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EUROPEAN COMMISSION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL
HOME AFFAIRS Directorate B : Immigration and Asylum |
EUROPEAN FUND FOR THE INTEGRATION OF
THIRD COUNTRY NATIONALS
2007-2013
COMMUNITY ACTIONS
CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2011 |
I. INTRODUCTION
The European Fund for the Integration of
third-country nationals (EIF) for the period 2007 to 2013 was established by
the Council Decision of 25 June 2007 and is a part of the General Programme
Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows (2007/435/EC).
The general objective of the instrument
is to provide financial support for actions promoting integration of
third country nationals[1]
in the Member States of the European Union.
Through the EIF Community
Actions programme financial support is given to actions of European interest.
Such projects must be transnational and must be implemented by a European
partnership.
To ensure the consistency of the European
Union's response to the integration of third-country nationals, actions
financed under the European Integration Fund should be specific and
complementary to actions financed under the European Refugee Fund and the
Structural Funds, in particular the European Social Fund.
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II.
SCOPE
OF THE CALL
This
call for proposals aims at selecting proposals to be co-funded by the European
Commission within the framework of the EIF Community Actions programme.
1.
Who may apply?
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.
1)
Actions
should be implemented through the coordination of a partnership. Since these
actions are trans-national, the partnership must include at least three
organisations (the applicant and two partners).
2) Applicants and their partners must be registered[2]
in any of the 26 Member States participating in the European Fund for the
Integration of third-country nationals (all the EU Member States except
Denmark).
3)
The
applicant and partners must be from at least three different EU Member States[3].
4)
Proposals
must be submitted by a legal person, i.e. the co-ordinator, who carries out the
project with at least two other distinct legal entities.
5)
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.
Actions may include associated partners
from Denmark as well as third countries, but the cost of their participation
must be financed entirely by non-EU resources.
8 If you apply for a grant… aVerify that a partnership of
at least 3 organisations (applicant + 2 partners) is established. aVerify that all participating
organisations (applicant and partners) are distinct, and that they come from at
least three different EU Member States participating in the European Fund for
Integration of Third-Country Nationals (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
On the basis of the policy context and
general objectives described in the Annual Work Programme of the EIF Community
Actions for 2011, five priorities and related specific objectives will be
pursued in this call.
Proposals must address at least one of
the five priorities.
Proposals may address a combination of
priorities 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Priority 5 is a stand-alone
priority as specific provisions apply to it. Proposals addressing priority 5
should not explicitly target other priorities, even if they relate to or
contain elements of other priority areas.
A proposed action may aim at several
specific objectives listed under a given priority.
Priority 1: Enhance public perception of migration and diversity
Specific objectives:
à 1.1 Promote a better
understanding of the contributions of legal migration and migrants to the
receiving societies.
à 1.2 Enhance the capacity of
public and private bodies, to reflect and manage increasing diversity.
à 1.3 Promote intercultural
dialogue and education measures to combat racism and xenophobia.
à 1.4 Improve the availability and quality
of data to present a balanced picture of the situation of migrants in the
receiving societies.
Priority 2: Enhance diversity
management in neighbourhoods
Specific objectives:
à 2.1 Support the creation of inclusive
neighbourhoods and bottom up initiatives for local participation.
à 2.2 Promote access to public and
private goods and services in a non-discriminatory way.
à 2.3 Promote cooperation
between national and local administrations to support neighbourhood
integration.
Priority 3: Enhance immigrants'
participation in all aspects of collective life
Specific objectives:
à3.1 Promote effective language and
introductory courses to support the entry into employment and other important
arenas of the receiving society.
à 3.2 Promote involvement of
immigrants in relevant consultative bodies at national and local level.
à 3.3 Promote the creation of
networks of migrants' organisations.
à 3.4 Assess
and encourage measures for facilitating immigrants' access to voting rights.
Priority 4: Enhance
integration measures targeting disadvantaged immigrant groups
Specific objectives:
à 4.1 Address specific needs of
young migrants, migrant women and elderly, including unaccompanied minors with
a legal status[4] and victims
of trafficking.
à 4.2 Promote measures to
address the challenges of particularly disadvantaged migrant groups.
