AB ve Türkiye Arasındaki Sivil Toplum Diyaloğu – IV – Eğitim Hibe Programı

AB ve Türkiye Arasındaki Sivil Toplum Diyaloğu – IV – Eğitim Hibe Programı

By: Bülent Balyemez

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AB ve Türkiye Arasındaki Sivil Toplum Diyaloğu – IV – Eğitim Hibe Programı (CFCU/TR2011/0135.15-09 – EuropeAid/136836/ID/ACT/TR) Teklif Çağrısı yayımlanmıştır.

Proje tekliflerinin son teslim tarihi 1 Haziran 2015 saat 16:00’dır.

  1. Civil Society Dialogue between EU and Turkey – IV: educatıon Grant Scheme
    • Background

Turkey has a history of close political and economic ties with the European institutions dating back to the signature of the Association Agreement in 1963, which subsequently led to the establishment of the Customs Union in 1995. Close bilateral interaction, at the institutional as well as at the grassroots level, has taken place since the early 1960s and has been intensified since the official recognition of Turkey as a candidate country in 1999. Since then, national and European institutions have developed a number of bilateral activities with Turkey which fall under the scope of the civil society dialogue. By the start of accession negotiations in 2005, it is underlined that accession process needs to be supported by a strong, deep and sustained dialogue between the societies of Turkey and the EU Member States, as well as with the EU institutions. This was followed by a communication from the Commission on the civil society dialogue between the EU and Candidate Countries with the aim to promote the civil society dialogue, in a broad sense, in the EU and Turkey by enhancing a mutual understanding regarding enlargement issues and concerns.

Within this aim, the 2006 Pre-accession Assistance Programme for Turkey included a project titled “Promotion of the Civil Society Dialogue between European Union and Turkey”, including Technical Assistance and four Grant Schemes aiming at intensifying and diversifying the contacts between “Towns and Municipalities”, “Professional Organizations”, “Universities” and “Youth Organizations”. As a continuation of the first project, “Promotion of the Civil Society Dialogue between EU and Turkey Project-II” included in the 2007 Programming under the “Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA)” has covered Technical Assistance and three Grant Schemes on “Agriculture and Fisheries”, “Culture and Arts” and “Micro Grants for NGO Actions”.

Consistent with this sector-based approach in line with the Multi-annual Indicative Planning Document (MIPD), Commission Communication and other relevant strategic documents, the project titled “Civil Society Dialogue between EU and Turkey –III” was developed in the 2010 Programming under IPA. The Project consisted of two Grant Schemes and Technical Assistance amounting to 8.4 MEUR aiming at establishing a framework for cooperation, supporting the establishment of partnerships, and promoting dialogue between the civil societies of Turkish and EU counterparts on “Political Criteria” and “Media”.

“Civil Society Dialogue between European Union and Turkey-IV (CSD IV)” project was included in the 2011 Programming under the IPA. The project in general aims to establish strong links and a high level of cooperation between civil society in Turkey and the EU Member States through a concrete civil society dialogue in the acquis fields, where civil society dialogue is particularly valuable for Turkey’s successful accession to the EU. The Project consists Technical Assistance and nine Grant Schemes on “Environment”, “Energy”, “Consumer and Health Protection”, “Justice, Freedom and Security”, “Right of Establishment and Freedom to Provide Services”, “Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments”, “Enterprise and Industrial Policy”, “Agriculture and Fisheries” and “Education”.

This Guidelines for Grant Applicants describes the objectives, priorities and eligibility rules of the Education Grant Scheme.

The institutional framework of the Grant Scheme includes the Ministry for EU Affairs (MEU) and the Central Finance and Contracts Unit (CFCU) of the Republic of Turkey. MEU, as the Beneficiary of the Project, will be responsible for the overall coordination of the Project according to the rules of the Operational Agreement signed with the CFCU and also will co-ordinate the monitoring of the grants awarded under the overall supervision of the Programme Authorizing Officer (PAO) who is the head of the CFCU. The CFCU, as the Contracting Authority for the Project, is responsible for the administrative and financial implementation of the Grant Schemes. The CFCU has the ultimate responsibility for the correct use of grant funds and is responsible for tendering, contracting and payments and is referred to in this document as the Contracting Authority.

This Grant Scheme is co-financed by the EU and the Republic of Turkey within the National Programme for Turkey for the year 2011 under the IPA-I, “Transition Assistance and Institution Building” Component.

 

 

  • Objectives of the programme and priority issues

The global objective of this Call for Proposals is to achieve a high level of mutual understanding between all sectors of civil society in Turkey and in the EU Member States, including the implications of Turkey’s EU membership.

The specific objective of this Call for Proposals is establishment of strong links and a high level cooperation between civil society in Turkey and the EU Member States through civil society dialogue in the area of education where civil society dialogue is particularly valuable for Turkey’s successful accession to the EU.

All projects should respond to the specific objective of this Call for Proposals.

