Organisations Ready for Projects | ZMINA:Resilience Capacity Building Webinar #1

Aims

This capacity building webinar was designed to give cultural organisations a grounded, realistic understanding of what it takes to work with EU-funded projects — before they apply. Rather than focusing on application mechanics, the session addressed the deeper organisational conditions that determine whether a project will strengthen an organisation or overload it.

The session aimed to help participants:

• Understand the fundamental difference between running an organisation and delivering a project, and why conflating the two leads to strategic drift and burnout
• Identify the minimum readiness conditions across five key capacity areas that an organisation must meet before pursuing EU funding
• Apply a structured, five-filter go/no-go decision-making framework when evaluating funding opportunities
• Read EU calls from policy logic downward — understanding what the European Commission is actually trying to solve — rather than building applications upward from a list of activities
• Recognise networks and international partnerships as structural, long-term capital rather than transactional contacts
• Design projects with legacy in mind: as institutional investments that leave lasting improvements in governance, competence, and relationships

Trainer

Michal Hladký is Director of EIT Culture & Creativity East, one of six hubs of the EIT Culture & Creativity Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), covering Slovakia and Ukraine. In this role he leads a hub focused on building innovation capacity in the cultural and creative sectors across the region.

He previously served for more than ten years as Director of Creative Industry Košice, joining the organisation in 2008. During this period he played a central role in the preparation and implementation of Košice – European Capital of Culture 2013, and later contributed to the city's designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts in 2017. He was also involved in the founding of the European Creative Business Network (ECBN), later renamed Creative FED, as a pan-European platform supporting organisations in the cultural and creative industries.

Over nearly two decades, Michal has worked with a wide range of European programmes — including ECoC, Creative Europe, Interreg, Horizon Europe, URBACT, UIA/EUI Innovative Actions, I3, Erasmus+, and EIT — in the roles of project author, lead partner, implementation manager, and strategic advisor. He has designed and delivered large-scale, multi-partner projects focused on organisational capacity building, urban development, innovation ecosystems, and international cooperation. His work is characterised by a strong emphasis on translating EU funding frameworks into realistic organisational practice and lasting institutional value.

Content

The webinar was structured around five thematic areas, combining conceptual frameworks with practical self-assessment exercises and case studies drawn from the trainer's experience.

1. Organisation vs. Project
2. Project Readiness Capacity
3. Go / No-Go Decision Framework
4. Networks as Strategic Capital
5. Legacy Thinking

The session was held on February 18, 2026 in English.