palestine contracting authority: enabel in collaboration ......enabel • belgian development agency...

Enabel • Belgian development agency • Public-law company with social purposes Rue Haute 147 • 1000 Brussels • T +32 (0)2 505 37 00 • enabel.be

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Palestine

Contracting authority: ENABEL in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour

Call for Proposals under the intervention:

Skilled Young Palestine - Improving Resilience and Job opportunities for Youth

PZA1804411

Guidelines for Applicants

Reference: PZA1804411/AP/002

Deadline for submission of grant application file: 25/03/2021 at 16:00 (UTC/GMT +3 hours)


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NOTE

This is a call for proposals in one phase. All documents must be submitted at the same time in a complete file (concept note, proposal and their annexes). As a first step, only the concept notes will be evaluated including the admissibility of the applicants. Subsequently, the evaluation of the proposals will be carried out for the applicants whose concept note has been evaluated favourably.


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Table of Contents

1 CALL FOR PROPOSAL FOR SUPPORT OF INNOVATION HUBS IN PALESTINE ............................................................................................................ 4

1.1 Background of the project ................................................................................................... 4

1.2 Objectives and expected results for this Call ...................................................................... 5

1.3 Amount of the financial allocation provided by the contracting authority .......................... 9

2. RULES APPLICABLE TO THIS CALL FOR PROPOSALS .................... 10

2.1 Admissibility criteria ............................................................................................................. 10

2.2 Presentation of application and procedures to be followed ............................................... 18

2.3 Evaluation and selection of applications ........................................................................... 20

2.4 Notification of the contracting authority’s decision .......................................................... 22

2.5 Implementation conditions following the grant award decision of the contracting

authority ............................................................................................................................ 23


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1 Call for proposal for Support of Innovation Hubs in Palestine

1.1 Background of the project1

The support of Innovation Hubs Call for Proposals is part of the intervention “Skilled

Young Palestine – Improving Resilience and Job opportunities for Youth (SYP)”. The

SYP intervention aims to contribute to support Palestinian Youth in gaining economic

autonomy and building their resilience. The intervention targets vulnerable areas in

Palestine and aims to facilitate the transition to employment and self-employment

through improving skills and competences among Palestinian youth. There are two main

results:

• Result 1 – Increased labour market opportunities for youth by

supporting technical skills development demanded by the labour

market

Under this result, the project will build the technical competences of young people

through enhancing the partnership between the TVET (Technical Vocational Education

and Training) institutions and the private sector to conduct Continuous Vocational and

Education Training – CVET (Continuous Vocational Education and Training) for youth

(vocational track). The private public partnership will ensure a skills match between

what TVET institutions provide and the private companies demand, following Work

Based Learning Scheme. In this component, the private sector will be the driving force

for youth employment through supporting the sustainability of CVET by establishing

skills development funds within the private sector umbrellas.

• Result 2 – Young people have gained 21st century skills for work and

life

Under this result, the project will build the 21st century competences of vulnerable youth

through establishing innovation hubs within civil society organizations. These hubs will

be highly motivating places where young people receive training on 21st century skills

(including entrepreneurship, digital skills and life skills), while being in a creative

environment equipped with modern digital and technological equipment that connects

to the world and interests of youth. Within this result, two main tracks will be promoted:

the employment track (oriented towards building skills for (self-)employment) and the

resilience track (building resilience skills).

1 *More information on the background and the guiding principles of the call can be found in Annex 1.


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1.2 Objectives and expected results for this Call

1.2.1 Objectives

The general objective of this Call for Proposals is to support 7 innovation hubs (3

in West-Bank, 3 in Gaza and 1 in East-Jerusalem) to enhance the transition of young

people into the labour market in Palestine.

The specific objective of this Call for Proposals is to build the capacity of young

people in the field of 21st century skills by facilitating the installation of 7

multifunctional spaces that can serve as platforms for learning and innovation,

a place to play, create, learn, mentor, or invent. This will be achieved following two

approaches (Direct and Indirect approaches):

➢ Direct approach: (actions covered directly under this call)

• Implement training programs in the field of 21st century skills (employment and resilience track) targeted at the beneficiaries of the innovation hubs (vulnerable youth and adolescents). The training program/curriculum will be provided by external experts* who will accompany and coach the selected hub throughout the training implementation.

➢ Indirect approach: actions outside this call (additional support

from Enabel and external experts):

• Trainers, coaches and managers of the selected hubs to participate in the master Training-of-Trainers (ToT) program with the support of external experts*.

• Build the capacity of additional trainers, by further implementing Training-of-Trainers via cascade approach, and with coaching provided by external experts*

• Develop sustainability plan of your hub with the support of the external experts*

*Support from external experts is explained under section 1.2.3 “full-fledged training program”.

The expected results Expected results from the direct approach:

• The resilience and 21st century skills of 2800 vulnerable youth (in total) have increased through the implementation of the training programs in the employment and resilience track.

• Two training cycles has been successfully implemented in each hub. Two training cycles for the employment track and 2 training cycles for the resilience track with a minimum of 12 to 20 trainees per group.


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Expected results from the indirect approach:

• A core pool of 21 trainers, coaches and managers (3 per hub) of the selected innovation hubs are capacitated via participating in the ToT program to deliver high-quality training

• Additional 7o trainers (10 per hub) are capacitated by the master trainers

• Sustainable innovation hubs that serve as an interactive and highly motivating environment for youth are established through the development and implementation of sustainability plans.

