Q 1: Can education institutions be involved as grant applicants?
A 1: Please also refer to:
Section 2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants of the Guidelines for Grant Applicants;
Section 2.2.4. Further information about Concept notes of the Guidelines for Applicants which
states: “To ensure equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority cannot give a prior
opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, affiliated entity(ies), an action or specific activities
Q 2: Can private sector companies apply?
A 2: Companies are not eligible applicants under this call for proposals. However, they can be involved in actions in two ways:
a. As “associates” and as such play a real role in the action but may not receive funding from the grant, with the exception of per diem or travel costs. Associates do not have to meet the eligibility criteria referred to in section 2.1.1. of the Guidelines for Applicants but if they are present must be mentioned in Part B section 6 — ‘Associates of the Applicant participating in the Action’ — of the Grant Application Form.
b. “Contractors”
The grant beneficiaries and their affiliated entities are permitted to award contracts. Associates or affiliated entity(ies) cannot be also contractors in the project. Contractors are subject to the procurement rules set out in Annex IV to the standard grant contract.
Q 3: Are loans included in the budget of Lot 2 (“support of residents of the informal areas to become involved in income-generating activities”)?
A 3: Under this call for proposals, sub-granting is not allowed..
Q 4: Will the preliminary Needs Assessments (PNAs) carried out by the Contracting Authority be shared for better understanding about the needs in each area?
A 4: Yes, the Contracting authority will put the PNA reports on the Contracting Authority’s website.
Q 5: How can non-profit actions relate to sustainability? Is profit not needed to achieve sustainability?
A 5: Sustainability in the context of this call for proposals refers to the sustainability of the action after the completion of the action and use of EU funding. Sustainability can be ensures by sourcing funding from other sources, e.g. other donors or national Government Institutions.
Q 6: Is the MoSS (Ministry of Social Solidarity) involved in the process?
A 6: The MoSS is supporting NGOs in different areas in Egypt and is involved in various ways in the upgrading of informal areas.
Q7: if the purpose of an NGO is to provide vocational training, can they still apply?
A7: Lot 1 relates to the provision of skills to persons in the selected informal areas to improve their employability so can be an applicant, co-applicant or affiliated entity. However, it is a requirement that all training provided by training organisations must be accredited and meets the standards required by the particular sectors. Successful graduates of training must be awarded a professional qualification/training certificate/diploma;
Q 8: Can a Political Party also apply?
A 8: Please see Section 2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants. It should be noted that actions which are ideologically biased or partisan in nature are not considered as eligible actions;
Q 9: Will the grants be spent all over Greater Cairo Region or only in the selected areas?
A 9: All actions must target the residents of the four selected informal areas. However, activities which are carried out to support the actions can be implemented outside the informal areas. It is not a requirement that the applicant/co I applicant/affiliated entities are based in the designated informal areas.
Q 10: What philosophy is behind the grants? Project duration of 6 – 12 months seems very short – particularly for Lot 3 actions that are related to service provision.
A 10: It is accepted that projects of such duration cannot address all needs in such a short timeframe. Therefore, actions should be such that they address the respective objectives of the Lot and be capable of being implemented within the time frame stipulated in the Guidelines for Applicants.
Q 11: Is it possible to work in more than one area?
A 11: Yes, it is possible to implement an action for the benefit of residents in more than one designated area. However, the applicant should be able to demonstrate that it has the capacity to do so.
Q 12: Is there any financial criteria/ regulations for dividing the grant into various fields such as administration, products, services etc.?
A 12: There are no specific criteria for this but all funded actions have budget which forms part of the Grant contract. Expenditure must be strictly in line with the approved budget and any proposed changes to the budget should be notified to and approved by the Contracting Authority. The budget does not have to identify specific expenditure items that will be funded by the matching 20% funding that must be provided by the Applicant. This funding can be brought into the Action at any time during the implementation phase.
Q 13: It might already take 3-4 months only for the approval by MoSS. Is a project duration of 6-12 months too short?
A 13: MoSS has agreed that they will process approvals swiftly so this will not be a problem.
