EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL HUMANITARIAN AID AND CIVIL PROTECTION
B.1 Emergency Response
UNION CIVIL PROTECTION MECHANISM
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
UNION CIVIL PROTECTION MECHANISM EXERCISES
grant application guide
2016 edition
This guide includes detailed information on the Call for Proposals for Civil Protection Mechanism Exercises and advice on how to prepare applications
TABLE OF CONTENT
1.Introduction Background7
2.Objective(s) and Priorities8
3.Timetable10
4.Budget Available10
5.Exercise Concept under this Call11
6.Selection Of Proposals14
7.Admissibility Requirements14
8.Eligibility Criteria15
8.1Eligible applicants15
8.3Eligible activities18
9.Exclusion Criteria19
9.1Exclusion from participation:19
9.2Exclusion from award20
9.3 Supporting documents21
10Selection Criteria21
10.1Financial capacity21
10.2Operational capacity23
11.Award Criteria23
11.1Award procedure27
12.Legal Commitments29
13.Financial Provisions29
13.1General Principles29
13.2Funding forms of grants31
14.Publicity35
14.1By the beneficiaries35
14.2By the Commission35
15.Data Protection35
16.Procedure for the Submission of Proposals36
16. 1 Applicants shall submit proposals37
17.Obligatory Documents to be Attached to the Application38
18.Specific Requirements for Public Entities40
19. Specific Recommendations for each Application Form42
20.Part 1: Forms A and T42
22.Forms F50
23.How to Prepare and Draft a Proposal?59
24.Checklist for Submitting Grant Applications61
PREFACE
Welcome to the guide for submitting proposals for exercise projects in the framework of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism Exercises (Action 2.6 of the Work Programme 2016 in this guide referred to as WP 2016).
This document has been designed to be a guide for applicants. It serves as a reference document to provide clarifications and answers to questions you may have when preparing your application. Please read it carefully.
In addition to this guide, you are strongly encouraged to consult the European Commission's ECHO website: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/en/funding-evaluations/financing-civil-protection/calls-for-proposal
The website is updated regularly and the date of the latest update is indicated on the web-page.
If you cannot find the answer to your question in this guide, do not hesitate to send your questions in writing (preferably by e-mail) to the Emergency Response Unit (DG ECHO B.1) of the Commission at [email protected]
Please contact the Commission only after having tried to find the information in this guide, its annexes and the included references. Asking for clarifications has no impact on the final award decision.
Union Civil Protection Mechanism Exercises can be financed from two separate budget items in the Call for Proposals for Union Civil Protection Mechanism Exercises 2016 (hereinafter referred to as the 2016 call).
Exercise projects financed through the internal budget item 23 03 01 01 are reserved for participating states of the Mechanism only[footnoteRef:2]. A consortium must involve entities from at least two participating states[footnoteRef:3] (associated beneficiaries) of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism other than the entity from a participating state of the Mechanism organising and hosting the exercise (coordinating beneficiary)[footnoteRef:4], committing to dispatch intervention teams, civil protection modules, and/or technical assistance and support teams through the ERCC. In total, the consortium must include entities from at least three participating states of the Mechanism. Dispatching intervention teams is not necessary for table top exercises. Exercise projects financed through the external budget item 23 03 01 02 must involve entities from at least one European Neighbourhood Policy Country[footnoteRef:5] or one Instrument for Pre-accession assistance II (IPA II) beneficiary[footnoteRef:6] not participating in the Mechanism and an entity from at least one additional country ( European Neighbourhood Policy country, IPA II beneficiary not participating in the Mechanism or a participating state) (associated beneficiaries) other than an entity from a participating state of the Mechanism which is the coordinating beneficiary of the exercise. The aim of these exercises will be to maximize the exchange of knowledge and experience on the EU Mechanism with the third countries.[footnoteRef:7] In total, the consortium must include entities from at least three countries, of which one must be a participating state of the Mechanism, and one must be an eligible third country. Applicants thus have to indicate whether they apply for funding from the internal budget line or external budget line. The applicants shall pay particular attention to the countries eligible to be financed under each budget line. The eligibility criteria will be explained in greater detail below. [2: See 8.2 for a further explanation on eligible projects..] [3: Participating states of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism include the 28 EU MS, Iceland, Norway, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. Turkey is in the process of ratifying the Agreement for participation in the Mechanism.] [4: International organizations can act as the coordinating or associated beneficiary of an exercise. However, in order for a project proposal to be eligible for Union funding under this Call, there must be at least one PS of the Mechanism acting as a coordinating beneficiary or as an associated beneficiary in the Consortium.] [5: Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan are all Countries under the European Neighbourhood Policy East whereas Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, Libya Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon are under the European Neighbourhood South.] [6: The IPA II beneficiary countries include 5 candidate countries; Serbia, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Turkey and Montenegro, and two potential candidate countries, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina.] [7: International organizations can act as the coordinating or associated beneficiary of an exercise. However, in order for a project proposal to be eligible for Union funding under this Call, there must be at least one PS of the Mechanism acting as a coordinating beneficiary or an associated beneficiary in the Consortium.]
Before submitting the application, please do not forget to consult the checklist, which can be found in chapters 17 and 24. Consider also that it will take time to fill in the forms and that all the necessary documents need to be gathered to complete the application. Please start filling in the forms promptly in order to comply with the deadline for the submissions of proposals, as set out in part 3. This guide is divided into six parts:
Chapters 1 to 4 are the introductory part providing an overview of the objectives and priorities of this Call for proposals, detailing the timelines and the budget possibilities.
Chapter 5 explains the concept of exercise projects, eligible for funding.
Chapters 6 to 18 outline the process and the requirements to be complied with for a proposal to be selected and for the grant to be awarded.
Chapters 19 to 22 explain how each of the forms attached to this guide should be filled out.
Chapters 23 and 24 give further practical advice on how to prepare a proposal, and a checklist to be consulted prior to submitting the application.
This guide is updated annually to make it as user-friendly as possible. You are more than welcome to share your comments and suggestions on how to further improve the guide by sending an email to [email protected]
Emergency Response Unit
DG HUMANITARIAN AID and CIVIL PROTECTION
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
PART I
1.Introduction Background
Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism[footnoteRef:8] (hereinafter the Decision) establishes a Union Civil Protection Mechanism, hereafter the Mechanism. The general purpose is to provide, on request, support in the event of major emergencies and to facilitate improved coordination of assistance intervention. The Mechanism should facilitate the response to protect primarily people but also the environment and property, including cultural heritage, in the event of natural and man-made disasters, acts of terrorism and technological, radiological or environmental accidents, including accidental marine pollution, occurring inside or outside the European Union, taking into account the special needs of the isolated, outermost and other regions or islands of the European Union. [8: OJ L347, 20.12.2013, p. 924.]
In Article 13(1) of the above Decision the Commission is tasked to set up and manage a programme of exercises.
The Commission Implementing Decision of 16.10.2014 laying down rules for the implementation of Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism and repealing Decisions 2004/277/EC, Euratom and 2007/606/EC, Euratom (C(2014)7489 final)[footnoteRef:9] (hereinafter the Implementing Decision) in Chapter 9 defines the exercise programme, its strategic framework and priorities. [9: OJ L320, 6.11.2014, p.145.]
The target group, which in line with Chapter 9, Article 32(3) (a) of the Implementing Decision includes the response capacity of Member States, in particular with regard to teams and other assets provided in assistance interventions under the Union Mechanism.
The aims of the exercise programme defined in Chapter 9, Article 32(3)) are reproduced below:
"The exercise programme shall in particular aim at:
(a) improving the response capacity of Member States, in particular with regard to teams and other assets provided in assistance interventions under the Union Mechanism;
(b) improving and verifying the procedures and establishing a common approach for the coordination of assistance interventions under the Union Mechanism and reducing the response time in major disasters;
(c) enhancing cooperation between the civil protection services of Member States and the Commission;
(d) identifying and sharing lessons learnt;
(e) testing the implementation of lessons learnt."
