tenders and grants

partnership

1. INTRODUCTION
Having regard to the Decision No 291/2003/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 February 2003 (1) establishing the European Year of Education through Sport 2004 (EYES 2004), the European Commission plans to provide support to suitable initiatives of Community interest.
The overall budget allocated to the European Year of Education through Sport is EUR 11,5 million. This sum is managed by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Education and Culture.
The Commission is launching this call for proposals in order to co-finance projects originating in the Member States and implemented at local, regional, national, transnational or Community level in pursuit of the objectives set out below.
The Commission also plans to provide subsidies, outside this call for proposals, to projects that meet the objectives of the Year, particularly those submitted by bodies that are in an actual or legal monopoly situation.

2. AIMS
The European Year shall have the following objectives:
- to raise the awareness of educational and sports organisations of the need for cooperation to develop education through sport and its European dimension, bearing in mind the great interest shown by young people in all types of sports,
- to take advantage of the values conveyed by sport to increase knowledge and skills, enabling young people to develop their physical capabilities and inclination to personal effort, as well as social capabilities such as teamwork, solidarity, tolerance and fair play in a multicultural context,
- to raise awareness of the positive contribution made by voluntary work to informal education, particularly for young people,
- to promote the educational value of mobility and pupil exchanges, particularly in a multicultural environment, through the organisation of sports and cultural meetings as part of school activities,
- to encourage the exchange of good practice concerning the potential role of sport in education systems in order to promote the social inclusion of disadvantaged groups,
- to establish a better balance between intellectual and physical activities during school life by encouraging sport in school activities,
- to examine the problems linked to the education of young sportsmen and women engaged in competitive sport.

3. AREAS OF ACTION FOR PROPOSALS SUBMITTED UNDER THE EUROPEAN YEAR OF EDUCATION THROUGH SPORT 2004
Projects receiving co-financing under this call for proposals may be of two kinds, depending on their nature:
- Community-wide projects (the partnership must include partners from at least eight participating States, see point 5),
- projects at local, regional, national or transnational level.
The Commission wishes to achieve a balance in the kind of projects co-financed. The objective(s) of the European Year to which projects mainly contribute, along with their scale, target group and location, will all be taken into account in seeking to achieve this balance.
Co-financed projects should promote the objectives of the European Year, particularly in one or more of the following ways:
- cooperation projects between educational institutions and sporting organisations intended to integrate practice of a sport into formal education in a structured and long-lasting way, and to incorporate an element of sport into the other subjects on the curriculum,
- projects intended to create extensive partnerships, including non-traditional partners such as the media, youth organisations and voluntary groups,
- cooperation projects between educational institutions, sporting organisations and public authorities to create sporting activities that meet the needs of informal education and ensure the exchange of best practices,
- projects involving educational activities organised by volunteers at Community, cross-border or national level in order to test the possibilities offered by sport in the context of informal education,
- projects promoting exchanges between students from different Member States or different regions within Member States where priority is given to physical activity as the driving force behind the exchanges but with the capacity to combine other cultural activities,
- projects providing for joint activities involving students from different sociocultural backgrounds, particularly disadvantaged backgrounds,
- projects aimed at identifying priority themes for youth work that sporting activity can promote, such as teamwork, participation, solidarity, tolerance and mutual understanding in a multicultural environment,
- actions intended to disseminate information on best practices and innovative ways to integrate sport into the educational sphere (this may involve building on the achievements of other European projects).

4. BUDGET AVAILABLE
The budget available for co-financed projects is EUR 6,5 million ( This sum was based on the budget for the implementation of EYES 2004 provided for under Article 10 of Decision No 291/2003/EC. This budget was set for the 15 EU Member States. It is therefore subject to modification to take account of the participation of the acceding countries). On the basis of this figure, the Commission expects to be able to co-finance approximately 185 proposals (of which approximately 10 will be Community projects).
This budget will be divided into three parts depending on the starting date of the project:
(1) actions beginning before 1 January 2004: EUR 500 000;
(2) actions beginning between 1 January 2004 and 30 June 2004: EUR 4 000 000;
(3) actions beginning after 30 June 2004: EUR 2 000 000.
Co-financing will be provided:
- for Community-wide projects, to a maximum of 80 % of the total eligible cost of each project (the sums allocated will normally be in the region of EUR 150 000 unless a special exception is made for more important projects),
- for local, regional, national or transnational projects, to a maximum of 50 % of the total eligible cost of each project (the sums allocated will normally range from EUR 20 000 to EUR 100 000).

