EU seeking Proposals to Strengthen the Capacities of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Timor-Leste

Deadline: 21 May 2019

The European Union (EU) is currently accepting proposals from eligible organizations for a program entitled “Strengthen the capacities of civil society organizations (CSOs) to promote culture as a driving force for democratic participation and to promote the reintegration of women in the family and social environment European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights CBSS 2018/2019”.

Program Objectives

The general objective of this call for proposals is to contribute to respect for fundamental human rights. This includes supporting and strengthening the role of culture as a factor of democratization, diversity and economic growth (in its potential for job creation); and to promote social inclusion and strengthen the most vulnerable groups, with a special focus on women.
The specific objectives of this call for proposals are the following:
- Promote culture (artistic capacity) as a means of preventing social exclusion, unemployment and poverty reduction.
- Encourage entrepreneurship in various artistic areas as a means of combating structural unemployment, using creative and sustainable forms.
- Encourage the reintegration and social inclusion of women.

Priority Issues

The priorities of this call for proposals are as follows:

Lot 1 – Encourage cultural expressions that promote diversity, intercultural dialogue and human rights and democratic values. Actions to be financed should promote peace, democracy, civic participation and/or promote socio-economic development through cultural and/or creative activities.
Lot 2 – Supporting Civil Society Organizations to promote women’s social inclusion. The actions to be financed should aim at activities that promote social inclusion and promote economic rights, in order to facilitate women’s access to economic development by strengthening and training various areas of knowledge.

Actions to be financed should clearly identify and focus on the most vulnerable women. The concept of vulnerability should be defined with due consideration for the specific conditions and circumstances affecting the lives of women, including poverty, human rights, rape, trafficking and gender-based violence and other forms of social and economic exclusion, including disability.

Size of Grants

The grants requested under this call for proposals must be between the following minimum and maximum amounts for both lots:

Minimum amount: EUR 250000,00 (two hundred and fifty thousand)
Maximum amount: EUR 500,000.00 (five hundred thousand)

Location

Actions should be carried out in Timor-Leste.

Duration

The initial duration of a claim is not less than 24 months and may not exceed 36 months.

Eligibility Criteria

Primary Applicant
- In order to be eligible for a grant, major applicants must:
  - be a collective person and
  - be a civil society organization, including non-profit non-governmental organizations and independent political foundations, community-based organizations, non-profit agencies, private sector institutions and organizations and their networks at local, national, regional and international levels; or
  - be an agency, institution, non-profit public sector organization and networks operating at local, national, regional and international levels; and
  - be established in any country without geographical requirements; and
  - Be directly responsible (s), together with broker (s) and affiliated entity (ies), for preparing and managing the action and not acting as intermediaries;
- Potential applicants who are in one of the situations of the practical guide may not take part in calls for proposals or receive grants.
Co-applicants
- Applicants must participate in the design and implementation of the action and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as the costs borne by the principal applicant.
- Applicants must satisfy the same eligibility criteria as apply to the principal applicant.
- Applicants included in the lists of EU restrictive measures at the time of the grant award decision may not conclude the contract
Affiliated entities
- The lead applicant and his/her broker (s) may compete with affiliated entity (ies).
- Only the following entities may be considered as entities affiliated to the principal applicant and/or the co-applicant (s):
  - Only those entities which have a structural link with the applicants (ie the lead applicant or a broker), especially a legal or financial link.
  - This structural link essentially includes two notions:
    - Control as defined in Directive 2013/34 / EU on the annual financial statements, the consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of enterprises:
      - Thus, entities affiliated to an applicant may be:
        
        Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant (sub-subsidiary companies), and apply to subsequent levels of control;
        
        Entities controlling the applicant directly or indirectly (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities that control an entity that controls the applicant;
        
        Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (co-affiliated companies).
    - Member status, ie the applicant is legally defined as, for example, a network, a federation, an association in which the proposed affiliates participate equally or the applicant participates in the same entity (eg a network, a federation, an association) than the proposed affiliated entities.