Q 14: What kind of education projects could be provided by the grant in the informal areas? Can vocational training be linked with illiteracy programs and education programs for those with special needs?
A 14: Innovative project ideas are always welcome and the call for proposals will evaluate every application against the criteria specified in the Guidelines for Applicants.
Q 15: Might it be possible to support small enterprises to access opportunities to promote their goods and services in market places?
A 15: Any action which can demonstrate that it can promote income generating activities by residents of the designated areas can be considered as an eligible action.
Q 16: Will an organisation, that got approval by MoSS in June, be eligible?
A 16: Egyptian NGOs must be registered for at least six months with the MoSS at the date of submission of the Concept notes.
Q 17: Some non-profit companies are not registered at MoSS? Are they eligible or not?
A 17: Please also refer to:
Section 2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants of the Guidelines for Grant Applicants;
Section 2.2.4. Further information about Concept notes of the Guidelines for Applicants which
states: “To ensure equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority cannot give a prior
opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, affiliated entity(ies), an action or specific activities.
Q 18: What kind of previous financial project portfolio is necessary for a successful application?
A 18: There are no specific criteria relating the project portfolio of applicants/co-applicants/affiliated entities. However, sections 2.1.7, 2.1.8 and 2.2 ask for information on projects in which the applicants/co-applicants/affiliated entities have been involved with. Section 1 of the evaluation grid in the Guidelines for Applicants explains how this experience is assessed.
Q 19: Do public councils have the eligibility in legal terms?
A 19: A 1: Please also refer to:
Section 2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants of the Guidelines for Grant Applicants;
Section 2.2.4. Further information about Concept notes of the Guidelines for Applicants which states: “To ensure equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, affiliated entity(ies), an action or specific activities.
Q 20: Who decided on the 80% of financial covering?
A 20: The maximum of 80% funding for approved actions is laid down in eh financing agreement between the EU and the Egyptian Government.
Q 21: Who is going to evaluate that the actions are external to any political agenda?
A 21: Please refer to Section 2.1.4 Eligibility of Actions in the Guidelines for Applicants. Each action will be evaluated against the criteria set out in section 2.3 of the Guidelines for applicants by experienced assessors.
Q 22: Will there be other events after this information session?
A 22: Yes, there will be two 2-day training on 13th and 14th November, one in Giza and one in Cairo – on the subject of developing a project for this call for proposals. The training is open to all applicants but will be subject to applicants registering their interest with eh Contracting Authority. If demand for training is high, additional courses will be organised. Please refer to the website of the Contracting authority for further information.
Q 23: What if an applicant is not able to find financing for the 20%? Will PDP provide help?
A 23: During the training, advice on how to access other sources of funding will be provided. However, it remains the responsibility of the Applicant to provide a minimum of 20% match funding.
Q 24: Will the Egyptian government contribute to these projects, e.g. with land provision?
A 24: The maximum amounts of funding available under each Lot is not sufficient to fund actions which require land for their implementation.
Q 25: Can the 20% be in-kind contributions?
A 25: No, the 20% matching fund has to come in the form of a cash contribution. In-kind contributions cannot be accepted as eligible expenditure under this call for |proposals..
Q 26: What kind of costs are (in)eligible?
A 26: A detailed list of eligible and ineligible costs is provided in the guideline for grant applicants at Sections 2.1.5 .For costs to be eligible; they must have been incurred for the purposes of the implementation of the Action.
Q 27: The budget situation of many CSOs might be insufficient to afford the additional 20%. Should it be reviewed once more?
A 27: If a CSO does not have sufficient financial resources to implement an action then they should either not apply or seek co-applicants who have the necessary financial resources.
Q 28: Will there be a maximum limit for each NGO?
A 28: The maximum grant for each of the three lots is 100.000 Euros.
Q 29: Have you conducted a study before in these areas? Can it be shared?
A 29: Please see answer to Question 4.
Q 30: How will the money be paid?
A 30: The grant will be paid in two stages to contracted applicants. A sum of 80% of the grant awarded will be paid as an advance within 45 days of contract signing. The remaining 20% of the Grant will be paid in arrears following approval of the final financial and narrative report.
