Guide for applicants

Transcription

1 Guide for applicants Annex to the Call for Proposals ENT/CIP/11/C/N02C00 Reinforcing procurement of eco-innovation Network of green public and private procurers Budget line: Deadline for submission of proposals: 20 October :00 h. Brussels local time 1

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR THE CALL Context Objectives of the call Sectors covered by the call Type of activities co-financed FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT Financing Eligibility of costs Eligible direct costs Ineligible costs Income Payment schedule Co-financing and joint and several responsibility Subcontracting Specific conditions for the eco-innovation solution(s) to be procured Project management EVALUATION PROCEDURE Admissibility criteria Eligibility criteria Exclusion criteria Selection criteria Financial capacity Operational capacity Award criteria Decision of the European Commission Refinement phase Indicative time table HOW TO APPLY Application form How do you introduce your application Address and deadlines for submission Support to applicants Specific recommendations for completing each section of the application form Section A - Summary and administrative information Section T Objectives, methodology, expected results Section F - Financial application forms Indicative checklist for applicants Data protection Conflict of interest LIST OF ANNEXES GLOSSARY

3 1. INTRODUCTION This Guide for Applicants contains the information needed to prepare a proposal to the call ENT/CIP/11/C/N02C00: Reinforcing procurement of eco-innovation: Network of green public and private procurers. It describes in detail the requirements for applicants and contains all necessary forms to be used and included in the proposal. It also contains references to other documents, reports and forms that are of assistance in the preparation of the proposal. The Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) is the legal base for this call (Article 14, in particular A and C of the CIP Decision) 1. This call implements the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (EIP), which is one of the three specific programmes under the CIP. The EIP aims at supporting, improving, encouraging and promoting (a) access to finance for the start-up and growth of SMEs and investment in innovation activities; (b) the creation of an environment favourable to SME cooperation, particularly in the field of cross-border cooperation; (c) all forms of innovation in enterprises; (d) eco-innovation; (e) entrepreneurship and innovation culture; (f) enterprise and innovationrelated economic and administrative reform. Before preparing a proposal, applicants should consult the above mentioned CIP Decision and should also pay particular attention to the Model Grant Agreement. It specifies the contractual terms and conditions to which applicants will be expected to agree if their proposal receives an award for funding. The call is in full compliance with the Financial Regulation and its Implementing Rules. Please consult the relevant Regulations, with particular attention to Title VI describing the rules and conditions applicable to grants. 2 Please note that this Guide for Applicants does not supersede the rules and conditions laid out, in particular, in Council and Parliament Decisions relevant to the CIP and the work programme of the EIP. 2. SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR THE CALL 2.1. Context In the last decade, governments across Europe have rediscovered the potential for demandbased instruments of innovation policy. Public procurement is increasingly considered as one of the most important demand-side policy drivers promoting economic growth and ensuring the competitiveness of the European economy 3. Public procurement in the EU represents slightly less than 20% of the EU s GDP, meaning more than 2,000 billion 4. If only 1-2% of this budget would be used for purchasing 1 Decision No 1639/2006/EC of 24/10/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the CIP, available at: 2 Financial regulation: Council Regulation 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002; Implementing rules: Commission Regulation 2342/2002 of 23 December Refer to ICLEI Local Government for sustainability is an association of over 1220 local government Members who are committed to sustainable development. 4 Refer to:

4 innovations, as suggested by expert groups 5, a significant demand could be generated, helping innovative firms to get broader market access. In its Communication Public procurement for a better environment 6, the Commission acknowledges the potential role of public procurement as a factor for an increased environmental protection and recommends the creation of a process for setting common Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria. Since 2008, 18 common criteria have been developed for specific product groups 7. The basic concept of GPP relies on having clear, verifiable, and ambitious environmental criteria for products and services, based on a lifecycle approach and scientific evidence base. Moreover, the Innovation Union Flagship Initiative 8 announces a set of measures to support public procurements for innovation that would improve the efficiency and quality of public service, while addressing the efficiency of resources. The Council endorsed this approach in November In February it further stressed the need to encourage private investment in innovative products and services, in particular by gearing public procurement to create greater demand for innovative solutions. In December 2011 the European Commission launched the "Eco-innovation Action Plan (EcoAP)" 11 to boost innovation that reduces pressure on the environment, and to bridge the gap between innovation and the market. The EcoAP is one of the commitments of the Innovation Union Flagship Initiative, targeting specific bottlenecks, challenges and opportunities for achieving environmental objectives through innovation. Until now, and with the exception of renewable energy technologies, eco-innovation has penetrated to the markets relatively slowly. Bottlenecks to eco-innovation include the failure of market prices to accurately reflect environmental costs and benefits, rigid economic structures, infrastructure and behavioural lock-ins, and harmful incentives and subsidies. Other aspects hampering the spread of eco-innovation include limited knowledge about the existence and performance of these innovations and uncertainty of the markets. Although many of these barriers are similar to those for innovative businesses, they tend to be more severe for businesses focusing on eco-innovation. Following the example of the Commission's Lead Market Initiative launched in and the call for proposals launched by DG Enterprise & Industry in , the Commission, intends through this call for proposals to explore in details public and private procurement of eco-innovative solutions. In doing so it refers to procurement of innovative solutions (PPI) as defined by the OECD Oslo Manual 14 and to eco-innovation as defined by the Eco-innovation 5 The Business Panel on future EU Innovation Policy recommended a target of 1%, while the European Research Area Board ERAB - recommended 2%; both figures are focusing on pre-commercial procurement and not considering public procurement of innovation. 6 COM(2008) 400 Public procurement for a better environment" COM(2010) 546 "Europe 2020 Flagship Initiative: Innovation Union". SEC(2010) Refer to: 10 Refer to: 11 COM(2011) 899 final. "Innovation for a sustainable Future The Eco-innovation Action Plan (Eco-AP)". 12 Refer to 13 EU Commission, DG Enterprise & Industry. Call for proposals "Supporting Public procurement of Innovative Solutions: networking and financing procurement". ENT/CIP/11/C/N02C OECD & Eurostat. The measurement of scientific and technological activities. Proposed Guidelines for collecting and interpreting technological innovation data. Oslo Manual The document defines innovation as: the implementation of a new or significantly improved product (good or service), or process, a new marketing 4

5 Action Plan 15 (i.e. Eco-Innovation is any form of innovation resulting in or aiming at significant and demonstrable progress towards the goal of sustainable development, through reducing impacts on the environment, enhancing resilience to environmental pressures, or achieving a more efficient and responsible use of natural resources) Objectives of the call With a view to contribute to the Eco-innovation Action Plan implementation, the objective of this call is to reinforce procurement of eco-innovation by establishing trans-national networks of green public and private procurers in order to overcome the fragmentation of demand for eco-innovative solutions in Europe and to share the additional risks and costs of buying and using eco-innovative solutions. The core tasks of each network will be: Preparation phase: Task 1 - to create buyers groups 16 dedicated to prepare for the procurement of ecoinnovative solutions (including needs assessment, market consultation involving the supply chain, in particular European SMEs, drafting of specifications, risk management plan, legal framework), and for the actual procurement process (including defining the conditions for the collaboration between contracting authorities, sharing resources in the evaluation of bids and related procedures, translations and publicising the calls for tender); Implementation phase: Task 2 - to implement within the timeframe of the project a procurement of innovative solutions co-financed by the European Union; procurement could be individual (possibly with some coordinated actions) or preferably joint among members of the buyers group. Concerning the selection of the solutions to be procured, the applicant shall demonstrate in the proposal that the procurement will result in the first application/ commercialisation of eco-innovations which have already been technically demonstrated with success but which, owing to residual risk, have not yet successfully penetrated the market in which the procurement authority operates. This includes solutions based on existing technologies that are to be utilised in a new and innovative way, as well as nontechnological innovations. The solutions have to be new to the contracting authority or new to the Internal Market. By the implementation of the procurement of eco-innovative solutions we mean: The publication of the call for tender in the EU Official Journal; The evaluation of the tenders; The conclusion of the award procedure followed by the payment to the beneficiary. method, or a new organisational method in business practices, workplace organisation or external relations. By definition, all innovation must contain a degree of novelty. Moreover, three types of novelty are distinguished: an innovation can be new to the firm, new to the market or new to the world. The first concept covers the diffusion of an existing innovation to a firm the innovation may have already been implemented by other firms, but it is new to the firm. Innovations are new to the market when the firm is the first to introduce the innovation on its market. An innovation is new to the world when the firm is the first to introduce the innovation for all markets and industries. 15 COM(2011) 899 final. "Innovation for a sustainable Future The Eco-innovation Action Plan (Eco- AP)" available at: 16 By public and private procurers we mean that the buyers groups established by the networks who will be awarded this call shall be made of at least 2 public authorities (preferably from different level: national, regional or local) and 2 privately owned company from a total of at least 3 Member States. 5

