FOR THE CO-FINANCING OF CITIZENS’ ENGAGEMENT ACTIONS UNDER THE MULTI-ANNUAL WORK PROGRAMME FOR GRANTS IN THE AREA OF COMMUNICATION

Deadline: Sep 30, 2020  
CALL EXPIRED

1 BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS

1.1 Background

This call for proposals is based on the European Parliament (EP)’s multiannual work programme for grants in the area of communication (2020-2021) published on the EP website.

1.2 Purpose of this call for proposals

The purpose of this call for proposals is to select action proposals for the award of grants for engagement actions, as described below.

This call for proposals is open to all organisations complying with the criteria described in the following sections.

Grant agreements will be signed with those organisations who have submitted an action proposal and have been selected for co-financing based on the criteria laid down in this call for proposals. The grant agreements will define the precise subject and the conditions for implementation of the action covered and the maximum amount to be co-financed.

1.3 Definitions

For the purpose of this call,

- “Pan-European organisation” means an organisation operating in most or all EU Member States;

- “European dimension” of an action/activity means that an action/activity covers more than one Member State;

- "Volunteer" means a person working on a non-compulsory basis for an organisation without payment;

- “Community “together.eu”” means a pan-European community of individuals launched at the initiative of the European Parliament to maintain an ongoing dialogue between the EP and the EU citizens, to foster European identity and democratic engagement, to build a peer-to-peer communication channel and to provide information to citizens. Any interested individual may become part of this community by registering at together.eu and adhering to the code of conduct.

 

2 OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTED RESULTS OF THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The principal objective of this call for proposals, as per the objectives of the multi-annual work programme for grants, is to contribute to raise citizens’ awareness of the role and democratic values of the European Union by promoting strategic engagement with EU citizens via three different channels: civil society engagement, community engagement and youth engagement. The global key performance indicators to measure the achievement of the principal objective of the call for proposals are the number of communication actions co-financed and the hours of attention (estimated exposure) generated by the co-financed actions. Applicants’ attention is drawn to the fact that each action proposal must set out its own specific performance indicators in accordance with Section 3.2 of this call for proposals.

The expected results of the actions are to raise awareness about the role and democratic values of the European Parliament as the voice of EU citizens and to engage more deeply with them, notably via the community “together.eu” (see Section 3.1).

Such actions should primarily target those EU citizens who have turned more demanding towards the European Union, specifically since the outbreak of the Covid19-pandemic, as well as citizens who show some interest in EU affairs. Special attention should be paid to reaching out to minority communities and citizens who are less likely to already be involved in EU action in some way.

Insights and analysis, which help to identify those segments of the population are available at:

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/resources/library/media/20200527RES79925/20200527RES 79925.pdf

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/at-your-service/en/be- heard/eurobarometer?year=eng.aac.eurobarometer.filters.allYears&type=eng.aac.eurobaro meter.filters.type.specificSurveys;

 

3 FORMULATION AND DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION ACTIONS

3.1. Type of communication actions sought by the EP

The EP is looking to co-finance actions aimed at promoting the role of the EP and its democratic values and supporting citizens’ democratic engagement, targeting a predefined audience via specific engagement channels, such as civil society organisations, public and private stakeholders fostering the representation and participation of citizens in the European democratic life. The EP is also looking to promote its role and democratic values showcased during specific events and campaigns embedded in the legislative schedule.

Action proposals must be supported by a detailed planning of offline and/or online activities to be implemented by the grant beneficiary (indicating the type of activity, physical location (if offline) or channel(s) (if online), the date or period, the description of each activity and the estimated number of people who will be reached both directly and indirectly), and a communication plan including a media strategy (owned, paid and earned media). Projects must be conceived in a way that ensures a wide outreach and maximises the impact of the planned action, including on social media and/or through the provision of interactive tools to encourage and facilitate engagement and to facilitate consistency with EP communication campaigns.

Action proposals must also describe the monitoring or supervision system put in place during the implementation of the action.

Proposals must be clearly and well-defined, researched and fully developed, having taken all time-schedule and budget considerations into account. They shall consist of an action or a series of actions to be implemented over a period defined under each action category in sections 3.1.1 to 3.1.3. Any request to have a later end date should be duly justified. Actions must be ready to start as of the award of the grant.

