1. No category

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME)
Unit A1 – COSME
Call for proposals - COS-TFLOWS-2014-3-15
Facilitating EU transnational tourism flows for seniors and young people in
the low and medium seasons
[email protected]
Questions and Answers
Version 12
14/01/2015
ATTENTION!
CORRIGENDUM to questions F.7 and F.75
INDEX
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.
M.
Background of the call
Objective(s) – Theme(s) – Priorities - Activities
Timetable
Available budget and funding of projects
Admissibility Requirements
Eligibility Criteria
Exclusion Criteria
Selection criteria
Award criteria
Legal commitments
Financial provisions
Publicity & Data protection
Submission of proposals
New Questions (and Answers) from the previous version are highlighted in a yellow
background.
Corrigendum: corrected answer in blue background
Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME), B-1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË
http://ec.europa.eu/easme/cosme
A. Background of the call – general policy
B. Objective(s) – Theme(s) – Priorities - Activities
B.1 What kind of projects are eligible? Is it just to promote senior tourism with the events
described in the call or can it include other activities (workshops, tourism fairs, B2B,
exhibitions, Over 50’s shows, B2C) or can it include some global projects for entertainment
activities to implement at the destination so it can give more attractiveness to the tourist
area?
Section 2.3 "Supported actions" details what are the "core" and compulsory activities to
perform under each strand (seniors or youth) and also provides a list of additional activities that
can be proposed. However, this list only serve as an example and the call states that: "This list is
non-exhaustive and only aims at providing guidance to applicants. Applicants may propose any
other action they deem necessary to achieve the objectives of the call, provided they justify their
choice and clearly describe the link between the proposed actions and the objectives they want
to achieve. "
Hence, applicants can propose – in addition to the key and compulsory activities - any activity
contributing to achieving the objectives of the call. It is up to the applicant to well justify the
choices made.
B.2 Under strand A, can you please explain in details the meaning of the 3? Do I have to apply
with 3 other entities? How many seniors should I target? Do I have to collaborate with
another entity in the European Union?
Applicants, applying for the STRAND A, must propose projects that include at least (but they can
include more) the 3 "core activities" detailed in section 2.3.1. Hence, proposals must design and
develop a tourism product concept (please check the definition of tourism product provided),
propose a methodology to test this product and assess the results of the test.
Proposals must be presented by consortia composed of "a minimum of 4 to maximum 8
applicants from at least 4 different eligible countries". Therefore, yes, you need to apply
together with at least 3 other entities from other COSME countries (in this case each partner
must come from a different eligible country). However, there are also other requirements that
must be fulfilled, for example in terms of typology of entities that must be part of the
consortium. We invite you to carefully check all compulsory requirements consortia must fulfil,
in particular section 6.3 "Eligibility conditions for consortia".
There is no minimum or maximum number of target beneficiaries. It is up to the applicant to
propose a methodology, define the target group (direct and indirect beneficiaries) and to justify
the choices made.
B.3 According to the definitions of STRAND B (memory sites and mobility schemes), is it
necessary to propose one of the two or both of them?
Section 2.3.2 states that "project proposals under this strand must:
1. Design one of the two above said "tourism concepts",
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2. Run a pilot to test this concept. The pilot must be run during the low-medium seasons1
and at transnational level involving at least 2 different EU member states2,
3. Measure and evaluate the test's results and gather the lessons learned."
Hence, you can chose which of the 2 proposed tourism concepts you want to develop on: transborder students trips to European memory sites or intra-EU mobility schemes.
B.4 Can be the platform to manage an ARG (Alternative Reality Game ), financed by the
project balance sheet? If so, are financial resources to be counted just for the partner that
realise the ARG, or can be loaded to all partners?
Concerning the first question, please refer to answer already given to question B.1.
Concerning the second question, each partner should declare the costs he foresees he will incur.
Only partners contributing with any role and any task to a specific action will declare costs
relating to that action.
According to the budget templates to be submitted, all partners have to introduce their own
individual costs according to the activities they foreseen to implement in the context of the
project. Therefore there can be no repartition of costs among partners.
B.5 Is it compulsory - under STRAND B, Trans-border (or transnational) students trips to
European "memory sites" – to target participants from the university or college? We would
like to target 24-29 youths, but not necessary students.
Please be aware that this action is a pilot initiative that will award only 2 projects. For this
reason the Commission decided – for this 2014 call only - to limit the scope of eligible proposals
to 2 pre-defined tourism product concepts. One of these 2 is "students trips".
Footnote 17 at page 8 further clarifies that "All students (secondary or tertiary education) falling
within the range of the admissible target group (15-29) would be a possible target group".
According to section 2.2 "Target Beneficiaries" proposals "may further restrict the target to a
specific category or age group […]. This choice must be duly justified". Hence, applicants are free
to propose – provided they justify their choice – a more specific target group, such as young
people aged between 24 and 29.
However, applicants must also comply with the specific requirements set for the strand they are
applying for. So, for strand B, applicants must design one of the 2 concepts described in section
2.3.2.
B.6 Section 2.3.2 states that "project proposals under this strand must: 1. Design one of the
two above said "tourism concepts"". Is it possible to draft the proposal by including
combination of both tourism concepts (memory sites and mobility schemes)? Or it must be
just one?
Please see the answer given to question B.3.
1
There is no common definition of low-medium season because seasonality really varies from country to
country and from a site to another. Applicants should demonstrate how their proposal contributes
extending the tourism season of the targeted territories.
2
The chosen target group(s) must travel in EU country(ies) different from the one of residence. A greater
geographical impact would be seen as an asset.
3
In addition to that, please note that nothing prevents applicants from developing their proposal
around the design of a mobility scheme which includes some reference to memory sites, if
possible ever.
B.7 Regarding the pilot test, the call establishes that it must be at least between two different
EU member states, but both countries have to act as destination countries and also as
outbound travel markets? or is it possible to do the exchange just one way, senior tourist
from A country to B country?
Under Strand A, section2.3.1, the footnote 16 further specifies that the pilot test must involve
"at least 2 MS (i.e. the chosen target group(s) must travel in EU country(ies) different from the
one of residence), […]. The pilot test could be uni/bi/multidirectional and shall be implemented
during the low-medium seasons. […]. Testing involving more than 2 MS will be considered as an
asset for the purposes of this Call."
Under strand B, section 2.3.2, the pilot must be run at transnational level involving at least 2
different EU member states. And the footnote 19 further states that "The chosen target
group(s) must travel in EU country(ies) different from the one of residence. A greater
geographical impact would be seen as an asset."
Hence, under both strands the pilot must involve at least 2 countries. There is no further
condition. It is possible to run a test involving 2 countries only (even though a greater coverage
would be seen as an asset), 1 being an outbound market and the other being an inbound
market.
B.8 Regarding the testing phase, is there any other obligation (beside being in low season and
min 2 MS) according the duration of this phase, minimum number of participants?
If you are applying for "Strand A" please have a look at the footnote 16 that specifies that:
"The product concept will be tested involving at least 2 MS […] with a sufficient number of
tourists to evaluate and provide evidence of the impact of the transnational tourism product.
[…]. The proposal must plan the testing phase during the implementation period, with enough
time to provide evidence of its assessment within the outcomes of the project."
Hence, it is up to the applicants to define the best methodology to reach the objective set:
gathering sufficient data to validate the product concept and have enough time to assess the
results of the test. The only requirement set is to involve at least 2 MS, for obvious reasons of
testing a transnational product.
If you are applying for "Strand B" footnote 19 only requires the involvement of 2 MS. However,
it is clear that - even if it is not explicitly mentioned - what was said above is still valid under
strand B: the chosen methodology should be designed in order to gather sufficient data and
allow assessment of results.
Please note that proposals will be evaluated on the basis of the award criteria set in section 9,
among which the following: "Is the proposed "pilot test" of the designed concept relevant to the
objectives of the Call? Does it offers sufficient elements (considering the evaluation methodology
proposed) to reach significant conclusions?".
B.9 Did we understand correctly that a pilot test for seniors is financed from EU funds?
The EU co-finances the activities that are eligible for this call and which are mentioned in
section 2.3 "Supported actions".
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For both strand A and B there are a minimum of 3 activities that must be performed and other
eligible activities that can be performed. On this distinction please refer to the answer given to
question B.1.
Among the "core" activities, applicants must test/validate the product concept they design (and
develop in case of strand A). Hence, this "testing" is certainly co-financed by the EU.
However, the call does not provide information on how a product concept must/should be
tested. It is up to the applicant to propose a methodology (and there are many options possible)
for doing so, having in mind that the objective is to evaluate the appropriateness/successfulness
of a designed product.
Please also check the answer given to the question K.2 about direct costs related to the test
phase.
B.10 When we prepare our proposal we only have to plan what kind of tourism product it will
be, only give ideas, presentation of the future product or should it already be absolutely
designed during the application process?
Project proposals – for both strand A or B - must be developed around 3 "core" and compulsory
activities.
Under strand A, section 2.3.1, applicants must design and develop a product concept, run a pilot
test and evaluate and measure the test results.
Under this section there is also a definition of what "product development" means within the
context of this call: "… the process that includes all activities needed to provide a set of tourism
services to meet the senior tourist's needs, excluding the launching of the product into the
market".
Under strand B, section 2.3.2, applicants must design one of the two concepts mentioned, run a
pilot test and evaluate and measure the test results.
Please also refer to the answer given to question B.1 on the "core" activities which are
compulsory to all projects and additional activities which are eligible for funding.
The proposed activities – in case of the project is awarded - will be performed at the
implementation stage. At the submission of proposals' stage applicants must only describe the
methodology they will follow in order to implement the proposed activities. Project proposals,
however, should contain sufficient elements and details in order to allow the Evaluation
Committee to assess if the proposal will reach the set objectives, it the designed product will be
relevant and produce positive impact and benefits, etc.
B.11 Is it possible to include FYROM as non-EU country in the partnership and as destination
country in the pilot test?
Please refer to the answer we gave to question F.25. FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF
MACEDONIA is participating to the COSME programme and hence entities from FORMER
YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA – provided that all conditions set in section are fulfilled are eligible partners.
Concerning the possibility for FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA to be a destination
country in the testing phase, please refer to the answers given to questions B.7 and B.8.
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In particular, it is up to the applicants to define the methodology for validating the product
concept. The only requirement of the call is that at least 2 EU Member States must be involved.
But greater geographical impact will be seen as asset of the proposals.
Please also note that, however, the pilot should validate a product concept which is supposed to
be in line with the overall objectives of the call as stated in section 2.1, among which the one of
fostering intra-EU mobility.
B.12 I have read the answer of the question B.7 and as I have understood, for Strand A the
pilot test must involve at least 2 MS, but can we also create and test a tourism product in
form of an itinerary connecting all 4 countries (or at least 3) of which 3 EU member states and
1 non EU member state but participating in the COSME programme? If this type of multicountry itinerary creation is possible, can the chosen target group for the pilot test have a few
days tour for visiting 2 or 3 of the 4 partner countries, also including visit the non-EU country?
I am asking because the statement must travel in EU country(ies) confuses me in case we
want to include visit of non-EU country.
Please refer to the answer given here above to question B.11. At least 2 MS must be involved
and hence "the chosen target group(s) must travel in EU country(ies) different from the one of
residence", but a greater impact would be considered as asset.
Therefore, multi-country itineraries are possible. Non-EU countries are not excluded from the
piloting phase, provided that at least 2 MS are involved and knowing that the objective remains
to foster intra-EU mobility.
It is up to the applicant to propose the most appropriate methodology to validate a product
concept.
B.13 In the pilot test can we include more than one target group travelling from 2 or 3
different partner countries for the purpose of the same pilot test? Ex. One target group
travelling form country A and visiting country B and C, another target group from country B
visiting country A and C etc.
See the answer given above to question B.12.
B.14 Is it allowed to have more than 1 pilot test, for example 2 or three, involving 4 or 6 MS?
Please refer to answers given to questions B.12 and B.13. In particular, involving more than 2
MS will be considered as an asset.
It is up to the applicant to define the most appropriate methodology to validate a product
concept.
We remind you, however, that the aim of the pilot test is to validate a product concept and not
to finance individual travels. Hence, it is up to the applicants to justify why they chose a specific
methodology and why they think that methodology is the most appropriate.
B.15 The call text states that proposals should be supported by a business plan (pg.12 section
2.4). The application form on the opposite states that “Section 4 ‘Business plan’ is NOT
compulsory”, in fact the template doesn’t include any section 4. Maybe you refer to the
information required to fill in section “1.3 Description of work methodology and tools” when
asking for a business plan?