2.Objective(s) and Priorities
The adopted WP 2016 can be found on this Calls website.
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/funding-evaluations/financing-civil-protection/calls-for-proposal_en
This Call for Proposals for exercises refers to Action 2.6 of the WP 2016 aimed at improving preparedness.
The objectives are:
To improve civil protection preparedness and response to all kinds of disasters, including marine pollution[footnoteRef:10], and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) disasters, as well as combined disasters and disasters simultaneously affecting a number of countries (inside or outside the participating states of the Mechanism) by providing a testing environment of established and/or new operational concepts and procedures of the Mechanism and a learning opportunity for all actors involved in civil protection assistance interventions under the Mechanism. [10: Other marine incidents which are security related are also relevant.]
The expected results are:
Improving the response capacity of Member States, in particular with regard to teams and other assets provided in civil protection assistance interventions.
Improving and verifying the procedures and establishing a common approach for the coordination of civil protection assistance interventions and reducing the response time in major disasters
Enhancing cooperation between the civil protection and marine pollution services of the Member States, the Commission and other relevant actors.
Identifying and sharing lessons learned.
Testing the implementation of lessons learned
Type of Activity
Plan, conduct and evaluate exercises with scenarios simulating the situation and conditions of all types of disasters for the activation of the Mechanism, including marine pollution and CBRN disasters, as well as combined disasters and disasters affecting simultaneously a number of countries (inside or outside the participating states of the Mechanism). The plans for the exercises should also take into account the results of evaluations of previous exercises as well as lessons learned from civil protection actions. Needs of vulnerable groups including persons with disabilities should also be taken into consideration.
The exercises can be full scale exercises, command post exercises with limited deployment, and table top exercises. A combination of two or three of these exercise concepts is considered as strength.
The involvement of Member States is ensured through the ERCC, according to established procedures (e.g. use of CECIS, and activation of the Mechanism) and deployment of exercise participants as defined in Art. 32 of Commission Implementing Decision 2014/762/EU laying down rules for the implementation of Decision No 1313/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Union Civil Protection Mechanism[footnoteRef:11] i.e. intervention teams (including modules), teams of assessment and/or coordination experts (EUCPT), national key contact point staff, other intervention support resources and officials of the EU Institutions, including humanitarian aid experts (if required by the scenario). [11: OJ L320, 6.11.2014,p.1]
Priority issues to be addressed by the exercise projects shall be:
Host Nation Support;
Deployment of assets and teams of the European Emergency Response Capacity (EERC);
Testing ERCC procedures;
Information exchange between affected country and Member States ;
Crisis communication;
Use of Mechanism's transport and logistic procedures;
3.Timetable
Stages
Date and time orindicative period
a)
Publication of the call
04/03/2016
b)
Deadline for submitting applications
20/05/2016
c)
Evaluation period
May-September 2016
d)
Information to applicants
30/11/2016
e)
Signature of grant agreement
Before 31/12/2016
f)
Starting date of the project
01/01/2017-30/06/2017
4.Budget Available
The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of exercise projects is EUR 4 800 000. EUR 3 600 000 have been reserved for exercises involving only Participating States and EUR 1 200 000 for exercises with the involvement of one or more IPA II beneficiary countries which are not Participating States to the Mechanism or countries under the European Neighbourhood Policy (for more information see the WP 2016).
The EU contribution per exercise project[footnoteRef:12] is limited to a maximum of EUR 1 000 000. [12: A Union Civil Protection Mechanism exercise is referred to as an exercise project throughout this guide. ]
The maximum EU co-funding rate (percentage applied on the eligible costs according to the budget of the exercise project) in the framework of this Call is up to 85% of the total eligible costs per proposal. Given the complementary nature of EU grants, at least 15% of the total exercise project cost must be funded by other sources.
The applicant is encouraged to look for other possible local, national or international, private and public (non EU) co-financing.
The Commission reserves the right not to grant all the funds available and to award a grant lower than the amount applied for.
PART II
5.Exercise Concept under this Call
The exercise can be a table-top, command-post or full scale exercises (TTX, CPX or FSX). A combination of two or three of these types of exercises is possible.
A TTX is designed to put real crisis managers in a situation to use existing plans and procedures to take decisions according to a proposed scenario. A TTX can also be used to develop plans and procedures were there are none. Being a discussion mode exercise, it does not require any deployment but rather gathers the exercising participants in one single location under the guidance and control of experienced staff.
A CPX is designed to put command structures in a real situation, focusing on the tasks and responsibilities they are to perform while the deployment forces are simulated. The tasks may include requesting the deployment of a EUCP Team and possibly key staff of operational assets together with command and communication staff and tools. The exercising participants work from their offices or command posts.
A FSX is designed to replicate one or several phases of an emergency with the commitment of all the public bodies and authorities that would be committed in a real emergency. All the functions (operation, command, logistics, communication, public information, etc.) required in an emergency are replicated and played in a coordinated way.
The scenario may take into account one, several or all of the following phases: pre-alert, alert and request for assistance, deployment, engagement, disengagement.
The scenario of the exercise depicts a disaster that overwhelms the response capacity of the affected state.
The international dimension of the exercise is ensured by the participation of entities from at least three different countries, as outlined in the WP for 2016.[footnoteRef:13] [13: The participation of an international organization is also possible under the conditions outlined in Chapter 8 of the Call. ]
This participation requires the involvement of the national civil protection operational point of contact and for FSX the deployment of civil protection intervention team(s).
Minimum requirements for the exercises are that:
The procedures of the Mechanism are activated.
A team of minimum 4 experts plus one ERCC Liaison Officer (ERCC LO), tasked to facilitate the coordination of the international assistance, assess needs or provide the affected State with specific expertise, is deployed during the conduct of the exercise. The cost of this deployment needs to be covered by the exercise project, not including the cost related to the ERCC LO (which is covered by the European Commission).
One observer for each participating state is invited to the exercise. The cost of the observer programme needs to be covered by the exercise project.
One observer from eligible third countries is invited to the exercise. The cost of the observer programme needs to be covered by the exercise project.
The state receiving the assistance implements host nation support procedures and tests the Host Nation Support Guidelines developed in the framework of the Mechanism.
It is mandatory that also the operational structure of the national civil protection authority and/or the marine pollution authority, as necessary depending on the exercise scenario, of each exercise participant takes part in the exercise as an exercising participant (see A8 form).
Exercising participants could also come from other response capacities, which could be available from the competent services, or which may be provided by non-governmental organisations and other relevant entities. (Article 9 (4) of the Decision).
There are no specific restrictions in either the total number of exercising participants or the number of the members of each team. Particular consideration should be given to this issue in order to ensure that the number of exercising participants allows proper play, in order to provide the best opportunity to achieve the objectives and expected results.
If operationally justified, individuals not coming from beneficiaries in the project may be invited to events within the project (e.g. the invitation of experts to participate at conferences and planning meetings as well as to have the responsibility for specific tasks during the conduct of the exercise). Their travel and subsistence costs may be covered by the Union contribution, provided that they are included in the project proposal and the approved budget.
Experts and teams with the appropriate qualifications and coming from eligible third countries can participate as exercising participants in the exercises aimed at eligible third countries, as outlined in the WP 2016.
Personnel of international organisations and agencies, in particular those that form part of the United Nations System, can participate as exercising participants when relevant. Their travel and subsistence expenses can be covered if they are included in the exercise project proposal and the budget.
The exercise duration is a minimum of two days and one night, minimum 36 hours, except for TTX that can be limited to two full days. When the alert and request phase is played, this may take place days or weeks before the actual presence of assets on the field or the start of the exercise conduct.
One of the main principles during the exercise conduct, which should be taken into account during the planning phase, is that those involved in planning or project management of the exercise shall not be exercising participants in the exercise. It is an absolute requirement that an organizational chart of the planning group is attached as an annex to the proposal.
A team, usually referred to as distaff, has to be dedicated to control the exercise, i.e. providing injects, information and reactions to the exercising participants. Besides provision of injects, the role of the distaff is to ensure that the activities of the exercising participants stay within the limits permitted by the resources dedicated to the exercise, as well as to take care of all security and safety aspects. It is an absolute requirement that an organizational chart of the distaff is attached as an annex for a proposal to be selected.