6 Nota Bene The procurement implementation phase could be run as "individual procurement" or as a "joint cross-border procurement" among members of the buyers group. The European Commission will give priority (see Annex H Award criteria) to consortia that would prepare and implement the procurement as a "joint cross-border procurement" rather than opting for joint action at the preparation phase only, thus proceeding separately at the implementation phase ("individual procurement"). When consortium members implement an "individual procurement" the European Commission will give priority (see Annex H Award criteria) to consortia that develop "individual procurement in a coordinated manner" (e.g. by means of common specifications amongst procurers) Sectors covered by the call The aim of this call is to target sectors featuring important innovations in areas of high EU environmental policy relevance and providing benefits at European level as highlighted in previous studies 17. Therefore, this call focuses on the following sectors: Transports Wastewater treatment Waste reuse and recycling Chemical components Bio-based products Healthcare products Energy-efficient components Nota Bene As this is a call under the European Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP), research and development activities are excluded from the eligible costs incurred by the beneficiaries (Refer to CIP legal base article 9: If the preparatory actions in the project result in the finding that the necessary solutions require further R&D activities in order to become available, the costs of such a precommercial procurement cannot be funded under this CIP call for proposals Type of activities co-financed The applicants of this call are invited to establish trans-national public and private networks that performs two core tasks: (1) establishment of buyers groups (preparation phase) and (2) launch of a procurement (implementation phase). Examples of activities that could be developed under this call: 17 European Commission, DG Environment and COWI, "Bridging the Valley of Death: public support for commercialisation of eco-innovation". Final Report. May 2009, 129 p. 6

7 Preparation phase (Task 1) - Needs assessment, market consultation, specification development, risk management, legal framework Setting-up of collaboration or coordination to identify common procurement needs and potentially available solutions, such as a structural platform where demand and supply sides (in particular European SMEs) are brought together. This could lead to critical mass in demand for an innovative solution and to scale economies; Setting-up of collaboration or coordination for the purpose of carrying out market consultation to determine state-of-the-art for eco-innovative products or services across the EU market; Improving the capacity of contracting authorities to formulate business-cases regarding the procurement of eco-innovation, e.g. by developing a methodology for formulating such business-cases; Understanding of market capabilities: market sounding/ testing, state of art, meeting with suppliers (in particular European SMEs), implementation of negotiated procedures and/or competitive dialogues; Setting-up of collaboration or coordination for the purpose of developing specifications (output or performance-based) to be applied; Defining together the mid-to-long term requirements for the eco-innovation solution to be procured; Developing together common specifications (preferably output or outcome based) for the procurement foreseen in the implementation phase; Improving procurement capabilities (e.g. via joint trainings, joint workshops, networking) and ecoinnovation procurement strategies that could lead to the development of a forward commitment procurement; Development of standardisation, certification and/or insurance schemes - in order to reduce uncertainties and/or performance risks related innovative solutions; Building cooperation with other stakeholders essential for the implementation of a PPI strategy (e.g. between public and private purchasers, bodies responsible for R&D and innovation programmes, those responsible for developing public procurement policy and other stakeholders supporting eco-innovative suppliers (in particular European SMEs)). Implementation phase (Task 2) During the procurement process - Procurement implementation Support in formulating a joint procurement agreement in joint cross-border procurements among members of the buyers group. This agreement would define the rights and obligations of the parties to the agreement (including legal considerations, feasibility and roadmap for a collaboration); Promoting access of firms (including SMEs) from across the EU and outside, e.g. by making the process SME friendly while ensuring full compliance with procurement directives; Developing the necessary expertise to improve the quality of selection and evaluation stages of the tendering process, in particular in assessing and comparing the ecoinnovation components; 7

