Promotion of European values through sport initiatives at the municipal level - EAC/S14/2018

Deadline: Jul 26, 2018  
CALL EXPIRED

1.INTRODUCTION – BACKGROUND

This call for proposals serves to implement the Preparatory action "Promotion of European values through sport initiatives at the municipal level" in accordance with the Commission Decision C(2018)1602/1 of 21 March 2018 on the adoption of the 2018 annual work programme for the implementation of pilot projects and preparatory actions in the area of education, sport and culture.

This preparatory action proposes to support organisations that promote sport initiatives at local level with the goal of disseminating the positive values of sport.

Values lie in the core of the European Union since the EU project was built on the common values of its Member States. Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) states that the Union is based on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. In this context, Europe needs more cohesive and inclusive societies in order to allow citizens to play an active role in democratic life. By providing a sense of belonging and a strong attachment to the principles and traditions which constitute the heart of open societies, sport can be a powerful tool for promoting common values.

In this perspective, organisations that encourage and support European cities to invest in the promotion of sport and physical activity not only contribute to the health and well-being of local populations, but also to the enhancement of common European values amongst citizens. These organisations help municipalities throughout Europe to increase the number of people who practice sport and physical activity, to integrate communities, to favour investment in sport, and to build bridges with other sectors such as education, health, social affairs, and tourism.

Support for organisations aiming at the promotion of sport and physical activity at municipal level has to be developed, in particular in the context of the European Capital, City, Community and Town of Sport since their action benefits to all citizens. There is a strong interest in our society to support organisations that work all year round active in this field, in terms of capacity building, networking and capacity to develop concrete projects at local level. This support can take different forms. All of them contribute to the promotion of the positive values of sport.

 

The legal basis of this call for proposals is: Preparatory Action within the meaning of Article 54(2) (b) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union and repealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p. 1)

 

2. OBJECTIVES – TASKS – THEMES – PRIORITIES

This preparatory action will be implemented into two lots:

•   The general objective of lot 1 is to encourage capacity-building in order to support organisations that promote common values through the development of sport at municipal level throughout the EU;

•   The general objective of lot 2 is to support the establishment of networking links and mutual information sharing activities between municipalities in areas related to sport.

The expected outputs are the following: Lot 1: capacity-building action

•   Support organisations that promote common values through the development of sport and physical activity at municipal level throughout the EU;

•   Help organisations that promote sport at municipal level to become financially sustainable, on the basis of the principles of good governance, as promoted by international organisations and the European Commission;

•   Encourage organisations to develop a European approach aiming at promoting sport and physical activity at local or municipal level;

•   Give visibility to efforts taken at municipal level to encourage sport and physical activity.

Lot 2: networking action

•   Encourage the establishment of links between cities and municipalities at EU level around the promotion of sport and physical activity;

•   Support the dissemination of good practices and initiatives taken at local and municipal level throughout the EU;

•   Promote "Sport for all", and contribute to the promotion of common values as stated in article 2 of the Treaty;

•   Raise awareness about strategies implemented by local authorities with a positive impact upon the well-being of the inhabitants though the practice of sport and physical activity, including in the framework of the European Week of Sport and the #BeActive campaign.

 

3. TIMETABLE

a) Publication of the call

Late May-early June 2018

b) Deadline for submitting applications

26/07/2018 12:00pm Brussels time

c) Evaluation period

July-October 2018

d) Information to applicants

November 2018

e) Signature of grant agreement

November-December 2018

 

4. BUDGET AVAILABLE

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at 1.000.000 EUR.

The EU grant is limited to a maximum co-financing rate of 80% of eligible costs. The appropriations for the subsequent years will be confirmed at a later stage.

The maximum amount to be awarded under lot 1 is 300.000 EUR. The maximum amount per grant under lot 1 will be 300.000 EUR. The Commission expects to fund approximately 1 project.

The maximum amount to be awarded under lot 2 is 700.000 EUR. The maximum amount per grant under lot 2 will be 230.000 EUR. The Commission expects to fund approximately 3 or 4 projects.

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

 

5. ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Applications must be sent no later than the deadline for submitting applications referred to in section 3.
Applications must be submitted (see section 14) using exclusively the electronic application form.

Applications must be drafted in one of the EU official languages.
Failure to comply with those requirements will lead to the rejection of the application.

 

6. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

6.1. Eligible applicants

Only applications from legal entities established in EU Member States are eligible.

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.17.2 of the grant agreement.

Moreover, in order to be eligible, projects must be presented by applicants meeting the following criteria:

For lot 1:

•   Be a public or private organisation with legal personality, active in the sport and physical activity field and organising sport and physical activities.

