Copernicus Prizes 2019 and 2020 - 292/G/GRO/COPE/18/10554

Deadline: Jul 31, 2018  
CALL EXPIRED

1. CONTEXT

The 2014 Copernicus Regulation1 states the objectives of the Copernicus programme:

- "Maximising socio-economic benefits, thereby supporting the Europe 2020 strategy and its objectives of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth by promoting the use of Earth observation in applications and services;

- Fostering the development of a competitive European space and services industry and maximising opportunities for European enterprises to develop and provide innovative Earth observation systems and services; (...)

- Supporting and contributing to European policies (...)."

The Space Stratgey (COM (2016) 705 final) which was adopted in October 2016 confirmed the potential of Copernicus for innovative services and thus stressed the need to foster the up-take of Copernicus data by the commercial sector, in particular by SMEs and start-ups.

The Commission is convinced thata stronger implication of the commercial downstream sector to deliver tailor-made applications, reach out to new users, communities and sectors and sell products in international markets will contribute to the exploitation of Copernicus’ innovative potential . The downstream companiesare a fundamental link between the EU space programme and their end users

The Commission thus developed a "Copernicus start-up Programme", to support start-ups and young companies in the EO downstream sector. The programme consists of four elements:

- The Copernicus Prizes
- The Copernicus Hackathon Programme - The Copernicus Accelerator
- The Copernicus Incubation Programme.

This comprehensive programme accompanies start-ups from the generation of a business idea to its full commercialisation. The Copernicus Prizes and Hackathons represent the entry gates to the Copernicus start-up Programme bysupporting the generation of new business ideas. The best participants from the Copernicus Prizes and Hackathons will receive a customized business development programme through the Copernicus Accelerator, to help them reach their next business target (e.g. developing a prototype, finding investors, getting a first client...). In a final stage, the Commission will support the incubation of the most promising start-ups through its dedicated Incubation Programme.

The Copernicus Accelerator was launched in June 2016. The first Copernicus Prizes were awarded in 2017; the Copernicus Hackathons and the first call for applicatens for the Incubation programme was launched in January2018.

The first competition for the Copernicus Prizes was organised by a beneficiary on behalf of the Commission. After its big success in 2017, the Commission decided to launch a new call with an enlarged scope compared to the first call. The 2017 call was build around the organisation of six Commission prizes (“Commission challenges”), comprising all related tasks such as communication, organisation of the evaluation and selection process, setting up of the expert panel (with two external and Commission experts) and the organisation of the award ceremony which took place back-to-back to the European Space week in Tallinn in December 2017 and the Galileo Masters competition.

The legal bases for this call are the Copernicus Regulation and the 2018 Copernicus Annual Work Programme2.

 

2. OBJECTIVE OF THE CALL

The objectives of the Copernicus Prizes are:

1. To increase the use of Copernicus data and services, notably by raising awareness of Copernicus in new user communities (in particular the ICT sector) and geographical areas.

2. To support each year 20 start-ups in 2019 and 2020, through the award of a 10,000 euro prize and the visibility offered by the prize and award ceremony. To further support the development of the successful applications, each winner will be offered a ticket to the Copernicus Accelerator (which is entirely covered by a different contract).

3. To foster the emergence of a vibrant Copernicus ecosystem in Europe, gathering all relevant stakeholders (research centers, universities, small and large companies...), notably through the organisation of a prestigious award ceremony.

The beneficiary of this call will be responsible for the following tasks:

1. The organisation of a prize competition, including the promotion, evaluation, selection and the award of the prize (20 prizes of 10,000 euros every year in 2019 and 2020);

2. The organisation of the award cerermony.

3. Reporting to the Commission.

 

3. TASKS EXPECTED FROM THE BENEFICIARY

3.1. Organisation of the prizes competition

The organisation of a prize competition, including the promotion, evaluation, selection and the award of the prize (20 prizes of 10,000 euros every year in 2019 and 2020).

The topics of the prize competition will be discussed with the beneficiary and approved by the Commission.

Each evaluation panel should gather at least two independent and one Commission experts :

•   A business expert with experience in the support to start-ups (private equity fund managers, business angels...).