• Partnership/cooperation with private sector or other stakeholders (international, regional and local) are established.

1.2.2 Target group of the innovation hubs

The main target group that will benefit the innovation hubs:

➢ Direct beneficiaries of the innovation hubs

• 2800 youth (variable amount per hub) between the age of 16 and 29 years old either with an employment or resilience profile with specific attention to vulnerable groups, i.e., youth in general, women, and people with disabilities, and people living in remote areas and NEETs2.

➢ Indirect beneficiaries

• 21 coaches, managers, and trainers (1 coach, 1 manager and 1 trainer per hub) who will be coached and mentored through the ToT module, as a core trainers pool.

• An additional 70 people (10 per hub) will be coached through the cascade approach.

1.2.3 Full-fledged training programs on 21st century skills

An assignment is being carried out by external experts recruited by Enabel to develop training curricula in the field of 21st century skills and ensure its practical implementation through train-the-trainer sessions.

The selected innovation hubs will benefit from the support of Enabel and the above-mentioned experts through the following:

I. Needs assessment for the selected innovation hubs and their staff

A needs assessment will be conducted by the experts with the objective to:

1. Measure the level of skills and competences of the selected innovation hubs’ staff comparing to the developed curricula. This needs assessment will be the baseline to update the Training-of-Trainers program.

2. Cross-check the proposed list of tools/materials/equipment with what is available in the 7 selected spaces. (see point III)

3. identify the need to carry-out small rehabilitation works in the selected hubs.

2 NEETs: Not in education, training or employment


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II. Training material/curricula developed by the commissioned experts

The experts will develop the content of the curricula that will be used for the implementation of the training in the innovation hubs. The curricula comprise of 3 modules and are directly targeted at the beneficiaries of the innovation hubs (youth). Additionally, a Training-of-Trainers module will be included, where sustainability of the innovation hubs is addressed. For the development of the training models, the experts will include good practices from the region and will receive support from the European Training Foundation, UNESCO and the Enabel team.

The training curricula will include the following modules:

• Introductory/general module (for all youth): This module will provide a

general introduction on 21st century skills and the importance of these skills for

work and life. Depending on the track and the characteristics of the target group,

youth will benefit from one of the following modules:

o Resilience module (youth from 16-29 years old): This module will

consist of the main life and soft skills to increase resilience among youth.

In this track, particular attention will be paid to the impact of Covid-19 on

social well-being, engaged citizenship and personal

empowerment.

o Employment module (youth from 18-29 years old): This module

should consist of the main competencies that increases the employability

of youth. This will include the competences needed for the two

employment schemes (self-employment and wage employment).

• Training of Trainers module, including sustainability of the

innovation hubs:

The module will target the coaches (7), trainers (7) and managers (7) from the

selected innovation hubs (21 in total, 3 persons per hub). The objective of this

master-training-of-trainers is to create a core pool of accredited people that can

use the training curricula developed to deliver high-quality training. The master-

trainers (core group of 21) will further train an additional 70 people (trainers,

coaches, and managers).

After the implementation of the ToT, the “master” 21 staff members of the

selected innovation hubs will be coached and mentored by the experts in the

following areas:

o Coaching during the further implementation of the ToT, in the cascade-

approach (initially, 70 additional people need to be trained)

o Development of sustainability plans of the innovation hubs, including a

training plan for (additional) staff of the hubs

o Follow-up on the implementation of the sustainability plans


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o Coaching during the reach-out and selection of youth trainees in the

employment and resilience track

o Coaching during the start of the training implementation for youth

trainees of the employment and resilience track

III. Detailed list of tools, materials, and equipment

The experts will identify the tools, materials and equipment and link them to the

training curricula. The identification of the tools and equipment will be initially

done in parallel with the training curricula, then to be updated after the selection

of the 7 innovation hubs. Efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and the special

context of Gaza and West Bank are to be considered3. Priority will be given to

items that are available in the country. Enabel will guide the experts in this step.

IV. In Kind support from Enabel

Based on the result of the above-mentioned assessment and if deemed necessary for the implementation of the training programs, the selected innovation hubs will receive additional support from Enabel through a separate budget allocated for this, as follows:

a. Purchase of equipment, tools, and machines

Each training curriculum will focus on stimulating the further development of the 21st Century skills. To make these trainings comprehensive and valuable there is a need to work with adjusted and modern equipment. The equipment will include the correct open-source software to learn how to use the machinery/tools and to work with graphic design programs needed in the trainings.

The list of equipment, tools and machines that will be identified by the above-mentioned experts will be procured and funded by Enabel and according to the Belgian procedures.

b. Rehabilitation works (if applicable, based on the needs assessment)

Rehabilitation work is foreseen for the selected innovation hubs if they serve the implementation of the training program and are in line with the objective of this call and the criteria for the establishment of an innovation hub.

o One of the criteria for an innovation hub is the need for sufficient space that can accommodate for 12 to 20 students. When this cannot be guaranteed, extension and small rehabilitation works can be considered (making one bigger space from two separate rooms, creating an outdoor connected working space, etc.)

o Preferably there are (multipurpose) rooms with clear divisions. There should be rooms where software skills are trained, and dust free equipment can be used. There should also be spaces, indoor or outdoor, suitable for more heavy works/creations that can cause dust and/or dirt.

