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EU Support to Improved Technical and Management Capacity within SMEs in Jordan - EuropeAid/152002/DD/ACT/JO
Date de clôture : 1 août 2016  
APPEL À PROJET CLÔTURÉ

 Accélérateurs
 Entrepreneuriat et PME
 Innovation
 Développement durable
 Innovation & Recherche
 Économie
 Gestion d'entreprise
 Développement des affaires

EU support to Improved technical and management capacity within SMEs in Jordan 

Background

Today, Jordan continues to face increasing economic, political and inclusiveness challenges which are likely to shape its future development over the next decade. Despite its relative stability and attraction to foreign investors with its geostrategic position and cordial country to country relationships, Jordan is inhibited by global economic uncertainty, external shocks and spill over of regional instability.  These latter come primarily in the form of large refugee inflows, deteriorating regional security, and consequent pressures on economic infrastructures and labour markets.

 In addition, Jordan faces internal constrains as its economic systems, and in particular the private sector, are not providing a strong basis for sustained economic development, which could counterbalance the external pressure.  Jordan is characterized by a conservative private sector which lacks behind in innovation, and productivity, producing for most low value added products.  Unemployment rates remain high, predominantly youth and female. The influx of Syrian refugees and the regional conflicts have exacerbated these weaknesses while increasing the risk of political and economic instability.  

In fact, despite robust economic growth in the decade to 2010, growth in recent years has been low (ranging between 2.2% in 2010 and 3.1% in 2014) and fell again in 2015 to 2.4%. The employment rate also fell from 32.4% in the 3rd Qtr. of 2015 to 30.7% in the 4th Qtr. having averaged 33.55% from 2007 to the beginning of 2015, while unemployment rose to 13.55% in the 3rd Qtr. from 11.9% in the 2nd Qtr. 2015.

Jordan is one of the most industrialised economies in the region, industry employing 20% of the workforce, and responsible for 80% of exports. Nevertheless, high technology products only represent 2.9% of these, and applied innovation remains limited. The table below is indicative of the challenges that Jordan enterprises, particularly new enterprises, face in generating growth and new well paid jobs.

As in most emerging economies, Jordan’s private sector is characterised by a large number of SMEs (around 90% of firms), which generate 47% of GNI, and employ a similar percentage of the active population; and a small number of large entities. These SMEs, who will be the primary beneficiaries of the current call for proposals, are recognised as being fundamental to achieve the inclusive economic growth.      

 

Globally enterprise development is entering a new reality. No longer is advantage gained simply through access to low cost inputs, such as labour or natural resources or through scale economies. Nowadays, productivity, which generates significant value-add relative to inputs (the cost of which are becoming harmonised globally) is becoming more associated with innovation and entrepreneurial endeavour. However, the Jordanian economic system is currently inadequate to enable SMEs to enhance competitiveness, apply innovation, and increase exports, which would allow a sustained economic growth and job creation. 

These constraints to SMEs development arise as a result of various market failures. These market failures are both demand and supply side based.  On the demand side, for example, a lack of knowledge among fast growing companies regarding key skill requirements, or among small enterprises regarding the potential for upgrading their products and services to meet the needs of large companies. On the supply side for example, a lack of appropriately skilled labour, or a lack business development services equipped to provide effective upgrading services. The current grant is intended to address these market failures, in line with the Government strategy described in Jordan 2025. 

Jordan 2025 recognises that and aims to boost economic growth, by enhancing the business and investment environment and supporting priority sectors /cluster that represent high potential for growth and exports. These priority sector/clusters are: construction and engineering, transport and logistic, healthcare and life sciences, digital and business services, education, tourism, and financial services.  The necessity to unlock growth and modernise the Jordan economy has become even more critical, under the additional pressure exerted by the influx of refugees and the regional instability.  Therefore, the government has reiterated its full commitment to economic reform to enhance the business and investment environment.  

The current call for proposals is part of a broader EU programme in support to the private sector development (PDS) in Jordan, which intends to focus on systemic changes as opposed to direct delivery of assistance to enterprises. The programme is designed to have a dual approach:  on one side it wants to support the Government to improve the business environment; and incentive reforms as set in the Jordan 2025; on the other side it is to facilitate increased competitiveness at the enterprise level through improving technical and management capacity within SMEs ecosystem and through promoting quality investment – both domestic and international.    Support to the government reforms related to the business environment is to be provided through a budget support programme, while improving technical and management capacity within SMEs ecosystem is implemented through this call for proposal.  

This latter entitles exploring opportunities offered by innovations and possible competitive advantage gains. It means promoting systemic changes by supporting value chain, creating networks and linkages between businesses sectorally and cross-sectorally where sales and procurement are linked.   It means building the skills and making expertise available to critical industry sectors so they can compete effectively at home and international markets and access new markets. 

Objectives of the programme and priority issues 

The global objective of this call for proposals is to promote systemic change in the enterprise ecosystem supporting the economic development potential of Jordan and its private sector.  Through addressing market failures and promoting innovative and sustainable private sector development, it aims to increase the opportunity for employment and income generation, particularly for women and youth.   

