Call for Franco-Palestinian Projects 2022-2024 – Second Tranche

Deadline: 7-Mar-23

The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE), through the Delegation for the External Action of Territorial Communities (DAECT) and the Consulate General of France in Jerusalem, and the Palestinian Ministries of Local Government (MoLG ) and Finance, opened a three-year call for projects in 2022 (2022-2024) to support decentralized cooperation projects between French and Palestinian local authorities.

This initiative essentially aims to consolidate the partnerships in progress with the aim of contributing to the strengthening of the project management capacities of Palestinian local authorities in accordance with the attributions and powers granted to them by the law of 1997. It demonstrates the will of the two countries to deepen cooperation between their respective local authorities for the direct benefit of the populations.

This call for projects is part of the joint support mechanism for Franco-Palestinian decentralized cooperation following the signing on July 11, 2013 of the Franco-Palestinian decentralized cooperation agreement, renewed in December 2018, by the Palestinian Ministry of Local Authorities, the Palestinian Ministry of Planning, and the Consulate General of France in Jerusalem.

This system has been renewed for the period 2022 – 2024. It is piloted jointly by the MEAE (the DAECT and the Cooperation and Cultural Action Service (SCAC) of the Consulate General of France in Jerusalem), by the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Finance.

Themes

• Priority will be given to projects that focus on:
  • Support for local public service and the management of local authority technical services
    • This priority encourages capacity building to improve the efficiency and quality of the public services concerned, their wide accessibility by all, in particular by the most disadvantaged populations. vulnerable, and support for the establishment of public e-services for the population.
  • Rural development, agriculture and food security
    • This priority aims to support projects enabling territories to promote local agriculture, to develop and enhance production sectors, particularly food, to improve and structure marketing, processing and of distribution. Discussions on public support policies for women’s and youth agricultural cooperatives and land development projects in zone C will be given special attention.
  • Water, sanitation and waste management
    • This priority is aimed at projects aimed at improving the management of water, sanitation and waste services, in particular through the organization of training, technical assistance to operators (network operation) , public awareness, financing of strategic studies and infrastructure.
  • Renewable energies
    • This priority aims to support the development of projects in the field of renewable energies (wind, solar, hydraulic) by strengthening the capacities of the municipal or inter-municipal technical services concerned.
  • Child protection, development of active, civic-minded youth, promotion of youth participation in local institutions
    • This priority encourages exchanges on local policies aimed at: protecting the rights of children, promoting their well-being , as well as civic engagement and the socio-professional integration of young people.
  • Culture, tourism and heritage
    • This priority is aimed at projects aimed at developing and implementing strategies for the development of sustainable, responsible and inclusive tourism and at enhancing the cultural and natural heritage with a view to the appropriation by the inhabitants of their heritage, and their present; and a balanced development of the territories.
  • Sustainable economic development of the territories
    • In line with the priorities of the Palestinian Authority, this priority aims to support Palestinian local authorities in order to create the conditions for sustainable local economic development in their territory.
• Cross-cutting objectives:
  • All of these themes should promote gender equality, the place of women in municipal councils, administrations and the involvement of women in public decision-making.
  • For example, a gender balance will be requested in invitations to seminars.
  • Similarly, projects co-designed with young people from the two territories and enhancing their place within the steering groups and the implementation will be more particularly supported, in particular if they concern the themes of the social and professional integration of youth.

Funding Information

• The MEAE provides this mechanism with a minimum of 180,000 euros per year, subject to the corresponding budgetary entries in the finance law. The participation of the Palestinian Authority will be up to 20% of the French contribution for each project jointly selected.
• The duration of the project will be 12 to 24 months .

Zone of Interventions

All projects and actions located in the Palestinian Territories are eligible. However, the Palestinian and French authorities have chosen to prioritize interventions with the most vulnerable populations, in particular:

• in the Gaza Strip, Area C;
• landlocked areas bordering the separation wall;
• East Jerusalem;
• Palestinian refugee camps.

Applicant Eligibility

• The call for projects is aimed at French and Palestinian local authorities and their groups in order to receive projects, which may be co-financed if they are selected, within the framework of a decentralized cooperation partnership.
• A project is only eligible if it is presented jointly by at least one French local authority and one Palestinian local authority (governorate, municipality, village council, local council, Palestinian refugee camp).
• The project must directly involve the local authorities in their skills or their capacities to mobilize the actors of their territories by ensuring the strategic and financial management of the project. Public, private or associative bodies will not be eligible, even if their purpose is to carry out local development actions. They can however, at the request of the partner local authorities and within a clearly defined framework, be operators or prime contractors for all or part of the project.

For more information, visit MEAE.