
non-professional involvement of volunteers in the scientific process, commonly in data collec
tion, but also in other phases such as quality assurance, data analysis and interpretation, prob
lem definition and the dissemination of results. Citizen science can play an important role by
filling data gaps where conventional data sources may not be sufficient, providing complemen
tary temporal and spatial data that supports official monitoring systems. However, and despite
its value and potential, it is still underused. Besides collecting additional data, promoting citizen
science gives the opportunity to raise environmental awareness, which is one of the keys in
the implementation of the Green Deal and moving towards a sustainable economy. We have
already developed the Nature Observation application, but at the moment it is not possible to
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submit observations via the website. Also, where possible, the volunteers should be integrated
into the monitoring schemes.
Strategies
The Support Measure contributes directly to the implementation of the Estonian Environmental
Development Plan until 2030 (draft)
According to the draft plan the goal of nature conservation is that the status of native species,
ecosystems and landscapes has improved Estonia is nature positive.
-
The targets to achieve the goal are:
1. We preserve and improve native species and habitats and biodiversity rich key
landscape features such as small water bodies and other wetlands, coastal and
the condition of coastal areas, semi-natural grasslands and primary and old-
growth forests, including forest key habitats.
2. We ensure a timely and relevant overview of the status of wildlife for decision
making in the field of nature conservation, among other things, we use innova
tive monitoring and inventory solutions and applied research more than before
and update and supplement databases and web applications.
3. We will improve the system for evaluating the effectiveness of protection
measures to ensure the operational renewal and improvement of current
measures.
The proposed Support Measure contributes directly to the targets 2 and 3, which are also the
basis for achieving the first target.
The Support Measure has a clear connection with Estonian Environmental Strategy for 2030
and with requirements and obligations stated in EU directives, regulation and strategies and
international conventions:
• EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030;
• EU Nature Restoration Regulation (draft);
• Sustainable Development Goals and Development Plan. Especially to following goals:
1. 3. Good Health and Well-being;
2. 6. Clean Water and Sanitation;
3. 7. Affordable and Clean Energy;
4. 12. Responsible Consumption and Production;
5. 13. Climate Action;
6. 14. Life Below Water;
7. 15.Lifeon Land.
• Convention on Biological Diversity and its Global Biodiversity Framework;
• CITES convention;
• Ramsar convention;
• Bern Convention;
• Bonn convention, including AEWA and Eurobats agreements;
• HELCOM;
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris agreement.
Complementarity/synergies with funding programmes of other donors
• Technical Support Instrument financed by the European Commission. An ongoing pro
ject with the objective to develop the relevant assessment methodology for Estonia.
This methodology will be implemented under the Swiss Contribution.
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• European Structural Funds 2014-2020. The methodology of the National Assessment
and Mapping of Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services was developed. We will continue
to improve it and it will be taken into account in the planning and assessment process.
Also, development of the Estonian Nature Information System was partly financed from
Structural Funds.
• European Structural Funds 2021-2027. Development of the Artificial Intelligence for the
monitoring of games species is financed under this programme. It is an ongoing project.
• State budget. National monitoring is financed from the state budget. Swiss Contribution
does not replace it but enhances and helps to further develop existing methodologies
and solutions. Also, it helps to speed up and expand the development of IT systems,
which are being developed at the moment.
• Environmental Investment Fund. Some of the assessments of the protected areas and
monitoring of the species are financed from the national fund. Also, the Nature Obser
vation Application was financed from the Fund, which is used to involve volunteers in
the biodiversity monitoring.
• Cohesion Fund 2021 2027. Restoration of habitats to increase preparedness for ad
—
aptation to climate change. Species and habitats action plans and protected areas
management plans prepared by Swiss contribution will be used to select the restoration
sites at the end of this financial period and in the following period.
First Swiss Contribution
With the help of First Swiss Contribution, the capability of environmental (water, air and radia
tion) monitoring was increased, but specifically monitoring and protection of the biodiversity
was not supported.
Social Inclusion and Climate change mitigation and adaptation
Structure of the management plans will be improved, and new topics will be covered. Topics
that have not been covered or have been covered insufficiently in existing management plans
are how to mitigate the impact of climate change on species and habitats, what the social
impacts of protected areas are, how protected areas are integrated in the overall green infra
structure, how to manage forest habitats in buffer zones, how cumulative impacts on habitats
and species need to be analysed.
Also, Citizen Science will be improved and volunteers will be involved in the biodiversity mon
itoring. Where possible, this will be integrated into the monitoring schemes and necessary
solutions will be developed. Developed systems will be helpful in preparation and implemen
tation of different nature observation campaigns that would increase citizen awareness about
species and nature conservation issues. With that, we will create better conditions for social
inclusion and initiatives.
New technical solutions will help to speed up the transition towards green energy and climate
neutrality. Nature conservation restrictions and the lack of knowledge about species and hab
itats are often the reasons behind the pace of developments.
Developed IT systems and solutions help to make environmental data easier to access, use
and understand for the citizen. It is necessary to make data more visible and attractive, which
helps to increase interest in data and environmental awareness and improve behaviour and
decision making of the public.
Stakeholders
Stakeholders of the measure are basically all citizens, who will benefit from the preservation
and improvement of the status of species and habitats. Ecosystems provide different services
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from clean air to meditation opportunities. Quality and condition of ecosystems affect the qual
ity of people. Also, developed systems and solutions will bring nature conservation and citizens
closer together. Citizens will be involved in nature observation campaigns and wildlife moni
toring. Developed systems will be used in order to make participation easier and more con
venient, which hopefully will increase the number of volunteers.
It is necessary to collaborate with environmental experts and scientists. Support Measure will
increase the knowledge about the biodiversity and support science and innovation. Also, it
gives the opportunity for the scientists to test and implement new methods and ideas in wildlife
monitoring. Some of the ideas (e.g. eDNA) have been proposed by the scientists. Their role is
also to validate and evaluate the suitability of the new solutions. It is also necessary to create
collaboration between scientists of the natural sciences and IT experts, who must find solutions
how to use new technologies for biodiversity monitoring.
As it is necessary to speed up the transition towards green energy and climate neutrality, wind-
farm developers are the important stakeholders. Nature conservation restrictions and the lack
of knowledge about species and habitats are often the reasons behind the pace of develop
ments. In the design of the wind farms, it is often mandatory to carry out time consuming sur
veys and the number of specialists is also limited, which affects the development. Thanks to
support measure, necessary studies could be carried out over a shorter period.
New tools and solutions are necessary for the public authorities, who are responsible for the
biodiversity protection, monitoring and decision making. Better knowledge is needed to make
science-based decisions to prevent damage to biodiversity and at the same time contribute to
economic activity, including the development of clean energy.
The information acquired from the project will help local municipalities in their general planning
process. The decisions made in spatial planning will take more nature protection needs into
account. The developers and business organisations can refer to the data and when assessing
the effect of their activities on habitats and species.
The stakeholder consultations was carried out on 5thi of June 2023 to elaborate the support
measure proposal for the second loop.
2.3 Impact hypothesis I Objectives
The goal of the Programme is to create the precondition for the improvement of conservation
status of threatened habitats and species through decision making that relies on high-quality
data.
Being part of Europe, our environmental decisions and developments affect the ecosystems
and species populations more widely. Preserving and improving the quality of the ecosystem
services helps to strengthen the socio-economic situation in different fields providing income
and jobs, but also decreasing the negative impact of human activity and climate change. As
Estonia is small and the planned actions of this intervention cover the whole country, it will
affect more or less all people.
Better technological tools and hence the overviews of protected sites make understanding the
need for habitat and species protection more understandable for the public and accurately
described protection measures give the possibility for other institutions to take the initiative and
participate in protection activities.
High-quality data helps to increase the developments, including the developments of wind
farms, which will ensure the necessary energy and security for citizens. Also, developments of
t~1 10/50
wind farms would decrease the pressure for forest cutting and wood burning. This has positive
effect on habitats and green network. Taking into account that most of the car industries are
planning to stop the production of cars with an internal combustion engine by 2030, the need
for electricity will increase significantly in the next decades. This is one example of the potential
positive impact of the measure, but the main objective is to preserve and restore the natural
values through decisions based on high-quality data.
If the protection measures are planned using up-to-date data and a reliable assessment pro
cedure is carried out, it is easier to explain the need of the measures to the government, min
istries and other policy makers, also developers and local people. For example, in Estonia
there is some political resistance to restoring river habitats and people do not understand the
necessity of restoring peatlands.
To achieve the goal of the Programme the existing planning and assessment methodologies
and information systems should be improved. It is important to improve the connection of plan
ning and assessment with the national monitoring schemes and information systems. With the
help of Swiss support, the existing systems and solutions will be taken to the next level.
Planned intervention logic is presented in Annex 1 and in log-frame (4.3).
In summary, if comprehensive and high-quality information, including in sufficient volume is
available, then preconditions for improvement of the conservation status of species and habi
tats are created, because planning and decision making is more justified, relevant information
is taken into account and assessing the effectiveness of the actions is based on more reliable,
qualitative and accurate information.
2.4 Intervention Strategy
The Programme Operator is the Ministry of Climate (MoC). The task of the Ministry of Climate
is to create conditions that guarantee a species-rich natural environment and a clean-living
environment for the people of Estonia today and for future generations and that ensures the
sustainable use of natural resources. MoC coordinates the Support Measure Programme prep
aration and implementation and is responsible for Programme design and monitoring, also for
communication activities at the programme level.
The Programme goal will be achieved by implementing two Programme components that are
linked by a common theme biodiversity. Programme Components will be implemented by
-
state authorities under the jurisdiction of the MoC (Administrative area I Ministry of Climate
(kliimaministeerium.ee’~).
Programme Component 1 “Development of innovative monitoring technologies/solu
tions and improvement of Environmental databases and systems”
For Programme Component 1 the Programme Component Operator- is Estonian Environ
ment Agency (Keskkonnaagentuur or abbreviated KAUR). KAUR is a state authority admin
istered by the Ministry of Climate. KAUR is responsible for the fulfilment of the national envi
ronmental monitoring programme, the preparation of national and international reports in the
field of environment, evaluating environmental status, ensuring vital services, including
weather forecasts, and the maintenance and renewal of monitoring stations and equipment.
The tasks of the KAUR in the field of biodiversity are to collect, process and publish information
about nature and nature protection in Estonia, fulfil the national and international reporting
obligations and maintain nature protection databases. The information on nature and nature
protection collected in databases are the foundation of the preservation of objects under pro
tection, species and their habitats.
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The KAUR will be responsible for delivering outputs connected to development of new tech
nologies and innovative monitoring solutions and improvement of databases and systems.
As a partner organisation the Information Technology Centre of the Ministry of the Envi
ronment (KeMIT) will be involved, since KEMIT is responsible for IT tools and services for the
employees in the administrative area of the Ministry of Climate and environmental e-services
for the public.
Programme Component 2 “Implementation of a systematic assessment of the social
and conservation outcomes of protected areas”
For Programme Component 2 the Programme Component Operator is Environmental Board
of Estonia (Keskkonnaamet or abbreviated KeA). KeA is a government agency which oper
ates within the area of the Ministry of Climate. The main task of KeA is to implement state
policies on environmental use, nature conservation and radiation safety and to monitor the
fulfilment of the laws and norms established for the protection of the natural environment. KeA
provides services related to nature conservation, for example: planning of activities related to
the organisation of nature conservation, management of permits for activities related to nature
conservation restrictions, organisation of nature conservation work, organising surveys of bio
diversity values and assessing the effectiveness of nature conservation.
The KeA will be responsible for delivering outputs connected to the enhancing the process of
the effective conservation management planning. As the conservation objectives and
measures are revised and they are more specific and goal-oriented, it is easier to plan conser
vation activities. The support measure helps to set site-specific, clear, precise and quantifiable
conservation objectives, underpinned by scientifically reliable favourable reference values.
To fulfil their main .tasks KeA uses the data provided by the KAUR. Also KAUR receives the
input into KAUR databases from KeA. Thus, two Programme Components are closely re
lated to each other.
For example, the use of the output of Programme Component 1 that is up-to-date data and
new technological tools that help carrying out assessments of conservation effectiveness and
conservation measures~ make conservation management planning in Estonia more effective
and less time-consuming and can be used by KeA to update conservation management plans
of protected areas and action plans for species and habitats.
2.5 Beneficiaries
Direct beneficiaries
Direct beneficiaries of the Support Measure are KAUR and KeA who are responsible for the
implementation of the monitoring schemes, organization of the protection of protected areas
and assessment of the efficiency of protection measures. Also KEMIT as responsible for IT
tools and services and development of the databases and systems.
Indirect beneficiaries
Indirect beneficiaries are the State Forest Management Centre who carry out protection ac
tivities on state land according to conservation management plans and also local municipal
ities who use the data of habitats and species and also the information provided by conserva
tion management plans in their overall planning of green infrastructure.
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As the beneficiaries are public authorities, they work for the public. Decisions and develop
ments affect the whole population. it also has a cross-border effect as Estonian protected ar
eas are part of the EU Natura 2000 network and only a few species live only in Estonia. So,
measures implemented in Estonia affect the populations which are part of much wider popu
lations. Most Estonians (1.3 M people) benefit more or less directly from this Measure and
more or less indirectly the whole Europe benefits from it.
2.6 Programme Component Characteristics and regional focus
Is the benefit of the Project national or regional? NationaliXi Regional D
if regional, indicate the benefiting NUTS-2 region(s):
2.7 Overview Swiss Support Measure Partners
Is/are a/several Swiss Support Measure Partner(s) foreseen to be YesLi No~
involved in and contributing to the implementation of the Support
Measure?
Institutional partnership is not planned, however, the Environmental Board will organise two
study trips to Switzerland (they have contacted the Swiss National Park): five days for six spe
cialists each, the emphasis of one or the study trips is habitat protection and the emphasis of
the other study trip is species protection. The aim of the trips is to learn about conservation
management planning/strategies, habitat and species data collection, using GIS). Also Envi
ronment Agency will have one study trip to Switzerland in late stage of the programme to share
the experiences and present the results. Some of the planned public procurements exceed
international threshold and Swiss organizations can participate in the process and make their
offer.
Name of the partner organisation
If collaboration foreseen in Pro
gramme Component, indicate name
of Component
Partnership status Choose an &ement,
Type of organisation Choose an eiement.
Type of support or partnership Choose an e’ement.
Name of contact person
Position
Correspondence address
Webpage and social media (if any)
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E-Mail
Phone Mobile
Has the partner organisation been previously involved in the Swiss Yes LI NoD
Contribution
2.8 Sustainability
Sustainability in terms of financial viability:
National budget is reserved for implementing routine monitoring schemes and maintaining the
information systems. Developed methods should be cost-efficient and development of IT sys
tems should decrease the human workload. Improvement of the decision making will have a
positive effect as well as the decisions will be more science-based and take into account pos
sible negative consequences to the ecosystems. Preserving the condition is cheaper than re
storing them. After the project, thanks to the monitoring programme, we are able to maintain
and further develop the methods and systems.
The main result for the KeA is that the protection effectiveness of protected areas will be as
sessed and the process of preparing conservation management plans and national action
plans for species and habitats is more effective. KeA will be able to carry on conservation
management planning using the national budget. The Support Measure will help the KeA to
review its current conservation management planning practices in order to match them with
contemporary needs.
Sustainability in terms of capacity building:
One of the challenges for the KeA is the lack of experts in Estonia who can carry out inventories
and gather the data of habitats and species. In order to carry out inventories of habitats and
species it is necessary to raise the level of expertise among conservation management plan
ning and conservation management specialists in the KeA. The competence of the specialists
can be improved by organising seminars and study trips in the frames of Programme. It is also
possible to use foreign experts (e.g. Swiss experts).
Another challenge is the opposition to conservation measures and activities among the repre
sentatives of local people and developers. So, it is necessary to involve stakeholders in the
conservation planning process and find the solutions that are acceptable to the people living
in or near the site. Involving stakeholders to conservation management planning can be time-
consuming, so it is necessary to analyse how it should be carried out effectively and plan it
regarding the specifics of the area.
2.9 Overview tentative budget
Please see 4.6.
2.10 Other strategic issues
N/A
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3. Support Measure readiness
3.1 Context
Is the Support Measure proposal a continuation of a Project or Pro- YesEl Not~
gramme supported under the Swiss Contribution (I)?
Was the Support Measure proposal declined during a funding-application YesEl Not~
process by other donors (e.g. EU, Norway/EEA)?
If it was declined, explain why.
3.2 Preparation process and documents
Feasibility study None necessary I Not applicable
Baseline study, assessment or analysis None necessary I Not applicable
Neither a feasibility study nor a baseline study is necessary.
Estimated number of tender dossiers to # of dossier not yet prepared 4
be prepared
# of dossier provisionally pre- 0
pared
# of dossier completely pre- 0
pared
Permit(s)/Authorisations required and YesEl N0IXI
pending?
If permit(s)/authorisation(s) required,
specify (e.g. building, environmental, pur
chase of land etc.) and note when the cor
responding permit(s)/authorisation(s) are
expected.
Are legislative changes necessary to im- Yes El No~
plement the Support Measure?
If legislative changes are necessary, ex
plain and note when the corresponding
change is expected to have been made.
Are other (political) decisions necessary YesEl N0IXI
to implement the Support Measure?
If other (political) decisions are necessary,
explain and note when the corresponding
decisions are expected to have been
taken.
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Implementation of the Programme can start immediately after the signing of the Support
Measure Agreement.
3.3 Application for funds from Support Measure Preparation Fund
Is support from the Support Measure Preparation Fund requested? Yesl~ NoLJ
Support Measure Preparation Fund was requested by the MoC to cover Programme Opera
tor’s costs connected to the preparation of the second-stage Support Measure Proposal. The
Preparation Fund was used for Programme Operator’s staff costs assigned to preparation of
the second-stage Support Measure Proposal. Also, for stakeholders consultation, signing cer
emony and study trip to Switzerland.
4. Operational Support Measure description
4.1 Applying organisation (Executing Agency)
4.1.1 Financial and personnel information (only to be completed for non-state
institutions)
Date of establishment N/A Tax number (if applicable) N/A
Number of employees N/A
Financial Turnover for each of the 3 previous years [in Choose.] N/A
Ministry of Climate is a governmental authority which performs the functions provided by law
and the functions assigned by the Government of the Republic pursuant to law.
4.1.2 Organisation structures of Executing Agency and Support Measure
The Programme Operator is the Ministry of Climate (MoC), that was formed on the basis of
the Ministry of the Environment on 01.07.2023. By this reorganisation the area of responsibility
of the Ministry of the Environment was significantly extended: transport, energy, housing and
construction, maritime economy were transferred from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and
Communications to the formed Ministry of Climate. The main aim of this reorganisation is to
implement the green reform more effectively. The structure and responsibilities of the MoC are
assigned by the statute of the ministry (htt s://www.rii iteata~a.ee/aktJ108O72023OO5
The management structure of the MoC is presented on the scheme bellow (scheme 1). Min
istry is directed by the Minister. The Secretary General of a ministry directs the work of the
structural units of the ministry, co-ordinates the activities of state authorities within the area of
government of the ministry and manages the operations of the ministry. There are seven Dep
uty Secretary Generals and 24 departments in the MoC. The main departments that are directly
involved into implementation of the Support Measure are Financial Department and Biodiver
sity Protection Department (they are marked with coloured rings on the scheme). The main
tasks of the Financial Department are to coordinate and organise the budgeting and financial
management of the ministry and the area of government, including monitoring and analysing
budget implementation, organising financial reporting, organising the development and use of
support programmes and measures financed by external funds and monitoring their use. The
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main tasks of the Biodiversity Protection Department are to design and organise the imple
mentation of nature protection policy, including soil protection policy.
Other departments (for example Public Relations Department, Legal Department etc) of the
MoC will be involved upon need based on the procedures of the MoC. The tasks of the depart
ments are fixed internally in the statutes of the departments.
Scheme 1: mana ement structure of the MoC
Minister
EreaitteeAaalstmtt and
Internal Audit Adnaees to the Umister
Secretary
General
Human Resources Dept
Deputy Deputy Deputy
Secretary General OePi.ott’ Secretary General Secretary General Deputy Deputy Deputy
on Environmental Secretary General cii Energy and on Living Secretary General Secretary
on MaritimeGeneral
Affairs Secretary General
on Innovation
Strategy and
Protection and on Green Transition Maneral Resources Envitonment and on Mobility ~ Water Resources
BioLogical Diversity Circular Economy
Biodinersuty Protection Green TraoaOon Dept. GreW Dept Circular Economy Dept Mainlty Devdopmeot Manse Environment Criti, Management cod
Dept aeudhtveattnentsllept Dept tTSecumty Dept
SEnsate Dept. Mineral Re000tceo Dept Building and Uting
Envitomsental Environment Dept. Road and Railways Dept Mactime Dept Financial Dept
Manegement cml latematiroral Attain Ambient ilti Dept
Radiation Dept Dept. AviaSan Dept Wasne Dept. Strategy, ktalysis and
Digital Ounces Dept
Forest Dept
Public Relatlono Dept
Legal Dept.
7 Deputy SecretatyGenetals
24 depanmenia ( tiative Dept Adnrmiottittve Dept.
The jurisdictional structure of the MoC is presented on the scheme 2. Both Programme
Component Operators are within the area of government of the ministry and financed from
state budget. Estonian Environmental Aciency is the state authority and Environmental Board
is governmental authority (they are marked with coloured rings on the scheme). The manage
ment structure of Programme Component Operators is presented in 6.2 and 9.2.
Scheme 2: jurisdictional structure of the MoC
a
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Ministry of Climate
State Owned Public Limited State Authorities Governmental
Companies and Foundations Authorities
• State Forest Management Center • AS Eesti Raudtee Estonian Environment Estonian Transport
• Estonian Environmental Research Center • AS Saarte timid Agency Administration
• AS~kosil AS Tallinna Lennujaam Estonian Museum of
• SA Keskkonnainvesteeringute Keskus AS Tallinna Sadam Environmental Board
Natural History
• AS &LA.R.A. • 00 Rail Baltic Estonia
• Elering AS • oh Trarispordi Varahaldus IT Centre of the Ministry of
• Estonian Air Navigation Services Estonian National Committee of tire the Environment (KEMIT)
• AS Nordic Aviation Group World Energy Council
• AS Operail Estonian State Fleet
Geological survey of Estonia
4.1.3 Support Measure management team
Will external management personnel be hired to implement the Support YesE No~
Measure?
What personnel capacity will be dedicated Internal resources External resources
for the management of the Support Measure
implementation (in full-time equivalents 0,3 FTE
FTE)?
Programme will be managed by the Programme Operator (MoC). 0,3 FTE of the internal re
sources will be dedicated for this task: 0,15 FTE in Financial Department and 0,15 FTE in
Biodiversity Protection Department. The Financial Department acts as the main managing unit
within the Programme Operator. Financial Department will have the coordinating role and will
be the main contact point at the Programme level. Biodiversity Protection Department is re
sponsible for the Programme’s thematic area. The tasks of the employees and officials of the
MoC are regulated with job descriptions and other relevant documents. The Programme Op
erator will guide and monitor the implementation of the Programme Components. Annual ac
tivities are defined in the annual work plan of the ministry. During year work plan is regularly
monitored. Each Programme Component Operator will nominate the Programme Component
manager, who will coordinate the implementation of the concrete component. The manage
ment team at the Programme Component level is described in 6.3 and 9.3.
There will be Task Force for ongoing monitoring, that will meet at least two times per year and
will consist of Programme Operator, Programme Component Operators, National Coordination
Unit and Partner (KEMIT).
As prescribed by the Regulations there will be the Steering Committee established by the
National Coordination Unit, that will be composed at least from the NCU, SCO, Programme
Operator and Programme Component Operator. The Steering Committee will supervise the
progress of implementation and make suggestions for improvements and approve modifica
tions to the Support Measure. The Steering Committee will meet at least once per year.
~<1
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The Programme Operator will also participate at Annual Meetings of the Cooperation Pro
gramme.
The function mentioned in Regulations Article 6.8 p.3 will be implemented by the State Shared
Service Centre. In accordance with the Regulations Article 3.4.2. no Intermediate Bodies shall
be set up for the implementation of the Support Measure. State Shared Service Centre, which
acts as the competence centre for the implementation of structural and other funds in Estonia,
carries out the tasks in accordance with Article 6.8 p.3 of the Regulations for the implementa
tion of the Support Measure. The activities that are carried out in accordance with Article 6.8
p.3 by the State Shared Service Centre are financed from the Support Measure. The fulfilment
of the functions of the National Coordination Unit, which is located in the same organization
and is financed from the Technical Assistance Fund, is completely separated from these ac
tivities.
The implementation scheme of the Programme is attached in Annex 7.
Are CVs attached to this documentation? YesLI No~
Are terms of reference for the management functions to be established Yes LI N0IXI
attached to this documentation?
4.1.4 Programme and project management experience
The ministry has a comprehensive experience on use, management and monitoring of grants
allocated by the European Union or other donors, as pursuant to the act of Government of the
Republic, the minister monitors the accurate and purposeful implementation of the budget and
the purposeful use of funds, aid and grants in the area of government of the ministry. Ministry
coordinates and organises the development and use of support programmes and measures
financed by external funds (European Regional Development Fund, Cohesion Fund, Just Tran
sition Fund, Recovery and Resilience Facility, European Economic Area and Norwegian Fi
nancial Mechanisms, Swiss-Estonian Cooperation Programme) and monitors their use. Also,
ministry is involved as project leader or partner into implementation of concrete projects.
As described in the previous sections the Ministry of Climate was formed on the basis of Min
istry of the Environment (MoE). MoE was the intermediate body for the programme “Enhanc
ing public environmental monitoring capacities” supported by the previous Swiss Contri
bution in amount of 8 426 189,90 CHF. The objective of the programme was to enhance public
environmental monitoring capacities for the whole country in order to reduce environmental
pollution, to increase the quality of environmental information and living standards and to pro
mote sustainable economic development. As clean water resources, high ambient air quality
and radiation safety are of vital importance for humans and ecosystems, the programme was
focused on development of surveillance capacities in these sectors. The biodiversity monitor
ing was not covered by previous contribution.
Ministry of Climate acts as lead partner in several LIFE Integrated Projects:
• “Comprehensive management of forest and farming landscapes to improve the
conservation status of Natura 2000 habitats and species” (LIFE18 IPEIEE/000007,
ForEst&FarmLand, 3 FTE). Implementation period 01 .01 .2020 31.12.2029. Total eli
-
gible budget is 19561 784 EUR, from which EU contribution is 11 611 434 EUR. The
main objective of the project is to implement the most critical part of the Estonian Pri
oritised Actions Framework (PAF) for Natura 2000 related to forests and agricultural
land. The aims are 1) to improve the conservation status of forest and farmland habitats
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and species to achieve results that benefit whole ecosystems; 2) to improve conserva
tion practices and collaboration between administrative authorities; and 3) to raise
awareness and capacity of main stakeholders and general public, including the use of
innovative conservation tools and solutions.
“Development of an integrated water management and its modern tools in Esto
nia strategic choices for future” (LIFE17IPE/EE/000007, CleanEST). Implementa
-
tion period 01.01.2019 31.12.2028). Total budget is 16666000 EUR. The main ob
-
jective of the project is to implement the most critical part of the East Estonian water
management plan. The project’s main fields of activity are reducing harmfulness of re
sidual pollution, identifying and restoring the goods of ecosystems, developing solu
tions to reduce the pressure from agriculture on the environment, identification of the
need for reclamation of the local management systems, liquidation of migration barriers
to improve the ecological status of the rivers, increasing environmental awareness.
There are 4,8 FTE from MoC involved in this project.
• “Implementation of national climate change adaptation activities in Esto
nia” (LIFE21 -IPC-EE-LIFE-SIP AdaptEstll 01069566). Implementation period
01 .01 .2023 —31 .03.2032. Total eligible budget is 18859 312 EUR, form which EU
contribution is 11 294 017 EUR. Climate Change Adaptation Development Plan until
2030 sets eight subgoals based on the priority sectors of the economic and adminis
trative structure in the Republic of Estonia (independently and partially combined) from
which the implementation of five is supported by the project: (1) health and rescue
capacity, (2) land use and planning, (3) natural environment, (4) bioeconomy, (5) so
ciety, awareness and cooperation.
• “Pursuing Estonian national climate ambition through smart and resilient reno
vation” (LIFE2O IPC/EE/000010). Implementation period 01 .11.2021 — 31.12.2028.
Total eligible budget is 16 226711 EUR, form which EU contribution is 9 500 000 EUR.
The long-term objective of the project is to increase the ambition, and pave the way for
reducing CO2 emissions, of Estonia’s existing building stock by up to 100% (—4.5 mil
lion tCO2/yr) by 2050. In the short-term, the project aims to pursue the 2030 goal of
reducing the C02 emissions by 32% (—1.4 million tCO2/yr). Achieving the objectives
will help to mitigate the effect that energy performance of buildings has on climate
change.
4.2 Detailed intervention strategy and activities
4.2.1 Detailed description of activities and intervention strategy
One of the objectives of the programme is to enhance wildlife monitoring through the testing
and implementation of new solutions and technologies. New technology will be integrated into
monitoring schemes. For example, 3D bird radars will be used in bird monitoring, which will
increase the accuracy of the data and also, it will increase the efficiency and operativeness.
There are few programmes that support testing new solutions and tools in wildlife monitoring
and this is one of the reason that this field is not developing as fast as it could. It is especially
important to implement new and old methods at the same time in order to calibrate the results,
so the longtime series of data sets will be continued. Also, eDNA, laser binoculars and other
suitable tools and solutions will be tested and integrated into monitoring schemes.
Environment Agency is developing Al for the monitoring of game species. According to the
existing method, data of the game species is collected in winter and the presence of snow
cover is important. Due to the climate change, Estonian winters are smoother and there are
fewer days with snow cover, especially in areas that are close to the sea. Developing and using
Al is one alternative for the existing method. That also requires great amount of tracking cam
eras. Development of the Al and purchasing of the tracking cameras is financed from other
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funds, but additional personnel is necessary in order to speed up the training and using of the
Al and implement new Random Encounter Model in game species monitoring. At the moment
there are around 100 cameras in use, but by 2024 there will be 700. There are 7 times more
work in installing cameras and managing data. After the new system is in place and Al is smart
enough to sort empty pictures and recognize different species, this extra person is no longer
required.
As the main objective of the Swiss Support is to improve decision making through qualitative
data, it is important to improve IT systems and databases that would decrease human work,
help to analyse great amount of data and make it easier to understand. Data is often scattered
in different systems and quality of data varies. It is necessary to bring the data together, de
velop analytical tools and make it more attractive, visible, and understandable. Also, it is also
necessary to improve citizen science. Citizen science can play an important role by filling data
gaps where conventional data sources may not be sufficient, providing complementary tem
poral and spatial data that supports official monitoring systems. Besides collecting additional
data, promoting citizen science gives the opportunity to raise environmental awareness.
The second component of the programme is related to enhancing the protection of natural
values in protected areas and endangered species. So far, the effectiveness of protection
measures has been evaluated in few protected areas, so it is not clear which protection
measures are the most effective for protecting species and habitats. Therefore, an evaluation
of effectiveness of protected areas is carried out, and based on these results, it is necessary
to update area-based conservation management plans. Management plans must also take
into account those aspects that have not been paid attention to, e.g. how to contribute to the
survival of species and habitats in changing climate conditions. Also, how to integrate conser
vation management plans (the state’s responsibility) into the green networks specified in gen
eral plans of municipalities. Improving the effectiveness of the green network is also important
for achieving the conservation objectives of the protected area by providing green corridors for
the spread of species between the areas. In order to evaluate the effectiveness, it is necessary
to carry out additional inventories, otherwise it is not possible to have adequate up-to-date
information about the status of species and habitats in protected areas. In order to ensure the
uniform quality of the inventories, the inventory methodologies will be updated, and inventory
guidelines will be prepared for those habitat groups where they are still missing.
Area based conservation objectives are not enough to achieve the favorable status of species
and habitats. For this purpose, nationwide objectives will be set, including favorable reference
values for each species and habitat, and measures on how to achieve the objectives. For this
purpose, national action plans for habitat and species will be prepared for those habitat groups
and protected species, where this has not yet been done. In addition to determining the threat-
ness of species according to the Red List, species are divided into different protection catego
ries, which are subject to different rules. For example, 100% of the localities of species of
protection category I must be protected, at least 50% of localities of species of protection cat
egory II, and at least 10% of localities of species of protection category Ill. The current distri
bution needs to be reassessed because, for various reasons, the status of some species has
improved in the meantime and that of other species has deteriorated. Designation of updated
protection categories will help to protect more effectively those species that need it most.
The inventories made by the Environmental Board are inserted into the database managed by
the Environmental Agency, the results of the inventory are the basis for national monitoring,
while additional information about the natural values of protected areas can be obtained based
on the monitoring results. Creating an automatic transfer between the Estonian nature infor
mation system (data on protected areas, protected species, inventories) and the monitoring
database enables the use of relevant information, so that there is no need to use different
databases. Manual workload will be reduced. The information needed to manage the protected
areas will be relevant, and easy to use for both state authorities and the wider public. The
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protection of natural values is more effective, is based on data that is comprehensible to all,
and ensures the improvement of the status of species and habitats. Greater involvement of
interest groups and voluntary monitoring will help to improve the understanding of the need to
protect nature more broadly. These are the basic conditions for the general improvement of
the state of nature, which in turn helps to contribute to the fulfillment of the goals and the targets
of Global Biodiversity Framework.
4.2.2 Detailed description of selection process for Programme Components
Not relevant, as all components have been selected.
4.2.3 Communication activities
Programme’s launching and closing event is organized by the Ministry of Climate. We are
planning to involve media, stakeholders and competent authorities on both events for the pur
pose of increasing awareness of Programme and also environmental awareness.
We are planning to send joint press releases and social media posts once a year during the
implementation period. Throughout the period, the public will be informed about the progress
of the programme through various activities by Programme Component Operators. Also, we
are monitoring media (articles, press releases etc) through “Station” (Estonian media monitor
ing programme).
There will be communication activities (articles, social medias posts, television and/or radio)
at the Programme Components level (Annex 1,3.1):
Environmental Agency
• We will use our social media channels (Facebook and Instagram) to post news of the
results of the project (at least 20). Our Facebook page has approximately 10 000 fol
lowers;
• Social media boosts: we will boost important and attractive posts (2) and with that, our
posts will reach at least 200 000 social media users;
• We will publish at least 4 blog posts, which will be shared in the list of journalists. With
that, we can reach biggest Estonian newspapers (Postimees, Delfi, Pãevaleht, Maaleht
etc), both paper and web, which are covering most of the population in Estonia;
• 8 articles of the new solutions and technologies in the wildlife monitoring (Al, 3D radars,
etc), target group wider public;
• 2 events where new solutions and technologies will be demonstrated, target group up
to 150 persons, experts in the field and data users (scientists, hunters, windfarm de
velopers, etc). This will also enhance networking and collaboration among different
stakeholders;
• Citizen science campaigns (20) to involve volunteers in wildlife monitoring. During the
campaigns we aim to reach up to 1000 people;
• 2 bigger events for volunteers to present the results of the campaigns, recognize vol
unteers, enhance networking and collaboration for the future. This helps to strengthen
the network and also this helps to bring the results of the project to more people through
dedicated people. Target group up to 150 persons, volunteers, wildlife enthusiasts and
specialists, active community members and environmental specialists of the local coun
ties;
• Television, we will propose our topics at least to 2 national broadcasts and shows like
Terevisioon (80 000 viewers) and Osoon (160 000 180 000 viewers);
—
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• At least 8 appearances/interviews on radio shows (e.g Vikerraadio, Okoskoop etc).
Vikerraadio is the most listened radio (120 000 listeners/day and during a week they
can reach up to 228 000 people);
• In the final stage of the project, we plan to make a presentation in Switzerland to intro
duce the results of the project to interested target groups (wildlife experts and special
ists, scientists, officials, financiers of the programme, etc) who could benefit from our
experience and who could replicate the results.
The Environmental Board
• The overall communication and management costs for Programme Component 2 in
clude newspaper and social media articles (e.g more than 36,000 print circulation of
the national newspaper, more than 12,000 Facebook users) and compilation of the
webpage. Examples of management plans and action plans are translated into English.
• When assessing the management effectiveness (Activity 1) of larger areas where dif
ferent stakeholders are involved, meetings are organised to introduce the results of the
assessment and get the input from stakeholders. There is a need to publish newspaper
advertisements in local and/or national newspapers, introduce the topic on the
webpage. When organising meetings with stakeholders it may be necessary to rent
rooms and organise coffee breaks. During hybrid meetings it is necessary to rent extra
technical equipment for audio and video solutions. The results of management effec
tiveness assessment will be introduced to the public: a digital i~eport/summary will be
published in Estonian and English. The report has to be digitally designed.
• In the process of preparing of site-based management plans (Activity 2) interest groups
are involved. The project will produce a total of 64 management plans. All of them are
introduced to the public on the website (www.keskkonnaamet.ee), newspaper adver
tisements are published in local or national newspapers, meetings are organised (in-
person meetings, hybrid meetings using MS Teams), letters are sent to stakeholders.
