Deadline: 31 December 2020

The Office of the Government of the Slovak Republic as the National Focal Point has announced the Open Call under Fund for Bilateral Relations.

The aim of the Call is to support initiatives with ambition to strengthen bilateral relations, to improve cooperation, common knowledge and understanding between Slovakia and Donor States in selected areas – cultural, political and institutional area.

Areas

• Political and institutional cooperation between Slovakia and the Donor States;
• Cultural cooperation – cultural exchange, promotion of culture and cultural development in Slovakia and in the Donor States.

Funding Information

• Maximum grant to be applied for: EUR 30,000;
• Minimum grant to be applied for: EUR 10,000;
• Total allocation: EUR 180,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• Under political and institutional cooperation, all public entities, professional unions, academic institutions and institutions with specific public mission established in Slovakia or in one of the Donor States are eligible to apply;
• Under cultural cooperation, all legal entities established in Slovakia or in one of the Donor States are eligible to apply;
• The Programme Operators of the Programmes within the EEA and Norway Grants 2014 – 2021 are not eligible to apply;
• Each Slovak applicant must have at least one partner from a Donor State and vice versa;
• The implementation of the Initiative should not be planned to last more than 12 months and should be finished until 31st August 2021.

Eligible Activities

The range of activities eligible for support under the Fund is broad, including any initiatives leading to strengthening bilateral relations, enhancing cooperation and improving mutual knowledge and understanding between Slovakia and the Donor States in selected areas, provided that both the final beneficiary and the partner(s) are actively involved in planning of the initiative and its implementation.

The Fund shall support well-balanced partnerships (bilateral or multilateral) where all parties benefit from the cooperation. Generally, the activities shall have a clear bilateral profile and serve the purpose of strengthening bilateral relations between Slovakia and the Donor States in the Areas of Support.

Examples of activities that can be carried out under the Fund:

• Workshops, meetings, visits and conferences, seminars on topics of common interest;
• Study tours and visits to the Donor States and/or to Slovakia;
• Capacity building and short term training;
• Data collection, reports, studies and publications;
• Campaigns, exhibitions and promotional material;
• Technical cooperation and exchange of experts;
• Secondments and internships.

Selection Criteria

• Grant Applications will be evaluated in the order they are received (FIFO principle), which means that the applications are being assessed in the exact same order in which they were delivered;
• Formal compliance criteria shall be assessed by the NFP. Grant Application that was awarded shall be excluded from further assessment. If the NFP identifies a shortcoming in the Grant Application, the applicant will be asked to rectify identified shortcomings and/or to supplement the missing information;
• The applicant shall respond to the findings of the NFP within 5 working days. Within this period the applicant shall also rectify the identified shortcomings and/or supplement the missing information. Upon the request of the applicant the NFP may extend this period.