The proposed project (Action) should fall in one or more of the below mentioned priority areas in the field of education:

  • Combatting with early school leaving,
  • Developing key competences for lifelong learning (such as digital competence, learning to learn, a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship),
  • Improving teachers professional and pedagogical development,
  • Pre-school education,
  • Quality in adult learning.
  • Financial allocation provided by the contracting authority

The overall indicative amount made available under this Call for Proposals is EUR 1.000.000. The Contracting Authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.

Size of grants

Any grant awarded under this Call for Proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:

  • minimum amount: EUR 50.000
  • maximum amount: EUR 150.000

Any grant requested under this Call for Proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum percentages of total eligible costs of the Action:

  • Minimum percentage: 50% of the total eligible costs of the Action.
  • Maximum percentage: 100% of the total eligible costs of the Action (see also Section 2.1.5).
  • Any grant requested under this Call for Proposals must further be limited to 90% of the estimated total accepted costs[1]. In case that the total accepted costs are equal to the total eligible costs, the percentage applicable to the total accepted costs applies to the total eligible costs to ensure the required co-financing.

Wherever in the Call for Proposal a reference to the percentage of eligible costs is made, the further limitation to the percentage applicable to the total accepted costs will apply.

As a reminder, before sending your proposal please check that the requested contribution is equal or less than maximum percentage (90 %) of the estimated total accepted costs allowed.

 

 

IMPORTANT NOTE 1Any grant requested under this Call for Proposals must be limited to 90% of the estimated total accepted costs (Budget line 13), if the non-eligible taxes are included in the budget (under Budget line 12).

If taxes are not included, total eligible costs (Budget line 11) and estimated total accepted costs (Budget line 13) of  the Action must be equal to each other and the requested amount must be limited to 90% of estimated total eligible costs (Budget line 11) of the Action.

Taxes may be claimed if the following conditions are fulfilled:

(i)        the value added taxes are not recoverable by any means;

(ii)       it is established that they are borne by the final beneficiary; and

(iii)      they are clearly identified in the project proposal.

The balance (i.e. the difference between the total cost of the Action and the amount requested from the Contracting Authority) must be financed from sources other than the European Union Budget or the European Development Fund[2].


  1. RULES FOR THIS CALL FOR PROPOSALS

These guidelines set out the rules for the submission, selection and implementation of the actions financed under this Call, in conformity with the Practical Guide, which is applicable to the present Call (available on the Internet at this address: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/document.do?locale=en).

  • Eligibility criteria

There are three sets of eligibility criteria, relating to:

  • the actors:
  • The Applicant, i.e. the entity submitting the Full Application Form (2.1.1),
  • its co-applicant(s) (where it is not specified otherwise the Applicant and its co-applicant(s) are hereinafter jointly referred as the “applicants”) (2.1.1),
  • and, if any, affiliated entity(ies) to the Applicant and/or to a co-applicant(s) (2.1.2);
  • the actions:

Actions for which a grant may be awarded (2.1.4);

  • the costs:
  • types of cost that may be taken into account in setting the amount of the grant (2.1.5).
    • Eligibility of Applicants (i.e. Applicant and co-applicant(s))

Applicant

(1)   In order to be eligible for a grant, the Applicant must:

  • be a legal person, and
  • be non-profit making, and
  • be non-governmental organisations (NGOs)[3] (Associations; foundations; federations and confederations of associations or foundations in Turkey[4]; not-for-profit organisations in the EU Member States[5]), and
  • be established[6] in a Member State of the European Union or Turkey, and
  • be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the Action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.
IMPORTANT NOTE 2Branches of NGOs will be requested to submit a “confirmation letter” from their headquarters if they are provisionally selected after the evaluation of Full Application Forms.

(2)   The potential Applicant may not participate in Calls for Proposals or be awarded grants if it is in any of the situations listed in Section 2.3.3 of the Practical Guide ;

In Part B, section 8 of the Grant Application Form (‘Declaration by the Applicant’), the Applicant must declare that the Applicant himself, the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies) are not in any of these situations.

The Applicant must act with co-applicant(s) as specified hereafter.

Applicant from Turkey must have at least one eligible co-applicant from the EU Member States and Applicant from EU Member States must have at least one eligible co-applicant from Turkey.

If awarded the Grant contract, the Applicant will become the Beneficiary identified as the Coordinator in Annex F-I (Special Conditions). The Coordinator is the main interlocutor of the Contracting Authority. It represents and acts on behalf of any other co-beneficiary(ies) and coordinates the design and implementation of the Action.

Co-applicant(s)

Co-applicant(s) participate in designing and implementing the Action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the Applicant.

Co-applicant(s) must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the Applicant himself.

In addition to the categories referred to in section 2.1.1, the following are however also eligible:

  • Universities[7],
  • Chambers[8], federations, confederations and unions.

Co-applicant(s) must sign the Mandate in Part B section 4 of the Grant Application Form.

IMPORTANT NOTE 3Applications from Turkey without at least one co-applicant from an EU Member State and applications from an EU Member State without at least one co-applicant from Turkey will be rejected immediately and will not be evaluated further!

Headquarters of an association/foundation and its branch(es) cannot apply together in the same project as an Applicant and co-applicant(s).

