When constructing the proposal, we recommend that you clearly consider the specifics of the 2nd Window, namely the adoption of measures that stimulate civic engagement, dialogue, participation and empowerment of vulnerable groups. Projects funded under the Civic Engagement Programme and implicitly in 2nd Window must demonstrate complexity and good alignment with the Programme outcomes, as well as with one of the two Areas. Potential Applicants can address a multitude of themes and directions in outlining the project idea and, implicitly, its activities, and in the Guidelines for Applicants, section 1.8, indicative eligible activities are listed.
Secondly, according to the information found in the Guidelines for Applicants, section 2.3.2 Direct costs, costs related to expansion and renovation works (construction, renovation and upgrades of buildings) are eligible. However, please note the details regarding the 2nd Window (grant amount and duration of projects – minimum and maximum values), as well as the maximum percentage of 10% of the total budget of the project that can be allocated to this type of costs (expansion and renovation works).

No. Projects addressing Area 1 are not required to include activities related to biodiversity protection, conservation or management of natural resources. Such activities may only be included if the project objectives directly address this issue.

As specified in the mandatory Annex templates, they will be signed by the legal representative of the organization. During the application phase, signing documents with a certified electronic signature is not mandatory, but subsequently, according to section 4 of the Guidelines for Applicants, “All the Grant Contracts and further documents elaborated during implementation shall be signed with a certified electronic signature.”

Application Forms should be filled in Romanian, without using diacritics. The only exceptions are the fields in which the information is required in English. The limit of characters refers to the number of characters with spaces.

A correspondence between the 2 Outcomes and the 2 Areas is not established. In order to achieve its goal, the Civic Engagement Programme aims to achieve the two outcomes, therefore projects submitted under the 2nd Window will select and report against at least one Outcome indicator (Outcome 1 or Outcome 2), as well as any two Output indicators.

Projects submitted under the 2nd Window will select and report against at least one Outcome indicator (Outcome 1 or Outcome 2), as well as any two Output indicators, chosen in accordance with the project activities and its objectives.

The Programme encourages activities carried out especially in rural or small urban areas, where active civic participation remains untapped, without requiring them to be carried out exclusively in such areas. By “small urban area” under the Civic Engagement Programme we refer to localities with less than 20,000 inhabitants.

A project must select a single area of ​​intervention, Area 1 (focusing on civic activism or focusing on biodiversity protection, conservation and management of natural resources) or Area 2 (empowerment of vulnerable groups). However, it may also include activities from the other area, if they are related to the project and contribute to achieving the project objectives.

Within the Programme, no maximum percentage of the total project budget has been established for salaries and/or direct administrative costs. However, indirect costs, which cover part of the administrative costs of a project, cannot exceed 10% of the total direct costs of the project.

Experts may be nominated during the application phase or later, after the Grant Contract has been signed. Depending on the type of services, some experts may be exempted from the procurement procedure (e.g. project-specific thematic expert), while others (e.g. IT expert for website development) will have to be selected through a procurement procedure. Attention: The Project Manager can be hired exclusively through an individual employment contract. The project management activity cannot be subcontracted. It is recommended, if you know the project team and the experts, to name and describe them in the proposal.

In the event that there is no person within the organization with experience in carrying out procurements, these services may be subcontracted to a company/self-employed person.

To determine consumption, the value in kWh/100 Km specified in the vehicle’s technical documentation (technical book) will be used.

It is recommended that the financial officer be a member of the project team (employed by individual employment contract) to ensure constant monitoring of the budget and reporting, but there is no restriction in this regard for the mentioned positions. However, as for audit services, these will be outsourced to an accredited independent auditor, who will perform the audit using the ISA 805 auditing standard.

There is no imposed percentage. However, the allocation of human resources must be rigorously correlated with the activities and needs of the project.

The position of financial manager is not mandatory for the Partner. The decision to include such a position in the budget must take into account the complexity of the project and the amount that the Partner will manage.

Within the Programme there will be available a procurement procedure that respects both national and European legislation.

In this case it refers to the VAT that can be recovered from the state budget through the VAT statement by the organization that received funding.

According to the information contained in the Guidelines for Applicants section 2.3.3, as well as in Annex 2b – Guidelines for developing the project budget, indirect costs are those eligible costs that cannot be directly attributed to the project. Indirect costs may include: part of the office costs – utilities, rent, mainatenance, part of the administrative costs – telephone, internet, partial salary costs of the administrative staff – accountant, secretary, driver, etc.