There are no restrictions on the geographical area the scenario is supposed to take place. The scenario can be inside or outside the EU. Particular attention should be given to scenarios that take place in disaster prone areas. For exercises targeted for the participation of eligible third countries, the exercise can, but does not have to be, conducted outside of the EU, yet it shall benefit the involved third countries. Other activities such as workshops, planning meetings etc should in principle be organized in the third country.
Evaluation throughout the exercise project is a key part of the proposal. It is the process that links the objectives and expected results to the actual outcomes of the exercise conduct. A team of skilled people has to be dedicated to this function, and they shall be given an independent role in this work. This team is in charge of preparing the evaluation and delivering an evaluation report that may include the organisation of a hot wash-up at the end of the exercise. The evaluation team needs to follow the exercise project from the start of the planning process until the completion of the exercise project.
Please note that the evaluation of the exercise cannot be based on observers only. It is however a possibility to task the observers to make short reports about their observations, which may then be used as an addition to the findings of the professional evaluators.
The evaluation function is neither control nor testing. It is not about individual performance but about appropriateness of the procedures applied in an international environment.
It is an absolute requirement for a proposal to be selected that an organizational chart of the evaluation committee is attached as an annex.
It is advisable to dedicate a team to prepare a proposal (based on the evaluation report) on how the findings of the evaluation report can be implemented in relevant structures after the end of the exercise project.
PART III
6.Selection Of Proposals
When the proposals have been received by the Commission, an evaluation committee is being appointed, which will evaluate all the proposals against a set of criteria which will be discussed below. First, the proposals must pass the admissibility requirements, the eligibility criteria, the exclusion criteria, and the selection criteria.
Proposals that meet these requirements and criteria will advance further to the evaluation of the award criteria, in which it will be awarded points. The minimum score for being selected is 70 out of 100, or 70%.
The next chapters will present these criteria, and it is crucial that the applicants go through these chapters carefully. Honouring all of these criteria in the proposal is essential to be awarded a grant.
7.Admissibility Requirements
Applications must be sent no later than the deadline for submitting applications referred to in chapter 3.
Applications must be submitted in writing, accompanied by an electronic copy on a CD or USB stick, using the application form available at: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/en/funding-evaluations/financing-civil-protection/calls-for-proposal Additional information concerning the submission of proposals is outlined in chapter 16.
Number of copies of the proposal: three printed paper copies which include all Annexes/Supporting Documents (one original clearly identified as such, plus two copies) and an electronic version of the application. The electronic versions shall be one single file, including the A, T and F forms with all the Annexes/Supporting Documents and one set of word and excel versions. Financial forms must be submitted in Excel and other documents in Word.
Both the paper copies and the electronic versions should be arranged according to the numbers of the forms (e.g. A1, A2, A3 etc., followed by T1, T2, T3 etc. and F1, F2, F3 etc. and the financial viability form followed by the Annexes/Supporting Documents). Except for dates and signatures, the information in the application forms may not be hand-written. Concerning Forms A9 (Legal entities form) and A10 (financial identification form), the links on forms A9 and A10 lead to web applications that can be typed and printed.
Applications must be submitted in an official language of the European Union. However, in order to facilitate assessment by evaluators, an English translation should preferably accompany any proposal written in another language. In such cases, applicants should submit their applications both in hard copy (i.e. paper) and in electronic format in their own language and in English. Applicants may request a different language version of any document published for this call, which is necessary for responding to the call. However, if such a request is made, the deadline for submission of proposals may have to be postponed until the translation of the requested document has been completed, which might considerably delay the whole process of submission and evaluation of proposals. Please note in this regard that it is of utmost importance that the evaluation and selection process under this Call for Proposals are completed in due time, as otherwise the available budget may be lost (at least partly). According to the EU Financial Regulation, budgetary appropriations available for this Call must be committed in 2016.
All forms must be submitted (if a specific form is not applicable, please mark "not applicable" or "N/A" on the form).
All forms must be signed (where required, the application forms should be completed with dates and signature in such a way that the status and full name of the signatory are clearly identifiable).
Failure to comply with these admissibility requirements may lead to the rejection of the application.
8.Eligibility Criteria[footnoteRef:14] [14: REGULATION (EU, EURATOM) No 966/2012 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THECOUNCIL of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union andrepealing Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002, OJ L 298 , 26.10.2012, p.1, Art. 131 FR, 201RAP]
8.1Eligible applicants[footnoteRef:15] [15: The eligibility criteria formulated in Commission notice Nr.2013/C-205/05 (OJEU C-205 of 19/07/2013, pp. 9-11) shall apply for all exercise projects under this Call for Proposals, including with respect to third parties referred to in Article 137 of the EU's Financial regulation.]
In order to be eligible for a grant, applicants must:
(1) Be legal persons.
(2) Belong to one of the following categories: private entities, public entities, or international organisations as defined by Article 43 of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 of 29 October 2012 on the rules of application of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union ('Rules of Application'). If the successful applicant is an international organisation, the grant agreement template may be adjusted where need be.
(3) Be established in one of the 33 European Civil Protection Mechanism Participating States[footnoteRef:16], which are the 28 EU members, Iceland, Norway, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.[footnoteRef:17] [16: Turkey is in the process of ratifying its agreement for the participation in the Civil Protection Mechanism. It will be considered a participating state under this Call if and when the European Commission is informed of the ratification by diplomatic channels before the deadline for submission of proposals under this Call. ] [17: This does not apply to International Organisations. ]
(4) For exercise projects under the External budget item[footnoteRef:18], be established in eligible third countries which are: [18: The eligibility criteria formulated in Commission notice Nr.2013/C-205/05 (OJEU C-205 of 19/07/2013, pp. 9-11) shall apply for all exercise projects under this Call for Proposals, including with respect to third parties referred to in Article 137 of the EU's Financial regulation.]
The IPA II beneficiary countries which are not yet participating states to the Mechanism: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey[footnoteRef:19] and Kosovo[footnoteRef:20], [19: If the agreement for participation in the Union Civil Protection Mechanism between the European Commission and Turkey enters into force before the expiry of the deadline for submitting applications under this Call, Turkey may be eligible for funding under the internal budget item. Developments on the ratification will be posted on ECHO website. ] [20: This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.]
Eastern Neighbourhood countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine;
Southern Neighbourhood countries[footnoteRef:21]: Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia. [21: Participation of Syria is currently suspended.]
Important: Eligible third countries and international organizations can participate in the implementation of projects under the external budget item. Eligible third countries cannot act as the Coordinating Beneficiary. Therefore, applications submitted by third countries which are not participating states to the Mechanism will be considered ineligible.
6) Be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the exercise project with their partners (beneficiaries), i.e. not acting as an intermediary;
7) Involve the national competent authority and/or the marine pollution authorities depending on the exercise scenario of both Participating States of the mechanism and eligible third countries. With their proposals, applicants must enclose supporting documents (form A8) showing that they comply with the above requirement before submitting the proposal to the Commission. This does not apply to international organisations.
For a list of the national central civil protection authorities recognised by the European Commission, see:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/civil_protection/civil/vademecum/index.html
- The Coordinating Beneficiary submits the application for funding and is the single point of contact for the Commission. It is the only beneficiary to report directly to the Commission on the exercise projects technical and financial progress. It receives the Union financial contribution and ensures its distribution. The Coordinating Beneficiary must be involved in the technical implementation of the exercise project it cannot act, in the context of the project, as a sub-contractor to one of its beneficiaries.
- The Associated Beneficiaries must contribute technically to the exercise project and hence be responsible for the implementation of one or several project activities. It cannot act, in the context of the exercise project, as a sub-contractor to the Coordinating Beneficiary or to other Associated Beneficiaries. It must do everything in its power to help the Coordinating Beneficiary fulfil its obligations under the grant agreement. In particular, it must provide the Coordinating Beneficiary with all the necessary documents and information (technical or financial) required for the reporting to the Commission.
