Bilateral cooperation

Strengthening of bilateral cooperation between Poland (Beneficiary State) and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (Donor States) is one of the main priorities of the EEA Grants. Bilateral cooperation, experience sharing as well as exchange of best practices of Donor States can contribute to better results of the implemented projects. In order to enable bilateral contacts, prepare joint projects and establish or develop partnerships between organisations interested in bilateral cooperation, the Programme Operator will organize i. e. meetings and study visits. More up-to-date information will be available on the programme website ngofund.org.pl

Micro-grants for development of bilateral projects in a partnership with entities from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) are available according to the rules and regulations described in: Thematic projects and Systemic projects.

Grants for: development of joint partnership projects in cooperation

Eligible applicants: Polish NGOs and Donor States entities which intend to implement partnership projects

Grants amount: max. 50 000 PLN/12 000 EUR

Applications submission: 1st day of each month (from September 1, 2013 to September 1, 2014)

COMPETITION CLOSED

Grants for: establishing and strengthening bilateral cooperation

Eligible applicants: Polish NGOs which received a grant for thematic or systemic project’s implementation

Grants amount: max. 65 000 PLN

Applications submission: 1st day of each month (from February 3, 2014 to December 1, 2015)

COMPETITION CLOSED

1. Seed money for searching for partners and development of bilateral projects

1.1 Applicants

Eligible applicants are:

(1) Polish NGOs meeting the criteria required for applicants for thematic and systemic projects,

(2) entities from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein (non-governmental organisations, public or private entities, commercial or non-commercial ones).

1.2 Grants designation

Grants are designed for searching for partners and joint projects development which will be later submitted as Thematic projects or Systemic projects.

Polish organisations can apply for funds for searching for partners from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Entities from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein can apply for funds for searching for partners among Polish NGOs.

1.3 Grants amount

Organisations may apply for funds up to 50 000 PLN (Polish NGOs) and up to EUR 12 000 (entities from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein)

Grants may cover 100% of costs. Matching contribution is not required.

1.4 Duration of projects

The seed money shall be used from the date of its award until December 30, 2014. The timing of projects should be in line with the nature of planned activities. Implementation of the action plan should start within a month after the grant was awarded.

1.5 Eligible expenditures
The following expenditures may be covered by the grant:

fees and travel costs for participation in conferences, seminars, courses, meetings , workshops etc. with the provision that the amount of funding per person including travel costs (flight, bus and train tickets, local transport etc.), accommodation, meals and daily allowances may not exceed 2 000 EUR,
costs of organization of conferences, seminars, courses, meetings and workshops,
other costs, i. e. experts’ salaries, costs of analysis and feasibility studies, purchase of data, promotional and information activities.

1.6 Calls for proposals

Applications may be submitted on an on-going basis by the 1st day of each month, from September 1, 2013, until September 1, 2014.

Applications shall be filed on forms available on the website and sent by e-mail to the Bilateral Fund Coordinator: [email protected]

Applications will be reviewed within 1 month.

1.7 Applications assessment

Applications will be reviewed and assessed by the Bilateral Fund Team assisted by coordinators from the relevant thematic areas.

Formal assessment will review whether:

the application was submitted by the eligible applicant;
the application form was filled out correctly;
the grant does not exceed the maximum amount.

Appeal procedure available for the formal assessment: Applicants whose application forms were rejected for formal reasons will be given 5 working days from the day of receiving the information about it to appeal from this decision. Appeals submitted after the deadline will not be considered. Appeals will be considered by the Operator within 10 working days from the day of receiving the appeal.

Content-related assessment: the applications will be assessed in terms of meeting the following criteria: motivation for establishing the partnership, clear and logical idea of cooperation, relevance of partners’ experience and capacity for tackling the issue/implementing planned activities, reasonable and realistic budget of the project.

Decisions on grants award: decisions based on recommendation of Bilateral Fund Team will be made by Programme Manager.

2. Micro-grants for establishment and strengthening of bilateral cooperation

2.1 Applicants

Eligible applicants are only Polish NGOs which received grant for thematic or systemic project’s implementation

2.2 Grants designation

Project promoters implementing thematic or systemic projects in a partnership with entities from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein will be able to apply for additional funds designed to continue, deepen and enhance their partnership.

Project promoters which do not implement partnership projects will entities from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein will be able to apply for additional funds designed to establish cooperation and involve representatives from Donor States into their activities carried out as a part of the approved projects.

Micro-grants can be used for networking, exchange, sharing and transfer of knowledge, technology, experience and promotion of best practices, including conferences and study tours.

2.3 Grants amount

Organisations may apply for funds up to 65 000 PLN.

Grants may cover 100% of costs. Matching contribution is not required.

2.4 Duration of projects

The grant shall be used from the date of its award until April 30, 2016. The timing of projects should be in line with the nature of planned activities. Implementation of the action plan should start within a month after the grant was awarded.

2.5 Eligible expenditures
The following expenditures may be covered by the grant:

fees and travel costs for participation in conferences, seminars, courses, meetings , workshops etc. with the provision that the amount of funding per person including travel costs (flight, bus and train tickets, local transport etc.), accommodation, meals and daily allowances may not exceed 2 000 EUR;
costs of organization of conferences, seminars, courses, meetings and workshops
other costs, i. e. experts’ salaries, costs of analysis and feasibility studies, purchase of data, promotional and information activities.

2.6 Applications submission

Applications may be submitted on an on-going basis by the 1st day of each month, from February 3, 2014, until December 1, 2015.

Applications shall be filed on forms available on the website and sent by e-mail to the Bilateral Fund Coordinator: [email protected]

Applications will be reviewed within 1 month.

2.7 Applications assessment

Applications will be reviewed and assessed by the Bilateral Fund Team assisted by coordinators from the relevant thematic areas.

Formal assessment will review whether:

the application was submitted by the eligible applicant;
the application form was filled out correctly;
the grant does not exceed the maximum amount.

Decisions on grants award: decisions based on recommendation of Bilateral Fund Team will be made by Programme Manager.