Besides the minimum obligatory requirement set above, the applications may involve more than one eligible organisations from EU Member State or Turkey. Further, additional co-applicant(s) from Candidate Country(ies) are also eligible as co-applicant(s) but not sufficient alone to comply with the application criteria.

It is highly recommended to have tools (such as agreements, protocols etc.) to sustain the partnership.

There is no maximum number of co-applicants but careful consideration should be given during the identification of co-applicant(s) to ensure that each co-applicant(s) has a clearly defined role in the project and has seen the submitted proposal as well as the budget for a smooth implementation of the project, if awarded grant.

If awarded the Grant Contract, the co-applicant(s) will become Beneficiaries in the Action (together with the Coordinator).

  • Affiliated entities

The Applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies).

Only the following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the Applicant and/or to co-applicant(s):

Only entities having a structural link with the applicants, in particular a legal or capital link.

This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:

(i)      Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:

Entities affiliated to a beneficiary may hence be:

  • Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the beneficiary (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the beneficiary (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control;
  • Entities directly or indirectly controlling the beneficiary (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the beneficiary;
  • Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the beneficiary (sister companies).

(ii)     Membership, i.e. the beneficiary is legally defined as a e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the beneficiary participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association) as the proposed affiliated entities.

The structural link shall as a general rule be neither limited to the Action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation. This means that the link would exist independently of the award of the grant; it should exist before the call for proposals and remain valid after the end of the Action.

By way of exception, an entity may be considered as affiliated to a beneficiary even if it has a structural link specifically established for the sole purpose of the implementation of the Action in the case of so-called “sole applicants” or “sole beneficiaries”.  A sole Applicant or a sole beneficiary is an entity formed by several entities (a group of entities) which together comply with the criteria for being awarded the grant. For example, an association is formed by its members.

What is not an affiliated entity?

The following are not considered entities affiliated to a beneficiary:

  • Entities that have entered into a (procurement) contract or subcontract with a beneficiary, act as concessionaires or delegates for public services for a beneficiary,
  • Entities that receive financial support from the beneficiary,
  • Entities that cooperate on a regular basis with the beneficiary on the basis of a memorandum of understanding or share some assets,
  • Entities that have signed a consortium agreement under the grant contract.

How to verify the existence of the required link with the beneficiary?

The affiliation resulting from control may in particular be proved on the basis of the consolidated accounts of the group of entities the beneficiary and its proposed affiliates belong to.

The affiliation resulting from membership may in particular be proved on the basis of the statutes or equivalent act establishing the entity (network, federation, association) which the beneficiary constitutes or in which the beneficiary participates.

If the applicants are awarded a contract, their affiliated entity(ies) will not become Beneficiaries of the Action and signatory(ies) of the Contract. However, they will participate in the design and in the implementation of the Action and the costs they incur (including those incurred for Implementation Contracts and Financial Support to third parties) may be accepted as eligible costs, provided they comply with all the relevant rules already applicable to the Beneficiaries under the Grant Contract.

Affiliated entity(ies) must satisfy the same eligibility criteria as the Applicant and/or the co-applicant(s). They must sign the Affiliated Entity(ies)’s Statement in Part B section 5 of the Grant Application Form.

  • Associates and Contractors

The following entities are not applicant(s) nor affiliated entity(ies) and do not have to sign the “mandate” or “affiliated entities’ statement”:

  • Associates

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. Associates do not have to meet the eligibility criteria referred to in section 2.1.1. Associates must be mentioned in Part B section 6 – ‘Associates of the Applicant participating in the Action’ – of the Grant Application Form.

  • Contractors

The grant beneficiaries and their affiliated entities are permitted to award contracts. Associates or affiliated entity(ies) cannot be also contractors in the project. Contractors are subject to the procurement rules set out in Annex F-IV to the standard grant contract.

  • Eligible Actions: Actions for which an application may be made

Definition:

An Action (project) is composed of a set of activities.

Duration

The initial planned duration of an Action may not be lower than 10 months or exceed 15 months.

Sectors or Themes

Education.

Location

Actions must take place in one or more of the following countries: Turkey, EU Member States.

If the project includes co-applicant(s) from Candidate Country(ies), in addition to the Actions that will take place in countries stated above, if properly justified by the Applicant, some Actions can be implemented in Candidate Country(ies). However, such activities cannot constitute the major part of the Action.

Types of Action

All actions (projects), which aim at achieving the Programme objectives and fall within the one or more of the priority areas, could qualify for financing.

The actions listed under the priorities are by way of example only and are not limited to these types of actions:

Priority Area 1: Combatting with early school leaving

  • Identifying and transferring or adapting the relevant good practices in different countries to be used to prevent early school leaving;
  • Developing innovative delivery models and toolkits which can be used in different learning settings;
  • Identifying and analysing the prevention, intervention, compensation and monitoring measures;
  • Actions targeting the involvement of parents in the prevention of early school leaving;
  • Training actions for members of the school administration and teachers;
  • Strengthening cooperation among NGOs, public institutions, and international organizations in this issue.

