European Union Office in Kosovo

Civil Society Facility Programme for Kosovo[footnoteRef:2]* 2014-2015 [2: * This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the IJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.]

Guidelinesfor grant applicants

Operating Grants

BGUE-B2015-22.020401-C1-ELARG DELKOS[footnoteRef:3] [3: EU assistance under the action can only be granted to an IPA II Beneficiary after the framework agreement between the IPA II Beneficiary and the European Commission on the arrangements for implementation of Union financial Assistance to IPA II Beneficiary under IPA II has entered into force. Therefore no activities can take place for the benefit of an IPA II beneficiary until the related Framework agreement has entered into force.]

Reference: EuropeAid/137-409/DD/OPR/XK

Deadline for submission of Applications: 2 November 2015, 16.00hrs

NOTICE

This is a Call for Applications for Operating Grants, where the full application is submitted in one step. After the evaluation of the applications, an eligibility check will be performed for those which have been provisionally selected. Eligibility will be checked on the basis of the supporting documents requested by the Contracting Authority and the signed Declaration by the Applicant sent together with the application.

Guidelines for Grant Applicants for Operating Grant.docx

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Guidelines for Grant Applicants for Operating Grant.docx

Table of contents

1.CIVIL SOCIETY FACILITY: OPERATING GRANTS4

1.1.Background4

1.2.Objectives of the programme and priority issues5

1.3.Financial allocation provided by the contracting authority5

1.4.Financial rules governing grants5

2.Rules FOR thIS call for proposalS7

2.1.Eligibility criteria7

2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants7

2.1.2. Eligible work programmes: work programmes for which an application may be made8

2.1.3 Eligibility of costs: costs that can be included9

2.2.How to apply and the procedures to follow11

2.2.1. Application content12

2.2.2. Where and how to send Applications12

2.2.3. Deadline for submission of Applications12

2.2.4. Further information about Applications13

2.3.Evaluation and selection of applications13

2.4.Submission of supporting documents for provisionally selected applications16

2.5.Notification of the Contracting Authoritys decision17

2.5.1.Content of the decision17

2.5.2.Indicative timetable17

2.6.Conditions for implementation after the Contracting Authoritys decision to award a grant18

2.7.Early warning system and central exclusion database18

3.LIST OF annexes19

2014Page 4 of 4

Guidelines for Grant Applicants for Operating Grant.docx

CIVIL SOCIETY FACILITY: OPERATING GRANTS

Background

Effective pluralism implies the respect for human rights, the rule of law and the possibility for political change. Civil society activities often defined as primarily non-state, non-business and non-private activities mirror this pluralism. They encourage citizens to organise themselves and to collaborate in their common interest. A thriving civil society contributes to a more open, participatory and consequently a more dynamic democratic society. Through its advocacy activities, civil society can help ensure that accession negotiations between the candidate country institutions and the EU are not merely technical discussions. Accession will only be successful when it is supported by citizens who understand the necessary institutional, political and economic changes.

In terms of civil society's contribution to building a democratic society, Kosovo presents a mixed picture. The NGO registration and liaison unit of the Ministry of Public Services is responsible for the registration and supervision of civil society organisations. According to the registry, there are close to 8,000 civil society organisations (CSOs) in Kosovo. However, only about 10 15 % of all registered CSOs are active. The landscape of civil society organisations consists of rather small organisations, which are often dependent on short-term funding from a single donor. CSOs are mainly ethnically exclusive and there is very little cooperation between ethnically divided NGOs in Kosovo. The administrative, financial, and managerial capacities of civil society organisations are very uneven, with few, very well established and active organisations in Pristina, but much weaker capacities and at municipal level. Also cooperation between the authorities and civil society organisation remains uneven. Overall, the capacity of CSOs remains weak.

The EU has been addressing this capacity weakness through the EU-funded action "Technical Assistance to Civil Society Organisations (TACSO)" which commenced operations in August 2009. The second phase of the action, which started in September 2013, offers technical assistance to civil society in seven countries, i.e. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. This phase has the duration of four years. TACSOs general objective is to strengthen the overall capacity and accountability of CSOs within IPA beneficiaries and to guarantee the quality of services of CSOs and a sustainable role of CSOs in the democratic process. Services provided by TACSO include the organisation of events, implementation of various training programmes, the people to people programme (P2P), help-desk services, visibility actions to inform citizens about the contributions to society made by civil society, information sharing through the TACSO web-page, and other similar activities. Local advisory groups (LAGs) have been established in all beneficiary countries in order to provide guidance to the project at national level. They consist of representatives of civil society, donors, governments, media and private sector. In order to ensure the continued delivery of TACSO services at national level beyond August 2017 when the project support will cease, national resource centres have been identified in all the beneficiary countries and will assume responsibility for the delivery of services presently offered by TACSO.