The specific objective(s) is to improve the technical and management capacity within the SMEs ecosystem and increase the private sector competitiveness, by establishing a competitive and transparent mechanism which will: 

Provide to enterprises enhanced business development services to promote  innovation, increased productivity;  and promote awareness of the advantages of such improvements among SMEs; 

Increase pro-poor participation in regional value chains in partnership with large companies with a focus on improving productivity, increased participation in higher value added activities, and institutional developments to improve market access; 

Support SMEs seeking to do business with larger companies to upgrade their operations in order to increase their access to procurement opportunities within large firms operating in Jordan;  

Encourage research,  joint market acquisition and collaborative ventures between SMEs and larger companies;

Facilitate companies in high value added sectors (such as ICT and medical services)  to access high-level management and technical skills necessary to achieve and exploit competitive advantage in local and global markets;

Support local business development service providers to implement upgrading programmes to internationally accredited standards to enable them to better exploit local and international markets.

Financial allocation provided by the contracting authority

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR €6,000,000. The Contracting Authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.

Size of grants

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following maximum amounts:

maximum amount: EUR €6,000,000

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following maximum percentages of total eligible costs of the action:

Maximum percentage: 90% of the total eligible costs of the action (see also section 2.1.5). 

The balance (i.e. the difference between the total cost of the action and the amount requested from the Contracting Authority) must be financed from sources other than the European Union Budget or the European Development Fund. 

Rules FOR thIS call for proposalS

These guidelines set out the rules for the submission, selection and implementation of the actions financed under this call, in conformity with the Practical Guide, which is applicable to the present call (available on the Internet at this address http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/document.do?locale=en).

Eligibility criteria

There are three sets of eligibility criteria, relating to:

the actors:

The 'lead applicant', i.e. the entity submitting the application form (2.1.1),

if any, its co-applicant(s) (where it is not specified otherwise the lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) are hereinafter jointly referred as "applicant(s)") (2.1.1), 

and, if any, affiliated entity(ies) to the lead applicant and/or to a co-applicant(s). (2.1.2);

the actions:

Actions for which a grant may be awarded (2.1.4);

the costs:

types of cost that may be taken into account in setting the amount of the grant (2.1.5).

Eligibility of applicants (i.e. lead applicant and co-applicant(s))

Lead applicant

(1)    In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:

be a legal person and

be a specific type of organisation such as: non-governmental organisation, public or private sector operator, local authority, university, business association, international organisation as defined by art. 43 of the Rule of application of the EU Financial Regulation and

be established in a Member State of the European Union or in Jordan, or in one of the ENI South Countries or a country that is beneficiary of Pre-Accession Assistance or a Member State of the European Economic Area. This obligation does not apply to international organisations and

be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary and

in the case of a private sector operator or a business association, be legally registered for more than 3 years before the deadline for submitting proposals and 

In addition to the categories referred to in section 2.1.1, the following are however also eligible: 

Private Sector Organisations 

Public Sector Organisations including Local Government and Municipalities 

Academic and Research Institutions 

Non Profit Non-Governmental Organisations 

Financial and Private Investment Organisations or funds

(2)    Potential applicants may not participate in calls for proposals or be awarded grants if they are in any of the situations listed in section 2.3.3 of the Practical Guide;

 

In Annex A.2, section 5 (‘declaration by the lead applicant’), the lead applicant must declare that the lead applicant himself, the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies) are not in any of these situations.

The lead applicant may act individually or with co-applicant(s)

If awarded the grant contract, the lead applicant will become the beneficiary identified as the Coordinator in Annex G (Special Conditions). The Coordinator is the main interlocutor of the Contracting Authority. It represents and acts on behalf of any other co-beneficiary (if any) and coordinate the design and implementation of the action.

Co-applicant(s)

Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant. 

Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant.

Co-applicants must sign the mandate in Annex A.2., Section 4 of the grant application form.

If awarded the grant contract, the co-applicant(s) (if any) will become beneficiary(ies) in the action (together with the Coordinator) 

Affiliated entities

 

The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies).

Only the following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the lead applicant and/or to co-applicant(s):

Only entities having a structural link with the applicants (i.e. the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.

This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:

(i)     Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:

Entities affiliated to an applicant may hence be:

Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control;

Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;

Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies).

(ii)     Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as a e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association) as the proposed affiliated entities.

 

The structural link shall as a general rule be neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation. This means that the link would exist independently of the award of the grant; it should exist before the call for proposals and remain valid after the end of the action.

 

By way of exception, an entity may be considered as affiliated to an applicant even if it has a structural link specifically established for the sole purpose of the implementation of the action in the case of so-called “sole applicants” or “sole beneficiaries”.  A sole applicant or a sole beneficiary is a legal entity formed by several entities (a group of entities) which together comply with the criteria for being awarded the grant. For example, an association is formed by its members.

What is not an affiliated entity? 

 

The following are not considered entities affiliated to an applicant:

 

Entities that have entered into a (procurement) contract or subcontract with an applicant, act as concessionaires or delegates for public services for an applicant,

Entities that receive financial support from the applicant,

Entities that cooperate on a regular basis with an applicant on the basis of a memorandum of understanding or share some assets,

Entities that have signed a consortium agreement under the grant contract (unless this consortium agreement leads to the creation of a "sole applicant" as described above).

 

How to verify the existence of the required link with an applicant?

 

The affiliation resulting from control may in particular be proved on the basis of the consolidated accounts of the group of entities the applicant and its proposed affiliates belong to.

 

The affiliation resulting from membership may in particular be proved on the basis of the statutes or equivalent act establishing the entity (network, federation, association) which the applicant constitutes or in which the applicant participates.

