UPF Q&A

UPF is not emergency aid. The programme aims to restore Ukraine's economy and society sustainably via projects in circular construction, healthcare, sustainable energy, agriculture, and water.

Yes, that is possible. But note that we will not process more than 2 applications from the same group, partner or fiscal entity.

No, there is no preference for larger or smaller projects. You can submit project proposals for a subsidy of 0.5 million to 4 million euros.

No, there are no earmarked amounts per sector and no even distribution across the sectors.

No, this is not possible. This application round has different criteria. The criteria your application must now meet have changed. 

As of 30 October 2024, it is no longer possible to schedule an appointment with an advisor. But you can email your question to UPF@rvo.nl.

This Q&A provides answers to the most frequently asked questions. If you cannot find the information you need, send your question to upf@rvo.nl.

Applicants should complete the subsidy application and all documents, annexes and reports in English. You may not submit a proposal in any other language, including Ukrainian.

No, that is not possible. Your project plan must relate to a concrete and cohesive project. The results must contribute to the goal, which must be achievable within 4 years.

The project must start within 2 months of approval for a subsidy. Feasibility studies, inception phases, pilots and demonstration projects are not eligible for this subsidy.

No, this subsidy is not for experiments. Projects must have a tangible result. Due to the risks in Ukraine, it is less likely that projects without previous demonstrable success will succeed.

This means that we will assess the complete subsidy applications based on the order in which we receive them. We only accept complete applications that include all the required documents.
If you submit an incomplete application, you may still complete it during the application round.

Submit your subsidy application via the English apply page. You will need eHerkenning at least level 2+ for this. If you do not have eHerkenning yet, we advise you to apply for it first. The application process may take some time.

1. The lead party (the applicant) must complete the online application form.
2. All partners in the partnership must sign the partner form.
3. If an intermediary applies, each partner must sign a form authorising the intermediary.
4. The project plan.
5. The budget plan.
6. All project partners must sign the partnership agreement.
7. 2 recent annual accounts from the lead party and the available financial data from 2024. If the partners in the partnership are also contributing to the project financially, as part of the 'own contribution', we also need their annual accounts. All partners must be able to demonstrate that they can make their own financial contributions to the project.

You can find the documents on the English appy page.

Yes, as long as the scheme is open for applications, you can withdraw or resubmit your application. The date on which you resubmit your application is your new application date. As we assess applications in the order in which we receive them, there is a risk that your new position in the order of assessment will be less favourable.
If we have approved your subsidy application, you can only change it under certain conditions and via a change request. You need your RVO advisor's permission to do this.

You will receive a confirmation of receipt after you have submitted your complete application. Within 13 weeks of submitting your application, you will receive a notification of the outcome.

An advisor can contact you for clarification on anything that is unclear in your application. If your application is clear enough for us to assess but fails to achieve a satisfactory rating, we will not contact you for clarification.

We will contact you if we reject your application because it does not score highly enough on the scheme's criteria and minimum scores.

Once the maximum subsidy amount is reached, no more funds are available for your project. 
If your project proposal for UPF 1 was rejected for this reason, it does not guarantee your priority or automatic eligibility for UPF 2. Read the UPF 2 criteria carefully to identify any changes needed to your project proposal.

For more information on reconstruction in Ukraine, visit the Netherlands government's website Nederlandse hulp voor Oekraïne (Dutch Aid for Ukraine). This website is in Dutch. 

During the assessment, we check the project proposal to assess whether the partners are pursuing shared objectives and whether:

• They are providing their required contribution,
• They are bearing risks,
• The partners have sufficient financial and implementation capacity,
• The partners have demonstrable experience in similar projects,
• The project partners have already approached stakeholders, including beneficiaries,
• The partners have already committed themselves to the project in writing.

Your project plan must describe how knowledge and assets will be transferred (via which channels), how you will arrange the communication and consultation with stakeholders, and how you will ensure they continue to support this project. If this is not clear enough from your project plan, your plan may receive a lower score.

