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Home> Projects>Call for Proposals: ECAS Grant-making to its Members in the EU

Call for Proposals: ECAS Grant-making to its Members in the EU

  • Objectives, Funding and Requirements
  • Timeframe and how to apply
  • Results

ECAS is pleased to launch the call for proposals for its members “ECAS Grant-making to its members in the EU”, which is part of the EURECA (European Citizenship Accelerator) Framework Agreement, co-funded by the Citizenship, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme of the European Union.

Purpose and objectives of the call

The purpose of ECAS re-granting to its members based in the EU is to provide them with an opportunity to contribute to the achievement of the EURECA 2023 objectives, in the areas of Citizenship Rights and European Democracy.

ECAS member organisations’ projects should contribute to the achievement of at least one of the following objectives:

  • strengthened capacity to protect and promote EU rights and values;
  • more supportive environment for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and rights defenders such as national human rights institutions;
  • better developed advocacy and watchdog role of CSOs;
  • increased involvement of CSOs in policy- and decision-making processes with local, regional and national governments;
  • increased citizen awareness of EU rights and values;
  • strengthened regional cooperation within civil society.

As the EURECA project, in the framework of which the approved for funding projects of the ECAS’s members will be implemented, is co-funded by ECAS as well, the successful grantees (applicants approved for funding) will be asked to:

– contribute to the ECAS own funding of EURECA 2023 project by allocating to ECAS an amount, equal to 20% of the budget of their projects within 14 days after the signing of the Grant Agreement;

–  ensure that their financial contribution to ECAS comes from non-EU funded sources and

– sign a Declaration of Honour, stating the origin of the contributing funds.

The above-mentioned financial contribution of ECAS members would support ECAS in executing state-of-the-art management of the grant-making scheme for members and high-quality Communication and Dissemination activities, including organisation of the introductory meeting for funded projects with all grantees in Brussels.

Financial support available

In 2023 ECAS will regrant the amount of EUR 380,000 and expects to fund about 9-10 projects through:

  1. Financial support of up to 25 000 EUR for projects implemented at community level or for specific communities (communities are understood not only in geographical sense, but also as identity-based).
  2. Financial support of up to 60 000 EUR for projects implemented on a national or trans-national level by ECAS members who are network organisations or ECAS members who are individual organisations leading a consortium, including at least two other relevant partners.

The usual project payment scheme will include a pre-payment of 80% of the grant and a final payment (after reporting) of 20% (more details are available in Annex B – Guidelines for Applicants).

Who can apply

  • Organisation applying for a grant of up to 25 000 EUR:

All ECAS members that are registered as legal entities, non-profit organisations in a Member States of the European Union, and respect the EU values – with the exception of any member organisation being affiliated entity(ies), branches, associated partners or sub-contractors of ECAS.

  • Organisation applying for a grant of up to 60 000 EUR:

ECAS members who meet the above-mention conditions and are either networks of organisations or individual organisations leading a consortium, including at least two other relevant partners.

Projects can be implemented in partnership with other legal entities (public or private bodies), established in the same or in other EU Member States.

What is the funding for?

The following activities taking place in the EU are eligible for financial support in the areas of Citizenship Rights and European Democracy:

  • awareness raising and outreach campaigns, including communication and public information campaigns through social media, among the general public and key actors;
  • organisation of civic platforms and civic dialogues linked to EU rights and values themes;
  • coalitions and partnership-building among CSOs; coordination and strategic cooperation between CSOs and other stakeholders, public or private sector entities;
  • watchdog and monitoring activities on EU policies and rights and values;
  • training and capacity-building of key stakeholders;
  • promotion of adopted policies, legislation and Court practice;
  • lobbying/advocacy to influence policy and decision-making processes and practices;
  • research and analysis aimed at knowledge building and fostering the development of tools and standards to support EU rights and values.

All projects’ duration should not exceed six months.

All projects should demonstrate a clear European dimension in their activities.

Specific for projects receiving a grant of up to 60 000 EUR: projects under this strand should foresee a national or cross-country coverage, with the aim of creating a wide-scale effect.

  • Timeline

Candidates will have to submit their applications through the ECAS website before 20th April, 23:59 CEST. To answer this call, applicants are required to follow the process outlined below:

  • Step 1: Carefully check the Guidelines for Applicants.
  • Step 2: Fill-in the Application Form, add or complete all mandatory annexes listed in it, and transform it into a single PDF file. The budget table can be completed in a separate excel file.
  • Step 3: Register your organisation in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and get a Participant Identification Code (PIC) following the instructions available at this link.

Please carefully read the form instructions and the Guidelines for Applicants before completing your application!

  • Step 4:  Submit your proposal’s documents before 20th April 2023, 23:59 CEST, via this link.

