Support for Development of Audiovisual Content - Slate Funding 2018 - EACEA/23/2017

Deadline: Feb 1, 2018  
CALL EXPIRED

1. INTRODUCTION – BACKGROUND

These guidelines are based on Regulation No 1295/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11/12/2013 concerning the implementation of a programme of support for the European cultural and creative sector (CREATIVE EUROPE)1 and its corrigendum of 27/06/2014.2

The European Commission is responsible for the implementation of the Creative Europe Programme and for the decision to grant individual European Union funds. The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, hereafter "the Agency", manages the Culture and MEDIA Sub-programme on behalf of and under the supervision of the European Commission.

General background information about the Creative Europe Programme can be found on the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/creative-europe/index_en.htm

 

2. OBJECTIVES – THEMES – PRIORITIES

2.1. Objectives

Within the specific objective of reinforcing the European audiovisual sector's capacity to operate transnationally and internationally, one of the priorities of the MEDIA Sub-programme is to:

 increase the capacity of audiovisual producers to develop European audiovisual works with the potential to circulate throughout Europe and beyond, and to facilitate European and international co-production.

The MEDIA Sub-programme shall provide support for the following measures:

•   the development of European audiovisual works in particular films and television works such as fiction, documentaries, children’s and animated films, as well as interactive works such as videogames and multimedia with enhanced cross-border circulation potential;

•   activities aiming to support European audiovisual production companies, in particular independent production companies, with a view to facilitating European and international co-

productions of audiovisual works including television works.

Under this support scheme, the applicant submits a proposal with a view to developing a Slate of minimum 3 to maximum 5 projects (Slate Funding) for commercial exploitation, intended for cinematic release, television broadcasting or commercial exploitation on digital platforms in the following categories: animation, creative documentary and fiction. The scheme will also provide an entry point for emerging talent supported by the strong foundation provided by experienced production companies. To do so, applicants may add a short film to their Slate (optional).

2.2. Targeted projects

The MEDIA Sub-programme supports European independent audiovisual production companies with proven experience interested in developing a Slate of projects presenting:

  high creative/artistic value and cultural diversity,

  wide cross-border exploitation potential able to reach audiences at European and international levels,

• greater cooperation between operators from different countries participating in the MEDIA Sub-programme,
• enhanced audience reach based on strategies for marketing and distribution envisaged as from the development phase,
• strengthening companies position in both the European and international markets as well as their financial capacity,
• expanding companies' activities and their innovation capacity to explore new fields and markets
• providing support and an entry point for emerging talent with the possibility to produce a short film.

 

3. TIMETABLE

a) Publication of the call

December 2017

 

b) Deadline for submitting applications

1 February 2018 – 12:00 (noon, Brussels time)

 

c) Evaluation period

February – May 2018

 

d) Information to applicants

June 2018

 

e) Signature of grant decision/agreement

August-September 2018

 

f) Starting date of the action

Date of the signature of the grant agreement or notification of the grant decision or, if the applicant can demonstrate the need to start the action prior to that date, the date of submission of the application

 

g) Duration of the action

36 months from the starting date of the action

 

4. BUDGET AVAILABLE

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at EUR 12.5 M.

This budget is subject to the availability of the funds after the adoption of the budget for 2018 by the budgetary authority.

The minimum contribution per action under these guidelines is of EUR 70.000.

The maximum contribution per action under these guidelines is of:

• -  EUR 200.000 for a Slate without a short film project;

• -  EUR 210.000 for a Slate with the addition of a short film project;

• -  EUR 150.000 for a Slate with only creative documentaries and without a short film project;

• -  EUR 160.000 for a Slate with only creative documentaries and with the addition of a short film project.

The minimum allocated to a project of the Slate is EUR 10.000 and the maximum is up to EUR 60.000, provided the amount does not exceed 50% of the eligible development costs of the project. If a short film is added to the Slate, the maximum support for the short film is up to EUR 10.000, provided the contribution does not exceed 80% of the eligible costs of the production (including development costs) of this project.

The Agency reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available. 4

 

5. ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Applications shall comply with the following requirements:

• -  they must be received no later than the deadline for submitting applications referred to in section 3 of the present guidelines;

• -  they must be submitted (see section 14 of the present guidelines), using the online application form;

• -  they must be drafted in one of the EU official languages, preferably in English or French.

The application form must be accompanied by a balanced budget and all the other documents referred to in the application form.

Failure to comply with those requirements will lead to the rejection of the application.

In order to submit an application, applicants must provide their Participant Identification Code (PIC) in the application form. The PIC can be obtained by registering the organisation in the Unique Registration Facility (URF) hosted in the Education, Audiovisual, Culture, Citizenship and Volunteering Participant Portal. The Unique Registration Facility is a tool shared by other services of the European Commission. If an applicant already has a PIC that has been used for other programmes (for example the Research programmes), the same PIC is valid for the present call for proposals.

The Participant Portal allows applicants to upload or update the information related to their legal status and attach the requested legal and financial documents (see section 14.2 for more information).

