EC seeks Grant Proposals for Strengthening the Civil Society Organizations and Local Authorities in Development in EU Partner Countries

The European Commission has issued a restricted call seeking proposals for projects to support the role of civil society organizations (CSO) and local authorities (NSA/LA) in development work. This call is being issued under the thematic program “Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development” (NSA/LA Program). The program aims to support actions implemented by CSO or LA to strengthen their capacities and encourage their participation in development policies and programs.

Global objective of the Call for Proposals

To support multi-country actions proposed and implemented by Local Authorities (LA) and Associations of Local Authorities (ALA) from the EU Member States and partner countries, in order:

-      to empower LA and ALA in public policy making in line with international development commitments (i.e. Millennium Development Goals);
-      to promote and support regular structured and inclusive dialogue with their communities and in multi-stakeholder forums.

Specific objectives of the Call for Proposals

-      Lot 1 – Support to LA and ALA projects implemented in two or more partner countries

Proposed actions should focus on the enhancement of capacities of Local Authorities in partner countries, with a view to contributing to the quality of public policies at local level and the reinforcement of local governance. To this end, actions could also support decentralisation in those countries where related legal framework and processes are already in place. Initiatives should be built on strategic partnerships and peer-to-peer exchange in sectors where local authorities have institutional and political competencies and responsibilities. LA from partner countries are encouraged to lead the actions, in order to implement an effective local strategy.

-      Lot 2 – Development Education and Raising Awareness on Development issues in Europe

Proposed actions should focus on Development Education and Raising Awareness7 (DEAR) in the EU and acceding countries, in order to enhance the support of European Local Authorities and European Associations of Local Authorities (ALA) to international development commitments (i.e. Millennium Development Goals), as well as to engage European LA and ALA in fostering changes in public policies connected to development issues, where LA have institutional responsibility and competencies.

Types of activity

Potential applicants are invited to present all the activities they consider necessary in order to achieve the objectives of this Call for Proposals in relation to existing local demands, and to obtain tangible results in the context where the selected projects will be implemented.

Note. This is a restricted Call for Proposals. In the first instance, only Concept Notes must be submitted for evaluation. Thereafter, applicants whose Concept Notes have been pre-selected will be invited to submit a Full Application Form. Relevance constitutes the major criterion in pre-selection. Relevance will not be evaluated again when assessing the Full Application.

Last date for submitting the proposals is February 1, 2012.

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