Second Call. FUND FOR NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS Financed under the EEA Grants

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1 Second Call for Proposals under the Fund for Non-Governmental Organisations and for Additional Grant Proposals under the Fund for Bilateral Relations at Programme Level FUND FOR NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS Financed under the EEA Grants Announcement Date: on 1st October 2014

2 1. Introduction The Civil Society Development Foundation (NROS) and the Czech Environmental Partnership Foundation (Nadace Partnerství) announce the second Call for Proposals in the framework of the Fund for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO Fund) of the EEA Grants The overall aim of EEA Grants is to contribute to reducing economic and social differences, and strengthening bilateral cooperation between the Donor States and Beneficiary States through financial grants in defined priority areas. The total amount of 61.4 mil EUR has been allocated to the Czech Republic. In compliance with the Public Procurement Act, NROS and Nadace Partnerství were selected as the NGO Fund Programme Operator. Call for Proposals under the Programme "Fund for NGOs is based on these existing documents approved by the Financial Mechanism Committee for the EEA Grants (FMC) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and also by the Czech Ministry of Finance as the National Focal Point (NFP): Manuals and rules adopted by the Financial Mechanism Committee for the EEA Grants and Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Memorandum of Understanding between the Czech Republic and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein for the implementation of the EEA Financial Mechanism in the Czech Republic for the period (signed June 17, 2011) Regulation on the implementation of the EEA Financial Mechanism ; Guidelines on NGO programmes; Guidelines for strengthened bilateral relations. Documentation issued by the Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic: Methodology of financial flows, control and certification of the programmes funded by the EEA and Norway Financial Mechanisms for the programming period ; NFP Guideline for the small-scale public procurement funded by the EEA and Norway Funds ; NFP Guideline for eligible costs of the EEA and Norway Funds ; NFP Guideline for Programme Operators for Preparation and Implementation of Programmes Financed from the EEA and Norway Grants

3 2. Objectives and Areas of Support The aim of the NGO Fund Programme (hereinafter referred to as the Programme) is to strengthen civil society development and to provide increased support to social justice, democracy and sustainable development. Total funding available for the NGO Fund Programme is CZK. The NGO Fund Programme consists two parts: a) Fund for NGOs (thematic focus with defined priority areas) The Programme focuses on supporting democracy, human rights and gender equality as well as on specific needs of various minority groups, including the Roma. The aim of the NGO Fund is to strengthen the capacity of NGOs, to develop their professionalization, to mitigate regional disparities in the work of NGOs in the Czech Republic. Furthermore, the Programme focuses on environmental protection and climate change. 205,060,852 CZK (8,268,583 EUR) have been allocated to direct support to projects of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) within the Fund for NGOs. b) Fund for Bilateral Relations at Programme Level Strengthening of bilateral cooperation between the Czech Republic (Beneficiary State) and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (Donor States) is also one of the main priorities of the EEA Grants. The purpose of Fund for Bilateral Relations at programme level is to strengthen direct exchange of experience and know-how, sharing and transfer of experience and good practices between Czech NGOs and entities in the Donor States. Total funding available for projects under the Fund for Bilateral Relations at programme level is CZK ( EUR). Czech NGOs interested in development of cooperation shall apply for funding through two forms of support: Micro-grants for searching for partners and development of bilateral projects (funds allocated in total CZK/ EUR), Additional grants as an additional source of funding for facilitating bilateral partnerships between Czech NGOs which received a grant for thematic project and entities from Donor States (funds allocated in total CZK/ EUR). This document contains two Calls under the NGO Fund Programme: 1. Call for Proposals under the Fund for NGOs This Call for Proposals falls under the NGO Fund Programme described above under a. Chapters 3 to 9 and Chapter 12 apply only to this Call for Proposals. Chapters 10 and 13 do not apply directly to this Call for Proposals. Other chapters apply to both Calls. 2. Call for Additional Grant Proposals under the Fund for Bilateral Relations at Programme Level. This Call for Additional Grant Proposals falls under the part of the NGO Fund Programme described above under b Additional grants. 3

4 Chapters 10 and 13 apply only to this Call for Additional Grant Proposals. Chapters 3 to 9 and Chapter 12 do not apply directly to this Call for Additional Grant Proposals. Other chapters apply to both Calls. 3. Programme Goals and Priorities The aim of the Programme is to strengthen development of civil society in the defined priority areas, to support bilateral cooperation between the Donor States and the Czech Republic, to support capacity building of NGOs, to develop their professionalization, to reduce regional disparities in the work of NGOs in the Czech Republic, and to contribute to democracy, sustainable development and social justice. The Programme shall support projects in the following four priority areas: I. Human rights and key areas of support: a. Protection of human rights and multiculturalism b. Gender equality c. Strengthening civil society, democracy mechanisms and transparency II. Children and youth at risk III. Social inclusion IV. Environmental protection and climate change The priority areas address five outcomes of the NGO Fund Programme: Outcome 1: Protection of democratic values, including human rights, promoted Outcome 2: Active citizenship fostered Outcome 3: Welfare and basic social services provided to defined target groups expanded Outcome 4: Empowerment of vulnerable groups Outcome 5: Sustainable development concept strengthened Specific goals are as follows: 1. To protect human rights, combat discrimination and racism, to strengthen multicultural environment in the Czech Republic; to empower women and provide for increasing women s participation in decision-making, to support prevention and follow-up services for women endangered by violence; to strengthen the role and impact of the NGO sector in the society. 2. To increase the share of family care for children and youth at the expense of institutional care. 3. To increase the number of Roma children and youth integrated in the education mainstream. 4

