Civil Society Dialogue – EU-Turkish Chambers Forum EU-TURKEY CHAMBERS PARTNERSHIP GRANT SCHEME Information Days April 2008 CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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 CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

Overall Objective promoting the integration of EU and “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. CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

Specific Objectives 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 CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

Implementing Structures Beneficiary Institution (Implementing Authority) responsible for the technical implementation TOBB EUROCHAMBRES Direct Grant Beneficiary Informing and training of potential applicants Monitoring of the grants Central Finance and Contracts Unit Contracting Authority - responsible for, evaluation of proposals, contracting, financing and all payments procedures CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

Programme Region Turkey EU member-states (27 states) Applicants from Turkey Partners from EU member-states (27 states) Candidate countries (Turkey, Croatia, FYROM) CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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 CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

Project Co-financing Cash co-financing of project activities is obligatory – minimum 10% of total eligible costs: Co-financing may be provided by: Applicant Partners Associates Co-financing from other EU programmes is forbidden CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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: Associates may not receive funding from the grant ; Any organisation may be an associate (except political parties and organisations) CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

Subcontractors Neither partners nor associates, and are subject to the procurement rules set out in Annex IV to the standard grant contract. CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

Lead Applicant Responsibilities Application stage Lead Applicant is responsible for the submission of the Application Implementation stage Lead Applicant is responsible for signature of the Contract, thus has legal responsibility technical & financial management Project may have only one Lead applicant! CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

Partners Responsibilities Application stage Support Lead applicant in the preparation of project proposal Implementation stage Implement project activities in co-operation with the Lead applicant Partners may receive funding from the project budget CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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! CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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. CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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, CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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. CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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/index_en.htm) CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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 CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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, CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

Vocational training and education, Support to women entrepreneurship, Priority Themes (2) Vocational training and education, Support to women entrepreneurship, Raising awareness within companies for intellectual property rights. CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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. CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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; CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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. CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

Advice: Plan longer projects! Duration of Project Duration of an action can not be shorter than 8 months nor exceed 12 months. Advice: Plan longer projects! CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

See Guidelines for Applicants Section 2.1.4 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 cost-effectiveness and Costs that are identifiable and verifiable with documentary proofs See Guidelines for Applicants Section 2.1.4 CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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

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 CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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. CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

Costs of associates are ineligible, except travel & subsistence costs! Ineligible Costs (2) Contributions in kind – voluntary labour, equipment and premises owned by partners, etc. Costs of associates are ineligible, except travel & subsistence costs! CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

Application, Selection and Evaluation Process CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

Practical Details Get Guidelines & application form: distributed today internet: www.tobb.org.tr www.eurochambres.eu www.cfcu.gov.tr TOBB & EUROCHAMBRES offices CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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 CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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. CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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. CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

Request for Clarifications Questions in written form prior to 12 May 2008, indicating clearly the Ref. No. CFCU/ TR0604.03 to CFCU: E-mail address: didem.ulac@cfcu.gov.tr 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. CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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

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

Concept Note Evaluation Criteria Scores 1. Relevance of the action Sub-score 15 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 5 5(x2)* 2. Effectiveness and Feasibility of the action 25 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. 3. Sustainability of the action 10 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. TOTAL SCORE 50 CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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). CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

Technical Evaluation Criteria 1. Financial and operational capacity (of the applicant and partners) 20 >12 2. Relevance (to programme objectives and local needs) 25 >20 3. Methodology (adequacy of proposed activities) 4. Sustainability (expected impact) 15 5. Budget and cost-effectiveness Total 100 >65 CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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; CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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! CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

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 Contract signature by lead applicant with CFCU The day following the date of signature = Project Start No activities should start before the contract signature! CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008

YOUR ATTENTION AND GOOD LUCK! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION AND GOOD LUCK! CFCU - 2 Nisan 2008