Call for proposals to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities

Date de clôture : 1 juin 2020  
APPEL À PROJET CLÔTURÉ

1. INTRODUCTION – BACKGROUND

1.1.  Programme/Legal base

This Call for Proposals is published under the Regulation (EU) No 1381/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme for the period 2014 to 2020 ('REC Programme')1.

The annual work programme for 20192 was published on 29/11/2018.

1.2.  Policy and economic background

By 2020, one-fifth of the EU population is expected to have some form of disability. The EU and its Member States are committed to improving social and economic situation of persons with disabilities and promote the active inclusion and full participation of persons with disability in society. Socio-economic trends such as ageing and information and communication technology (ICT) bring new opportunities in this area but also particular challenges on issues that have an EU dimension for example on accessibility and assistive technologies.

The EU is party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). This treaty entered into force for the EU on January 2011. Its purpose is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities. It concerns all areas of life, for example education and employment, equality and non-discrimination, accessibility, political participation, independent living, social protection, freedom of movement and many others.The UNCRPD has guided the content of the European disability strategy 2010- 20203. The latter identifies actions at EU level to complement and support national efforts in eight priority areas: (1) Accessibility, (2) Participation, (3) Equality, (4) Employment, (5) Education and Training, (6) Social protection, (7) Health, and (8) External Action. The Commission is preparing a follow-up initiative for the period beyond 2020. The EU sent its first report to the UN Committee on the Rights of persons with Disabilities in 2014 and in 2015, the EU received the Concluding observations from the Committee with recommendations for implementation.

The European Pillar of Social Rights, jointly proclaimed by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on 17 November 2017, reflects the unanimous support by all EU institutions and the Member States on 20 Principles and rights essential for fair and well-functioning labour markets and welfare systems. The Principles of the Social Pillar range from inclusion of people with disabilities to equal opportunities, quality and inclusive education, work-life balance, support to children, long-term care or access to essential services. Disability is mainstreamed in all relevant principles.

Some EU recent key initiatives that illustrate actions implementing the Strategy are:

- the European Accessibility Act on the accessibility requirements of products and services (EU directive 2019/882) or the pilot project for an EU disability card;

- awareness-raising events on the living conditions of persons with disabilities, the challenges they encounter in everyday life and tools to improve their lives. Every year the Access City Award, the European Day of Persons with Disabilities conference and the Work Forum that assesses the implementation of the UNCRPD are organised.

In 2019, the Commission has also organised a one-year awareness raising campaign on discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, race and ethnic origins, religion and beliefs, age and disabilities (#EuvsDiscrimination)4;

- financial support through an annual grant to a number of EU-level organisations acting for the rights of persons with disabilities and NGOs (under the Rights, Equality and Citizenship programme) to make their participation in EU-level processes easier;

- contract with European disability experts that provide the European Commission with analysis of data and policies from the EU Member States. It manages DOTCOM, an online tool that monitors policy instruments related to the UNCRPD in the EU and Member States.

Further examples of disability activities in the area of transport, access to justice, information and communication technologies, development cooperation can be found in the progress report on the strategy adopted in February 2017.5

Main Purposes

This calls for proposals aims to support specific activities of disability stakeholders active in the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and to support the Commission’s ongoing and future disability initiatives including the implementation of the European Disability Strategy and the European Pillar of Social Rights, in particular Principles 1, 12, 17, 19 and 20.

OBJECTIVE(S) – PRIORITIES – TYPES OF ACTIONS - EXPECTED RESULTS

Objectives – Priorities

The objectives of this call are to:

promote the collection, exchange and dissemination of innovative good practice for the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and for their active inclusion and full participation in the society taking into account socio economic trends such as the ageing of the population and digitalisation.

fill in data gaps related to the situation of persons with disabilities in specific areas such as for example on deinstitutionalisation and independent living, social protection, education, accessibility markets or assistive technology service delivery.

Description of the activities to be funded / Type of actions

The types of activities that may be funded under this call for proposals include:

•  studies, researches, analyses, surveys, evaluations, collection of data and statistics; development of common methodologies and, where appropriate, indicators or benchmarks; elaboration and publication of guides, reports and educational material;

•   mutual learning, peer reviews, workshops, experts' meetings and conferences;

•   training activities, train-the-trainer events and the development of online training tools or

  other training modules;

•   awareness-raising and dissemination activities, such as the identification of, and exchanges concerning, good practices, innovative approaches and experiences; media campaigns; compilation and publication of materials to disseminate information about the Programme and its results; the development, operation and maintenance of systems and tools using information and communication technologies.

  Proposed actions should be creative and propose innovative measures whilst building on existing good practice where relevant. The instrument or combination of instruments proposed should be adequate to address the issues at stake and be targeted to achieve the objectives set.

2.3.  Expected outputs/results

•   Good practices for the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities and for their active inclusion and full participation in the society have been collected, exchanged and disseminated;

•   Information to fill in data gaps has been collected;

•   Advice and recommendations by experts and grassroots, in particular for ongoing or

  future Commission initiatives, have been produced;

•   Support to the full implementation of the European Disability Strategy, European Pillar of Social Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at EU, national, regional and local levels, has increased.