5 4. To contribute to forming a responsible approach of the public towards the environment, and to maintain or expand legislative and watchdog activities of NGOs in respect of sustainable development, protection of interests of minorities, participation of the public in decision-making and watchdog role in the environmental area. 5. To contribute to stabilizing or expanding NGO activities; to create opportunities for NGO involvement in public affairs, and to strengthen the role of NGOs as drivers of the civil society. 6. To promote bilateral relations between NGOs from the Donor States (Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein) and Czech NGOs. 4. Programme Focus Priority Areas 4.1 Priority Areas NGO projects implemented in the following priority areas shall be eligible in the first Call for Proposals: I. Human rights and key areas of support: a. Protection of human rights and multiculturalism b. Gender equality c. Enforcement of civil society, democracy mechanisms and transparency II. Children and youth at risk III. Social inclusion IV. Environmental protection and climate change I. Human rights and key areas of support Sub-priority: I.a) Protection of Human Rights and Multiculturalism The aim of this sub-priority includes protection of human rights, combating discrimination and racism, and strengthening multicultural environment in the Czech Republic. The aim shall be achieved through: providing counseling, assistance and mediation in cases of violated rights and discrimination, awareness raising and cultural events promoting multicultural environment in communities (dialogue, interconnecting and mutual understanding of the majority and minorities in the society), educational, training and awareness raising activities in the field of human rights, promoting system changes or partial measures in this area, educational and awareness raising activities against hate speech online. 5

6 Target groups: individuals or members of groups whose rights have been violated, members of the Roma minority and other ethnic groups in the Czech Republic, foreigners, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers living in our country, pupils and students, teachers, NGOs, lawyers, social workers, police, majority society. Examples of expected project outcomes: supported individuals whose human rights have been violated or who have been discriminated, promotion of democratic values and human rights protection (focusing on horizontal topics) on the national level, newly prepared and distributed information material for the public and target groups, system changes or partial measures in areas with frequent violations of human rights, activities focusing on interconnecting and promoting mutual understanding between the majority and minorities in the society, awareness raising and cultural activities promoting multicultural environment in communities, educational and awareness raising activities as action against hate speech on the Internet. Sub-priority: I.b) Gender Equality The aim of this sub-priority is to empower women and increase women s participation in decisionmaking, to promote prevention and follow-up services for women endangered by violence. The aim shall be achieved through: activities motivating to increase the share of women in decision-making and management positions (support groups, mentoring, experience sharing, best practice sharing, transfer of know-how, research and analyses), monitoring and commenting on legislation, supporting prevention and follow-up services for women endangered by violence in all its forms, monitoring, awareness raising and information campaigns for the general public in the fields of equality of women and men as well as prevention and resolution of violence against women. 6

7 Target groups: women aspiring to attain management position and actively participate in decision-making processes, employers, political parties, state administration, women victims of all forms of violence (domestic violence, stalking, sexual harassment, etc.) and their families, NGOs, Police of the Czech Republic, prosecutors, judges, general public. Examples of expected project outcomes: activities contributing to increased participation of women in decision-making and management positions, supported individual whose human rights have been violated or who have been discriminated, information campaigns on the national level drawing attention to violence against women in all its forms, informing how to recognize domestic violence and where to seek help, presenting the issue of equality of women and men on the national level, newly introduced/expanded prevention and follow-up services for victims of violence against women and for their families (prevention, legal counselling, crisis hot lines, therapy, shelters). Sub-priority: I.c) Enforcement of Civil Society, Democracy Mechanisms and Transparency The aim of this sub-priority is to strengthen transparency of state administration and political parties, to combat corruption and abuse of power, to involve the public in decision-making regarding development and investment plans, and to strengthen the role and influence of the non-profit sector in the society. The aim shall be achieved through: facilitating participation of citizens and participation of the public in decision-making, activities supporting dialogue between the citizens, civic society and local/national institutions, advocacy, watchdog and monitoring activities (including those focusing on sustainable development), supporting anti-corruption measures, developing volunteering; building networks and coalitions; 7