•   Have their registered legal office in one of the 28 EU Member States. Examples (non-exhaustive list):

•   Non-profit organisation (private or public);

•   Public authorities (national, regional, local);

•   International organisations;

•   Sport clubs;

•   Universities;

•   Educational institutions;

•   Companies.

For lot 2:

 Be a public body active at local or municipal level in one of the 28 EU Member States.

Examples (non-exhaustive list):

•   Towns/municipalities

•   Other levels of local/regional authorities

•   Federations/associations of local authorities

•   Non-profit organisations representing local authorities.

Natural persons are not eligible to apply for any grant under this call.

 

 

In order to assess the applicants' eligibility, the following supporting documents are requested:

•   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.

6.2. Eligible activities

Only activities pursuing one or several objectives mentioned in section 2 are eligible.

Moreover:

For lot 1, organisations need to pursue activities in at least 10 municipalities, all located in different EU Member States. The municipalities in question should be specified in the application form.

For lot 2, the applicant public bodies need to establish links with at least 9 public entities (i.e. towns/municipalities, local/regional public authorities, federations/associations of local authorities, or non-profit organisations representing local authorities). The applicant public body and the partner public entities need to be established in at least 3 different EU Member States. The entities in question should be specified in the application form.

Examples of activities include (non-exhaustive list):

Lot 1:

•   Undertake capacity-building activities to improve the applicant organisations' governance and self-sufficiency;

•   Promote/give visibility to efforts undertaken at municipal level to promote sport and physical activity throughout the EU;

•   Facilitate the sharing of good practices between municipalities at EU level in areas related to sport and well-being;

•   Support initiatives such as sport activities implemented at municipal level aiming at the promotion of common European values.

  Lot 2:

•   Establish partnerships with other municipalities in the EU in areas related to sport, health and well-being;

•   Facilitate the information exchange flow between municipalities at EU level regarding sport initiatives;

•   Involve and raise awareness of citizens at local level about common European values promoted through initiatives such as sport activities.

 

All activities must take place in the EU Member States.

6.3. Implementation period

•   Activities may not start before 01 January 2019, or later than 31 March 2019;

•   Activities are to be completed by 31 December 2020.

  The minimum duration of projects is 6 months.

  Applications for projects scheduled to run for a shorter or longer period than that specified in this call for proposals will not be accepted.

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

 

7. EXCLUSION CRITERIA

7.1. Exclusion

The authorising officer shall exclude an applicant from participating in call for proposals procedures where:

1. (a)  the applicant 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;

2. (b)  it has been established by a final judgement 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 law of the country in which it is established, with those of the country in which the authorising officer is located or those of the country of the performance of the contract;

3. (c)  it has been established by a final judgement 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 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, a grant agreement or a grant decision;

   (ii) entering into agreement with other persons with the aim of distorting competition; (iii) violating intellectual property rights;

   (iv) attempting to influence the decision-making process of the Commission during the award procedure;

   (v) attempting to obtain confidential information that may confer upon it undue advantages in the award procedure;

4. (d)  it has been established by a final judgement that the applicant 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 EU Member States, 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 authorising officer 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;

5. (e)  the applicant has shown significant deficiencies in complying with the 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 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;

6. (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 2988/95;

7. (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. Remedial measures

If an applicant declares one of the situations of exclusion listed above (see section 7.4), it should indicate the measures it has taken to remedy the exclusion situation, thus demonstrating its reliability. This may include e.g. technical, organisational and personnel measures to prevent further occurrence, compensation of damage or payment of fines. The relevant documentary evidence which illustrates the remedial measures taken must be provided in annex to the declaration. This does not apply for situations referred in point (d) of section 7.1.

7.3. Rejection from the call for proposals

The authorising officer shall not award a grant to an applicant who:

1. is in an exclusion situation established in accordance with section 7.12;

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

3. was previously involved in the preparation of calls for proposal documents where this entails a distortion of competition that cannot be remedied otherwise.

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

7.4. Supporting documents3

Applicants must sign a declaration on their honour (template document in Annex) certifying that they are not in one of the situations referred to in articles 106(1) and 107 FR, filling in the relevant form attached to the application form accompanying the call for proposals.

 

 

8. SELECTION CRITERIA

8.1. Financial capacity5

The financial capacity will be assessed based on the following methodology: https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/methodology-grants-eac_en.pdf.

Applicants must 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:

Grants with a pre-financing value of EUR 600 000 or less

For grants of this type, proof of financial capacity is constituted by a declaration on the honour by the grant applicant (see Annex 1 of the Application form).

