Specific Call for Proposals Mainstreaming Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Among SMEs Grant Programme 2005

Transcription

1 Ref. Ares(2014) /01/2014 EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL ENTERPRISE & INDUSTRY Specific Call for Proposals Mainstreaming Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Among SMEs Grant Programme 2005

2 1. Context A European Multi-Stakeholder Forum on CSR (CSR EMS Forum) was set up in October 2002 as a key element of the Commission s 2002 Communication on Corporate Social Responsibility: A business contribution to Sustainable Development 1. The Forum provided a platform for dialogue among the main stakeholder groups at European level: 19 member organisations representing employers, business networks, trade unions and civil society, as well as 11 observers, mainly other EU institutions and international organisations. Its mission focused on the twofold objective of: improving knowledge about CSR by facilitating the exchange of good practice exploring the appropriateness of establishing common guiding principles on CSR The Commission acted as a facilitator of the process, organising and chairing the meetings. The Forum gathered at high plenary level to review progress and endorse objectives and results, and at the level of theme-based Round Tables on: improving knowledge about CSR, fostering CSR among SMEs, development aspects and diversity, convergence and transparency. The stakeholders presented a final report 2 about their work to the Commission at the final Forum meeting on 29 June The report contains nine sets of recommendations, addressed to all stakeholder groups including public authorities and the EU. The Round Table reports, including on Fostering CSR among SMEs, form an integral part of the final report. A joint meeting between stakeholders and the Commission is planned for 2006 to review progress made in relation to the Forum s recommendations and on the trends, developments and innovations in CSR as a part of the Lisbon agenda. At the time of writing, the Commission was preparing a new Communication on CSR. This Communication, which would build on the report of the Multistakeholder Forum, is expected to endorse the objective of mainstreaming CSR, including amongst SMEs. This call for proposals is part of the Multi-Annual Programme for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship (Council Decision 2000/819/EC) Objective of the call a) General Objectives The objective of this call for proposals is to support stakeholders, in particular small business organisations and public authorities (see below for a more detailed list of target groups), in the implementation of the Forum recommendations in order to promote the take-up of effective and credible CSR practices among European companies and in particular SMEs, as a means to enhance their long-term competitiveness. Scheduled start-up date for the action: October/November COM(2002) 347 final, The full text of the report can be downloaded at: 3 See: 2

3 b) Description of the work Proposals corresponding to the Forum recommendations, in particular where they relate to SMEs, shall be eligible. Within these recommendations, priority will be given to the following issues: Raising awareness and improving knowledge on CSR collecting, diffusing and exchanging information on effective and credible CSR practices, tools and initiatives through channels already used by SMEs; developing an SME dimension in the future European multi-stakeholder run internet portal on CSR as part of a long-term strategy to promote CSR among SMEs; Developing better baseline data on SMEs and CSR by business sector, type, geography etc. including research on the business case for SMEs and supplychain issues. Developing the capacities and competences to help mainstream CSR Building the capacity of SMEs on CSR by promoting the exchange of experience between companies, business organisations, and stakeholders, large and small businesses - especially through the supply chain - and between for-profit enterprises and social enterprises; Encouraging sectoral initiatives on CSR aimed at promoting effective, credible and transparent CSR practices and instruments; increasing the general availability of easily accessible, ready-to-use, practical information and advice appropriate to SMEs, and delivered through channels known and trusted by SMEs; developing the capacity of SME intermediary organisations to make CSR part of the core activities and services which they develop for SMEs, e.g. through developing and implementing specific training modules for small business advisors; mainstreaming CSR and related topics into traditional courses, in the curricula of future managers and graduate students, in executive education, and in other educational institutions, including schools. The maximum duration of actions financed under this call for proposals will be 24 months. c) Target groups (Small) business representative organisations and networks Trade/sectoral business associations Small business support providers (business advisors, banks, accountants) SME and regional development agencies Young entrepreneurs associations Social partner organisations Civil society organisations CSR intermediary organisations 3