5. WHO MAY SUBMIT A PROPOSAL?
Commission funding is available for organisations established within the European Union or in one of the States taking part in the European Year of Education through Sport :
- the 15 current Member States (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom),
- the 10 acceding countries (Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia. ). However, these countries may only submit proposals under this call for activities commencing after 1 January 2004 and they may not sign agreements prior to the date on which they become full members,
- EFTA-EEA countries ( Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), provided they have submitted an official request to participate in accordance with the conditions set out in the Agreement on the European Economic Area,
- the candidate countries ( Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. ), provided they have submitted an official request to participate and signed an agreement with the Commission to determine the details of their cooperation.
The European Year of Education through Sport 2004 is aimed at public authorities with responsibility for education or sport; at educational institutions and sporting organisations (international, European or national federations, Olympic committees, national sporting confederations and other sporting organisations, etc).
‘Organisations’, ‘bodies’, ‘institutions’ and other designations for applicants listed above are understood to refer to organisations which are legally constituted and registered under the legislation of a Member State (or acceding country) of the EU, of the candidate countries or of a member country of the EEA at the time of submitting the application (European or international organisations registered in a State that is not taking part in EYES 2004 may submit proposals if these concern activities taking place in at least eight participating countries).
However, it should be noted that the following cannot be funded:
- projects leading to a financial profit for their promoters,
- projects proposed by individuals and which do not carry the endorsement of any organisation referred to above.

6. ELIGIBILITY
6.1. Eligibility criteria
(1) Only applications duly completed as set out in point 9.1 (submission of applications) and received by the stated deadline will be eligible.
(2) Applicants must be one of the types of organisation listed in point 5.
(3) Applicants must be established in one of the 15 Member States of the European Union or one of the 10 countries acceding to the EU (European or international organisations registered in a State that is not taking part in EYES 2004 may submit proposals if these concern activities taking place in at least eight participating countries). Moreover, applications from applicants based in a state that has submitted an official request to participate in EYES 2004, whether this is an EFTA-EEA country or one of the candidate countries, will also be accepted. These projects will be taken into account during the selection process but may only be selected if the agreements allowing their participation have been concluded in good time.
(4) Applicants must demonstrate that they are not in any of the situations listed below:
(a) they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the court, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;
(b) they have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgement which has the force of res judicata;
(c) they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authority can justify;
(d) they have not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established or those of the country of the contracting authority or those of the country where the contract is to be performed;
(e) they have been the subject of a judgement which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity detrimental to the Communities' financial interests;
(f) they have been declared to be in serious breach of contract for failure to comply with their contractual obligations following another procurement procedure or grant award procedure financed by the Community budget;
(g) are subject to a conflict of interest;
(h) are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the contracting authority as a condition of participation in the contract procedure or fail to supply this information
6.2. The partnership
This call is specifically intended to encourage partnership between educational institutions, sporting organisations and public authorities.
The partnership could, for instance, be set up with the cooperation of public authorities and NGOs involved in education, youth or sport. In the spirit of partnership advocated by the Commission in its Report to the Helsinki European Council, and depending on the nature of the project, public authorities and sporting organisations should be involved wherever possible .
For Community-wide projects, the partnership must include partners from at least eight participating States.
Partnership with acceding and candidate countries that have submitted an official request to participate is strongly encouraged in the context of projects at transnational or Community level.
6.3. Grounds for exclusion
The following are excluded from this call for proposals:
(1) projects relating merely to the organisation of sporting events within the normal framework of official or friendly competitions or matches;
(2) projects submitted by natural persons;
(3) projects which have already begun prior to the date of signature of the agreement. However, as an exception to this provision, projects from acceding countries that would have begun after 1 January 2004 and before the date of accession will not be excluded, given that agreements concerning proposals submitted by these countries cannot be signed before the date on which they become full members;
(4) projects concluding later than 31 December 2004;
(5) projects which were completed before the date for submission of applications;
(6) projects involving activities of which the results cannot be transferred to other Member States;
(7) for-profit projects.

