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Ares(2021)2358456 - 06/04/2021

Questions and Answers n°2

Concept Note phase

EN

Restricted Call for Proposals

‘Local Authorities: Partnerships for sustainable cities 2021’

EuropeAid/171273/DH/ACT/Multi

As set out in section 2.2.4 of the guidelines, to ensure equal treatment of applicants, the
contracting authority cannot give a prior opinion on the eligibility of lead applicants, co-
applicants, affiliated entity(ies), an action or specific activities.

EuropeAid/171273/DH/ACT/Multi - Questions and Answers N.2 1

 Eligibility of the applicants

QUESTIONS ANSWERS

XXX in Laos is interested to be a co-applicant As set out in section 2.2.4 of the guidelines, in the
with a line ministry in submitting a concept note. interest of equal treatment of applicants, the
Therefore, we would like to check if UN agencies European Commission cannot give a prior opinion
are eligible as co-applicant in this case. on the eligibility of an applicant, a co-applicant, an
affiliated entity, an action or specific activities.
1 In order to be eligible under this call for proposals,
lead applicants and co-applicants must satisfy all
eligibility criteria provided in the corresponding
paragraphs in section 2.1.1 of the guidelines.
Please refer also to answer 9 in Questions and
Answers n.1.

Can international organizations participate in this International organizations are not among the
action grant (EuropeAid/171273/DH/ACT/Multi) eligible categories listed in section 2.1.1 of the
as applicants or co-applicant? guidelines; therefore, they can be neither applicants
(lead applicants and co-applicants) nor affiliated
entities under this call for proposals.
2
Instead, international organisations can be proposed
as “associates” or “contractors” under this call for
proposals (see section 2.1.3 of the guidelines).
Note that the contractors are subject to the
specifications in Annex IV of the grant contracts.

1. Please, clarify if International Bodies are 1. Please refer to answer 2 above, regarding the
eligible as applicants. If they are not, eligibility of international organisations under
indicate if they can participate as third this call for proposals. Please note that “third
parties. parties” are neither affiliated entity(ies) nor
associates nor contractors. See section 2.1.4 of
the guidelines: “Financial support to third
2. Please, clarify if two cities from two parties”
different European countries can participate
2. It is up to the applicants to define the actors
in partnership as co applicants, building a
composing their partnership and their role in
network with several Latin American cities
implementing the action, within the limits set
from the same Country.
by the eligibility criteria applying to the
3 partnership, as detailed in section 2.1.1 of the
guidelines (pages 8-9) and summarized below.
To be eligible under this call for proposals the
partnership must include:
1) at least one co-applicant;
2) at least one Local Authority either as lead
applicant or as co-applicant.
3) at least one applicant (either as lead
applicant or co-applicant) established in a EU
Member State and at least one applicant (either
as lead applicant or co-applicant) established in
the beneficiary country where the action will
take place (see section 2.1.4 ‘Location’).

EuropeAid/171273/DH/ACT/Multi - Questions and Answers N.2 2

 In addition, note that ‘A partnership should be
composed in such a way as to allow the
achievement of the project objectives in the
most effective and cost-efficient manner’ (page
10).
The choice of co-applicants and the
composition of the partnership will be taken
into account in the evaluation of the action, as
detailed in section 2.1.1 of the guidelines (page
10).

I would like to ask you, if a SME is possible to Within the private sector only private
fulfil the eligibility criteria, and in which role? bodies/agencies/organisations of public utility (for
example, water distribution, water or waste
management, public transportation, producer or
provider of electricity, etc.) can be eligible as co-
applicants/affiliated entities under this call for
proposals, as long as they satisfy all other eligibility
criteria applying to co-applicants (see the
corresponding paragraph in section 2.1.1 of the
guidelines).
As per Section 2.1.2 of the Guidelines: Affiliated
entity(ies) must satisfy the same eligibility criteria
as the co-applicant(s).
Note that ‘in line with section 6.3.10. of the PRAG,
neither the beneficiaries (coordinator/lead
applicant and co-beneficiaries/co-applicants) nor
affiliated entities must produce a profit within the
framework of the action. In the context of this call,
4 profit is defined as a surplus of the receipts over the
eligible costs approved by the contracting authority
when the request for payment of the balance is
made. Income generated by the action may be
accepted as co-financing.
In case a profit is made, the contracting authority
has the right to reduce the final amount of the grant
by the percentage of the profit corresponding to the
final European Union contribution to the eligible
costs actually incurred approved by the contracting
authority (thus excluding other eligible costs
declared on a simplified cost option basis)’ (section
1.3 of the guidelines).
SME can participate in the implementation of the
action as associates or contractors (see section 2.1.3
of the guidelines).
As a reminder, the contractors are subject to the
specifications in Annex IV of the grant contracts.