Section 2.4.1 "Proposals' expected requirements" lists additional requirements proposals are
expected to fulfil, but which are not compulsory. Among these, the business plan requirement.
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Please note that footnote 22 states that: "The non-fulfilment of these requirements will not
prevent the proposal from being judged as eligible. Eligibility is only assessed on the basis of the
criteria mentioned in section 6. However, the extent to which proposals are in line with these
expected requirements will contribute to the proposals' evaluation on the basis of the award
criteria (see section 9)".
In the technical annex 1 "description of work", applicants should briefly elaborate on the main
elements of a business plan, if any, in section 1.3.
A more developed business plan may eventually be annexed in "section 4". Section 4 is not in
the template because it is not compulsory, but it can be envisaged by those willing to provide
extensive information.
B.16 Our faculty together with partners is on the way of developing a model of
intergenerational projects. So, we would like to include young and seniors TOGETHER in this
project.
It is not possible, under this call, to focus on both target groups.
Section 2.2 "Target beneficiaries" says that: "Project proposals must target "seniors" or "young
people" and must clearly indicate who the targeted beneficiaries are."
According to section 2.3 "Supported Actions" applicants must apply for Strand A or Strand B.
The footnote 14 reads: "The 2 strands are mutually exclusive. Applicants must clearly indicate
for which strand they are applying for and hence clearly define their reference target group."
Furthermore, please note that section 6.4 "Eligible Proposals" states that:
"Proposals will only be considered eligible if they target either seniors aged 55 or above or
young people aged between 15 and 29. The proposal must clearly state to which target group it
is addressed, (see also section 2.2) and therefore chose between STRAND A or B."
B.17 What does it mean the sentence "Section 4 ‘Business plan’ is NOT compulsory"
mentioned in the first page of the Description of Work?
Please refer to the answer already given at question B.15.
B.18 We are interested in applying for Strand A. In section 2.3.1, under Eligible Activities, at
no. 2, a "pilot test" is mentioned, that is further explained in the footnote no. 16. Could you
please explain what "2 MS" means? Also regarding the pilot test, are we safe to assume that
this means that after creating the tourism product, it is applied to a number of persons in the
target group? How many is considered a sufficient number so that the pilot test and its results
are considered valid?
Footnote 16 that specifies that: "The product concept will be tested involving at least 2 MS […]
with a sufficient number of tourists to evaluate and provide evidence of the impact of the
transnational tourism product. […]. The proposal must plan the testing phase during the
implementation period, with enough time to provide evidence of its assessment within the
outcomes of the project."
"2 MS" stands for 2 Member States.
Please note that the validation/testing of a tourism concept/product can be done in many
different ways.
7
It is up to the applicants to define the best methodology (modality used to test the product,
countries involved, target sample, etc.) to reach the objective set: gathering sufficient data to
validate the product concept and have enough time to assess the results of the test.
And it is also up to the applicant to well justify the choice made and to explain why the reached
conclusions are significant.
B.19 I have a question related to the Strand B – Young people. Is it expected within strand B
the commercialization of the touristic product? Is it possible to insert within the project a part
dedicated to the promotion of the touristic product?
Section 2.3.2 identifies those activities that are compulsory (mentioned at page 9: design a
tourism concept, run a pilot test, assess the results) and that should therefore be the "core" of
the project.
However, the call also provides a list of indicative additional activities that are considered
eligible. And, as stated in the call text "This list is non-exhaustive and only aims at providing
guidance to applicants. Applicants may propose any other action they deem necessary to
achieve the objectives of the call, provided they justify their choice and clearly describe the link
between the proposed actions and the objectives they want to achieve."
Hence, it is up to you to decide – justifying this choice - if useful/necessary to develop the
product concept into a product ready for the market and to promote it.
B.20 Is it possible to finance promotion/dissemination activities from this call? I mean to
paticipate on tourism exhibitions (participation fees, travel etc.), to make brochures/leaflets
or a video (design, printing, tanslation etc.), to make a webpage, to make promotional gifts.
So basically the promotion of the developed tourism package!
Please refer to the answer already given to question "B.1".
B.21 We would like to know if the Strand B (young tourism) involves the launching of the
product into the market.
Please refer to the answer already given to question "B.19".
B.22 The call for proposal – STRAND B – indicates that proposals have to be around 3 core
activities […]. However, it is also indicated that “Ideally this proposal would foresee the
following steps: 1. Discussion fora and networking activities; 2. "Intelligence" work (i.e.
market analysis useful for the product design)”. So, does the proposal include already a
market analysis or can we indicate in the proposal that this analysis will be done by the
partners if the project is approved?
Section 2.3.2 "STRAND B – Young people" provides a list of 3 compulsory activities each
proposal must develop but also, at page 10, a list of other activities which are eligible for
funding. Among eligible activities: "Youth market analysis, surveys, comparative analysis,
evidence-gathering and mapping activities, studies, etc.".
Hence, market analysis (as other types of "intelligence" work aimed to better design the tourism
product) are eligible for funding, which means that they can be performed by the applicants
during the implementation for the project.
Please note, however, that market analysis are different from needs assessments, SWOT or
similar kind of situation analysis which, instead, we encourage to perform before in order to
well justify the proposed actions. Sections 2.4.1 of the call lists some expected (hence, not
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compulsory) requirement proposal should comply with. Among them, the requirement that
proposals should be supported by a business plan developing on certain elements (including an
analysis of needs and of alternative solutions).
B.23 Our SMEs require more substantial financial support for hiring more staff and expanding
material base for operational and logistics challenges – manly, buying or leasing more
bicycles, kayaks, canoes, passenger vans, trailers, reservation systems, computers, software,
office space in order to expand to less developed areas of the country. It is not clear to us
whether participating in this Call could help us solve our main problem (lack of funds or small
buying power) as this is the last barrier towards our objectives which seem to be the same as
objectives of the Call.
Please refer to the answer already given to question "B.1" on the eligible activities.
In particular, note that applicants can propose – in addition to the 3 key and compulsory
activities mentioned - any activity contributing to achieving the objectives of the call. It is up to
the applicant to well justify the choices made and demonstrate that proposed activities are in
line with the objectives.
However, we remind you that section 2.3 of the call lists 3 compulsory activities you must
perform.
We also remind you that section 11.2 "Funding forms" of the call at page 27 reads: "EU grants
may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit within the framework of the action".
Concerning the eligibility of costs, please refer to section 11.2, according to which costs are
eligible if they comply with a certain number of criteria listed at pages 25 and 26.
B.24 What will be considered as Low and Medium Seasons?
Please refer to the footnotes 15 and 18 of the call: "There is no common definition of lowmedium season because seasonality really varies from country to country and from a site to
another. Applicants should demonstrate how their proposal contributes extending the tourism
season of the targeted territories".
Hence, it is up to the applicant to justify why they believe their proposal will contribute
extending the tourism season.
B.25 Are there any directions or comments provided by you on the business plan and where it
is placed in the application process along with the place for business plan?
Section 2.4.1 "Proposals' expected requirements" lists at page 12 some information a business
plan should elaborate on.
For the question on how and where to submit it, please refer to the answer already given at
question B.15.
B.26 With regards to the Pilot test, could you please give more information, what do you
mean with pilot test?
The objective of the pilot test is to validate the developed product concept. It is up to the
applicants to define the most appropriate methodology for doing so.
However, please note that according to the footnotes 16 and 19, the pilot test must involve at
least 2 different Member States.
9
For more information you can also refer to the answers given to questions "K.2" and "K.22".
B.27 With regards to the organization of "students trips", I'd like to know if the number of
partners is linked to the number of flows of trips. I mean, if I have 4 different partners, each of
them from different nations, if is it mandatory to organize one flow for each country, or if is it
possible to organize one flow with just one destination.
No. There is no restriction in this sense. The only restriction is that the developed tourism
concept must be "trans-border" or "transnational".
C. Timetable
C.1 Could you please let me know if this is an annual call? Or if this is the only call for
proposals (in this field) under this programming period?
It is intention of the Commission to facilitate transnational mobility of tourists during the low
seasons via – among other initiatives - an annual call for proposal.
However, the work program of the Commission is adopted yearly and it is submitted to the so
called "comitology procedure". We cannot guarantee that this call for proposal will be approved
in the next years by the appropriate committee of Ministers of the EU.
At the same time, even though the call should be repeated yearly, we cannot guarantee that the
terms of references will remain the same.
C.2 How many times we can apply for fund a year? The deadline is 15 January 2015. When is
the next deadline?
This call has a unique deadline, set in section 3 of the call text. This deadline is on the 15th
January 2015 at 17 (Brussels time). There is no other future deadline.
In case a new call with a similar topic or focus will be published in 2015, this new call will set a
new deadline for applications, but there is no guarantee that this will happen and there is no
guarantee that conditions, objectives or supported activities will remain the same.
Please also refer to the answer given to question C.1 here above for more information.
C.3 We plan to test the designed tourism product under Strand A during our low season in
December. [...] Is it possible to postpone the start of the whole project to November 2015 in
order to develop the tourism product until April 2015, set up the test scenario till August
2015, run the pilot in December 2015 and evaluate until end of January 2016?
The July 2015 starting date is indicative only. A different starting date may be requested by the
winning consortia (therefore at a later stage only) and the Commission will decide on a case by
case basis after carefully looking at the justification behind each request.
C.4 Does the implementation period (in our case the project duration will be of 15 months)
starts with the signature of the contract?
The implementation period is generally starting the 1st of the month after the signature of the
contract. The call foresees already a timetable and indicates the month of July 2015 as starting
date of the projects.
10
However, the timetable (section 3 of the call) is only indicative and a different starting can be
foreseen and agreed with the Commission in duly justified cases. Please refer to the answer
given here above to question "C.3".
Be aware that the project cannot start before the actual submission of the project and that if
the implementation of the project starts before the signature of the grant agreement this at the
risk of the applicant because the Commission will not reimburse any costs in case the grant
agreement will not be signed.
C.5 Is there any chance to delay the deadline of this call, at present foreseen on Jan. 15th
2015?
No. There is no objective reason justifying an extension of the deadline.
D. Available budget and funding of projects
D.1 What is the total cost of the project if the co-financing is 250.000€?
There is no maximum total cost of the project set in this call.
There is a maximum co-financing of 220.000€ for projects submitted under STRAND A and of
250.000€ for projects submitted under STRAND B and a maximum co-financing rate of 75% per
project. This means that your contribution must be at least 25% of the total eligible costs but it
can be higher. Hence, the total cost of the project depends on your own contribution.
D.2 We have not understood if projects will be 100% covered by EU and EASME.
Please refer to answer given here above to question D.1 . There is a maximum co-financing rate
of 75% of the total eligible costs, as specified in section 4 "Budget available and funding of
projects".
D.3 What is the maximum budget of a project?
Please be aware that there is no limitation to the maximum total costs of the project. There is a
"maximum grant" and a maximum "co-funding rate" per each project.
In particular, please refer to section 4 of the call text:
"The maximum grant per project will be:
•
220.000 euros for projects submitted under STRAND A
•
250.000 euros for projects submitted under STRAND B
[…]
The EU grant is limited to a maximum co-funding rate of 75% of eligible costs."
This means that your own contribution must be at least the 25% of eligible costs, but it can be
higher and therefore projects' cost can vary accordingly.
D.4 What is the maximum budget for each Partner?
There is no maximum amount of requested grant per partner nor a maximum amount of eligible
costs per partner.
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Section 4 "Budget available and funding of projects" of the call only sets restrictions for the
maximum grant requested and the maximum co-funding rate at project level. Please refer to
the answer above to question "D.3" for more information.
E. Admissibility Requirements
E.1 Can proposals be drafted in a language which is different from English?
According to section 5 "Admissibility requirements", applications must be drafted in one of the
official EU languages. Thus, you can submit your proposal in any EU language. However, the
Guide for Applicants (section 3 "Proposal submission") requires in such cases to submit a
summary of the proposals in English. Please be aware that submission in English would greatly
facilitate the assessment by the evaluators of your proposal.
F. Eligibility Criteria
F.1 We are interested in your call for proposal and are looking for potential partners. Will you
put in place a system for partners ‘search?
If you are looking for partners, you can use the Cordis database. Although the user community
on CORDIS is mainly focussed on research, there are no specific restrictions on who can use the
CORDIS Partners service to create a profile, find partners, collaborate in groups and build
projects.
