Facilitating Social Inclusion of Roma EuropeAid/162627/DD/ACT/MK

Deadline: Mar 22, 2019  
CALL EXPIRED

FACILITATING SOCIAL INCLUSION OF ROMA

BACKGROUND

The Call for Proposals “Facilitating Social Inclusion of Roma” is funded under the framework of the IPA II Programme Action Document 2017 (AD 2017), Activity 4.4 – Facilitating Social Inclusion of Roma and it aligns with the issues and priorities identified in the Employment and Social Reform Program 2020 (ESRP) and in the Strategy for the Roma in Republic of Macedonia 2014-2020. The main prospected achievements in respect of improving Roma condition (IPA II-AAP, Activity 4.4) are oriented towards enhancing the Roma community access to social protection, housing, education and health.  Also, the output indicator Number of Roma benefiting from improved living conditions in their communities (AAP 2017, section Indicator measurement) with the target value of 1000 (2020) is considered when designing the next measures/ activities addressing Roma needs.  

Moreover, all policy documents related to Roma inclusion draws attention on the need for systematic efforts that should be deployed for improving the socio-economic situation of Roma, pointing out that the Roma remain among the poorest and most vulnerable groups with a high  unemployment rate, poor access to health and social services, education and lack of adequate housing conditions. The housing situation is dramatic with a high proportion of illegal settlings and/or inadequate, unhygienic environments. Despite numerous policies and initiatives in recent years to improve the situation of Roma, such as the introduction of health mediators, pedagogical assistants and Roma coordinators at local level, external funded actions aimed to address the most critical needs of Roma, the range of social services and initiatives to promote socio-inclusion still have to be enlarged. The EC funded WB/UNDP assessment 2017 also identifies the gap between Roma and non-Roma in the fields of education, employment, health, housing and public services 

The Employment and Social Reform Program 2020, (Skopje, July 2017) draws attention on need to decreasing the gap in the quality of housing in the communities mostly inhabited by Roma and other areas, among other key challenges and strategic priorities that require further attention and work in the forthcoming period. The Strategy for the Roma in Republic of Macedonia 2014-2020 identifies five main sub-areas or sectors of interventions defined as Employment, Education, Housing, Health and Culture. Also, the Strategy draws attention on where the interventions have to be placed:  improving employment rate, higher access to education, quality of housing, increased health status of the Roma community, development and promotion of Roma culture, language and tradition. 

Also, the provisions of the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020 stress on the need to ensure equal access to housing and essential services, thus closing the gap between the share of Roma with access to housing and to public utilities (such as water, electricity and gas) and that of the rest of the population. The poor state of housing conditions including inadequate access to public utilities has a negative impact on their health and overall integration in society. This situation should represent a significant impetus for all the stakeholders to promote non-discriminatory access to adequate housing, which needs to be part of an integrated approach including, in particular, education, health, social affairs, employment and security, and desegregation measures. 

The needs of Roma communities in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are highly complex and although immeasurable, significant resources are needed to tackle the underlying problems.  The common goal of all the associated strategic programs related to Roma should focus on improving the Roma condition and ensure equal legal-political-socio-economic-cultural environment for all persons. The present guidelines focus on address the socio-economic discrepancies that Roma persons are facing with depraved housing and living conditions. 

The EU assistance has so far covered many priorities of the Roma inclusion both on national and regional level. This call combines all the experience of the implanted and ongoing projects, therefore, consultations with previous and ongoing experiences is important. More specifically with projects which have related scope of operation with this call, like the ROMACTED project. The ROMACTED promotes good governance and Roma empowerment at local level is a joint programme between the European Union and the Council of Europe, and is implemented in 14 municipalities (local administrations, elected representatives and officials) in the country. The project was initiated at local level in 2018 and its first phase will end in April 2020. (more detailed info on ROMACTED available at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/podgorica/romacted)

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME AND PRIORITY ISSUES

The global objective of this call for proposals is improving the Roma condition by targeted measures aiming at decreasing the gap in the quality of housing and in access to social and health care services, between the communities inhabited by Roma and the other communities or territorial units. 

In line with Activity 4.4- Facilitating social inclusion of Roma, AAP 2017, the proposed interventions may range from improvement of housing and living conditions, legalization of Roma settlements and housing, preparation and implementation of plans for forced evacuations, to development of the social infrastructure including specific community services for Roma. 

The specific objective(s) of this call for proposals are: 

(SO1) - Improve housing conditions of deprived Roma living in poor and/or informal settlements in municipalities through holistic and participatory approaches, and

(SO2) - Increased and improved access of Roma living poor and/or informal settlements to socio-educational services and health care services for Roma persons  

FINANCIAL ALLOCATION PROVIDED BY THE CONTRACTING AUTHORITY

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 1,000,000.00. The Contracting Authority reserves the right not to award all available funds. 