When organising meetings with stakeholders it is necessary to rent rooms and organise
coffee breaks. During hybrid meetings it may be necessary to rent extra technical
equipment for audio and video solutions.
• In the process of preparing habitat action plans (Activity 2) interest groups are involved.
The project will produce at least three habitat plans. They are introduced to the public
on the website (www.keskkonnaamet.ee), newspaper advertisements are published in
national newspapers, meetings are organised (in-person meetings, using MS Teams),
letters are sent to stakeholders. During hybrid meetings it may be necessary to rent
extra technical equipment for audio and video solutions. When organising meetings
with stakeholders it is necessary to rent rooms and organise coffee breaks.
• In the process of proposing the changes in protection categories of species and pre
paring action plans for protected species (Activity 3) interest groups (mostly universities
and experts) are involved. The project will produce 60 action plans. When preparing
the action plans http://www.keskkonnaamet.ee/ meetings with experts/universities are
organised (in-person meetings, hybrid meetings using MS Teams). When organising
meetings it is necessary to rent rooms and organise coffee breaks. During hybrid meet
ings it may be necessary to rent extra technical equipment for audio and video solution.
• Communication with local authorities (79 local municipalities): one seminar per year
(conservation management and green infrastructure) is organised. The costs include
advertisements, room rent, coffee breaks, renting equipment for audio and video solu
tions.
4.2.4 Detailed implementation schedule
Please see annex 6.
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a
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4.3 Logframe
Hierarchy of objectives Key Indicators Sources & Means of Vent i- Assumptions & Risks
Strategy of Intervention (mci. target values and baseline) cation (External Factors)
Impact Impact Indicators Impact: Sources and Means of
Verification
Improved conservation status of Proportion of habitat types and species National reports and data- Depends on other measures
threatened habitats and species with an improved status, 30% by 2030. bases implemented in Estonia.
The baseline is the 2019 assessment of
the Habitats Directive Article 17 report. A
30% improvement should be achieved
compared to the results of this report
(therefore baseline is 0).
Outcomes (Support Measure objectives Outcome Indicators Outcome: Sources and Means Outcome
/purpose) of Verification Assumptions & Risks
1. The efficiency and reliability of bio- 1. Data collected as part of the biodiver- 1. Estonian Nature Infor- • insufficient financing of
diversity monitoring has improved sity monitoring programme reaches the mation system; National Bi- national biodiversity mon
databases within one year through auto- odiversity Monitoring Pro- itoring programme and bi
2. The effectiveness of management mated process gramme odiversity protection in
planning of protected areas as well as Baseline: no automated process, most of the future due the na
protected species and habitats has the date reaches databases within more 2. Support Measure Corn- tionai security and
improved than one year pietion Report with exam- changes in priorities and
pies of guidelines, manage- that can affect the sus
2. New guidelines for drawing up man- ment and action plans tainability
measure of the support
agement plans of protected areas have • Institutional reforms
been implemented • Changes in legislation
Baseline: The previous guidelines are
outdated (2012, updated 2018)
Outputs: Support Measure deliverables/re- Output Indicators Output:
Sources and Means of Verifica- Output
suits per outcome tion Assumptions & Risks
1.1. Existing IT systems (databases At least 4 additional connections or tools Support Measure Comple Risks:
and portals) and their connectivity is for the exchange of data between the IT tion describing the connec
improved • Price of the services and
systems have been established tivity of IT systems
equipment will increase
Baseline: 0 for additional connections • IT developments take
and tools (overall, IT systems has already longer than planned
many other existing connections and • The number of potential
tools) service providers (includ
1 .2. New technologies and novel so- At least 5 new developed and piloted so- National Biodiversity Moni ing experts) is limited that
lutions for biodiversity monitoring are lutions (Random Encounter Method, Arti- toring Programme impacts public procure
mapped, developed, tested and im- ficial Intelligence, 3D bird radar, eDNA ments and public pro
plemented and, other new technical solutions that curements may fail
will be worked out in first stage of the pro • The quality of services is
ject low
Baseline: 0 • Being unable to hire the
2.1. Site-based and national conser • The effectiveness of the management • Support Measure Com personnel for the pro
vation objectives and measures for of at least 300 protected objects (dif pletion with examples of g ramme
protected species and habitats are ferent types of protected areas) is as guidelines, manage
revised sessed ment and action plans
Baseline: 0 (using new methodology) • Final report of manage
ment effectiveness as
• 5 action plans for habitats; 64 conser
sessment
2.2. The conservation management vation management plans for pro
tected areas using a new format, 5 • Management plans and
plans of protected areas, action plans habitats action plans are
action plans for habitats and 24% of
for species and habitats are revised compiled and are pub
all the protected species in Estonia
and updated have action plans licly available through
the database
Baselines: 2 action plans for habitats; 0 • The draft regulation for
conservation management plans for pro the change of protection
tected areas (using the new format) categories of species is
• 16% of all the protected species in prepared.
Estonia have action plans. The pro
tection categories of all the protected
species’ groups (not separate spe
cies) are evaluated
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Baseline: 0
• Draft document to change the regu
lations of protection categories is pre
pared
Baseline: 0
• The toolset for conservation manage
ment effectiveness assessment is set
up and in use in the Environmental
Board
Baseline: 0
3.Competence of the specialists as • At least 21 trainings/seminars • Annual Support Meas
well as public awareness and en • At least 8 study trips ure Reports
gagement is improved • A network of volunteers is created • Registration lists
• At least 20 campaigns to involve vol • In crosscutting indicator
unteers in wildlife monitoring the disaggregation of
• 2 bigger events for volunteers training participants
• 2 bigger events for stakeholders only by gender, but not
along disadvantaged
• At least 8 articles of the new solutions
and non-disadvantaged
in wildlife monitoring
groups will be made
• At least 8 appearances in radio
shows
• At least 2 appearances in TV shows
• 1 presentation in Switzerland to intro
duce the results of the project
• CC_Cl_i Number of people benefit
ing from training to improve institu
tional and professional capacity
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4.4 Swiss Support Measure Partner(s)
Institutional partnership is not planned, however, the Environmental Board will organise two
study trips to Switzerland (they have contacted the Swiss National Park): five days for six spe
cialists each, the emphasis of one of the study trips is habitat protection and the emphasis of
the other study trip is species protection. The aim of the trips is to learn about conservation
management planning/strategies, habitat and species data collection, using GIS). Also Envi
ronment Agency will have one study trip to Switzerland in late stage of the programme to share
the experiences and present the results. Some of the planned public procurements exceed
international threshold and Swiss organizations can participate in the process and make their
offer.
4.5 Stakeholder consultations
Stakeholder consultation took place on the 5th of June 2023. The invitation was sent to about
150 persons and institutions: to all local authorities, universities, organisations involved into
monitoring or biodiversity protection (please see invitation letter in annex 10). There were 32
participants (please see registration list in annex 10). After the event there was an opportunity
for written feedback (please see afteiword and event materials in annex 10).
At the beginning of the event the objectives and expected results of the programme were introduced
and an overview on the development trends in nature conservation was given. Afterwards each pro
gramme component operator introduced main actions to the participants and two different
workshops were organized where participants had the chance to point out problems, propose
new ideas and actions.
Ideas and actions that were described in the proposal and introduced to the stakeholders, were
all supported. Those were: 3D bird radar, development and training of the Al, including imple
menting the Random Encounter Model more widely in game species monitoring, testing new
solutions and technology in wild life monitoring (eDNA, remote monitoring solutions, automa
tion, laser binoculars, drones with thermos cameras, telemetry surveys), promoting citizen sci
ence and also development of the IT systems.
Stakeholders agreed that data should be easier to collect, more accessible and more under
standable. The interface of different systems was considered necessary which would make
data queries easier and faster. Data up-to-dateness was considered important, especially in
decision-making. Stakeholders pointed out that entering data into databases should be simpli
fied, including creating solutions for mass-data. If possible, some of the IT systems should be
as mobile applications. Testing the capabilities of eDNA was strongly emphasized.
The project activities proposed by the Environmental Board, were also supported. The repre
sentatives of local municipalities said that they would like to participate more in the process of
compiling management plans. They pointed out that updating species data and management
plans is crucial in general planning processes and decision making. It is necessary to know
which areas are suitable for development and planning the use of mineral resources. The En
vironmental Board will organise joint seminars for local municipalities in order to discuss how
conservation management and principles of green infrastructure work together.
The representatives of universities said that they are ready to carry out necessary inventories,
give expert opinions and put together methodologies for habitats inventories. They agreed that
protection categories of species need to be updated as well. Expert opinions about species
give input to action plans and help decision making and law enforcement.
It was pointed out that updated site-based management plans and action plans that describe
objectives, pressures, risks and measures are necessary for environmental impact assess
ment.
In summary, the proposed ideas and activities were supported, no one objected neither con
cept nor content of Programme.
4.6 Tentative Budget
4.6.1 Detailed tentative budget
The budget is attached in Annex 4. Budget is split between three main parts:
1. ManaQement costs:
o This part includes costs only for Programme Management (costs done at the Pro
gramme level). Costs connected to the management and implementation (including
involvement of partners) of the Programme Components are included into the
budget of components.
o This part includes also the costs of State Shared Service Centre for the fulfilment
of the function in accordance with Regulations Article 6.8 p.3 In accordance with
the Regulations Article 3.4.2. no Intermediate Bodies shall be set up for the imple
mentation of the Support Measure. State Shared Service Centre, which acts as the
competence centre for the implementation of structural and other funds in Estonia,
carries out the tasks in accordance with Article 6.8 p.3 of the Regulations for the
implementation of the Support Measure. The activities that are carried out in ac
cordance with Article 6.8 p.3 by the State Shared Service Centre are financed from
the Support Measure. The fulfilment of the functions of the National Coordination
Unit, which is located in the same organization and is financed from the Technical
Assistance Fund, is completely separated from these activities.
2. Programme Component 1 “Development of innovative monitoring technologies/solutions
and improvement of Environmental databases and systems”
3. Programme Component 2 “Implementation of a systematic assessment of the social and
conservation outcomes of protected areas”
~I5O
4~6.2 Tentative Disbursement Plan
Reimbursement 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Period
Estimated reim- 926 117,50 926 117,50 843 284,71 843 284,71 854 997,31 854 997,31 836 038,88 836 038,88 9 122,84
bursement of
Swiss Contribu
tion in CHF
4.7 Risk Analysis and Risk Management
Risk Impact Likeli- Risk level Mitigation measure(s)
[1—5] hood
[1 —5]
Institutional reforms 1 3 Low Internal institutional reform is on
going in the Environmental
Board, but it has low impact on
support measure, because the
project activities can be adjusted
to the new structure of the insti
tution.
Changes in legislation 3 3 Low-Medium Necessary adjustments in the
programme will be made follow
ing the legislative changes
Price of the services 3 3 Low-Medium To mitigate the risk, we have
and equipment will in- taken this into account in the
crease preparation of the budget and we
have added necessary buffer. In
case buffer will be not needed we
will make a proposal to transfer it
to another budget line.
IT developments take 3 4 Medium-High We are already developing pro
longer than planned curement documents to save
time and start as soon as agree
ment is signed.
The number of potential 3 3 Low-Medium To mitigate the risks, we have in-
service providers (in- volved stakeholder in the prepa
cluding experts) is lim- ration of this programme and we
ited that impacts public will actively spread the infor
procurements and pub- mation of the public procure
lic procurements may ments and as the number of po
fail tential service providers is limited
in Estonia, we will use interna
tional public procurements if nec
essary and mandatory according
to the law.
The quality of services 3 3 Low-Medium When ordering services it is nec-
is low essary to plan well ahead and
provide the quality criteria that
need to be followed. The ser
vices have to be described in de
tail in contracts, if work does not
confirm to the contract, a chance
to improve the work is given. It is
necessary to check the quality
services offered regularly.
Risk Impact Likeli- Risk level Mitigation measure(s)
[1 —5] hood
[1 —5]
Institutional reforms 1 3 Low Internal institutional reform is on
going in the Environmental
Board, but it has low impact on
support measure, because the
project activities can be adjusted
to the new structure of the insti
tution.
Changes in legislation 3 3 Low-Medium Necessary adjustments in the
programme will be made follow
ing the legislative changes
Being unable to hire the 4 2 Low-Medium It is necessary to provide the sal-
personnel for the pro- aries that motivate, also, ser
gramme vices can be chosen instead.
Overall Risk Level Support Measure Medium-low
Comments on the overall risk level (if In general we think the risk is low, but there are
any) some risk mentioned above that evaluated as low-
medium.
4.8 Monitoring and Steering
In accordance with Regulations the Support Measure Steering Committee will be established
to supervise the progress of implementation of the Programme and make suggestions for im
provements, to approve in accordance with Regulations any modifications based on the pro
posal by the Programme Operator.
There will be Task Force for ongoing monitoring of the Programme and Programme Compo
nents. The Task Force will propose any modif ications to the Steering Committee.
The resources for Steering Committee and Task Force meetings are foreseen in the Pro
gramme Budget.
4.9 Other operational issues
N/A
5. Annexes
# Annex
1 Intervention logic
2 Overview of Implementation locations
3 Programme Characteristics
a
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Annex
4 Budget
5 Procurement Plan
6 Implementation schedule
7 Implementation scheme
8 Detailed Information to Programme Component 1
8-1 Environment Agency actions and personnel
9 Detailed Information to Programme Component 2
10 Stakeholder consultation
11 Feedback on the recommendations
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Annex 2: Overview of Implementation locations
General (Programme Management)
Location name Address
Ministry of the Climate (Kllimaministeerium) Suur-Ameerika 1, Tallinn
Programme Component 1 “Development of innovative monitoring technologies/solu
tions and improvement of Environmental databases and systems”
Location name Address
Estonian Environment Agency (Keskkonnaagentuur) Mustamäe tee 33, Tallinn
Programme Component 2 “Implementation of a systematic assessment of the social
and conservation outcomes of protected areas”
Location name Address
Environmental Board of Estonia (Keskkonnaamet) Roheline 64, Pärnu
Annex [8]
Detailed Information to Programme Component
Basic Programme Component Information
Title Development of innovative monitoring technologies/so
lutions and improvement of Environmental databases
and systems
Planned Duration [months) 48
Requested Swiss contribu- 2 883 589,89
tion (OH F)
Requested co-financing 85%
rate of Switzerland [%}
~w1
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6. Programme Component Operator
6.1 Basic Information
Name of Programme Corn- Environment Agency
ponent Operator
Type of entity National administration
If type of organization is
“other”, describe the type
briefly
Name of contact person Mr Lauri Klein
Position Wildlife monitoring coordinator
Correspondence address: Mustamãe tee 33, Tallinn, Estonia
E-Mail
[email protected]
[email protected]
Webpage and social media https:I/keskkonnaaqentuur.ee/en
(if any)
https://www.facebook.com/Keskkonnaaqentuu r
Date of establishment 01.06.2013 Tax number (if applicable) EEl 01646790
Number of employees 208 (31.10.2023)
Financial Turnover for each of the 3 previous years [in EUR] 2020 — 12 075 890;
2021 —11 873025;
2022—12 0111 311.
Has the Programme Component Operator previously received YesLi No~
funding from the Swiss Contribution?
6.2 Programme Component Operator Management
Since 1st of April 2022, matrix management is implemented in the Environmental Agency.
There are three functional managers who are responsible for different functions and services.
As seen in the chart, there are six main departments reporting to the director and functional
managers. Wildlife department will be the main department responsible for the management
and implementation of the Swiss-Estonian cooperation programme.
tOvti
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Director
Functional manager o Functional manager o Functional manager Ot
developrnentc anti analysis and reporting data rn inagement and
servicos monitoring
Development and Env*onmnn;ai analysis Data m,nounment and
pi~nrvng departmnnt ~ mon znrinR dn~ar1mnnt
Cnnerai dopariment
Environmental use department
Wildlife department
Forest department
Weather forcast department
Meteorological department
Hydrology department
6.3 Programme Component Management
Will external management personnel be hired to implement the Pro- Yes~ No~1
gramme Component?
What personnel capacity will be dedicated Internal resources External resources
for the management of the Programme Com
ponent implementation (in full-time equiva- 1,0 4,0 FTE
lents FTE)?
It is necessary to use external resources to implement the actions planned with the Swiss
Estonian cooperation programme. All those people will be working in the Wildlife department.
Project manager (full-time, period 2024-2027) (hereinafter the term “project” refers to the term
“Programme Component’) responsible for the project team management and the implemen
—
tation of the actions, preparation of the public procurements, documentation and budget, or
ganizing study trips, communication and translation of the documents, etc. Potential project
manager is already involved in the preparation of the application.
Chief specialist (monitoring specialist, full-time, period 2024-2027) additional employee, who
—
will be responsible for the development, testing and implementation of new monitoring meth
odologies, including contribution to the preparation of the acquisition of mobile 3D bird radar
and responsible for the implementation and integration of the equipment into the national mon
itoring methodologies. In cooperation with scientists and technical experts, map possible novel
methodologies, solutions (eDNA) and equipment (night observation equipment, transmitters,
remote sensing solutions, etc.) to be used in the wildlife and ecosystem monitoring. Arrange
testing of mapped novel monitoring methodologies, equipment, and solutions. Also, monitoring
specialist will be responsible for the involvement of volunteers and organization of the cam
paigns.
Specialist (monitoring assistant, full-time, period 2024-2027) additional employee, who will
—
help to implement the new REM (Random Encounter Model) methodology, contributes to the
collection of data through track cameras, data management and training of the artificial intelli
gence (Al) to be created.
49
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Chief specialist (IT specialist in the Environmental Agency, part-time, internal specialist, work
load 0.5, period 2024-2027) contributes to the compilation of the initial IT tasks: advises the
—
IT developer, tests and introduces the results. A person with the same work load (0.5) will start
working in the IT Centre of the Ministry of the Climate in the period 2024-2027. He/she will be
responsible for the business analyses, organizing IT related public procurements and he/she
will be the main contact person for developers. Also, he/she will be responsible for the quality
of the services.
Specialist (data specialist, full-time, period 2024-2027) organizes the entry and updating of
—
data in Estonian Nature Information System (EELIS) collected within the framework of inven
tories ordered by the Environmental Board. Also contributes to the development of IT systems.
It is more cost-effective to hire a person than outsource the service. It also ensures operational
efficiency, better control of the work and sustainability of the results as it helps to preserve the
institutional memory.
At the moment terms of reference for the functions is not yet established, but main tasks and
actions have been described in the annex.
Are CVs attached to this documentation? YesLi No~
Are terms of reference for the management functions to be established Yes LI No~
attached to this documentation?
6A Programme and Project Management Experience
In the last 5 years, Environment Agency has implemented 9 environmental projects (15 addi
tional FTE-s) and monitoring programmes (2019-2023). Most programmes are implemented
on regular bases and are still ongoing. For example, implementing the national wildlife and
landscape monitoring programme, developing the prototype of Al (game species), developing
the nature observation mobile application.
Wildlife and landscape monitoring programme is mostly financed from national budget. In the
past years, the yearly budget has been 455 000 euros (without VAT, personnel costs ex
cluded), which is used to outsource services (e.g monitoring of eagles, amphibians, flying
squirrels, bats, seals, forest birds, etc.) from wildlife experts. Every year there are around 50
monitoring works. Mostly public procurement is used or simpler procurements which is accord
ance with the law and internal procedures of the Agency. Monitoring team consists of 12 per
sons and their salary is covered from the state budget.
KAUR is the leading partner of the ELME project. The main objective of the project is mapping
and assessment of Estonian ecosystems and related ecosystem services. Besides, new meth
odologies and technologies were tested in wildlife monitoring, including Random Encounter
Methodology (REM), drones and acoustic sensors. Project activities started in 2016 and it will
be finished in the end of 2023. Total cost of the project is 1,65 million euros and it is financed
from the EU Cohesion Fund. Co-financing comes from the state budget and National Environ
mental Programme. Employees responsible for managing the project and implementing the
activities are still working in the Agency.
Also, an Al prototype was developed in 2020-202 1 (duration 15 months), which was financed
from European Regional Development Fund. Total cost of the development was 95 400 euros.
The aim of the project was to develop an Al prototype that could recognize species from the
tracking camera photos. In the first stage, Al had to recognize pictures with animal and without
animal and remove pictures where no animal was recognized. The prototype had to learn two
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species (roe deer and marten), but it was able to learn other species too (accuracy depended
on the quality and number of training photos). Public procurement was used to find the best
developer. Employees responsiblefor the preparation of the public procurement documents
and development of the Al, are still working in the Agency.
7. Programme Component Description
7.1 Short Summary
Goal of this Programme Component is to develop and implement new monitoring methods,
technical solutions and approaches in wildlife monitoring to improve the quality and volume of
the data. Also, cost-efficiency is also taken into account~
Wildlife monitoring has been done for decades using the same methodologies. On the one
hand, it is important to use same methodologies so the data would be comparable and long
time series would not be interrupted, but on the other hand, with the development of technol
ogy, it could be possible to do the same work more efficiently, faster and with higher quality.
Taken into account the costs, including salary and travel costs necessary to conduct field works
and at the same time, the limited number of specialists, new solutions are essential. But it
takes time to test new methods, solutions and approaches and compare the data that was
collected with old methodologies. It is also important to validate new solutions and data.
With the use of modern technological solutions, we hope to achieve a new and higher level in
wildlife monitoring. This will also improve the quality of the environmental decisions as smarter
decisions can be made based on higher quality and more data.
7.2 Activities and Expected Results
Development and implementation of the new methods, technology and approaches (Annex 1,
1 .2.1). This includes acquisition of mobile 3D bird radar and also other new technologies for
wildlife biodiversity monitoring the aim is to map and test new technologies and solutions in
—
wildlife monitoring to increase the quality and reliability of data. More specifically, the ambition
is to create remote sensing solutions for mapping the spread of forest losses and reeds, auto
matic renewal of the maps of ecosystem services completed in previous projects, acquiring
modern technology and testing them in wildlife monitoring (new night observation equipment
for monitoring e.g. Western Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) and Great Snipe (Gallinago media),
drones with thermosensors, binoculars measuring height and distance for bird monitoring,
etc.). Technologies and solutions must be mapped in cooperation with the experts in the field,
which is why the list of activities is left open.
Output: 1 mobile 3D bird radar acquired and at least 3 new methodologies/solutions have been
tested and integrated into wildlife monitoring programme. Result: These new methodolo
gies/solutions can supplement or replace existing ones. Data volume and quality improved.
Wider deployment of Random Encounter Methodology (REM) and training of Artificial Intelli
gence (Al) (Annex 1, 1.2.1) The Environment Agency has tested the REM method to collect
—
data in a small area using track cameras and created a prototype of Al that can identify different
animal species from track camera photos and assess their abundance. The prototype will be
further developed, and 700 track cameras have been procured (financed from the European
Union Cohesion Fund), allowing them to be installed all over Estonia. Over the next years, the
number of track cameras and photos they take, will increase at least by 7 times, which means
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more workload to install and maintain them and to work through the photos cameras automat
ically take. It is temporarily necessary to hire a person to introduce a new methodology and
train Al, which would allow replacing the old methodology with a new one.
Output: Al trained, REM fully developed and tested. Result: The REM methodology has been
applied all over Estonia. Alternative method for monitoring of the game species developed and
time-consuming photo-analysis automated with usage of Al.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) testing (Annex 1, 1 .2.1) in wildlife biodiversity monitoring use of
—
eDNA in biodiversity monitoring is a rapidly developing field, but its potential has not yet been
tested in Estonian national biodiversity monitoring. Potential species or species groups will be
mapped, pilot areas will be selected and eDNA usability will be tested for biodiversity monitor
ing.
Output: usability potential of eDNA is evaluated, method is tested and where appropriate it is
integrated into wildlife monitoring methodologies. Result: Data volume and quality is improved,
cost-efficiency is increased.
Promoting citizen science and creating network of volunteers (Annex 1, 1.1.2 and 3.1)— use
of citizen science and involvement of volunteers in environmental monitoring is an increasingly
important topic around the world. It creates new opportunities to engage people, collect more
data and improve the quality of data, promote cooperation between different parties, involve
civil society organisations in policymaking, prevent and solve problems as well as increase
environmental awareness in society. Among other things, it helps to pay greater attention to
emerging environmental problems, prevent loopholes both in legislation and monitoring data
as well as improve data collection process.
Output: a network of volunteers is created. At least 20 campaigns (some campaigns will be
repeated every year) have been organised in 4 years: 2 bigger events for volunteers. Voluntary
monitoring is integrated into wildlife monitoring methodologies. Result: involvement of volun
teers in wildlife monitoring is improved and data volume is increased.
Development of IT systems (Annex 1, 1.1.1)— Environmental data is kept in different systems
in Estonia and often those systems are not linked to each other which means that data must
be transferred manually from one system to another. Also, there is a risk, that relevant and
updated information is not used in decision making and analysis. In order to facilitate fieldwork,
it is necessary to create a fieldwork tool that allows the field-workers to enter the monitoring
and inventory data directly to the system already in the field. This would reduce the workload
of officials and ensure a faster data delivery into system. It is also necessary to create a man
agement efficiency assessment tool for the Environmental Board into EELIS. It should help
officials assess the efficiency of the management of protected areas.
Output: the necessary connections and tools for the exchange of data between the IT systems
have been established; management efficiency tool in EELIS has been created; fieldwork tool
has been created. Results: time-consuming manual human work is decreased, data transfer
between different IT systems is improved and quality of the automated analysis is increased.
Thanks to this, quality of the environmental decisions is improved.
The activities are described in more detail in the annex of the application.
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7.3 Beneficiaries
Environment Agency is the main beneficiary, who will benefit directly from this Programme
Component. In addition, 0,5 position, is planned for the IT Centre of the Ministry of the Envi
ron ment.
According to the law, it is mandatory to organize public procurements in order to outsource
services and equipment. Indirectly universities (eDNA) and enterprises that provided specific
equipment (e.g. 3D bird radar) or service (IT developments) benefit from this programme.
After creating better tools (IT systems, Al) and using more efficient equipment in wildlife mon
itoring that allows to collect more and improve the quality of the data, different private and
public organizations benefit from this programme Environment Board, Ministry of the Climate,
—
companies that do environmental impact assessments, universities and scientists using wild
life data, etc.
Is the benefit of the Programme Component a na- Nationals RegionalLi
tional or regional benefit?
If regional, indicate the benefiting NUTS-2 regions.
7.4 Sustainability
After the end of the Swiss-Estonian cooperation programme, Environment Agency will main
tain the results and finance the activities necessary to maintain the developed IT systems and
implementing new monitoring methods. Aim of the programme is to develop more efficient
systems and methods (e.g REM and Al), that would replace the old ones. Thanks to the de
velopment of the IT systems, less human work is necessary and saved budget can be used to
maintain the systems. Capacity will be increased as the object of the programme is to reduce
human work, use new technical solutions and use more automatic solutions that would in
crease the quality and volume of the data, make data transfers into the systems more efficient
and increase the quality of the analyses. Environment Agency will continue with that also after
the programme, but thanks to this cooperation, wildlife monitoring will be taken on to next level.
Improved quality of the data improves also the decisions made by policy makers.
7.5 Budget
Detailed budget is included in the Annex 4.
7.6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management
Main risks for the Environment Agency are:
1. Price of the services and equipment will increase (risk level: low medium). To mitigate
the risk, we have taken this into account in the preparation of the budget and we have
added necessary buffer. In case buffer will be not needed we will make a proposal to
transfer it to another budget line.
2. IT developments take longer than planned (risk level: medium high). We are already
developing procurement documents to save time and start as soon as agreement is
signed.
3. The number of potential service providers is limited that impacts public procurements
and public procurements may fail (risk level: low medium). To mitigate the risks, we
40/50
have involved stakeholder in the preparation of this programme and we will actively
spread the information of the public procurements and as the number of potential ser
vice providers is limited in Estonia, we will use international public procurements if nec
essary and mandatory according to the law.
4. The quality of services is low (risk level: low medium). When ordering services, it is
necessary to plan well ahead and provide the quality criteria that need to be followed.
The services have to be described in detail in contracts, if work does not confirm to the
contract, a chance to improve the work is given. It is necessary to check the quality
services offered regularly.
8. Annexes
Annex
8-1 Annex 8-1 Environment Agency actions and personnel
Annex [9]
Detailed Information to Programme Component
Basic Programme Component Information
Title Implementation of a systematic assessment of the social
and conservation outcomes of protected areas
Planned Duration [months] 48
Requested Swiss contribu- 3 843 456,11
tion (CHF)
Requested co-financing 85%
rate of Switzerland [%]
9. Programme Component Operator
91 Basic Information
Name of Programme Corn- The Environmental Board
ponent Operator
Type of entity National administration
If type of organization is Government Agency
“other”, describe the type
briefly
a
41/50
Name of contact person Ms Riina Kotter
Position Leading specialist
Correspondence address: Roheline 64, 80010 Pärnu, Estonia
E-Mail
[email protected]
info @ keskkonnaamet.ee
Webpage and social media www.keskkonnaamet.ee; www.keskkonnaamet.ee/en
(if any)
www.facebook.com/keskkonnaamet
Date of establishment 1 January 2021 Tax number (if applica
ble): EE101281142
Merging the for
mer Environ- Commercial register
mental Board code: 70008658
and the Envi
ronmental In
spectorate
Number of employees: 584.05
Financial Turnover for each of the 3 previous years [in EUR] State budget:
2021 20,657,606
2022 20,979,697
2023 23,052,343
Has the Programme Component Operator previously received YesLi No~
funding from the Swiss Contribution?
9.2 Programme Component Operator Management
The Environmental Board is a government agency which operates within the area of the Min
istry of Climate.
The Environmental Board’s task is to implement state policies on environmental use, nature
conservation and radiation safety and to monitor the fulfilment of the laws and norms estab
lished for the protection of the natural environment. It is also involved in the development and
updating of legal acts and other official documents regulating the environmental field.
The areas the Environmental Board operates in are wide-ranging: from issuing fishing and
waste management permits to placing natural assets under protection, and from publishing
environmental fees to offering environmental education programmes. In total, the Environmen
tal Board offers 65 public services. The clients include individuals, companies and local au
thorities, and it provides a lot of public services for the benefit of the state and society in the
broadest sense.
The Environmental Board is represented all over Estonia, with 31 offices around the country.
42150
The Swiss Support Measure programme will be managed by the conservation management
planning department.
ECTOR GENERAL
MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENTAL USE WILDLIFE SURVEILLANCE
Administrative Depart- Climate and Radiation Conservation Manage
ment Department ment Department Surveillance Department
Conservation Manage-
Circular Economy De- ment Planning Depart- Environmental Compen
Service Department partment ment sation Department
Natural-Resource Use De- Investigation Depart-
Personnel Department Water Department partment ment
Public Relations De
partment Forest Department Legal Department
Strategy and Analysis Environmental Education
Department Department
Internal Control
Adviser
9.3 Programme Component Management
Will external management personnel be hired to implement the Pro Yes~ NoEl
gramme Component?
What personnel capacity will be dedicated Internal resources External resources
for the management of the Programme Com
ponent implementation (in full-time equiva- 15 FTEs
lents FTE)?
The General Programme Manager (0.5 FTEs, 2024—2028) will be responsible for the general
coordination of the project in the Environmental Board. He/She will coordinate the activities in
general, be responsible for the use of the budget and procurements, organise the communi
cation, seminars and study trips. She will also supervise and manage the personnel hired for
the programme component activities.
Activity 1: Conservation Management Effectiveness Assessment
Management Effectiveness Assessment Coordinator (1 FTE July 2024 2028) will coordinate
—
the management effectiveness assessment, supervise the assessors, be responsible for the
use of methodology, analysing and summarising the assessment.
Management Effectiveness Assessment Experts (2 FTEs, 2025—2028) — carry out the assess-
mont, possible splitting (e.g. part-time assessors).
43/50
Data Analyst (0.4 FTEs, Dec 2024 2028) initially coordinates the preparation and evalua
— —
tion of the assessment tool, later summarises the results and makes proposals for further de
velopment of the tool if necessary, analyses the results of assessments, helps to get the nec
essary data.
Activity 2: Conservation Management Planning
Programme Coordinators (1.25 FTEs, 2024—2028, will be split) responsible for the coordina
—
tion of Activity 2 regionally: methodologies of habitat inventories, instructions for preparing
management plans, checking the quality of prepared plans etc.
Habitat Action Plan Expert (1 FTE, Sept 2024 2028) prepares national habitat action plans,
— —
plans habitat inventories, if necessary plans the preparation of basic expertise for drawing up
plans, involves stakeholders, analyses the integration of habitat plans in other Estonian stra
tegic documents.
Conservation Management Planning Experts (3 FTEs, 2024—2028) prepare site-specific
—
management plans, help coordinate the preparation of habitat inventory methodologies, plan
site-specific inventories of habitats and species, plan the preparation of the basic expertise
required for the preparation of the management plan, involve interest groups and stakeholders
in drawing up plans.
Data Analyst (0.3 FTEs, Dec 2024 2028) with a background in statistics and mathematics,
— —
provides input to habitat protecion necessities by organising and analysing habitat data.
Data Specialist (0.5 FTEs, Dec 2024 202)— — helps organise habitat inventory methodologies,
manages data entry and verification.
Activity 3: Species Protection
Programme Coordinator L0.25 FTEs, Dec 2024 2028) — — responsible for the coordination of
Activity 3, supervise the preparation of action plans.
Species Action Plan Experts (2 FTEs, 2024—2028) — preparation of action plans, organising
inventories and studies required for this purpose.
Protection Categories Expert (1 FTE, July 2024 2028) coordinating inventories and expert
— —
assessments in order to propose changes to protection categories, preparing proposals for
changes to protection categories to the ministry.
Data Analyst (0.3 FTEs, Dec 2025 2028) with a background in statistics and mathematics,
— —
provides input to species protection necessities by organising and analysing species data.
Data Specialist (0.5 FTEs, Dec 2024; 2025—2028) is engaged in updating the data of pro
—
tected species n the basis of inventories commissioned under the project.
Why prefer FTEs to services?
- In Estonia, there are not enough competent bidders outside the Environmental Board
to carry out planned activities (e.g. drawing up plans);
- these are specific activities that are easier to coordinate and guide in a coherent man
ner;
- when coordinating the activities in the Environmental Board, we can ensure that the
expertise will remain within the Environmental Board;
44/50
- the outsourced service is more expensive;
- in the case of outsourced services, the quality of the work performed is uneven and the
work needs to be improved later;
- when ordering the service, the Environmental Board itself also has a heavy workload
(preparation of initial tasks, preliminary work, acceptance of work, introduction of cor
rections, approval procedure).
Are CVs attached to this documentation? YesEl N0LXI
Are terms of reference for the management functions to be established Yes El No~1
attached to this documentation?
9.4 Programme and Project Management Experience
The Environmental Board is a partner in 25 ongoing similar international projects at the mo
ment. The total budget of the projects is about 23 million euros. In recent years the amount of
ongoing projects has been approximately the same.
Restoring Semi-Natural Habitats 2023—2029
The aim of the project is to restore wet semi-natural habitats (boreal Baltic coastal meadows,
Northern boreal alluvial meadows, alkaline fens/wet meadows, molinia meadows on calcare
ous, peaty or clayey-silt-laden soils (Molinion caeruleae), hydrophilous tall herb fringe commu
nities of plains and of the montane to alpine levels) in order to adapt to the changes of climate.
The project partners are the Ministry of Climate, the State Forest Management Centre and the
Estonian Seminatural Community Conservation Association. It is an ongoing project and the
member team is part of the organisation.
The project is funded by EU Cohesion Policy Funding. The project period is 2022—2029, the
total amount of the project is 5 million euros, EU funding is 4.25 million euros.
Restoring the Baltic coastal habitat networks 201 8—2025
CoastNet LIFE (LIFE17 NAT/Fl/000544) aims to improve the conservation status of Natura
2000 sites along the Baltic coastal zone. To achieve this, it carries out restoration work on four
types of habitat: boreal Baltic islets and small, open habitats, mosaics of herb-rich, broad-
leaved forests and semi-natural habitats, sun-lit habitats, as well as large coastal meadows
and new forests on previously uncolonised land. The project’s work helps to increase the pop
ulations of numerous species by giving them new areas to colonise. It also helps to combat
the effects of habitat fragmentation and isolation, as well as boosting the populations’ resilience
to climate change. Several species covered by the Birds Directive will benefit from improve
ments to their nesting habitats and those on their migration routes.
In Estonia restoration is carried out on 41 project sites, e.g. in Lahemaa National Park, Kolga
Bay and Aegna Landscape Protection Area, Paljassaare Limited-Conservation Area.
It is a joint Finnish-Estonian project, the partners in Estonia are the Environmental Board, Tal
linn Urban Environment and Public Works Department. The lead partner is Metsähallitus from
Finland.
The total budget of the project is 8.7 million euros, Estonian budget is 1.1 million euros. It is an
ongoing project and the member team is part of the organisation.
a 45/50
https:llwebgate.ec.eu rola.eu/Iife/publicWebsite/proiect/LI FE 17-NAT-Fl -000544/restoring-the-
baltic-coastal-habitat-networks
Restoration of Estonian alvar grasslands 2014—2019
The LIFE to alvars (LIFE13 NAT/EE/000082) project’s main objective was to restore the most
valuable, but currently overgrown, alvar grassland areas on 2,500 ha of land and to create the
right conditions for local farmers to manage these areas after the restoration. In order to
achieve this aim, the project planned to introduce effective large-scale restoration methods
and to create the necessary infrastructure for continuous management of the restored sites.
