Competence centres for social innovation (new deadline 16/11/2020)

Deadline: Nov 16, 2020  
CALL EXPIRED

1. INTRODUCTION – BACKGROUND

1.1. Programme/Legal base

This call for proposals is published under Regulation (EU) no 1296/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on a European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (“EaSI”) and amending Decision No 283/2020/EU establishing a European Progress Microfinance Facility for employment and social inclusion, and under Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 (CPR)1, notably its article 118.

The annual work programmes for the European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) C(2020)23772 and for ESF operational technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission in the framework of the European Social Fund C(2020) 37583 were published on 22 April 2020 and 12 June 2020 respectively.

This call for proposals is co-financed by ESF technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission in the framework of the European Social Fund and under the European Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) 2014-20204. The latter is a European-level financing instrument to contribute to the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy, by providing financial support for the Union's objectives in terms of promoting a high level of quality and sustainable employment, guaranteeing adequate and decent social protection, combating social exclusion and poverty, as well as improving working conditions.

1.2. Policy and economic background

In a rapidly changing world, social innovation is becoming increasingly important to shape the challenges ahead in the interest and for the benefit of European citizens. The transition to a low-carbon economy, demographic changes, the shift towards an IT-based economy, the COVID-19 crisis and migration related issues have already started transforming the world of work, education, training and social services. Therefore, European policies will prioritize policies and actions:

•   To help repair the economic and social damage brought by the coronavirus pandemic, kick-start European recovery, and protect and create jobs;

•   to implement the European Green Deal, while ensuring just transitions to the green economy, leaving noone behind;

•   to strengthen the social dimension of economic activity through fully implementing the principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights, including a European Action plan for Social Economy to enhance social innovation;

•   to make European citizens, enterprises and institutions fit for the digital age;

•   to involve, engage and mobilise European citizens in shaping their living and working conditions, thus contributing to a new push for European democracy;

•   to protect the European values, built around solidarity, equality and security, and on this basis, to further develop the European social and economic model by exploiting

European diversity and creativity.

Social innovation covers activities that are social both as to their ends and their means (content and process component). Such activities are linked to the development, testing, validation and implementation and scaling-up of new (combinations of) products, services, models or practices that meet social needs and resolve societal challenges. Thereby, social innovations aim at changing the social context, empowering civil society actors and boosting their capacity to act, as well as developing new policy approaches. The concept of social innovation allows public authorities, academia, private and third sector organisations to enter into new relationships or collaborations and to tailor the innovative actions to the specific needs and opportunities of the area or to experiment in a transnational context at EU level. What is an established practice in one country or region can serve as a source of innovation elsewhere.

Social experimentation is defined in the ESF+ proposal5 as “policy interventions that offer an innovative response to social needs, implemented on a small scale [...] prior to being implemented in other contexts or on a larger scale, if the results prove convincing”. It should provide valuable information for policy-makers, avoiding the costs of launching large-scale programmes before being tested. Some social experimentations may also fail, being nevertheless an important source of information for policy-makers.

The EaSI Programme should support actions to boost social innovation in response to social needs that are not met or only met insufficiently. The Programme should also act as a catalyst for transnational partnerships and networking between public, private and third-sector actors, as well as supporting their involvement in designing and implementing new approaches, in order to tackle pressing social needs and challenges. Successfully tested ideas should be pursued on a wider scale with financial support from the European Social Fund. In addition, the ESF should encourage and support innovative social enterprises and entrepreneurs, as well as innovative projects promoted by non-governmental organisations and other actors within the social economy.

The ESF+ proposal (MFF 2021 - 2027), combining both programmes, contains a strengthened approach to social innovation. It intends to stimulate social innovation in three complementary ways:

Firstly, under shared management, i.e. in their national or regional ESF programmes, Member States are required to establish a funding priority to support actions of social innovation and social experimentation and/or strengthen bottom-up approaches based on partnerships between public authorities, the private sector and civil society (Article 13 of the European Commission proposal). The establishment of such funding priorities by Member States will be incentivised by an increased EU co-financing rate.

Secondly, the Commission intends to carry on with piloting social experimentations in direct management under EaSI, based on priority fields identified in its annual work programmes. Implementation will mostly happen through calls for proposals and transnational projects in EaSI participating countries6.

Finally, the Commission has proposed to complement the ESF+ contributions for innovative actions by a funding window of EUR 200 million for transnational cooperation under indirect management, i.e. by entrusting its implementation to a public law body of a Member State or an international organisation. This transnational cooperation will involve calls for transnational projects at EU level, mutual learning activities, networking and capacity building for public authorities, as well as other stakeholders and project beneficiaries.