When applying for the ECAS Grant-making call, please also note that:

  • Only applications using the provided templates and submitted before the deadline will be considered for evaluation.
  • All sections must be written in English for the proposal to be eligible.
  • Multiple proposals are not possible under this call. Thus, a member organization can take part in only one application.

Online information sessions:

An informational webinar for all eligible ECAS members will be held on 3rd March 2023, 11.00-13.00 CET. Recordings will be made available in this dedicated ECAS webpage.

Link to registration

Link to recordings 

Application guidelines and documents

Application form

You can find the application form for this call here.

After the evaluation of proposals, the results of the call are available here.

Questions and Answers

Can an ECAS member organisation who is leading a consortium for a proposal participate, at the same time, in another applying consortium as a partner (not leader)?

No, it cannot. ECAS indeed wishes to provide as many members as possible with funding for projects. Furthermore, the timeframe for projects’ implementation is very short; therefore, to ensure quality implementation, members are allowed to participate only in one project.

For members applying for grants of up to 25’000, could a statement of solvency replace the 20% project’s budget contribution to ECAS own funding of the EURECA 2023 project?

Unfortunately, this is not possible. ECAS’ regranting scheme is also co-funded only by 80% by the CERV operating grant of the European Union; therefore, the 20% contribution is necessary to allow operational implementation of the re-granting. The 100% of projects’ budget will then be paid by ECAS to grantees, in two instalments (one after signature of the grant agreement, and one after approval of the final report).

In case of consortium applications, can the financial capacity check take into account the capacity of the consortium as a whole, instead of the one of the consortium leader only?

Yes, the financial capacity assessment can consider the whole consortium, if the consortium leader expressly requests for that and agrees on this with partners.

In order to be eligible, do consortia need to be pre-existing, or can they be formed specifically for the project proposal?

Consortia can be set up for the purpose of the project.

Are advocacy activities including the participation of children eligible for this call?

It depends on if they can fit in the list of eligible activities (see Guidelines for applicants).

Are development activities for projects eligible for the call?

The staff costs for developing the project proposals are not eligible. Eligible activities for the call are listed in Annex B – Guidelines for applicants.

Does ECAS foresee to develop a search tool or contact database for the research of projects’ partners?

Not for 2023, but this might be considered for the next editions of the regranting programme as from 2024.

As the time for the reporting is very limited, will templates and requirements for the final report be available in advance?

Yes, templates for reporting are already available in Annex C and the model financial statement annexed to the call for proposals. Instructions and template for preparing an executive summary of the technical report will also be sent to grantees in advance.

Is it possible to apply for an amount lower than 25 000 EUR?

Yes, it is. This ceiling indicates the maximum amount for sole beneficiaries carrying out projects at grassroot level.

Do consortium partners have to be ECAS members?

Consortium leaders must be ECAS members. Other consortium partners (not leaders) can be non-member organisations, provided that they are legal entities based in the EU and respect EU values as set out in Art.2 of the Treaty on European Union and the EU Charter of fundamental rights.

Can consortium partners (other than consortium leaders) be individuals (natural persons) and/or be based in a non-EU country?

No, partners must be legal entities established in a member state of the European Union.

Is co-funding of projects by other sources allowed?

The project funded by ECAS can co-exist (implemented in parallel) with another complementary project, but project proposals for the ECAS Grant-making will be assessed by the evaluators as stand-alone projects and therefore must result eligible and relevant on their own (without taking into account the activities implemented in the complementary projects).

Can ECAS’ partners, affiliated entities or subcontractors for projects other than EURECA (European Citizenship Accelerator) apply for this call?

Yes, they can. Only ECAS’ partners, affiliated entities, or subcontractors for the EURECA project are not eligible for this call.

I would like to apply as a project leader in a consortium with other partners. The financial capacity of my organisation would be sufficient to manage this type of grant. Is it then possible to provide supporting documents and Declaration of Honour only from the lead organisation?

In the above-mentioned case, you would need to provide:

1) supporting documentation proving the financial capacity of the consortium leader (e.g., main figures from their profit and loss account, balance sheet – in English) and

2) Declarations of Honour from all consortium partners.

Could target groups for project activities taking place in the EU include citizens of other nationalities (e.g., EU countries’ residents with non-EU nationality, refugee persons or individuals in exile)?

There are no limitations on the target groups involved as far as the project activities take place in an EU Member State.

If my application is selected, my organisation must first pay a 20% deposit and then it will receive 80% of the grant once the agreement is signed and the remaining 20% back once the final report is validated. Is that correct?

The 20% is your contribution to the ECAS co-financing of the EURECA 2023 project. It is not a deposit. If successful, your project will be financed 100% by ECAS in two instalments (unless your financial risk assessment requires a different scheme).

The status of the 20% (cash) contribution is a donation.

Do the character limits in the application form include spaces?

Yes, the character limits in the form include spaces and punctuation.

Contact: Anita Marullo

Application guidelines and documents

How to report irregularities?