If the applicants are awarded a grant contract, their affiliated entity(ies) will not become beneficiary(ies) of the action and signatory(ies) of the grant contract. However, they will participate in the design and  in the implementation of the action and the costs they incur (including those incurred for implementation contracts and financial support to third parties) may be accepted as eligible costs, provided they comply with all the relevant rules already applicable to the beneficiary(ies) under the grant contract.

Affiliated entity(ies) must satisfy the same eligibility criteria as the lead applicant and the co-applicant(s).  They must sign the affiliated entity(ies) statement in Annex A.2.section 5. 

Associates and Contractors

The following entities are not applicants nor affiliated entities and do not have to sign the "mandate for co-applicant(s)" or "affiliated entities' statement":

Associates

Other organisations or individuals may be involved in the action. Such associates play a real role in the action but may not receive funding from the grant, with the exception of per diem or travel costs. Associates do not have to meet the eligibility criteria referred to in section 2.1.1. Associates must be mentioned in Annex A.2 section 6 — ‘Associates participating in the action’ — of the grant application form. 

Contractors

The beneficiaries and their affiliated entities are permitted to award contracts. Associates or affiliated entity(ies) cannot be also contractors in the project. Contractors are subject to the procurement rules set out in Annex IV to the standard grant contract.

 

Eligible actions: actions for which an application may be made

Definition: 

An action is composed of a set of activities.

Duration

The initial planned duration of an action may not exceed 36 months.

Sectors or themes

The main theme of the action is to support initiatives and activities which promote systemic change in the enterprise ecosystem and business development services themselves, by creating and/or expanding quality business support and advisory services targeting new or high growth potential enterprises. The action envisages three Intervention Windows coordinated through an implementing partner:

The promotion, communication and awareness raising activities to build understanding and demand for business and operations performance enhancements. These will be linked to developing improvements in productivity, competitiveness, quality and innovation and the benefits that these can bring in terms of market acquisition, revenue;  profitability and higher returns on investment.  This promotion should stimulate SMEs to acquire relevant, quality business development services (BDS) and managerial skills to improve their business performance (Implementation Partner);

Delivery of quality business development and consulting services to SMEs aimed at improving competitiveness and technical capabilities in the value chain. These services will also support the further utilisation of these improvements by increasing the number of value chain activities carried out by the firm. Within the broader value system (i.e. industry locally and internationally) the services will develop opportunities to add on activities sub-supplying to upstream competitors or larger corporates resulting in additional local value add and jobs (Window 1 - Value Chain)

Building network platforms and linkages which facilitate and support SMEs to increase output and sales by helping them to access opportunities to satisfy the procurement requirements of larger local and international corporates(Window 2 - Linkage)

 Build platforms and programmes through which SMEs, particularly in high value added sectors (ICT, Medical Service & Devices etc) can access, acquire and/or build appropriate technical and managerial skills to compete as leaders in their sectors internationally (Window 3 – Technical Skills).

 

Jordan 2025 identifies several priority sectors /cluster that represent high potential for growth and exports. These priority sector/clusters are: construction and engineering, transport and logistic, healthcare and life sciences, digital and business services, education, tourism, and financial services.   The action should initially focus on these sectors, with a view of piloting and then scaling up in more innovative sectors like renewable energy, high-skill education services, ICT and clean technology, as well as innovation applied to e.g. agriculture production, and water consumption.  

 

While choosing sub –sectors, the implementing partner should give priority to action which can create higher levels of local economy value added, for sustainable economic growth.  These industries, if successful, foster social cohesion and inclusiveness through additional employment and income generation including disadvantaged segments of the population (directly or indirectly) and upgrade sector skills improving the general employability of workers. The programme, therefore, will also when possible have a focus on inclusiveness, cross-cutting issues and sustainable endeavours. Inclusive growth, for the purpose of this programme,  is defined as “economic growth that creates opportunity for all segments of the population and distributes the dividends of increased prosperity, both in monetary and non-monetary terms fairly across society.”

 

Location

Actions must take place in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.    

Types of action

The types of actions which can benefit from the grant are those which demonstrate the ability to promote systemic change, increase direct or indirect employment opportunities, generate value add, open up new business opportunities and sub–supply potential and enhance technical and management skills, for existing and new high potential businesses.   Actions such as:

Implementation management; coordinating, administrating  and promoting the opportunities of the support services under the three windows of the thematic approach,  soliciting through competition, identifying, profiling and evaluating potential BDS intermediaries capable of delivering specific Windows and seeking for approval by Management Committee, launching calls for applications for participation or grants, ensuring accreditation of BDS intermediaries to recognised standards;

Consulting and financial investment to support the expansion and upgrading of value chain operations to improve productivity and competitiveness of the production in order to grow revenue, market share and return on investment, can be on a regional, sectoral or value system specific basis;

Promotion of a national, sectoral, or industry specific business linkages programme designed to both secure access by SMEs to the procurement requirements, specifications and supplier profile conditions of larger local, FDI and international corporates and also to enhance the technical and managerial competencies of the SMEs to capture, negotiate contracts and fulfil sub-supply won contracts,

Provision of co-sharing (to a maximum of 50%) of the costs of the services (e.g. undertaking diagnostics, standards accreditation audits, export market oriented feasibility studies, or HR upskilling and skills acquisition) provided to the SMEs under Windows 1, 2 & 3. *** Please note procedures for selection, approval of the beneficiaries of the service must be proposed in line with international fiduciary practice and which are objective, independent, transparent, demonstrate accountability, ensure value-for-money and are easily monitored and evaluated;

Establishing a skills platform/gateway through which SMEs in high potential growth sectors can access technical and management skills not readily available locally can be leveraged for short term support on a consulting or interim management basis and also through which training can be provided to upgrade the skills of enterprise management.

