Deadline: 6 April 2018
Applications are now open for EU Aid Volunteers Initiative which will provide funding to deploy EU Aid volunteers in support of actions that support and complement the provision of humanitarian aid in third countries.
It also supports actions aimed at strengthening the capacities of implementing sending and hosting organisations participating / intending to participate in the initiative.
The Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council establishing the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps – EU Aid Volunteers (hereinafter referred to as ‘the EU Aid Volunteers’ initiative) and related legislation establish a framework for joint contributions from European volunteers to support and complement humanitarian aid in third countries.
The objective of the call is to fund projects involving the selection, preparation and deployment of EU Aid Volunteers to contribute to strengthening the Union’s capacity to provide needs-based humanitarian aid aimed at strengthening the capacity and resilience of vulnerable and disaster-affected communities in third countries.
With this call the European Commission and the Education, Audiovisual and Cultural Executive Agency (hereinafter referred to as “EACEA”) expect to achieve the following results:
- To prepare the selection, training and deployment of 250 EU Aid Volunteers in vulnerable and disaster-affected communities in third countries;
- To strengthen the capacities of implementing sending and hosting organisations participating / intending to participate in the initiative;
- To achieve synergies and complementarity to EU-funded operations in humanitarian aid, civil protection, resilience-building and linking relief, rehabilitation and development in the respective countries / region where EU Aid Volunteers are deployed;
- To provide junior EU Aid Volunteers with the possibility to take part in apprenticeship placements of up to 6 months in the EU before deployment;
- To communicate the Union’s humanitarian aid principles and the EU Aid Volunteers initiative in line with the Communication Plan of the EU Aid Volunteers initiative.
- To provide opportunities for online volunteering to support or complement project activities.
Funding Information
- The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at EUR 8 400 000.
- The maximum grant will be EUR 1 400 000. Grant requests below EUR 100 000 will not be considered for funding. The EACEA expects to fund 8 proposals.
- The EACEA reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available
Eligibility Criteria
- Only applications that fulfil the eligibility criteria set out in this section will be considered for a grant.
- If an application is deemed ineligible, a letter indicating the reasons will be sent to the applicant.
- Applications which comply with the following criteria will be subject of an in-depth evaluation.
- The following call is opened to:
- The coordinator (lead applicant) must be a certified EU sending organisation under the EU Aid Volunteers initiative.
- Projects are designed and implemented by transnational partnerships (hereafter referred to as “consortia”) involving at least two certified sending organisations from two different countries and two certified hosting organisations.
- Affiliated entities having a legal or capital link with certified sending organisations (e.g. third country offices) might act as hosting organisations.
- International agencies and organisations are eligible to be hosting organisations in a consortium with two sending organisations from two different EU countries under Article 10(4)(c)(iii) of Regulation No 375/2014.
- Here as well, the consortium must involve at least two sending and two hosting organisations.
- The transnational partnerships can be larger than two sending and two hosting organisations. The remaining consortium partners are either certified sending or certified hosting organisations under the EU Aid Volunteers initiative or have submitted their certification application by the 9th of March 2018.
- In addition to the two certified sending organisations from two different EU countries and two certified hosting organisations from third countries, the International Federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies as certified sending organisation under Article 10(3)(c)(v) of Regulation No 375/2014 may be part of the consortium.
- Project proposals involving sending and hosting organisations that have applied for certification before the deadline will be included in the eligibility check and evaluation phases. However the selection of these project proposals would be subject to the outcome of the certification process.
- In addition to the minimum number of certified sending and hosting organisations other organisations may be part of the consortium pursuant to Article 10(5) of Regulation 375/2014 and/or Article 8(3) and/or Article 8(4) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1398/2014.
- Therefore, the consortium may also include as associates other specialised non certified organisations contributing to the objectives of the project or contributing with their specific expertise and having a real role in the action.
- Such associated partners have no contractual relationship with the EACEA but have to be mentioned in the e-form. They may be for example NGOs, private for profit companies, universities.
- The consortium members must submit a mandate to be signed by the persons authorised to enter into legally binding commitments within their organisation, thereby enabling the coordinator (lead applicant) to act on behalf of the consortium.
- Non-certified organisations may not send and host volunteers.
- Certified organisations must comply with the standards and procedures as provided by Regulation (EU) No 375/2014, Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1398/2014 and Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1244/2014.
- Eligible candidate volunteers:
- Sending and hosting organisations shall adhere to the standards and procedures regarding candidate volunteers and EU Aid Volunteers as provided by Regulation (EU) No 375/2014, Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1398/2014 and Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1244/2014.
- The following persons having a minimum age of 18 years shall be eligible to apply as candidate volunteers:
- citizens of the European Union
- third country nationals who are long-term residents in a Member State
- Justification for both statuses will be required.
- Candidate volunteers can be:
- junior professionals, in particular recent graduates, with less than five years professional experience and less than five years experience in humanitarian action;
- senior professionals with five years professional experience in positions of responsibility or expert positions.
- Volunteer profiles must be clearly linked to the objectives and the scope of the EU Aid Volunteers initiative.
- Selection of candidate volunteers is undertaken by sending and hosting organisations in conformity with Implementing Regulation through the publication of vacancies on the EU Aid Volunteers Platform3
- Selected candidate volunteers must participate in the mandatory training programme (online and face-to-face) provided by the EU Aid Volunteers initiative.4 Only those candidate volunteers who successfully pass this training and assessment will be eligible for deployment as EU Aid Volunteers.
- In addition, junior candidate EU Aid Volunteers who will be required by sending and hosting organisations to undertake an apprenticeship placement must also successfully pass this training and assessment.
How to Apply
Applicants can apply online via given website.
Eligible Countries: Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo – Brazzaville, Congo – Kinshasa, Costa Rica, Cuba, Côte d’Ivoire, Cobo Verde, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, FYROM, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, Kosovo, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Palau, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
For more information, please visit European Commission.