•   An EO expert (who will notably help evaluating the technical feasibility of the projects). 2 COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION on the modification to the Annex of Commission Implementing Decision C(2018)2final concerning the Copernicus Work Programme 2018.

 

For the evaluation and selection of the best proposals, the following criteria should be met: Eligibility criteria:

o Any applicant must be a natural or legal person provided that he/she/it has legal personality in accordance with the laws of one EU Member State or Iceland or Norway.

o Copernicus data and services information products must form a central part in the project presented by any applicant.

Selection criteria:

o Use of Copernicus data and services wth respect to the challenge topic (1/4 of score).

o Project potential (Is the project innovative? Does it create value for the users? Is it feasible technically?) (1/4 of score).Sustainability of the project (Have potential users/clients been involved in the design of the project? Are they willing to pay? How does the applicant intend to finance the project? Why is the project better than competing endeavours?) (1/4 of score).

o Quality of the team (technical and business expertise, understanding of the thematic area at hand, commitment to the project) (1/4 of score).

The beneficiary should ensure a fair treatment of all applicants, with demonstrated actions to avoid potential conflicts of interests. If any member of the panel of expert has any stake in one applicant, s/he should be replaced by another person for this session of the selection board. The beneficiary should ensure full confidentiality of the applications (notably through the signature of non- disclosure agreements by all members of the jury).

The beneficiary shall ensure payment of the cash prize to the winners of the 20 prizes. This payment should be made within one month of the award ceremony.

3.2. Organisation of the award ceremony

The beneficiary shall organise a total of two public award ceremonies, in 2019 and in 2020, during which the prizes should be handed to the winners of the challenges. The Commission and relevant stakeholders (e.g. business angels, public organisations...) should be invited to these two events. Winners should be given the opportunity to present their projects (via pitching sessions and booths).

The beneficiary shall be in charge of:

3.3. Communication

1. The location(s) (find/renting) and the logistics for the award ceremony The catering and the registration of participants
2. The wide promotion of the award ceremony
3. The animation of the award ceremony
4. The interaction with all stakeholders prior to the award ceremony

 

The beneficiary should undertake several communication activities to promote the prize competition. It should also give maximum visibility to the 20 winners of the competition.

These communication activities should be executed in close contact with and on the approval of the Commission, and in line with the Copernicus Start-up Programme Communication Strategy and its Graphic Charter, which will be communicated to the beneficiary at the inception meeting.

Among these communication activities, the beneficiary should minimally:

- Manage and animate the existing webpage offering regular up-dated information the Copernicus Prizes in coordination with the Commission. The subdomain is the premier online point of information on the Copernicus Prizes.

- Manage and animate the Copernicus Prizes social media accounts (Twitter, LinkedIn...), and press coverage through regular press releases.

- Provide not less than 3 articles to the Copernicus Support Office for the Copernicus Observer or the Copernicus.eu website.

- Create and develop a professional and attractive video of 30 to 40 seconds, which shall be used as a trailer to introduce the Copernicus Prizes to the general public and potential candidates for the next years. The video should be in English, subtitled in minimally English, French and German.

- Create a power point presentation, which remains updated throughout the year, about the Copernicus Prizes. The presentation shall be used by the Commission as an introduction to the Prizes for stakeholders, and should touch upon its set-up, objectives, achievements, advantages and quotes or feedback by participants.

- Develop an attractive and easily understandable factsheet with infographics about the Copernicus Prizes (e.g. the programme's set-up, objectives, achievements, advantages and quotes or feedback by mentors and mentees). These visuals shall be used to communicate about the Prizes on Copernicus social media.

- Provide regular and relevant updates about the Copernicus Prizes for the Copernicus social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook), in line with the Communication Strategy.

In all its internal and external communication activities, the beneficiary shall preserve the positive image and the integrity of the European Commission and the Copernicus programme. Furthermore, the beneficiary shall include the logos of both Copernicus and the European Commission in all communication activities.

In its communication activities with participants and external partners, the beneficiary should ensure a feedback loop to the Commission, based on impressions, comments and suggestions for improvement. This should be communicated throughout the contract to ensure a smooth implementation of the programme; and a summary of the gathered feedback should be included in the reports.