From 2011 to 2014, through the national Civil Society Facility (CSF) allocation for Kosovo, a total of 15 Action Grants with an overall EU contribution of 3.3m have been awarded to CSOs in Kosovo. These grants aimed at fostering cooperation between CSOs and institutions, increasing advocacy capacities and profilisation; and building of capacities of less experienced organisations through mandatory partnerships and sub-granting.

In order to provide predictable core funding to less-established CSOs and enhance advocacy activities, profilisation, networking and coalition-building, the CSF 2015 foresees the award of operating grants to 5 CSOs in Kosovo, with a view to providing financial support towards the functioning of the organisations in their core activities. The grants will cover a period that is equivalent to their accounting year and shall allow the organisations to fully concentrate on the core mandate of their organisation.

These operating grants shall also allow the beneficiary organisations to build up technical and thematic expertise as well as organisational capacities, and enhance their standards of governance, including a transparent decision-making process, in which resources are planned and allocated in an effective and accountable way, on the basis of a clearly defined mission. Subject to a thorough review process, the operating grants may be renewed on an annual basis, and may support core funding for a maximum duration of four years. The amount awarded will decrease over the years.

Objectives of the programme and priority issues

The global objective of this Call for Applications is to enable and stimulate a participatory democracy in Kosovo by creating an environment which promotes partnership and dialogue between civil society and public institutions, and by building the capacity of CSOs to be effective and accountable independent actors.

The specific objective of this Call for Applications is to provide predictable core funding and support the existence and the functioning of less-established community-based and/or self-advocacy civil society organisations in order to enable them to have an independent existence, to implement a range of activities envisaged in their annual work programme, and to enhance their advocacy activities, profilisation, networking and coalition-building. The activities foreseen in annual work programme should correspond to the pursuit of the organisation's statutory objectives which must be focussing on one of the following priority areas:

Rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex persons;

Rights of people with disabilities;

Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities rights;

Environment protection;

Reconciliation between communities.

Financial allocation provided by the contracting authority

The overall indicative amount made available under this Call for Proposals is EUR 300,000.00. The Contracting Authority intends to award one grant per priority area, and reserves the right not to award all available funds.

Any grant requested under this Call for Proposals must fall under the maximum amount of EUR 60,000.00.

For operating grants, the Contracting Authority will determine the maximum amount of financial assistance to be granted, and the percentage of co-funding on the basis of budget availability.

Financial rules governing grants

EU funding is based on the principle of co-financing. The grants provided by the programme cannot cover the entire cost of the activities.

Any grant requested under this Call for Proposals must fall under the maximum percentage of 90 % of the total eligible costs of the annual operating budget.

The balance (i.e. the difference between the total cost of the action and the amount requested from the Contracting Authority) must be financed from sources other than the European Union Budget. If the amount granted by the Contracting Authority is lower than the funding sought by the applicant, it is up to the latter to find supplementary financing, or to prioritise between the different activities foreseen in the working programme and cut down its total functioning costs without diluting either the objectives or the content of its operation.

Contributions in kind are possible but are not taken into account as an expense and are not accepted as co-financing.

Only one operating grant per beneficiary per financial year may be awarded from the budget of the European Union. In accordance with the Financial Regulation[footnoteRef:4], if an operating grant is renewed (i.e. attributed to the same beneficiary for more than one consecutive term, irrespective of the EU programme) the percentage of EU co-financing will be gradually decreased by 5% in comparison with the previous year. [4: Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:2002R1605:20071227:EN:PDF]

In order to ensure a sustainable development and strengthening of the beneficiary organisations, the European Commission will complement the operating grants with providing Technical Assistance to the beneficiaries which shall assist the consolidation of their governance and accountability systems. Based on a thorough continuous assessment of these systems, this Technical Assistance should support the organisations in further defining and/or operationalising their mission statements, analysing and strengthening their internal governance structures and quality assurance methods and standards, promoting the highest professional and ethical standards. Needs and priorities of the beneficiary organisations, as well as clear benchmarks and targets for the technical assistance to be provided, will be defined in close cooperation and consultation with the beneficiaries in order to ensure maximum ownership, impact and sustainability.

A joint review of the implementation and results of the work programme will take place in September 2016 (also foreseen for September 2017 and 2018), and may lead to the renewal of the operating grants (for a total of up to three times). The progress of implementation and absorption of recommendations made by the Technical Assistance will feed into this process, as well as the organisation's report.

