questions and answers

Here you will find frequently asked questions and answers for those of you seeking leadership support and for those of you running a leadership project.

Seeking support

Who can apply for project support?

Leader projects are based on collaboration. Associations, companies and municipalities can apply for support to promote development within the Leader Södermanland geographical area. At least 2 of the 3 sectors, non-profit, public and private, must collaborate in a Leader project.

What can you apply for leader support for?

Leader support can be applied for for costs such as salaries, indirect costs, purchase of services, investments and other costs that move the project forward towards a specific goal. Costs must be reasonable in order to meet the project's goals and contribute overall to the Leader Södermanland development strategy. Support is not provided for ordinary operations, maintenance or running expenses.

How much leader support can we apply for?

You must start from the local needs and together with Leader Södermanland's project coaches we ensure that you work out a reasonable and realistic budget.

How long is the application period?

The application time depends partly on how far along you are with your plans when you first contact us. The project application is a four-step process and the length of time it takes varies.

Once you have submitted an idea sketch for project support, a project coach will contact you to discuss your idea. Our project coach reads through, provides feedback and makes an initial assessment of whether the idea is eligible for project support.

If the Leader office determines that the expression of interest meets the requirements for being granted support, it is now time to make an application in the Swedish Board of Agriculture's system. Our project coach will help you through the process.

Once the application is complete, it's time to keep your fingers crossed! The board makes decisions on prioritization at regular intervals. You can see the dates of the meetings in the calendar.

After this, the decision on prioritization is sent to the Swedish Board of Agriculture for a formal decision.

The time between the board's decision on prioritization and the Board of Agriculture's decision varies but usually varies between 3 to 6 months.

You may incur costs from the time the application is submitted to the Swedish Board of Agriculture's e-service, but this is at your own risk before the formal decision from the Swedish Board of Agriculture is made. This may be good to know before, for example, making large investments in a Leader project.

Running projects

What is a proof of payment?

A proof of payment is a document that shows that you have paid the money from the project owner's account and to whom the money has gone. It is usually available for download from your organization's online banking.

What administration do we need to be prepared for when running a leader project?

When your project receives a formal decision from the Swedish Board of Agriculture, you will receive a start notice. The letter contains a detailed description of the conditions and regulations that apply to your Leader project. The most important are:

to report the project separately. Report the project's expenses and income separately from your regular accounting, for example through a special project book, accounting or cost center in the accounting.
what requirements apply when you communicate about the Leader project, for example the requirement to use the EU support logo when you communicate about your project.
What to do when you cannot meet your goals and objectives.
how you should comply with the Public Procurement Act.
How long you will keep investments acquired through the project. You need to keep the investment for at least 5 years after final payment.

Since payments are made in arrears, it is important to ensure that you have good liquidity, at least 30% for the leader support applied for.

Also remember to manage the financial part of the project from the beginning. Collect all invoices and proof of payment on an ongoing basis and plan when you will make your payment requests.

When will we get the money?

All funds that we grant are paid in arrears. Therefore, it is important to plan at the beginning of the project how you will be able to have money for a period of time before your application for payment is granted and paid. Once costs have been incurred and paid, an application for payment can be sent to the Swedish Board of Agriculture.

Please note that each application for payment needs to be processed by the Swedish Board of Agriculture and this can take 3 to 6 months. Leader Södermanland recommends that you create a routine for reapplying for funds at least every quarter. Also remember that the last 20% of the applied amount will not be paid out until the project has been finalised.

It is possible to apply for an advance on the support as soon as you have received the formal start decision from the Swedish Board of Agriculture. This applies to everyone except municipalities and authorities.

Can we get an advance?

In the decision you can see how much support you can receive from the Swedish Board of Agriculture, the project support part. This is the amount that forms the basis for what you can receive in advance. You can apply for up to 50% of the project support part in advance, but not more than 250,000 SEK.

Remember to report expenses for the advance payment as well, as it is part of your granted support. You report these expenses when you apply for partial and final payments.

You apply for an advance via the Swedish Board of Agriculture's e-services.

What is separate accounting?

Separate accounting means that you must be able to show in your accounting in a clear and understandable way which expenses and income belong to the project in relation to your other activities. The separate accounting must be submitted with each new application for payment and relate to the period for which you are applying for payment. Examples of methods for separate accounting are:

project code, profit center or cost center in the organization's accounting
one or more accounting accounts specifically designated for the project or investment. These accounts must be marked with a specific name or number. The accounts may include expenditure items other than those reported in the payment application, provided that these belong to the project.

What do we do if our project runs out of time?

When you do not have time to complete the project before the project end date, it is important that you contact the Leader Södermanland office. This means that you must apply for a change to your decision on support. You must make an application for a change if the project changes its focus, end date, budget, financing plan or if anything else changes significantly compared to how it was intended. You must submit an application for a change to the decision by filling in a form that you send to the Leader Södermanland office.

If you report expenses or carry out activities that are not stated in your decision on support, this may lead to deductions. Therefore, you must have these changes approved before the expenses can be eligible for support. If the Leader office and the Swedish Board of Agriculture approve your application for amendment, the amendment will apply from the day your application for amendment was received by the Leader office.

How do you calculate volunteer hours?

In a leader project, it is a requirement to work non-profitably. Non-profit work means that you work without any financial compensation. This is because we know that commitment to the project is an important prerequisite for the project to reach its goals and be sustainable in the long term. Ask your project coach about how many non-profit hours are required for your project.

Keep in mind that volunteer hours do not count as co-financing, but rather the hours you put into the project in addition to your own financial co-financing of the project. The volunteer work aims to show the commitment you have created in your community through your project.

Are there any requirements when we communicate about our leader project?

When you provide information about your Leader project, it should be clear that the money comes from the EU. There should be an EU logo consisting of the EU flag together with text. The EU logo should always be visible and have a prominent place. You can download the correct logo from the Swedish Board of Agriculture's website.

Please also use the Leader Södermanland logo when communicating your projects. Contact us and we will send you the correct files or download them here.

There are specific rules regarding the size and placement of the logos. It is important to follow these rules as failure to comply with them may result in deductions. More information is available on the Swedish Board of Agriculture website.

When advertising on social media for the Leader project, there are also special requirements regarding the use of logos. Please contact the Leader Södermanland office before making an advertisement.