Developing Civil Dialogue among NGOs
This Grant Scheme is co-funded by
the European Union and
the Government of Republic of Turkey
Central Finance and Contracts Unit
Developing Civil Dialogue among NGOs
Guidelines for Grant Applicants
Budget Line: 22.02.04.01
Reference: CFCU/TR 0801.08-02
EuropeAid/130031/D/ACT/TR
Deadline for submission of proposals: 05 July 2010
Notice
This is an open Call for Proposals, where all documents are submitted at one stage (Concept Note and full proposal). However, in the first instance, only the Concept Notes will be evaluated. Thereafter, for the applicants whose Concept Notes have been pre-selected, evaluation of the full proposal will be carried out. Further to the evaluation of the full proposals, an eligibility check will be performed for those which are provisionally selected. This check will be undertaken on the basis of the supporting documents requested by the Contracting Authority and the signed "Declaration by the Applicant" sent together with the application.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. DEVELOPING CIVIL DIALOGUE AMONG NGO’S 3
1.1 Background 4
1.2 Objectıves of the Programme 4
1.3 Financial Allocation Provided by the contracting authority 5
2. RULES OF THIS CALL FOR PROPOSALS 5
2.1 Eligibility Criteria 5
2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants: who may apply? 6
2.1.2 Partnerships and eligibility of partners 7
2.1.3 Eligible actions: actions for which an application may be made 7
2.1.4 Eligibility of costs: costs which may be taken into consideration for the grant 10
2.2 How to apply, and the procedures to follow 11
2.2.1 Application Form 11
2.2.2 Where and how to send the applications 12
2.2.3 Deadline for submission of applications 13
2.2.4 Further information 13
2.3 Evaluation and selection of applications 14
2.4 Submission of supporting documents for provisionally selected proposals 17
2.5 Notification of the Contracting Authority’s decision 19
2.5.1 Content of the decision 19
2.5.2 Indicative time table 19
2.6 Conditions applicable to implementation of the action following the Contracting Authority's decision to award a grant 19
3. LIST OF ANNEXES 21
Project Cycle Management Guidelines
1. DEVELOPING CIVIL DIALOGUE AMONG NGO’S
1.1 BACKGROUND
The elimination of the barriers that are hindering the freedom of association will finally open the way of a developed civil participation. Freedom of association and civil participation are together playing a crucial role for a strengthened democracy. NGOs in Turkey are still in need of getting aware of their capacity to build a participatory power and so their ability to effect on decision making processes.
Although NGOs’ organizational capacity has been developing in recent years, their ability of taking efficient role in decision making processes and their capacity to act together remains ineffectual. In this regard, establishing a dialogue among NGOs will be one of the effective mechanisms to improve civil participatory processes. Through enhancing an efficient civil dialogue among NGOs which are active within the same thematic area or different thematic areas, the aim is to establish awareness that acting together may pave the way for a much more effective civil participation, as well as to contribute to their ability and capacity of acting together. These in turn will finally contribute to the strengthening of freedom of association in Turkey.
The need for enhancing dialogue among NGOs has been widely observed during the facilities of Civil Society Development Centre (STGM). Besides, the observed lack of communication does not only exist among NGOs from different thematic areas but also there is a lack of an efficient level of dialogue among NGOs which are working in the same fields. Therefore this call for proposals is designed to encourage the applications that are aiming to strengthen the civil dialogue among NGOs in the same working fields.
This grant scheme is a component of the larger project for Civil Society Development for Active Participation which has been designed to strengthen the institutional capacity of target group NGOs in order to encourage civil participation to decision making processes at local and national levels and to enhance dialogue between state, NGOs and private sector.[1] The target group of the project is NGOs in Turkey which are active in the areas of children rights, gender, rights of people with disabilities, human rights and environment.
