Calling Projects on Gender Equality from Public and Private Bodies of Ireland

Deadline: 28 May 2019

The EU Funds Unit of the Department of Justice and Equality is issuing a Call for Proposals for projects suitable for funding under the Gender Equality Activity of the European Social Fund (ESF) Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning 2014-2020 (‘PEIL’).

The Activity Implementation Plan (AIP) for ESF sets out the details of the Gender Equality Activity, which contains two separate strands:

Women Returning to the Workforce, and
Women’s Entrepreneurship.

Gender Equality Activity – PEIL

Funding will be made available through the Department of Justice and Equality (50% ESF funded, 50% Exchequer funded) over the period of the programme to support
- women returning to the work force, and
- women’s entrepreneurship.
Up to €5.5 million may be committed under this call, of which €4.5 million may be committed to projects supporting women returning to the workforce and €1 million may be committed to projects supporting women’s entrepreneurship.
The Gender Equality Division of the Department of Justice and Equality is responsible for granting funding under this Call.

Projects

This call is open to public, private and voluntary bodies carrying out the following projects:

Women Returning to the Workforce – This stream of funding is for projects that develop and deliver one or more training models to offer self-developmental training in employment-related skills to women who are currently detached from the labour market (i.e. not in paid employment but not registered as unemployed) and who are interested in entering/re-entering employment;
Women’s Entrepreneurship – Projects in this stream will develop and deliver interventions aimed at addressing the gender gap in entrepreneurial activity through targeted supports for women’s entrepreneurship.

Funding Information

The Department of Justice and Equality may commit up to €5.5 million in this Call – €4.5 million to Women Returning to the Workforce Projects and €1 million to Women’s Entrepreneurship Projects. €200,000 is the minimum grant that can be applied for. The Department reserves the right to make a grant funding offer that may differ from the grant funding requested.
Method of Funding: Subject to the availability of funds, funding for approved projects will be in the form of a grant issued in instalments over the duration of the project (subject to the terms of the Grant Agreement and ongoing conditions).
Duration of Project: Projects under this call should be for a minimum of 1 year and a maximum of 3 years and end no later than 30th September 20222 . The Gender Equality Division reserves the right to vary the maximum duration in exceptional circumstances.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible Applicants:
- Public, Private and Voluntary Bodies are eligible to apply.
- Applicants must be legally constituted at the point of signing a Grant Agreement and must be able to enter into a legally binding Grant Agreement, should their application be approved.
- Applications are invited from organisations with the capacity and experience to deliver projects aimed at women returning to the workforce and/or aimed at increasing women’s rates of entrepreneurship, in accordance with the objectives of this Call.
- If more than one organisation is applying for funds, one organisation must be nominated as the Lead Applicant. If successful, the Lead Applicant will sign the Grant Agreement and will carry the liability for ensuring its terms and conditions are met by them and all delivery partners.
- It is acceptable for an organisation to make more than one application under this Call. However, in these circumstances, the projects proposed must be clearly separate and distinct.
Eligible expenditure:
- Applicants must set out a detailed budget in Application Form Part II showing Direct Salary Costs, Direct Project Costs and Indirect Project Costs.
- Proof of direct expenditure incurred and paid will be required. Project staff costs must be supported by employment contracts and payroll documents which have an explicit link to the project.
- Where staff work part-time on the project and part-time on other activities, it is essential that detailed time-sheets are kept to enable the eligibility of staff costs to be determined.
- Applicants must justify the salary levels proposed for project staff by reference to existing salary levels for similar positions in the labour market, and with due regard to the requirement for all activities funded to represent value for money.
Eligible Costs
- The principal criteria for eligibility of costs are as follows:
  - All expenditure must be necessary for implementation of the project covered by the Grant Agreement;
  - The expenditure must have been incurred by a beneficiary during the term of the contract;
  - The expenditure must have been for operations set out in the Grant Agreement;
  - All expenditure must have been provided for in the Grant Agreement and / or the agreed project budget;
  - All expenditure must be necessary for implementation of the project activities covered by the Grant Agreement;
  - All expenditure must be reasonable and justified and in line with the principles of sound financial management, in particular in terms of value for money and cost-effectiveness;
  - All EU and National Procurement rules must be stringently adhered to;
  - The total cost of the project must not exceed 140% of the sum of Direct Salary Costs and Direct Staff Costs;
  - Special conditions exist for purchasing equipment in excess of €1,000;
  - Staff costs must be supported by contracts of employment, payroll records and detailed time sheets (for employees working part time on the project and part time on other activities) completed according to a prescribed template (note that where an employee’s employment/secondment contract specifies a fixed proportion of time to be spent on the project, time sheets are not required). This will apply both for employees in the project organisation and any contract staff working in the project;