Deadline: 13-Oct-23
Public and private institutions registered in a CEI Member State, NGOs/CSOs as well as international organisations, are invited to apply to the CEI Cooperation Fund which is financed by annual contributions of all CEI Member States for innovative actions favouring mobility and networking.
The CEI Cooperation Fund co-finances activities aimed at strengthening cooperation among CEI Member States. They aim at capacity building through knowledge transfer and sharing, in particular from EU CEI Member States to non-EU CEI Member States; and at exchanging experiences and good practices among all CEI Member States by favouring mobility and networking. Moreover, events with political relevance proposed by Member States different from the country holding the annual CEI Presidency, giving visibility to the CEI and aimed at pursuing its strategic objectives, can also be proposed. Particular attention needs to be paid to the involvement of non-EU CEI Member States and to a reasonable balance between participating EU and non-EU CEI Member States.
Areas of Intervention
- This Call for Proposals will support activities under two dedicated segments.
- Implementation of the Plan of Action
- The proposed CEI Cooperation Activities shall be organised in the areas of intervention outlined in the Plan of Action 2021-2023. Applicants are requested to refer – within the specific section of the Application Form – to the CEI Plan of Action, not simply by quoting the relevant parts but by explaining how and why the proposed activity is contributing to meeting the CEI objectives.
- Addressing the consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine for the CEI region
- This segment of activities is aimed at receiving applications for contributing to addressing the consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine for the CEI region. Proposals, within the enlarged framework of the CEI Plan of Action, will need to be oriented to support Ukraine and the CEI region in general, in coping with the challenges posed by the current situation.
- Implementation of the Plan of Action
Funding Information
- The overall indicative budget of this Call for Proposals is 420,000 EUR (four hundred twenty thousand Euro). It is made available by the CEI Cooperation Fund which is financed by annual contributions of all CEI Member States. The budget is subdivided as follows:
- Budget for Implementation of the Plan of Action: Up to 230,000 EUR for proposals aimed at the implementation of the CEI Plan of Action. An additional amount of up to 90,000 EUR (ninety thousand Euro) will be made available for cofinancing proposals – within the ones submitted under this segment – that meet, over the evaluation phases, with the requirements set for CEI Flagship Events.
- Budget for Addressing the consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine for the CEI region: Up to 100,000 EUR for proposals aimed at addressing the consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine for the CEI region.
Eligible Activities
- Implementation of the Plan of Action
- Applications aimed at the implementation of the Plan of Action: these activities are short-term actions such as meetings, workshops, conferences, trainings (events in general) aimed at creating longer term relations, networks, and partnerships within the region.
- These activities could also be instrumental to project preparation and serve as seed contribution for the design of larger international projects, including the preparation of applications in response to EU calls for proposals.
- Applications organised over multiple interlinked activities (i.e., projects) are admissible, but applicants shall request the CEI support only for one defined portion/event of the programme falling into the set implementation period. Should the applicant not elaborate on this, the CEI reserves the right to reject the application or choose the single portion and related budget lines to be possibly awarded with a CEI contribution.
- Addressing the consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine for the CEI region
- Applications aimed at addressing the consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine for the CEI region: these activities can also be organised over a longer-term period (max 18 months) and can be composed of multiple, yet interlinked, actions and sub-actions, including project preparation and project final events for presentation of the outputs to the public.
- Types of eligible activities could be for example on‐the‐job training, workshops, staff secondment, study visits, peer review missions, assistance in the preparation of strategic documents (development plans, reforms, strategic studies, etc.), technology transfer, technical and capacity building assistance.
Eligibility Criteria
- Compliance to Areas of Intervention
- Applications shall mainly refer to one of the areas of intervention and respective objectives. Activities which are not in line will be automatically rejected. While inter-disciplinarity is considered an asset, multiple references to the Plan of Action should be avoided.
- Eligible Applicants
- All public and private entities based and registered in CEI Member States (public/public equivalent bodies, private entities, NGOs/CSOs). International Organisations can also apply. Individuals cannot apply. Applicants shall prove to have sufficient capacity in organisation of international activities and project management. Applicants to Addressing the consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine for the CEI region will not be allowed to outsource the implementation of main project activities.
- All applicants shall refer to their legal status within the Application Form, referring to the relevant legislation or act as appropriate. Non-Governmental and Civil Society Organisations as well as private entities must include in the Application Package an official proof of registration with a courtesy translation into English. This requirement is mandatory for the relevant applicants. This requirement does not apply to public entities.
For more information, visit Central European Initiative (CEI).