Call for proposals large projects

The EEA Grants provide funding to 16 EU countries in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe. An amount of EUR1.79 billion has been set aside under the EEA and Norway Grants for the programming period 2009-2014.

The overall objectives of the Financial Mechanisms 2009-2014 are to contribute to the reduction of economic and social disparities within the EEA and to strengthen the bilateral relations between the Donor States and the Beneficiary State.

In order to ensure the implementation of the EEA Financial Mechanism, a Memorandum of Understanding between the Kingdom of Norway, the Republic of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Government of Romania on the implementation of the EEA Financial Mechanism for the period 2009-2014 is in force as of 22 March 2012, amended 18 October 2012.

The rules and requirements on the implementation of the EEA grants are set out in the Regulation on the implementation of the European Economic Area (EEA) Financial Mechanism 2009-2014, including its annexes. Further information can be found at www.eeagrants.org.

The EEA Grants contribute, inter alia, to protecting cultural heritage and revitalizing cultural heritage and to promoting cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue, fostering minority cultures and cultural exchange by providing more than €200 million support in 16 beneficiary countries. In Romania a total of €20,8 million is provided for support in this area, of which €16,470,588 will be available for support in the area of protecting and revitalizing cultural heritage. The total budget of the present call for proposals is € 9.821.004.

In Romania, the programme operator for Conservation and Revitalisation of Cultural and Natural Heritage Programme, hereinafter named the Programme, is the Project Management Unit (PMU), within the Ministry of Culture, implementing the Programme in partnership with the Directorate for Cultural Heritage Norway.

At least 10% of the total eligible costs of the Programme shall target the improvement of the situation of the Roma population. The focus is to increase the protection and valorisation of the Roma cultural heritage with the aim towards strengthening their cultural identity and the contribution of the project’s relevance regarding cultural minorities (including Roma) will be taken into account in the evaluation criteria.

OBJECTIVES

The general objective of the Programme is to contribute to cultural and natural heritage for future generations safeguarded and conserved and made publicly available.

As well, the implementation of the Programme shall contribute to:

  • the protection of Romanian cultural heritage
  • the development of communities by improving their tourist and investment attractiveness through the conservation, restoration and valorisation of cultural heritage
  • the conservation and valorisation of intangible heritage with an aim towards strengthening cultural identity of ethnical, social and cultural minorities, including Roma population population and increasing a greater awareness about and public access to this heritage.
  • strengthening of bilateral relations between Romanian cultural operators and cultural players from the Donor States (in the field of cultural heritage).

OUTCOMES AND OUTPUTS

The present grant scheme within the Programme envisages the achievement of the following outcomes and outputs:

Outcome A: Cultural heritage restored, renovated and protected

Outputs:

  • buildings of cultural heritage value restored or rehabilitated;
  • objects of cultural heritage value restored/preserved;
  • digitised archives and databases;
  • new museums and cultural facilities created/enhanced.

Outcome B: Local communities further developed and economically sustainable livelihoods established through the revitalization of cultural and natural heritage

Outputs:

  • strategic and planning documents created and improved, in relation with heritage assets;
  • natural heritage sites protected or revitalised;
  • cultural intangible heritage of ethnical and cultural minorities made accessible to the public.

ELIGIBILE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES

Under the present call for proposals, all activities which aim to achieve the objectives, outcomes and outputs outlined above are considered eligible, such as for example:

  • Protection, restoration, conservation and enhancement of movable and immovable cultural heritage,
  • Landscaping for the enhancement of the restored cultural heritage,
  • Indoor facilities (installations, equipment and facilities for ensuring air conditioning, fire safety, etc.),
  • Modernisation of utilities related to heritage (electricity, water, sewage),
  • Preservation of the natural heritage and making it available to the public,
  • Development of the infrastructure for digitization of cultural heritage resources, digitization of such resources and making them publicly available,
  • Conservation activities and promotion of intangible heritage of ethnic and cultural communities, including the Roma population,
  • Studies, analyzes, reports on tangible and intangible cultural assets, including feasibility studies, technical projects, impact assessment, inventories, etc,
  • Creation of strategic documents, integrated development plans related to heritage assets,
  • Creation of catalogs and inventories of cultural heritage collections targeting ethnic and cultural minorities,
  • Organization of exhibitions and events promoting the heritage of ethnical and cultural minorities, including the Roma population

The list of activities is indicative and not limited to the examples mentioned above.

CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES

Under this call for proposals the following cross-cutting issues have to be considered in projects: good governance, sustainable development and gender equality (according to Protocol 38 B and Article 1.6 of the Regulations).

Good governance has 6 main principles: it is participatory and inclusive, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, and follows the rule of law. These principles apply to project level, too. Transparency and openess shall characterise all phases of project implementation.

Sustainable development is a framework for a long-term vision of sustainability in which economic growth, social cohesion and environmental protection go hand in hand and are mutually supporting. This term is defined as „development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future mgenerations to meet their needs”. The principles of sustainable development have to be observed at project level.

Gender equality refers to men and women having equal rights and opportunities in all areas of society and economy, such as representation and participation, access to resources, rights, norms and values. Principles of equal rights and opportunities for men and women have to be applied at project level.

The horizontal concerns to be addressed are: combating hate speech, extremism, racism, homophobia, anti-semitism, tolerance, sexual harassment, violence against women, trafficking. These will be addressed directly or indirectly by the proposed activities. Applicants will give details in the application form about the horizontal concerns the project contributes to and how the horizontal concerns  are addressed within the project. The selection criteria take into consideration the principles of equality and tolerance and they foster the submission of project applications supporting cultural diversity and cultural expression of minority groups, including Roma.

FINANCIAL ALLOCATION

3.1. The total budget of the present call for proposals is 9.821.004 EUR. This amount consists of 8.347.853 EUR (85%) provided by the EEA Financial Mechanism and 1.473.151 EUR (15%) provided by the Romanian Government.

3.2. The above total budget of the present call will be allocated for both outcomes of the Programme, as follows:

  • Outcome 1: Cultural heritage restored, renovated and protected 9.097.474 Eur
  • Outcome 2: Local communities further developed and economically sustainable livelihoods established through the revitalization of cultural and natural heritage 723.530 Eur

3.3 The grant rate for the implementation of a project is as follows:

  • in case of projects submitted by public entities -  the grant will cover up to 100% of the total project eligible costs;
  • in case of projects submitted by private entities - the grant will cover up to 90% of the total project eligible costs.

In case of private entities, in-kind contributions are accepted. Such contributions shall amount to maximum 50% of the co-financing provided by the applicant. Contributions in kind are possible only in the form of voluntary work.

The basis for the calculation of the unit prices for voluntary work will be the official data on minimum and average salary in the economy at national level, as established by the National Commission for Prognosis in force at the time of the call for proposal launching. The eventual net revenues gained in a project must be reinvested in the project.

Further details about these aspects are available in the Applicant’s Guide.

3.4 Grant amounts:

  • the minimum grant amount is EUR 200.000 per project
  • the maximum grant amount is EUR 2.000.000 per project

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

4.1. For both Programme outcomes, the eligible applicants are Romanian organizations:

  • Public entities: public authorities, cultural institutions and state archive
  • Private entities: Non-governmental organisations active in the field of cultural heritage or ethnic minorities
  • Religious organizations legally recognized in Romania
  • Higher education and research institutions
  • Other non-commercial entities

4.2. The applicant shall be legal owner/holder of the heritage monument, item or collection included in the project.

4.3 Applicants are not eligible to receive granting within the Programme should they fall under one of the following categories:

  1. 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;
  2. 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;
  3. Have not fulfilled their obligations related 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;
  4. They have been convicted in relation to their professional conduct by a court judgement which has the force of res judicata in the last three years;
  5. They are guilty of grave professional misconduct which the Programme Operator  can justify/prove by any means;
  6. They have been declared in a serious breach of contractual obligations on public procurement procedures and/or contracting procedures within the European Economic Area.

4.4. In addition, applicants will not receive grants within the Programme, should they be in one the following situations:

  1. Have attempted to obtain confidential information or influence the PO evaluators during the evaluation process of applications within call for proposals;
  2. Have failed to supply the correct information required by the Program Operator;
  3. Are in any situation of conflict of interest which may arise in connection with the present call (a conflict of interest could arise in particular as a result of economic interests, political or national affinities, family or emotional ties or any other relevant connection or shared interest);
  4. Delay informing the Programme Operator of any situation which may be considered a conflict of interest or which could give rise to a conflict of interest;
  5. Have made any offer of any type whatsoever from which an advantage can be derived under the agreement;
  6. Is  currently subject to an administrative penalty for misrepresentation in supplying information required by the Programme Operator.