Q 31: Does the budget cover salaries of the employees?
A 31: Yes, all salaries of employees and others engaged in the project is considered as eligible expenditure.
Q 32: If two projects in two different lots are proposed – should the proposal integrate the two or should it be two separate proposals?
A 32: Only one project proposal per lot should be submitted.
Q 33: Shouldn’t priority be given to the NGOs that are already working in these informal areas since they are familiar with the prevalent needs?
A 33: The selection of actions is based purely on the selection criteria provided in the Guidelines for Applicants and no priority is given to any particular potential applicant under this call for proposals.
Q 34: If one umbrella NGO works together with five smaller NGOs as co-applicants – does it mean that more money would be dedicated to that project?
A 34: No, the maximum grant under each lot is the same for all actions, irrespective of the number of co-applicants/ affiliated entities.
Q 35: What if an NGO and a private profit organization are founded under the same name – can the private profit organization come in for co-funding of the 20%?
A 35: Please also refer to:
Section 2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants of the Guidelines for Grant Applicants;
Section 2.2.4. Further information about Concept notes of the Guidelines for Applicants which states: “To ensure equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, affiliated entity(ies), an action or specific activities.
Q 36: Can universities come up with a proposal?
A 36: Please also refer to:
Section 2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants of the Guidelines for Grant Applicants;
Section 2.2.4. Further information about Concept notes of the Guidelines for Applicants which states: “To ensure equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, affiliated entity(ies), an action or specific activities.
Q 37: Can contact details of (local) NGOs be made available for everyone?
A 37: A list of organisations who attended the information day event will be posted on the website of the Contracting Authority. The email addresses and telephone numbers of individuals attending the event will not be published
Q 38: How is each phase of project implementation controlled?
A 38: Once the contract is signed, the applicant (referred to as the “Coordinator”) is responsible for the management and implementation of the Action. The progress of implementation will be closely monitored by the Contracting Authority
Q39: Can an NGO which is in the process of registering with the Ministry of Social Solidarity submit a concept note?
A39: Please see section 2.1.1 of the Guidelines for |Applicants. Applicant organisations that are registered in Egypt and are categorised as non-governmental organisations must be registered with the Ministry of Social Solidarity at least 6 months prior to the Call for Proposals. Proof of registration will be requested prior to contract signature. In addition, such organisations, if awarded funding under this Call for Proposals must obtain permission to receive the funding from the Ministry of Social Solidarity. This permission will have to be submitted to the Contracting Authority prior to Contract signature.
Q40: Can an NGO be eligible to receive the grant? Although it has not received any grants in the past, it has a wide experience in the fields of training and employment with a very strong technical and managerial structure?
A40: Please refer to:
Section 2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants of the Guidelines for Grant Applicants;
Section 2.2.4. Further information about Concept notes of the Guidelines for Applicants which states: “To ensure equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, affiliated entity(ies), an action or specific activities
Q41: Please confirm that AUC is eligible to apply as a main applicant; AUC is a not-for-profit institute of higher education?
A41: Please refer to:
Section 2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants of the Guidelines for Grant Applicants;
Section 2.2.4. Further information about Concept notes of the Guidelines for Applicants which states: “To ensure equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, affiliated entity(ies), an action or specific activities.
Q42: Could you kindly let us know what is the minimum and maximum period allowed for implementation of the action?
A42: The minimum period for implementation is six months, the maximum, twelve months. Please see Section 2.1.4 of the Guidelines for Applicants.
Q43: Would you please send us how to contact the (LADCs) Local Advisory Development Committees in each of the four informal areas (LADCs)?
A43: The Local Area Dialogue Committees must not be contacted by grant applicants during the call for proposals period. Any information on the needs of the informal areas can be found in the participatory needs assessment (PNA) reports which are published on the PDP website
Q44: In the context of Lot 2: (i): Does the idea of selecting and filtering a number of existing small businesses in the chosen areas to be developed throw developing their operational and sales process in order to develop their income mechanism, a valid project? (ii): If yes , the project success KPIs in this case should be in the amount (large or small is better) of businesses developed and or number of developed small business plans (growth plan) for their business that include success factors such as channels of funds, accumulated growth activities for income generation…..etc or what ? (iii) Does the concept of choosing specific type of small business that we have some good experience in developing them has any conflict with the main objective of lot 2 ?