We are completing the partnership to participating 1. Please refer to answer 4 above, regarding the
5 at the mentioned call in the email object. eligibility of the private sector under this call
for proposals.
1. Please, we read Annex D and so as to avoid

EuropeAid/171273/DH/ACT/Multi - Questions and Answers N.2 3

 our misunderstanding we would like to
receive confirmation that private enterprises
of any kind - meaning legal form/entity - can
apply as a co-applicant.
2. Could you explain if there are some specific 2. Under this call for proposals, there is no
budget limits to demonstrative actions with budget limit to the costs necessary in carrying
the use of prototypal solutions? (Just to be out the action to the extent that the total
clearer, for example, constraints like eligible cost is established with a view to stay
'prototypal solutions shouldn't exceed 25% within the limits defined in section 1.3 of the
of the overall project budget). For the sake of guidelines. Nevertheless, it is in the applicants’
clarity, when we are writing 'prototypal interest to provide a realistic and cost-effective
solution' we mean the possibility to build a budget.
small plant able to demonstrate relevant As a reminder, to be eligible for co-financing,
social, environmental and economical actions under this call must comply with the
benefits for the beneficiary country. objectives and the priorities of this call for
proposals described in section 1.2 of the
guidelines. Applicants are invited to present all
activities they consider necessary in order to
achieve the objectives of this call for proposals
and to obtain tangible results in the context
where the selected projects will be
implemented. Please refer to section 1.2 and
2.1.4 of the guidelines for more details about
the eligibility of the actions under this call for
proposals.

I would like to be a co-applicant for one of the 1. As set out in section 2.2.4 of the guidelines, in
calls (attached in this email: Partnerships for the interest of equal treatment of applicants,
sustainable cities, reference: the European Commission cannot give a prior
EuropeAid/171273/DH/ACT/Multi) that my opinion on the eligibility of an applicant, a co-
company in Brazil has a suitable project with applicant, an affiliated entity, an action or
demonstrated history working wit’s similar specific activities.
objectives of the ones mentioned in the call above.
Please refer to answer 4 above, regarding the
I own a S.P. here in Slovenia and I need to get my eligibility of the private sector under this call
EuropeAid ID so I can eligible as the co-applicant for proposals.
of the call (the lead applicant will be a local
As a reminder, in order to be eligible as co-
authority from my hometown).
applicants organisations must be established in
1. First question is if my company here in one of the eligible countries or territories listed
6 Slovenia (XXX) is a ‘private, public or semi- in Annex L to these guidelines. The place of
public body/agency/organization of public registration is ‘to be determined on the basis of
utility’ (picture of the document regarding the organisation’s statutes, which should
co-applicants below)? demonstrate that it has been established by an
instrument governed by the national law of the
2. And second question is what the documents I
country concerned and that its head office is
need to upload look like (LEF, statutes or
located in an eligible country. In this respect,
law)?
any legal entity whose statutes have been
established in another country cannot be
considered an eligible local organisation, even
if the statutes are registered locally or a
“Memorandum of Understanding” has been
concluded’ (see footnote 11 of the guidelines).
In order to obtain a EuropeAid ID,

EuropeAid/171273/DH/ACT/Multi - Questions and Answers N.2 4

 organisations need to register in PADOR.
Please refer to section 2.2 of the guidelines to
know the procedures to follow to apply for this
call for proposals. All questions related to
registration in PADOR should be addressed to
the IT helpdesk at INTPA-SUPPORT-
[email protected]
2. The documents to be uploaded in PADOR are
listed in section 2.4 of the guidelines.
Note that the registration in PADOR is
obligatory at the concept note step for lead
applicants, and at the full application step for
co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies).

