Embassy of Finland: Call for proposals for the Fund for Local Cooperation 2024 is open



Embassy of Finland: Call for proposals for the Fund for Local Cooperation 2024 is open

The Fund for Local Cooperation (FLC) of the Embassy of Finland in Bucharest is an instrument for funding non-profit projects in the Republic of Moldova. The call for project proposals is opened on 13.6.2024 and will be closed on 21.7.2024 at 23.55 (UTC+2).

The FLC of the Embassy of Finland is an instrument of Finnish development cooperation. The FLC contributes towards the five goals of the Finnish development policy: (Link to another website.)(Opens New Window)

  1. Strengthening the status and rights of women and girls
  2. Education
  3. Sustainable economy and decent work
  4. Peaceful and democratic societies
  5. Climate change and natural resources

What is the Fund for Local Cooperation?

Fund for Local Cooperation (FLCs) of the Embassy of Finland is an instrument of Finnish development cooperation. FLC provides small grants to local organizations of the partner country with a specific focus on civil society.

The FLC projects should be implemented with the human rights-based approach. This means that human rights are systematically integrated in the means and objectives of projects supported by the FLC.

The Embassy supports only projects that are in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are an urgent call for action by all countries in a global partnership.

FLC Project Thematic Areas

This year the call for Project Proposals is looking for projects contributing to the following objectives of the Embassy’s FLC Programme:

1. Freedom of expression and media diversity are strengthened and media literacy is increased through support to priority areas including:

  • enhancing capacity building of independent media
  • enhancing critical thinking and media literacy; resisting disinformation
  • promotion of investigative journalism and transparency

2. The rights of women and girls are realized through strengthened participation in the society and in the economy through support to priority areas including:

  • enhancing capacity building of non-governmental organisations promoting women’s rights and gender equality 
  • promoting women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities in economic life
  • supporting the end of all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls
  • supporting youth friendly education and awareness raising on sexual and reproductive health and sexually transmitted infections

3. The role of youth in society is strengthened through increased and effective civic and economic participation through support to priority areas including:

  • enhancing civic participation of youth and promoting youth participation for community development
  • promoting youth’s full and effective participation and opportunities in economic life
  • enhancing capacity building of non-governmental organisations promoting youth participation

See full details on each objective in Attachment 8.

The Embassy encourages applicants working outside of the capital area to apply for the FLC fund. Concerning the FLC objective areas 2 and 3, the Embassy invites project proposals that aim to support women, girls and youth in vulnerable positions.

Funding information

Award amounts will range from approximately 25,000€ to 55,000€. Project duration is limited up to two years with the last acceptable closing month of the project being August 2026. A maximum of 4 - 6 projects will be selected following this call. The Embassy reserves the right to allocate potential surplus FLC grant funds to FLC project(s) selected during this FLC round or to other FLC related costs.

Eligibility criteria for FLC partnership

Eligible partners for the FLC include include legally registered host country's non-governmental organisations, science and technology communities, universities and other educational and research institutions, independent media, public bodies and cultural institutions (for example, museums, libraries and theatres), chambers of commerce and commercial associations, organisations engaged in the promotion of export and investment, businesses, cooperatives, interest groups of companies and employees, foundations or religious communities.

Application is assessed only if it fulfils all of the following criteria:           

  1. Application arrived in time   
  2. Application is signed and stamped    
  3. Applicant is a registered organisation
  4. Applicant is an FLC eligible organization
  5. Application includes a project plan with a results analysis, risk analysis and budget
  6. Applicant has provided latest  annual report (whole organisation) including financial report
  7. Applicant has provided latest audit report (whole organisation)      
  8. Project (theme, organisation) is ODA eligible          
  9. Project output contributes to the expected outcome of the FLC Programme's objective (i.e. sector/theme) in question
  10. Activities to be funded are at least Human Rights sensitive.
  11. In the case of a private sector applicant, the applicant has included in the application the Private Company Application Form
  12. In the case of a private sector applicant, the applying company covers at least 30 % of the project costs.

See the complete selection criteria for FLC applications in the Attachment 4.  

How to Apply

The deadline for submitting applications is Sunday 21.7.2024 at 23:55 hrs local time (UTC +2). Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Local agencies/organisations must use the application form in Attachment 1 and the obligatory documents described in Attachment 2. All applicants use the same application form in order to guarantee that all key facts are presented and to allow for better comparability.

The signed application form should be accompanied with the following attachments:

  1. Project plan
  2. Project budget
  3. Copy of registration
  4. Latest annual report
  5. Latest annual financial statement
  6. Latest audit report

In addition, private sector applicants should additionally submit the Private Sector Application Form (Attachment 3) alongside the documents listed above.

A dated, signed and stamped Cover Letter should accompany all applications.

FLC Partners are requested to apply key elements of Finnish development policy, the UN's SDGs and the above mentioned priority areas of the FLC Programme, and quality standards, namely the Results Based Management (RBM), Human Rights Based Approach to Development (HRBA) and Cross-Cutting Objectives (CCOs) in their project plans. They are an important part of the selection criteria for FLC applications, and projects which are assessed as Human Rights blind cannot be funded.