Priority 5: Coordinate existing
research activities in the field of migration and integration, including the
role of sending countries in fostering integration of third-country nationals
8 If you apply for a grant… aVerify that your proposal
responds to at least one of the five priorities. aVerify that the proposal
addresses one or more specific objectives listed under a given priority. a Verify that your proposal
addresses only one priority in case this is priority 5. |
3. Duration
and start date
For proposals addressing priorities 1-4,
the initial duration of a proposed action must not exceed 18 months.
For proposals addressing priority 5, the initial
duration of a proposed action must not exceed 24 months.
All 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 the grant agreement is concluded. 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
In
2011, the indicative budget available for the EIF Community Actions programme
is EUR 4.955.000.
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
potential partners and/or by other third parties shall be confirmed before a
grant agreement with the Commission is concluded.
For
proposals addressing priorities 1-4, the requested EU co-financing must be at
least EUR 400.000 and not more than EUR 1.000.000.
For
proposals addressing priority 5, the requested EU co-financing must be at least
EUR 750.000 and not more than EUR
1.500.000.
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 EUR
500 000, an audit report produced by an approved 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).
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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8 If you apply for a grant… aVerify that the requested EU-contribution is at least EUR 400.000
and not more than EUR 1.000.000 for actions addressing priorities 1-4; and at
least EUR 750.000 and not more than EUR 1.500.000 for actions addressing
priority 5. 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 12:00 CET, 11 October 2011. 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 will 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
(see section IV).
·
Grant Application Form
·
Annex 1 LogFrame
·
Annex 2 Budget
Form
·
Annex 3 Financial
statements for the last available financial year for the applicant[5]
·
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 V |
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
It
is advised that applicants first refer to the information provided in the
documents of this call for clarifications. Applicants are equally invited to
regularly consult the website of DG HOME where FAQs and answers may be
published:
http://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/funding/pilotprojects/funding_intro_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-INTEGRATION-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 its partners
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[6]
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 a 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.
9.
The
requested grant amount is in line with the financial provisions of this
call (for actions addressing priorities 1-4: minimum amount: 400.000
EUR, maximum amount: 1.000.000 EUR; for actions addressing priority 5
minimum amount 750.000 EUR, maximum amount 1.500.000 EUR; percentage of
EU co-financing: maximum 90%).
10.
The
proposed action has duration of a.) maximum 18 months for actions
addressing priorities 1-4; or b.) maximum 24 months for actions
addressing priority 5.
11.
The objective(s)
of the proposed action correspond(s) to the objectives defined under
the priorities of the 2011 EIF CA programme. An action addressing
priority 5 does not directly address any other priorities.
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 in
terms of integration of third country nationals? 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, including
migrant organisations?
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 in terms of immigrant integration?
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:
Stage |
Date of
realisation |
Deadline
for submission of proposals |
11
October 2011 |
Evaluation
process |
November
2011 – January 2012 |
Award of
grants |
February
2012 |
Conclusion
of Grant Agreements |
March-
April 2012 |
Start of
implementation of actions |
from May
2012 onward |
V. EX-POST
PUBLICITY
Information on all grants signed
in the course of a financial year will be published on the Internet site
of the Union Institutions. 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/title of
the action; 3.) the amount awarded and the rate of EU-funding in
relation to the total eligible cost of the action.
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.
VI. DATA
PROTECTION
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 institutions and bodies of
the EU and on the free movement of such data[9].
Information provided in
the application forms are necessary in order to assess a proposal, and it
will be processed solely for that purpose by the department responsible
for the programme concerned. On request, you may be requested to send,
correct or complete personal data. For any questions relating to such
data the Commission department to which the forms must be returned can
be contacted. Applicants 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 a grant application, 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.
[1] Any person not holding the nationality of an EU Member State
[2] Not applicable for international organisations.
[3] An international organisation shall be deemed to be established in
a Member State other than any Member
State in which another partner is established.
[4] Please note that unaccompanied minors which are asylum seekers, refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection are not eligible as they are already covered by the European Refugee Fund
[5] Not applicable for public bodies and international organisations
[6] OJ L 248, 16.09.2002, p. 1.
[7] Not applicable for international organisations
[8] Not applicable for international organisations
[9] Official
Journal L 8, 12.1.2001.