The 2nd Call for SMEs Support by TRACE is open!

TRACE Support Programme overview

The TRACE Support Programme will involve directly SMEs that will be projected to become “champions” of sustainability and inspire other micro and small-sized enterprises in their local contexts.

The TRACE Support Programme consists of targeted training and specialised consultancy activities to support, accompany and advise European tourism and culture SMEs to enhance and monitor the sustainability performance of SMEs in the tourism sector integrating the circular economy, boost their awareness and capacity of integrating sustainable innovations in their business strategy, develop a strategic and investment plan for circular economy, and apply for environmental certification (e.g. EU Ecolabel, EMAS or others).

Activities will focus on sustainability aspects such as analysis of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions, development of sustainability plans, support for application to EU eco-label and other certification processes, and monitoring of a set of key indicators for the level of sustainability and circularity. Particular attention will be given to the enhancement of skills and capacities of the involved SMEs internal staff, through training and capacity building activities, and a series of direct support services dedicated to certification processes, sustainable finance and innovation management. Thus, the whole TRACE Support Programme aims at supporting tourism SMEs in taking their first steps towards the sustainability journey, starting a process which has a large potential to bring benefits not only to the single enterprise but to the entire territory/society.

Direct funding and support provided

The selected 12 SMEs will receive a Grant up to € 7,200 for consultancy, training, travels and certification.

The TRACE Grant will be used to access further training and specialised consultancy, travel to networking and business events and to apply for sustainability / environmental certification. The enterprises will be engaged from October 2024 to April 2025 in a coaching process and will be included in an international network of virtuous enterprises for sustainable circular and cultural tourism to enhance particularly lesser-known and remote destinations and establish local cooperation networks.

What does TRACE offer?

The services support under TRACE Support Programme for tourism SMEs will be delivered by the TRACE Consortium members and are divided in three interconnected phases:

Phase 1: Capacity Building Support
Phase 2: Assess & Recommend
Phase 3: Circular Business Direct Support

The support within Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 for SMEs provided by TRACE Consortium members under the form of services are valued approximately EUR 4,000 per SME. In addition to these services provided by the Consortium, within Phase 4 beneficiaries will be awarded with direct funding in the form of grants of maximum EUR 7,200 to deploy their Sustainability Plan.

More information is provided in the detailed TRACE Open Call Guide for Applicants.

Deadline

The TRACE Open Call for SMEs Support is open from March 21 to April 30 2024, 17:00 CET.

TRACE is a project co-funded by the European Commission under Grant Agr. No: 101085893, under the Single Market Programme (SMP SMP/SME Pillar), which aims to provide sustainability services such as strategies, training activities and tools for tourism SMEs willing to innovate their business models and enhance their performance from a sustainability and circularity perspective.

TRACE Consortium

The project is coordinated by the CNR ISPC (National Research Council, Institute of Heritage Science) with the following partners: ICHEC Brussels Management School, Iniziativa Cube S.r.l., North-East Romania Development Agency, Larnaca and Famagusta Districts Development Agency, APT Basilicata Territorial Promotion Agency, Provincial Government of Teruel.

TRACE is a project co-funded by the European Commission through Grant Agreement N. 101085893 under the Single Market Programme (SMP SMP/SME Pillar), which aims to provide sustainability services such as strategies, training activities and tools for tourism SMEs willing to innovate their business models and enhance their performance from a sustainability and circularity perspective.

Links and contacts

→ TRACE Open Call Application form 
→ TRACE Open Call Guide for Applicants
→ TRACE Open Call Announcement
→ Annex I – Application form template – only to read, the application is online.
→ Annex II – Pre-assessment questionnaire – to be filled-in after application process
→ Annes III – Service Agreement model – to be signed if selected for receiving a Grant
→ TRACE project

Email address for further information on the TRACE Open Call for SMEs support and TRACE Support Programme: support@iniziativa.cc