 

The following types of action are ineligible:

actions concerned only or mainly with individual sponsorships for participation in workshops, seminars, conferences and congresses;

actions concerned only or mainly with individual scholarships for studies or training courses;

Types of activity

The eligible potential activities foreseen associated with the Implementing Partner and the three thematic windows could, but do not have to, be constructed as follows:

Implementation Partner Level

Promotion, communication and awareness raising activities;

Seminars, Workshops and Procurement Showcase/Tradeshow organisation;

Identification, Evaluation and Training of Intermediaries;

Accreditation and registration management of intermediaries; 

Establishment of internationally recognised accreditation of BDS providers;

Promotion, organisation, launch and management of competitive application processes.

 

Window 1

Analysis and profiling of specific industry value systems and identification of opportunities;

In company value chain analytics, reporting on potential remedial and development actions;

Supporting, action planning and delivering relevant change management;

Identifying opportunities for inclusiveness (using Human Rights Based Approach - HRBA), cross-cutting and sustainable approaches to be incorporated into the individual company operations;

Dynamic monitoring, evaluation and remedial actions to ensure development or upgrading goals are met.

 

 

Window 2

Identification of potential value sectors for linkage exploitation;

Profiling target corporates and seeking their involvement in linkages activities opening their procurement requirements to local supply;

Working with supplier applicants, analysing competencies and deficiencies, proposing remedial or development approaches,  

Supporting, action planning and delivering relevant change management;

Identifying opportunities for inclusiveness (HRBA), cross-cutting and sustainable approaches to be incorporated into the individual company operations;

Dynamic monitoring, evaluation and remedial actions to ensure development or upgrading goals are met.

 

Window 3

Analysis and profiling of specific industry management and skills deficits;

Working with companies, and business associations to identify specific gaps and profile job specifications;

Matchmaking company need with profiled expertise

Establish training needs analysis (TNA) on an industry wide basis;

Designing and organising appropriate in-house and potential employee training programmes;

Identifying opportunities for inclusiveness (HRBA), cross-cutting and sustainable approaches to be incorporated into the individual company operations;

Dynamic monitoring, evaluation and remedial actions to ensure development or upgrading goals are met.

 

Financial support to third parties 

Applicants may propose financial support to third parties. 

The maximum amount of financial support per third party is EUR 60,000 

Under this call, financial support to third parties may not be the main purpose of the action.

In compliance with the present guidelines and notably of any conditions or restrictions in this section, the lead applicant should define mandatorily in section 2.1.1 of the grant application form: 

the objectives and results to be obtained with the financial support 

the different types of activities eligible for financial support, on the basis of a fixed list 

the types of persons or categories of persons which may receive financial support  

(iv)    the criteria for selecting these entities and giving the financial support  

the criteria for determining the exact amount of financial support for each third entity, and 

the maximum amount which may be given.

In all events, the mandatory conditions set above for giving financial support (points (i) to (vi)) have to be strictly defined in the grant contract as to avoid any exercise of discretion.

For grants awarded under this call, the following specific conditions will apply to financial support to third parties:

Third party financing support will be restricted to Technical Assistance  to high potential growth enterprises under Window 1, 2 & 3 directly assisted by the proposed initiatives who need to upgrade or expand elements of their process, seeking international standards accreditation, acquire skills not currently available in Jordan or not of a high enough calibre to seek overseas or train existing staff overseas or undertake feasibility studies in order to facilitate deployment of competitive new processes, products or services resulting in increased Jordanian economic value added and which may provide opportunities for disadvantaged new employees (women, youth, etc) or incorporate new sustainability (renewable energy, water conservation etc) associated processes;   

Visibility

The applicants must take all necessary steps to publicise the fact that the European Union has financed or co-financed the action. As far as possible, actions that are wholly or partially funded by the European Union must incorporate information and communication activities designed to raise the awareness of specific or general audiences of the reasons for the action and the EU support for the action in the country or region concerned, as well as the results and the impact of this support.

Applicants must comply with the objectives and priorities and guarantee the visibility of the EU financing (see the Communication and Visibility Manual for EU external actions specified and published by the European Commission at http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/funding/communication-and-visibility-manual-eu-external-actions_en).

Number of applications and grants per applicants / affiliated entities

The lead applicant may not submit more than 1 application under this call for proposals.

The lead applicant may not be awarded more than 1 grant under this call for proposals.

The lead applicant may not be a co-applicant or an affiliated entity in another application at the same time.

A co-applicant/affiliated entity may not submit more than 1 application under this call for proposals.

A co-applicant/affiliated entity may not be awarded more than 1 grant under this call for proposals.

Eligibility of costs: costs that can be included 

Only ‘eligible costs’ can be covered by a grant. The categories of costs that are eligible and non-eligible are indicated below. The budget is both a cost estimate and an overall ceiling for ‘eligible costs’. 

The reimbursement of eligible costs may be based on any or a combination of the following forms:

actual costs incurred by the beneficiary(ies) and affiliated entity(ies)

one or more simplified cost options.