 

6. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Applications which comply with the following criteria will be subject of an in-depth evaluation.

6.1. Eligible applicants

This call for proposals is open to independent European audiovisual production companies which have been legally constituted for at least 36 months prior to the submission date and that can demonstrate a recent success.

A European company is a company owned, whether directly or by majority participation (i.e. majority of shares), by nationals of Members States of the European Union or nationals of the other European countries participating in the MEDIA Sub-programme and registered in one of these countries.

Applications from legal entities established in one of the following countries are eligible as long as all conditions referred to in Article 8 of the Regulation establishing the Creative Europe Programme are met and the Commission has entered into negotiations with the country:

• -  EU Member States and overseas countries and territories which are eligible to participate in the Programme pursuant to Article 58 of Council Decision 2001/822/EC;

• -  Acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates benefiting from a pre- accession strategy, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in Union programmes established in the respective Framework Agreements, Association Council Decisions or similar agreements;

• -  EFTA countries which are members of the EEA, in accordance with the provisions of the EEA Agreement;

• -  The Swiss Confederation, on the basis of a bilateral agreement to be concluded with that country;

• - Countries covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy in accordance with the procedures established with those countries following the framework agreements providing for their participation in European Union programmes;

The Programme shall also be open for bilateral or multilateral cooperation actions targeted at selected countries or regions on the basis of additional appropriations paid by, and specific arrangements to be agreed upon with those countries or regions.

The Programme shall permit cooperation and joint actions with countries not participating in the Programme and with international organisations which are active in the cultural and creative sectors such as UNESCO, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development or the World Intellectual Property Organisation on the basis of joint contributions for the realisation of the Programme's objectives.

Proposals from applicants in non EU countries may be selected, provided that, on the date of the award decision, agreements have been signed setting out the arrangements for the participation of those countries in the programme established by the Regulation referred to above.

An updated list of countries that fulfil the conditions referred to in Article 8 of the Regulation and that the Commission has started negotiations with can be found on the following link: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/creative-europe/library/eligibility-organisations-non-eu-countries_en

 

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.16.2.1(a) of the grant agreement/Article 16.2.1(a) of the grant decision.

 

An independent company is a company which does not have majority control by a television broadcaster, either in shareholding or commercial terms. Majority control is considered to occur when more than 25% of the share capital of a production company is held by a single broadcaster (50% when several broadcasters are involved).

An audiovisual production company is a company whose main objective and activity is audiovisual production as indicated in the official national registration documents.

A legally constituted company is a company which has been founded by a legal act compliant with the relevant legislation.

A company with a recent success is understood as follows: The applicant must prove that it has produced a previous eligible work under the terms described in section 6.2, in the five years preceding the submission of the application and prove that this work has been released or broadcast in at least three countries other than that of the applicant in the period between 01/01/2015 and the date of submission of the application. In case of linear broadcast, 3 different broadcasters are necessary.

The date taken into account in verifying that commercial exploitation has taken place during the reference period (between 1/01/2015 and the date of submission of the application for funding) is the date on which the international commercial exploitation took place (date of official release in cinema or broadcast date). Commercial distribution online and distribution from international sales agent are accepted only if duly documented by a revenues report related to the reference period. In the case where no revenue reports are contractually available, the original agreement/proof of sale will be accepted.

 

Companies established in countries with high production capacity (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom) must prove that they have produced two previous eligible works, which had a commercial exploitation under the same conditions.

Concerning the production of an eligible recent success work, the applicant must prove in any case:

• -  that it was the sole production company; or

• -  that it was, in the case of a co-production with another production company, the major co-

  producer in the financing plan or the delegate producer; or

• -  that its Chief Executive or one of its shareholders has a personal onscreen credit on the work as producer or delegate producer.

A short film is defined as a complete audiovisual work (animation, creative documentary or fiction) with a maximum length of 20 minutes. Previews and advertising films, pilots, trailers, teasers and demos are excluded.

An emerging talent is defined as writers, directors, producers or other crew members who have acquired some professional experience and have made work of a certain level (for instance student or self-funded films) having attracted some industry, festival or public attention, but who have not yet made a work that has had commercial distribution and who are looking for guidance and support towards making their first commercial audiovisual work.

The applicant must also own the majority of rights related to the projects. No later than on the date of submission, the applicant must show that it holds the majority of the rights relating to each project for which support is being sought. It is required to provide a duly dated and signed contract3 covering the rights to the artistic material included in the application. This artistic material shall include at least: concept, subject, treatment, script or bible. This contract must be duly dated and signed by the author(s).

If the project is an adaptation of an existing work (novel, biography etc.), the applicant must also show that it holds the majority of the rights relating to the rights of adaptation to this work with an option agreement or transfer of rights contract duly dated and signed.

Natural persons may not apply for a grant.

