European Parliament Grants 2009

DG Communication - Annual Work Programme for Grants 2009

Parliament plays an active and important role in drafting legislation: For example, on environmental protection, consumer rights, equal opportunities, transport, and the free movement of workers, capital, services and goods.Parliament also has joint power with the Council over the annual budget of the European Union.

Grants 2009 
Grants 2009
HD

Budget lines: 324801; 324501; 324201
Indicative overall budget for this programme: 5.000.000 €

1. Objectives of the programme:

Parliament plays an active and important role in drafting legislation: For example, on environmental protection, consumer rights, equal opportunities, transport, and the free movement of workers, capital, services and goods. Parliament also has joint power with the Council over the annual budget of the European Union. The decisions taken in the European Parliament make a difference and affect the daily lives of millions of Europeans.

The European Parliament is the only directly elected body of the European Union. In June 2009 citizens will have the opportunity to vote for Members of the European Parliament in the 27 countries of the European Union. 751 Members will be elected to represent some 375 million European voters. This will top the 2004 election which was the biggest trans-national election in history.

One of the key objectives of DG Communication is to increase awareness as to the European Parliament's role, how it operates, the positions it adopts, how the decisions taken make a difference, and to encourage the up-take of full citizen participation to the debate on issues which are important to those citizens.

Within this framework the Directorate General for Communication of the European Parliament will shortly be publishing a Call for Proposals, offering financial assistance to creative and innovative projects which focus specifically on providing accurate, relevant and unbiased information about the role of the European Parliament, the issues at stake, and how each citizen can make his voice heard. More specifically we seek proposals for projects which will build effective lines of communication between the European Parliament and the citizens it represents.

The European Parliament has Information Offices in each Member-State capital city as well as five satellite offices. These offices will be closely involved with the projects awarded a grant by DG Communication, and will follow the development of the projects. Only projects being held in one or more of the Member-States of the European Union may be considered under this funding programme.

2. Implementation of the programme and indicative time schedule:

  • A call for proposals will be published on the internet site of the European Parliament providing full details of the type of projects, per theme, which may be considered for the award of a grant by DG Communication and details of the criteria on which the proposals received will be evaluated. The call for proposals will set out the detailed arrangements for submission of proposals and the application form to be used by interested parties wishing to apply for a grant. (Published in June 2008. The deadline for receipt of proposals will be 1 October 2008).
  • Proposals received by the closing date will be evaluated by an evaluation committee, according to the criteria published. Those proposals deemed most worthy will be selected for the award of a grant. (Mid/end November 2008).
  • All unsuccessful applicants will be notified of the reasons for the rejection of their proposal and successful applicants will be offered a grant agreement for signature.(December 2008).
2.1. Themes for 2009:
  1. Co-financing Television programmes.
  2. Co-financing Events.
  3. Co-financing websites and other internet-based initiatives.
  4. Co-financing projects proposed by full-time educational establishments.
  5. Co-financing Radio programmes.

3. Procedure:

Applications submitted, in due form, and according to the instructions indicated in the published call for proposals will be evaluated in three stages by an evaluation committee. Proposals which successfully pass the exclusion criteria will be assessed according to the selection criteria. Subsequently proposals passing the selection criteria will be evaluated according to the award criteria.

The general criteria are as follows:

3.1 EXCLUSION CRITERIA
    • Only organisations which are legally constituted are eligible for assistance.
    • Only requests submitted on the basis of the application form contained in the annex will be considered. All sections of the form must be completed clearly and accurately. All requested documentation must be attached to the proposal (for information, a checklist of documents to be provided with the proposal is included with the application form). Please pay particular attention to specific requirements for documentation which may be requested under the theme to which you are submitting your proposal. Any incomplete applications may be rejected automatically as will any dossiers sent in several parts.
    • Proposals for projects of a commercial nature, and/or projects, which have the purpose or effect of producing a profit for the beneficiary, will be rejected.
    • The grant will, in no circumstances, cover the total cost of the action and applicants must supply evidence of co-funding arrangements from other sources towards the costs estimated for the project.
    • Applications by fax or e-mail are not admissible.
    • Any application presented by a body acting as an intermediary for a third party shall be excluded.
    • The proposed project must not, directly or indirectly, send messages which conflict with Union policies or be associated with an image, which is not in keeping with that of the Institutions.
    • Organisations will be excluded from participation in the call for proposals if they are in one of the situations listed at point 5 of the Application form. To this effect applicants must complete and sign the Declaration on exclusion criteria at point 5 of the application form.
    • Only proposals for projects which are due to start during the course of 2009 will be considered. Additionally DG Communication will only consider projects which start at the earliest on 1/1/2009 and which will be completed at the latest by 30/4/2010.
    • Only proposals received by the deadlines set out at point 3 of the call for proposals will be evaluated.
    • Only proposals requesting grants that respect the percentage funding rates and minimum and maximum grant amounts set-out under each theme will be considered.

If a proposal does not comply with the exclusion criteria it may be rejected at this stage.

3.2 SELECTION CRITERIA

The following documents are required to enable assessment to be made of the applicants' financial and operational capacity to complete the proposed action.

Only organisations providing evidence of adequate operational capacity and professional qualifications and experience will be eligible for assistance. To this end, parties submitting proposals must enclose with their application;

  • The latest annual activity report of their organisation or a detailed account of the current main activities of the organisation;
  • The fully-detailed CVs of the key person(s) who will be responsible for carrying out the main project activities. (including name, address, qualifications and full employment details and dates)

Only organisations with stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain the activity throughout the period of the action will be eligible for a grant. To this end, the party submitting a proposal must enclose with its application:

  • A copy of the official annual accounts of the organisation (or the annual budget in the case of a public body) for the last financial year preceding the submission of the proposal. (Including turnover, profit and loss account and balance sheet. Please provide a copy of the accounts that have been presented to the fiscal authorities of your Member-State).
  • Applicants must be registered in one of the EU's 27 Member-States and provide evidence of legal status by submitting copies of their officially registered statute, articles of association or constituent act.

The budget estimate for the project must be in balance, expenditures/incomes and must be coherent, detailed and correctly presented. The estimated budget is to be limited strictly to actual expenditure expected to be incurred in the realisation of the proposed project; no task-costing will be accepted or any charges levied on the European Parliament for utilisation of facilities, as this is not a commercial project. Please note that public bodies, introducing a proposal, must contribute to the project expenditure by at least the amount mentioned for public servant salaries in the estimated budget.

3.3 AWARD CRITERIA

The proposal submitted will demonstrate a sound understanding of the subject and the way in which the action will further the objectives described in one of the published themes. The grants will be awarded with a view to the successful completion of those projects deemed the most suitable. To this end, proposals will be selected on the basis of:

  • The clarity of the description of the proposed action, its relevance and coherence with the objectives set. Innovative ideas, originality of projects proposed and the image and/or identity of events and activities will be considered
  • The methodology to be employed for its realisation and a time schedule for implementation, including detail of the publicity planned for the activity or event.
  • A detailed description of the report(s) that will be delivered on completion of the project to DG Communication, and if applicable any product(s). Planned evaluation, impact assessment of the action and dissemination of results will also be taken into consideration.
  • The feasibility of the project with regard to the details provided about the proposing organisation, the time schedule proposed, and the budget, in relation to the actions planned.
  • The cost effectiveness of the project in relation to expected reach or impact.

A maximum of 20 points for each category will be awarded. Applications must obtain a minimum of 10 points in each category. Any project receiving less than 10 points in any category or who are awarded less than 60 points over all categories will not be considered. Only those project proposals which best meet the objectives set-out under each of the 4 themes, and which are possible to fund within the budgetary limits, will be considered for the award of a grant from DG Communication.

The decision of DG Communication is final.

THIS NOTICE PROVIDES ADVANCE NOTIFICATION OF A FUTURE PUBLICATION

THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS OF DG COMMUNICATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT WILL BE PUBLISHED ON THE EUROPARL WEBSITE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.