Action proposals must be submitted under one of the action categories referred to in sections 3.1.1 to 3.1.3.

 

3.1.1. Action category 1:

Civil society engagement

a) Scope

Civil society engagement actions refers to actions implemented by civil society organisations and other multiplier networks to communicate to citizens about the EU, the role of the EP and its democratic values and to support democratic engagement. Such actions should also provide citizens and/or civil society representatives with an opportunity to discuss EU-related topics in the Member States and encourage participants to become active members of the “together.eu” community.

The topics of the actions should be relevant to the intended target audience, and linked to the political and legislative priorities of the EP, for example:

- The post-COVID 19 recovery plan.
- The environment, social policies, digital transformation, health, etc.
- The conference on the future of Europe.
- Values of the EU and prizes of the EP.
b) Type of activities supported:
The EP envisages to award grants supporting (but not limited to) the following activities:

Communication actions or series of communication actions, offline and/or online, where the applicant is either the main organiser, a co-organiser, or is participating in an existing programme dedicated to informing event participants about the EU, the EP and its democratic values and supporting democratic engagement among citizens. Systems to collect the feedback of activity participants should be put in place. Special attention should be paid to reaching out to minority communities and citizens who are less likely to already be involved in EU action in some way. Close collaboration with the European Parliament Liaison Office in the Member States should be foreseen.

Examples of communication actions:

• - online/offline events or series of events aimed at providing citizens and/or civil society representatives with an opportunity to discuss topics directly linked to the European Parliament;
• - online/offline large-scale event or series of events where the applicant is either the main organiser, a co-organiser, or is participating in the event or series of events as a sponsor, holder of a stand or provider of (part of) an activity included in the event programme dedicated to informing event participants about the European Parliament or its activities; - structured activities such as information stands, door-to-door canvassing, marches, rallies, leafleting, street activities, games, flash mobs, etc., aimed at increasing the visibility of the EU and the European Parliament;
• - series of online/offline information sessions, presentations, workshops, organised by the applicant in universities, within organisations, etc. and aimed at informing participants about the European Parliament, its activities and decisions;
• - online discussion groups, fora and other social media activities offering members and/or followers the possibility to discuss and exchange views on topics related to the European Parliament;
• - dedicated video channels, websites, apps, web tools and social media accounts producing original content directly related to the European Parliament’s campaigns and engaging the viewers/followers/members in a discussion about the topic, encouraging them to share the content and/or informing them about the European Parliament;
• - enhanced outreach of the planned activities via support from web and social media tools.

c) Type of potential beneficiaries:

National or pan-European non-profit organisations with the explicit aim of promoting European values at national or at pan-European level.

d) Maximum EP contribution requested:

The maximum EP contribution for an action proposal submitted with a scope which is national or limited to less than 5 Member States is EUR 60,000. This threshold does not apply to action proposals with a scope of 5 Member States or more. In the case of multiple Member States, the outreach of the action should be balanced between each Member State.

e) Indicative budget for this category:

EUR 1,320,000

f) Implementation period of actions

Actions should start at the earliest on 1 December 2020 and should end at the latest on 30 June 2022.

3.1.2. Action category 2: Organisation of a local European Youth Event to contribute to youth engagement

a) Scope

Youth engagement actions refer to communication actions targeting specifically youth (people aged 16-30) along existing youth outreach activities organised by the EP in a consistent manner (biennial European Youth Events, Youth seminars, Euroscola and the European Parliament Ambassadors School programme). The purpose of youth engagement actions is to encourage young people to participate in democratic life, to give them the opportunity to understand their rights as European citizens and facilitate a genuine dialogue between them and the European Parliament.

b) Type of activities supported:

The EP envisages to award one grant to support the organisation of a local version of the European Youth Event in a Member State in 2021. The purpose of a local European Youth Event (EYE) is to activate and inspire young people, and make them part of a conversation with the European decision makers and MEPs at the local level. It should bring the EP closer to young people in peripheral regions of Europe, and create a two-way communication, raising awareness on what the EP does for them as young people and at the same time collecting ideas and expectations of young people from the local and national level. The local EYE should be organised according to the principles of central EYE1, namely: co-design and co-creation with young people, a programme for and by young people (i.e. young speakers), interactivity of formats, political pluralism, European perspective, connection with the EYE in Strasbourg, collection of ideas, participation of Members of the European Parliament, sustainability, accessibility and inclusiveness.