6.2. Eligible activities
The following types of activities are eligible under this call for proposals: 1) Development activities for the following projects are eligible:

• -  Feature films, animations and creative documentaries of a minimum length of 60 minutes intended primarily for cinematic release;

• -  Fiction projects (one-off or series) of a total duration of minimum 90 minutes, animation (one- off or series) of a total duration of minimum 24 minutes and creative documentaries (one-off 

or series) of a total duration of minimum 50 minutes intended primarily for the purposes of television;

- Fiction projects of a total duration or user experience of minimum 90 minutes, animation of a total duration or user experience of minimum 24 minutes and creative documentaries of a total duration or user experience of minimum 50 minutes intended primarily for the purposes of digital platform exploitation. For projects presenting a user experience in a non-linear format (e.g. virtual reality), these minimums do not apply.

The digital platform is addressing the following types of projects: animation, creative documentaries and fiction projects intended for multiple screen-based devices, interactive projects, linear and non-linear web-series and narrative virtual reality projects.

The day of principal photography4 (or equivalent) of the submitted development projects must not be scheduled to occur within 8 months from the date of submission of the application.

2) Development and production activities of a short film of a maximum length of 20 minutes providing support to emerging talent.

The day of principal photography5 (or equivalent) of the submitted short film must not occur before the date of submission of the application.

The following projects are ineligible for both development and short film activities:

• -  live recordings, TV games, talk shows, reality shows or educational, teaching and ‘how-to’

• -  programmes;

• -  documentaries promoting tourism, "making-of", reports, animal reportages, news programmes

  and "docu-soaps";

• -  projects including pornographic or racist material or advocating violence;

• -  works of a promotional nature;

• -  institutional productions to promote a specific organisation or its activities,

• -  music videos and video-clips,

• -  video games, e-books and interactive books,

• -  student films and graduation works.

Applications requesting financial contributions of less than EUR 70.000 are ineligible.

Beneficiaries of a Slate Funding grant signed during the year of the publication of the call for proposals (2017) cannot apply.

Creative Europe MEDIA publishes calls for proposals for Single Projects and Slate Funding annually. Applicants may make only one application either for Slate Funding (call for proposals EACEA 23/2017) or for one of the two deadlines of the Single Project Call (call for proposals EACEA 22/2017).

Activities may not start before the date of signature of the grant agreement or notification of the grant decision or, if the applicant can demonstrate the need to start the action prior to that date, on the date of submission of the application and will end 36 months after the start date of the action. If one of the projects in the Slate enters into production before the end of this period, the eligibility period of costs for that project ends on the date of entry into production of that project. The action ends when the last of the projects in the Slate has entered into production and at the very latest 36 months after the start date of the action.

However, if after the signing of the decision/agreement and the start of the project it becomes impossible for the beneficiary, for fully justified reasons beyond its control, to complete the project within the scheduled period, an extension to the action and to the eligibility period may be granted. A maximum extension of 6 additional months will be granted, if requested before the deadline specified in the decision/agreement. The maximum duration will then be 42 months after the start date of the action.

If projects have an interoperable standard identifier, such as ISAN or EIDR, it must be indicated in the application. In any case, for all projects selected for funding, such an identifier must be created before the end of the action.

Only applications that fulfil the eligibility criteria will be considered for a grant. If an application is deemed ineligible, a letter indicating the reasons will be sent to the applicant.

 

7. EXCLUSION CRITERIA

7.1. Exclusion from participation

An applicant will be excluded from participating in the call for proposals procedure, if it is in any of the following situations:

a) it 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 national legislation or regulations;

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 implementation of the grant;

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 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 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 legal provisions of the country where the authorising officer is located, the country in which the applicant is established or the country of the implementation of the grant;

(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) it 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;

f) it has been established by a final judgement 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;

g) in the absence of a final judgement or where applicable a final administrative decision, the applicant is in one of the cases provided in (c) to (f) above based in particular on :

(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.

(h) where a person who is a member of the administrative, management or supervisory body of the applicant, or who has powers of representation, decision or control with regard to that applicant (this covers the company directors, members of the management or supervisory bodies, and cases where one person holds a majority of shares), is in one or more of the situations referred to in points (c) to (f) above.

(i) where a natural or legal person that assumes unlimited liability for the debts of that applicant is in one or more of the situations referred to in point (a) or (b) above.

If an applicant is in one of the situations of exclusion listed above, it should indicate the measures it has taken to remedy the exclusion situation, thus demonstrating its reliability. They may include e.g. technical, organisational and personnel measures to prevent further occurrence, compensation of damage or payment of fines. This does not apply for the situations referred in point (d) of this section.

In the cases provided in (c) to (f) above, in the absence of a final judgement or where applicable a final administrative decision, the Agency may exclude an applicant provisionally from participating in a call for proposals where their participation would constitute a serious and imminent threat to the Union's financial interests.

 

7.2. Rejection from the award procedure

An applicant will not be awarded a grant for this procedure if

1. (a)  it is in an exclusion situation established in accordance with the above section 7.1;

2. (b)  it has misrepresented the information required as a condition for participating in the procedure

   or has failed to supply that information;

3. (c)  it was previously involved in the preparation of a call for proposals where this entails a

   distortion of competition that cannot be remedied otherwise.