2.4.  Other elements to be taken into account

When drafting the proposal, applicants are invited to pay particular attention to the following elements:

 The proposal should: (1) provide a clear explanation of the rationale and problem definition/analysis underpinning the proposed action, as well as the specific contribution of the action to the objectives of the call for proposals and its expected impact; (2) include a methodology for implementation that allows monitoring of progress and identification of results; (3) include a detailed dissemination plan to promote at EU level the results of the action, including a dissemination event.

 The choice of organisations involved and countries covered should be duly explained as regards their relevance towards the specific objectives of the action and their EU dimension.

The Commission may organise an event in Brussels or foresee a video conference to present results and possible future developments. Applicants must therefore ensure that the travel, daily subsistence allowances and accommodation costs for up to two persons (max. 2 nights) to attend this meeting are included in their proposed project budget or that they have the necessary equipment to support conference calls or video conferences. If the applicant fails to do this, the Commission will not be able to fund the beneficiary's participation in the networking day.

3. TIMETABLE

a) Publication of the call

End March 2020

b) Deadline for questions and requests for clarification

18/05/2020

c) Deadline for submitting applications

01/06/2020

Swim, Courier and Post : 24:00 Brussels' time (CET)

Hand deliveries 16:00 Brussels' time (CET) 6

d) Evaluation period (indicative)

Until end of August 2020

e) Information to applicants (indicative)

October 2020

f) Signature of the grant agreements (indicative)

November 2020

g) Starting date of the action (indicative)

01 January 2021

3.1. Starting date and duration of the projects

The actual starting date of the actions will either be the first day following the date when the last of the two parties signs the grant agreement, the first day of the month following the date when the last of the two parties signs or a date agreed upon between the parties.

Applicants should note that if their project is selected, they may receive the grant agreement after the start date of the action that they have indicatively set in the application form. It is therefore advisable to number the months in the work programme instead of indicating the name of the month or the date.

No expenditure can be incurred before the date of submission of the application. Any expenditure incurred before the signature of the Grant Agreement may be considered eligible but it will be at the applicant’s risk if the applicant cannot demonstrate the imperative need for starting the action prior to signature of the agreement.

The indicative duration of the project should be 24 months.

4. AVAILABLE BUDGET AND CO-FINANCING RATE

4.1.  Available Budget

The total budget earmarked for the EU co-financing of projects under this call is estimated at EUR 1 320 000.

EU grant requested should indicatively be between EUR 250 000 and EUR 500 000 (and cannot be lower than EUR 100 000). The European Commission is favourable to larger scale actions.

The Commission reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

The Commission reserves the right to increase the amount of the funds, if available, and distribute them to proposals admitted in the possible reserve list.This top-up of the budget is limited to 20% of the initial budget of the call.

4.2.  Co-financing rate

Under this call for proposals, the EU grant may not exceed 80% of the total eligible costs of the action. The applicants must guarantee their co-financing of the remaining amount covered by the applicants' own resources or from sources other than the European Union budget7.

Although, International Organisations8 may be entitled to different co-financing provisions under their bilateral agreements with the EU, it must be noted that the rule of the Call will prevail for proposals submitted by an International Organisation.

5. ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

•   Applications must be sent no later than the deadline for submission referred to in section 3(c)

•   Applications (meaning, the application form, including the annexes “budget explanation for the project” and “description of the action and work plan”) must be submitted using the electronic submission system available at https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/swim, and by sending a signed, printed version of the complete application form (including all documents specified in the check-list) by post or courier service (one original dossier and two copies, see section 16).

Failure to comply with one of the above requirements may lead to the rejection of the application.

Applicants are encouraged to submit their project proposal in English in order to facilitate the treatment of the proposals and speed up the evaluation process. It should be noted, however, that proposals submitted in any of the official languages of the EU will be accepted. In this case, applications shall be accompanied by an executive summary in English (see checklist, point 3).

6. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant.

For British Applicants: please be aware that following the entry into force of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement9 on 01 February 2020 and in particular Articles 127(6)10, 13711 and 13812, the references to natural or legal persons residing or established in a Member State of the European Union are to be understood as including natural or legal persons residing or established in the United Kingdom. UK residents and entities are therefore eligibile to participate under this call.13

6.1. Eligibility of the applicants (lead and co-applicants)14

a) Place of establishment

Legal entities properly established and registered in one of the countries participating in REC programme15 are eligible as lead applicant and co-applicants:

•   EU Member States;

•   Iceland and Liechtenstein;  Serbia16.

b) Type of entities17

To be eligible, the lead applicant and co-applicant(s) must be public entities or private organisations, or international organisations. Organisations that are profit-oriented must submit applications in partnership with public entities or private non-profit-oriented organisations.

c) Consortia18

To be eligible, actions must have the involvement of a consortium (lead applicant and minimum one co-applicant).

d) Affiliated entities

Affiliated entities to the applicant(s) are NOT eligible to receive funding under this call for proposal. If affiliated entities want to participate, they may participate as co-applicants.

e) Associate organisations
An associate organisation can participate in the action but may not declare eligible costs.