4.5 Donor project partners (DPPs)

To enhance cooperation, partnerships between organisations from Romania and Donor States are strongly encouraged. It should be noted that the application is to be submitted by an applicant from Romania which may establish a partnership with one or more organisations from the donor states: Iceland, Liechtenstein and/or Norway.

Both parties must work out and agree to their respective roles within the proposed project. The applicant and the partner shall sign a Partnership Letter of intent using  a template provided together with the Application Form template to be submitted together with the application.

Donor project partners can be organisations registered as legal entities in Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. A donor project partner shall meet the following requirements:

  • its participation in the envisaged project is reasonable;
  • it does not draw direct financial profits from the participation within the project;
  • it is legally established, based and registered in the Donor States as:
  • public bodies active in the field of culture, cultural and natural heritage,  organized and managed according to the applicable law;
  • nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations, organized and managed according to the applicable law.

ELIGIBLE EXPENDITURES

All project costs must be directly linked to the implementation of the proposed activities. All project costs have to be proportionate, justified and necessary for the implementation of the project and actually incurred by the Project Promoter/Project Partner.

5.1 Eligible costs

The following project costs are considered eligible costs under this call of proposals:

a) Management costs including, among others:

  • the cost of staff assigned to the project, comprising actual salaries plus social security charges and other statutory costs included in the remuneration, provided that this corresponds to the Project Promoter’s and project partner’s usual policy on remuneration. The corresponding salary costs of staff of national administrations are eligible to the extent that they relate to the cost of activities which the relevant public authority would not carry out if the project concerned were not undertaken;
  • travel and subsistence allowances for staff taking part in the project, provided that they are in line with the Project Promoter’s and project partner’s usual practices on travel costs and do not exceed the relevant national scales;
  • costs of consumables and supplies, provided that they are identifiable and assigned to the project;

b) Consulting and expertise costs including, among others:

    • expenses for technical, administrative, financial, accounting, tax,  management and consulting, legal advice on project activities;
    • expert fees for reports, strategies, guidelines, methodologies, inventories, studies, analyses, reports on tangible and intangible cultural assets;
    • expenses for translation and interpretation services;
    • evaluation and audit costs;

c) Specific costs including, among others:

  • preparation works including costs for the elaboration of the construction design;
  • preparation of construction site, construction - assembly works, installation works;
  • costs of landscaping works and/or preservation of the natural heritage;
  • costs of utilities related to heritage building (electricity, water, sewage);
  • costs for construction permits, other taxes;
  • costs for insurance of the restored heritage building;
  • costs for supervision services;
  • construction costs;
  • conservation costs;
  • digitisation costs, specific software and database development;
  • cost of purchasing new and second hand equipment and fittings (where the equipment is functional at the end of the project and/or those cases where the use of the equipment after project implementation is limited to activities in line with the project’s objectives);
  • generally accepted depreciation cost of other new or second hand equipment corresponding to the duration of the project and the rate of actual equipment use for the purposes of the project;
  • purchase of intangible assets such as patents and licenses for equipment;
  • costs for indoor facilities (installations, equipment and facilities for ensuring air conditioning, fire safety, etc.);
  • costs for protection, conservation and valorization of movable and immovable cultural heritage;
  • expenses for organizing specific exhibitions and events related to heritage;
  • other specific costs (including costs for bilateral relations) arising directly from requirements imposed by the project contract for each project;

d) Costs for publicity and information including, among others:

  • Costs for the design and printing of promotional materials;
  • Website creation and maintenance costs;
  • Costs for organizing press events;
  • Costs for promotional billboards / plaques, etc;

e) Indirect costs for projects (overheads) will be estimated according to the methodology indicated in the Programme Proposal and in the Applicant’s Guide

As a general rule, the total value of the management cost together with the indirect costs should not exceed 20% of the project total direct eligible value.
Within the project, the value added tax that directly relates to the project may be eligible if the project promoter cannot recover it completely or partly according to taxation laws and regulations.

5.2 Excluded costs

Within this call for proposals, the  following  costs  are not considered eligible:

  • interest  on  debt,  debt  service  charges  and  late payment charges;
  • charges  for  financial  transactions  and  other purely  financial  costs,  except to the costs of financial  services  imposed  by  the  project contract;
  • provisions  for  losses  or  potential  future liabilities;
  • exchange  losses;
  • recoverable VAT;
  • costs that are covered by other sources;
  • fines, penalties and costs of litigation; and
  • excessive or reckless expenditure.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

The project promoters and partners which are public institutions in Romania, financed under the Programme must fully comply with all of the national applicable regulations, in particular to the public procurement national legislation, i.e. Government Emergency Ordinance no 34/2006 regarding the awarding of public procurement contracts, including subsequent amendments and completions.

