COMPETITION AND AWARD
for
PERMANENT SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY MEASURES
in conjunction with
EUROPEANMOBILITYWEEK
2016
MALTA
COMPETITION AND AWARD FOR PERMANENT SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY MEASURES
In the 2014 edition of European Mobility Week, a new grant was launched for Local Councils in the form of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan Award. This award was launched to promote the idea of Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning among localities in Malta and Gozo and to instil a sense of green transport-related planning at local level.
In 2015, the Competition was upgraded; keeping sustainable mobility as the running theme, the Competition invited Local Councils to submit one sound measure proposed for permanent deployment within their locality.
VATIS Project
The 2014 edition of the Competition was won by the Valletta Local Council. Using the €50,000 grant awarded through the Competition, the Local Council of Valletta is currently implementing the VATIS Project which aims to engage travellers, particularly car drivers, to contribute and use information related to their car journeys to and from the City.
Through the use of monitoring equipment, wireless and mobile technology the project will aim to develop
(i) a network of sensors collecting traffic information around the City
(ii) software able to simulate and predict traffic patterns
(iii) a mobile app able to communicate information about traffic in and around Valletta and at the same time collect information from users (crowd-sourcing) to further improve the information service.
The project aims to give drivers information whilst collecting data from same users through the mobile app. Sensors around the City will validate the data collected and contribute to simulation software able to predict traffic patterns. This will guide drivers on whether to make the journey by car or not, or might point them towards a faster, easier routes.
A website with travel information will support the project to encourage drivers to use also other means of transport to the City, especially if congestion is high.
Through the project, the Council shall also install an Information Kiosk at Great Siege Square to act as a focal point of information for tourists and visitors.
The project aims to deliver a reliable, technology driven, crowd-sourced information service that would contribute to the alleviation of traffic in and around the City of Valletta.
Bormla Bus on Demand
The Competition held in 2015 was won by Cospicua Local Council. A total of € 50,000 were made available to the Council to implement the measure submitted as part of the Competition which featured the provision of Transport on Demand offered to Bormla residents.
In view of this, Cospicua Local Council are currently making preparations to purchase and deploy a fully-electric, 5-seater crew van which will be used to offer transport on demand services from the periphery of the locality to the urban centre. The service is mainly aimed at the elderly. Through the grant, the Council will also be installing the charging infrastructure necessary to support the electric van.
The project aims to improve accessibility to the elderly while offering the service using low-carbon, energy-efficient means of transport thus also contributing towards the improvement of local air quality.
E-Bike Sharing at St Paul’s Bay
St Paul’s Bay Local Council placed as the first Runner Up in the 2015 edition of the Permanent Measures Competition. A total of €30,000 where therefore awarded to the Council to introduce e-bike sharing within their locality as proposed in the Competition submission.
Using funds awarded through the Competition, St Paul’s Bay Local Council will be purchasing and installing an e-bike station which will be used to host and charge the electric bicycles (also known as pedelecs). The station will be made available for residents to charge personal e-bikes, while a number of e-bikes will also be made available by the Council for the use of residents and tourists visiting the locality.
The project therefore aims to improve accessibility around the locality, reduce traffic congestion by providing an alternative mode of transport to the private car and contribute towards the improvement of local air quality by making available a mode of transport which is both, low carbon and energy-efficient.
COMPETITION 2016
Objective
For this year, the EMW Organisation Committee is building on initiatives launched in previous years and revamping the Award Scheme. The Competition for Permanent Sustainable Transport Measures is being launched in conjunction with the European Mobility Week 2016.
The objective of this award is to further encourage and ultimately reward Local Councils who come up with innovative schemes and measures that address sustainable and green transportation within their localities.
The Award aims to promote specific and tangible measures which when implemented would clearly demonstrate and promote a cleaner and healthier way of living while raising awareness of the need for local and individual action in the field of sustainable urban mobility at local level.
Eligibility Rules
The Competition is open to all Local Councils who can participate as a single Locality and/or as a consortium of Localities. A Local Council may also invite NGOs and other partners to join the consortium, however, the lead applicant must be a Local Council.
ELIGIBILITYCRITERIA / All Local Councils and NGOs (albeit only in partnership with a leading Local Council) are eligible to participate as part of the COMPETITION for PERMANENT SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY MEASURES, if they:
1) Submit the full application by 31st August 2016
2) Commit themselves to implement the Measure/s in the proposed time frames
3) Commit themselves to finish the implementation of the selected measure chosen by the Adjudicating Committee by 30th June 2017
Local Councils who have already been awarded the grant through previous Competition editions are eligible to participate again in this year’s edition.
In the case of a proposal being submitted by a Consortium of Localities (which may include NGOs), one Local Council is to be nominated as the Leader of the Consortium and will act as the primary contact point and representative in all matters throughout the duration of the application and evaluation process and, if awarded, throughout the measure implementation.
Consortia can be formed between a number of neighbouring local councils sharing common borders (hence a measure may intersect more than one locality) or between Local Councils located in different regions.
The winning measure/s would need to be implemented by not later than 30th June 2017. In the case of measures which are service related, these have to be put in place for at least 12 months and are to commence operations by no later than 30th June 2017. In either case, delays and/or failure to abide by these deadlines would result in the grant being revoked.
The proposals received will be evaluated by an Evaluation Committee set up for the purpose. The evaluation will be carried out against specific identified criteria upon which the proposal should be based and evaluation carried out. The criteria can be found later on in this document.
The application form template is attached to this document (Annex 1).
