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EUROPEAN
COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL
HOME AFFAIRS Directorate B : Immigration and Asylum |
EUROPEAN REFUGEE FUND 2008-2013
COMMUNITY
ACTIONS
CALL FOR
PROPOSALS 2011
I. INTRODUCTION
Decision
No 573/2007/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 May 2007
established the European Refugee Fund (ERF III) for the period 2008 to 2013 to
support and encourage Member States’ efforts in receiving refugees and
displaced persons[1].
The objective of the ERF III is to support and encourage the efforts
made by the Member States in receiving, and in bearing the consequences of
receiving, refugees and displaced persons, taking account of EU legislation on
those matters.
In
addition, in accordance with Article 4 of Decision No 573/2007/EC, the
Commission may use a limited
part of the Fund’s available resources to finance “transnational actions or
actions of interest to the Community as a whole concerning asylum policy and
measures applicable to the target groups referred to in Article 6”.
The
target groups covered by the European Refugee Fund III actions for the period
2008 to 2013 comprise the
following categories (Article 6 of the aforementioned Decision):
(1) any third-country national or stateless
person having the status defined by the Geneva Convention and who is permitted
to reside as a refugee in one of the Member States;
(2) any third-country national or stateless
person enjoying a form of subsidiary protection within the meaning of Directive
2004/83/EC;
(3)
any third-country national or stateless person who has applied for one
of the forms of protection described in points 1 and 2;
(4) any third-country national or stateless
person enjoying temporary protection within the meaning of
Directive 2001/55/EC;
(5) any third-country national or stateless
person who is being or has been
resettled in a Member State.
Attention
is drawn to the fact that Community Actions must be complementary to those
supported under the national programmes of the European Refugee Fund III, as
well as to those supported under complementary initiatives, such as the transnational exchange and cooperation in
the European Social Fund 2007 – 2013 or the Community actions
of the European Fund for the Integration of third country nationals[2]
and the European Return Fund[3].
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II. SCOPE OF THE CALL
The
purpose of this notice is to invite proposals for co-financing for activities
covered by the Community Actions Annual Work Programme 2011, which was adopted
on 24 June 2011[4].
1. Who may apply?
1.) The
call for proposals is open to national, regional and local authorities,
non-governmental organisations (NGOs), public or private bodies, university
departments, research centres and international organisations. However, for
actions targeting priority 3 (see section II.2. below), the applicant
organisation must be a National Authority (such as a ministry or national
agency) or the UNHCR.
2.) Actions should be implemented through a
partnership. Since these actions are trans-national, the partnership must
include at least two organisations (the applicant and one partner).
3.) Applicants and their partners must be registered[5]
in any of the 26 Member States participating in the European Refugee Fund (all
the EU Member States except Denmark).
4.) The
applicant and partners must be from at least two different EU Member States[6].
5.) Proposals
must be submitted by a legal person, i.e. the co-ordinator, who carries out the
project with at least one other distinct legal entity.
6.) The call for proposals is open to organisations working on a non-profit
basis and with proven experience and expertise in the fields covered, taking into
account their respective competences.
7.) Actions
may include associated partners from Denmark as well as candidates countries
and third countries, but the cost of their participation must be financed
entirely by non-EU resources.
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8 If you apply for a grant… aVerify that a partnership of at least 2
organisations (applicant + 1 partner) is established. aVerify that all participating
organisations (applicant and partners) are distinct, and that they come from
at least two different EU Member States (exceptions defined in points 2) and
3) above). a Verify that all participating
organisations (applicant and partners) are non-profit organisations. a Verify that the project budget does not
include any costs for organisations established in Denmark or non-EU
countries. |
2. Priorities and specific
objectives
On the basis of the
policy context and general objectives described in the Annual Work Programme of
the ERF Community Actions for 2011, the following priorities and related specific
objectives will be pursued in this call. Proposals must address
at least one of the five priorities. A proposed action may aim at several
specific objectives.
Please note that the Annual
Work Programme of the ERF Community Actions for 2011 covers
an additional priority ('Supporting Member States in the event of duly
substantiated emergency situations requiring urgent action'), which will be
addressed outside this call for proposals.
