Grant Scheme for Grassroots Civil Society Organizations (GRS)

Grant Scheme for Grassroots Civil Society Organizations (GRS)

Call for Proposals CFCU/TR2014/DG/04/A1-04

(EuropeAid/139044/ID/ACT/TR)

issued by the CFCU on 21June2017 with deadline of 18August2017

Clarifications

Note 1: Most of the questions that have been received concerning this call for proposals (call) can be answered by carefully reading the guidelines for grant applicants (guidelines).

Note 2:Please note that in the interest of equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority does not give prior opinion on the eligibility of a lead applicant, a co-applicant, an action or specific activities (Please see Section 2.2.4 of the guidelines).

Please further note that the replies given to the questions on the eligibility of the applicants are provided solely for the question asked without consideration of whether the other eligibility criteria stated in the guidelines (Sections 2.1.1 and 2.1.2) are fulfilled or not.

General Issues

1.Could you explain the term “co-applicant”? What are the roles and responsibilities of the co-applicant?

A co-applicant participates in designing and implementing the action, and the costs the co-applicant incurs are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant. The co-applicant authorises the lead applicant to submit on their behalf the application and to sign the standard grant contract with the Contracting Authority (Central Finance and Contracts Unit), as well as, to be represented by the lead applicant in all matters concerning the grant contract.

The co-applicant accepts to prepare the concept note and full application form and its annexes together with the lead applicant.

2.It is stated that the grant application form Part A - concept note should not exceed 5 pages. However, there are some explanations under each question. Should these sections also be included when calculating 5-page limit?

No. As stated in the instructions for drafting the concept note, when filling in the concept note, all the explanations (except the questions itself) should be deleted by the applicants. Only the questions and the replies provided by the applicants will be considered when checking the page limit. Please see grant application form Part A, Section-1.

3.Which font and font size should be used while writing the concept note?

As stated in “1.Instructions for Drafting the Concept Note” the applicants must ensure that the text is prepared by using Arial 10 characters with 2 cm margins, single line spacing (“0 pt” spacing before and after). Please also see Reply-2.

4.Who will assess the project proposals?

Applications will be examined and evaluated by an evaluation committeewith the possible assistance of external assessors.

The evaluation is under the responsibility of the CFCU, as the Contracting Authority, and will be carried out in line with the steps explained and the evaluation grids given in the guidelines under “Section 2.3 Evaluation and Selection of Applications”.

5.What is the composition of the evaluation committee for the subject Grant Scheme?

Selection and implementation of the actions financed under this call, appointment and composition of the evaluation committee shall be in conformitywiththePracticalGuide (available at: that is also referenced in the guidelines. Considering confidentiality of the evaluation stage no other information related to the evaluation committee (formed in line with Section 2.8.1 of the Practical Guide) can be revealed.

6.When and where the info-days will be organized?

Announcement about the locations, dates and venues of the info-days organised for this call was published at the CFCU website ( and the Ministry for EU Affairswebsite( on 03.07.2017 and updated on 07.07.2017 and 10.07.2017. Please also be informed that the info-days were organised on 10-11-12July in Ankara, 17-18 July in Antalya,20-21 July in İzmir and 24-25 July in İstanbul.

7.Can you provide information and documents shared during info-days for those who could not participate?

The presentation made during the info-days has been published at the CFCU website( EuropeAid website ( and Ministry for EU Affairs website (

8.Can we get external support/hire a consultancy firm for the preparation of our proposal? Can the project be prepared by the co-applicant?

The decision of using external assistance for the preparation of the proposal and/or preparation of the project by the co-applicant is up to the Applicant.

However, please note that the “Declaration by the Lead Applicant” that is to be signed by the Applicant (see Part A section 3and Part B section 8 of the grant application form) and Section 2.1.1 of the guidelines clearly state that the Applicant is directly responsible for the preparation, management and implementation of the action with the co-applicant(s), if any, and is not acting as an intermediary. In addition, please be reminded that costs incurred prior to the signature of the contract (including such consultancy costs) are ineligible costs, and thus cannot be included in the project budget (neither as grant nor as co-financing) with the exception of the cases falling under Article 14.1 (iv) of the General Conditions.

9.Can you explain the guidance note stated in the Section 1.3.1 (ii) of Grant Application Form(PartA);relevance of the action to any specific sub-themes/sectors/areas and any other specific requirements stated in the guidelines?

As stated in the Section 2.1.4 of the guidelines, sector or themes is defined for this call as “improving skills of grassroots CSOs”.

Moreover, sectors and areas related to your project idea may also be explained in this section, if deemed necessary by the applicant.