Priority Area 2: Developing key competences for lifelong learning[9] (such as digital competence, learning to learn, a sense of initiative and entrepreneurship)

  • Enhancement of technical and policy related knowledge and expertise on the best practices (e.g. how to implement new education methods (interactive or IT based) in Entrepreneurship Education; comparative analysis of implementation in Member States, candidate countries and/or Turkey);
  • Promotion and better understanding of communication and dissemination activities.

Priority Area 3: Improving teachers professional and pedagogical development

  • Strengthening cooperation among NGOs, public institutions, and international organisations in the field of education;
  • Analysing the best practices;
  • Conducting field studies and surveys;
  • Supporting to learning and research initiatives;
  • Identifying the key professional needs of education staff and developing support and monitoring systems or measures to sustain the qualified teaching in the schools.

Priority Area 4: Pre-school education

  • Enhancement of know-how and expertise on the best practices with the aim of increasing access to pre-school education and improving the quality of pre-school education services;
  • Improving the involvement and know-how of parents, local authorities, NGOs, etc. on pre-school education;
  • Improving professional skills of school managers, teachers, trainers and staff providing pre-school education services.

Priority Area 5: Quality in adult learning

  • Developing cooperation and networking with the international organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and relevant public and private institutions from Turkey and EU countries with the aim of encouraging all educational institutions to reach out more to adult learners especially disadvantaged groups, identifying key factors for their reintegration into the labour market and society;
  • As part of the understanding towards developing a culture of adult learning, actions focusing on identifying and removing barriers to adult learning, and on establishing demand-driven, high quality provision and facilities for the adult learning field, including e-Learning and distance learning opportunities;
  • Identifying the professional needs of adult education staff and improving the capacity of educational staff by training activities, establishing links with exchange of experiences, skills, etc.;
  • Promoting and supporting the exchange of good practices, mutual learning and the development of joint actions in the adult education in securing high quality learning provision tailored to the needs of learners. Special emphasis should be placed on Information Communication Technologies  (ICT) learning approaches and the development of ICT skills;
  • Developing quality criteria for adult learning providers and developing innovative mechanism and models for the assessment and monitoring of learning outcomes.

The following types of Action are ineligible:

  • Actions concerned only or mainly with individual sponsorships for participation in workshops, seminars, conferences, congresses;
  • Actions concerned only or mainly with individual scholarships for studies or training courses;
  • One-off actions such as conferences, roundtables, seminars or similar events. These actions can only be funded if they form part of a wider project. For this purpose, preparatory activities for a conference and the publication of proceedings do not in themselves constitute such a wider project;
  • Actions for which the Applicant is already receiving funding e.g. from the Governmental budget, other Community programmes or other funds;
  • Activities started before the signing of the contract with the CFCU;
  • Actions consisting solely of academic research actions, feasibility studies (unless part of a broader project);
  • Commercial activities;
  • Actions which are ideologically biased or partisan in nature;
  • Actions supporting political parties;
  • Financial support activities (i.e. the use of the grant to make further grants (financial or in-kind) or loans to other organisations or individuals such as for those who are establishing their businesses);
  • Construction or investments for the adoption of new/supplementary facilities;
  • Actions that include provisions to finance the core activities currently carried out by applicants;
  • Actions supporting establishment or activities of private or public enterprises, and profit-earning activities;
  • Infrastructure projects or projects essentially focused on the purchase of equipment;
  • Actions consisting solely of the development of strategies, plans or other similar documents;
  • Social service actions such as provision of food, clothing.

Types of activity

The activities listed below are by way of example only and are not limited to these types of activities. In the fields of education:

  • Peer-reviews and transfer of sub-sectorial know-how among the EU umbrella NGO networks and Turkish NGOs;
  • Organization of seminars, roundtables, conferences, workshops, trainings;
  • Study visits;
  • Information/awareness/communication campaigns at the local/regional/national and international level;
  • Introduction and translation of key reference materials and disseminate technical and policy related knowledge and expertise;
  • Capacity-building and networking;
  • Discussions/debates and participation in policy making;
  • Identification, dissemination and exchange of the best practices at the local/regional/national and international level;
  • Data collection.

The projects should not focus only to one single activity. Organization activities should be self-contained operations indicating a coherent set of activities with clearly defined objectives, target groups, and planned outcomes.

IMPORTANT NOTE 4All actions should focus on enhancing dialogue between the civil societies in the EU and Turkey in order to be awarded grant under this Call for Proposals.

All publications developed/published in scope of the actions must be in both applicant’s and co-applicant(s)’s language(s).

All projects are expected to ensure gender mainstreaming in all project activities.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE 5In principle, applications should be “original” and unique to the target group’s needs, problems, and be designed with proper solutions and implementation methodology. Therefore, “copy-paste applications” may be eliminated in the course of the evaluation process when the proposals present the same;

·         scope of activity, wording or the same sentences differentiated only by rephrasing,

·         budget,

·         implementation modalities with only few differences such as the implementation place, name of Applicant, co-applicant(s), affiliated entity(ies), and the number of target group

unless a solid ground is found to be considered acceptable by the Evaluation Committee and/or the Contracting Authority.

Financial support to third parties[10]

Applicants may not propose financial support to third parties.