3.4. Reporting

The beneficiary of the grant will ensure full reporting of this action to the Commission. In particular, the beneficiary should submit reports to summarize the state of play of the organisation of the prizes:

- A first interim report: after 14 months and the organisation of the first award ceremony - A second interim report: After 20 months
- A final report: After 26 months and the organisation of the second award ceremony The 1st and 3rd interim reports should present:

•   The number of start-ups and entrepreneurs that have applied to each prize.

•   A short description of the winners of each prize.

•   A short analysis of the quality of applications.

•   The result of a short user survey, to be filled by the applicants to the prize competition.

•   An analysis of the call for topics (selection procedure, quality of the topics etc). 7

•  Recommendations on how to improve the prizes.

 

4. TIMETABLE

The period of eligibility of costs will start at the earliest on the day the agreement is signed by the last of the parties. If a beneficiary can demonstrate the need to start the action before the agreement is signed, the expenditure may be eligible as from a date before the agreement is signed. Under no circumstances can the eligibility period start before the date of submission of the grant application.

a) Publication of the call
June 12th 2018

b) Deadline for submitting applications
July 31st 2018

c) Information to applicants
October

d) Signature of grant agreement
November 2018

e) Starting date of the action/ work programme
Q1-2019

f) Indicative duration of actions
26 months

 

5. EU FINANCING

The maximum EU contribution for this call is 600 000€.

The maximum EU financing rate of eligible costs is 85 %. The applicant shall demonstrate its ability to finance at least the remaining 15% of eligible costs. Applications may not include contributions in kind as part of their co-financing.

The EU contribution includes:

A maximum of 400.000 euros for the cash prizes (20 prizes per year, 10.000 euros per prize) with a maximum EU financing rate of 100%; A maximum of 200.000 euros for the organisation of the prizes (including the award ceremony (100.000 euro per year)) with a maximum EU financing rate of 65%.

This Call for proposals shall select a single-beneficiary. Consortia are not eligible for the Call.

Proposals requesting an EU contribution higher than € 600 000 € or an EU co-financing rate higher than 85 % will not be eligible

The Commission reserves the right to award a grant of less than the amount requested by the applicant. In such a case, applicants will be asked either to increase their co-financing, propose other co-financing means or to decrease the total costs without altering the substance of the proposal. Grants will not be awarded for more than the amount requested.

Publication of the call (on the Commission Internet site and/or in the Official Journal) does not guarantee the availability of funds for the above action.

5.1. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF EU FUNDING

Non-cumulative award
Each action may give rise to the award of only one grant from the budget to any one beneficiary.

In no circumstances shall the same costs be financed twice by the Union budget.

Applicants have to inform the Commission immediately of any multiple applications and multiple grants relating to the same action. The applicant shall inform about sources and amounts of EU funding received or applied for the same action or for part of the action. Applicants shall indicate if they receive EU funding for their functioning during the financial year in which the action takes place.

Non-retroactivity

No grant may be awarded retrospectively for actions already completed.

A grant may be awarded for an action which has already begun, provided the applicant can demonstrate the need to start the action before the grant agreement is signed. In such cases, costs eligible for financing may not have been incurred prior to the date of submission of the grant application.

Co-financing

Grants shall involve co-financing, which implies that the resources necessary to carry out the action or the work programme shall not be provided entirely by EU contribution. EU financing may not cover 100% of the total costs of the action.

Co-financing of the action or of the work programme may take the form of:

•   the beneficiary's own resources,

•   income generated by the action or work programme,

•   financial contributions from third parties.

Non-profit rule

EU grant may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit within the framework of the action of the work programme of the beneficiary.

Where a profit is made, the Commission is entitled to recover the percentage of the profit corresponding to the EU contribution to the eligible costs actually incurred. For this purpose, profit shall be defined as a surplus of the receipts over the eligible costs incurred, when the request for payment of the balance is made.

Balanced budget

The estimated budget of the action or work programme is to be attached to the application form. It should have revenue and expenditure in balance.

The budget shall be drawn up in euros.

Applicants, who foresee that costs will not be incurred in euros, are invited to use the exchange rate published on the European Commission's website available at:

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/inforeuro/inforeuro_en.cfm.

