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  1. An institution, body, office or agency established by or based on the Treaty on European Union and the Treaties establishing the European Communities.

    All education and training facilities for people of different age groups.

    An intergovernmental organization having legal personality under public international law or a specialized agency established by such an international organization. An international organization, the majority of whose members are Member States or Associated Countries and whose main objective is to promote scientific and technological cooperation in Europe, is an International Organization of European Interest.

    A person with legal rights and obligations. Unlike a legal entity, a natural person does not have a legal act (e.g. association, limited liability company, etc.).

    An NPO is an institution or organization which, by virtue of its legal form, is not profit-oriented or which is required by law not to distribute profits to its shareholders or individual members. An NGO is a non-governmental, non-profit organization that does not represent business interests. Pursues a common purpose for the benefit of society.

    A partnership, corporation, person, or agency that is for-profit and not operated by the government.

    Any government or other public administration, including public advisory bodies, at the national, regional or local level.

    A research institution is a legal entity established as a non-profit organization whose main objective is to conduct research or technological development. A college/university is a legal entity recognized by its national education system as a university or college or secondary school. It may be a public or private institution.

    A microenterprise, a small or medium-sized enterprise (business) as defined in EU Recommendation 2003/361. To qualify as an SME for EU funding, an enterprise must meet certain conditions, including (a) fewer than 250 employees and (b) an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million. These ceilings apply only to the figures for individual companies.

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  1. Governance, partnership: Projects aimed at increasing the application of multilevel and transnational or cross-border governance, designing and testing appropriate governance structures and mechanisms. Also cooperation between public institutions on any theme.

    Innovation capacity and awareness-raising: Actions that increase a person’s or organisation’s capacity for innovation (not innovation as such), and that establish the capacity to diffuse and apply innovation; projects that stimulate innovation in different areas and innovation capacities; strengthening and empowering of innovation networks.

    Institutional cooperation and cooperation networks: Projects working on the improvement of institutional cross-border co-operation and capacities, on renewing and simplifying administrative management through long term cooperation between institutions (e.g. Euregion), on establishing and sharing regional knowledge and intercultural understanding and cohesion. It also deals with cooperations between universities, health care facilities, schools and sports organisations, as well as with management and capacity building.

    Activities focussing on agricultural products, organic farming, horticulture, as well as forest management and wood products; furthermore the development of the food sector, food chains, organic food production, and seafood products and any topics related to animals and fishing.

    Agriculture and fisheries and forestry: Projects focussing on agricultural products (i.e. fruits, meat, olives, etc.), organic farming, horticulture, as well as forest management and wood products. Also the development of the agro-food sector, food chains, organic food production, and seafood products. Any topics related to animals (i.e. health, management) and fishing (i.e. sustainable fishery, aquaculture).

    Soil and air quality: Projects that deal with any topic against soil and air pollution, except water pollution, for example, reduction of soil and air contamination, pollution-management systems, but also prevention and eradication of soil erosion, new ways of improving air quality (also indoors) and soil/air knowledge in general.

    Climate change and biodiversity projects assisting mitigation and adaption to climate change and environmental impacts of climate change. Development of low carbon technologies and strategies, reduction of CO2 emissions from all sectors. Promotion of biodiversity, new instruments to enhance biodiversity and natural protection.

    Soil and air quality projects that deal with any topic against soil and air pollution, except water pollution, for example, reduction of soil and air contamination, pollution-management systems, but also prevention and eradication of soil erosion, new ways of improving air quality (also indoors) and soil/air knowledge in general.

    Water management projects about management and distribution of drinking water, integrated sustainable water management, monitoring systems for water supply and improving drinking water quality; also water treatment (wastewater), in particular, innovative technologies to improve wastewater, treatments in the purification of industrial and domestic wastewater and water reuse policies. Waterways, lakes and rivers: This deals with any topics on waterways, lakes and rivers, from improving water quality, protecting and developing of ecosystems or sustainable wetland management.

    Activities that protect, promote and enhance cultural and natural heritage, increase the attractiveness through preservation and valorisation of common cultural and natural heritage in a sustainable manner, and improve and develop cultural and natural heritage objects, services and products. Cultural heritage management, art and culture, (maritime) heritage routes, access to cultural and natural heritage. Also all topics on cultural services such as festivals, concerts, art workshops.

    Tourism projects dealing with the promotion of natural assets, and the protection and development of natural heritage, as well as increasing the touristic attractiveness through the better use of natural, cultural and historical heritage. Also projects about improved tourist services/products, development of ecotourism models, tourism development strategies.

    Sustainable management of natural resources projects focussing on the protection, promotion and valorization, and sustainable management and conservation of natural areas (habitats, geo parks, protected areas, etc.). Also projects focussing on preserving and enhancing cultural and natural heritage and landscape, as well as protecting the marine environment.