Close collaboration with the European Parliament Liaison Office in that Member State should be foreseen.

The activities supported include but are not limited to:

•   Organisation of a local European Youth Event, ensuring consistency with past European Youth Events, including a participants’ registration system, a participants’ feedback system, logistics and security, etc.

•   Development of a programme in a spirit of co-design and co-creation with young people, for example through partnerships with a number of youth organisations;

•   Inviting speakers who can debate with young people on various issues from both local and European perspectives, such as policy experts, MEPs, etc.

•   Communication strategy outlining how it is foreseen to maximise the visibility of the event via a mix of media, including on dedicated online channels before and after the event, e.g. through social media and specific tools such as videos;

•   Promotional and welcome kit based on the EYE visual identity adapted to the local context.

c) Type of beneficiary:

National profit or non-profit organisation

d) Maximum EP contribution requested

The maximum EP contribution for an action proposal is EUR 60,000

e) Indicative budget for this category

EUR 60,000

f) Implementation period of the action

The action should start at the earliest on 1 December 2020 and end at the latest on 31 December 2021.

3.1.3. Action category 3: Youth engagement on the Conference on the future of Europe

a) Scope

The Conference on the future of Europe, organised by the European Parliament, the European Commission and the EU Council, will aim at defining the future shape and form of the EU. According to the EP position adopted in January 2020, the Conference should be built on citizen participation involving a cross-section of society, and specifically focus on “ensuring youth participation (that) will be an essential part of the long-lasting impacts of the Conference”. The conclusions of this process are expected to be presented to the EP delegation to the Conference by mid-2021. More information can be found in the Parliament’s resolutions2.

b) Type of activities:

The EP envisages to award grants supporting (but not limited to) the following activities:

•   Organisation and reporting of local and/or national youth consultations and side events of the Conference process across the EU;

•   Online and offline Communication actions to promote the process of the Conference, spread information about youth consultations and all the side events to the Conference;

•   Online and offline communication actions about the result and the impact of conducted consultations, with an aim to ensuring that young people’s ideas and suggestions are heard and taken into account by the Conference;

•   Organisation of surveys and other kinds of opinion monitoring among young people, especially in the communities that are not easily accessible (for example, disadvantaged groups of any kind and non-urban communities).

It would be considered an asset to put in place a system to collect the feedback of events participants. Close collaboration with the European Parliament Liaison Office in the Member States should be foreseen.

c) Type of beneficiaries:

Non-profit pan-European youth organisations

d) Maximum EP contribution requested: n/a

e) Indicative budget for this category: EUR 1,260,000

f) Implementation period of the action
The actions should start at the earliest in November 2020 and end at the latest on 30 June 2022.

3.2 Performance indicators for the actions

The proposals must set up quantified targets using the following performance indicators in Annex 1.II (mandatory). Grant beneficiaries will be requested to report on the actual achievements of the action against the predefined targets. The proposal should also indicate methodology for collecting this data/source of information and to evaluate the results of the action.

Applicants should report on the relevant performance indicators based on the most recent data available.

1. Expected total number of activities (offline and online)

2. Expected average number of participants per activity (offline and online)

3. Expected total number of specific web pages / sections / social media posts to be published

4. Expected total number of views/impressions of the specific web pages / sections / social media posts

5. Expected average engagement rate on the specific web pages / sections / social media posts

6. Expected average number of daily unique visitors of the specific web pages or sections

7. Expected total number of media reports on the project and its results

8. Expected total number of MEPs involved-- only for action category 2.

9. Expected average number of participants per activity (offline and online), who were not previously involved in European programmes -- only for action category 3.

10. Expected total number of proposals recorded (during events, surveys, online consultations) -- only for action category 3.

In addition, applicants should put in place a feedback system to collect the satisfaction of activities’ participants.

 

4 EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF APPLICATIONS

The EP reserves the right to contact applicants during the evaluation procedure in order to obtain additional information, documentation or clarifications on the content of the proposal. However, this does not include any kind of negotiation. Any requests or replies do not constitute any ground to claim any expectation concerning the selection of the proposal.