One of the features of the research of Partners on Cordis is the option to create partnership
requests specifically linked to calls for proposals (all calls and their related partner searches are
listed here: http://bit.ly/U6hYlE).
For people who already have a Partner profile in Cordis database, they can select a specific
COSME call when they create a partnership request: http://bit.ly/1mQZpyn. Each partnership
request will then show up as being associated to the call to attract others interested in the same
call.
In the case you don’t have a profile you can create
https://cordis.europa.eu/sur/index.cfm?fuseaction=Reg.UserRegistration
one
here:
Should you encounter any difficulties with the Cordis database, please contact the Cordis
helpdesk: http://cordis.europa.eu/guidance/helpdesk/home_en.html
You may also contact your nearest Enterprise Europe Network member who could assist you in
finding potential Partners. The list of Enterprise Europe Network members is available at
http://een.ec.europa.eu/about/branches
F.2 Regarding the Call addressed to Senior Tourism, it would be possible to include in the
proposal the collaboration from Canadian Universities and other Organizations? Since Canada
is not a country of COSME included in the program, how could finance the participation of
these potential partners? (involving researchers at conferences or seminars, for example.
Possible exchange of best practices, pilot Canadian seniors trip to Europe and subsequent
exchange of European Seniors to Canada, etc). Costs could be generated in this collaboration
could be included in the proposal? either as outsourcing, attending scheduled activities,
participation in the preparation of studies and documents, etc)
12
According to section 6.1 "Geographical eligibility" of the call text, eligible applicants must come
from EU countries or from other countries participating in the COSME programme under Article
6 of the COSME Regulation.
In addition, participation of partners from other countries is allowed if relevant to the project
and in duly justified cases.
However, section 6.1 further specifies that "costs derived from these countries are not eligible,
nor will these additional countries be considered as concurring to comply with the eligibility
criterion of having a minimum of 4 partners from 4 different countries (see section 6.3.)".
Hence, partners from Canada can be allowed provided that the applicant well justifies the
added value to the project and to the achievement of the objectives of the call. Costs derived
from these partners will however not be eligible for funding.
Subcontracting is possible but it should follow an adequate procurement procedure and it is
limited to the rules and conditions set in section 11.1 point "e". In particular:
- it may only cover the implementation of a limited part of the action;
- it must be justified having regard to the nature of the action and what is necessary for its
implementation;
- it must be clearly stated in the proposal.
I also would like to draw your attention to the footnote n° 16 that states: "The product concept
will be tested involving at least 2 MS (i.e. the chosen target group(s) must travel in EU
country(ies) different from the one of residence), with a sufficient number of tourists to evaluate
and provide evidence of the impact of the transnational tourism product". Hence, the pilot test
must involve at least 2 EU Member States.
F.3 Please tell us if the eligible partners should come exclusively from the EU countries or if
we can also have partners from The Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.
According to section 6.1 "Geographical eligibility" of the call text, eligible applicants must come
from EU countries or from other countries participating in the COSME programme under Article
6 of the COSME Regulation.
The European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry) provides up to date information
regarding the countries that participate in COSME. Please check the following link (in particular
regarding 3rd country participation):
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/initiatives/cosme/index_en.htm
As you can see from the above link, Moldova already signed the international agreement to
participate to COSME. Hence, partners from Moldova are eligible for funding under the present
call.
Ukraine is still negotiating its participation to the COSME programme.
Entities from 3rd countries likely to participate to the programme (such as Ukraine) are
considered eligible pending the enter into force of the participation agreement for the year
2014.
F.4 Are SMEs and organizations from Serbia eligible partners in 2015?
13
Please refer to the answer given to question F.3 here above. Entities from 3rd countries likely to
participate to the programme are considered eligible pending the enter into force of the
participation agreement for the year 2014.
According to the latest information, Serbia is expected to sign the participation agreement to
COSME only in 2015. If this will be the case, entities from Serbia can be eligible for funding
under calls published in 2015.
F.5 What is the maximum duration of projects submitted?
Section 6.5 "Implementation period" of the call text states that: "The project duration must be
between a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 15 months.
Applications for projects scheduled to run for a shorter or longer period than that specified in
this call for proposals will not be accepted."
F.6 The Ministry XXX is interested in submitting a project proposal under this call. Should the
Ministry for Tourism be the lead partner in this project, can it include also the National
Tourism Authority (an entity falling under the Ministry’s remit) and be listed as 1 partner of
the consortium? or should these be separate (e.g. the Ministry as the Lead partner and the
Tourism Authority as one of the other partners of the consortium?
No specific requirement is foreseen for the lead partner of the consortium. Both lead partner
and other partners must fulfil the same eligibility requirements. Any eligible applicant, fulfilling
the requirements set in section 6.2 "Eligible Applicant Entities", can be the lead partner. Hence,
both the Ministry and the National Tourism Authority could be lead partner in the project.
Having said this, please check carefully the other eligibility conditions and in particular section
6.3 "Eligibility conditions for consortia". The consortium, must fulfil, according to this section
certain minimum requirements.
In particular we draw your attention to the points 3a and 3b of section 6.3 that state the
following:
a) at least one of the applicants must be either a national or regional or local public
governmental authority or a network or association of regional or local public governmental
authorities.
b)
Unless a national or regional governmental authority is partner of the consortium, the
applicants must also submit, together with the project proposal, a letter of support of the project
idea and activities proposed delivered by a public governmental authority - at national or
regional level - from one of the eligible countries.
Hence, one of the partners must be a public governmental authority (at national, regional or
local level). In addition, unless a national or regional governmental authority is partner of the
consortium, there is need for a letter of support of the above said.
On the definition of governmental authority please check also the footnotes 24, 25 and 26.
A Ministry is a public governmental authority. Any other public body, even if dependent from a
Ministry, does not qualify as a governmental authority as such. Therefore, if your Ministry does
not participate directly as partner, a letter of support might also be necessary (depending on
the other partners).
F.7 Is it possible to be partner for Strand A and for Strand B? Is it possible to be partner in
more than one proposal for Strand A and Strand B?
14
There is no rule excluding the possibility of applying as partner in different consortia and/or for
different strands, provided that the organisation concerned has the sufficient operational and
financial capacity to participate in all different projects.
Of course, it will not be possible to have the same activities/tasks financed more than once.
We also remind you that each proposal must apply for strand A or Strand B and it is not
possible, within the same proposal, to target both seniors and young people.
F.8 On p. 17, point 3, it is stated that “The consortium must be composed of at least 1 public
governmental authority, 1 partner representing a youth or senior organisation, and one
tourism provider”. Below this sentence, an explanation of each of these three types of
partners is given. On p. 18, point d) it is mentioned that “At least one applicant must be an
SME … or an association of SMEs acting in the tourism sector”
Is the “tourism service provider” a synonym for “SME acting in the tourism sector”? So is it
sufficient to have 1 public governmental authority, 1 partner representing a youth or senior
organisation, and 1 SME active in tourism among the partners of the consortium?
Section 6.3 defines at point 3 the typology of partners that must be part of the consortium as a
minimum. Hence, yes, 1 public governmental authority, 1 partner active in the fields of youth or
seniors and 1 SME corresponding to the definition that is given in the call text at page 18 are
sufficient to fulfil the requirements at point 3. Please be aware, however, that if the
governmental authority is a local one, a letter of support from the national or regional public
governmental authority will also be a compulsory eligibility requirement.
Furthermore, we remind you that those 3 partners alone would not be sufficient to comply with
the eligibility conditions. Also the other conditions (number of minimum and maximum
partners, number of COSME countries covered by the consortium, eligible applicants, etc.) must
be fulfilled in order for the proposal to be eligible.
F.9 On page 19 of the call for proposals, it says “Please provide any useful supporting
document and proof of fulfilment of the above-mentioned compulsory requirements…”
• Is an extract from the chamber of commerce required/sufficient to show that a
partner is a legal entity? (see p. 15, 6.2 Eligible applicant entities: “applicant
organisations must be a legal entity”)
• To prove that a partner is “an association, a federation or an organisation active in the
fields of youth or seniors” (p. 18, point C), we are planning to submit a copy of the
statutes of the organisation. Is this necessary/sufficient?
• To prove that an SME meets the requirements mentioned in the table on p. 18, we are
planning to submit a profit loss account and balance sheet for the last financial year
OR a table filled in with the relevant statutory accounting figures (as mentioned on p.
21). Is this necessary/sufficient?
Please note that the Executive Agency services cannot, for reasons of equal treatment, neither
assess proposals at this stage nor help to draft proposals. Assessing the proposal – including its
eligibility - is the exclusive competence of an appointed evaluation committee. It is therefore up
to the applicant to provide the evaluation committee with enough information to prove the
fulfillment of eligibility criteria. We suggest you to send all documents you estimate may be
useful.
F.10 My association is a cultural association and also manage a little hostel. Can it apply for
the grant?
15
Please note that the Executive Agency services cannot, for reasons of equal treatment, neither
assess proposals at this stage nor help to draft proposals. Assessing the proposal – including its
eligibility - is the exclusive competence of an appointed evaluation committee.
If your association corresponds to one of the entities listed in section 6.2 "Eligible Applicant
Entities" at point 2, then it is eligible as a partner of the consortium.
F.11 Eligibility conditions for consortia (page 18 of the call) foresee that the consortium must
be composed by at least one applicant SME, but it is not clear to us if an enterprise with 4
workers and a balance sheet total of €300,000 is an eligible partner as a SME.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that section 6.2 "Eligible Applicant Entities" lists
all entities that are "eligible" as partners of the consortium applying to this call.
Section 6.3 "Eligibility conditions for consortia" adds additional information and the minimum
requirements and characteristics of the consortium. A single eligible entity cannot apply to this
call. Only an eligible consortium made up of eligible entities can apply.
Having specified this, section 6.3 point 3d states that "At least one applicant must be an SME or
an association of SMEs acting in the tourism sector". The same section also provides a
comprehensive definition of what is an SME.
Your enterprise is a micro-enterprise, therefore it is certainly an SME. However, that is not
enough. The SME must also work in the tourism sector (and the text provides you with a list of
subsectors).
F.12 I would like to know if Turkey can take part in this programme as partner.
The European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry) provides up to date information
regarding the countries that participate in COSME. Please check the following link (in particular
regarding
3rd
country
participation):
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/initiatives/cosme/index_en.htm
Turkey signed the agreement in October this year (event though the agreement is not yet
entered into force). Hence, entities from Turkey are eligible under this call.
F.13 I would like to know if Israel can take part in this programme as partner.
No. Israel did not manifest interest in participating to the COSME programme so far. Please also
refer to the answer given to question F.3 for more information.
F.14 I'd like to know if a SME that is a restaurant can be an eligible applicant for this call
Section 6.3 "Eligibility conditions for consortia" specifies that:
For the purpose of the present call, it is considered that an SME being the partner in the
consortium has to provide a proof that is established and has been operating on the market for
at least 2 years and has to act in one of the following fields:
tourist accommodation
catering
travel agencies and tour operators
attractions
leisure (recreational, cultural and sporting activities)
16
tourism related transport
other tourism related fields if their relevance for the project proposal is duly justified by
the applicant.
Hence, an SME that is a restaurant falls under one of the above fields. However, the applicant
must also prove that it is established and operating on the market for at least 2 years.
F.15 Can a SME specialized in promoting agroforestry projects be an eligible partner for this
call?
Please refer to the answer given to question F.11 on the difference between "Eligible Applicant
Entities" and "Eligibility conditions for consortia".
If you are the only SME of the consortium, then you must respect the minimum requirements
set in section 6.3. If this is the case, please refer to the answer here above to question F.14. In
particular, the SME must work in the tourism sector (there is a list of tourism fields provided in
the call).
Once the minimum requirements for the consortium are satisfied, additional applicants may
join the consortium (both as partners or coordinator). However, these applicants must
correspond to the definition of the target organization given in section 6.2 at point 2.
Please note that the Executive Agency services cannot, for reasons of equal treatment, neither
assess proposals at this stage nor help to draft proposals. Assessing the proposal – including its
eligibility - is the exclusive competence of an appointed evaluation committee.
F.16 I'm a very small entrepreneur and I manage an ebikes renting point. I would like to know
if I can apply for this call.
Please note that the Executive Agency services cannot, for reasons of equal treatment, neither
assess proposals at this stage nor help to draft proposals. Assessing the proposal – including its
eligibility - is the exclusive competence of an appointed evaluation committee.