8 Putting in place an insurance scheme which would cover the performance risks for the implementation of eco-innovation by the contracting authority/ies; Stimulating cross-border learning; Encouraging economies of scale by pulling together the evaluation / selection procedure and competition among participants. After the procurement - Capacity building, coordination, and communication Raising awareness of procurement results among policy makers (local, regional and national levels), procurement authorities, as well as private investors and potential customers. EU support could help to increase credibility and commercial uptake of the resulting innovations across Europe. This could be achieved by supporting public authorities to fill in a European database with references that can be used to verify the technical capabilities of firms; Addressing the risk associated with purchase and deployment of innovative solutions for example by references, demonstration projects or exchange of advice/assistance with other contracting authorities or agencies with direct experience of the solutions. Nota Bene The innovative nature of the procurement(s) undertaken will be assessed (see Annex H Award criteria) on the basis of the proposal submitted at the time of application for funding to the call for proposals. The applicants will have to demonstrate that the envisaged procurement(s) will be new to the Internal Market or new to the procurer, that it will contain innovative and sustainable solutions / technologies or techniques and will provide relevant solution(s) to procurers in other Member States. The Commission reserves the right to not to co-fund a procurement if it estimates that the above-mentioned criteria for the eco-innovativeness of the future procured solution(s) individually, in coordination, or by several procurers together (in case of a joint procurement among members of the buyers group), in relation to the improvement in quality/efficiency of public services, are not met on the basis of the specifications and award criteria that are developed in the course of the project. A project should also contain specific capacity building, coordination and communication activities ("after the procurement" activities). These cannot be undertaken without any link to other activities of the Implementation phase. In the same way, needs assessment activities, in view to define the solution(s) to be procured, cannot be undertaken on their own, but must be linked to either market consultation or specification development, or both. 8

9 3. FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT 3.1. Financing The maximum budget allocated from the CIP Work Programme 2011 (ENT/CIP/11/C/N02C00) for this call for proposals is: 2,000,000 Indicative number of projects funded by this call: 2 Maximum EU co-financing rate of eligible costs: 95% of the total eligible costs Maximum EU co-financing ceiling per project: 1,000,000 Proposals with an EU co-financing beyond any of the above two maxima will be ineligible. Duration of projects: 36 months. Please note that one action may give rise to the award of only one grant from the European Union budget to any one beneficiary. EU financing can never cover 100 % of the costs of an action. The Commission reserves the right to award a grant of less than the amount requested by the applicant. In such a case, beneficiaries proposed for award will be proposed either to increase their co-financing, to look for other co-financing means or to decrease the total costs without altering the substance of the proposal. Grants will not be awarded for more than the amount requested. The Commission grant may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit for the grant beneficiary. Profit is defined as a surplus of receipts over costs. The amount of the grant will be reduced by the amount of any surplus. A maximum of 20% of the price of actual purchase(s) of innovative solution(s) will be considered eligible providing that the conditions under section 3.7 are met Eligibility of costs Only "eligible costs" can be taken into account for a grant. These are detailed below. The budget is therefore both a cost estimate and a ceiling for "eligible costs". Note that the eligible costs must be based on real costs duly justified by supporting documents (except for indirect costs where a flat-rate funding applies). The amount of the grant is always subject to the condition that the checking process which precedes the signing of the Grant Agreement does not reveal problems requiring changes to the budget (for instance arithmetical errors, inaccuracies or unrealistic costs and other ineligible costs). The checks may give rise to requests for clarification and may lead the European Commission to impose modifications or reductions to address such mistakes or inaccuracies. The amount of the grant and the percentage of co-financing as a result of these corrections may not be increased in any case. It is therefore in the applicant's interest to provide a realistic and cost-effective budget Eligible direct costs To be eligible under the call for proposals, costs must respect the provisions of Article I.12.2 of the Special Conditions and Article II.14 of the General Conditions in the Model Grant Agreement (see Annex F). 9