7. SELECTION AND AWARD CRITERIA
Proposals for Community-wide projects (see point 3) will be selected and evaluated by the Commission.
For the selection and evaluation of proposals for projects at local, regional, national or transnational level, the Commission will be assisted by the national coordination bodies as referred to in Article 4(2) of the Decision establishing the Year.
7.1. Selection criteria
Applicants must demonstrate their technical and financial ability to bring the proposed activity to a proper conclusion. This will be evaluated primarily on the basis of:
(1) the information provided on the qualifications of the members of the project team and their professional experience;
(2) the official annual accounts of the applicant organisation for the most recent financial year available.
7.2. Award criteria
The Commission will award the grants after having taken into consideration all the following criteria:
(1) the merits of the projects submitted in terms of improving the quality of formal and informal education and developing stable partnerships between educational institutions and sports organisations;
(2) organisational and budgetary aspects judged on the basis of the following elements:
(a) work plan (clarity and correlation between the stated objectives and the means proposed);
(b) coherence of the budget with the work plan;
(c) the evaluation arrangements proposed as part of the project.
(3) Community added-value: projects submitted must be of particular interest to the European Union:
(a) implementation on a trial basis at European level;
(b) transferability of results;
(c) promotion of good practice.
When the projects are evaluated the above criteria will be weighted differently for the purpose of awarding the grant: 40 % for criterion 1 and 30 % for criteria 2 and 3. Particular attention will be paid to proposals that take into account the fight against all types of discrimination, as set out in Article 13 of the Treaty establishing the European Community .
If it becomes necessary to decide between projects considered to be at the same level, clear priority will be given to projects which, in order:
(1) involve as many partners from different countries as possible;
(2) have a realistic strategy for obtaining wide media coverage. Projects liable to attract the attention of local, regional or national media are especially welcome;
(3) take an innovative approach to integrating the values conveyed through sport into education;
(4) increase awareness, use and dissemination of e-Learning technologies.

8. ELIGIBLE AND NON-ELIGIBLE EXPENDITURE
8.1. Eligible expenditure
The categories of expenditure listed below are eligible, provided they are properly accounted for and valued in accordance with market conditions, and are identifiable and verifiable. They must be direct costs (i.e. generated directly by the project and indispensable for its implementation, having regard to the cost/benefit principle). Expenditure can be considered only if it arises after the date on which the budget agreement was signed. However, in the case of acceding countries, expenditure between 1 January 2004 and the date on which they became full members will be considered eligible.
- Personnel costs, excluding the salaries of public officials, directly linked to the measure, corresponding to actual wages and salaries plus social security contributions,
- travel and subsistence costs for personnel,
- direct costs associated with the measure,
- the costs of running conferences and seminars (organisation costs, travel and subsistence costs for participants and speakers, interpreting costs, fees, etc.),
- information dissemination costs (production costs (publications, books, CD-ROMs, videos, Internet, etc.), costs of translation, distribution, dissemination),
- any other direct costs associated with the action,
- overheads, limited to 7 % of the total eligible direct costs.
8.2. Non-eligible expenditure
The following expenditure cannot be considered eligible:
- ongoing operational, depreciation and equipment costs,
- costs of consumables and supplies,
- capital investment costs,
- general provisions (e.g. for losses and possible future debts, etc.),
- debts,
- interest on debts,
- charges for financial services,
- bad debts,
- exchange losses, apart from exceptional cases for which express provision is made,
- expenditure on luxuries,
- the creation of material and publications for commercial purposes.
However, consideration will be given to monographs, collections, reviews, records, CDs, CD-ROMs, CD-Is and videos, provided they form an integral part of the project,
- contributions in kind (including for example land, immovable property whether in its entirety or in part, durable capital goods, raw materials and unpaid voluntary work),
- value added tax, if the contractor is able to recover this VAT from the fiscal authorities of his/her country.

