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Call for proposals for 3-year framework partnership agreements to support European networks, civil society organisations active at EU level and European think tanks in the areas of Union values
Funding Program
Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme
Call number
CERV-2025-OG-FPA
deadlines
Opening
24.10.2024
Deadline
28.01.2025 17:00
Link to the call
Link to the submission
Call content
short description
The objective of this call is to protect, promote and raise awareness of rights, as laid down in the EU Treaties, in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (“the Charter”) and in the applicable international human rights conventions by providing financial support to European networks, civil society organisations active at EU level, and European think tanks in promoting and cultivating those rights.
Call objectives
The call aims at strengthening the protection and promotion of Union values including respect for the rule of law and contributing to the construction of a more democratic Union, democratic dialogue, transparency as well as good governance. The call aims to support the strive for a Union where there is no place for hate, racism, discrimination, or violence in any of its forms.
The call intends to increase the capacities of the framework partners to contribute actively to the development and implementation of EU policies in areas such as:
- promoting and protecting fundamental rights as enshrined in the Charter
- combating hate speech and hate crime, including hate speech online
- fight against specific forms of intolerance and discrimination, such as anti-Black racism, anti-Muslim hatred, antigypsyism, anti-Asian racism, and anti-migrant sentiments, and promoting equal opportunities for racial and ethnic groups
- promoting LGBTIQ equality and fighting discrimination against LGBTIQ people (including intersectional discrimination and inequality experienced on grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics)
- promoting diversity and inclusion at the workplace
- promoting equality on the grounds of age and fighting against ageism
- fighting antisemitism, fostering Jewish life and promoting Holocaust education, research and remembrance
- Ensuring remembrance of enslavement and legacy of colonialism and diverse European cultural heritage, as well as promoting awareness about Roma culture and history, including the memory of the Roma Holocaust
- supporting, advancing and implementing comprehensive policies to promote women’s full enjoyment of rights, gender equality, including work-life balance, equal pay between women and men, women’s empowerment and gender mainstreaming
- promoting and protecting the rights of the child, including children’s right to protection and care as well as their right to express their views and participate in decisions in matters that concern them
- combating violence, including gender-based violence and violence against children by (1) preventing and combating at all levels all forms of gender- based violence, (2) preventing and combating all forms of violence against children, young people and other groups at risk and (3) supporting and protecting all direct and indirect victims of violence
- promoting democratic standards, including free, fair, resilient and inclusive electoral processes, promoting election integrity, fighting disinformation, information manipulation and foreign interference
- promoting EU citizenship rights
- promoting citizens’ engagement, and democratic participation.
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Expected effects and impacts
European networks are expected to contribute to achieving at least one of the following objectives:
- Building the capacity of national or regional organisations working in the areas covered by the grant;
- Building and increasing the capacity of network partners to develop coherent and coordinated activities to promote the relevant policy objectives;
- Expanding the network’s reach, including new partners;
- A measurable increase in the impact of the network’s activities in the respective policy priority.
Civil society organisations active at EU level in citizens’ engagement and European remembrance are expected to contribute to achieving at least one of the following objectives:
- Building and increasing their capacity to develop coherent and coordinated national and/or transnational activities to promote the relevant policy priority at EU level, which includes promoting European remembrance;
- A tangible contribution made by the organisation’s permanent, usual and regular national and/or transnational activities to the relevant policy objectives at EU level and a measurable increase in impact in the respective policy priority;
- Tangible and direct contribution to citizens' engagement (including children’s or other specific groups) in both participatory and representative democracy, aligning with EU policy objectives and demonstrating a measurable enhancement in the respective policy priority.
European think tanks active in citizens’ engagement and European remembrance are expected to contribute to achieving at least one of the following objectives:
- Providing a link between research and policy-making at European level, which helps find solutions to problems;
- Facilitating interaction between citizens (including young people), academia and decision-makers at national and EU level.