10 In particular, in order to be eligible for EU funding, costs must: - be necessary for the implementation of the project, be included in the estimated budget attached to the agreement, be reasonable and justified and consistent with the principles of sound financial management, in particular in terms of value for money and costeffectiveness; - be generated during the lifetime of the project (i.e. during the period of eligibility for EU funding as will be specified in the agreement); - be actually incurred by the beneficiary, be recorded in his accounts in accordance with the applicable accounting principles, and be declared in accordance with the requirements of the applicable tax and social legislation; - be identifiable and verifiable. Beneficiaries must take care to avoid any unnecessary or unnecessarily high expenditure. Expenditure eligible for financing may not have been incurred before the signature of the Grant Agreement, except in cases where the applicant can demonstrate the need to start the action before the grant is awarded. In this case, costs eligible for financing may not have been incurred prior to the date of submission of the Grant Application. The beneficiary's internal accounting and auditing procedures must permit a direct reconciliation of the costs and revenue declared in respect of the project with the corresponding accounting statements and supporting documents. Eligible costs shall fall under the following categories: - Personnel; - Travel and subsistence; - Eco-innovation solution(s) to be procured 18 ; - Subcontracting / External assistance; - Other direct costs; - Indirect costs / Overheads Ineligible costs The following expenses are ineligible and not accepted: - Contributions in kind: these are contributions that are not invoiced, e.g. voluntary work, or equipment or premises made available free of charge; - Expenditure not related to the implementation of the project; - Research and development expenditure related to the innovative solution(s) - Cost of purchasing infrastructure equipment including buildings and land; - Expenditure that is not supported by documentary evidence; - Expenditure incurred outside the performance period; - Capital increases and return on capital; - Debt and debt service charges, doubtful debts; - Provisions; - Interest owed; - Exchange losses; - VAT, unless the beneficiary can show that he/she is unable to recover it; - Excessive or reckless expenditure; - Costs incurred by the beneficiary but already covered by other EU funds. 18 Amounting to a maximum of 20% of the price of actual purchase(s) of innovative solution(s) and to one third (1/3) of the total EU contribution for the action 10

11 3.3. Income Total income must be in balance with total expenditure. The income side of the budget must show: - The direct monetary (cash) contribution from the beneficiary's own resources and/or the contribution from any other fund providers. This means an effective income, a financial flow that can be traced in the written accounts of the beneficiary. - Any income expected to be generated by the implementation of the project should be detailed (e.g. the yield from sales of publications or the fees charged to participants attending a conference, membership contributions, financial interest, etc.). - The grant sought from the European Commission Payment schedule Following the award of a grant, and after the signature of the grant agreement by both parties, the European Commission will pay 30 % of its contribution as a first pre-financing payment, 40% as a second pre-financing payment, and 30% as a final payment. The final payment of the EU contribution will be made after acceptance by the European Commission of the final technical report and on the basis of the final financial statement and the eligible costs of the action/project calculated by the European Commission. Please note that interest yielded by the pre-financing payments must be declared in the final financial statement. A bank guarantee may be required in respect of the pre-financing payment Co-financing and joint and several responsibility In kind contributions are not eligible as co-financing. The cost of staff assigned to the project is not a contribution in kind and may be considered as co-financing in the budget of the project, when paid by the Beneficiary or his partners. Co-financing shall be constituted by a direct monetary (cash) contribution from the applicant's own resources and/or from another fund provider (either a partner or a third party cofinancer). Applicants shall provide at the time of submission of the proposal an explicit undertaking from each co-financing organisation to provide the amount of funding stated in the grant application for this action. At the time of the final payment, the beneficiary shall supply evidence of the co-financing provided, either by way of own resources, or in the form of financial transfers from partners/ third parties. This means an effective income, a financial flow that can be traced in the written accounts of the beneficiary. Applicants shall agree upon appropriate arrangements between themselves for the proper performance of the action. In particular they shall agree on joint and several responsibilities for any amount due to the Commission by anyone of them, limited to their level of responsibility by the special conditions of the Grant Agreement Subcontracting Specific support actions, such as the organisation of events and joint workshops, legal advices, training or dissemination activities may be subcontracted, up to 30 % of the eligible costs, as stated in Article I.12.5 of the Special Conditions. Applicants should identify/ specify already in their proposals the scope of the work to be subcontracted, the amount of the budget which is meant to be sub-contracted and the process to be followed to designate sub-contractors. 11

