CFPs: Human Rights and Democracy & NDICI Civil Society-Country level support for Bangladesh

Deadline: 03-Jul-2024

The European Commission is accepting proposals from civil society organisations that contribute to sustainable development, human rights and democracy as independent actors of good governance and development in their own right.

Objectives of the Programme and Priority Issues

• For Lot 1 and 2 
  • The specific objective of this call for proposals under Lot 1 and 2 is:
    • To strengthen local Civil Society Organisations, including trade unions, to actively advance decent work, sustainability and human rights due diligence.
  • The actions to be proposed must respond to the specific objective of Lot 1 and Lot 2 and focus on at least two of the following priorities:
    • Advance sustainability and human rights due diligence, in cooperation with private sector entities, to improve environmental and social standards.
    • Contribute to the monitoring of compliance and the implementation of international conventions relevant to the EU’s Everything But Arms (EBA) and/or the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) schemes.
    • Promote core labour standards with a focus on the elimination of child and forced labour.
    • Advance workers’ rights and bargaining power, as well as social dialogue, in cooperation with trade unions.
  • Under Lot 1, the provision of Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) is mandatory. FSTP must be accompanied by capacity-building measures for sub-grantees throughout the implementation of their activities.
• For Lot 3 and 4 
  • The specific objective of this call for proposals under Lot 3 and 4 is:
    • To strengthen local Civil Society Organisations, especially youth and women’s organisations, environmental human rights defenders and indigenous peoples’ organisations, to actively advance the right to a healthy, clean and safe environment and a low carbon and climate resilient economy and society.
  • The actions to be proposed must respond to the specific objective of Lot 3 and Lot 4 and focus on at least two of the following priorities:
    • Promote, protect and advocate for land rights and/or the rights of those who are most vulnerable to, or at particular risk from, environmental harm and climate change.
    • Create public discourse, influence policies and advocate for systemic changes to address environmental degradation, climate change mitigation and adaption on behalf of affected communities.
    • Monitor and report on environmental and social harm caused by economic development activities.
  • Under Lot 3, the provision of Financial Support to Third Parties (FSTP) is mandatory. FSTP must be accompanied by capacity-building measures for sub-grantees throughout the implementation of their activities.
• Under Lot 5 
  • The specific objective of this call for proposals is:
    • Civil Society Organisations safeguard freedom of expression, including harnessing the opportunities and addressing challenges of new technologies in the digital space, to promote democracy.
  • The actions to be proposed must respond to the specific objective of Lot 5 and focus on at least two of the following priorities:
    • Support civil society, human rights defenders and independent media actors to promote fundamental rights, create public awareness and inclusive debate while countering misinformation, disinformation and online harassment.
    • Support people, in particular youth, minorities and marginalised groups, to enjoy open internet and media freedom to access quality information to form opinions, speak up and participate in political, cultural and social life.
    • Support civil society actors to contribute to policy discussions and legislative processes relevant to freedom of expression and media freedom, including the digital space.
    • To support an inclusive use of new technologies that strengthen the digital resilience, security, safety and civic engagement of civil society actors in restrictive contexts.
• The following will be considered as added-value elements (and reflected in evaluation criterion 1.4 of the concept note and as part of the operational capacity at full proposal evaluation):
  • Under Lot 1 and Lot 3: Proven experience with the provision of sub-grants and comprehensive capacity building of organisations in the in the geographic and/or thematic area in which the intervention will take place.
  • Under Lot 1 and Lot 3: Integration of comprehensive capacity building components of CSOs, including aimed at reducing the digital divide.
  • Outreach beyond urban settings and targeting of rural and remote areas.
  • Collaboration and networking among CSOs and other stakeholders.

Sectors or Themes 

• The specific sector identified for this call is ‘civil society’ based on the premise that civil society plays an important role for the promotion of human rights and democracy, as independent actors of good governance and development in their own right.
• Under Lot 1 and Lot 2, the specific theme relates to advancing decent work and sustainability and human rights due diligence.
• Under Lot 3 and Lot 4, the specific theme relates to the right to a healthy, clean and safe environment and a low carbon and climate resilient economy and society.
• Under Lot 5, the specific theme relates to freedom of expression, addressing challenges of new technologies in the digital space to promote democracy.

Funding Information

• The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 8,800,000.
• The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds. Indicative allocation of funds by Lot:
  • The overall indicative amount made available under Lot 1 is EUR 2 000 000.
  • The overall indicative amount made available under Lot 2 is EUR 900,000.
  • The overall indicative amount made available under Lot 3 is EUR 2 000 000.
  • The overall indicative amount made available under Lot 4 is EUR 900,000.
  • The overall indicative amount made available under Lot 5 is EUR 3,000,000.
• Size of Grants 
  • Lot 1 
    • Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
      • minimum amount: EUR 1,800,000
      • maximum amount: EUR 2,000,000
  • Lot 2 
    • Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
      • minimum amount: EUR 200,000
      • maximum amount: EUR 300,000
  • Lot 3 
    • Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
      • minimum amount: EUR 1,800,000
      • maximum amount: EUR 2,000,000
  • Lot 4 
    • Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
      • minimum amount: EUR 200,000
      • maximum amount: EUR 300,000
  • Lot 5 
    • Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
      • minimum amount: EUR 950,000
      • maximum amount: EUR 1,000,000

Duration 

• The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 36 months nor exceed 48 months.

Types of Activity 

• Indicative types of activity, which may be financed under this call:
  • Capacity building activities of CSOs and relevant stakeholders.
  • Support CSOs to operate in a way that is responsive to the individuals and communities they serve or represent.
  • Support smaller and peripheral CSOs such as grassroots, local and community-based organisations including sub-granting.
  • Engagement with government authorities and institutions of accountability and oversight.
  • Engagement of youth, media actors and human rights defenders.

Location 

• Actions must take place in the following country: People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead Applicants
  • Lead applicants under Lot 1, Lot 3 and Lot 5 
    • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
      • be a legal person; and
      • be non-profit-making; and
      • be a Civil Society Organisation and/or their associations; and
      • be established in in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, a Member State of the European Union or any other country as stipulated by NDICI-Global Europe Regulation, Article 28(1); and
      • 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.
  • Lead applicants under Lot 2 and Lot 4
    • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
      • be a legal person; and
      • be non-profit-making; and
      • be a Civil Society Organisation and/or their associations; and
      • be established in in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh; and
      • 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.
  • Under Lot 1, Lot 2, Lot 3 and Lot 4: The lead applicant may act individually or with co-applicant(s).
  • Under Lot 5: The lead applicant must act with co-applicant(s) as specified hereafter.
• Co-applicant(s) 
  • 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 himself.
  • Co-applicants must sign the mandate form.
  • If awarded the grant contract, the co-applicant(s) (if any) will become beneficiary(ies) in the action (together with the coordinator)
• Affiliated entities 
  • 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 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.

For more information, visit EC.