10.How many applicants, whose applications arefound successful in the concept note evaluation step, will be invited to full application stage?Will there be a reserve/substitute list?

As stated in Section 2.3 of the guidelines, once all concept notes that pass the administrative check are assessed, a list will be drawn up with the proposed actions rankedaccording to their total scores. Then the number of concept notes that are pre-selected(scored above 30points out of 50) will be reduced, taking account of the ranking, to the number of concept notes whose total aggregate amount of requested contributions is equal to 300% of the available budget (EUR 5.250.000,00) for this call.

No reserve/substitute list will be drawn up.

11.Can you provide an example about the gender mainstreaming; is it enough to have a female manager?

As it is clearly stated under the Important Note 2; all projects are expected to ensure gender mainstreaming in all activities. In addition, under the Section 2.3 Evaluation and Selection of Applicants, the promotion of gender equality and equal opportunities is listed as one of the added value elements to be considered during the concept note evaluation to assess the Project in terms of relevance.

Taking into consideration the explanations above, the applicants are expected to respect the gender mainstreaming in the Project as a whole, such as equal participation of men and women to the project activities,not in one single aspect of it. Please note that the gender mainstreaming is not limited to the given example.

Eligibility of Applicants (i.e. lead applicants, co-applicants)

(Section 2.1.1of the guidelines)

12.Who can apply to this call?

As stated in Section 2.1.1 of the guidelines, in order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:

be a legal person, and
be non-profit-making, and
be established in a Member State of the European Union or Turkey or an eligible country according to the IPA Regulation, and
be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s), not acting as an intermediary, and
be grassroots CSOs from Turkey (associations and foundations), or
be grassroots CSOs from the EU Member States or other eligible countries except Turkey (associations; foundations; associations and foundations established as non-for-profit companies/charitable organizations), and
be established before the launch date of call (21.06.2017).

Please also see footnotes 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 in the guidelines.

13.Can you explain the term of “local initiative”?

Within the context of this grant scheme, a local initiative is defined as an act of local peoplefor realising a specific and common purpose.

14.Can you explain the Grassroots CSO’s term?

As stated in Section 2.1.1 of the guidelines (footnotes 7-8), a grassroots civil society organisation is a self-organised group of individuals pursuing common interests through a volunteer-based, non-profit organisation. Within the context of this grant scheme, a grassroots CSO is a type of CSO:

a)Which is established through a local initiative by local people, and

b)Which has no branches, and

c)Which has annual income (including membership fees, donations and funds) of max. Euro 60.000 in the last fiscal year.

A civil society organization (CSO) is an organization:

- which is independent of the state as regards to its establishment and/or appointment of its personnel and administrators; and

- which has an autonomous and democratic structure in its financial and administrative affairs; and

- which has a non-profit legal entity.

15.Can an entity apply to this call without any co-applicants or associates?

Yes, as stated in Section 2.1.1 of guidelines, a lead applicant may act individually or with co-applicant(s).

The lead applicants are not required to apply with an associate (Please see Section 2.1.3 of the guidelines).

16.We are a Turkish entity. Can we apply without any foreign co-applicant?

Yes.Please also see Reply-15.

17.Can an entity be a co-applicant in more than one project that will be submitted under this call?

As stated in Section 2.1.4 of the guidelines under heading “Number of applications and grants per applicants”;a co-applicant may be the co-applicant in more than one application under this call.However, it should be noted that an entity can be awarded only one grant.

18.We are a CSOworking in (X) sector. Is our CSO eligible?

As stated in Section 2.2.4 of the guidelines, “to ensure equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of lead applicants, co-applicant(s), an action or specific activities”. Please also see Reply-12 and 14.

19.In order to be eligible for application do we need to demonstrate that the area of the submitted project is within the working field of our organization as mentioned in our statute?

No.However, it should be kept in mind that applicants’ past experiences regarding the knowledge of the issues to be addressed, will be assessed during the technical evaluation of the projects.

20.Can branches of CSOs apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant?

No. Please see Section 2.1.1 and Important Note 1 of the guidelines. However, they can participate in the projects as “associates” as long as they play a real role in the action and bring added value for reaching the project objectives.

21.Can headquarters of an association/foundation apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant?

No.However, they can participate in the projects as “associates” as long as they play a real role in the action and bring added value for reaching the project objectives. Please be reminded that a CSO which has a branch(es) can not apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant. Please see Section 2.1.1 of the guidelines.

22.Can universitiesapply as a lead applicant or co-applicant?

No. Please see Section 2.1.1 of the guidelines. However, they can participate in the projects as “associates” as long as they play a real role in the action and bring added value for reaching the project objectives.