The exercise project may have up to 3 other types of participants in their implementation and/or funding:
affiliated entities,
co-financer(s) (other than the Union), and
sub-contractor(s).
Entities affiliated to the Coordinating Beneficiary/Associated Beneficiaries may take part in the exercise project, provided that they also comply with the eligibility and exclusion criteria applicable to other applicants. Affiliated entities are legal entities having a legal or capital link with the beneficiaries, which is neither limited to the exercise project nor established for the sole purpose of the implementation of the exercise project. This may include, among others, members of the same association, federation, grouping, etc.
Affiliated entities may also declare eligible cost and for this purpose, if applicable, applicants shall identify affiliated entities in the application forms when submitting the proposal.
A project co-financer only contributes to the exercise project with financial resources, has no technical responsibilities and cannot receive parts of the EU financial contribution. Furthermore it cannot act, in the context of the exercise project, as a sub-contractor to any of the beneficiaries.
For specific tasks of a fixed duration necessary for the implementation of the exercise project, the beneficiaries may also have recourse to contractors/sub-contractors, which provide goods/works/services on the basis of procurement contracts. Sub-contractors cannot act as beneficiaries or vice-versa.
In order to assess the applicants' eligibility, the following supporting documents are requested:
8.2. Eligible projects
To be eligible for the award of a grant under this Call, the proposed projects must comply with the following conditions:
Exercise projects financed through the internal budget item 23 03 01 01 are reserved for participating states of the Mechanism only. A consortium must involve entities from at least two participating states (associated beneficiaries) of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism other than the entity from a participating state organising and hosting the exercise (coordinating beneficiary).[footnoteRef:22] In total, the consortium must include entities from at least three participating states of the Mechanism. A consortium is to be understood as a group of at least three countries, or entities within at least three countries, which have agreed to conduct an exercise. It is comprised of the coordinating beneficiary of the consortium, and associated beneficiaries. For all three exercise concepts, participation must, as a minimum, be in the form of exercising participants. For full scale exercises, this implies the deployment of intervention teams, civil protection modules, or technical assistance and support teams through the ERCC and possibly other coordination and collaboration means if required by the scenario. [22: International organizations can act as the coordinating or associated beneficiary of an exercise. However, in order for a project proposal to be eligible for Union funding under this Call, there must be at least one participating state of the Mechanism acting as a coordinating beneficiary or as an associated beneficiary in the Consortium.]
Exercise projects financed through the external budget item 23 03 01 02 must involve entities from at least one European Neighbourhood Policy country or one IPA II beneficiary not participating in the Mechanism and an entity from at least one additional country (European Neighbourhood Policy country, IPA II beneficiary not participating in the Mechanism or a participating state of the Mechanism) (associated beneficiaries) together with an entity from the participating state of Mechanism which is the coordinating beneficiary of the exercise.[footnoteRef:23] In total, the consortium must include entities from at least three countries, of which one must be a participating state of the Mechanism, and one must be an eligible third country. The aim of these exercises will be to maximize the exchange of knowledge and experience on the EU Mechanism with the third countries. It should be noted that exercise projects under this budget line shall be to the benefit of third countries. As such, all activities forming part of the exercise project shall in principle be organized in the third country. [23: International organizations can act as the coordinating or associated beneficiary of an exercise. However, in order for a project proposal to be eligible for Union funding under this Call, there must be at least one PS of the Mechanism acting as a coordinating beneficiary or as an associated beneficiary in the Consortium]
The eligibility criteria formulated in Commission notice no 2013/C-205/5 (OJEU C-205 of 19/07/2013, pp. 9-11) shall apply for all actions under this Work Programme, including with respect to third parties as referred to in Article 137 of Financial Regulation.
8.3Eligible activities
Eligible exercise projects to be co-financed under this Call for Proposals will comprise one or several of the following types of civil protection exercises:
Full Scale Exercises (FSX)
Command Post Exercises (CPX)
Table top exercises or other type of discussion based exercises. (TTX)
The involvement of Participating States' 24/7 operational contact point is ensured through the ERCC, according to established procedures (use of CECIS, etc.) and deployment of exercising participants
The eligibility criteria as stated in the WP 2016 pose certain minimum requirements:
The emergency scenario is realistic and of such magnitude such as to overwhelm the capacities of the affected country;
The request for assistance to the ERCC is established through the official channels of the affected state(s) (National Authority(ies)) and coordinated through the ERCC and the official channels of the other countries;
The Mechanism is activated; and an EUCP Team is deployed.
Involvement of the national civil protection authorities of the countries in the project (and/or the marine pollution authorities as necessary depending on the exercise scenario). As a minimum, the involvement should be in form of participation by the 24/7 national contact point in the exercise.
The application contains a plan describing how improvements should be implemented following the evaluation of the exercise and how improvements implemented would be retested.
The second requirement, "involvement" applies to the Competent National Civil Protection and or Marine Pollution Authority of each country (Participating State or Third Country) deploying intervention resources on the field and it amounts to participation in the exercise play of at least the 24/7 operational contact point through CECIS and other communication means as appropriate. The signed A8 form is the mandatory evidence for this involvement.
The planning phase must start between 01/01/2017 and 30/06/2017.
The kick-off meeting, which is considered to be the start of the planning process, has to be organised in Brussels preferably as soon as possible after the start date of the exercise project. Normally, it is organized in the premises of the European Commission. By way of exception, it is accepted that the conference takes place in the premises of the Permanent Representation of the State or the Region of the Coordinating Beneficiary.
The maximum duration of an exercise project is 24 months.
9.Exclusion Criteria9.1Exclusion from participation[footnoteRef:24]: [24: Article 106 FR]
Applicants will be excluded from participating in the Call for Proposals procedure if they are in any of the following situations:
(a) they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;
(b) they or persons having powers of representation, decision making or control over them have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment of a competent authority of a Member State which has the force of res judicata;
(c) they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authority can justify including by decisions of the EIB and international organisations;
(d) they are not in compliance with their obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established or with those of the country of the contracting authority or those of the country where the grant agreement is to be performed;
(e) they or persons having powers of representation, decision making or control over them have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation, money laundering or any other illegal activity, where such an illegal activity is detrimental to the Union's financial interests;
(f) they are currently subject to an administrative penalty.
9.2Exclusion from award[footnoteRef:25] [25: Article 107 FR]
Applicants will not be awarded a grant if, in the course of the grant award procedure, they:
(a) are subject to a conflict of interest;
(b) are guilty of misrepresenting the information required by the Commission as a condition of participation in the grant award procedure or fail to supply this information;
(c) find themselves in one of the situations of exclusion, referred to in section 8.1.
The same exclusion criteria apply to affiliated entities.
Administrative and financial penalties may be imposed on applicants, or affiliated entities where applicable, that are guilty of misrepresentation.
9.3 Supporting documents[footnoteRef:26] [26: Art. 197 RAP]
Applicants must sign a declaration on their honour certifying that they are not in one of the situations referred to in articles 106(1) and 107 to 109 of the Financial Regulation of the European Union, filling in the relevant form (A2)
10Selection Criteria[footnoteRef:27] [27: Art. 132 FR, 202 RAP]
10.1Financial capacity[footnoteRef:28] [28: Art. 131, 132 FR, 202 RAP.]
Applicants must have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain their activity throughout the period during which the exercise project is carried out or the year for which the grant is awarded and to participate in its funding. In order to ensure this, the Commission will assess individually the financial capacity of each of the beneficiaries against their estimated share of the requested EU grant.
The verification of the financial capacity shall not apply to public bodies such as national, regional and local authorities and International Organisations.
The financial capacity will be assessed on the basis of the following supporting documents to be submitted as part of the Application by each of the potential beneficiaries:
a declaration on honour (Form A2) for the Coordinating Beneficiary
the profit and loss account and the balance sheet for the 2 last financial years for which the accounts were closed. For newly created entities, the business plan might replace these documents; and
the Financial Viability Form provided, filled in with the relevant statutory accounting figures, in order to calculate the ratios as detailed in the form.