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Expected results
Themes and priorities (scope):
- promoting and protecting Union values
- promoting equality, preventing and combating discrimination
- promoting gender equality
- preventing and combating gender-based violence
- protecting and promoting the rights of the child
- preventing and combating violence against children
- combating racism, xenophobia and all forms of intolerance
- promoting citizens’ engagement
- promoting European remembrance
European networks must be active in one of these nine priorities.
Civil society organisations active at EU level and European think tanks must be active either in priority (8) promoting citizens’ engagement, or in priority (9) promoting European remembrance.
Activities that can be funded (scope):
This call will support European networks, civil society organisations active at EU level and European think tanks whose activities contribute to the implementation of the objectives of the programme and which will implement among others:
- policy analysis and advice;
- advocacy;
- research and data collection/sharing/analysis;
- citizens education at different levels and age groups;
- capacity building;
- for European networks: network activities, network development, and procedural improvements to increase clarity, transparency, respect of EU values, and equal treatment;
- mutual learning, training, and exchange of good practices;
- awareness raising;
- critical thinking and media literacy activities (including pre-bunking) to fight hate speech and disinformation, information manipulation and foreign interference;
- citizens’ (including children) engagement activities inspired by methods of participatory and representative democracy;
- information and dissemination activities with EU added value.
Applicants must provide a 3-year work programme (in Part B of the application form) starting in 2026 and outlining the proposed key activities and budget forecast in one of the nine priorities.
Based on this annual work programme, an operating grant may be awarded toFramework Partners in order to finance their activities if in line with the objectives of the CERV programme in the area concerned and the above priorities. The proposed work programme should clearly explain how it intends to support EU policy and how it translates policy into concrete action.
The costs of general administrative expenditure necessary for the running of the applicant organisation may also be covered.
Framework partners that qualify as European networks have the possibility to re-grant (i.e. Financial Support to Third Parties, FSTP) to their member organisations.
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Eligibility Criteria
Regions / countries for funding
eligible entities
Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)
Mandatory partnership
No
Project Partnership
Only applications by single applicants are allowed (single beneficiaries; affiliated entities and other participants are NOT allowed).
In order to be eligible the applicants must:
- be legal entities (private bodies)
- be non-profit organisations
- be established in one of the Member States of the European Union (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
- be a European network, or a civil society organisation active at EU level, or a European think tank
- have signed a Framework Partnership Agreement for the same priority within the Call CERV-2025-OG-FPA
- be a single applicant; in case of European networks: only the network may submit an application; the member organisations are not eligible to apply
- For the priorities (1) – (7) (see section 2 - “themes/ priorities”), only European networks can apply. For European networks:
- European networks must be an established formal network (with own legalpers onality) organised at European level with member organisations from at least 14 EU Member States
- If a European network applies under the priority (4) “Preventing and combating gender-based violence” and is active in the area of female genital mutilation (FGM), then the established formal network (with own legal personality) must have member organisations in at least 12 EU Member States
- For applicants applying under the priority (8) “Promoting citizens engagement”: if the applicant is a civil society organisation active at EU level, then the applicant needs to have partner organisations in at least 14 EU Member States.
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 NOT 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.
- Associations and interest groupings — Entities composed of members may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’.
- Programme Contact Points — Are not eligible under this call for proposals.
other eligibility criteria
The budget will be allocated via specific calls to the selected framework partners (see the specific call CERV-2025-OG-SGA).
Additional information
Topics
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
36 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 (templates available to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed, assembled and re-uploaded):
- detailed budget table/calculator: not applicable
- CVs (standard) of core project team;
- activity reports of last year;
- a list of previous projects (key projects for the last 4 years) (template available in Part B)
- for any of the participants implementing activities involving children (persons under the age of 18): their child protection policy covering the four areas described in the Keeping Children Safe Child Safeguarding Standards.
- For applicants applying as European networks: a list of EU-based network members in the form shown on page 11 of the call document
- For participants applying for priority 8 as civil society organisations active at EU level: a list of EU-based partner organisations in the form shown on page 12 of the call document
Proposals are limited to maximum 40 pages (Part B).
Call documents
Contact
+43 1 531 15–202907
ernst.holzinger@bka.gv.at
Website
CERV Contact Points 2021-2027
Website
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