3.3.2017   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 67/12

CALL FOR PROPOSALS — EACEA 09/2017

EU Aid Volunteers initiative: Technical Assistance for sending organisations

Capacity Building for humanitarian aid of hosting organisations

(2017/C 67/09)

Regulation (EU) No 375/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 establishing the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps — ‘EU Aid Volunteers initiative’ (1) (hereinafter referred to as ‘the EU Aid Volunteers initiative’) establishes a framework for joint contributions from European volunteers to support and complement humanitarian aid in third countries.

In this framework, the present call for proposals will provide funding through support for actions aimed at strengthening the capacity of prospective hosting organisations to prepare and respond to humanitarian crises. In addition it will provide support for actions aimed at strengthening the technical capacity of prospective sending organisations to participate in the EU Aid Volunteers initiative.

1.   Objective

The objective of this call is to strengthen the capacities of sending and hosting organisations intending to participate in the EU Aid Volunteers initiative and to ensure compliance with the standards and procedures regarding candidate volunteers and EU Aid Volunteers in order to apply for certification which is required in order to deploy EU Aid Volunteers.

With this call, the European Commission expects to achieve the following results:

Capacities of around 110 sending and hosting organisations are strengthened in areas such as:

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Disaster risk management, preparedness and response;

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Linking relief, rehabilitation and development (LRRD);

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Strengthening local volunteering in third countries;

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Capacities to undergo certification including administrative capacity;

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Capacity to provide early warning to local communities.

2.   Eligible criteria

2.1.    Eligible bodies

The organisation applying on behalf of all applicants (the coordinator) will be legally responsible for the Consortium in its contractual relationship with the Agency.

Proposals for both, Technical assistance and Capacity building activities, must be submitted by:

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non-governmental not-for-profit organisations formed in accordance with the law of a Member State and whose headquarters are located within the Union; or

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public law bodies of a civilian character governed by the law of a Member State; or

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the International Federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Only applications from legal entities established in the following countries are eligible:

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the Member States of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom.

For both Technical Assistance and Capacity Building activities, the coordinator in each project is active in the field of humanitarian aid as defined in Article 3(d) of the Regulation (2) for at least 3 years;

Applicants may submit projects for both Technical Assistance and Capacity Building. In this case, applicants shall indicate in their application that they apply for both actions.

2.1.1.   For Technical Assistance

The applicants shall belong to any of the following categories:

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non-governmental not-for-profit organisations formed in accordance with the law of a Member State and whose headquarters are located within the Union, or

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public law bodies of a civilian character, or

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the International Federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Projects are designed and implemented by transnational consortia involving entities from at least three countries participating in the programme and belonging to one of the categories mentioned in Article 10(3)(c) of the Regulation;

At least the coordinator or one applicant in each project must have been active in the field of volunteer management for at least 3 years.

2.1.2.   For Capacity Building

The applicants shall belong to any of the following categories:

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non-governmental not-for-profit organisations operating or established in a third country under the laws in force in that country, or

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public law bodies of a civilian character, or,

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international agencies and organisations which cannot act as the coordinator and must be from a third country.

Projects are designed and implemented by transnational partnerships involving entities from at least two countries participating in the programme belonging to one of the categories mentioned in the Regulation (Article 10(3)(c)) and at least two third countries in which humanitarian aid activities and operations as per Article (3)(d) take place and which belong to one of the categories mentioned under Article 10(4)(c).

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In each project, the coordinator and at least one applicant from a country participating in the programme must have been active in the field of humanitarian aid as defined in Article 3(d) of the Regulation for at least 3 years.

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In each project, at least one applicant from third countries in which humanitarian aid activities and operations take place is active in the field of humanitarian aid as defined in Article 3(d) of the Regulation.

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At least the coordinator or one applicant from a country participating in the programme in each project must have been active in the field of volunteer management for at least 3 years.

3.   Eligible activities

Eligible activities include:

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Study/scoping visits to refine and finalise needs assessment of the action;

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Activities to build/strengthen capacities;

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Seminars and workshops;

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Job shadowing;

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Twinning arrangements and exchange of staff;

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Exchange of knowledge, organisational learning and good practices;

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Study visits;

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Activities to foster partnership building;

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Activities to assist organisations in meeting the Core Humanitarian Standards;

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Activities to strengthen regional cooperation;

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Development of, and managing online volunteer opportunities.

Additional eligible activities per sub-action:

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Technical Assistance

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Coaching/mentoring of key sending organisation paid staff and volunteers;

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Capacity Building

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Training courses for third country trainers/coaches/mentors/multipliers;

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Study visits of up to 3 months for key paid staff or volunteers from third countries to be based in European applicant/partner organisations;

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Technical capacity building on humanitarian operations focusing on:

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Needs assessment methodologies/information management;

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Disaster risk management;

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Disaster risk reduction/disaster preparedness;

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Crisis response (and related sectors);

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Linking relief, rehabilitation and development;

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Resilience and climate change adaptation.

4.   Award criteria

Eligible applications will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

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Relevance of the project (maximum 30 points)

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Quality of the project design and implementation (maximum 30 points)

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Quality and relevance of the partnership and cooperation arrangements (maximum 20 points)

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Impact and dissemination (maximum 20 points)

Projects scoring less than 60 overall points will not be considered for funding.

All projects, regardless whether they cover capacity building or technical assistance will be ranked according to the number of points they reach.

5.   Budget available

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at EUR 7 607 000.

The maximum grant will be EUR 700 000. Each grant will amount to between EUR 100 000 and EUR 700 000.

The Agency expects to fund 22 proposals.

The Agency reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

6.   Deadline for submission of applications

Grant applications must be drawn up in one of the EU official languages, using the electronic form (E-form) specifically designed for this purpose. The E-form is presented on the internet at the following address: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/documents/eforms_en

The electronic application form duly completed must be received by 12:00 (midday, Brussels time) on 3 July 2017. After this time, the online application system will be closed.

Applicants may submit projects for both Technical Assistance and Capacity Building. In this case, applicants shall indicate in their application that they apply for both actions. Applications sent by post, fax or email will not be accepted.

7.   Additional information

Applications must comply with the provisions contained in the application guidelines — Call for proposals EACEA 09/2017, be submitted on the E-form provided for this purpose and contain the relevant annexes.

The said documents can be found on the internet at the following address:

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/eu-aid-volunteers/funding_en

In case of questions, please contact: EACEA-EUAID-VOLUNTEERS@ec.europa.eu

(1)  OJ L 122, 24.4.2014, p. 1.

(2)  ‘Humanitarian aid’ means activities and operations in third countries intended to provide needs-based emergency assistance aimed at preserving life, preventing and alleviating human suffering, and maintaining human dignity in the face of man-made crises or natural disasters. It encompasses assistance, relief and protection operations in humanitarian crises or their immediate aftermath, supporting measures to ensure access to people in need and to facilitate the free flow of assistance, as well as actions aimed at reinforcing disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction, and contributing towards strengthening resilience and capacity to cope with, and recover from, crises.