Civil Society Dialogue –
EU-Turkish Chambers Forum
EU-TURKEY CHAMBERS PARTNERSHIP
GRANT SCHEME
Information Days
April 2008
CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008
1
Context
“Civil Society Development Programme” financed by the EU
between 2001-2005

TCDP I- 10 Partnerships between EU&Turkish Chambers

TCDP II- 11 Partnerships between EU&Turkish Chambers
“EU-Turkish Chambers Partnership Grant Scheme” financed
by the EU in 2008 under NP 2006
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Overall Objective
“to strengthen the dialogue and cooperation
between the Turkish Chambers and their
counterparts in the EU as members of civil
society”;
promoting the integration of EU and
Turkish business communities
facilitating the effective
implementation of business-related acquis in
Turkey.
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Specific Objectives
o
o
o
To obtain adequate knowledge on core
Chamber issues (management, services,
communication)
To increase understanding of EU business
practices in Turkey, and vice versa Turkish
business practise in the EU
To foster opportunities for trade and
investment
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Implementing Structures
TOBB
Beneficiary Institution
(Implementing Authority)
• responsible for the technical
implementation
Direct Grant Beneficiary
EUROCHAMBRES
• Informing and training of potential
applicants
• Monitoring of the grants
Contracting Authority Central Finance
and Contracts Unit
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responsible for, evaluation of
proposals, contracting, financing
and all payments procedures
5
Programme Region

Applicants from
Turkey

Partners from
EU member-states (27 states)
Candidate countries (Turkey, Croatia, FYROM)
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Programme Budget and
Grant Amount
Total financial Allocation
EUR 2.250.000
Total Project Costs – no restrictions concerning
the total cost of the action
Grant amounts
 Minimum EUR
50.000
 Maximum EUR 150.000
 No more than 90% of the eligible costs
 No less than 50% of the eligible costs
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Project Co-financing
Cash co-financing of project activities is
obligatory – minimum 10% of total eligible
costs:
 Co-financing may be provided by:

o
o
o

Applicant
Partners
Associates
Co-financing from other EU programmes
is forbidden
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Applicant, Partners, Associates

Project is designed and implemented by the Applicant
and Project Partners

There are strict requirements to type of organisations that
may participate in the project as Applicants and
Partners and their technical and financial capacity should
be proven.

Associates support the project implementation:
o
o
Associates may not receive funding from the grant ;
Any organisation may be an associate (except political parties
and organisations)
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Subcontractors
Neither partners nor associates, and
are subject to the procurement rules
set out in Annex IV to the standard
grant contract.
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Lead Applicant
Responsibilities
Application stage
o Lead Applicant is responsible for the
submission of the Application
Implementation stage
Lead Applicant is responsible for
o signature of the Contract, thus has legal
responsibility
o technical & financial management
Project may have only one Lead applicant!
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Partners Responsibilities
Application stage
o Support Lead applicant in the preparation
of project proposal
Implementation stage
o Implement project activities in co-operation
with the Lead applicant
o Partners may receive funding from the
project budget
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Partners Responsibilities (2)
• Project must have at least one European partner which is a
local/regional/national chamber or union of chambers
established in the EU member-states or Candidate countries
represented by EUROCHAMBRES .
• There is no limit on the maximum number of project partners,
but it should be manageable!
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Location of Applicant and
Partner Organisations
Applicant should be
located in Turkey.
At least one European
partner located in:
• EU member-states
• Candidate countries
All activities should take place in Turkey and EU or
Candidate countries.
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Requirements to Applicant and
Partner Organisations

be chambers including chambers of commerce and
industry, chambers of commerce, chambers of industry,
chamber of maritime commerce and commodity
exchanges,

be nationals of the Republic of Turkey and member
organisation of TOBB
(http://www.tobb.org.tr/odaveborsalar/adres.php),
preferably from less developed regions,
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Requirements to Applicant and
Partner Organisations (2)


have at least one eligible partner organisation
which is a local/regional/national chamber or union
of chambers established in the EU member-states
or the Candidate countries represented by
EUROCHAMBRES
(http://www.eurochambres.be/content/default.asp?
PageID=29 3])
be directly responsible for the preparation and
management of the action with their partners, not
acting as an intermediary.
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Requirements to Applicant and
Partner Organisations (3)




