# C_2016155EN.01000601.xml

| 30.4.2016 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 155/6 |
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30.4.2016

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 155/6

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CALL FOR PROPOSALS — EACEA 27/2016

EU Aid Volunteers initiative: Technical Assistance for sending organisations

Capacity Building for humanitarian aid of hosting organisations

(2016/C 155/06)

The Regulation (EU) No 375/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 establishing the European Voluntary Humanitarian Aid Corps (‘EU Aid Volunteers initiative’) (1) (hereinafter referred to as ‘the EU Aid Volunteers initiative’) establishes a framework for joint contributions from European volunteers to support and complement humanitarian aid in third countries.

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In this framework, the present call for proposals will provide funding through support for actions aimed at strengthening the capacity of prospective hosting organisations to prepare and respond to humanitarian crises. In addition it will provide support for actions aimed at strengthening the technical capacity of prospective sending organisations to participate in the EU Aid Volunteers initiative.

1.   Objectives

Objectives

The objective of this call is to strengthen the capacities of sending and hosting organisations intending to participate in the EU Aid Volunteers initiative and to ensure compliance with the standards and procedures regarding candidate volunteers and EU Aid Volunteers in order to apply for certification which is required in order to deploy EU Aid Volunteers.

With this call, the European Commission expects to achieve the following results:

Capacities of around 115 sending and hosting organisations are strengthened in areas such as:

| — | Disaster risk management, preparedness and response, |
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Disaster risk management, preparedness and response,

| — | Linking relief, rehabilitation and development (LRRD), |
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Linking relief, rehabilitation and development (LRRD),

| — | Strengthening local volunteering in third countries, |
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Strengthening local volunteering in third countries,

| — | Capacities to undergo certification including administrative capacity, |
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Capacities to undergo certification including administrative capacity,

| — | Capacity to provide early warning to local communities. |
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Capacity to provide early warning to local communities.

2.   Budget available

Budget available

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at EUR 7 960 000.

The maximum grant will be EUR 700 000. Each grant will amount to between EUR 100 000 and EUR 700 000.

Grant requests below EUR 100 000 will not be considered for funding. The Agency expects to fund 23 proposals.

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

3.   Eligible bodies

Eligible bodies

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.

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

3.1.   
  Eligible applicants

Eligible applicants

Proposals for both, Technical Assistance and Capacity Building activities, must be submitted by:

| — | non-governmental not-for-profit organisations formed in accordance with the law of a Member State and whose headquarters are located within the Union, or |
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non-governmental not-for-profit organisations formed in accordance with the law of a Member State and whose headquarters are located within the Union, or

| — | public law bodies of a civilian character governed by the law of a Member State, or |
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public law bodies of a civilian character governed by the law of a Member State, or

| — | the International Federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. |
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the International Federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Only applications from legal entities established in the following countries are eligible:

| — | the Member States of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom. |
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the Member States of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom.

For both Technical Assistance and Capacity Building activities, the applicant in each project is active in the field of humanitarian aid as defined in Article 3(d) of the Regulation (EU) No 375/2014 (2) for at least 3 years.

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3.2.   
  Eligibility criteria

Eligibility criteria

Applicants may submit projects for both Technical Assistance and Capacity Building. In this case, applicants shall indicate in their application that they apply for both actions.

For both actions, partners must submit a mandate to be signed by the persons authorised to enter into legally binding commitments, thereby enabling the applicant to act on behalf of the partners.

Applicant and partner organisations will be referred to hereafter as ‘the Consortium’.

3.2.1.   Technical Assistance

Technical Assistance

The Partner organisations shall belong to any of the following categories:

| — | non-governmental not-for-profit organisations formed in accordance with the law of a Member State and whose headquarters are located within the Union, or |
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non-governmental not-for-profit organisations formed in accordance with the law of a Member State and whose headquarters are located within the Union, or

| — | public law bodies of a civilian character, or |
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public law bodies of a civilian character, or

| — | the International Federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. |
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the International Federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Projects are designed and implemented by transnational consortia involving entities from at least three countries participating in the programme and belonging to one of the categories mentioned in Article 10(3)(c) of the Regulation (EU) No 375/2014.

| — | At least one applicant or partner in each project must have been active in the field of volunteer management for at least 3 years. |
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At least one applicant or partner in each project must have been active in the field of volunteer management for at least 3 years.

3.2.2.   Capacity Building

Capacity Building

The Partner organisations shall belong to any of the following categories:

| — | non-governmental not-for-profit organisations operating or established in a third country under the laws in force in that country, or |
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non-governmental not-for-profit organisations operating or established in a third country under the laws in force in that country, or

| — | public law bodies of a civilian character, or |
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public law bodies of a civilian character, or

| — | international agencies and organisations. |
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international agencies and organisations.

| — | Projects are designed and implemented by transnational partnerships involving entities from at least three countries participating in the programme belonging to one of the categories mentioned in the Regulation (EU) No 375/2014 (Article 10(3)(c)) and at least three third countries in which humanitarian aid activities and operations as per Article (3)(d) take place and which belong to one of the categories mentioned under Article 10(4)(c). |
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Projects are designed and implemented by transnational partnerships involving entities from at least three countries participating in the programme belonging to one of the categories mentioned in the Regulation (EU) No 375/2014 (Article 10(3)(c)) and at least three third countries in which humanitarian aid activities and operations as per Article (3)(d) take place and which belong to one of the categories mentioned under Article 10(4)(c).

| — | In each project, in addition to the applicant, partners from countries participating in the programme must have been active in the field of humanitarian aid as defined in Article 3(d) of the Regulation (EU) No 375/2014 for at least 3 years. |
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In each project, in addition to the applicant, partners from countries participating in the programme must have been active in the field of humanitarian aid as defined in Article 3(d) of the Regulation (EU) No 375/2014 for at least 3 years.

| — | In each project, at least two partners from third countries in which humanitarian aid activities and operations take place are active in the field of humanitarian aid as defined in Article 3(d) of the Regulation (EU) No 375/2014. |
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In each project, at least two partners from third countries in which humanitarian aid activities and operations take place are active in the field of humanitarian aid as defined in Article 3(d) of the Regulation (EU) No 375/2014.

| — | At least one applicant or partner from countries participating in the programme in each project must have been active in the field of volunteer management for at least 3 years. |
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At least one applicant or partner from countries participating in the programme in each project must have been active in the field of volunteer management for at least 3 years.