However, in case of doubt and only for grants exceeding EUR 60 000, the assessment committee reserves the right to request supporting documents and to carry out a financial analysis as described at point 4 of the above mentioned methodology (cf. Article 131(3) of the FR)

Moreover for grants exceeding EUR 60 000, entities falling into one of the high-risk categories mentioned at point 3.1 of the methodology must provide proof of their financial capacity and are required to undergo the financial analysis provided for in point 4 of the same methodology.

On the basis of the documents submitted, if the RAO considers that financial capacity is not satisfactory, he may:

•   request further information;

•   propose a grant agreement without pre-financing;

•   propose a grant agreement with a pre-financing paid in instalments;

•   propose a grant agreement with a pre-financing covered by a bank guarantee (see section 11.4 below);

•   where applicable, require the joint and several financial liability of all the co- beneficiaries;

•   reject the application.

8.2. Operational capacity6

Applicants must have the professional competencies as well as appropriate qualifications necessary to complete the proposed action. 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 organisations’ activity reports covering at least the last two years;

•  An exhaustive list of previous projects and activities performed in the last three years and connected to the policy field of a given call or to the actions to be carried out.

 

9. AWARD CRITERIA
Eligible applications/projects will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria: Lot 1: Capacity-building grant

 Relevance of the project (criterion 1) (maximum 40 points): A minimum threshold of 24 points out of 40 will be applied to criterion 1; applications falling below this threshold will be rejected.

Under criterion 1, proposals will be assessed on the basis of the extent to which:

•   They contribute to the specific objectives defined in section 2 and are in line with EU policies in the field of sport;

•   They are implemented on relevant and concrete identification of the needs of the organisation in terms of capacity-building;

•   The organisations themselves are based on the principles of good governance and may demonstrate it, notably with regards to their internal rules.

•  Quality (criterion 2) (maximum 40 points): A minimum threshold of 24 points out of 40 will be applied to criterion 2; applications falling below this threshold will be rejected.

Under criterion 2, proposals will be assessed according to the quality of the overall design of the activities proposed and to the methodology used to implement them. The following aspects will be taken into account:

•   Number of participants involved in and benefiting from the project's activities;

•   Cost efficiency (the extent to which the project is cost-effective and allocates appropriate resources to each activity);

•   Sustainability of the proposed activities (the extent to which the activities will be carried out also after the end of the project);

•   Consistency between project objectives, methodology, activities and budget proposed;

•   Quality and feasibility of the methodology proposed.

•  Management of the project (criterion 3) (maximum 20 points): A minimum threshold of 12 points out of 20 will be applied to criterion 3; applications falling below this threshold will be rejected.

Under criterion 3, proposals will be assessed on the basis of the extent to which the applicants demonstrate their ability to organise, coordinate and implement the various aspects of the proposed activities. The following aspects will be taken into account:

 

•   Overall quality of the project team;

•   The risks envisaged and their mitigating actions;

•   The appropriateness and quality of measures aimed at sharing the outcomes of the project towards external organisations and the general public.

Points will be allocated to eligible applications out of a total of 100 on the basis of the above-specified weighting. Applications falling below any of the thresholds per criterion mentioned above will be rejected.

Moreover, a minimum threshold of 70 points will be applied for the three award criteria combined. Applications falling below this threshold will also be rejected.

Lot 2: Networking grant

Eligible applications/projects will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

 Relevance of the project (criterion 1) (maximum 40 points): A minimum threshold of 24 points out of 40 will be applied to criterion 1; applications falling below this threshold will be rejected.

Under criterion 1, proposals will be assessed on the basis of the extent to which:

•   They contribute to the specific objectives defined in section 2, in particular with regards to the links created between different municipalities at EU level, and are in line with EU policies in the field of sport;

•   The goals of the proposal are clearly defined, realistic and address issues relevant to citizens at local level in different parts of the EU;

•  Quality (criterion 2) (maximum 40 points): A minimum threshold of 24 points out of 40 will be applied to criterion 2; applications falling below this threshold will be rejected.

  Under criterion 2, proposals will be assessed according to the quality of the overall design of the activities proposed and to the methodology used to implement them. The following aspects will be taken into account:

•   Number of participants involved in and benefiting from the project's activities;

•   Number and quality of links established between municipalities at EU level;

•   Cost efficiency (the extent to which the project is cost-effective and allocates appropriate resources to each activity);

•   Sustainability of the proposed activities (the extent to which the activities will be carried out also after the end of the project);

•   Consistency between project objectives, methodology, activities and budget proposed;

•   Quality and feasibility of the methodology proposed.

   Management of the project (criterion 3) (maximum 20 points): A minimum threshold of 12 points out of 20 will be applied to criterion 3; applications falling below this threshold will be rejected.