    Projects on waste management (innovative services and strategies), ecological waste treatment, treatment techniques/systems; waste disposal and recycling (improvement of recycling, innovative recycling technologies, recovery of organic waste, repair & re-use centres and networks); also prevention of pollution and pollution control (ecological and circular economy, marine littering, etc.).

    Labour market and employment: creating employment opportunities and/or optimising jobs, academic (un)employment and job mobility, workforce attraction and improvement of employment conditions for different groups.

    SME and entrepreneurship: strengthening SME capacities, boosting entrepreneurial activities in different sectors and for different groups, supporting social entrepreneurship, creating business support/advisory systems for start-ups/spin-offs/incubators, improving the competitiveness of SMEs, and promoting new business processes.

    Community integration and common identity projects that build identity, create a more cohesive society, promote positive relations through an increased provision of shared spaces and services.

    Demographic change and immigration is about projects tackling major societal challenges like demographic change in different areas and migration, in particular, aging society (active aging, best agers, silver economy strategies) and related new public services (adaptation of key services and infrastructure), social and spatial segregation, and brain drain. Also all topics on migration (policy tools, strategic planning, integration).

    All projects where ICT has a significant role, including tailor-made ICT solutions in different fields, as well as digital innovation hubs, open data, Internet of Things; ICT access and connecting (remote) areas with digital infrastructure and services; services and applications for citizens (e-health, e-government, e-learning, e-inclusion, etc.); services and applications for companies (e-commerce, networking, digital transformation, etc.).

    This is about the mitigation and management of risks and disasters, and the anticipation and response capacity towards the actors regarding specific risks and management of natural disasters, for example, prevention of flood and drought hazards, forest fire, strong weather conditions, etc.. It is also about risk assessment and safety.

    Education and training projects on expanding educational opportunities, reducing barriers in the field of education, improving higher education and lifelong learning, training and labour mobility, educational networks, higher vocational education, common learning programmes.

    Topics on energy management, energy-saving methods, evaluating energy efficiency measurements, energy rehabilitation/efficiency in buildings / public infrastructure, promotion of energy efficiency, cooperation among experienced energy efficiency firms, institutions and local administrations, co-generation.

    Projects focussing on wind, solar, biomass, hydroelectric, geothermal and other renewable energy, increasing the production of sustainable renewable energy and improving research capacities in biomass. Also projects focussing on storage and management of renewable energy, new technologies, sustainable regional bioenergy policies and financial Instruments for investments on renewable energy.

    Social projects concerning people with disabilities and excluded groups; enhancement of the capacity of children, young people, women and elderly; creation of infrastructure to improve access for disabled people, integration of socially vulnerable people; innovate in the care of victims of gender violence, social inclusion of women, etc.

    This deals with the development of health and social services and improved accessibility and efficiency for different groups (elderly, children, etc.). It is also about new healthcare models and medical diagnosis and treatments (dementia, cancer, diabetes, etc.), hospitals, care management, and rare diseases, as well as improving wellbeing and promoting sports.

    Projects about (organised) crime, efficient and secure borders, such as enhancing the effectiveness of the police in the prevention of drug crimes, the development of safety services, or tackling security and organised crime issues.

    Activities related to:

    • Transport and mobility covering all sorts of transport (incl. urban transport) and mobility.
    • Improving transport connections dealing with traffic and/or transport connections, rehabiliation/modernisation, better connectivity, improving accessibility/connections, but also public transport.
    • Multimodal transport and logistics and freight transport focusing on using different means of transport, developing multimodal connections, optimising intermodal transport chains; offering multimodal logistics solutions and providing access to clean, efficient and multimodal transport corridors and hubs; establishing cooperation among logistic centres and developing multimodal mobility strategies.

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    • urban development, such as planning and design of cities and urban areas, urban renewal, urban-rural links (climate, sustainable mobility, water efficiency, participation, sustainable land use, smart cities, public urban areas, regeneration)
    • regional planning and development, such as the implementation of regional development policies/instruments and programmes, sustainable land use management plans, integrated regional action plans, spatial planning, and marine protected area management.
    • rural and peripheral development, referring to remote, sparsely populated areas, rural community development, and rural economics, in particular access to remote areas and policies for rural areas.
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Deadline expired

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Call key data

Town Twinning

Funding Program

Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme

Call number

CERV-2024-CITIZENS-TOWN-TT

deadlines

Opening
09.04.2024

Deadline
19.09.2024 17:00

Call budget

€ 4,000,000.00

Estimated EU contribution per project

between € 8,455.00 and € 50,745.00

Link to the call

ec.europa.eu

Link to the submission

ec.europa.eu

Call content

short description

The objective of this call for proposals is to promote exchanges between citizens of different countries, in particular through town twinning, to give them practical experience of the wealth and diversity of the common heritage of the Union and to make them aware that these constitute the foundation for a common future.