1.3. Main purposes

The impact assessment7 for the ESF+ Regulation proposal showed that under the ESF (2014- 2020) activities related to social innovation are concentrated in a relatively small number of countries and even when operational programmes allocate budget to social innovation, spending tends to lag behind the expectations. In addition, this impact assessment found that currently the ESF has unexploited potential for scaling-up innovative projects financed under the EaSI Programme.

One of the main reasons is that promoting social innovation requires specific capacities and knowledge, not only in communicating the concept of social innovation, but also in empowering and connecting social innovation initiatives, through the provision of suitable examples, tools and methodologies.

Therefore, the full potential of ESF+ in supporting social innovation can be better reaped if the key social innovation stakeholders, notably ESF Managing Authorities, funders and donors, intermediaries, social innovation initiators and practitioners are supported by a professional independent expertise to:

•   Create an environment for inspiring, assisting, encouraging and empowering stakeholders so that they make better use of the opportunities, benefits and success factors of specific social innovations. This includes a) collecting, assessing and providing support in applying/adapting suitable tools, methods, examples, models and practices, and by b) promoting networking and mutual learning.

•   Facilitate the mainstreaming of successfully tested innovative approaches (or partnerships). This involves a) assisting social innovation initiatives in validating, documenting and communicating their approach and experience, b) creating a basis to diffuse successful models funded previously under EaSI or other Union programmes beyond or under the ESF+ through the replication or adaption of the approach to the specific national/regional context.

This call is to finance the delivery of this expert support to Managing Authorities and national ecosystems for social innovation, by what is called hereafter “the national competence centre for social innovation”.

The 2014-2020 ESF transnational cooperation platform, as re-established in spring 2020, will help to link the national competence centres among themselves. It will use for this its community of practice on social innovation, bringing together ESF managing authorities representatives of the national competence centres, and other stakeholders, in order to facilitate mutual learning, the exchange of good practices and networking.

In the next programming period (2021-2027), the Commission8 intends to set up a European level support structure for social innovation. This will, among other things, provide a platform for transnational cooperation, mutual learning and for thematic and methodological support to the national competence centres. The competence centres could then also integrate additional functions, such as cooperating with (or perhaps become) the then to be created EaSI National Contact Points (NCPs) within each EU Member State, to increase the synergies between the different components of the ESF+, as well as other EU and non-EU programmes.

2. OBJECTIVE(S) – PRIORITIES – TYPES OF ACTIONS - EXPECTED RESULTS

2.1. Objectives - Priorities

In view of the diverse landscape in terms of experience in promoting and scaling-up social innovation under the ESF, the high importance given to social innovation by the new Commission and the proposals for the future ESF+ Regulation, there is a need to empower social innovation initiatives and partnerships and boost the stakeholders’ capacity to act. Therefore, the objective of this call for proposals is to support the establishment, development and professionalism of organisations that do or can assume the function of a social innovation competence centre in an EU Member State. Their main functions would be:

 Capacity building: to build capacities of key social innovation stakeholders, notably ESF Managing Authorities, funders and donors, intermediaries, social innovation initiatives and practitioners alike. This is to be pursued, by providing professional support services ranging from design and development to assessment, upscaling and mainstreaming of social innovations through effective public policies and actions, creating a conducive environment for social innovation in a Member State.

 Transnational transfer of knowledge9 know-how, and tools for the support to social innovation from ESF Managing Authorities, social innovation competence centres and social innovation stakeholders with a long-standing and deep experience, to organisations in Member States with a shorter and less developed or less comprehensive experience and competence in this field.

Establishing a mentoring relationship between competence centres of both

types of Member States will be instrumental in this respect.
 Creation of synergies: to create further synergies between the EaSI Programme and the ESF, especially in view of designing, supporting, monitoring and mainstreaming innovative actions that could be extended,

enlarged and/or replicated using ESF+ funding in subsequent years.
 Networking: to network and cooperate with other selected competence centres, using mutual learning as well as by jointly developing, assessing, and optimising suitable tools and methods, and collecting and disseminating

inspiring examples, models and practices.

2.2. Description of the activities to be funded / Type of actions

The call will fund the development and establishment of national competence centres, their activities to promote social innovation in the country (in particular by assisting stakeholders in the design, implementation and scaling up of successful innovative actions), and mutual learning, as well as mentoring of less advanced centres by more experienced ones combined with networking between the different competence centres and other key stakeholders.