Rejection from this procedure and administrative sanctions (exclusion or financial penalty) may be imposed on applicants or affiliated entities where applicable, if any of the declarations or information provided as a condition for participating in this procedure prove to be false.

The applicants should be informed that the Agency may publish on its internet site the following information related to the exclusion and, where applicable, the financial penalty in the cases referred to in points (c), (d), (e) and (f) of the section 7.16:

(a) the name of the applicant concerned;
(b) the exclusion situation;
(c) the duration of the exclusion and/or the amount of the financial penalty.

In case of a preliminary classification in law (i.e. absence of a final judgement or a final administrative decision), the publication shall indicate that there is no final judgement or final administrative decision. In those cases, information about any appeals by the applicant, their status and their outcome, as well as any revised decision of the authorised officer, shall be published without delay. Where a financial penalty has been imposed, the publication shall also indicate whether that penalty has been paid.

The decision to publish the information is taken by the Agency either following the relevant final judgement, final administrative decision or preliminary classification in law, as the case may be. That decision shall take effect three months after its notification to the economic operator.

The information published shall be removed as soon as the exclusion has come to an end. In the case of a financial penalty, the publication shall be removed six months after payment of that penalty.

In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001, where personal data is concerned, the Agency shall inform the applicant of its rights under the applicable data protection rules and of the procedures available for exercising those rights.

7.3. Supporting documents

Applicants must sign a declaration on their honour certifying that they are not in one of the situations referred to in the above sections 7.1. and 7.2, filling in the relevant form attached to the application form accompanying the call for proposals. If applicable, the relevant documentary evidence which appropriately illustrates any remedial measures taken should be provided in annex to this declaration. The declaration is available (under the heading "Annexes") at: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/creative-europe/funding/support-for-development-slate-funding-2018_en

 

8. SELECTION CRITERIA

Applicants must submit a declaration on their honour, completed and signed, attesting to their status as a legal person and to their financial and operational capacity to complete the proposed activities.

8.1. Financial capacity

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:

- a declaration on their honour
- the financial statements (including the balance sheet, the profit and loss accounts and the

annexes) of the last two financial years for which the accounts have been closed
- financial capacity form provided for in the application form, filled in with the relevant

statutory accounting figures, in order to calculate the ratios as detailed in the form.

On the basis of the documents submitted, if the Responsible Authorizing Officer (hereinafter "RAO") considers that financial capacity is not satisfactory, he may:

8.2. Operational capacity

• request further information;
• propose a grant agreement/decision without pre-financing;
• propose a grant agreement/decision with a pre-financing covered by a bank guarantee (see section 11.4 below);
• propose a grant agreement/decision without pre-financing but an interim payment based on expenses already occurred.
• reject the application.

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 information:

• a presentation of the structure of the company and its management, its activities since it was incorporated, the company's present position in the national and European markets, its editorial line in terms of development and production, its development plans and its present and forecast financial status;
• curriculum vitae or description of the profile of the people primarily responsible for managing and implementing the operation within each partner institution.

 

9 AWARD CRITERIA

Eligible applications will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria
 

Relevance and European added-value

Approach of the company to develop at European and international level a slate (package) of 3 to 5 projects

Max. Weighting 20 Points

 

Quality of the content and activities

Quality of the slate of projects, quality of the development strategy, quality of the financing strategy and its European dimension

Max. Weighting 20 Points

 

Dissemination of projects results

The European and international distribution and marketing strategy

Max. Weighting 20 Points

 

Organisation of the projects' team

The distribution of the roles and responsibilities of the creative team vis-à-vis the specific objectives of the proposed action

Max. Weighting 10 Points

 

 

Impact and sustainability

Feasibility potential of the slate of projects

Max. Weighting 10 Points

 

Innovative character

Capacity of the company to be innovative in its activities7

Max. Weighting 20 Points

 

Additional "automatic" points:

An applicant company established in a country with low production capacity8

Extra points 10

An applicant company established in a country with medium production capacity9

Extra points 5

 

 

Detailed description of the award criteria and breakdown of points:

 

1. Approach of the company to develop at European and international level a slate of 3 to 5 projects

20 points

 Relevance and added value of the proposed slate to improve the company's position on the European and international market in relation to its:

• o co-production approach
• o presence on foreign markets
• o visibility at major film festivals
• o financial position
• o ability to develop several projects in parallel

 

 

2. Quality of the slate of projects, quality of the development strategy, quality of the financing strategy and its European dimension

20 points

2a) Quality of the slate of projects and quality of the development strategy

10 points

 Quality and creative potential of each project

• o strength and distinctiveness of idea/subject matter/project's focus o premise
• o dramatic potential
• o narrative choices
• o quality of the writing
• o character development
• o world of story
• o visual approach
• o art work

 adequacy of the development plan and development budget to the needs of each project