- for the grants EUR 750 000 in addition an audit report produced by an approved external auditor certifying the accounts for the last financial year available shall be submitted. Please note that the threshold of EUR 750 000 is applicable per beneficiary.
In the case of legal entities forming one applicant, the above requirements apply to those entities.
On the basis of the documents submitted, if the Commission considers that financial capacity is not satisfactory, it may:
request further information;
propose a grant agreement without pre-financing;
propose a grant agreement with a pre-financing paid in instalments;
propose a grant agreement with a pre-financing covered by a bank guarantee
where applicable, require the joint and several financial liability of all the co-beneficiaries;
reject the application.
PRE-FINANCING GUARANTEE[footnoteRef:29] [29: Art. 134 FR, 206 RAP. ]
In the event that the applicants' financial capacity is not satisfactory, a pre-financing guarantee for up to the same amount as the pre-financing may be requested in order to limit the financial risks linked to the pre-financing payment.
The financial guarantee, in euro, shall be provided by an approved bank or financial institution established in one of the Member State of the European Union. When the beneficiary is established in a third country, the authorising officer responsible may agree that a bank or financial institution established in that third country may provide the guarantee if he considers that the bank or financial institution offers equivalent security and characteristics as those offered by a bank or financial institution established in a Member State. Amounts blocked in bank accounts shall not be accepted as financial guarantees.
The guarantee may be replaced by a joint and several guarantees by a third party or by a joint guarantee of the beneficiaries of a project who are parties to the same grant agreement
The guarantee shall be released as the pre-financing is gradually cleared against interim payments or payments of balances to the beneficiary, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the grant agreement.
FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Within a multi-beneficiary grant, the operational and financial risks may be shared. In line with Article II.26.3.c of the General Conditions, the beneficiaries are jointly and severally liable up to the value of the contribution that the beneficiary held liable is entitled to receive. This contribution is to be indicated in the estimated budget breakdown.
Alternatively, if foreseen in the Grant Agreement, the beneficiaries may be held jointly and severally liable for any amount due to the Commission by any one of them, up to the maximum amount specified in Article I.3 of the Grant Agreement (i.e. joint and several responsibilities without a ceiling per beneficiary). When applicable, the beneficiaries shall also be jointly liable for interest on late payments.
10.2Operational capacity[footnoteRef:30] [30: Art. 131 FR, 202 RAP]
Applicants must have the professional competencies as well as the qualifications necessary to complete the activities in the project proposal. The purpose of the verification is therefore to assess whether each applicant has the professional competencies and qualifications required to complete the project.
The operational capacity of each individual entity:
the Coordinating Beneficiary must possess sufficient experience in managing EU/trans-national projects of a volume similar that of the proposed exercise project;
the Associated Beneficiaries should demonstrate that they have project management experience proportionate to the tasks assigned to them in the proposal.
The assessment will be based on the documents submitted as part of the application and in particular:
the declaration on honour of the Coordinating Beneficiary (form A2);
curriculum vitae or description of the profile of the people primarily responsible for managing and implementing the project, preferably using the model provided at: http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/documents/curriculum-vitae/templates-instructions
the activity reports of the Coordinating Beneficiary and each Associated Beneficiary for the year preceding the project submitted for Union funding, including sufficiently detailed information which allows the Evaluation Committee to assess the operational capacity (this does not apply to projects in which a National, Regional or local Civil Protection authority of a Participating State of the Mechanism is acting as the Coordinating Beneficiary);
an exhaustive lists of previous projects and activities performed and connected to the objectives and results of this Call.
In the case of legal entities forming one applicant, the above requirements apply to those entities.
A given applicant may participate in several projects; it should however have sufficient financial and operational capacity to meet its obligations in all the projects if they were all awarded a grant. It should also make sure that any Union funding received, is clearly recorded in its accounting systems in a way that shows the link with each respective project, making clear which cost were incurred for which project.
11.Award Criteria[footnoteRef:31] [31: Art. 132 FR, 203 RAP]
Eligible applications will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:
Understanding (20 points): The use of the elements and the resources of the Mechanism and the testing of procedures proposed by the exercise project correspond to the objectives, and the strategic and legislative context of the call.
"Understanding" refers to how well the applicants have understood the objectives and the expected results of exercises as referred to in WP 2016 under action 2.6 and have accordingly formulated the proposed exercise project to address and take into account the various issues of importance and interest in civil protection response. More specifically, through this criterion the appropriateness, the consistency and the clarity of presentation of the exercise purpose and objectives, the scenario and the exercise players will be assessed. The following sub-criteria will be applied 1 - 4 up to 5 points.
Objectives and expected results: Are the objectives and the expected results of the proposed exercise project appropriate, consistent and coherent and clearly stated, and in line with the objectives and the expected results for exercises project as stated in section 2.6 of the Work Programme 2016?
(1) Objectives and expected results: Are the objectives and the expected results of the proposed exercise project appropriate, consistent and coherent and clearly stated, and in line with the objectives and the expected results for exercise projects as stated in section 2.6 of the Work Programme 2016.
(2) Scenario basis and consistency: Is the scenario appropriate given the exercise objectives and expected results? Does the proposed scenario have a sound basis on risk assessment, or has data from actual emergencies been used?
(3) Scenario importance and complexity: Does the scenario address and provide an opportunity to test issues that are part of the current discussions in the civil protection response at the European Union level and/or in eligible third countries? Does the scenario provide an opportunity of testing and/or developing in an integrated manner various available Civil Protection response resources (various categories of the target group) and tools (e.g. transport grant, satellite images, etc.)? Does the scenario emphasise cooperation/coordination at various levels? Does the project foresee use of the European Emergency Response Capacity (Voluntary Pool)?
(4) Exercising participants: Is the selection of exercising participants appropriate given the objectives and the expected results? Does the proposed exercise project involve a wide range of emergency responders and does it represent a wider European presence in contrast to national exercises?(civil protection, police, health and other intervention support or as appropriate, humanitarian aid experts and relevant international organisations)?
Methodology (40 points): the proposed project tasks, project management methodology in general and the exercise planning, preparing, conduct, evaluation and implementation planning methodology are suited for the achievement of the exercise project objectives and expected results. They also take into account the standards and procedures of participating states, and as appropriate third countries as well as international standards and conventions (UN), where appropriate.
Methodology refers to the exercise project management methodology and the exercise planning (design and development), conduct and, evaluation methodology that will be applied by the Coordinating Beneficiary and the Associated Beneficiaries. With this criterion it will be assessed whether the pillars of project management are observed i.e. scheduling and planning, decision-making, control, etc. as well as the obligations towards the Commission. It will be assessed whether the division of the exercise project in tasks and activities is appropriate for the proper planning, conduct and, evaluation of an exercise of the proposed scale. Each proposal will be evaluated according to the following sub-criteria (5 points each):
(5) Organisational structure and quality control: Are the proper bodies (Core Group/planning group and/or other structures) and procedures in place to secure monitoring, decision making, and control of the progress of the project?
(6) Means for implementation: Will the necessary means (personnel, equipment, etc.) for proper conduct be available? Is there a support from the Competent National Civil Protection Authority and/or the Marine Pollution Authorities as necessary depending on the exercise scenario of the applicant (please note that minimum support should be considered as exercising participants)?
(7) Exercise project time schedule: Is the proposed exercise project timeline realistic given the available resources? Are the various planning meetings properly spaced given the expected outcome and deliverables from each one of them? Have the reporting obligations to the Commission been included?
(8) Constraints: Has a risk analysis of the exercise project and of the different tasks been performed? Are the potential difficulties identified and has sufficient preparation been undertaken to mitigate these? Are there any contingency plans identified?
(9) Exercise planning: Have the members of the Exercise Planning Team been identified, and their roles and responsibilities specified. Have all the necessary tasks and actions that would guarantee proper planning of the exercise project been identified? Is there a dedicated directing staff foreseen for the exercise?