I am acting on behalf of (XXX), who are basically 1. As requested in section 2.1.1 of the guidelines,
interested in applying for the funding of the the lead applicant must act with at least one co-
Partnership for Sustainable Cities program. applicant under this call for proposals.
We have several concerns, they are: In addition, in order to be eligible, the
partnership must include:
1. Whether we, XXX, can act as Applicant
(Lead-Applicant) alone?  at least one Local Authority (or Association
2. Or, do we need to address a collaboration of Local Authorities (ALA)) either as lead
with partner from EU? applicant or as co-applicant (page 10);

3. If so, whether it has to be a (legal) person or  at least one applicant (either as lead
local authorities or other association similar applicant or co-applicant) established in a
to us? EU Member State and at least one applicant
(either as lead applicant or co-applicant)
established in the beneficiary country
where the action will take place (see
section 2.1.4 ‘Location’).
7 2. It is up to the applicants to define the actors
composing their partnership and their role in
implementing the action, taking into account the
aforementioned eligibility criteria applying to
the partnership.
Note that ‘a partnership should be composed in
such a way as to allow the achievement of the
project objectives in the most effective and cost-
efficient manner’ (page 10 of the guidelines).
The choice of co-applicants and the composition
of the partnership will be taken into account in
the evaluation of the action, as detailed in
section 2.1.1 of the guidelines (page 10).
3. The categories eligible for a grant under this call
for proposals are defined in section 2.1.1 of the
guidelines.

I work in the XXX, and we are really interested in 1. It is up to the applicants to define the actors
8 applying for the partnership, we have a Project composing their partnership and their role in
with the Municipality in the city. But we have implementing the action, taking into account the
aforementioned eligibility criteria applying to

EuropeAid/171273/DH/ACT/Multi - Questions and Answers N.2 5

 some questions. the partnership.
1. Should the municipality apply as lead 2. To be eligible for co-financing, actions under
applicant and could we apply as co- this call must comply with the objectives and
applicants? the priorities of this call for proposals described
in section 1.2 of the guidelines. Applicants are
2. Can the project be already in study process?
invited to present all activities they consider
How far can the project be in the moment of
necessary in order to achieve the objectives of
the application?
this call for proposals and to obtain tangible
3. Our project is about urban electric mobility, results in the context where the selected projects
does the partnership help only with the will be implemented.
planning and the improvement of the city
For more details about actions eligible for
infrastructure or it also helps with partially
receiving a grant under this call for proposals,
financing the acquisition of the buses?
please also refer to section 2.1.4 of the
4. And I would also request that if you have the guidelines. This section also provides types of
guidelines and application forms in Spanish ineligible actions.
to send them to me, it will help us a lot.
3. Please refer to answer 8.1 above.
As a general rule, a grant awarded for an action
may not finance the entire cost of the action
(section 2.2 of the PRAG). The difference
between the total cost of the action and the
amount requested from the Contracting
authority ‘must be financed from sources other
than the European Union Budget’, as stated in
section 1.3 of the guidelines.
Such co-financing may take the form of self-
financing (the beneficiary's own resources), but
it is not limited to partnership members. Other
forms of co-financing accepted under this call
for proposals are income generated by the action
and financial contributions from third parties.
4. No, the language of this procedure is English.
Applications must be submitted in English (see
sections 2.2.1 and 2.2.5 of the guidelines).