3.2.3.   Associates

Associates

The associates are other organisations and entities who may be involved in the action. Such associates play a real role in the action (they are for example specialised capacity building and/or technical assistance providers). They have no contractual relationship with the Agency and do not have to meet the eligibility criteria referred to in this section. If the application is selected for funding, associates will not receive a portion of the grant through the applicant. They may be for example private for profit companies. The associates have to be mentioned in the e-form.

4.   Eligible activities

Eligible activities

Eligible activities include:

| — | Study/scoping visits to refine and finalise needs assessment of the action, |
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Study/scoping visits to refine and finalise needs assessment of the action,

| — | Activities to build/strengthen capacities, |
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Activities to build/strengthen capacities,

| — | Training courses for third country trainers/coaches/mentors/multipliers, |
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Training courses for third country trainers/coaches/mentors/multipliers,

| — | Seminars and workshops, |
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Seminars and workshops,

| — | Job shadowing, |
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Job shadowing,

| — | Twinning arrangements and exchange of staff, |
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Twinning arrangements and exchange of staff,

| — | Exchange of good practices, |
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Exchange of good practices,

| — | Study visits, |
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Study visits,

| — | Activities to foster partnership building. |
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Activities to foster partnership building.

Additional eligible activities per sub-action:

| — | Technical Assistance







  — | Coaching/mentoring of key sending organisation paid staff. |
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Technical Assistance

Technical Assistance

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Coaching/mentoring of key sending organisation paid staff.

| — | Capacity Building







  — | Training courses for third country trainers/coaches/mentors/multipliers, |
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Capacity Building

Capacity Building

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Training courses for third country trainers/coaches/mentors/multipliers,

| — | Study visits of up to 3 months for key paid staff or volunteers from third countries to be based in European applicant/partner organisations. |
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Study visits of up to 3 months for key paid staff or volunteers from third countries to be based in European applicant/partner organisations.

| — | Technical capacity building on humanitarian operations focusing on:







  — | Needs assessment methodologies/information management, |
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Technical capacity building on humanitarian operations focusing on:

Technical capacity building on humanitarian operations focusing on:

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Needs assessment methodologies/information management,

| — | Disaster risk management, |
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Disaster risk management,

| — | Disaster risk reduction/disaster preparedness, |
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Disaster risk reduction/disaster preparedness,

| — | Crisis response (and related sectors), |
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Crisis response (and related sectors),

| — | Linking relief, rehabilitation and development, |
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Linking relief, rehabilitation and development,

| — | Resilience and climate change adaptation. |
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Resilience and climate change adaptation.

5.   Award criteria
   (3)

Award criteria

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

| — | Relevance of the project (maximum 30 points) |
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Relevance of the project (maximum 30 points)

| — | Quality of the project design and implementation (maximum 30 points) |
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Quality of the project design and implementation (maximum 30 points)

| — | Quality and relevance of the partnership and cooperation arrangements (maximum 20 points) |
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Quality and relevance of the partnership and cooperation arrangements (maximum 20 points)

| — | Impact and dissemination (maximum 20 points) |
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Impact and dissemination (maximum 20 points)

Projects scoring less than 60 overall points will not be considered for funding.

All projects, regardless whether they cover capacity building or technical assistance will be ranked according to the number of points they reach.

6.   Deadline for submission of applications

Deadline for submission of applications

Grant applications must be drawn up in one of the EU official languages, using the electronic form (e-form) specifically designed for this purpose. The e-form is presented on the internet at the following address: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/documents/eforms_en

The electronic application form duly completed must be received by 12.00 (midday, Brussels time) on 4 July 2016. After this time, the online application system will be closed.

Applicants may submit projects for both Technical Assistance and Capacity Building. In this case, applicants shall indicate in their application that they apply for both actions. 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 EACEA may contact the applicant for this purpose during the evaluation process.

Applications sent by post, fax or email will not be accepted.

7.   Additional information

Additional information

Applications must comply with the provisions contained in the application guidelines — Call for proposals EACEA 27/2016, be submitted on the e-form provided for this purpose and contain the relevant annexes.

The said documents can be found on the internet at the following address:

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/eu-aid-volunteers/funding_en

In case of questions, please contact: EACEA-EUAID-VOLUNTEERS@ec.europa.eu

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(1)  OJ L 122, 24.4.2014, p. 1.

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(2)  ‘Humanitarian aid’ means activities and operations in third countries intended to provide needs-based emergency assistance aimed at preserving life, preventing and alleviating human suffering, and maintaining human dignity in the face of man-made crises or natural disasters. It encompasses assistance, relief and protection operations in humanitarian crises or their immediate aftermath, supporting measures to ensure access to people in need and to facilitate the free flow of assistance, as well as actions aimed at reinforcing disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction, and contributing towards strengthening resilience and capacity to cope with, and recover from, crises.

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(3)  Article 132 FR, 203 RAP.

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