LIFE Operating grants for NGOs

Framework Partnership Agreements for

funding in 2016 and 2017

Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Unit B.3 LIFE and CIP Eco-Innovation

Astrid Geiger, Head of Sector

Manuel Montero Ramírez, Project Officer

Information session – 29 June 2015 - Brussels

The EC would like to strengthen the civil society's

participation in the policy dialogue.

To improve environmental and climate policy development and implementation by contributing to the operation of existing organisations.

Environmental / climate goals (7th EAP):

Protect natural capital

Resource-efficient, climate resilient and green economy

2

7

9

26

24

Evaluation results

Ineligible

Failed

Reserve

Funded

9m€ indicative budget

66 applications received

Total requested EU contribution: €18.181.145,00

Applications were of very high quality

3

Climate (incl.

renewable energy

sources) 22%

Biodiversity 19%

Communica-tion 15%

Policies & law 15%

Water (incl. marine,

wetlands, coasts)

11%

Agriculture 7%

Air quality

7%

Waste 4%

4

1st step: biannual framework partnership agreements:

Focus on biannual strategy

Including an outline of activities

already known or

possible based on experience in previous years

Finances do not matter except for

financial viability

budget cut-off

and "value for money" in case of equal score

No revisions for the FPA

5

2nd (and 3rd) step: Specific grant agreements – call and contract for each financial year

Detailed work plan

Detailed budget

Limited award criteria

Revision phase

Award criteria slightly adapted – bullet points merged

Changes in maximum funding

6

~ 60? – 70? proposals

Framework partnership

Agreement Call 2015

Excellent

Very good

Good

Sufficient

Insufficient

7

~ 25? – 35? proposals

Specific Grant Agreement

2 Calls 2015 and 2016

Excellent

Very good

Good Budget

cut off

8

~ 25? – 35? proposals

SGA Call

Excellent

Very good

Good

~ 25? – 33? proposals

SGA Signature

9

Indicative budget for this call – 2*9 million €

Maximum EU funding: 60% of total eligible costs

700.000 € EU funding maximum per grant and …

… less than the amount requested with your previous application if you receive an NGO operating grant from the call launched in 2014 for the financial year 2015

Average grant in previous years: 325.000€ EU funding

1st January 2016: earliest possible date for eligibility of costs

10

Pre-assessment by external evaluators (independent evaluations)

Final assessment by an Evaluation Committee (EASME, DG Environment and DG Climate Action).

Recommendation established in consensus.

11

Applicants must be: Non-profit legal persons

Independent from government/authorities, political parties and commercial organisations (proof: statutes)

Primarily active in field of environment and/or climate action and have an environmental/climate objective which is aimed at:

The public good, and

Sustainable development, and

Being involved in the development, implementation, and enforcement of Union environmental and/or climate policy and legislation.

12

Applicants have to:

be legally established in one of the EU28 Member States…

operate at Union level with a fixed structure and activities covering at

least three EU Member States.

To this end, partnerships, networks and memberships are eligible if they

are formally established as a legal entity (represented by a management

board or other administrative forum).

Loose co-operations or temporary partnerships are not eligible.

National NGOs are not targeted by this call

If you have been eligible before, you will be eligible

now

13

Operational capacity

Assessment of professional competencies and qualifications based on CVs

and recent activity reports

Financial capacity

Assessment of the financial viability of the organisation based on

auditor's certified accounts and annual statement – i.e. demonstration

that the applicant has stable and sufficient sources of funding to

maintain its activity throughout the two years of the FPA.

The financial capacity is part of the selection criteria

It evaluates the applicant's financial soundness through the analysis of financial ratios for non-profit entities: current ratio, profitability, financial independence, adequacy of equity and activity ratio

14

Shaping EU policies:

Alert policy makers about new issues to be addressed

Participate in consultative groups or expert panels

Information input to policy formulation

Channelling members' views to the EU

15

Supporting implementation of EU Climate & Environmental policy

Feedback to Commission on problems of implementation

Alarms or intervention in case of break of legislation/regulation in the Member States

Campaigns, exchange of best practice, awareness raising and citizen participation

16

17

6 criteria based on the EU Environment Action Programme objectives

…and included in the LIFE regulation – new financing decision

varying maximum scores, total maximum 80 points

Threshold: 45 points to be recommended for funding

Award criteria Maximum score

Award criterion 1 20

Award criterion 2 20

Award criterion 3 5

Award criterion 4 5

Award criterion 5 20

Award criterion 6 10

Min. 45 of 80

"Policy Relevance": Relevance of involvement in the Union’s

environmental and/or climate action policy process

thematic objectives of the 7th Environment Action Programme

climate and energy package

the roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy in 2050

the Union’s climate adaptation strategy

EU added value of the work proposed

18

Explain the link between policy and

strategy

"Enabling Framework": Relevance and potential to

contribute to:

maximising the benefits of the Union’s environment and/or climate action

legislation by improving implementation and enforcement,

improving the knowledge and evidence base for Union environment and/or

climate action policy,

securing investment for environment and/or climate action policy and

address environmental and/or climate externalities and

improving environmental and/or climate action integration and policy

coherence

19

"Coverage": Relevance for

enhancing the sustainability of the Union’s cities

increasing the Union’s effectiveness in addressing international

environmental and/or climate-related challenges

20

"Sensor Function": Relevance in addressing environmental

and/or climate-related emerging issues and new policy priorities

• Detection of these issues

• Feedback on these issues or addressing them

21

"Channelling": Effectiveness of the partner's contribution to

the Union policy process

In-depth understanding of EU policy process

applicant as two way channel between member (grass root) level and EU

level;

proposal aims to shape or develop EU policy and has an appropriate

strategy

activities are included aiming at strategic cooperation in order to create

leverage;

visibility will ensured, awareness raising actions / campaigns are well-

planned.