My name is XXX and I am a co-founder of YYY, As set out in section 2.2.4 of the guidelines, in the
a non-profit created by college students. interest of equal treatment of applicants, the
European Commission cannot give a prior opinion
In my country, there were elections recently and
on the eligibility of an applicant, a co-applicant, an
the new local authorities take office on May 3rd.
affiliated entity, an action or specific activities.
Therefore we find ourselves in dilemma with
respect 2 points since the deadline for the Please note that Non-governmental organizations
submission of concept notes is on April 23th. If (NGOs) are not among the eligible categories listed
we, as a legal non-profit organization can apply as in section 2.1.1 of the guidelines; therefore, they can
9 co-applicant with our local mayor. be neither applicants (lead applicants and co-
applicants) nor affiliated entities under this call for
1. If we should apply with the new authorities
proposals.
or the current ones.
Instead, NGOs can be proposed as associates or
contractors under this call for proposals (see section
2.1.3 of the guidelines).
As a reminder, the contractors are subject to the
specification in Annex IV of the grant contracts.

EuropeAid/171273/DH/ACT/Multi - Questions and Answers N.2 6

 The XXX is a non-profit/Civil Society As set out in section 2.2.4 of the guidelines, in the
Organisation registered in India, under the interest of equal treatment of applicants, the
Companies Act. XXX works closely and actively European Commission cannot give a prior opinion
with the Government and facilitates a Public- on the eligibility of an applicant, a co-applicant, an
Private Partnership model through which both affiliated entity, an action or specific activities.
Government and corporates work together on
Please refer to answer 9 above, regarding the
10 identified projects.
eligibility of NGOs under this call for proposals.
1. Can the XXX apply for the grant in the role of a
As a reminder, in order to be eligible under this call
co-applicant?
for proposals, lead applicants and co-applicants
2. Would YYY be eligible to be the Lead must satisfy all eligibility criteria provided in the
Applicant? corresponding paragraphs in section 2.1.1 of the
guidelines.

What is the definition of Local Authority for the Please refer to footnote 7 and 9 for the definition of
call EuropeAid/171273/DH/ACT/Multi? Local Authority under this call for proposals.

11 We are the XXX. We are a regional public agency

which aim is to provide support services in the
fields of innovation and internationalisation to the
SMEs.

I am contacting you on behalf of XXX, situated Please refer to section 2.1.1 of the guidelines for the
in Vientiane Laos. I had a question regarding the eligibility of lead applicants and co-applicants under
eligibility criteria for this grant. Could you please this call for proposals.
elaborate on the terms ‘Lead Applicant’ and ‘Co
In addition, as stated in answer 3.2 above, also bear
12 applicant’?
in mind the eligibility criteria applying to the
I believe the lead applicant has to be a Local partnership when defining the actors composing it
Authority, does that mean that the application for and their role in implementing the action.
the grant has to come through the provincial level
government?

We are XXX and would like to apply the program 1. The place of registration is ‘to be determined on
‘Local Authorities: Partnerships for sustainable the basis of the organisation’s statutes, which
cities’ together with other organizations, before should demonstrate that it has been established
we submit the concept note, could you please by an instrument governed by the national law
clarify the qualification in the ‘guidelines for the of the country concerned and that its head office
applicants’? is located in an eligible country. In this respect,
any legal entity whose statutes have been
1. In section 2.1.1 ‘be established in one of the
established in another country cannot be
eligible countries or territories....’ what is
considered an eligible local organisation, even
established mean? Is it mean the headquarter
if the statutes are registered locally or a
legal registered or any regional office?
13 “Memorandum of Understanding” has been
2. In the Annex L, UK still in the list, is it concluded’(see footnote 11 of the guidelines).
applicable as lead applicant? Swiss is not in
2. Organisations established in the United
the list, but we think it is recognized by EU,
Kingdom are eligible under this call for
how about Swiss?
proposals. Indeed, as stated in the footnote 1 of
Annex L, ‘The United Kingdom ceased to be an
EU Member State on the 31 of January 2020.
Pursuant to the Withdrawal Agreement
concluded between the EU and the UK,
references to the eligibility of ‘Member States’
for participation in programmes under the

EuropeAid/171273/DH/ACT/Multi - Questions and Answers N.2 7

 current 2014-2020 MFF and the EDFs also
cover the United Kingdom (Article 127(6),
Article 137 and Article 152(1) Withdrawal
Agreement)’.
On the contrary, Switzerland is not among the
eligible countries listed in Annex L; therefore,
organizations established in that country can be
neither applicants (lead applicants and co-
applicants) nor affiliated entities under this call
for proposals.