4 public authorities (at national, regional or local level) Business/management schools, other educational establishments, and research institutions with a focus on SMEs d) Deliverables/Results Effective follow-up of the recommendations of the EU Multi-Stakeholder Forum, in particular as they relate to SMEs, through increased awareness, better knowledge and enhanced capacities and competencies to mainstream CSR. Expected deliverables are: - pooling and disseminating information and good practice examples on CSR and SMEs including through a virtual resource centre which should be sustainable after Commission financing has come to an end; - better baseline data on CSR and SMEs and an improved understanding of the link between CSR practices and competitiveness; - integration of CSR in the core activities of business support providers through, which could include the development of a training module for business advisors. Additionally, a comprehensive final report will be produced for each action financed. 3. Financing The maximum budget allocated for the operation is : ,- The maximum amount by project is : Maximum 75% of the eligible costs, with a maximum EC contribution of ,- The draft grant agreement attached to the Submission set specifies the payment arrangements (see article I.4) as well as eligible and non-eligible costs (see article II.14). The grant may not finance the entire costs of the action or the entire operating expenditure of the beneficiary body. The beneficiary shall supply evidence of the co-financing provided, either by way of own resources, or in the form of financial transfers from third parties, or in kind. Please note that the co-financing in kind can be accepted by the Commission only in duly substantiated exceptional cases. Please note that one action may give rise to the award of only one grant from the budget to any one beneficiary. The Commission reserves the right to award a grant of less than the amount requested by the applicant. Grants will not be awarded for more than the amount requested. The publication does not guarantee the availability of funds for the above action. 4

5 4. Eligibility Applicants must comply with the following conditions in order to be eligible for a grant: Application must be signed, dated and complete, using the standard submission set; Application must be received before the closing date mentioned below; Corporate bodies must be properly constituted and registered under the law; Applicants must correspond to the definition, if any, of the target organisations set in point 2 c); Only projects that are strictly non-profit-making and/or whose immediate objective is non-commercial shall be eligible. Moreover, according to article 93 of the Financial Regulation mentioned below, candidates shall be excluded from participation in a grant procedure if: (a) they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations; (b) they have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgement which has the force of res judicata; (c) they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authority can justify; (d) they have not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established or with those of the country of the contracting authority or those of the country where the contract is to be performed; (e) they have been the subject of a judgement which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity detrimental to the Communities' financial interests; (f) following another procurement procedure or grant award procedure financed by the Community budget, they have been declared to be in serious breach of contract for failure to comply with their contractual obligations. By using the Exclusion Form (attached to the Submission Set ), applicants shall declare on their honour that they are not in one of the situations listed above. The authorising officer responsible may however request the evidence described in the Exclusion Form above mentioned. In such case, applicants shall be bound to supply such proof, unless there is a material impossibility recognised by the authorising officer responsible. 5

6 In addition, and according to article 94 of the Financial Regulation mentioned below, grants may not be awarded to candidates who, during the award procedure: (g) are subject to a conflict of interest; (h) are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the contracting authority as a condition of participation in the contract procedure or fail to supply this information. Please note that, according to article 96 of the Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) n 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities and according to article 133 of the Commission Regulation (EC, Euratom) n 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) n 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities, administrative and financial penalties may be imposed by the Commission on applicants who are excluded in relation to points a) to h) above mentioned. Applicants may act individually or in consortium with partner organisations; Partners of applicants must satisfy the same eligibility criteria as those for applicants; the applicant will be the lead organisation and, in case of selection, the contracting party (the Beneficiary ). 5. Selection Applicants financial capacity to complete the proposed operation Applicants must show they have stable and sufficient sources of finance to ensure the continuity of their organisation throughout the project and, if necessary, to play a part in financing it. They must include with their grant application form their annual accounts (i.e. profit and loss accounts; balance sheet) for the two last financial years 4. Alternative or additional ways to show the financial capacity to complete the proposed operation can be provided by: a guarantee equivalent to all or part of the grant being sought; an explicit undertaking from each co-financing organisation to provide the amount of funding stated in the grant application for the operation (signed form E) and an explicit undertaking by the applicant to cover its share of the financing and, if necessary, to finance expenditure not covered by the Community grant should other co-financers default. 4 Not applicable to national or regional administrations being eligible as applicants for submission of proposals under this specific call 6

