Apply for funding from the ESF Plus program "rückenwind³ für Vielfalt, Wandel und Zukunftsfähigkeit in der Sozialwirtschaft"

If you, as a non-profit organization, want to improve working conditions and structures in the social economy, you may be eligible for a grant under certain conditions.

With the "rückenwind3" program, the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) helps you, as a non-profit organization, to secure skilled workers. The focus is on the challenges of demographic and digital change. You receive support in the form of concrete concepts and measures to create a modern and attractive working environment in the social economy.

The BMAS funds projects that improve working conditions in an inclusive, diversity- and life-phase-oriented manner and enable employees to flexibly adapt their skills.

The following 5 fields of action are funded:

• Development and testing of modern work models and work organization in the context of a changing world of work in social professions and fields of work
• Target-group-specific concepts for the digital and analogue qualification of employee groups. Objectives include, for example,
  •  the promotion of equal opportunities,
  • the improvement of the compatibility of family and career,
  • the increase of the proportion of women in leadership positions,
  • the increase in the proportion of skilled workers with a migration background,
  • the increase in the proportion of people with disabilities,
  • the preservation of the employability and health of employees, as well as
  • improving the inclusion capacity of companies
• Measures to support employees and companies in dealing with new workplace technologies, particularly with regard to the adaptation of skills and job profiles
• Digital and analog measures for recruitment and employee retention. Consideration of gender, age, origin, professional background, and life phases of employees. Inclusion of career changers and previously underrepresented target groups
• Support and qualification of employees and further development of leadership and corporate culture with regard to adaptability and future readiness in non-profit institutions, services, and companies in the social economy

Type and scope:

The funding is granted in the form of partial financing with grants. The grant amounts to between 50 and 70 percent of your total expenditures.

The approval of the applications is handled by the German pension insurance fund Knappschaft-Bahn-See (DRV KBS). In doing so, the DRV KBS has the tasks of,

• to inform the applicants and provide advice on funding matters,
• To review applications,
• to grant and disburse subsidies and
• To review the project.

The duration of an individual project is generally up to 3 years.

The Federal Working Group of Free Welfare (BAGFW) is commissioned as the steering office and for professional and content-related support.

The application procedure for the funding guideline "rückenwind3 for diversity, change and future viability in the social economy" is a two-stage process. In the first step, you submit an expression of interest. In the second step, the selected project promoters are invited to submit an application.

Regarding step 1:

• Submit expressions of interest electronically via the Z-EU-S IT funding portal. Please observe the separately announced deadlines.
• The managing office evaluates the submitted expressions of interest. The selection is based on defined selection criteria and weightings, including, among other things, the initial situation and need for action, the approach and objectives of the project, aspects of the applicant's suitability, and potential for transfer.

Regarding step 2:

• If your project receives a positive evaluation, you will be asked to submit a formal, written funding application via the Z-EU-S funding portal.

If the project is approved, the standard regulations for grants will apply, supplemented by specific regulations for federal funding from European Social Fund 2021-2027 resources.

A call for expressions of interest is published once or twice a year. In these calls, the steering group may restrict the scope to priority topics from the 5 areas of action.

• You can file an objection against decisions made during the approval process (grant notification, final report notification) via the ZEU-S funding portal.
• A direct lawsuit is also permissible against decisions made within the context of the expression of interest procedure – provided these were issued by a supreme federal authority.