Conditions of rejections

If the lead applicant is considered not to be eligible, the application will be rejected.

If a co-applicant is considered not to be eligible, this co-applicant will be removed from the consortium. The related activities and forecasted costs will be removed as well from the proposal. The eligibility of the modified consortium will then be re-evaluated without the said co-applicant’s activities and costs. If the application is accepted for funding, the Commission would propose to award the funds with the necessary corrections and request a revised work plan and budget from the applicant to be adapted as appropriate.

6.2. Eligible activities

a) Geographical Location

The project can be either national or transnational.

To be eligible, actions must be fully carried out in eligible participating REC countries:

•   EU Member State;

•   Iceland and Liechtenstein;  Serbia.

This applies equally to activities carried out by International Organisations.

Activities taking place in other countries are therefore not eligible in this Call for proposals. However, where the participation of the beneficiary's representatives to events organised by International Organisations outside the eligible countries is directly linked to the work plan and essential for achieving its objectives (e.g. related to the UN and the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities), related travel and accommodation costs (departing from an eligible country) might be accepted as eligible. This must be duly justified in the work plan and will be subject to individual assessment by the Commission. Prior written authorisation is compulsory.

b) Types of activities
The grant will finance inter alia the activities indicated in section 2.2.
c) Core activities
The following activities are core activities and may not be subcontracted:

Project coordination/management activities;

Key activities requiring expertise and knowledge on disability issues related to the main substance of the action.

Activities related to the provision of accessibility and reasonable accommodation could be subcontracted.Ineligible activities

The following types of activities are not eligible for EU funding:

•   Financial support to third parties as defined in point 3 of the Financial Guidelines;

•   Sponsorships/scholarships to individuals for their participation in workshops, seminars, conferences, congresses, training courses, etc. (i.e. fees to attend an event);

•   Activities supporting political parties;

•   Legal actions before national or international courts regardless of their grounds or

  objectives.

•   Volunteers’ work is accepted as an activity but volunteers’ costs in the meaning of

  art 181(8) and 190 (2) of the Financial Regulation are not eligible for reimbursement.

   

7. EXCLUSION CRITERIA

Lead applicant and each co-applicant must sign a declaration on their honour signed in their name, certifying that they are not in one of the situations referred to in article 136 and 141 of the Financial Regulation concerning exclusion and rejection from the procedure respectively, using the relevant form attached to the application form available at https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/swim/external/displayWelcome.do.

7.1. Exclusion

The authorising officer shall exclude an applicant from participating in call for proposals procedures where:

1. (a)  the applicant is bankrupt, subject to insolvency or winding-up procedures, its assets are being administered by a liquidator or by a court, it is in an arrangement with creditors, its business activities are suspended, or it is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for under EU or national laws or regulations;

2. (b)  it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the applicant is in breach of its obligations relating to the payment of taxes or social security contributions in accordance with the applicable law;

3. (c)  it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that the applicant is guilty of grave professional misconduct by having violated applicable laws or regulations or ethical standards of the profession to which the applicant belongs, or by having engaged in any wrongful intent or gross negligence, including, in particular, any of the following:

4. (i)  fraudulently or negligently misrepresenting information required for the verification of the absence of grounds for exclusion or the fulfilment of eligibility or selection criteria or in the performance of a contract, a grant agreement or a grant decision;

5. (ii)  entering into agreement with other applicants with the aim of distorting competition;

6. (iii)  violating intellectual property rights;

7. (iv)  attempting to influence the decision-making process of the [Commission] [Agency] during the award procedure;

8. (v)  attempting to obtain confidential information that may confer upon it undue advantages in the award procedure;

9. (d)  it has been established by a final judgment that the applicant is guilty of any of the following:

   1. (i)  fraud, within the meaning of Article 3 of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 July 1995;

   2. (ii)  corruption, as defined in Article 4(2) of Directive (EU) 2017/1371 or Article 3 of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of Member States of the European Union, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 May 1997, or conduct referred to in Article 2(1) of Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA, or corruption as defined in the applicable law;

   3. (iii)  conduct related to a criminal organisation, as referred to in Article 2 of Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA;

   4. (iv)  money laundering or terrorist financing within the meaning of Article 1(3), (4) and (5) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council;

   5. (v)  terrorist offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, as defined in Articles 1 and 3 of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA, respectively, or inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit such offences, as referred to in Article 4 of that Decision;

   6. (vi)  child labour or other offences concerning trafficking in human beings as referred to in Article 2 of Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council;

10. (e)  the applicant has shown significant deficiencies in complying with main obligations in the performance of a contract, a grant agreement or a grant decision financed by the Union's budget, which has led to its early termination or to the application of liquidated damages or other contractual penalties, or which has been discovered following checks, audits or investigations by an authorising officer, OLAF or the Court of Auditors;

11. (f)  it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative decision that the applicant has committed an irregularity within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95;

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