 

Under criterion 3, proposals will be assessed on the basis of the extent to which the applicants demonstrate their ability to organise, coordinate and implement the various aspects of the proposed activities. The following aspects will be taken into account:

•   Overall quality of the project team;

•   The risks envisaged and their mitigating actions;

•   The appropriateness and quality of measures aimed at sharing the outcomes of the

  project towards external organisations and the general public.

  Points will be allocated to eligible applications out of a total of 100 on the basis of the above-specified weighting. Applications falling below any of the thresholds per criterion mentioned above will be rejected.

  Moreover, a minimum threshold of 70 points will be applied for the three award criteria combined. Applications falling below this threshold will also be rejected.

 

10. LEGAL COMMITMENTS

In the event of a grant awarded by the Commission, a grant agreement, drawn up in euro and detailing the conditions and level of funding, will be sent to the applicant, as well as the information on the procedure to formalise the agreement of the parties.

The 2 copies of the original agreement must be signed first by the beneficiary and returned to the Commission immediately. The Commission will sign it last.

11. FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

11.1 Eligible costs

Eligible costs shall meet all the following criteria:

•   they are incurred by the beneficiary.

•   they are incurred during the duration of the action, with the exception of costs

  relating to final reports and audit certificates;

o The period of eligibility of costs will start as specified in the grant agreement.

o If a beneficiary can demonstrate the need to start the action before the agreement is signed, the costs eligibility period may start before that signature. Under no circumstances can the eligibility period start before the date of submission of the grant application.

•   they are indicated in the estimated budget;

•   they are necessary for the implementation of the action which is the subject of the grant;

•   they are identifiable and verifiable, in particular being recorded in the accounting records of the beneficiary and determined according to the applicable accounting 8 Article 121 FR, 174 RAP.

• 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 requirements of sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency.

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

Eligible costs may be direct or indirect.

11.1.1. Eligible direct costs

The eligible direct costs for the action are those costs which:

with due regard for the conditions of eligibility set out above, are identifiable as specific costs directly linked to the performance of the action and which can therefore be booked to it directly, such as :

(a) the costs of personnel working under an employment contract with the beneficiary or an equivalent appointing act and assigned to the action, provided that these costs are in line with the beneficiary’s usual policy on remuneration.

Those costs include actual salaries plus social security contributions and other statutory costs included in the remuneration. They may also comprise 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;

The costs of natural persons working under a contract with the beneficiary other than an employment contract or who are seconded to the beneficiary by a third party against payment may also be included under such personnel costs, provided that the following conditions are fulfilled:

1. (i)  the person works under conditions similar to those of an employee (in particular regarding the way the work is organised, the tasks that are performed and the premises where they are performed);

2. (ii)  the result of the work belongs to the beneficiary (unless exceptionally agreed otherwise); and

3. (iii)  the costs are not significantly different from the costs of staff performing similar tasks under an employment contract with the beneficiary;

The recommended methods for calculation of direct personnel costs are provided in Appendix.

(b) costs of travel and related subsistence allowances, provided that these costs are in line with the beneficiary’s usual practices on travel;

(c) the depreciation costs of equipment or other assets (new or second-hand) as recorded in the beneficiary’s accounting statements, provided that the asset:

(i) is written off in accordance with the international accounting standards and the beneficiary’s usual accounting practices; and

(ii) has been purchased in accordance with the rules on implementation contracts laid down in the grant agreement, if the purchase occurred within the implementation period;

The costs of renting or leasing equipment or other assets are also eligible, provided that these costs do not exceed the depreciation costs of similar equipment or assets and are exclusive of any finance fee;

Only the portion of the equipment’s depreciation, rental or lease costs corresponding to the implementation period and the rate of actual use for the purposes of the action may be taken into account when determining the eligible costs. By way of exception, the full cost of purchase of equipment may be eligible under the Special Conditions, if this is justified by the nature of the action and the context of the use of the equipment or assets;

4. (d)  costs of consumables and supplies, provided that they:

   (i) are purchased in accordance with the rules on implementation contracts laid down in the grant agreement; and

   (ii) are directly assigned to the action;

5. (e)  costs arising directly from requirements imposed by the 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 rules on implementation contracts laid down in the grant agreement;

6. (f)  costs entailed by subcontracts, provided that specific conditions on subcontracting as laid down in the grant agreement are met;

7. (g)  costs of financial support to third parties, provided that the conditions laid down in the grant agreement are met;

8. (h)  duties, taxes and charges paid by the beneficiary, notably value added tax (VAT), provided that they are included in eligible direct costs, and unless specified otherwise in the grant agreement.

 

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