Organisations awarded both an operating and an action grant covering the financial year indicated in the call notice must charge the general administrative expenditure (overheads) incurred by the organisation when carrying out the various activities to the operating grant. These overheads will not be an eligible cost under the action grant funding.

The activities must be strictly non-profit making. If an organisation realises a surplus balance on the operating budget, it may have to repay part of the grant paid to it by the Commission.

Rules FOR thIS call for proposalS

These guidelines set out the rules for the submission, selection and implementation of the operations financed under this Call, in conformity with the Practical Guide to contract procedures for EU external actions, which is applicable to the present call (available on the Internet at this address:http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/implementation/index_en.htm).

Eligibility criteria

There are three sets of eligibility criteria, relating to:

(1) the actors:

The applicant, i.e. the entity submitting the application form (2.1.1)

(2) the work programmes:

Work programme for which an operating grant may be awarded (2.1.2);

(3) the costs:

Types of cost that may be taken into account in setting the amount of the grant (2.1.3).

2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants

Applicants

(1)In order to be eligible for a grant, the applicant must:

be a legal persons and

be non-profit making and

be a specific type of organisation: non-governmental organisation and

be established in[footnoteRef:5] Kosovo prior to 1 July 2013 and [5: To be determined on the basis of the organisations statutes, which should demonstrate that it has been established by an instrument governed by the national law of the country concerned and that its head office is located in Kosovo. In this respect, any legal entity whose statutes have been established in another country cannot be considered an eligible local organisation, even if the statutes are registered locally or a Memorandum of Understanding has been concluded. ]

be organisations registered in Kosovo and

be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the work programme and

be organisations whose aims and objectives declared in its statute or other official document establishing the organisation are focussed on the selected priority area.

(2)The potential applicant may not participate in calls for proposals or be awarded grants if it is in any of the situations listed in Section 2.3.3 of the Practical Guide to contract procedures for EU external actions (available from the following Internet address:

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/implementation/index_en.htm);

2.1.2. Eligible work programmes: work programmes for which an application may be made

Definition

Operating grants are intended to co-finance the operating expenses that enable an organisation to have an independent existence and to implement a range of activities envisaged in its existing annual work programme, approved by its internal decision-making structures.

Applicants must select one out of the 5 above-mentioned priority areas that is most relevant to their profile and activities and clearly indicate their choice in their application.

One grant will be awarded per priority area.

The applicants must provide:

a description of the organisation's statutory objectives, and

the 2016 annual work programme (for a period of 12 months).

Both, organisation's statutory objectives and 2016 annual work programme, should be the existing documents approved by the competent body of the organisation and not be devised for the purpose of this Call. The applicant organisation's statutory objectives should cover the purpose of the organisation, a description of its governing body, the key medium- and long-term objectives.

The annual work programme must be sufficiently detailed and accurate, particularly in terms of the activities, results and means of delivery planned.

Duration

The EU financial support for the functioning of the organization will cover one accounting year and is intended to cover the duration of the 2016 financial year.

Priority areas

Proposed strategies and work programmes should focus on delivering results against the objectives set out in section 1.2 and the respective thematic areas i.e.:

a. promotion and protection of human rights, fundamental freedoms and enhanced respect for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons (LGBTI);

b. promotion of social and economic inclusion and protection of human rights, fundamental freedoms and enhanced respect of people with mental and/or physical disabilities;

c. promotion of social and economic inclusion and protection of human rights, fundamental freedoms and enhanced respect of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, including reporting on the state of implementation of national Roma strategies;

d. promotion and protection of the environment, including conservation of nature, reducing air pollution, protecting natural resources;

e. promotion of interaction and reconciliation between ethnic communities.

Location

At least 90% of the work programme must be implemented in Kosovo.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Operations should foresee planning, human resources, capacity building, budget and other appropriate measures for the monitoring of the proposed operation and for the an annual audit and evaluation after the end of the financial year 2015, as well as for the annual work programme for the following financial year.

Visibility

The Applicants must take all necessary steps to publicise the fact that the European Union has financed or co-financed the work programme. As far as possible, work programmes that are wholly or partially funded by the European Union must incorporate information and communication activities designed to raise the awareness of specific or general audiences of the reasons for the work programme and the EU support for the work programme in the country or region concerned, as well as the results and the impact of this support.

Applicants must comply with the objectives and priorities and guarantee the visibility of the EU financing (see the Communication and Visibility Manual for EU external actions specified and published by the European Commission at http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/visibility/index_en.htm).

