Description
This is a call for proposals for EU action grants in the field of employment, social policy and inclusion under the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) – Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) strand.
The regulatory framework for this EU Funding is set out in the:
· Financial Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046
ESF+ Regulation (EU) 2021/1057
This call for proposals is financed under the Employment and Social Innovation (“EaSI”) strand of the ESF+, which is a European-level financing instrument managed directly by the European Commission. It provides financial support to achieve high employment levels, fair social protection, a skilled and resilient workforce ready for the future world of work, as well as inclusive and cohesive societies aiming to eradicate poverty.
Expected Outcome
The objective of this call for proposals is to support the national authorities in establishing and maintaining a National Contact Point in each EaSI participating country not yet covered following the call launched in 2021, to inform about the EaSI strand and its activities, projects and results, as well as to support applicants to submit good quality proposals.
Activities that can be funded (scope)
The financial support shall take the form of lump sum contributions for a standard package and an optional package.
The standard package (mandatory) should cover:
1. setting up and running of a helpdesk within three months from starting the implementation period, including establishing and maintaining a functional mailbox and dedicated phone number available 20 hours per week over 5 working days, maintaining a mailing list of stakeholders, answering questions from applicants and stakeholders, and interacting with the European Commission and disseminating European Commission information. Staff should be familiar with the EaSI strand and be able to communicate in English;
2. setting up and running of a functional website within three months from starting the implementation period. That website shall inform about the EaSI strand, its calls and projects, in the national language(s), contain contact details of the NCP and be updated in a timely fashion with relevant European Commission information;
3. organizing and running at least two EaSI related events or webinars with a minimum of 15 participants and a minimum duration of 4 hours.
The optional package (if any) should cover one or several of the following activities:
a) organizing and running an additional EaSI related event or webinar in the same calendar year with a minimum of 15 participants and a minimum duration of 4 hours;
b) attending an event which brings an added value for the implementation of the ESF+ EaSI strand;
c) visiting an EaSI related project, which brings an added value for the implementation of the ESF+ EaSI strand;
d) translation costs of EaSI related documents from the European Commission and calls for proposals into the national language(s), to be made available online;
e) sending staff member for job shadowing to another NCP, for a minimum of ten working days;
f) receiving staff member for job shadowing from another NCP, for a minimum of ten working days.
Objectives (Expected impact)
The expected impact is the creation of fully operational National Contact Points reaching out to a larger pool of potential applicants and stakeholders, supporting the submission of better quality proposals under the EaSI strand and disseminating the projects’ results. The ultimate goal is to facilitate the projects’ replication and upscaling in synergy with other sources of funds, notably with the ESF+ shared management strand.
Available budget
The available call budget is EUR 1 000 000. This budget might be increased by maximum 20%. The European Commission reserves the right not to award all available funds or to redistribute them between the call priorities, depending on the proposals received and the results of the evaluation.
Eligibility
Eligible participants (eligible countries) In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
· be legal entities (private or public)
· be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
¾ EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories);
¾ non-EU countries: listed EEA countries and countries associated to the ESF+ or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature
· be a public authority or an entity (private or public) endorsed to act as EaSI National Contact Point (NCP) by the ministry/government department responsible for monitoring/implementation of the EaSI strand or for the monitoring/implementation of European funds or by another ministry/government department responsible in the fields of labour and social affairs.
Beneficiaries and affiliated entities must register in the Participant Register — before submitting the proposal — and will have to be validated by the Central Validation Service (REA Validation). For the validation, they will be requested to upload documents showing legal status and origin.
Other entities may participate in other consortium roles, such as associated partners, subcontractors, third parties giving in-kind contributions, etc.
Timetable and deadlines
You can see here the Programme Guide