If your enterprise corresponds to one of the entities listed in section 6.2 "Eligible Applicant
Entities" at point 2, then it is eligible as a partner of the consortium.
Please also refer to the answers given to questions F.11 on the difference between "Eligible
Applicant Entities" and "Eligibility conditions for consortia" and F.14.
In particular, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that a single entity cannot apply
for this call. Section 6.3 states that "it is mandatory that the eligible actions are undertaken by
"Transnational Strategic Partnerships"" and lists a number of compulsory requirements that the
consortium must comply with.
F.17 Does this call require that partners be from 4 or more different countries? For example,
could you have a consortium of 4 partners from 2 or 3 countries?
Section 6.3 "Eligibility conditions for consortia" point 1 reads:
The consortium must gather between a minimum of 4 to maximum 8 applicants from at least 4
different eligible countries as listed in section 4.1 "Geographical eligibility".
Hence, partners must come from minimum 4 different eligible countries. Eligible countries are
those specified in section 6.1 "Geographical eligibility", meaning EU countries or other countries
participating to the COSME program.
17
Please be aware that apart from the above mentioned, section 6 defines several compulsory
criteria the consortium as a whole and each applicant must comply with in order for the
proposal to be considered "eligible".
F.18 Is Azerbaijan eligible for this program? If not, what should we do to be eligible?
Azerbaijan did not manifest interest in participating to the COSME programme so far. Please
refer to the answer given to question F.3 for more information.
The eligibility of a country only depends from bilateral negotiations between the EU and the
Government of that country. Therefore, there is nothing an applicant can do to change this
situation.
Please also refer to the answer given to question F.2, regarding the possibility to participate as
subcontractor.
F.19 Are there any restrictions as to the number of participations of one organisation in
different partnerships? Can the same applicant participate as project coordinator more than
once?
Please see answer to question F.7.
F.20 Iceland belongs to EFTA, but I’ve found that it will participate in 2014. What about 2015?
What kind of status China and the USA can have? Are there any forms of partnership they
could be considered as eligible partners of consortium with eligible costs?
Concerning your first question, Iceland signed the participation agreement to the COSME
programme for the whole programming period 2014-2020 and therefore it is an eligible country
under this call, but also under calls issued in 2015 from the COSME budget.
Concerning your last questions on the eligibility of partners from China and USA, please refer to
the answer already given to question F.2.
F.21 Could XXX be considered as a public governmental authority if it is a public company
depending on the Ministry of Tourism in Spain?
Please note that the Executive Agency services cannot, for reasons of equal treatment, neither
assess proposals at this stage nor help to draft proposals. Assessing the proposal – including its
eligibility - is the exclusive competence of an appointed evaluation committee.
However, please be aware that the footnote 24 at page 17 further specifies what a
governmental authority is for the purposes of this call, providing a list of examples.
Please also refer to the answer we provided to question F.6. In particular, where we clarify that
"any other public body, even if dependent from a Ministry, does not qualify as a governmental
authority as such".
F.22 If the consortium submits a letter of support, but no public governmental authority is
partner of the consortium, will be the proposal at a disadvantage?
Section 6.3 "Eligibility conditions for consortia" lists certain minimum requirements a
consortium must fulfil to be considered eligible. Please also refer to the answer we provided to
question F.6.
18
In particular, we draw your attention to the points 3a and 3b of section 6.3 that state the
following:
a) at least one of the applicants must be either a national or regional or local public
governmental authority or a network or association of regional or local public governmental
authorities.
b)
Unless a national or regional governmental authority is partner of the consortium, the
applicants must also submit, together with the project proposal, a letter of support of the
project idea and activities proposed delivered by a public governmental authority - at national or
regional level - from one of the eligible countries.
Therefore, both criteria must be fulfilled. 1) At least one applicant must be a public
governmental authority or an association of governmental authorities. 2) Applicants must
submit a letter of support of a national or regional governmental authority (with the only
exception of cases where a national or regional governmental authority is partner of the
consortium).
F. 23 As Bosnia and Herzegovina is mentioned on the list, but not yet participating in the
COSME programme, would you be kind to clarify for us are we eligible to submit the
application or not?
Bosnia and Herzegovina express an interest in participating to the programme but negotiations
still did not start.
Please refer to the answer we gave to question F.3 for more information.
In particular, note that entities from 3rd countries likely to participate to the programme are
considered eligible pending the enter into force of the participation agreement for the year
2014.
F.24 Can a consulting enterprise in tourism area, be the SME partner?
Concerning the eligibility of partners, refer to the answer we gave at question F.11.
Concerning the eligibility of the consortium please also look answers given to questions F.14
and F.15.
Please note that the Executive Agency services cannot, for reasons of equal treatment, neither
assess proposals at this stage nor help to draft proposals. Assessing the proposal – including its
eligibility - is the exclusive competence of an appointed evaluation committee.
It is up to the applicants to demonstrate they fulfill all compulsory requirements set in the call.
F.25 I am writing to check if entities from FYROM are eligible.
The European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry) provides up to date information
regarding the countries that participate in COSME. Please check the following link (in particular
regarding
3rd
country
participation):
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/initiatives/cosme/index_en.htm
As you can see from the above link, FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA already
signed the international agreement to participate to COSME (event though the agreement is not
yet entered into force). Hence, partners from FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
are eligible for funding under the present call.
19
F.26 As ASD not-for-profit working in the field of sport tourism we want to know what
prerequisites we must have to be partner in the project.
Please refer to section 6 "Eligibility Criteria".
In particular, refer to section 6.2 "Eligible Applicant Entities" at point 2 for the list of "eligible"
entities.
Please also refer to the answers given to questions F.11 on the difference between "Eligible
Applicant Entities" and "Eligibility conditions for consortia" and F.14.
In particular, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that a single entity cannot apply
for this call. Section 6.3 states that "it is mandatory that the eligible actions are undertaken by
"Transnational Strategic Partnerships"" and lists a number of compulsory requirements that the
consortium must comply with.
F.27 We are tourist agency from Bosnia and Herzegovina and we are not sure if it is possible
to be involved in this project because of our country status in COSME.
Please refer to the answer given to question F.23.
F.28 Can a partner from FYROM lead a consortium?
FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA is an eligible country. Please see our answer to
question F.25.
All eligible entities can be the "coordinator" of a consortium.
F.29 In a consortium proposal the co-ordinator is normally the lead organisation. Can we have
a case where one organisation is the co-ordinator and another partner the lead organisation
responsible for carrying out the action?
Section 6.3 at point 2 states that: "One of the applicants must act as the consortium coordinator.
Several applicants, submitting a joint project proposal should choose within their midst a lead
organisation, referred to as the coordinator".
The role and the responsibilities of the coordinator are set in article 25.2 letter b of the Model
Grant Agreement.
The methodology of implementation of the proposed tasks and work packages is something
different and the repartition of tasks and responsibilities among partners remain a decision of
the applicants, provided that art. 25.2 is respected.
F.30 What does the call intend to say with the words “educational institutions”? Is it possible
to involve public schools as partners for this call?
By educational institution is meant any entity dedicated to education. Schools are certainly
educational institutions.
F.31 Can UK Universities participate in this call?
Please refer to section 6 "Eligibility Criteria". In particular, refer to sections 6.1 "Geographical
Eligibility" for the list of eligible countries and 6.2 "Eligible Applicant Entities" at point 2 for the
list of "eligible" entities.
According to sections 6.1 and 6.2 UK Universities are eligible entities.
20
However, please also refer to the answers given to questions F.11 on the difference between
"Eligible Applicant Entities" and "Eligibility conditions for consortia" and F.14.
In particular, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that a single entity cannot apply
for this call. Section 6.3 states that "it is mandatory that the eligible actions are undertaken by
"Transnational Strategic Partnerships"" and lists a number of compulsory requirements that the
consortium must comply with.
F.32 We know that Bosnia and Herzegovina did not sign an agreement and that it is in the
negotiation procedure, however, can you provide us with more information on whether
participants or partners from Bosnia and Herzegovina will be eligible to submit their proposals
to this call? Is there any national contact point regarding this programme? The same question
would be for Serbia, do you have any additional info upon the situation in Serbia?
The European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry) provides up to date information
regarding the countries that participate in COSME. Please check the following link (in particular
regarding
3rd
country
participation):
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/initiatives/cosme/index_en.htm
Concerning Bosnia and Herzegovina, as you might see from the link here above, negotiations did
not start yet. On eligibility of entities from this country please refer to the answer already given
to question F.23.
Concerning Serbia, please refer to the answer already given to question F.4.
Concerning the national contact points, please refer to the answer already given to question L.3.
F.33 Are all three types of entities needed in each country? 1. public authority; 2. organization
of young and old and 3. provider of tourism services?
No. Section 6.3 "Eligibility conditions for consortia" states the minimum compulsory
requirements of the consortium applying for this call. And the conditions set are for the
consortium as a whole.
Hence, among other criteria (i.e. at least 5 partners form 4 different countries), the consortium
must be composed of at least 1 public governmental authority, 1 partner representing a youth
or senior organisation, and 1 tourism service provider. More details are provided in section 6.3
at point 3.
F.34 According to the guidelines of the project, projects must be presented by consortia made
of minimum 4 partners and a maximum of 8, from at least 4 different eligible countries. Does
that mean that if XXX will be the coordinator of the project, we have to seek other partners
from different countries? Isn't it possible to present the project by consortia made of XXX,
local Public Governmental Authority and (international/local) private sector representatives
operating in Tourism sector in Georgia?
Section 6 "Eligibility criteria" provides a set of compulsory requirements that must be respected
in order to present an "eligible" proposal. Proposals not complying with all these requirements
will be discarded.
According to section 6.1 "Geographical eligibility", applicants must be established in EU or
COSME participating countries.
The European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry) provides up to date information
regarding the countries that participate in COSME. Please check the following link (in particular
21
regarding
3rd
country
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/initiatives/cosme/index_en.htm
participation):
As you may see from the link above, Georgia is not participating to COSME so far.
However, section 6.1 adds that the "participation of partners from other countries is allowed if
relevant to the project and in duly justified cases. But costs derived from these countries are not
eligible, nor will these additional countries be considered as concurring to comply with the
eligibility criterion of having a minimum of 4 partners from 4 different countries".
Hence, entities from Georgia may participate in the consortium only in exceptional cases and
applicants must justify why these entities are relevant for the project. Moreover, their costs will
not be "eligible costs" and the consortium must be composed of at least 4 other partners from 4
different eligible countries.
Concerning your last question, as you mention already in the question, consortia must be
composed of partners (4-8) from at least 4 different eligible countries. Consortia composed of
entities from the same country are therefore non-eligible.
F.35 Is a rejected projected from a previous CIP call eligible for reapplication under COSME
calls?
Each call is unique and independent from any other call.
All project proposals complying with the eligibility criteria set in section 6 of the present call are
eligible under this specific call. Applications will be assessed on an equal foot without prejudice
towards those rejected in the past.
Hence rejected projects, if they comply with all requirements of this call, should not be
discouraged from applying.
Each call has, however, its specific objectives, eligibility criteria, award criteria, etc., and they
may differ also substantially from one to another.
Therefore, proposals submitted in the past may not comply anymore with the new
requirements. It is up to applicants to make sure proposals submitted are in line with
requirements.
F.36 In guides on EU Funding in Cosme projects it is written that only SMEs have access to
finance. I would be very pleased if you can answer me on the basis of which criteria do you
select SMEs? Is there a possibility that a small tourism enterprise who is in a group applies for
a call (with partners) and what are criteria for that kind of application?
In official documents of the Commission on the COSME programme you will not find the
information that only SMEs can access funding opportunities. The programme is mainly
intended to support SMEs, but the requirements for participation change from one call to
another. In this specific call, requirements regarding the eligibility of applicants and eligibility of
consortia are mentioned in section 6 "Eligibility criteria". Please refer to it.
In particular we invite you to check carefully sections 6.2 and 6.3. In particular, section 6.3, at
point 3d, provides a definition of SME and the requirements SMEs have to comply with in this
call. Among other things, "for the purpose of the present call an SME being partner in the
consortium has to provide proof that is established and has been operating on the market for at
least 2 years ..." and has to act in the fields mentioned (i.e.: tourist accommodation, catering,
22
(…) as well as other tourism related fields if their relevance for the project proposal is duly
justified by the applicant).
F.37 Can we apply from Turkey?
Please refer to the answer already given to question F.12.