The institutional framework of the Grant Scheme includes: Association of Civil Society Development Centre (STGM) and Central Finance and Contracts Unit (CFCU) of the Republic of Turkey. STGM as the Beneficiary of the Project will be responsible for the technical implementation of the programme according to the rules of the Direct Grant Agreement signed with the CFCU and also will co-ordinate the monitoring of the grants awarded under the overall supervision of the PAO (Programme Authorizing Officer). CFCU is the Contracting Authority for the programme, and is responsible for the administrative and financial implementation of the Grant Scheme. CFCU has ultimate responsibility for the correct use of grant funds and is responsible for the tendering, contracting and payments and is referred to in this document as the Contracting Authority.
This grant is financed by EU under the IPA-1 component of 2008 programming of Turkey-EU Financial Assistance.
1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME
The objective of the Programme is to strengthen civil participation through developing civil dialogue among NGOs.
The projects should enhance dialogue among NGOs through building partnerships and designing cooperative and collective actions.
The programme will support activities which fall into one of the thematic areas below:
Thematic Areas:
1. Rights of Children
Restricted to following topics:
1.1 Elimination of violence against children
1.2 Struggling with children and juvenile delinquency
1.3 Improving children and youth justice system
2. Gender Equality and Women’s Rights:
Restricted to following topics:
2.1 Enhancing gender perspective in the delivery of services of public authorities and local administrations.
2.2 Struggling with violence against women in legislation.
These topics should not be linked to following topics:
- Promotion of women’s employment (through activities such as establishing new job opportunities for women and organizing vocational trainings.)
3. Rights of people with disabilities:
Restricted to following topics:
3.1 Improving legal rights of people with disabilities
3.2 Promoting equality of opportunity for disabled people in accessing and using the public services (provided by public authorities and local administrations).
4. Human Rights:
Restricted to following topics:
4.1 Enhancing freedom of expression
4.2 Promotion of refugee rights (including asylum seekers)
4.3 Prevention of discrimination against minorities, ethnical and cultural groups.
All proposals should have a perspective relevant to the promotion of gender equality, the rights of children, environmental protection which will be assessed in the course of evaluation of applications.
1.3 FINANCIAL ALLOCATION PROVIDED BY THE CONTRACTING AUTHORITY
The overall indicative amount made available under this Call for Proposals is EUR800.000. The Contracting Authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.
Size of grants
Any grant awarded under this programme must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts under each defined thematic area:
· minimum amount: EUR25000
· maximum amount: EUR 40000
A grant may not be for less than 50% of the total eligible costs of the action.
In addition, no grant may exceed 90% of the total eligible costs of the action (see also section 2.1.4). The balance must be financed from the applicant's or partners' own resources, or from sources other than the European Community budget or the European Development Fund.
2. RULES OF THIS CALL FOR PROPOSALS
These guidelines set out the rules for the submission, selection and implementation of actions financed under this call, in conformity with the provisions of the Practical Guide to contract procedures for EC 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).
2.1 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
There are three sets of eligibility criteria, relating to:
· applicant(s) which may request a grant (2.1.1), and their partners (2.1.2),
· actions for which a grant may be awarded (2.1.3),
· types of cost which may be taken into account in setting the amount of the grant (2.1.4).
2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants: who may apply?
(1) In order to be eligible for a grant, applicants must:
· be legal persons and
· be non profit making and
· be non-governmental organizations[2] and
· be nationals[3] of a Member State of the European Union[4] or Turkey or Beneficiary Country of IPA Regulation (No 1085/2007 of 12 June 2007) or Beneficiary of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument or a Member state of European Economic Area and
· be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action, not acting as an intermediary and
· have been established at least two years before the submission deadline of applications for this grant scheme.
· Important Note 1: The following are not eligible as applicants or partners but they can participate as associates (see section 2.1.2);
· Cooperatives
· Non-profit making SME’s
· Unions
· Chambers, labour and employer unions, chambers of commerce and industry, other professional organizations and their federations and confederations
· Universities, research institutes and schools
· (2) Potential applicants may not participate in calls for proposals or be awarded grants if they are in any of the situations which are listed in Section 2.3.3 of the Practical Guide to contract procedures for EC external actions (available from the following Internet address: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/implementation/practical_guide/index_en.htm);
In part B section VI of the grant application form (“Declaration by the applicant”), applicants must declare that they do not fall into any of the situations.