Priority 1: Improving the quality of asylum
decision-making and the continuing development of the capacity of stakeholders,
including Member State authorities, UNHCR and non-governmental actors, in the
asylum field
à Specific objective:
Exchange of information and development of
best practice on the implementation of EU law between National asylum
authorities, between them and other stakeholders, such as non-governmental
organisations and international organisations, and between the latter,
including through training, research, monitoring, discussion fora and the
preparation of resource materials.
Priority 2: Improving the efficiency and the
fairness of the Dublin system
à Specific objective:
Development of best practices on the
implementation of the family unity criteria and on improvement of transfer
procedures under the Dublin Regulation in order to enhance efficiency while at
the same time ensure that needs of asylum seekers, in particular vulnerable
ones, are taken into account.
Priority 3: Enhancing solidarity mechanisms between
the Member States and in particular assist those Member States which are faced
with particular pressures on their national asylum systems
à Specific objectives:
a) Facilitation of intra-EU relocation, on
a voluntary basis, of applicants or beneficiaries of international protection
from one Member State to another Member State in cases of particular asylum
pressure.
b) Any type of
support to national asylum authorities of a Member State under particular
pressure on its system.
Priority 4: Promoting
common measures to address specific needs of vulnerable groups among asylum
seekers and persons benefiting from international protection, in particular of
those who are unaccompanied minors, with a view to implement the EU Action Plan
on Unaccompanied Minors[7].
à Specific objective:
Exchange of information and development of
best practice between national asylum authorities, between them and other
stakeholders (such as non-governmental organisations and international
organisations) and between the latter, in addressing the needs of vulnerable persons,
in particular minors, unaccompanied minors (with
a view to implement the EU Action Plan on Unaccompanied Minors), victims of violence and torture, pregnant
women, elderly people, disabled people, single parents, as well as people kept in prolonged detention, and people with serious medical
needs, when implementing EU
legislation and preparing for higher and more convergent standards of
protection.
Priority 5: Promoting the integration of refugees,
taking into account the 60th anniversary of the 1951 Geneva Convention on
Refugees
à
Specific objective:
Exchange of information and development of
best practice between national asylum authorities, between them and other
stakeholders (such as non-governmental organisations and international
organisations) and between the latter on issues related to new approaches on
integration of beneficiaries of international protection.
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8 If you apply for a grant… aVerify that your proposal responds to at
least one priority of the call. aVerify that the proposal addresses one or
several of the specific objectives defined in the call. |
3.
Duration and start date
The initial duration of a proposed action must not
exceed 18 months. Co-financed actions will have to start as soon as possible
after the conclusion of a grant agreement.
A grant may be
awarded for an action which has already started only where the applicant can
demonstrate the need to start the action before a grant agreement is signed. In
such cases, expenditure eligible for financing may not have been incurred prior
to the date of submission of the grant request, following publication of the
call.
4. Budget and financial provisions
The indicative budget available for this call for
proposals is €3.642.261,64 .
Actions are funded in the form of co-financing. The EU’s financial contribution
may not exceed 90 % of the total eligible cost of the action; the remaining 10%
must be financed by the partnership or other sources. The necessary
co-financing by the applicant, by partners and/or by other third parties shall
be confirmed before a grant agreement with the Commission is concluded.
The requested EU
co-financing must be at least €300.000 for all applicants.
The requested EU
co-financing will not exceed €2.000.000 if the applicant is a National
Authority or the UNHCR; and €750.000 for other applicants.
Details of the cost of a proposed action must be provided in the Budget Form.
Costs must be necessary and clearly related to the action.
The co-financing of an action under this call for proposals cannot
include funds obtained from another programme financed from the budget of the
European Union.
Where the application concerns grants for an action for which the amount
exceeds €500.000, an audit report produced by an external auditor shall be
submitted. That report shall certify the accounts for the last financial year
available. The thresholds shall apply to each participating organisation
(applicant or partner)[8].
Should a project be selected for funding, a grant agreement will be concluded
between the applicant organisation and the European Commission. This agreement
is a standard agreement, and its terms and conditions may not be altered or
subject to negotiation. If the successful applicant is an international
organisation, a contribution agreement or any other specific contract agreed
between the international organisation concerned and the European Commission
will be used instead of the standard grant agreement, provided that the
international organisation in question offers the guarantees specified in
article 53d (1) of the Financial Regulation.
