European Commission invites Proposals from CSOs in Tunisia

Deadline: 18-Apr-23

The European Commission (EC) has launched a call for proposals to support the initiatives of civil society actors in the development of economically inclusive and viable models.

The main income of Tunisian associations is subsidies from international cooperation and, to a very limited extent, those from the public sector. Only rare associations have some equity thanks to the contributions of their members and the establishment of income-generating activities. However, the amounts remain modest and their level of collection is still too random, especially for structures offering expensive services. The absence of own funds, as well as the low capacity to mobilize funds from the private sector, are one of the main characteristics of Tunisian CSOs and precarious their independent and long-term action.

To respond to this finding of low sustainability of associative structures in Tunisia, this action will seek to support certain actors of civil society with a view to developing associative models that are economically viable and which develop the objectives of the association. Thus, this action will strengthen the sustainability, autonomy and independence of these actors. This will enable them to fully play their roles in political dialogue, at local, national and regional levels.

Objectives and Priorities

• This call for proposals has the general objective of:
  • Strengthen the engagement of local civil society organizations (CSOs) as actors of good governance and inclusive development at the national level
  • Number of grassroots and grassroots civil society organizations benefiting (or reaching) from EU support (EURF)
• This call for proposals has the following specific objectives (SO):
  • SO 1 – The participation of local civil society actors in the dialogue and monitoring of public policies (in their respective themes) is based on a gender and human rights approach and is effective, inclusive and sustainable
  • SO 2 – The capacity of local civil society actors to engage in socio-economic and/or public utility activities, with a gender and human rights approach, is strengthened.
• To be eligible for funding, the activities proposed under this call for proposals must therefore necessarily and simultaneously fall within the two main areas. Activities in each of these axes could relate to:
  • Axis 1: Sustainability of civil society actors (indicative and non-exhaustive list):
    • Development of public interest and income-generating activities by associations promoting good governance and inclusive development. These revenues will be used to finance the mission(s) of these actors/actresses.
    • Development of economic initiatives in favor of third parties (such as agricultural groups, social and/or eco-solidarity entrepreneurship, etc.) which will directly contribute to the purpose of associative structures promoting good governance and inclusive development.
    • The establishment of civil society / private sector partnerships to respond to the duty of care of companies in terms of corporate social responsibility.
    • Establishment of alternative financing mechanisms such as, for example: crowdfunding, patronage, philanthropy, sponsorships.
  • Axis 2: Participation of civil society actors (indicative and non-exhaustive list):
    • Advocacy actions promoting the rule of law and democracy carried out by civil society actors at local and national level in their priority areas of action, preferably in a multi-actor network.
    • Technical and legal support to strengthen the capacity of civil society actors and that of their association partners to maintain, preserve and promote an enabling environment, including to combat defamation and demonizing discourse on social media platforms.
    • Support to networks, coalitions and platforms (at local and national level) of civil society actors and their alliance with other actors (in particular the media, the private sector, academia, political representatives), which will facilitate their participation in dialogue forums.
    • Strengthening the organizational capacity of associative actors in the field of internal governance, research capacities, internal accountability, financial management and digital skills.

Funding Information

• The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 2,400,000.
• 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 800,000
• Duration: The initial planned duration of an action may not be less than 24 months nor exceed 48 months.

Location: The actions must be implemented in Tunisia.

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead applicant(s)
  • To be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
    • be a legal person and
    • have no profit motive and
    • be a non-governmental organization and
    • be established in a Member State of the European Union or in Tunisia or in any other country eligible
    • be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and the affiliated entity(ies) and not act as an intermediary
  • The lead applicant can act either individually or with one or more co-applicants.
  • If the lead applicant is not established in Tunisia, it must have at least one co-applicant established in Tunisia.
• Co-applicants
  • 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 (sub-subsidiaries or second-tier subsidiaries). 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); membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined 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.

For more information, visit European Commission.