Call for Proposals
28 March 2019 NewsThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria through the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Belgrade announces a procedure for accepting and selecting proposals for projects to be implemented with a grant within the framework of the Official Development Assistance of the Republic of Bulgaria, with an initial deadline for launching in 2020.
Priority Areas and Directions for Implementing Projects on the Territory of the Republic of Serbia are:
- Enhancement of the administrative capacity in order to strengthen the rule of law and democratic governance;
- Protection of human rights, with a focus on children's rights and minority rights, protection of cultural diversity and ethnic tolerance;
- Connectivity - small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurship, job creation for young people, cultural exchange;
- Protection of the environment.
1. Objectives and Scope of the Projects:
- Providing support for democratic reform processes, protecting human rights and minority rights, strengthening the rule of law, civil society, the market economy, etc., including in the context of supporting European integration;
- Promoting connectivity in all areas, including working with young people, strengthening good neighborly relations, regional stability and mutual cooperation, security and migration cooperation;
- Stimulate and support the building of Serbia's administrative capacity to achieve democratic reform processes and respect for human rights and minority rights, especially with regard to institutions that currently lack sufficient experience and staff capacity for the respective functions and activities.
2. Target Groups:
- non-governmental organizations;
- local self-government organizations;
- educational institutions.
3. Outputs/Results:
- strengthening the rule of law and democratic governance;
- protection of human rights, protection of cultural diversity and ethnic tolerance;
- supporting small and medium-sized businesses, entrepreneurship, creating jobs for young people, cultural exchanges;
- supporting efforts to protect the environment;
- affirmation of the reputation and international authority of Bulgaria.
4. Eligible Project Budget:
4.1. Minimal ammount of the project is 5 000 BGN (about 2 500 EUR).
4.2. Recommended maximum ammount of the poject is:
· for projects with main purpose to deliver goods and /or services - up to 70 000 BGN (about 35 000 EUR);
· for projects with main purpose to carry out repairs and /or construction activities - up to 270 000 BGN (about 135 000 EUR).
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, 2020 and no later than November 30, 2020.
5.2. Projects must be completed no later than December 31, 2022 (the third year of the Bulgarian three-year budget forecast).
6. Eligible Candidates:
- Primary and secondary budget spenders - legal entities of the Republic of Serbia
- International and local non-governmental organizations;
- Municipalities and their associations;
- Educational, health and social institutions;
- Other organizations and associations that have no political goals and involvement.
No natural or legal person can apply for whom there are circumstances under Art. 23, para. 3-8 of 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.
7. Eligible Activities and Project Costs:
7.1. The Costs of Project Implementation must Meet All of the Conditions below:
- be lawful;
- be executed only with the necessary invoices or supporting documents, testifying the expenditures incurred;
- be within the budget limits of the project;
- not funded by any other project, program or any other financial scheme, related to the national budget, the EU budget or any other donor.
7.2. Compulsory Activities to be provided in the Project:
- providing of an audit report by an independent financial auditor;
- ensuring the visibility of the financial assistance provided, in accordance with the Guidelines for publicity and visibility of Bulgarian development aid.
7.3. Examples of Activities Eligible for Funding:
Eligible activities contributing to the strengthening of public institutions in partner countries responsible for developing and implementing national policy in priority areas and aimed at contributing to the enhancement of their transparency, accountability and effectiveness and contributing to strengthening of the civil society development and enhancing the contribution for its social justice, democracy and sustainable development, for example:
• Development of new/modernization of existing training modules;
• Organizing and conducting training for employees from the administration of the partner country;
• Conducting trainings on specific topics in Bulgarian institutions for the exchange of good practices and raising the skills of the employees of the administration of the partner country;
• Organizing and conducting seminars, forums, conferences;
• Development of research and strategies;
• Activities to raise awareness of citizens' rights;
• Activities to promote multicultural dialogue and to restraint racism, xenophobia, hate speech, discrimination and intolerance in society;
• Actions to improve dialogue between non-governmental organizations and local, regional and national authorities.
• Activities related to improving the quality of the infrastructure in the respective area and increasing the potential of the sites through the supply of equipment and materials, construction works, restoration, renewal, rehabilitation, measures for preservation and improvement of 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 for improvement of state or municipal property objects - 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.
All parts of the application form should be filled in clearly and properly in either Bulgarian or English. In case of omissions that hinder the evaluation of the project proposal, the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Belgrade may require additional information within a short period of time. Failure to provide such information within the deadline shall be considered a ground for rejecting the proposal.
9. Method and Deadlines for Projects Applications:
The project proposals will be accepted:
- at the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Belgrade / Bircaninova str. 26 /,
- by registered post or
- scanned by e-mail at [email protected].
The projects should be in Bulgarian or in English, signed and stamped.
Projects will be accepted by 28 June 2019 inclusive.
10. Additional Information:
Candidates shall be informed of the results of the evaluation within 10 working days of the decision of the competent authority. The Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Belgrade has no obligation to inform candidates of the grounds for approval or refusal of the submitted project proposals.