The project plan should include clearly defined expected result(s) including targeted project outputs and outcomes; realistically planned and well-detailed project activities that contribute to the desired results; project budget that is in line with the activities and with the experience of the applicant; outline experience and management capabilities of the applicant.

The following links provide guidance on what MFA Finland means with these concepts.

Results-Based Management(Link to another website.)
Human Rights Based Approach
Crosscutting Objectives(Link to another website.)

The Embassy prioritizes the project proposals that are not fully financed by the donor; the applicant must show its capability to run day-by-day activities. The applicant can make local contributions in cash, in kind or as work contributions. The principle for supporting private companies is that the applicant itself provides a sufficient share of the financing of the project. The FLC grant can cover a maximum of 70 % of the entire private sector project costs.

Projects are the main target of the FLC. The fund can be used for core funding only in exceptional well-argued cases. In case the applicant applies for core funding, the Project Plan is replaced by the organization's Action Plan and a budget, which indicate the area of activities that will be funded from the FLC grant.

The application form and the attachments should be written in English. The applications must be signed, stamped and dated. Please note that applications without a signature, date and stamp will not be considered.

Deadline

The application form and attachments should be sent to the Embassy latest Sunday 21.7.2024 at 23:55 hrs local time (UTC +2).

How to sent the application to the Embassy

The applications can be sent either in electronic or physical format to the Embassy. Applications submitted in the electronic format should be in PDF format and can be submitted via email to projects.buk @ gov.fi.

Please find further information on the procedures for applying for the FLC on from the Guidelines for the FLC partners (Attachment 6, Attachment 7).

Applications in the physical format can be sent to the address of the Embassy below. Note that the physical applications have to reach the Embassy before the end of the application deadline and should hence be sent early to allow sufficient time for delivery.

Address:
Embassy of Finland in Bucharest
Str. Atena 2 bis
Sector 1, 011832 Bucuresti
Romania

In case questions arise, they can be addressed to projects.buk @ gov.fi. We encourage you to contact the Embassy well before the deadline of the application period. We might not have the possibility to get back to you in time in case the questions are sent during the last days of the application period.

Selection Process

Eligible applications must meet all the compulsory requirements of the assessment criteria described in the application form and in the Attachment 4.

Those applications meeting all the compulsory requirements will be submitted for technical assessment.

The technical assessment criteria as available in Attachment 4. For those applications accepted for technical selection, the Embassy emphasises the quality of the project and the financial/administrative capacities of the organisation. The financial/administrative capacity is analysed by the Embassy using Attachment 4. The analysis may include a visit to the premises of the organisation.

Based on the competitive scoring results, the Embassy will finally approve the best applications for funding.

The Embassy reserves the right to demand modifications to the shortlisted project applications if they lack relevant information, if they need improvement to guarantee expected results, or if they are not in line with the relevant rules and regulations.

Estimated timeline

Assessment of the applications, the shortlisting and the pre-selection process is scheduled to take place between July and September 2024. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the finance and administrative capacity assessment. After the shortlisting is done, tentative decisions will be communicated to all applicants. The earliest starting date for a project is estimated to be in November 2024.

Legal and Normative Context

The FLCs are governed by Finnish legislation (Particularly the Act on Discretionary Government Grants (688/2001), and the FLC Internal Instructions (6/2014) of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Finland. The Internal Instructions set out the main principles concerning eligibility criteria for partners and use of the FLC funds). The local partners implementing FLC projects must abide by the relevant local legislation.

As a rule all projects must be implemented by the local partners themselves, and only small procurements of a maximum of €15.000 from external agents may be allowed. If any procurement of goods or services for the value of over €15.000 is needed, the procurement shall be carried out in compliance with the Finnish legislation on competitive bidding.

Information regarding the MFA general conditions governing the use of government grants can be found in the Attachment 5.

FLC Funding Cannot Be Granted:

  • To Finnish Non-Governmental Organisations, friendship associations in Finland,  Finnish Government agencies or public bodies,  Finnish municipalities nor to Finnish businesses
  • To the Government, ministries or municipalities of the host country
  • To an unregistered association or organisation (however, taking into consideration the special circumstances in the host country)
  • To support the activities of a political party
  • For basic research
  • For single cultural events (that have no permanent development impact)
  • For charity
  • For humanitarian aid
  • In the form of a grant, scholarship or assistance for the applicant’s personal use;
  • For purchasing land
  • To a Fund
  • For building the capital of microcredit systems

Core Financing

The FLC projects are, as a rule, not meant to cover the core expenditure of the partner organization. The Project Plan and Budget may include two kinds of general expenditure items: staff training and the direct costs related to the strategic planning of the organisation.  An FLC organization can use max 10% of the fund for administration. Administration should have its own budget line so that it is clear what costs can be included in it. The project budget may include expenditure on financial management and reporting, which are marked as tasks of specific persons.

Find more information in the Attachments below

 

 

Articol adaugat de: Dragos Marcu








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