3 Restrictions on imports are imposed by the Israeli forces


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c. Participate in a study tour/exchange to inspirational innovation hubs (optional- when travelling is possible)

To exchange the experience and have further exposure in the field of innovation hubs, a study tour will be organized by Enabel. Ideally, the study tour should take place after completing the ToT and before starting working on the sustainability plans. This will of course depend on travel restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

1.3 Amount of the financial allocation provided by the contracting

authority

The total indicative amount available under this Call for Proposals is 1,015,000 Million EUR. The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all of the available funds.

Given the particularity of Palestine and the different characteristics of each of its localities, a regional approach is promoted. This means that the project foresees to support the installation of minimum 7 innovation hubs divided into 3 lots (in line with the regions: East-Jerusalem, Gaza and the West-Bank) with the following budget distribution:

• LOT 1 West-Bank 435,000 EUR (Four Hundred Thirty-Five Thousand Euro)

• LOT 2 Gaza 435,000 EUR (Four Hundred Thirty-Five Thousand Euro)

• LOT 3 East Jerusalem 145,000 EURO (One Hundred Forty-Five Thousand Euro) If the funds are not used in one lot/region, they can be re-directed at another region. Grant amount

Any grant application under this Call for Proposals must fall between the following amounts:

• minimum 60.000 EURO (Sixty Thousand Euro)

• maximum of 145.000 EURO (One Hundred Forty-Five Thousand Euro)

The above grant amount should be used to cover actions presented in section 2.1.3 below (Type of Actions).

The selected innovation hubs will receive in-kind support from Enabel and the external experts depending on the need and the assessment that will be conducted in each hub.

The additional support (representing an approximate average budget of 125.500 Euro per hub (depending on the need and the assessment that will be conducted in each hub4)) will be structured as follows:

4 Enabel is in no way obliged to spend the stated amount. The actual amount invested will depend on the assessment as stated and will be decided solely by Enabel.


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➢ Hard component: a. Equipment, tools, and machines (procured by Enabel, based on the needs

assessment) b. Small rehabilitation work (implemented by Enabel if applicable, based on

the needs assessment)

➢ Soft component: c. Benefit from the curricula and training programs developed by external

experts d. Benefit from coaching and support during the implementation of the training

programs by external experts e. Benefit from coaching for developing sustainability plans for the hubs by

external experts f. Participate in a study tour

2. Rules applicable to this Call for Proposals These guidelines specify the rules of submission, selection and implementation of actions financed under this Call for Proposals.

2.1 Admissibility criteria

There are three categories of admissibility criteria, which concern, respectively:

(1) The actors:

a. The led applicant and its co-applicant (where applicable), i.e. the entities submitting the application, herein after jointly referred to as the “applicants” (2.1.1)

(2) The actions:

b. Actions admissibles for Grants (2.1.3) ;

(3) The costs:

c. The types of costs that may be included in the calculation of the grant amount (2.1.4).

2.1.1 Admissibility of applicants and co-applicant(s)

Applicant

The call for proposal can be submitted by the lead applicant alone or by the lead applicant together with co-applicants (maximum 2): one lead applicant who applies together with one (or maximum 2) co-applicants.

(1) To be admissible for grants, all applicants must satisfy the following conditions:

a) be a legal person; and b) be a public entity5 or

5 a 100% public entity, with no private capital.


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c) be a non-profit private entity or a foundation; or be a legal entity of private law for which profit maximization is not the priority objective and

d) be established or represented in Palestine6 ; and e) they cannot be part of the experts’ team implementing the assignment of the

“Program for set-up of the Innovation Hubs in Palestine” PZA1804411-10005 which is commissioned by Enabel;

• In addition to the above, the lead applicants must satisfy the following conditions: f) Must be an existing innovation ecosystem player corresponding to one of the

following classifications: o Incubators and Accelerators o Working Spaces o Innovation and/or Entrepreneurship Centers / Organizations o Training Centers o Existing CSO, CBO active in the field of development and innovation

targeted towards vulnerable youth/adolescence g) be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action

with the co-applicant(s) and not be acting as an intermediary and; h) must have an active bank account for the past 24 months; and i) must have audited financial statements (income statement and balance

sheet) of the last closed financial year

(2) In addition to the admissibility criteria for the applicant, the Call for Proposals intends to support innovation hubs that meet the following criteria:

• The capacity of the hub to implement the training programs and to

manage the hub.

o Management of the hub: existing organizational structure, bylaws, board

of directors, personnel structure (management staff, promotion staff,

maintenance staff) etc. A minimum number of trainers, mentors or coaches

in place, their role, and responsibilities.

o Capacity of the hub: The innovation hubs must be able to provide and

implement two training cycles to a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 20

trainees per training per track (employment and resilience tracks).

• Location: The geographical area of the existing hub, and the lack or need

of such a hub in that area, is an important factor for selection. The location

of the innovation hubs must be reachable for potential trainees from

remote and vulnerable areas. This can be guaranteed if the hubs are

situated in these remote and vulnerable areas or are located in central

6 Optional. Establishment is determined on the basis of the organisation’s articles of association, which must show that the organisation was created by an act of law of the country in question and that its registered office is situated in an eligible country. In this respect, any legal entities whose articles of association were created in another country may not be considered to be an eligible local organisation, even where registered locally or where a “memorandum of understanding” has been entered into.


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locations that can easily be reached through affordable public

transportation.