Simplified cost options may take the form of:

unit costs: covering all or certain specific categories of eligible costs which are clearly identified in advance by reference to an amount per unit.

lump sums: covering in global terms all or certain specific categories of eligible costs which are clearly identified in advance.

flat-rate financing: covering specific categories of eligible costs which are clearly identified in advance by applying a percentage fixed ex ante.

The amounts or rates have to be based on estimates using objective data such as statistical data or any other objective means or with reference to certified or auditable historical data of the applicants or the affiliated entity(ies). The methods used to determine the amounts or rates of unit costs, lump sums or flat-rates must comply with the criteria established in Annex K, and especially ensure that the costs correspond fairly to the actual costs incurred by the beneficiary(ies) and affiliated entity(ies), are in line with their accounting practices, no profit is made and the costs are not already covered by other sources of funding (no double funding). Refer to Annex K for directions and a checklist of controls to assess the minimum necessary conditions that provide reasonable assurance for the acceptance of the proposed amounts.

Applicants proposing this form of reimbursement, must clearly indicate in worksheet no.1 of Annex B, each heading/item  of eligible costs concerned by this type of financing, i.e. add the reference in capital letters to "UNIT COST" (per month/flight etc), "LUMPSUM", "FLAT RATE" in the Unit column. (see example in Annex K)

Additionally in Annex B, in the second column of worksheet no.2, "Justification of the estimated costs" per each of the corresponding budget item or heading applicants must:

describe the information and methods used to establish the amounts of unit costs, lump sums and/or flat-rates, to which costs they refer, etc.

clearly explain the formulas for calculation of the final eligible amount

identify the beneficiary who will use the simplified cost option (in case of affiliated entity, specify first the beneficiary), in order to verify the maximum amount per each beneficiary (which includes if applicable simplified cost options of its affiliated entity(ies))

At contracting phase, the Contracting Authority decides whether to accept the proposed amounts or rates on the basis of the provisional budget submitted by the applicants, by analysing factual data of grants carried out by the applicants or of similar actions and by performing checks established by Annex K. 

The total amount of financing on the basis of simplified cost options that can be authorised by the Contracting Authority for any of the applicants individually (including simplified cost options proposed by their own affiliated entities) cannot exceed EUR 60 000 (the indirect costs are not taken into account).

Recommendations to award a grant are always subject to the condition that the checks preceding the signing of the grant contract do not reveal problems requiring changes to the budget (such as arithmetical errors, inaccuracies, unrealistic costs and ineligible costs). The checks may give rise to requests for clarification and may lead the Contracting Authority to impose modifications or reductions to address such mistakes or inaccuracies. It is not possible to increase the grant or the percentage of EU co-financing as a result of these corrections.

It is therefore in the applicants' interest to provide a realistic and cost-effective budget.

The simplified cost option may also take the form of an apportionment of Field Office's costs.

Field Office means a local infrastructure set up in one of the countries where the action is implemented or a nearby country. (Where the action is implemented in several third countries there can be more than one Field Office). That may consist of costs for local office as well as human resources. 

A Field Office may be exclusively dedicated to the action financed (or co-financed) by the EU or may be used for other projects implemented in the partner country. When the Field Office is used for other projects, only the portion of capitalised and operating costs which corresponds to the duration of the action and the rate of actual use of the field office for the purpose of the action may be declared as eligible direct costs.

The portion of costs attributable to the action can be declared as actual costs or determined by the beneficiary(ies) on the basis of a simplified allocation method (apportionment).

The method of allocation has to be:

1. Compliant with the beneficiary's usual accounting and management practices and applied in a consistent manner regardless of the source of funding and 

2. Based on an objective, fair and reliable allocation keys. (Please refer to Annex K to have examples of acceptable allocation keys).

A description prepared by the entity of the allocation method used to determine Field Office's costs in accordance with the entity's usual cost accounting and management practices and explaining how the method satisfy condition 1 and 2 indicated above, has to be presented in a separate sheet and annexed to the Budget.

The method will be assessed and accepted by the evaluation committee and the Contracting Authority at contracting phase. The applicant is invited to submit (where relevant) the list of contracts to which the methodology proposed had been already applied and for which proper application was confirmed by an expenditure verification. 

At the time of carrying out the expenditure verifications, the auditors will check if the costs reported are compliant with the method described by the beneficiary(ies) and accepted by the Contracting Authority.

Adequate record and documentation must be kept by the beneficiary(ies) to prove the compliance of the simplified allocation method used with the conditions set out above. Upon request of the beneficiary(ies), this compliance can be assessed and approved ex-ante by an independent external auditor. In such a case, the simplified allocation method will be automatically accepted by the evaluation committee and it will not be challenged ex post.

When costs are declared on the basis of such allocation method the amount charged to the action is to be indicated in the column "TOTAL COSTS" and the mention "APPORTIONMENT" is to be indicated in the column "units" (under budget heading 1 (Human resources) and 4 (Local Office) of the Budget).

It has to be noted that the EUR 60.000 limit, otherwise applicable to costs declared on the basis of simplified cost options, is not relevant for costs declared following apportionment of Field Offices.

Eligible direct costs

To be eligible under this call for proposals, costs must comply with the provisions of Article 14 of the General Conditions to the standard grant contract (see Annex G of the guidelines).

