SPECIFIC PROGRAMME "FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND CITIZENSHIP" (2007-2013) CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2007 SPECIFIC TRANSNATIONAL PROJECTS Introduction On 19 April 2007, the European Parliament and the Council adopted Decision No 22/2007 establishing for the period 2007-2013 the Specific Programme "Fundamental Rights and Citizenship" as part of the General Programme Fundamental Rights and Justice, in order to contribute to the strengthening of the area of Freedom, Security and Justice over the period of 2007-2013. This call for proposals aims at selecting specific transnational projects of Community interest to be co-funded by the European Commission within the framework of the Specific Programme "Fundamental Rights and Citizenship". The projects are anticipated to begin in the second half of 2008 and will have a duration of up to 18 months. Only new projects will be eligible for support; projects that have already begun will not be eligible for co-financing. 1. Objectives of the Programme The general objectives of the Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Programme are the following: a. to promote the development of a European society based on respect for fundamental rights as recognised in Article 6(2) of the Treaty on European Union, including rights derived from citizenship of the Union; b. to strengthen civil society and to encourage an open, transparent and regular dialogue with it in respect of fundamental rights; c. to fight against racism, xenophobia and anti-semitism and to promote a better interfaith and intercultural understanding and improved tolerance throughout the European Union; d. to improve the contacts, exchange of information and networking between legal, judicial and administrative authorities and the legal professions, including by way of support to judicial training, with the aim of better mutual understanding among such authorities and professionals. The Programme's specific objectives are the following: a. to promote fundamental rights as recognised in article 6(2) of the Treaty of the European Union and to inform all persons of their rights including those derived from citizenship of the Union, in order to encourage Union citizens to participate actively in the democratic life of the Union;
b. to examine, where necessary, respect for specific fundamental rights in the European Union and its Member States when implementing Community law, and to obtain opinions on specific questions related to fundamental rights within this scope; c. to support non-governmental organisations and other bodies from civil society in order to enhance their capability to participate actively in the promotion of fundamental rights, the rule of law and democracy; d. to create relevant structures in order to foster an interfaith and multicultural dialogue at the level of the European Union. 2. 2007 Priority Areas All projects submitted must fulfil both the general and the specific of the programme and will be evaluated against the criteria set forth in Section 6 (see below). In 2007, the European Commission is seeking proposals for projects that address the priority areas described in this call. Applicants should be clear which of these priority categories their proposal addresses. Projects submitted outside these priority areas will be considered but only where they clearly do not duplicate actions already taken or being taken, where they demonstrate innovation and are clearly European in scope. The priority areas for 2007 will be the following: I. Protection of the rights of the child supporting projects on awareness raising campaigns, surveys concerning good practice in Member States and the ways to reproduce them elsewhere, analysis of particular problems and their possible solutions (poverty, street children, non-accompanied minors, etc.). II. Active participation in the democratic life of the Union The Commission wishes to promote information and civic education initiatives on the active participation in the 2009 European parliamentary elections by Union citizens. This activity aims at: promoting the development of participatory democracy; supporting civic and voter education and public awareness raising projects; increasing civil society support for electoral processes at all levels of the political system; supporting activities aimed at encouraging and supporting grass-roots initiatives of ordinary citizens for the promotion of their own right to participate to the Union political life; Projects carried out by associations of Union citizens who are not nationals of their Member State of residence are prioritized. 2
III. Combating racism, xenophobia and anti-semitism supporting actions aimed at fighting traditional and new stereotypes whose persistence or diffusion are at the roots of racist attitudes, speech, discriminatory action and violent incidents; encouraging initiatives aiming at fostering the divulgation at large of the unsoundness of such stereotypes, as well as those aimed at fostering mutual understanding between majority and minority populations; Projects prepared by diverse teams that present projects aimed at developing crosscommunity approaches will be prioritised. IV. Data protection and privacy rights supporting actions (from NGOs, national authorities, etc.) aiming at informing the public about data protection and safeguarding of security and the promotion of their right through awareness-raising activities will be supported. 3. Who can apply? 3.1 Legal status Project proposals may be submitted by non-governmental organisations, institutions and public or private organisations, universities, research institutes, national, regional and local authorities, international organisations and other not-for-profit organisations established in one of the Member States of the European Union or in one of the countries participating pursuant to Article (1) of the Decision establishing the Programme. NOTE: Private individuals are not eligible to apply 3.2 Origin Apart from organisations from the 27 Member States of the EU, the Specific Programme 'Fundamental Rights and Citizenship' is also open to participation of organisations from the following countries: Acceding countries, the candidate countries and the Western Balkan countries included in the stabilisation and association process, but specific conditions for these countries must first be met before they can be funded (i.e.: these countries must have signed a memorandum of understanding in order to participate in the Specific Programme "Fundamental Rights and Citizenship" and must have contributed to the Budget of the European Communities). Organisations from all other countries may participate as associate partners but will not be eligible for Community funding. 3.3 Partnership Proposals must involve a partnership of at least two eligible organisations from two different EU Member States or at least one Member State and one other State which may either be an acceding country or a candidate country. 3