Visibility

The applicants must take all necessary steps to publicise the fact that the European Union has co-financed the Action. As far as possible, actions that are partially funded by the European Union must incorporate information and communication activities designed to raise the awareness of specific or general audiences of the reasons for the Action and the EU support for the Action in the country or region concerned, as well as the results and the impact of this support.

Applicants must comply with the objectives and priorities and guarantee the visibility of the EU financing (see the Communication and Visibility Manual for EU external actions specified and published by the European Commission at https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/funding/communication-and-visibility-manual-eu-external-actions_en).

 

Number of applications and grants per applicants

The Applicant may not submit more than one application as an applicant under this Call for Proposals.

The Applicant may be a co-applicant in another application (only one) at the same time.

A co-applicant may not participate in more than two applications (in one as an applicant and in one as a co-applicant OR in two applications as a co-applicant) under this Call for Proposals.

The Applicant/co-applicant/affiliated entity may be an affiliated entity in more than one application at the same time.

IMPORTANT NOTE 6An entity:

§ can be awarded only one grant as an applicant, or

§ can be awarded two grants – both as a co-applicant, or

§ can be awarded two grants – one as an applicant, one as a co-applicant.

If an institution participates in two projects, they should take into account their managerial and technical capacities. Level of involvement and participation of each entity in the projects and their technical and managerial capacities will be assessed during the evaluation process.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE 7Applicants who will be awarded a grant under the other components of the “Civil Society Dialogue between the EU and Turkey-IV” project; namely “Environment”, “Energy”, “Consumer and Health Protection”, “Justice, Freedom and Security”, “Right of Establishment and Freedom to Provide Services”, “Regional Policy and Coordination of Structural Instruments”, “Enterprise and Industrial Policy” and “Agriculture and Fisheries” Grant Schemes; will not be awarded grant under this Grant Scheme.
  • Eligibility of costs: costs that can be included

Only ‘eligible costs’ can be covered by a grant. The categories of costs that are eligible and non-eligible are indicated below. The budget is both a cost estimate and an overall ceiling for ‘eligible costs’.

The reimbursement of eligible costs may be based on any or a combination of the following forms:

  • actual costs incurred by the Beneficiaries and affiliated entity(ies),
  • one or more simplified cost options.

Simplified cost options may take the form of:

  • unit costs: covering all or certain specific categories of eligible costs which are clearly identified in advance by reference to an amount per unit.
  • lump sums: covering in global terms all or certain specific categories of eligible costs which are clearly identified in advance.
  • flat-rate financing: covering specific categories of eligible costs which are clearly identified in advance by applying a percentage fixed ex ante.

The amounts or rates have to be based on estimates using objective data such as statistical data or any other objective means or with reference to certified or auditable historical data of the applicants or the affiliated entity(ies). The methods used to determine the amounts or rates of unit costs, lump sums or flat-rates must comply with the criteria established in Annex H, and especially ensure that the costs correspond fairly to the actual costs incurred by the Grant Beneficiaries and affiliated entity(ies), are in line with their accounting practices, no profit is made and the costs are not already covered by other sources of funding (no double funding). Refer to Annex H for directions and a checklist of controls to assess the minimum necessary conditions that provide reasonable assurance for the acceptance of the proposed amounts.

The Applicant proposing this form of reimbursement, must clearly indicate in worksheet no.1 of Annex B, each heading/item  of eligible costs concerned by this type of financing, i.e. add the reference in capital letters to “UNIT COST” (per month/flight etc), “LUMPSUM” or “FLAT RATE” in the Unit column (see example in Annex H).

Additionally in Annex B, in the second column of worksheet no.2, “Justification of the estimated costs” per each of the corresponding budget item or heading the Applicant must:

  • describe the information and methods used to establish the amounts of unit costs, lump sums and/or flat-rates, to which costs they refer, etc.
  • clearly explain the formulas for calculation of the final eligible amount[11],
  • identify the beneficiary who will use the simplified cost option (in case of affiliated entity, specify first the beneficiary), in order to verify the maximum amount per each beneficiary (which includes if applicable simplified cost options of its affiliated entity(ies)).

At contracting phase, the Contracting Authority decides whether to accept the proposed amounts or rates on the basis of the provisional budget submitted by the Applicant, by analysing factual data of grants carried out by the applicants and affiliated entity(ies) or of similar actions and by performing checks established by Annex H.

The total amount of financing on the basis of simplified cost options that can be authorised by the Contracting Authority for any of the applicants individually (including simplified cost options proposed by their own affiliated entities) cannot exceed EUR 60.000 (the indirect costs are not taken into account).

Recommendations to award a grant are always subject to the condition that the checks preceding the signing of the contract do not reveal problems requiring changes to the budget (such as arithmetical errors, inaccuracies, unrealistic costs and ineligible costs). The checks may give rise to requests for clarification and may lead the Contracting Authority to impose modifications or reductions to address such mistakes or inaccuracies. It is not possible to increase the grant or the percentage of EU co-financing as a result of these corrections.

It is therefore in the Applicant’s interest to provide a realistic and cost-effective budget.

