Representatives from nine Schleswig-Holstein funding recipients of the federal broadband funding program met in Kiel on Tuesday, February 20, at the Broadband Competence Centre Schleswig-Holstein(BKZSH) to find out more about the selection process and funding applications. After Johannes Lüneberg from the BKZSH welcomed the participants, Matthias Schulze-Mantei from the northern office of aconium GmbH, the project management organization of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, took the floor. He first gave an overview of the federal funding program and key parameters of the funding procedure, particularly after the provisional decision had been issued.
When presenting the handout on the selection procedure, he then went into the selection procedure and provided information on the legal framework. Following the second topic block on requesting and disbursing funds in the federal broadband funding program, individual questions from the funding recipients were clarified. Those present welcomed the fact that the billing process is exclusively digital. For grant recipients whose projects are funded using the so-called ‘operator model’, the topic of purchasing materials in advance was of particular interest, for which a corresponding information sheet was published in January 2018. According to this, grant recipients have the option of requesting a partial amount for materials still to be used before submitting the proof of use, thus taking logistical requirements into account. This “request for funds for the procurement of materials in stock” can be made once during the entire project.
The workshop format of aconium GmbH will also be offered in Schleswig-Holstein and other federal states in the future as support for recipients of funding in the federal broadband funding program. Further dates will be announced shortly.