Poziv za podnošenje projektnih prijedloga: Podrška civilnom društvu, Operativni grantovi za IPA OCD Udruženja - Podrška regionalnim tematskim udruženjima

Contracting Authority: European Commission

Civil Society Facility

Operating Grants to IPA CSO Associations

Support to regional thematic associations

GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS

Budget line: "Regional and Horizontal Programmes" 

Reference: EuropeAid/136-034/C/ACT/Multi

Deadline for submission of full application: 22/09/2014

NOTICE

This is an open Call for Proposals, where all documents are submitted together (Concept Note and Full Application Form). In the first instance, only the Concept Notes will be evaluated. Thereafter, for the applicants who have been pre-selected, the full proposal will be evaluated. After the evaluation of the full proposals, an eligibility check will be performed for those which have been provisionally selected. Eligibility will be checked on the basis of the supporting documents requested by the Contracting Authority and the signed ‘Declaration by the Applicant’ sent together with the application.

Prior registration by applicants and partners in EuropeAid's on-line database, PADOR, available at http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/onlineservices/pador/index_en.htm, is obligatory under the present call for proposals (see section 2.2 below for details. The offices of the Technical Assistance to Civil Society Organisations (TACSO) in the Western Balkans and Turkey are available to assist applicants and partners in registering in PADOR. For more information and contact details please consult www.tacso.org. TACSO also hosts a partnership/networking forum and a helpdesk to assist Civil Society Organisations.

If possible, applicants are encouraged to inform the Contracting Authority whether they intend to submit an application for this Call for Proposals by sending an email to Elarg-CSF-applications@ec.europa.eu by 22/08/2014. This is not obligatory and does not affect the evaluation of the application. However, it will enable the Contracting Authority to mobilise the necessary resources for the evaluation of the applications.

1. CIVIL SOCIETY FACILITY - OPERATING GRANTS TO IPA CSO ASSOCATIONS

1.1. BACKGROUND

Accession to the European Union is a key political objective for the Western Balkans and Turkey. This requires the negotiation and ratification of an Accession Treaty. However, the Treaty itself is not enough to make accession a success. As part of the process, candidate countries go through a complex transformation to bring them in line with values regarding democracy, human rights and the rule of law shared by existing Member States. New legislation and principles have to be agreed, implemented and monitored effectively in order to advance towards EU accession. The role of civil society in giving citizens a voice and holding governments to account in this process is crucial.

The present programme focuses on Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), i.e. all not-for-profit, non-market and non-state organisations and structures in which people organise to pursue shared objectives and ideals.  It is part of the Civil Society Facility (CSF) which was set up by the European Commission's Directorate General for Enlargement (DG ELARG) in 2008 to give financial support for the development of civil society in the Western Balkans and Turkey. Moreover, during 2013 DG ELARG has largely promoted the EU guidelines for the support to civil society in Western Balkans and Turkey for 2014-2020. According to the EU guidelines EU financial and political support should aim at improving the enabling environment and the capacity building of civil society in all beneficiary countries. 

The programme's purpose is to achieve: 'A more dynamic civil society actively participating in public debate on democracy, human rights, social inclusion and the rule of law and with capacity to influence policy and decision making processes.'

The current Call for Proposal aims to achieve this by promoting networking and formation of Umbrella organisations, networks and other CSOs serving all enlargement countries, representing the interests of the member CSOs at a regional level, by providing them with an operating grant. It does not concern organizations that have concluded a Framework Partnership Agreement with DG Enlargement for the period 2012 - 2016.

For development and implementation of EU policy there needs to be an open and wide-ranging dialogue with all stakeholders. It is important that CSOs are able to take part in such a dialogue since they have a good understanding of public concerns. Their presence is important to provide a sound balance in relation to the interests of other actors. Furthermore, the grouping of CSOs is to encourage democratic and civic participation of citizens and promoting opportunities for civic engagement.

Regional/European CSOs are for example valuable in co-ordinating and channelling the views of national organisations and citizens as input to the decision making process. For the development and implementation of policy, they also participate in preparatory work and expert groups and conduct research and studies. Another example of an area where such grouping of CSOs play an important role is awareness raising.

Organisations that wish to apply must be active at a regional level (have activities and members in at least four IPA Beneficiaries). National CSOs are not targeted by this programme.

The purpose of an operating grant is to provide financial support towards the functioning of a body in its core activities - over a period that is equivalent to its accounting year - in order to carry out a set of activities.

The operating grants will be awarded to existing organisations and associations of CSOs who already are active in the Western Balkans and Turkey. By bringing together representatives from different organisations in the Western Balkans, Turkey and eventually EU, the programme will enhance CSO cooperation and understanding beyond regional and national levels.

