Deadline: 31 July 2020
The European Commission has announced a Call for proposals to Strengthening Regional Cooperation in the area of Fisheries Data Collection.
Objectives
The shared funding for data collection in the EMFF is based on the national envelopes (per MS) and does not foresee EU-wide or regional funding mechanisms. Therefore, this grant aims to support the operation and functioning of the RCGs, helping RCGs to advance beyond national approaches, to achieve in a transparent and impartial way, the expected results of coordinated regional work for data collection.
Building on the results of the call for proposals launched in 201411 and 201612 and other relevant existing work, this call for proposals aims to support projects that further enable RCGs and MS to strengthen regional or EU-wide cooperation on data collection. The purpose of the call helps to provide, as well as develop the tools and support to accomplish further regional or EU-wide cooperation but not to finance activities on a recurrent basis.
Expected Outputs
The expected outputs resulting from this call for proposals are (i) regional work plans, (ii) actions in support of the work of RCGs, and (iii) development work for a Regional Database for the Mediterranean and Black Seas in order to:
- further develop regionally/EU-widely tools and processes applicable for the data collection framework (data collection, management, storage and transmission)
- facilitate the implementation and regional/EU-wide coordination of MS pilot studies (2017-2019) and results of the 2014 and 2016 grants that detail data collection requirements in specific fields;
- support the implementation of results (from earlier grants) on the establishment and coordination of available and new regional sampling plans, including transfer of knowledge and training of staff in Member States and RCGs;
- facilitate the transfer of knowledge and experience between MS in the different sea basins on fisheries data collection (including regarding observer on board programmes, statistically sound sampling schemes, execution of scientific surveys and data storage systems);
- conduct work between the annual meetings of RCGs and the Planning Group on Economic Issues (PGECON) on the implementation of their work programmes;
- support the development and establishment of Regional Data Bases as provided for in the DCF Regulation.
Funding Information
- The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of all projects under this call for proposals is estimated at EUR 1.300.000.
- The Commission expects to fund 6-8 proposals, with an average budget of approximately EUR 200.000.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must be legal entities. Natural persons are not eligible as applicants for the purpose of the present call.
- The following types of entities are eligible to participate in the Call as applicants:
- non-profit organisations (private or public);
- public authorities (national, regional, local);
- international organisations;
- universities;
- educational institutions;
- research centres;
- Legal entities must be established in one of the EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories)
- In the event of private bodies, they must be properly constituted and registered under national law.
- To be considered a public entity, the body in question must fulfil all of the following criteria:
- The body has been created by a public authority or is governed by private law with a public service mission;
- The public interest of the body must be explicitly mentioned in the relevant legal or administrative act(s);
- The body is financed totally or to a large extent by public sources;
- In the event that the entity stops its activities, all rights and obligations including financial rights and obligations will be transferred to a public authority.
For bodies to be considered as public entities, proof of compliance with all above criteria must be provided together with the proposal.
Supporting Documents
In order to assess the applicants’ eligibility, the following supporting documents are requested:
- Private entity: extract from the official journal, copy of articles of association, extract of trade or association register, VAT registration document (if, as in certain countries, the trade register number and VAT number are identical, only one of these documents is required);
- Public entity: copy of the resolution/law/decree/decision establishing the entity or, if not available, any other official document proving the establishing the entity by the national authorities;
- Affiliated entities: shall demonstrate their legal/capital link with the applicant.
For more information, visit https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/press/call-proposals-mare202008-strengthening-regional-cooperation-area-fisheries-data-collection_en