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EUROMED HERITAGE IV Rules governing the restricted call for proposals EuropeAid/126266/C/ACT/Multi Information session Brussels, 10.12.2007. a payment of a non-commercial nature to a specific recipient for the achievement of an objective forming part of a European Union policy
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EUROMED HERITAGE IVRules governing the restricted call for proposals EuropeAid/126266/C/ACT/Multi Information session Brussels, 10.12.2007
a payment of a non-commercial nature to a specific recipient for the achievement of an objective forming part of a European Union policy to support the implementation of an action = YOUR PROJECT DEFINITION: what is a grant?
Therefore a GRANT is: a project proposed by a potential Beneficiary with a co-financing from the Beneficiary of min. 20% of the total eligible costs the EC contribution is for the reimbursement of the actual eligible costs incurred the Grant Beneficiary is autonomous and owner of the action & its results No retroactivity DEFINITION: what is a grant?
The term “BENEFICIARY” is used with different meanings: the recipient of an awarded grant(from Applicant to Beneficiary) to identify the Beneficiary country with which the EC has an agreed programme of co-operation for the benefit of its population to identify the final beneficiaries, i.e. those who will benefit from the project in the long term at the level of the society or sector at large DEFINITION: what is a “beneficiary”?
Attitudes and approaches to ‘ownership’, ‘control’ and ‘visibility’ Focus on results over longer term Knowledge and skills of staff Working relationships with partners and other donors Streamlining of procedures (increased flexibility) Changes adopted in EC practice to promote better quality projects
GRANT(SUBVENTION) supporting an initiative by giving a financial contribution Beneficiary % shared costs call for proposals grant agreement NON-PROFIT purpose ownership of results financial contribution procedure legal form PROCUREMENT(SERVICES,SUPPLIES & WORKS) buying things Contracting Authority agreed price call for tenders contract FOR PROFIT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CALL FORTENDERS AND A CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Verify the general and specific objectives of Euromed Heritage IV in article 1.2 of the guidelines Are these objectives in line with your project? Verify the eligibility of proposed actions of Euromed Heritage IV in article 2.1.3 of the guidelines Is the scope of your proposed activities in line with the eligible actions defined in the guidelines? HOW TO PREPARE YOUR PROPOSAL
The overall indicative amount is EUR 13.500.000 (ENPI-South regional action plan). EUR 500.000 ≤ requested EC grant ≥ EUR 1.500.000 Maximum EC co-financing: 80% of the total eligible costs No double financing: the balance must be financed from the applicant's or partners' own resources, or from sources other than the European Community budget or the European Development Fund. BUDGET and SIZE OF GRANTS
Euromed Heritage is a regional programme: the majority of project activities must take place in at least two of the Mediterranean partner countries and territories (corresponding to minimum 40% of the budgeted costs). Within the projects, punctual actions, such as meetings, seminars, or training sessions, etc. may nevertheless be carried out in the EU, as well as in other Mediterranean countries. The planned duration of an action must be between 24 to 48 months. LOCATION and DURATION
Verify the eligibility criteria of the Applicant in article 2.1.1 of the guidelines Can you be the applicant? and those of the partners in article 2.1.2 of the guidelines Can you be a partner? Do your partners fulfil the eligibility criteria? HOW TO PREPARE YOUR PROPOSAL
In article 2.1.2 of the guidelines: “Partnerships must be composed of at least one organisation from a EU Member State and at least one organisation from a Mediterranean partner country or territory.” Partnerships are mandatory, with the minimum requirement: 1 EU + 1 Med. A same entity cannot participate more than once, either as leader or as partner. The partners participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the grant Beneficiary. They must therefore satisfy the same eligibility criteria as the applicants. PARTNERSHIPS: requirements
Applicants and partners must : be legal persons, and be non profit making, and be organisations such as: non-governmental organisations, cultural associations, private or public sector operators, research institutes, universities, relevant local or regional public administrations, international (inter-governmental) organisations as defined by Article 43 of the Implementing Rules to the EC Financial Regulation, and work in the field of culture,and be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action, not acting as intermediaries, and ELIGIBILITY of applicants and partners
be nationals of: - a Member State of the European Union (27 countries) - a country or a territory beneficiary of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership instrument (Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaidjan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Russian Federation, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine) - a country that is a beneficiary of an Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, including Kosovo, Turkey) - a Member State of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway) - any other country than those referred to above, where the reciprocal access to external assistance has been established (no country for the time being). ELIGIBILITY of applicants and partners