7 Applicants technical capacity to complete the proposed operation Applicants must show they have the operational (technical and management) capacity to complete the operation to be supported and must demonstrate their capacity to manage scale activity corresponding with the size of the project for which a grant is requested. In particular, the team responsible for the project/operation must have adequate professional qualifications and experience. Applicants must include with their grant application form the curriculum vitae of the staff who will actually be performing the work involved, and professional references and details of past similar projects. Applicants must be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the project, not acting as an intermediary. 6. Award An evaluation of the quality of proposals, including the proposed budget, will be carried out in accordance with the following award criteria: 1. Relevance /20 2. Visibility /10 3. Impact /30 4. Quality /20 5. Budget and Cost-effectiveness /20 Maximum total score /100 If a total score lower than 70 points or a score lower than 50% for any of the above five criteria is obtained, the proposal will not be evaluated further. The complete selection and evaluation procedure is described in point III of the guide for submission appended to the standard Submission set. Scheduled date for closing the award procedure: September 2005 Please note that, in case of award, the beneficiary authorises the Commission, according to article II.5.2 of the Draft grant agreement, to publish the following information in any form and medium, including via the Internet: - the beneficiary s name and the address, - the subject and purpose of the grant, - the amount granted and the proportion of the action s total cost covered by the funding. 7

8 7. Submission of proposals The proposal must be drafted using the specific submission set available for this call. The submission set can be obtained: Either at the following address: European Commission Directorate-General Enterprise & Industry Call for proposals ENTR/05/CP/01 Mainstreaming Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Among SMEs Contact:Mr T. Dodd/Mrs C. Gintersdorfer B-1049 Brussels BELGIUM Fax: (+32-2) or to be downloaded from Europa web site: Proposals must be submitted, on paper : a) Either by registered mail, postmarked not later than 29 July 2005, to the address indicated below. European Commission Directorate-General Enterprise & Industry Call for proposals ENTR/05/CP/01 Mainstreaming Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Among SMEs Office address: BREY 12/112 B-1049 Brussels, Belgium b) or delivered by hand, i.e. by delivery in person or by an authorised representative (including private courrier services) not later than 4 p.m. on 29 July 2005, to the following address : European Commission Directorate-General Enterprise & Industry Call for proposals ENTR/05/CP/01 Mainstreaming Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Among SMEs Unit I/4, Office : BREY 12/112 Service central de réception du courrier Rue de Genève, 1 B-1140 Bruxelles, Belgique 8

9 How to reach rue de Genève 1 : Please note, that for security reasons, hand deliveries (including private courrier services) shall no longer be accepted in other Commission s buildings. An acknowledgement of receipt shall be delivered by the Service central de réception du courrier. The proposal must be placed, in triplicate, inside 2 sealed envelopes. The inner envelope should be addressed to the department indicated above. It should bear the following description: Call for proposals ENTR/05/CP/01 and the following note: Not to be opened by the internal mail department. If self-adhesive envelopes are used, they must be sealed with adhesive tape and the sender must sign across this tape. Please note that electronic submissions are not allowed for this call. Applicants shall observe precisely the above indications in order that proposals can reach their precise destination in due time. Reminder: Late delivery will lead to the applicant being excluded from the award procedure. - Main documents to attach to the submission set: Full proposal and description of the project/ action. Legal documents: Official registration certificate, Articles of association/statutes, List of directors/executive board members (names and forenames, titles or positions in the applicant organisation), organisation chart, rules of procedure. Evidence of technical capacity: Curriculum vitae of persons to be performing work in connection with the operation. Financial capacity: Annual accounts (audited, where applicable) for the last two financial years 5. Idem for partners. 8. Equal opportunity The European Community has the task to promote equality between women and men and shall aim in all its activities to eliminate gender inequalities (articles 2 and 3 of the EC Treaty). In this context, women are particularly encouraged to be involved in proposal submission. 5 Not applicable to national or regional administrations being eligible as applicants for submission of proposals under this specific call 9