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aVerify that the requested EU-contribution
is at least €350.000 and not more than €2.000.000 (National Authority/UNHCR)
or €750.000 (other organisations). aVerify that the grant requested from the
EU does not represent more than 90% of the estimated total eligible cost of
the proposed action. aVerify that at least 10% co-financing
from other sources is secured (from the applicant organisation, from the
partners, from other associated partners, other third financing parties, or a
combination of any of these). aVerify that you are aware of and
understand the Commission's rules on eligible expenditure. aVerify that you are aware of and are
ready to accept the Commission's rules and procedures concerning other
financial matters (e.g. the finalisation of a budget, terms of payment,
etc.). |
III. APPLICATION PROCEDURE
1. Deadline for submitting applications
Applications must be submitted by 14 October 2011, 14:00 CET.
Applications
submitted after the deadline will be automatically rejected.
2.
Submission of applications
Applications
must be submitted electronically via the PRIAMOS system. Applications submitted
by regular mail, e-mail, fax or in person will not be accepted.
Applications can
only be submitted after having registered in the PRIAMOS system. The
registration process may take up to 15 days. It remains the applicant's
responsibility to register in PRIAMOS in due time.
If an
application is proposed for funding, applicants might be requested to submit
originals (signed and/or stamped) of documents submitted as electronic
attachments via the PRIAMOS system. Failure to produce any of these documents might
lead to the disqualification of the proposal.
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8 If you apply for a grant… aMake sure you read and understand how to
use the PRIAMOS system. aMake sure you register in the system well
before you wish to upload your application. aIt is recommended that you do not submit
your application at the last minute. aMake sure your application does not have
excessive file size. |
3.
Language of applications
Applications can
be submitted in any of the official languages of the EU. However, for reasons
of efficiency the Commission advises applicants to use English or French.
4.
Components
of a proposal
Proposals
must be submitted electronically on the standard forms provided in the PRIAMOS
system.
An
'application' is composed of the core application form ('grant application
form') together with all its annexes. An application will only be valid if it
contains all elements listed below. The forms must be duly completed and signed
if so required, and their presentation needs to comply with specific
requirements detailed in the Guide for Applicants.
· Grant Application Form
· Annex 1 LogFrame
· Annex 2 Budget
Form
· Annex 3 Financial
statements for the last available financial year for the
applicant[9]
· Annex 4 One
'Information on participating organisations' document, containing a
duly
completed form per applicant and per each partner.
· Annex 5 One
'Declarations of Partnership' document, containing a duly dated
and
signed declaration per partner and
including the amounts of co-
financing
· Annex 6 If
applicable, one 'Declarations of Associate Partners' document,
containing
a duly dated and signed declaration per associate partner and including the amounts of co-financing
· Annex 7 If
applicable, one 'Declarations of Co-financing Third parties'
document,
containing a duly dated and signed declaration per co- financing third party and
including the amounts of co-financing
At
the end of the evaluation procedure and only for the applications proposed for
funding, some additional documents might need to be provided by the applicant
('Legal Entity' form, 'Financial Identification' Form).
The
Commission might request originals of documents, as well as any further
additional documentation or clarifications necessary for the evaluation of
proposals at any time of the evaluation process from all applicants. Failure to provide the requested
additional documents might result in the disqualification of a proposal.
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see 4the
Guide for Applicants – section IV |
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8 If you apply for a grant… a
Verify that all requested forms, i.e. the grant
application form and all its annexes, are duly completed. aMake sure that certain documents are duly dated and signed, if
so requested. aMake sure that the presentation of your documents comply with
specific requirements. aMake sure that all requested documents are uploaded in the
PRIAMOS system. |
5.
Assistance with your application
Applicants are
advised to refer to the information provided in the documents of this call for
clarifications and regularly consult the website of DG HOME where answers to FAQs
may be published:
http://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/funding/refugee/funding_refugee_en.htm.
However, if
further assistance is needed, questions can be sent to the following addresses,
quoting the reference of this call for proposals.
Content-related
matters: HOME-REFUGEE-FUND@ec.europa.eu
Questions on the
use of PRIAMOS: HOME-JUST-PRIAMOS-USM@ec.europa.eu.
