Call for proposals GR/001/17

According to the budget plan of the call, it is estimated that the Office will co-finance at least 6 projects under lots 1 & 2 each and 5 projects under lot 3. However, the Office reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

The annexes referred to in the model of grant agreement will be available after signature of the grant agreements with the selected applicants. Nevertheless the model of budget form (available in the application package) to be submitted at the application stage is very similar to the final report. As example, you may consult the final report templates of the call for proposals 2015 as information only because the contractual documents may vary from a call to another one.

Le persone fisiche non possono presentare domanda di partecipazione. Per essere considerati ammissibili al presente invito i candidati devono: essere persone giuridiche, pubbliche o private registrati in uno dei ventotto Stati membri dell’UE e fornire prove di registrazione rilasciate dal loro paese atte a certificare che il candidato in questione è regolarmente stabilito e registrato da oltre due anni. Quindi, se la vostra ditta individuale è considerata come una società privata come persone giuridiche, questa può presentare domanda di partecipazione alla gara d’appalto.

En este momento, lamentablemente no sabemos aún si existirá una convocatoria similar en 2019, por lo que no podemos ofrecerle esta información. En cuanto a la respuesta por parte de los jóvenes, solo podemos remitirle al Compendium público en el que encontrará información sobre las iniciativas. Le invitamos también a que lea los resultados del último estudio recientemente publicado IP Perception Study en el que justamente aparecen diferentes aspectos de la respuesta de los jóvenes Europeos en relación a la propiedad intelectual. También le puede resultar interesante la lectura del estudio Youth Scoreboard publicado en 2016 que se centra exclusivamente en el comportamiento de la juventud Europea relativo a diferentes aspectos de la propiedad intelectual.

1) An applicant may submit more than one proposal, but is not entitled to receive more than one grant by lot under this Call. The applicant may take part in other projects as partner. A project is to be submitted only once and will be rejected if submitted also by another associated partner.
2) The applicant has to fulfil eligibility criteria, in this case the entity applying has to be correctly established and registered for more than 2 years in one of the 28 EU Member States on the date of the deadline for submission. When submitting the application, the applicant must provide evidence from their country of registration demonstrating their existence as a legal entity for more than 2 years.

As stated in point 8.2.3 of the Guideline for applicants, the type of eligible activities which may be financed under the call for the different lots is non-exhaustive and therefore opened to other suggestions. However, when referring to international conferences in the EU context, this refers to international conferences taking place in the EU space.

As stated in point 4 of the Guideline for applicants, the event(s) should include the participation of private and public sector and/or civil society and should be complementary to Observatory activities, not intending to overlap Observatory existing or planned events as mentioned in the Observatory work programmes. The substance and content of the event(s) should be aligned with the objectives of the Observatory and with the European Commission’s general objective on IP protection and enforcement.

Participants should not be exclusively from the Member State where the action is taking place. At least one third of participants and speakers should be from a different Member State where the action is taking place. This means that if the event takes place in Italy, at least one third of participants and speakers should be from a different MS than Italy.

EUIPO/Observatory should have a prominent slot or presence in the agenda to present/discuss its research, data and activities, integrating IP and IP infringement topics and attracting significant media exposure.

There is no limitation in the number of associated partners or geographic limits that an applicant can be associated with.

In regards to KPIs, the results of the project under this lot should be measured by:
o The number of people directly (in the event) and indirectly reached (media, social media, other dissemination tools);
o Number of policy makers and opinion leaders engaged;
o Level of engagement of the policy makers, opinion leaders, politicians measured by intention for action, initiatives, announcement and follow-up IP related steps and actions to be taken. The list of participants should be shared with the Office before the event.

Interviews with key policy makers, opinion leaders and politicians may be requested before, during and after the event for EUIPO use. The beneficiary will need to include a quantitative and qualitative estimation of the
results’ expectations.

1) The co-financing contribution of at least 20% must come from other funding sources other than the Office grant. This contribution can be provided by the applicant/beneficiary in whole or may come from associated partners (if applicable) or from public or private sources. It will be evaluated against the total expenditures of the budget, regardless of the nature and amount of items included (not limited to staff costs).

2) As indicated in the call under section 10.2.a, the grant for lot 2 is limited to a maximum co-financing rate of 80% of eligible costs and to the maximum grant amount of 60.000 EUR.