Registration according to the Turkish law
(European for European partners)
No debts to social security or tax authorities
Technical and financial capacity to implement
project activities
Not falling in any of the situations which are
listed in Section 2.3.3 of the Practical Guide to
Contract Procedures for EC External Actions
(available from the following Internet address:
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/procedures/i
ndex_en.htm)
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Number of proposals per
Applicant

One Applicant may submit only one
proposal and

may be awarded only one grant under
the present call for proposals
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Priority Themes

Capacity building at the chambers to better serve to the
companies (diversification of chamber services such as export
orientation, new marketing methods, branding, trade
facilitation, adopting product portfolio to market needs,
promotion of products, promoting web-presence of
companies, Research & Development; improving the quality
of existing services, etc.),

Support to local/regional investment promotion activities,

Raising awareness to address environmental issues for
industries,

Cluster development,
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Priority Themes (2)
 Vocational
training and education,
 Support to women
entrepreneurship,
 Raising awareness within
companies for intellectual
property rights.
CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008
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Important Issues

Only environmentally friendly technologies
and projects environmentally compatible
will be supported.

Equal opportunity of access to activities
and benefits accruing from the projects
and gender related indicators.
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Ineligible activities
individual sponsorships;
 individual scholarships;
 one-off actions;
 actions already receiving funding;
 projects consisting solely of research
actions, development of strategies, plans
or other similar documents;

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Ineligible activities (2)






commercial activities;
actions which are ideologically biased or
partisan in nature;
grant making activities or loans to other
organisations or individuals;
infrastructure projects or projects essentially
focused on the purchase of equipment;
only the exchange activities.
projects that are implemented in TCDP I and
TCDP II.
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Duration of Project
Duration of an action can not be shorter
than 8 months nor exceed 12 months.
Advice: Plan longer projects!
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Eligible Costs




Costs that are necessary for the
implementation of the activities
Costs that are going to be incurred during the
project implementation period
Costs that are done in compliance with the
principles of value for money and costeffectiveness and
Costs that are identifiable and verifiable with
documentary proofs
See Guidelines for Applicants Section 2.1.4
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Eligible Costs (2)






Staff and experts - corresponding to actual
salaries plus social security charges and other
remuneration-related costs;
Travel and subsistence costs
Cost of purchasing equipment and services,
provided they correspond to market rates –
supplies not more than 15% of the total eligible
project cost
Cost of consumables and supplies;
Subcontracting expenditure (e.g. publications)
Other direct cost for dissemination of information,
translation, printing, insurance, financial service;
CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008
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Eligible Costs (3)
 Contingency
Reserve- no more than
5% of direct eligible costs and
can only be used with the prior
written authorisation of the CFCU
and can not be requested as lump
sum during project implementation.
 Administrative cost – no more than
7% of the total eligible direct costs
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Ineligible Costs













debts and provisions for losses or debts;
salaries of government officials;
project preparation costs;
interest owed;
items already financed in another framework;
purchases of land or buildings;
purchases of used equipment;
currency exchange losses;
taxes, including VAT;
credits to third parties;
costs already incurred;
costs above market prices or above rates normally borne by the
Beneficiary and/or his partners;
non project related expenditures.
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Ineligible Costs (2)

Contributions in kind – voluntary labour,
equipment and premises owned by
partners, etc.
Costs of associates are ineligible, except travel
& subsistence costs!
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Application, Selection and
Evaluation Process
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Practical Details
Get Guidelines & application form:
o
o
o
distributed today
internet: www.tobb.org.tr
» www.eurochambres.eu
» www.cfcu.gov.tr
TOBB & EUROCHAMBRES offices
CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008
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Application Form has 3
compulsory parts:




Grant Application Form (which includes
guidance for concept note, Checklist
and Declaration by the Applicant)
Budget (signed by the legally authorised
representative of the Applicant)
Logical Framework +
CVs of project coordinator and other key
experts
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Additional documents

If the project involves any training
activities/ vocational courses, the training
curricula for the respective trainings
prepared according to template,

If there will be procurement of machinery
and equipment that has a unit cost of more
than € 10.000, proforma invoice for the
relevant equipment.
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Requirements to the
Application form
Prepare Application in English language
 Application should be typed
 Application format has to be respected do not delete and change any text within
the standard application form and its
annexes!
 No supplementary annexes should be
sent.

