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Funding Programme

Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) is the EU's funding programme for citizens' engagement and the implementation of EU rights and values. Read more about CERV here.

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Call overview

This call aims to empower civil society actors to work together at the local, regional and national levels on the fields covered by the CERVprogramme.

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Call details

In line with the Charter Strategy and following up to the Charter Report 2022 on a thriving civic space for upholding fundamental rights in the EU, projects under this priority should promote rights and values by empowering civil society actors to work together at the local, regional and national levels on the fields covered by the programme. Projects should also help creating a channel of communication with the EU level to report on the state of the civic space in their countries and voice their concerns.

More specifically, projects could create a systematic and comprehensive monitoring system to regularly and consistently monitor the environment in which civil society organisations work in the national contexts, building on the Fundamental Rights Agency indicators about the shrinking civic space7 and of internal organisations’ data8, and in particular of breaches of CSOs and rights defenders’ fundamental rights.

Projects could also support and enhance the protection of CSOs, their members and rights defenders working to protect and promote EU values under attack.

Transnational partnerships with mutual learning possibilities for partners in several EU Member States are particularly encouraged to apply, as well as networks of relevant actors at national level such as National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), Equality bodies, Ombuds-institution and the national Charter Focal Points.

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Activities to be funded

• Analytical activities and creation of a methodology to monitor the civic space in EU Member States;
• Mutual learning, exchange of good practices, including those that may be transferable to other countries;
• Communication activities, including dissemination of information and awareness raising about the state of play on civic space, including towards the EU level;
• Capacity building in civil society organisations on monitoring the civic space;
• Developments of tools and services for the support and the protection of CSOs, their members and other rights defenders working to protect and promote EU values, under attack;
• Development of synergies among the actors working to protect the civic space at local, regional, national and European level and between them and the national and European authorities.

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Eligibility

In order to be eligible, the applicants (lead applicants “Coordinator”, co-applicants and affiliated entities) must:

- For lead applicants (i.e. the “Coordinator”): be non-profit legal entities (private bodies)

- For co-applicants: be non-profit or profit legal entities (public or private bodies). Organisations which are profit-oriented may apply only in partnership with private non-profit organisations;

- be formally established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.: EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))

In addition:

- Activities must take place in any of the eligible countries (EU Member States);

- The EU grant applied for cannot be lower than EUR 75 000;

- The project can be either national or transnational; the application may involve one or more organisations (lead applicant “Coordinator” and co-applicants).

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Consortium

Proposals must be submitted by a consortium of at least 1 applicant (beneficiary; not affiliated entities).

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Duration

Projects should normally range between 12 and 24 months (extensions are possible, if duly justified and through an amendment).

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Budget

No limit. The grant awarded may be lower than the amount requested.

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