The project also aimed to directly involve private land owners and to raise awareness among
the local community and the general public of the value of alvar areas and of the importance
of managing them effectively.
The LIFE to alvars project achieved all its objectives and improved the conservation status of
Estonian alvar grasslands at all the project sites. Specifically, the project restored, in total, 2
501.5 ha of alvar grasslands. This included restoration work on 1,000 ha of private land, with
the involvement of approximately 600 private landowners.
The project won a Natura 2000 award in the socio-economic category in 2018.
The total budget of the project was 3.7 million euros. The Environmental Board was the lead
partner of the project, other partners were Tartu University, Estonian University of Life Sci
ences and the Estonian Seminatural Community Conservation Association. Some people from
the member team still work in the organisation.
https://webgate.ec.eu ropa .eu/l ife/publicWebsite/projecflLl FE 1 3-NAT-E E-000082/restoration-
of-estonian-alvar-grasslands
10. Programme Component Description
10.1 Short Summary
One goal of the programme is to evaluate the effectiveness of the management of the pro
tected areas with the new methodology created under Technical Support Instrument financed
by the European Commission. Also, site-based inventories are carried out and site-based con
servation objectives and measures for protected species and habitats are revised. The con
servation management plans of protected areas, action plans for species and habitats and
protected categories of species (category I, category II and category III) are revised and up
dated. The contents of management plans and action plans are revised and this helps priori
tising what protection measures are most effective. The effectiveness of management of pro
tected areas as well as protected species and habitats is improved because of national and
site-based conservation objectives are better targeted and measures fully correspond to con
servation objectives.
10.2 Activities and Expected Results
Activity 1: Conservation Management Effectiveness Assessment
- The operational guidance for the implementation of the TSI project action plan for car
rying out the evaluation;
- development of the Management Effectiveness Assessment Tool (in cooperation with
the Environmental Agency) (Annex 1,2.1.1);
46/50
- additional training for the implementation of the Management Effectiveness Assess
ment Methodology for the assessors and the staff of the Environmental Board (Annex
1,3.1);
- application of the methodology the main assessors are from the project. The assess
—
ment is carried out for approximately 300 natural objects (Annex 1, 2.1.2) (There are
6 national parks, 241 nature conservation areas, 150 landscape protection areas, 308
conservation areas and 2018 species’ protection sites in Estonia). The assessment
provides input for the preparation of management plans and proposes what kind of
additional expertise and fundamental research is necessary for the preparation of man
agement plans;
- analysis of the results, compilation of a summary (digital report in Estonian and English)
and its introduction to the public (Annex 1,2.1.1).
Activity 2: Conservation Management Planning
- Preparation and updating of inventory methodologies for habitats (habitat types listed
in Annex I of the Habitats Directive protected in Estonia). Inventory methodologies are
prepared for lakes, springs, outcrops and caves. For all other habitats, the guidelines
will be reviewed and, if necessary, updated. The completed and updated guides will be
posted on the ministry’s website under the Natura 2000 network materials. The result
is that there is an up-to-date guide for the inventory of all habitats (Annex 1, 2.1.3);
- organisation of training for the experts and specialists working in the Environmental
Board carrying out inventories following the methodology and guidelines (e.g. a total of
two training sessions per year) (Annex 1, 3.1);
- ordering habitat inventories and, if necessary, expert assessments for the preparation
of habitat action plans (e.g. rivers and streams, lakes, springs, outcrops and caves)
(Annex 1,2.1.3);
- updating the data in the database (in cooperation with the Environmental Agency);
- preparation of habitat action plans (at least three action plans), stakeholder involve
ment, introducing to the public (e.g. an action plan for rivers and streams, an action
plan for lakes and springs, an action plan for outcrops and caves);
- ordering inventories and expert assessments of habitats and protected species for the
preparation of management plans (Annex 1,2.1.3);
- integrating climate change issues into management plans. Discussions, seminars,
training sessions (one training day per year) are organised. The guidance materials on
how climate-related issues can be reflected in the management plans is compiled (An
nex 1,3.1);
- linking the issues of the Green Network to the preparation of management plans. Co
operation with local authorities, discussions on how local authorities can integrate man
agement plans into general planning (one seminar per year with local authorities, i.e.
four seminars). The guidelines for the preparation of management plans are supple
mented by a guideline on how to integrate the green network into the management
plan, a digital leaflet for local authorities (available on the website) is compiled (Annex
1,3.1);
- preparation of site-based management plans, involvement of interest groups, publica
tion of plans. The project will produce a total of 64 management plans.
Activity 3: Species Protection
- Ordering inventories, basic research and expert assessments for the preparation of
species action plans (Annex 1, 2.1.3). The need is determined when preparing the
compilation of the action plan;
- on the basis of inventories, the data is organised and updated (cooperation with the
Environmental Agency), the species data is updated before/at the time of preparation
of the action plan;
a
47/50
- preparation and coordination of species protection action plans, stakeholder involve
ment, cooperation with research institutions. 60 action plans for protected species
will be completed within the framework of the project;
- organising trainings/seminars to the specialist of the Environmental Board in order to
explain the principles of the protection of species and discuss and discuss what the
fundamental principles of discretionary decision making are (one training/seminar per
year) (Annex 1,3.1);
- inventories, studies and expert assessments of species’ groups in order to find out what
changes in protection categories are necessary (Annex 1,2.1.4);
- preparation of proposals for amendment of protection categories to the ministry (Annex
1,2.1.4).
Study trips to Switzerland (Annex 1, 3.1)
- Organising two study trips to Switzerland (e.g. Swiss National Park): five days for six
specialists each, the emphasis of one or the study trips is habitat protection and the
emphasis of the other study trip is species protection. The aim of the trips is to learn
about conservation management planning/strategies, habitat and species data collec
tion, using GIS).
Cooperation with other countries (Annex 1, 3.1)
- Organising a study trip to Czech national parks in order to get experiences from their
project activities of Swiss Support Measure, to study what the principles of habitat and
species protection are in the Czech Republic;
- Possibility of organising similar trainings to Czech specialists in Estonia.
National Procurement (according to Estonian legislation)
- The Environmental Board organises two national (Estonian) public procurements with
open announcements per year (7 calls per project period, one in May and one in Octo
ber, no longer tendered in the second half of 2027) which commission methodologies
for habitat inventories; species inventories and surveys;
- one national (Estonian) public procurement with an open announcement per year for
the preparation of species conservation action plans (four procurements in total);
- separate ongoing procurements as small purchases.
Procurements are organised on the basis of the Estonian Public Procurement Act and the
procedure for conducting procurements of the Environmental Board.
10.3 Beneficiaries
The direct beneficiary of the component is the Environmental Board who is responsible for
the organization of the protection of protected areas and assessment of the efficiency of pro
tection measures.
Indirect beneficiaries are:
- the Environmental Agency who can update the data of habitats and species in their
database as the result of the inventories that are carried out;
- the State Forest Management Centre who carries out protection activities on state land
according to conservation management plans and action plans of habitats and species;
- local municipalities use the data of habitats and species and also the information pro
vided by conservation management plans in their overall planning of green infrastruc
ture;
- the whole population of Estonia as the beneficiaries are public authorities, they work
-
for the public, the aim of the component is to make conservation management more
48/50
effective at the national level in order to make better environmental decisions in the
future.
Is the benefit of the Programme Component a na- National~ RegionalD
tional or regional benefit?
If regional, indicate the benefiting NUTS-2 regions.
1O~4 Sustainability
The main result for the Environmental Board is that the protection effectiveness of protected
areas will be assessed. The assessment will provide information how the current management
planning practices can be made more effective and where the main drawbacks are. Hence,
the process of preparing conservation management plans and national action plans for species
and habitats will be more effective. The Environmental Board will be able to carry on conser
vation management planning using the national budget. The Support Measure will help the
Environmental Board to review its current conservation management planning practices in or
der to match them with contemporary needs.
The expertise will remain within the Environmental Board, as the compilation of management
plans and action plans will be part of our overall work. As the positions are open for all the
specialists who have the required education and skills, specialists from the Environmental
Board can also apply for these positions. The Environmental Board will then hire new special
ists to fulfill their positions. As the project ends, the former specialists from the Environmental
Board will remain within the Environmental Board. As the work requires special knowledge, the
probability that other people who are hired to work in the project will apply for the positions in
the Environmental Board or other institutions who deal with similar topics is very high. Estonia
will have several skilled environmental experts. All the seminars and trainings are organised
for larger audiences, other specialists from the Environmental Board will participate.
One of the challenges for the Environmental Board is the lack of experts in Estonia who can
carry out inventories and gather the data of habitats and species. In order to carry out inven
tories of habitats and species it is necessary to raise the level of expertise among conservation
management planning and conservation management specialists in the Environmental Board.
The competence of the specialists can be improved by organising seminars and study trips in
the frames of Programme.
Another challenge is the opposition to conservation measures and activities among the repre
sentatives of local people and developers. So, it is necessary to involve stakeholders in the
conservation planning process and find the solutions that are acceptable to the people living
in or near the site. Involving stakeholders to conservation management planning can be time-
consuming, so it is necessary to analyse how it should be carried out effectively and plan it
regarding the specifics of the area.
In the process of management planning, the Environmental Board proposes changes in the
protection rules of sites in order to improve the protection measures. Also, the proposal to
change the protection categories of species will be prepared, updating the protection catego
ries of species helps to choose better protection measures.
10.5 Budget
Detailed budget is included in the Annex 4.
49/50
10.6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management
The main risks for the Environmental Board are:
- Institutional reforms (risk level: low). Internal institutional reform is ongoing in the Envi
ronmental Board, however, the project activities can be adjusted to the new structure
of the institution;
- changes in legislation (risk level: low-medium). Necessary adjustments in the pro
gramme will be made following the legislative changes.
- the lack of competent experts to carry out inventories and give expert opinions (risk
level: low medium). Accordingly, public procurements may fail. To mitigate the risk it is
necessary to plan the procurements well in order to provide possibilities for a wide
range of experts. The period of the programme is long enough to carry out new pro
curements and change initial plans, the planning of procurements needs to be started
right at the beginning of the programme;
- being unable to hire the personnel for the programme (risk level: medium low). It is
necessary to provide the salaries that motivate, also, services can be chosen instead.
- the quality of services is low (risk level: medium low). When ordering services it is nec
essary to plan well ahead and provide the criteria that need to be followed. The services
have to be described in detail in contracts, if work does not conform to the contract, a
chance to improve the work is given. It is necessary to check the quality services of
fered regularly.
- the price of the services increases (risk level: medium high). The budget can be over
viewed, a buffer against it is planned.
Annex
N/A
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Swiss-Estonian Cooperation Programme
Annex B: Budget
on
the Support Measure
Biodiversity Programme
~L4
Date: 0202.2024
Support Measure Name (according to SMP)
Budget
Instructions
EUR EUR EUR % CHF EUR EUR EUR EUR ELJR EUR EUR EUR EUR EUR
Co-financing Swiss
No Budget items Unit costs Quantity rate (CII co- contribution Quantity ~ Quantity Quantity BUd~5t Quantity Quantity Budget
financing> (co-financing)
Exchange rate CHF/EUR 1.04
Programme Management Costs 247384,00 85.00% 202953.63 71921.00 45211.00 452/1.00 73921.00 — 11120.00
1.1 Personnel 144560.00 16560.0 16560.0 16560.00 16560.00 5520.00
1,1,1 Programme Manager in the Budget and Strategy Department of the MoE 4600.00 0,15 FTE for 52 ItO 1.80 I .80 1.80 0.60
(responsible for general coordination of the implementation of the months
Programme according to the Regulations) 35880.00 8280.00 8280.00 8280.00 8280.00 2760.00
1,1,2 Programme Manager in the Biodivernity Protection Department of the MoE 4600.00 0,15 FTE for 52 1.80 1.80 1.80 1.80 0.60
(responsible for the content of the Programme) months 35880.00 8280.00 8280.00 8280.00 8280.00 2760.00
1,2 Expenses of State Shared Service Centre for verification of incurred
expenditure (inclUding 0,3 FTE for 52 months, travel costs) 72800.00 16800.00 16800.00 16800.00 16800.00 5600.00
1,3 Information and communication 57420.00 28710.00 0.00 0.00 28710.00 0.00
1,3,1 Communication activities (including launching and a closing evnnt) 28710.00 2.00 57420.00 1.00 28710.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 2871 0.00 0,00
1,4 Miscellanous 45404.00 9851.00 11851.00 11851.00 11851.00 0.00
1,4,1 Meetings (of the Sapport Measure Steering Commitfee, Tank Force etc) 2000.00 11.00 22000.00 2.00 4000.00 3.00 6000.00 3.00 6000.00 3.00 6000.00
1,4,2 Assignment (study trips, site vinits, on-the-spot checks etc( 23404.00 5851.00 5851.00 5851.00 5851.00
2 Programme Component 1 “Development of innovative monitoring
technolo-gieslsolutions and improvement of Environmental data
bases and systems” (operator Environmental Agency) 3514862.00 85.00% 2883589.89 1 ‘42751 5.00 73521 5.00 732485.00 619647.00 0.00
2.1 Management costs Programme Component 1 301700.00 256445.00 75365.00 75865.00 74335.00 76135.00
2,1,1 Personnel: Project Manager (responsible for the projuct team management
and the implementation of the actionu, preparation of the public
procurements, documentation and budget, organizing study trips, 1 FTE for 48
communication and translation of thu documents) 3650.00 months 174000.00 147900.00 12.00 43500.00 12.00 43500.00 12.00 43500.00 12.00 43500.00
2,1,2 Overheads” 15% 0
Component 1
pernsnnel costs 107460.00 91341.00 12.00 26865.00 12.00 26865.00 12.00 26865.00 12.00 26865.00
2,1,3 Transport 0,3 ear/km 14000 km 4200.00 3570.00 3500.00 1050.00 3500.00 1050.00 3500.00 1050.00 3500.00 1050.00
2,1,4 Study trips 120 study trip, con
perperson 3600.00 3060.00 1.00 1200.00 1.00 1200.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 1200.00
2,1,5 Translation of the documents 30 ear/page 98.00 2940.00 2499,00 25.00 750.00 25.00 750.00 /4,00 420.00 34,00 1020.00
2,1,6 Communication 2375.00 year 9500.00 8075.00 1,00 2000.00 1,00 2500.00 1,00 2500.00 1,00 2500.00 —
2.2 Activity 1: Development of new monitoring methods 1927562.00 1638427.70 — 1180750.00 — 287950.00 — 286750.00 — 172112.00 —
2,2,1 Personnu : Chief specialist (monitoring specialist) (responsible for
development, testing and implementation of new monitoring methodologies
and equipment, including 3D bird radar, involving volunteers in wildlife 1 FTE for 48
monitoring and creating the network of volunteers) 2850.00 monthu 136800.00 /16280.00 12,00 34200.00 12,00 34200.00 12,00 34200.00 12,00 34200.00 —
2,2,2 Personnel: Specialist (monitoring assistant) in the Environmental Agency
(responsible for the training of Artificial Intelligence and field works in 1 FTE for 48
implementation of Random Encounter Model). 2500.00 monfhs 120000.00 102000.00 12.00 30000.00 12.00 30000.00 12,00 30000.00 12,00 30000.00 —
2,2,3 Development of new monitoring mefhodn + technology purchase, including
technology for volunteers 609862.00 518382.70 — 200000.00 — 175000.00 — 175000.00 59862.00
2,2,4 Purchasing mobile 3D bird radar 900000.00 1.00 900000.00 765000.00 1,00 900000.00 0,00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 —
2,2,5 Maudatory maintenance of the 3D bird radar 30000.00 3.00 90000.00 76500.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 30000.00 1,00 30000.00 1,00 30000.00 —
2,2,6 Field works (Implementation of new methods in wildlife monitoring, including
Random Encounter Method) 0,3 ear/km /4000 km 18300.00 15555.00 11500.00 3450.00 16500.00 4950,00 16500,00 4950.00 16500,00 4950.00
template v13.7.23
2,2,7 Accommodation 70 eur/night 60 nights 4200.00 3570.01) 10.00 700.00 20.00 1400.00 20.00 1400.00 10.00 700.00
2,2,6 Communication costs, including involving citizen in wildlife monitoring,
organizing trainings for volunteers and fees tor lecturers, catering and faciltiy
renting costs, 10000.00 year 40000.00 34000.00 1.00 10000.00 1.00 10000.00 1.00 10000.00 1.00 10000.00
22,9 Study trips study trip, cost
1200.00 perperson 8400.00 7140.00 2.00 2400.00 2.00 2400.00 1.00 1200.00 2.00 2400.00
2.3 Activity 2: Devetopment ofT systems 1285600.00 I’092’760.00 171400.00 371400.00 371400.00 371400.00
2,3,1 Personnel: Chief Specialist (IT system specialist) in the Environmental 0,5 FTE for 48
Agency (responsible for the input of the IT developments and testing) 3100.00 months 74400.00 63240.00 6.00 18600.00 6.00 18600.00 6.00 18600.00 6.00 18600.00
2,3,2 Personnel: IT project manager in the IT Centre of the Ministry of the 0,5 FTE for 48
Environment )responeible for the developments of IT systeme) 4000.00 months 96000.00 81600.00 6.00 24000.00 6.00 24000.00 6.00 24000.00 6.00 24000,00
2,3,3 Personnel: Specialist (data manager( in the Environmental Agency
(responsible for the data managemesl collected by the Environment Board
from Programme component 2 and also participates in the development of 1 FTE for 48
IT systems). 2400.00 months 115200.00 97920.00 12.00 28800.00 12.00 28800.00 12.00 28800.00 12.00 28800.00
2,3,4 Development of IT systems (IT Centre of the Ministry of the Environment) 75 eur/hour 13333.00 1000,000.00 850000.00 1333.00 100,000.00 4000.00 300000.00 4000.00 300000.00 4000.00 300000.00
3 Programme Component 2 “tmptementation of a systematic
assessment of the soctat and conservation outcomes of protected
areas” (operatorEnvironmentat Board) 4’684’861.00 85.00% 3643456.11 758288.11 1275365.21 1306648.63 1344559.06 0.00
3.1 Management costa Programme Component 2 961 ‘111.14 153498.75 261025.88 269096.44 277490.08
3,1,1 Personnel: General Programme Manager (responsible for the general 0,5 FTEs for 48
coordination of Component 2) 2485.34 months 127593.1 1 12.00 29824.08 12.00 31166.16 12.00 32568.64 12.00 34034.23
3,1,2 Overheads21 15% of
Component 2
personnel costs 338066.40 59543.67 88785.63 92780.98 96956.12
3,1,3 Transport 5964.00 FTE/year 326951.12 10.25 61131.00 14.00 86000.88 14.00 88580.91 14.00 91238.33
3,1,4 Study trips 51983.21 study trip 155949.63 0.00 0.00 1.00 51983.21 1.00 51983.21 1.00 51983.21
3,1,5 Communication (advertisements, translations, etc) 3000.00 year 12550.88 1.00 3000.00 1.00 3090.00 1.00 3182.70 1.00 3278.18
3.2 Activity 1: Conservation Management Effectiveness Assessment 492515.41 44889.90 144266.01 147403.53 155955.97
3,2,1 Personnel: Programme Coordinator (responsible for the coordination of 1 FTE for 45
Activity 1) 3345.00 months 152660.09 9.00 21073.50 12.00 41946.30 12.00 43833.88 12.00 45806.41
3,2,2 Personnel: Experts (responsible for conducting assessments) 2 FTEs for 39
6154.80 months 260583.73 3.00 18464.40 12.00 77181.19 12.00 80654.35 12.00 84’283.79
3,2,3 Personnel: Analyst )renponsible of the compilation of the aenesement tool 0,4 FTE5 for 40
and statistical analysis, making summaries of the annennement( 1338.00 months 57986.64 4.00 5352.00 12.00 16778.52 12.00 17533.55 12.00 18322.56
3,2,4 Digital Report )design) 2000.00 year 2000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 000 0.00 100 200000
3,2,5 Communication (advertisements, translations, rooms, etc) 5000.00 year 16149.95 0.00 0.00 1.00 5225.00 1.00 5381.75 1.00 5543.20
3,2,6 Seminars, trainings 3000.00 training 3135.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 3135.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
3.3 Activity 2: Conservation Management Ptanning 1916120.91 344791.02 512093.19 523657.47 535’629.23
3,3,1 Personnel: Analyst )renponsible of habitat data analysis and making 0,3 FTEs for 40
summaries) 1003.50 months 43489.98 4,09 4014.00 12.00 12553.89 12.00 13150.17 12.00 13741.92
3,3,2 Pernonnel: Programme Coordinators )reuponsible for the coordination of 1,25 FTEn for 48
Activity 2 in different regions) 4694.70 months 241017.89 ‘12.00 56336.40 12.00 58871.54 12.00 61520.76 12.00 64289.19
3,3,3 Personnel: Experts of Habitat Action Plans (responsible for compiling habitat 1 FTE for 43
action plans) 321 1.20 months 148801.53 7.00 22478.40 12.00 40268.45 12.00 42080.53 12.00 43974.15
3,3,4 Personnel: Enperts of Conservation Management Plans )responsible for 3 FTE5 for 48
compiling conservation management plans) 9232.20 months 473965.39 12.00 110786.40 12.00 115771.79 12.00 120981.52 12.00 126425.69
3,3,5 Personnel: Data specialist (reeponnibte for habitat data) 0,5 FTE5 for 40
1003.50 months 43489.98 4.00 4014.00 12.00 12553.89 12.00 13150.17 12.00 13741.92
3,3,6 Inventories, research, expert opinions 248323.64 year 869132.73 0.50 124161.82 1.00 248323.64 1.00 248323.64 1.00 248323.64
3,3,7 Commasicahon )advertisements, translations, rooms, etc( ii’ooo.oo year 46019.90 1.00 11000.00 1.00 11330.00 1.00 11669.90 1.00 12020.00
3,3,8 Seminars, trainings 3000.00 training 50203.52 4.00 12000.00 4.00 12360.00 4.00 12730.50 4.00 13112.72
3.4 Activity 3: Species Protection 1315113.54 215108.44 357980.13 366541.19 375483.79
template v13.7.23
3,4,1 Personnel: Analyst (responsible of species data analysis and making 0,3 FTEs for 40
summaries) 1003.50 months 161917,91 4.00 4014.00 12.00 50335.56 12.0C 52600.61 12.00 54967.69
3,4,2 Personnel: Programme Coordinator (responsible for the coordination ot 0,25 FTE5 for 48
Aclivity 3) 1052.00 months 54007.88 12.00 12624.00 12.00 13192.08 12.00 13785.72 12.00 14406.08
3,4,3 Personnel: Eoperts of Species Protection Action Plans (responsible for 2 FTEs for 48
compiling species protection plans) 6154.80 months 315976.93 12.00 73857.60 12.00 77181.19 12.00 80654.35 12.00 84283.79
3,4,4 Personnel: Expert of protection categories of species (responsible for I FTE for 45
analysing the protection categories) 3345.00 months 128794.94 9.00 30105.00 12.00 31459.73 12.00 32875.41 12.00 34354.81
34,5 Personnel: Data specialist (responsible for species data) 0,5 FTEa for 40
1003.50 months 43489.98 4.00 4014.00 12.00 12583.89 12.00 13150.17 12.00 13741.92
3,4,6 Inventories, research, enpert opinions 164987.68 year 577456.88 0.50 82493.84 1.00 164987.68 1.00 164987.68 1.00 164987.68!
3,4,7 Commsnication (advertisements, translations, rooms, newspaper articles,
elc( 5000.00 year 20918.14 1.00 5000.00 1.00 5150.00 1.00 5304.50 1.00 5463.64
3,4,8 Seminars, trainiags 3000.00 training 12550.88 1.00 3000.00 1.00 3090.00 tOO 3182.70 1.00 3278.18
TOTAL 8447107.00 85.00% 6929999.64 2257724.11 2055791.21 — 2084344.63 — 2038127.06 11120.001
1) Overheads are calculated according to the internal process in the Environmental Agency and it includes costs related to personnel (general trainings not connected to direct project activities, medicine, working clothes, health
inspection and health insurance), rent for the office premises (rent and utilities), administration costs (tools, communication Costs, office supplies, inventory), Cost of support service (personnel service, legal service, financial service,
administrative service, document management, customer service, communication, general management)
2) Overheads are calculated according to the policies of the Environmental Board and include the certificate of employment, office supplies, office furniture, mobile service cost and mobile phone compensation, IT equipment, workwear
according to the post in the institution, internal business trip costs (transport not included), compulsory medical examination and health improvement cost, general framings, property management costs.
template v13.7.23
Swiss-Estonian Cooperation Programme
Annex C: Procurement Plan
on
the Support Measure
Biodiversity Programme
Procurement Plan
________ — din by Programme Operas/n
I appiroabte, planned Tendar Radon EnailaIr
beagrammo Camporrent or Of no) CootraotName deadline for
subw~ffing
Launch of
tender will be eubeeaOed
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~ Porse) launob Confeeot
srgnef are
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ooeraaot
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ooetraot lnilrdhlyesdnraledoosts
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tendeednoonrenla Of lander
Ref. No onranoer to planned beftse evailabie fa tender notion) on ogned eanoesta Comments
pleoned eignafure plenead oooydolion
Swisn~noo objeodone pab0eafoo bldd~
status) appeals) cancelling or repel/on of tender
quarter) (md. reason)) rumbers of bidders and rejected
quarter/year yes/no yes/no dote quarter) date quarter) dote EUrt CHF EUR CHF name EUR Cl/F bids/dskn/ irregularities related to tlnetender/
year year year difficulties er/Ill flee the Conlractor/ suspension of
works etc.
Orogrammo Management Procurements above 150 000 C/IF are no foreseen
Programme Component 1
30evelopment of innovative
munit000g technologies/so utloos
and improvement of
Environmental databases and
s/stnrns~
urchasing mobile 3D bird radar 2024 2024 yes yes t0/2025 40/2025 950000 9/5524
Development of the necessary connecfions for the
eachaoga of data beiween PlutoF and EEL1S as well
Development of necessary connections as 0/SE and DELIS, development of the fieldwork
between IT systems and field work tool 202d 2025 no no 40/2024 40/2025 300000 289553 feel
Developmenf of management efficiency assesment
tool in DELIS and oilier necessary developments as
Development of management eftiorency web fonns for Natore Observation /vpplioation,
ussesment tool, web fonos and analytics 2025 2526 no no — 10/2026 — 40/2027 — 400000 386070 — — — analyncal solutions etc
Development of new monitorng methodo The requirements for the intemational procurement
(eDNA) 2024 2024 no no — 40/2024 — 40/2026 — bODES 144776 — will be cia/f led doIng the market research.
Programme Component 2
implementation of a systematic
assessment 01 the social and
conservation ovtcnmes of Procurements above 150600 COP are
protected areas~ not foreseen —
Q Confederation suisse
Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft
Confederazione Svizzera
Confederaziun svizra
FederalAgency
Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs
for Development
MENA.ELJrOpe Division and FDFA
Cooperation SDC
CH-3003 Bern. DEZA
A Post
Mr. Urmo Merila
Deputy Director General
State Shared Service Centre
Lãkke 4
10122 Tallinn
Estonia
E-mail: Urmo.Merila~rtk.ee
Your reference:
Our reference: 7F-10768.O1
Bern, 27 March 2024
Subject: Swiss-Estonian Cooperation Programme
Decision Letter on 2nd stage Support Measure proposal
Support Measure Name: Bio-Diversity Programme Estonia
Support Measure N°: 7F-1 0768.01
Swiss Contribution: CHF 6’930’000.-
Dear Mr. Merila,
We are pleased to inform you that the 2nd stage proposal of the Support Measure mentioned above,
which was submitted by the NCU on 09 February 2024, has been approved subject to the following
conditions. The proposal was considered as well written, clear and of a good quality.
Condition indicator of fulfilment Date!period
Since the Programme document Study visit justifications and Ongoing during the
proposes study trips outside of rationale are submitted to the Programme
Switzerland and the countries receiving SCO for agreement. implementation and
funds in the area of cohesion (EU-13), prior to any travel
the prior agreement from the Swiss arrangements made.
Contribution Office (SCO) for study visits
outside of the EU-13 countries or
Switzerland is required.
Recommendation to further consider the Swiss Partners’ names should be Ideally, before
involvement of Swiss partners included in the Support Measure signing the Support
Agreement (SMA) and not only in Measure Agreement
the SMP as long as it is required to facilitate
by the internal procurement rules procurement
processes
A justification, listing of the costs and The justification should be Revised SMP, before
estimation covered under the 15% included in chap. 2.10 of the signing the Support
overheads should be delivered. Support Measure Proposal Measure Agreement
(SMP) and in the budget
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
Dominik Stillhart
Eichenweg 5, 3052 Zollikofen
Phone+41 584849278
We recommend to use a core indicator The final logframe may entail the Before signing the
from the second Swiss contribution, crosscutting “core indicator” Support Measure
namely the crosscutting indicator (revised SMP) Agreement.
“CC_Cl_I Number of people benefiting
from training to improve institutional and
professional capacity” under output 3.
Further discussions and clarifications are Estonia and Switzerland agreed Before signing the
needed with regard to the composition as on the set-up of the steering Support Measure
well as additional voting rights of the committee. Agreement.
participants of the steering committees.
You are kindly requested to take into account the conditions expressed above when finalising the
Support Measure Agreement.
We would like to thank you for the excellent cooperation.
Yours sincerely,
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
Middle East and North Africa Europe Division
-
Stilihart Dominik 3W0Z75
30.03.2024
tnfo: admin,ch/es~gnature I vakdator.ch
Dominik Stilihart
Deputy Director General, and Head of Division a.i.
Copy:
SECO Swiss Contribution to EU Member States I Cohesion Division
Swiss Contribution Office for Estonia
Swiss-Eston ian Cooperation Programme
SUPPORT MEASURE AGREEMENT
between
the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
and
the State Shared Service Centre,
on
the Support Measure
Supporting Social Inclusion
The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, acting through the Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as the ‘SDC’) and
the State Shared Service Centre (hereinafter referred to as the ‘NCU’),
hereinafter collectively referred to as the ‘Parties’,
referring to the Framework Agreement, including its Annex 1 (Country-Specific Set-Up) between the
Swiss Federal Council and the Government of the Republic of Estonia concluded on 21 November
2022 as well as to the Regulations on the implementation of the second Swiss Contribution to selected
Member States of the European Union to reduce economic and social disparities within the European
Union issued by Switzerland and setting out the general rules and procedures on the implementation
of the Swiss-Estonian Cooperation Programme (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Framework Agreement’
and ‘Regulations’), and
considering the financing of the Support Measure Supporting Social Inclusion (hereinafter referred to
as the ‘Support Measure’) in the Republic of Estonia,
have agreed as follows:
Article I — General provisions
The legal framework as defined in Article 2 of the Framework Agreement shall apply.
Article 2— Objective and eligibility period
1. The Support Measure is assigned to the following thematic area: Providing support to
migration management and promoting integration measures.
2. The objective of the Support Measure is - Managing migration and supporting integration.
Increasing public safety.
3. The Support Measure starts on 01.06.2024 and ends on 31.08.2028. Only expenditures
incurred during this period are deemed to be eligible in accordance with Chapter 6 of the
Regulations.
Article 3 — Obligations of the Parties
1. Switzerland agrees to grant a contribution of up to 18,6 million Swiss francs for the
implementation of the Support Measure according to the budget (Annex B).
2. The contribution of Switzerland shall cover a maximum of 85% of the total eligible
expenditures of the Support Measure as specified in Chapter 6 of the Regulations.
3. Switzerland’s contribution to the Support Measure is based on:
a) the final version of the Support Measure Proposal 7F-10699.01 dated 22.05.2024
attached to this Support Measure Agreement (Annex A); and
2
b) the conditions put forward by Switzerland as part of the final decision to support the
Support Measure and communicated to Republic of Estonia by means of the letter 7F-
10699.01 dated 27.03.2024 appended hereto (Annex D).
4. In accordance with Article 7 of the Framework Agreement the responsibility of Switzerland
with regard to this Support Measure is limited to providing funds in accordance with Article 3
paragraph I of this Support Measure Agreement.
5. The Republic of Estonia shall ensure the timely provision of the co-financing for the total
eligible expenditures of the Support Measure, as described in Article 4 paragraph 5 of the
Framework Agreement and in Article 3.1 paragraph 1 and Chapter 6 of the Regulations.
6. Costs for staff of the Programme Operator, Programme Component Operators, Implementers
and Partners who are assigned to carry out tasks for the Support Measure, comprising actual
salaries plus social security charges and other statutory costs included in the remuneration,
are eligible expenditure under this Support Measure, within the limits set in the budget in
Annex B of this Support Measure Agreement and in accordance with Chapter 6 of the
Regulations.
Article 4— Implementation responsibility
The NCU and the Paying and Audit Authorities shall have the roles and responsibilities
defined in the Regulations, in particular in Article 3.1 to 3.6, and further specified in the
Country Specific Set-up.
2. The Programme Operator of this Support Measure is the Ministry of Culture. It is responsible
for preparing and managing the Support Measure and for performing the following tasks:
a) preparing the Management and Control System of the Support Measure to ensure the
effective implementation of the Support Measure;
b) concluding the Support Measure Implementation Agreement with the NCU;
c) concluding the Partnership Agreement with the Swiss Support Measure Partner
according to Article 4.10 of Regulations;
d) preparing the Annual Support Measure Reports, the Support Measure Completion
Report, Reimbursement Requests and submitting them to the State Shared Service
Centre;
e) organising meetings of the Support Measure Steering Committee and preparing minutes
of the meetings;
f) planning and implementing the communication activities of the Support Measure in
cooperation with Programme Component Operators;
g) submitting proposal to the Ministry of Finance for the modification of the Country specific
set-up of the Framework Agreement and to the State Shared Service Centre for the
modification of the Support Measure Agreement;
h) fulfilling other tasks of the Programme Operator arising from the Regulations.
3. The Programme Components have the following Programme Component Operators:
a) For the Programme Component 1 “Cultural and linguistic integration”: the Ministry of
Culture;
b) For the Programme Component 2 “Strengthening the social- and child protection
services”: the Ministry of Social Affairs;
c) For the Programme Component 3 “Increasing multicultural competence in the education
sector”: the Ministry of Education and Research;
3
d) For the Programme Component 4 “Strengthening civil society through social innovation”:
the Ministry of the Interior.
4. The Support Measure shall be implemented in partnership with the following Swiss Support
Measure Partner: Bern University of Applied Sciences.
Article 5 — Support Measure Steering Committee
1. The Programme Operator shall establish the Support Measure Steering Committee as
defined in Article 4.11 of the Regulations. The Support Measure Steering Committee shall
assume the tasks defined in Article 4.11 of the Regulations.
2. The Support Measure Steering Committee shall be composed of the following members:
a) The NCU the State Shared Service Centre;
-
b) The Programme Operator the Ministry of Culture;
—
c) The Swiss Contribution Office (SCO);
d) The Programme Component Operator the Ministry of Culture;
-
e) The Programme Component Operator the Ministry of Social Affairs;
-
f) The Programme Component Operator the Ministry of Education and Research;
-
g) The Programme Component Operator the Ministry of the Interior.
-
3. By the initiative of the Support Measure Steering Committee members the Chair has the right
to invite the representatives of the partners and other organisations to the Support Measure
Steering Committee meetings, who will act as observers.
4. The following members shall have a voting right:
a) The Programme Operator the Ministry of Culture as Chair;
—
b) The NCU;
c) The Swiss Contribution Office.
5. The quorum shall be constituted by the NCU, the Swiss Contribution Office and the
Programme Operator.
6. Decision-making in the Support Measure Steering Committee shall be based on consensus
by the members with voting rights.
7. The Programme Operator shall act as secretary and shall assume the tasks set forth in the
Article 4.11 paragraph 7 of the Regulations.
8. The Steering Committee meeting shall take place at least once a year in line with Article 4.11
paragraph 6 of the Regulations.
9. The Steering Committee may also take decisions through the written procedure at the
initiative of any member with voting rights.
4
Article 6— Programme Operator competences for modifications of the Support
Measure
1. The Support Measure may be modified in accordance with the Article 4.12 of the Regulations.
2. In accordance with Article 4.12 paragraph 4.a of the Regulations the Programme Operator is
entitled to modify Programme Components (including management expenditures of a
Programme Operator), provided the following conditions are cumulatively met:
a) the modification shall not contradict with the agreed outputs and outcomes of the Support
Measure;
b) the modification must not change the duration of the Support Measure;
c) the financial consequences of the modification must be within the following limits:
i. for reallocations within one Programme component: funds reallocated between
different budget items must be less than 20% of the initial budget of the Programme
component and less than CHF 100 000 (one hundred thousand Swiss francs);
ii. modifications may not be split with the intention of circumventing this restriction.
