GEOACT 3rd Call for Strengthening Education on Natural Risks at Secondary and Higher Levels

Deadline: 10-Dec-22

GEOACT has launched a new Call for Proposals focused on “Strengthening education on natural risks at primary, secondary and higher levels”.

Specific Objectives 

• The project will have to perform activities to address the following specific Objectives:
  • SO1. Improve primary, secondary and higher education on geohazards, in a Caribbean context.
  • SO2. Promote a multidisciplinary approach where sciences that address geohazards and climate change are taught in Earth System-type programs.
  • SO3. Promote education programs that include a strong socio-economic component and focus on how adaptation or mitigation solutions can guide R&I efforts.
  • SO4. Improve intra-Caribbean exchanges of data, knowledge and experience on geohazards and climate change.
  • SO5. Use digital technology to increase remote collaboration among primary, secondary and tertiary education institutions.
  • SO6. Develop initiatives that can guide public policies in primary, secondary and tertiary education in the management of natural hazards and climate change.

Funding Information

• Grant: 150 000 EUR each (i.e. 300 000 EUR max. in Total)
• Project duration: Min. 24 months, to be ended by 30/11/2024

Eligible Projects 

• Proposals must be written in English, using the GEOACT Application Forms provided, must fit the formal requirements for proposal submission and must be submitted by the submission Deadline mentioned on the website.
• Projects must be aligned with the Call’s scope/topic and must address its objectives and terms of references, and must be able to deliver the expected results/outputs.
• Expected start: January 2023 – Expected end: 31 December 2024 (final activity report included).
• The total requested funding for each Lot must be 150,000 Euro max.
• The funding of an individual proposal will depend on the nature and duration of the proposed activities and must be justified in terms of the resources needed to achieve the objectives of the project. The funding requested should, therefore, be realistically adjusted to the actual needs of the proposal, taking into account any other funds available.

Eligibility Criteria 

• Academic and research institutions/organisations; spin-off companies; VET providers; organisations representing indigenous and local communities; agencies and associations working for gender equality in research and innovation; national science, technology and innovation agencies; non-governmental organisations; innovation support organisations (technology clusters, innovation labs and technology transfer offices); incubators and start-ups; and other similar organisations.
  • The Call for Proposals must be answered by consortia of several legal entities (public and private moral persons), and each consortium will have to be coordinated by a legal entity referred to as Lead Applicant, and the Lead Applicant will involve Partner Organisations in its consortium.
  • A successful Applicant in this Call will be allowed to apply in other GEOACT Calls for Proposal, as Lead Applicant or Co-applicant, but the cumulative amount of the different grants it may receive will not exceed in any case 400,000 Euros (cf. GEOACT Grants Operations Manual).
  • All participating organisations in a bidding consortium must check their eligibility, and the Lead Applicant is responsible for checking and guaranteeing the eligibility of the partners; if one of the partners appears to be ineligible, this may lead to the exclusion of the whole consortium/project during the evaluation process.
  • A consortium answering the Call for proposals must include at least 2 Applicants (including the Lead Applicant) established in the OACPS Caribbean eligible countries and from at least 2 different countries: at least 1 academic and research institution/organisation and at least 1 other applicant from 2 different types (among those listed ).
  • The following entities are eligible for financial support as Lead Applicant or Partners: academic and research institutions/organisations; spin-off companies; VET providers; organisations representing indigenous and local communities; agencies and associations working for gender equality in research and innovation; national science, technology and innovation agencies; nongovernmental organisations; innovation support organisations (technology clusters, innovation labs and technology transfer offices); incubators and start-ups; and other similar organisations with specific experience in the priority areas covered by this Call.
  • The Lead Applicant submitting the proposal as well as the Partners which belong to its consortium, should be moral persons.
  • Only the Lead Applicants and Co-applicants with their headquarters and activities in an ACP Country from the Caribbean region, since 2017 at least, are eligible and can receive a grant under this Call. Organisations or individuals (scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, policy actors, among others) from outside the ACP Caribbean Region can participate as “Collaborators” if their participation is duly justified in the proposal, i.e., if they bring specific skills or added value to the project. However, they will have to provide their own financial contribution to participate in the project, as they cannot benefit from the grant. Collaborators are not counted as part of the minimum of three eligible applicants.
  • Lead Applicants applying to this Call must have the financial and technical capacity to manage the grant and will have to demonstrate this capacity: they must carry out / contribute to research and innovation activities and must have managed at least two R&I granted projects of at least €75,000 each between 2018 and 2021. They will be required to demonstrate adequate organisational capacity to implement and monitor the project in terms of human resources, as well as the ability to share and disseminate the results regionally through their networks.
  • The Lead Applicant will submit the application on behalf of the consortium (One application per consortium) and will be directly responsible for the preparation, management and implementation of the project funded by the Call.
  • Lead Applicants, Partners and Collaborators should not be affected by any of the exclusion criteria referred to in section 2.6.10 of the Procurement and Grants for European Union external actions – A practical Guide (PRAG). GEOACT will keep records of evidence and supporting documentation that Lead Applicants and their Co-applicants do not meet any of the exclusion criteria.
  • Project Partners should have the adequate organisational capacity to implement and monitor the project in terms of human resources, as well as the ability to share and disseminate the results regionally through their networks.
• Project Coordinator: 
  • The Project Coordinator (an individual) must be a staff member from the Lead Applicant (he/she can be of any nationality). He/she should have a bachelor’s degree or equivalent + 5 years of experience, or a higher-degree diploma with 2 years of experience, in a domain related to the project. Prior project coordination/management experience will be appreciated.
• The Project Coordinator will have the following roles:
  • Be the single point of contact between the GEOACT Call Secretariat and the consortium Partners from proposal submission to project end;
  • Ensure that all the partners involved in the consortium are eligible;
  • Submit the Application Form on behalf of the Consortium;
  • Compile and submit reports/deliverables to the GEOACT Call Secretariat on behalf of the Consortium;
  • Ensure the role of supervision of the project workflow with the help of WP leaders.
  • Will be responsible for the management of the funds received, and will need to justify the expenditures, following OACPS R&I programme and IRD requirements.
  • Inform the GEOACT Call Secretariat of any event that might affect the implementation of the project.
  • Include/foresee in their budget the fees to cover their participation to the three follow-up meetings that will take place with the GEOACT consortium: Kick-off, mid-term and Final meetings.

For more information, visit https://oacps-ri.eu/en/news/geoact-third-call-for-proposals-deadline-12-december-2022-2359-haitis-time/