Other organisations may be involved in the action. Such associates play a real role in the action but may not receive funding from the grant with the exception of per diems or travel costs. Associates do not have to meet the eligibility criteria referred to in article 2.1.1. SUBCONTRACTORS Subcontractors are subject to the procurement rules set out in Annex IV to the standard grant contract. Associates and Sub-contractors are not partnersand do not have to sign the “partnership statement”. ASSOCIATES
Applications must be submitted using the “Euromed Heritage IV Grant Application Form”annexed to the Guidelines (to be published in the coming days on:http://europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/cgi/frame12.pl) At this stage, fill in and submit ONLY PART A: - Concept note (max. 4 pages) - Checklist for concept note - Declaration by the applicant for concept note (to be signed) HOW TO APPLY: administrative info
Language: English or French 1 original and 3 copies + electronic format (The electronic format must contain exactly the same proposal as the paper version enclosed. Do not use PDF format) Prior registration in PADOR is not obligatory. HOW TO APPLY: administrative info
The deadline for the receipt of applications is: Friday 15 February 2008, 16:00 CET Any application received after the deadline will automatically be rejected even if the postmark indicates a date preceding the deadline or if the delay is due to the private courier service. No submission via e-mail! HOW TO APPLY: deadline
The Concept Note must answer the 4 sections in a maximum of 4 pages (each section must be answered on maximum 1 page - the font size cannot be smaller than Arial 10) Any Concept Note not meeting those basic requirements will be rejected without appraisal... CONCEPT NOTE
1. Summary of the action Brief description of the proposed action (and the following questions) 2. Relevance: 2.1 How relevant is your proposal to the needs and constraints of the target country(ies) or region? 2.2 What are the problems to be resolved and the needs to be met? 2.3 Who are the actors involved (final beneficiaries, target groups)? 2.4 What are the objectives and expected results? 2.5 What is the added value of the action (what adds the action by reference to (central or local) government action and actions implemented by non state actors)? 3. Methodology and Sustainability: 3.1 What are the main project activities? 3.2 Who will be your main implementing partners, what is the length of your relationship with them and how will they be involved in the project? 3.3 How will the project achieve sustainability? 3.4 Will it have multiplier effects? 4. Operational capacity and expertise: 4.1 What is the experience of your organisation in project management? 4.2 What is the experience of your organisation and your partner(s) of the issues to be addressed? CONCEPT NOTE
Use the checklist!!! If any of the requested information is missing or is incorrect, the proposal may be rejected on that sole basis and the proposal will not be evaluated further. STEP 1: Opening session and administrative check
1. Relevance: 1.1 Relevance of the problems to needs and constraints of the country/region to be addressed in general, and to those of the target groups and final beneficiaries in particular 1.2 Relevance to the priorities and objectives mentioned in the Guidelines 2. Effectiveness and Feasibility of the action: 2.1 Assessment of the problem identification and analysis 2.2 Assessment of the proposed activities (practicality and consistency in relation to the objectives, purpose and expected results). 2.3 Assessment of the role and involvement of all stakeholders and proposed partners. 3. Sustainability of the action: 3.1 Assessment of the identification of the main assumptions and risks, before the start up and throughout the implementation period. 3.2 Assessment of the identification of long-term sustainable impact on the target groups and final beneficiaries. TOTAL STEP 2: evaluation of the Concept Note Max. points (15) 5 10 (25) 5 10 10 (10) 5 5 50
1. Assessment by HQ and delegations: Minimum of 12 points in the category "Relevance”, and minimum total score of 30 points to be considered for pre-selection. 2. Ranking: according to the total average score The list of Concept Notes will be reduced in accordance to the ranking to those whose sum of requested contributions amounts to twice the available budget for this Call for proposals. 3. Information: invitation of pre-selected applicants to submit full proposals and information of non-selected applicants STEP 2: evaluation of the Concept Note
Euromed Heritage IV Grant Application Form, PART B (not to be submitted at this stage) I. THE ACTION 1. DESCRIPTION (including logical framework) 2. BUDGET FOR THE ACTION (including expected sources of funding) 3. EXPERIENCE OF SIMILAR ACTIONS II. THE APPLICANT: identity, profile, capacity to manage and implement actions, list of the management board/committee of the organisation STEP 3: Evaluation of full proposal
Euromed Heritage IV Grant Application Form, PART B III. PARTNERS OF THE APPLICANT PARTICIPATING IN THE ACTION: description of the partners, Partnership Statement IV. ASSOCIATES OF THE APPLICANT PARTICIPATING IN THE ACTION V. CHECKLIST VI. DECLARATION BY THE APPLICANT VII. ASSESSMENT GRID STEP 3: Evaluation of full proposal
BUDGET: eligibility of costs • Only “eligible costs” can be taken into account for a grant. • It is therefore in the Beneficiary's interest to provide a • realistic and cost-effective budget.
