European Commission Grants for strengthening CSOs as Actors in Development (India)

Deadline: 30-Apr-24

The European Commission has launched the call for proposals to strengthen Civil Society Organisations as independent actors of good governance and development in their own right.

The EU is a longstanding global champion for civil society as development actors in their own right and supports their engagement to contribute to democratic processes and to achieve better development outcomes. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are crucial in the context of fundamental freedoms, the rule of law, democracy, peace, conflict prevention, resilience and stability in their partner countries, and are key partners in devising and implementing policies and programmes that meet people’s needs, reduce inequalities, and fulfil the central commitment of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind.

The current Call for Proposals falls under the thematic programme for Civil Society Organisations and aims to strengthen CSOs as actors of good governance and development. To this end, support to CSOs as a result of the programme has the key principles of promoting an inclusive, participatory, empowered, and independent civil society. The CSOs’ participation in dialogue mechanisms is vital in bringing expertise from the ground and contributing to policymaking that meets people’s needs, and thus they are instrumental in fulfilling the central commitment of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind. Civil society is also considered essential by the EU for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is particularly relevant for the success of SDG 16 and 17, which call for peaceful and inclusive societies as well as a revitalized Global Partnership for Sustainable Development. In addition, CSOs are allies in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, not least, as the agenda requires deep structural and behavioural changes in society that they can contribute to through awareness raising and advocacy. Further, the call takes into account priorities set by the EU Gender Action Plan (GAP III) country implementation plan (CLIP) for India.

Objectives

• The specific objective(s) of this call for proposals is to strengthen local Civil Society Organisations’ ability to engage as actors of good governance and development at country level. This is expected to be done through promoting inclusive and sustainable growth, in partnership with public authorities and the private sector, with a focus on livelihood and economic empowerment.

Priorities

• The priorities of this Call for Proposals are:
  • Promoting Indian-made craft products, e.g. handicrafts and textiles, through technological innovation and modernisation, competiveness, enhanced quality, efficiency and market linkages, with a lens on improved livelihoods and economic empowerment.
  • Improving circular economy as well as responsible consumption and production for Indian-made craft products, particularly textiles, considering value chains not just from a financial angle but also from a social and environmental perspective, and linking interventions with livelihood support initiatives.
  • Supporting access to gainful employment/self-employment of women, youth and vulnerable communities, for positively affecting livelihoods and economic empowerment on a sustainable basis, including through skilling, capacity building, supporting access to credit, improved marketing techniques, and access to other livelihoods services.
  • Raising awareness of key actors i.e. social enterprises, CSOs and private sector actors on inclusive economy, social-responsive business, corporate social responsibility, decent work (including occupational health and safety conditions), and promoting entrepreneurship (including financial training, management, etc.) with a strong focus on women, youth and vulnerable communities. In addition, increasing linkages with European companies and/or platforms of European companies in India with a view to positively impacting people’s livelihoods.
  • Supporting MSMEs capacities in shifting towards digitisation for improved market access, livelihood and income generation.
  • Facilitating knowledge, technology and experience transfer from other countries, especially from Europe and the South Asia region.

Funding Information

• The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 9 539 000.00. The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.
• Size of grants
  • Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
    • Minimum amount: EUR 1 000 000.00
    • Maximum amount: EUR 1 500 000.00
  • 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: 75 % of the total eligible costs of the action.
    • Maximum percentage: 90 % of the total eligible costs of the action
• The balance (i.e. the difference between the total cost of the action and the amount requested from the contracting authority) must be financed from sources other than the general budget of the Union or the European Development Fund

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead applicant
  • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
    • be a legal person
    • be non-profit-making and
    • be a specific type of organisation such as: civil society organisations or a civil society organisation association  and
    • be established in  a Member State of the European Union or in a Member State of the European Economic Area (EEA)  or in India 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 and
    • A lead applicant established in  a Member State of the European Union or in a Member State of the European Economic Area (EEA) must act with minimum of two Indian co-applicants or affiliated entities.
    • Such Indian co-applicants or affiliated entities must be registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), and must have a valid FCRA registration at the time of full application and at the time of the signature of the contract.
    • A lead applicant established in India may act individually or with co-applicants or affiliated entities, subject to the following condition:
      • The Indian lead applicant must be registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), and must have a valid FCRA registration at the time of full application and at the time of the signature of the contract. This does not necessarily apply to co-applicants or affiliated entities.
      • Note that in the case of Indian lead applicants, there should be no transfer of EU funds to co-applicants and affiliate entities, in strict adherence to the FCRA.
• All specific eligible types of organisation mentioned in the bullet points above whether lead applicant, co-applicants, or affiliated entities must comply with their respective national legislation/s and with Indian local legislation/s, as applicable to non-profit organisations (such as FCRA, Taxes, Social Security, FEMA/RBI), including registration and reporting requirements.
• International organisations  are not eligible to apply, nor can act as co-applicant(s) under this call for proposals.
• 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.
  • If awarded the grant contract, the co-applicant(s) (if any) will become beneficiary(ies) in the action (together with the coordinator)

For more information, visit European Commission.