Please find below concrete examples:
- In the case that you present a budget for your project of 75.000 € the maximum grant amount representing 80% is of 60.000 EUR which is the maximum amount than can be awarded for such lot.
- In the case that you present a budget for your project of 90.000 € the maximum grant amount representing 80% is of 72.000 EUR. However, as the maximum amount that can be awarded for such lot is limited to 60.000 EUR, the grant amount will be of 60.000 EUR.
- In the case that you present a budget for your project of 50.000 € the maximum grant amount representing 80% is of 40.000 EUR which is the maximum amount than can be awarded for this lot being below the limit of 60.000 EUR.

There is no specific indication in the call in regards to the duration of the events. Therefore, applicants are invited to make their own suggestions. In regards to the second question, as stated in the Guideline for Applicants (point 4), the implementation of event or events in different MS will be privileged and therefore is indeed possible.

As stated in point 8.2.3 of the Guideline for Applicants, all projects must be elaborated in line with the narratives (Annex 1) to the call. Eligible activities must be linked to awareness raising activities, should contain 3 pre-defined mandatory key performance indicators (KPI), that need to be clearly mentioned and established from the planning stage of the project.

As stated in point 4 of the Guideline for Applicants, Applicants are required to explain precisely how they intend to measure the results of their action.

For lot 1 (Reaching children through educational activities for schools), the beneficiary will need to include a quantitative and qualitative estimation of the results’ expectations. The application will need to ensure the effectiveness of the planned objectives. The real figure will be provided at the end. The results of the project under this lot should be measured by:
-The number of students directly and indirectly reached
-Number of teachers
-Number of schools
-Qualitative assessment on the level of engagement of the students (the beneficiary will need to provide at the end of the action a concrete percentage on the evolution linked to the change of perception and improved understanding of IP of the target audience - measurement therefore should be done at the start and end of the action with questionaries or other effective ways which have to be suggested by the applicant

Opinion leaders are well-known individuals having the ability to influence public opinion on the subject matter for which the opinion leader is known. This is indeed can be applied to several fields as the ones mentioned. As stated in page 7 (point 4), the third lot is reserved for events targeting opinion leaders, but also decision makers and politicians in the EU.

The Budget form available on the webpage has been duly corrected.

Travel and accommodation costs associated to the participation of EU representatives, including EUIPO staff, to the project are not covered by the grant.

Please note that the Power of Attorney will be mandatory at the time of the awarding of the grant agreement. So if it was missing at the submission stage, it will then be requested for the projects selected. There is no standard template as the contents depend on the country of establishment.

The applicant organisation may need the externalisation of specific tasks or activities which form part of the project which cannot be performed by them. It may only cover the implementation of a limited part of the action. However, we remind that the Beneficiary remains responsible for the management of the project: the conception and the development of the project, the attainments of its objectives, the implementation of the work programme and the use of appropriate tools which are considered as core tasks. Applicants wishing to submit a proposal including subcontracted activities must ensure that they are clearly stated and justified to be necessary for the implementation of the project.

Any expenditure related to the participation of the persons from non-EU countries are not considered eligible. However, these persons may participate to the project at their own costs or through other support schemes than the grant.

Applications must fully comply with the eligibility, exclusion and selection criteria common to all lots. Only applications complying with these criteria will be the subject of an in-depth evaluation. So, the selection criterion related “to demonstrate their operational capacity with a list of previous relevant activities performed by the applicant organisation in the last 5 years in the same field” must be respected.

- 3 separate applications are required.
- The maximum grant amount is per application.
- Associated partner must comply with eligibility, selection and non-exclusion criteria as set for the applicant notably elements identified under point 8.2.1. (to be established and registered for more than 2 years in one of the 28 EU Member States).

An organisation may not be simultaneously a service provider (subcontractors) and an associated partner in a project.
Applicants may set partnerships with partner organisations, the so-called ‘associated partners’ Associated partners contribute to the designing and implementation of the project(s), and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the applicant.
Sub-contracting is considered to be specific tasks or activities which form part of the project and which cannot be performed by the partnership (applicant itself and associated partners). Subcontractors are not partners and are subject to procurement rules set out in section 11 of the guidelines for applicant.

As stated in point 4 (Targeted projects by lot), an entity may apply in the different lots and consequently by default be awarded a grant in the different lots. Therefore, in the case you want to apply, a separate application is required by lot adapting your application to the defined lots.
As stated in point 10.2.a, the maximum grant amount is per application for each lot.

The e-Form may be used in several steps. As indicated in the guide under section C, you may save your e-Form using the button “Resume later” in order to continue to fill in later.

