Grants to support CSOs as Independent Actors of Good Governance & Development in Guinea-Bissau

Deadline: 21-Aug-23

The European Commission (EC) is offering grants to support civil society organizations as independent actors of good governance and development in Guinea-Bissau.

The current “Thematic Program for Civil Society Organizations” (CSO program) is funded under the NDICI — Global Europe through the Multi-Annual Indicative Program for the Thematic Program for CSOs 2021-2027 and the Multi-Annual Action Plan (MAP) of the Thematic Program for Civil Society Organizations for the period 2021-2024. The CSO Thematic Program 2021-2027 is the only thematic program with a clear stakeholder-based mandate. Its aim is to strengthen CSOs as independent actors in good governance and development in their own right.

The current thematic program “Civil Society Organizations” for the period 2021-2027 focuses on the following aspects:

• contribute to an environment conducive to civil society,
• increase efforts for a more inclusive participation of CSOs in dialogue on development policy and domestic policies in partner countries and,
• a capacity building approach to strengthen the capacities of partner CSOs.

Program Objectives and Priority Issues

• Lot 1 – Youth and Women
  • For lot 1, the specific purpose of this call for proposals is as follows:
    • Strengthen CSOs that work for the inclusion of vulnerable and marginalized groups, with a focus on youth and women.
  • The priorities of this call for proposals are as follows:
    • Reinforce the technical capacities of CSOs that work to promote the economic, social and cultural rights of young people and women.
    • Launch, contribute to and support policy dialogues on youth and women and enable active participation of youth and women’s organizations in decision-making processes at all levels in order to better respond to their vulnerabilities.
    • Support actions that ensure the integration of young people and women and encourage active citizenship.
• Lot 2 – Human Development; Green and Inclusive Economy; Good governance and stability
  • For lot 2, the specific objective of this call for proposals is as follows:
    • Strengthen CSOs active in the priority sectors of the EU Delegation’s MIP 2021-2027 (Human Development; Green and Inclusive Economy; Good Governance and Stability) to become independent actors of good governance and development.
  • For this purpose, the priorities are as follows:
    • Promote an inclusive, participatory, empowered and independent civil society as an actor in socio-economic development in Guinea-Bissau.
    • Promoting an inclusive and open dialogue with and between civil society organisations, namely through support to networks / platforms of existing organisations, and a more permanent collaboration between CSOs and authorities at all levels.
    • Allow the main CSOs to develop their capacities and competences as actors in the development of governance and development in the priority sectors of the European Union in Guinea-Bissau, with a special focus on youth and women.

Funding Information

• The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 3,000,000.
• This call for proposals provides for two lots:
  • Indicative breakdown of the budget allocation by lot:
    • The overall indicative amount made available under Lot 1 is EUR 1,000,000.
    • The overall indicative amount made available under Lot 2 is EUR 2,000,000.
• Value of grants
  • Grants requested under this call for proposals must be between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
    • For lot 1:
      • minimum amount: 750,000 EUR
      • maximum amount: 1,000,000 EUR
    • For lot 2:
      • minimum amount: 1,000,000 EUR
      • maximum amount: 2,000,000 EUR
• Duration: The initial duration foreseen for an action cannot be less than 24 months nor exceed 48 months.

Location: Actions must be carried out in Guinea-Bissau.

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead Applicant(s)
  • To be eligible for a grant, lead applicants must:
    • Be a collective person and
    • Not for profit and
    • Be a specific type of organization such as: non-governmental organization, public sector operator, local authority, and
    • Be established in Guinea-Bissau or in a Member State of the European Union or in other countries eligible for IVDCI- Global Europe.
  • Lead applicants may apply individually or jointly with co-applicants.
  • Lead applicants who are not established in Guinea-Bissau must mandatorily compete with at least one co-applicant who is established in Guinea-Bissau (national actor).
• Co-applicant(s)
  • Co-applicants must participate in the design and implementation of the action and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as the costs borne by the lead applicant.
  • Co-applicants must meet the same eligibility criteria as those applicable to the lead applicant itself, except that co-applicants may also be for-profit (private sector).
  • Co-applicants must sign the mandate form.
  • If you are awarded the grant contract, any co-applicants will be the beneficiaries of the action (together with the coordinator).
• Affiliated Entities
  • The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may compete with affiliated entity(ies).
  • Only the following entities can be considered affiliated entities of the lead applicant and/or co-applicant(s):
    • Only entities that have a structural link with the applicants (i.e. the lead applicant or a co-applicant), especially a legal or financial link.
    • This structural link essentially includes two notions:
      • Control on annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain forms of companies:
        • Thus, entities affiliated with an applicant may be:
          • Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (branches). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant (sub-subsidiaries), the same applying to further levels of control;
          • Entities that directly or indirectly control the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities that control an entity that controls the applicant;
          • Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (subsidiaries).
      • Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as, for example, a network, a federation, an association in which proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g. a network, a federation, an association, etc.) than the proposed affiliated entities.

For more information, visit European Commission (EC).