•   sufficiency of detail

•   adequacy of development schedules planned

 

2b) Quality of the financing strategy and the European dimension of the financing strategy

10 points

•   adequacy of the financing strategy compared to estimated production costs

•   awareness of the suitable potential partners and territories targeted

•   sufficiency and realism of the financing plan

•   experience or ability of the applicant to secure the necessary co-financing

•   country of origin of applicant company compared to financial partners

•   diversity of sources of funding foreseen

•   level of commitment and the share of non-national financing

 

 

3. The European and international distribution and marketing strategy

20 points

3a) The European and international distribution strategy  Relevance of the distribution strategy regarding
10 points

o the identified target audience,
o distribution methods foreseen,
o partners in place or envisaged
o awareness of the markets, European/international vision
o relevance of choice of territories (neighbouring countries and regions, Europe, other continents)
o the marketing strategy

 

 

3b) The European and international marketing strategy
10 points

 Relevance of the marketing strategy in terms of o the distribution strategy,

o segments targeted,
o unique selling points,
o the marketing channels,
o the benefits to the selected market,
o the promotional activities planned
o adequacy of the communication and marketing plan and tools

 

 

4. Distribution of the roles and responsibilities of the creative team vis-à-vis the specific objectives of the proposed action
10 points

•   distribution of the roles and responsibilities to the different members of the creative team

•   adequacy of the team to the project

•   potential for support to emerging talent

 

5. Feasibility potential of the slate of projects
10 points

•   adequacy of the production costs

•   adequacy of the financing strategy compared to the estimated production costs

 

6. Capacity of the company to be innovative in its activities
20 points

 ability of the company to adapt to a competitive and changing audiovisual landscape and to improve its market position by being innovative in its activities:

• o genres,
• o formats,
• o platforms,
• o emerging talents, o new territories

 

Within the limit of the available budget, applications obtaining the highest scores will be selected.

 

10. LEGAL COMMITMENTS

In the event of a grant awarded by the Agency, a grant agreement or a grant decision, drawn up in euro and detailing the conditions and level of funding will be sent to the beneficiary, as well as the procedure in view to formalise the obligations of the parties.

The form of the legal commitment will depend on the country of origin of the beneficiary:

•   Agreement:
  When the awarded applicant comes from a MEDIA country which is not an EU Member State, the 2 copies of the original agreement must be signed first by the beneficiary and returned to the Agency immediately. The Agency will sign them last.

•   Decision:
  When the awarded applicant comes from an EU Member States, the decision will be signed only by the Agency acting under powers delegated by the Commission. The decision must not be returned to the Agency. The general conditions applicable to the decision (General Conditions II.a) are available in the 'Documents register' of the Agency website: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/sites/eacea-site/files/ii_a_3.pdf

  As regards grant decisions, beneficiaries understand that submission of a grant application implies acceptance of these General Conditions. These General Conditions bind the beneficiary to whom the grant is awarded and shall constitute an annex to the grant decision.

  Please note that the award of a grant does not establish an entitlement for subsequent years.

 

 

11. FINANCIAL PROVISIONS
11.1 General principles

Non-cumulative award
An action may only receive one grant from the EU budget.

In no circumstances shall the same costs be financed twice by the Union budget. To ensure this, applicants shall indicate in the application form the sources and amounts of Union funding received or applied for the same action or part of the action or for its functioning during the same financial year as well as any other funding received or applied for the same action.

Non-retroactivity

No grant may be awarded retrospectively for actions already completed.

A grant may be awarded for an action which has already begun only where the applicant can demonstrate the need to start the action before the grant agreement is signed or the grant decision is notified.

In such cases, costs eligible for financing may not have been incurred prior to the date of submission of the grant application.

 

c) Co-financing

Co-financing means that the resources which are necessary to carry out the action may not be entirely provided by the EU grant.

Co-financing of the action may take the form of:

•   the beneficiary's own resources,

•   income generated by the action,

•   financial contributions from third parties.

4. d)  Balanced budget

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

   The budget must be drawn up in euros. Applicants which foresee that costs will not be incurred in euros shall use the exchange rate published on the Infor-euro website available at: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/inforeuro/inforeuro_en.cfm on the date of the publication of this call for proposals.

5. e)  Implementation contracts/subcontracting

   Where the implementation of the action requires the award of procurement contracts (implementation contracts), the beneficiary must award the contract 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 in the meaning of Directive 2014/24/EU9 or contracting entities in the meaning of Directive 2014/25/EU10 shall abide by the applicable national public procurement rules.

   Sub-contracting, i.e. the externalisation of specific tasks or activities which form part of the action as described in the proposal and which cannot be performed by the beneficiary itself must satisfy the conditions applicable to any implementation contract (as specified above) and in addition to them the following conditions:

   • -  it 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;

   • -  it must be clearly stated in the proposal or prior written authorisation from the Agency

     must be obtained.

6. f)  Financial support to third parties

   The applications may not envisage provision of financial support to third parties.

