Deadline: 12 February 2020

The European Union (EU) is currently accepting proposals from eligible organizations for its “Civil Society Facility and Media Programme for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2019 – Support to existing and newly established CSOs networks in various areas”.

Objectives of the Programme

The global objective of this call for proposals is to strengthen the capacity of CSOs to contribute to social development in particular sectors.

The specific objective(s) of this call for proposals are: CSOs are able to communicate the results of their activities to the public; National and/or local authorities have enabling policies and rules for grass-roots organisations and/or civic initiatives; CSOs monitor and evaluate the results and impact of their work; CSOs regularly network within and outside the beneficiary; public institutions recognise the importance of CSOs in improving good governance; Fund-raising activities are rooted in CSOs’ long-term strategic plans and the core mission of the organisation; all individuals and legal entities can express themselves freely, assemble peacefully and establish, join and participate in non-formal and/or registered organisations.

Program Lots

• • Lot 1: Support to CSOs networks in the area of Education
  • Lot 2: Support to CSOs networks in the area of Health

• • Lot 3: Support to CSOs networks in the area of Social inclusion and social entrepreneurship
  • Lot 4: Support to CSOs networks in the area of Environment and climate change
  • Lot 5: Support to CSOs networks in the area of Youth
  • Lot 6: Support to CSOs networks in the area of Culture
  • Lot 7: Support to CSOs networks in the area of Entrepreneurship and local economy

• Lot 8: Support to CSOs networks in the area of Women rights
• Lot 9: Support to CSOs networks in the area of Media freedom and media integrity
• Lot 10: Support to CSOs networks in the area of Fight against corruption
• Lot 11: Support to CSOs networks in the area of Strengthening political pluralism

Size of Grants

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:

• Minimum amount: EUR 300.000
• Maximum amount: EUR 500.000

Location

Actions must take place in the Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Duration

The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 30 months nor exceed 36 months.

Eligibility Criteria

• • Lead applicant: In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
    • be a legal person and
    • be non-profit-making and
    • be non-governmental organisation and
    • be established in Bosnia and Herzegovina (lead applicant). Co-applicants can be established in a Member State of the European Union or another IPA II beneficiary; countries for which reciprocal access to external assistance is established by the Commission
      • ‘For British applicants: Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. Unless sector-specific eligibility rules provide otherwise, 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, applicants will cease to receive EU funding (while continuing, where possible to participate) or will be required to leave the project on the basis of Article of the grant agreement’.
    • be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the coapplicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.
  • Co-applicant(s)
    • At least one co-applicant must be involved in the action.
    • Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
    • Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself.

• Affiliated entities
  • The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies).
  • Only the following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the lead applicant and/or to coapplicant(s):
    • Only entities having a structural link with the applicants (i.e. the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.
      • This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:
      • Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:
        • Entities affiliated to an applicant may hence be:
          • Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control;
          • Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;
          • Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies).
      • Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as a e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association,…) as the proposed affiliated entities.

For more information, visit https://bit.ly/2M8SPo5 and download the guidelines.