EU announces CFPs for Enhancing Civil Society Organizations Capacities in Response to COVID-19 in India

Deadline: 01-Sep-20

The European Union (EU) has announced a call for proposals for Enhancing Civil Society Organizations Capacities in Response to COVID-19 in India.

Objectives

• The global objective of this call for proposals is to support Indian CSOs efforts in mitigating the social and economic impacts of COVID-19 pandemic amongst the most vulnerable population in India.
• The specific objective(s) of this call for proposals is to strengthen the capacity and engagement of CSOs to mitigate and build resilience of the most vulnerable segments of society to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, through ensuring access to public entitlements, social protection, promotion of skills and employment and advocating public policies.

Priorities

The priorities of this call for proposals are:

• Sustainable and inclusive social and economic recovery
• Building community resilience to minimize socio-economic shock
• Rehabilitation and primary relief response

Funding Information

• The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 2,000,000.00. The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.
• Size of grants
  • minimum amount: EUR 1,000,000.00
  • maximum amount: EUR 2,000,000.00

Duration

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

Location

• Actions must take place in India. For ground level advocacy, mobilisation, capacity building, training, skill building and other outreach activities involving direct engagement with target beneficiary groups and local stakeholders, the action will be implemented where there is highest concentration of the most vulnerable population, like the small and marginalized farmers, tribal, Dalit, migrant workers and urban poor.

Eligibility Criteria

Lead Applicants

• In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
  • be a legal person
  • be non-profit-making
  • be a specific type of organisation such as: non-governmental organisation/civil society organisations (registered as non-profit legal entities)
  • be established in India or a Member State of the European Union (EU) or in a Member State of the European Economic Area (EEA)
  • In case of Indian entities, all civil society organisations, institutions and/or associations of local authorities – whether lead applicant or co-applicant(s) – must comply with respective national legislation/s applicable to non-profit organisations, including registration and reporting requirements. Indian entities must have a valid FCRA registration at the time of application as well as when contracting
  • When the project proposal includes one or multiple co-applicant(s) based inside and outside India, in case the lead applicant is an organisation registered in India, it will not be possible to have a European or non-local co-applicant, except if the costs of this entity can be covered by their own co-funding (no transfer of funds required).
  • The following documents shall be submitted along with the concept note:-
    • FCRA registration certificate(s) for all applicants (lead applicant and co-applicant(s)) and affiliated entities registered in India.
    • Self-declaration by the EU/EEA lead applicant to ensure that it is not in any legal situation in India, where it cannot transfer funds to Indian co-applicants.
    • Self-declaration where the Indian lead applicants and co-applicants declare to be aware and comply with the provision of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010, Foreign Exchange and Management Act for the transfer of funds.
  • 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)

• Where the lead applicant is not an organisation registered in India, it must act with minimum one Indian registered co-applicant
• 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

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, 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.

For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3a8ZKsj