Call for applications
THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND NATIONAL HERITAGE
HEREBY OPENS A CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
FOR SMALL-INITIATIVES
financed from the BILATERAL FUND
of the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism
and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021
I. Introduction
The Small-Initiative Programme is a programme aimed at financial support for bilateral activities with a particular focus on supporting small and local activities. The primary aim of the Programme is to establish a starting point for long-term and wider cooperation between institutions from Poland and the Donor-States. Taking into account the ongoing war in Ukraine and the millions of refugees in Europe, the Programme wishes to create opportunities for the inclusion of Ukrainians in the initiatives. This is not a mandatory requirement, but inclusion of Ukrainian refugees from Poland and/or Donor States may result in additional evaluation points.
The total amount allocated for financing the Small-Initiatives is 297 048 EUR. The value of the grant must be between 10 000 EUR and 30 000 EUR.
The deadline for submitting applications within this call is September 30, 2022. The initiative start date should not be earlier than the date of the Minister responsible for culture and national heritage’s decision – it is estimated that the decision will be issued at the turn of November and December 2022. Initiatives may last up to 9 months; however, they must be concluded no later than October 31, 2023.
II. Legal basis
Agreement No. 1/2019/FWD on the Bilateral Fund under the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism for 2014-2021 of September 12, 2019.
III. Objective of the activity
The funds available within the Bilateral Fund for the Programme “Culture” will support bilateral activities for applicants from Poland and Donor States. The aim of the small-initiatives is to support the establishment of partnerships, networks and engagement in capacity-related activities in the field of culture and cultural heritage, expanding knowledge and/or skills of those involved in the initiatives.
In order for the Small-Initiative to take place, it is obligatory for the Polish entity to establish cooperation with the entities(s) from Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and for the Donor State entity to establish cooperation with the entities(s) from Poland.
The main objective of the Small-Initiative is the local and regional development. The subject of the evaluation of local and regional dimension on the project will consist of:
IV. Types of activities
Eligible activities under Small-Initiatives consist of activities increasing the knowledge / specialization of partners on a previously agreed topic. Activities must be selected from the following (more than one action may be selected):
The activities are to focus on sharing the newly acquired knowledge and experience with a partner. Activities can be implemented both online and/or stationary.
V. Horizontal aspects
Each initiative must consist of activities that support at least one of the following aspects.
Cultural entrepreneurship and management of cultural initiatives.
The initiatives should contribute to improve the capability for management of cultural institutions and organisations (for example development in artistic programme, administration, communication etc.) and / or strengthening competences of cultural professionals in the market. The initiatives should result in the enhancement of skills required to put innovative ideas into use in order to develop the organisation or to generate business benefits and to establish a strategy related to entrepreneurship in a given organisation.
Audience development
The initiatives should contribute to increasing the interest, participation and cultural competence of the audience through use of new or innovative methods and tools to reach out to new groups or groups that seldom participate in cultural life. The initiatives should also result in increased knowledge about the needs of audiences and in establishing strategies related to the audience development.
Inclusion of ethnic and national minorities
The initiatives should promote the inclusion and participation of ethnic and national minorities in cultural events. The initiatives should result in artistic events which involve ethnic and national minorities.
Inclusion of Ukrainian refugees in the initiatives will be considered as part of this horizontal aspect.
Ukrainian refugees (artists and other cultural workers) can be included in the initiatives based on agreements made between these and the applicant and/or partners in the initiative. Their involvement in the initiative can be in the form of contribution to artistic productions, lectures, workshops, consultants, etc., on issues related to the initiative.
VI. Eligible applicants for Small-Initiatives
Entities from Poland:
Entities from the Donor States (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein):
Main activity of the Applicant shall be in the cultural, cultural heritage and creative sectors, including, but not limited to:
Within this call one applicant may submit a maximum of 2 applications.
All Small-Initiatives must be implemented in partnership between a Polish entity and an entity from a Donor State. There are no limitations in terms of additional partners from Poland and the Donor States.
Participation in the initiative needs to be confirmed at the application stage by the letter of intent (or by a partnership agreement) constituting one of the appendices to the application. The partnership agreement must be submitted before signing the contract concerning the grant.
