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The DEADLINE for the submission
of Concept Notes is 7 May 2008 (date at place of dispatch) as evidenced by the
postmark or the date of the deposit slip. In the case of hand-deliveries, the
deadline for receipt is 7 May 2008, 16:00 (
European Commission
Investing in People (IiP)
Equality Between Women and Men
Strengthening
the capacity of civil society organisations
(including economic and social partners)
active
in the field of promoting women's rights
and equality between women and men
in Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon,
Morocco,
Palestinian Territories, Syria and Tunisia
Restricted Call for Proposals 2008
Guidelines for grant applicants
Budget line 21 05 01 04
Reference:
EuropeAid/126779/C/ACT/MULTI
Deadline for submission of Concept Notes:
07/05//2008, 16:00 CET
Notice
This is a restricted Call for Proposals. In the first
instance, only Concept Notes must be submitted for evaluation. Thereafter,
applicants whose Concept Notes have been pre-selected will be invited to submit
a Full Application Form. Further to the evaluation of the Full Applications, 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 European Commission, the signed "Declaration by the
Applicant" sent together with the Concept Note and the second Declaration
sent together with the Full Application.
All Internet links in the present document are valid
at the time of publication of this Call for Proposals. Nevertheless, they may
be subject to changes at a later stage.
Table
of contents
1. The Programme
'Investing in People' – EQUALITY BETWEEN WOMEN AND MEN....... 4
1.1 Background 4
1.2 Objectives
of the programme and priority issues 4
1.3 Financial
allocation provided by the European Commission 5
2. Rules FOR thIS call
for proposalS....................................................................................... 6
2.1 Eligibility
criteria 6
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 8
2.1.4 Eligibility of
costs: costs which may be taken into consideration for the grant 11
2.2 How
to apply and the procedures to follow 12
2.2.1 Concept Note content 12
2.2.2 Where and how to
send Concept Notes 13
2.2.3 Deadline for
submission of the Concept Notes 14
2.2.4 Further information
for Concept Note 14
2.2.5 Full Application
Form 14
2.2.6 Where and how to
send the Full Application Form 16
2.2.7 Deadline for
submission of the Full Application Form 16
2.2.8 Further information
for Applicants 17
2.3 Evaluation
and selection of applications 17
2.4 Submission
of supporting documents for provisionally selected proposals 21
2.5 Notification
of the European Commission’s decision 22
2.5.1 Content of the decision 22
2.5.2 Indicative time table 23
2.6 Conditions
applicable to implementation of the action following the European Commission's
decision to award a grant 24
3. LIST OF annexes.................................................................................................................. 25
1. The
Programme 'Investing in People' – EQUALITY BETWEEN
WOMEN AND MEN
1.1 B
The Reports on Human Development in Arab countries, as well as the main
studies carried out in the region stressed that status and roles assigned to
women are one of the main deficits which hold back the development of Southern
Mediterranean Countries. Indeed, although these countries have ratified several
regional and international Human Rights Instruments, as well as the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW[1][1]) – with, however,
reservations and interpretative declarations–, the integration of international
obligations with respect to women's civil, political, social, economic and
cultural rights in national legal systems, and the implementation of norms in
this regard, is incomplete. Furthermore, even when a legal framework to promote
equality between women and men is in place, it is in practice seldom followed
up.
In the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the member
States of the Partnership committed themselves to improve the participation and
overall situation of women in the civil, political, economic, social and
cultural spheres (Conclusions of the Ministerial Conference of Istanbul[2][2] November 2006).
In some countries of the region, civil society organisations play an
important role in the advent of reforms. However, their capacities need to be
strengthened: access to data and information, knowledge of some highly
specialised domains (macro-economy, trade, labour market, impact on women of
the creation of a free trade area, of SME expansion, of migratory fluxes etc.),
capacity to advocate and to network are often lacking.
In addition, the commitment and the participation of traditional actors
do not suffice to reach the objective of equality between women and men. Thus,
it is essential to ensure the cooperation of organisations with a general
mandate as well as key actors of economic and social life and to reinforce
partnership.
In this context, the thematic Programme "Investing in People"
prioritises the support to capacity-building and actions of civil society
organisations active in the promotion of women's rights and equality between
women and men in the Southern shore of the
1.2 Objectives of the progr
The global objective of the thematic Programme "Investing in People" (2007-2010 Thematic Strategy[3][3] and 2007 Annual Action Plan[4][4]) is to help the countries partner of the EU to improve their human and social development levels.
Activities carried out under the "Equality between women and
men" component will focus on policy development, advocacy and monitoring.
To this end, the Programme will support the activities and improvement of the
capacity of civil society organisations
active in promoting women's rights and equality between women and men.
Under the 2007 budget , this
component supports in particular,:
-
Coordinated
efforts by civil society organisations to promote the rights of women and
equality between women and men, including by developing or consolidating
networks at national or regional level.
-
Better
practice among economic and social partners concerning the rights of women and
equality between women and men. Support
to their advocacy efforts towards gender equality on the labour market and at
work place.
-
Efforts
by civil society towards a better attention to the rights of women and equality
between women and men, in the socio-economic development strategies.
The financial resources of
this call for proposal are exclusively dedicated to partner countries of the
Southern shore of the Mediterranean (
Priorities are defined under
point 2.1.3 below
These priorities also
contribute to the realisation of commitments made within the framework of the
Istanbul Ministerial Conclusions.