8 supporting activities aiming to enhance professionalism and transparency of Czech NGOs. Target groups: NGOs, state and public administration, universities, media, business sector, general public. Examples of expected project outcomes: volunteers actively participating in NGO activities, mechanisms developed to support dialogue between the citizens, civil society and public administration, citizens initiatives directly influencing decision-making processes, implemented advocacy, watchdog and monitoring activities and anti-corruption measures, system activities providing for NGO professionalization and capacity building (activities to improve professionalism, organisation management, multi-source financing and planning, NGO transparency), newly built/supported NGO coalitions, partnerships with the public administration, business sector, cooperation with research and academic institutions, media, NGOs with professionalism improved due to systematic education and improved role of the non-profit sector. Funds allocated to the sub-priority I.c within the 2 nd Call shall be distributed according to project focus as follows: 40 % of the funds allocated shall be distributed to projects focusing mainly on supporting the participation of citizens and the public in decision-making; implementing activities supporting the dialogue between the citizens, civil society and local/national institutions; performing advocacy, watchdog and monitoring activities (including those focusing on sustainable development), and supporting anti-corruption measures, 60 % of the funds allocated shall be distributed to projects focusing mainly on developing volunteering; building networks and coalitions, and supporting activities aiming to enhance professionalism and transparency of Czech NGOs If the Evaluation Committee comes to a conclusion that there is not a sufficient number of highquality proposals to allocate all funds to be distributed in one of the areas, such allocated funds need not be distributed and the undistributed part shall be reallocated to support projects in the other area. 8

9 II. Children and Youth at Risk The aim of this priority is to ensure that physically or socially disadvantaged children and youth can remain and grow up in the natural environment of their own family or foster family. Its long-term goal is to increase the share of family care at the expense of institutional care. The aim shall be achieved through: supporting, developing and improving complexity, availability and capacity of services for children and youth with specific needs (specifically by improving quality of field services, day care, services of personal assistance, centres of early care and by expanding services in respite care, counselling, prevention and other services, including availability of modern rehabilitation and mobility aids), supporting parental competencies in families with children and youth with specific needs, improving quality of foster care (support to current families, searching for new potential foster parents, education, awareness raising), expanding the information system informing of available services, including free-of-charge hotlines, all in consideration of child s best interests. Target groups: disabled children and youth under 18 and their families, socially disadvantaged children and youth under 18 and their families, children and youth in institutional care, families taking care of children in foster care, provisional foster care, adoption, departments of social services and legal protection of children, professionals, volunteers. Examples of expected project outcomes: new/expanded services for disabled or socially disadvantaged children and youth (including Roma children and youth) and their families, disabled or socially disadvantaged children and youth (including Roma children and youth) and families using services provided within the project activities, newly developed information system informing of available services (including free-of-charge telephone lines) providing assistance in various life situations (and distribution of such system), newly developed/expanded cooperation between NGOs, state administration and experts in social and legal protection of children on the local or regional levels. 9

10 III. Social Inclusion The aim of this priority area is to facilitate and develop processes increasing the number of Roma children integrated in the educational mainstream. Long-term effects of these measures should include enhancing the life starting position of Roma children and gradual desegregation of education for children from Roma communities. The aim shall be achieved through: supporting projects focusing on developing skills and knowledge of Roma children and youth, improving their school results, language skills, developing their motivation and self-reliance confidence and social skills, offering field work in children s families to prepare children for school; facilitating involvement of Roma children in leisure activities (in low-threshold clubs or community centres), building functional cooperation in the interest of children between NGOs, schools, teachers, and educational and psychological counselling centres, including development of methodologies to facilitate inclusive education. Target groups: Roma children and youth and their families, low-threshold facilities, NGOs working with volunteers, teachers, classroom assistants; schools and faculties of education, educational and psychological and other counselling centres, state administration, general public. Examples of expected project outcomes: newly built/developed cooperation in the interest of Roma children between NGOs, schools, teachers and educational and psychological counselling centres, developed methodology for better inclusive education, Roma children and youth involved in educational and leisure activities, expanding/developing leisure activities and volunteering services for Roma children and youth contributing to their integration in mainstream schools, social/field workers, volunteers actively supporting Roma children and their families to prepare children for school. 10

11 IV. Environmental Protection and Climate Change The aim of this priority is to shape responsible attitudes of the public towards the environment, supporting activities and engagement of the public in environment protection, landscape conservation and biodiversity conservation, facilitating activities and informing the public of climate protection. The aim shall be achieved through: awareness raising and educational events, campaigns and other tools aiming to raise the awareness of various target groups about sustainable development and environment protection or quality of life (including responsible consumerism), applying the best international practices, specific projects of biodiversity, nature and landscape conservation, in particular projects engaging the target groups in implementing appropriate measures and raising awareness (and participation), facilitating new forms of non-state environment protection involving private owners and users of land, specific projects of climate protection and informing the target groups of this issue (adapting to climate changes, energy savings in various fields energy sector, buildings, transport, renewable resources, etc.), Target groups: environmental NGOs, state administration and environment protection authorities, land owners and users, educational institutions, children and youth in awareness-raising activities in schools and leisure activities, general public such as individuals and households, business sector. Examples of expected project outcomes: awareness raising and educational events and campaigns aiming to raise the awareness about sustainable development, environment protection, quality of life or climate protection, implemented interventions in natural areas, general public, children and youth, private owners and users of land actively involved in implementing project activities. 11

