How can an NGO benefit from EC grants

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How can an NGO benefit from EC grants?
Manila Seminar on thematic instruments and
programmes Reinforcing the civil society
through thematic Programmes From 15 to 17
October 2008

• EuropeAid Co-operation OfficeUnit G7 General
  operations support Financial and contractual
  matters and legal affairs

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Summary

• Who manages? Who does what?
• What is a grant?
• Basic rules
• Award procedures
• Publication requirements
• Evaluation Contract award

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Who manages?
jointly
shared
decentralised

centralised
with international
(Member
(Third
organisations
States )
Countries)
direct
indirect
bodies set up by
bodies with a public
executive
service mission
Communities
agencies
"(tradit. agencies) "
"(nat. agencies)"
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Who does what?
DG Development DG External Relations
Joint responsibility
EuropeAid
EuropeAid
EuropeAid
EuropeAid
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Management Tools

• Practical Guide to contract procedures in the
  context of EC external actions
• http//ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/imp
  lementation/practical_guide/index_en.htm
• PADOR

http//ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/onlineservices/
pador/index_en.htm
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What is a grant?

• Payment of non-commercial nature
• Achievement of an objective forming part of a
  European Union policy (or of the EU-ACP
  Agreement)
• Implementation of an action or functioning of a
  body
• PRAG 6.1.1

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What is a grant?-comparison with a tender
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Basic rules

• Programming annual work programme
• Transparency publicity of calls for proposals
• Equal treatment impartial evaluation on the
  basis of published criteria
• No cumulative grants only one grant per action
• No retroactivity except in crisis situations
• Co-financing unless exception for external
  actions
• No profit balance between income and
  expenditure
• PRAG 6.2

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How to award a grant?

• Call for Proposals
• Open or restricted
• International or local
• Exceptions where direct award may be allowed
• urgency or crisis situation
• de jure or de facto monopoly
• mention in basic act
• joint management with an international
  organisation
• grants of low amount (less than 10 000) in
  decentralised management
• PRAG 6.3

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Open call for proposals steps

• 1. Publicity
• 2. Receipt and registration
• 3. Opening and administrative check
• 4. Assessment of the quality of the concept notes
• 5. Assessment of the technical and financial
  quality of the proposal
• 6. Eligibility
• 7. Committees recommendations
• 8. Approval of the Evaluation Report with list
• 9. Contract preparation
• 10. Publicity

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Publicity

• Annual Work Programme
• Call for proposals notice Guidelines for
  applicants (1)
• Award notice

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Where to find information?http//ec.europa.eu/e
uropeaid/index_en.htm
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Where to find information?http//ec.europa.eu/eu
ropeaid/cgi/frame12.pl
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Guidelines for applicants

• include application form and other annexes
  (standard contract, budget etc)
• Inform on
• the objectives of the programme,
• the priority and themes to be funded
• Number of concept notes that will be selected
• Eligibility rules
• the procedures to be followed by applicants,
• the selection and award criteria
• PRAG 6.4.2-3

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Submission of proposals

• Submission period
• Open call minimum 90 days (60 if grants below
  100.000)
• Restricted call minimum 45 days 45 days
• Questions by applicants 21 days before deadline,
  answer from Contracting Authority 11 days before
  (on the EuropeAid website)
• The proposals must reach the Contracting
  Authority by the deadline
• PRAG 6.4.4-6

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Evaluation Committee

• Odd number of voting members chairperson
  secretary
• Use of assessors
• Impartiality and confidentiality
• PRAG 6.4.7

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Open call for proposals

• (1) Opening administrative check
• a) Evaluation of the concept note
• -selection of concept notes
• b) Evaluation of the full proposals of selected
  concept notes
• - provisional selection of proposals
  reserve list
• c) Supporting documents to be submitted within
  10
• days by the provisionally selected
  applicants
• (3) a) Eligibility verification of the
  supporting documents of the provisionally
  selected applicants
• b) Final selection of the proposals recommended
  for funding
• not applicable for grants below 25.000.
  Supporting documents may exceptionally be asked
  for earlier in the procedure

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Back
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Evaluation full proposal

• Financial Operational Capacity (20 points
  pass threshold 12)
• Relevance (25 points pass threshold 20)
• Methodology (25 points)
• Sustainability (15 points)
• Budget cost-effectiveness (15 points)

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Eligibility

• Eligibility of applicant ( partners)
• nationality
• grounds for exclusion
• category of accepted applicant
• Check based on applicants declaration part
  IV of the Application form
• Supporting documents
• Do not apply for grants below 25,000
• Points 6.4.3.1 et 6.4.8.5

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Contract preparation

• Special Conditions
• Options for payments
• One payment per year, one report per payment
• Annexes
• Description of the Action
• General Conditions
• Budget
• Contract award procedures
• Standard request for payment and financial
  identification form
• Templates for narrative and financial reports
• Expenditure verification report
• Financial guarantee form

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Further information

• General
• http//ec.europa.eu/development/index_en.cfm
• http//ec.europa.eu/external_relations/index.htm
• http//ec.europa.eu/europeaid/index_en.htm
• Specific
• The Contracting Authority
• The Delegation in the beneficiary country
• Procedures
• http//ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/index_en.htm

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EIDHR - European Instrument for Democracy and
Human Rights
Eligibility of legal / natural persons
Regulation (EC) 1889/2006 27 Member States
Island, Norway, Lichtenstein (all European
Economic Area) officially recognized candidate
countries (Turkey, Croatia, FYROM) reciprocity
cases Developing countries (OECD DAC list)
international organisations Participation
allowed by nature and by localisation (Art. 14.4
of the Regulation). Enlargement of geographical
scope is possible in duly substantiated cases
(Art. 14.10 of the Regulation). NB as per AAP
2007 (Action Fiche 2, point 3.3) for local calls
the Delegations are asked to define the most
appropriate objectives and eligibility criteria
in line with EIDHR Strategy 2007-2010 (point 33)
Thematic programmes
a) Expert any nationality b) Rules of origin
follow the eligibility rules possible
derogationsc) Reciprocity case by case (never
happened)
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BUDGET Regulations n 2110/2005 2112/2005
Eligibility of moral persons 1) 27 Member
States European Economic Area (Island, Norway,
Lichtenstein) officially recognized candidate
countries (Turkey, Croatia, FYROM) reciprocity
cases Developing countries (Annex 1 DCI
Regulation) international organisations 2)
27 Member States European Economic Area
(Island, Norway, Lichtenstein) officially
recognized candidate countries (Turkey, Croatia,
FYROM) reciprocity cases Countries mentioned
in the basic act or covered by the Instruments
international organisations ----! Particular
provisions for the NGOs in the field of
humanitarian aid for actions with co-financing
or joint implementation provided by an
International organisation
1) Thematic programmes ( ACP)
2) Geographical programmes
a) Expert any nationality b) Rules of origin
follow the eligibility rules possible
derogationsc) Reciprocity case by case (never
happened automatically)