EU Technical Support Instrument for reforms and development of public administration in Member States

The European Union’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI) is an EU programme managed by the Reform and Investment Task Force (SG REFORM) of the European Commission's Secretariat-General. Every year, EU Member States can request support under the TSI for developing and reforming public administration in nearly all branches of government. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is responsible for the national coordination of the TSI.

The TSI aims to promote the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the Union by supporting reforms in Member States. The TSI support is used to improve public administrations’ efficiency, sustainability and adaptability to future challenges. At the same time, the programme promotes sustainable economic growth, competitiveness and employment and supports the implementation of the national recovery and resilience plans.

The TSI is part of the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework and the Recovery plan for Europe. Its total budget for the current seven-year period (2021–2027) is EUR 864 million.

What type of support does TSI provide?

Rather than providing direct financial support, the TSI provides Member States with technical expertise and competence. In many cases, the support is a combination of the Commission’s in-house expertise and external expertise provided, among others, by international organisations and experts and consultants from EU Member States. The TSI does not require national co-financing; however, the success of reforms relies on the engagement and ownership of the Member State authorities. The TSI support is tailored to the needs of each Member State and covers all stages of the reform process from design to implementation.

The TSI can be used for purposes such as:

• developing strategies and action plans
• carrying out analyses and impact assessments
• providing training and developing information campaigns
• compiling datasets and statistics
• organising short study visits and expert exchange between Member States. 

You can read more about the types of TSI support from the TSI Regulation(Link to another website.). Finland’s completed TSI projects(Link to another website.) are presented on the Commission’s website.

Who can request support under TSI?

EU Member States’ national, regional and local authorities, such as ministries, agencies, counties and municipalities, may request support under the TSI. Requests may be submitted by individual authorities or by consortia of several authorities.

The Commission favours projects with a wider European dimension. The authorities of several EU countries can collaborate in multi-country projects. To promote this collaboration, the Commission provides the requesting authorities with an online portal, the Repository of form support needs under TSI, as a space for sharing ideas and networking during the TSI call. SG REFORM also helps in other ways to connect authorities from different EU countries interested in the same issues.

When and how to request support under TSI?

The TSI request process follows an annual cycle.  The call for requests opens in late spring with the Commission publishing the priorities and flagship projects for the new call. Flagship projects are more broadly linked to EU top priorities and policies and support Member States’ capacity to implement reforms in these areas. 

Drafting of and support for requests:

The request process is clear and well supported. Requests are submitted on the Commission’s online portal in October. The request template is concise and user-friendly in structure to make drafting requests easier.

Finnish authorities can make extensive use of the support available:

• SG REFORM: The Country Coordinator for Finland provides support and expertise especially in polishing the content of the request. It is advisable to contact the Country Coordinator as early as possible, email Ella.AHMAS@ec.europa.eu.
• Online course: The Commission’s online course(Link to another website.) provides a step-by-step guide on how to prepare a successful TSI request and gives practical tips on the request process.
• Ministry for Foreign Affairs: As the national coordinating authority for the TSI in Finland, the Ministry provides further information on the instrument and the request process and grants access to SG REFORM’s TSI portal, email TSI@gov.fi. In May–September each year, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs organises an event for Finnish requesting Beneficiary Authorities to provide them with information on the call for requests, its priorities and details of the request process.

Stages of request process and assessment criteria

1. Drafting of requests: The requesting authorities draw up their requests on the Commission’s online portal within the national deadline. The authorities are advised to ask SG REFORM for feedback on their requests through the country coordinator. The national deadline is usually mid-October.
2. Submission of requests: As the national coordinating authority, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs submits the applications to the Commission no later than 31 October each year.
3. Assessment of requests: At the beginning of the following year, the Commission assesses the requests and selects the projects that will receive technical support.
4. Selection of experts to carry out the project:  The Commission selects the best experts to carry out the project after discussions with the requesting organisation. The experts may include international organisations, the Commission’s in-house experts or consultancy agencies.
5. Start of projects: The selected projects usually start in the spring and early summer and last for an average of 16–24 months.

The requests are assessed on the basis of the criteria set out in the TSI Regulation(Link to another website.). These include the urgency and extent of the reforms, the quality of the requests for support and their compatibility with the objectives of the Government Programme and the European Semester.