Partner must meet all the following criteria:
Donor State Partner: any eligible entity as described under point VI. Eligible applicants for Small Initiatives.
Partners from Poland must belong to one the following group of entities:
VIII. Amount available for funding the Small-Initiative
The amount of funds allocated for financing the Small-Initiatives equals: EUR 297 048, i.e. 1 389 055,85 PLN being the arithmetic average of the European Commission's monthly exchange rates [7] from March to August 2022: 1 EURO = 4.6762 PLN.
IX. Small-Initiatives grant rate
Initiatives will be financed at 100% of eligible costs. No own-contribution required from the applicant or partner/s.
X. Duration of the Small-Initiatives
Small-Initiative can start after the date of the decision of the minister responsible for culture and national heritage on financing. Small-Initiative shall last up to 9 months.
Small-Initiative expenditure eligibility expires on 31 October 2023.
It is expected that the decision related to the financing of the initiative will be announced at the turn of November and December 2022. Therefore the initiatives may be schedule from January 2023 until end of October 2023.
XI. Minimum / maximum grant amount
The minimum grant amount EUR 10,000.
The maximum grant amount EUR 30,000.
Under the Bilateral Fund for the Programme “Culture” eligible are expenses that have been identified by the Initiative Promoter and/or Partner as related to the implementation phase of the initiative. These include as following (costs related to the content of the initiative):
XIII. Assessment of Application
The assessment is conducted by the Programme Operator. The initiative assessment process consists of two stages and includes: formal evaluation and content-related evaluation. Only those initiatives that meet all formal criteria may be qualified to content -related evaluation.
The formal evaluation shall last up to 30 calendar days (the evaluation period shall be suspended in case if applicant is asked by the Programme Operator to submit supplements/clarifications to the application). Upon the request of the Programme Operator, at the evaluation stage the application submitted by the applicant may be supplemented and/or provided with suitable clarifications. The supplementary procedure is a one-time procedure and shall suspend the period of formal evaluation by 3 business days.
The content-related evaluation stage shall last up to 30 calendar days. The application cannot be supplemented or corrected at the content-related evaluation stage. The content-related evaluation of each application shall be reviewed by leading expert and afterword evaluated by the Experts Committee; the number of points on the ranking list will be determined on the basis of the average of the rating given by each expert working within the Experts Committee.
The final decision shall be taken by the Minister responsible for culture and national heritage, basing on the ranking list.
In order to plan any activities within Small-Initiative, the applicants / partners need to be aware of the following deadlines and milestones.
Evaluation phase – after the call is completed the following deadlines starts:
Small-Initiative contract – after the decision is made the initiative contract will be drafted and signed within 2 months.
Advance payment – after the financial contract is signed and the guarantee of the correct performance of the contract is submitted the first tranche of funds will be paid within 20 business days.
Final Report – need to be delivered to the Programme Operator within 15 business days after the date of completion of the Small-Initiative.
Verification of the report – the PO has 40 calendar days to review the document. In case the Report needs amendments, the applicant – according to the PO request – has a 10-day period to submit the correct version. The PO has 10 days to review the final version of the report.
Final payment shall be made within 15 business days after the Final Report approval.
There will be no possibility of appealing against the evaluation of applications, neither formal nor content-related. There will be no possibility of appealing against the decision on the grant.
XVI. Payment and reporting system
An advance payment in the amount of up to 90% of the total amount of the grant shall be made within 20 business days after the signing of the Small-Initiative Contract. The balancing payment in the form of a refund in the amount of up to 10% of the total amount of the grant shall be paid within 15 business days upon the approval of the Final Report.
Payments to beneficiaries will be made in PLN and (if needed) exchange into EURO using the monthly accounting rate of the EC exchange, in the month in which the expenditure were booked on the account of the Programme Operator.
The settlement of the Small-Initiative shall be based on the Final Report to be submitted to the Programme Operator within 15 business days after the completion of the initiative.
Financial clearance is based on the actual expenditure of the beneficiary and partner(s), as evidenced by bills and invoices. Furthermore, in case of Donor initiative beneficiaries and partners: reports of an independent auditor [9] confirming that the declared costs were incurred in accordance with the Regulation [10] , the provisions of national law and the accounting practices followed in the Partner’s country constitute sufficient proof of expenditure for costs incurred by the beneficiary [11] .