• Accessibility: The innovation hubs must be inclusive and should

consider accessibility for vulnerable groups i.e. youth in general, women

and for people with disabilities. If needed, the physical environment of the

space should be adapted, and other barriers should be considered (e.g.

gender, religion, age).

• Space lay-out: The layout and physical design of the innovation hub are

elements that increase the opportunities for interaction and engagement. The

space requirements depend on the functionality of the hub (sessions,

prototyping, labs, spaces, etc.), size, flexibility of moving from function to

another, facilitation and provision of creative environment.

• Outreach: the innovation hubs will be selected based on reaching the

targeted groups (youth, vulnerable groups) and ensure they are the main

users of the innovation hubs.

• For the appropriate target group that will benefit training in the innovation

hubs: The trainees must fulfill the specifications of the criteria

of the targeted groups (age, education level, living area, …)

• The attention for inclusion: o The gender-neutrality of the proposals to assure that the profiles

envisaged are gender neutral or stimulating female employment. At least

35% of the trainees should be female

o Attention for vulnerable youth in the proposal and in the targeting

strategy for trainees, as well as a strategy for preventing/mitigating the

risk of dropping out of the training program. At least 50% of the

trainees should be vulnerable youth

o Attention for and access of people with disabilities in the proposal and in the hub

The applicant may either act individually, or with one or multiple co-applicants in accordance with the requirements below.

(3) The potential applicant may not participate in Calls for Proposals, nor may they be the beneficiary of grants should one of the following situations be applicable to them:

1) The applicant or one of its ‘directors[1]’ was found guilty following an

indefeasible judgement for one of the following offences: 1° involvement in a criminal organisation 2° corruption 3° fraud 4° terrorist offences, offences linked related to terrorist activities or incitement to commit such offence, collusion or attempt to commit such an


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offence

5° money laundering or terrorist financing 6° child labour and other trafficking in human beings 7° employment of foreign citizens under illegal status 8° creating or being a shell company. The exclusions on the basis of this criterion apply for a 5-year term from the date of judgement.

2) The applicant fails to fulfil his obligations relating to the payment of taxes or social security contributions for an amount in excess of EUR 3.000, except if the applicant can demonstrate that a contracting authority owes him one or more unquestionable and due debts which are free of all foreseeable liabilities. These debts are at least of an amount equal to the one for which he is late in paying outstanding tax or social charges.

3) The applicant who is in a state of bankruptcy, liquidation, cessation of activities, judicial reorganisation or has admitted bankruptcy or is the subject of a liquidation procedure or judicial reorganisation, or in any similar situation resulting from a procedure of the same kind existing under other national regulations.

4) When Enabel can demonstrate by any appropriate means that the applicant or any of its directors has committed serious professional misconduct which calls into question his integrity.

Are among others considered such serious professional misconduct: a. A breach of Enabel’s Policy regarding sexual exploitation and abuse

– June 2019.

b. A breach of Enabel’s Policy regarding fraud and corruption risk management – June 2019.

c. A breach of a regulatory provision in applicable local legislation regarding sexual harassment in the workplace.

d. The applicant was seriously guilty of misrepresentation or false documents when providing the information required for verification of the absence of grounds for exclusion or the satisfaction of the selection criteria, or concealed this information.

e. Where Enabel has sufficient plausible evidence to conclude that the applicant has committed acts, entered into agreements or entered

into arrangements to distort competition. The presence of this applicant on one of Enabel’s exclusion lists as a result of such an act/agreement/arrangement is considered to be sufficiently plausible an element.

5) When a conflict of interest cannot be remedied by other, less intrusive measures.

6) When significant or persistent failures by the applicant were detected during the execution of an essential obligation incumbent on him in the framework of a previous contract, a previous contract placed with another contracting authority, when these failures have given rise to measures as of right, damages or another comparable sanction.

Also failures to respect applicable obligations regarding environmental, social


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and labour rights, national law, labour agreements or international provisions on environmental, social and labour rights are considered ‘significant’.

The presence of the applicant on the exclusion list of Enabel because of such a failure serves as evidence.

7) Restrictive measures have been taken vis-à-vis the applicant with a view of ending violations of international peace and security such as terrorism, human-rights violations, the destabilisation of sovereign states and de proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The applicant or one of its directors are on the lists of persons, groups or entities submitted by the United Nations, the European Union and Belgium for financial sanctions:

For the United Nations, the lists can be consulted at the following address: https://finances.belgium.be/fr/tresorerie/sanctions-financieres/sanctions-internationales-nations-unies

For the European Union, the lists can be consulted at the following address: https://finances.belgium.be/fr/tresorerie/sanctions-financieres/sanctions-

europ%C3%A9ennes-ue

https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/8442/consolidated-list-sanctions_en https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/restrictive_measures-2017-01-17-clean.pdf

For Belgium: https://finances.belgium.be/fr/sur_le_spf/structure_et_services/administrations_generales/tr%C3%A9sorerie/contr%C3%B4le-des-instruments-1-2

In part A, section 1.3.5 of the grant application file (“applicant’s declaration”), the applicant must declare that neither itself nor its co-applicant(s) fall under any of these situations and that they will be able to provide the following supporting documents:

• Certification of good conduct

If the grant is awarded to it, the applicant becomes the beneficiary-contractor identified in Annex E (Grant Agreement). The beneficiary-contractor is the main point of contact for the contracting authority. It shall represent any other beneficiaries and act in their name. It shall design and coordinate implementation of the action.

