PSF 2024 Call

The PSF online application will be open from 15 February to 31 March 2024.

Call priority areas     

1. “Safe and Secure Region”: aims to enhance the safety and security across the Baltic Sea region. Key elements include enhancing civil security and protection systems within the Baltic Sea region countries, emphasizing cross-border cooperation – for example to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.
   • Thematic area: Civil Security 
     Implementation of the whole-of-society approach – a model where vital societal functions are handled together by authorities, civil society organisations, businesses and citizens to strengthen resilience and safety of the BSR. Projects may include initiatives beyond traditional disaster risk reduction approaches, developing wider and more inclusive partnerships across sectors and levels, involving local communities, empowering citizens to act, building future skills and competences and fostering common societal security culture.
   • Thematic area: Child protection, justice and assistance 
     Initiatives that develop, enhance and implement national and regional professional networks promoting multidisciplinary interventions and interagency collaboration concerning protection, justice, and recovery for child victims of violence. Projects may examine the role of professional networks in developing a competent and committed workforce, evidence-based practice, and a harmonised approach to multidisciplinary service delivery, drawing on  international law and guidance, including the Barnahus Quality standards.  Projects should aim at identifying transferable success factors, critical organisational elements and promising practice for national networks while facilitating exchange within and between networks in at least 3 eligible countries in the Baltic Sea region. 
   • Thematic area: Anti-trafficking 
     Under this theme, the call seeks to support seed initiatives and projects against Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) in the Baltic Sea Region, with the objective of reducing human trafficking risks among migrants in the region.  Proposed projects should preferably involve partners and stakeholders with a documented experience in working with the target group directly. Within the thematic area of THB, the call will give priority to projects targeting newly arrived migrants, assuming a gender-specific approach or addressing demand as a driver behind THB for all forms of exploitation.  
2. “Regional identity”: aims to explore current and future-oriented identity building endeavours in the region, in particular involving young people, culture and education for fostering societal resilience and transregional collaboration. Applicants are invited to explore how culture, including cultural heritage, can contribute to the development of new regional identity narratives, as for instance ecocultural identity providing common ground for the safe, secure, and sustainable Baltic Sea Region. Project proposals should clearly demonstrate what actions and deliberation mechanisms on the future of the BSR are planned, including how young people are incorporated in this dialogue as prospective region builders. 
3. “Sustainable and Prosperous Region”: aims to mainstream climate change mitigation and transformational collaboration on energy transitions in the maritime transport sector. The call also encourages project proposals that support the local coastal communities in developing sustainable tourism services while promoting and preserving the cultural heritage and biodiversity values.  

 Scope of the activities   

• Developing and extending cooperation between national, regional, and local governments, civil society organisations, volunteer organisations, researchers, practitioners and policy makers from different sectors and levels for managing increasing risks stemming from natural and/or man-made disasters.  
• Enabling the exchange of good (implementation) practices, as well as building regionwide awareness of the common challenges.   
• Providing training and capacity building for national and local actors to identify, assess and manage the adverse impacts of climate change to societies and ecosystems.   
• Establishing and maintaining sustainable and inclusive programmes, developing practical measures, cooperation models and tools to protect societal groups from the consequences of risk factors such as climate change in the BSR.    
• Developing new integrated and innovative approaches to promoting the objectives of this call, particularly involving young people as future region builders.
• The CBSS encourages inclusion of partners from Ukraine in planned projects.

Strategic background / reference documents

CBSS Vilnius II Declaration, CBSS Action plan 2021-2025, Oslo Declaration on Regional Cooperation in the Civil Protection Network, a Joint Position on Enhancing Cooperation in Civil Protection Area, Children at Risk Regional Strategy 2021-2025, Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings Strategy 2020-2025, UN Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UNFCC Paris Agreement and also “Realizing the Vision: The Baltic 2030 Action Plan”.