(10) Exercise conduct: Have all the necessary tasks and actions that would guarantee proper conduct of the exercise been identified? This refers to the organisational structure, methodology and development of the necessary documentation and training (if necessary) of the personnel? Are the procedures of the Mechanism respected?
(11) Evaluation: Have all the necessary tasks that would guarantee proper evaluation of the exercise project and exercise conduct as well as the subsequent improvement planning been identified? This refers to organisational structure, evaluation and improvement planning methodology and the development of the necessary documentation and training if necessary. More specifically: Is there an evaluation programme in the exercise project? Is this programme to evaluate procedures related to international assistance coordination? Are the evaluators specifically tasked during the exercise conduct? Are the evaluators selected through a relevant profile description?
(12) Building block approach: Following the building block approach means that different exercise types are used to reach the expected results of the exercise project. This could be the use of a full scale exercise, table-top exercise and /or a command post exercise in the sequence deemed most appropriate and necessary.
Cost effectiveness (15 points): The proposed budget is sufficient for a proper execution of the exercise project and is designed in such a way as to ensure the best value for money, taking also into account the objectives, expected results and deliverables.
The proposal will be evaluated towards the above criterion by assessing its compliance with the following sub-criteria (5 points each):
(13) Rationality: is the proposed budget well-structured, rational and clear? Have all the costs for the exercise project tasks been clearly identified and quantified?
(14) Justification & Coherency: Is the budget justified? Are the costs adequate for the tasks and means proposed as well as the objective and expected results?
(15) Good value for money: Is the proposed budget economically advantageous with respect to the expected quality of the end result (objective) and the European dimension?
European Dimension (25 points + bonus): The proposed exercise project has a proper European dimension i.e. broad participation of Participating States of the Mechanism and eligible third countries where applicable (under the external budget line), importance, applicability and relevance of the scenario and the expected results for the Participating States of the Mechanism, the EU as a whole and third countries, where applicable (under the external budget line); integration of other products/services funded or developed by the EU.
The proper European dimension is not expressed merely by the number Participating States and eligible third countries participating in the exercise project in general or only in the exercise conduct but also by the importance, applicability/transferability and the relevance of the scenario and the objective and expected results for the Participating States, the EU as a whole and eligible third countries where applicable (under the external budget line). It is also expressed by the level of integration in the exercise conduct of the various European Union Institutions and Commission services including the use of products/services funded or developed by them. In this context applicants are also encouraged to take into account recent Council Conclusions on Civil Protection (e.g. 2015 Council conclusions on disability-inclusive disaster management). In addition, it is mirrored in the promotion of cooperation of Europe, as a whole, with international actors and third countries in the field of emergency response. Therefore, the proposals will be evaluated against the following sub-criteria:
(16) Dissemination of results: Does the project proposal foresee the dissemination of the lessons identified, best practises and recommendations for the benefit of all Participating States of the Mechanism and where applicable under the external budget line, eligible third countries and does it address the implementation of these results? (5 points)
(17) Inter-Institutional cooperation, consistency, complementarity, synergies: Participation as exercising participants of other than civil protection personnel, i.e. other Commission DGs and EU Services or structures that are involved in the overall European response to emergency situations. Use or testing of methods and/or products/services (e.g. Copernicus GIO EMS, etc.) relevant to civil protection operations developed or under development by Commission DGs and Services (e.g. the Joint Research Centre, Directorate General Health and Consumers, Directorate General for Energy etc.) or other EU institutions, services or Agencies (e.g. European External Action Service, European Maritime Safety Agency, etc.) or funded by EU programs. (5 points)
(18) Emphasis on functional aspects of the EU emergency response: Does the project address substantially the implementation of the Host Nation Support Concept: up to 5 points and developing and/or testing the deployment of an Assessment and/or Coordination Team (recently referred to as EUCP Team) concept in Europe? ( up to 5 points). 10 points in total.
(19) Participation by Participating States or where applicable under the external budget line, eligible third countries: This refers to participation during the conduct of the exercise or exercise project as a whole. This sub-criterion is assessed by the total number of countries which have committed in writing their decision to participate in the exercise project or conduct. At least 3 countries: 1 point, 4 countries: 2 points, 5 countries: 3 points, 6 countries: 4 points, 7 countries or more: 5 points.
(20) Cooperation with International Organizations: Participation as exercising participants of international organizations, particularly agencies of the UN system, in cases of scenarios outside the EU, with which the Mechanism cooperates in emergencies. (Bonus: up to 5 points)
11.1Award procedure
11.1.1 Conclusion of the evaluation procedure
The list of pre-selected proposals will be established on the basis of the above mentioned criteria.
The evaluation of proposals will be done according to the following consecutive steps:
1. Only those proposals complying with all admissibility and eligibility criteria will be further assessed.
2. A proposal will be excluded if the applicant is proved to be in any of the situations mentioned under the exclusion criteria (chapter 9).
3. If one of the selection criteria (chapter 10) is not fulfilled, projects are eliminated from the further evaluation procedure.
4. The award criteria will be assessed only for proposals that have passed the eligibility and selection criteria, and do not fall under any of the exclusion situations. Such proposals will be assessed according to the grading system of a maximum hundred points (excluding bonuses), which is applied in the following way:
i. For each one of sub-criteria (1) - (17) and 19, a score from 0 to 5 will be given by each member of the Evaluation Committee, the meaning of the ratings is: lacking = 0, unsatisfactory = 1, poor = 2, average = 3, good = 4 and excellent = 5. From the scores of the individual members of the evaluation committee an average score for each sub-criterion for each proposal will be calculated.
ii. For sub-criterion (18) a maximum of 10 points can be given by each member of the Evaluation Committee as follows: Host nation Support concept: up to 5 points; EUCP Team: up to 5 points. From the scores of the individual members of the Evaluation Committee an average score for this sub-criterion will be calculated for each proposal.
iii. To reach the technical sufficiency level, proposals need to score a minimum total of 70% based on the summation of criteria (1) (19).
iv. Criteria (20) provide the opportunity for bonus points. Note that whereas criteria (20) is not used to determine the minimum technical sufficiency level of 70%, they are used in the final ranking of the proposals.
v. If the total requested amount of all the pre-selected technically sufficient projects exceeds the total indicative budget available (see chapter 4), the proposals will be ranked according to the total points given to them. The Evaluation Committee will propose that the Authorising Officer selects those projects with higher ranking within the limits of the available budget.
11.1.2 The award decision
Upon completion of the above procedure, the Authorising Officer will take the final decision on the project proposals to be co-financed, including the respective maximum financial amount and the rate of co-financing granted. Please note that the Commission reserves the right to award a grant amounting to less than the amount requested by the applicant. However, grants will not be awarded for more than the amount requested in the proposal. The Commission will co-finance the proposals achieving at least the score required to reach technical sufficiency (see section 11.1.1, paragraph 4, point (iii)), within the limits of the overall budget available for this Call for Proposals (see section 4).
At this stage the Commission will commit the relevant funds and send a grant agreement to the successful applicants.
11.1.3 The role of the desk officer
Once the applicant (the Coordinating Beneficiary) has been informed about the selection of the proposal, the authorizing officer in the EU Commission, ECHO, will assign a desk officer to the project. The desk officer is representing the Commission throughout the project, and his main responsibility is to support the consortium in the implementation of the project as well as to make sure that the project is implemented in accordance with the Grant Agreement.
The Coordinating Beneficiary shall, at all times without exception, give the necessary support to the desk officer and other staff from the Commission in order to enable them to perform their duties properly (e.g. this includes assistance with regard to transport, hotel bookings, transfers etc.).
During the exercise, the desk officer and other personnel such as the ECHO press officer shall have full access without any restrictions to all sites, offices and other facilities being used during the exercise.
11.1.4 Rejected proposals
The Commission will officially inform each unsuccessful applicant in writing, once the award decision has been made by the Authorising Officer. The Commissions decision is final. Projects that have not been co-financed under this Call for Proposals will not be taken into consideration for future calls. However, rejected calls can be further developed and resubmitted by the applicant in future calls by following the guidelines published for all upcoming Call for Proposals of that specific year.