La convocatoria de propuestas que se ha publicado en el Diario Oficial de la UE, que es una versión reducida, está disponible en todos los idiomas oficiales de la UE. El texto íntegro de la convocatoria de propuestas, denominado «Directrices para los solicitantes», y los anexos (incluido la documentación para las solicitudes), que deben tenerse en cuenta, sólo está disponible en inglés. Sin embargo, las solicitudes pueden redactarse en cualquiera de las lenguas oficiales de la UE, incluso si se propone que los solicitantes presenten sus candidaturas en inglés para facilitar su evaluación.

Checkboxes are not missing at this level (item 9) as this acknowledgement is simply confirmed when the applicant signs the declaration on honour.

"Tal y como informado en nuestro respuesta de ayer, la documentación solicitada únicamente está disponible en inglés.
En cuanto al punto de contacto, puede ud. dirigirse a la dirección de correo electrónico a la que nos ha dirigido sus preguntas."

Targets of lot 3 cover both participants and speakers. Any entity interested to submit a proposal for lot 3 is also encouraged to consider the general media and public outreach of the event they are envisaging as well as promotion and dissemination.

Only the Applicant has to sign and stamp the 3rd party file, as indicated in 8.2.1 of the Guidelines. Associated partners have to sign a letter of intent (see 8.2.2).

Uploading signed PDF is sufficient.

Yes, under the tab "staff costs" of the Budget Form, "quantities" refers to the number of persons, "duration" is for the total number of days or months and "unit cost" concerns the daily or montly fee applicable.

The e-Form, including all documentation related for the participation in any of the lots, must be submitted only once. Indeed, one declaration on Honour and one Third Party file form related to the applicant organisation must be presented.

As indicated in the guidelines, natural persons may not apply for a grant, either as applicant or associated partners. These persons could be considered subcontractors and therefore are subject to procurement rules set out in section 11 of these guidelines. Sub-contracting is considered to be specific tasks or activities which form part of the project and which cannot be performed by the partnership (applicant itself and associated partners).

Contribuciones financieras de terceros (Third parties) se refiere a cualquier entidad que financia parte del proyecto pero que no participa en su desarrollo ni en su implementación.

1- The list of possible activities stated in point 8.2.3 of the Guideline for Applicants is not exhaustive. Therefore, any activity can be suggested provided that all the specific criteria stated in point 4 relating to Lot 2 of the Guideline for Applicants are met. This includes the criteria regarding the target audience, the alignment with the Office´s narratives, the involvement of relevant leverage partners for dissemination and reach, as well as all the requested quantitative and qualitative measurements included in that point.
2- The same criteria apply to this question. There is no specification in regards to the number of activities organised, and therefore several can be suggested as part of a same campaign, provided that all criteria stated in point 4 of the Guideline are met.
3- Regarding the description of eligible direct costs, please refer to section 10.2.D of the Guidelines.
4- Regarding Subsistence and accommodation cost, these costs per day cannot exceed the maximum rates provided by the Office and must be in line with the beneficiary's usual practices on travel costs.

The operational capacity will be measured through 2 specific criteria: one is the experience of the key persons responsible for the project (through CV) and the other one is indeed the experience of the Applicant organisation in the same field of activities during the past 5 years. Therefore, it is requested to the Applicant organisation to have experience in awareness raising activities of similar nature at least in the last 5 years in order to be further considered in the process. This can be demonstrated by organisation activities, case studies or other elements.

1- In regards to the narratives, the awareness activities suggested can focus either on one, two or three of the narratives, but should not contradict or be in conflict with any of the 3 in any case. Please note that activities should also involve relevant leverage partners for dissemination and reach to the audiences and include a quantitative and qualitative estimation of the result´s expectations in line with the measurement indicators provided in point 4 – Lot 2- of the Guideline for applicants.
2- As stated in point 7.3 of the Guidelines for applicants, proposals must be submitted by the deadline mentioned in the call for proposals using the online application form and based on the information provided in the Call for proposals. Applicants will be evaluated fairly based on the information provided. For lot 3, all information can be found in section 4 of the Guidelines. The Office is publishing the answers to questions that are frequently asked by potential applicants. These FAQs are made public to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly with respect to having access to the same information on the webpage of the call for proposals.
3- Evidence of Applicant's legal status or equivalent in a country can be submitted in the language of the applicant country.
4- As indicated in section 10.2.D of the Guidelines, VAT is not eligible, unless the beneficiary can prove that he is unable to recover it according to national legislation.