12 4.2 Horizontal Concerns Projects supported under the Fund for NGOs shall address the following horizontal concerns identified by the EEA and Norway Grants : Democracy, human rights including rights of minorities (ethnic, religious, linguistic and sexual orientation), Good governance and transparency, Participatory democracy, Combatting racism and xenophobia, homophobia, anti-semitism, hate speech extremism and hate crime, Tolerance and multicultural understanding, Roma, sexual harassment, violence against women and human trafficking, Sustainable development. 4.3 Strengthening and Capacity Building of NGOs The Applicant can include one independent activity in their project to support their own capacity building. Such activity shall not exceed 10% of their total project cost. The aim of this activity is to develop and further build NGO capacity, contributing thus to a long-term sustainability of NGOs. The Applicant s activity of capacity building and strengthening shall be included in their project on the condition that the NGO benefits from the proposed activities in the field of capacity building and longer-term sustainability of such organisation. Examples of potentially included activities: stronger NGO management, including preparation or update of NGO strategic plan, preparation or update of internal directives, stronger personnel policies, including implementation of staff assessment processes, introduction of incentives, development and consolidation of work teams, development and higher qualification of experts as well as administrative staff, etc., stronger marketing management, including development or update of marketing plans, introduction of a sponsor care system, preparation of new promotion material for the NGO, supporting public relations, stronger financial management, including preparation or improvement of methodology framework and performance structures for financial planning, cash flow management, controlling operations, etc., stronger project management, 12

13 development and improvement of provided services offered, and expansion of performed activities, including development of knowhow and methodological support, developing conditions and aids for work with the target groups, etc., promotion of provided services or implemented activities in order to inform the public and target groups, supporting public relations, etc. 5. Eligibility of Applicants and Partners 5.1 Eligible Applicants In the second Call for Proposals eligible Applicants are NGOs of the following types of legal entities established or incorporated as: public benefit organisation established originally pursuant to the Act No. 248/1995 Coll. or pursuant to the Act No. 68/2013, special-purpose institutions of registered churches and religious societies established to provide charitable services and providing generally beneficial services to the public, such as charity or social and health services, under predefined and equal terms and conditions for all users and recipients pursuant to the Act No. 3/2002 Coll., on Freedom of Religion and Status of Churches and Religious Societies, as amended, foundations and endowment funds established originally pursuant to the Act No. 227/1997 Coll., on Foundations and Endowment Funds, as amended, associations pursuant to the Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code, institutions pursuant to the Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code, associations of legal entities promoting their common interests pursuant to the Act No. 40/1964 Coll., the Civil Code, as amended, if all members of the association separately and individually meet the eligibility criteria and are non-governmental non-profit organisations. Eligible Applicants shall meet the following terms and conditions: be a non-profit organisation performing its activities independently of any local, regional or central governments, of other public entities, political parties or commercial organisations. Applicants shall not condition their project support or project activities upon ideological, doctrinal or religious adherence. seat in the Czech Republic, double-entry bookkeeping, in existence for at least two years at the time of submitting a Grant Proposal. This condition shall be satisfied also in cases when the Applicant is a successor of an organisation meeting 13

14 this condition provided that the original organisation was a non-profit organisation of one of the above-mentioned legal forms. Organisations that have changed their legal form pursuant to the Act No. 89/2012. Coll. (the Civil Code) shall be viewed as continuously in existence. If the original organisation was an entity with a non-business scope of activity (i.e. with accounting pursuant to the Decree No. 504/2002 Coll.) but had a legal form different from the above-mentioned legal forms, then such cases shall be assessed individually in compliance with the general definition of non-profit organisations. Newly registered organisations may apply for grant or become partners if it can deliver the required documents listed in Chapter 9 hereof. Organisations established through a change in its legal form, merge, consolidation or division 1 of another organisation needs to submit a full annual report or its equivalent for the original organisation for the last year, including an overview of activities and financial results of the organisation in accordance with its financial statements. At the same time, such organisation shall submit documents proving its succession. The criterion of eligible legal form of applicants/partners always needs to be complied with. 5.2 Eligible Partners Eligible partners in projects shall be partners with their seat in the Czech Republic or foreign partners with their seat in Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein. Although having a partner is an advantage it is not the crucial condition for approving a grant application. Quality is always the critical criteria for submitted grant proposals. Building a partnership with an organisation from the donor state scores 5 points from the total of 100 points as part of evaluation. The Applicant shall be the lead project partner (future Project Promoter). However, the project can be implemented in cooperation with one or several (max. 4) project partners. Nevertheless, the Applicant cannot transfer to their partner a larger part of the project than the Applicant implements themselves. It is also not possible for the Applicant to delegate their coordination role and overall responsibility for project implementation and sustainability. Project partnership does not take form of a relation between a vendor and its client. Partnership means that the Applicant and their partner jointly implement the project, each of them implementing their own predefined part. Partner s project costs can be included in the project budget, and project partner can thus use the grant funds. Partner s project costs shall not exceed 49% of the total project costs (this limit applies also to a sum of costs of all project partners). 1 Organisations established through division mean only legal successors in the form of public benefit organisations (so-called o.p.s.) established to continue activities of an organisational unit of another civic association (so-called o.s.). The relationship between the organisational unit of the civic association and the public benefit organisation needs to be fully resolved and settled by the day a grant proposal is submitted. Such settlement shall clearly state that with the agreement of the civic association the public benefit organisation assumes all obligations (payables) and receivables of the organisational unit. Such applicant shall also submit a document proving its succession and legally certified approval by the general meeting of the civic association. 14