Co-applicant(s)

The co-applicant(s) shall participate in specifying the implementation of the action, and the costs that they incur shall be eligible in the same way as those incurred by the applicant.

The co-applicant(s) must satisfy the admissibility criteria which apply to the applicant itself.

https://finances.belgium.be/fr/tresorerie/sanctions-financieres/sanctions-internationales-nations-unies

https://finances.belgium.be/fr/tresorerie/sanctions-financieres/sanctions-internationales-nations-unies

https://finances.belgium.be/fr/tresorerie/sanctions-financieres/sanctions-européennes-ue

https://finances.belgium.be/fr/tresorerie/sanctions-financieres/sanctions-européennes-ue

https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/8442/consolidated-list-sanctions_en

https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/8442/consolidated-list-sanctions_en

https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/restrictive_measures-2017-01-17-clean.pdf

https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/restrictive_measures-2017-01-17-clean.pdf

https://finances.belgium.be/fr/sur_le_spf/structure_et_services/administrations_generales/trésorerie/contrôle-des-instruments-1-2

https://finances.belgium.be/fr/sur_le_spf/structure_et_services/administrations_generales/trésorerie/contrôle-des-instruments-1-2


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The role of the co-applicant is to support the applicant to maximize the impact of the innovation hubs, by expanding the target of the innovation hub and increasing the outreach to the most vulnerable/marginalized groups.

The co-applicants must sign the declaration in part B, section 2.6 of the grant application file.

If the grants are awarded to them, any co-applicants will become the beneficiaries of the action, with the beneficiary-contractor.

2.1.2 Associates and contractors

The following persons are not co-applicants. They do not need to sign the “mandate” statement:

• Associates Other organisations may be associated with the action. Associates actively participate in the action, but cannot be eligible for grants, except for daily allowances and travelling expenses. These associates do not need to satisfy the admissibility criteria mentioned in point 2.1.1. The associates must be mentioned in part B, section 2.7 of the grant application file, entitled “Associates of the applicant participating in the action”.

• Contractors Contracting beneficiaries may award contracts. Associates cannot at the same time be suppliers (services, works, equipment) for the project. Suppliers shall be subject to public procurement rules (if public) or the rules set forth in Annex VII of the Grant Agreement template (if private).

2.1.3 Admissible actions: for what actions may an application be submitted?

Definition

An action comprises a series of activities that are necessary to achieve the results and contribute to the specific(s) objective(s) pursued by the proposal.

To be eligible, the actions under this call for proposal must meet the specifications described in this document.

Duration

The initial planned duration of an action may not be less than 12 months nor exceed 18 months. During this period two training cycles for each track should be implemented with a minimum of 12 to 20 trainees per group (2 cycles for the employment track and 2 cycles for the resilience track).

Sectors or themes

The actions under this call for proposal should relate to the results and recommendations of the two inception studies commissioned by Enabel i.e. “The Meta-Analysis of the Labour Market in Palestine” and “the Mapping of the Innovation Hubs in Palestine”, in


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addition to the recommendations of the Skills4Future Camp. (see Annex 1: background

and Guiding principles)

Geographical coverage

The actions must be implemented in Palestine covering one of the following regions: East-Jerusalem, Gaza and West-Bank.

Types of action

The following types of action are admissible:

• Conducting training sessions, awareness-raising campaigns and workshops

• The acquisition of basic raw materials, tools, teaching aids, etc, necessary for the implementation of the actions

• Provision of insurance against accidents and work-related injuries for trainers and trainees

• Provision of personal protective wear for trainees

• Occupational Health and Safety trainings, equipment and other measures adhering to the national standards

• Support for existing training programs (max. 10 % of budget), these programs should be in line with the needed skills in the labour market and linked to the objective of this call.

• Provision of support to trainees to participate in the trainings (e.g. support for transportation, food)

• Monitoring of trainees after finalizing the training programs

• Community outreach and awareness activities aimed at enhancing access and participation of vulnerable youth and women, with particular focus on NEETs and preventing them from dropping out of the training program.

• Activities supporting social inclusion and equitable access (e.g., services responding to specific needs of PWD, and services for vulnerable trainees such as numeracy and literacy trainings, day care services for young mothers, additional transportation arrangements, …)

• Activities to include decent work component within the training programs

• Pre-training career guidance and counselling or coaching activities for youth (the final beneficiary)

• Provision of nationally recognized assessment and certification

The following types of action are not admissible:

• Actions consisting exclusively or primarily of sponsoring the participation of

individuals in workshops, seminars, conferences and conventions

• Actions consisting exclusively or primarily of financing individual scholarships

for studies or training (unless explicitly allowed in the present guidelines)


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Sub-grants to sub-beneficiaries7

Applicants can not propose sub-grants to sub-beneficiaries to help achieve the objectives of the action.

Visibility

Applicants must take all measures necessary to ensure the visibility of the financing or co-financing by the Belgian Development Cooperation8. The contracting beneficiary always mentions "the Belgian State"8 as donor or co-donor in the public communications relating to the subsidized action.

Number of requests and Grant Agreements per applicant

• The lead applicant may submit more than one proposal under this Call for proposals, but only if the different proposals target different lots. The lead applicant can thus apply maximum 3 proposals, each targeting a different lot.