The types of activities to be funded under this call for proposals may include:

• -  Drawing a comprehensive overview of the social innovation ecosystem synthesising the visions, needs, opportunities and priorities of relevant social innovation stakeholders and promoters, in order to produce a shared strategy and action plan for boosting social innovation in a Member State, including under the ESF+;

• -  Collecting, validating, mapping, and communicating suitable and successful tools and methods, approaches and models, practices and inspiring examples, through social media, web platforms, conferences and seminars;

• -  Organising awareness and inspirational actions for social innovation promoters;

• -  Providing guidance, coaching, mentoring and training in applying/ adapting suitable tools and methods and practices to social innovation promoters;

• -  Creating and facilitating (thematic) networks of social innovation promoters, academics and local bodies to speed up mutual learning and exchanging good practices;

• -  Facilitating and assisting the development of (new forms/new combinations) of community-led/citizen-controlled finance for pursuing social innovations;

• -  Continuously monitoring and assessing public support towards social innovation, and drafting recommendations for improving the responsiveness, effectiveness and governance of public policy towards social innovation;

• -  Providing guidance, coaching, mentoring and training to less experienced competence centres, and assist them in mutual learning and exchanging good practices;

• -  Sharing suitable and successful tools and methods, approaches and models, examples and practices and inspiring examples with other competence centres.

The applications shall detail the resources foreseen for each of the activities proposed, as well as the professional qualifications and relevant experience of the teams that will conduct those activities.

All activities shall be presented under the umbrella of a comprehensive work plan, which should detail their links with the objectives, their expected results and the milestones for achieving the results in the implementing period.

Proposals must include a work package of capacity building, knowledge transfer and mentoring to suitable organisations (i.e. future competence centres) in other Member States. This will enable each consortium (see section 6.1.) to form a cluster of competence centres that exchange knowledge, expertise, tools, methods and models among its members, and eventually allow to cover all Member States through all clusters taken together.

The grant budget for each consortium therefore must be shared between existing and (future) competence centres in several Member States in every application. There are two options for applicants to comply with this requirement (see also section 6.2 b).

The work plan shall also foresee the participation in networking activities of the transnational cooperation platform (3 meetings per year in Brussels or another place in Europe). The Commission will entrust a competent organisation to facilitate the networking and collaboration of all competence centres and to assume the functions of a network coordinator and shared platform provider. It will, in collaboration with the consortia selected, establish modalities of EU-level networking and collaboration of all competence centers.

2.3. Expected outputs/results

The Commission will endeavour to choose the consortia in a way to ideally cover all Member States to ensure that all Member States have the chance to establish and operate a social innovation competence centre. The selected applications should thus contribute to a balanced geographic coverage.

Each consortium is expected to produce at least the following outputs for every Member State covered:

• -  A competence centre for social innovation able to perform the tasks, outlined under section 2.2, is established, and recognised as a professional resource by social innovation promoters and stakeholders, academia, local social and economic development organisations. It has received a formal endorsement (see template in annex II) from the responsible national ESF Managing Authority10;

• -  An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses regarding social innovation and identification of areas or approaches which could serve as a source of inspiration for other territories (Policy areas/approaches could include for example, social inclusion, access to services, housing, skills, social approaches to energy management, community management of resources, persons-centred care, outreach and partnerships, etc.)

For the purpose of this call, the national managing authority is the entity represented by the full member of the ESF Commmittee. The endorsement form shall be signed by the full member of the ESF Committee. The name of ESF Committee Member for the country can be obtained from the managing authority/ies, which can be found by choosing on this website first the country in question and then the contacts:

https://ec.europa.eu/esf/main.jsp?catId=45&langId=en . Alternatively, information can be obtained via the functional mailbox of this call for proposal: empl-vp-2020-010@ec.europa.eu

• -  A joint blueprint by stakeholders for a strategy and action plan to support social innovation in the country, including support under ESF+;

• -  An established system to pursue ongoing improvements and adaptations of their tools and methodologies, resources and practices for each competence centre, to achieve a high level of quality through collaboration and networking with the other competence centres;

• -  A collection of social innovation initiatives initiated or scaled-up/replicated. Each consortium is also expected to:

  • - Prepare and test the replication or up-scaling of 1-2 social innovation projects.

2.4. Monitoring

The Commission, with the support of an external contractor, will monitor regularly the implementation of the EaSI Programme. Therefore, beneficiaries/contractors will have to transmit qualitative and quantitative monitoring data on the results of the activities. These will include the extent to which the principles of equality between women and men has been applied, as well as how anti-discrimination considerations, including accessibility issues, have been addressed through the activities. Related templates are attached or will be provided.

The Commission will monitor the action for the EaSI programme through the information provided in the specific Annex to the Grant Agreement. The reporting template is published on the respective EaSI call page https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=629&langId=en .