IV. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS
Submitted proposals will be evaluated against the
exclusion, eligibility, selection and award criteria.
1. Exclusion criteria
The applicant organisation and the partners (if
applicable) involved in the project must not be in one of the situations listed
in article 93 and 94 of Council Regulation No 1605/2002 of 25 June 2002[10]
on the Financial Regulation applicable to the budget of the European Union.
Effective, proportionate and dissuasive administrative
and financial penalties may be applied in the event of incorrect statements.
The Commission will exclude a proposal from
the eligibility, selection and award procedure if the applicant organisation or
one of the partners involved in the project:
(a)
is bankrupt
or is being wound up, is having its affairs administered by the court, has
entered into an arrangement with creditors, has suspended business activities,
is the subject of proceedings concerning those matters or is in an analogous
situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation
or regulation;
(b)
has been
convicted of an offence concerning his/her professional conduct by a judgement
which has the force of res judicata;
(c)
has been
guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the
Commission can justify;
(d)
has 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 it is established or with those of the country of the contracting
authority or those of the country where the contract is to be performed;
(e)
has 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)
is currently
subject to an administrative penalty referred to in Article 96(1) of the
Financial Regulation;
(g)
is subject to
a conflict of interest;
(h)
is guilty of
serious misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the
authorising department as a condition of participation in the contract
procedure or fail to supply this information.
2.
Eligibility criteria
A proposal must
meet the criteria listed below in order to be eligible under this call for
proposals.
Please note that
failure to meet either of these requirements will result in the
disqualification of a proposal.
- 1.
The
application must be submitted by the deadline defined in the call.
- 2.
The
application must be submitted through the PRIAMOS system (on-line).
- 5.
The
applicant and its partners must be
organisations working on a non-profit basis.
3.
The
application must contain the grant application form and all its annexes. It
must also contain all information, elements and documents specified in any
parts of this call for proposals or of the application forms. If any of these
elements are unavailable or not relevant, the applicant must clearly indicate
if/why this is the case.
4.
The
applicant and its partners must be national, regional
and local authorities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), public or
private bodies, university departments, research centres or international
organisations. However, for actions targeting priority 3, the applicant
organisation must be a National Authority (such as ministry or national
agency) or the UNHCR.
6.
The applicant and its partners must be
registered in any of the 26 EU Member States participating in the European Refugee
Fund (all EU Member States except Denmark).[11]
7.
Actions
should be designed, developed and implemented in at least two participating
Member States.
8.
The
project partnership must be composed of at least two distinct organisations
from at least two different[12]
countries.
9.
The
requested grant amount is in line with the financial provisions of this call
(minimum amount: €300.000; maximum amount: €2.000.000 if the applicant is a
National Authority or the UNHCR, and €750.000 for other applicants; maximum limit
of 90% EU co-financing).
10.
The
proposed action has an initial duration of maximum 18 months.
11.
The
objective of the proposed action corresponds to the objectives defined under
the priorities of the 2011 ERF CA programme.
3.
Selection criteria
A proposal
must meet the criteria listed below in order to be submitted to the next
stage of the evaluation process. Failure to meet either of these criteria
will result in the disqualification of a proposal.
a.)
Applicants must have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain
their activity throughout the period during which the action is being
carried out and to participate in its funding. In particular,
1.) the
annual turnover of the co-ordinating organisation (in the last financial
year for which statements are
available) must be superior to the amount of requested EU contribution; and
2.) the co-ordinating organisation
must be mature enough to be financially viable, i.e. it must be in existence
for at least 2 years on the date of submission of the application.
b.)
Applicants must, as well, have the technical competencies and qualifications
required to complete the proposed action and must have expertise in the
field. In particular,
1.) the partnership, as a whole, must have
demonstrated knowledge and experience in the field of the proposed action;
2.) the partnership, as a whole, must possess sufficient experience in
trans-national projects; and
3.) the co-ordinating organisation must possess sufficient experience in
project management.
4.
Award
criteria
Proposals that meet both the eligibility and
selection criteria will be assessed and ranked on the basis of the award
criteria listed below. Proposals must obtain at least 60% of the total
available points in order to qualify for funding. Funding will be awarded to
proposals with the highest scores in order of merit, to the extent of
available budget for this call.