9. PROCEDURE
9.1. Submission of applications
Only dossiers comprising all the documents referred to below, received before the deadline, duly completed in one of the 11 official languages of the European Union ( Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. ) and accompanied by the requisite supporting documents, can be considered.
The following documents must be enclosed:
- the subsidy application form, duly completed, dated and signed by the person responsible, including a detailed description of the project,
- a detailed balanced forward budget (income and expenditure) in euro, stating the estimated unit costs for the various items of expenditure and income. This detailed budget must be dated and signed by the person responsible. It must be presented in the table sent with the application form,
- curriculum vitae of the persons to be performing work in connection with the project,
- official annual accounts of the applicant organisation for the most recent financial year available,
- the organisation's articles of association (in the case of an application by a Member State or public authority, this document may not be required),
- the bank details form, completed by the beneficiary and certified by the bank. This certification is essential for the application to be considered,
- documents certifying (For the cases quoted in (a), (b), (d) or (e) the following shall be accepted as sufficient evidence:
- for (a), (b) or (e), the production of an extract from the ‘judicial record’ or, failing this, of an equivalent document issued by a competent judicial or administrative authority in the country of origin or in the country whence that person comes showing that these requirements have been met,
- for (d), a certificate issued by the competent authority in the Member State concerned. For (g), and where the country concerned does not issue such documents or certificates, they may be replaced by a declaration on oath made by the person concerned before a judicial or administrative authority, a notary or a competent professional or trade body, in the country of origin or in the country whence that person comes.) that the applicant is not in one of the situations listed in paragraph (4) of point 6.1 of this call,
- the following statements: ‘If my proposal is accepted, I authorise the European Commission to publish the information detailed at point 10 of this call for proposals’ (If the beneficiary refuses to sign this declaration, detailed justification must be attached to the application form. The Commission will take this into consideration when awarding grants).
‘I am aware that my institution/organisation may not receive more than one Commission grant for the activity covered by this application and I therefore undertake to withdraw any other application for a grant should the present proposal be accepted or to withdraw this proposal should another application be accepted.’
The Commission reserves the right to request a bank guarantee, if necessary.
Applications for funding must be submitted in triplicate (one original and two certified copies), dated and signed by the responsible person. The three copies must be submitted in a single envelope accompanied by a covering letter from the applicant.
In addition, an electronic version of the application (parts I, II and III) including the bank details sheet, completed in accordance with the specimen provided, should also be sent by e-mail to the national coordinating body concerned and to the Commission (EAC-EYES2004@cec.eu.int).
The electronic message must arrive by the deadline for submission of applications on paper (see point 9.2).
The following must appear on the envelopes (and in the ‘subject’ field of electronic messages):
(1) Call for proposals No EAC 04/03
(2) Project (indicate nationality of lead partner) at (indicate level: local, regional, national or transnational) level.
Proposals must be sent by registered mail, delivered by courier or delivered in person (with receipt). Proposals delivered by courier or delivered in person must reach the department concerned by 4 p.m. at the latest on the deadline for submissions given at point 9.2.
It is advisable to send the documents by registered post.
Applications concerning Community-wide projects must be sent to the following address:
European Commission
DG EAC C.5
Sport Unit
B-100 5/48
B-1049 Brussels
Applications concerning projects at local, regional or national level must be sent to the National Coordinating Body in the applicant's country (list of national Coordinating Bodies:http://europa.eu.int/comm/sport).
In the case of transnational projects involving institutions from more than one country, an institution coordinating the project must be identified. The subsidy application must then be sent by the coordinating institution to the National Coordinating Body in its country.
Applications sent by fax or only by e-mail will not be accepted.
The standard application form must be used for submitting the grant application. This form may be obtained from the Sport Unit's Internet site (http://europa.eu.int/comm/sport).
or by writing to your National Coordinating Body (list of National Coordinating Bodies: http://europa.eu.int/comm/sport), which may also be able to provide you with an electronic version of the application form.
9.2. Deadline for the submission of applications
There will be three deadlines for sending applications:
- 4 July 2003, for projects scheduled to begin before 1 January 2004,
- 1 October 2003, for projects scheduled to begin between 1 January 2004 and 30 June 2004,
- 1 March 2004, for projects scheduled to begin after 1 July 2004.
The deadline must be strictly adhered to, and no extension will be granted. Any project sent after this deadline will be automatically rejected.
