European Commission providing Grants to strengthen Civil Society Organisations in India

Deadline: 2-May-23

The European Commission (EC) is providing grants to strengthen Civil Society Organisations as independent actors of good governance and development in their own right.

The current Call for Proposals falls under the thematic programme for Civil Society Organisations and aims to strengthen CSOs as independent 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.

Objective

• The specific objective of this call for proposals is to strengthen Indian Civil Society Organisations’ ability to engage as actors of good governance and development at the local, state and country level.

Priorities

The priorities of this Call for Proposals are:

• To strengthen CSO engagement in EU-India Partnerships’ policy dialogues and contributing to the effective implementation of the Global Gateway Strategy in India. (LOT 1)
  • The seven ongoing EU-India Partnerships focus on Climate and clean energy, Resource efficiency and renewable energy, Sustainable urbanisation, Water, Connectivity, Migration and mobility in addition to Science and technology. In India, EU investments under Global Gateway strategy’s five priorities, focuses primarily on Sustainable Urbanisation (incl urban transport), Energy Transition (incl clean energy), Water, Digitalisation, Biodiversity and Sustainable Agriculture.
• To increase CSO capacity by developing or supporting existing CSO platforms, thereby enabling a coordinated approach and collective voice in developmental issues.  (LOT 2)
  • Key sectors/groups (non-exhaustive) linked with the SDGs for which a coordinated approach and collective voice is encouraged include governance, peace and security, human rights, freedom of expression along with challenges faced locally and regionally by women, youth, vulnerable groups, minorities including religious minorities, LGBTIQ+ community members, indigenous communities, persons living with disabilities, etc. Engagement, inclusion and empowerment of youth is considered as a growing and important sector by the EU, and a crucial factor for future overall economic growth and social cohesion.
• To strengthen capacities of media actors for the promotion of freedom of expression, media freedom and pluralism online, combatting hate speech, extremism and disinformation. (LOT 3)
  • Actions (non-exhaustive) are expected to improve/increase the resilience of journalists/media houses, outreach to women journalists, journalists reporting about the work being undertaken by CSOs, qualitative reporting on matters pertaining to SDGs and wider development related issues.

Funding Information

• The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 9 000 000.
• Indicative allocation of funds by Lot:
  • The overall indicative amount made available under Lot 1 is EUR 3 000 000.
  • The overall indicative amount made available under Lot 2 is EUR 3 000 000.
  • The overall indicative amount made available under Lot 3 is EUR 3 000 000.
• Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
  • Minimum amount: EUR 1 500 000
  • Maximum amount: EUR 3 000 000
• Duration: The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 36 months nor exceed 48 months.

Location: Actions must take place in India and can be located anywhere in the country (no location restriction). Activities which may take place outside India, such as international/UN advocacy, must explicitly benefit India and the relevant actors targeted by the action.

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead applicant(s)
  • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
    • be a legal person and
    • 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) 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
• Co-applicant(s)
  • The lead applicant must act with minimum of three Indian co-applicants.
  • 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 sign the mandate form.
• Affiliated entities
  • 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 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.

For more information, visit European Commission (EC).