How to apply

I would like to confirm if Applications must be The language of this procedure is English and
submitted ONLY in English? In previous calls applicants must apply in English (see sections 2.2.1
14 Spanish was an eligible language to submit and 2.2.5 of the guidelines). Applications submitted
applications. in a language other than English will be excluded.

You could tell me what are the annexes or As explained at page 2 of the guidelines, this is a
documents that must be sent on April 23rd, to restricted call for proposals, meaning a two-step
apply to the project: procedure. In the first instance, only concept notes
(Annex A.1) must be submitted for evaluation.
List in the web of the institution:
Thereafter, only the applicants who have been pre-
Annex A1 selected will be invited to submit a full application
Annex A2 (Annex A.2). After the evaluation of the full
applications, an eligibility check will be performed
Annex B for those which have been provisionally selected.
Annex C
Applicants must submit via PROSPECT a concept
The applicant's guide indicates that: only the note by 23/04/2021 at 16:00 (Brussels date and
concept note form will be evaluated. However, I time), in accordance with the instructions in the
would like to be sure not to make mistakes in the grant application form – concept note (Annex A.1).
process. A detailed budget and a logical framework are to be
submitted only by the lead applicants invited to
submit a full application in the second phase (full
15 application step). With this regard, see section 2.2.1
of the guidelines.

Please note that online submission via

PROSPECT is obligatory for this call.

Also note that to apply for this call for proposals,

the lead applicants need to provide information
about the organisations involved in the action
through PADOR. With this regard, registration of
lead applicants in PADOR is obligatory at the
concept note step (see section 2.2 for the details
about how to apply and the procedures to follow).
It is strongly recommended to register in PADOR
well in advance and not to wait until the last minute
before the deadline to submit your application in
PROSPECT.
Please note that individual users need to set up an

EuropeAid/171273/DH/ACT/Multi - Questions and Answers N.2 8

 EU Login account (ECAS) in order to access
PADOR and PROSPECT

Please note that once the ECAS account (EU login)

is created, the synchronisation/validation may take
up to 24 hours before PADOR/PROSPECT
recognize the user’s ID and allow the access.

All technical questions related the use of these

systems should be addressed to the IT helpdesk
[email protected] or
via the online support form in PROSPECT.
Concept notes or full applications submitted by e-
mail via the mailbox of the call or any other
mailbox will not be considered.
Concept notes or full applications submitted by mail
will not be considered.

Only submission via PROSPECT is allowed.

My name is XXX, and I am writing to you on Yes. As set out in section 2.2 of the guidelines, lead
behalf of the YYY. Last year we registered our applicants must make sure that the PADOR profile
institution in PADOR (Potential Applicant Data of the organisations involved in the action (lead
Online Registration) and we got the European ID applicant, co-applicant(s), and affiliated entity(ies),
ZZZ. if any) is up to date.
This year we are in the process of applying for
16
the call Local Authorities: Partnerships for
sustainable cities 2021 with reference:
EuropeAid/171273/DH/ACT/Multi.
We would like to know, since we registered last
year, in order to apply this time, do we need to
update our information in PADOR?

Other questions

I was able to open all PDF’s with no problems In the call website
except for the Annex F, I sent an screenshot of https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-
what the PDF looks like when I open it. services/index.cfm?do=publi.welcome&nbPubliList
=15&orderby=upd&orderbyad=Desc&searchtype=
Could you please send me the Annex in some
RS&aofr=171273), after clicking on the document
other format so I am able to open it?!
Annex F – EuropeAid offline registration form,
17 the download automatically starts in the browser.

When the download is completed, the file should

not be opened directly in the browser, but it should
be opened using a PDF reader software, such as
Adobe Reader:

EuropeAid/171273/DH/ACT/Multi - Questions and Answers N.2 9

Electronically signed on 06/04/2021 14:49 (UTC+02) in accordance with article 11 of Commission Decision C(2020) 4482
EuropeAid/171273/DH/ACT/Multi - Questions and Answers N.2 10