3. Switzerland shall be informed about the modification by means of the next Reimbursement
Request under Article 8.2 paragraph 3 of the Regulations and the next Annual Support
Measure Report under Article 4.13 of the Regulations.
Article 7 — Advance payments
In accordance with Article 8.3 of the Regulations no advance payments are foreseen in this
Support Measure.
Article 8 — Policy dialogue
A policy dialogue is not foreseen for this Support Measure.
Article 9 — Procurement
1. The procurements under this Support Measure Agreement shall be made in accordance with
Chapter 7 of the Regulations.
2. The initial procurement plan, including those procurements that are selected by Switzerland
in accordance with Article 7.2 of the Regulations, shall be annexed to this Support Measure
Agreement (Annex C).
3. This procurement plan shall be updated following the approval of further Programme
Components and submitted to Switzerland for selection in accordance with Article 7.2 of the
Regulations within 20 working days. The periodically updated procurement plan shall be
submitted to Switzerland with the Reimbursement Request.
5
Article 10 — Post-completion obligations and ownership of assets
1. The post-completion obligations related to the assets (operating assets as well as equipment,
installations and buildings) financed by the Swiss contribution under this Support Measure as
well as their ownership are described in Article 4.15 of the Regulations.
2. For the duration of the Support Measure the assets provided with the Swiss Contribution are
in the ownership of the acquirer and shall be used in accordance with Article 4.15 paragraph
6 of the Regulations.
3. The NCU or the Executing Agency shall ensure that the receiving entity agrees under contract
to fulfil the obligations set out in Article 4.15 paragraph 2 of the Regulations concerning
equipment, installations and buildings financed by the Contribution.
4. In accordance with Article 4.15 paragraph 7 the Parties shall agree in writing following the
completion of the Support Measure on the use and ownership of the assets provided with the
support of the Swiss Contribution.
5. The ownership of the proprietary rights in and to the results of the activities performed under
this Support Measure, any intellectual property rights, including copyright, and the right to any
revenues generated by the intellectual property rights shall be agreed in writing by the Parties
on completion of the Support Measure.
Article 11 — Reimbursement procedures, reporting, audits, compliance
Reimbursement procedures, reporting, auditing and compliance rules are set out in the
Framework Agreement and the Regulations.
Article 12—Annexes
The following Annexes are governed by this Support Measure Agreement:
Annex A: Final version of the Support Measure Proposal 22.05.2024, including Logframe
Annex B: Budget
Annex C: Initial Procurement Plan
Annex D: Decision Letter from SDC
Article 13 — Amendments
The Support Measure may be modified in accordance with Article 4.12 of the Regulations. In the
cases as described in Article 4.12 paragraph 8 of the Regulations, the modification of the Support
Measure shall be formalised by way of an amendment to this Support Measure Agreement. This
shall be done by the Parties signing the amendment.
Article 14 — Suspension and termination
The Support Measure Agreement may be suspended or terminated in accordance with Article
4.16 of the Regulations.
6
Article 15— Entry into force and duration
This Support Measure Agreement covers the duration of the Support Measure as stated in
Article 2 paragraph 3.
2. This Support Measure Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the last signature of
the Parties and remain in force until all obligations under it have been fulfilled.
Signed in Tallinn on 31 May 2024, in two original copies in the English language.
For the Swiss Agency for Development and For the State Shared Service Centre
Cooperation
Martin Michelet Urmo Merila
Ambassador of Switzerland to Latvia, Deputy Director General
Lithuania and Estonia
31.05.2024 31.05.2024
Swiss-Eston ian Cooperation Programme
Annex A: Final version of the Support
Measure Proposal 22.05.2024, including
Logframe
on
the Support Measure
Supporting Social Inclusion
Second Swiss Contribution
Estonia
Support Measure Proposal
SWISS-ESTONIAN
Cooperation Programme I
22.05.2024
Title Supporting Social Inclusion
Executing Agency Ministry of Culture
Partner State Support Measure
Code (if any)
Support Measure Type Programme
Table of contents
1. Basic information 5
2. Strategic Support Measure description 6
2.1 Lead 6
2.2 Context and relevance 6
2.3 Impact hypothesis I Objectives 9
2.4 Intervention Strategy 13
2.5 Beneficiaries 17
2.6 Programme Component Characteristics and regional focus 18
2.7 Overview Swiss Support Measure Partners 18
2.8 Sustainability 19
2.9 Other strategic issues 20
3. Support Measure readiness 21
3.1 Context 21
3.2 Application for funds from Support Measure Preparation Fund 21
4. Operational Support Measure description 22
4.1 Applying organisation (Executing Agency) 22
4.1.1 Organisation structures of Executing Agency and Support Measure 22
4.1.2 Support Measure management team 22
4.1.3 Programme and project management experience 25
4.2 Detailed intervention strategy and activities 25
4.2.1 Communication activities 25
4.2.2 Detailed implementation schedule 26
4.3 Logframe 27
4.4 Swiss Support Measure Partner 42
4.5 Stakeholder consultations 42
4.6 Tentative Budget 44
4.6.1 Detailed tentative budget 44
4.6.2 Tentative Disbursement Plan 46
4.7 Risk Analysis and Risk Management 47
4.8 Monitoring and Steering 48
5. Annexes 50
6. Annex 1: Detailed Information to Programme Component I (Ministry of Culture)
51
6.1 Programme Component Operator 51
6.1.1 Basic Information 51
6.1.2 Programme Component Operator Management 52
6.1.3 Programme Component Management 53
2
6.1.4 Programme and Project Management Experience 53
6.2 Description of Programme Component 1 55
6.2.1 Short Summary 55
6.2.2 Activities and Expected Results 55
6.3 Beneficiaries 57
6.4 Sustainability 57
6.5 Budget 58
6.6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management 59
7. Annex 2: Detailed Information to Programme Component 2 (Ministry of Social
Affairs) 60
7.1 Programme Component Operator 60
7.1.1 Basic Information 60
7.1.2 Programme Component Operator Management 61
7.1.3 Programme Component Management 61
7.1.4 Programme and Project Management Experience 62
7.2 Description of Component 2 62
7.2.1 Short Summary 62
7.2.2 Activities and Expected Results 64
7.3 Beneficiaries 65
7.4 Sustainability 66
7.5 Budget 66
7.6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management 66
8. Annex 3: Detailed Information to Programme Component 3 (Ministry of
Education and Research) 68
8.1 Programme Component Operator 68
8.1.1 Basic Information 68
8.1.2 Programme Component Operator Management 69
8.1.3 Programme Component Management 69
8.1.4 Programme and Project Management Experience 70
8.2 Programme Component Description 70
8.2.1 Short Summary 70
8.2.2 Activities and Expected Results 71
8.3 Beneficiaries 72
8.4 Sustainability 72
8.5 Budget 73
8.6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management 74
9. Annex 4: Detailed Information to Programme Component 4 (Ministry of the
Interior) 75
9.1 Programme Component Operator 75
9.1.1 Basic Information 75
3
9.1.2 Programme Component Operator Management 76
9.1.3 Programme Component Management 76
9.1.4 Programme and Project Management Experience 77
9.2 Programme Component Description 78
9.2.1 Short Summary 78
9.2.2 Activities and Expected Results 79
9.3 Beneficiaries 82
9.4 Sustainability 82
9.5 Budget 82
9.6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management 83
Annex 5: Overview of the policy dialogue for preparing sectoral development plans
and strategies 85
1. Basic information
Title Supporting Social Inclusion (SSIP)
Support Measure Type Programme
Objective Managing migration and supporting integration. Increasing
public safety
Thematic Area Providing support to migration management and promoting
integration measures
Planned Duration [months] 51
Requested Swiss contribu- 18.6 million
tion (CHF)
Requested co-financing 85%
rate of Switzerland [%]
Name of the Executing Ministry of Culture
Agency
Type of entity National administration
Name of contact person Olga Gnezdovski
Position Coordinator of the Estonian-Swiss Cooperation Programme
Correspondence address Suur-Karja 23, 15076 Tallinn
E-Mail olga gnezdovski~kul.ee
Webpage and social media www.kul.ee
(if any) . .
https://www facebook com/Kultuuriministeerium/
YouTube Ministry of Culture
https:llwww. linkedin.com/comjany/kultuuriministeerium/
Mobile +372 555 28 081
Has the Executing Agency previously received funding from the YesLi NoI~
Swiss Contribution?
2. Strategic Support Measure description
2.1 Lead
The Supporting Social Inclusion Programme (SSIP) aims to improve the opportunities for
people living in Estonia, especially people from different cultural and linguistic back
grounds to participate more actively in Estonian society focusing on improving the avail
—
ability and quality of integration, education, social welfare services and promoting social inno
vation.
The goal contributes to the national strategy “Estonia 2035” and objectives of the sectoral
strategies. SSIP is coordinated in close collaboration with four ministries to address problems
related to social inclusion in Estonia.
2~2 Context and relevance
Estonia is home to many people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds and given
the future trends, Estonia is becoming even more diverse.
According to the data of the Population Register, as of 01.01.2024 there are 1 371 446 inhab
itants in Estonia, of whom 1,130,330 are Estonian citizens. The number of persons with unde
termined citizenship is 62 048 (4.5% of the population). The number of citizens from third (i.e.
non-EU) countries is 179 068 (the largest share being citizens of the Russian Federation (80
313), followed by persons with Ukrainian citizenship (49 777)). An estimated 200 000 Estoni
ans live abroad.
According to the 2021 census, 211 ethnic groups live in Estonia. 69% of the country’s popula
tion are Estonians, 24% Russians, 2% Ukrainians, 0.9% Belarusians and 0.6% Finns.
On 24.02.2022, Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine intensified, forcing Ukrainian citizens
to leave the country en masse. This is a large-scale humanitarian crisis, and it is not known
exactly when those fleeing the war in Ukraine will be able to return safely and permanently to
their country or region of origin. Estonia is supporting the Ukrainian refugees to help them
settle quickly and manage their lives here until they can return home. As of 2022, the Ukrainian
community in Estonia has grown by more than 68 000 people. As of 31.12.2023, 50 654 per
sons have applied for temporary protection status and 6, 379 Ukrainian citizens have applied
for international protection.
While Estonia has made significant progress in promoting social inclusion and cohesion, there
are still some challenges that the country faces. Language-based and spatial segregation and
the resulting inequality is present in many areas. Inequality and lack of unifying values may
lead to the polarisation of society and increase the likelihood of value conflicts between people
from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Here are some of the challenges of social inclusion and aspects of inequality existing in the
Estonian society that will be addressed by the activities of the SSIP:
• 59% (approximately 240 thousand) of permanent residents with non-Estonian
origin and 84% (approximately 20 thousand) of new immigrants do not speak
Estonian or speak it insufficiently. Insufficient Estonian language knowledge results
in reduced social and educational opportunities, employment prospects, difficulties in
understanding and participating in cultural and political life.
• Lack of communication between different ethnical groups. People, whose mother
tongue is not Estonian, mostly live in ethnically homogeneous areas in Ida-Viru County
6
and Harju County (md. some parts of Tallinn) and do not communicate with Estonians
on a daily basis. According to the Estonian Integration Monitoring (ElM)1, 44% of new
immigrants communicate with Estonians less than once a week. Approximately half of
new immigrants (44%) have no contact with Estonians.
• The media spaces of Estonians and people of other ethnicities differ, and this
results in different attitudes and values. According to ElM, Russian-speaking residents
of Estonia are simultaneously influenced by the local Russian-language media, Rus
sian media and, to a lesser extent, Estonian-language media. Unlike Estonians, who
are in a fairly cohesive media space (md. linguistically), people of other ethnicities re
ceive quite conflicting information from the media about both Estonian and world
events. Low level of media literacy among Russian speaking population makes it more
susceptible to hostile propaganda and can cause wider spread of fake news.
• The segregation in the Estonian education system and the war in Ukraine have
posed a challenge how to provide quality education in Estonian to all children in Esto
nia, regardless of their mother tongue. In 2023, the Estonian government decided to
implement the education reform and by 2030 the Estonian school system will be unified
and focused on the Estonian language. Specialists in the field of education and social
welfare require the knowledge and skills to teach and act in a multicultural environment.
Parents also need guidance and support to reduce prejudices and fears related to the
transition to Estonian-language education.
• Social sector must also adapt to the war refugees who have arrived in Estonia, both in
terms of skills to work with them and to integrate them into the labour market. Estonian
labour market of social welfare and child protection workers is characterized by
ageing population, but at the same the need for labour force increases and the
sector is becoming increasingly demanding in terms of the skills of the work-
force. Another problem is the need for the social sector workforce. There is a
great need for more than 20,000 workers over the next ten years, either due to the
creation of new jobs, the turnover of workers or the replacement of workers in the main
occupations in the sector. Estonia plans to implement a number of extensive reforms
in the coming years that are directly related to the availability of the workforce and
competencies in the field of social welfare and child protection. Reform of long-term
care envisages increase in volume and quality of services, which in turn means need
for additional employees and raising their qualifications. Proposed changes in the sup
port system for children with special needs and organization of child protection will lead
to a change in the role of child protection workers, which means creation of a new
system of basic, vocational and in-service training, new specialties and additional corn
petencies.
• Alongside the Estonian people, civil society is the cornerstone of a cohesive and
inclusive society. There are a total of 23,390 non-profit organisations in Estonia and
49% of people have volunteered (survey of 2019). Among senior citizens, young people
and people from different cultural and linguistic background, the desire to volunteer is
higher than the actual participation so far.
• The integration and social inclusion of people from different cultural and linguis
tic backgrounds is a complex challenge. Solving such challenges with no single
owner can be promoted by using social innovation methods. Social innovation is
about co-creating new ideas and new ways of doing things by involving various stake
holders, resulting in more efficient societies and communities.
1 https://www.kul .ee/en/estonian-integration-monitoring-2020
7
National strategic framework
Activities will contribute to the national development strategy “Estonia 2035”, particularly its
strategic goal “Estonia’s society is caring, cooperative and open”, which underpins a soci
ety that is based on a sense of belonging, common values and a willingness of the people to
actively contribute to the achievement of common goals.
The SSIP is in line with several sectoral development plans and other relevant Estonian stra
tegic documents:
• Cohesive Estonia Strategy 2021-2030
• Integration Programme 2023-2026
• National Defence Development Plan 2022-2031
• Welfare Development Plan 2023-2030
• Education Strategy 2021-2035
• Youth Sector Development Plan 2021-2035
• Estonian Language Strategy 2021 -2035
• Estonian Language Development Plan
Synergieslcomplementarity with funding programmes and other donors
• Activities in the field of integration are also funded from the EU European Social Fund+
(ESF+), Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and Estonian state budget but
are focused on different challenges and partly aimed at different target groups. Activi
ties under the ESF+ aim to promote the socio-economic integration of new immigrants,
permanent residents with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds and returnees.
Activities funded from AMIF are mainly targeted on receivers of international protection.
AMIF will focus on early intervention measures and initial and rapid response, support
ing integration, including adaptation, on a one-stop-shop basis as soon as third-country
nationals arrive in Estonia, e.g. support services, information and participation activi
ties, counselling, pre-departure measures, etc.
• ESF+ entails development of a new child protection management model and its piloting
as well as promoting integrated services, improving the quality and access of social
services, but activities related to labour force, their qualifications, support system have
been channelled to the SSIP. Professional development and support for the target
groups activities are also the aim of the in-service training offered with funding from
state budget and the ESF+, but trainings for language Integrated Learning (CLIL) edu
cators and A1-A2 level Estonian language as second language teachers and training
to promote the development of knowledge and skills for teaching and working in a mul
ticultural environment will be funded by the SSIP.
• Activities related to social innovation have been co-funded by the European Commis
sion (EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation) through a two-year project
“National Competence Centres for Social Innovation”. The project reached three main
goals: 1) development of the social innovation (SI) ecosystem in Estonia; 2) introducing
Estonian SI methods to project partner countries and other EU member states; and 3)
getting to know the best practices in the field of SI in partner countries and learning
from their experience. A key outcome of the project was also the creation of Estonian
social innovation vision document until 2030 (an English language version of the vision
document will be published in early 2024). The Swiss Contribution is built upon the
results of SSIP and the objectives and policy recommendations described in the vision
document have provided valuable input for the activities that will be undertaken within
the framework of the SSIP.
8
Stakeholders
Programme Donor who provides financial support for the SSIP. Their interest is to obtain the
greatest possible impact of SSIP activities; therefore, donor aims to reach a common under
standing between the interests of the donor and Estonia.
Ministries who act as programme operator and programme component operators in
SSIP. Their interest is to finance interventions in order to get their policy objectives met. Their
power position in policy making is high therefore they are key players for SSIP donor to achieve
its interest. They hold a significant influence over the SSIP, due to their role of policy setting in
the fields of social inclusion.
Implementers hold a significant role in achieving SSIP results, as they communicate directly
with target groups, they have to have clear understanding why and how activities are selected
to address issues.
Partners of the implementers who have to get on board by explaining the added value their
competence will provide and what they can gain from participating. Their influence is rather
high to get planned results, but as they are also aware of the importance of the planned activ
ities on their field, no major opposition is expected.
Opponents are organizations, parties and individuals who are sceptical or critical of integration
policies and selected activities. No great opposition is expected, but providing information and
monitoring their behaviour is crucial, also explaining one’s positions when necessary.
For more detailed analysis see annex 9. For stakeholder consultations see chapter 4.5.
2.3 Impact hypothesis I Objectives
The goal of SSIP is improved opportunities for people living in Estonia, especially peo
ple from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds to participate more actively in
Estonian society.
The activities proposed in the Support Measure will contribute to reducing socio-economic
disparities, addressing systemic inequalities, and empowering marginalized groups in Estonia
because they help to ensure equal opportunities for people from different cultural and linguistic
backgrounds. This will be achieved by:
• Providing knowledge and enhancing opportunities for people from different cultural and
linguistic backgrounds to actively engage in Estonian society.
• Developing and modernizing curricula for social sector workers.
• Developing a complementary education/training system for social sector workers and
training of specialists.
• Providing in-service training for professionals in the education sector and informing,
consulting, and supporting activities for parents.
• Providing communities, organisations, and individuals information and opportunities to
implement social innovation methods to co-design innovative solutions to integration
and social inclusion problems.
The activities proposed in the SSIP are based on analyses that were undertaken during the
preparation of the Estonian national strategic development plan ‘Estonia 2035”, other sectoral
development plans and strategies and previous projects funded by the EU.
Involvement of the Swiss partners will strengthen the bilateral relations between Estonia and
Switzerland and create new connections between people, communities, and organisations.
The immediate outcomes of the SSIP are:
9
e Established processes enable people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds
participate more actively in Estonian society.
• People from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds are empowered to participate
in Estonian society more actively.
• Professionals in education and social sector have acquired new skills and knowledge
and are ready to work with people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
• Communities, organisations and individuals have gained new knowledge in social in
novation methods to design solutions to better integrate and include people from dif
ferent cultural and linguistic backgrounds in the Estonian society.
The intermediate outcomes of the SSIP are:
• People from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds are actively participating in
Estonian society.
• Professionals in education and social sector offer services according to modernised
and new curricula tailored also to work with people from different cultural and linguistic
backgrounds.
• Communities, organisations and individuals successfully implement the new
knowledge gained in social innovation methods to design solutions to better integrate
and include people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds in the Estonian
society.
The following outputs are planned to be achieved during implementation of the SSIP.
• Activities introducing the Estonian cultural space to people from different cultural and
linguistic backgrounds are provided.
• Counselling services are made available and used.
• Activities for parents, md. from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, are devel
oped and provided.
• Media literacy programme is launched.
o Digital tools are developed, piloted and rolled-out.
• Modernised curricula and new curricula for professionals in the fields of education and
social welfare have been approved and are in force.
• Professionals in the fields of education and social welfare have received complemen
tary training according to new curricula.
• A support/counselling system for social sector workers has been developed and is op
erational.
• Civil society competence building activities carried out.
• A set of social innovation training and information materials created, published, and
disseminated.
• Volunteers are trained.
The SSIP goal and outcomes will be achieved by implementing four programme components
(see Annex 1-4 for details).
10
In summary:
if, activities introducing the Estonian cultural space to people from different cultural and lin
guistic backgrounds are provided, counselling services are made available and used, activities
for parents, md. from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds are developed and provided,
media literacy programme is launched, digital tools are developed, piloted and rolled-out, mod
ernised curricula and new curricula for professionals in the fields of education and social wel
fare have been approved and are in force, professionals in the fields of education and social
welfare have received complementary training according to new curricula, a support/counsel
ling system for social sector workers has been developed and is operational, civil society com
petence building activities are carried out, a set of social innovation training and information
materials created, published, and disseminated and volunteers are trained
then established processes enable people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds
participate more actively in Estonian society, people from different cultural and linguistic back
grounds are empowered to participate in Estonian society more actively, professionals in edu
cation and social sector have acquired new skills and knowledge and are ready to work with
people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, communities, organisations and in
dividuals have gained new knowledge in social innovation methods to design solutions to bet
ter integrate and include people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds in the Esto
nian society
because opportunities for people living in Estonia, especially people from different cultural and
linguistic backgrounds to participate more actively in Estonian society are improved.
11
Figure 1: Results chain with components vlsualised at activity level.
Improved opportunities for people living in Estouia, especially people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds to participate
more actively in Estonian society-
Outcome In: Established grocesses enable people Outcome 2: Professionals in education and social Outcome 3: Communities, organisatsona and individuals
a, from different cultural and lmgusstic backgrounda sector have acquired new skills and knowledge and are have gained new knowledge in social innovation methods
a participate more actively in Estonsan society ready to work with people from dsff~rent linguistic and to design solutions to better integrate sod include people
C Outcome ib: People from different cultural and cultural backgrounds. from different cultural aid linguistic backgrounds in the
~ linguistic backgrounds are opowered to pscbcspate Estouisu society.
1= 0 in Estonsan society more actnely. A
4’ I
• I I
II 1.2 1.3 1.4 13 21 2 2.3 3.1 3.2 33
Activities Counselling Activities Modernised
‘ introducing services ste forparents Media Digital ~uincuia and nan Professionals A Civil society Ases of win! Volunteers
the made liter- tools sre curnculs for ha e received suppost counselli competence anorstion re trained.
Estoman available developed programme developed, professionals in ~ complementar) ng system for building
ad uad. ~ is piloted and fields of education tninmg social sector activates ~
space are provided. lsiiiidied. rolled~oiit and social welfare sccordin~ tO workers has been caned out.
-I I 1-
provided, have been approved new curricula, developed and is disseminated.
and ire in force. operations).
t 4 4’ t
Provision of ~ Provision of Psepsialion Cunicula and Tsainiug la-service Building civil society mmpetecce.
ufrth~ cossiselling ?ecnsuhing, media of digits) ofessiosal ad tsasoisg its
tb~ servicer a — niusfinma qn~hce~. cosmsellittg professionals is the
inchaiiig in suppg tsainisg. en lathe modification sv~ lathe ot~aton
laguage ~L field of education aethitia
C,
tU ~nieg p~. with — s~.
Raising public sureness ad
&s~testss~ i~emstiou on social
biok~mla
Cteapeumt 3 Cunpouct I
Conpeems 2 Cnspmasi 3 Ccennmet4
Ctenpcruit I
2.4 Intervention Strategy
The primary focus of the SSIP is on three main direct target groups.
• People from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds (including recipients of tem
porary and international protection status and new migrants).
• Professionals working in the fields of education and social welfare.
• Multiplicators: NGO-s and social enterprises who deal with migrants and people from
different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, as well as public and private sector or
ganisations.
Allocating funding and resources to these target groups is crucial for accomplishing the SSIP’s
goal. The longer aim of the SSIP is to foster harmonized values and reinforce cultural, social,
and economic ties within the Estonian society. The SSIP strives to create a society that appre
ciates diversity, promotes inclusivity, and encourages active participation and a sense of be
longing among different communities and nationalities. The long-term aim of the SSIP supports
Estonian national development strategy “Estonia 2035”, particularly its strategic goal “Estonia’s
society is caring, cooperative and open”. The activities of the SSIP are in synergy with and
complement other sources of funding (please see chapter 2.2).
The Estonian government decided on the 26th of May and on the 6th of September 2022 which
thematic themes and activities should be covered in the Swiss-Estonian co-operation pro
gramme and which ministries should act as programme operators and programme component
operators. The decisions were based on state level strategies, including the state budget strat
egy of Estonia.
Intervention strategy aims to achieve outcomes related to the integration and social inclusion
of people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds in Estonia. The SSIP is structured
into four programme components, each led by different programme component operators. The
activities within each component are designed to contribute to specific outcomes and they
derive from several national documents that set way for the strategic focus for the next years
(please see chapter 2.2). The strategy documents have been developed by numerous stake-
holders of the policy field and they have highlighted the challenges within the Estonian society
that need to be tackled, like:
- insufficient Estonian language knowledge among residents and new immigrants result
ing in reduced social and educational opportunities, employment prospect, difficulties
in understanding and participating in cultural and political life;
- lack of communication between different ethnical groups;
- different media spaces of Estonians and people of other ethnicities;
- segregated Estonian education system (moving towards unified Estonian school sys
tem by 2030);
- the qualification of child protection workers does not prepare them well enough to work
directly with children and families, the support system is insufficient (from the manage
ment and professional development) and the current workforce is not trained specifi
cally to work with migrants
- the participation of immigrants and third country nationals in the civil society organisa
tions, which can enhance their integration, is relatively modest, especially in Eastern
Estonia.
The selection of activities within each programme component was based on a careful assess
ment of the specific needs and challenges faced by people from different cultural and linguistic
13
backgrounds in Estonia, as well as the broader goals of promoting integration and social inclu
sion. Decisions are based on studies, previous experiences, and stakeholder consultations.
For more, please see Chapter 2.2 and Annexes 1-4.
The Programme Operator is the Ministry of Culture (M0C) financial department. Programme
operator ensures effectively functioning management and control system, plans and imple
ments the communication activities in cooperation with the programme component operators,
prepares Programme reports, establishes the Support Measure Steering Committee and or
ganises its work (also performs the duties of the Secretary). Programme operator may sign
partnership agreement with Swiss partner.
The SSIP overall goal and outcomes will be achieved by implementing four Programme com
ponents (see Annex 1-4 for detailed activities).
Programme component I “Cultural and linguistic integration”.
Programme component operator is the MoC. The responsibilities of the programme compo
nent operator are carried out by the Department of Cultural Diversity (DCD) of the MoC
whose task is to ensure policy formulation in the field of integration, to coordinate its imple
mentation, and to support the development of the cultural life of minorities living in Estonia and
compatriots living outside Estonia. Programme Component Operator is responsible for all pro
gramme component coordination as well as content and financial reporting and communication
with donors and oversight of activities at the component level. Activities are conducted by The
Integration Foundation and partner National Library.
Implementer for four activities is The Integration Foundation which is a private legal entity of
which the MoC exercises the rights of the founder, created for initiation and support of activities
aimed at the integration of Estonian society among Estonians and non-Estonians, initiation and
support of activities related to immigration. According to the Articles of Association of the Foun
dation the founder of the foundation is the Republic of Estonia.
Partner of the DCD in activity “Provision of media literacy training” is the National Library of
Estonia (RARA) which is a legal person in public law. The purpose of the national library is to
increase the initiative, awareness and responsibility based on knowledge and information in
the society, promote the country, European common values, culture, and democracy.
Programme component 1 will mainly contribute to outputs 1.1-1.5 and outcome 1 a and lb (See
Annex 1).
Programme component 2 “Strengthening the social- and child protection services.”
Programme component operator is the Ministry of Social Affairs (M0SA) who is the policy
holder for managing social insurance and welfare services, child protection services as well as
integrating these services with employment. Programme Component Operator is responsible
for all programme component coordination as well as content and financial reporting and com
munication with donors and oversight of activities at the component level.
MoSa is also an implementer of the activities.
For curricula updates, the MoSA will engage partners as the University of Tartu, TTK Uni
versity of Applied Sciences as well Tallinn University being also the only university in Es
tonia providing a masters’ programme for child protection specialists.
At vocational level the care worker professional standards are developed and monitored by
the Estonian Social Work Association. Care worker programmes for different specialists is
14
offered in 7 vocational schools (Haapsalu, Jarvamaa, Kuressaare, Pärnumaa, Valgamaa as
well as Tallinn and Tartu Health Care Colleges). After the professional standards for care work
ers have been updated, the MoSA will facilitate the modernisation of curricula in an equal
manner in all 7 vocational schools where the specialists are taught.
For the creation of a complementary education/training system for child protection and care
workers, training the specialists as well as providing a support/counselling system at local gov
ernment level, the MoSA will partner up mainly with the Social Insurance Board. Social In
surance Board is a government institution that is a central player in coordinating nationwide
child protection work, training specialists and counselling local governments concerning social-
and child protection services.
Additionally, engaging the Union of Child Welfare as one of the partners in child welfare
activities is important and partnering with National Institute for Health Development is cur
rently also under consideration, because they are currently the lead in complementary educa
tion provision for care workers.
Programme component 2 will mainly contribute to output 2.1-2.3 and outcome 2 (See Annex
Programme component 3 “Increasing multicultural competence in the education sec
tor,”
Programme component operator is the Ministry of Education and Research (M0ER) who is
responsible for the planning of education, research, youth and language related national poli
cies and, in conjunction thereof, managing the fields of pre-primary, basic, general upper sec
ondary, vocational secondary, higher, hobby and adult education, organising research and
development activities, youth work and special youth work, and compiling drafts of correspond
ing legal acts. Programme Component Operator is responsible for all programme component
coordination as well as content and financial reporting and communication with donors and
oversight of activities within programme component.
MoER activities are implemented by the Education and Youth Board, who is a government
agency, which deals with the implementation of the education and youth policy of the Estonian
state. It is responsible for processing service providers and coordinating various training activ
ities.
For the updating of the curricula, the Education and Youth Board will involve the University
of Tartu and the Tallinn University as partners, as these two universities are the only univer
sities in Estonia to offer teacher training and are responsible for high-quality in-service training
for education and youth workers. University of Tartu offers research-based, in-service train
ing for teachers, special education teachers and social pedagogues. There is also an extended
in-service training programme for teachers, head teachers and university staff. Tallinn Uni
versity offers degree programmes at Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral level and organises
continuing education, research, development and creative activities.
Programme component 3 will contribute mainly to outputs 1.3, 2.1 and 2.2 and outcomes 1
and 2 (See Annex 3).
Programme component 4 “Strengthening civil society through social innovation”.
Programme component operator is the Ministry of Interior (Mol) who is responsible for en
suring public order and internal security, regulating crisis management and rescue works,
guarding and protecting the state border and assuring the border regime, coordinating citizen
ship and migration issues, coordinating issues concerning population and vital statistics and
supporting the development of civil society, as well as volunteerism and religious associations.
15
Programme Component Operator is responsible for all programme component coordination as
well as content and financial reporting and communication with donors and oversight of activi
ties within programme component.
The programme component activities will be implemented by the National Foundation of
Civil Society (NFCS) which is a state financed civil society fund, development and support
centre that focuses on helping to build the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs). While
NFCS is funded by the government, it functions independently under the guidance of its board
which consists mainly of the representatives of CSOs.
Programme component 4 will mainly contribute to output 3.1-3.3 and outcome 3 (See Annex
The activities within the programme components are in line with national strategic and sectoral
development plans, are in synergy with other sources of funding and were thoroughly dis
cussed with relevant stakeholders. Activities are budgeted cost-effectively considering experi
ence with previous and ongoing similar projects.
Programme components are interconnected because they address various aspects of the in
tegration process comprehensively, ensuring that people from different linguistic and cultural
backgrounds can become active participants in Estonian society. Moreover, they are aligned
with sectoral development plans, coordinated with other funding sources, and involve stake-
holder input to maximize their impact and cost-effectiveness.
Outcomes of the SSIP will be achieved by the activities of the four programme compo
nents led by different programme operatorslministries as follows:
Immediate outcome la: “Established processes enable people from different cultural and lin
guistic backgrounds participate more actively in Estonian society” and I b: “People from differ
ent cultural and linguistic backgrounds are empowered to participate in Estonian society more
actively” will be achieved by:
- programme component 1 activities, which deal with cultural and linguistic integration
and programme component 3 activity, which deals with providing informing, consulting
and supporting activities for parents md. parents from different cultural and linguistic
backgrounds.
Key activities: Activities introducing the Estonian cultural space; provision of counsel
ling services including in independent language learning; preparation of digital trans
formation in the field of integration (implemented by The Integration Foundation). Pro
vision of media literacy training (implemented by (DCD) of the MoC and RARA as
partner). Informing, consulting and supporting parents, md. parents from different cul
tural and linguistic backgrounds (implemented by Education and Youth Board).
Immediate outcome 2: Professionals in education and social sector have acquired new skills
and knowledge and are ready to work with people from different cultural and linguistic back
grounds will be achieved by:
- programme component 2 activities that address the strengthening of social services
and child protection services and the activities of programme component 3, which deal
with in-service training of professionals in the education sector.
Key activities: Modernising the curricula (implemented by the MoSA, partners are Uni
versity of Tartu, TTK University of Applied Sciences as well Tallinn University, at the
16
vocational level Estonian Social Work Association); Training the professionals (imple
mented by the MoSA, partners are the Social Insurance Board, Union of Child Welfare,
partnership with National Institute for Health Development is under consideration). In-
service training for professionals in the education sector; (implemented by Education
and Youth Board, partners are Tartu University and Tallinn University).
Immediate outcome 3: Communities, orcianisations and individuals have gained new
knowledge in social innovation methods to design solutions to better integrate and include
people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds in the Estonian society will be
achieved by:
- programme component 4 activities, which deal with strengthening civil society, includ
ing a focus on the social inclusion of migrants and refugees through social innovation
and programme component 1 activity, which deals with the inclusion of volunteers in
the integration activities.
Key activities: building civil society competence, raising public awareness and dissem
inating information on social innovation (implemented by NFCS) and inclusion of vol
unteers in the integration activities (implemented by The Integration Foundation).
For detailed information about the programme components see annexes 1-4
Policy dialogue
The activities of the SSIP are in line with Estonia’s sectoral development plans and strategies
(mentioned in chapter 2.2 under National strategic framework) and national strategy ,,Esto
nia 2035”, which have been widely discussed in a range of consultations In Estonia, the
preparation of strategies is an open process, and everyone can participate in it. The strategy
,,Estonia 2035” was agreed upon through joint discussions, analyses, workshops and opinion
gathering between non-governmental partners, experts, researchers, politicians, entrepre
neurs, officials and many other stakeholders. Almost 17,000 people from all over Estonia have
contributed to the completion of “Estonia 2035”. As regards strategic development plans and
their strategy planning process, they have also been drawn up in a political dialogue that in
volved discussions among stakeholders to raise issues, share perspectives and find common
ground. Expert groups and sectoral working groups composed of representatives of sectoral
organisations and non-governmental organisations was established. To formulate the strategic
goals and metrics, the ministries formed working groups involving key partners and stakehold
ers. The working groups discussed the strengths and bottlenecks of the sector, formulated
goals and key development activities. The drafts of the sectoral development plans were
agreed with partners and public consultation was carried out in the government draft infor
mation system.
The need for additional policy dialogue will be monitored through the implementing process
depending on actual needs.
Please find more detailed description of the consultation process in annex 5. For stakeholder
consultations, see chapter 4.5.
2.5 Beneficiaries
SSlP~s direct beneficiaries are: (i) Civic society organizations (including NGOs and social
enterprises); (ii) care workers, (iii) child protection workers of the local authorities, (v) educa
tional and youth work professionals, (vi) education officials of the local authorities, (vii) volun
teers, (viii) educational and youth work organizations.
17
Indirect beneficiaries are: (i) people from different cultural and linguistic background (includ
ing recipients of temporary and international protection status and new migrants), (ii) cultural
societies of ethnic minorities, (iii) people in need of social welfare services (iv) children and
families, (v) local authorities. It is expected that SSIP will have a national cover and benefit
most of the population of Estonia.
For overview of implementation locations see annex 6.
2.6 Programme Component Characteristics and regional focus
Is the benefit of the Project national or regional? NationaII~1 Regional LI
If regional, indicate the benefiting NUTS-2 region(s):
2.7 Overview Swiss Support Measure Partners
Is/are a/several Swiss Support Measure Partner(s) foreseen to be YesI~1 Not]
involved in and contributing to the implementation of the Support
Measure?
A Terms of References for seeking a Swiss Strategic Partner was sent out to the identified
institutions on February 02, 2024, The final decision will be made by March 08, 2024. The
partnership agreement will be concluded after the signing of the Support Measure Agreement.
Please see chapter 4.7.
Name of the partner organisation
If collaboration foreseen in Pro
gramme Component, indicate name
of Component
Partnership status Choose an element,
Type of organ isation Choose an element.
Type of support or partnership Choose an element.
Name of contact person
Position
Correspondence address
Webpage and social media (if any)
E-Mail
Phone Mobile
Has the partner organisation been previously involved in the Swiss YesLi Not]
Contribution
18
2.8 Sustainability
Implemented activities have a potential for long-term impact and will continue to be devel
oped, improved and funded after the end of the SSIP because they are based on national
strategic development plans (see chapter 2.2 “National strategic framework” for a comprehen
sive list). The activities implemented in the SSIP are in accordance with multiple national stra
tegic documents, which are subject to regular evaluation and monitoring. The SSIP ‘s impact
will be evident in the achieved results.