12.Legal Commitments[footnoteRef:32] [32: Art. 121 FR, 174 RAP]
In the event of a grant awarded by the Commission, a grant agreement drawn up in euro, and detailing the conditions and level of funding, will be sent to the Coordinating Beneficiary. They will also be notified of the procedure to follow so as to formalise the obligations of the parties. The two copies of the original agreement will be signed (first) by the Commission. The Coordinating Beneficiary shall then sign it and shall return the signed copy to the Commission immediately. The grant agreement will enter into force when both parties have signed it.
Please note that the award of a grant does not establish an entitlement for funding for subsequent years.
13.Financial Provisions13.1General Principles
a) Non-cumulative award[footnoteRef:33] [33: Art. 129 FR]
An exercise project may only receive one grant from the EU budget.
In no circumstances shall the same costs be financed twice by the Union budget. To ensure this, applicants shall indicate the sources and amounts of Union funding received or applied for in relation to the same exercise project or part of the exercise project, or for its functioning during the same financial year. They shall also inform the Commission of any other funding received or applied for in relation to the same exercise project.[footnoteRef:34] [34: Art. 196.4 RAP]
b) Non-retroactivity[footnoteRef:35] [35: Art. 130 FR ]
No grant may be awarded retroactively for exercise projects already completed.
A grant may be awarded for an exercise project which has already begun only where the applicant can demonstrate the need to start the exercise project before the grant agreement is signed.
In such cases, costs eligible for financing may in principle not have been incurred prior to the date of submission of the grant application.[footnoteRef:36] [36: Under the applicable Financing Decision, expenditure incurred before the date of submission of the grant application may be eligible for Union funding only where the specific subject matter of a given Action is directly related to an ongoing or imminent emergency and thus the activities thereunder are to be undertaken as a matter of extreme urgency.]
c) Co-financing[footnoteRef:37] [37: Art. 125 FR, 183 RAP]
Co-financing means that the resources which are necessary to carry out the exercise project or the work programme may not be entirely provided by the EU grant.
Co-financing of the exercise project or of the work programme may take the form of:
the beneficiary's own resources,
financial contributions from third parties.
Co-financing may also take the form of in-kind contributions from third parties, i.e. non-financial resources made available free of charge by third parties to the beneficiary or to the consortium.[footnoteRef:38] The corresponding costs are not eligible. [38: Art. 127 FR]
d) Balanced budget[footnoteRef:39] [39: Art. 196.2 RAP]
The estimated budget of exercise the project is to be attached to the application form. It must have revenue and expenditure in balance.
The budget must be drawn up in Euro.
Applicants, who foresee that costs will not be incurred in Euro, are invited to use the exchange rate published on the Infor-euro website available at http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/inforeuro/inforeuro_en.cfm.
e) Implementation contracts/subcontracting [footnoteRef:40] [40: Art. 137 FR, 209 RAP]
Where the implementation of the exercise project requires the award of procurement contracts (implementation contracts), the coordinating beneficiary must award the contract to the bid offering best value for money or the lowest price (as appropriate), avoiding conflicts of interests and retaining the documentation for the event of an audit.
Sub-contracting, i.e. the externalisation of specific tasks or activities which form part of the exercise project as described in the proposal, must satisfy the conditions applicable to any implementation contract (as specified above) and in addition to them the following conditions:
- it may only cover the implementation of a limited part of exercise the project;
- it must be justified, having regard to the nature of the exercise project and what is necessary for its implementation;
- it must be clearly stated in the proposal.
13.2Funding forms of grants[footnoteRef:41] [41: Art. 123 FR, 181 RAP]
Grants are calculated on the basis of eligible cost actually incurred by the beneficiaries, subject to a detailed estimated budget submitted with the proposal and indicating clearly the costs that are eligible for EU funding. Amounts are indicated in euro.
Maximum amount requested
The EU grant is limited to a maximum co-funding rate of 85% of eligible costs with a EU contribution up to a maximum of EUR 1.000.000 for each proposal financed.
Consequently, part of the total eligible expenses entered in the estimated budget must be financed from sources other than the EU grant.
Contributions in kind[footnoteRef:42] [42: Art. 127 FR]
In-kind contributions are non-financial resources made available free of charge by third parties to the beneficiary or to the consortium. The corresponding cost is not eligible.
Contributions in-kind constitute external contributions in order to cover other costs necessary to carry out the exercise project. Such contributions must not exceed:
- either the costs actually borne and duly supported by accounting documents; or
- in the absence of such documents, the costs generally accepted on the market in question.
In-kind contributions shall be presented separately in the estimated budget to reflect the total resources allocated to the exercise project. Their unit value is evaluated in the provisional budget and shall not be subject to subsequent changes.
In-kind contributions shall comply with national tax and social security rules.
Eligible costs[footnoteRef:43] [43: Art. 126 FR]
Eligible costs are costs actually incurred by all the beneficiaries of a grant which meet all the following criteria:
they are incurred during the duration of the exercise project, with the exception of costs relating to final reports and audit certificates;
The period of eligibility of costs will start as specified in the grant agreement.
If the Coordinating Beneficiary can demonstrate the need to start the exercise project before the agreement is signed, expenditure may be authorised before the grant is awarded. Under no circumstances can the eligibility period start before the date of submission of the grant application.
they are indicated in the estimated budget of the exercise project;
they are incurred in connection with the action and are necessary for its implementation;
they are identifiable and verifiable, in particular being recorded in the accounting records of the beneficiaries and determined according to the applicable accounting standards of the country where the beneficiary is established and according to the usual cost accounting practices of the beneficiary;
they comply with the requirements of applicable tax and social legislation;
They are reasonable, justified, and comply with the requirements of sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency.
The beneficiaries' internal accounting and auditing procedures must permit direct reconciliation of the costs and revenue declared in respect of the exercise project with the corresponding accounting statements and supporting documents.
The same criteria apply to the affiliated entities.
Eligible direct costs
To be eligible, the direct cost of the exercise project must comply with the conditions of eligibility set out above and may include in particular the following:
- the costs of personnel working under an employment contract with the applicant or equivalent appointing act and assigned to the exercise project, provided that these costs are in line with the beneficiary's usual policy on remuneration. These costs include actual salaries plus social security contributions and other statutory costs included in the remuneration. They may also include additional remuneration, including payments on the basis of supplementary contracts regardless of their nature, provided that it is paid in a consistent manner whenever the same kind of work or expertise is required and independently from the source of funding used;
- costs of the personnel of national administrations to the extent that they relate to the cost of activities which the relevant public authority would not carry out if the exercise project concerned were not undertaken;
- subsistence allowances (for meetings, including kick-off meetings where applicable, conferences etc.) provided that these costs are in line with the beneficiary's usual practices,
- costs of travel (for meetings, including kick-off meetings where applicable, conferences etc.), provided that these costs are in line with the beneficiary's usual practices on travel,
- depreciation cost of equipment (new or second-hand): only the portion of the equipment's depreciation corresponding to the duration of the exercise project and the rate of actual use for the purposes of the exercise project may be taken into account by the Commission.
- costs of consumables and supplies, provided that they are identifiable and assigned to the exercise project;
- costs entailed by implementation contracts awarded by the beneficiaries for the purposes of carrying out the exercise project, provided that the conditions laid down in the grant agreement are met;
- costs arising directly from requirements linked to the implementation of the exercise project (dissemination of information, specific evaluation of the exercise project, translations, reproduction);
- costs relating to a pre-financing guarantee lodged by the beneficiary of the grant, where required by the agreement;
- costs relating to external audits where required by the agreement in support of the requests for payments.
Eligible indirect costs (overheads)
A flat-rate amount of 7% of the total eligible direct costs of the exercise project is eligible under indirect costs. (Overhead costs) Indirect costs may not include costs entered under another budget heading.
