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LIFE Operating grants for NGOs
Framework Partnership Agreements for
funding in 2016 and 2017
Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
Unit B.3 LIFE and CIP Eco-Innovation
Astrid Geiger, Head of Sector
Manuel Montero Ramírez, Project Officer
Information session – 29 June 2015 - Brussels
The EC would like to strengthen the civil society's
participation in the policy dialogue.
To improve environmental and climate policy development and implementation by contributing to the operation of existing organisations.
Environmental / climate goals (7th EAP):
Protect natural capital
Resource-efficient, climate resilient and green economy
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Evaluation results
Ineligible
Failed
Reserve
Funded
9m€ indicative budget
66 applications received
Total requested EU contribution: €18.181.145,00
Applications were of very high quality
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Climate (incl.
renewable energy
sources) 22%
Biodiversity 19%
Communica-tion 15%
Policies & law 15%
Water (incl. marine,
wetlands, coasts)
11%
Agriculture 7%
Air quality
7%
Waste 4%
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1st step: biannual framework partnership agreements:
Focus on biannual strategy
Including an outline of activities
already known or
possible based on experience in previous years
Finances do not matter except for
financial viability
budget cut-off
and "value for money" in case of equal score
No revisions for the FPA
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2nd (and 3rd) step: Specific grant agreements – call and contract for each financial year
Detailed work plan
Detailed budget
Limited award criteria
Revision phase
Award criteria slightly adapted – bullet points merged
Changes in maximum funding
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~ 60? – 70? proposals
Framework partnership
Agreement Call 2015
Excellent
Very good
Good
Sufficient
Insufficient
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~ 25? – 35? proposals
Specific Grant Agreement
2 Calls 2015 and 2016
Excellent
Very good
Good Budget
cut off
Indicative budget for this call – 2*9 million €
Maximum EU funding: 60% of total eligible costs
700.000 € EU funding maximum per grant and …
… less than the amount requested with your previous application if you receive an NGO operating grant from the call launched in 2014 for the financial year 2015
Average grant in previous years: 325.000€ EU funding
1st January 2016: earliest possible date for eligibility of costs
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Pre-assessment by external evaluators (independent evaluations)
Final assessment by an Evaluation Committee (EASME, DG Environment and DG Climate Action).
Recommendation established in consensus.
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Applicants must be: Non-profit legal persons
Independent from government/authorities, political parties and commercial organisations (proof: statutes)
Primarily active in field of environment and/or climate action and have an environmental/climate objective which is aimed at:
The public good, and
Sustainable development, and
Being involved in the development, implementation, and enforcement of Union environmental and/or climate policy and legislation.
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Applicants have to:
be legally established in one of the EU28 Member States…
operate at Union level with a fixed structure and activities covering at
least three EU Member States.
To this end, partnerships, networks and memberships are eligible if they
are formally established as a legal entity (represented by a management
board or other administrative forum).
Loose co-operations or temporary partnerships are not eligible.
National NGOs are not targeted by this call
If you have been eligible before, you will be eligible
now
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Operational capacity
Assessment of professional competencies and qualifications based on CVs
and recent activity reports
Financial capacity
Assessment of the financial viability of the organisation based on
auditor's certified accounts and annual statement – i.e. demonstration
that the applicant has stable and sufficient sources of funding to
maintain its activity throughout the two years of the FPA.
The financial capacity is part of the selection criteria
It evaluates the applicant's financial soundness through the analysis of financial ratios for non-profit entities: current ratio, profitability, financial independence, adequacy of equity and activity ratio
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Shaping EU policies:
Alert policy makers about new issues to be addressed
Participate in consultative groups or expert panels
Information input to policy formulation
Channelling members' views to the EU
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Supporting implementation of EU Climate & Environmental policy
Feedback to Commission on problems of implementation
Alarms or intervention in case of break of legislation/regulation in the Member States
Campaigns, exchange of best practice, awareness raising and citizen participation
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6 criteria based on the EU Environment Action Programme objectives
…and included in the LIFE regulation – new financing decision
varying maximum scores, total maximum 80 points
Threshold: 45 points to be recommended for funding
Award criteria Maximum score
Award criterion 1 20
Award criterion 2 20
Award criterion 3 5
Award criterion 4 5
Award criterion 5 20
Award criterion 6 10
Min. 45 of 80
"Policy Relevance": Relevance of involvement in the Union’s
environmental and/or climate action policy process
thematic objectives of the 7th Environment Action Programme
climate and energy package
the roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050
the Union’s climate adaptation strategy
EU added value of the work proposed
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Explain the link between policy and
strategy
"Enabling Framework": Relevance and potential to
contribute to:
maximising the benefits of the Union’s environment and/or climate action
legislation by improving implementation and enforcement,
improving the knowledge and evidence base for Union environment and/or
climate action policy,
securing investment for environment and/or climate action policy and
address environmental and/or climate externalities and
improving environmental and/or climate action integration and policy
coherence
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"Coverage": Relevance for
enhancing the sustainability of the Union’s cities
increasing the Union’s effectiveness in addressing international
environmental and/or climate-related challenges
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"Sensor Function": Relevance in addressing environmental
and/or climate-related emerging issues and new policy priorities
• Detection of these issues
• Feedback on these issues or addressing them
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"Channelling": Effectiveness of the partner's contribution to
the Union policy process
In-depth understanding of EU policy process
applicant as two way channel between member (grass root) level and EU
level;
proposal aims to shape or develop EU policy and has an appropriate
strategy
activities are included aiming at strategic cooperation in order to create
leverage;
visibility will ensured, awareness raising actions / campaigns are well-
planned.