In setting up the action, beneficiaries must foresee the necessary funding for monitoring and reporting to the Commission. For events, it is important to get from participants their specific consent by a statement or by a clear affirmative action for processing and transferring their personal data also to an external contractor responsible for the monitoring of the EaSI programme. Beneficiaries/contractors should therefore inform all participants via a Privacy Statement that is not only published online, but is also provided individually to each participant (e.g. as part of the email where the beneficiary/contractor first contacts the individual concerned) that the Commission/external contractor would be processing their personal data. Beneficiaries/contractors have to be able to demonstrate that consent was obtained subject to conditions of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data (i.e. keep a record that shows how the consent was obtained and whether it was valid) and Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data.

A model privacy statement is available on the Europa website of the EaSI programme: https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1081&langId=en&furtherCalls=yes&callType=2.

2.5 General requirements for the activities to be funded under EaSI

The EaSI Programme shall, in all its axes and actions, aim to: -8-

(a) pay particular attention to vulnerable groups, such as young people; (b) promote equality between women and men,

(c) combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation;

(d) promote a high-level of quality and sustainable employment, guarantee adequate and decent social protection, combat long-term unemployment and fight against poverty and social exclusion.

Hence, in designing, implementing and reporting on the activity, beneficiaries must address the issues noted above and will be required to provide details in the final activity report on the steps and achievements made towards addressing those aims.

3. TIMETABLE

a) Publication of the call

07/2020

b) Deadline for questions and requests for clarification

05/10/2020

c) Deadline for submitting applications

15/10/2020
Swim, Courier and Post : 24:00 Brussels' time (CET)

Hand deliveries 16:00 Brussels' time (CET)

d) Evaluation period (indicative)

11/2020 to 01/2020

e) Information to applicants (indicative)

01/02/2021

f) Signature of the grant agreements (indicative)

28/02/2021

g) Starting date of the action (indicative)

15/03/2021

3.1. Starting date and duration of the projects

The actual starting date of the action will either be the first day following the date when the last of the two parties signs the grant agreement, the first day of the month following the date when the last of the two parties signs or a date agreed upon between the parties.

Applicants should note that if their project is selected, they may receive the grant agreement after the start date of the action that they have indicatively set in the application form. It is therefore advisable to number the months in the work programme instead of indicating the name of the month or the date.

No expenditure can be incurred before the date of submission of the application. Any expenditure incurred before the signature of the Grant Agreement may be considered eligible but it will be at the applicant’s risk if the applicant cannot demonstrate the imperative need for starting the action prior to signature of the agreement.

Indeed an action grant may be awarded for an action, which has already begun only where the applicant can demonstrate in the grant application the need to start the action before the grant agreement is signed.

The indicative duration of the project should be 24 months. 4. AVAILABLE BUDGET AND CO-FINANCING RATE

4.1. Available Budget

The total budget earmarked for the EU co-financing of projects under this call is estimated at EUR 5 million.

The Commission expects to fund 7- 9 proposals.

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

The Commission reserves the right to increase the amount of the funds, if available, and distribute them to proposals admitted in the possible reserve list. This top-up of the budget is limited to 20% of the initial budget of the call.

4.2. Co-financing rate

Under this call for proposals, the EU grant may not exceed 80% of the total eligible costs of the action. The applicants must guarantee their co-financing of the remaining amount covered by the applicants' own resources or from sources other than the European Union budget11.

Please note that other EU programmes and ESF, ERDF, EAFRD and cohesion fund programmes cannot be used as national co-financing source.

5. ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

•   Applications must be sent no later than the deadline for submission referred to in section 3(c)

•   Applications (meaning, the application form, including budget, description of the action and work plan) must be submitted using the electronic submission system available at https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/swim, and by sending a signed, printed version of the complete application form (including all documents specified in the check-list) by post or courier service (one original dossier and two copies; see sections 14 and 16).

   

Failure to comply with one of the above requirements may lead to the rejection of the application.

Applicants are encouraged to submit their project proposal in English, French or German in order to facilitate the treatment of the proposals and speed up the evaluation process. It should be noted, however, that proposals submitted in any of the official languages of the EU will be accepted. In this case, applications should be accompanied by an executive summary in English, French or German (see checklist, point 3).

6. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
6.1. Eligibility of the applicants (lead and co-applicants) and affiliated entities12

Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant.

For British Applicants: Please be aware that following the entry into force of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement13 on 1 February 2020 and in particular Articles 127(6)14, 13715 and 13816, the references to natural or legal persons residing or established in a Member State of the European Union are to be understood as including natural or legal persons residing or established in the United Kingdom. UK residents and entities are therefore eligible to participate under this call.17

a) Place of establishment

Legal entities properly established and registered in the EU Member States are eligible as lead applicant or co-applicants, affiliated entities and associated organisations.

b) Type of entities
The lead applicants, co-applicants and affiliated entities must be legal entities.

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