1.3 Fin
The overall indicative amount made available under this Call for Proposals is EUR 6 808 900. The European Commission reserves the right not to award all available funds or to attribute additional funds.
Size of grants
|
· minimum
amount: |
250 000 EUR |
|
· maximum
amount: |
1 000 000 EUR |
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 FOR thIS c
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.
The majority of terms used in
the present guidelines are explained in the Glossary to the Practical Guide to
contract procedures for EC external actions.
The aforementioned Practical
Guide and the Glossary can be consulted at the following Internet address: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/implementation/practical_guide/index_en.htm
In addition to the Glossary, the following definitions apply:
Partnership the grouping of
organisations i.e. the main applicant and its partners for the purpose of
implementing the proposed action
Applicant the organisation
responsible for submitting the application
Partner member organisation of the partnership other
than the applicant
Associate organisation that
plays an active role in the action but which cannot benefit from funding under
the grant
Subcontractor organisation contracted by the beneficiary or its
partner(s) in accordance with the appropriate procedures in order to execute
specific tasks in implementing the action
Re-granting financial support
that may be given to third parties by the beneficiary of the Community grant
where the implementation of the action so requires, subject to the conditions
laid down in Article 120 of the Financial Regulation and 184a of the
Implementing Rules of the Financial Regulation[5][5]
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).
(1) In order to be eligible for a grant, applicants must:
· be legal persons, and
· be non-profit making, and
· be nationals[6][6] of one of the following countries and :
· belong to one of the following
categories:
- civil society organisations[7][7] (including non governmental organisations, independent
foundations, economic and social partners), in particular those active in the area of women's rights and equality between women and men,
or
- institutes specialised in development studies, universities and research centres,
and
· be directly responsible
for the preparation and management of the action, not acting as an
intermediary.
(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 Internet address indicated at the beginning of the section 2).
In Part A, section
III of the Grant Application Form (“Declaration by the applicant”), applicants
must declare that they do not fall into any of the situations.
Partners
Under Priority 1, applicants have the
obligation to act in partnership with at
least one partner organisation as specified after.
Under priority 2 and 3, applicants may act individually or in partnership.
Partnership is encouraged (see sub-section 2.3 of the Concept Note evaluation
grid and sub-section 3.3 of the Full Application Form evaluation grid). Where
the applicant does not propose a partner, a justification has to be
provided and will be evaluated.
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 same
eligibility criteria as applicants, except for the nationality.
Regarding the
nationality criterion, partners can be nationals of
one of the following countries and territories:
-
- the 27
-
During the second
phase of the call for proposals, the partners (and the applicant) must sign the
partnership statement.
Other organisations
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.
Participation, as
associates, of organisations established in Arab States of the Gulf (
Associates are not
considered as partners and do not have to sign the partnership statement.
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
Subcontractors are not considered as partners and do not have to sign the
partnership statement.
The applicant will
act as the lead organisation and, if selected, as the contracting party (the
"beneficiary").
Definition:
Duration
The initial planned duration
of an action may not be lower than 12
months nor exceed 36 months.
Sectors or themes
The present call
for proposals covers three priorities:
PRIORITY 1:
Coordinated action by civil society in the area of women's rights and equality
between women and men
Supporting coordinated efforts by civil society, including
the development or the consolidation of networks, at national or
regional[8][8] level for the promotion of women's rights and equality between women
and men in the following areas:
- lifting of reserves
and accession to the Optional
Protocol of the CEDAW,
- improvement of the legal
context relating to equality between women and men,
- the effective and operational
implementation of reforms in the areas covered by CEDAW,
- follow-up and monitoring of the
implementation of the "Ministerial Conclusions of Istanbul on
strengthening the role of women in society".
The expected results linked with this priority theme 1 are the
following:
· initiatives of civil
society organisations in favour of equality between women and men are
strengthened,
· their networking at
national, sub-regional or regional level is improved,
· capacities of civil
society organisations to follow and monitor the implementation of the
commitments made by the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (
· the process of
lifting of the reserves and of accession by the States parties to the CEDAW's
Optional Protocol is accelerated,
· the implementation
of commitments at each level of the States and of society is strengthened and
monitored.
PRIORITY 2:
Action of economic and social partners targeting the labour market and the work
place
The
expected results linked with this priority theme 2 are the following:
· concrete progress
is realised towards equality between women and men on the labour market and at
the work place,
· practice regarding
gender equality issues among social partners is improved,
· the institutional
functioning of these organizations in this area is strengthened in a
sustainable way.
PRIORITY 3: Integration of equality between women and
men in the socio-economic development strategies.
Strengthen the capacity of
civil society organisations so as to enable them to participate in and
decisively influence the dialogue on socio-economic development strategies
including budgetary processes, at both national and local levels.
The
expected results linked with this priority theme 3 are the following:
· the knowledge of
civil society organisations in the area of "gender and economy" is
strengthened,
· their capacity to
influence and monitor socio-economic development strategies in the countries of
the region, at national and local levels, is strengthened,
· their capacity to
influence budgetary processes, at national and local levels, is strengthened.
Particular
attention will be given to the rights of persons belonging to vulnerable
groups. Where appropriate, proposals shall demonstrate how these issues have
been considered in the design, the implementation and the monitoring of the
activities[9][9].
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