Brussels time
Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) is the EU's funding programme for citizens' engagement and the implementation of EU rights and values. It replaces both Europe for Citizens and the Rights, Equality and Citizenship programme.
The aim of this call for proposals is to protect, promote and raise awareness of fundamental rights and of EU values by supporting local, regional and/or national civil society organisations and by increasing their capacity.
The overall aim of this call for proposals is to protect, promote and raise awareness of fundamental rights and of EU values by supporting local, regional and/or national civil society organisations and increasing their capacity.
The purpose of this call is to select and support a limited number of intermediaries in EU Member States, capable of building the capacities of a large number of CSOs active at local, regional and/or national level in the fields covered by the CERV programme, including through providing them with financial support.
Reach out to grassroot small, remote, and rural based CSOs: intermediaries should give priority to grass-root small, remote and rural based organisations, which tend to have more limited capacity and funding sources.
A civil society organisation (CSO) is to be understood as an organisational structure whose members serve the general interest through a democratic process, and which plays the role of mediator between state authorities and citizens15. The EU considers CSOs to include all non-State, not-for-profit structures, that are non-partisan and non-violent, and that promote and protect the fundamental rights and values on which the EU is founded.
Funded activities must respect the rule of law, fundamental rights and democracy. Proposals must include both the following categories of activities:
a) Financial support to third parties (CSOs) by intermediaries
b) Capacity building for CSOs by intermediaries
Other relevant and innovative activities may be considered.
a) Financial support to third parties (CSOs) by intermediaries.
Financial support to third parties is considered essential to achieve the objective of this call for proposals and must represent a significant part of the project’s budget.
Financial support to third parties includes the following: definition of selection and award criteria, publication of calls for proposals, evaluation of applications, contracting, monitoring of implementation, including risk management, final evaluation of projects and payment.
In order to be eligible, a) the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
− be legal entities;
− be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e. EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs);
− be non-profit-making; and
− be a civil society organisation;
- All applicants (if proposal submitted by a consortium) must be legal entities formally established in one of the eligible countries.
b) the applicant or the consortium must fulfil all of the following:
− have recent proven experience of at least 3 years in implementing CSO capacity building activities;
− have recent proven experience in awarding and managing grants to CSOs; If the proposal is submitted by a consortium, the consortium must fulfil both conditions listed above. This means that these conditions can be fulfilled either by one single member of the consortium or by different members of that consortium, responsible for capacity building or awarding and managing financial support to third parties.
c) the EU grant applied for cannot be lower than EUR 2 500 000 or higher than EUR 6 000 000.
Proposals must be submitted by a consortium of at least 1 applicant (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities).
Project budgets (maximum grant amount) must range between EUR 2 500 000 and EUR 6 000 000 per project. The grant awarded may be lower than the amount requested.
Projects should have a duration of minimum 36 and maximum 48 months. Extensions are possible, if duly justified and through an amendment.
Brussels time
