Call for Proposals 2016: Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

Deadline: 21 February 2016

The Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) is opening a Call for Proposals under the 2016 re-granting scheme in order to support projects of current and former EaP CSF members with a regional dimension that will contribute to achieving the mission and objectives of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum.

The objective of this Call for Proposals is to support work of five thematic Working Groups of the EaP CSF in line with specific objectives and thematic priorities within the regional dimension.

Objectives

• To contribute to advancing reforms of the EaP countries in one of the areas covered by the EaP CSF structures
• To strengthen the regional perspective (namely by project activities with regional added value) and bridging the emerging gaps among the EaP countries while acknowledging the different paths and contractual relations with the EU
• To contribute to the effective policy-making and advocacy of the objectives of the EaP CSF at the EU level
• To connect with the interest and needs of the wider public in the EaP countries
• To encourage activity of the civil society in relevant areas and policy domains where the civil society has not been active but which are considered important for societal development in the region

Eligible Countries

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Thematic Priorities

• WG1 (120.000 EUR) – Democracy, human rights, good governance and stability
• WG2 (67.500 EUR) – Economic integration and convergence with EU policies
• WG3 (40.000 EUR) – Environment, climate change and energy security
• WG4 (50.000 EUR) – Contacts between people
• WG5 (30.000 EUR) – Social & Labour Policies and Social Dialogue

Grants available

The overall amount for this call for proposal is 307.500 EUR.

• minimum amount per project: EUR 10.000
• maximum amount per project: EUR 25.000

Eligibility Criteria

• Any project funded through this Call for Proposals must cover at least three EaP countries (mentioned above), represented by CSOs acting as lead applicant and/or partners.
• In order to be eligible, the lead applicant and its partners must:
  • Be a legal person
  • Be non-profit-making
  • Be a civil society organisation (CSO)
  • Be established in an EaP or EU country
  • Have participated in any of the seven EaP CSF Annual Assemblies
  • Be able to receive the grant (funds) on its bank account, provide account statements and have a financial management system in place to ensure clear and adequate reporting procedures.
• Members of the National Platforms, who have never participated in the EaP CSF Annual Assemblies, and delegates (CSOs) attending any EaP CSF Annual Assembly in the capacity of observers are eligible as partners only.
• A CSO can submit only one proposal as the lead applicant. It is allowed for a lead applicant to act as a project partner in other proposal/s within this call.
• Individual experts in the capacity of natural person can be involved as a third party; their participation is welcomed but does not establish/substitute the compliance with the regional dimension criterion.

Eligible costs

To be eligible, all costs must be:

• indicated in the estimated Budget proposal;
• incurred during the implementation period;
• necessary for the implementation of the project activities;
• identifiable and verifiable, in particular recorded in the accounting records and supported by documents;
• reasonable, cost-effective, and comply with the sound financial management and applicable tax and social legislation

How to Apply

• The proposal shall be submitted in English. In case the applying organisations are not able to submit proposals in English, proposals in Russian will be accepted on the condition that the project outputs are delivered also in English in order to ensure wider dissemination and advocacy.
• The proposal must be composed of:
  • A narrative part
  • A budget proposal in EUR
  • Declaration of honour on financial eligibility of the lead partner

For more information, please visit Civil Society Forum.