In each partnership, an Applicant (coordinating organisation or lead organisation) must be chosen. This Applicant will submit the proposal for the Commission s appraisal. The Applicant will be legally responsible for managing the project, coordinating all tasks, liaising with the Commission and managing the budget. 'Partners' (co-beneficiaries') are those organisations in the implementation of project activities and are eligible for funding. Profit-making organisations may be accepted as partners if justified by the nature of the action. Once the grant agreement is signed, each partner will be considered as a co-beneficiary and will sign a mandate to assign full legal responsibility to the co-ordinating organisation. The co-ordinating organisation will receive funds from the Commission and will distribute them among beneficiaries. 'Associate partners' are those organisations participating in the project on a nonfunded basis (from the other participating countries). The partner, in cooperation with the coordinating organisation (applicant), may implement project activities as described in the grant agreement. The coordinating organisation and the partners share the relevant tasks and finance. Consequently they must all be from countries eligible for the Specific Programme Fundamental Rights and Citizenship financing at the time of submitting the application. Applicants' partners participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the grant beneficiary. They must therefore satisfy the same eligibility criteria as applicants. All partners must: satisfy the same eligibility criteria as applicants; and complete and sign a partnership declaration, which must be included as part of the application. 3.4 Multiple applications An applicant may apply for support for several separate projects. In this case, separate applications should be submitted. Only one application per project is permitted. Applicants may also participate as partners (co-beneficiaries) in projects submitted by other organisations. In case more than one project is selected for funding, the applicant must demonstrate its technical and financial capacities to implement all of its selected projects. All other organisations in the partnership, i.e. Partners (co-beneficiaries) and Associate Partners must complete and sign a partnership declaration, which must be included as part of the application. 4. Budget and financial aspects 4.1 Financial provisions o In 2007 the indicative budget available for specific projects is EUR.0.000. The Commission s contribution towards a single project cannot be less than EUR 7,000 nor greater than EUR 00,000. The Commission will determine the amounts of financial assistance to be awarded to individual projects, based on the available budget. 4
o The Community s financial contribution may not exceed 80 per cent of the total direct eligible costs of the project. Each applicant will therefore have to secure complementary funding from other sources to cover the balance of the project costs. o A minimum of 20 per cent of the total eligible costs must therefore be provided as a cash contribution, either from the applicant organisation and/or partners, or from another donor source. This complementary funding must be secured at the time of the application. o Contributions in kind shall not count as actual project expenditure and shall not constitute eligible costs. o Project funding is based on the principle of shared costs. If the amount awarded by the Commission is lower than the amount requested by the applicant, it is the responsibility of the applicant to find the additional amount required or to reduce the total cost of the project. o An advance payment (pre-financing) of 70 per cent of the Commission s contribution will be paid within 4 days of the countersignature of the grant agreement. A second pre-financing representing 1% of the amount of the grant awarded upon receipt by the Commission of a progress report, including a financial report evidencing that at least 70% of the previous pre-financing payment has been used up, together with a request for payment. The balance will be paid once the Commission has accepted the final report and financial accounts. o At the time of payment of the balance, the amount granted will be proportionate to the eligible costs of the project and will be reduced proportionally where the total eligible costs turn out to be lower than the total estimated costs. o Sums due shall be paid within no more than forty-five calendar days by the Commission. On expiry of the time-limit, the creditor shall be entitled to late payment interest. o Commission grants are attributed for non-commercial purposes only and projects must be strictly non-profit making. o Selected projects will begin as soon as the grant agreement is signed by both parties. No expenditure is eligible before the starting date of the grant agreement. Information and guidance on eligible costs can be found in the guides available on the website of the Specific Programme "Fundamental Rights and Citizenship": http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/funding/rights/funding_rights_en.htm