Call objectives

This call aims to support projects that bring together a wide range of people from twinned towns, from different socio-economic background, gender and countries. By mobilising members of the public at the local and EU levels to debate specific issues on the European political agenda, this call seeks to promote mutual understanding, inclusion and cultural diversity and develop opportunities for civic engagement at the EU level.

More specifically:

  • promote exchanges between citizens of different countries;
  • give citizens practical experience of the wealth and diversity of the common heritage of the Union and to make them aware that these constitute the foundation for a common future;
  • guarantee peaceful relations between Europeans and to ensure their active participation at the local level;
  • reinforce mutual understanding and friendship between European citizens;
  • encourage cooperation between municipalities and the exchange of best practices;
  • support good local governance and
  • reinforce the role of local and regional authorities in the European integration process.

It is expected that Town-Twinning projects reflect on a new narrative for Europe, citizen-oriented, equality promoting, forward-looking and constructive that would be more engaging for the younger generation in particular. Projects may be based on the outcome of citizens’ consultations and may lead to debates about concrete ways to create a more democratic Union, to enable citizens to re-engage with the EU and to develop a stronger sense of ownership of the European project.

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Expected effects and impacts

  • To increase and encourage mutual understanding and friendship between citizens at a local level.
  • To support citizens from local communities to experience and recognise the added value that the EU provides through a grassroots approach.
  • To increase the sense of belonging to the EU.
  • To encourage a long-lasting bond between municipalities and between citizens.

Expected results

The CERV programme helps to promote intercultural dialogue by bringing people of different nationalities and different languages together and giving them the opportunity to participate in common activities. In this context, Town-Twinning projects will raise awareness of the richness of Europe's cultural and linguistic environment and promote mutual understanding and respect, contributing to the development of a respectful, dynamic and multifaceted European identity and the respect of common values, democracy and fundamental rights.

In view of this overall objective, the projects may address the following topics (the list is not exhaustive):

  • The EU is built on solidarity: solidarity between its citizens, solidarity across borders between its Member States, and solidarity through support actions in and beyond the EU. Solidarity is a shared value that creates cohesion and responds to societal challenges. Town-Twinning projects will help to overcome biases in national perceptions by fostering mutual understanding and by creating fora where common solutions can be discussed in a constructive way. Their aim should be to raise awareness of the importance of reinforcing the European integration process based on solidarity and EU values;
  • Town-Twinning projects will give citizens the opportunity to express what kind of Europe they want. Debates supported under the Town-Twinning call should be based on the EU's specific achievements and on lessons learnt from history and from European integration. They should also reflect on current trends and enable participants to challenge euroscepticism and to suggest possible actions that the EU could take to foster a sense of belonging to Europe, to increase an understanding of the benefits of the EU and to reinforce the EU's social and political cohesion.

Projects aiming at benefiting not only the direct participants but also the citizens of the participating towns are particularly encouraged, as these can help to multiply the practical experience of the richness and diversity of the common heritage of the Union. Also, there may be a general, but not exclusive, reflection on any impact the COVID- 19 pandemic may have had on life within the applicants’ local communities, on the way in which their communities function and on the forms that civic participation and solidarity took in the applicants’ towns under the COVID-19 crisis and how these forms could become sustainable in the future. Projects may also draw inspiration from or be related to the New European Bauhaus initiative.

Projects should propose innovative actions and approaches, focus in a gender-sensitive way on the needs and challenges faced by targeted groups in twinned municipalities.

Activities related to Town-Twinning may include, among others:

  • workshops,
  • seminars,
  • conferences,
  • training activities,
  • expert meetings,
  • webinars,
  • awareness-raising activities,
  • cultural events, festivals, exhibitions,
  • gathering and consultation of (sex-disaggregated) data,
  • development, exchanges and dissemination of good practices among public authorities and civil society organisations,
  • development of communication tools and the use of social media.

The gender equality perspective should be taken into account when designing and implementing the project activities, to ensure that they are accessible to women and men on equal terms, and both women and men are able to participate in the activities.

The design and implementation of the projects are expected to promote gender equality and non-discrimination mainstreaming within the scope of the activities. For example, applicants should conduct and include in their proposal a gender analysis of topics addressed by project activities. This can help to contextualise experiences and needs of Europeans of different gender. It can also map the different impact that the project and its activities could potentially have on women and men as well as on girls and boys in all their diversity. To this end, applicants are encouraged to consult the key questions listed on the "EIGE website” when conducting their gender analysis. This analysis could help avoid any unintended negative effects of the intervention on either gender (do no-harm approach).