Contingency reserve

The budget may include a contingency reserve not exceeding 5 % of the estimated direct eligible costs. It can only be used with the prior written authorisation of the Contracting Authority.

Eligible indirect costs

The indirect costs incurred in carrying out the action may be eligible for flat-rate funding, but the total must not exceed 7 % of the estimated total eligible direct costs. Indirect costs are eligible provided that they do not include costs assigned to another budget heading in the standard grant contract. The lead applicant may be asked to justify the percentage requested before the grant contract is signed. However, once the flat rate has been fixed in the Special Conditions of the grant contract, no supporting documents need to be provided.

If any of the applicants or affiliated entity(ies) is in receipt of an operating grant financed by the EU, it may not claim indirect costs on its incurred costs within the proposed budget for the action.

Contributions in kind

Contributions in kind mean the provision of goods or services to beneficiaries or affiliated entities free of charge by a third party. As contributions in kind do not involve any expenditure for beneficiaries or affiliated entities, they are not eligible costs. 

 Contributions in kind may not be treated as co-financing

However, if the description of the action as proposed includes contributions in kind, the contributions have to be made.

Ineligible costs

The following costs are not eligible:

debts and debt service charges (interest);

provisions for losses or potential future liabilities;

costs declared by the beneficiary(ies) and financed by another action or work programme receiving a European Union (including through EDF) grant;

purchases of land or buildings, except where necessary for the direct implementation of the action, in which case ownership must be transferred in accordance with Article 7.5 of the General Conditions of the standard grant contract, at the latest at the end of the action;

currency exchange losses;

credit to third parties.

salary costs of the personnel of national administrations

How to apply and the procedures to follow

To apply for this call for proposals the lead applicants need to: 

I. Provide information about the organisations involved in the action. Please note that the registration of this data in PADOR is obligatory for this call for proposals: 

 

Concept note step: Registration is obligatory for lead applicants applying for EU contributions of more than EUR 60 000. 

 

Full application step: Registration is obligatory for co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies). Lead applicants must make sure that their PADOR profile is up to date. 

 

II. Provide information about the action in the documents listed under sections 2.2.2 (concept note) and 2.2.5 (full application). Please note that online submission via PROSPECT is obligatory for this call, 

 

PADOR is an on-line database in which organisations register and update information concerning their entity. Organisations registered in PADOR get a unique ID (EuropeAid ID) which they must mention in their application. PADOR is accessible via the website: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/pador_en 

It is strongly recommended to register in PADOR well in advance and not to wait until the last minute before the deadline to submit your application in PROSPECT. 

If it is impossible to register online in PADOR for technical reasons, the applicants and/or affiliated entity(ies) must complete the ‘PADOR off-line form attached to these guidelines. This form must be sent together with the application, by the submission deadline (see sections 2.2.2 and 2.2.5). 

 

Before starting using PADOR and PROSPECT, please read the user guides available on the website. All technical questions related the use of these systems should be addressed to the IT helpdesk at EuropeAid-IT-support@ec.europa.eu via the online support form in PROSPECT.

Concept note content  

Applications must be submitted in accordance with the concept note instructions in the grant application form annexed to these guidelines (Annex A.1). 

Applicants must apply in English.  

Please note that:

In the concept note, lead applicants must only provide an estimate of the requested EU contribution as well as an indicative percentage of that contribution in relation to the eligible costs of the action. A detailed budget is to be submitted only by the lead applicants invited to submit a full application in the second phase. 

The elements outlined in the concept note e may not be modified in the full application form. The EU contribution may not vary from the initial estimate by more than 20 %. Lead applicants are free to adapt the requested EU contribution as a percentage of the total eligible costs within the minimum and maximum amounts and percentages provided in section 1.3. The lead applicant may replace a co-applicant or an affiliated entity only in duly justified cases (e.g. bankruptcy of initial co-applicant or affiliated entity). In this case the new co-applicant/affiliated entity must be of a similar nature as the initial one. The lead applicant may adjust the duration of the action if unforeseen circumstances outside the scope of the applicants have taken place following the submission of the concept note and require such adaptation (risk of action not being carried out). In such cases the duration must remain within the limits imposed by the guidelines for applicants. An explanation/justification of the relevant replacement/adjustment shall be included in section 2.1.1 of the grant application form.

Own contributions by the applicants can be replaced by other donors' contributions at any time.

Only the concept note form will be evaluated. It is therefore of utmost importance that this document contains ALL relevant information concerning the action. No additional annexes should be sent.

Any error or major discrepancy related to the concept note instructions may lead to the rejection of the concept note.

Clarifications will only be requested when information provided is not sufficient to conduct an objective assessment. 

Where and how to send concept notes

 

The concept note together with the declaration by the lead applicant (Annex A.1 section 2) must be submitted online via PROSPECT https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prospect following the instructions given in the PROSPECT user manual. 

Upon submission of a concept note online, the lead applicant will receive an automatic confirmation of receipt in its PROSPECT profile. 

 

If it is impossible for lead applicants to submit their concept note online via PROSPECT for technical reasons, they must send their proposal in a sealed envelope and attach the concept note together with the declaration by the lead applicant (Annex A.1 section 2). In particular, the lead applicant must send, in a sealed envelope as described below the following items: 

a. One original of the concept note. The signed declaration by the lead applicant (Annex A.1 section 2) must be printed and stapled separately and enclosed in the envelope

b.   2 additional copies in A4 size, each bound. 