IMPORTANT NOTE 8Civil Servants who are employed under the Law No 657 cannot be employed or be paid any salary within the context of this project except if;

§  the cost of these staff assigned to the Action is paid by the Beneficiaries or affiliated entity(ies) if they get necessary permissions from their institutions and they are under the payroll of the Beneficiaries or affiliated entity(ies).

Other public officials can be employed in the project within the framework of the applicable law(s) to which they and their institutions are subject.

Eligible direct costs

To be eligible under the Call for Proposals, costs must comply with the provisions of Article 14 of the General Conditions to the Standard Grant Contract (see Annex F-II of the Guidelines).

Eligible costs are costs actually incurred by the Beneficiaries which meet all the following criteria:

  • they are incurred during the implementation of the Action as specified in Article 2 of the Special Conditions. In particular;
    • Costs relating to services and works shall relate to activities performed during the implementation period. Costs relating to supplies shall relate to delivery and installation of items during the implementation period. Signature of a contract, placing of an order, or entering into any commitment for expenditure within the implementation period for future delivery of services, works or supplies after expiry of the implementation period do not meet this requirement;
    • Costs incurred should be paid before the submission of the final reports. They may be paid afterwards, provided they are listed in the final report together with the estimated date of payment;
    • Procedures to award contracts, as referred to in Article 10, may have been initiated and contracts may be concluded by the Beneficiaries before the start of the implementation period of the Action, provided the provisions of Annex F-IV have been respected.
  • they are indicated in the estimated overall budget of the Action;
  • they are necessary for the implementation of the Action;
  • they are identifiable and verifiable, in particular being recorded in the accounting records of the Beneficiaries and determined according to the accounting standards and the usual cost accounting practices applicable to the Beneficiaries;
  • they comply with the requirements of applicable tax and social legislation;
  • they are reasonable, justified and comply with the requirements of sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency.

Subject to the above conditions and where relevant to the provisions of Annex F-IV being respected, the following direct costs of the Beneficiaries shall be eligible:

  • the cost of staff assigned to the Action, corresponding to actual gross salaries including social security charges and other remuneration-related costs; salaries and costs shall not exceed those normally borne by the Beneficiaries, unless it is justified by showing that it is essential to carry out the Action;
  • travel and subsistence costs for staff and other persons taking part in the Action, provided they do not exceed those normally borne by the Beneficiaries nor the rates published by the European Commission at the time of such mission;
  • purchase (new) or rental (new or used) costs for equipment and supplies specifically for the purposes of the Action, and costs of services, provided they correspond to market rates. The total cost of equipment and supplies shall not exceed 20% of the total eligible costs;
  • cost of consumables;
  • costs entailed by contracts awarded by the Beneficiaries for the purposes of the Action;
  • costs deriving directly from the requirements of the Contract (dissemination of information, evaluation specific to the Action, certified translations, reproducing, insurance, etc.).

In addition, visibility costs are also eligible as long as the conditions of Article 14 of the General Conditions to the Standard Grant Contract (see Annex F-II of the Guidelines) are fulfilled.

IMPORTANT NOTE 9The total cost of equipment and supplies shall not exceed 20% of the total eligible costs (budget line 11).

Contingency reserve

The budget may include a contingency reserve (budget line 10) not exceeding 5 % of the subtotal of direct eligible costs (budget line 7). It can only be used with the prior written authorisation of the Contracting Authority.

 

 

Eligible indirect costs

The indirect costs (budget line 8) incurred in carrying out the Action may be eligible for flat-rate funding, but the total must not exceed 7 % of the subtotal of direct eligible costs (budget line 7). Indirect costs are eligible provided that they do not include costs assigned to another budget heading in the standard grant contract. The Applicant may be asked to justify the percentage requested before the contract is signed. However, once the flat rate has been fixed in the special conditions of the standard grant contract, no supporting documents need to be provided.

If any of the applicants or affiliated entity(ies) is in receipt of an operating grant financed by the EU, it may not claim indirect costs on its incurred costs within the proposed budget for the Action.

Contributions in kind

Contributions in kind mean the provision of goods or services to a Beneficiaries or affiliated entity(ies)  free of charge by a third party. As contributions in kind do not involve any expenditure for a Beneficiaries or affiliated entity(ies), they are not eligible costs.

Contributions in kind may not be treated as co-financing. However, if the Description of the Action as proposed includes contributions in kind, the contributions have to be made.

Ineligible costs

The following costs are not eligible:

  • debts and debt service charges (interest);
  • provisions for losses or potential future liabilities;
  • costs declared by the Beneficiaries and affiliated entity(ies) financed by another action or work programme receiving a Union (including through EDF) grant;
  • currency exchange losses;
  • credit to third parties;
  • taxes, including value added taxes[12];
  • customs and import duties, or any other charges;
  • purchase, rent or leasing of land and buildings;
  • fines, financial penalties and expenses of litigation;
  • second-hand equipment;
  • bank charges, costs of guarantees and similar charges;
  • contribution in kind;
  • depreciation costs;
  • interest owed.