22

"From the needs to the goals": Organisational development –

potential to develop in order to become a more efficient

stakeholder in the Union’s policy process

description of fundraising situation is included and necessary strategies to

ensure diversification and sustainability

Proper need analysis relating to organisational development;

The proposed strategy is appropriate and will make the applicant a more

efficient partner in the policy dialogue

Dependency on NGO grant – and strategies to respond to this

23

Guidelines and forms available on the web:

A = administrative forms

T = technical

F = financial forms

Advice for filling in the forms can be found in the Application Guide

1 complete original + 1 CD/USB stick with full application plus 1

printed part A, T, and F to be submitted

FAQ will shortly be published

Financial Guidelines are foreseen, too.

24

Administrative information

Form A4: List of all member organisations per country (although they may not charge costs)

Form A5: description of the nature, structure and activities of the applicant and members directly involved in the work programme

25

Max. length of whole section T: 50 pages!

Use only T form to describe your bi-annual strategic plan and outlined activities during the 2 years (no other documents).

Provide proper background and context.

Be clear – avoid jargon and acronyms.

Please: use English

26

Summarise the bi-annual strategic plan, its objectives and expected results (core element of the proposal).

Maximum 10 pages.

Covering 2 years.

Global description of the bi-annual strategy link it to the strategy of the NGO

Main objectives distinguish between environmental and/or climate

Main expected results immediate results/deliverables & medium term results/impacts – quantify as much as possible – you may indicate ranges

27

EU added value of the work proposed.

Policies addressed directly by your application (strategies/directives/regulations). Simple list is sufficient

Describe structure in place to facilitate access to relevant European institutions

– if you plan to set-up new structures during 2016-2017 describe them (which, how,…) e.g. working groups /stakeholder groups / advisory committees of the European Commission / European Parliament / European Council or at Member State

% of work related to environment & climate action statistical purposes

28

Provide detailed description of your bi-annual strategic plan by policy area.

Be concrete in developing this strategy and support it with outline of accompanying actions

If many areas are covered, it is recommended to develop only a selection in detail (select the most relevant for the FPA) and list the other areas with less detail keeping in mind the page limit.

Link the policies to your strategy. It should become clear, how you plan to contribute to the policies mentioned in section T.1.

29

Use the model in T2.1 form

Context and specific European policies addressed

Objectives Distinguish between environmental and/or climate

Strategy/outline accompanying actions Milestones, events, policy contributions

channels/means Description of capacities, expertise, infrastructure, tools, in place to perform the work.

Description of the staff and technical sub-contractors.

and expected results

Contribution to expert groups, stakeholder consultations, position papers, etc.

30

Describe the expected development perspectives of your organisation in

relation to the NGO operating grant.

Provide a long-term view on economic sustainability, especially in relation to decreasing any dependence of the LIFE NGO operating grant.

The description of your fundraising strategy should form a core element of the application.

31

Describe how the grant is expected to improve your organisation compared to the present situation in various aspects, e.g.:

Organisational structure and staffing

Strategic approach

Financial management

Evaluation and reporting

Internal communication

Technical competence

Network enlargement/new members

Better policy impact

Other

32

Definition of profit: a SURPLUS of the receipts over the eligible costs incurred by the beneficiary.

EU grants may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit within the framework of the work programme of the beneficiary.

Where a profit is made EASME entitled to recover: (profit x EU %)

Final payment = amount of grant reduced by surplus (pro-rata recovery)

33

Determination of final amount – the budget cannot be increased: If actual eligible expenditure is < than budgeted

expenditure EU grant decreases

If actual eligible expenditure is > than budgeted expenditure EU grant stays equal

Implementation contracts/subcontracting:

− > 60.000€ request 3 offers

− > 125.000€ publish a call

Financial support to third parties: N/A (mono-beneficiary contracts)

34

Non-cumulative award: If you benefit from an operating grant (NGO grant) you cannot charge

overheads on any action grants

Earliest start of expenditure: The start of the beneficiary's budgetary year

Earliest start date is 01/01/2016

Co-financing: The EU will only co-fund part of the work programme (up to 60%)

The applicant will have to cover its share for the eligible costs as well as all non-eligible costs

35

In the evaluation process you may be contacted by email in

case of:

Obvious clerical errors or minor omissions

Need for further clarifying information

Reply is needed within 5 days – the contact e-mail address indicated in form A3 should be active and checked on a regular basis

Main period for contacts: August – if you are on holidays, please put an out of office reply!

36

This time we must handle

deadlines stricter!

If selected in SGA

60% pre-financing after signature of the grant agreement

40% after approval of the final reports (to be submitted the latest 3 months after the end of the financial year)

EASME will follow-up on your work together with external experts (NEEMO)

37

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/funding/ngos/index.htm

For any comments or questions please send an email to:

EASME-LIFE-NGO@ec.europa.eu

38

Thank you for your attention and good luck!

Any questions / comments?

39