 

c. An electronic version (CD-Rom  or USB stick)) of the items under point (a). The electronic file must contain exactly the same application as the paper version enclosed. 

 

The envelope must bear the reference number and the title of the call for proposals, together with the number and title, and  the full name and address of the lead applicant, and the words ‘Not to be opened before the opening session’ (لا يفتح قبل جلسه فتح العطاء)

 

To reduce expense and waste, we strongly recommend that you do not use plastic folders or dividers. Please also use double-sided printing if possible. 

Concept notes must be submitted in a sealed envelope by registered mail, private courier service or by hand-delivery (a signed and dated certificate of receipt will be given to the deliverer) to the address below. Where lead applicants send several concept notes (if allowed to do so by the guidelines of the call), each one must be sent separately:

 

Delegation of European Union to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Attn: Contracts & Finance Section

PO BOX 852099

Al-Ameerah Basma Street - North Abdoun

Amman, Jordan

Address for hand delivery or by private courier service

Delegation of European Union to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Attn: Contracts & Finance Section

Wadi Abdoun – Opposite to Total Gas Station

Al-Ameerah Basma Street - North Abdoun

Amman, Jordan

 

Concept notes sent by any other means (e.g. by fax or by e-mail) or delivered to other addresses will be rejected.  Hand written concept notes will not be accepted. 

Please note that incomplete concept notes may be rejected. Lead applicants are advised to verify that their concept note is complete by using the checklist for concept note (Annex A.1, Instructions).

Deadline for submission of concept notes 

 

The deadline for the submission of concept notes is 1 August 2016 at 12:00 (Brussels date and time). In order to convert this deadline to local time you can use any online time converter tool that takes into account time zones and winter/summer time changes (example available here) 

 

The lead applicant is strongly advised not to wait until the last day to submit its concept note, since heavy Internet traffic or a fault with the Internet connection (including electricity failure, etc.) could lead to difficulties in submission. The Contacting Authority cannot be held responsible for any delay due to such afore-mentioned difficulties. 

 

In the exceptional case of submission by post or by hand delivery (see section 2.2.2), the date of submission is evidenced by the date of dispatch, the postmark or the date of the deposit slip. In the case of hand-deliveries, the deadline for receipt is at 12:00 local timeas evidenced by the signed and dated receipt. 

 

Any concept note submitted after the deadline will be rejected

However, for reasons of administrative efficiency, the Contracting Authority may also reject any concept note sent in due time but received after the effective date of approval of the concept note evaluation (see indicative calendar under section 2.5.2)

Further information about concept notes

An information session on this call for proposals will be held on 27 June 2016 at 9:30 Am at the Delegation of the European Union to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.  

Questions may be sent by e-mail no later than 21 days before the deadline for the submission of concept notes to the address(es) below, indicating clearly the reference of the call for proposals:

E-mail address: delegation-jordan-tenders@eeas.europa.eu

The Contracting Authority has no obligation to provide clarifications to questions received after this date.

Replies will be given no later than 11 days before the deadline for submission of concept notes. 

To ensure equal treatment of applicants, the contracting authority cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of lead applicants, co-applicants, affiliated entity(ies), an action or specific activities. 

 

No individual replies will be given to questions. All questions and answers as well as other important notices to applicants during the course of the evaluation procedure will be published on the EuropeAid website https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.welcome. It is therefore advisable to consult the abovementioned website regularly in order to be informed of the questions and answers published. 

 

All questions related to registration in PADOR or the online submission via PROSPECT should be addressed to the IT helpdesk at EuropeAid-IT-support@ec.europa.eu via the online support form in PROSPECT: Please note that the working languages of the IT support are: English French and Spanish. Therefore users are invited to send their questions in English, French or Spanish should they wish to benefit from an optimum response time.

Full applications 

 

Lead applicants invited to submit a full application following pre-selection of their concept note must do so using the full application form annexed to these guidelines (Annex A.2). 

Applications must be submitted in accordance with the full application instructions at the end of Annex A.2. Lead applicants must submit their full applications in the same language as their concept notes. 

Please note that: 

 

1. The elements outlined in the concept note cannot be modified by the lead applicant in the full application form. The EU contribution may not vary from the initial estimate by more than 20 %, although lead applicants are free to adapt the percentage of co-financing required within the minimum and maximum amount and percentages of co-financing, as laid down in these guidelines under section 1.3. The lead applicant may replace a co-applicant or an affiliated entity only in duly justified cases (e.g. bankruptcy of initial co-applicant or affiliated entity). In this case the new co-applicant/affiliated entity must be of a similar nature as the initial one. The lead applicant may adjust the duration of the action if unforeseen circumstances outside the scope of the applicants have taken place following the submission of the concept note and require such adaptation (risk of action not being carried out). An explanation/justification of the relevant replacement/adjustment shall be included in section 2.1.1 of the grant application form. 

 

2. A copy of the lead applicant’s accounts of the latest financial year (the profit and loss account and the balance sheet for the last financial year for which the accounts have been closed) must be uploaded in PADOR by the full application deadline. A copy of the latest account is neither required from (if any) the co-applicant(s) nor from (if any) affiliated entity(ies)). 

 

3. Only the full application form and the published annexes which have to be filled in (budget, logical framework) will be transmitted to the evaluators (and assessors, if used). It is therefore of utmost importance that these documents contain ALL the relevant information concerning the action. No additional annexes should be sent. 