  • How to apply and the procedures to follow

Prior registration in PADOR for this Call for Proposals is not obligatory. Information in PADOR will not be drawn upon in the present Call.

  • Application Forms

Applications must be submitted in accordance with the instructions on the Concept Note and the Full Application Form in the Grant Application Form Annex-A to these Guidelines.

Applicants must apply in English.

Co-applicant(s), affiliated entity(ies) (if any) and associate(s) (if any) must be indicated in the related sections of the Grant Application Form. Co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies) must fill and sign the Mandate in Section 4 and Statement in Section 5 of the Grant Application Form, respectively.

Any error or major discrepancy related to the points listed in the instructions on the Concept Note or any major inconsistency in the Full Application Form (e.g. if the amounts in the budget worksheets are inconsistent) may lead to the rejection of the application.

Clarifications will only be requested when the information provided is unclear and thus prevents the Contracting Authority from conducting an objective assessment.

Hand-written applications will not be accepted.

Applicants must fill in all sections of the Grant Application Form. Not-filled in sections may lead the rejection of the application on this sole basis.

Please note that only the grant application form and the published annexes which have to be filled in (budget, logical framework) will be evaluated. It is therefore of utmost importance that these documents contain ALL the relevant information concerning the action. No additional annexes should be sent.

  • Where and how to send Applications

Applications must be submitted in one original and two copies in A4 size, each bound. The complete Grant Application Form (Part A: Concept Note and Part B: Full Application Form), Budget and Logical Framework must also be supplied in electronic format (CD-ROM) in a separate and single file (i.e. the Application Form must not be split into several different files). The electronic file must contain exactly the same application as the paper version enclosed. In the case of inconsistency, the paper version will be taken into account.

The Checklist (Section 7 of Part B the Grant Application Form), Declaration by the Applicant, Mandate for the Co-applicant(s) and Affiliated Entity(ies)’s Statement (to be found in sections 4, 5 and 8 of the Grant Application Form) must be stapled separately and enclosed in the envelope.

The outer envelope must bear the reference number and the title of the Call for Proposals (CFCU/TR2011/0135.15-09 – Civil Society Dialogue between EU and Turkey-IV – Education Grant Scheme) together with the full name and address of the Applicant, and the words “NOT TO BE OPENED BEFORE THE OPENING SESSION” and “AÇILIŞ OTURUMUNDAN ÖNCE AÇMAYINIZ”.

Applications must be submitted in a sealed envelope by registered mail, private courier service or by hand-delivery (a signed and dated certificate of receipt will be given to the deliverer) at the address below:

Address for registered mail, hand delivery or private courier service:

Central Finance and Contracts Unit

Ms. Emine Döğer (Acting PAO-CFCU Director)

Eskişehir Yolu 4.Km 2180 Cad.

(Halkbank Kampüsü) No: 63 C-Blok

06510 Söğütözü / Ankara / Turkey

Title: Civil Society Dialogue between EU and Turkey IV – Education Grant Scheme (CSD-IV/EDU)

Reference: CFCU/TR2011/0135.15-09 (EuropeAid/136836/ID/ACT/TR)

Applications sent by any other means (e.g. by fax or by e-mail) or delivered to other addresses will be rejected.

Applicants must verify that their application is complete using the checklist (Section 7 of Part B of the Grant Application Form). Incomplete applications may be rejected.

So as to facilitate the processing of applications, please present the original dossier and 2 copies in A4 size, each bound in following order:

  1. Concept Note – Part A of the Grant Application Form,
  2. Full Application Form – Part B of the Grant Application Form,
  3. Budget (Annex B),
  4. Logical Framework (Annex C),
  5. Checklist – Section 7 of Part B of the Grant Application Form,
  6. Declaration by the Applicant – Section 8 of Part B of the Grant Application Form,
  7. Mandate for the Co-applicant(s) – Section 4 of Part B of the Grant Application Form,
  8. Affiliated Entity(ies)’s Statement – Section 5 of Part B of the Grant Application Form,
  9. Electronic format (CD-ROM) of the Grant Application Form, Budget and Logical Framework.

Please do not staple the above documents together!

  • Deadline for submission of Applications

The deadline for the submission of applications is 01 June 2015 as evidenced by the date of dispatch, the postmark or the date of the deposit slip. In the case of hand-deliveries, the deadline for receipt is                   01 June 2015 at 16:00 hours (local time) as evidenced by the signed and dated receipt. Any application submitted after the deadline will automatically be rejected.

However, for reasons of administrative efficiency, the Contracting Authority may reject any application sent in due time but received after the effective date of approval of the first evaluation step (i.e. Concept Note) (see indicative calendar under Section 2.5.2).

  • Further information about Applications

Information session(s) on this Call for Proposals will be held in one or more provinces of Turkey. For the exact date(s) and location(s) of the meeting(s), please follow the CFCU (http://www.cfcu.gov.tr) and the Ministry for EU Affairs (http://www.ab.gov.tr) websites.