Size of grants

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts: 

· minimum amount: EUR 350,000

· maximum amount: EUR 500,000

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum percentages of total eligible costs of the action:

• Minimum percentage: 60 % of the total eligible costs of the action.

• Maximum percentage: 90 % of the total eligible costs of the action (see also section 2.1.5). 

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

RULES FOR THIS CALL FOR PROPOSALS

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

2.1 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

There are three sets of eligibility criteria, relating to:

1. the actors:

• The lead applicant, i.e. the entity submitting the application form (2.1.1),
• its co-applicant(s) (where it is not specified otherwise the lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) are hereinafter jointly referred as "applicant(s)") (2.1.1), 
• and, if any, affiliated entity(ies) to the lead applicant and/or to a co-applicant(s). (2.1.2);

1. the actions:

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

1. the costs:

• types of cost that may be taken into account in setting the amount of the grant (2.1.5).

Lead applicant

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

• be a legal person and
• be non-profit-making and

• be a specific type of organisation such as: non-governmental organisation, public sector operator, local authority, international (inter-governmental) organisation as defined by Article 43 of the rules of application of the EU Financial Regulation and
• be established at least 2 years before the call is launched,  in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia or in a Member State of the European Union or country covered by Article 10 of the Regulation 236/2014 laying down common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union's instruments for financing external action

For British applicants: Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. Unless sector-specific eligibility rules provide otherwise, 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 will be required to leave the project on the basis of Article 12.2 (e) of the grant agreement’

This obligation does not apply to international organisation, and

• be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary. 

(2) Potential applicants may not participate in calls for proposals or be awarded grants if they are in any of the situations listed in Section 2.6.10.1 of the practical guide;

Lead applicants, co-applicants, affiliated entities and, in case of legal entities, persons who have powers of representation, decision-making or control over the lead applicant, the co-applicants and the affiliated entities are informed that, should they be in one of the situations of early detection or exclusion according to Section 2.6.10.1 of the practical guide, personal details (name, given name if natural person, address, legal form and name and given name of the persons with powers of representation, decision-making or control, if legal person) may be registered in the early detection and exclusion system, and communicated to the persons and entities concerned in relation to the award or the execution of a grant contract.

In Annex A.2 Section 5 of the grant application form (‘declaration(s) by the lead applicant’), the lead applicant must declare that the lead applicant himself, the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies) are not in any of these situations.

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

If awarded the grant contract, the lead applicant will become the beneficiary identified as the coordinator in Annex E3h1 (special conditions). The coordinator is the main interlocutor of the contracting authority. It represents and acts on behalf of any other co-beneficiary (if any) and coordinate the design and implementation of the action.

Co-applicant(s)

The lead applicant must act together with a minimum of one (1) co-applicant and a maximum of two (2) co-applicants as specified hereafter. It is highly recommended that at minimum one co-applicant is local self-government unit.

Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant. 

Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself. 

Co-applicants must sign the mandate in Annex A2 Section 4 of the grant application form. 

(3)  Applicants included in the lists of EU restrictive measures (see Section 2.4. of the PRAG) at the         moment of the award decision cannot be awarded the contract. 

If awarded the grant contract, the co-applicant(s) (if any) will become beneficiary(ies) in the action (together with the coordinator)   

2.1.2 Affiliated entities

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

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

Only entities having a structural link with the applicants (i.e. the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link. This structural link encompasses mainly two notions: 

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

Entities affiliated to an applicant may hence be:

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

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

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

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

What is not an affiliated entity?  

The following are not considered entities affiliated to an applicant:  

• Entities that have entered into a (procurement) contract or subcontract with an applicant, act as concessionaires or delegatees for public services for an applicant, 
• Entities that receive financial support from the applicant, 
• Entities that cooperate on a regular basis with an applicant on the basis of a memorandum of understanding or share some assets, 
• Entities that have signed a consortium agreement under the grant contract (unless this consortium agreement leads to the creation of a ‘sole applicant’ as described above). 

How to verify the existence of the required link with an applicant? 

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

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

If the applicants are awarded a grant contract, their affiliated entity(ies) will not become beneficiary(ies) of the action and signatory(ies) of the grant contract. However, they will participate in the design and in the implementation of the action and the costs they incur (including those incurred for implementation contracts and financial support to third parties) may be accepted as eligible costs, provided they comply with all the relevant rules already applicable to the beneficiary(ies) under the grant contract. 

Affiliated entity(ies) must satisfy the same eligibility criteria as the lead applicant and the co-applicant(s).  They must sign the affiliated entity(ies) statement in Annex A.2 Section 4 of the grant application form. 

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