Funding Rules
For 2016, the awards are set at € 50,000 for the winning proposal and € 30,000 for the first runner up.
The award may be spent on one measure as proposed in the Competition Submission. Only measures proposed as part of the Competition will be financed. Moreover, the grant may be spent by a single Local Council or shared between the partners participating in the same Consortium. In the latter case, the division of the budget between the different Consortium Partners is to be indicated at measure submission stage as part of the Budget Breakdown.
Should no submissions meet the eligibility criteria, or carry enough points to qualify for the Grant, the Grant will not be awarded. Only submissions which meet the required standard will be considered for funding.
During Evaluation Stage, the Evaluation Committee may require clarifications. In this regard, Clarifications will be sent on the email provided as part of the application form. Reply to clarifications will be subject to a deadline; failure to reply by the set deadline will render the application ineligible. Therefore, it is important that an active email address belonging directly to the nominated contact person be provided as part of the application form.
Once the selection of the best measure/s is made, meetings will then be held between the winning Local Council/s and Transport Malta to fine-tune the proposal in preparation for implementation. Following these meetings, the winner/s will be invited to submit a detailed project description to include any modifications agreed upon in the initial meetings.
The measure as finalised is to be registered on http://www.mobilityweek.eu/ and approved by the EU Commission as a Mobility Action.
Once registration is done and the measure has been approved by the European Commission as a Mobility Action, an advance payment of €10,000 will be transferred to the Local Council (or to the Lead Council in the Case of a Consortium) to allow the implementation to initiate.
Should a measure be proposed which requires a budget exceeding the Awarded grant, the proposer may seek/ propose other supplementary sources of funding. If this is the case, the application form is to include details regarding this additional funding as part of the Budget Breakdown to be submitted along with the Application Form.
Additional funds may be sourced to supplement the costs of the measure being proposed. For instance, the Measure/s can be proposed in conjunction with separate schemes such as those promoted by the Department for Local Councils. Measures may also be proposed in conjunction with the private sector. In cases of additional funding, all funding sources are to be listed in the Application Form.
Measures which will generate revenue for the Local Council will be accepted as part of this Competition.
If during implementation the available budget is overrun, it is the responsibility of the beneficiary Local Council/s to make up for the overruns, keeping in mind that if the project is not implemented as agreed the entire grant will be revoked.
If the beneficiary is not able to finalise the measure in time and/or is not successful in the implementation for any reason, the beneficiary will have to reimburse back the full amount of the grant.
Further to the advance payment, the remainder of the award will be transferred by Transport Malta to the Lead Council on a reimbursement basis. Therefore, the Local Council will need to submit all relevant Vat Invoices charged on the project, photographs of the completed works, as well as any data collected during the operation of the measure; the latter is to be presented in the form of a Result Report. In case of works, Transport Malta will be sending an Architect to certify works as eligible.
FINACING / Preparation of the budget breakdown:- A budget breakdown is to be submitted with the Application Form to include a detailed description of all the costs involved to finance the implementation of the measures listed.
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- It is strongly recommended that market research is carried out to assist in the budgeting of the measure to avoid overruns once the project is being implemented.
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- If the grant is not sufficient to finance the measures proposed, the budget breakdown must also include an indication of how the remainder of the funds are to be provided and accessed. The measure may be financed along with separate, parallel schemes.
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- Measures which will generate revenue are eligible. However, if it is envisaged that revenue will be generated, this is to be indicated in the application form.
Grant Levels
Considering that there are two levels of Grants: €50,000 and € 30,000 it is recommended that provisions are made within the proposal in case the project qualifies for the € 30,000 grant rather than the € 50,000, since irrespective of which grant is allocated, the project needs to bear results.
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- What can be funded:
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- Equipment: Equipment is an eligible cost as long as it is proven that the equipment is critical for the operation of the measure as intended.
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- In certain cases, lease of equipment can be eligible such as leasing a vehicle to provide a service for the duration of the 12 month pilot.
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- Infrastructure: any deployment which will be permanently fixed shall be considered as infrastructure. Therefore, street furniture, electric vehicle charging pillars, waiting shelters, bicycle racks etc. shall be considered as infrastructure and are eligible for funding.
Consultancy: any expertise needed to implement/ plan / supervise the implementation of the action can be funded. This may include Engineering, Architectural, ICT and any other expertise as long as this is properly justified within the application.
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- Software and/or Licences to purchase software are eligible as long as the indicated software is required part of the initial capital investment to launch the measure.
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- Marketing material including the design, printing and publication of brochures, leaflets, billboards, the set up of web pages etc. will be eligible as long as the appropriate logos are given prominence in the material published.
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Staff costs for personnel already employed by the Council are not eligible for this grant.
In all cases, apart from the general rules laid out above, a case-by-case basis will be taken when considering the measures submitted. In this regard, it is strongly recommended that a proper and self-explanatory justification is submitted as part of the application for the investment as proposed.
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- Financing the Measure/s:
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- A €10,000 advance payment shall be given to the winner/s on registration of the selected measure on http://www.mobilityweek.eu/ and accepted by the European Commission as a Mobility Action.
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All remaining payments shall be done upon re-imbursement basis against submitted certified invoices and once the project is complete; including certification of works (if works are included in the measure) carried out by an independent engineer/architect nominated by the EMW Organisation Committee.
Eligible Types of Measures
Awards granted in previous years should be taken as an example of the type of measures expected. On the other hand, new and innovative ideas are strongly recommended and encouraged.