 

11.2. Funding forms

The grants financed through reimbursement of eligible costs in combination with flat rate covering overheads are calculated on the basis of a detailed estimated budget, indicating clearly the costs that are eligible for EU funding.

 Maximum amount requested

The EU grant is limited to a maximum co-financing rate of 50% of total eligible development costs. The EU grant is limited to a maximum co-financing rate of 80% of total eligible costs for the production (including development costs) of the short films and the EU grant for the short film shall not exceed EUR 10.000.

Consequently, part of the total eligible expenses entered in the estimated budget must be financed from sources other than the Union grant.

The grant amount may neither exceed the eligible costs nor the amount requested. Amounts are indicated in euros.

Acceptance of an application by the Executive Agency does not constitute an undertaking to award a grant equal to the amount requested by the beneficiary.

 Eligible costs
Eligible costs are costs actually incurred by the beneficiary of a grant which meet the following

criteria:

• -  they are incurred during the duration of the action as specified in the grant agreement or grant decision, with the exception of costs relating to final reports and certificates.

  N.B.: The period of eligibility of costs will start on the date of signature of the grant agreement or notification of the grant decision or, if the applicant can demonstrate the need for starting the action prior to that date, on the date of the submission of the application. It will end 36 months after the start of the action.

• -  they are indicated in the estimated overall budget of the action;

• -  they are incurred in connection with the action which is the subject of the grant and are necessary for the implementation of the action;

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

If the global authors' rights contract has been signed before the start of the eligibility period, costs will only be eligible for work (e.g. development of the synopsis, treatment or screenplay) and related authors' rights delivered, accepted and paid within the eligibility period.

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

 

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:

- the cost of personnel working under an employment contract with the applicant or equivalent appointing act and assigned to the action, comprising actual salaries plus social security contributions and other statutory costs included in their remuneration, provided that these costs are in line with the applicant's usual policy on remuneration.

NB: These costs must be actual costs incurred by the beneficiary. Staff costs of other organisations are eligible only if they are paid directly or reimbursed by the beneficiary. These costs may include additional remuneration, including payments on the basis of supplementary contracts regardless of their nature, provided that it is paid in a consistent manner whenever the same kind of work or expertise is required and independently from the source of funding used.

• -  subsistence allowances (for meetings, including kick-off meetings where applicable, European conferences, etc.) provided that these costs are in line with the beneficiary's usual practices and that they do not exceed the scales approved annually by the Commission;

• -  costs of travel (for meetings, including kick-off meetings where applicable, European conferences, etc.), provided that they are in line with the beneficiary's usual practices on travel, and that they do not exceed the scales approved annually by the Commission;

• -  depreciation cost of equipment (new or second-hand), only the portion of the equipment's depreciation corresponding to the duration of the action and the rate of actual use for the purposes of the action may be taken into account by the Agency, except where the nature and/or the context of its use justifies different treatment by the Agency;

• -  costs of consumables and supplies, provided that they are identifiable and assigned to the action;

• -  costs entailed by other contracts awarded by the beneficiary or its partners for the purposes of carrying out the action, provided that the conditions laid down in grant agreement or grant decision are met;

• -  costs arising directly from requirements linked to the performance of the action (dissemination of information, specific evaluation of the action, translations, reproduction, etc.),

• -  costs relating to a pre-financing guarantee lodged by the beneficiary of the grant, where required;

• -  costs relating to external audits where required in support of the requests for payments;

• -  non deductible value added tax ("VAT") for all activities which are not activities of the public authorities in the Member States.

Eligible indirect costs (overheads)

A flat-rate amount, equal to 7% of the eligible direct costs of the action, is eligible under indirect costs, representing the beneficiary's general administrative costs which can be regarded as chargeable to the action.

Indirect costs may not include costs entered under another budget heading.

Applicants’s attention is drawn to the fact that in the case of organisations receiving an operating grant, indirect costs are no longer eligible under specific actions.

 Ineligible costs

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 transfer from the Agency charged by the bank of the beneficiary;

• -  costs declared by the beneficiary and covered by another action receiving a European

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

• -  contributions in kind

• -  excessive or reckless expenditure

• -  any costs incurred by the beneficiary but re-invoiced to third parties.

   Calculation of the final grant amount – Supporting documents

  The final amount of the grant to be awarded to the beneficiary is established after completion of the action, upon approval of the request for payment containing the following documents:

• -  a final report providing details of the implementation and results of the action;

• -  the final financial statement of costs actually incurred.

The beneficiary is also required to submit, in support of the final payment, a “Report of Factual Findings on the Final Financial Report - Type I” produced by an approved auditor or in case of public bodies, by a competent and independent public officer.

The procedure and the format to be followed by an approved auditor or in case of public bodies, by a competent and independent public officer, are detailed in the following “Guidance Notes”: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/about-eacea/document-register_en#audit

The use of the report format set by the “Guidance Notes” is compulsory.

If the eligible costs actually incurred by the beneficiary are lower than anticipated, the Agency will apply the rate of co-financing stated in the grant agreement/decision to the expenditure actually incurred.