Long term goal of the SSIP, in line with national strategic framework, is cohesive and socially
inclusive society through harmonized values and peoples strengthened cultural, social and
economic connections with the Estonian society. The goal of the SSIP improved opportunities
for people living in Estonia, especially people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds
to participate more actively in Estonian society. Intermediate outcomes of the SSIP are (1)
people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds are active-ly participating in Estonian
society and (2) professionals in education and social sector offer services according to mod
ernised and new curricula tailored also to work with people from different cultural and linguistic
backgrounds. (3) communities, organisations and individuals successfully implement the new
knowledge gained in social innovation methods to design solutions to better integrate and in
clude people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds in the Estonian society. With
immediate outcomes (see chapter 4.3 for logframe) these results are sustained when the
SSIP has ended. Long term goal and intermediate outcomes will be achieved through national
strategic framework as the duration of the SSIP is too short for these aspects to reveal.
The developed curricula, study materials and new ways of working will be integrated into social
sector and educational processes. People working in the field will acquire competencies and
skills that can be used in their daily work for a long term, as well as be passed on to other
specialists in the future. Materials created during the SSIP, including written materials, visuals,
video clips, etc, will be used to train specialists in the fields of integration, education, and social
welfare. New knowledge and innovations that derive from the SSIP will be used to inform future
policy making in the relevant fields. Networks and communities of practice to facilitate contin
uous learning will be established and they will be able to collaborate and exchange knowledge
among individuals and organizations engaged in similar work. This will enhance participants’
expertise and effectiveness, contributing to the sustainability of the SSIP outcomes.
Also, the sustainability and impact of the measures is strongly supported by synergies with
activities carried out in parallel from other funds. All these different interventions and de
velopments are in accordance and follow the strategic directions/goals set in the national stra
tegic framework. For more, please see point 2.2.
The results and impact of the SSIP will be communicated and shared with stakeholders,
the donor and the wider public. By demonstrating the value and achieved goals, we aim to
maintain support and engagement even after the SSIP concludes.
One of the challenges is time schedule constraints as the period to implement the SSIP is
limited. The outputs and the immediate outcomes will be monitored, and results are expected
during the implementation period, but planned activities are also part of long-term strategic
processes. Since the SSIP is among others aimed at different stakeholders expected to par
ticipate in the activities, the challenge is to engage and generate interest in them, which is
why an effective communication is a key.
Activities will also contribute to the Estonian state level reforms: child welfare reform and tran
sition to Estonian-language education in Russian schools (see chapter 2.10).
19
2.9 Other strategic issues
There are two ongoing reforms in Estonia for which this SSIP will contribute:
Child welfare reform
The main goal of the child protection service provision reform in Estonia is to tackle the root
causes of current problems and introduce new approaches and practical solutions that will
bring along long-term positive transformations in our society.
The vision foresees:
• better environment for improving the well-being of children and ensuring their safety;
• service provision that engages the families;
• trust-based and children-friendly service provision;
• preventive and network measures in determining the need for help;
• national case management model in use;
• different specialists working together in teams, expertise and support system is in
place;
• service provision services and support services have been divided;
• life-long learning, growth and self-reflection.
Considering the volume and complexity of the reform, the planned changes will be imple
mented in two stages in 2023, first step of legal amendments were prepared and in 2024,
—
the compilation of the complete text of the new Child Welfare Act will be started (to be com
pleted in 2025).
The execution of the reform is implemented with the support of SSIP as well as with the support
of ESF÷ period 2021-2027, the activities/interventions and target groups being clearly differ
entiated from both financial mechanisms. The SSIP is focused on raising the competencies of
the specialists working in the field of child protection service provision (curricula modernization
as well as complementary education/training system for specialists already engaged in the
field) while ESF+ financial support deals with the renewal of case management system in child
protection services, providing a necessary toolbox for the specialists (science-based evalua
tion tools and networking instruments) and developing an IT solution supporting the specialists
in their activities.
Transition to Estonian-lanciuaqe education
In approximately 15% of Estonian schools the language of instruction is mainly Russian. Both
PISA tests and basic school final exams and upper secondary state exams indicate that stu
dents of Russian-medium schools achieve lower scores compared to their Estonian peers and
the level of proficiency in Estonian as a second language is often not sufficient to be successful
in the labour or educational market. In December 2022 Estonian government approved the
detailed action plan prepared by the Ministry of Education and Research to transition to Esto
nian-language education in Russian schools.
The primary objective of the transition is to provide all children in Estonia with quality education
in Estonian, regardless of their mother tongue. This supports the development of Estonian
national identity, promotes social integration, and reduces educational and socio-economic
20
segregation, benefiting learners in the process. An entirely Estonian-language educational en
vironment also ensures better opportunities for further education, success in the labour market,
and sharing of common information and values in Estonia.
The transition to Estonian-language education is set to begin in kindergartens and in 1st and
4thgrades in 2024, with the aim of completing the process by 2030. Achieving this goal will
require increasing the volume of teaching in Estonian at all levels of education and ensuring
the availability of teachers with the necessary language skills. To conduct the transition, the
Government will allocate 300 million euros from the state budget over the next four years, with
an additional 46 million euros provided by the EU Structural Funds.
The state and ESF funding for the transition to Estonian-language learning contributes primar
ily to hiring new teachers, raising salaries, creating new materials etc. This funding does not
cover the provision of consulting and training activities for parents, who play a crucial role and
require assistance and support in dealing with the fears and uncertainties that may arise during
the transition, that is why support from the SSIP is very important in the transition process.
Higher education institutions also need additional funding to train trainers in independent lan
guage learning and independent language learning methodology and to supplement teacher
training curricula in multilingual and cultural learning environments.
3. Support Measure readiness
3.1 Context
Is the Support Measure proposal a continuation of a Project or Pro- YesO No1XI
gramme supported under the Swiss Contribution (I)?
Was the Support Measure proposal declined during a funding-application YesEl Nol~l
process by other donors (e.g. EU, Norway/EEA)?
If it was declined, explain why.
3.2 Application for funds from Support Measure Preparation Fund
Is support from the Support Measure Preparation Fund requested? YesF~1 NoEl
Support from the Support Measure Preparation Fund was requested by the Programme Oper
ator MoC, Programme Component Operators MoER, Mol and MoSA to cover the costs re
—
lated to the preparation of the second-stage Support Measure Proposal and the management
expenditures in relation to the preparation of the SSIP. SMPF covers the Swiss expert costs,
stakeholder consultation, study visit to Switzerland, staff costs and Support Measure agree
ment signing ceremony. The costs were approved by the donor and were planned for 2023
and 2024. They are financed 100% by Switzerland.
21
4. Operational Support Measure description
4.1 Applying organisation (Executing Agency)
4.1.1 Organisation structures of Executing Agency and Support Measure
The Program Operator is the Ministry of Culture (M0C).
The management structure of the MoC is presented on the scheme bellow (figure 2). Ministry
is directed by the Minister. The Secretary General of a ministry directs the work of the structural
units of the ministry, co-ordinates the activities of state authorities within the area of govern
ment of the ministry and manages the operations of the ministry. There are three Deputy Sec
retary Generals and 9 departments in the MoC. The main department that is directly involved
into management of the Support Measure is the Financial Department (marked with coloured
ring on the figure 2). The Financial Department performs the duties of the programme operator.
Programme Component operators are the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Social Affairs,
the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of the Interior. The management
structure of Programme Component Operators is presented in Annex 6.1.2, 7.1.2, 8.1.2 and
9.1.2.
Figure 2: The organisation structure of the support measure.
I%dlinister
I 1
Secretary Internal Audit ri.ilInster s
General Department Advisers
Art Cultural Cultural
Department Department D,~ Dep~rtment
Estonilan
Cultural
Attaches
Abroad
Estonlan Department Department Department
National Financial of Communi of Human of Strategical
Comm ssion Department cation and Resources and Planning and
for UNESCO International Legal Affairs Innovation
Cooperation
4.1.2 Support Measure management team
Will external management personnel be hired to implement the Support YesEJ Nol~l
Measure?
What personnel capacity will be dedicated Internal resources External resources
for the management of the Support Measure
implementation (in full-time equivalents 2,2 2
FTE)?
Are CVs attached to this documentation? YesLi NoI~l
Are terms of reference for the management functions to be established YesLi NoI~l
attached to this documentation?
Programme will be managed by the Programme Operator.
The Programme Operator has an overall coordinating and monitoring role of the SSIP. Pro
gramme operator ensures effectively functioning management and control system, plans and
implements the communication activities in cooperation with the programme component oper
ators, prepares Programme reports, establishes the Support Measure Steering Committee and
organises its work (also performs the duties of the Secretary).
The Programme Operator will monitor the implementation of the Programme Components.
Annual activities are defined in the annual work plan of the ministry. During year work plan is
regularly monitored. Each Programme Component Operator will nominate the Programme
Component coordinator, who will coordinate the implementation of the concrete component.
There will be Task Force for ongoing monitoring and internal steering, that will meet at least
two times per year and will consist of the Programme Operator, the Programme Component
Operators, the National Coordination Unit (NCU) and the Implementers.
As prescribed by the Regulations there will be the Steering Committee, that will be composed
at least from the NCU, the Embassy of Switzerland’s Swiss Contribution Office to Latvia, the
Programme Operator and Programme Component Operators. The Steering Committee will
supervise the progress of implementation and make suggestions for improvements and ap
prove modifications to the Support Measure. The Steering Committee will meet at least once
per year.
Programme component operators coordinate the preparation and implementation of the re
spective component. Each component operator prepares conditions for granting the support,
monitor, report and communicate component activities. Also gathers information from imple
menters and provides the programme operator with information for the preparation of the an
nual support measure reports, support measure completion report and the reimbursement re
quests.
For the implementation of the SSIP, description of the management and control system will be
established within the timeframe of the year of 2024.
The organ isation structure of the support measure is presented on the figure 3.
Programme operator has externally hired a programme manager (1,0 FTE in Financial De
partment) whose responsibilities encompass overall management and coordination of the
SSIP, serving as the main contact point at the Programme level. This involves the monitoring,
steering, and reporting, also communication with programme component coordinators to col
lect and harmonize cross-programme data and provide input to the NCU for the preparation of
the annual cooperation programme reports and the cooperation programme completion report.
Programme manager will organize the meetings of the steering committee of the support
23
measure, prepare annual support measure reports, the support measure completion report,
reimbursement requests and submit them to the NCU.
Also, financial and technical coordinator (0,9 FTE) will support project lead on financial
themes such as budget and financial reporting and technical issues. Internal resources will be
dedicated for this task.
Programme component operator I the M0C implementation of respective programme com
ponent will be coordinated based on 1 FTE, internal or external resources will be dedicated for
this task.
Programme component operator 2 the MoSA the implementation of respective programme
component will be coordinated based on 0,5 FTE and internal resources will be dedicated for
this task.
Programme component operator 3 the M0ER the implementation of respective programme
component will be coordinated based on 0,5 FTE and internal resources will be dedicated for
this task.
Programme component operator 4 the Mol the implementation of respective programme
component will be coordinated based on 0,2 FTE and internal resources will be dedicated for
this task.
Programme component coordinators are responsible for all programme component coordina
tion as well as content and financial reporting and communication with donors and oversight
of activities within programme component. Programme component coordinators collect infor
mation from the implementers and provide the programme manager with the necessary infor
mation about the activities, outputs, outcomes, and other related matters on an ongoing basis,
including for the preparation of the annual cooperation programme reports, cooperation pro
gramme completion report, annual support measure reports, the support measure completion
report and reimbursement requests. They are members of Task Force for ongoing monitoring
and internal steering.
The State Shared Service Centre (SSSC) (up to 1,2 FTE), the workload is shared between
various employees and varies depending on the nature of the control tasks. SSSC controls
expenditures paid from the support measure, transfers payments to the programme operator,
component operators and implementers, conducts on-the-spot verifications, detects irregular
ities and reclaims the ineligible funds.
The Detailed Management and Control System Description for the SSIP will be compiled.
A more precise division of tasks and responsibilities between the NCU, Programme operator
and Programme Component operators will be provided in the regulation of the government.
The tasks of the employees and officials are regulated with job descriptions and other relevant
documents.
For monitoring and steering mechanisms, see chapter 4.8.
24
Figure 3: The organisation structure of the support measure.
National Coordination Unit
Programme operator
Ministry of Culture
Programme component Programme component Programme component Pro~omme component
opeiator and implernem,ter operator and implemente Operator
M.nistry of Culture Mirnstry of Social Affairs Ministry of Education ~ Ministry of tIme Interior
lrnplei-,menter Integration Implernenter Education lmnplemenner National
Foundation and Youth Board Foundation of Cml Society
Partners universities,
siocactronal schools Social
Partner National Ubrary of
Insurance Board National Partners universItIes
Estona
institute for Health
Oeveioprvent, NGOS
4.1.3 Programme and project management experience
The Programme operator and the Programme component operators (ministries) and imple
menters (boards and foundations) have a long experience with different funding, for detailed
information see annex 1-4.
4.2 Detailed intervention strategy and activities
4.2.1 Communication activities
Since informing public (including target groups, stakeholders, beneficiaries) about the SSIP is
very important, various communication activities are planned during the implementation of the
SSIP. Communication activities will be implemented in cooperation with the Embassy of Swit
zerland’s Swiss Contribution Office to Latvia, NCU, programme operator, programme compo
nent operators and implementers. Information about the communication activities is provided
in the Communication Concept, which will be compiled by the NCU in cooperation with the
programme operator and programme component operators by the end of April 2024. Commu
nication activities are also discussed at the Support Measure Steering Committee meetings.
Information about the Swiss contribution will be made visible in all publications and other in
formation materials related to the SSIP. Relevant and up-to-date information about the SSIP
will be shared on the SSIP webpage. The official webpage of the Swiss contribution will be
created on the national coordination unit’s webpage (www.rtk.ee) and programme operator’s
webpage (www.kul ee). Information about the activities will also be presented on the webpages
and social media channels of other institutions involved in the implementation of the SSIP.
A launching and a closing event for SSIP will be organized by the programme operator in
cooperation with other institutions involved in the implementation of the SSIP.
Throughout the SSIP, whenever it is relevant, press releases to main media outlets and social
media posts on the programme operator’s and component operators’ social media channels
about the events, activities and results will be issued. Therefore, high-quality photo or video
material will also be produced. Distribution statistics of press releases and social media posts
will be regularly monitored and used to adjust the communication activities accordingly.
The detailed planning of the communication activities will be done on an ongoing basis in
cooperation with the programme component operators, NCU and other partners.
4.2.2 Detailed implementation schedule
Please see annex 11.
26
4.3 Logframe
Hierarchy of objectives Key Indicators Sources & Means of Verification Assumptions & Risks
Strategy of Intervention (mci. target values and baseline) (External Factors)
impact Impact Indicators Impact and Means of Verification
Sources
Improved opportunities for people IMP I Contacts that persons of other ethnic nationalities Data received from the monitoring sys- Assumptions:
living in Estonia, especially people have with Estonians2 tem of the development plan “Estonia Political Stability: The assumption that the polit
from different cultural and linguistic Measurement unit: number of contacts 2035”~ ical situation in Estonia will remain stable, en-
backgrounds to participate more suring a conducive environment for integration
actively in Estonian society. Baseline 2020: 2 contacts efforts.
Target 2027: more than 2,5 contacts.
Maintained Migration Flows: The assumption
IMP 2 Participation of persons with different language “Participation in culture” survey5 that migration
their flowsallowing
current level, into Estonia will continue
for effective at
integra
and cultural background: tion planning.
Measurement unit: percent
Risks:
• in employment Bordering Countries’ Instability: The risk of in
o Baseline 2020: 57,3°~’~ creased migration flows due to instability in
o Target 2030: 62% neighbouring countries, potentially impacting
• in cultural life the capacity of integration services to meet the
o Baseline 2020: 72,9% demand.
o Target 2030: 76%
• in sports Resource Allocation: The risk of resource con
o Baseline 2022: 22,1%, straints affecting the ability to provide improved
Target 2030: 30% quality and access to services in integration, ed
ucation, and social welfare, which may limit op
portunities for active participation.
Changing Government Policies: Potential
changes in government policies and priorities
2 Indicator shows the average number of contacts between Estonians and persons of other ethnic nationalities in various spheres of life. Contacts or their absence are assessed based
on how many interactions per month a person has with persons with a different mother tongue in 6 spheres of life: friends, family, leisure, internet, neighbours, work.
https://tamm
~ https://tamm stat.eelkategooriad/ees i-areng?lang=en
~ https://andmed.stat ee/en/statlsotsiaalelu kultuur kultuurielus-osalemine
IMP 3 Proportion of people carrying strong or moderate that may affect the commitment and funding for
state identity3 Estonia’s Integration Monitoring social inclusion programmes.
Measurement unit: percent Societal Resistance: Resistance or challenges
• Ethnical Estonians from segments of society that may oppose or
o Baseline 2020: 78% hinder the goals of social inclusion and integra
o Target 2027: ≥ 79% tion efforts.
. Persons of another ethnic nationalities
o Baseline 2020: 85%
o Target 2027: ≥ 86%
3The indicator shows the proportion of Estonians and Persons of another ethnic nationalities with a strong or medium state identity. State identity is measured using indices that differ for Estonians
and people of other nationalities. In the case of people of another nationality, the index sums up the assessments of the following three statements: a) if you think of yourself as a representative
of your nationality and a representative of the people of Estonia, to whom do you consider yourself to belong?; b) The Estonian state protects my rights and provides public benefits; c) I feel
proud when I see the Estonian flag flying. In the case of Estonians, the index consists of three components, which summarize the assessments of the following three statements: 1. If you think
of yourself as a representative of your nationality and the Estonian people, to whom do you consider yourself to belong? 2. The involvement of non-Estonians in the management of the Estonian
state is beneficial for Estonia. 3. The opinions of non-Estonians should be known better and with them than before to consider more, because they are an important part of Estonian society.
28
Outcomes (Support Measure objectives Ipur- Outcome Indicators Outcome: Sources and Means of Outcome
pose) Verification Assumptions & Risks
Intermediate outcome 1: People from different OCIN 1.1 Percentage of participants who have Focus group discussion and self-eval- Assumptions:
cultural and linguistic backgrounds are ac- claimed that after using the services they participate uation feedback form reports six Effective Integration Activities: As
tively participating in Estonian society. more in cultural life or their number of contacts with months after participation in the activi- sumption that integration activities are
Estonians have increased or his/her position in the Ia- ties. effective in facilitating the active partic
bour market has improved. ipation of individuals from diverse
Measurement unit: percent backgrounds.
Baseline: 0 Supportive Legal Framework: As-
Target: 50% sumption that the legal framework and
policies in Estonia support and en
courage the active participation of di
OCIN 1.2 Core Indicator: Number of migrants and for- System for events database, verse communities.
cibly displaced persons participating in new or ex- registrations sheets. Positive Public Attitudes: The assump
panded measures for social and economic integration tion that the general public in Estonia
(disac,gregatedbygenderandbackground(Estonian, is open to and supportive of the active
migrant))6, participation of individuals from di-
Measurement unit: participations verse backgrounds.
Baseline: 0 Effective Communication: Assumption
Target: 20 ooo that there is effective communication
and information dissemination to
reach and engage individuals from di-
Immediate outcome Ia: Established pro- OCIM (a) 1.1 Processes (the first stage of service cre- verse backgrounds.
cesses enable people from different cultural ation (methodologies, materials, surveys etc)) have Programme reports. Risks:
and linguistic backgrounds participate more been discussed with different partners and target Limited Community Engagement:
actively in Estonian society. group. Risks associated with low engage-
Measurement unit: percent ment from some cultural and linguistic
Baseline: 0 groups, potentially resulting in a lack
Target: 100% of servicesz of diversity in active participation.
Discrimination and Prejudice: Risks of
discrimination or prejudice against in
dividuals from diverse backgrounds,
6 Measures (activities) used in determining core indicator: Activities introducing the Estonian cultural space; Inclusion of volunteers in the integration activities; Provision of counselling services
including in independent language learning; Provision of media literacy training;
~ Services: Activities introducing the Estonian cultural space; Inclusion of volunteers in the integration activities; Provision of counselling services including in independent language learning;
Provision of media literacy training;
29
Outcomes (Support Measure objectives Ipur- Outcome Indicators Outcome: Sources and Means of Outcome
pose) Verification Assumptions & Risks
OCIM (a) 1.2 Services are created and available to Programme reports. which can hamper their active partici
the target group. pation in society.
Information Accessibility: Risks re
Measurement unit: percent lated to limited access to information
Baseline: 0 or communication challenges that may
Target: 100% of services are created and available~ impede empowerment efforts.
Immediate outcome Ib: People from different OCIM (b) 1.1 Percentage of participants who have Focus group discussion and self-eval
cultural and linguistic backgrounds are em- claimed that they are satisfied with the activities and uation feedback form reports immedi
powered to participate in Estonian society that they have gained knowledge for more active par- ately after participation in the activi
more actively. ticipation in the Estonian society, ties.
Measurement unit: percent
Baseline: 0
Target: 75%
OCIM (b) 1.2 Services are made available online. Programme reports.
Measurement unit: yes/no
Baseline: 0
Target: yes9
Intermediate Outcome 2: Professionals in ed- OCIN 2.1 Trained professionals using new skills and Training feedback surveys; focus Assumptions:
ucation and social sector offer services ac- knowledge working also with people from different group interviews / Existence of a sectoral support system
cording to modernised and new curricula tai- cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Programme reports. - management support, horizontal co
lored also to work with people from different Measurement unit: percentage operation network, support system
cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Baseline: N/A (unknown) backed by trained staff (supervision,
etc.)
Target: 70% of enrolled specialists that have passed
a training module Specialists open to changing their
work methods.
8 Services: Activities introducing the Estonian cultural space; Inclusion of volunteers in the integration activities; Provision of counselling services including in independent language learning;
Provision of media literacy training;
~ Services: Provision of counselling services including in independent language learning; Inclusion of volunteers in the integration activities
30
Outcomes (Support Measure objectives /pur- Outcome Indicators Outcome: Sources and Means of Outcome
pose) Verification Assumptions & Risks
OCIN 2.2 Post-training feedback (after 6 months) Training feedback surveys; focus Risks:
group interviews.
given whether the professionals are in fact using the Programme reports. Lack of support and consistency at lo
skills and knowledge acguired in their everyday work. cal level.
Skills provided are not corresponding
Measurement unit: yes/no to the needs and therefore are unusa
ble in real life.
Baseline: 0
Target: yes
OCIN 2.3 Post-training feedback (after 6 months) ac- Training feedback surveys; focus
guired from employers whether they see that service group interviews
Programme I
reports.
provision to people from different cultural and linguis
tic backgrounds has changed for the better.
Measurement unit: yes/no
Baseline: 0
Target: yes
Training feedback surveys; focus
Immediate Outcome 2: Professionals in edu OCIM 2.1 Trained professionals with new skills and group interviews /
cation and social sector have acquired new knowledge ready to work also with people from differ Programme reports.
skills and knowledge and are ready to work ent cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
with people from different cultural and linguis Measurement unit: percentage
tic backgrounds. Baseline: N/A (unknown)
Target: 80% of enrolled specialists that have passed
a training module
OCIM 2.2 Professionals’ expectations asked before Training feedback surveys; focus
starting the complementary trainings. group interviews /
Programme reports.
Measurement unit: yes/no
Baseline: 0
Target: yes
OCIM 2.3 Professionals’ feedback acguired after hay- Training feedback surveys; focus
ing finished the training module on having new skills group interviews /
31
Outcomes (Support Measure objectives /pur- Outcome Indicators Outcome: Sources and Means of Outcome
pose) Verification Assumptions & Risks
and knowledge to work with people from different cul- Programme reports.
tural and linguistic backgrounds.
Measurement unit: yes/no
Baseline: 0
Target: yes
Intermediate outcome 3: Communities, organ OCIN 3.1 Percentage of participants who claim that Participant feedback surveys; post- Assumptions:
isations and individuals successfully imple they have implemented at least some of the event and e-mail questionnaire; focus
group interviews. Communities, organisations and indi
ment the new knowledge gained in social in knowledge gained on social innovation methods in viduals in Estonia are open to use in
novation methods to design solutions to their organisations or communities to design solutions Programme reports.
novative solutions to integrate people
better integrate and include people from dif to social inclusion issues in Estonia. from different cultural and linguistic
ferent cultural and linguistic backgrounds in Measurement unit: percentage backgrounds.
the Estonian society. Baseline: 0 People from different cultural and lin
Target: 50% of respondents guistic backgrounds in Estonia are
willing to engage in social hackathons
and incubation programmes.
OCIN 3.2 Number of innovative ideas developed fur Participant feedback surveys; post-
ther at incubation programmes to help with solving event and e-mail questionnaire; focus
social inclusion and integration problems. Risks:
group interviews.
Measurement unit: number Programme reports. The level of willingness, knowledge
and skills of the communities, organi
Baseline: 0 sations, and individuals to implement
Target: 10 social innovation methods varies con
siderably.
Immediate outcome 3: Communities, organi OCIM 3.1 Percentage of participants who claim (in The surrounding societal environment
sations and individuals have gained new end-of training evaluation) that they have gained new does not support the implementation
knowledge in social innovation methods to knowledge to implement social innovation methods. Participant feedback surveys; post- of gained knowledge.
design solutions to better integrate and in event and e-mail questionnaire; focus
clude people from different cultural and lin Measurement unit: percentage
group interviews.
guistic backgrounds in the Estonian society. Baseline: 0 Programme reports.
Target 75%
OCIM 3.2 Percentage of participants at hackathons
and incubation programmes who are from different
cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Measurement unit: percentage
Target: 25% ~-~~__________
32
Outcomes (Support Measure objectives /pur- Outcome Indicators Outcome: Sources and Means of Outcome
pose) Verification Assumptions & Risks
OCIM 3.3 Number of innovative ideas proposed dur
ing hackathons to solve social inclusion and integra
tion problems.
Measurement unit: number
Target: 15
Outputs: Support Measure deliverables/results Output Indicators Output: and Means of Verifica-
Sources Output
per outcome tion Assumptions & Risks
Output 1.1 Activities introducing the Estonian OPI 1.1 Number of participants System for events database, Assumptions:
cultural space to people from different cultural Measurement unit: participations registrations sheets. Cultural Program Development: As-
and linguistic backgrounds are provided.
Baseline: 0 sumption that cultural programs can
(Activities introducing the Estonian cultural be developed and are readily available
Target: 10 000
space) for introduction to individuals from di
verse backgrounds.
OPI 1.2 Activities introducing the Estonian cultural Commitment to Inclusion: The as-
space are designed. Programme reports. sumption that there is a commitment
Measurement unit: yes/no to updating and creating inclusion-ori
Baseline: 0 ented activities and measures.
Target: yes
Risks:
OPI 1.3 Information about activities introducing the Es- Cultural Adaptation Challenges: Risks
tonian cultural space is available on the webpage of In- Programme reports. Web-page and related to the complexity of adapting
tegration Foundation and in social media networks. social-media channels of Integration cultural activities for diverse back
Foundation. grounds, which may affect their avail-
Measurement unit: yes/no ability.
Baseline: 0 Resource Allocation: Risks associated
Target: yes with the allocation of resources and
OPI 1.4 Activities are available also outside Tallinn and funding to create and update inclu
Hariumaa county. sion-oriented activities.
Programme reports.
Measurement unit: yes/no
Baseline: 0
Target: yes
33
Outputs: Support Measure deliverables/results Output Indicators Output: and Means of Verifica-
Sources Output
per outcome tion Assumptions & Risks
Output 1.2 Counselling services are made avail- OPI 1.5 Number of counselling sessions1° (at least 30 System for events database, Assumptions:
able and used. minutes). registrations sheets. Qualified Counsellors: Assumption
(Activity: Provision of counselling services in- Measurement unit: number that there are qualified counsellors
cluding in independent language learning) Baseline: 0 available to provide services.
Target: 8000 sessions Counselling Facilities: The assump
tion that suitable facilities are available
Programme reports. to offer counselling services.
OPI 1.6 A system of peer counselling is in place.
Measurement unit: yes/no Risks:
Baseline: 0 Counsellor Shortages: Risks related to
Target: Yes a shortage of qualified counsellors to
meet the demand for services.
OPI 1.7 The counselling service has been upgraded and Programme reports. Resource Limitations: Risks associ
the capacity to provide the service has been created. ated with limitations in funding or facil
Measurement unit: yes/no ities for providing counselling services.
Baseline: 0
Target: Yes
OPI 1.8 Counsellors receive regular training.
Measurement unit: number of trainings Programme reports.
Baseline: 0
Target: at least once a year
Output 1.3 Activities for parents, md. from dif- OPI 1.9 Mapping of issues relevant to parents on multi- Programme reports. Assumptions:
ferent cultural and linguistic backgrounds, are culturalism has been carried out. The ability and competence and avail-
developed and provided. Measurement unit: number ability of experts to develop training
(Activity: Informing, consulting and supporting
Baseline: 0 and information materials
parents, md. parents from different cultural and The organisers have a good under-
linguistic backgrounds) Target: 3 (years 2024, 2025, 2026) standing of the target groups and their
needs.
Programme reports Risks:
10 Counselling session involves seeking guidance, recommendations, or suggestions from someone with expertise or experience in a particular area. In the programme indicator, we take into
-
account sessions that last at least 30 minutes.
34
Outputs: Support Measure deliverables/results Output Indicators Output:
Sources and Means of Verifica- Output
per outcome tion Assumptions & Risks
OPI 1.10 Multicultual awareness-raising activities’pro- Finding experts with sufficient compe
grammes are developed and ready to use. tence to compile as well as translate
Measurement unit: yes/no the materials.
Baseline: 0 Reaching the relevant target groups.
Target: yes Scarce time resources of the target
Programme reports, which include group and their ability to participate.
an overview of feedback. Time constraints to implement SSIP
OPI 1.11 Number of multicultural awareness-raising ac- activities by mid-2028
tivities for parents, including from different cultural and
linguistic backgrounds.
Measurement unit: Number
Baseline: 0
Target: 30 (5 webinars, 5 workshops, 20 seminars for
parents’ councils)
Output 1.4 Media literacy programme launched. OPI 1.12 Number of material sets created. Programme reports; link to the mate- Assumptions:
rials/programme.
(Activity: Provision of media literacy training) Measurement unit: Number Media Literacy Expertise: Assumption
Baseline: 0 that there are experts available to
launch the program and create educa
Target: 1 tional materials.
Interest in Media Literacy: The as
OPI 1.13 Number of libraries and community centres Programme reports. sumption that there is an interest and
taking part in the programme. demand for media literacy programs.
Measurement unit: Number
Baseline: 0 Risks:
Target: 70 Expertise Shortages: Risks related to
the availability of experts in the field of
OPt 1.14 Number of participants in the programme Programme reports. media literacy.
Measurement unit: participations Lack of interest
limited Interest: or
Risks associated from
engagement with
Baseline: 0 the target audience in the media liter-
Target: 3000 acy programme.
Output 1.5 Digital tools are developed, piloted OPt 1.15 Number of digital tools developed. Programme reports. Assumptions:
and rolled-out. Measurement unit: number Resource Availability: Assumption that
(Activity: Preparation of digital transformation in Baseline: 0 the necessary resources for conduct-
the field of integration) ing the survey and piloting digital tools
Target: 3 are accessible.
35
Output:
Outputs: Support Measure deliverables/results Output Indicators Sources and Means of Verifica- Output
per outcome tion Assumptions & Risks
OP 1.16 Feedback of users of digital tools during pilot Survey on user feedback published Stakeholder Engagement: The as-
phase and roll-out phase in programme report. sumption that relevant stakeholders
Measurement unit: users involved in feedback process will actively participate in the survey
and provide valuable input for digital
Baseline 0 tool development.
Target: 75% are satisfied and consider it useful
Pjsks:
OPI 1.17 Number of analyses conducted Programme report. Resource Shortages: Risks associ
Measurement unit: number ated with potential shortages in fund-
Baseline: 0 ing or technology resources that may
Target: 1 hinder survey and digital tool pilot ef
forts.
Stakeholder Disengagement: Risks
related to a lack of engagement or co
operation from stakeholders, poten
tially leading to less effective analysis
results and digital tool development.
Output 2.1 Modernised curricula and new curric- OPI 2.1 Curricula that will be modernised is identified. Programme reports. Assumptions:
ula for professionals in the fields of education and Measurement unit: yes/no Knowing the channels to reach the tar-
social welfare have been approved and are in
force. Baseline: 0 get group
Clear and relevant information about
(Activities: Curricula and professional qualifica- Target: yes the target group
tion modification) Relevant problem mapping
OPI 2.2 Modernised and new curricula developed and Programme reports, focus group dis- Political and strategic priorities remain
approved cussions with experts; draft and ap- as agreed upon are adequate
Measurement unit: number proved curricula documents; follow-
Availability of target group
Baseline: 0 up evaluation agreements.
Target: 5 curricula updated in social welfare, 1 in educa- Risks:
tion sector and 2 new curricula in education sector Universities’ lack of interest
Time constraints to implement SSIP
OPI 2.3 85% of approved curricula opened for enrolment Programme reports activities by the end of 2028
of students. Price increases to activities
Measurement unit: yes/no Target group overwhelmed with work
Baseline: no and extra trainings
Target: yes Political and strategic priorities change
due to world changing events.
36
Outputs: Support Measure deliverables/results Output Indicators Output:
per outcome Sources and Means of Verifica-
tion Output
Assumptions & Risks
OPI 2.4 Public awareness campaign highlighting new Few experts, who are very occupied.
possibilities and positive changes in social care- and
child protection studies and work environment carried Programme reports.
2~-
Measurement unit: yes/no
Baseline: no
Target: yes
OPI 2.5 Target groups selected.
Programme reports.
Measurement unit: yes/no
Baseline: no
Target: yes
OPI 2.6 Campaign reach measured.
Programme reports.
Measurement unit: yes/no
Baseline: no
Target: yes
OPI 2.7 Campaign success evaluated. Programme reports.
Measurement unit: yes/no
Baseline: no
Target: yes
Output 2.2 Professionals in the fields of educa- OPI 2.8 Complementary training modules developed. Programme reports. Assumptions:
tion and social welfare have received comple- Measurement unit: number Knowing the channels to reach the tar
mentarv training according to new curricula.
Baseline: 0 get group.
(Activities: Training and counselling system; In- Target: 15 modules developed Clear and relevant information about
service training for professionals in the education the target group
sector) OPI 2.9 In-service training modules that will be devel- Relevant problem mapping
Programme reports. Political and strategic priorities remain
oped mapped.
as agreed upon are adequate.
Measurement unit: yes/no
Availability of target group
Baseline: no
Risks:
Target: yes
Universities’ lack of interest
37
Output:
Outputs: Support Measure deliverables/results Output Indicators Sources and Means of Verifica- Assumptions
Output & Risks
per outcome tion
OPI 2.10 Training modules developed. Programme reports. Time constraints to implement SSIP
Measurement unit: yes/no activities by the end of 2028.
Baseline: no Price increases to activities
Target: yes Target group overwhelmed with work
and extra trainings.
OPI 2.11 Trainers trained on new modules. Political and strategic priorities change
Programme reports. due to world changing events.
Measurement unit: yes/no
Few experts, who are very occupied.
Baseline: no
Target: yes
OPI 2.12 Professionals trained.
Measurement unit: completed training course participa Programme reports.
tions.
Baseline: 0
Target: 10 000
OPI 2.13 Child welfare, social work and education sec Programme reports.
tor training participants identified.
Measurement unit: yes/no
Baseline: no
Target: yes
OPI 2.14 Regional and sector-based training plan and Programme reports.
schedule with communication plan developed.
Measurement unit: yes/no
Baseline: no
Target: yes
OPI 2.15 Feedback from course participants acquired. Programme reports, focus group dis
cussions with teachers, focus group
Measurement unit: yes/no
discussions with students.
Baseline: no
Target: yes
38
Outputs: Support Measure deliverables/results Output Indicators Output:
Sources and Means of Verifica- Output
per outcome tion Assumptions & Risks
Output 2.3 A support/counselling system for so- OPI 2.16 Support / counselling system for social sector Programme reports, Assumptions:
cial sector workers has been developed and is workers developed, progress monitoring meetings. Knowing the channels to reach the tar-
operational. Measurement unit: yes/no get group.
Baseline: no Clear and relevant information about
(Activity: Training and counselling system) Target: yes the target group.
Relevant problem mapping.
OPI 2.17 Needs of support/counselling services at local Programme reports, Political and strategic priorities remain
level mapped progress monitoring meetings. as agreed upon are adequate.
Measurement unit: yes/no Availability of target group.
Baseline: no
Risks:
Target: yes
Universities’ lack of interest
OPI 2.18 Local level support and networking structure Programme reports, Time constraints to implement SSIP
envisaged, progress monitoring meetings. activities by the end of 2028.
Measurement unit: yes/no Price increases to activities.
Baseline: no Target group overwhelmed with work
Target: yes and extra trainings.