The operating grants are awarded on a yearly basis. Calls for proposals are published once a year on the DG Enlargement web page. The applications are evaluated and ranked according to a number of award criteria. These criteria relate to the extent to which the organisations can contribute to EU policy development and implementation in the priority areas of EU policy. The evaluation is made by external experts and DG Enlargement experts. Some other aspects are also taken into account, for example the potential for the organisation to develop and improve thanks to the funding provided.

1.2.  OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME AND PRIORITY ISSUES

The global objective of this Call for Proposals is to achieve: 'A more dynamic civil society actively participating in public debate on democracy, human rights, social inclusion and the rule of law and with capacity to influence policy and decision making processes.'

The specific objective(s) of this Call for Proposals is: 'Greater commitment and capacity of civil society organisation (CSO) to give citizens a voice and influence public sector reform processes through analysis, monitoring and advocacy, etc. by joining forces in a Regional Association.

The activities to be implemented through this Call for Proposals should contribute to the overall EU Enlargement policy on civil society development (see also the guidelines for EU support to Civil Society: http://www.tacso.org/documents/otherdoc/?id=9887&template_id=73&langTag=en-US) and lead to the following main results:

• Improved co-operation between Civil Society and public authorities

• Better understanding and visibility of the work carried out by Civil Society

• Regional and national CSO partnerships/networks perform timely consultations with citizens, pool expertise and produce high quality research, monitoring and strategic advocacy

• Government institutions recognise the importance and value of civil society participation in reform processes

Priorities

The applicant organizations should be active in the following fields (priorities) in order for the application to be considered:

1)   Strengthened capacity and efforts to provide analysis, advocacy and monitoring of key sector reforms at regional and national levels

2)   Improvement of the environment for civil activism and state-civil society dialogue at regional and national levels

3)  Improvement of the legitimacy, transparency and accountability of CSOs in the region

The current Call for Proposals seeks to support (regional) associations/networks/federations/foundations, etc. working in the following thematic areas:

1. promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, enhanced respect for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons (LGBTI),

2. fight against corruption and organised crime,

3. improvement of social dialogue and strengthening of the capacities of social economic partners,

4. promotion of (social and economic) inclusion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, enhanced respect for the rights concerning notably Roma,

5. promotion of social and economic inclusion of age groups that risk marginalisation and in particular youngsters

6. promotion of media self-regulatory bodies and / or journalists trade unions / press councils

The 6 areas are intended to be lots of the call and therefore the contracting authority will seek to conclude grants with one applicant for each area.

The created Associations will encourage networking at all levels including with Union-based organisations and those of beneficiaries, but it will also enable them to engage in an effective dialogue with public and private actors. This in turn will contribute to strengthening the democracies, making them more participatory, while improving the proper functioning of the institutions necessary to secure the rule of law.

Several criteria will be used to evaluate the representativeness and relevance of the partnership: presence in a significant number of IPA Beneficiaries; number and diversity of different organisations affiliated (i.e. not exclusively branches of the same organisation); level of expertise and track record in a specific sector; systems and procedures to ensure transparency and accountability; operational mechanisms to ensure consultation with stakeholders, including beneficiary citizens.

This call will be used by the partners to create such a Regional Association following a feasibility study that should result in a clear mission statement a business plan for the Association, allowing it to obtain legal personality.

NB: Operating grants may be awarded for several consecutive years, however, the contracts can only be awarded on an annual basis. Therefore, depending on the result of the first 12 months, the strategy for the future of the Regional Association and in particular its work plan for the next year the Contracting Authority may award an additional operating grant for the following year. The subsequent grant will be provided as financial support to the operating costs of the Regional Association.

1.3. FINANCIAL ALLOCATION PROVIDED BY THE CONTRACTING AUTHORITY

The overall indicative amount made available under this Call for Proposals is EUR 1 3500 000.The Contracting Authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.

Size of Grant

Any grant requested under this Call for Proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:

• Minimum amount: EUR 50 000

• Maximum amount: EUR 225 000

The contracting authority will award indicatively 6 grants (one for each lot) and a total maximum budget of EUR 1 350 000.

Co-funding

Any grant requested under this Call for Proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum percentages of total eligible costs of the operation:

• Minimum percentage: 60% of the total estimated eligible costs of the operation.

• Maximum percentage: 90% of the total estimated eligible costs of the operation (see also Section 2.1.4).

The balance (i.e. the difference between the total cost of the operation and the amount requested from the Contracting Authority) must be financed from the applicant's or partners' own resources, or from sources other than the European Union budget or the European Development Fund .

Detaljne informacije mogu se pronaći na: Poziv za podnošenje projektnih prijedloga: Podrška civilnom društvu, Operativni grantovi za IPA OCD Udruženja - Podrška regionalnim tematskim udruženjima