• The lead applicant may not be awarded more than one Grant Agreement(s) under this Call for Proposals.

• The lead applicant may not be at the same time a co-applicant in another application.

• A co-applicant may submit more than one application(s) under this Call for Proposals.

• A co-applicant may be awarded more than one Grant Agreement(s) under this Call for Proposals.

2.1.4 Eligibility of costs: what costs may be included?

Only “eligible costs” may be covered by grants. The types of eligible and ineligible costs are indicated below. The budget is both an estimate of costs and an overall cap on “eligible costs”.

The reimbursement of eligible costs may be based on one of the following formats, or any combination of these:

- direct costs (management costs and operational costs) actually borne by the beneficiary-contractor;

To be eligible for the purposes of the Call for Proposals, the costs must comply with the conditions provided for in Article 4 of the Grant Agreement template (see Annex E of these guidelines).

- Structure costs (overheads): these are maximum 5% of the Operational Costs

The structure costs are calculated on the basis of actual expenditure. Once accepted, the structure costs are lump sums and do not need to be justified. Enabel may use an outside agency to estimate the actual structure costs of an organization.

7 These sub-beneficiaries are neither associates nor contractors 8 Or other donor if applicable


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Reserve for contingencies

The budget may include a contingency reserve up to a maximum of 5% of the estimated eligible direct costs. It may only be used with the prior written authorisation of Enabel.

Contributions in kind

“Contributions in kind” means goods or services provided free of charge by a third party to the beneficiary-contractor. As contributions in kind do not involve any expenditure on the part of the beneficiary-contractor, they shall not constitute eligible costs.

Ineligible costs

The following costs shall not be eligible:

– Accounting entries not leading to payments; – Provisions for liabilities and charges, losses, debts or possible future debts; – Debts and debit interests; – Doubtful debts; – Currency exchange losses; – Loans to third parties, – Guarantees and securities, – Costs already financed by another grant; – Invoices made out by other organisations for goods and services already subsidised; – Subcontracting by means of service or consultancy contracts to personnel members,

Board members or General Assembly members of the organisation subsidised; – Any sub-letting to oneself; – Purchases of land or buildings, – Compensation for damage falling under the civil liability of the organisation; – Employment termination compensation for the term of notice not performed; – Purchase of alcoholic beverages, tobacco and derived products thereof. – Grants to sub-beneficiaries

2.2 Presentation of application and procedures to be followed

The applicant transmits at the same time, in a complete file, the concept note, the proposal and their annexes.

2.2.1 Content of the concept note

Applications must be submitted in accordance with the instructions on concept notes appearing in the grant application file annexed to these guidelines (Annex A, Part A).

Applicants must submit their request in English.

In case of two-phase approach only: in the concept note, applicants need only provide an estimate of the amount of the contribution requested from the contracting authority. Only applicants invited to submit a complete application in the second stage should present a detailed budget. Elements defined in the concept note may not be modified by the applicant in the proposal. The Belgian contribution may not vary more than 20 % in relation to the initial estimate.

Any errors or major inconsistencies concerning the points mentioned in the instructions on concept notes may result in its rejection.


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The contracting authority reserves the right to request clarification where the information provided does not enable it to carry out an objective evaluation.

Handwritten concept notes will not be accepted.

The following annexes must be attached to the concept note:

1. The statutes or articles of association of the applicant and any co-applicants.

2. An external audit report produced by an approved auditor, certifying the applicant’s accounts for the last available financial year where the total grant amount requested is above EUR 200,000 (not applicable to public beneficiary-contractors). Any co-applicants are not required to submit an external audit report.

3. A copy of the applicant’s most recent financial statements (income statement and balance sheet for the last closed financial year)9. Any co-applicants or affiliated entities are not required to provide a copy of their financial statements.

4. The legal entity file (see Annex D of these guidelines) duly completed and signed by each of the applicants (i.e. the applicant and each of the co-applicants), along with any supporting documents requested.

2.2.2 Content of the proposal

Proposals must be submitted in accordance with the instructions in the application form attached to these guidelines (Annex A, Part B).

Applicants must scrupulously respect the format of the proposal and complete paragraphs and pages in order.

The elements set out in the concept note cannot be modified by the applicant in the proposal.

Applicants must submit their proposal in the same language as their concept note.

Applicants must complete the proposal as carefully and clearly as possible to facilitate its evaluation.

Any major errors or inconsistencies in the proposal (inconsistency of amounts included in the budget calculation sheets, for example) may lead to immediate rejection of the proposal.

Clarifications will only be sought when the information provided is unclear and thus prevents the contracting authority from making an objective assessment.

Handwritten proposals will not be accepted.

It should be noted that only the proposal and the annexes to be completed (budget, logical framework) will be evaluated. It is therefore very important that these documents contain ALL relevant information about the action. No additional annexes should be sent.

2.2.3 Where and how to send complete application files

Complete files (concept note, proposal and their annexes) must be submitted online, on the website submit.com via the following link: https://submit.link/4Ft8R

When applicants send several complete dossiers, each must be submitted separately.

9 This does not apply to public bodies, nor where the accounts are in practice the same documents as the external audit report already provided pursuant to point 2.


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Complete files sent by other means (for example by post, by fax or e-mail) or sent to other addresses will be rejected.

Applicants must ensure that their files are complete. Incomplete files may be rejected.

