MIKE HEATHCOTE

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CALL FOR PROPOSALS PROCEDURES
MIKE HEATHCOTE Senior Administrative, Financial
and Procurement EU Expert Ministry of Economy and
Trade
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CALL FOR PROPOSALS PROCEDURES

• EU Requirements and Transparency
• Documentation
• Evaluation
• Critical Issues
• Timetable
• Monitoring

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WHAT IS A CALL FOR PROPOSALS?
An EC procedure for the effective disbursement
of grants
Obtain Guidelines for Applicants
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• EU REQUIREMENTS AND TRANSPARENCY
• Grants available only under a call for proposals
• to eligible applicants
• for eligible actions
• for eligible costs

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ELIGIBILITY OF APPLICANTS
1.Be a separate legal entity 2. Form or plan to
form consortia 3. Provide/ or plan to provide
BDC support to start-up and existing SMEs as
defined by the EU. 4. Have or plan to have a BDC
in one of the targeted locations of Lebanon

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ELIGIBILITY OF APPLICANTS
5. Have or be willing to provide an existing
building free of charge for exclusive use as a
BDC. 6. Be a not for profit organisation. 7.
Be directly responsible for the preparation and
management of the action.

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ELIGIBILITY OF APPLICANTS

8. Be experienced and have the capacity to
manage. 9. Have an independent verifiable
business plan. 10. Be national or international
organisations.
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INELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
1. Are bankrupt or being wound up, are having
their affairs administered by the courts, have
entered into an arrangement with creditors, have
suspended business activities, are the subject of
proceedings concerning those matters, or are in
any analogous situation arising from a similar
procedure provided for in national legislation or
regulations.

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INELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
2. Been convicted of an offence. concerning
professional conduct. 3. Guilty of grave
professional misconduct. 4. Not fulfilled
obligations relating to the payment of social
security contributions or the payment of taxes.
5. Been the subject of a judgment for fraud,
corruption, involvement in a criminal
organisation or any other illegal activity
detrimental to the Communities' financial
interests.

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INELIGIBLE APPLICANTS

6. Been declared to be in serious breach of
contract for failure to comply with their
contractual obligations in connection with a
procurement procedure or other grant award
procedure financed by the Community budget.
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INELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
Applicants are also excluded from participation
in calls for proposals or the award of grants if,
at the time of the call for proposals they
1. Are subject to a conflict of interests
2. Are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying
the information required 3. Have
attempted to obtain confidential information or
influence the evaluation committee or the
contracting authority during the evaluation
process of current or previous calls for
proposals.

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ELIGIBILITY OF PARTNERS

• Applicants must act in consortium with a minimum
  of two partner organisations. Partners must
  satisfy the same eligibility criteria as
  applicants.
• Other organisations may be involved in the
  action. Such associates play a real role in the
  action but may not receive funding from the
  grant. Associates do not have to meet the
  eligibility criteria.

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ELIGIBLE ACTIONS
Duration
The Action supported by this Programme will need
to be concluded by no later than 31st December
2007, irrespective of the contract signature date.
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ELIGIBLE ACTIONS
Theme Make grant finance available to support
the creation of up to four pilot Business
Development Centres in Lebanon to provide
appropriate accommodation, facilities and
business support to SMEs (both start-up and
expansions)
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ELIGIBLE ACTIONS

• Sectors
• All economic sectors can be supported by the BDCs
  are eligible, with the following exceptions
• Trade of arms
• Production of tobacco and tobacco products
• Retail and wholesale trade
• Operation of a casino or any other entity
  involved in the gambling industry
• Banking, insurance, financial services
• Activities involving currency and financial
  speculations securities investment
• Real estate related investments and businesses,
• Any other activity which is deemed to endanger
  the environment, etc.

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ELIGIBLE ACTIONS

• LOCATION
• Actions must take place in Lebanon in
• Beirut and Mount Lebanon
• The Bekaa
• North of Lebanon
• South of Lebanon

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ELIGIBLE ACTIONS
Type of Action

• create and deliver incubation and
• business support services for SMEs
• provide training services for SMEs
• create a seed fund for SMEs

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INELIGIBLE ACTIONS
1.Individual sponsorships for participation in
workshops, seminars, conferences, congresses. 2.
Individual scholarships for studies or training
courses. 3.Any activity defined as illegal,
immoral or environmentally hazardous and
dangerous for human health.
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INELIGIBLE ACTIONS
4. Establishing, assisting or developing any
activity that contributes to the violation of
internationally recognised workers rights,
rules and regulations in force in
Lebanon. 5.Actions which fall within the general
activities of competent state institutions or
state administration services, including local
government.

