European Commission: Seeking Applications to Enhance Civil Society Organisation’s contributions to Governance and Development Processes

Deadline: 10 July 2018

European Commission is seeking applications for its ‘Enhance Civil Society Organisations’ Contribution to governance and development processes at country level’ grant programme to enhance civil society organisation’s contributions to governance and development processes.

The programme aims to foster an enabling environment for citizen participation and civil society action and cooperation, exchange of knowledge and experience and capacities of civil society organisations and local authorities in partner countries in support of internationally agreed development goals

The EU has adapted the coverage of its support to CSOs to new challenges. Today, CSOs are major operating partners in the deployment of key projects in areas experiencing new and expanding crises and conflicts, promoting and defending gender equality, addressing the root causes of migration and mitigating and adapting to climate change.

The European Commission (EC) has a long-standing relationship and cooperation with non-governmental and other civil society organisations. It is part of the European Union’s (EU) commitment to fight poverty, and to promote the rule of law and adherence to fundamental freedoms.

Objectives

The specific objectives of this call for proposals are:

Strengthening CSOs as partners in promoting social development
Strengthening CSOs as stakeholders in promoting inclusive and sustainable growth

Funding Information

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 3 000 000.

Eligibility Criteria

Lead applicant
- In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
  - be a legal person and
  - be non-profit-making and
  - Be a specific type of organisation such as: non-governmental organisations and
  - Be established in a Member State of the European Union or in a Member State of the European Economic Area, or where the Action is taking place (Iran) and
  - Be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.
  - The lead applicant may act individually or with co-applicant(s).
- Co-applicant(s)
  - Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
  - Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant.
  - Co-applicants must sign the mandate. If awarded the grant contract, the co-applicant(s) (if any) will become beneficiary (ies) in the action (together with the Coordinator).
- Affiliated Entities
  - The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies)
  - Only the following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the lead applicant and/or to co-applicant(s):
    - Entities having a structural link with the applicants (i.e. the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.
  - This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:
    - Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:
      - Entities affiliated to applicant may hence be:
        
        Entities directly or indirectly controlled by an applicant (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by an applicant (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control;
        
        Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;
        
        Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies).
      - Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as a e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association) as the proposed affiliated entities.
    - Associates and Contractors
      - The following entities are not applicants nor affiliated entities and do not have to sign the “mandate for co-applicant(s)” or “affiliated entities’ statement”:
        
        Associates
        
        Other organisations or individuals 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 diem or travel costs. Associates do not have to meet the eligibility criteria.
        
        Contractors
        
        The beneficiaries and their affiliated entities are permitted to award contracts.
        
        Associates or affiliated entity (ies) cannot be also contractors in the project.