In the event of non-execution or clearly inadequate execution of an activity planned in the application attached to the funding decision/agreement, the final grant will be reduced accordingly.

Non-profit rule

EU grants may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit within the framework of the action of the beneficiary. Profit shall be defined as a surplus of receipts over the eligible costs incurred by the beneficiary, when the request is made for payment of the balance. In this respect, where a profit is made, the Agency shall be entitled to recover a percentage of the profit corresponding to the Union contribution to the eligible costs actually incurred by the beneficiary to carry out the action.

11.3. Payment arrangements

A pre-financing payment corresponding to 70% of the grant amount will be transferred to the beneficiary within 30 days either of the date when the last of the two parties signs the agreement, or of the notification of the grant decision, provided all requested guarantees have been received. If specified in the grant agreement/decision, an interim payment shall be paid to the beneficiary. An interim payment is intended to cover the beneficiary’s expenditure on the basis of a request for payment when the action has been partly carried out. For the purpose of determining the amount due as interim payment, the reimbursement rate to be applied to the eligible costs approved by the Commission shall be 50%.

The Agency will establish the amount of the final payment to be made to the beneficiary on the basis of the calculation of the final grant amount (see section 11.2 above). If the total of earlier payments is higher than the final grant amount, the beneficiary will be required to reimburse the amount paid in excess by the Commission through a recovery order.

11.4. Pre-financing guarantee

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 guarantee by a third party.

The guarantee shall be released as the pre-financing is gradually cleared against interim payments or payments of balances to the beneficiary, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the grant agreement/decision.

 

12. PUBLICITY

12.1. By the beneficiaries

Beneficiaries must clearly acknowledge the European Union’s contribution in all publications or in conjunction with activities for which the grant is used.

In this respect, beneficiaries are required to give prominence to the name and logo of the Creative Europe – MEDIA Sub-programme on all their publications, posters, programmes and other products realised under the co-financed project. This also includes a mention of the development support on onscreen credits of the final produced projects when applicable.

To do this they must use the text, the logo and the disclaimer available at https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/about-eacea/visual-identity_en which will be provided by the Agency.

If this requirement is not fully complied with, the beneficiary’s grant may be reduced in accordance with the provisions of the grant agreement or grant decision.

12.2. By the Agency and/or the Commission

With the exception of scholarships paid to natural persons and other direct support paid to natural persons in most need, all information relating to grants awarded in the course of a financial year shall be published on the Internet site of the European Union institutions no later than the 30th of June of the year following the financial year in which the grants were awarded.

The Agency and/or the Commission will publish the following information:

• -  name of the beneficiary,

• -  locality of the beneficiary: address of the beneficiary when the latter is a legal person, region

  when the beneficiary is a natural person, as defined on NUTS 2 level11 if he/she is domiciled

  within the EU or equivalent if domiciled outside EU,

• -  the amount awarded,

• -  nature and purpose of the grant.

  Upon a reasoned and duly substantiated request by the beneficiary, the publication shall be waived if such disclosure risks threatening the rights and freedoms of individuals concerned as protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union or harm the commercial interests of the beneficiaries.

12.3. Communication and dissemination

To maximise impact, projects should have a clear and strong strategy for communication and dissemination of their activities and results, and applicants must provide enough time and resources to communicate and interact appropriately with peers, audiences and local communities as appropriate.

Beneficiaries may be required to attend and to participate in events organised by the European Commission or the Agency to share their experience with other participants and/or policy makers.

 

13. DATA PROTECTION

All personal data (such as names, addresses, CVs, etc.) will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the European Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data.12

Unless marked as optional, the applicant's replies to the questions in the application form are necessary to evaluate and further process the grant application in accordance with the specifications of the call for proposals. Personal data will be processed solely for that purpose by the department or Unit responsible for the Union grant programme concerned (entity acting as data controller). Personal data may be transferred on a need to know basis to third parties involved in the evaluation of applications or in the grant management procedure, without prejudice of transfer to the bodies in charge of monitoring and inspection tasks in accordance with European Union law. In particular, for the purposes of safeguarding the financial interests of the Union, personal data may be transferred to internal audit services, to the European Court of Auditors, to the Financial Irregularities Panel or to the European Anti-Fraud Office and between authorising officers of the Commission and the executive agencies. The applicant has the right of access to, and to rectify, the data concerning him or her. For any question relating to these data, please contact the Controller.

Applicants have the right of recourse to the European Data Protection Supervisor at any time. A detailed Privacy statement, including contact information, is available on EACEA's website: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/about/documents/calls_gen_conditions/eacea_grants_privacy_statement.pdf

Applicants and, if they are legal entities, persons who are members of the administrative, management or supervisory body of that applicant or who have powers of representation, decision or control with regard to that applicant, or natural or legal persons that assume unlimited liability for the debts of that applicant, are informed that, their personal data (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 (EDES) by the Authorising Officer of the Agency, should they be in one of the situations mentioned in the 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 of 26.10.2012, p. 1) as amended by the Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2015/1929 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 October 2015 (OJ L 286, 30.10.2015, p. 1).