Political and strategic priorities change
due to world changing events.
OPI 2.19 Support / counselling system for social sector Programme reports, Few experts, who are very occupied.
workers in local governments piloted, progress monitoring meetings.
Measurement unit: yes/no
Baseline: no
Target: yes
Output 3.1 Civil society competence building ac- OPI 3.1 Action plan for civil society competence building Programme reports. Assumptions:
activities, including target group mapping.
tivities carried out. The ability and competence and avail-
Measurement unit: yes/no ability of experts to develop training
(Activity: Building civil society competence, rais- Baseline: No and information materials.
ing public awareness, and disseminating infor- Target: Yes The organisers have a good under
mation on social innovation) standing of the target groups and their
OPI 3.2 Number of civil society competence building ac- Programme reports. needs
to (in order tocommunities
organisations, target the activities
and in
tivities carried out for communities, organisations, and dividuals that would be are interested
individuals, including people from different cultural and in social innovation and the inclusion
linguistic backgrounds, of migrants).
39
Output:
Outputs: Support Measure deliverables/results Output Indicators Sources and Means of Verifica- Output
per outcome tion Assumptions & Risks
Measurement unit: number Risks:
Baseline: 0 Finding experts with sufficient compe
Target: 14 (this number includes 2 social innovation tence
the to compile as well as translate
materials.
hackathons, 2 social innovation incubation pro
grammes, 2 training programmes, 2 workshops, 6 study Reaching the relevant target groups.
visits for organisations, communities, and individuals) Scarce time resources of the target
group and their ability to participate.
OPI 3.3 Feedback by participants on the civil society Time constraints to implement SSIP
Programme reports, which include activities by mid-2028
competence building activities.
an overview of feedback.
Measurement unit: percentage of respondents
Baseline: 0
Target: 70% of respondents are satisfied with the activ
ity they participated in
Output 3.2 A set of social innovation training and OPI 3.4 Action plan for the preparation of social innova- Programme reports. Assumptions:
information materials created, published, and tion training and information materials, including target The ability and competence and avail-
disseminated, group mapping. ability of experts to develop training
(Activity: Building civil society competence, rais- Measurement unit: yes/no and information materials
ing public awareness, and disseminating infor- Baseline: No The producers have a good under
mation on social innovation)
Target: Yes standing of the public and their inter
ests (in order to target the activities to
Programme reports. organisations, communities and mdi
OPI 3.5 Number of social innovation, training and infor- viduals that would be are interested in
mation materials for organisations, communities and in- social innovation and the inclusion of
dividuals, including people from different cultural and lin- migrants).
guistic backgrounds.
Measurement unit: number
Risks:
Baseline: 0
Finding experts with sufficient compe
Target: 5 (Includes 1 podcast series, 1 broadcast series, tence to compile as well as translate
1 online training programme, 1 handbook on social in- the materials.
novation, I systematised collection of social innovation Reaching the relevant target groups.
examples in Estonia
Time constraints to implement SSIP
Programme reports which include activities by mid-2028
OPI 3.6 Expert opinion on the materials, overview of feedback.
Measurement unit: number of experts in the field of so
cial innovation who have provided positive expert opin
ion on the materials created.
40
Outputs: Support Measure deliverables/results Output Indicators Output: and Means of Verifica-
Sources Output
per outcome tion Assumptions & Risks
Baseline: 0
Target: 2
Programme reports which include
OPI 3.7 Feedback on the materials, overview of feedback.
Measurement unit: percentage of respondents
Baseline: 0
Target: 30% of NFCS newsletter subscribers have
viewed/listened to the materials and are satisfied with
the materials
Output 3.3 Volunteers are trained. OPt 3.8: Number of volunteers who attended in the ac- Programme reports. Assumptions:
(Activity: Inclusion of volunteers in the integration tivities. Volunteer Availability: Assumption
activities) Measurement unit: persons that there are individuals willing to vol
Baseline: 0 unteer and participate in training.
Target: 3000 Training Resources: The assumption
that resources and materials for train
ing volunteers are accessible and ef
OPI 3.9: Number of trained volunteer leaders. fective.
Measurement unit: persons Programme reports.
Baseline: 0 Risks:
Target:100 Volunteer Shortages: Risks related to
a lack of volunteers or difficulties in re
OPt 3.10: Percentage of volunteers willing to continue Self-assessment feedback forms. cruiting individuals for training.
volunteering in the future. Ineffective Training: Risks associated
Measurement unit: percent with the ineffectiveness of training
methods and materials, which may
Baseline: 0 hinder the empowerment of volun
Target: 40% teers.
41
4.4 Swiss Support Measure Partner
The strategic Swiss-Estonian partnership’s formation process is ongoing. Three Swiss part
ners expressed an interest in principle to continue discussions with Estonia for a potential
mandate in the end of 2023— beginning of 2024. On February 01, 2024, the Estonian side
invited all three partners to provide an offer. The deadline for providing the offers is March 01
2024. The MoC along with the MoSA will select the Swiss Strategic Partner and notify the
selected Partner by March 08, 2024.
During next two months the Swiss Strategic Partner might be invited to Estonia for negotiations
meetings, might arrange negotiation meetings in Switzerland to agree on the draft of the Part
nership Agreement after the first three weeks of the negotiations.
The Partnership Agreement between Swiss and Estonian sides will be concluded after the
signing of the Support Measure Agreement. The Programme Operator signs the partnership
agreement with the Swiss partner.
Role of the Swiss strategic Partner for the Social Inclusion Programme
The strategic partner from Switzerland will support the SSIP regarding the exchange with
Swiss partners/institutions/civic organisations, specialists, and experts during its whole imple
menting period. Strategic Partner will use its own internal resources/experts regarding the fol
lowing programme areas. Also, the Strategic Partner will function as a “one stop shop” for the
areas of the programme where the Swiss strategic Partner does not have its own internal
expertise. For these areas, the Swiss strategic partner will identify other Swiss actors and fa
cilitate the most appropriate format of exchanges between the Estonian and the Swiss sides.
In general, for all programme areas, exchanges could for example be study visits in Switzer
land, finding Swiss experts for study visits in Estonia, identifying the relevant speakers for
conferences in Estonia, informing the Estonian side about the relevant events/conferences in
Switzerland, organizing web-exchanges or other forms of exchange, etc. The budgetary frame
of the Swiss strategic Partner would be a maximum of CHF 100,000 per year.
4.5 Stakeholder consultations
The stakeholder consultation event for the SSIP took place on the 21st of September 2023 from
10-1 6:30. 76 representatives from 45 organizations participated in the event. The SSIP was
introduced at the beginning of the event, followed by workshops by four components in two
sessions so that as many participants as possible could express their opinions. In the end,
each component presented its results of the workshops.
The stakeholder consultation had valuable inputs and suggestions for improvement of the
SSIP and most of them will be considered when implementing the SSIP activities. As a result
of the stakeholder consultation, it was confirmed that the planned activities and interventions
address gaps in targeted areas, they are relevant, feasible and complement activities funded
from other sources. Some activities were suggested, which are not in the scope of the SSIP,
but as programme component operators are also policy makers at their field, these sugges
tions will be considered in the future. Here’s how some specific inputs were integrated and
omitted:
42
The stakeholders11 input to cultural and linguistic integration activities focused on effective use
of resources while avoiding duplication of activities in fields of language education, targeted
communication and information and involving the private sector and municipalities. These rec
ommendations will be considered during the planning of activities and implementation process.
For instance, in communication endeavors, the channels that the target audience is currently
utilizing will be employed. Recent surveys indicate that local media platforms are gaining sig
nificance, and therefore, we will incorporate these channels.
The group of stakeholders who gave their input to developing and modernizing curricula and
complementary education/training system for social sector workers and training of specialists12
stressed the importance of the need for systemic in-house complementary training that is also
accessible, a need for real-life practice in studies and updated curricula for more on-hands
training. These suggestions will be considered while planning the changes to the basic and
continuing education of social and child protection work.
Education and Youth Board, University of Tartu and the University of Tallinn, the education
and youth sector and parents consultation, confirmed that the target groups need in-service
training and new programmes that can be used to create regional networks linking all parties
(youth, education, parents and local authorities), education and youth field professionals need
more knowledge about multicultural education and the integration of non-formal and formal
education is considered very important, but the skills and knowledge to implement it are lack
ing. As a result, providing in-service training for professionals in the education sector and coun
selling for parents will be one of the key activities in the programme component 3.
Civil society sector13: Their suggestions pointed out the importance of co-operation with other
stakeholders and using the networks that have already been created, involving the target
groups (i.e people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, immigrants, refugees) for
determining the wider societal problems that could be solved with social innovation methods
during the SSIP. Therefore, when implementing the activities proposed, the networks that have
already been created will be used as a platform to reach the target groups and involve them in
the social innovation ecosystem in Estonia.
The inputs omitted included: some activities were suggested, which are not in the scope of the
Swiss contribution, for example monetary investments for social enterprises, which would need
longer timeframe to see the longer-term impact created through these investments, these ac
tivities were left out to maintain the SSIP focus on achievable outcomes. Topics covered also
included the low wages as one of the reasons for poor image and less inadequately qualified
personnel and personnel turnover, but it was admitted that this gap cannot be remedied though
the activities of the current SSIP and need wider political decisions.
~ National Library, the Institute of the Estonian Language, EdTech, the Estonian Parents’ Association and the
Estonian Folklore Council, Ida-Viru County Enterprise Center Foundation, the Civil Society Foundation edc
12 Social Insurance Board, Ministry of Education and Research, Estonian Social Work Association, Estonian Refu
gee Council, Narva City Government, TTK University of Applied Sciences, National Institute for Health Develop
ment, NGOs working with youth and parents as well as offering support services for adults
13 Estonian Refugee Council, Network of Estonian Nonprofit Organisations and others), business and social entre
preneurship sector (e.g, Network of Estonian Social Entrepreneurs, East-Estonian Entrepreneurship Centre and
others), public sector (government and local government representatives) and the academia (the University of TaI
linn
43
Please find more detailed stakeholder analysis in annex 9 and summary of the consultation
event by programme components in annex 10.
4.6 Tentative Budget
4.6.1 Detailed tentative budget
The budget is attached in Annex 14. Budget is split between 5 main parts:
1. Management costs:
This part includes costs only for Programme Management (costs done at the Programme
level). Costs connected to the management and implementation (including involvement of
partners) of the Programme Components are included into the budget of components.
This part also includes the costs of State Shared Service Centre for the fulfilment of the
function in accordance with Regulations Article 6.8 p.3 In accordance with the Regulations
Article 3.4.2. no Intermediate Bodies shall be set up for the implementation of the Support
Measure. State Shared Service Centre, which acts as the competence centre for the imple
mentation of structural and other funds in Estonia, carries out the tasks in accordance with
Article 6.8 p.3 of the Regulations for the implementation of the Support Measure. The ac
tivities that are carried out in accordance with Article 6.8 p.3 by the State Shared Service
Centre are financed from the Support Measure. The fulfilment of the functions of the Na
tional Coordination Unit, which is in the same organization and is financed from the Tech
nical Assistance Fund, is completely separated from these activities.
The budget line “1.5 Reserve costs” is planned to cover unforeseen costs that are related
with the implementation of the support measure.
2. Programme Component I “Cultural and linguistic integration.”
3. Programme Component 2 “Strengthening the social-and child protection services.”
4. Programme Component 3 “Increasing multicultural competence in the education sector.”
5. Programme Component 4 “Strengthening civil society through social innovation.”
To alleviate the administrative burden and reduce the workload of programme component op
erators, implementers, partners and controllers who verify expenditures in the NCU, reim
bursement of overheads at a flat rate of 7% of the direct programme component’s costs is
planned to be implemented in each of the four components of the SSIP. From the previous EU
and bilateral projects’ implementation experience the rate of the overheads was higher than 7
% of the direct component’s costs. The use of overheads at a flat rate of 7% enables people
involved in the implementation of the programme component focus on achievement of the
objectives of the support measure as less resources are needed for collecting and verifying
financial documents.
Programme component overheads include administrative expenses, such are:
• costs for purchasing, renting, maintaining and repairing office supplies and furniture;
• communication costs, including internet, telephone and postal costs;
• information technology costs, including the costs of buying and renting software and
hardware, office equipment, and maintenance and repair of servers, networks and of
fice equipment;
• heating, water and electricity costs and the costs of cleaning the premises;
• rental costs of premises;
• security service costs.
44
Additionally, programme component overheads include expenses related to supportive activi
ties, such as:
• accounting;
• secretarial and personnel work;
• legal advice;
• organizing public procurement and conducting the purchase procedure;
• information technology support services.
45
4.6.2 Tentative Disbursement Plan
Reimbursement 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Period
Estimated reim
bursement of
Swiss Contribu
tioninCHF 2224518 2455159 2455159 2334049 2334049 2313274 2313274 2118047 26235 26235
46
47 Risk Analysis and Risk Management
Risk Impact Likeli- Risk level Mitigation measure(s)
[1—5] hood
[1 —5]
Risk that the activities 2 Low-Medium Mapping of the needs of target
do not meet the needs groups (on the basis of rele
of the target groups vant recent studies, surveys
etc).
Risk that information 2 2 Low Designing of a comprehen
about the SSIP activi- sive communication plan that
ties does not reach in- takes into account the charac
tended target groups teristics of different target
groups.
Lack of trained experts 4 2 Low-Medium Co-operation between experts
to provide trainings and and organisations, so that ac
services (updating cur- tivities would not take place at
ricula etc) the same time.
Challenging time-frame ~ 3 Medium-High Consistent time-management,
of the support measure commitment of the support
implementation measure project team.
Fiduciary risk 3 1 Low Applying of the rules and pro
cedures of State Shared Ser
vice Centre that have been au
dited.
Financial risk (inflation, 3 3 Low-Medium Operational financial monitor-
VAT rise, currency ex- ing, conservative financial
change fluctuation, ir- planning, consultations with
regularities in the use of State Shared Service Centre.
funds)
Security risk (escalation 3 3 Low-Medium Consistent monitoring of the in-
of war in Ukraine, desta- ternational situation.
bilisation of Russia,
Russian hybrid aggres
sion against Estonia)
Environmental risk 1 1 Low The SSIP activities have no
significant harm on the envi
ron ment.
Management staff risk ~ 3 Medium-Low Honest communication with
(not enough personnel, donors, quick response to
changes in staff or they needs that have occurred. Op
are overloaded with timal planning of staff re
other tasks) sources.
Procurement process 4 Medium-High Swift and good cooperation
complexity (donor in- with donors, translating and
volvement, donor ap- providing them with materials
as fast as possible; consulta
Risk Impact Likeli- Risk level Mitigation measure(s)
[1—5] hood
[1 —5]
proval process, irregu- tions with the procurement ex
larities in procurement perts of the State Shared Ser
procedures) vice Centre.
Polwcainsks(changes4lMediUm-Low Cons~tentrnonitonngofthe
is political priorities due internal, political situation,
to changes in the coali- clear communication about the
tion or elections). terms and conditions of the
SSIP.
will be implemented by nication between the 4 minis-
4 ministries) tries and the NCU.
Overall Risk Level Support Measure Medium-low
The overall risk level is medium-low. The highest score
risks are related to time-frame constraints and procure-
Comments on the overall risk level ments. The SSIP is quite complex, involving different
ministries and partners, but they have close cooperation
and good communication.
4.8 Monitoring and Steering
In accordance with Regulations the Support Measure Steering Committee will be established,
which constitutes of the representatives of the Embassy of Switzerland’s Swiss Contribution
Office to Latvia, the NCU, the Programme Operator and the Component Operators. It monitors
the progress of the Support Measure activities, outputs and outcomes, discusses risks, prob
lems and possible solutions. It also approves modifications to the Support Measure based on
the proposal by the Programme Operator. The Ministry of Culture as a Chair, the NCU and the
Embassy of Switzerland’s Swiss Contribution Office to Latvia have voting rights. The quorum
is constituted by no fewer than 3 members of the Support Measure Steering Committee, in
cluding at least representative of the NCU, the Embassy of Switzerland’s Swiss Contribution
Office to Latvia and the Programme Operator. Decision-making in the Support Measure Steer
ing Committee is based on consensus by the members with voting rights. The Steering Com
mittee meets at least once a year. Upon need, the representatives of other beneficiaries and
institutions attend the Steering Committee meetings. If needed, decisions are made using a
written procedure.
Annual meetings are held once a year, which purpose is to ensure that the Cooperation Pro
gramme, and Support Measures, is effective. The Cooperation Programme Report is reviewed
and approved at the meeting. The progress of the Cooperation Programme, including SSIP
risks, problems, possible solutions, milestones for the upcoming year are discussed. If neces
sary, decisions regarding the overall Cooperation Programme are taken. The representatives
of Switzerland, the Embassy of Switzerland’s Swiss Contribution Office to Latvia, the NCU
attend the annual meetings. The programme operator, component operators and other institu
tions whose participation is needed attend the annual meetings upon invitation.
48
There will be the Task Force for ongoing monitoring and internal steering of the Programme
activities and the results. The Task Force will propose any modifications to the Steering Com
mittee. Meetings will be held at least two times per year, organised by the Programme Opera
tor. Task Force will consist of the Programme Operator, Programme Component Operators,
NCU and Implementers.
The resources for the Steering Committee and the Task Force meetings are foreseen in the
Support Measure Budget.
The NCU will procure the evaluation of the overall Cooperation Programme at the end of the
Support Measure in 2027/2028. The content of the evaluation will be discussed with the Em
bassy of Switzerland’s Swiss Contribution Office to Latvia, programme operators and compo
nent operators.
Logframe (see chapter 4.5) elaborates on data sources and verification methods as well as
the baseline and target values, therefore logframe is under continuous monitoring. Also pro
gress towards the SSIP outcomes and goal according to agreed indicators and financial re
quirements specified for the SSIP is monitored.
Each implementer is responsible for its activities, associated outputs and for gathering the data
related to the activities. Every component operator is responsible for the activities taking place
within its component. Component operator keeps an eye on the progress of the activities, reg
ularly communicates with the implementers and collects from them information for the Support
Measure Report.
The Programme Operator gathers information from the Component Operators about the im
plemented activities, associated outputs and includes information in the Support Measure Re
ports.
The NCU prepares the Cooperation Programme Reports, which are based on the information
presented by the Programme Operators in the Support Measure Reports and if necessary,
requests additional information from the Programme Operator and the Component Operators.
For exchanging information between implementers, the NCU, the Programme operator, pro
gramme components operators, paying authority and audit authority the Estonian Structural
Assistance Registry is used. The registry consists of:
System for data collection and proceedings (SFOS) (since 2004). The Structural Assis
tance Operational System is used for data input and for self-service portal for implement
ers. All data is gathered at project level and relates to individual projects. It contains all
relevant project data, data on all expenditures of the project and payments made, also
information about recoveries made, data on audits and other controls performed, monitor
ing data (indicator levels). The Operational System is used to make payments to the ben
eficiaries, hence it’s not only a data bank, but also an important management tool. There
is also an interface under the system, E-service portal for implementers (since 2015) for
submitting project reports and payment claims.
• System for compiling reports (SAP BO) (since 2004); It is a reporting tool, which draws
data related to individual projects from the Operational System and aggregates it to desired
overall reports or statistics. The system can in effect compile reports on the basis of any
information available inserted and available in the Operational System. This reporting func
tionality enables to analyse financial performance on measure level almost in real time.
• Digital participants data collection (since 2022). Specific module for participants data col
lection purposes.
For monitoring information system see annex 7.
49
5. Annexes
# Annex
1 Detailed Information to Programme Component 1 (Ministry of Culture)
2 Detailed Information to Programme Component 2 (Ministry of Social Affairs) - - -
3 Detailed Information to Programme Component 3 (Ministry of Education and Research)
4 Detailed Information to Programme Component 4 (Ministry of the Interior)
5 Overview of the policy dialogue for preparing sectoral development plans and strategies
6 Overview of Implementation locations
7 Structure of programme monitoring information system
8 Glossary - -
9 Stakeholder Analysis
10 Stakeholder consultation event 21st September 2023
11 Implementation schedule
- 12 Programme Characteristics -
13 Procurement Plan
14 Budget
15 Assessment of fulfilment of the conditions set for the 1st stage Support Measure proposal
50
6. Annex 1: Detailed Information to Programme Component I
(Ministry of Culture)
Basic Programme Component Information
Title Cultural and linguistic integration
Planned Duration [months] 51
Requested Swiss contribu- 5 592 127 CHF
fion(CHF)~
Requested co-financing rate 85%
of Switzerland [%]
6.1 Programme Component Operator
6.1.1 Basic Information
Name of Programme Corn- Ministry of Culture
ponent Operator
Type of entity National administration
Name of contact person Eda Silberg
Position Undersecretary for Cultural Diversity
Correspondence address: Suur-Karja 23, Tallinn, 15076, Estonia
E-Mail
[email protected]
Webpage and social media www.kul.ee
(if any)
Date of establishment 29.08.1995 Tax number 70000941
Number of employees 95
Financial Turnover for each of the 3 previous years Choose. N/A
Has the Programme Component Operator previously received YesLi No1~1
funding from the Swiss Contribution?
51
6.1.2 Programme Component Operator Management
Structure chart of M0C.
Minister
1
Secretary Internal Audit Ministers
General Department Advisers
I I I 1
Arts
Department
Cultural
Department
fL~r~~ntJ
Cultural 1 S ~
Department
Estonian
Cultural
Attaches
Abroad
I
Estonian
I I
Department Department Department
National Financial of Communi- of Human of Strategical
Commission Department cation and Resources and Planning and
for UNESCO International Legal Affairs Innovation
Cooperation
Programme component operator (PCO) is the Ministry of Culture. Implementers are MoC Cul
tural Diversity Department, the Integration Foundation and a partner the National Library of
Estonia (RARA).
The Cultural Diversity Department is a structural unit of the MOC, whose tasks is to ensure
policy formulation in the field of integration, to coordinate its implementation, and to support
the cultural self-governments and societies of national minorities, kindred nations and compat
riots and to help to promote their cultural life and activities.
The Integration Foundation is a private legal entity registered in the register of non-profit or
ganizations and foundations. The Integration Foundation was established by the Republic of
Estonia and its’ founder’s rights are exercised by the MoC. The foundation was created for the
following purposes: initiation and support of activities aimed at the integration of Estonian so
ciety among Estonians and non-Estonians, initiation and support of activities related to immi
gration.
The National Library of Estonia is a legal person in public law operating based on the National
Library of Estonia Act. The purpose of the national library is to increase the initiative, aware
ness and responsibility based on knowledge and information in the society, promote the coun
try, European common values, culture and democracy.
6.1.3 Programme Component Management
Will external management personnel be hired to implement the Pro- Yes L~1 NoD
gramme Component’?
What personnel capacity will be dedicated for Internal resources External resources
the management of the Programme Compo- 1 FTE 0
nent implementation (in full-time equivalents
FTE)?
The component hires an external full-time programme component coordinator who will be re
sponsible for all programme component coordination as well as content and financial reporting,
communication with donors and target groups.
Are CVs attached to this documentation? YesD No l~
Are terms of reference for the management functions to be established YesEJ No l~
attached to this documentation?
6.1.4 Programme and Project Management Experience
MoC has managed/is managing the following foreign aid programmes over the last 5 years:
European Social Fund
• Measure 2.6.1 ‘Development and implementation of an information platform and sup
port services”: a multilingual (Estonian, English and Russian) information platform on
migration and its support services have been developed and implemented (budget 542
390,00 euros).
• Measure 2.6.2 “Development, piloting and implementation of adaptation training”: an
adaptation programme has been developed, piloted, developed and implemented in
accordance with the adaptation programme regulation and its annexes (Budget: 7 048
223,16 euros).
• Measure 2.6.3 “Development and implementation of support network concept”: A sup
port network concept involving private, public and third sector actors has been devel
oped and implemented (Budget: 1 814 289,25 euros).
• Measure 2.6.4 “Development and implementation of a counselling and information sys
tem”: Access to integration support information and counselling services is ensured for
permanent residents with low integration status in Estonia (budget 2 393 593,28 euros).
The supported initiative ensured the availability of relevant, sustainable, and integra
tion-supportive information for poorly integrated residents of Estonia and newcomers.
It involved relevant ministries, research institutions, local governments, and represent
atives of the target group. The activity included developing and maintaining a counsel
ling and information system, establishing an information network, and organizing study
trips for knowledge exchange with other European Union countries. The supported ini
tiative ensured that poorly integrated permanent residents of Estonia, newcomers, their
families, and employers are aware of and utilized the counselling and information sys
tem. The initiative involved consistent media communication about the system and ser
vices. Collaboration with relevant ministries and distribution of materials were key com
ponents. Results from the “Piloting Information and Counselling Centers” project were
used if needed, and experts were involved as required. The results of this activity will
53
be used to build SSIP intervention “Provision of counselling services including in inde
pendent language learning”.
• Measure 2.6.5 “Developing and delivering an integration programme”: poorly integrated
people in Estonia have acquired the knowledge and skills needed to function in society
and have improved the social competences that ensure their social activity (budget 6
958 388,63 euros). The supported initiative aimed to enhance the integration of poorly
integrated individuals into Estonian society. Through language and cultural immersion,
it provided knowledge and skills necessary for functioning in the country. The outcomes
included improved Estonian language proficiency, a stronger sense of the Estonian
cultural space, enhanced personal connections, and increased readiness for societal
participation. The initiative analysed previous activities, mapped educational resources,
and developed training modules covering citizenship exam preparation, cultural under
standing, and general independent language learning at various proficiency levels. Cul
tural and language immersion were introduced through clubs, offering opportunities for
non-native Estonian speakers to engage with the culture and language. Methodological
support materials were developed for these clubs. To improve multilingual information
dissemination, technical equipment for performance venues and museums was pro
cured based on the needs of poorly integrated individuals, enhancing their access to
cultural content in multiple languages. The initiative involved soliciting proposals from
cultural institutions and determining partners for equipment procurement. The evalua
tion results of this activity will be used to build SSIP intervention “Activities introducing
the Estonian cultural space”.
• Measure 2.6.6 “Cooperation and communication activities”: Attitudes in Estonian soci
ety have been developed in support of integration (budget 729 220,95 euros). The ini
tiative improved cooperation among organizations working on integration in Estonia.
Targeting the entire society, especially poorly integrated permanent residents and
youth up to 26, the initiative organized joint activities across the country to enhance
democratic participation, language practice, and multicultural awareness. Results and
success stories were shared in print media. These activities, aimed at the entire popu
lation of Estonia, including poorly integrated residents and newcomers, fostered pro-
integration attitudes through communication. The initiative included public awareness
campaigns in various media, an expert group for planning and coherence, and com
missioned audio-visual programs and social advertising. Collaboration involved adver
tising agencies, integration and media experts, and representatives from public, pri
vate, and third-sector organizations.
The Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund
• Project AMIF2O2O-8 “Estonian language learning for citizens of third countries in Esto
nia”, which is co-financed by the Ministry of the Interior (381 000 euros).
Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) program
• Project ESTROM is aimed at promoting cooperation and dialogue between Roma peo
ple, integration stakeholders, local authorities and state institutions (budget of
ESTROM III project 144 000,60 euros).
54
6.2 Description of Programme Component I
6.2.1 Short Summary
Main focus of the component is to give knowledge and improved opportunities to people from
different cultural and linguistic backgrounds for more active participation in the Estonian soci
ety. This will be done through inclusion of volunteers in the integration activities, creation of
new digital tools in the field of integration and in the field of independent language learning,
activities introducing the Estonian cultural space and provision of media literacy training,
providing counseling services.
6.2.2 Activities and Expected Results
The activities of this component were chosen based on previous experience and feedback
obtained during engagement events and are in line with “Cohesive Estonia 2021-2030 Strat
egy”.
Activity 1: Preparation of digital transformation in the field of integration
The activity is led by the Integration Foundation and contains the following interventions:
• Carrying out the analysis to map how existing systems and platforms support integra
tion activities and are compatible with each other.
• Developing digital tools to help the target group to learn Estonian more effectively and
to improve access to integration services.
These activities will contribute to the foreseen output 1.5 “Digital tools developed, piloted and
rolled-out” and outcomes: Intermediate outcome 1: People from different cultural and lin
guistic backgrounds are actively participating in Estonian society; Immediate outcome Ia:
Established processes enable people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds partic
ipate more actively in Estonian society; Immediate outcome I b: People from different cultural
and linguistic backgrounds are empowered to participate in Estonian society more actively
(see Chapter 2.3).
Activity 2: Inclusion of volunteers in the integration activities
The activity is led by the Integration Foundation and contains the following interventions:
-Mapping the current situation in the landscape of voluntary activities, including focusing
on activities in the field of integration;
-Creating of a volunteer program to support the implementation of integration activities;
-Including Estonian speakers and Estonian language learners, as well as members of
social groups with limited opportunities, who have participated in integration services
and activities supporting language and cultural learning, in the program as experience
advisors;
-Creating of the Leader Growth Program, a development program for volunteer leaders
within the framework of the volunteer program;
-Supporting, guiding and empowering non-governmental organizations in their work in
communities of new immigrants;
-Developing and enforcing the ability of community centres to implement activities in the
field of integration. Creating platforms for experience exchange meetings. Supporting
cooperation between platforms.
55
These activities will contribute to the foreseen output 3.3 “Volunteers are trained” and to out
comes: Intermediate outcome 1: People from different cultural and linguistic back-grounds
are actively participating in Estonian society; Immediate outcome Ia: Established processes
enable people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds participate more actively in
Estonian society; Immediate outcome I b: People from different cultural and linguistic back
grounds are empowered to participate in Estonian society more actively. (see chapter 2.3).
Activity 3: Provision of counselling services including in independent language learn
ing.
The activity is led by the Integration Foundation and contains the following interventions:
- Modelling and piloting peer counselling14 service (both independent language learning
and more broadly, peer support counselling in the field of integration);
- Designing and providing counselling services to meet people’s needs and to support
independent language learning;
- Ensuring the adequate availability of counselling services for target groups (related to
the drastic increase in clients and the rapid growth of counselling volume);
- Increasing the competence of counsellors to work with the target group (e.g. counsel
ling of people with trauma experience and special needs, multiculturalism, development
of counselling skills, virtual counselling, etc.).
These activities will contribute to the foreseen output 1.2 “Counselling services are made
available and used” and to outcomes: Intermediate outcome 1: People from different cultural
and linguistic backgrounds are actively participating in Estonian society; Immediate outcome
la: Established processes enable people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds
participate more actively in Estonian society; Immediate outcome 1 b: People from different
cultural and linguistic backgrounds are empowered to participate in Estonian society more ac
tively. (see chapter 2.3).
Activity 4: Activities introducing the Estonian cultural space
The activity is led by the Integration Foundation and contains the following interventions:
- Organizing cultural visits and activities that support Estonian language practice and
learning about Estonian culture and customs;
- Development and provision of activities that encourage social connections through joint
activities in the communities to support social inclusion and Estonian language prac
tice;
- Cooperation with cultural institutions (museums, theatres, libraries etc) to raise their
awareness about target group needs and specificities;
- Involving volunteers in meetings and cultural activities to provide language practice
opportunities and contacts.
These activities will contribute to the foreseen output 1.1 “Activities introducing the Estonian
cultural space to people from different cultural and linguistic background are provided” and to
outcomes: Intermediate outcome 1: People from different cultural and linguistic back
grounds are actively participating in Estonian society; Immediate outcome Ia: Established
processes enable people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds participate more
14 Peer counselling is sharing of knowledge and experience, during which a person with similar experience offers experiential
emotional, social and practical support to the target group in adapting, maintaining independent language learning motivation,
etc.
56
actively in Estonian society; Immediate outcome Ib: People from different cultural and lin
guistic backgrounds are empowered to participate in Estonian society more actively (see
Chapter 2.3).
Activity 5: Provision of media literacy training
The activity is led by the MoC in cooperation with RARA and contains the following interven
tions:
-Developing and implementing media literacy programme together with the partner.
-Creating learning materials.
These activities will contribute to the foreseen output 1.4 “Media literacy programme
launched” and to outcomes: Intermediate outcome 1: People from different cultural and lin
guistic back-grounds are actively participating in Estonian society; Immediate outcome Ia:
Established processes enable people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds partic
ipate more actively in Estonian society; Immediate outcome I b: People from different cultural
and linguistic backgrounds are empowered to participate in Estonian society more actively.
6.3 Beneficiaries
Direct beneficiaries are volunteers, cultural societies of ethnic minorities.
Indirect beneficiaries in activities are people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds
(including recipients of temporary and international protection status and new immigrants).
Is the benefit of the Programme Component a na- National l~J RegionalEl
fionaIorre~ionalbenefit?
If regional, indicate the benefiting NUTS-2 regions.
6.4 Sustainability
To ensure the long-term sustainability of the Programme Component and its results after the
Programme Component has ended, several measures can be implemented.
• To ensure financial viability, we will actively pursue long-term funding commitments
from government agencies that extend beyond the lifespan of the Programme Compo
nent. These commitments will be sought specifically for activities that have demon
strated their effectiveness and impact. By securing long-term funding, we aim to ensure
the continuity and sustainability of these activities, enabling them to persist and benefit
the target beneficiaries even after the Programme Component has ended.
• To enhance capacity building, we will establish networks and communities of practice
that foster continuous learning, collaboration, and knowledge exchange among individ
uals and organizations involved in similar work. These networks and communities will
provide a platform for professionals to share experiences, best practices, and innova
tive approaches. By facilitating ongoing learning and collaboration, we aim to
strengthen the expertise and effectiveness of the participants, enabling them to con
tribute to the sustainability and impact of the Programme Component’s outcomes.
57
• We will communicate and share the results and impact of the Programme Component
with stakeholders, funders, and the wider community to demonstrate the value and
continued relevance of the initiative.
• We will establish mechanisms for post-implementation monitoring and evaluation to
assess the long-term impact of the Programme Component. We will conduct follow-up
surveys, engaging in qualitative research, or utilizing feedback from beneficiaries and
stakeholders to identify areas for improvement and measure the sustained outcomes.
6.5 Budget
Detailed budget is included in the Annex 14. Please see further details and budget break
down in the budget Annex file.
Below are further clarifications of the some of the budget breakdown:
In the intervention “Provision of media literacy training”, our strategy involves the acquisition
of tablets for people who participate in trainings, but don’t have necessary technical equip
ment. This targeted intervention aims to enhance the effectiveness of the training program by
integrating modern technology, specifically tablets, into the educational framework.
In collaboration with our partner RaRa, we carefully deliberated on two distinct options when it
comes to tablets: whether to purchase or rent and from the perspective of project sustainability,
the decision leaned towards purchasing.
The collaborative effort with our partner involved a comprehensive assessment of the ad
vantages and drawbacks associated with both purchasing and renting tablets. The focus was
on identifying the most effective and sustainable approach for the project’s specific needs.
After thorough consideration, it was determined that acquiring the tablets through purchase
would be the more prudent choice in terms of ensuring the project’s long-term viability as the
tablets can be used in the future trainings.
This decision aligns with a strategic vision for the project’s sustainability. By opting for owner
ship, the project gains not only immediate access to the necessary resources but also estab
lishes a foundation for enduring success. This approach takes into account factors such as
long-term cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and the ability to adapt to evolving project require
ments.
To alleviate the administrative burden and reduce the workload of programme component op
erators, implementers, partners and controllers who verify expenditures in the NCU, reim
bursement of overheads at a flat rate of 7% of the direct component’s costs is planned to be
implemented. From the previous EU and bilateral projects’ implementation experience the rate
of the overheads was higher than 7 % of the direct component’s costs. The use of overheads
at a flat rate of 7% enables people involved in the implementation of the programme compo
nent focus on achievement of the objectives of the support measure as less resources are
needed for collecting and verifying financial documents.
Project overheads include administrative expenses, such are:
• costs for purchasing, renting, maintaining and repairing office supplies and furniture;
• communication costs, including internet, telephone and postal costs;
• information technology costs, including the costs of buying and renting software and
hardware, office equipment, and maintenance and repair of servers, networks and of
fice equipment;
58
• heating, water and electricity costs and the costs of cleaning the premises;
• rental costs of premises;
o security service costs;
Additionally, overheads include expenses related to supportive activities, such as:
• accounting;
• secretarial and personnel work;
• legal advice;
• organizing public procurement and conducting the purchase procedure;
6.6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management
Risk Impact Likeli- Risk level Mitigation measure(s)
[1 —5] hood
[1 —5]
Development risk 2 Low-Medium Moc is using CAF framework
for monitoring and self-evalu
ation of the processes. Expe
rienced activity coordinators
will be hired.
Security risk 1 1 Low Natural disasters are very
rare in Estonia; development
of IT-solutions will be carried
out in accordance with na
tional standards.
Fiduciary risk 4 1 Low-Medium State Support Services Cen
tre’s will carry out procure
ments.
Financial risk 3 2 Low-Medium Co-financing is guaranteed by
the relevant legal acts.
Environmental risk 3 1 Low Activities carried out have no
or very low impact on the en
vironment
Social risk 1 1 Low Activities will be designed in
accordance with service de
sign principles.