23. Can municipalities apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant?

No. Please see Section 2.1.1 of the guidelines.However, they can participate in the projects as “associates” as long as they play a real role in the action and bring added value for reaching the project objectives.

24.Can exporters' unions apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant?

25.Can cooperatives apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant?

26.Can association federations apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant?

As long as the entity satisfies the eligibility criteria stated in the Section 2.1.1 of the guidelines, it can apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant.

27.Can associations which have representative offices/contact office/bureaus apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant?

Yes. Associations/foundations that do not have branches but has representative offices/contact offices/bureaus can apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant.

28.Can professional organizations apply either as a lead applicant, co-applicant or associate?

29.Can city council (Kent Konseyi) apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant?

As long as the entity satisfies the eligibility criteria stated in the Section 2.1.1 of the guidelines, it can apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant.

30.Can representative offices of associations/foundations (Temsilcilikler) apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant?

31.Can private enterprisesapply as a lead applicant or co-applicant?

32.Can students’ clubs of universities apply as alead applicant or co-applicant?

As long as the entity satisfies the eligibility criteria stated in the Section 2.1.1 of the guidelines, it can apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant.

33.Can public interest associations(Kamu yararına çalışan dernek) apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant?

As long as the entity satisfies the eligibility criteria stated in the Section 2.1.1 of the guidelines, it can apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant.

34.In the statute of ourassociation/foundation, it is stated that wecan open new branches, but currently we do not have any. Can we apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant?

Yes. However, as stated in Section 2.4 of the guidelines official confirmation will be sought from the relevant authorities on whether the lead applicant and the co-applicant(if any) have any branches or not.

35.Can CSOs which are established in Switzerland apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant?

36.Can we apply with the same project, which is suitable for “Grant Scheme for Grassroots Civil Society Organizations” and “Grant Scheme for CSO Partnerships and Networks on Strengthening Cooperation between Public Sector and CSOs”?

Yes. However, it is highly recommended to submit the proposal for the most suitable call, considering the project’s specific objectives as well as the priority areas, budget amount and actions defined in the Sections 1.2 and 2.1.4 of the guidelines.

37.Our association's annual profit amount is more than 60.000 Euros.In this context, can we apply as a lead applicant or co-applicant?

No. Please see Section 2.1.1 and footnote 7 of the guidelines.

38.Should the average annual income or annual income of the last fiscal year for foundation/associations be below 60.000 Euros to apply? Will commercial enterprise income be included to calculation?

In context of the limitation of 60.000 Euros, applicants should have annual income which is 60.000 Euros or below in the last fiscal year.Please also see Corrigendum-I.

39.Which exchange rate will be used when calculating the annual income?

The exchange rate to be used is the average of theInforEuro exchange rates for the last fiscal year. The InforEuro rates can be found on the following web address:

Eligibility of Actions

(Section 2.1.4 of the guidelines)

40.We have implemented (X) project. How will the proficiency of the institution be determined?

If the concept note is pre-selected, financial and operational capacity of the applicants will be evaluated during the full application form evaluation. During the assessment, information about the previous experience of the applicants (lead applicant and co-applicant(s) (if any))written in the relevant sections of the full application form is considered according to the questions in the Evaluation Grid provided in the Section 2.3 of the guidelines.

In this manner, all experience considered as appropriate should be reflected in the relevant sections of the full application form. However, please note that as this is a restricted call, only the concept notes will be submitted at this stage.

It is important to note that in this section of the Evaluation Grid, while the operational capacities of all the involved parties (lead applicant and co-applicant) are considered; only the lead applicant’s finance sources are taken into account for the financial capacity.

41.For newly established foundation/associations, do the capabilities and experience of its member make a positive contribution during the evaluation stage?

The final assessment of whether capabilities and experience of its members make a positive contribution or not will be carried out by the Evaluation Committee considering the application form. Please also see Reply-40.

42.May the applicants that are currently implementing EU grant projects submit proposals under this call?

Yes. However, it is strongly recommended that the applicants check their financial and operational capacities (including financial and human resources) to implement several projects at the same time. In addition, the applicants should take necessary measures to prevent overlapping of costs and may be requested to submit explanation for requesting similar costs claimed in different projects.

43.We would like to submit a (X) project under (Y) priority area. Is this project eligible?

As stated in Section 2.2.4 of the guidelines, “to ensure equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of lead applicants, co-applicant(s),an action or specific activities”. Therefore, please carefully read Section 2.1.4 of the guidelines regarding the actions for which a grant may be awarded.