15 Principles and specific terms and conditions of project partnership shall be defined in a partnership agreement between the Applicant and each project partner. In their partnership agreement the project partner shall undertake to comply with and abide by all applicable terms and conditions and rules of the Programme as applicable to the Applicant. Partnership agreement shall be (if the project receives the grant) signed and delivered to the Programme Operator before signing the Grant Agreement. Partners cannot perform the function of a contractor in the project Partners from the Czech Republic Eligible partners with their seat in the Czech Republic shall be only organisations meeting the same terms and conditions as the Applicant (see Chapter 5.1). The NGO Fund Programme encourages coalition building and partnerships between Czech NGOs. With partners from the Czech Republic the Applicant shall submit a Partnership Declaration for each such partner upon submission of their Grant Proposal Foreign Partners Eligible foreign partners include only organisations with their seat in the Donor States (Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland). Eligible foreign partners shall be NGOs pursuant to the legislations of these Donor States or public entities not established for profit (e.g. universities, science and research institutions, libraries, municipalities, etc.). With the exception of their legal form, foreign partners shall meet the same terms and conditions as the Applicant. With foreign partners the Applicant shall submit a Partnership Declaration in English language for each such partner upon submission of their Grant Proposal. 6. Eligibility of Grant Proposals Each Applicant shall submit only one Grant Proposal within each priority area of the Programme (i.e. priority area I., II., III. and IV.). In Priority I the Applicant shall then select one of its subpriorities, i.e. Ia), Ib) or Ic). The Applicant, i.e. a legal person (as defined in Chapter 5.1 of this Call for Proposals), is defined as an independent accounting entity identified by a unique identification number (IČO). Projects outside the scope of the selected priority area of the Programme or selected sub-priority of priority I (as defined in Chapter 4.1 of this Call for Proposals) shall not be eligible. There is no legal claim to a grant. 6.1 General Terms and Conditions of Eligibility Only proposals meeting the following requirements shall be eligible: 15

16 The proposal has been submitted by Tuesday December 2, 2014, 16:00 via the Grantys online grant database and an identical printed version has been submitted by this date and time. Requirements of the printed and electronic versions of proposals are defined in Chapter 11 hereof. Lists of mandatory annexes and other requirements are defined in Chapter 9 hereof; The project clearly falls under the selected priority area and its focus; proposed activities shall result in the defined project outcomes (one or several project outcomes) as listed in Chapter 4 hereof; in addition, the project can also bring other project outcomes as defined by the Applicant themselves in compliance with the aims of the priority area or sub-priority; The requested grant amount corresponds to the limits defined in Chapter 6.3 hereof; The grant to total project cost ratio corresponds to the percentages defined according to the terms and conditions of mandatory co-financing in Chapter 6.3 hereof; Any partnership is described and documented by a Partnership Declaration. 6.2 Eligibility of Project Activities Only projects including activities to fulfill the defined aims of priority areas (Chapter 4.1.), or projects in combination with a separate activity focusing on NGO development and capacity building (Chapter 4.3) shall be eligible. No grants shall be allocated to projects focusing solely on NGO development and capacity building. Activities such as project management, coordination and administration shall not form a separate project activity. These activities do no bring outcomes relevant for the NGO Fund, see the Guidelines for Applicants. 6.3 Minimal and Maximal Grants The minimal grant requested is CZK ( EUR) and the maximal grant requested is CZK ( EUR). Grants are paid in CZK (Czech crowns). Similarly, project budget and project accounting shall be submitted in CZK (Czech crowns). All projects shall have a mandatory co-financing of at least 10 % of the total eligible project costs after deduction of any direct project revenues. Mandatory co-financing thus cannot include any direct project revenues, i.e. revenues generated directly as a result of implemented project activities. Requested grant shall be a dominant financial source of the project. For this reason, other sources of project financing (co-financing and direct project revenues) shall not exceed 49% of total eligible project costs. Co-financing shall mean funds other than the grant and any direct project revenues that are used to finance eligible project costs. In addition to financial funds, co-financing can also take the form of 16