Ineligible costs
In addition to any other costs which do not fulfill the eligibility conditions, the following costs may not be considered eligible:
return on capital and dividends paid by a beneficiary;
debt and debt service charges;
provisions for losses or debts;
interest owed;
doubtful debts;
exchange losses;
costs of transfers from the Commission charged by the bank of a beneficiary;
costs declared by a beneficiary and covered by another project receiving a European Union grant. In particular, indirect costs shall not be eligible under a grant for an exercise project awarded to a beneficiary who already receives an operating grant financed from the Union budget during the period in question;
contributions in kind;
excessive or reckless expenditure;
deductible value added tax ("VAT"). For public law bodies established in the EU, VAT paid in relation to activities that these bodies carry out as public authorities will always be ineligible, unless said activities are listed in Article 13(2) of the Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax37 (see more concerning VAT in chapter 20, part 1).
Calculation of the final grant amount
The final amount of the grant to be awarded to the Coordinating Beneficiary is established after completion of the exercise project, upon approval of the request for payment containing the following documents[footnoteRef:44]: [44: Art. 135 FR ]
- a final report providing details of the implementation and results of the exercise project;
- the final financial statement of costs actually incurred.
EU grants may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit within the framework of the exercise project. Profit shall be defined as a surplus of the receipts over the eligible costs incurred by the beneficiaries, when the request is made for payment of the balance. In this respect, where a profit is made, the Commission shall be entitled to recover the percentage of the profit corresponding to the Union contribution to the eligible costs actually incurred by the beneficiary to carry out the exercise project.
PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS[footnoteRef:45] [45: Art. 90, 135 FR, 207 RAP ]
A pre-financing payment[footnoteRef:46] corresponding to 60% of the grant amount will be transferred to the Coordinating Beneficiary within 30 days of the date when the Commission receives the signed grant agreement provided all requested guarantees have been received (if applicable). [46: Art. 109, 110 RAP]
The final payment of up to 40 % of the EU contribution will be made when the Commission has accepted the final payment request and the supporting documents (the final technical and financial report).
The Commission will establish the amount of the final payment to be made to the Coordinating Beneficiary on the basis of the calculation of the final grant amount. If the total of earlier payments is higher than the final grant amount, the beneficiaries will be required to reimburse the amount paid in excess by the Commission through a recovery order.[footnoteRef:47] [47: Art. 109, 110 RAP]
14.Publicity 14.1By the beneficiaries
Beneficiaries must clearly acknowledge the European Unions contribution in all publications or in conjunction with activities for which the grant is used.
In this respect, beneficiaries are required to give prominence to the name and emblem of the European Union on all their publications, posters, programmes and other products realised under the co-financed exercise project.
If this requirement is not fully complied with, the beneficiarys grant may be reduced in accordance with the provisions of the grant agreement.
14.2By the Commission[footnoteRef:48] [48: Art. 35, 128.3 FR, 21, 191 RAP]
All information relating to grants awarded in the course of a financial year shall be published on an internet site of the European Union institutions no later than on 30 June of the year following the financial year in which the grants were awarded.
The Commission will publish the following information:
- name of the beneficiary
- address of the beneficiary,
- subject of the grant,
- amount awarded.
Upon a reasoned and duly substantiated request by the beneficiary, the publication shall be waived if such disclosure risks threatening the rights and freedoms of individuals concerned as protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union or harm the commercial interests of the beneficiaries.
15.Data Protection
The reply to any Call for Proposals involves the recording and processing of personal data (such as name, address and CV). Such data will be processed pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data.[footnoteRef:49] Unless indicated otherwise, the questions and any personal data requested are necessary to evaluate the application in accordance with the specifications of the Call for Proposals and will be processed solely for that purpose by the Commission. [49: OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1. ]
Personal data relating to the grant applicants and/or persons who have powers of representation, decision-making or control over them, may be registered in the Early Warning System (EWS) only, or both in the EWS and in the Central Exclusion Database (CED) by the Accounting Officer of the Commission, should the beneficiary be in one of the situations mentioned in:
- the Commission Decision 2008/969 of 16.12.2008 on the Early Warning System (for more information see the Privacy Statement on:
http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfm),
or
- the Commission Regulation 2008/1302 of 17.12.2008 on the Central Exclusion Database (for more information see the Privacy Statement on
http://ec.europa.eu/budget/explained/management/protecting/protect_en.cfm).
16.Procedure for the Submission of Proposals
Proposals must be submitted in accordance with the formal requirements and by the deadline set out under section 3.
No modification to the application is allowed once the deadline for submission has elapsed. However, if due to an obvious clerical error, the applicant fails to submit evidence or make statements and there is thus a need to clarify certain aspects of the application, the Commission shall, except in duly justified cases, ask the applicant during the evaluation process to provide the missing information or clarify the supporting documents, provided that this information or clarifications does not substantially change the proposal.[footnoteRef:50]. [50: Art. 96 FR]
Applicants will be informed in writing about the results of the selection process.[footnoteRef:51] [51: Art. 133 FR, 205 RAP]
Submission format
Application forms are available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/en/funding-evaluations/financing-civil-protection/calls-for-proposal
Applications shall be submitted on the correct form, duly completed, dated, showing a balanced budget (revenue/expenditure), and where applicable signed by the person authorised to enter into legally binding commitments on behalf of the applicant and submitted in three printed copies (one original clearly identified as such, plus two copies, according to the order indicated below and in chapter 19). Together with the paper proposal, applicants should additionally provide an electronic version of the full application on a CD, DVD or other commonly used storage devices (USB stick, etc.) containing 2 versions:
- Word and Excel version (specifically, the financial forms are to be submitted in Excel and the A and T forms in Word if applicable ) titled with the assigned number and name of the forms.
- A single PDF document containing the full application (i.e. a single scan of the printed version).
The documents contained in the application shall be presented in the following order:
1. Forms A1,A2, A3 etc
2. Forms T1, T2, T3 etc
3. Forms F1, F2, F3 etc + Financial Viability Form
4. Annexes/Supporting Documents (For the Coordinating Beneficiary: Curriculum vitae, Annual Activity report, List of member of the management Board, Balance sheet etc. For AB1: Curriculum vitae, List of member of the management Board, Balance sheet etc. AB2) Documents to be attached as mentioned under chapter 16.
Please ensure that within each section (A T F Annexes/Supporting Documents) the documents provided are numbered and organised in the order of their respective numbering.
Please provide a table of content of the entire application, including the Supporting Documents, showing the order of documents as organised in the printed version.
The Coordinating Beneficiary will be informed in writing about the results of the selection process.[footnoteRef:52] [52: Art. 133 FR, 2015 RAP]
Where applicable, all additional information considered necessary by the applicant can be included on separate sheets.
16. 1Applicants shall submit proposals
a) either by post (registered mail with return receipt) or by courier no later than 20/05/2016, 23:59 in which case the evidence of the date of dispatch shall be constituted by the postmark or the date of the deposit slip, to
European Commission
Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection - ECHO
Mr Juha Auvinen, Head of Unit Emergency Response
Rue de la Loi 86
BE-1049 Brussels
b) or delivered by hand no later than 16.00 CET (receipt by the Central Mail Service of the Commission) on 20/05/2016, to
European Commission
Central Mail Service
OIB 4
Avenue du Bourget, 1
BE-1140 Brussels
The outer envelope must bear the title of the Call for Proposals: "Call for Proposals Union Civil Protection Mechanism Exercises", and the words "Not to be opened before the opening session".
Applications sent by fax or e-mail will not be accepted. Applications may not be hand-written.
Proposals submitted to the Commission remain the property of the Commission and will not be returned.
Contacts
Questions of clarification may be sent by email no later than 10/05/2016 to [email protected].
The Commission has no obligation to provide further clarifications after this date. Replies will be given no later than 13/05/2016. In the interest of equal treatment of applicants, the Commission cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, a partner (a beneficiary), a project or specific activities.
Acknowledgement of receipt
Once a proposal has been received and registered by the Commission, an acknowledgement of receipt will be dispatched to the applicant in two weeks after the closing date of the present Call for Proposals. The acknowledgement of receipt will contain a reference number which must be mentioned
