EU Support to Civil Society in Yemen – Joint Call for Proposals

Deadline: 31-Mar-21

The European Union is inviting applications to support Civil Society in Yemen – Joint call for Proposals under CSO and EIDHR thematic programs. This is a joint Call for Proposals combining Yemen-specific budget allocations under two thematic programmes with the main purpose of enhancing EU cooperation and dialogue with Civil Society Organisations (CSO), and promoting the respect for human rights.

Objectives and Priority Issues

Lot 1: Support to Civil Society Organisations (CSO)

The global objective for Lot 1 is to enable Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to engage as actors of development and peace in Yemen.

The specific objective for Lot 1 is to increase Yemeni local CSOs’ capacity to perform their roles as independent development and peace actors more effectively

The priorities for Lot 1 are gender equality; youth; and crisis and fragility. The Call for Proposals aims to support country-level CSO initiatives aimed at implementing some of the priorities reflected in the EU Consensus for development adopted in June 2017 as follows:

Gender equality

Youth

Crises and fragility

Lot 2: European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights Country-Based Support Scheme

The global objective for Lot 2 is to support civil society organisations, democracy activists and human rights defenders working on critical human rights and democracy issues in Yemen.

The specific objectives for Lot 2 are:

To support human rights defenders and civil society in countering systematic, widespread, and gross human rights violations and attacks against fundamental freedoms.

Support civil society in furthering EU human rights priorities in Yemen.

Support civil society in strengthening democratic participation in Yemen.

In both Lot 1 and 2, the following methodological priorities and added-value elements will be considered:

Methodological priority 1: Rights-based approach

Methodological priority 2: Capacity building

Methodological priority 3: Conflict sensitivity

Funding Information

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 2,700,000.00. Indicative allocation of funds by lot:

Lot 1 (CSO): EUR 1,500,000.

Lot 2 (EIDHR): EUR 1,200,000.

Size of grants: Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:

Minimum amount: EUR 300,000

Maximum amount: EUR 600,000

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum percentages of total eligible costs of the action:

Minimum percentage: 50 % of the total eligible costs of the action.

Maximum percentage: 90 % of the total eligible costs of the action.

Eligibility Criteria

Lead Applicant: In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
- Lot 1:
  - be a legal person;
  - be non-profit-making;
  - be a non-governmental organisation, civil society organisation or community based organisation
  - be established in:
    - Yemen
    - a Member State of the European Union (this obligation does not apply to international organisations)
    - a Member State, beneficiaries listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 231/2014, and contracting parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area
    - a country eligible for Union funding under the European Neighbourhood Instrument established by Regulation (EU) No 232/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (the ‘European Neighbourhood Instrument’)
    - a developing country or territory, as included in the list of ODA recipients published by the OECD-DAC (‘list of ODA recipients’), and overseas countries and territories covered by Council Decision 2013/755/EU;
    - 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
- Lot 2:
  - be a legal person or be an entity without legal personality or a natural person and
  - be non-profit-making and
  - be a non-governmental organisation, civil society organisation or community based organisation
  - be established in any country
  - 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
- Lot 1 & 2:
  - Potential applicants may not participate in calls for proposals or be awarded grants if they are in any of the situations listed of the practical guide;
Co-applicant(s):
- Co-applicants are optional under this Call for Proposals.
- 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 Annex A.2 Section 5.
- If awarded the grant contract, the co-applicant(s) will become beneficiary(ies) in the action (together with the coordinator).
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.