The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria through the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in The Republic of Kosovo announces a procedure for the acceptance and selection of proposals for projects to be implemented with a grant through the Official Development Aid of the Republic of Bulgaria, with an initial implementation period in 2022.

Priority Areas for Project Implementation on the territory of the Republic of Kosovo are:

• providing inclusive and quality education, incl. by improving school infrastructure;
• support for providing universal health coverage and access to quality health services.

1. Objectives and Scope of the Projects:

• Assistance in improving the conditions for education, training and access to inclusive quality education, including by building educational infrastructure;
• raising the qualifications of the teachers, the quality of the teaching material and the learning results of the students;
• improving the communication abilities of children/students and their critical thinking skills;
• providing universal health coverage by improving the conditions for the provision of quality health services.

2.  Target Groups:

• children, students and teachers/educators from educational institutions/schools and kindergartens;
• vulnerable categories of persons (people with disabilities, representatives of marginalized communities, etc.);
• Citizens from settlements with underdeveloped health infrastructure.

3. Outputs/Results:

• improving the material base of schools and educational institutions, aimed at improving the quality of the material taught and, consequently, improving the preparation of students for the labour market;
• improving the well-being of citizens by offering quality health services near their field;
• creating conditions for sustainable and inclusive socio-economic development;
• affirmation of the good name and the international authority of the Republic of Bulgaria. 

4. Eligible Project Budget:

4.1. Minimal amount of the project is 5 000 BGN.

4.2. Recommended maximum amount of the project is 30 000 BGN.

4.3. Co-financing of project activities provided by the applicant will be considered an advantage in the evaluation, selection and approval of the projects.

5. Implementation Deadlines and Duration of the Projects:

5.1. Project proposals must contain an indicative start date for the implementation of the project after March 1, 2022 and no later than November 30, 2022.

5.2. Projects must be completed no later than December 31, 2022.

6. Eligible Candidates:

• primary and secondary budget spending units - legal entities of the Republic of Kosovo;
• municipalities and their associations;
• educational, health and social institutions;
• international and local non-governmental organizations;
• international humanitarian organizations.

Individuals and legal entities for which there are circumstances under Art. 23, para. 3-8 of the Decree No. 234 of the Council of Ministers of 01.08.2011 on the policy of the Republic of Bulgaria on participation in international development cooperation can not apply for participation in providing development aid.

Виж: Приложение 1 към обявата

7. Eligible Activities and Project Costs:

7.1. The costs of project implementation must meet all of the conditions below:

- be lawful and comply with the principles of responsibility, economy, efficiency, effectiveness and transparency;

- be executed only against the necessary supporting documents - invoices or other documents of equivalent probative value, testifying the expenditures incurred;

- be within the budget limits of the project;

- Not be funded by another project, program or any other financial scheme, related to or originating from the national budget, the EU budget or any other donor.

7.2. Compulsory Activities to be provided in the Project:

- provision of an audit report issued by an independent financial auditor;

- activities to ensure publicity and visibility of the financial assistance provided, in accordance with the Publicity and Visibility Guidelines of the Bulgarian Development Aid, worth 3 to 5% of the total project value, but not exceeding 5 000 BGN.

The Publicity and Visibility Guidelines of the Bulgarian Development Assistance and the Guidelines for Visual Identity and Graphic Logo Standard are published on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

7.3. Examples of Activities Eligible for Funding:

Official Development Assistance will finance activities contributing to the strengthening of public institutions in the Republic of Kosovo, responsible for developing and implementing national policies in priority areas and aiming to enhance their transparency, accountability and effectiveness, as well as those contributing to strengthening and developing civil society and enhancing its contribution to social justice, democracy and sustainable development, for example:

• developing new/updating existing training modules;
• conducting trainings on specific topics in Bulgarian institutions to exchange good practices and improve the qualifications of employees of the Kosovo administration;
• Organizing and conducting seminars, forums, conferences and other.
• Activities related to improving the quality of the infrastructure in the respective area and enhancing the potential of the sites through the supply of equipment and materials, construction works, restoration, renewal, rehabilitation, conservation measures and improvement of the adjacent buildings and infrastructure, public buildings and other complementary sites, for example:
• Supply of equipment and materials intended for state or municipal property - schools, hospitals, kindergartens, old people's homes, etc.
• Construction works to improve state or municipal property - schools, hospitals, kindergartens, old people's homes, etc.

8. Required Documents for Application:

An Application Form is available on the following website in Bulgarian and English: https://www.mfa.bg/bg/3865.

All parts of the application form should be duly completed in Bulgarian and/or English. In case of any deficiencies that hinder the evaluation of the project proposal, the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in the Republic of Kosovo may require additional information within a short period of time. Failure to provide such information within the deadline shall be considered a ground for rejection of the proposal.

9. Method and Deadlines for Projects Applications:

The project proposals should be submitted electronically, with the candidates completing and submitting the completed, signed and stamped application form to e-mail: [email protected] in pdf and word format by 30 Jun 2021.

10. Additional Information:

Applicants shall be informed of the results of the procedure for evaluation, selection and approval of the project proposals within 14 working days of the completion of the individual stages of the procedure.

The Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in the Republic of Kosovo has no obligation to inform applicants about the grounds for approval or rejection of the submitted project proposals.

Annex 1

Decree No 234 of the Council of Ministers of 01.08.2011 on the policy of the Republic of Bulgaria regarding its participation in international development cooperation (excerpts)

Article 23(3) A legal person seeking to apply for the provision of development aid must not:

1. be declared bankrupt;
2. be in liquidation proceedings or in a similar procedure under the national laws and regulations;
3. be in open insolvency proceedings or must not have entered into an out-of-court settlement with its creditors within the meaning of Article 740 of the Commerce Act, and if the applicant is a non-resident – it must not be in a similar procedure under the national laws and regulations, including if its activities are under the court's control or it has ceased its activities;
4. be disqualified from practicing a particular profession or activity under the law of the State in which the offense was committed;
5. have any monetary debts owed to the State or a municipality within the meaning of Article 162, paragraph 2 of the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code established by an act of a competent authority which has entered into force, unless rescheduling or deferral of the debts has been allowed, or monetary debts relating to the payment of social insurance contributions or taxes under the legal provisions of the State in which it is established;
6. have any outstanding private debts owed to the State listed in Article 3, paragraph 7 of the National Revenue Agency Act.

(4) A legal person seeking to apply for the provision of development aid must not have a member of the management body that:

1. has been convicted by a final sentence for indictable offense;
2. has not fulfilled his/her/its obligations relating to the payment of social insurance contributions or taxes in accordance with the applicable law;
3. has provided deliberately false documents when providing information requested as a condition for financing development aid activities or has not provided such information;
4. has been disqualified from practicing a particular profession or activity under the law of the State in which the offense was committed;
5. is a legal person for which any of the circumstances under paragraph 3 exist;
6. has any outstanding private debts owed to the State listed in Article 3, paragraph 7 of the National Revenue Agency Act.

(6) Where the members of the management bodies are legal persons, the requirements of paragraph 5 shall apply to their representatives in the relevant management bodies.

(7) Persons seeking to apply for the provision of development aid must not:

1. have a member of a management or supervisory body, as well as such person ad interim, including a procurator or a commercial agent who has “close links”, within the meaning of § 1, item 1 of the Supplementary Provision of the Conflict of Interest Prevention and Ascertainment Act, with the agency administering the relevant project or with senior employees in his/her organisation;
2. have entered into a contract with a person under Article 21 or 22 of the Conflict of Interest Prevention and Ascertainment Act.