. What form should the application take? Applications must include the following documents to be eligible Documents Comments Number of copies Grant Application Form for 2007 Completed by Applicant in WORD (the Commission recommends applicants to submit their applications in DE, EN, or FR) original + 2 photocopies + electronic version ANNEXES (all sets obligatory): 1. Budget Form Completed in EXCEL [Note that the form is protected and most calculations are automatic] original + 2 photocopies + electronic version 2. Staff Cost Analysis Form Completed in EXCEL (included as separate sheets in the Budget Form) original+ 2 photocopies + electronic version 3. Timetable Completed in EXCEL (included as last sheet of the Budget Form) 3 copies 4. Financial Identification Form. Legal Entity Form from Applicant and Partners 6. Declaration on Exclusion Criteria 7. Applicant s Articles of Association or Statutes Typewritten, signed and stamped by both the Applicant s legal representative and the bank. The stamp of the bank and the signature of the bank's representative are not required if a copy of a recent bank statement is attached. The signature of the account-holder is obligatory in all cases. http://ec.europa.eu/budget/execution/ftiers_en.htm Typewritten and signed by the legal representative of the Applicant and of by each of the Partners (cobeneficiaries): http://ec.europa.eu/budget/execution/legal_entities_en.htm Completed and signed by Applicant and partner/cobeneficiary (in DE, EN, or FR) to certify that it is not in one of the situations listed under the Exclusion criteria. This is to allow verification of the applicant s legal status and that it is properly constituted under the law original original original 1 copy 6
8. Curriculum vitae 9. Applicant's financial capacity The curriculum vitae of key staff performing the work in connection with the project is required NOTE: This requirement is not applicable for universities and public bodies. Organisations that on the basis of their national law are not required to lodge the annual balance sheet of the organisation, might submit a bank statement certifying their financial capacity. a. Annual financial reports/accounts for the last 3 years available; b. Copy of balance sheet for the last year (closed accounts year); and c. copy of "Profit and Loss Account" for the last year; and d. "Simplified balance sheet", filled in for 3 years and duly signed (to be completed on the annex enclosed); and e. "Simplified Profit and Loss Account", filled in for 3 years and duly signed. [Note that start-up companies have only to submit (i) the start-up Balance Sheet and (ii) and the projection of the "Simplified Balance Sheet" and the "Simplified Profit and Loss Account" covering the period of the project.] 1 original of each CV 1 copy of each supporting document 10. Co-financing Declaration Form 11. Partner Declaration Form 12. Associate Partner Declaration Form 1 form for each source of co-financing other than from Applicant, Partners (co-beneficiaries) or Associate Partners [Note that applicants declare their co-financing by signing the Budget Form and partners (co-beneficiaries) by indicating a financial contribution on and signing the Partner Declaration Form.] 1 form for each Partner (co-beneficiary) (recommended in DE, EN, or FR) 1 form for each Associate Partner (recommended in DE, EN, or FR) original + 2 photocopies for each source of funding original + 2 photocopies of each Form original + 2 photocopies of each Form 7
In addition, applicants should submit the following supporting documents, if they exist: Certificate of legal registration of applicant organisation; List of members of the Board of Directors or executive officers; Annual technical/narrative report of the applicant organisation for the previous year; Most recent audit report by independent authorised firm of auditors; 6. Selection process Applicable Criteria 6.1 Exclusion criteria Potential applicants and partners (co-beneficiaries) may not participate in calls for proposals or be awarded grants if they are in any of the situations: (a) they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the court, 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) they are currently subject to an administrative penalty imposed by the contracting authority on (i) applicants which are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the contracting authority as a condition of participation in the grant application procedure or fail to supply this information; or (ii) contractors who have been declared to be in serious breach of their obligations under contracts covered by the EC budget. 6.2 Eligibility criteria Proposals will be declared ineligible if they do not respect one of the following criteria. If a grant application is declared ineligible, it will not be considered for evaluation (i.e. it will be rejected without being evaluated against the selection and award criteria). a) The grant application must be submitted by a non-profit organisation; b) The grant application must fall within the scope of this call for proposals; c) The applicant and each partner must be eligible to participate in the Specific Programme 'Fundamental Rights and Citizenship' (legal status and country of origin); 8
d) The Community grant applied for must be lower or equal to 80% of the total eligible cost of the project and be between 7.000 and 00.000 Euros; e) The duration of the project must not exceed 18 months; f) The grant application must be submitted by the deadline set for the call; g) The grant application must have been submitted on the forms supplied by the European Commission; h) Proposals must contain all the elements and documents defined in the application form (including annexes and documents requested by the checklist attached to the form); if a document appearing on the checklist or in the eligibility criteria is either unavailable or not relevant, it is necessary to say so and given the reason why; i) All of the required annexes must be attached to the grant application form; j) The original of the grant application form submitted to the Commission must have been signed by the legal representative of the applicant organisation and initialled on each page; k) A signed partnership declaration must be attached to the application form for each partner involved in the project; l) The applicant must have provided written proof, through the signed budget form, the Partner Declaration(s) and Co-financing Declaration(s), that it has secured cofinancing of at least 20% of the total eligible cost of the project. m) The applicant must provide on diskette, CD-ROM or memory stick an electronic version of the following documents: - the grant application form; - the completed detailed budget estimate forms; - the form recording status of staff. 7. Selection criteria Applicants must demonstrate (in the application and its annexes) that: a) The project applicant must have sufficient financial and professional capacity to complete the project. This should be evidenced by appropriate documents, for example, the previous financial year's accounts and activity report; b) The applicants, as well as the Partners and those working on the projects must have appropriate and proven qualifications and experience in the field of fundamental human rights and citizenship. In particular, the CV's of the main persons responsible for the implementation and management of the project must be attached to the grant application form; c) The project coordinator must have the necessary skills, experience and capacity for coordinating the project 9