5.2. ELIGIBLE COSTS

In order be eligible for funding, costs should be actually incurred by the beneficiary and meet the following criteria:

 they are incurred during the duration of the action or work programme, as indicated in the grant agreement, with the exception of costs relating to the request for payment of the balance and the corresponding supporting documents (audit certificates);

•   they are indicated in the estimated budget of the action or work programme;

•   they are necessary for the implementation of the action or of the work programme, in accordance with the description of the action, attached to the grant agreement;

•   they are identifiable and verifiable, in particular being recorded in the accounting records of the beneficiary and determined according to the applicable accounting standards of the country where the beneficiary is established and according to the usual cost accounting practices of the beneficiary;

•   they comply with the requirements of applicable tax and social legislation;

•   they are reasonable, justified, and comply with the principle of sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency.

The beneficiary's internal accounting and auditing procedures should permit direct reconciliation of the costs and revenue declared in respect of the action/project with the corresponding accounting statements and supporting documents.

5.2.1. Eligible direct costs

Direct costs of the action are those specific costs which are directly linked to the implementation of the action and can therefore be attributed directly to it. They shall not include any eligible indirect costs.

The following categories of costs can be considered as eligible direct costs:

•   the costs of personnel working under an employment contract with the beneficiary or an equivalent appointing act and assigned to the action, comprising actual salaries plus social security contributions and other statutory costs included in the remuneration, provided that these costs are in line with the beneficiary's usual policy on remuneration. Those costs may also include additional remunerations, including payments on the basis of supplementary contracts regardless of the nature of those contracts, provided that they are paid in a consistent manner whenever the same kind of work or expertise is required, independently from the source of funding used.

•   costs of travel and related subsistence allowances, provided that these costs are in line with the beneficiary's usual practices on travel

•   the depreciation costs of equipment or other assets (new or second-hand) as recorded in the accounting statements of the beneficiary, provided that the asset has been purchased in accordance with the conditions applicable to implementation contracts and that it is written off in accordance with the international accounting standards and the usual accounting practices of the beneficiary

•   costs of consumables and supplies, provided that they are purchased in accordance with the conditions applicable to implementation contracts;

Please note that the exact scope of the eligibility of costs is defined by the grant agreement, which will be signed with the successful applicants.

•   costs arising directly from requirements imposed by the grant agreement (dissemination of information, specific evaluation of the action, audits, translations, reproduction), including the costs of requested financial guarantees, provided that the corresponding services are purchased in accordance with the conditions applicable to implementation contracts;

•   costs entailed by subcontracts, concluded for the externalisation of specific tasks or activities which form part of the action or workproramme as described in the proposal, provided that the conditions with the conditions applicable to implementation contracts are met;

•   costs of financial support to third parties, in accordance with the conditions set by the grant for such financing;

•   duties, taxes and charges paid by the beneficiary, provided that they are included in eligible direct costs, and unless specified otherwise in the Agreement. Value added tax (VAT) is not eligible;

•   costs relating to a pre-financing guarantee lodged by the beneficiary of the grant, where that guarantee is a condition for the payment of a pre-financing;

•   costs relating to external audits where such audits are required in support of the requests for payments.

5.2.2. Eligible indirect costs

A flat-rate amount of 7% of the total eligible direct costs of the action, with the execption of the cash prizes, is eligible under indirect costs, representing the beneficiary's general administrative costs which can be regarded as chargeable to the action/project. Indirect costs may not include costs entered under another budget heading.

Indirect costs are not eligible for beneficiaries that receive an operating grant from the European Commission.

5.2.3. Non-eligible costs

In addition to any other costs which do not fulfill the conditions set out in Article II.19.1, the following costs shall not be considered eligible:

•   return on capital;

•   debt and debt service charges;

•   provisions for losses or debts;

•   interest owed;

•   doubtful debts;

•   exchange losses;

•   costs of transfers from the Commission charged by the bank of a beneficiary;

•   costs declared by the beneficiary in the framework of another action receiving a grant financed from the Union budget (including grants awarded by a Member State and financed from the Union budget and grants awarded by other bodies than the Commission for the purpose of implementing the Union budget);

•   in particular, indirect costs shall not be eligible under a grant for an action awarded to a beneficiary which already receives an operating grant financed from the Union budget during the period in question;

•   contributions in kind from third parties;

•   excessive or reckless expenditure;

•   deductible VAT;

•   participation by any staff of the institutions in actions receiving grants;

•   any other costs which have been specified as ineligible in the call for proposal.