2.1.2 Partnership and eligibility of partners
Applicants “must” act with partner organisations as specified hereafter.
Partners
There should be at least one partner NGO working on local, regional or national level.
Applicants from EU Member States should have at least one eligible partner from Turkey
Applicants’ partners participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the Grant Beneficiary. They must therefore satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable on the grant beneficiary himself.[5]
The following are not partners and do not have to sign the “partnership statement”:
· Associates
Other organizations may be involved in the action. Such associates play a real role in the action but may not receive funding from the grant with the exception of per diem or travel costs. Associates do not have to meet the eligibility criteria referred to in section 2.1.1. The associates have to be mentioned in Part B section IV - “Associates of the Applicant participating in the Action” of the Grant Application Form.
· Subcontractors
The grant beneficiaries have the possibility to award contracts to subcontractors. Subcontractors are neither partners nor associates, and are subject to the procurement rules set out in Annex IV to the standard grant contract.
The applicant will act as the lead organization and, if selected, as the contracting party (the "Beneficiary”).
2.1.3 Eligible actions: actions for which an application may be made
Definition:
An action (or project) is composed of a set of activities.
Duration:
The planned duration of an action may not be lower than 6 (six) months nor exceed 8 (eight) months.
Location
Actions shall mainly take place in Turkey. Some activities may take place in one or more of the following countries: EU Member States and only subsequently in other Candidate Countries. In case of an applicant from EU Member States is awarded a grant, it must have an office in Turkey where the action is to be implemented
The programme will support activities which fall into one of the thematic areas below:
1. Rights of Children
Restricted to following topics:
1.1 Elimination of violence against children
1.2 Struggling with children and juvenile delinquency
1.3 Improving children and youth justice system
2. Gender Equality and Women’s Rights:
Restricted to following topics:
2.1 Enhancing gender perspective in the delivery of services of public authorities and local administrations.
2.2 Struggling with violence against women in legislation.
These topics should not be linked to following topics:
- Promotion of women’s employment (through activities such as establishing new job opportunities for women and organizing vocational trainings.)
3. Rights of people with disabilities:
Restricted to following topics:
3.1 Improving legal rights of people with disabilities
3.2 Promoting equality of opportunity for disabled people in accessing and using the public services (provided by public authorities and local administrations).
4. Human Rights:
Restricted to following topics:
4.1 Enhancing freedom of expression
4.2 Promotion of refugee rights (including asylum seekers)
4.3 Prevention of discrimination against minorities, ethnical and cultural groups.
Types of Action
All actions, which aim at achieving the Programme objectives and fall within the eligible thematic areas, could qualify for financing.
Types of activity
Some indicative/example actions are provided below. The purpose of this list is to provide guidance as to the type of actions which can be supported but it is not meant to be exhaustive
Developing of cooperation and dialogue among NGOs through:
· Advocacy activities
· Lobbying initiatives.
· Campaigning
· Awareness raising activities
· Establishing or improving platforms and networks.
· Exchanging experiences, building partnerships and develop common strategies on thematic issues.
· Monitoring of administration of law and regulations.
· Preparing analyses and strategies regarding to problems between different agents.
The following types of actions and activities are ineligible:
a) Actions concerned only or mainly with individual sponsorships for participation in workshops, seminars, conferences, congresses;
b) Actions concerned only or mainly with individual scholarships for studies or training courses;
c) Actions that include only training activities (unless be a part of a broader project);
d) Actions that include only meeting activities (unless be a part of a broader project);
e) Religious activities;
f) Actions that include provisions to finance the core activities currently carried out by the applicant or (if any) his partners,