İSTKA Guided Project Support (Güdümlü Proje Desteği)
Supports Istanbul enterprises with strategic grants aligned to city development priorities.
Güdümlü Proje Desteği (Guided Project Support) is İSTKA — İstanbul Kalkınma Ajansı's direct, non-competitive grant instrument for strategic regional projects. Unlike the agency's annual competitive call-for-proposals cycle, this instrument is agency-initiated: İSTKA defines the project scope, partnership model, ownership structure, and cost parameters in line with the priorities of the Istanbul Regional Development Plan. Public institutions, universities, research organisations, NGOs, organised industrial zones, technoparks, business development centres, unions, and cooperatives operating in Istanbul may respond to these agency-defined project briefs on a continuous, rolling basis. For-profit private companies are not eligible as lead applicants under this instrument.
Because each Güdümlü project is individually specified by İSTKA, award amounts, project durations, and detailed eligibility criteria vary per brief and are not published on a general tariff. The instrument is classified as direct support rather than competitive grant — meaning İSTKA selects partner organisations for specific, pre-scoped projects rather than evaluating open proposals against a common theme. All projects must be implemented within the Istanbul TR10 NUTS-2 region. There is no application window or submission deadline independent of the individual project briefs; prospective participants should monitor the agency's Güdümlü Projeler page (istka.org.tr/gudumlu-projeler) for active briefs.
Organisations best positioned for this instrument are those with established relationships with İSTKA, deep alignment with the agency's current Regional Plan priorities, and the institutional capacity to manage a directly-commissioned project. Because İSTKA initiates and shapes these projects, proactive engagement with the agency's programme teams — rather than waiting for a competitive call — is the primary way to influence whether a relevant brief is developed. The Guided Project Support instrument coexists with İSTKA's annual competitive programmes and represents a distinct, relationship-driven funding pathway.
Direct, non-competitive agency-defined project grants for strategic priorities aligned with Istanbul's Regional Plan, open to public institutions, universities, NGOs, and similar organizations on a rolling basis.
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