In addition to the above, the Commission can refuse to finance certain costs included in the proposal. The beneficiary can decide to maintain and finance these costs out of his own resources, but they will not be taken into account as eligible costs.

5.3. CO-FINANCING AND JOINT AND SEVERAL RESPONSIBILITY

The beneficiary has to supply evidence of the co-financing provided. It can be provided either by way of own resources, or in the form of financial transfers from third parties.

5.4. IMPLEMENTATION CONTRACTS/SUBCONTRACTING

Where the implementation of the action or the work programme requires the use of contracts (implementation contracts), the beneficiary must ensure that the contract is awarded to the bid offering best value for money or the lowest price (as appropriate), avoiding conflicts of interests and retain the documentation for the event of an audit.

Entities acting in their capacity of contracting authorities shall abide by the applicable national public procurement rules, in the meaning of Directive 2014/24/EU on the coordination of procedures for the award of public work contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts or contracting entities in the meaning of Directive 2014/25/EU coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors.

Sub-contracting for the purpose of the action

Sub-contracting refers to contracts concluded for the externalisation of specific tasks or activities which form part of the action or work programme as described in the proposal. Such contracts must satisfy the conditions applicable to any implementation contract and, in addition, the following conditions:

 Subcontracting may only cover the implementation of a limited part of the action.
 It must be justified having regard to the nature of the action and what is necessary for its implementation.
 The proposal should clearly identify the subcontracted activities.

Subcontracting does not in any way limit the responsibility of beneficiaries for the implementation of the action. Please note that the beneficiary(ies) should have the necessary capacity to perform the project. Only tasks that are not core business can be sub-contracted to consultants.

 

 

It is not necessary to have already selected subcontractors at the time the proposal is submitted. However, cost of contractors not selected in accordance with the applicable rules for procurement will not be eligible.

5.5. FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO THIRD PARTIES

The applications will envisage provision of financial support to third parties (award of 20 prizes per year in 2019 and 2020). The eligibility and evaluation criteria to be respected by the beneficiary are presented in part 3.1 of this call.

The amount of financial support per third party must not exceed 10,000 euros per receiving entity.

5.6. FINAL GRANT AND PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS

The draft grant agreement annexed to this call for proposals specifies the calculation of the final grant and the payment arrangements.

Your attention is in particular drawn to the General Conditions of the grant agreement, where the eligibility of costs is described. Detailed explanations and a description how costs should be budgeted and reported can be found in the Guide for Applicants.

EU grant may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit within the framework of the action of the work programme of the beneficiary. Where a profit is made, the Commission is entitled to recover the percentage of the profit corresponding to the EU contribution to the eligible costs actually incurred. For this purpose, profit is defined as a surplus of the receipts over the eligible costs incurred by the beneficiary, when the request is made for payment of the balance. Where such a surplus occurs, the Commission is entitled to recover the percentage of the profit corresponding to the EU contribution to the eligible costs actually incurred by the beneficiary.

The verification of the non-profit shall not apply to: study, research or training scholarships paid to natural persons.

The Commission may require the beneficiary to lodge a guarantee for grants exceeding € 60 000, based on a risk analysis.

In the event that the applicant's financial capacity is not satisfactory, a pre-financing guarantee for up to the same amount as the pre-financing may be requested in order to limit the financial risks linked to the pre-financing payment.

The financial guarantee, in euro, shall be provided by an approved bank or financial institution established in one of the Member State of the European Union. When the beneficiary is established in a third country, the authorising officer responsible may agree that a bank or financial institution established in that third country may provide the guarantee if he considers that the bank or financial institution offers equivalent security and characteristics as those offered by a bank or financial institution established in a Member State. Amounts blocked in bank accounts shall not be accepted as financial guarantees.

