European Commission invites Proposals from CSOs in Djibouti

Deadline: 24-Mar-23

The European Commission (EC) is now accepting proposals to strengthen local civil society organizations (CSOs) as independent, credible, participatory actors for good governance and development at the national level.

Sectors

The specific sectors or themes to which the actions must relate are:

Governance (political dialogue, advocacy, capacity building, improvement of the environment in which CSOs operate)
Entrepreneurship/Professional training/Digital
Water and Sanitation / Effects of climate change / Renewable energies
Gender and youth as cross-cutting in all sectors

Objectives and Priorities

The specific objective of this call for proposals is to strengthen the commitment and capacity of local civil society organizations (CSOs) as actors of good governance and development at the national level.
The priorities of this call for proposals are:
- Initiate and contribute to national policy dialogue on civil society and its contribution to governance and Development
- Guarantee the participation and contribution of civil society to political dialogue and decision-making processes at all levels
- Support local civil society contributions to dialogue forums, processes and platforms regional and international
- Support the organizational capacities of CSOs related to internal governance, programme, project and financial management, advocacy, etc.
- Support the capacities of CSOs in technical areas, research, analysis and sensitization
- Support the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of CSOs
- Support the financial management capacities of CSOs
- Support local CSO networks and platforms to promote coordination, collaboration and exchanges
- Support for the contribution of CSOs (women’s organizations, faith-based organizations, youth organizations and the media) to actions aimed at preventing, addressing and mitigating risks and vulnerabilities
- Support the capacity of CSOs in digital
- Help CSOs build digital skills of citizens to create transformation inclusive digital

Funding Information

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 800,000.
Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
- minimum amount: EUR 350,000
- maximum amount: EUR 400,000
Duration: The initial planned duration of an action may not be less than 24 months nor exceed 36 months.

Outcomes

The outputs to be delivered by this action contributing to the corresponding specific objective are as follows:
- strengthening the capacities of local CSOs to participate in political dialogue at national level as well as in the dialogue, implementation and monitoring of European and national development plans and programmes
- Improving the capacities and ability of local civil society partners to maintain and promote an enabling environment for civil society in Djibouti;
- Building the capacity of local CSOs to engage in gender equality and youth inclusion, as well as building the capacity of local women and youth CSOs.

Location: The actions must be implemented in the Republic of Djibouti.

Eligibility Criteria

lead applicant(s)
- To be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
  - be a legal person
  - have no profit motive
  - be established in a Member State of the European Union
  - be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies) and not act as an intermediary
  - have an attested and proven experience of at least two years in one of the themes of the call and
  - have the capacity, attested by supporting documents to be presented, to execute and manage an action of an amount comparable to that of the grant application

Co-applicant(s)
- Partnership with a co-applicant is mandatory. The European Commission will attach particular importance to the quality of partnerships and the involvement of local partners.
- International organizations established in Djibouti wishing to submit their applications must have at least one local civil society organization as a co-applicant.
- Co-applicants take part in drawing up and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those borne by the lead applicant.
- Co-applicants must meet the same eligibility criteria as apply to the lead applicant itself.
- Co-applicants must sign the mandate form.
Affiliated Entities
- The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with one or more affiliated entities.
- Only the following entities can be considered affiliated to the lead applicant and/or co-applicant(s):
  - Only entities that have a structural link with the applicants (the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.
  - This structural link mainly encompasses two notions:
    - control on annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings.
    - Entities affiliated with an applicant can therefore be:
      - entities controlled directly or indirectly by the applicant (subsidiaries or first-tier subsidiaries) or controlled by an entity itself controlled by the applicant. This is valid for the other control levels;
      - entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Similarly, they may be entities controlling a company controlling the applicant;
      - entities with the same level of direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies);
    - as, for example, a network, federation or association of which the proposed affiliated entity is a member, or the applicant is a member of the same entity (for example, a network, a federation or an association,) than the proposed affiliated entity.