Open Call: CSOs as Actors in Governance and Development (Bhutan)

Deadline: 2-Feb-23

The European Commission (EC) is seeking proposals under the thematic programme for Civil Society Organisations and aims to strengthen CSOs as independent actors of good governance and development.

Objective

• The global objective of this call for proposals is to strengthen Bhutanese CSOs as independent actors of good governance and development in order to contribute to an inclusive, participatory, empowered, and independent civil society.
• The specific objectives of this call for proposals are:
  • Support the engagement of CSOs’ with the Bhutanese Parliament in:
    • Providing capacity building in key thematic areas e.g. inclusion, good governance, transparent public finance management, public participation and citizen engagement, accountability etc;
    • Providing support in accessing processes, provision of recommendations and potential practical support in implementation the Parliament’s work such as public hearings;
    • Providing opportunities for dialogue on key legislative, representational and oversight issues between CSOs and Parliament
    • Providing mechanism for learning and information sharing between Parliamentarians and between more experienced Parliaments of the Europe Union and the region;
    • Mock experiences about key tasks to help anticipate and prepare future core tasks, including relating to passing/adopting legislation to a federal parliamentary committee to conduct post-legislative scrutiny
• Strengthen the capacity of CSOs in:
  • Engaging in work pertaining to good governance, democracy thereby contributing to the development of relevant public policies.
  • Gaining improved knowledge of research, innovation, design, implementation and evaluation of projects and policies.
  • Developing sustainable business models and diversify their funding.
  • Building collectives and/or strengthening existing platforms to be able to speak in a unified voice.
  • Contributing to evidence based policy-making through improved research, data collection and analysis skills.
• Improve engagement of CSOs with the media in:
  • Amplifying collective voice and participation;
  • Facilitating behavioural change, social mobilization and advocacy on key development issues;
  • Articulating how the SDGs are being contributed to by the CSOs and
  • Demonstrating positive impact of CSO engagement on development policies

Funding Information

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 3.500.000. The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.

• 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 700.000
• Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum percentages of total eligible costs of the action:
  • Minimum percentage: 70% of the total eligible costs of the action.
  • Maximum percentage: 80% of the total eligible costs of the action

In the evaluation process, priority will be given to proposals that contain:

• Inclusiveness in design, ensuring that the key stakeholders are consulted, as well as ensuring diversity through the inclusion of disadvantaged sectors/groups.
• Evidence of gender analysis to support effective gender mainstreaming, understanding how the problem addressed in the project affects men and women differently and undertaking actions to ensure gender issues and women empowerment are tackled in all the activities of the projects.
• The logical framework has to be gender sensitive and should provide sex disaggregated data to the extent possible
• Ownership of the design, activities and outcomes of the project by, were applicable, the targeted CSOs, media and the Parliament.
• A sustainability and scalability approach, demonstrating a sound analysis of the problem to be addressed, information and knowledge management, Government participation, community ownership and capacity building, hence avoiding dependence of results and outcomes on the project.
• Engagement with the local governments and elected representatives as well as developing aspiring women leaders.
• Providing sound data and evidence describing the baseline situation and target setting that will facilitate evaluation of the project. The baseline data should be reflected in the logical framework.
• Use of a rights based approach, with a focus on women, youth and children, persons with disabilities, indigenous people, LGBTQI+, internally displaced people, people living in conflict situation and in disaster prone areas, etc. also considering intersectionality of these groups.
• Replication of existing successful and sustainable practices or systems of participation of CSOs in public decision making processes and in social accountability to strengthen local governance.
• COVID 19 adaptation and/or recovery practices will be mainstreamed in the project.

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: non-governmental organisation, a civil society organisation or a civil society organisation association  and
  • Be established in  Bhutan or in a Member State of the European Union or other eligible country as per Article 28 of the basic act  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)

• 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 satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself.
• In addition to the categories referred to, the following are however also eligible: Local authorities and Associations of local authorities.
• Co-applicants must sign the mandate.
• If awarded the grant contract, the co-applicant(s) (if any) will become beneficiary(ies) in the action (together with the coordinator)

Affiliated Entities

• The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies).
• This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:
  • Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU 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.