 

4.1 Admissibility criteria

Failure to comply with at least one of the following admissibility criteria will lead to a rejection of the application.

•   applications must be sent no later than the deadline for submitting applications referred to below;

•   applications must be submitted following the electronic submission procedure described below. No other method of submission will be accepted.

 

4.2 Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for a grant, applicants must be able to demonstrate that they are:

For action category 1

 A legal person constituted and registered as a legal entity for at least one year at the time of application;

 Non-profit;

 Based in one of the Member States of the European Union or the United Kingdom.

For British applicants:

Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. If the Brexit transition period ends 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.

.

For action category 2

•   A legal person constituted and registered as a legal entity for at least two years at the time of application;

•   Based in one of the Member States of the European Union or the United Kingdom. For British applicants:

Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. If the Brexit transition period ends 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.

For action category 3

•   A legal person constituted and registered as a legal entity for at least two years at the time of application;

•   Non-profit;

•   Based in one of the Member States of the European Union or the United Kingdom.

For British applicants:

Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. If the Brexit transition period ends 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.

Exclusion of multi-beneficiary schemes

Several applicants cannot submit one common action proposal. In addition, grant agreements may only be signed with a single beneficiary.

However, cooperation schemes may be implemented as follows:

- Applicants may submit a proposal coordinated with another proposal by one or more other grant applicant(s). In such case, the coordination modalities should be reflected in the description of the action. This coordination scheme could lead to the signature of two or more grant agreements.

- Applicants may delegate the implementation of part of the action to other entities (implementing partners). They may define the modalities of their cooperation scheme in the description of the action. In case the proposal would be selected, only the beneficiary of the grant would sign a grant agreement and carry the legal and financial responsibility for the implementation of the action.

The affiliated entities of the applicant may implement the action in full or in part without being considered as subcontractors. Affiliated entities are legal entities having a link with the applicant, notably a legal or capital link, which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation on the condition that they satisfy the eligibility and non-exclusion criteria of an applicant. In this case, the existence of such a link must be demonstrated by the applicant.

In order to assess the applicant’s eligibility, at least one of the following supporting documents is requested:

•   Extract from the official journal, copy of articles of association, extract of association register or any other relevant supporting document. For the purpose of easing the evaluation, a curtesy translation of the document(s) provided is also requested;

•   Where relevant, any document proving the existence of the structural link between the applicant and its affiliated entities.

 

4.3 Exclusion criteria
a) Exclusion from participation

Applicants will be excluded from participating in the call for proposals procedure if they are in any of the exclusion situations:

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

(b) it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the applicant is in breach of its obligations relating to the payment of taxes or social security contributions in accordance with the applicable law;

(c) it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the applicant 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 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 eligibility or selection criteria or in the performance of a contract, a grant agreement or a grant decision;
• (ii) entering into agreement with other applicants with the aim of distorting competition; (iii) violating intellectual property rights;
• (iv) attempting to influence the decision-making process of the Agency 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 applicant is guilty of any of the following:

• (i) fraud, within the meaning of Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council4 and 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 4(2) of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 or 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, or conduct referred to in Article 2(1) of Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA5, or corruption as defined in the applicable law;
• (iii) conduct related to a criminal organisation, as referred to in Article 2 of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA6;
• (iv) money laundering or terrorist financing within the meaning of Article 1(3), (4) and (5) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council7;
• (v) terrorist offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, as defined in Articles 1 and 3 of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA8, 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 offences concerning trafficking in human beings as referred to in Article 2 of Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council9;

(e) the applicant has shown significant deficiencies in complying with main obligations in the performance of a contract, a grant agreement or a grant decision financed by the Union’s budget, which has led to its early termination or to the proposal 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 applicant has committed an irregularity within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/9510;

(g) it has been established by a final judgement or final administrative decision that the applicant has created an entity in a different jurisdiction with the intent to circumvent fiscal, social or any other legal obligations of mandatory proposal in the jurisdiction of its registered office, central administration or principal place of business;

(h) it has been established by a final judgement or final administrative decision that an entity has been created with the intent referred to in point (g);

(i) for the situations referred to in points (c) to (h) above, the applicant is subject to:

• (i) facts established in the context of audits or investigations carried out by European Public Prosecutor’s Office after its establishment, the Court of Auditors, the European Anti-Fraud Office or the internal auditor, 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 judgments or non-final administrative decisions which may include disciplinary measures taken by the competent supervisory body responsible for the verification of the proposal of standards of professional ethics;
• (iii) facts referred to in decisions of persons or entities being entrusted with EU budget implementation tasks;
• (iv) information transmitted by Member States implementing Union funds;
• (v) decisions of the Commission relating to the infringement of Union competition law or of a national competent authority relating to the infringement of Union or national competition law; or
• (vi) decisions of exclusion by an authorising officer of an EU institution, of a European office or of an EU agency or body.

b) Rejection from award

In accordance with Article 141 (1) of the Financial rules, applicants will be rejected from an award procedure if, they:

1. are in an exclusion situation established in accordance with Article 136 of the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union;

2. have misrepresented the information required as a condition for participating in the procedure or has failed to supply that information;

 

c. were previously involved in the preparation of documents used in the award procedure where this entails a breach of the principle of equality of treatment, including distortion of competition, which cannot be remedied otherwise.

c) Supporting documents

Applicants must sign a declaration on their honour certifying that they are not in one of the situations referred to in Article 136 (1) and 141 (1) of the Financial rules filling in the relevant form attached to the application form (Annex 1.IV). Omitting to sign and/or date this form will result in the exclusion of the proposal. The declaration is to be signed by a legal representative of the applicant organisation.

4.4 Selection criteria
a) Financial capacity

Applicants must have stable and sufficient sources of finance to maintain their activity throughout the period during which the action is being carried out and, where appropriate, to participate in its funding.

The applicant’s financial capacity will be assessed on the basis of the following supporting documents:

•   A declaration of their honour annexed to the application form duly filled in and signed (Annex 1.IV -see exclusion criteria).

•   A financial statement (including the balance sheet, the profit and loss accounts and the annexes) for the last financial year for which accounts have been closed (for action category 1).

•   A financial statement (including the balance sheet, the profit and loss accounts and the annexes) for the two last financial year for which accounts have been closed (for action categories 2 and 3).

•   Financial data provided in the grant application form.

•   The Restructured Simplified Accounting Balance Sheets and Profit and Loss Accounts duly filled in (Annex 1.III).

•   For actions exceeding EUR 750,000, an audit report produced by an approved external auditor, where it is available, and always in cases where a statutory audit is required by Union or national law, certifying the accounts for up to the last three available financial years. In all other cases, the applicant shall provide a self-declaration signed by its authorised representative certifying the validity of its accounts for up to the last three available financial years.

b) Operational capacity

Applicants must have the professional competencies as well as appropriate qualifications necessary to complete the proposed action. The applicants must have in particular:

For action category 

•   at least 12 months of proven communication experience (calculated as the addition of duration of individual past actions) as an organisation with the explicit aim of promoting European values;

•   human resources whose competencies and qualifications include good communication skills (oral and written), project management and sound knowledge in European affairs.

For action category

•   at least two years of proven communication experience (calculated as the addition of duration of individual past actions) with the explicit aim of promoting European values and/or culture;

•   human resources whose competencies and qualifications include good communication skills (oral and written), project management and sound knowledge in European affairs.

For action category

•   at least two years of proven communication experience (calculated as the addition of duration of individual past actions) with the explicit aim of representing youth;

•   human resources whose competencies and qualifications include good communication skills (oral and written), project management and sound knowledge in European affairs.

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

•   curriculum vitae or description of the profile of the people primarily responsible for managing and implementing the operation;

•   the organisation’s activity report for the period referred to above (when available);

•   an exhaustive list of previous actions and activities performed and connected to the actions to be carried out.

Proposals that fail to meet the financial or operational criteria will not be examined further.

4.5 Award criteria

All admissible proposals passing the eligibility and selection criteria will be assessed in accordance with the award criteria listed below and ranked in order of merit according to the points received. Following the evaluation, all eligible proposals are ranked according to the total number of points awarded. Financial contributions shall be awarded to the highest scoring proposals up to the available budget.

In order to ensure the best possible geographical spread and attract the widest audience, action proposals from the same country will be ranked against each other and only the best scored ones may be shortlisted.

Proposals must propose an efficient management structure and provide a clear and precise description of the strategy and of the expected results.

 

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