Applicants are expected to design and implement their communication and dissemination activities in a gender-sensitive way. This includes, in particular, usage of gender-sensitive language. The same applies to the design and implementation of monitoring and evaluation activities. Proposals that integrate a gender perspective across all their activities will be considered of higher quality.

If the project is of a very small scale and limited to one type of activity such as for example cultural events, the reflection on the gender perspective may be adjusted to the scope of your project.

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Eligibility Criteria

Regions / countries for funding

EU Member States, Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT)
Moldova (Moldova), Albania (Shqipëria), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina / Босна и Херцеговина), Kosovo (Kosova/Kosovë / Косово), Montenegro (Црна Гора), North Macedonia (Северна Македонија), Serbia (Srbija/Сpбија), Ukraine (Україна)

eligible entities

Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs)

Mandatory partnership

No

Project Partnership

Only applications by single applicants are allowed (single beneficiaries). Proposals must involve municipalities from at least 2 eligible countries of which at least one is an EU Member State.

In order to be eligible the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

  • be legal entities (public or private bodies)
  • be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
    • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
    • non-EU countries: countries associated to the CERV Programme or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature (list of participating countries)
  • other eligibility conditions: 
    • Lead applicant and its associated partner(s) must be a public body or a non- profit organisation with legal personality formally established in one of the eligible countries. They must be towns/municipalities and/or other levels of local authorities or their twinning committees or other non-profit organisations representing local authorities.
    • The project must be transnational and must involve municipalities from at least two eligible countries of which at least one is an EU Member State.
    • Activities must take place in any of the eligible countries participating in the project.
    • Events must involve a minimum of 50 direct participants, of which a minimum of 25 participants are " invited international participants”

Specific cases:

  • Natural persons are NOT eligible (with the exception of selfemployed persons, i.e. sole traders, where the company does not have legal personality separate from that of the natural person).
  • International organisations are eligible. The rules on eligible countries do not apply to them.
  • Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees for the protection of the EU financial interests equivalent to that offered by legal persons.
  • EU bodies (with the exception of the European Commission Joint Research Centre) can NOT be part of the consortium.
  • Entities composed of members may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality'. Please note that if the action will be implemented by the members, they should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise their costs will NOT be eligible).

other eligibility criteria

  • Town-Twinning events must involve a minimum of 50 direct participants, of which a minimum of 25 participants are "invited international participants". "Invited international participants" are delegations from associated partners travelling from a country to another country hosting a Town-Twinning event.
  • On-line events are not eligible.
  • Projects will need to demonstrate a particular added-value in the description of the activities (e.g. innovation, best practices).
  • Applications that are repeated from one year to the other submitted by the same applicant should demonstrate in the application the added value of the new action/continuation of the action.
  • Projects should take into account the results of projects supported by other EU funding programmes. The complementarities must be described in the project proposals (Part B of the Application Form).
  • Projects must comply with EU policy interests and priorities (such as environment, social, security, industrial and trade policy, etc).
  • Financial support to third parties is not allowed.

Additional information

Topics

Administration & Governance, Institutional Capacity & Cooperation, 
Arts & Culture, Cultural Heritage, Tourism, 
Demographic Change, European Citizenship, Migration

Relevance for EU Macro-Region

EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region

UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)

project duration

between 6 and 12 months

Additional Information

Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System (accessible via the Topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.

Proposals (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using the forms provided inside the Submission System (NOT the documents available on the Topic page — they are only for information).

Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required annexes and supporting documents:

  • Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the participants (future coordinator, beneficiaries and affiliated entities) and the summarised budget for the project (to be filled in directly online)
  • Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the project (to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded)
  • Part C contains additional project data and the project’s contribution to EU programme key performance indicators (to be filled in directly online)
  • mandatory annexes (to be uploaded):
    • lump sum calculator (template available to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed, assembled and re-uploaded)
  • supporting documents (templates available to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed, assembled and re-uploaded):
    • list of previous projects (key projects for the last 4 years) (template available in Part B). Not applicable for newly established organisations
    • a letter of support signed by the Municipality (applicable to applicants and partners under the category “Non for-profit organisation representing a local authority”). The document must be provided at the latest during GAP stage.
    • for any of the participants implementing activities involving children (youngsters below the age of 18): public entities must sign and attach a declaration on honour (template to be provided upon request by EACEA-CERV@ec.europa.eu); private non-profit entities must submit their child protection policy covering the four areas described in the Keeping Children Safe Child Safeguarding Standards

Proposals are limited to maximum 40 pages (Part B).

The grant will be a lump sum grant.

Call documents

CERV-2024-CITIZENS-TOWN-TT call documentCERV-2024-CITIZENS-TOWN-TT call document(612kB)

Contact

CERV Nationale Kontakstelle Österreich
+43 1 531 15–202907
ernst.holzinger@bka.gv.at
Website

CERV Contact Points 2021-2027
Website

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