1. Radoslaw.Piontek@ecorys.pl 25 May 2010

2. ECORYS in Poland since 1997 – ltd. company 96% Dutch ownership Managed solely by Poles since 2002 Growing from 15 to 60 persons between 2004 and 2010 – mainly on the EU-funded projects 25 May 2010ECORYS2

3. Examples of projects: Partner in a consortium implementing 10 mln Euro project establishing over 300 distant education centres in the rural areas of Poland [grant] Leader of a consortium implementing 6 million Euro public campaign of one of the Polish state owned agencies, promoting trainings financed from the European Social Fund [public tender] Training for plane mechanics in of the regions, 200 k Euro [grant] Analysis of creative industries for Ministry of Economy; 20 k Euro [public tender] 25 May 2010ECORYS3

4. Grants: Not for direct profit = covering costs, allowing to develop a product/service while achieving the project goals Time consuming – you have to be patient from the preparation till last payment received Red tape – dont fight it Specific knowledge of the rules required to prepare a successful grant application After its completion the project may not treated as reference Hurry up! Poland consumes the EU funds with high speed 25 May 2010ECORYS4

5. Tenders: Profitable [hopefully] Based on Polish Public Procurement Law – selection mainly based on price! 3 phases – learning curve on using that law Very short periods for small value tenders = 7 days Tenders announcement available mainly in Polish – many websites available Sometimes no advance payment – be prepared Every coma of your offer is important and binding Networking becomes more important than ever… 25 May 2010ECORYS5

6. 1. Have your Polish spies following the Operational Programmes or /and tender announcements – either within your company or a trusted partner company 2. For tenders - prepare list of references from completed projects AND letters of satisfaction from the clients! 3. For grants – plan you project to start 12 months from the moment of planning 25 May 2010ECORYS6

7. Ministries implementing Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund Few national agencies [Implementing Authorities] located in Warszawa 16 Marshall Offices = heads of regional self-governments 25 May 2010ECORYS7

8. Good luck! 25 May 2010ECORYS8