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Section 1: General Information for Applicants
CEE Central and Eastern European countries;
for the purpose of this guide this refers to the 10 applicant countries
in Central and Eastern Europe This guide is intended for use by the Soros national foundations, network programmes and their grantees. It was first produced and available on the OSI website in 1999 and was updated in April 2000 and again in August 2001, so as to reflect changes in EU programmes. It provides an overview of EU programmes that are open to NGOs from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), South Eastern Europe (SEE) and the Newly Independent States (NIS). It also includes programmes that, although not currently open to CEE and NIS, will soon be available for the candidate countries for accession. In some instances, NGOs based in the candidate countries are now eligible to participate as partners in programmes although they are not eligible for funding and this has been signaled where applicable. It should also be noted that the programmes open to CEEC "participation only” generally require the countries to have signed relevant agreements with the EU in order to participate. Information as to whether or not these agreements have been signed is most easily obtained from the EC delegations. Although most EU funding to CEE and NIS is channelled through national governments, various programmes exist that provide direct financial support to NGOs (including institutes of higher education). Given the limited amount of resources of these programmes and the 'well-funded' image of SFN, it is unrealistic to think that the Soros national foundations themselves can apply for considerable levels of EU funding. However, collaboration is possible either by informing grantees about EU programmes that provide funding for NGOs or by the co-financing of our grantees with the European Commission through the programmes mentioned in the following pages. It is worth noting that this guide only lists programmes managed by the EU in Brussels. Local collaboration and/or funding managed in-country by the EC's delegations under such programme as PHARE, TACIS or CARDS may also be available. You should contact the EC delegations directly to ascertain what is available from them. In preparing this guide, it quickly became apparent that one has to be extremely vigilant in following the publications of the Official Journal of the European Communities and the relevant websites for calls for proposals (see website addresses below). Often, a call for proposal is published only a couple of months before the deadline. OSI-Brussels has, however, been sending out email notices to the relevant SFN programme co-ordinators, informing them of upcoming deadlines, and will continue to do so. For your own benefit though, we would encourage you to keep a close eye on the website of any programme that is of particular interest to you. We would also like to point out that this is not the only, nor the most comprehensive guide to funding from the EU. It is meant, rather, as a simplified introduction and overview of funding possibilities that is easily accessible on the internet. A more detailed guide for NGOs in the candidate countries, that also includes environmental programmes, is available from the Euro Citizen Action Service (ECAS) at the cost of euro 30. For further information on their publications please consult their website, www.ecas.org, or email them at admin@ecas.org. However, it should also be noted that all the information concerning EU funding is available on the Europa website, and monitoring the relevant pages regularly will give you the most up-to-date developments. Links to specific programme websites are given under every programme entry, alternatively some important general sites are listed below. Official Journal of the European Communities European Commission EC Delegations PHARE Multi-Beneficiary Programme TACIS useful contacts Education Programmes Justice Programmes Health Programmes Social Issues EuropeAid calls for proposals and tender Before submitting an application for one of the programmes described in this guide, you might want to consider the following questions. - If you are part of the Soros Foundations Network, have you consulted OSI-Brussels about your chances of obtaining EU funding? - Have you looked at all possible programmes of the European Commission to ensure that you have chosen the best opportunity for funding? Remember that you may not apply to more than one programme for the same project.
- Have you checked the relevant website to ensure that you have the latest information and application forms? - Does your project meet the eligibility requirements? Are you financially eligible? - Does your project meet some or all of the priorities and selection criteria for the particular programme? - If you are part of the Soros Foundations Network, you are welcome to submit a draft of your project to OSI-Brussels for a "common sense” check. - If the programme you are applying under requires partners, have you found them? - Can you meet the financial management requirements? - Have you attached all required documents to your application? For example, resumes of relevant personnel, statutes and/or articles of association, and a project summary? - Have you completed all questions on the application form? The European Commission will reject an incomplete application. - Have you specified in your application how your project falls within the priorities of the particular EU programme? Does your project meet the needs of the country concerned and the target beneficiaries? - Have you specified in your application how your project complements or differs from similar projects that are being or have been carried out by other organisations? - Did you include a description of how you will implement the project? - Have you calculated your budget in Euros? - Have you specified how the results of your project will be disseminated? - Do you have sufficient capacity to implement the project? - Have you specified how you will evaluate the project? - If you are part of the Soros Foundations Network, have you informed OSI-Brussels about your application and sent them a copy?
euro = eligible for funding * = may participate, although not eligible for funding ? = probable, although unconfirmed ^a = explained in glossary |