59
7. Annex 2: Detailed Information to Programme Component 2
(Ministry of Social Affairs)
Basic Programme Component Information
Title Strengthening the social- and child protection services
Planned Duration 51 months
Requested Swiss contribu- 5 385 678 CHF
tion
Requested co-financing 85%
rate of Switzerland
7.1 Programme Component Operator
7.1.1 Basic Information
Name of Programme Corn- Ministry of Social Affairs of Estonia
ponent Operator
Type of entity National administration
Name of contact person Ms Helen Jöks
Position Department of Children and Families, Head of Child Protec
tion Policy
Correspondence address: Suur-Ameerika street 1,
E-Mail Helen.Joks~sm.ee
Webpage and social media www.sm.ee
(if any)
Date of establishment 08.01.1993 Tax number EE100535271
Number of employees 206
Financial Turnover for each of the 3 previous years Choose. N/A
Has the Programme Component Operator previously received Yesl~l No~J
funding from the Swiss Contribution?
7.1.2 Programme Component Operator Management
Component Operator is Ministry of Social Affairs (M0SA) of Estonia and within the ministry,
the component is managed under Deputy Secretary General on Social Welfare.
Structure chart of MoSA.
Minister of Health — Minister of Social Protection
Advisors Internal Audit dpt.
Crisis team Secretary General
Legal dpt.
Deputy Secretary General DepUty Secretary General Deputy Secretary General Dpto
I-.
Communications
Opt. of Analysis and, Dpt. of Social~Welfare Opt. of Public Health
Statistics p of European
‘Compensation and Dpt.of Medicines Union airs and
pension policy Inter national
Dpt. of Development departme,nD Dpt~ofiMental;HealtR Co operation
Opt. of. Health Systàm Human Resources
Dpt~ âf Children and
Dpt. of ForelgnFlnancing Development
Families
Dpt. of Finance
The implementer of the Support Measure Component is the MoSA.
In Activity 1, dealing curricula and professional qualification modification, MoSA will include
Tallinn University, University of Tartu, TTK University of Applied Sciences as well as Estonian
Social Work Association with 7 vocational schools in curricula development.
In Activity 2, dealing with training and counselling system for social and child protection work
ers, MoSA will engage Social Insurance Board, Union of Child Welfare, and the National Insti
tute for Health Development (creation of a complementary education/training system for child
protection and care workers).
7.1.3 Programme Component Management
Will external management personnel be hired to implement the Pro Yes~1 NoD
gramme Component?
What personnel capacity will be dedicated Internal resources External resources
for the management of the Programme Com
ponent implementation (in full-time equiva- 0,5 FTE 0
lents FTE)?
The leading departments in the MoSA are the Department of Children and Families and the
Department of Social Welfare.
The component will hire a programme component coordinator (0.5 FTE) who will be respon
sible for all programme component coordination as well as content and financial reporting and
communication with donors and oversight of activities within programme component. The po
sition will be filled internally within the organisation.
Additionally, Activity 1 and Activity 2 will hire full-time experts (2 FTE) to lead the activities.
Are CVs attached to this documentation? YesLi NoI~
Are terms of reference for the management functions to be established YesLi NoE~
attached to this documentation?
7.1.4 Programme and Project Management Experience
MoSA has managed I is managing the following foreign aid programmes over the last 5 years:
• EU Structural Funds 201 4-2020 (limited to 3 corresponding programmes/pro
jects):
- ESF measure 1.1.2: “Development and availability of career services to children and
youth”; total grant amount EUR 3,323,010.00
- ESF measure 2.1: “Children day-care service and social welfare services for children with
disabilities to support to decrease the burden of care”; total grant amount EUR
51,722,060.00; of that MoSA is implementing itself EUR 1,390,913.00 in project “Devel
oping support services for children with disabilities as well as promoting balancing work
and family life balance”
- ESF measure 2.2: “Welfare measures supporting employability”; total grant amount EUR
43,174,177.00; of that MoSA is implementing itself EUR 5,245,481.00 in project “Welfare
services supporting employability” and EUR 431,230.00 in project “Raising the quality in
substitute care”
• European Economic Area and Norway Grants 2014-2021 programme “Local Devel
opment and Poverty Reduction”; total grant amount EUR 18,000,000.00.
• Additionally, the Ministry of Social Affairs has also managed 3 projects from the previ
ous Swiss-Estonian Cooperation programme (2007-201 6):
- Creation of the healthy environment for children without parental care reorganisation of
-
children’s homes in Viljandi, Saarepeedi, Juuru and Elva; total grant amount CHF
5,640,000.00
- Procurement of necessary radio communication and information technology means for
linking the ambulance and emergency medicine units of active care hospitals to unitary
state wide operative radio communication system of alarm services and accomplishment
of required communication and it-development works; total grant amount CHF
1,280,000.00
- Automated gait orthosis: Procurement of Lokomat and Lokomat pediatric for disabled chil
dren and adults; CHF 344,341.00.
7.2 Description of Component 2
7.2.1 Short Summary
Estonia must modernize its social studies’ curricula, including adding special modules for work
ing with migrants and refugees. Additionally, we have to raise the competencies and working
62
conditions of people already working in the field, i.e., training, continuing education and support
system for social and child protection workers both at the local government and state level.
These long-term solutions have real impact on people’s lives and well-being.
State of play in the area of child protection services
Several studies15 have shown that child protection workers feel that the basic education does
not prepare them well enough to work directly with children and families, that there is
lack of support from the management and professional development, which are the
main reasons for a high rate of turnover and burnout in the field.
Additionally, many large-scale reforms such as the reform in child protection system and chil
dren with special needs are being prepared, and during the consultation process many working
groups and meetings have been held, including involving also children and families themselves
(their experiences, needs and expectations) and youth organizations but also asking direct
feedback from the specialists working with children and families (management and child pro
tection workers of local authorities, Union for Child Welfare, Estonian Chamber of People With
Disabilities, Estonian Association for Social Work, Social Insurance Board, Chancellor of Jus
tice, Estonian Unemployment Fund). Feedback from local authorities also suggest that the
current workforce is not trained specifically to work with migrants, therefore topics such
as how to work with this target group as well as how to integrate migrant workforce into
the social sector, needs special modules both in universities, vocational schools and
labor market training.
Direct consultations with Tallinn University (that is the main higher education provider to edu
cate social workers) have been held, the current and future needs have been discussed and
the willingness and openness of the university to start modernizing the curricula is confirmed.
More practical and innovative tools and methods of social work need to be inserted in
the basic curricula, in-service training for continuing professional development must
be made available, support system for specialists (mentoring, supervision, trainings
and counselling) needs to be in place to keep the workforce and raise the quality work done
with children and families.
State of play in the area of social work services
In the area of social work, a study on labour force demand in long-term care sector was carried
out in 202216. In-depth interviews were carried out with Social Insurance Board, Estonian Social
Work Association, Unemployment Fund, Ministry of Education and Research, representatives
of 7 nursing homes and special care homes, 6 local governments and their service providers.
Additionally, 4 focus group meetings were held for nursing homes and local governments. The
15 OSKA social work research report, 202111] https Iloska kutsekoda.ee/wp-contentlup
loadsI2O17IOlIOSKA sotsiaaltoo uurinquaruanne terviktekst 2021 pdf, An Analysis of Today’s Child Protection
Case Management, Data Exchange and e-Sei’vices, Civitta, 2022 https /Iwww sm ee/mediaI267O/download, Anal
ysis of child protection work and basic training of working with children to ensure children’s well-being, noticing
abuse and informing about a child in need, Civitta, 2022 https I/www.sm.ee/media/2671/download)
16 Foundation Praxis and Haap Consulting Ltd https//www.~raxis.ee/wp contentlup
loads/2022/01/20221 108 VaPra loDpraoort,odf
analysis report suggests the change in curricula, internship programmes and sector rep
utation improvement activities. The study also revealed quite a scepticallconservative
attitude towards migrant workforce in the sector.
National strategic view
In parallel, the new national Welfare Development Plan 2023-2030 of Estonia incorporates
the same challenges as described above and sets action targets for overcoming them.
• Sub-target 1 “Children and families” of the Welfare Development Plan, in field of action
“Renewal of child protection services to provide effective and purposeful assis
tance to all children in need” states that:
V the qualification education, in-service training and qualification standards must be mod
ernised;
V child protection specialists must be provided with up-to-date toolbox, i.e. guidance ma
terials and evidence based evaluation tools;
V child protection specialists must be provided with motivating and supporting work con
ditions.
• Sub-target 4: “Social services” of the Welfare Development Plan, in field of action “So
cial services will support the rise of people’s wellbeing and perception of social
security” brings out that:
V the workforce in social services must be more qualified and more valued (in this respect
also ensuring the adequate number of people in the sector);
V to meet the needs of the labour market, the sector must modernise its academic cur
ricula as well as central in-service training system and harmonise qualification stand
ards.
7.2.2 Activities and Expected Results
Deriving from the problems identified and goals set in the area of social- and child protection
services (please see above), the programme component focuses on Intermediate Outcome
2: Professionals in education and social sector offer services according to modernised and
new curricula tailored also to work with people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds
and Immediate Outcome 2 of the programme “Professionals in education and social sector
have acquired new skills and knowledge and are ready to work with people from different cul
tural and linguistic backgrounds”. For that, two activity packs have been compiled modern
—
ising the curricula (contributing to Output 2.1) and training the professionals (contributing to
Output 2.2 and output 2.3).
The curricula activity contains the following interventions:
- development and modernization of curricula in higher education as well as vocational
education;
- advertising new possibilities and positive changes in social- and child protection studies
and work environment;
- supporting migrants and refugees accessing the labour market in social care sector.
The training activity contains the following interventions:
- development of complementary education/training system for child protection and care
workers and training of specialists;
- workplace-based counselling and support system for social sector workers.
64
Implementing these activities in cooperation with other national action outside the programme
(like promoting integrated seivices, improving the quality and access of social services) will
raise the quality of provision of social- and child protection services and thereof contribute to
the overall goal of the programme.
Key players and partner organisations
Programme component operator is MoSA who is the policy holder for managing social insur
ance and welfare services, child protection services as well as integrating these services with
employment.
For curricula updates, the MoSA will engage partners as the University of Tartu, TTK University
of Applied Sciences as well TalIinn University being also the only university in Estonia
providing a masters’ programme for child protection specialists.
At vocational level the care worker professional standards are developed and monitored by
the Estonian Social Work Association. Care worker programmes for different specialists is
offered in 7 vocational schools (Haapsalu, Järvamaa, Kuressaare, Parnumaa, Valgamaa as
well as Tallinn and Tartu Health Care Colleges). After the professional standards for care work
ers have been updated, the component operator will facilitate the modernisation of curricula in
an equal manner in all 7 vocational schools where the specialists are taught.
For the creation of a complementary education/training system for child protection and care
workers, training the specialists as well as providing a support/counselling system at local gov
ernment level, the MoSA will partner up mainly with the Social Insurance Board, but also
with NGO Union of Child Welfare. Social Insurance Board is a government institution that is
a central player in coordinating nationwide child protection work, training specialists and coun
selling local governments concerning social- and child protection services.
Additionally, partnering with National Institute for Health Development is also under consid
eration, because they are currently the lead in complementary education provision for care
workers.
7.3 Beneficiaries
The direct beneficiaries are care workers, child protection workers of the local authorities,
youth work organizations; students who study to be child well-being specialists and social
workers as well as educational institutions with relevant curricula.
The indirect beneficiaries will be children and families living in Estonia as well as adults in need
of social welfare services.
Is the benefit of the Programme Component a na- NationalL~1 RegionalLi
tional or regional benefit?
If regional, indicate the benefiting NUTS-2 regions.
65
7.4 Sustainability
Implemented activities (national reforms) have long-term impact and none of them require new
or long-term costs. Developed curricula, study materials and new ways of working will be inte
grated into social sector processes. People working in the field have acquired modern day
competencies that will have effect in more qualitative social work and child protection services.
7.5 Budget
Detailed budget is included in the Annex 14. Please see further details and budget break
down in the Annex budget file.
In Activity I “Curricula and professional qualification modification” we plan to procure and col
laborate with an advertising company in order to promote new possibilities and positive
changes in social care- and child protection studies and work environment.
To alleviate the administrative burden and reduce the workload of programme component op
erators, implementers, partners and controllers who verify expenditures in the NCU, reim
bursement of overheads at a flat rate of 7% of the direct component’s costs is planned to be
implemented. From the previous EU and bilateral projects’ implementation experience the rate
of the overheads was higher than 7 % of the direct component’s costs. The use of overheads
at a flat rate of 7% enables people involved in the implementation of the programme compo
nent focus on achievement of the objectives of the support measure as less resources are
needed for collecting and verifying financial documents.
Project overheads include administrative expenses, such are:
• costs for purchasing, renting, maintaining and repairing office supplies and furniture;
• communication costs, including internet, telephone and postal costs;
• information technology costs, including the costs of buying and renting software and
hardware, office equipment, and maintenance and repair of servers, networks and of
fice equipment;
• heating, water and electricity costs and the costs of cleaning the premises;
Additionally, overheads include expenses related to supportive activities, such as:
• accounting;
• secretarial and personnel work;
• legal advice;
7.6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management
Risk Impact Likeli- Risk level Mitigation meas
[1 5]
— hood ure(s)
[1 —5]
Time-schedule con- 3 Low-Medium Careful time-management, start
straints; all activities ing with the activities as early as
must be finished by mid possible, including more people
2028. in the organising activities.
Procurement process 4 3 Medium-High Swift and good cooperation with
complexity; transla- the donors; understanding their
tions, donor involve- needs, translating and providing
ment, donor approval
66
Risk Impact Likeli- Risk level Mitigation meas
[1 5]
— hood ure(s)
[1 —5]
them with all the materials as
quickly as possible.
Engaging target 4 2 Low-Medium Informal and wide-spread infor
groups; lack of interest mation distribution to people in
by vocational schools charge of curricula in vocational
schools
Engaging target 4 2 Low-Medium Informal and wide-spread infor
groups; training of child mation distribution via umbrella
protection and care organisations.
workers
Excess administrative 4 3 Medium-High Quick responses to changes and
burden and changes in obstacles. Honest conversations
personnel with the donors in case of compli
cations.
67
8. Annex 3: Detailed Information to Programme Component 3
(Ministry of Education and Research)
Basic Programme Component Information
Title Increasing multicultural competence in the education sector
Planned Duration 51
[months]
Requested Swiss 5 358 753 CHF
contribution (CHF)
Requested co-financ- 85%
ing rate of Switzer
land [%]
8.1 Programme Component Operator
8.1.1 Basic Information
Name of Programme Corn- Ministry of Education and Research
ponent Operator
Type of entity National administration
Name of contact person Anu Vau
Position Chief Expert in the Area of Educational Leadership and
Teachers Policy
Correspondence address: Munga 18, Tartu
E-Mail anu.vauc~hm.ee
Webpage and social media www hm.ee
(if any)
Date of establishment 11.11.1918 Tax number (if applicable) 70000740
Number of employees 302
Financial Turnover for each of the 3 previous years [in N/A
Choose.]
Has the Programme Component Operator previously received YesLi No~
funding from the Swiss Contribution?
8.1.2 Programme Component Operator Management
Component Operator is the Ministry of Education and Research (M0ER) of Estonia and within
the ministry, the component is managed under the area of the Deputy Secretary General (Gen
eral Education and Youth Policy). In more detail the leading departments are Department of
General Education Policy and Department of Youth and Talent Policy.
Programme component 3 activities are implemented by Estonian Education and Youth Board,
who is a government agency, which deals with the implementation of the education and youth
policy of the Estonian state. It is responsible for processing service providers and coordinating
various training activities.
Structure Chart of MoER:
Ministerial Advisers <— Minister Internal Audit Department
Secretary Generals Advisers < Secretary General
Assistant Secretary General <-1 ~oft~~Ser~
~1
General (General Education
AroaotthoDeputySocretasy
General (Research and Development.
Ar000fD.putySecietary
General (Adminlanstion)
Departments ( and Youth PoUc~t)
rGen~el Educafloti’~
Higher Educ on~ Vocational
Education and Troining Policy) General
Administration
Strategic planning 11I4 ~yOII~y Departmen~) Higher Education, DePO~II~OI~
Communications Department Area of State Schools Vocational Education
-Areaof Communications Management and Training Policy Area of infermatlon
Maen~t
Area of EU and International Cooperation Area of General Education and Lifelong Learning *rea of Administration
Analysis Department -Area of Pre.Prtmary
Area of Stxateglc Planning Education Department SCIVICCS
Area of External Finances . Area of Educational -Area of Higher Education -Area of State Assets
Area of Learning ~ Leadership and -Area of Vocational Education Management
Teachers Policy and Training Budget and Finance
Area of inclusive Education Area of Skills end
Human Resowcos Department Iyuth and TaienT~ Qualifications Policy Management
Area of Empicyment Management ~.~ollcy Departmentj Area of Adult Education Policy Department
Area of Financial
Legal Affairs Department Area of Youth Work Research and Development Accounting
Area of External Evaluation Area of Hobby Education Policy Department
- Area of Talent Policy Area of Research Infr~~tructur~ Technology
Management
Language Policy Department Department
Area of Language Policy
n General Education and VET
Legond:S general services support services
8.1.3 Programme Component Management
Will external management personnel be hired to implement the Pro- Yes~1 No~
gramme Component?
What personnel capacity will be dedicated Internal resources External resources
for the management of the Programme Com
ponent implementation (in full-time equiva- 0,5 0
lents FTE)?
MoER will be responsible for component co-ordination as well as reporting and communication
with donors and general monitoring of the programme component activities. Within the minis
try, the component is managed by the Department of General Education Policy (0,5 FTE). The
implementer of all the activities is the Education and Youth Board. There will be at the min
imum 1,5 full-time personnel at the Education and Youth Board dedicated for the implementa
tion of the Programme Component. Education and Youth Board is responsible for timely im
plementation and achievement of results of activities, collecting necessary information as input
for substantive and financial reporting and payment claims, main contact for the Ministry.
Are CVs attached to this documentation? YesEl NoL~1
Are terms of reference for the management functions to be established YesLJ NoI~l
attached to this documentation?
8.1.4 Programme and Project Management Experience
MoER has managed I is managing the following foreign aid programmes over the last 5 years:
(limited to 3 programmes).
1. EU Structural Funds 2014-2020 (limited to 2 corresponding projects):
• ESF (European Social Fund), measure 1.6.2. “Qualifications and skills meeting the
needs of society and the labour market” Promoting adult education and expanding
learning opportunities; 27 677 876 EUR
• ERDF (EU Regional Development Fund), Measure 1.4.1. Modernising sustainable
schools in the course of reconditioning the school network; 228 920 776 EUR
2. European Economic Area and Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021
• Baltic Research Cooperation programme “Education and Reasearch”; the total amount
(including co-financing by Estonia) is 8,352,941 EUR. Internationalisation of higher ed
ucation institutions, support for cooperation projects, mobility of university staff; 1 .3 mil
lion EUR. The aim of research funding is the co-operation of partner universities in the
Baltic states; 6 million EUR.
8.2 Programme Component Description
8.2.1 Short Summary
The population in Estonia is becoming more diverse linguistically and culturally, and this trend
is increasing rather than decreasing. This change poses clear challenges for local communities
and their cooperating institutions (local government, youth and social work), but especially for
the school as one of the central institutions of the community.
The programme component managed by the Ministry of Education and Research focuses on
strengthening the capacity of schools, youth centres and local authorities in teaching and
working in a multilingual or multicultural environment. This is achieved through two main lines
of action, which in turn include different activities targeting different stakeholders and benefi
ciaries.
70
Two main lines of action are:
1. in-service training for education sector;
2. Informing, consulting and supporting parents, including parents from different cultural
and linguistic backgrounds.
Education sector includes primary, general and vocational education teachers, support spe
cialists, heads of relevant educational institutions, trainers and lecturers, professionals working
directly with young people in hobby education and youth work, as well as youth work leaders,
institutions providing or coordinating hobby education and hobby activities for young people.
We consider in-service training to be professional self-improvement, i.e. learning in a broader
sense, which includes the acquisition and supplementation of professional, technical and/or
specialist knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as individual self-improvement with the help
of teaching materials, etc., participation in courses, learning with the help of a tutor, learning
under the guidance of others, study trips, mutual professional advice between colleagues, in
cluding the exchange of the best experience and knowledge, etc. In creating a learning-ori
ented and flexible learning system, it is important to raise the awareness of workers in educa
tion sector about modern learning and the integration of formal and non-formal learning.
With regard to this programme, the Education Strategy 2021-2035 (Annex 1), the Youth Sec
tor Development Plan 2021-2035 (Annex 2) and the Estonian Language Strategy 2021-2035
(Annex 3) are important launching documents.
8.2.2 Activities and Expected Results
Ensuring the growth of education and youth workers and the development of competencies
has a direct impact on the quality of teaching and youth services. The development of staff
competences is based on the principles of the modern learning approach and special attention
is paid to their implementation in practise. The activities of the programme component aim to
support the professional development of education sector workers and ensure their qualified
follow-up and informing and supporting parents, including parents from different cultural and
linguistic backgrounds. The activities contribute to the strategic goal of “Estonia 2035” “Smart,
active and health-conscious people in Estonia”,” the Education Development Plan 2021-2035,
the Youth Development Plan 2021-2035 and the Estonian Language Development Plan 2021-
2035.
The activities were planned to take into account the studies on continuous professional devel
opment (TALIS 2018); “Working conditions of the youth workforce: current status and chal
lenges”, 2023; the report of the project “Development of the in-service education system for
Estonian teachers and school leaders” implemented by the British Council and the European
Commission in 2020-2021; “Mapping of multicultural education activities”, 2019.
Activities
Activity 1. In-service training for professionals in the education sector.
The activity contains the following interventions:
- the creation of new curricula;
- the renewal of existing curricula;
- in-service training based on above mentioned curricula.
Activities are implemented by Education and Youth Board, partners are Tartu University
and Tallinn University.
71
This activity will contribute to the foreseen output 2.1 “Modernised curricula and new curricula
for professionals in the fields of education and social welfare have been approved and are in
force” and output 2.2 “Professionals in the fields of education and social welfare have received
complementary training according to new curricula” and intermediate outcome 2 ‘Profession
als in education and social sector offer services according to modernised and new curricula
tailored also to work with people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds” and imme
diate outcome 2 “Professionals in education and social sector have acquired new skills and
knowledge and are ready to work with people from different linguistic and cultural back
grounds”.
Activity 2. Informing, consulting and supporting parents, including parents from differ
ent cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
The activity contains the following interventions:
- Activities to raise parents’ awareness on the issues of learning and teaching in a mul
ticultural environment (different levels of education, hobby education, youth work).
- Regional training for parents’ councils in schools and kindergartens. Training for par
ents’ councils on parent education how parents can support their children.
-
This activity is implemented by Education and Youth Board.
This activity will contribute to the foreseen output 1.3 “Activities for parents, md. from different
cultural and linguistic backgrounds, are developed and provided” and intermediate outcome
1: People from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds are actively participating in Esto
nian society and immediate outcome I b “People from different cultural and linguistic back
grounds are empowered to participate in Estonian society more actively”.
8.3 Beneficiaries
Direct beneficiaries are educational and youth work professionals and organizations and ed
ucation officials of the local authorities.
Indirect beneficiaries are people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds (including
recipients of temporary and international protection status and new immigrants); children and
families.
NationalE RegionalLi
Is the benefit of the Programme Component a na
tional or regional benefit?
If regional, indicate the benefiting NUTS-2 regions.
8.4 Sustainability
Ensuring the development of competencies has a direct impact on the quality of teaching and
youth services. This improves opportunities for children and young people to acquire quality
education and develop their interests, which is an important prerequisite for active participation
in society and the labour market as adults. The development of staff competences is based on
the principles of the modern learning approach and special attention is paid to their implemen
72
tation in practise. Modern learning approaches support the growth of social competences (in
cluding collaborative skills and caring). The modernised and new curricula developed during
the programme will become part of the curricula for formal and in-service training of specialists
in the field, financed from state budget funds. Specialists who have received in-service training
under the programme are experts in their field at the regional and organisational level and pass
on their knowledge to the staff of the region or organisation. The costs of in-service training
are covered by state budget funds allocated to local governments.
8.5 Budget
Detailed budget is included in the Annex 14. Please see further details and budget break
down in the budget Annex file.
To alleviate the administrative burden and reduce the workload of programme component op
erators, implementers, partners and controllers who verify expenditures in the NCU, reim
bursement of overheads at a flat rate of 7% of the direct component’s costs is planned to be
implemented. From the previous EU and bilateral projects’ implementation experience the rate
of the overheads was higher than 7 % of the direct component’s costs. The use of overheads
at a flat rate of 7% enables people involved in the implementation of the programme compo
nent focus on achievement of the objectives of the support measure as less resources are
needed for collecting and verifying financial documents.
Project overheads include administrative expenses, such are:
• costs for purchasing, renting, maintaining and repairing office supplies and furniture;
• communication costs, including internet, telephone and postal costs;
• information technology costs, including the costs of buying and renting software and
hardware, office equipment, and maintenance and repair of servers, networks and of
fice equipment;
• heating, water and electricity costs and the costs of cleaning the premises;
• rental costs of premises.
The labor cost of the coordinator for Activity I is itemized separately from the other costs as
sociated with Activity 1 and is listed under budget (annex 14) line 4.3.1, titled “Activity 1 Coor
dinator in the Education and Youth Board.” This distinction is made because, within the budget
for Activity 1, only the coordinator’s labor cost is factored into the overhead calculations. Mean
while, the expenses listed under line 4.3, “Activity 1. In-service training for professionals in the
education sector (md personnel costs),” are not included in the calculation of the overheads
for the component. This is due to the fact that this budget line incorporates a unified hourly
rate, which encompasses all expenses directly linked to the provision of in-service trainings.
In the budget line 4.3 for the in-service trainings a unified hourly rate will be used to reimburse
costs for partners. The rate was calculated based on Estonia’s actual data from previous pro
jects and actual costs incurred for provision of in-service trainings. The hourly unit cost covers
all expenditure directly related to the provision of trainings, including materials, rooms and
instruction.
73
8~6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management
Risk Im- Likeli- Risk level Mitigation measure(s)
pact hood
[1— [1—5]
5]
Possible time con- 3 3 Low-Medium Careful time-manage
straints ment by starting activities
as early as possible.
Risks related to pro- 4 2 Low-Medium Competence and experi
curement process ence of the project imple
menter.
How to communicate 4 2 Medium-High Communication plan of
effectively to the target the component activities
groups? What if there is in cooperation with the
a lack of interest? implementer and the
partners involved.
Taking time to partici- 5 4 High Good calendar plan and
pate in training of target long notice.
groups
The regulations 1 1 Low Close cooperation between
necessary for the universities, politicians and the
microdegree MoER.
qualifications are
not adopted or in
place.
74
9. Annex 4: Detailed Information to Programme Component 4
(Ministry of the Interior)
Basic Programme Component Information
Title Strengthening civil society through social innovation
Planned Duration [months] 51
Requested Swiss contribu- 997 624
tion (CHF)
Requested co-financing 85%
rate of Switzerland [%]
9.1 Programme Component Operator
9.1.1 Basic Information
Name of Programme Corn- Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Estonia
ponent Operator
Type of entity -~ National administration -
Name of contact person Minna Harjo
Position Adviser at the Department of Citizenship Policy and Civil So
ciety
Correspondence address: Pikk 61, 15065 Tallinn, Estonia
E-Mail minna. hario~siseministeerium.ee
Webpage and social media https:Ilwww. siseministeerium.ee/
(if any)
https://www.facebook.com/siseministeerium
https://www.youtube.com/user/Siserninisteerium
Date of establishment 1918 Tax number
EEl 00907773
Number of employees 175
Financial Turnover for each of the 3 previous years [in EUR] N/A
Has the Programme Component Operator previously received Yesl~1 N0LJ
funding from the Swiss Contribution?
9.1.2 Programme Component Operator Management
The Programme Component Operator is the Ministry of the Interior (Mol) of the Republic
of Estonia. Within the ministry, the component is managed by the Department of Citizenship
Policy and Civil Society (the leading department), which operates under the Undersecretary
for Population and Civil Society, in cooperation with the Department of Foreign Financing,
which operates under the Undersecretary for Assets.
The implementer for all the activities is the National Foundation of Civil Society (NFCS),
which is a state financed civil society development and support centre that focuses on helping
civil society organisations (CSO5) build their capacity to function purposefully and effectively.
While NFCS is funded by the government, it functions independently under the guidance of its
board, of which the majority of the eleven members are representatives of CSOs. The NFCS
will involve external experts and partner organisations to carry out/co-organise different activ
ities depending on their competencies and fields of specialisation.
Stru ture of the Ministry of the Interior
EU and Foreign Relations
Department
Internal Audit Department Minister
Perso ~nel Policy
Department
Permanent Secretary
Communications
Department
- scc C ~i Ci I1CCCuC ~isecie ti UniIei ~ecl uOiIv toi LJii su. C y o
~ C Css ~tiioiqenienl ~ii CISOD ill” r’opulnt oil 011(1 tivil •flcieiy qpl
Rescue and Safety Policy Public Order and Criminal ~zenship Policy an~~~il Information and Asset
Department Policy Department ~~ciety Departm~~ Management Department
Internal Security and Crisis Border Guard and Migration Population Facts Department Financial Department
Management Department Policy Department
Religious Affairs Department j StrategyDepartment
and Development
lntei nal Secui ity Policy
Department
Fo eign Fi ianci g
Department
Legal Department
9.1.3 Programme Component Management
Will external management personnel be hired to implement the Pro YesLJ NoLXI
gramme Component?
What personnel capacity will be dedicated Internal resources External resources
for the management of the Programme Com
ponent implementation (in full-time equiva- 0,2 FTE None
lents FTE)?
The Mol will be responsible for all programme component coordination as well as content and
financial reporting and communication with donors and oversight of activities within programme
component. Within the ministry, the component is managed by the Department of Citizenship
Policy and Civil Society (0,2 FTE), which is the leading department, in cooperation with the
Department of Foreign Financing. The implementer of all the activities is the National Founda
tion of Civil Society (NFCS), which will hire minimum four personnel, who will be responsible
for timely implementation and achievement of the results of activities. The NFCS will be re
sponsible for collecting and providing input for progress and financial reports and payment
claims, and it will be the main contact for the Ministry of the Interior.
Are CVs attached to this documentation? Yes~J NoI~1
Are terms of reference for the management functions to be established YesLi No1~i
attached to this documentation?
9.1.4 Programme and Project Management Experience
The main tasks of Mol include ensuring a secure living environment and supporting the devel
opment of civil society and voluntarism in Estonia.
Mol has managed seven foreign aid programmes over the past 10 years:
In the previous Swiss-Estonian Cooperation Programme, Mol was the intermediate body
for two projects:
“Prevention and management of natural disasters. Strengthening information and com
munication technology systems of Emergency Respond Centre”, duration 2010-2014,
budget 2,4 million CHF.
,,Prevention and management of natural disasters increasing fire safety in Estonian
-
24-hour social welfare and health care institutions”, duration 2010-2014, budget 1,3
million CHF.
In the European Union budgetary period 2014-2020, Mol was the intermediate body as well
as the implementing body for three projects co-funded by the European Social Fund. The
prevention programmes were for people at risk of social exclusion and for promoting secure
living environment, duration 2015-2023, total budget 6.2 million EUR.
In the same budgetary period of 2014-2020, Mol was the intermediate body for two projects
co-funded by the European Cohesion Fund. The projects were aimed at enhancing the ca
pacity of the Estonian Rescue Services to eliminate forest and landscape fires and to control
marine pollution, duration 2014-2023, total budget 62.1 million EUR.
Mol supports the work of civil society organisations through the NFCS, which is a state fi
nanced civil society fund, development and support centre that focuses on helping CSOs build
their capacity to function purposefully and effectively. The NFCS supports over 100 projects
and initiatives annually, ranging from regional to international cooperation. The NFCS also has
a nation-wide outreach involving all stakeholders. In cooperation with county governments and
77
development centres, NFCS offers expertise and consultations on a variety of topics, including
on how to start an NGO, how to apply for funding and how to become a sustainable organisa
tion.
Recent key programme and project management experience of NFCS
o National Competence Centres for Social Innovation. NFCS was the Estonian lead partner
in a two-year project that ended in May 2023 and was co-financed by the European Com
mission that aims to establish national competency centres for social innovation, as well as
develop transitional cooperation within and outside the five members of the consortium.
International consortium members: lead partner Germany, other partners United Kingdom,
Estonia, Denmark and Poland. Total grant amount 1,469,604.63 € of which budget for Es
tonian partners was 128 333,70 €. Project was funded 80% by the European Social Fund
and 20% was co-financed by the Mol. Duration: 24 months (14 May 2021 to 15 May 2023).
The NFCS was the lead Estonian partner in the project, whereas Mol was an associate
partner in the project.
More information: https I/si-alliance.eu/partners
Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV) programme. NFCS is the Esto
nian contact point within the frame-agreement 2021 until 2027 with the budget of 143 605
€ for 2021-2022. The activities of NFCS as the contact point are funded by the European
Commission (87%) and co-financed (13%) by Mol. Activities include raising awareness of
the programme through various dissemination channels, meetings, presentations, seminars
but also consultation of applicants. Withing the framework of the programme, NFCS pro
vides through various application rounds funding for civil society organizations, local gov
ernments and their subsidiaries, and national institutions for the implementation of various
projects. The purpose of the programme is to protect and promote the rights and values set
forth in the European Union’s Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the
preservation of an open, democratic, inclusive and creative society. Members of the contact
point team are still part of the executing agency.
o Europe for Citizens (EFC) Programme. NFCS was the Estonian contact point 2014-2021
with the budget of 350 000 €. The activities of NFCS as the contact points were funded by
the European Commission (80%) and co-financed (20%) by McI. Activities included raising
awareness of the programme through various dissemination channels, meetings, presen
tations, seminars but also consultation of applicants. Withing the framework of the pro
gramme, NFCS provided through various application rounds funding for civil society organ
izations, local governments and their subsidiaries, and national institutions for the
implementation of various projects. The purpose of the programme was to support initiatives
to strengthen remembrance of the recent European history and to enhance civic participa
tion at EU level. Members of the contact point are still part of the executing agency.
9.2 Programme Component Description
9.2.1 Short Summary
The programme component focuses on strengthening civil society through civic participation
and the activities of civil society organizations, including a focus on the social inclusion of mi
grants and refugees through social innovation. This will be achieved through the activity “Build
ing civil society competence, raising public awareness and disseminating information on social
innovation” which is in more detail described by five groups of sub-actions which were dis
cussed and selected in cooperation with relevant stakeholders (for detailed information, please
see section 5.23.2).
The supported actions will contribute to the national development strategy “Estonia 2035”,
particularly its strategic goal “Estonia’s society is caring, cooperative and open-minded”, which
underpins a society that is based on a sense of belonging, common values and a willingness
of the people to actively contribute to the achievement of common goals.
The supported actions will also contribute to the sectoral development plan “Cohesive Esto
nia Strategy 2021 -2030”, particularly sub-objective “Community Estonia”: Estonia is a people-
centred country that promotes the development of communities and civil society where people
are valued and engaged, share democratic values and improve their living environment
through active participation in community and social activities.
The activities listed below were selected by social innovation vision document stakeholders
(please see point 5.23.1)
9.2.2 Activities and Expected Results
The National Foundation of Civil Society and Ministry of the Interior have been in the process
of creating a social innovation visionary document since autumn 2021. The process of writing
the vision document has included an in-depth review of Estonian and international reports and
literature on social innovation as well as thorough consultations with representatives from the
public, private and third sector, as well as the academia. Members of the steering group of the
social innovation vision document are social innovation practitioners and academics all of
—
whom were also partners in the recently concluded project National Competence Centres for
Social Innovation (funded by the European Commission). The same group of experts have
also previously carried out SWOT analysis on the Estonian social innovation ecosystem.
The process of the stakeholder consultation:
Three consultations with social innovation stakeholders: practitioners and academics were
held. During the first consultation a brainstorming session was held with the aim of mapping
out what kind of activities would have the most impact in Estonia within the framework of this
programme. The second consultation focussed on supplementing the ideas and describing
them in more detail.
The interventions included in the programme component were selected in the third consultation
round. The selection criteria were that the interventions would be in line with the goal of the
programme; that they could be completed in the given timeframe and that the interventions
would have a long-term impact. Half of the initial 30 ideas were selected to be part of the
program me.
The initial stakeholder consultations consisted of three meetings with participants from the Mol,
NFCS, Estonian Social Enterprise Network (ESEN), VOru County Development Centre and
Tallinn University. The participants covered different competencies: Tallinn University offered
an academic view, but the university experts also had practical exposure to social innovation;
Vöru County Development Centre had experience in the creation of local level social innova
tion initiatives; ESEN had been working with Estonian social enterprises, including enterprises
that were created by refugees and migrants.
Since the same expert group had been working together as the core working group of the
social innovation vision document, the group had relatively similar points of view as to which
interventions would be suitable and impactful within the scope of the Swiss contribution.
79
Some interventions were suggested, which are not in the scope of the Swiss contribution (for
example monetary investments for social enterprises, which would need longer timeframe to
see the longer-term impact created through these investments).