8. Award criteria Only proposals respecting the exclusion, eligibility and selection criteria described above will be subject to in-depth evaluation that aims to rate response to the following questions with a maximum number of points to be allocated under each criterion as indicated below: Award criteria Max score 1) Problem solving orientation and methodology 20 1.1. To what extent are the actions compatible with the work undertaken or planned within the framework of the Community's political priorities in the policy field of fundamental rights and citizenship? (x4) 2) Impact of the expected results 10 2.1. How likely the actions will have a sustainable effect after the end of the action (considering inter alia means of dissemination, financial side, institutional side and political side)? (x2) 3) Size of the action 10 3.1. How significant are the actions in terms of participants and target groups? 3.2. To what extent are the required expenses necessary for the implementation of the action? To which extent are the proposed costs reasonable? 4) Quality of the proposed action 3 4.1 Does the organisation have a clear description of its objectives, means to achieve them and the expected results? 4.2. How appropriate, significant and realistic are the expected results? 4.3. To what extent are the proposed activities suitable and consistent with the nature of the problem and the expected results of the project? How appropriate is the link between activities and expected results? Is due attention paid to any ethical issues related to the approach and methodology chosen? 4.4. Is the organisation and work plan clearly described? Does the organisation and work plan appear adequate for implementing the project and achieving the expected results within the grant period? 4.. Is the diffusion of results at European level to appropriate target audiences considered? Are dissemination and follow-up clearly considered? 4.6. To what extent have the target groups (intermediary and final beneficiaries) been clearly identified and their needs and expectations incorporated into project design? 4.7. To what extent are objectively verifiable indicators and the related sources of verification included? ) European dimension 10.1. How is the European dimension of the actions rated, in terms 10
of potential for trans-national relevance (several Member States) and/or relevance for the EU?.2. To what extent does the project deserve support at European level compared to local, regional or national level? 6) Value for money 1 6.1. How is the relation between required EC contribution and expected results to be rated? (x 3) Total score 100 Once the evaluation procedure is completed, including receipt of the Programme Committee s opinion and the Commission s decision, the Commission will inform each applicant of the final decision taken, including reasons for rejection, and of the next steps. The Commission will then set in motion the procedures necessary for preparation of the grant agreement (including dialogue with the applicant concerning any necessary technical and financial adjustments as well as procedures relating to expenditure commitments). 9. How and where to send the grant application form The forms necessary for the grant application, its annexes and the guide for submitting a grant application can be accessed and downloaded from the website of the Specific Programme "Fundamental Rights and Citizenship" at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/funding/rights/funding_rights_en.htm For reasons of efficiency, the Commission recommends that the applicants should submit their applications in English, French or German. Send applications to the address given below by May 2008. The envelope must be clearly marked "Application under the Specific Programme "Fundamental Rights and Citizenship" Specific Transnational Projects Call 2007". Grant Application forms sent by e-mail or by fax will not be accepted. Applications must be submitted in a sealed envelope by registered mail, private courier service or by hand-delivery at the address below. If a private messenger service is used - including express courier services - the application must arrive before 16.00 hrs CET on the day of the deadline. The date of receipt will be noted by the Commission. In the case of handdelivery, a signed and dated certificate of receipt issued by the Commission will be given to the deliverer. In the case of applications arriving by post, the postmark will attest to the date sent. 11
By registered mail (postmark + time 16.00 hrs. CET) By hand or messenger service (16.00 hrs. CET) European Commission DG Justice, Freedom and Security Unit JLS/C/4 LX 46 07/122 B-1049 Brussels Belgium OR European Commission CENTRAL MAIL DEPARTMENT (Registered post) Att: DG JLS/C/4 LX 46 07/122 Avenue du Bourget, 1 B-1140 Brussels (Evere) Belgium Where to get further information Directorate General Justice, Freedom and Security website: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/justice_home/index_en.htm Website of the Specific Programme "Fundamental Rights and Citizenship": http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/funding/rights/funding_rights_en.htm Specific questions about the call for proposals may be sent to: JLS-FRC-PROGRAMME@ec.europa.eu In the interest of equal treatment of applicants, the Commission cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, a partner or an action. Questions that may be relevant to other applicants, together with the answers, will be published on the internet at the Fundamental Rights and Citizenship website (FAQ's). The evaluation process will most probably take place in the third quarter of 2008. Note that projects selected for funding will indicatively start in the last quarter of 2008. The standard grant agreement is published on the website of the Specific Programme "Fundamental Rights and Citizenship". 12