F.38 Could you please confirm us which is exactly the list of eligible Countries and if Armenia,
Jordan and Lebanon are included in the list of eligible Countries?
The European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry) provides up to date information
regarding the countries that participate in COSME.
Please check the following link (in particular regarding 3rd country participation):
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/initiatives/cosme/index_en.htm
As you might see, all 3 of them did not show (or don't have the legal basis for that) an interest in
participating to the COSME programme for the year 2014.
F.39 Since we are targeting the project at seniors, how do we proof that organisation is active
in the field of seniors? Can such organisation like church and or tourism agency offering
products to seniors on regular basis be considered under such definition and become a
partner ?
We invite you to carefully look at the footnote 27 which reads: "An entity is considered
as active in the field of youths or seniors when the statute or any other official mission
statement of the entity refers to it."
Please note that at page 19 the call reads: "ATTENTION: The onus will be on the applicants to
demonstrate that they fully respect the requirements set in the call. Please provide any useful
supporting document and proof of the fulfilment of the above-mentioned compulsory
requirements and clearly indicate in the submitted proposal, the name of the applicants fulfilling
them, in order to allow the evaluation committee to accomplish its assessment."
Hence, it is up to the applicant to duly justify, with as much information and documentation as
possible to prove that, why they believe the consortium fulfils all requirements and in this
specific case, why a certain partner is "active in the field of seniors".
Moreover, according to section 8.2 " Operational capacity", you are requested to provide: "a list
of previous projects and activities performed and connected to the policy field of a given call or
to the actions to be carried out."
F.40 In our proposal we are working with a regional tourist office. This is an association of 13
municipalities and this organization is 100% publicly funded. Do you count this as a “network
or association of regional or local public governmental authorities”.
Please note that the Executive Agency services cannot, for reasons of equal treatment, neither
assess proposals at this stage nor help to draft proposals. Assessing the proposal – including its
eligibility - is the exclusive competence of an appointed evaluation committee.
Please note that at page 19 of the call there is a disclaimer specifying that it is up to the
applicants to demonstrate they fulfill all compulsory requirements set in the call.
On the definition of "governmental" authority please check the footnotes 24, 25 and 26 at page
17 of the call text. In this sense, a municipality is a public governmental authority at local level.
23
However, it is up to the applicant to demonstrate (by providing supporting documents and
proves) that a specific partner (a regional tourism office in your case) is an association of
municipalities.
F.41 Is it possible/allowed to be the consortium coordinator in two separate COSME projects
(partially running at the same time period)?
It is allowed to participate both as coordinator or as partner in different consortia, provided that
the organisation concerned has the sufficient operational and financial capacity to participate in
different projects.
Of course, it will not be possible to have the same activities/tasks financed more than once.
F.42 In section 6.3 when talking about the requirements of the Transnational Strategic
Partnership it is stated that the consortium must gather at least 4 applicants from 4 different
countries. Also that the consortium should include at least 1 public authority, 1 senior
organisation and 1 tourism provider. Can 2 of the required partners (the tourism provider and
the public authority) be from the same country (Romania) and have other partners such as
several senior organisations and tour operators from other countries?
Provided that all other eligibility requirements are fulfilled (in particular those set in sections
6.1, 6.2 and 6.3), it is possible to have 1 public governmental authority and 1 SME
corresponding to the definition given at point 3d of section 6.3 having their legal seat in the
same country.
F.43 I am writing on behalf of the XXX Chamber of Commerce and Industry regarding the
eligibility criteria. According to the following definition: “… organizations active in the field of
tourism or any other field that is strictly related to the object of the proposal…” are we
eligible to participate as a partner in this call?
Please note that the Executive Agency services cannot, for reasons of equal treatment, neither
assess proposals at this stage nor help to draft proposals. Assessing the proposal – including its
eligibility - is the exclusive competence of an appointed evaluation committee.
However, please refer to section 6.2 "Eligible Applicant Entities" at point 2 for the list of
"eligible" entities. Among these latter, "Chambers of commerce and industry" are explicitly
mentioned as eligible entities.
F.44 For this project, at least one applicant must be an SME or an association of SMEs acting in
the tourism sector. Is it necessary for the SME to be included in the consortium if a “nonprofit- marking- organization” or a legal form “institution of public utility” with licence CAT A
1802 will be part of thereof?
Please consider that the COSME programme is a programme specifically designed to support
SMEs.
According to section 6.3 "Eligibility conditions for consortia" point 3d "At least one applicant
must be an SME – Small and Medium Sized Enterprise – or an association of SMEs acting in the
tourism sector."
A clear definition of which entity qualifies as an SME is given at page 18, together with the
specific requirements of the SMEs participating to this call.
F.45 Can a marketing agency be an applicant with other three as partners in consortium?
24
Please note that the Executive Agency services cannot, for reasons of equal treatment, neither
assess proposals at this stage nor help to draft proposals. Assessing the proposal – including its
eligibility - is the exclusive competence of an appointed evaluation committee.
At page 19 the call reads: "ATTENTION: The onus will be on the applicants to demonstrate that
they fully respect the requirements set in the call. Please provide any useful supporting
document and proof of the fulfilment of the above-mentioned compulsory requirements and
clearly indicate in the submitted proposal, the name of the applicants fulfilling them, in order to
allow the evaluation committee to accomplish its assessment."
Hence, it is up to the applicant to duly justify, with as much information and documentation as
possible to prove that, why they believe the consortium fulfils all requirements (in particular
those in sections 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3).
Concerning the eligibility of single applicants, please refer to section 6.2 "Eligible Applicant
Entities" at point 2 for the list of "eligible" entities.
Moreover, please note that at page 18 (section 6.3) the call reads: "Other kinds of SMEs (e.g. in
the fields of promotion, media, ICT development and others) may be involved in the project only
as subcontractors, not as partner in the consortium".
F.46 I am following a network of 11 SMEs of the tourism sector of Italy, which is legally
constituted as a Network of Enterprises. Each of the enterprises which integrate the
consortium is eligible under the call for proposal. But we want to make the Network apply as
a sole partner, together with other partners. I am aware that the networks of this kind have
been already recognised as a sole entity under the Horizon 2020 Programme. Could you
confirm that the COSME Programme endorses the same approach?
Section 6.2 "Eligible applicant entities" states at point 1 that: "Applicant organisations must be
legal entities. They can be fully or partly public or private bodies; private bodies must be properly
constituted and registered under national law".
If a network is a legal entity and it is legally constituted and registered, then it complies with the
above said criterion. Of course, be aware that each applicant must also correspond to one of
the entities listed at point 2. In this specific case, it may qualify under the category: "Any other
public or private entity active in the following fields: tourism, youth or senior policies, or any
other field that is strictly related to the object of the proposal".
However it is up to the applicant to demonstrate and justify why they believe they correspond
to this or another category.
We remind you that at page 19 the call reads: "ATTENTION: The onus will be on the applicants
to demonstrate that they fully respect the requirements set in the call. Please provide any
useful supporting document and proof of the fulfilment of the above-mentioned compulsory
requirements and clearly indicate in the submitted proposal, the name of the applicants fulfilling
them, in order to allow the evaluation committee to accomplish its assessment."
Please note also that in case the network applies as a network, it is the network being
considered as "partner" in the consortium and not its members, and it will be the network
together with other partners forming the consortium that will have to comply with eligibility
conditions (including those in section 6.3 "Eligibility conditions for consortia").
F.47 At pages 17-18 are defined which are the kinds of applicants that must compose the
strategic consortium including the presence of 1 partner representing a youth or senior
organisation. The paper does not specify if, in case of the choice to operate under Strand A, I
25
have to include as a partner only a senior representing organization. My question is if, in case
I choose to operate under Strand A, I can choose as a partner of the project an association
representing young people or if it's mandatory a matching between the Strand chosen and
the kind of organisation involved in the project. Furthermore I would like to ask you if is
possible to include an organisation that, as highlighted in its statute, represents both seniors
and young people.
Section 6 "Eligibility" provides general rules that are common for both strands. In this sense,
even if section 6.3 does not specify that consortia applying for strand A must involve an entity
active in the field of seniors and that consortia applying for stand B must involve entities active
in the field of youth, it is implicit so.
As matter of fact, please note that proposals must comply with the specific objectives and
expected results per each strand given in section 2.3. In particular, under "Strand A" one of the
expected result must be to "Encourage a better cooperation and increased agreements among
different actors of the tourism value chain and seniors associations/organisations".
Moreover, proposals will be evaluated on the basis of the "Award criteria" set in section 9
among which the following: "How clearly defined and strategically chosen are the project
partners (different types of partners, relevance of the partners to the project, degree of
involvement of the partners)?"
Entities which are active in the fields of both seniors and young people have a mission which is
compatible and in line with proposals under both strands and will therefore be considered as
fulfilling this specific criterion (point 3c of section 6.3).
F.48 Can an individual researcher take part in a consortium applying for this call?
Section 6.2 "Eligible applicant entities" states at point 1 that: "Applicant organisations must be
legal entities. […].Natural persons are non-eligible for the purpose of the present call".
F.49 Please kindly inform us if Switzerland-based organisations are eligible for funding under
this call, or (alternatively) if they can be included to cover the requirement as one of the for 4
different countries.
According to section 6.1 "Geographical eligibility" of the call text, eligible applicants must come
from EU countries or from other countries participating in the COSME programme under Article
6 of the COSME Regulation.
The European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry) provides up to date information
regarding the countries that participate in COSME. Please check the following link (in particular
regarding
3rd
country
participation):
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/initiatives/cosme/index_en.htm
As you might see from the above mentioned link, Switzerland is unable to participate to the
COSME programme as there is currently no legal basis.
In addition, participation of partners from other countries is allowed if relevant to the project
and in duly justified cases.
However, section 6.1 further specifies that "costs derived from these countries are not eligible,
nor will these additional countries be considered as concurring to comply with the eligibility
criterion of having a minimum of 4 partners from 4 different countries (see section 6.3.)".
26
F.50 One consortium member is a research organization that has conducted several
researches related to tourism sector, but it was founded in April 2013. According to section
6.3. “SMEs being the partner in the consortium has to provide a proof that is established and
has been operating on the market for at least 2 years and has to act in one of the listed
fields”. At the time of the projects’ implementation, this research organisation will operate
since at least 2 years. Therefore, can this be considered as fulfilling the criterion?
No. Applicants must comply with all criteria set in the call at the moment of submission.
F.51 Can proposals be presented by two partners only?
No. According to section 6.3 "it is mandatory that the eligible actions are undertaken by
"Transnational Strategic Partnerships"".
For the definition of Transnational Strategic Partnerships please refer to page 17 of the call
text. In particular, please note that point 1 of section 6.3 states that the "consortium must
gather between a minimum of 4 to maximum 8 applicants from at least 4 different eligible
countries".
F.52 Can the senior organisation be an SME? I.e. does an SME count as ‘organisation’? If yes,
if one partner fits both definitions (those of the tourism SME and the senior organisation), is
one partner then sufficient to address both requirements, or do we need two separate
partners?
The word "organisation" is used in the context of this call as a general word meaning any legal
entity (including SMEs). Hence, an SME can comply with point 3c of section 6.3 if it is active in
the field of seniors or youth.
However, at page 17 the call reads: "The consortium must be composed of at least 1 public
governmental authority, 1 partner representing a youth or senior organisation, and 1 tourism
service provider."
Hence, at least 3 different typologies of partners must be part of the consortium.
Please be aware that the consortium must also include an SME acting in the tourism field and
complying with all characteristics mentioned at point 4 of section 6.3, which also listed the kind
of SMEs eligible under this call.
F.53 Among eligible applicant entities you mention "Any other public or private entity active
in the following fields: tourism, youth or senior policies, or any other field that is strictly
related to the object of the proposal.” It would be most helpful if you could clarify whether
“any other field that is strictly related to the object of the proposal” could encompass an ICT
SME which includes among its activities also the development of ICT tool for seniors.
By "field strictly related to the object of the proposal" it is intended any field that is relevant for
the core/key activities proposed by the applicant. Hence, there is no common definition, but it
is up to the applicant to duly justify and motivate why they believe the consortium fulfils all
requirements (in particular those in sections 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3).
However, please note that at page 18 (section 6.3) the call reads: "Other kinds of SMEs (e.g. in
the fields of promotion, media, ICT development and others) may be involved in the project only
as subcontractors, not as partner in the consortium".
F.54 Can an NGO from Ukraine having a Polish partner organization be an applicant for this
call for proposals. Will the co-financing from Ukrainian side be eligible?