Number of applications and grants per applicant

The applicant may not submit more than one application under this Call for Proposals.

2.1.3 Eligibility of costs: costs that can be included

Only eligible costs can be covered by a grant. The categories of costs that are eligible and non-eligible are indicated below. The budget is both a cost estimate and a ceiling for eligible costs. No specific template is to be followed for the proposed budget.

Recommendations to award a grant are always subject to the condition that the checks preceding the signing of the contract do not reveal problems requiring changes to the budget (such as arithmetical errors, inaccuracies, unrealistic costs and ineligible costs). The checks may give rise to requests for clarification and may lead the Contracting Authority to impose modifications or reductions to address such mistakes or inaccuracies. It is not possible to increase the grant or the percentage of EU co-financing as a result of these corrections.

It is therefore in the applicants interest to provide a realistic and cost-effective budget.

Eligible direct costs:

To be eligible under the Call for Proposals, costs must comply with the provisions of Article 14 of the General Conditions to the Standard Grant Contract (see Annex G of the Guidelines).

a) Staff Costs

To ensure the successful implementation of the tasks described in the annual work programme appropriate human resources should be allocated to these activities.

Personnel costs shall be charged in respect of the actual time of the staff concerned. The costs shall be calculated on the basis of the actual gross salary or wages plus obligatory social charges and any other statutory costs included in the remuneration. With the exception of staff charged on a full time basis to the operating budget, the time, which each staff member, shall be recorded on a regular basis using timesheets or an equivalent time registration system established and certified by the employer.

Salary levels must be reasonable and in line with normal salary policy of the applicant.

Salary (fees) of non-permanent staff may be charged to this category if the individual concerned works for the beneficiary with a contract or individual sub-contract explicitly linking the person to the respective activity.

b) Travel

Only travel costs relating to specific and clearly identifiable actions within the annual work programme of the organisation are eligible. Travel costs should be in line with the applicant's usual practices on travel costs.

The applicants are required to use the least expensive means of travel, and every effort should be made to use the most economical fare.

Costs for subsistence (accommodation, meals, local travel within the place of mission and sundry expenses) are eligible up to the actual amount spent. It is therefore very important to keep all supporting documents, which might be requested by the Commission before making the final payment. To be considered eligible, these costs must be reasonable in the light of local prices.

In order to avoid possible abuses, the Commission strongly discourages any other system of reimbursement of subsistence costs such as per diem. If, however, it can be demonstrated that such a system was officially in place before the grant is awarded, it can still be used within the limits per country set in the Commission's guide[footnoteRef:6]. Payment in cash of such a per diem is to be avoided (bank transfer must be favoured) unless it can be demonstrated through justifying accounting documents that such a payment is recorded in the official accounts of the applicant. [6: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/implementation/per diems/index en.htm ]

c) Equipment

The cost of equipment purchase (computer, audiovisual equipment, etc.), must be foreseen in the annual work programme of the organisation and must respect the following rules:

compare the prices of different suppliers to see who offers the best value for money (taking into account price and quality);

charge only the cost of equipment purchased or rented during the eligibility period, at a rate that reflects the degree and duration of use within that period;

only the cost depreciated in accordance with the national depreciation rules will be considered eligible. If such rules do not exist, EU depreciation rules will be applied;

the equipment purchased must be then itemised in the organisation in which it is installed and bear an inventory number.

Costs of purchase of land and immovable property are not eligible.

Rental costs of premises necessary to carry out the activities foreseen in the annual work programme will have to be documented by a specific rental contract/lease.

d) Consumables and Supplies

The costs of consumables and supplies are eligible provided that they are identifiable in the accounts of the beneficiary. They may consist in expenses such as general office supplies (pens, paper, folders, ink cartridges, electricity supply, telephone and postal services, Internet connection time, computer software, etc.)

e) Other possible direct costs

Specific costs relating to publications and dissemination, conferences and seminars, or other costs (i.e. financial services, translations, audit certificates, etc.) should be included under this heading. In order to be eligible for Union funding, they must be foreseen in the annual work programme of the organization. This category should not include travelling and subsistence allowances for participants.

Contributions in kind

Contributions in kind mean the provision of goods or services to a Beneficiary(ies) or affiliated entity(ies) free of charge by a third party. As contributions in kind do not involve any expenditure for a Beneficiary(ies) or affiliated entity(ies), they are not eligible costs.

Contributions in kind may not be treated as co-financing. However, if the work programme as proposed includes contributions in kind, the contributions have to be made.