XVII. Submitting applications
The applications can be submitted until September 30, 2022.
The applications shall be submitted in English. The applicants who will receive a grant will be asked to translate their applications into Polish, before signing the agreement.
In the case of the main applicant being from one of the Donor States we encourage the Polish partner to take the responsibility of translating the application into Polish.
In order to properly submit the application, the Applicant is required to fill in the application form available at https://eogkultura.mkidn.gov.pl/pages/dzialania/fundus https://eogkultura.mkidn.gov.pl/pages/dzialania/fundusz-wspolpracy-dwustronnej/z https://eogkultura.mkidn.gov.pl/pages/dzialania/fundusz-wspolpracy-dwustronnej/zalaczniki-do-ogloszenia-2022.php alaczniki-do-ogloszenia-2022.php .
Applicants using a secure electronic signature:
Applicants not using a secure electronic signature:
Attachments to the application in electronic form on a CD/DVD or pendrive shall be understood as:
The envelope with the application form and all attachments on CD/DVD or pendrive must bear the following inscriptions:
In justified cases, when long-lasting technical problems prevents the submission of applications, the Programme Operator will publish the instructions concerning further actions on the Operator’s website ( https://eogkultura.mkidn.gov.pl ).
The applications submitted after deadline specified in the Call for Applications or in a manner other than identified above (e.g. by fax or e-mail) are not subject to the evaluation procedure and shall be rejected. Only applicants from Donor States can submit the application via email.
The Applicant may withdraw the submitted application at any time during the Call. They shall communicate their decision, in writing, to the Operator who shall immediately confirm, in writing, the withdrawal of the application.
Correspondence between the Program Operator and the Applicant may be conducted in electronic form, i.e. via the ePUAP platform, if the Applicant has an electronic locker on this platform and indicates its address in the application form, or via e-mail, in other cases. It is obligatory for all Applicants to have an e-mail address and indicate it in the application.
XVIII. Attachments to the application
In order for the application to meet the formal requirements, it must be accompanied by the following appendices.
In case of Applicant from Poland:
Calculation of the maximum amount of aid in an initiative for operating aid and cultural activities;
Non-mandatory attachments that may be of importance for the content-related evaluation of the application:
In case of Applicant from Donor-States:
Non-mandatory attachments that may be of importance for the content-related evaluation of the application:
XIX. Call-related documentation
POLAND – Programme Operator in charge of the call for applications, evaluation and selection of initiatives
The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
Department for European Affairs and Funds
ul. Krakowskie Przedmieście 15/17
00-071 Warszawa, Poland
Tel. + 48 22 69 25 562
Fax. +48 22 69 25 440
e-mail: fwd[at]kultura[dot]gov[dot]pl
https://eogkultura.mkidn.gov.pl/
Questions concerning the call for applications may be sent to the aforementioned e-mail address of: fwd[at]kultura[dot]gov[dot]pl . General explanations are published on the Operator’s website. Responses to questions concerning the initiative selection procedure and the submission of the application are provided on a case-by-case basis, without undue delay. Responses constituting an explanation of the procedures or their interpretations are also published on the aforementioned website containing information about this call for applications. Responses that contain solely references to or quotes of the provisions of applicable documents are not subject to publication. Responses to questions related to the initiative selection procedure shall be binding until they are modified. If the modification of a response does not result from generally applicable law, those Applicants who have complied with a given answer and have submitted their applications based on the guidelines contained therein, may not bear any negative consequences resulting from the modification of the response.