12 Subcontracting does not limit the responsibilities of beneficiaries. Please note that the beneficiary/ies has/have to have the necessary capacity to perform the project. Only actions that are not core business can be sub-contracted to service providers. Important note on subcontracting costs: This covers all new contracts that the beneficiary would have to conclude for the purposes of carrying out the action including human resources which are not permanent or temporary staff employed by the beneficiary (or either of the beneficiaries in case of multiple beneficiaries) Specific conditions for the eco-innovation solution(s) to be procured 1) The applicant or partner who will undertake the role of team leader for the purchase must be Contracting Authority according to Directives 2004/18/EC and 2004/17/EC, Contracting Authorities shall be the State, regional or local authorities, bodies governed by public law, associations formed by one or several of such authorities or bodies governed by public law; 2) The purchase took place during and as part of the action and is otherwise eligible in accordance with Art. II.9 and II.14 of the General Conditions; 3) Where the value of the purchase exceeds EUR 60,000, the beneficiary shall abide by the rules on procurement contained in the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities; 4) The call for tender(s) for the actual purchase(s) of innovative solution(s) was published on the OJEU; 5) All offers were evaluated according to the same objective criteria regardless of the geographic location of company head offices, company size or governance structure; 6) The award process ensured compliance with the principles of transparency, nondiscrimination and equal treatment and which guarantee that tenders are assessed in conditions of effective competition; 7) The total amount of the EU contribution for the purchase(s) does not exceed one third (1/3) of the total EU contribution for the action, however multiple procurements can be implemented in a single consortium in the life-time of the action Project management The project will ensure a professional management. The project management task will include all activities necessary to successfully execute the project. It will include in particular project control, risk assessment, performance monitoring, decision making structures, reporting activities (including mid-term and final reports) and maintenance of a consortium agreement. Proposals will have to demonstrate excellence in managing European projects of relevant dimension. The quality of the management plan and the management structure will be key factors for the success of the project, particularly in case of large consortia. A detailed description should be provided in the proposals. 4. EVALUATION PROCEDURE Applications will be examined and evaluated by the European Commission with the possible assistance of external assessors. All proposals submitted by applicants will be assessed according to the following steps: 12

13 I. assessing the formal eligibility of the submitted proposals (= admissibility criteria, see 4.1 and eligibility criteria, see 4.2); II. assessing whether or not exclusion criteria apply (=exclusion criteria, see 4.3); III. assessing the operational and financial viability of the applicant (=selection criteria, see 4.4) and; IV. evaluating the overall relevance and quality of the proposals (=award criteria, see 4.5) Admissibility criteria Application is sent to the European Commission before the deadline; The application is complete. Incomplete applications may be rejected; Application and forms must be signed; Standard forms are used. Modifications of the content of the form are not permitted; only minor changes in font, size and layout can be accepted; Applications (including forms) are not hand-written. Except for dates and signatures, the information on the application forms must not be hand-written; Applications shall be sent by registered mail or private courier service or delivered by hand. Applications sent by any other means (e.g. by fax or by ) or delivered to other addresses (see item 1) will be rejected; The project or actions within projects do not or will not benefit from financial support under other EU financial instruments; The EU financing rate requested is within the maximum co-financing ceiling and rate of the EU contribution (see item 3.1) Eligibility criteria In order to be eligible for a grant, applicants and their partners must: be public or private bodies, actors and institutions be registered in an EU Member States or in other countries participating in the innovation actions under the EIP on the basis of Article 4 of the CIP Decision. The following non-member countries participate in the innovation actions under the EIP: Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Israel, Turkey and Serbia. corporate bodies must be properly constituted and registered under the law; be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action. Applications presented by a body acting as an intermediary for a third party are not acceptable. Required number of partners per network: The applying consortia shall include a minimum of 4 independent legal entities (2 public and 2 private) established in a total of at least 3 CIP participating countries For the latest information on participation of non-member countries in the EIP, please consult the CIP website ( Grants can only be awarded to organisations from those countries where the agreement on the participation of the country in the EIP has come into force. 13

14 Other public stakeholders, that are important in the development of strategies for the innovation of public services through the implementation of PPI/ PCP may participate in the project, if their participation is well justified and adds value to the actions (e.g. innovation agencies, chambers of commerce, platforms of public authorities, etc.). European Groupings for Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) are considered as a single partner, even if they are composed by several public organisations. In terms of transnationality, an EGTC as partner or lead organisation is considered as inherently covering all the Member States. Applicants and their partners must correspond to the definition, of the following target organisations: Public procurers, i.e. contracting authorities in the meaning of the public procurement Directives at all levels (local, regional, national and supra-national) that plan to establish implementation plans for improving the quality and efficiency of their public service offering by procurement of innovative solutions. This includes both contracting authorities in the meaning of the public procurement directive for public authorities (2004/18/EC) and utilities (2004/17/EC), for example public hospitals, public transport operators, relevant ministries (such as for health, welfare, transport, environment, justice, etc), water or energy utilities, communes and cities, police or fire brigades, e-government administrations etc. Public authorities designing or managing research or innovation programmes that plan to co-organise and/or co-finance with, or to provide financial incentives to, public purchasers to procure innovative services or innovative solutions. Public body in charge of coordinating trans-national actions of contracting authorities that may lead to joint or coordinated public procurements among members of the buyers group. Private bodies and/ or civil society organisations that are not potential suppliers of products or services in the area of solutions sought for by the public bodies through the project, but whose participation is well justified in particular by similar procurement needs. These private bodies may participate in the action as direct beneficiaries (e.g. private hospitals, insurance companies, foundations, etc). As this call is targeted at public and private bodies that will be actively involved in undertaking a joint or coordinated call for tender for innovative solutions (PPI), private bodies that are potential suppliers of products or services in the area of solutions are not eligible to participate as direct beneficiaries in the consortia. The reason for this being to avoid possible conflict of interest, as one of the activities covered by the call is the preparation of tender specifications and comparison/evaluation of competing solutions. Any project that directly or indirectly stands in contrast to EU policy or against public health, human rights, citizen s security and freedom of expression will be rejected Exclusion criteria A proposal will be excluded if the applicant or a partner is in any of the situations mentioned below: 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; 14