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INELIGIBLE ACTIONS
6. Financing the usual (routine) activities of
the local organisations, especially covering
their operational costs. 7. Purchase of land
and the purchase/construction of new
buildings. 8.Actions started before signing the
contract with MoET or receiving funds from any
other sources.

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Number of proposals and grants per applicant
An applicant may submit only one Grant
Application for this Call for Proposals.
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ELIGIBLE COSTS

• Necessary for carrying out the action
• Have actually been incurred by the beneficiaries
  or their partners during the implementing period
  for the action.
• Be recorded in the Beneficiary's or the
  Beneficiary's partners' accounts or tax
  documents, be identifiable and
• verifiable, and be backed by original
  supporting documents.

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ELIGIBLE COSTS INCLUDE

• Staff costs
• Travel and subsistence
• Equipment
• Consumables and supplies
• Sub-contracting expenditure
• Dissemination, evaluation, audit, translation,
  printing, insurance, financial services costs

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INELIGIBLE COSTS

• Debts and provisions for losses or debts
• 2. Interest owed
• 3. Items already financed in another framework
• 4. Purchases of land or buildings, except where
  necessary for the direct implementation of the
  action, in which case ownership must be
  transferred to the final beneficiaries at the end
  of the action
• 5. Currency exchange losses
• 6.Taxes, including VAT, unless the Beneficiary
  (or the Beneficiarys partners) cannot reclaim
  them and the applicable regulations authorise
  coverage of taxes.

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ELIGIBLE COSTS INCLUDE

• Indirect Costs (Overheads)
• Sum not exceeding 7 of the direct costs

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DOCUMENTATION

• Guidelines for Applicants
• Application Form
• Business Plan
• Log-frame
• Budget
• All documents on MoET Web-Site
• Note detailed assistance will be given on Day 2
  of the workshop on how to complete the
  documentation.

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DOCUMENTATION

• Supporting Documents
• Statute or Articles
• Annual Report and Accounts
• Audit Report
• Business Plan
• Notarised Statement empowering persons(s) to act
  for the applicant
• CV of Consortium Managers
• Commitment statement of the Consortium
• Corporate History of consortium members

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EVALUATION PROCEDURE

• Evaluation Committee
• Independent
• Transparent
• Proposals evaluated against the Evaluation Grid
  included in the Guidelines for Grant Applicants

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Evaluation Committee
Eligibility of Applicants, Partners And Actions
Quality and Financial Evaluation
Administrative Compliance

Scoring Procedure
Evaluation Marking Grid
Relevance of The Proposal
Financial and Management Capacity
Methodology
Budget and Cost Effectiveness
Sustainability
Maximum Total Score 100 Points
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TIMETABLE
4 August 2005 - Call for Proposals Launched
12/13 September 2005 - Information Workshop 14
October 2005 - Last date for questions 23
October 2005 - Last date for Answers 4 November
2005 - Submission Date 5 November - 3 December
2005 - Appraisal by
Evaluation
Committee 4 December 2005 - Announcement of
Decisions
(Indicative Date)


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CRITICAL ISSUES

• To be awarded a grant applicants must
• Complete the Application Form accurately
• and adequately
• Have a strong Business Plan
• Score highly against the Evaluation Grid
• Provide all necessary supporting documents.

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Award of the grant


Issue of a standard contract
Contracting Authority (MoET)
THE E.C.
Special Information included in the Contract
Advance Payment Possible, Detail on action if
Objectives fail (Reduce payments, suspension of
Payments, cancel contract)
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION IN THE CONTRACT

• Information regarding possible budget changes.
• Circumstances when the C.A. may require
• additional information.
• General Payment Procedures.
• Detail on the need to keep accurate records
• and accounts.
• The need to promote the action mentioning the EU.
• The General Conditions form part of the Contract

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MONITORING

• Successful grant applicants will be regularly
  monitored
• Action on Track
• Action in accordance with application
• Expenditure validated and incurred on approved
• items
• Remaining expenditure to be incurred can be
• contained within the Plan
• Activities on track Occupancy and Services