The project promoters and partners which are private entities in Romania, financed under the Programme must fully comply with the provisions of Ministerial Order no. 1120/2013 regarding the simplified procedures  applied to private beneficiaries in case of projects financed through Structural Instruments, Convergence Objective, and projects financed under EEA and Norway Grants for awardingsupply, works or services contracts, respectively the Government Emergency Ordinance no. 34/2006 including subsequent amendments and completions, if applicable according to art.9, par. c and c1.

The main principles in implementation of the public procurement procedure include: equal treatment of contractors and transparency of the procedure, appropriate deadlines, mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other documents confirming qualifications proper publicity of the procedure, in accordance with the Romanian law.

STATE AID

According to the provisions of GEO no.117/2006 on the national procedures regarding state aid, these rules apply to economic undertakings with a lucrative purpose. The eligible project promoters and project partners in the Programme arepublic or private organisations not aiming at gaining profit.

The Programme is not subject to the State Aid provisions because of the nature of the specific activities to be funded within the Programme, because the applicants do not act as  economic operators in implementing the specific activities, because there are no arguments to appreciate that competition on the European market will be distorted and taking into account the maximum limit of the grant awarded per project, as well.

PAYMENT FLOWS AND REPORTING

Payments to projects will take the form of advance payment, interim payments and final balance payment. The advance payment shall be set in the financial plan of each project and shall not exceed 30% of the total project grant.

Interim payments to the projects will be made on the basis of approved interim reports, provided that the costs for at least 70% of any previous payment have been incurred.

The Project interim reports are to be submitted by the project promoter to the Programme Operator. As a general rule, an interim report shall cover a reporting period of 4 months. More details about payments and reporting are provided in the Applicant’s Guide.

After completion of the project, the Project Promoter shall submit to the Programme Operator  a final report.

The Programme Operator may withhold up to 10% of the total grant amount for the payment of the final balance. The payment of the final balance will be disbursed within 15 working days after the approval of the final report.

PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA AND PROCEDURE

With regard to individual projects, the project selection criteria are:

Administrative and eligibility criteria:

  • Compliance with the template and instructions for filling in the application,  the number of original documents and copies required, the manner of submitting the application (on paper and electronic)
  • All annexes required are duly signed and stamped;
  • Submitting the application within the deadline;
  • Eligibility of the applicants and partners (if the case);
  • Grant rate requested between 200.000 – 2.000.000 EUR
  • Existence of documents proving the commitment to supply the co-financing, where applicable.

Evaluation criteria:

  • Quality and innovation;
  • Project relevance;
  • Project feasibility;
  • Project impact;

Detailed evaluation criteria and maximum scores to be awarded are presented in the table below:

Criteria

Max score

I. Quality and innovation

15

I.1. Overall project quality

8

I.2. Innovation of the approach, methods and techniques

7

II. Project relevance

30

II.1. Relevance of the project for the identified needs

10

a. Arguments suporting the need to implement the project

5

b. Methods to address the identified needs

5

II.2. Contribution to the Programme’s objectives

7

  • safeguarding and conserving the cultural and natural heritage for  future generations and making it publicly available

-  protection of the Romanian cultural heritage

-  development of communities by improving their tourist and investment attractiveness through the conservation, restoration and valorisation of cultural heritage

conservation and valorisation of intangible heritage with an aim towards strengthening cultural identity of ethnical and cultural minorities, including Roma population

II.4. Coherence with national and/or relevant European policies for the cultural sector

2

II. 5. Contribution to the EEA Financial Mechanism objectives

4

a. reduction of economic and social disparities in the European Economic Area

2

b. strengthening of bilateral relations between the Donor States and Romania

2

II.6. Partnership with organisations from the Donor States

5

a. Level of involvement of project partners both in the design and implementation of the project

3

b. Envisaged measures for encouraging long term partnership

2

II.7. Relevance for cross-cutting issues

2

III. Project feasibility

30

 III.1. Capacity and experience of applicant and partner(s)

8

a. Implementation capacity and experience in project management of applicant and partner(s)