15 b) they have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgement that has the force of res judicata; c) they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the European Commission 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 those of the country where the Grant Agreement is to be performed; e) they have been the subject of a judgement that 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) they are currently subject to an administrative penalty for being guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the Commission as a condition of participation in the procurement/grant procedure, or for failing to supply this information, or for having been declared in serious breach of their obligations under contracts or Grant Agreements covered by the Union budget. g) they are subject to a conflict of interest (see section 5.8 for further details); h) they are guilty of misinterpretation in supplying the information required by the European Commission or fail to supply this information. The applicant and its partners have to sign a declaration on oath that their company/ organisation is not in any of the situations mentioned above (see Form A2 of the Grant Application Form and the mandates in Annex IV of the Model Grant Agreement). Omitting to sign and/or date this Form will result in the exclusion of the proposal. The European Commission may request at any time further evidence for the correctness of that declaration. Please note that, under the Financial Regulation of 25 June 2002 applicable to the general budget of the European Communities, applicants found guilty of misrepresentation may be subject to administrative and financial penalties in accordance with the conditions laid down in that Regulation. The administrative penalties consist of being excluded from all contracts or grants financed from the Union budget for a maximum of five years from the date on which the infringement is established, as confirmed after an adversarial procedure with the applicant. This period may be extended to ten years in the event of a repeat offence within five years of the first infringement. Applicants who are guilty of making false declarations may also receive financial penalties representing 2 % to 10 % of the value of the grant being awarded. This rate may be increased to between 4 % and 20 % in the event of a repeat offence within five years of the first infringement 4.4. Selection criteria The selection will be based on the applicants financial and technical capacity to complete the proposed action Financial capacity A proposal is eliminated if the European Commission has evidence that the applicant or one of its partners are not reliable from a financial point of view and/ or fall under any of the following situations: 15

16 the results of audits carried out by European institutions or their authorised bodies in relation to the applicant or a partner have shown their inability to comply with the administrative rules regulating EU grants and in particular those applicable to this programme; the applicant does not possess the financial capacity to cover their share of project costs/financing. For the financial capacity, the European Commission checks in detail whether the applicant has stable and sufficient sources of finance to ensure the continuity of their organisation throughout the project and to play a part in financing it. In case the assessment of the financial capacity shows a risk that does not justify exclusion, the Commission reserves itself the right to apply risk-mitigating measures (such as the request of a bank guarantee for the pre-financing or the modification of the payments schedule). To that end, any applicant with a "private" status must include in the proposal their annual accounts for the last 2 financial years (i.e. balance sheet, profit and loss accounts). The verification of financial capacity shall not apply to public bodies or international organisations. To assess the financial and technical capacity of the applicant, the Commission may ask for additional information/documents and to use all the information at its disposal. Where the application concerns grants for an action for which the amount exceeds EUR , an audit report produced by an approved external auditor must be submitted before signature of the Grant Agreement. This report should certify the accounts for the last two financial years available. For applying consortia, the audit report is applicable to the level of individual organisation and not to the level of the consortium. This does not apply to public bodies or international organisations Operational capacity Applicants must show that they have the technical qualification required to complete the operation and must demonstrate their capacity to manage a large-scale activity corresponding with the size of the action for which a grant is requested. In particular, the team responsible for the action must have adequate professional qualifications and experience. In order for this to be assessed, the applicant must include in the proposal: the applicant organisation's activity report; the list of the members of the management or executive board (names, title or function within the applicant organisation); the curriculum vitae of the relevant professional staff that will actually be performing the work, using the model provided by in Annex B. They must provide information about their capacity to provide the service and demonstrate their experience of working with other parties in transnational projects and their ability to complete successfully the project according to plan. In particular, applicant consortia must demonstrate that: a) At least one of the participating partners is experienced in innovation procurement: PPI and /or PCP (e.g. negotiated procedures and/or competitive dialogues); b) At least one of the participating partners is experienced in stimulating innovation in supply chain (in particular for European SMEs) and in supporting the involvement of businesses (in particular for European SMEs) in public procurement. 16