Personnel from the Beneficiary involved in the activities for which a grant is requested may only be charged to the project insofar as they correspond to the actual time devoted to the project. Where a staff member works full-time for the organisation, but is allocated only part-time to the project, only the equivalent part of his/her salary is an eligible cost for the project. For this reason every Beneficiary and associated partner must establish a time registration system such as time sheets. So, beneficiaries should report staff costs based on real daily staff cost rates, corresponding to the beneficiary's usual policy on remuneration, comprising actual salaries plus social security charges and other statutory costs included in the remuneration.

1- According to point 8.2 of the call for proposals, the applicant must be a legal entity public or private, and be registered in one of the 28 Member States for more than 2 years. So, the proposed partnership may apply for a grant. Regarding procurement, the Beneficiary shall abide by the applicable national public procurement rules and must award the contract to the bid offering best value for money or the lowest price (as appropriate), avoiding conflicts of interests and retain the documentation for the event of an audit.
2- An applicant is the sole responsible for applying to a grant and not the associated partner. Therefore, the budget must be submitted without the value added tax (VAT), unless the applicant can prove that he is unable to recover it according to national legislation and consequently present the budget with VAT.

1- In regards to the endorsement of the Ministry of Education referred in Guidelines for applicants, there is no specific requirement on the nature of the document, provided that this one is official and proves the endorsement of this Ministry.
2.1- Individuals who may be self-employed e.g. who are responsible for their own social security or social contributions, pensions and taxes entailed by procurement contracts must be declared as subcontracting costs. Costs related to subcontracting to cover the implementation of a limited part of the action are eligible and must be declared under the related Technical and/or Communication costs that will be subcontracted (to be indicated in the last column of these budget sheets).
2.2- The applicant has the responsibility to submit a proposal ensuring activities that respond to the scope and the criteria defined in the call for proposals. Evaluation of proposals will be based on the selection and award criteria as mentioned in the call and weighted accordingly. Related costs will be considered eligible if they comply with the eligibility of costs as indicated in section 10.2 of the guidelines.
3- As stated in point 8.2.4 of the Guideline for applicants, the initial planned duration of a project may not exceed 12 months from the date of signature of the agreement. However, if after the signing of the agreement and the start of the project it becomes impossible for the beneficiary, for fully justified reasons beyond its control, to complete the project within the scheduled period, an extension to the eligibility period may be granted. A maximum extension of 6 additional months will be granted, if requested before the deadline specified in the agreement.

1- Costs related to subcontracting to cover the implementation of a limited part of the action are eligible and must be declared under the related Technical and/or Communication costs that will be subcontracted (to be indicated in the last column of these budget sheets).
2- No, indirect costs are only foreseen to cover the beneficiary's general administrative costs such as premises and related expenses (e.g. office rent, insurance, electricity, water, cleaning, etc) and offices expenses and consumables (e.g. telephone/fax/Internet connections, postage, photocopies, etc).
3- The narratives provided cover indeed the 3 lots. As stated in point 8.2.3 of the Guidelines, all projects must be elaborated in line with the narratives (Annex 1) to the call and so as to achieve at least one of the Call's expected results.
4- There is no specific limit to follow in terms of words/letter/pages in the project presentation. You can check the award criteria in point 8.5 of the Guideline to check on which specific criteria the project will be evaluated.
5- Indeed, as indicated in section 10.2.D of the guidelines, costs entailed for the organisation of events must be declared under the budget heading “Communication, promotion and dissemination costs”.

1- As indicated in the guidelines, costs of staff from the Beneficiary or associated partners assigned to the action are eligible under the budget heading “Staff costs”.
2- Staff from the Beneficiary or associated partners that is involved under activities related to Communication, promotion and dissemination costs must only be presented under the budget category “Staff costs”.

The participation of Observatory representatives to a project will be paid by the Office so these costs must not be reflected in the budget of a project.

1- According to point 8.2 of the call for proposals, the applicant as well as associated partner must be a legal entity public or private, and be registered in one of the 28 Member States for more than 2 years. So, a SME being a private entity may p participate in a grant application.
2- Yes, an NGO with no VAT registration may apply as applicant with a Commercial Trade Register ID as fiscal identification in the Third Parties form.

In practice, when VAT is deductible the financial statement should present the eligible costs exclusive of VAT. VAT should only be recorded in the financial statement if VAT cannot be recovered. So, the expenditures relating to the two types of organisations, those giving right to deduction of VAT and those not giving right to deduction of VAT, will have to be accounted for separately in the final financial report. This separation is not applicable in the budget form at the submission stage of the application.

Any cost, including staff costs, related to the activities to be implemented can be considered as co-financing contribution and must be reported accordingly in the consolidated budget sheet.