The guarantee may be replaced by a joint and several guarantees by a third party or by a joint guarantee of the beneficiaries of an action who are parties to the same grant agreement.

 

6. ELIGIBILITY

APPLICATIONS SHALL COMPLY WITH ALL OF THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA SET OUT IN THIS SECTION.

6.1. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

Applications from legal entities established in one of the following countries are eligible:  EUMemberStates
 Iceland, Norway

All applicants shall satisfy the same eligibility criteria:

•   Applications shall be submitted by a legal person

•   Corporate bodies shall be properly constituted and registered under the law. If a body or organisation is not constituted under the law, a physical person shall be designated to provide the legal responsibility.

For British applicants: Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. If the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the grant period without concluding an agreement with the EU ensuring in particular that British applicants continue to be eligible, you will cease to receive EU funding (while continuing, where possible, to participate) or be required to leave the project on the basis of Article II.17 of the grant agreement.

6.1.1. Supporting documents

Subject to the eligibility criteria indicated above, the applicants should provide the following supporting documents to establish their eligibility:

•   private entity: extract from the official journal, copy of articles of association, extract of trade or association register, certificate of liability to VAT (if, as in certain countries, the trade register number and VAT number are identical, only one of these documents is required);

•   public entity: copy of the resolution or decision establishing the public company, or other official document establishing the public-law entity;

•   natural persons: photocopy of identity card and/or passport;

•   entities without legal personality: documents providing evidence that their

  representative(s) have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf.

6.2. ADMISSIBLE AND ELIGIBLE PROPOSALS

Applications shall comply with the following conditions in order to be eligible for a grant:

•   Applications shall be sent no later than the deadline for submitting applications referred to in section 9;

•   Applications shall be submitted in writing, using the application form and the electronic submission system, as indicated in the Guide for Applicants;

•   Applications shall be drafted in one of the EU official Languages. If your proposal is not in English, a translation of the full proposal would be of assistance to the evaluators. An English translation of an abstract may be included in the proposal (see Guide for Applicants);

•   Proposals shall be submitted in conformity with the call specifications;
•   Only projects that are strictly non-profit-making and/or whose immediate objective is non- commercial shall be eligible;
•   Applications shall respect the maximum rate for EU co-financing;
•   Applications shall respect the maximum amount for EU co-financing;
•   Applications may not include contributions in kind as part of their co-financing.

In this context, will be rejected any project directly or indirectly contrary to EU policy or against
public health, human rights, citizen’s security or freedom of expression.

 

7. EXCLUSION CRITERIA

7.1. EXCLUSION FROM PARTICIPATION

An entity will be excluded from participating in the call for proposals procedure if:

(a) it is bankrupt, subject to insolvency or winding-up procedures, where its assets are being administered by a liquidator or by a court, where it is in an arrangement with creditors, where its business activities are suspended, or where it is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for under national laws or regulations;

its obligations relating to the payment of taxes or social security contributions in accordance with the law of the country in which it is established, with those of the country in which the contracting authority is located (b) it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the entity is in breach of or those of the country of the performance of the contract;

(c) it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the entity is guilty of grave professional misconduct by having violated applicable laws or regulations or ethical standards of the profession to which the applicant belongs, or by having engaged in any wrongful conduct which has an impact on its professional credibility where such conduct denotes wrongful intent or gross negligence, including, in particular, any of the following:

• (i) fraudulently or negligently misrepresenting information required for the verification of the absence of grounds for exclusion or the fulfilment of selection criteria or in the performance of a contract;
• (ii) entering into agreement with other entity with the aim of distorting competition;
• (iii) violating intellectual property rights;
• (iv) attempting to influence the decision-making process of the contracting authority during the award procedure;
• (v) attempting to obtain confidential information that may confer upon it undue advantages in the award procedure;

(d) it has been established by a final judgment that the entity is guilty of any of the following:

• (i) fraud, within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 July 1995;
• (ii) corruption, as defined in Article 3 of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of Member States of the European Union, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 May 1997, and in Article 2(1) of Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA, as well as corruption as defined in the law of the country where the contracting authority is located, the country in which the applicant is established or the country of the performance of the contract;
• (iii) participation in a criminal organisation, as defined in Article 2 of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA;
• (iv) money laundering or terrorist financing, as defined in Article 1 of Directive 2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;
• (v) terrorist-related offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, as defined in Articles 1 and 3 of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA, respectively, or inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit such offences, as referred to in Article 4 of that Decision;
• (vi) child labour or other forms of trafficking in human beings as defined in Article 2 of Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council;

(e) the entity has shown significant deficiencies in complying with main obligations in the performance of a contract financed by the budget, which has led to its early termination or to the application of liquidated damages or other contractual penalties, or which has been discovered following checks, audits or investigations by an authorising officer, OLAF or the Court of Auditors;

(f) it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative decision that the entity has committed an irregularity within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95.

g) for the situations of grave professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, other criminal offences, significant deficiencies in the performance of the contract or irregularity, the applicant is subject to:

• (i.) facts established in the context of audits or investigations carried out by the Court of Auditors, OLAF or internal audit, or any other check, audit or control performed under the responsibility of an authorising officer of an EU institution, of a European office or of an EU agency or body;
• (ii.) non-final administrative decisions which may include disciplinary measures taken by the competent supervisory body responsible for the verification of the application of standards of professional ethics;
• (iii) decisions of the ECB, the EIB, the European Investment Fund or international organisations;
• (iv) decisions of the Commission relating to the infringement of the Union's competition rules or of a national competent authority relating to the infringement of Union or national competition law.
• (v) decisions of exclusion by an authorising officer of an EU institution, of a European office or of an EU agency or body.

 

7.2. EXCLUSION FROM AWARD

Grants will not be awarded to an applicant who, in the course of the grant award procedure is: (a) is in a situation of exclusion established in accordance with Article 106 FR

(b) has misrepresented the information required as a condition for participating in the grant award procedure or has failed to supply that information;

(c) was previously involved in the preparation of procurement documents where this entails a distortion of competition that cannot be remedied otherwise.

 

 

7.3. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

Applicants must sign a declaration on their honour certifying that they are not in one of the situations referred to by filling in the “Exclusion Criteria Form” (form B4)

Administrative and financial penalties may be imposed on applicants, or affiliated entities where applicable, who are guilty of misrepresentation.

By using the “Exclusion Criteria Form” applicants shall declare on their honour that they are not in one of the situations referred to in Articles 106 and 107 of the Regulation (EC, Euratom) n° 966/2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (Financial Regulation, as amended).

Please note that administrative and financial penalties may be imposed by the Commission on applicants who are excluded in relation to points a) to g) of the form in question.

For grants with a value exceeding € 60 000, the Commission may require further evidence, as indicated in article 143 Rules of Application.

 

8. SELECTION

8.1. FINANCIAL CAPACITY

Applicants shall have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain their activity throughout the period during which the action is being carried out or the year for which the grant is awarded and to participate in its funding. The applicants' financial capacity will be assessed on the basis of the following supporting documents to be submitted with the application:

• a declaration on honour and,
• form B/5 provided for in the submission set, filled in with the relevant statutory accounting figures.

Other documents may be submitted if needed (see IV.4 Guide to applicants)

8.2. OPERATIONAL CAPACITY

Applicants shall show they have the operational (technical and management) capacity to complete the operation to be supported and shall demonstrate their capacity to manage scale activity corresponding to the size of the project for which the grant is requested. In particular, the team responsible for the project/operation shall have adequate professional qualifications and experience.

In this respect, applicants have to submit:
-a declaration on their honour,
-the following supporting documents:

•   curriculum vitae or description of the profile of the people primarily responsible for managing and implementing the operation (accompanied where appropriate, like in the field of research and education, by a list of relevant publications);

•   the organisations’ activity reports;

•   an exhaustive lists of previous projects and activities performed and connected to the policy field or to the actions to be carried out.
  The selection procedure is described in further detail in the Guide for Applicants.

 

 

9. AWARD

An evaluation of the quality of proposals, including the proposed budget, will be carried out in accordance with the evaluation criteria set out in annex 3 to this call for proposals.

The evaluation procedure is described in further detail in the Guide for Applicants.

 

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