1.) Relevance
of the proposed action (20 points)
Ø Does the proposal address an existing
and EU-relevant challenge or issue within the chosen field of action? Does
the applicant demonstrate a clear understanding of the context and of the
challenge that he/she is planning to address? Does the proposal add value in
relation to previous projects of similar nature?
Ø Are the proposed activities adequately
designed to address the issue and to achieve the stated objectives?
2.) Quality of the proposed action (25
points)
Ø How well is the proposal prepared in
terms of methodology, clarity of action, work-plan, timetable, monitoring
and evaluation?
Ø Is the proposed action feasible?
Ø Does the proposal include appropriate
involvement of stakeholders?
3.) Outcomes and impact (25 points)
Ø Does the proposal demonstrate quality,
relevance and effectiveness of expected results in terms of outcomes (rather
than outputs)? Would the action have a tangible impact?
Ø Does the proposed action have a
demonstrated European dimension? Is there an added value in developing and
implementing the action in a transnational partnership at EU-level, rather
than at national level? Do the expected results have an EU-wide relevance?
4.) Strategies
for dissemination and publicity (10 points)
Ø Does an appropriate plan exist for the
dissemination of results and knowledge transfer?
Ø Does an appropriate strategy exist for
giving publicity and visibility of the EU funding to a broad audience?
5.) Value
for money (20 points)
Ø Is the requested financing reasonable?
Ø Would the project represent good value
for money?
5. Information
to applicants/award
Once
the evaluation procedure is completed, the Commission will take its final
decision concerning the grants to be awarded, and will inform each applicant
of the result of their application. Unsuccessful applicants will be informed
of the reason(s) why their proposal was not selected. Successful applicants
will be informed about the next steps to take: shortly after the award
decision has been taken the Commission will hold a dialogue with successful
applicants about technical and financial adjustments, followed by the
conclusion of grant agreements.
6.
Indicative
timetable
The
conduction of the call for proposals will follow the following indicative
timetable:
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Stage |
Date of
realisation |
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Deadline
for submission of proposals |
14
October 2011 |
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Evaluation
process |
October-December
2011 |
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Award
of grants |
January
2011 |
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Conclusion
of Grant Agreements |
February
– March 2012 |
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Start
of implementation of actions |
from
April 2012 onward |
V. EX-POST PUBLICITY
Information on all grants signed in the course of a financial year will be
published on the website of the Union institutions at http://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/funding/solid/funding_intro_en.htm.
The information may also be published by any other appropriate medium,
including the Official Journal of the European Union.
The following
will be published with the agreement of the beneficiary: 1. the name and
address of the beneficiaries; 2. the subject of the grant; 3. the amount
awarded and rate of funding of the total eligible costs of the operational work
programme.
The European
Commission may waive the above obligations if publication of the information
could threaten the safety of the beneficiaries or harm their business
interests. Beneficiaries of grants must clearly display acknowledgement of
the support received from the EU as per the instructions in the guide for
applicants.
VI. DATA PROTECTION
The grant
applications will be processed by computer. All personal data (such as
names, addresses, CVs, etc.) will be processed in accordance with Regulation
(EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to
the processing of personal data by the European Union institutions and
bodies and on the free movement of such data [13]. Your replies to the questions in the
application form are necessary in order to assess your grant application and
they will be processed solely for that purpose by the department responsible
for the programme concerned. On request, you may obtain access to your
personal data and you may correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal
data. For any question relating to these data, please contact the Commission
department to which the application form must be returned. Beneficiaries may
lodge a complaint against the processing of their personal data with the
European Data Protection Supervisor at any time.
If, at any stage of the administrative treatment of grant applications, the persons or entities concerned consider that they have been affected by an instance of maladministration, they may, irrespective of any other means of redress, make a complaint to the European Ombudsman in accordance with Article 195(1) of the EC Treaty and as provided by the Parliament Decision of 9 March 1994 on the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman's duties published in Official Journal of the European Communities L 113 of 4 May 1994.
Grant
applicants and 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:
- the
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
- the
Commission Regulation of 17.12.2008 on the Central Exclusion Database – CED
(OJ L 344, 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 procurement contract or a grant agreement
or a decision.