Ineligible costs

The following costs are not eligible:

taxes, including value added taxes*;

customs and import duties, or any other charges;

purchase, or leasing of land and existing buildings, unless the offices have to be rented explicitly to allow for the implementation of the operation (to be demonstrated by the applicant) ;

fines, financial penalties and expenses of litigation;

second-hand equipment;

bank charges, costs of guarantees and similar charges;

conversion costs, charges and exchange losses associated with any of the component specific euro accounts, as well as other purely financial expenses;

contribution in kind;

any leasing costs;

depreciation costs;

debts and debt service charges

provisions for losses or potential future liabilities;

interest owed;

costs declared by the beneficiary and covered by another action or work programme;

credit to third parties.

* unless the following conditions are fulfilled:

(i) the value added taxes are not recoverable by any means;

(ii) it is established that they are borne by the final beneficiary, and

(iii) they are clearly identified in the project proposal.

How to apply and the procedures to follow

Prior registration in PADOR for this Call for Proposals is obligatory.

PADOR is an on-line database in which organisations register and update their data regularly, through the EuropeAid website: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/pador.

Before starting to register your organisation in PADOR, please read the Quick guide on the website. It explains the registration process.

It is strongly recommended to register in PADOR when you start drafting your proposal and not to wait until just before the deadline of submission.

On the paper version of the proposal you must give your EuropeAid ID (EID). To get this ID, your organisation must enter PADOR to register, save and sign certain obligatory data (the fields shown in orange on each screen) and the related documents (see section 2.4).

However, if it is impossible for the organisation to register in PADOR, it must submit a justification proving that this impossibility is general and beyond the control of the applicant and/or its affiliated entity(ies). In such cases, the applicants and/or affiliated entity(ies) concerned must complete the PADOR off-line form[footnoteRef:7] attached to these Guidelines and send it by the submission deadline, together with the application, to the address indicated in sections 2.2.2 and 2.2.6. The registration in PADOR will then be carried out by the European Commission service in charge of the Call for Proposals. If, at a later stage, the organisation wishes to update its data itself, it will have to send an access request to the PADOR helpdesk. [7: Which corresponds to Sections 3 and 4 of Part B of the application form.]

2.2.1. Application content

Applications must be submitted in accordance with the instructions in the Grant Application Form annexed to these Guidelines (Annex A).

They must be submitted with the following annexes (No specific template is provided for these annexes):

Annex E:Forecast Operating Budget of the proposed work programme for 2016

Annex F:Statutes of the applicant organisation

Annex G:A copy of the applicant's latest accounts (the profit and loss account and the balance sheet for the last two financial years for which the accounts have been closed).

Annex H:The overall budget forecast of the organisation for 2016, including all other work programmes which go beyond the objectives of this call

Annex I:Annual reports on the work programmes for 2013 and 2014

Annex J:Organigramme of the applicant's organisation

Applicants must apply in English.

Any error or major discrepancy related to the points listed in the instructions may lead to the rejection of the Application.

Clarifications will only be requested when information provided is not sufficient to conduct an objective assessment.

Hand-written Applications will not be accepted.

2.2.2. Where and how to send Applications

The Application together with its relating Checklist and Declaration by the applicant (to be found in Part A sections 2 and 3 of the grant application form) must be submitted in one original and 3 copies in A4 size, each bound.

An electronic version of the Application must also be submitted. A CD-Rom with the Application in electronic format will be included, along with the paper version, in a sealed envelope as described below. The electronic file must contain exactly the same application as the paper version enclosed.

The outer envelope must bear the reference number and the title of the call for proposals, together with the full name and address of the applicant, and the words Not to be opened before the opening session.

Applications must be submitted in a sealed envelope by registered mail, private courier service or by hand-delivery (a signed and dated certificate of receipt will be given to the deliverer) to the address below:

European Union Office in Kosovo

Audit, Finance and Contract Section

Kosova Street 1, P.O. Box 331, Pristina 10000, Kosovo

Applications sent by any other means (e.g. by fax or by e-mail) or delivered to other addresses will be rejected.

Applicants must verify that their Application is complete using the Checklist for Application (Part A section 2 of the grant application form). Incomplete applications may be rejected.

2.2.3. Deadline for submission of Applications

The deadline for the submission of Applications is 2 November 2015 as evidenced by the date of dispatch, the postmark or the date of the deposit slip. In the case of hand-deliveries, the deadline for receipt is at 16.00 hours local time as evidenced by the signed and dated receipt. Any Application submitted after the deadline will be rejected.