NORWAY – Programme Partners who may assist in seeking partners in Norway:
Art Council Norway/Kulturrådet
Tel.: +47 21045895
E-mail:
eos-kultursamarbeid[at]kulturradet[dot]no
Website:
www.kulturradet.no
Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage /Riksantikvaren
Tel. +47 22940400
Website: eeagrants[at]ra[dot]no
ICELAND – Programme Partner who may assist in seeking partners in Iceland:
Ragnhildur Zoëga
Senior Adviser
The Icelandic Centre for Research
Borgatúrn 30, IS-150 Reykjavík
Iceland
Tel. +354 515 5838
E-mail:
ragnhildur[dot]zoega[at]rannis[dot]is
Website: https://en.rannis.is
LIECHTENSTEIN – Programme Partner who may assist in seeking partners in the Principality of Liechtenstein:
Sonja Näscher
EEA Grants Coordinator in the Field of Culture
Amt für Kultur / Office of Cultural Affairs
Kulturschaffen / Cultural Activities
Peter-Kaiser-Platz 2
Postfach 684
9490 Vaduz
Liechtenstein
Tel. +423 236 63 52
Fax. +423 236 63 59
e-mail:
sonja[dot]naescher[at]llv[dot]li
Website: www.eeagrants.li
Reporting irregularities:
https://www.eog.gov.pl/strony/zapoznaj-sie-z-funduszami/zasady-zglaszania-nieprawidlowosci/
[1] Whether a given non-governmental organisation is active in the cultural sector will be verified based on the provisions of its status. The condition shall be fulfilled if the said status lists cultural activities.
[2] Whether a given entrepreneur is active in the cultural or creative industry will be verified based on the analysis of the records regarding the scope of business activity in the National Court Register as well as Central Registration and information on business. Entities acting in the sphere of culture are only those entities which, as the subject of their activity, provide services in the scope of categories 90 Creative, arts and entertainment activities and 91 Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities of the Polish Classification of Activities
[3] Within the meaning of Article 2 point 1 of Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing the Creative Europe Program (2014-2020) and repealing Decision No 1718/2006 / EC, No 1855/2006 / EC and No. 1041/2009 / EC (Journal of Laws EU L 347 of 20.12.2013, p. 221).
[4] Verification whether a given non-governmental organisation operates in the field of culture will be made on the basis of the provisions in the statute of that organisation, in which cultural activities must be listed.
[5] Whether a given entrepreneur is active in the cultural or creative industry will be verified based on the Polish Classification of Activities categories entered into the National Court Register. The condition shall be deemed fulfilled if the said Register lists categories 90 Creative, arts and entertainment activities and/or 91 Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities
[6] According to the Article 2 point 1 of Regulation (EU) No 1295/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing the "Creative Europe" program (2014-2020) and repealing Decision No 1718/2006 / EC, No 1855/2006 / EC and No. 1041/2009 / EC (Journal of Laws EU L 347 of 20.12.2013, p. 221).
[7] The allocation may be increased if new / additional funds arise.
[8] or a report issued by a competent and independent public officer recognised by the relevant national authorities, as written in the Article 8.12.4 of the Regulation on the implementation of the European Economic Area (EEA) Financial Mechanism2014-2021
[9] or a report issued by a competent and independent public officer recognised by the relevant national authorities, as written in the Article 8.12.4 of the Regulation on the implementation of the European Economic Area (EEA) Financial Mechanism2014-2021.
[10] Regulation on the implementation of the European Economic Area (EEA) Financial Mechanism 2014–2021 adopted by the EEA FMC pursuant to Article 10.5 of Protocol 38c to the EEA Agreement on 8 September 2016 and confirmed by the Standing Committee of the EFTA States on 23 September 2016
[11] According to the Article 8.12.4 of the Regulation on the implementation of the European Economic Area (EEA) Financial Mechanism2014-2021.
[12] https://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/nfd/organisation/etater-og-virksomheter-under-narings--og-fiskeridepartementet/Subordinate-agencies-and-institutions/the-bronnoysund-register-centre/id426429/
[13] It is not necessary to enclose the registers but to provide an information (e.g. in the application or in the form of an additional attachment) where these documents are available (e.g. link)
[15] It is not necessary to enclose the registers but to provide an information (e.g. in the application or in the form of an additional attachment) where these documents are available (e.g. link)
[17] It is not necessary to enclose the registers but to provide an information (e.g. in the application or in the form of an additional attachment) where these documents are available (e.g. link)
[18] In accordance with the template designed by the Programme Operator
[19] It is not necessary to enclose the registers but to provide an information (e.g. in the application or in the form of an additional attachment) where these documents are available (e.g. link)
[20] In accordance with the template designed by the Programme Operator
[21] i.e. EEA Grants (not Creative Europe programmes)