17 c) Each partner should be prepared to strengthen their own efforts to support the emergence and growth of eco-innovation, both through their own activities and through activities developed jointly with other institutions in the same or in other countries. d) Applicants must be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action, not acting as an intermediary. They must provide information about their capacity to carry out the expected activities and demonstrate their experience in working with other parties in trans-national projects. The coordinator must demonstrate a strong management experience of international consortia of relevant size. e) In addition, applicants must add a statement of the average annual manpower and the number of managerial staff of the beneficiary in the last three years and clearly indicate the proportion of the Grant Agreement which the applicants intend to subcontract Award criteria Only proposals which meet the requirements of formal admissibility, eligibility, exclusion and selection criteria mentioned above will be eligible for further evaluation. During the award phase the Commission will evaluate the proposals based on the four criteria below. Each criterion has a maximum number of points that add up to a total score of 100. The criteria and their respective maximum score are: Relevance, maximum score of 30 Reflects to what extent the proposal fulfils the objectives of the call and provides a European dimension to the project. Impact, maximum score of 30 Reflects the expected impact of the proposed activities on the target groups both in the short and long terms as well as the extent to which the proposed activities will be disseminated and their potential for replication. Quality & Management, maximum score of 25 Reflects how well the proposed activities have been defined, are built on existing good practices and experiences and will be carried out as a coherent set of actions. The quality of the overall management of the project will also be assessed under this criterion. Budget & cost-effectiveness, maximum score of 15 Reflects the adequacy of the proposed budget and the cost-efficiency of the project. 1. Relevance /30 2. Impact /30 3. Quality & Management /25 4. Budget & Cost-effectiveness /15 Maximum total score /100 Further details on each criteria can be found in Annex H Award criteria. Proposals will be ranked according to their total score. In order to be considered for funding proposals will need to have passed an overall threshold of 70% in terms of total score. In addition, thresholds of 50% will be applied to each of the four individual award criteria described above in order to ensure a consistent minimum quality for all award criteria. The Commission services will draw up the final ranking list based on the total points received, in priority order of all the proposals evaluated and which passed the required thresholds. 17

18 Please note that, in case of award, the beneficiary authorises the Commission, 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 Decision of the European Commission On the basis of the ranking list drawn up by the evaluation committee, the Commission adopts the final list and allocates the grants. The selection of an application by the Commission does not constitute an undertaking to award a financial contribution equal to the amount requested by the beneficiary. The Commission reserves the right to reduce the grant requested if the proposal includes elements considered too expensive or not eligible. In addition, since there is a limited overall budget for the funding programme, the Commission reserves the right to propose a level of support lower than that requested. The awarding of the grant does not establish an entitlement for subsequent years. Furthermore, under no circumstances can the amount awarded be more than the amount requested. The Commission may invite applicants to provide a revised budget to ensure compliance with the rules on eligible costs or where the granted amount is different from the amount requested in the application. If parts of the co-financing was not yet confirmed and included in the application, the missing co-financing proof must be provided before the award decision. All the applicants will be informed in writing of the Commission decision concerning their application. The decision of the Commission is final. However, applicants believing that they have been harmed by an error or irregularity during the award process may petition to the European Commission directly. The European Commission must reply within 90 days of receipt of the complaint. The applicant may have recourse to procedures established under EU legislation. European citizens or residents, including legal entities with a registered office in the European Union, also have the right to complain to the European Ombudsman 20, who investigates complaints of maladministration by the European Union Institutions. The planned date to close the award procedure is November Refinement phase The overall purpose of refinements is to finalise the details of the work to be carried out under the Grant Agreement within the associated budget, as well as to further collect/assess the legal and financial information needed to establish the Grant Agreement. The project negotiation process comprises two main aspects: (i) Technical refinements (ii) Financial and legal refinements. The aim of the technical refinements is to agree on the final content that will become Annex I in the Grant Agreement (Description of the Action).To this purpose, following the positive evaluation of a proposal and the Commission's definition of a maximum Union financial