Activity: Building civil society competence, raising public awareness and disseminating
information on social innovation
The activity contains the following interventions:
Advising on the development, renewal, scaling or continuation of innovative prod
ucts and services with social impact
- creating and delivering an incubation programme;
- creating and delivering social hackathons, both for collecting ideas and working on the
solutions on social inclusion of migrants and refugees.
This intervention will contribute to the foreseen output 3.1 “Civil society competence building
activities carried out” and intermediate outcome 3 “Communities, organisations and individ
uals successfully implement the new knowledge gained in social innovation methods to design
solutions to better integrate and include people from different cultural and linguistic back
grounds in the Estonian society” as well as immediate outcome 3 “Communities, organisa
tions and individuals have gained new knowledge in social innovation methods to design so
lutions to better integrate and include people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds
in the Estonian society” (see chapter 4.3).
This will be achieved as there will be a better quality of services and products designed and
provided by the target organisations; solutions to problems locally or nationally will be devel
oped, with a focus on the social inclusion of migrants; increased co-operation skills of Estonian
non-government organisations will be developed, including inter-sectoral and cross-sectoral
co-operation.
• Providing workshops and trainings to target groups to increase knowledge on social
innovation.
- organizing workshops on best practices from the Nordic countries as well as Switzer
land on the inclusion of new immigrants and migrants using social innovation and social
entrepreneurship methods;
- creating and delivering a training programme for consultants and advisers on social
innovation and social entrepreneurship;
- creating and launching an online course on social innovation and social enterprises;
- organizing study visits to other countries within Europe.
This intervention will contribute to the foreseen output 3.1 “Civil society competence building
activities carried out” and intermediate outcome 3 “Communities, organisations and individ
uals successfully implement the new knowledge gained in social innovation methods to design
solutions to better integrate and include people from different cultural and linguistic back
grounds in the Estonian society” as well as immediate outcome 3 “Communities, organisa
tions and individuals have gained new knowledge in social innovation methods to design so
lutions to better integrate and include people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds
in the Estonian society” (see chapter 4.3).
80
This will be achieved as there will be an increased awareness and knowledge of social inno
vation and social entrepreneurship and better cooperation and co-creation among consultants
and advisers on social innovation and social entrepreneurship and other actors in the field.
• Disseminating information to raise public awareness on social innovation.
- Creating, publishing and disseminating video clips, a broadcast series and a podcast
series on social innovation;
- sharing thematic information via articles, newsletters, campaigns, website, social me
dia channels and presentations at events;
- evaluation of the impact of the dissemination activities.
This intervention will contribute to the foreseen output 3.2 “A set of social innovation training
and information materials created, published and disseminated” and immediate outcome 3
“Communities, organisations and individuals have gained new knowledge in social innovation
methods to design solutions to better integrate and include people from different cultural and
linguistic backgrounds in the Estonian society” (see chapter 4.3).
This will be achieved as there will be an increased awareness of the topic and a more common
information field among the wider public and, in the long term, an increased engagement of
local communities in local life issues.
• Supporting the emergence and development of social innovation networks to pro
mote cooperation between target groups.
- creating and managing a cooperation network and programme for social innovation
actors;
- cooperation/lobbing with policy makers, decision makers and actors in the field;
- organising study visits within Estonia.
This intervention will contribute to the foreseen output 3.1 “Number of civil society competence
building activities carried out for communities, organisations, and individuals” and immediate
outcome 3 “Communities, organisations and individuals have gained new knowledge in social
innovation methods to design solutions to better integrate and include people from different
cultural and linguistic backgrounds in the Estonian society” (see chapter 4.3).
This will be achieved as there will be a more close-knit and knowledgeable social innovation
eco-system and better cooperation within and between networks in the eco-system.
• Collecting, systematising, and disseminating social innovation know-how and best
practices.
- creating and disseminating a handbook on social innovation, with a focus on the inte
gration of migrants —
- collecting and systematising best practises of social innovation.
This intervention will contribute to the foreseen output 3.2 “A set of social innovation training
and information materials created, published and disseminated” and immediate outcome 3
“Communities, organisations and individuals have gained new knowledge in social innovation
methods to design solutions to better integrate and include people from different cultural and
linguistic backgrounds in the Estonian society” (see chapter 4.3).
This will be achieved as there will be an increased know-how of social innovation and its best
practises, which will promote the application of useful tools in designing current as well as
future services.
81
9.3 Beneficiaries
Direct beneficiaries of the activities will be civic society organizations (including NGOs and
social enterprises).
Indirect beneficiaries are people from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds (including
recipients of temporary and international protection status and new migrants), cultural societies
of ethnic minorities and local authorities.
Is the benefit of the Programme Component a na- Nationall~1 RegionalD
tional or regional benefit?
If regional, indicate the benefiting NUTS-2 regions. N/A
9.4 Sustainability
The implemented activity has a long-term impact and will continue to be developed, im
proved and funded because it is based on national strategic development plans (for
example “Estonia 2035” development strategy; Cohesive Estonia strategy 2021 -2030).
Social innovation and social entrepreneurship can simultaneously help stimulate economic
growth and ensure social and environmental sustainability. Understanding and applying social
innovation helps contribute to sustainable development and use resources better and more
efficiently. For example, when creating new products and services, a long-term perspective is
taken, and the basis is that the entire process and the end result creates as much positive
impact on people and the environment as possible. In addition, the entire creation, process
and end result is economical, environmentally friendly and sustainable (from the point of view
of each relevant resource including people, environment, resources etc). Hence, financial and
environmental viability and sustainability are integral to the programme component.
Sustainability is at the core of the activity, as a strong focus is put on developing skills and
capabilities for social innovation and social entrepreneurship. Stakeholders will obtain new
competencies and skills that can be used in the longer term, as well as be passed over to other
people in the future. Furthermore, the materials including written materials, visuals, video
—
clips, etc will be maintained by the NFCS and the Ministry of the Interior and can be used to
train stakeholders in the future and raise awareness about the central themes in the pro
gramme component. Potential new knowledge and innovations that come out from the pro
gramme component may be used to inform future policy making in the relevant fields.
9.5 Budget
Detailed budget is included in the Annex 14. Please see further details and budget breakdown
in the Annex budget file.
Below are clarifications of some of the budget breakdown:
To alleviate the administrative burden and reduce the workload of programme component op
erators, implementers, partners and controllers who verify expenditures in the NCU, reim
bursement of overheads at a flat rate of 7% of the direct component’s costs is planned to be
implemented. From the previous EU and bilateral projects’ implementation experience, the rate
of the overheads was higher than 7 % of the direct component’s costs. The use of overheads
82
at a flat rate of 7% enables people involved in the implementation of the programme compo
nent focus on achievement of the objectives of the support measure as less resources are
needed for collecting and verifying financial documents.
Project overheads include administrative expenses, such are:
• costs for purchasing, renting, maintaining and repairing office supplies and furniture;
• communication costs, including internet, telephone and postal costs;
• information technology costs, including the costs of buying and renting software and
hardware, office equipment, and maintenance and repair of servers, networks and of
fice equipment;
• heating, water and electricity costs and the costs of cleaning the premises;
• rental costs of premises;
• security service costs.
Additionally, overheads include expenses related to supportive activities, such as:
• accounting;
• legal advice;
• organizing public procurement and conducting the purchase procedure;
• information technology support services.
9.6 Risk Analysis and Risk Management
Risk Impact Likeli- Risk level Mitigation meas
[1 5]
— hood ure(s)
[1 —5]
Possible time con- 3 Low-Medium Careful time-management,
straints starting with the interven
tions as early as possible,
including more people in the
organ ising.
Risks related to pro- 4 2 Low-Medium State Shared Service Cen
curement process tre’s procurement prelimi
nary consultation service.
How to communicate 4 2 Low-Medium NFCS will hire a communi
effectively to the target cations specialist with expe
groups? What if there is rience and knowledge of
a lack of interest? reaching the target groups.
Involvement of foreign ~ 3 Low-Medium Together with other pro-
language speaking gramme operators, making
NGO’s and mi- sure that quality translation
grants/refugees and interpretation services
are used and making sure
that language barrier does
not prevent the transmission
of information and ideas.
Distribution of the mate- 2 2 Low Translation of materials to
rials/materials reaching ensure that people with low
the right target groups Estonian language skills will
be able to understand the
materials. The materials will
83
Risk Impact Likeli- Risk level Mitigation meas
[1 5]
— hood ure(s)
[1 —5]
be made available and dis
seminated online.
84
Annex 5: Overview of the policy dialogue for preparing sectoral
development plans and strategies
Ministry of Culture
Preparation of the Estonian-Swiss cooperation agreement was carried out simultaneously with
the preparation of the Cohesive Estonia Strategy 2021-2030.
The preparatory work for the development of the Cohesive Estonia Strategy 2030 started al
ready in 2018, when several consultations with key-partners (other ministries, Integration
Foundation etc) in the field of integration and adaptation were held.
During consultation rounds Ministry of Culture:
• Organised an opening seminar for stakeholders and partners. The aim of the seminar
was to present the possible focus themes and the overall strategic framework of the
Strategy; to get feedback and input on the focus themes and the issues raised; and to
allow interested parties to join the thematic groups that will be set up (08.01.2019).
• Presented the core of the strategy on the Day of Estonian Cities and Municipalities,
with a view to obtain information and feedback from representatives of local and re
gional authorities (12.02.201 9).
• Nine seminars were held in spring 2019, with the aim of identifying integration bottle
necks in Estonia and possible solutions. The seminars were targeted at the following
audiences:
o 18.03.2019 youth organisations and youth work institutions.
-
o 19.03.2019 employers -
o 20.03.2019 media outlets.
-
o 22.03.2019 start-ups and technology companies.
-
o 8.04.2019 representatives of early years education and training providers
-
o 09.04.2019 representatives of general education
-
o 10.04.2019 representatives of vocational education and training
-
o 11.04.2019 representatives of higher education
-
o 12.04.2019 representatives of the sport and physical activity sector
-
Seminar in English language was held at the International House of Estonia for new immi
grants.
In the autumn 2019, discussions were held in 12 counties to present and gather input for the
Culture 2030 development plan and the Integration Strategy documents.
Several meetings took place under the auspices of the RITA~RANNE17 scientifical project team
for the preparation of a vision document 18for the migration and integration agenda (autumn
2019).
Two seminars to wrap up the input from consultation rounds were held in 2020.
Several studies and surveys were taken into account in the preparation of the strategy:
17 https://ranne.ut.ee/
18 https://sisu .ut.ee/sites/defaultlfiles/ranne/files/visioonidokument.pdf
85
• Large scale survey Monitoring the Integration of Estonian Society 2020 (ElM)
https://www. kul.ee/eesti-integratsiooni-monitooring-2020 (factsheets are available in
the English language)
• Survey “Adaptation of new immigrants in Estonia” https://www.kul.ee/me
dia/31 80/download
• Analysis: The Estonian state’s adaptation and integration services.
htt s://www. kul.ee/media/3 18/download
• Applied study “Estonian language learning for adults whose mother tongue is different
from Estonian in integration and employment policy: quality, impact and organization”
• https://www. kul.ee/rakendusuurinq-eesti-keelest-erineva-emakeeleqa-taiskasvanute
eesti-keele-ope-loimumjs-ia (overview of the study is available in English language)
Also results and the evaluations of the previous integration programs was taken in account.
Ministry of Social Affairs
Child protection services
Several studies (OSKA social work research report, 2021, An Analysis of Today’s Child Pro
tection Case Management, Data Exchange and e-Services, Civitta, 2022, Analysis of child
protection work and basic training of working with children to ensure children’s well-being, no
ticing abuse and informing about a child in need, Civitta, 2022) have shown that child protection
workers feel that the basic education does not prepare them well enough to work directly with
children and families, that there is lack of support from the management and professional de
velopment, which are the main reasons for a high rate of turnover and burnout in the field.
Additionally, many large-scale reforms such as the reform in child protection system and chil
dren with special needs are being prepared, and during the consultation process many working
groups and meetings have been held, involving also children and families themselves (their
experiences, needs and expectations) and youth organizations but also asking direct feedback
from the specialists working with children and families. Feedback from local authorities also
suggest that the current workforce is not trained specifically to work with migrants, therefore
topics such as how to work with this target group as well as how to integrate migrant workforce
into the social sector, needs special modules both in universities, vocational schools and labor
market training.
Direct consultations with Tallinn University (that is the main higher education provider to edu
cate child protection specialists) have been held, the current and future needs have been dis
cussed and the willingness and openness of the university to start modernizing the curricula is
confirmed.
The process of the stakeholder consultation
Large-scale data collection and analysis, focus group interviews, international data and system
comparison, seminars and conferences were held. Local authorities (management and child
protection workers), NGOs (e.g. Union for Child Welfare, Estonian Chamber of People With
Disabilities), Estonian Association for Social Work, Social Insurance Board, Chancellor of Jus
tice, Estonian Unemployment Fund were present and represented.
One of their concerns were, that more practical and innovative tools and methods of social
work need to be inserted in the basic curricula, in-service training for continuing professional
development must be made available, support system for specialists (mentoring, supervision,
trainings and counselling) needs to be in place to keep the workforce and raise the quality work
done with children and families.
Input is grouped by common themes/points of view in order to avoid unnecessary repetition.
Since the main input has already been gathered and analysed in large scale studies, all the
main and most time critical proposals have been taken into account. Unfortunately, it is not
possible to fix this social problem of aging population and the raising demand of quality and
personal social services with a magic wand, but some specific and very practical steps are
foreseen within the framework of Swiss Contribution.
Social work services
In the area of social work, a study on labour force demand in long-term care sector was carried
out in 2022 (Foundation Praxis and Haap Consulting Ltd). The analysis report suggests the
change in curricula, internship programmes and sector reputation improvement activities. The
study also revealed quite a sceptical/conservative attitude towards migrant workforce in the
sector.
In-depth interviews were carried out with:
• Social Insurance Board,
• Estonian Social Work Association
• Unemployment Fund
• Ministry of Education and Research
• representatives of nursing homes and special care homes (7)
• local governments and their service providers (6).
Additionally, 4 focus group meetings were held for nursing homes and local governments. The
Ministry of Social Affairs held also a validation seminar for the report (Sept21, 2022) with target
groups already listed above participating.
Ministry of Education and Research
With regard to Swiss-Estonian Cooperation Programme, the Education Strategy 2021-2035,
the Youth Sector Development Plan 2021-2035 and the Estonian Language Strategy 2021-
2035 are important launching documents.
In 2021, a new system for long-term strategic partnerships was developed in cooperation with
the partners. The selection of strategic partners is done in a transparent way through a public
call for cooperation. The aim of the Policy Implementation Partnership is to identify competent
and capable partners to implement the activities selected as priority activities for the imple
mentation of the development plans.
Accompanying the prioritization, the strategic partners invited organizations willing to contrib
ute. Targeted offers are made to youth work associations for youth work development activi
ties; to higher education institutions associations for ensuring information exchange between
higher education institutions, national and international databases; and to the umbrella organ
ization of teachers (associations for providing know-how on methodological and pedagogical
resources, cooperation between teachers), networks and support for teachers’ professional
development.
The rrocess of Education Strateciy
87
From 30 March to 21 April 2020, formal coordination of the draft development plan with part
ners and public consultation took place on the Executive Information System (EIS). During the
coordination and consultation, nearly 60 organisations sent their opinions and suggestions on
the development plan through the ElS or directly to the Ministry. Based on the proposals, the
Ministry supplemented the draft law through meetings with the authors of the more complex
proposals.
The Ministry of Education and Research began preparations for the creation of a new devel
opment plan in the field of education in Estonia in spring 2018, when expert groups were con
vened to create a common vision for all their areas. In parallel, the Ministry organized a collec
tion of ideas, gathered proposals from interested parties and organized vision discussions. The
cross-sectoral vision documents were finalized by spring 2019.
To formulate strategic goals and metrics and agree on the activities needed to achieve these
goals in the education sector, the Ministry established working groups in spring 2019 involving
key partners and stakeholders, focusing on the education system, teachers, and teaching and
skills. The working groups discussed the strengths and bottlenecks in this area, formulated
goals and key development activities. All working group meetings were followed by an addi
tional online consultation with working group members.
Furthermore, it was decided to discuss the issues of the new development plan in the field of
education at the meetings of the Government and the Education and Youth Working Group of
the Association of Estonian Cities and Rural Municipalities, which included other education
experts and representatives of entrepreneurs who contribute to the promotion of education.
Input from the working groups was also sought for the proposal on the development plan.
The Government approved the proposal for the preparation of the Education Development
Plan on 28 November 2019.
The first working version of the development plan was finalised in December 2019 when it was
presented and discussed at a joint meeting of the development plan working groups.
• 30.03 21.04.2020 formal consultation of the Development Plan with interested parties
-
and partners and public consultation took place.
• On 10.07.2020, the Minister of Education and Research submitted an amended draft
to the Government of the Republic for processing based on the proposals received
during the coordination and consultation process.
• At the Cabinet meeting on 29.10.2020, the Government decided to approve the draft
Education Development Plan and forward it to the Parliament for consideration.
• During the process of the Education Sector Development Plan, the Cultural Committee
of the Parliament discussed the draft Development Plan several times and made
amendments.
• In the meeting held on 13.09.2021, the Parliament discussed the Education Develop
ment Plan.
• 20.10.2021 The Minister of Education and Research submitted the Education Devel
opment Plan 2021 -2035 to the Government for approval.
The Process of the Youth Sector Development Plan
• 28 November 2019, the Government approved the proposal for the development of the
Youth Development Plan 2021-2035 on. Representatives of the youth sector and rele
vant partners were involved in the preparation of the proposal and the formulation of
88
the objectives and action lines of the development plan, for which a youth working
group was formed.
• 29 October 2020, the Government decided to approve the draft Youth Sector Develop
ment Plan after discussion in the Cabinet meeting and send it to the Parliament for
discussion.
• 19.05.2021, the Parliament discussion of the Youth Sector Development Plan.
• 12.08.2021, the Government approved the Youth Sector Development Plan.
The Process of the Estonian Language Strategy
• On 22 October 2019, the Parliament proposed to the Government the preparation of
the Estonian Language Sectoral Development Plan for 2021-2035 to strengthen the
vitality, development and learning of the Estonian language.
• The Government approved the proposal to prepare the development plan on 16 April
2020.
• On 2 October 2020, the Minister of Education and Research submitted the draft devel
opment plan to the Government.
• The Government approved the draft Estonian Language Development Plan for the pe
riod 2021-2035 and submitted itto the Parliament for discussion on 20 October 2021.
• The Minister of Education and Research submitted the Estonian Language Develop
ment Plan to the Government for approval on 11 November 2021.
• The Government approved the “Estonian Language Development Plan 2021-2035”.
Ministry of the Interior
National Foundation of Civil Society and Ministry of the Interior have been in the process of
creating a social innovation vision document since autumn 2021. The process of writing the
vision document has included an in-depth review of Estonian and international reports and
literature on social innovation as well as thorough consultations with representatives from the
public, private and third sector, as well as the academia. Members of the steering group of the
social innovation vision document are social innovation practitioners and academics all of —
whom are also partners in the ongoing project National Competence Centres for Social Inno
vation (funded by the European Commission). The same group of experts have also previously
carried out SWOT analysis on the Estonian social innovation ecosystem.
The process of the stakeholder consultation
Three consultations with social innovation stakeholders: practitioners and academics were
held. During the first consultation a brainstorming session was held with the aim of mapping
out what kind of activities would have the most impact in Estonia within the framework of this
project. The second consultation focussed on supplementing the ideas and describing them in
more detail.
The activities to be included in the programme were selected in the third consultation round.
The selection criteria were that the activities would be in line with the project’s goal; that they
could be completed in the given timeframe and that the activities would have a longer-term
impact. Half of the initial 30 ideas were selected to be part of the programme.
The initial stakeholder consultations consisted of three meetings with participants from the Mol,
NFCS, Estonian Social Enterprise Network (ESEN), Vöru County Development Centre and
Tallinn University. The participants cover different competencies: Tallinn University offered an
academic view, but the experts also have practical exposure to social innovation; Vöru County
Development Centre have experience in the creation of local level social innovation initiatives;
89
ESEN works with Estonian social enterprises, including enterprises that have been created by
refugees and migrants.
Since the same expert group have been working together as the core working group of the
social innovation vision document, the group had relatively similar points of view as to which
activities would be suitable and impactful within the scope of the Swiss contribution.
Some activities were suggested, which are not in the scope of the Swiss contribution (for ex
ample monetary investments for social enterprises, which would need longer time-frame to
see the longer-term impact created through these investments).
90
Swiss-Eston Ian Cooperation Programme
Annex B: Budget
on
the Support Measure
Supporting Social Inclusion
SWISS ESTON IAN-
Cooperation Programme
EUR EUR EUR EUR EUR CHF EUR EUR EUR EUR EUR
No Budget items Unit costs Quantity Total Budget Swiss contribution National contribution Swiss contribution Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
(85%) (15%)
Exchange rate CHF1EUR 1,036081
I Management Costs 1 542 928,07 1 311 488,86 231 439,21 1 265 816,92 192 86601 385 732,02 385 732,02 385 732,02 192 866,01
11 Personnel 692 732,00 588 822,20 103 909,80 568 316,76 86 591,50 173 183,00 173 183,00 173 183,00 86 591,50
111 Programme Coordinator Lead (M0C) 229 500,00 195 075,00 34 425,00 188 281,61 28 687,50 57 375,00 57 375,00 57 375,00 28 687,50
112 Programme financial and technical coordinator (M0C) 192 780,00 163 863,00 28 917,00 158 156,55 24 097,50 48 195,00 48 195,00 48 195,00 24 097,50
113 Expenses of State Shared Service Centre for venficatisn of
incurred expenditure (up to 1 2 FTE for 52 months, labor
and travel expenditure, estimation for vanous employees) 270 452,00 229 884,20 40 567,80 221 878,60 33 806,50 67 613,00 67 613,00 67 613,00 33 806,50
12 Meetings, seminars and visits 140 000,00 119 000,00 21 000,00 114 855,88 17 500,00 35 000,00 35 000,00 35 000,00 17 500,00
121 Seminars, working meetings, assignments (site visits) ‘ 40 000,00 34 000,00 6 000,00 32 815,97 5 000,00 10 000,00 10 000,00 10 000,00 5 000,00
1 2 2 Meetings of the Support Measure Steenng Committee and - 40 000,00 34 000,00 6 000,00 32 815,97 5 000,00 10 000,00 10 000,00 10 000,00 5 000,00
working group
123 Travel costs 40 000,00 34 000,00 6 000,00 32 815,97 5 000,00 10 000,00 10 000,00 10 000,00 5 000,00
124 Transportation costs 20 000,00 17 000,00 3 000,00 16 407,98 2 500,00 5 000,00 5 000,00 5 000,00 2 500,00
1 3 Swiss experts and partners 543 776,11 462 209,69 81 566,42 446 113,47 67 972,01 135 944,03 135 944,03 135 944,03 67 972,01
14 Information and communication 154 000,01 130 900,01 23 100,00 126 341,48 19 250,00 38 500,00 38 500,00 38 500,00 19 250,00
141 Communication and visibility costs (md personnel costs)
~ 54 000,01 45 900,01 8 100,00 44 301,56 6 750,00 13 500,00 13 500,00 13 500,00 6 750,00
142 Launching and a closing event - - 60 000,00 51 000,00 9 000,00 49 223,95 30 000,00 0,00 0,00 0,00 30 000,00
143 Evaluations ‘ 40 000,00 34 000,00 6 000,00 32 815,97 0,00 0,00 8 000,00 32 000,00 0,00
15 Reserve costs 12 41 9,95 10 556,96 1 862,99 10 189,32 1 552,49 3 104,99 3 104,99 3 104,99 1 552,49
151 Reserve costs 12 419,95 10 556,96 1 862,99 10 189,32 1 552,49 3 104,99 3 104,99 3 104,99 1 552,49
2 Programme Component I Cultural and linguistic
integration” 6 816 349,13 5 793 896,76 1 022 452,37 5 592 127,22 681 634,91 2 726 539,65 1 363 269,83 1 363 269,83 681 634,91
2.1 Programme Component coordinator MoC 205 200,03 174 420,03 30 780,00 168 345,94 25 650,00 51 300,01 51 300,01 51 300,01 25 650,00
2.2 Overheads*
445929,38 379039,98 66889,41 365 840,10 55741,17 111 482,35 111 482,35 111 482,35 55 741,17
23 Activity 1. Preparation of digital transformation in the field 1 446 121,03 1 229 202,88 216 918,15 1 186 396,50 180 765,13 361 530,26 361 530,26 361 530,26 180 765,13
of integration (mci personnel costs)
2.4 Activity 2: Inclusion of volunteers in the integration
~ 910 648,12 774 050,90 136 597,22 747 094,97 113 831,02 227 662,03 227 662,03 227 662,03 113 831,02
activitiesvvOncl personnel costs)
as Activity 3: Provision otcosnselling services including in 870 453,10 739 885,14 130 567,97 714 119,01 108 806,64 217 613,28 217 613,28 217 613,28 108 806,64
language learning (md personnel costs)
26 Activity 4: Activities introducing the Estonian cultural 2 023 214,40 1 719 732,24 303 482,16 1 659 843,43 252 901,80 505 803,60 505 803,60 505 803,60 252 901,80
space (md personnel costs)
2.7 Activity 5: Provision of media literacy training (md
personnel costs)
‘. 914 783,07 777 565,61 137 217,46 750 487,28 114 347,88 228 695,77 228 695,77 228 695,77 114 347,88
3 Programme Component 2 “Strengthening the social~
and child protection services” 6 564 705,00 5 579 999,25 984 705,75 5 385 678,58 659 195,81 1 318 391,63 1 963 960,88 1 641 176,25 981 980,44
3.1 Programme Component coordinator in M0SA . 109 012,50 92 660,63 16 351,88 89 433,77 13 626,56 27 253,13 27 253,13 27 253,13 13 626.56
32 Activity 1.cerricuia and professional qualification 2 622 140,19 2 228 819,16 393 321,03 2 151 201,65 262 214,02 524 428,04 786 642,06 655 535,05 393 321,03
modification (maci personnel costs)
3.3 Activity 2: training and counselling system (mci personnel , 3 404 085,63 2 893 472,79 510 612,84 2 792 709,05 340 408,56 680 817,13 1 021 225,69 851 021,41 510 612,84
costs)
3.4 Overheads*
429 466,68 365 046,68 64 420,00 352 334,11 42 946,67 85 893,34 128 840,00 107 366,67 64 420,00
4 Programme Component 3 “Increasing multicultural
competence in the education sector” 6 531 88512 5 552 10235 979 78277 5 358 753,18 657 322,64 1 951 297,27 1 951 297,27 1 314 645,29 657 322,64
4.1 , -
,- . 102 600,00 87 210,00 15 390,00 84 172,96 12 825,00 25 650,00 25 650,00 25 650,00 12 825,00
Programme Component coordinator in M0ER
4.2 Overheads*
‘ 62 765,30 53 350,50 9 414,79 51 492,60 7 845,66 15 691,32 15 691,32 15 691,32 7 845,66
43 Activity 1. In-service training for professionals in the
education sector (mci personnel Costa) ‘ . ‘ - 5 572 472,72 4 736 601,81 835 870,91 4 571 652,03 557 247,27 1 671 741,82 1 671 741,82 1 114 494,54 557 247,27
4,3.1
.,. , - 152 617,50 129 724,88 22 892,63 125 207,27 15 261,75 45 785,25 45 785,25 30 523,50 15 261,75
Activity 1 coordinator in the Education and Youth Board**
4,4 Actindy 2 Informing counselling and supporting parents
wft’n a different linguistic and cutural backgrounds (mcI 641 429,60 545 215,16 96 214,44 526 228,32 64 142,96 192 428,88 192 428,88 128 285,92 64 142,96
personnel couts)
5 Programme Component 4 “Strengthening civil society
through social innovation.” 1 216 022,79 1 033 619,37 182 403,42 997 624,10 121 602,28 304 005,70 304 005,70 304 005,70 182 403,42
5.1 Programme Component Coordinator in Mol
. ‘ 44 103,97 37 488,37 6 615,60 36 182,86 4 410,40 11 025,99 11 025,99 11 025,99 6 615,60
5.2 Overheads’
79 552,89 67 619,96 11 932,93 65 265,13 7 955,29 19 888,22 19 888,22 19 888,22 11 932,93
5.3 Building civil society competence, raising public awareness
and disseminating information on social innovation (mci , ‘. 1 092 365,93 928 511,04 163 854,89 896 176,11 109 236,59 273 091,48 273 091,48 273 091,48 163 854,89
personnel costs)
6 TOTAL 22 671 890,11 19 271 106,60 3 400 783,52 18 600 000,00 2 312 621,66 6 685 966,26 5 968 265,69 5 008 829,08 2 696 207,42
DURATION OF THE PROJECT month 51
Number of Calender Years in Programme year 5
Exchange rate CHFIEUR CHF/EUR 1,036081
* To alleviate the administrative burden and reduce the workload of programme component operators, implementers, partners and controllers who verify expenditures in the NCU, reimbursement of overheads at a flat rate of 7% of the direct programme component’s costs is planned to be
implemented in each ot the four components of the SSIP. From the previous EU and bilateral projects’ implementation experience the rate of the overheads was higher than 7 % of the direct component’s costs. The use of overheads at a flat rate of 7% enables people involved in the
implementation of the programme component focus on achievement of the ob-jectives of the support measure as less resources are needed for collecting and verifying fi-nuncial documents.
Programme component overheads include administrative expenses, such are:
•costs for purchasing, renting, maintaining and repairing office supplies and furniture;
•communicution costs, including internet, telephone and postal costs;
•information technology costs, including the costs of buying and renting software and hardware, office equipment, and maintenance and repair of servers, networks and of-fice equipment;
•heating, water and electricity costs and the costs of cleaning the premises;
•rental costs of premises;
•security service costo;
•land tax;
•costs of opening and managing a bank account and payment transfer fee.
Additionally, programme component overheads include expenoes related to supportive activities, such as:
•eccounfing;
•secretarial and personnel work;
•legal advice;
•organizing public procurement and conducting the purchaoe procedure;
property management;
information technology support services.
The labor cost of the coordinatorfor Activity 1 is itemized separately from the other costs associated with Activity 1 and is listed under line 4.3.1. This distinction is made because, within the budget forActivity 1, only the coordinattws labor cost is factored into the overhead calculations.
Meanwhile, the expenses listed under line 4,3, “Activity 1. In-service training for professionals in the education sector (md personnel costo),* are not included in the calculation of the overheads for the component. This is due to the fact that this budget line incorporates a unified hourly rate,
which encompasses all expenses directly linked to the provision of in-service train-ings.
Swiss-Estonian Cooperation Programme
Annex C: Procurement Plan
on
the Support Measure
Supporting Socia’ Inclusion
Procurement plan
If applicable, Tender English
planned dead- notice will translation Actual
Tender an- English trans- line for be submit- of tender launch Actual
Programme Compo- Non-ob- noun- lation of ten- submitting Launch often- ted to documents of tender Contract sig- cont- Contract
Actual contract
nent or Project Ref. No Contract Name ection by cement in der do- documenta- der planned Swiss side will be (publica- nature plan- ract completion completion Initially estimated costs
CH CH cuments for tion to Swiss before made avai tion of ned signa- planned
bidders tender ture
‘non ob- publics- lable to bi
~ection” tion dders notice)
quarter I year quarter I year yes/no yes/no date quarter I year date quarter / year date EUR CHF
Advertising new possibilities and
Strengthening the positive changes in social care-
social- and child pro- and child protection studies and
tection services work environment lll-IV 0 2024 I - II 0 2025 II Q of 2026 400,000
Cultural and linguistic Development and implementation IV Q of 2025-I Q
integration of new digital tools 2026 800,000
Cultural and linguistic Development and piloting a vo- II 0 2025- liii Q
integration lunteer programme 2025 220,000
Development and providing acti
vities to introduce Estonian cultu
Cultural and linguistic ral space and increase social
integration connections I-Il Q 2025 700,000
Development and providing acti
vities to introduce Estonian cultu
Cultural and linguistic ral space and increase social
integration connections lll-lV 0 2026 700,000
Swiss-Eston ian Cooperation Programme
Annex 0: Decision Letter from SDC
on
the Support Measure
Supporting Social Inclusion
Schweizerische E~dgenossenschaft Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA
~ Confederation suisse
~ Confederazione Svizzera Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
EU Member States Secti on
Confederaziun svizra
CH-3003 Bern, DEZA
A Post
State Shared Service Centre of Republic of Estonia
Mr Urmo Merila
Deputy Director General
Lökke 4
10122 Tallinn
Eston ia
Your reference:
Our reference: 7F-1 0699.01
Bern, 07 July 2023
Subject: Swiss-Estonian Cooperation Programme
Decision Letter on 1st stage Support Measure proposal
Support Measure Name: Supporting Social Inclusion
Support Measure N°: 7F-1 0699.01
Swiss Contribution: CHF 18’600’000
Dear Mr Merila,
Thank you for the submission of the above mentioned Support Measure Proposal by the National
Coordination Unit (NCU) on 14 June 2023. The Programme is well embedded into the national plans
and strategies and will contribute to two Estonian state level reforms, which is highly appreciated. We
are content and commend you on choosing a holistic approach to address Social Inclusion and
integrating the Ukrainian refugees in Estonia.
We are very pleased to inform you of the 1st stage approval of the proposal, subject to the following
conditions:
• The rational between Outputs Outcomes Overall Goal should be further strengthened
— —
through a conceptional clarification regarding the target groups. Will the Ukrainian refugees be
addressed in all the components? As the programme focuses on Leaving No One Behind,
please integrate information about specific sub-groups in the target groups, such as elderly
people for instance.
• The Cooperation with Swiss partners should be set up and confirmed for the second stage
approval.
• Considering the strategic importance of the Programme, a special emphasis needs to be put in
the risk analysis on external and internal factors such as the inflation, lengthy procurement
procedures and resistance to the reforms, as well as political and operational risks, especially if
we take into consideration the complexity and fragmentation of the programme.
• A Stakeholder analysis should be provided.
• The sustainability aspect needs to be further developed. What will be done after the
programmes duration and how will the achievements be guaranteed and maintained?
• The Intervention strategy needs to be further developed and revised, including aspects of
complementarity with other actors or funds.
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
Debora Kern
Efflngerstrasse 27, 3003 Berne
Phone +41 5846231 24
www.deza.admin.ch
• Core Indicators of the 2~ Swiss Contribution shall be incorporated into the Logframe.
• Considering the political sensitivity of the Program elements such as the ongoing school reform,
Switzerland would like to be actively involved in ally official communication about the Social
Inclusion programme.
• Budget: In chapter 2.9 a qualitative justification of the budget shall be provided. The budget
line “administrative costs” under “1 .5 miscellaneous” needs to be more specified.
You are kindly requested to take into account the elements expressed above when proceeding with the
elaboration of the 2nd stage Support Measure Proposal.
We would like to thank you for the excellent cooperation.
Yours sincerely,
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
EU Member States Section
Kern Debore DXYXWI
09.07.2023
L..~. Info: admin.chiesignature valiclator.ch
Debora Kern
Head, EU Member States Section
Copy:
Swiss Contribution Office for Estonia
Meie 07.06.2024 nr 11.1-23/24/1393-1
Riina Virkus
Rahandusministeerium
Suur-Ameerika tn 1
Tallinn
10122, Harju maakond
Sildfinantseerimise taotlemine Šveitsi-Eesti
koostööprogrammi toetusmeetmete
projektidele
Palun võimaldada vastavalt riigieelarve seaduses § 54 sätestatule Riigi Tugiteenuste Keskusel
kasutada 2024. aastal sildfinantseerimise vahendeid projektidele 6R40-SH00-01113KUM
“Šveitsi-Eesti koostööprogrammi juhtimiskulud KUM” summas 26 000 eurot ja 6R40-SH00-
01213KLIM “Šveitsi-Eesti koostööprogrammi juhtimiskulud KLIM” summas 6 500 eurot.
Toetusmeetmete rakendamiseks sõlmis Riigi Tugiteenuste Keskus Šveitsi Arengu- ja
Koostööametiga 30.04.2024 toetusmeetme „Elurikkuse programm“ lepingu ja 31.05.2024
toetusmeetme „Sotsiaalse kaasatuse toetamine“ lepingu. Riigi Tugiteenuste Keskuse kulud on
planeeritud mõlema toetusmeetme juhtimiskuludesse.
Kinnitan, et vahendite osalise või täismahus mittelaekumise korral vastutab Riigi Tugiteenuste
Keskus projekti sildfinantseerimise jäägi tagastamise eest.
Lugupidamisega
(allkirjastatud digitaalselt)
Pärt-Eo Rannap
peadirektor
Lisad:
1. Toetusmeetme „Elurikkuse programm“ leping
2. Toetusmeetme „Sotsiaalse kaasatuse toetamine“ leping
3. Toetuse eelarve avamise taotluse vorm
Helena Musthallik tel. 663 2073
[email protected]
Lõkke 4 / 10122 Tallinn / 663 8200 /
[email protected] / www.rtk.ee / Registrikood 70007340