4

b. Competences of applicant and partner(s) in the field of the project

4

III.2 Methodology

12

a. SMART objectives (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timed) and realistic results

2

b. Corelation of activities with project objectives and expected results

3

c. Project coherence with the implementation schedule

3

d. Risk management and mitigation plan

2

e. Internal evaluation and monitoring

2

III. 3 Budget

10

a. Cost effectiveness

5

b. Coherence of estimated expenditures with planned activities and results

5

IV. Project impact

25

IV.1. Visibility and/or audience reached

5

IV.2. Social, economic and cultural benefits created by the project for the local community

10

IV. 3. Capacity of further dissemination and use of results

5

IV.4.Sustainability of project results ensured in terms of financial, organizational and functional perspective

5

Total score

100

Threshold: Only applications receiving 70 points or more will be considered for funding.

Selection procedure:

  • Verification of compliance with administrative and exclusion criteria;
  • Each application that meets the administrative and eligibility criteria shall be reviewed by two experts appointed by the Programme Operator; who shall be impartial and independent of the Programme Operator and the Selection Committee (The membership of the Selection Committee is described in the Applicant’s Guide. );
  • The experts shall separately score the project according to the selection criteria published in the call for proposals; the average of the scores awarded by the experts shall be used for ranking the applications;
  • the Selection Committee shall review the ranked list of applications and shall recommend the projects to be funded within the Programme as to reach the Programme objectives and indicators.

More detailed information about the selection procedure is provided in the Applicant’s Guide.

For reasons of equal treatment and non-discrimination, applicants shall not contact the programme operator or the evaluators after submission deadline, except in cases where clarifications are requested from them by the programme operator.

PERIOD OF PROJECTS IMPLEMENTATION

The implementation period of projects under this call for proposals must not extend beyond April 30, 2016.

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE

The application form is available on the Programme dedicated website: www.fonduri-patrimoniu.ro and on the website of the Ministry of Culture, Project Management Unit: www.umpcultura.ro. The application form shall be completed in Romanian language, accompanied by a summary in English language. If any of the supporting documents is in a language other than Romanian or English, a translation in Romanian or English must be attached. Handwritten applications will not be accepted.

Applications shall be submitted:

  • in a sealed envelope: two paper copies, one original and one copy and an electronic copy on CD/DVD. The envelope must be delivered directly or by regular mail or courier to the Ministry of Culture. The electronic documents shall be submitted in formats compatible with the following software: MS Word, MS Excel and Adobe Acrobat.  

Applications shall be submitted at the following address:

Project Management Unit
Ministry of Culture
Unirii Bld. No. 22, 5th floor, Room 503, 3rd district, Bucharest, postal code 030833

The sealed envelope must have the following information marked:

EEA Grants
PA 16/RO12 - Conservation and Revitalisation of Cultural and Natural Heritage
Call for Applications round 1/2013 - Large projects
Applicant: < Complete name and address>
Project Title: Project <Title>

The deadline for submission of project applications is April 7, 2014. For applications submitted by mail or courier the date of the post stamp or the date of the delivery to the courier shall be considered as submission date.

QUERIES

Requests for further clarification may be submitted in writing at the e-mail address: office@fonduri-patrimoniu.ro, until April 7, 2014. The term of response to questions/ clarifications is 3 - 5 working days.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Additional information about the call for proposals and the full text of the call for proposals is available at the following addresses: www.fonduri-patrimoniu.ro and www.umpcultura.ro
For further information, please contact
Project Management Unit
Ministry of Culture
office@fonduri-patrimoniu.ro
Phone / fax: 021-2228479, 021-2244512

DOCUMENTS

ERRATUM regarding Annex 4 – Statement of eligibility

  • Application Guide [ro][en]
  • Annex 1 - Application form [ro][en]
  • Annex 2 - Budgetul proiectului [ro]
  • Annex 3 - Declaratie de eligibilitate din partea solicitantului [ro]
  • Annex 4 - Declaratie de eligibilitate din partea partenerului [ro] [en]
  • Annex 5 - Letter of intent regarding partnership [ro][en]
  • Annex 6 - Declaratia de angajament [ro]
  • Annex 7 - Declaratia de conformitate [ro]
  • Annex 8 - Raport intermediar de progres (financiar) [ro]
  • Annex 8 - Raport intermediar de progres (tehnic) [ro]
  • Annex 9 - Model de Contract de finantare [ro]