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"From the needs to the goals": Organisational development –
potential to develop in order to become a more efficient
stakeholder in the Union’s policy process
description of fundraising situation is included and necessary strategies to
ensure diversification and sustainability
Proper need analysis relating to organisational development;
The proposed strategy is appropriate and will make the applicant a more
efficient partner in the policy dialogue
Dependency on NGO grant – and strategies to respond to this
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Guidelines and forms available on the web:
A = administrative forms
T = technical
F = financial forms
Advice for filling in the forms can be found in the Application Guide
1 complete original + 1 CD/USB stick with full application plus 1
printed part A, T, and F to be submitted
FAQ will shortly be published
Financial Guidelines are foreseen, too.
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Administrative information
Form A4: List of all member organisations per country (although they may not charge costs)
Form A5: description of the nature, structure and activities of the applicant and members directly involved in the work programme
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Max. length of whole section T: 50 pages!
Use only T form to describe your bi-annual strategic plan and outlined activities during the 2 years (no other documents).
Provide proper background and context.
Be clear – avoid jargon and acronyms.
Please: use English
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Summarise the bi-annual strategic plan, its objectives and expected results (core element of the proposal).
Maximum 10 pages.
Covering 2 years.
Global description of the bi-annual strategy link it to the strategy of the NGO
Main objectives distinguish between environmental and/or climate
Main expected results immediate results/deliverables & medium term results/impacts – quantify as much as possible – you may indicate ranges
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EU added value of the work proposed.
Policies addressed directly by your application (strategies/directives/regulations). Simple list is sufficient
Describe structure in place to facilitate access to relevant European institutions
– if you plan to set-up new structures during 2016-2017 describe them (which, how,…) e.g. working groups /stakeholder groups / advisory committees of the European Commission / European Parliament / European Council or at Member State
% of work related to environment & climate action statistical purposes
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Provide detailed description of your bi-annual strategic plan by policy area.
Be concrete in developing this strategy and support it with outline of accompanying actions
If many areas are covered, it is recommended to develop only a selection in detail (select the most relevant for the FPA) and list the other areas with less detail keeping in mind the page limit.
Link the policies to your strategy. It should become clear, how you plan to contribute to the policies mentioned in section T.1.
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Use the model in T2.1 form
Context and specific European policies addressed
Objectives Distinguish between environmental and/or climate
Strategy/outline accompanying actions Milestones, events, policy contributions
channels/means Description of capacities, expertise, infrastructure, tools, in place to perform the work.
Description of the staff and technical sub-contractors.
and expected results
Contribution to expert groups, stakeholder consultations, position papers, etc.
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Describe the expected development perspectives of your organisation in
relation to the NGO operating grant.
Provide a long-term view on economic sustainability, especially in relation to decreasing any dependence of the LIFE NGO operating grant.
The description of your fundraising strategy should form a core element of the application.
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Describe how the grant is expected to improve your organisation compared to the present situation in various aspects, e.g.:
Organisational structure and staffing
Strategic approach
Financial management
Evaluation and reporting
Internal communication
Technical competence
Network enlargement/new members
Better policy impact
Other
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Definition of profit: a SURPLUS of the receipts over the eligible costs incurred by the beneficiary.
EU grants may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit within the framework of the work programme of the beneficiary.
Where a profit is made EASME entitled to recover: (profit x EU %)
Final payment = amount of grant reduced by surplus (pro-rata recovery)
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Determination of final amount – the budget cannot be increased: If actual eligible expenditure is < than budgeted
expenditure EU grant decreases
If actual eligible expenditure is > than budgeted expenditure EU grant stays equal
Implementation contracts/subcontracting:
− > 60.000€ request 3 offers
− > 125.000€ publish a call
Financial support to third parties: N/A (mono-beneficiary contracts)
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Non-cumulative award: If you benefit from an operating grant (NGO grant) you cannot charge
overheads on any action grants
Earliest start of expenditure: The start of the beneficiary's budgetary year
Earliest start date is 01/01/2016
Co-financing: The EU will only co-fund part of the work programme (up to 60%)
The applicant will have to cover its share for the eligible costs as well as all non-eligible costs
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In the evaluation process you may be contacted by email in
case of:
Obvious clerical errors or minor omissions
Need for further clarifying information
Reply is needed within 5 days – the contact e-mail address indicated in form A3 should be active and checked on a regular basis
Main period for contacts: August – if you are on holidays, please put an out of office reply!
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This time we must handle
deadlines stricter!
If selected in SGA
60% pre-financing after signature of the grant agreement
40% after approval of the final reports (to be submitted the latest 3 months after the end of the financial year)
EASME will follow-up on your work together with external experts (NEEMO)
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http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/funding/ngos/index.htm
For any comments or questions please send an email to:
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