However, for reasons of administrative efficiency, the Contracting Authority may reject any Application sent in due time but received after the effective date of approval of the Application evaluation (see indicative calendar under section 2.5.2)

2.2.4. Further information about Applications

An information session on this Call for Proposals will be held on 20th August 2015 from 14:00 15:30 at TASCO Kosovo Office

Kosovo Civil Society Foundation

Fazli Grajqevci 4/a, 10000, Pristina

Questions may be sent by e-mail no later than 21 days before the deadline for the submission of Applications to the address(es) below, indicating clearly the reference of the Call for Proposals:

E-mail address: DELEGATION-KOSOVO-FINCON@eeas.europa.eu (Contract, Finance and Audit Section)

Fax number: +381 38 5131 307

The Contracting Authority has no obligation to provide clarifications to questions received after this date.

Replies will be given no later than 11 days before the deadline for submission of Applications.

To ensure equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of applicants or a work programme.

Questions that may be relevant to other applicants, together with answers and other important notices in the course of the evaluation procedure, will be published on the EuropeAid website http://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.welcome, as the need arises. It is therefore advisable to consult the abovementioned website regularly in order to be informed of the questions and answers published.

All questions related to PADOR registration should be addressed to the PADOR help desk:

mailto:EuropeAid-IT-support@ec.europa.eu

Evaluation and selection of applications

Applications will be examined and evaluated by the Contracting Authority with the possible assistance of external assessors. All actions submitted by applicants will be assessed according to the following steps and criteria.

If the examination of the application reveals that the proposed action does not meet the eligibility criteria stated in paragraph 2.1, the application will be rejected on this sole basis.

STEP 1:OPENING & ADMINISTRATIVE CHECKS

The following will be assessed:

Compliance with the submission deadline. If the deadline has not been met, the application will automatically be rejected.

The Application Form satisfies all the criteria specified in points 1-5 of the Checklist (Section 7 of Part B of the grant application form). If any of the requested information is missing or is incorrect, the application may be rejected on that sole basis and the application will not be evaluated further.

STEP 2:EVALUATION OF THE APPLICATION

The selection criteria help to evaluate the applicant(s)'s operational capacity and the applicant's financial capacity. Applications which meet the eligibility criteria will be evaluated on the basis of the following selection criteria:

(a) The applicant has sufficient operational and professional capacities to implement the proposed annual work programme. For this purpose the applicant must provide a description of the organisation's management structure in the Grant Application Form. The applicant will be eliminated if there is strong evidence that:

it has neither the capacity, experience nor the expertise necessary for a successful implementation of the proposed work programme.

(b) The applicant has sufficient financial capacity to implement its annual work programme. For this purpose the applicant must present its annual statement of accounts for the two preceding years. The applicant will be eliminated if there is strong evidence that:

it does not possess the financial capacity to cover their share of costs/financing;

it is entirely dependent upon EU funding.

The award criteria help to evaluate the quality of the work programmes and to award grants to organisations which the Contracting Authority can be confident will implement their work programme in line with their statutory objectives and the objectives and priorities of this Call. They cover the relevance of the action, its consistency with the objectives of the Call for applications, quality, expected impact, sustainability and cost-effectiveness.

Scoring:

The evaluation grid is divided into sections and subsections. Each subsection will be given a score between 1 and 5 as follows: 1 = very poor; 2 = poor; 3 = adequate; 4 = good; 5 = very good.

Evaluation Grid

Scores

1. Consistency with the objectives of the Civil Society Facility

Sub-score

25

1.1. The statutory objectives of the applicant and the proposed work programme are relevant with regard to the objectives, and policy context of this Civil Society Facility Call for Applications and the selected priority areas.

5x3*

1.2. The organisation's work programme pursues an aim of general European interest and supports a European Union policy.

5x2*

2. Technical quality of the work programme

Sub-score

20

2.1. The applicant clearly describes all activities foreseen in the proposed work programme and their suitability for achieving expected results.

4

2.2. The proposed activities are coherent with the objectives and correspond to the proposed inputs and resources.

4

2.3. The applicant demonstrates that effects are obtained at reasonable cost.

4

2.4. The applicants' work programme clearly describes the internal and external monitoring and evaluation of the activities and indicators to be used.

4

2.5. The applicant proposes new working methods or innovative activities.

4

3. Management Quality

Sub-score

15

3.1. The applicant ensures appropriate internal processes and instruments related to the planning and monitoring of their annual work (timetable and milestones, deliverables, nature and distribution of tasks, risk analysis).

5

3.2. The applicant's organisational capacity (human resources and competencies of staff, responsibilities, internal communication, decision-making, monitoring and supervision) is appropriate to implement the proposed work programme.

5

3.3. The applicant's financial management systems (technical capacities, financial circuits, responsibilities, reporting procedures and controls) are appropriate to ensure sound financial management.