During the assessment, we will ask you extra questions, such as:

• How do the partners know each other, and for how long?
• What is the role of each partner?
• Does each partner have a role that is necessary for the project?
• How do the partners differ from each other? Why this particular partner?
• What does the management and consultation structure look like?
• How are decisions made? How often do meetings take place?
• Are the partners focused on jointly endorsed objectives?
• How are the project results shared?
• What happens if partners do not follow the joint agreements?

No, only private legal entities, such as businesses or social organisations, may form a partnership.

The lead party must be able to deal with any financial setbacks and unforeseen project costs. The project plan must show whether the lead party "is fully accountable and responsible towards the minister for implementing the proposed activities and compliance with the obligations associated with the subsidy." 

All financial obligations also fall under the above obligations. If it is not clear enough from your project plan that the lead party meets these requirements, your plan may receive a lower score.

You can find the requirements and responsibilities of the lead party in Sections 3 and 4.2 of the Administrative Rules.

Each partner must:

• Be able to demonstrate they have the expertise, knowledge and experience to implement the project activities. This means at least 2 years of experience gained over the past 10 years. Partners can demonstrate this by using previous similar projects as examples;
• Have been established before 15 August 2023;
• Be needed to implement the activities, and
• Have a significant role in the partnership.

You must provide a clear and detailed description of the role of each project partner, even if the project partner does not receive the UPF subsidy. In your description, include the activities and responsibilities of each partner and how you will report on them. We will check whether the partners have sufficient organisational and financial capacity to implement the project activities.

In the partnership agreement, all partners approve the project plan in writing. In this agreement, partners state that they agree on the following:

• The project's aim,
• The project's scope;
• The distribution of the roles and responsibilities,
• The obligations that each partner must meet.

The partnership agreement also includes:

• the role of all partners,
• the contribution each partner makes to the project,
• the cooperation that partners provide and the responsibilities they have,
• how coordination between partners takes place,
• how compliance with the agreements made is safeguarded,
• how compliance with the obligations associated with the subsidy is safeguarded.

All partners must sign the partnership agreement. We do not accept signatures on behalf of partners, even if these were mandated by a partner or in a partner's absence. You can find a template partnership agreement on the English apply page.

All activities in the project plan must contribute to the project's main goal. Your project plan should use measurable data and examples to comprehensibly describe the target group or beneficiaries. You must describe:

• The starting position: the current situation, the challenges and needs;
• The project approach: per project activity, the reasoning behind the chosen approach. Give examples of previous projects and demonstrable, measurable results;
• The intended, measurable results or KPIs resulting from the project activities.

During the assessment, it is not possible to approve only part of the project plan and then cancel some of the activities. However, in consultation with the applicant, we can cancel activities if the costs are not eligible for subsidy.

UPF is a demand-driven facility. With UPF, the Netherlands government aims to contribute to Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction. For this reason, we expect applicants to provide an extensive and fact-based description of the local needs in Ukraine in connection with the war and how the project partners plan to address these needs.

You should prove this by referring to recent policy papers or reports published by the Ukrainian authorities, international organisations or official letters of recommendation from the Ukrainian government.
It is not sufficient to indicate that, according to the partners, the project plan fully complies with Ukrainian national or local government policy or international organisations' intervention strategies.

All project costs must be reasonable, logical and necessary to implement the activities for which you are applying for a subsidy. For this reason, you should explain all the project costs in the project budget form. If you fail to do so, you risk losing the funding.

UPF is a (95%) subsidy scheme. Following Dutch legislation and regulations, you may not incorporate profit markups in the budget. All project costs claimed by project partners must be free from profit markup. Third-party costs must be in line with market prices.

See Section 5 of the Administrative Rules for an overview of all eligible costs.

The subsidy scheme covers a maximum of 95% of the eligible project costs. You should submit a budget and project plan for 100% of the eligible costs and activities. You should then separate the 5% own contribution and show who will fund the 5% and how.

This is the indexed admissible maximum hourly rate you may charge for staff directly involved in the partnership carrying out the activities for which you received the subsidy. This involves reimbursement or an allowance for actual labour costs, not commercial, market-based rates. The fees are reimbursable up to a maximum of 700 euros per day.

No, this is not allowed. Inflation, unforeseen costs and currency exchange differences are not eligible costs. The applicant is responsible for these costs and risks.