27
Concerning the eligibility of partners from Ukraine, please refer to the answer already given to
question F.3. Ukraine is still – according to the latest information we have – negotiating its
participation to the COSME programme.
However, we would also like to draw your attention to the fact that 2 entities alone cannot
apply for this call. Section 6.3 states that "it is mandatory that the eligible actions are
undertaken by "Transnational Strategic Partnerships"" and lists a number of compulsory
requirements that the consortium must comply with.Exclusion Criteria
In particular, section 6.3 "Eligibility conditions for consortia" point 1 reads: "The consortium
must gather between a minimum of 4 to maximum 8 applicants from at least 4 different
eligible countries as listed in section 4.1 "Geographical eligibility"."
F.55 I cannot understand what you intend for affiliated entities. XXX is lead partner of a
tourism cluster called XXX that involves the cities of XXX. Would it be possible to consider the
other municipalities as affiliated entities? We are bound by an agreement.
The call text defines at page 16 (section 6.2 point 3) as "Legal entities having a legal or capital
link with applicants, which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of
its implementation".
"For that purpose, applicants shall identify such affiliated entities in the application form. The
affiliated entities will have to comply with the eligibility and exclusion criteria."
F. 56 I just wanted to ask if XXX Office in Albania is eligible to apply for this call.
According to section 6.1 "Geographical eligibility" of the call text, eligible applicants must come
from EU countries or from other countries participating in the COSME programme under Article
6 of the COSME Regulation.
The European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry) provides up to date information
regarding the countries that participate in COSME. Please check the following link (in particular
regarding 3rd country participation):
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/initiatives/cosme/index_en.htm
As you can see from the above link, Albania is expected to sign its participation to the COSME
programme still in 2014.
Entities from 3rd countries likely to participate to the programme (such as Albania) are
considered eligible pending the enter into force of the participation agreement for the year
2014.
F.57 We have built a consortium from Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Turkey, Hungary and
Poland. Please can you give us a recommendation which country could be the applicant?
This call requires that applications are submitted by a consortium ("Transnational Strategic
Partnership", as defined in section 6.3). Hence, the consortium is the applicant.
Within the consortium – according to point 2 of section 6.3 - "One of the applicants must act as
the consortium coordinator. Several applicants, submitting a joint project proposal should
choose within their midst a lead organisation, referred to as the coordinator".
28
All "eligible" partners (who fulfill all requirements set in section 6) can be consortium
coordinator. This choice is exclusively up to you and the evaluation of the proposal will not be
anyhow influenced by this.
The role and the responsibilities of the coordinator are set in article 25.2 letter b of the Model
Grant Agreement.
F.58 We would like to ask if partners from Turkey, Russia and/or Norway are eligible to
participate
According to section 6.1 "Geographical eligibility" of the call text, eligible applicants must come
from EU countries or from other countries participating in the COSME programme under Article
6 of the COSME Regulation.
The European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry) provides up to date information
regarding the countries that participate in COSME. Please check the following link (in particular
regarding
3rd
country
participation):
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/initiatives/cosme/index_en.htm
Turkey signed the agreement in October this year (event though the agreement is not yet
entered into force). Hence, entities from Turkey are eligible under this call.
Norway and Russia, instead, are not participating to the COSME programme.
F.59 Can you please tell us if TOURIST BOARDS are eligible applicants – eligible consortium
coordinators?
Section 6.2 "Eligible applicant entities" at point 2 lists all eligible applicants. Among them, public
authorities, destination management organisations as well as "Any other public or private entity
active in the following fields: tourism, youth or senior policies, or any other field that is strictly
related to the object of the proposal".
All eligible partners of the consortium can be coordinators. For more information, please refer
to the answer given above to question "F.57".
F.60 I plan to involve our local municipality in the project - is it acceptable that the
coordinator (a private company) and the required governmental authority are from the same
country and would this cover the requirement to have a governmental authority as part of the
project?
On the possibility to have 2 partners from the same country, please refer to the answer already
given to question "F.42".
Point 3a of section 6.3 is fulfilled if a municipality is partner of the consortium, as
"municipalities" are specifically listed in the footnote 24 at page 17 of the call.
F.61 The eligible applicant entities list on the guidelines on page 16 states that: ‘Public
authorities (national, regional, local) and their networks or associations at European,
international, national regional and local level’ are eligible to apply. Does this mean that only
Local Authorities that have a European network can apply for this call? And does the project
need to focus on the present network, that is, the network they form part of?
No. Both an individual public governmental authority or a networks/association of public
governmental authorities are fulfilling this requirement. Hence, it is not compulsory that the
public governmental authority applying is also part of a network.
29
The focus of the project, in terms of geographical scope and in terms of target beneficiaries, is a
choice that remains on the applicants. The applicant consortium must define the project scope
and justify the choice made. Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of the "Award criteria" set
in section 9 of the call, among which several criteria refer to the impact of the project as well as
to the geographical scope of the project.
F.62 We have some doubts about the eligibility of the XXX Chamber of Commerce and
Industry serving as a “public governmental authority”.
Chambers of Commerce and Industry are listed in section 6.2 "Eligible applicant entities" at
point 2 among the eligible entities. Therefore they are eligible as partners of a consortium.
However, the definition of public governmental authorities - under the meaning of point 3a of
section 6.3 - is given in the footnote 24 at page 17: "For the purpose of this call, public
governmental authorities at national, regional and local level are, inter-alia, ministries, regions,
provinces, departments, municipalities, city councils, counties, districts and communes".
Hence, chambers of commerce do not qualify as public governmental authorities.
F.63 Is it possible for organisations from Morocco to apply as we are not part of the European
Union?
According to section 6.1 "Geographical eligibility" of the call text, eligible applicants must come
from EU countries or from other countries participating in the COSME programme under Article
6 of the COSME Regulation.
The European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry) provides up to date information
regarding the countries that participate in COSME. Please check the following link (in particular
regarding
3rd
country
participation):
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/initiatives/cosme/index_en.htm
Morocco did not show interest in participating to the COSME programme. Hence, entities from
Morocco are not eligible for funding.
However, participation of partners from other countries is allowed if relevant to the project and
in duly justified cases. In this case, section 6.1 further specifies that "costs derived from these
countries are not eligible, nor will these additional countries be considered as concurring to
comply with the eligibility criterion of having a minimum of 4 partners from 4 different countries
(see section 6.3.)".
F.64 Regarding the eligibility of the Network of Tourism Enterprises (legally constituted the
past 7th of May 2014), I would like to receive other clarification. The 11 SMEs including in the
consortium are individually active in the field of tourism since many years. We judge
therefore that the group of SMEs fulfils the following statement: "For the purpose of the
present call, it is considered that an SME being the partner in the consortium has to provide a
proof that is established and has been operating on the market for at least 2 years and has to
act in one of the following fields".
If the network of SMEs is a legal entity then it can apply as a partner in this call. In this case,
however, all the members of the network must be "eligible" applicant entities fulfilling all
requirements set in section 6.2 "Eligible applicant entities" of the call. Hence, in your specific
case, all SMEs composing the network must be established and operating on the market since at
least 2 years.
30
It is up to the applicant to duly justify, with as much information and documentation as possible
(including information on each single members), why they believe the consortium fulfils all
requirements in order to allow the Evaluation Committee to take a decision on the eligibility of
the proposal.
We would like to draw your attention, however, to the eligibility of personnel costs that must
comply with Article 6.2.A of the model agreement "Direct personnel costs".
F.65 We are an organization based in Italy that intends to submit a project proposal as
coordinator of a consortium. Regarding the Letter of Support provided by a governmental
authority (National, Regional or Local) is it mandatory that it is Italian, or simply to have a
letter of support of any government authority of a country involved in the project?
According to point 3b of section 6.3, a letter of support is needed only if there is no regional or
national governmental authority in the consortium. If this is the case, a letter of support of a
regional or national (not local) authority from any eligible countries must be submitted.
Hence, in your case, it does not necessarily need to be from Italy.
F.66 Could organizations from Transnistrian region without Moldavian registration participate
in this programme? If not, is it possible for us to work in partnership with Moldavian
organizations?
According to the Call for proposal Section 6.2, point 1, "Applicant organisations must be legal
entities. [...] Natural persons are non-eligible for the purpose of the present call". Therefore an
organisation based in an eligible country needs to be officially registered in the eligible country.
Regarding the participation of Moldova in the COSME programme, please be informed that the
European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry) provides up to date information regarding
the countries that participate in COSME. Please check the following link (in particular regarding
3rd country participation): http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/initiatives/cosme/index_en.htm
Please be informed that Moldova signed the agreement on 29 September 2014, in order to
participate in the COSME programme. In order to enter into force, Moldova has to notify the
Commission that its internal legal requirements for its entry into force have been completed.
Legal entities based in Moldova are therefore eligible to participate in COSME call for proposals,
the entry into force of the grant agreement will be conditioned on the entry into force of the
agreement to participate in COSME.
F.67 I own a private college in Greece. This company is not a legal person. I operate with a tax
number and the proper licenses from the Ministry of Education, registered under national law
for the last 10 years. Am I considered a natural person or a legal entity?
Section 6.2 "Eligible applicant entities" states at point 1 that: "Applicant organisations must be
legal entities. They can be fully or partly public or private bodies; private bodies must be properly
constituted and registered under national law. Natural persons are non-eligible for the purpose
of the present call".
A legal entity is any entity with legal capacity constituted and registered under the national law
(eg. companies, associations, foundations, charities, etc.).
We remind you that at page 19 the call reads: "ATTENTION: The onus will be on the applicants
to demonstrate that they fully respect the requirements set in the call. Please provide any
useful supporting document and proof of the fulfilment of the above-mentioned compulsory
31
requirements and clearly indicate in the submitted proposal, the name of the applicants fulfilling
them, in order to allow the evaluation committee to accomplish its assessment."
F.68 If, apart from the PP (min 4 and max 8), we would like to involve some affiliated entities,
do we have restrictions about it (about numbers of them, countries, type of entity)? No
budget will be allocated for them, but it is necessary to provide its documents (cv,
declarations of honour, balance, etc..) as it would be partners?
Please refer to the answer already given to question "F.55" and in particular note that "The
affiliated entities will have to comply with the eligibility and exclusion criteria."
Therefore they have to fulfil the same requirements and they are bound by the same
restrictions of any partner of the consortium, for what it concerns the eligibility and exclusion. It
also means that, as other partners, affiliated entities need to provide the required supporting
documents to prove they comply with eligibility and exclusion criteria.
Concerning the costs generated by such entities, please refer to the answer given to question
"M.19".
F.69 Do you have model/template documents for the letter of support by Regional
Authorities?
No. We do not provide a template. Of course the Authority should clearly mention which
project they are supporting and it should be dated and signed.
F.70 Do you have model/template documents for the letter-of-intent/power-of-attorney from
the partners to the coordinator? Do we have to submit such letters with the proposal?
No. This letter is not asked at the application stage. Additional documents will be asked from
successful applicants at contractualisation stage. The templates will be provided.
F.71 Regarding the F.64 point in FAQ and eligibility of the legal entity like networks of
enterprises as member of the consortium, I’d appreciate a clear answer: the obligation of
operating on the market since at least 2 years on the day of application refers only to SMEs
(meaning all members of the network) or to the network itself?
As said in the answer to question "F.64" if the network of SMEs is a legal entity then it can apply
as a partner in this call.
In this case, all the members of the network must be "eligible" applicant entities fulfilling all
requirements set in section 6.2 "Eligible applicant entities" of the call.
If members are SMEs, than those SMEs must comply with the eligibility requirements set for
SMEs (including that they have to operate in the tourism sector and that they have to be
established since at least 2 years).
F.72 What is meant by that partner must be public authority? Is it a tourist organization
founded by the national authority? Is it required letter of support?
Public authorities are eligible applicants according to section 6.2.
However, please note that the consortium must also fulfil some minimum requirements set in
section 6.3. In particular we draw your attention to the points 3a and 3b of section 6.3 that
state the following:
32
"a) at least one of the applicants must be either a national or regional or local public
governmental authority or a network or association of regional or local public governmental
authorities.
b)
Unless a national or regional governmental authority is partner of the consortium, the
applicants must also submit, together with the project proposal, a letter of support of the project
idea and activities proposed delivered by a public governmental authority - at national or
regional level - from one of the eligible countries."
Hence at least one applicant must be a public governmental authority (not simply a public
authority). Footnote 24 lists examples of such authorities. A tourism organisation, even if it can
be a public authority, it is not a governmental one.
