Call for Proposals: European Media Facility in Armenia

Deadline: 10 June 2020

The European Union (EU) has announced the Call for Proposals for European Media Facility in Armenia.

The global objective of this call for proposals is to contribute to deepen democracy, the development of a vibrant media environment and uphold media freedoms through promoting an independent, professional, more innovative and financially sustainable media sector in Armenia, as well as increasing the diversity and quality of media products, strengthening media management, and enhancing the reputation of the journalistic profession.

The specific objectives of this call for proposals are:

• To increase media professionals’ capacities to prepare for the future by in strategic media management, understanding critical elements to ensuring quality reporting incl. editorial fact checking, citizen access to accurate information and accountability and ensuring plurality in the media coverage;
• To enhance opportunities for young journalists and more mature media professionals to life-long learning and undertaking joint journalistic work with colleagues representing other media outlets within Armenia, in the Eastern Neighbourhood and in Europe;
• To promote innovative approaches in the media sector including engaging the wider civil society including citizens to promote critical thinking, conflict-, child- and youth- and gender-sensitive media content, improve overall media literacy and more diversity in the media landscape.

Priority Areas

Applications submitted under this Call for Proposals should contain activities within following priority areas:

• Mentoring, strategic media management training to promote sound and sustainable media management incl. financial sustainability and to promote new and more viable business models for media outlets and freelancers;
• Enhancing professional journalistic methods and standards, particularly around ethics, fact checking/verification and evidence-based reporting and respect for the journalistic profession;
• Expanding journalistic products that promote public interest, transparency and accountability incl. promotion of a deeper understanding of critical thinking, media literacy and countering disinformation and hate speech;
• Increasing quality media coverage in and from the Marzes of Armenia;
• Enhancing engagement of media with the wider society on topics of mutual interest incl. promotion of a deeper understanding of critical thinking, media literacy and countering disinformation and hate speech;

Size of Grants

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:

• minimum amount: EUR 1,900,000.00
• maximum amount: EUR 2,000,000.00

Duration

The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 30 months nor exceed 36 months.

Location

Actions must take place in the Republic of Armenia, as recognised by the international law, and must directly benefit the Armenian society. However, some project activities may take place in EU member states and in the Eastern Neighbourhood region, such as study tours, participation in events, and attendance of media representatives of meetings and conferences as long as they clearly contribute to the achievement of the project’s overall objective. Such cases need to be duly justified.

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead applicant(s)
  • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
    • be a legal person and
    • be non-profit-making and
    • be established in a Member State of the European Union
    • be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.
• Co-applicant(s)
  • The lead applicant must act with minimum two co-applicants established in Armenia.
  • 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 itself.
• 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 (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.

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