 

14. PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

14.1. Publication

The call for proposals is being published on the Internet site of the Agency at the following address:

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/creative-europe/funding/support-for-development-slate-funding-2018_en

14.2. Registration in the Participant Portal

Before submitting an electronic application, applicants and partners will have to register their organisation in the Education, Audiovisual, Culture, Citizenship and Volunteering Participant Portal and receive a Participant Identification Code (PIC). The PIC will be requested in the application form.

The Participant Portal is the tool through which all legal and financial information related to organisations will be managed. Information on how to register can be found in the portal under the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/education/participants/portal

The tool also allows applicants to upload different documents related to their organisation. These documents have to be uploaded once and will not be requested again for subsequent applications by the same organisation.

Details on the supporting document that need to be uploaded in the portal can be found on the following link (under the heading "How to apply"): https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/creative- europe/funding/support-for-development-slate-funding-2018_en

14.3. Submission of the grant application

Proposals must be received in accordance with the admissibility requirements set out under section 5 and by the deadline set out under section 3.

No modifications to the application are allowed once the deadline for submission has elapsed. However, if there is a need to clarify certain aspects or for the correction of clerical mistakes, the Agency may contact the applicant for this purpose during the evaluation process.

Applicants submitting projects for different actions should provide separate applications for each action.

All applicants will be informed by electronic mail with receipt about the results of the selection process.

An online application system has been set up. Grant applications must be drawn up in one of the official EU languages, using the online form (eForm) specifically designed for this purpose. To facilitate the assessment of the application, an English, French or German translation of the documents relevant to the assessment of the project must be submitted.

The eForm can be obtained on the Internet at the following address: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/PPMT/

Proposals must be received by the deadline mentioned in the call for proposals and in section "3. Timetable" of the present guidelines before 12:00 CET/CEST (Midday, Brussels time), using the online application form.

Applicants should note that no applications received after 12:00 CET/CEST on the deadline will be accepted. They are very strongly encouraged not to wait until the final day to submit their application.

Please note that no other method of submission of an application will be accepted. Applications submitted in any other way will be automatically rejected. No exceptions will be made.

Make sure that you have officially submitted your electronic application form and that you have received an e-mail acknowledging receipt of your submission with a project reference number.

Applicants shall ensure that all the documents requested and mentioned in the eForm are provided electronically.

Only applications that fulfil the eligibility criteria will be considered for a grant. If an application is deemed ineligible, a letter indicating the reasons will be sent to the applicant.

14.4. Evaluation procedure

The eligible proposals will be ranked according to the award criteria defined and weighted in section 9 of the present guidelines.

The assessment is made solely on the basis of the documents received by the relevant deadline. Nevertheless, the Agency reserves the right to request additional information from the applicant.

14.5. Award decision

Only after completion of the evaluation procedure mentioned above is the selection process finalised.

Applicants will be informed of the results of the selection by electronic mail with receipt within two weeks of the date of adoption of the award decision.

Unsuccessful applicants will receive a letter stating the reasons why their application was not selected. Once applicants are informed, the list of selected proposals will be published on the websites of the

Commission/Agency: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/creative-europe/selection-results_en

14.6. Rules applicable

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 (OJ L 298, 26.10.2012, p.1) as amended by the Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2015/1929 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 October 2015 (OJ L 286, 30.10.2015, p. 1).

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 of 29 October 2012 on the rules of application 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 (OJ L 362, 31.12.2012, p.1) as amended by the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 2015/2462 of 30 October 2015 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 on the rules of application of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (OJ L 342, 29.12.2015, p. 7).

Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing the Creative Europe Programme (2014 to 2020) concerning the implementation of a support Programme for the European creative sector (Creative Europe) (OJ L 347/221, 20 December 2013) and the corrigendum of the 27/06/2014 (OJ L189/260).

14.7. Contacts

For any further information please contact your Creative Europe desk:

http://ec.europa.eu/culture/tools/creative-desks_en.htm

Contact within the Agency:

EACEA-MEDIA-DEVELOPMENT@ec.europa.eu

If you encounter a technical problem in relation to the e-Form, please ensure that you contact the HelpDesk well in advance of the deadline for submission: EACEA-HELPDESK@ec.europa.eu

Annexes:

•   Annex 1 - Detailed description of the project. A free word or pdf document containing the artistic material related to the project. For more details, please refer to the Guide for applicants

•   Annex 2 - Budget form – Slate Funding

•   Annex 3 - Declaration on applicant's honour (The declaration on the applicant's honour must be

  attached to the eForm)

•   Annex 4 - Track record of the applicant company

•   Annex 5 - Supporting documents related to co-production and financing

•   Annex 6 - Expert guide

•   Annex 7 - Model agreement/decision

•   Annex 8 - Financial Capacity Form

Public link:   Only for registered users