During the project implementation, budget changes will be regulated by the Grant Contract and will be possible in justified cases, depending on the identified needs. Thus, some changes can be made by notification, and others by addendums. We recommend that the budget be drawn up based on necessary, realistic costs that respect the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

In establishing the project team, the complexity of the implementation of a large-scale project must be taken into account, and, depending on the complexity of the activities, the team necessary to ensure a good performance of the project must be established. It is recommended to establish a project team that includes a project manager, a financial manager, a communication manager. It is also advisable to appoint a procurement expert, whether employed or subcontracted, to carry out procurement in accordance with the rules of the Programme and the legislation in force.

The Programmme does not set a specific amount or percentage for audit services. Therefore, market research is recommended before budgeting for these costs.

Within the Programme, no minimum or maximum limits have been set for the salaries or fees of employees or experts involved in the implementation of the project activities. It is recommended that, when estimating the project budget, the organization’s remuneration policy or the market rates applicable to the targeted experts be taken into account.

The costs for consulting activities for the implementation of the project will be included in the Subcontracting budget chapter and will be budgeted only if they are strictly necessary. It will be considered that the project manager can act within a project exclusively on the basis of an employment contract, and the Applicant must be directly responsible for the development and management of the project, without acting as an intermediary.

According to the information in the Guidelines for Applicants, section 5.3, external audits are mandatory and related costs are eligible and must be included in the project budget. In the case of partnerships with an organization in Switzerland, the audit is mandatory if it manages a budget of more than CHF 100,000 of the project budget. In case of partnerships, audit costs can be included in the budget of each Partner or of the Applicant.

Within the Programme there is no limitation on the amount of the grant that goes to the Swiss Partner. This must be directly correlated with the involvement in the development of the project activities.

According to the information provided in the Guidelines for Applicants, section 1.9, when preparing the project proposal, up to 20% of the total budget of each project must be allocated to Capacity Building activities. The specific activities and related costs will be established/detailed at the beginning of the project implementation.

There is no official exchange rate required for preparing the budget. An average exchange rate (BNR/NBR rate) corresponding to a relevant period may be used when preparing the budget.

Collaborators, as defined in Section 2.1 of the Guidelines for Applicants, should not be confused with service providers subcontracted within the project. Collaborators must demonstrate the added value they bring and their capacity to contribute effectively to the relevant project activities. If an entity is a Collaborator in the project, it cannot be subcontracted as a service provider.

The involvement of volunteers will be mentioned and described in the project proposal. Volunteer work will not be reflected in the budget, but collateral costs may be budgeted, such as transportation, accommodation, and meals.

According to the Guidelines for Applicants, Section 2.3.2 Direct Costs, the purchase of vehicles (both new and second-hand) is an eligible cost, provided that the purchase is justified within the project logic and necessary for carrying out the planned activities.

Yes, a partnership with a public institution will affect the procurement rules applicable to the project for all Partners.The provisions of Law no. 98/2016 on public procurement, as subsequently amended and supplemented, will apply to purchases made by Romanian NGOs (EA and Partner/s) if their Partner or Partners are contracting authorities, according to the definitions in Law no. 98/2016 on public procurement.

Intra-Community acquisitions are eligible within funded projects if the beneficiary can demonstrate, through market analysis and comparison of available offers, that the selected offer represents the most advantageous option from an economic and technical standpoint, regardless of the supplier’s location. Regarding the VAT related to intra-Community acquisitions, it may be considered an eligible expense only if the beneficiary explicitly declares that this VAT will not be recovered through fiscal mechanisms.

According to Article 78 of Law 448/2006, as subsequently amended and supplemented, public authorities and institutions, as well as public or private legal entities with at least 50 employees, are required to employ persons with disabilities in a proportion of at least 4% of their total number of employees. If this obligation is not fulfilled, the entities may be required to:
– pay a monthly amount to the state budget equivalent to the national gross minimum wage multiplied by the number of positions not occupied by persons with disabilities,
– or pay an amount of at least 50% of the national gross minimum base salary, with the difference used for the purchase of products/services provided by authorized protected units.
Thus, this tax does not qualify as an eligible expense under non-reimbursable funding, as it does not represent a salary cost but rather results from the employer’s failure to comply with a legal obligation.