17 volunteering in accordance with the defined rules, but maximally up to the level of 50% of the overall mandatory co-financing. 6.4 Project Location Only projects implemented in the Czech Republic shall be eligible. If a foreign partner is involved it is possible in justified cases to implement a limited part of the project in the respective Donor State. Regional aspect (regions NUTS II) and needs of the region shall be considered during the selection of supported projects. Grant Proposals shall therefore identify the project location. If the project is implemented in several locations the Applicant shall identify a dominant town or municipality (i.e. town or municipality where the biggest part of the project is to be implemented). The option All of the Czech Republic in project proposals shall be selected only for project with nation-wide coverage. 6.5 Project Duration Only projects implementd in 12 months shall be eligible. Project duration has been defined as the period from April 1, 2015 to March 31, Eligibility of Project Costs 7.1 Direct Project Costs Rules for eligibility of project costs apply to all project costs regardless of the source of funds, i.e. they apply equally to costs financed from the grant and to costs financed via co-financing (and to costs financed from any direct project revenues). Project costs are eligible provided they meet all the below-listed conditions: are necessary for project implementation; are economical and efficient in relation to the related activities and project outcomes; are indicated in the budget of the project or approved by the Programme Operator by other established procedure; are incurred during the project implementation period; have been actually disbursed, with the exception of volunteering, from the approval of grant proposal until 30 days from the end of project implementation but no later than April 30, 2016; have been separately recorded in the beneficiary s accounting pursuant to the rules defined; can be documented by accounting and primary documents; correspond to the prices usual in the location; 17

18 have been incurred pursuant to the Czech legislation, in particular the Act No. 137/2006 Coll., on Public Procurement. The following costs are not eligible: a) debts and provisions for losses or debts, interest payable, b) fines and penalties, deficiencies and damages, c) donations, contributions provided, d) contributions in kind, with the exception of volunteering included in the project pursuant to the rules defined, e) travel expenses exceeding minimal limits defined by relevant legal regulations, pocket money (allowance), f) purchase or improvement of fixed assets, g) depreciation of fixed assets, h) financial leasing, i) acquisition of stock, j) bank fees or other financial services, k) administrative charges, l) costs of litigation, m) exchange-rate losses, n) recoverable value added tax o) taxes paid by the organisation as a taxpayer, p) costs of public contracts provided terms and conditions of the Grant Agreement have not been complied with The list of ineligible costs shows that no capital expenditures are allowed in the projects; fixed assets thus cannot be purchased or improved as part of the projects. 7.2 Indirect Project Costs Indirect project costs refer to costs that have not been directly tied to the project implementation. Nevertheless they have been expended to provide facilities and essentials required for operations of the organisation (so-called overhead costs) and thus indirectly for project implementation. Overhead costs include in particular the following: 18

19 Wages (or invoiced costs) of overhead staff, i.e. staff in the organisation's management and other cross-cutting positions: accounting, human resources, fundraising, PR, maintenance, cleaning, etc. Utilities, rent (used in day-to-day operation of the organisation), telephones, internet, postage, insurance, preparation of an annual report, audit of financial statements, etc. The volume of eligible indirect costs in the project budget shall be determined applying a defined procedure, allowing only for a proportionate share in total overhead costs. The procedure helps to calculate a fixed rate, i.e. ratio of indirect project costs to direct project costs, excluding subcontracting. Fixed rate shall not exceed 20% of direct project costs, excluding subcontracting. In general the same eligibility terms and conditions as for direct project cost apply to indirect project costs. However, due to the fixed rate principle indirect project costs need not be documented by separate accounting documents. Indirect costs shall thus be reported in total, up to the maximal limit according to the approved fixed rate. Indirect project costs may not include any eligible direct project costs. 8. Basic Financial Information 8.1 Allocation of Funds The total funds allocated to the second Call for Proposals are CZK ( EUR). I.a Protection of human rights and multiculturalism I.b Gender equality I.c Enforcement of civil society, democracy mechanisms and transparency II. Children and youth at risk III. Social inclusion IV. Environmental protection and climate change CZK EUR CZK EUR CZK EUR CZK EUR CZK EUR CZK EUR 19