2.2.4 Deadline date for submission of complete application files

The deadline for submission of complete applications is 25th of March 2021, at 16:00 pm local time, as evidenced by the server of the submit.com website. Any complete file submitted after the deadline will be rejected.

2.2.5 Other information on the Call for Proposals

Two information sessions on this Call for Proposals will be hosted virtually on the following dates:

- Session 1 Monday the 15th of February (from 10-12.30 online):

subscription via the following link https://bit.ly/3j8Sq4u - Session 2 on Tuesday the 2nd of March (from 10-12.30 online):

subscription via the following link https://bit.ly/3texAVU

Applicants may send their questions by e-mail, at the latest 21 days before the complete files submission deadline, to the address(es) set out below, making sure that they clearly indicate the Call for Proposals reference:

E-mail address: [email protected]

The contracting authority will not be obliged to provide clarification on questions received after this date.

Questions will be answered at the latest 11 days before the complete files submission deadline.

In order to ensure the equal treatment of applicants, the contracting authority cannot give a prior opinion on the admissibility of applicants, an action or specific activities.

The answers to these questions and other important information communicated during the evaluation procedure will be published in due course on www.enabel.be. As such, regular consultation of this website is recommended in order to be informed of the questions and answers published.

2.3 Evaluation and selection of applications

Applications will be examined and evaluated by the contracting authority with the help, where applicable, of external evaluators. All actions submitted by the applicants will be evaluated according to the stages and criteria described below.

If the examination of the application shows that the proposed action does not satisfy the admissibility criteria described in point 2.1.4, the request will be rejected on this sole basis.

(1) 1st STAGE: OPENING, ADMINISTRATIVE CHECKS, ADMISSIBILITY CHECKS AND EVALUATION OF CONCEPT NOTES

The following elements will be examined:

https://bit.ly/3j8Sq4u

https://bit.ly/3texAVU


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Opening:

• Compliance with the submission deadline. If the deadline date is not observed, the application will be automatically rejected.

Administrative and admissibility checks

• The concept note satisfies all the criteria specified in points 1 to 12 of the verification and evaluation grid provided in Annex Fa.

• If any of the information is missing or incorrect, the application may be rejected on this sole basis and it will not be evaluated.

Evaluation

Concept notes satisfying the conditions of the first administrative and admissibility check will be evaluated for the relevance and design of the proposed action.

The concept note will be given an overall mark out of 50 in accordance with the breakdown specified in points 13 to 18 of the evaluation grid available in Annex Fa.

The evaluation criteria are divided by headings and sub-headings. Each sub-heading will be given a score between 1 and 5 as follows: 1 = very poor, 2 = poor, 3 = average, 4 = good, 5 = very good.

Once all the concept notes have been evaluated, a list will be drawn up, ranking the proposed actions according to their total score.

Firstly, only concept notes with a minimum score of 30 points will be considered for shortlisting.

Secondly, the number of concept notes will be reduced according to their ranking in the list, by the number of concept notes whose total cumulative amount of contributions requested is equal to 400% of the budget available for this Call for Proposals.

After evaluation of the concept notes, the contracting authority will send a letter to all applicants, notifying them of the reference number they have been allocated, whether their concept note has been evaluated and the results of this evaluation.

The evaluation committee will proceed with the evaluation of the proposals corresponding to the selected concept notes.

(2) 2nd STAGE: EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

Firstly, the following points will be evaluated:

• The proposal satisfies all the criteria specified in points 1 to 12 of the verification and evaluation grid provided in Annex Fb.

• If any of the information is missing or incomplete, the application may be rejected on this sole basis and it will not be evaluated.

The quality of the applications, including the proposed budget and the capacity of the applicants, will be given a score out of 100 on the basis of evaluation criteria 13 to 26 of the verification and evaluation grid provided in Annex Fb. The evaluation criteria may be broken down into selection and award criteria.

The evaluation criteria aim to ensure that the applicants:


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• have stable and sufficient sources of financing to maintain their activity for the duration of the proposed action and, if necessary, to participate in its financing.

• have the management capacity and professional skills and qualifications required to successfully carry out the proposed action.

The evaluation criteria also help evaluate the quality of the applications against the objectives and priorities set, and to award grants to projects that maximise the overall effectiveness of the Call for Proposals. They help in selecting applications which assure the contracting authority that their objectives and priorities will be observed. They concern the relevance of the action and its consistency with the Call for Proposal’s objectives, its quality, its intended effect, the sustainability of the action and its cost-effectiveness.

Provisional selection After evaluation, a table will be drawn up, containing all the applications ranked according to their score and subject to the funds available. A reserve list will additionally be drawn up following the same criteria, to be used if more funds become available during the validity period of this list. Before finalizing the table, the supporting documents relating to the grounds for exclusion will be requested from the applicants that are temporarily selected. In the event of failure to provide these documents, the corresponding proposals will not be accepted.

2.4 Notification of the contracting authority’s decision

2.4.1 Content of the decision

The applicant will be notified in writing of the decision taken by the contracting authority concerning its application and, in case of rejection, the grounds for this negative decision.