5

4. Dissemination

Sub-score

10

4.1. A realistic and practical dissemination plan is in place in order to allow an effective transfer and exchange of the results foreseen by the work programme.

5

4.2. The proposed work programme creates a multiplier effect among a wider audience than that directly participating in the activities.

5

5. Impact and Sustainability

Sub-score

20

5.1. The work programme is likely to achieve its objectives, notably as regards concrete inputs to policy making.

5x2*

5.2. The proposed work programme is likely reach long-term effects.

5

5.3. The applicant foresees the involvement of participants, target groups and individual citizens and gives them the possibility to engage actively in the activities and with the issues raised.

5

6. Budget and Financial Capacity

Sub-score

10

6.1. The applicant can demonstrate that there are sufficient other sources of financing available that would allow them to implement the work programme.

5

6.2. The proposed budget is relevant, appropriate, balanced and consistent in itself and for the activities planned.

5

TOTAL SCORE

100

*these scores are multiplied by 2 or 3 because of their importance

Proposals scoring below 70 points will not be accepted for financing. If the total score for section 1 is less than 20 points, the application will be rejected. If the score for at least one of the subsections under section 3 is 1, the application will also be rejected. Proposals scoring above 70 points may be financed, subject to availability of funds. Once the evaluation procedure, the approval of the relevant Programme Committee and the adoption of the award decision are completed the Commission will inform each applicant of the final decision taken, including reasons for rejection, and of the next steps.

Provisional selection

After the evaluation, a table will be drawn up for each priority area, listing the applications ranked according to their score and within the limits of the funds available. The application with the highest score per respective priority area will be provisionally selected. In addition, a reserve list will be drawn up following the same criteria to be used if more funds should become available during the validity period of the reserve list.

STEP 3:VERIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY OF THE APPLICANT

The eligibility verification, based on the supporting documents requested by the Contracting Authority (see Section 2.4) will only be performed for the applications that have been provisionally selected according to their score and within the available financial envelope.

The Declaration by the applicant (Section 8 of Part B the grant application form) will be cross-checked with the supporting documents provided by the applicant. Any missing supporting document or any incoherence between the Declaration by the applicant and the supporting documents may lead to the rejection of the application on that sole basis.

The eligibility of applicants and the work programme will be verified according to the criteria set out in Sections 2.1.1, 2.1.2 and 2.1.3.

Any rejected application will be replaced by the next best placed application on the reserve list that falls within the available financial envelope.

Submission of supporting documents for provisionally selected applications

An applicant that has been provisionally selected or placed on the reserve list will be informed in writing by the Contracting Authority. It will be requested to supply the following documents in order to allow the Contracting Authority to verify the eligibility of the applicant:

Supporting documents may/must be provided through PADOR, see Section 2.2

1. The statutes or articles of association of the applicant.

2. A copy of the applicants latest accounts (the profit and loss account and the balance sheet for the last two financial years for which the accounts have been closed).

3. Legal entity sheet (see annex D of these Guidelines) duly completed and signed by each of the applicants, accompanied by the justifying documents requested there. If the applicants have already signed a contract with the Contracting Authority, instead of the legal entity sheet and supporting documents, the legal entity number may be provided, unless a change in legal status occurred in the meantime.

4. A financial identification form of the applicant conforming to the model attached at Annex E of these Guidelines, certified by the bank to which the payments will be made. This bank should be located in the country where the applicant is established. If the applicant has already submitted a financial identification form in the past for a contract where the European Commission was in charge of the payments and intends to use the same bank account, a copy of the previous financial identification form may be provided instead.

5. Annual reports on the work programmes for 2013 and 2014

6. Organigramme of the applicant's organisation

Where the requested supporting documents are not uploaded in PADOR they must be supplied in the form of originals, photocopies or scanned versions (i.e. showing legible stamps, signatures and dates) of the said originals. However, the Legal entity sheet and the financial identification form must always be submitted in original.

Where such documents are not in one of the official languages of the European Union or in the language of the country where the action is implemented, a translation into English of the relevant parts of these documents proving the applicant(s)'s eligibility, must be attached for the purpose of analysing the application.

If the abovementioned supporting documents are not provided before the deadline indicated in the request for supporting documents sent to the applicant by the Contracting Authority, the application may be rejected.

After verifying the supporting documents, the Evaluation Committee will make a final recommendation to the Contracting Authority, which will decide on the award of grants.

Notification of the Contracting Authoritys decision

Content of the decision

The applicants will be informed in writing of the Contracting Authoritys decision concerning their application and, if rejected, the reasons for the negative decision.