20 8.2 Grant Payments Selected projects shall receive their grant in the form of an advance payment amounting to 80% of the total grant and a final payment amounting maximally to the remaining 20% of the grant. Advance payment is made within 15 working days from the beginning of project implementation subject to compliance with the defined terms and conditions. Final payment is made after the end of project implementation based on the review of the final report and project accounting statements. Final payment has thus the form of a retainer. Please note: If supported Applicants should pre-finance this part of the grant from their own resources. 8.3 Accounting All organisations implementing projects (i.e. both the Applicant and all the Partners) shall keep accounts pursuant to relevant legislation, using double entry bookkeeping. In their accounts, the organisations shall keep separate analytical accounts of the project. Project analytical accounts shall clearly link all relevant accounting transactions (in particular costs and revenues) to the accounts of the project as a whole and to the actual source of funding (EEA Grants, other sources). In addition, the accounts shall distinguish direct and indirect project costs. 8.4 State Aid The NGO Fund does not preclude projects from the category of projects with state aid. However, such projects are subject to universal rules and restrictions applied to state aid (see the Guidelines for Applicants); this applies also to cases when only one project activity receives state aid. In this respect the project is to be viewed as a single unit. 9. Project Annexes Obligatory annexes to Grant Proposals are listed below. More details can be found in the Guidelines for Applicants. All annexes shall be uploaded electronically to Grantys ( see Chapter 11 hereof). Some of the annexes listed below shall be submitted also as a hard copy such obligation is mentioned accordingly and further specified below: 20

21 Annex name To be submitted also as a hard copy Requirements of legal documents (hard copy) To be submitted electronically via Grantys + Format type Project budget YES Signed by SB 2 representative, original copy Grantys / format.xlsm Applicant s charter, statutes or other documentation of foundation NO - Grantys / format PDF, or JPG Evidence of Applicant s transformation 3 NO - Grantys / format PDF or JPG Applicant s Declaration YES Signed by SB representative, original copy Grantys / format PDF or JPG Declaration of Partnership IF APPLICABLE YES Signed by SB representative, original copy Grantys / format PDF or JPG Declaration of Partnership in English IF APPLICABLE Charter, statutes or other document of foundation of Czech partner IF APPLICABLE Evidence of transformation of Czech partner 4 IF APPLICABLE NO - NO - NO - Grantys / format PDF or JPG Grantys / format PDF or JPG Grantys / format PDF or JPG Applicant s Annual Report 2013 NO - Grantys / format PDF Partner s Annual Report 2013 IF APPLICABLE Foreign partner s Annual Report in English IF APPLICABLE NO - NO - Grantys / format PDF,.doc,.docx Grantys / format PDF,.doc,.docx 2 SB- Statutory body 3 If the NGO has been transformed the organisation shall submit their Decision to Change the Legal Form its minutes in the form of a notarial deed and registration of such changed legal form. 21

22 Analysis of External Environment NO - Grantys / format.doc,.docx Analysis of Organisation s Requirements Grantys / format.doc, NO -.docx IF APPLICABLE Note: Each annex to be submitted as a hard copy (one copy only) shall be only stapled and inserted in an envelope, not in plastic sheets or in ring binders or other fixed binding. Electronic versions of multi-page annexes shall be scanned into one file. File name shall be the same as the annex name from the Guidelines for Applicants. 10. Additional Grant Proposals under the Fund for Bilateral Relations at Programme Level Additional Grant from the Fund for Bilateral Relations at programme level will also be available as an additional source of funding for facilitating bilateral partnerships between Final Beneficiaries in the Czech Republic and the entities in the Donor States. In addition to a Grant Proposal, proposals for additional grants from the Fund for Bilateral Relations at programme level can be (but do not have to be) submitted. However, no Additional Grant Proposal can be submitted without submitting a Grant Proposal. If according to the defined rules (see Chapter 6 hereof) the Applicant submits several Grant Proposals in the second Call for Proposals, then the Applicant can submit an Additional Grant Proposal for each such Grant Proposal. Additional Grant shall provide additional financial resources to supported projects, in addition to the grant received, in order to implement a Bilateral Relations Components project (hereinafter BRC project). BRC project is an activity or activities developing bilateral cooperation between Final Beneficiaries and entities in the Donor States and the Czech Republic. Additional Grant thus provides an opportunity for the Applicant to finance such activities (if the Applicant decides to perform such activities) without any need to use part of their project grant; as a result their project grant can be fully used for project implementation. BRC project shall be clearly separated from the project but implemented during the duration of the NGO Fund project. The minimal duration of BRC project implementation is one month and maximum duration corresponds to the overall project duration. BRC project implementation shall start on the first calendar day of a month and conclude on the last calendar day of a month. BRC project shall bring benefits to strengthen bilateral relations within the Programme priority to which the Grant Proposal applies. BRC project can consist for example of the following activities: study and business trips as part of the partnership between Czech NGOs and organisations in Donor States, 22