If an applicant feels that it has been adversely affected by an error or mistake allegedly committed in an award procedure or believes that the procedure has been vitiated by an instance of maladministration, it may file a complaint with the contracting authority. In this case, the complaint will be sent to the person who made the disputed decision, who will endeavour to deal with the complaint and give a reply with 15 working days. Alternatively, or in case the reply is deemed unsatisfactory by the applicant, this latter may contact the competent Operations Manager at Enabel’s head office, via the mailbox [email protected] See https://www.enabel.be/content/complaints-management Complaints relating to issues of integrity (fraud, corruption, etc.) should be sent to the Integrity Office through the Internet address www.enabelintegrity.be. The purpose of the complaint cannot be to request a second evaluation of the Proposals without any other grounds than that the applicant disagrees with the award decision.

2.4.2 Indicative timetable

Date Time*

Information meeting 1 15/02/2021 10:00

Information meeting 2 02/03/2021 10:00

mailto:[email protected]

https://www.enabel.be/content/complaints-management


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Deadline for clarification requests to the contracting authority

04/03/2021 16:00

Last date on which clarifications are given by the contracting authority

12/03/2021 16:00

Submission deadline complete application file

25/03/2021 16:00

Notification of applicants of the opening, administrative checks and evaluation of concept notes (stage 1)

01/04/2021* -

Request certificates and supporting documents relating to the grounds for exclusion (see 2.1.1 (2))

01/04/2021* -

Receipt of certificates and supporting documents relating to the grounds for exclusion

15/04/2021* -

Notification of the award decision and transmission of signed grant agreement

30/04/2021* -

Signature of the Agreement by contracting beneficiary

No later than 15 days after notification of the grant

-

* Provisional date. All times are in the local time of the contracting authority.

This indicative timetable may be updated by the contracting authority during the procedure. In this case, the updated timetable will be published on the Enabel website and on the submit.com.

2.5 Implementation conditions following the grant award decision

of the contracting authority

Following the grant award decision, contracting beneficiaries will be offered an agreement based on the contracting authority’s Grant Agreement template (Annex E of these guidelines). By signing the concept note and the proposal (Annex A of these guidelines), applicants accept the contractual conditions of the Grant Agreement template, should the grants be awarded to them.

2.5.1 Implementation contracts

Where the implementation of an action requires public procurement by the beneficiary-contractor(s), contracts must be awarded in accordance with:

Annex VII of the Grant Agreement template (for private sector applicants).

Or

Local public procurement law (for public sector applicants)


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For private contracting beneficiaries, it is not permitted to subcontract all of an action by means of a contract. In addition, the budget of each contract financed by means of the grant granted may only correspond to a limited part of the total amount of the grant.

2.5.2 Separate bank account

In case a grant award, the contracting beneficiary shall open a separate bank account (or a separate sub-account allowing for the identification of the funds received). This account will be in euros, if this is possible in the country.

This account or sub-account must allow to:

• Identify the funds transferred by Enabel;

• Identify and follow up the operations performed with third parties;

• Distinguish between the operations performed under this agreement and other operations.

The financial identification form (Annex VI of the Grant Agreement) relating to this separate bank account, certified by the bank10, will be sent by the contracting beneficiary to Enabel at the same time as the signed copies of the Grant Agreement after it has been notified. the award decision.

The account will be closed once any reimbursements owed to enabel have been made (and after settling the final amount of the funds used).

2.5.3 Processing of personal data.

Enabel undertakes to treat the personal data communicated in response to this call for proposals with the greatest care, in accordance with the legislation on the protection of personal data (the General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR). In cases where the Belgian law of July 30, 2018 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data contains more stringent requirements, the adjudicator will act in accordance with this legislation. More specifically, when you participate in a call for proposals within the framework of the allocation of grants by Enabel, we collect the details of the contact persons ("authorized representative") of the entity submitting the grant application, such as the name, first name, professional telephone number, professional e-mail address, professional function and name of the organization represented. In some cases, we must also collect the extract from the criminal record (or equivalent) of the leader of the organization applying for the grant. We process this information because we have a legal obligation to collect this information in the context of the administration and award of our grants. For more information on this subject, please consult Enabel's privacy statement at the following link: https://www.enabel.be/content/privacy-notice-enabel

2.5.4 Transparency

For the sake of transparency, Enabel undertakes to publish an annual list of contracting beneficiaries. By signing the Grant Agreement, the contracting beneficiary declares that he agrees with the publication of the title of the contract, the nature and object of the contract, its name and location, and the amount of the contract.

10 This bank must be situated in the country where the applicant is established

https://www.enabel.be/content/privacy-notice-enabel


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List of Annexes

DOCUMENTS TO BE COMPLETED

ANNEX A: GRANT APPLICATION FILE (WORD FORMAT)

ANNEX B: BUDGET (EXCEL FORMAT)

ANNEX C: LOGICAL FRAMEWORK (WORD FORMAT)

ANNEX D: LEGAL ENTITY FORM (WORD FORMAT)

DOCUMENTS FOR INFORMATION

ANNEX E: GRANT AGREEMENT TEMPLATE

Annexe III: Payment request template. Annex IV Transfer of ownership of assets template] Annex V Legal entity form (private or public) Annex VI Financial identification form Annexe VII Procurement principles (in the case of a private beneficiary-contractor)

ANNEX FA: CONCEPT NOTE VERIFICATION AND EVALUATION GRID

ANNEX FB: PROPOSAL VERIFICATION AND EVALUATION GRID

ANNEX G: DAILY ALLOWANCE RATES (PER DIEM)

Annex 1 – context and guiding principles

palestine contracting authority: enabel in collaboration ......enabel • belgian development agency...

Documents