In addition, unless a national or regional governmental authority is partner of the consortium,
there is need for a letter of support of the above said.
For more information you can also refer to the answer given to question "F.6".
F.73 Is Bosnia eligible for COSME?
Please refer to the answer given to question "F.23".
F.74 it is possible to incorporate SME´s and Organizations from Andorra like eligible applicant
entities? Could be Andorra country takes part in this project?
Andorra is not participating to the COSME programme and therefore entities from Andorra are
not eligible beneficiaries.
But, according to section 6.1 "Geographical eligibility", participation of partners from other
countries is allowed if relevant to the project and in duly justified cases.
However, section 6.1 further specifies that "costs derived from these countries are not eligible,
nor will these additional countries be considered as concurring to comply with the eligibility
criterion of having a minimum of 4 partners from 4 different countries (see section 6.3.)".
Hence, partners from Andorra can be allowed provided that the applicant well justifies the
added value to the project and to the achievement of the objectives of the call. Costs derived
from these partners will however not be eligible for funding.
F.75 We would like to ask whether Albania has already signed the participation agreement to
COSME Programme, since it was previously announced that the agreement should have been
signed within the end of 2014. We understand that entities from non-EU countries are
considered eligible pending the enter into force of the participation agreement for the year
2014. Now that it is 2015 already, if the aforesaid agreement has not yet been signed within
2014, we would like to know: if Albania signs the participation agreement (let's presume) in
January 2015, will Albania still be eligible for this Call published in 2014?
Agreements signed in 2015 can still be made applicable for the year 2014.
Hence, Albania is considered eligible pending the enter into force of the participation
agreement for the year 2014.
F.75 I've seen in the FAQ that Albania cannot be a partner of the consortium. Is it right? If yes,
it's possible to make them an affiliated and cover the mobility reimbursement?
33
No. Albania is eligible pending the entry into force of the COSME participation agreement for
the year 2014.
In case of successful application entities from Albania will be able to sign the Grant Agreement
only after the participation agreement has entered into force for the year 2014.
Concerning the possibility of having an Albanian partner as an affiliated entity, please note that
the call text defines them at page 16 (section 6.2 point 3) as "Legal entities having a legal or
capital link with applicants, which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole
purpose of its implementation".
Please also refer to the answer already given to question "F.55" and in particular note that "The
affiliated entities will have to comply with the eligibility and exclusion criteria." Hence, affiliated
entities must be complying with all eligibility criteria set in section 6 of the call.
F.76 Higher education (college,
organisation/associations/federations?
university)
can
be
considered
as
youth
Please note that the Executive Agency services cannot, for reasons of equal treatment, neither
assess proposals at this stage nor help to draft proposals. Assessing the proposal – including its
eligibility - is the exclusive competence of an appointed evaluation committee.
As the footnote 27 states: "An entity is considered as active in the field of youths or seniors when
the statute or any other official mission statement of the entity refers to it."
Please note that at page 19 the call reads: "ATTENTION: The onus will be on the applicants to
demonstrate that they fully respect the requirements set in the call. Please provide any useful
supporting document and proof of the fulfilment of the above-mentioned compulsory
requirements and clearly indicate in the submitted proposal, the name of the applicants fulfilling
them, in order to allow the evaluation committee to accomplish its assessment."
F.77 Can a semi-governmental organisation be considered as a public governmental
authority?
The definition of public governmental authorities - under the meaning of point 3a of section 6.3
- is given in the footnote 24 at page 17: "For the purpose of this call, public governmental
authorities at national, regional and local level are, inter-alia, ministries, regions, provinces,
departments, municipalities, city councils, counties, districts and communes".
Other public or semi-public bodies, even if dependent from a governmental authority, do not
qualify as governmental authorities as such.
G. Exclusion Criteria
G.1 Is it a criterion of exclusion that no one of participants has made a previous project in the
field of the call?
"Exclusion criteria" as such are only those specified in section 7, among which there is no
reference to the previous professional experience.
However, the evaluation committee will also assess proposals on the basis of the "operational
capacity" as specified in section 8.2.
This assessment intends to check whether the applicants and the proposed team have the
necessary experience and competence to perform the proposed actions. To this aim applicants
34
must send the CVs of the team and the list of previous projects/activities "connected to the
policy field of a given call or to the actions to be carried out". If the experience is judged not
sufficient to perform the proposed activities the proposal might be not admitted to the award
phase.
Please be also aware of the fact that the proposal will be evaluated on the basis of the "award
criteria" listed in section 9, among which there is the following that relates to the choice of the
partners: "How clearly defined and strategically chosen are the project partners (different types
of partners, relevance of the partners to the project, degree of involvement of the partners)? Are
the partners able to guarantee successful continuation of the project in the future?"
G.2 Is there a template to be used for the declaration of honour and where can we download
it?
No. We do not provide at this stage a template for the declaration of honour.
However, please note that this document is not compulsory at the submission of proposal's
stage. Only selected proposals will be asked to fill a specific template at a later stage (in the
grant preparation phase).
G.3 What does declaration of honour means for this call? Where to find the form for it?
It is a self-declaration on your honour that you comply with certain conditions (for example that
you have the sufficient financial capacity as requested in section 8.1 of the call) or that you are
not in any of the "exclusion" conditions (one of the situations referred to in articles 106(1) and
107 to 109 of the Financial Regulation) as mentioned in section 7.3 of the call.
Concerning your second question please refer to the answer given here above to question
"G.2".
H. Selection criteria
H.1 I would like to know if we have to upload the CVs of the staff involved in the
implementation of the action. If so, where do we have to upload them?
All applicants must provide proof, among other things, that they have the operational capacity
as requested in section 8.2.
Therefore, they must provide "curriculum vitae or description of the profile of the people
primarily responsible for managing and implementing the operation"
Concerning the question on how to submit CVs, please refer to the answers given to questions
M.2 and M.9.
H.2 In the annex "List of projects", can I also indicate a previous experience of a project
implemented within national (not European) funds or I just have to mention European funded
programmes?
According to section 8.2 " Operational capacity" you are requested to provide: "a list of previous
projects and activities performed and connected to the policy field of a given call or to the
actions to be carried out."
All projects (performed at European, national or local level) and activities demonstrating your
experience in the same policy filed of the call or in the implementation of activities similar to
those proposed should be listed.
35
I.
Award criteria
J.
Legal commitments
K. Financial provisions
K.1 In the previous call, the maximum subcontracting was 25% of the total budget. Is this
percentage still the same under the current call?
No limit in terms of percentage of the total budget has been set in the present call for
subcontracting.
However, subcontracting should follow an adequate procurement procedure (please refer to
article 10 of the Model Grant Agreement) and it is limited to the rules and conditions set in
section 11.1 point "e" of the call text. In particular:
- it may only cover the implementation of a limited part of the action;
- it must be justified having regard to the nature of the action and what is necessary for its
implementation;
- it must be clearly stated in the proposal.
It is up to the applicant the onus to demonstrate that these conditions are fulfilled.
In addition, we remind you that proposals will be evaluated according to the award criteria set
in section 9, where there is a specific reference to subcontracting: "Are subcontracted tasks
strictly “not core activities”? ".
K.2 Following the call of proposals, we find that its main goal is the development of a product,
a concept, that excludes the launching of the product into the market (page 7). We
understand that the costs incurred by seniors participating in the pilot (travel, accomodation,
meals) are eligible costs. However, we don't see this possibility clearly indicated by the call
under "eligible direct costs". We wonder if this expenditure would fall under the following
item: "costs entailed by implementation contracts awarded by the beneficiaries for the
purposes of carrying out the action/project, provided that the conditions laid down in the
gran agreement are met".
Section 2.3.1 (from page 6 onwards) defines the activities that are "eligible" for funding under
this call. This section also lists some key activity which must be performed.
One of these compulsory activities is the development of a product, defined as "the process that
includes all activities needed to provide a set of tourism services to meet the senior tourist's
needs, excluding the launching of the product into the market".
Another compulsory activity is the "test" to validate the product concept. It is up to the
applicant to propose the methodology to validate the product concept. The call does not
provide this information. Hence, it is not forbidden (but it is not the only possible solution) that
applicants propose to cover (fully or partially) travel and accommodation costs for a certain
number of target beneficiaries for the specific task of piloting or validating the product concept.
Concerning the costs, please refer to section 11.2, according to which costs are eligible if they
comply with a certain number of criteria listed at pages 25 and 26.
36
"Direct eligible costs" are those eligible costs (hence, respecting the above said criteria) which
are identifiable and directly linked to the proposed activities. A list is given only as an example,
but "ineligible costs" are explicitly mentioned and listed at page 27.
K.3 One of the partners in consortium has to be a senior organisation. In our case, the senior
organisation (third age university) is an association (not an enterprise). In case that it has no
employees but members, how can we plan their personnel costs? Still in categories of direct
personnel cost and travel costs and subsistence allowances for personnel?
If these "members" have a kind of contract and they receive a salary as members form the
association (university) they will be paid as anybody else according to the provisions of the grant
agreement Article 6.2 A "Direct personnel costs". Therefore they will be introduced under this
category. But if they were members on a non-remuneration basis, they are not eligible for any
kind of cost claim.
K.4 Are there any rules for direct staff costs? (i.e.: average costs/person/working hour in
different EU countries; salary/person/month). So mainly what are the accepted salary rates
for each EU country?
All information for direct personnel costs should be found in the model Grant Agreement,
Article 6.2.A.
K.5 Do all project members have to contribute financially to the project or can it be only one
contributing? Is it possible that only one of the participants pay all 25% of the costs required
by this proposal?
The co-financing configuration remains with the participants to decide, please refer to Article 25
Division of the Beneficiaries' roles and responsibilities of the model grant agreement. The EU
Grant is limited to a maximum co-funding of 75% of eligible costs, please refer to the call Article
4 "budget available and funding of projects".
K.6 As we understood reading the call for proposals, project members are obliged to fund
minimum 25% of all eligible costs. Is it possible that our contribution wouldn’t be money?
Could we provide, for example, our office, equipment, etc. Is it valid as part of those 25%?
Please refer to section 11.1.c "General Principles" of the call:
"Co-financing means that the resources which are necessary to carry out the action may not be
entirely provided by the EU grant. It may take the form of:
-
the beneficiary's own resources;
-
income generated by the action;
-
financial contributions from third parties."
Additionally please refer to the Model grant agreement Article 5.3 Step 3 related to receipts.
K.7 I have a situation similar to question K.3 and I understand that if they have contract they
will be included in eligible contracts. We have members in our NGO that only supported and
disseminated our work, but for this project we will need their expertise for longer, as parttime freelancer or even as full employee, and normally we will have to pay them. Can we sign
the contract after the project is approved, because we can’t give them salary from now? Will
37
be considered eligible as direct personnel (staff) costs in this way? How we calculate the
hourly rate as net or gross (including taxes and social security)?
For Direct personnel costs please make reference to Article 6.2. Direct Personnel Costs of the
Model Grant Agreement. At this stage of the tender procedure we cannot provide further in
detail guidance.
K.8 Will the costs (travel, accommodation , meals, insurance) incurred by seniors participating
in the pilot test(s) be eligible costs, falling under the item "costs entailed by implementation
contracts awarded by the beneficiaries for the purpose of carrying out the action" ?
Please refer to the answer given at question K.2.
K.9 Does the co-financing of 25% need to consist of cash or transfer or money or can be paid
with direct cost of applicants (i.e. staff costs?)
For co-financing please refer to Article 11.1.C of the Call "Financial Provisions, General
Principles" and more specifically "Co-financing". Additionally please refer to article 5.3 "Final
grant Amount – Calculation" and more specifically to Step 3 of the Model Grant Agreement.
K.10 Is it possible to contract employees when the project implementation starts (if it is
evaluated favourably)?
Please be aware that proposals will be evaluated on the basis of "selection criteria" as specified
in section 8 of the call, including an evaluation of the operational capacity (section 8.2) of the
consortium and all partners to perform the proposed activities. For this purpose, a list of CVs "of
the people primarily responsible for managing and implementing the operation" must be
provided already at the submission stage.
K.11 Should people working on a civil contract for SME be subcontracted? Is the
subcontracting the only option for them?
For employment under a civil contract please refer to Article 6.2.A2 of the model Grant
Agreement "Direct personnel costs" and "Types of eligible personnel costs".