You must declare that:

• The project cannot be financed commercially. The applicant must demonstrate and explain why the project is not eligible for local or national commercial financing. A statement from a financial institution may be helpful;
• The costs claimed by the project partners do not include a profit markup;
• The partners are aware of the OECD guidelines and will act accordingly.

The Dutch government and Netherlands Enterprise Agency consider it important that Dutch companies set an example for others in Responsible Business Conduct (RBC). If you do business internationally with financial or other kinds of support from the government, we expect you to act responsibly.

RBC risks and due diligence

By completing a risk assessment, you can ensure that the projects you carry out or participate in reduce or prevent potential adverse impacts on people and the environment. This process, also referred to as due diligence, examines the social and environmental risks of your international activities and supply chain, how you prevent or reduce them and how you report on them.

RBC guidelines and UPF

If you want to take advantage of the funding opportunities available from UPF, you must follow the RBC guidelines:

• The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. These guidelines also apply to Dutch SMEs and local businesses that receive support from the Netherlands government.
• Activities on the FMO Exclusion List are not eligible for funding under the UPF subsidy programme.

RBC in your application

• Specify your project's international RBC risks in relation to people, the environment and society. Describe what you will do to manage these risks. Use the Risk Checker to get a quick and easy overview of potential RBC risks.
• Establish a joint integrity policy and implementation plan for the project.
• If we grant you the subsidy you applied for, our advisor will discuss your specified international RBC risks with you during the initial meeting. 
• We may include specific measures that we expect you to take to prevent or reduce identified international RBC risks in your subsidy approval letter. 
• During the project, you should report on the measures you have taken to prevent, end or reduce RBC risks.
• We expect you and your partners to openly and proactively share this information with us.

Secure business is about knowing how valuable your company's unique knowledge, technology or product is to others. It is essential to minimise risks, especially risks to vital infrastructure (for example, energy and water) in high-risk countries. Failure, disruption or manipulation of these processes and services can have significant consequences for your project's performance and success. Take measures where possible and accept any residual risks. You should do this as follows:

• Maximise your business data security.
• Use the latest developments and updates to secure the technology and technical systems you are using.
• Consider using the latest technology or the most advanced technical systems.
• Build extra security or warnings into the technology or technical systems.
• Choose a data storage method different from the one you are used to using in the Netherlands.

See the Dutch webpage Nationaal Coördinator Terrorismebestrijding en Veiligheid for information on critical infrastructure.

• You must start your project within 2 months of receipt of the subsidy approval letter.
• You must complete your project within 4 years. 
• Your project proposal must show that your project can be completed within that time.

No. We will consider the project plan and the liquidity prognosis for an advance payment or a payment scheme up to, in principle, 90% of the awarded subsidy amount. We will coordinate this with you. We will pay the remaining 10% of the subsidy amount upon the project's completion.

If we approve your application, we will contact you to discuss it and determine the payment date with you. We can also help you communicate safely about your project.

Yes, this is mandatory. The costs of this audit are eligible for subsidy; you can include these costs in the project budget when submitting your subsidy application.

You will need our approval to do this if the change is more than 25% per result of the budget category. If this change of 25% is less than 2,000 euros, you do not need our approval.
Please note: You must report in detail any changes to the project resulting from budget changes. For example, if another activity within the same budget replaces an activity.

Outcome Harvesting is a monitoring and evaluation method we use to collect and analyse outcomes. This method monitors changes, not activities. We ask you to use this monitoring method to gain insight into the impact of your UPF project. Your advisor will provide more information on this during the initial project meeting.

The subsidy recipient should inform us immediately. We will work together to consider the options available within the subsidy programme.

If a project suffers damage or cannot be carried out, the subsidy recipient should report this to us. We will then consider the best solution. A project can, for example, be paused until the situation improves or cancelled. In the latter case, the subsidy recipient must repay the unused parts of the subsidy.

If the war results in higher costs, and you choose to continue the project, you can request an increase in the awarded subsidy during a subsidy round. This is only possible if UPF funding is still available.

The subsidy recipient is responsible for the safety risks in Ukraine.