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Request for Clarifications

Questions in written form prior to 12 May
2008, indicating clearly the Ref. No.
CFCU/ TR0604.03 to CFCU:
o
o

E-mail address: [email protected]
Fax: +90 312 286 70 72
Questions and answers will be published
on the internet at www.eurochambres.eu,
www.tobb.org.tr , www.cfcu.gov.tr.
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Submission of application
 One
original and 2 copies +
electronic format of the Application
form and supporting documents has
to be
 delivered by mail, courier or by
hand in CFCU ANKARA
 before 2 June 2008, at 16.00.
CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008
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Selection and Award- 4 stages


Administrative compliance check to
verify that Application is complete and in
accordance with the formal requirements
(by 1 assessor)
Concept Note evaluation – 2 assessors
evaluate concept notes independently
(only proposals that passed
administrative compliance check are
evaluated)
CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008
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Concept Note Evaluation
Criteria
Scores
1. Relevance of the action
Sub-score
1.1 Relevance of the problems to needs and constraints of the country/region to be addressed in general,
and to those of the target groups and final beneficiaries in particular
1.2 Relevance to the priorities and objectives mentioned in the Guidelines
2. Effectiveness and Feasibility of the action
3. Sustainability of the action
5(x2)*
TOTAL SCORE
25
5
5(x2)*
5(x2)*
Sub-score
3.1 Assessment of the identification of the main assumptions and risks, before the start up and throughout
the implementation period.
3.2 Assessment of the identification of long-term sustainable impact on the target groups and final
beneficiaries.
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Sub-score
2.1 Assessment of the problem identification and analysis
2.2 Assessment of the proposed activities (practicality and consistency in relation to the objectives,
purpose and expected results).
2.3 Assessment of the role and involvement of all stakeholders and proposed partners.
15
10
5
5
50
38
Selection and Award (2)
Technical evaluation of applications– 2
assessors evaluate applications
independently (only proposals that passed
concept note stage are evaluated)
 Eligibility check to verify that Applicant,
partners, actions are eligible by 1
assessor/evaluator (only proposals that
passed technical evaluation stage are
checked).

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Technical Evaluation Criteria
1. Financial and operational capacity (of
the applicant and partners)
2. Relevance (to programme objectives
and local needs)
3. Methodology (adequacy of proposed
activities)
4. Sustainability (expected impact)
20
>12
25
>20
25
15
5. Budget and cost-effectiveness
15
Total
100
>65
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Verification of Eligibility







The statutes or articles of association of the applicant organisation
and of each partner organisation;
Copy of the applicant’s latest accounts;
Legal entity sheet duly completed and signed by the applicant;
A financial identification form;
A decision of the Applicant’s and Partner(s)’ Managing Body to
implement the Project with an indication of the person(s) nominated
to sign documents;
Notarised document with the name(s) of the person(s) empowered
to represent the applicant and Partner(s) & sample of signature(s);
A copy of Applicant’s tax registration or a document indicating the
tax number from the relevant tax authority;
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Verification of Eligibility (2)



Evidence on the fulfilment of obligations related to the
social security contributions and payment of taxes as per
the submission date.
Two Declarations duly completed and signed by the
applicant.
Authorisation or other licenses necessary for the
implementation of the project, if required by the Law.
If the supporting documents are not provided
within 10 calendar days from the receipt of the
letter sent by the Contracting Authority, the
application may be rejected!
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From Notification to Project
Start



Evaluation Committee recommends the projects for
support on the basis of the results of the eligibility check
Successful applicants are notified after getting the ECD
approval
Contract Signature & Project Start
o Contract signature by lead applicant with CFCU
o The day following the date of signature = Project Start
No activities should start
before the contract signature!
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THANK YOU FOR
YOUR ATTENTION AND GOOD LUCK!
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