Costs must: - be necessary for carrying out the action - have actually been incurred during the implementation period - be recorded in the Beneficiary's or the Beneficiary's partners' accounts or tax documents - be identifiable and verifiable, and be backed up by originals of supporting documents - and be paid for before final report verification BUDGET: eligibility of costs
BUDGET: eligibility of costs Make sure that your budget is readable and in line with the proposed action Delete all budget lines which are not used Lump sums are not acceptable (indicate provisions)
BUDGET: 15% flexibility rule Variations in the budget are allowed provided that they: - they do not affect the basic purpose of the action; and - the financial impact is limited to a transfer between items within the same main budget heading including cancellation or introduction of an item, or a transfer between main budget headings involving a variation of 15% or less of the amount originally entered in relation to each concerned main heading for eligible costs. inform the EC in writing and without any delay (no addendum). not for administrative costs or contingency reserve.
BUDGET: item 1: Human resources • indicate whether unit rates are maximum or average • indicate full or part-time utilisation (and its percentage) • indicate if staff are in-house, external collaborators or external contractor expertise/sub-contracted (if sub-contracted move to item 5) • verify ratio between administrative staff and item 10 • per-diem: clarify that these are average and how web-site applicable rates will be utilised for reporting • reduce number of budget lines based on similar activities/unit rates (both for per-diem and travels)
BUDGET: item 1: Human resources In budget item 1, only staff recruited by the Beneficiary and its partners with an employment contract (and related payment of salaries) is eligible. Staff recruited with a service contract (and related invoices) is to be considered as “sub-contractors”. Procurement rules apply. They should be included in budget item 5. Salaries are not in-kind contributions, provided they are paid by the Beneficiary and/or its partners, and they are supported by appropriate proves of payment.
BUDGET: item 2: Travel • Flights only in economy class • clarify if unit rates are maximum or average • clarify modalities for local transport
BUDGET: item 3: Equipment and Supplies • Type of expenditure eligible only if deemed necessary by the EC for the Euromed Heritage IV Programme. • No reinforcement of the capacities of the beneficiary / partners unless duly justified. • Indicate/clarify procurement planning and procedures (remember art 7 of GC) • 3.1 if just rental (delete purchase) • 3.5 Other (please specify) means they have to specify! • Transfer to local partners and/or the final recipients at the latest by the end of the implementation of the Action • Certificates of origin
BUDGET: item 4: Local office • Type of expenditure eligible only if deemed necessary by the EC for the Euromed Heritage IV Programme. • No need to set-up a specific office for a project,unless duly justified. • (cf. 7% for overheads)
BUDGET: item 5: Other costs, services • do you have a procurement planning? • and procedures to follow? • 5.2 modalities of such studies and their related management • 5.3 Expenditure verification: the only sub-contract without procedures • 5.4 external evaluations, if included clarify modalities/ procedures • 5.6 no need for bank guarantee = no bank charges • 5.7 seminars, etc.: clarify link with 1.3.3 • 5.8 visibility action: no lump sum, modalities should be provided in the action description
BUDGET: item 6: Other • Please detail and, if related to other items, move these costs to correct budget lines
BUDGET: item 8: contingency reserve • A contingency reserve not exceeding 5% of the direct eligible costs may be included in the Budget of the Action. It can only be used with the prior writtenauthorisation of the Contracting Authority. • BUDGET: item 10: overheads • The indirect costs incurred in carrying out the action may be eligible for flat-rate funding fixed at not more than 7% of the total eligible direct costs.
