Grants to enhance CSOs Capacity to Lead Civic Engagement in Myanmar

Deadline: 24-May-22

The European Commission is calling for proposals to support community-led actions for enhancing civil society organisations’ capacity to lead civic engagement and local development activities in Myanmar.

Objectives

Lot 1 – Actions in a rural setting
- The specific objectives of this lot are:
  - To enhance the capacities of civil society organisations, networks and the people they represent, including vulnerable groups, to participate in community led actions and dialogue and to contribute to local development activities.
  - To enhance CSOs’ and networks’ capacity to lead civic engagement initiatives.
  - To enhance CSOs’ and networks’ capacity to promote and protect civil rights.
Lot 2 – Actions in an Urban and Peri-urban setting
- The specific objectives of this lot are:
  - To strengthen inclusive governance, diversity and participation in CSOs and networks;
  - To support the service delivery capacities of CSOs and networks in order to strengthen their role as basic services providers and enhance access to quality basic services;
  - Improve CSOs and networks knowledge in relation to digitalisation and security

Priorities

The proposed actions must address at least one of the following priorities:

Inclusive governance including diversity and participation
Community based security and social cohesion.
Community-led resilience and livelihood initiatives, including small grants funds mechanisms, to support communities that live without access to services and/or are left out and left behind
Fight against violence and human rights abuses while protecting civic rights
Supporting local women’s organisations with tools and methodologies to build their confidence and capacity to contribute the prevention and response of gender based violence, to improve local referral mechanisms and to be able to safeguard the sexual and reproductive rights of people.

Funding Information

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR13,3 million
Lot 1 – Actions in rural setting: EUR 7,300,000
Lot 2 – Actions in urban and peri-urban setting: EUR 6,000,000
Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
- Lot 1 – Actions in rural setting
  - minimum amount: EUR 1,500,000
  - maximum amount: EUR 4,000,000
- Lot 2 – Actions in urban setting
  - minimum amount: EUR 1,500,000
  - maximum amount: EUR 4,000,000

Eligibility Criteria

Lead Applicant(s)
- In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
  - be a legal person
  - be non-profit-making
  - be a specific type of organisation such as: non-governmental organisation, public sector operator, local authority, international (inter-governmental) organisation
  - be established in Myanmar or in a Member State of the European Union or in an eligible country for funding under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI)-Global Europe Regulation
  - be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the coapplicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary and
  - Lead applicants not established in Myanmar must demonstrate:
    - an established and effective partnership with civil society organisations in Myanmar (e.g. previous projects with local CSOs, MOU with local CSOs,…)
    - that the proposed action is based on an initiative of a local co-applicant ensuring their involvement during all the stages of the implementation of the action (e.g. number of meetings with local applicant, process of project development, incl. role of local applicant and coapplicant,…..)
Co-applicant(s)
- Lot 1 – Actions in rural setting
  - The lead applicant must act with at least one co-applicant established in Myanmar.
- Lot 2 – Actions in urban and per-urban setting
  - The lead applicant must act with at least one co-applicant established in Myanmar.
- Co-applicants not established in Myanmar must also demonstrate:
- an established and effective partnership with civil society organisations in Myanmar,
- that the proposed action is based on an initiative of a local co-applicant ensuring their involvement during all the stages of the implementation of the action.
- 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 himself.
- 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):
  - Only 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 an applicant may hence be:
      - Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the 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.