9.3. Processing of applications
Receipt of applications will be confirmed by the Commission, for applications concerning Community-wide activities, or by the National Coordinating Bodies, for other applications. A reference number will be allocated to each application and must be quoted in any correspondence concerning it.
The National Coordinating Bodies will conduct the initial examination of the applications, and will forward all applications to the Commission, together with their own evaluation of each project.
The Commission will then make a selection, which will be finalised after consultation with the Committee of the Member States set up under the Decision establishing the European Year of Education through Sport 2004.
All unsuccessful applicants will be informed in writing, with the reasons for the refusal, after the selection process has been completed.
The projects selected will be subjected to a detailed financial approval procedure, during which the Commission may request further information from the project leaders.
9.4. Notification and subsidy payment procedure
Applicants will be notified of the Commission's decision concerning their grant application as soon as possible. No information will be released until the Commission's decision has been made public. The results of the selection of projects should be announced three months after the deadline for submissions.
The decision to award a subsidy to a beneficiary does not commit the Commission to paying a financial contribution equivalent to that requested by the applicant. The allocated amount may not exceed the amount requested.
Once the project has received the Commission's definitive approval, a funding agreement, drawn up in euro, specifying the amount and the terms of funding, will be concluded between the Community and the beneficiary. This agreement (the original) must be signed and returned to the Commission immediately. Advance financing equivalent to 60 % of the amount of the grant will be paid within 45 calendar days of signature of the agreement by the two parties. The balance will be paid within 45 days of the Commission receiving and approving the final report and detailed final accounts of income and expenditure.
Beneficiaries undertake to carry out the approved projects as presented in the application form. Any change to the project must be authorised by the Commission in advance. The inclusion in the final accounts of costs not referred to in the agreement may lead the Commission to request reimbursement of all or part of the grant.
In cases where the real eligible costs at the end of the measure are lower than the total estimated costs, the Commission will apply the percentage set in respect of the costs indicated in the budget appended to the agreement, and the beneficiary will be obliged to reimburse amounts already paid in excess of the amount due.
The projects selected may be subject to audits and to ex ante and ex post evaluations. The responsible person in the organisation undertakes, with his or her signature, to provide proof that the grant has been used correctly. The Commission and the Court of Auditors of the European Communities may check the use made of the subsidy, at any time during the term of the agreement and during a period of five years following expiry of the agreement.
9.5. Submission of the final report and the final financial statement
On completion of a project which has received Community support, the organisers must submit an activity report on the results and be prepared to supply the European Commission with any information it may need to enable it to evaluate the project. This report must give a succinct but full description of the results of the project and must be accompanied by any publications produced under the project. It must be drawn up in accordance with the model referred to in the Annex which will be appended to the grant agreement.
The final report must be sent to the Commission within two months of the end of the activity.
The final accounts must be attached to the report.
The final accounts must be balanced, dated, drawn up in euro and signed and certified by the authorised person, as provided for in the organisation's constituent documents. The final accounts must be presented using the Annex which will be appended to the subsidy agreement.

10. PUBLICITY
The Commission will publish the name and address of beneficiaries, the subject and the amount of the grant awarded, and the rate of financing. These details will be published with the approval of the beneficiary unless this information is liable to pose a risk to his/her security or damage his/her financial interests (see point 9.1 (8)).
In any publication concerning the project, or on the occasion of any activities for which the subsidy is used, beneficiaries must clearly mention the support provided by the European Union, with the following two phrases:
‘With the support of the European Commission — Directorate- General for Education and Culture — European Year of Education through Sport 2004 Initiative’
‘The information contained in this publication does not necessarily reflect the position or the opinion of the European Commission’
Beneficiaries are required to use the name and emblem of the European Commission on all their publications, posters, programmes and other products realised in the context of the co-funded project. To do this they shall use the EYES 2004 graphic line and logo, which will be provided by the Commission.

11. SUBCONTRACTORS
If the implementation of the project requires the services of a subcontractor, the beneficiary must award the contract to the most economically advantageous tender, respecting the principles of transparency and equality of treatment for potential contractors and ensuring that conflicts of interest are avoided.