EU seeking Proposals to Enhance CSOs’ Contribution to the Governance and Development Process in Afghanistan 2018-2019

Deadline: 22 July 2019

The European Union (EU) is currently seeking proposals to Enhance CSOs’ Contribution to the Governance and Development Process in Afghanistan 2018-2019.

The specific objective of this call for proposals is to enable Civil Society Organizations to engage as actors of governance and development in Afghanistan.

Priorities 

The priorities of this call for proposals are:

• To increase the capacity of civil society organizations to perform their role as independent development actors more effectively and to enhance efforts to promote a conducive environment for CSOs;
• To increase the efficiency, responsiveness, transparency and accountability of Local Authorities in the provision of essential services in an equitable way;
• To increase the representation of- and to support the meaningful and structured participation of women, girls and women’s CSOs to local governance processes that lead to the delivery of improved and equitable services;
• To contrast the marginalization of women and girls and to foster respect for their rights and dignity; to combat stereotypes, prejudices and harmful practices in all areas of life; and to promote awareness of the capabilities and contributions of women and girls.

The dedicated priority of this call for proposals is gender equality.

Size of Grants

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

Duration

The initial planned duration of an action may not 24 months nor exceed 60 months.

Location

Actions must take place in three or more provinces of Afghanistan.

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead applicant
  • 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 organization as defined in Annex II B of the DCI Regulation No 233/2014. Priority will be given to supporting CSOs from Afghanistan in order to strengthen their capacity in line with the overall objectives of the Action and
    • be established in :
      • Afghanistan
      • Other EU Partner countries as follows: a) countries eligible for Union funding under the ENI established by Regulation No. 232/2014; b) developing countries and territories as included in the list of ODA recipients published by the OECD/DAC and overseas countries and territories covered by Council Decision 2013/755/EU; and c) countries eligible for the European Development Fund
      • Member States, beneficiaries listed in Annex I to Regulation No. 231/2014 and contracting parties to the agreement on the European Economic Area.
      • For British applicants: Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. Unless sector-specific eligibility rules provide otherwise, if the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the grant period without concluding an agreement with the EU ensuring in particular that British applicants continue to be eligible, applicants will cease to receive EU funding (while continuing, where possible to participate) or will be required to leave the project on the basis of Article 12.2 (e) of the grant agreement’.
    • 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.
  • The lead applicant must act with co-applicants as specified hereafter.
• Co-applicant(s)
  • A minimum of two co-applicants are recommended to be involved in the action.
  • 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 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.

How to Apply

In order to apply for the grants, applicants have to register themselves in PADOR, an on-line database via given website.

For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/2X6KYhL and download the guidelines.