Questions may in addition be sent by e-mail no later than 21 days before the deadline for the submission of applications to the address below, indicating clearly the reference of the Call for Proposals (CFCU/TR2011/0135.15-09 – Civil Society Dialogue between EU and Turkey-IV: Education Grant Scheme):

E-mail address: csd.edu@cfcu.gov.tr

The Contracting Authority has no obligation to provide clarifications to questions received after this date.

Replies will be given no later than 11 days before the deadline for the submission of applications.

To ensure equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of applicants, affiliated entity(ies), an Action or specific activities.

Questions that may be relevant to other applicants, together with answers will be published on the CFCU website at http://www.cfcu.gov.tr, EuropeAid website at https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.welcome and Ministry for EU Affairs website at http://www.ab.gov.tr as the need arises. It is therefore advisable to consult the abovementioned website regularly in order to be informed of the questions and answers published.

 

 

  • Evaluation and selection of applications

Applications will be examined and evaluated by the Contracting Authority with the possible assistance of external assessors. All actions submitted by applicants will be assessed according to the following steps and criteria.

If the examination of the application reveals that the proposed action does not meet the eligibility criteria stated in paragraph 2.1, the application will be rejected on this sole basis.

  • STEP 1: OPENING & ADMINISTRATIVE CHECKS AND CONCEPT NOTE EVALUATION

The following will be assessed:

  • Compliance with the submission deadline. If the deadline has not been met, the application will automatically be rejected.
  • The Grant Application Form satisfies all the criteria specified in points 1-13 of the Checklist Section 7 of Part B of the Grant Application Form). If any of the requested information is missing or is incorrect, the application may be rejected on that sole basis and the application will not be evaluated further.

The Concept Notes that pass the first administrative check will be evaluated on the relevance and design of the proposed action.

The Concept Note will receive an overall score out of 50 using the breakdown in the evaluation grid below. The evaluation will also check on compliance with the instructions on the Concept Note, which can be found in Part A of the Grant Application Form.

The evaluation criteria are divided into headings and subheadings. Each subheading will be given a score between 1 and 5 as follows: 1 = very poor; 2 = poor; 3 = adequate; 4 = good; 5 = very good.

[1]     Estimated total accepted costs = estimated total eligible costs + non-eligible taxes.

[2]     Where a grant is financed by the European Development Fund, any mention of European Union financing must be understood as referring to European Development Fund financing.

[3]       For the purpose of this Call, “non-governmental organisation” is defined as:

  1. which is independent of the state as regards to its establishment and appointment of its personnel and administrators,
  2. which has an autonomous and democratic structure in its financial and administrative affairs,
  3. which is a non-profit legal entity.

In this respect, “Foundations of Social Aid and Solidarity” are not considered as an NGO and not eligible to apply as an Applicant or co-applicants.

[4]    Federations and confederations of associations or foundations established by the Association Law No:5253 are eligible as an Applicant or co-applicants.

[5]     A not-for-profit (non-profit) organisation is the one which is not operating for the profit or gain of its individual members, whether these gains would have been direct or indirect. A non-profit organisation can still make a profit, but this profit must be used to carry out its purposes and must not be distributed to the owners, members or others. Please note that international organizations are not considered within this scope.

[6]    To be determined on the basis of the organisation’s statutes, which should demonstrate that it has been established by an instrument governed by the national law of the country concerned and that its head office is located in an eligible country. In this respect, any legal entity whose statutes have been established in another country cannot be considered an eligible local organisation, even if the statutes are registered locally or a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ has been concluded.

[7]     If a co-applicant is linked to a university (such as faculties, vocational schools, institutes or research centres etc.), the university itself will be regarded as a co-applicant. Therefore, regardless of the involvement of different units of the university to a project, a university can only be awarded maximum two grants both as a co-applicant.

[8]     Member organizations of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), which are chambers of commerce and industry, chambers of commerce, chambers of industry, chambers of maritime commerce and commodity exchanges, and established under General Law No. 5174 in Turkey are not eligible as co-applicants under this Call for Proposals. Member organisations of the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Eurochambres) are also not eligible as co-applicants for this Grant Scheme.

[9] Activities to be implemented under this priority should be based on these official documents of the EU:

– “European Reference Framework on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning”, European Parliament and Council Recommendation 2006/962/EC of 18.12.2006,

– “Delivering lifelong learning for knowledge, creativity and innovation, 2008 joint progress report of the Council and the Commission on the implementation of the ‘Education and Training 2010’– (2008/C 86/01),

– “Key competences for a changing world” 2010 joint progress report of the Council and the Commission on the implementation of the ‘Education and Training 2010 work programme’ (2010/C 117/01).

[10] These third parties are neither affiliated entity(ies) nor associate(s) nor contractor(s).

[11]   Examples:

– for staff costs: number of hours or days of work hourly or daily rate pre-set according to the category of personnel concerned;

– for travel expenses: distance in km pre-set cost of transport per km; number of days daily allowance pre-set according to the country;

– for specific costs arising from the organization of an event: number of participants at the event pre-set total cost per participant etc.

[12]   Unless the following conditions are fulfilled:

(i)      the value added taxes are not recoverable by any means;

(ii)     it is established that they are borne by the final beneficiary, and

(iii)    they are clearly identified in the project proposal.

 

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