An applicant believing that it has been harmed by an error or irregularity during the award process may lodge a complaint. See further Section 2.4.15 of the Practical Guide.

Indicative timetable

DATE

TIME*

Information meeting (if any)

20 August 2015

14:00 15:30 hrs

at

TASCO Kosovo Office

Kosovo Civil Society Foundation

Fazli Grajqevci 4/a, 10000, Pristina

Deadline for requesting any clarifications from the Contracting Authority

12 October 2015

-

Last date on which clarifications are issued by the Contracting Authority

22 October 2015

-

Deadline for submission of Application Form

2 November 2015

16:00 hrs

Information to applicants on the evaluation of the Application Form [footnoteRef:8] [8: Note that according to the financial regulation, in direct management, applicants must be notified the outcome of the evaluation of their applications within 6 months following the submission deadline of the full application. This time-limit may be exceeded in exceptional cases, in particular for complex actions (including Multi-beneficiary calls), large number of proposals or in case of delays attributable to the applicants. ]

November 2015*

-

Notification of award (after the eligibility check) (Step 3)

December 2015*

-

Contract signature[footnoteRef:9] [9: Note that according to the financial regulation, in direct management the grant contract must be signed within 3 months following the notification of the award decision. This time-limit may be exceeded in exceptional cases, in particular for complex actions (including Multi-beneficiary calls), large number of proposals or in case of delays attributable to the applicants ]

December 2015*

-

*Provisional date. All times are in the time zone of the country of the Contracting Authority.

This indicative timetable may be updated by the Contracting Authority during the procedure. In such cases, the updated timetable will be published on the EuropeAid web site https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.welcome

Conditions for implementation after the Contracting Authoritys decision to award a grant

Following the decision to award a grant, the Beneficiary(ies) will be offered a contract based on the Contracting Authoritys grant contract (see Annex G of these Guidelines[footnoteRef:10]). By signing the application form (Annex A of these Guidelines), the applicants agree, if awarded a grant, to accept the contractual conditions of the standard grant contract. [10: Complemented by the provisions in Annex e3h11 where at least one of the beneficiaries is an international organisation. ]

Implementation contracts

Where implementation of the work programme requires the Beneficiary(ies) to award procurement contracts, those contracts must be awarded in accordance with Annex IV to the standard grant contract.

Early warning system and central exclusion database

The applicants and, if they are legal entities, the persons who have powers of representation, decision-making or control over them, are informed that, should they be in one of the situations mentioned in:

Commission Decision of 16.12.2008 on the Early Warning System (EWS) for the use of authorising officers of the Commission and the executive agencies (OJ, L 344, 20.12.2008, p.125) or

Commission Regulation of 17.12.2008 on the Central Exclusion Database (CED) (OJ L344, 20.12.2008, p.12),

their personal details (name, given name (if natural person), address, legal form and name and given name of the persons with powers of representation, decision-making or control (if legal person)) may be registered in the EWS only or both in the EWS and CED, and communicated to the persons and entities listed in the above-mentioned Decision and Regulation, in relation to the award or the execution of a grant agreement or decision.

LIST OF annexes

Documents to be completed

Annex A:Grant Application Form (Word format)

Annex B:Legal Entity Sheet

Annex C:Financial identification form

Annex D:PADOR off Line Form

No specific template is provided for the rest of the annexes:

Annex E:Forecast Operating Budget

Annex F:Statutes of the applicant organisation

Annex G:A copy of the applicant's latest accounts (the profit and loss account and the balance sheet for the last two financial years for which the accounts have been closed).

Annex H:The overall budget forecast of the organisation for 2016, including all other work programmes which go beyond the objectives of this call

Annex I:Annual reports on the work programmes for 2013 and 2014

Annex J:Organigramme of the applicant's organisation

DOCUMENTS FOR INFORMATION

Annex K:Standard Grant Contract

-Annex II:General conditions

-Annex IV:contract award procedures

-Annex V:standard request for payment

-Annex VI:model narrative and financial report

Annex L:Daily allowance rates (Per diem), available at the following address: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/applicable-rates-diems-framework-ec-funded-external-aid-contracts-05072013_en

Annex M:Information on the tax regime applicable to grant contracts signed under the call.

Useful links:

Project Cycle Management Guidelines

https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/aid-delivery-methods-project-cycle-management-guidelines-vol-1_en

The implementation of grant

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/companion/document.do?nodeNumber=19

Financial Toolkit

https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/funding/procedures-beneficiary-countries-and-partners/financial-management-toolkit_en

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