PROCUREMENT • The provisions of Annex IV to standard grant contracts apply mutatis mutandis to contracts to be concluded by the Beneficiary’s partners • Tender documents must be drafted in accordance with best international practice. If you do not have your own set of documents, you may use EuropeAid models.
Services >200.000 euro International Restricted Procedure > 10.000 euro , < 200.000 euro Rule: Competitive Negotiated Procedure Exception: yourFramework Contract < 10.000 euro Single offer in addition, other procedures: competitive dialogue and dynamic procurement system before utilisation of above procedures, make sure you get the prior approval of the EC Supplies >150.000 euro International Open Procedure > 60.000, < 150.000 euro Local Open Procedure 10.000, < 60.000 euro Competitive Negotiated Procedure < 10.000 euro Single offer Works > 5.000.000 euro 1. International Open Procedure 2. International Restricted Procedure (exceptional cases) > 300.000, < 5.000.000 euro Local Open Procedure 10.000, < 300.000 euro Competitive Negotiated Procedure < 10.000 euro Single offer PROCUREMENT: thresholdsArtificial slicing in order to avoid threshold for publication isNOT ALLOWED!
PROCUREMENT All the public contracts funded (co-funded) by the Commission have to respect the principles of transparency, proportionality, equal treatment and non-discrimination. Negotiated procedure: the cases where the contracting authority addresses itself to an operator of its choice without proceeding to competition are exceptional, and reserved for well-defined, specific situations that require the prior written approval of the Commission. always fair competition
RE-GRANTING The Applicant may propose awarding “sub-grants”. To be included in the proposal:- justification for re-granting, - types of activities which may be eligible for sub-grants - total budget used for awarding sub-grants, - minimum and maximum amount which may be paid to third parties,- criteria for determining the exact amount for the sub-grant. The maximum amount of sub-grant is limited to EUR 10.000 per third party of the while the total amount which can be awarded as sub-grants to third parties is limited to EUR 100.000. The Beneficiary shall remain the only counterpart of the ECregarding the management of the sub-granted funds, particularly as far as the eligibility of expenditure occurred by third parties is concerned.
OTHER IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS • In addition, pay attention to: • Annex II – General Conditions !!!!!! • Annex VI - Model narrative and financial report • Annex VII- Model report of factual findings and terms of reference for an expenditure verification of an EC financed grant contract for external actions
to check regularly until the deadline! Additional information:
Provisional timeline Contract finalisation and signature Second phaseof project preparation First phaseof project preparation BEGINNING OF PROJECTS... Final evaluation in HQ & EC Dels Publication of guidelines Invitation of best concept notes to submit a full proposal Deadline for receipt of concept notes INFO DAYS in Brussels on 10.12.07 (EN) and on 15.01.08 (FR) + in Damascus on 17.01.08 (EN)+ in Rabat on 25.01.08 (FR) Evaluation of concept notes October07 December07 -January 08 May-June 08 JULY 2008 Deadline 15.02.08 March 08 April 08
1) Questions & answers session of this afternoon (14:30) 2) Questions may be sent by e-mail or by fax no later than 26/01/2008 to: EuropeAid-euromedheritage@ec.europa.eu Fax: +32 2 29 21 002 Ref.: Euromed Heritage IV Please, regularly check the EuropeAid website http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/cgi/frame12.pl(search with reference n° 126266) in order to be informed of the latest news related to this call as well as the published Q&A N.B.: In the interest of equal treatment of applicants, the EC cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, a partner or a proposed activities. ANY QUESTIONS?
Thank you for your attention Please note that this document has been prepared for information purposes only, official instructions are provided in the published Guidelines and their related official documentation.