A project intent is a brief strategic document describing a planned project – its objectives, activities, expected results, indicative budget, and timetable – which is submitted before the actual application for a non-repayable financial contribution. It is used in two situations: in two-stage calls, where the provider first assesses the intents and invites only promising projects to the second stage with a full application, and in the system of integrated territorial investments, where intents are assessed by the Partnership Council of the self-governing region for consistency with the integrated territorial strategy. The advantage of this procedure is cost savings – the applicant does not have to immediately prepare complete documentation, building project documentation, or all the annexes, and receives feedback that improves the quality of the final application. Assessment of the intent is of a recommendatory nature, so a positive opinion does not yet guarantee approval of the non-repayable financial contribution, but its absence makes submitting an application impossible under the ITI system. A well-prepared project intent therefore forms the foundation of the entire project preparation.
See also: Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI).