 

Any error or any major inconsistency related to the full application instructions (e.g. if the amounts in the budget worksheets are inconsistent) may lead to the rejection of the application. 

Clarifications will only be requested when information provided is unclear and thus prevents the Contracting Authority from conducting an objective assessment.

Where and how to send full applications 

 

Full application forms together with the budget, the logical framework and the declaration by the lead applicant must be submitted online via PROSPECT https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/ europeaid/prospect following the instructions given in the users’ manual. 

Upon submission of the full application online, the lead applicants will receive an automatic confirmation of receipt in their PROSPECT profile. 

 

(a) If the lead applicant submitted the concept note by post / hand delivery (see section 2.2.3) it must send the full application by the same means (by post or hand delivery).

(b) If the lead applicant submitted the concept note online via PROSPECT but it is technically impossible for the organisation to submit the full application online: 

 

In the above two cases the lead applicant must send by post the application, i.e the full application form, the budget, the logical framework and the declaration by the lead applicant. The lead applicant must send, in a sealed envelope as described below, the following items: 

 

A .One original signed copy of the full application form, the budget and the logical framework. The declaration by the lead applicant (Annex A.2, section 5) must be printed and stapled separately and enclosed in the envelope 

 

B. 2 additional copies in A4 size, each bound. 

 

C. An electronic version (CD-Rom or UBS stick) of the items under point (a). The electronic file must contain exactly the same application as the paper version enclosed. 

 

To reduce expense and waste, we strongly recommend that you use only paper for your file (no plastic folders or dividers). Please also use double-sided printing if possible 

Applications must be submitted in a sealed envelope by registered mail, private courier service or by hand-delivery (a signed and dated certificate of receipt will be given to the deliverer) to the address below. Where lead applicants send several applications (if allowed to do so by the guidelines of the call), each one must be sent separately

 

Postal address

Delegation of European Union to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Attn: Contracts & Finance Section

PO BOX 852099

Al-Ameerah Basma Street - North Abdoun

Amman, Jordan

 Address for hand delivery or by private courier service

Delegation of European Union to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

Attn: Contracts & Finance Section

Wadi Abdoun – Opposite to Total Gas Station

Al-Ameerah Basma Street - North Abdoun

Amman, Jordan

 

The envelope must bear the reference number and the title of the call for proposals, together with the number and title of the lot, the full name and address of the lead applicant, and the words ‘Not to be opened before the opening session’ .

Applications sent by any other means (e.g. by fax or by e-mail) or delivered to other addresses will be rejected. Hand-written applications will not be accepted.

 

Please note that incomplete applications may be rejected. Lead applicants are advised to verify that their application is complete using the checklist (Annex A.2, Instructions).

Deadline for submission of full applications 

 

The deadline for the submission of full applications will be indicated in the letter sent to the lead applicants whose application has been pre-selected. This letter will appear online automatically in the PROSPECT profile of the lead applicant. Lead applicants who, in exceptional cases (see section 2.2.6) had to submit their application by post or hand-delivery, will receive the letter by email or by post if no e-mail address was provided.

 

Lead applicants are strongly advised not to wait until the last day to submit their full applications, since heavy Internet traffic or a fault with the Internet connection (including electricity failure, etc.) could lead to difficulties in submission. The Contacting Authority cannot be held responsible for any delay due to such afore-mentioned difficulties. 

 

[In the case of submission by post, (see section 2.2.6), the date of submission is evidenced by the date of dispatch, the postmark or the date of the deposit slip. In the case of hand-deliveries, the deadline for receipt is at 12:00 hours local time as evidenced by the signed and dated receipt.

 

Any application submitted after the deadline will be rejected. 

However, for reasons of administrative efficiency, the Contracting Authority may also reject any full application sent in due time but received after the effective date of approval of the full application evaluation (see indicative calendar under section 2.5.2)

Further information about full applications 

Questions may be sent by e-mail no later than 21 days before the deadline for the submission of full applications to the addresses listed below, indicating clearly the reference of the call for proposals:

E-mail address: delegation-jordan-tenders@eeas.europa.eu

The Contracting Authority has no obligation to provide clarifications to questions received after this date.

Replies will be given no later than 11 days before the deadline for the submission of full applications. 

To ensure equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of lead applicants, co-applicants, affiliated entity(ies), or an action.

No individual replies will be given to questions.  All questions and answers as well as other important notices to applicants during the course of the evaluation procedure, will be published on the EuropeAid website https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.welcome, as appropiate. It is therefore advisable to consult the abovementioned website regularly in order to be informed of the questions and answers published.

All questions related to registration in PADOR or the online submission via PROSPECT should be addressed to the IT helpdesk at EuropeAid-IT-support@ec.europa.eu via the online support form in PROSPECT. Please note that the working languages of the IT support are: English French and Spanish. Therefore users are invited to send their questions in English, French or Spanish should they wish to benefit from an optimum response time.

 

Evaluation and selection of application

Applications will be examined and evaluated by the Contracting Authority with the possible assistance of external assessors. All applications will be assessed according to the following steps and criteria. 

 

If the examination of the application reveals that the proposed action does not meet the eligibility criteria stated in section 2.1, the application will be rejected on this sole basis.

 

( -- TRUNCATED -- Please visit the public link for the full proposal)



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