A44: Please refer to:
Section 2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants of the Guidelines for Grant Applicants;
Section 2.2.4. Further information about Concept notes of the Guidelines for Applicants which states: “To ensure equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, affiliated entity(ies), an action or specific activities
Q45: If budgetary savings are made during the project period of 12 months, can the applicant NGO get an extension of few more months and implement further work to use the unspent funds?
A45: It is possible that applicants may be given more time to spend unused funds if there is a good justification as to why the funds were not used during the implementation period. However, this permission will require an addendum to contract.
Q46: Is Heker Abass zone one of the target areas in the project?
A46: This area is not one of the targeted areas addressed in this call for proposals. For details of the eligible areas please see Annex X – maps showing target areas available from the following website:
http://egypt-urban.net/grants-calls-for-proposals/
Q47: Can an applicant work with a co-applicant who receives Government of Egypt funding for their organization?
A47: Please refer to:
Section 2.1.1 Eligibility of applicants of the Guidelines for Grant Applicants;
Q48: Can the financial contribution by an NGO be in -kind?
A48: Contributions in-kind are not allowed under this call for proposals.
Q49: Does an NGO have to make its financial contribution in advance?
A49: The financial contribution does not have to be made in advance and can be made at any time during the implementation period of the Action.
Q50: Is it possible to submit one concept note in respect of an integrated project covering two lots?
A50: This call for proposals requires that you submit one concept note in respect of an action under each lot.
Q51: What are the criteria used to decide if a concept note is accepted or rejected?
A51: Please see Section 2.3 of the guidelines for Applicants. This sets out the criteria by which a decision is made regarding the scoring of a concept note.
Q52: Is it possible for a small NGO to make an application under this call for proposals?
A52: There are no criteria relating to the size of the applicant /co-applicant/ affiliated entities under this call for proposals.
Q 53: Is it possible to submit the project in one lot in more than one area if answer is yes, Are we need to write the project concept paper in each area?
A 53: It is possible to submit an application under one Lot in which the action addresses a problem or problems in more than one of the targeted areas. In this situation you only need to complete one concept note.
Q 54: Is it possible to implement a project in a part of the target area or must implement the project in the whole area?
A 54: It is possible to submit an application under one Lot in which the Action addresses a problem or problems in part of a targeted area.
Q 55: Is it possible under Lot 3 to renew or restore public hospitals or private clinics by adding a new section or by adding a new type of medical specialty through the purchase of equipment that is necessary to provide the best medical service?
A 55: Please refer to Section 2.2.4. Further information about Concept notes of the Guidelines for Applicants which states: “To ensure equal treatment of applicants, the Contracting Authority cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, affiliated entity(ies), an action or specific activities.
Q 56: With reference to the following call and application:
Call for Proposals: ENPI2011/022-764 / Improving Services in the Informal Areas, Enhancing Employability and Promoting Income Generation
Application reference: PDP/UIAP/1/2013/055/ Summer Educational and Recreational Programme for Children, Youth and Women – SERP
We would like to know if it is possible to include new co-applicants in the full application that were not included in the submitted concept note.
A 56: In principle, the elements outlined in the Concept Note may not be modified by the Applicant in the Full Application Form. As stated in the Section 2.2.1 of the Guidelines for Grant Applicants, the co-applicant(s) stated in the Concept Note cannot be changed in the Full Application Form; however, in cases where a solid ground (such as cease of operations of the co-applicant) is found to be considered acceptable by the Evaluation Committee and/or the Contracting Authority, addition and/or replacement of a co-applicant(s) may be accepted.
Therefore, they may apply with a new co-applicant but should have a good reason why there is a new co-applicant so that it is accepted by the Evaluation Committee.