23 short-term internships in Donor States organisations or the other way round transfer of good practices, workshops and seminars focusing on a specific topic in the Programme priority with a foreign partner s participation, networking of organisations supporting mutual cooperation of NGOs receiving aid within the given priority gaining knowhow in the given field, joint resolution of a problem in the respective area. The same terms and conditions for submission of Additional Grant Proposals apply in all NGO Fund priority areas. Eligible Applicants have been defined in the same way as for Grant Proposals (see Chapter 5.1 hereof). The Applicant can implement BRC project on their own or in cooperation with a partner. Eligible partners from the Czech Republic have been defined in the same way as for Grant Proposals (see Chapter hereof). A broader definition of eligible BRC project partners from Donor States than for Grant Proposals (see Chapter hereof) applies. In addition to the entities listed in this chapter (i.e. NGOs) eligible partners include also other relevant entities with their seat in the Donor States public and private institutions (universities, libraries, etc.). BRC project shall be implemented in the Czech Republic, Donor States (Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland) or other EEA countries. Additional Grant required to finance an approved BRC project shall not exceed 15 % of the approved grant required to finance the NGO Fund project. Additional Grant is intended to finance 100 % of eligible BRC project costs. As a result no co-financing is required for BRC project implementation. BRC projects selected to receive the Additional Grant shall get payments according to the following time schedule: - advance payment amounting to 80 % of the additional grant at the beginning of BRC project implementation, - final payment amounting max. to 20 % of the additional grant total after BRC implementation has been concluded and subject to a review of the Final BRC Project Report (i.e. the final payment has a form of retention money). Chapter 8.3 hereof applies to accounting of additional grants. It is up to the Applicant whether or not they want to use this instrument within the second Call for Proposals. Submission of an Additional Grant Proposal is not mandatory for a Grant Proposal and Grant Proposals do not receive any additional points for Additional Grant Proposals during evaluation. Only Grant Proposals submitted as part of the NGO Fund Programme and selected to receive the grant are eligible to receive an Additional Grant. 23

24 Successful Applicants who have not submitted an additional Grant Proposal during this Call for Proposals have the opportunity to do so consequently throughout the duration of their project. The following annexes shall be submitted as part of additional Grant Proposals: Annex Name To be submitted also as a hard copy Requirements of legal documents (hard copy) To be submitted electronically via Grantys + type of format BRC Project Budget YES Signed by SB representative 1, original copy Grantys /format.xls,.xlsx Declaration of Partnership IF APPLICABLE YES Signed by SB representative, original copy Grantys / format PDF or JPG Declaration of Partnership in English IF APPLICABLE Charter, statutes or other document of foundation of Czech partner IF APPLICABLE Evidence of transformation of Czech partner 2 IF APPLICABLE Partner s Annual Report 2013 IF APPLICABLE NE - NO - NO - NO - Grantys / format PDF or JPG Grantys / format PDF or JPG Grantys / format PDF or JPG Grantys / format PDF,.doc,.docx Foreign partner s Annual Report 2013 in English Grantys / format PDF, NO -.doc,.docx IF APPLICABLE Note: Each annex to be submitted as a hard copy (one copy only) shall be only stapled and inserted in an envelope, not in plastic sheets or in ring binders or other fixed binding. Electronic versions of multi-page annexes shall be scanned into one file. File name shall be the same as the annex name from the Guidelines for Applicants. 1 SB- Statutory body 24

25 11. Submission of Proposals Form, Deadline and Venue This chapter applies to Grant Proposals as well as Additional Grant Proposals. Additional Grant Proposals are not a mandatory part of Grant Proposals (for more details see Chapter 10 hereof). The Applicant shall fill both types of Grant Proposals in Czech language via the Grantys web application available on Grant Proposals shall contain all annexes according to the Chapter 9 hereof. Additional Grant Proposals shall contain all annexes according to the Chapter 10 hereof. Both types of Grant Proposals shall be completed fully and submitted (sent) in Grantys and printed out afterwards. Printed original of proposals, identical to the final electronic version, shall be signed by a representative of the Applicant s statutory body and delivered together with all other requirements by the deadline for submission of proposals in the first Call for Proposals of the NGO Fund. Grant Proposals shall be considered submitted if the Applicant meets all of the following conditions by the deadline for submission of proposals in the second Call for Proposals of the NGO Fund: 1. The Applicant completed and submitted (sent) the electronic version of their Grant Proposal in Grantys. 2. The Applicant uploaded all annexes to Grantys in their electronic form, see Chapter 9 hereof. 3. The Applicant has delivered the following documents to the Programme Operator: o o original hard copy of the Grant Proposal, identical to its final electronic version and signed by a representative of the Applicant s statutory body, required annexes (hard copy), see Chapter 9 hereof. Additional Grant Proposals shall be considered submitted if the Applicant meets all of the following conditions by the deadline for submission of proposals in the second Call for Proposals of the NGO Fund Programme: 1. The Applicant completed and submitted (sent) the electronic version of their Additional Grant Proposal in Grantys. 2. The Applicant uploaded all annexes to Grantys in their electronic form, see Chapter 10 hereof. 3. The Applicant has delivered the following documents to the Programme Operator: o o original hard copy of the Additional Grant Proposal, identical to its final electronic version and signed by a representative of the Applicant s statutory body, required annexes (hard copy), see Chapter 10 hereof. 25