ACP-EU Culture: Supporting the Cultural and Creative Sectors in the ACP Countries

Deadline: 20 March 2020

Applicants are invited to apply for the ACP-EU Programme towards a Viable Cultural Industry (ACP-EU Culture): Supporting the Cultural and Creative Sectors in the ACP Countries.

Objectives of the Programme and Priority Issues

The global objective of this call for proposals is to foster the economic and social development of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries by stimulating the whole of the cultural and creative sector.

The specific objective(s) of this Call for Proposals are:

Growth of the creative sector’s economic revenue.
Creation of jobs linked to the cultural sector.
Improved accessibility and recognition and commercial exploitation of artists and their work.

In order to achieve these objectives, there will be support for four strands:

Creating/producing high-quality goods and services, at competitive prices, and in increased quantities.
Access to national, regional and international markets, circulation/dissemination/promotion of ACP goods and services.
Visual literacy.
Improving access to financing through innovative mechanisms that allow co-financing and aim to reduce ACP cultural operators’ dependency on international financing.

Digital input is recommended for the implementation of the four strands set out above.

Size of Grants

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the same minimum and maximum amounts per lot as the total of available funds:

Lot 1 – Western Africa:
- Minimum amount and maximum amount: €6,200,000
Lot 2 – Eastern Africa:
- Minimum amount and maximum amount: €6,000,000
Lot 3 – Central Africa:
- Minimum amount and maximum amount: €4,200,000
Lot 4 – Southern Africa:
- Minimum amount and maximum amount: €3,800,000
Lot 5 – Caribbean:
- Minimum amount and maximum amount: €3,000,000
Lot 6 – Pacific:
- Minimum amount and maximum amount: €2,800,000

Eligibility Criteria

Lead applicant: In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
- be a legal person and
- be a specific type of organisation such as: a foundation, association, non-governmental organisation, public/private sector operator, local authority, higher education institution and university, international (intergovernmental) organisation, as defined by the Financial Regulation of the European Union (including the International Development Bank and regional financial institution) and
- have been established in one of the eligible countries listed on the given website, for at least three years from the date of publication of the call for proposals.
  - For UK applicants: Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be fulfilled for the entire duration of the grant. Unless sector-specific eligibility rules provide otherwise, if the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the grant period without concluding an agreement with the EU ensuring in particular that UK applicants continue to be eligible, applicants will cease to receive EU funding (while continuing, where possible, to participate) or will be required to leave the project on the basis of Article.
- This requirement does not apply to international organisations, and
- be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), and not be acting as an intermediary and
- demonstrate three years’ experience over the period 2015-2019 in awarding and monitoring the implementation of support funds, including in supporting third parties in the fields of culture and/or creative industries and/or social and human development, with the following specific features:
  - they must have awarded third parties at least two grants meeting all the following criteria:
    - the grants were implemented during the same year over the reference period (2015-2019); and
    - each grant was implemented in an ACP country and
    - the annual amount of grants awarded was at least €100,000 over the past three years (2017 2019).
- demonstrate an average annual turnover or annual revenue of at least €400,000 during the last three years (2017-2019).
Co-applicant(s)
- The partnership (lead applicant and co-applicant) (the number of ACP applicants must always be equal or greater) will have to demonstrate its expertise, on the basis of the CVs, in one or more of the strands of this call for proposals: a) quality of cultural goods production, b) distribution and dissemination of cultural goods and services, c) visual literacy education for young people, d) access to financing mechanisms and innovative technological approaches.
- It is recommended not to involve more co-applicants in the partnership than is needed. All co-applicants must be carefully chosen and play a strategic and active role in the activities proposed. Proposals must demonstrate the added value that all co-applicants bring to the programme and its activities.
- 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.
Affiliated entity(ies)
- 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 (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, for example, as a network, federation or association in which the proposed affiliated entity also participates or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association, etc.) as the proposed affiliated entity.