K.12 We need to understand if "In the event of an application grouping several applicants
(consortium), the above thresholds apply by applicants” means that the declaration of
honour, the profit and costs accounts and balance sheet of the previous year should be
provided by the Applicant (as mainly happens in this kind of projects) or by each applicant of
the consortium?
The threshold that determines the supporting documents to be provided is the one reached by
each applicant within a consortium as per article 8.1 "Selection Criteria-Financial Capacity" of
the Call.
Therefore the necessary supporting documents have to be provided by each and every one of
the partners within the consortium, according to the threshold of each partner.
K.13 What is the rate of co-funding? Is co-funding has to be cash money or in-kind?
Please refer to the answer already given to question K.9.
K.14 Can the funds be used to support fees of concert? Is this expense eligible or not?
38
Concerning the eligibility of costs, please refer to section 11.2, according to which costs are
eligible if they comply with a certain number of criteria listed at pages 25 and 26. Among them,
the need for these costs to be "necessary for the implementation of the action".
Hence, it is implicit that these costs must be in line with the objectives of the call and with the
"supported activities" (section2.3). In this sense, section 2.3 defines the activities that are
"eligible" for funding under this call. It provides an indicative list of eligible activities and it
further mentions that:
"Applicants may propose any other action they deem necessary to achieve the objectives of the
call provided that they justify their choice and clearly describe the link between the proposed
actions and the objectives they want to achieve."
At this stage no further assessment can be provided on the context of the proposals.
K.15 Can the funds be used to support fees of project coordinator? What is the maximum
limit?
Please refer to the answer given to the above question "K.14".
K.16 In section 4, it is mentioned that the EU grant is limited to a maximum co-funding rate of
75%. Can some of the applicant's 25% be provided in kind (i.e. accommodation services,
health tourism services for the pilot test)?
Please refer to the answer already given to question "K.6".
K.17 Is accommodation and travel of the test group considered an eligible cost?
Please refer to the answer already given to question "K.2".
K.18 We agreed in our consortium that the whole external costs shall be calculated under the
lead partner, because he is also the financial manager. Therefore this will rise his budget and
in comparison to the other partners the budget is unbalanced. Is this a negative evaluation
criterion?
Please refer to the answer given to question K.5. In particular, note that the co-financing
configuration remains with the participants to decide. For exclusion, selection and Award
criteria please refer to articles 7, 8, and 9 respectively at the Call.
K.19 We would like to know if the 75% of co-financing of the Commission applies to the total
budget, or if every single partner has to contribute with at least 25%. We would like to know
if, within the partnership, we can balance the co-financing, to reach a total of 25%. If this is
the case, are there problems within the budget excel file if we want to apply a 0% co-financing
to a single partner?
Please refer to answer of "K5".
K.20 Our target group is seniors (strand A). In testing phase we plan the visit/a tourist package
of a group (5-10 people - seniors) in another partner country. Are the costs of participants
(testing group) eligible and within which category – other costs (miscellaneous) or
subcontracting? We plan that with each individual a contract saying that his/her costs of
participation (travel, accommodation, seminar, … costs) are covered by project; however they
don’t get any payment for work. Should all these costs be charged at partner contracting the
testing group budged or can the sending partner (for example Spain) cover the travel and
39
accommodation costs and the hosting partner (for example Croatia) cover the other costs
(seminars, local transport, visiting areas …).
If travel has to be performed for the implementation of the project and is considered as
relevant and in direct link with the scope of the action and as part of it, the costs to occur have
to be introduced under cost of goods and other services section of the budget template.
Please refer to Article 11.2 Financial Provisions-Eligible Costs. Additionally refer to answer K2.
If these travel expenses are linked to people having a contractual relation with entity
implementing the action, then these costs should be introduced under the travel section, as
travel of staff. Please keep in mind that target group can't be staff and/or subcontractor at same
time, so no kind of contract can be signed with any of its members.
Each cost has to be linked to the partner that performed the action and therefore introduced in
this partner's budget.
K.21 I have a question about the 25% of the co-funding requested in the call: should it be the
percentage of coverage per each partner in the consortium or for the four European
organizations? I do not understand if the coordinator must co-fund the 25% of the total
project or spread this amount to the respective partners.
Please refer to answer of "K5".
K.22 In testing phase we plan the visit/a tourist package of a group (5-10 people - seniors) in
another partner country and in this way cover the condition of minimum 2MS included. We
would like to check if the costs of participants (testing group) are eligible also to test the
tourism concept in testing group country (for example: Spanish testing group tests the
tourism concept in Portugal and Spain)?
Please refer to answers given to question B.9 and K.2.
In particular, we draw your attention to the fact that the call does not provide information on
how a product concept must/should be tested.
Hence, it is up to the applicant to propose a methodology for doing so (and to justify the choice
made), having in mind that the objective is to evaluate the appropriateness/successfulness of a
designed product.
It is not forbidden (but it is not the only possible solution) that applicants propose to cover (fully
or partially) travel and accommodation costs for a certain number of target beneficiaries for the
specific task of piloting or validating the product concept.
Please note that the technical proposal will be evaluated on the basis of the "award criteria" set
in section 9, among which the following:
"Is the proposed "pilot test" of the designed concept relevant to the objectives of the Call?
Does it offers sufficient elements (considering the evaluation methodology proposed) to reach
significant conclusions?"
K.23 I read FAQ and Call text. Could I know the meaning of: "Please refer to section 11.1.c
"General Principles" of the call: "Co-financing means that the resources which are necessary
to carry out the action may not be entirely provided by the EU grant. It may take the form of: the beneficiary's own resources; […]""? Does it mean also staff costs?
40
Staff costs are not resources, but should be considered as a cost. They are part of the eligible
cost. Please refer to article 11.2 Eligible costs.
K.24 I have one question concerning 25% participation. I am not sure to have understood it.
Does this participation could incorporate project managers working hours? Better said, are
these hours eligible costs?
"Staff costs" is not a resource and should only be considered as cost. Please refer to Article 6.2.A
of the model grant agreement.
K.25 Could the 25% of co-funding share of the budget be provided through working hours of
the personnel employed?
Please refer to the answer already given to questions "K.23" and "K.24".
K.26 Our University would like to take part in consortium as a partner. The reimbursement
rate is 100 % of the total eligible costs for us (like in Horizon 2020) or 75 %?
The EU Grant is limited to a maximum co-funding of 75% of eligible costs, please refer to the call
Article 4 "budget available and funding of projects".
Please also refer to the answer already given to question "K.5".
K.27 I write to you on behalf of a NGO from Spain, a foundation based on Asturias. In our
case, people who work for the foundation is freelance. We would like to know if for this kind
of COSME projects, we could justify the staff costs with a PROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION
CONTRACT between the organization and each worker and present invoices instead of
payslips for the justification too.
Please refer to Article 6.A.2 of the model grant agreement and the provisions on natural
persons working under direct contract, which have to be respected in order for this cost to be
eligible under personnel costs.
K.28 "The Commission expects to fund 8-10 proposals. The EU grant is limited to a maximum
co-funding rate of 75% of eligible costs." - does this include travel costs?
Concerning the eligibility of costs, please refer to section 11.2, according to which costs are
eligible if they comply with a certain number of criteria listed at pages 25 and 26. Among them,
the need for these costs to be "necessary for the implementation of the action". Additionally
please refer to article 6 of the model grant agreement on "Eligible and Ineligible costs"
K.29 I plan to create a new private company to be the coordinator for the project, create the
product and develop it with time. Is there a minimum capital requirement for this company to
participate in the Call?
There is no minimum capital requirement. However, section 8.1 "Financial capacity" states that
"Applicants must have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain their activity
throughout the period during which the action is being carried out". Moreover, it lists the
supporting documents that have to be provided as proof.
We also remind you that section 6.3 "Eligibility conditions for consortia" reads: "For the
purpose of the present call, it is considered that an SME being the partner in the consortium has
to provide a proof that is established and has been operating on the market for at least 2 years"
and lists the fields it has to operate in.
41
K.30 Under section 11.1.c "General Principles" of the call: "Co-financing means that the
resources which are necessary to carry out the action may not be entirely provided by the EU
grant. It may take […].Why the sentence says 'may not be entirely provided'? As far as I
understood, no matter what the project cost is, the EC will cover only 75% of it and the
remaining 25% must be covered by the consortium?
The sentence means that the Commission grant cannot cover all costs of the projects.
Please refer to section 4 "Budget available and funding of projects" of the call that specifies the
maximum EU grant per project and the maximum co-funding rate. In particular it says: "The EU
grant is limited to a maximum co-funding rate of 75% of eligible costs".
K.31 In case we generate income from the Pilot test, would this be admissible as a cofinancing of the project by the consortium?
Income generated by the action is admissible, provided that the action performed is an eligible
activity (refer to section 2.3) and that it is in line with the objectives of the call. This income
must be indicated in the estimated budget.
K.32 Regarding the eligibility of the Network of Tourism Enterprises (legally constituted the
past 7th of May 2014), I would like to receive other clarification. As far as the financial
statements are concerned, the group of enterprises has no common budget until now. Each of
the SMEs members of the network has its own PROFIT &LOSS ACCOUNT. However I read from
the call for proposal that: "the profit and loss account, the balance sheet for the last financial
year for which the accounts were closed; for newly created entities, the business plan might
replace the above documents." Could you please clarify how the correct form to present the
consortium as a single entity is?
All members of the consortium have to fulfil the conditions as per article 8.1 "Selection CriteriaFinancial capacity" and be able to prove it accordingly to their status, either newly created or
long-time existing ones.
K.33 The FAQ (ver.19/12/2014) emphasizes that "Subcontracting is possible but it should
follow an adequate procurement procedure", which will take place after signing the Grant
Agreement. Nevertheless, in the detailed budget template (xls), under 'subcontracting', the
specific names of subcontractors are requested before-hand. It is obvious that we cannot
propose any subcontractors at this point, but we will certainly need at least one. What should
we fill-in in the relevant form under 'subcontracting' and ‘Subcontractor’?
The public procurement directive foresees different procedures depending on the total amount
to subcontract. For low value contracts there is no need to undergo an open procedure.
Therefore in same cases the subcontractor is already identified at the stage of the proposal.
If this is not the case, you can indicate in the budget template that the subcontractor will be
identified later on.
K.34 The pilot test costs are eligible? Where I can put them in the budget form?
Please refer to Article 11.2 of the Call and to Article 6 of the model grant agreement on eligible
costs, as well as to Articles 2.3.1 and 2.3.2 of the Call on eligible activities and in particular to
point 2 mentioning the pilot tests for each strand.
The amounts to be introduced in the budget are not per activity, but per nature eg. Staff costs,
travel costs etc. Thus they should be presented accordingly.
42
K.35 We would like to check our understanding regarding the budget categories – direct staff
costs. In Guide for Applicants is pointed out that in the budget line all amounts should be in
EURO (without decimals!). However, following the guidelines for calculating hourly rates (part
6.2.A of MGA), the calculated hourly rates (B) are normally with decimals; e.g. 13,76 EUR. In
detailed budget form (Technical Annex 2) it said that the number of hours on project should
be without decimals (A): this way direct staff costs (A*B) include decimals too; e.g. 240*13,76
= 3.302,40 EUR. We would like to make sure, shall we use the hourly rates with decimals (e.g.
13,76 EUR) or should we round the hourly rates to the closest whole number (e.g. 14 EUR).
Please note that all amounts in the budget lines should be without decimals. Please also note
that the budget at this stage is estimation only. You can round it to a number without decimals.
But if you don't the budget template will do it automatically in the expenditure table.
K.36 Is the own contribution of the leader of the project an eligible cost of the operation?
Own contributions are revenues and not costs and must be declared in the revenue sheet of the
budget template. Own contributions will concur co-funding the total eligible costs.
K.37 Do the partners have to submit their own budget (own contribution+costs)?
Each partner has to fill the budget template declaring the costs he will incur in and their own
contribution (if any). Please also refer to the answer given to question "K.5".
K.38 With reference to sub-contracting, the costs for the provision of the same service
provided to the whole partnership are eligible (so called "shared costs")? More specifically, is
it possible to charge part of the cost of the same contract (f.i. related to the project
coordination) to the different partners, provided of course that the public procurement rules
are respected as well as double funding of the same costs is avoided?
Costs must be declared by the partner incurring them.
K-39 How to provide co-funding of 25%? Is it possible to co-fund in Kind? Do we have to cofund in money? If so, when to provide the co-funding?
For the first 3 questions please refer to the answer already given to question "K.6".
Concerning the last question, co-funding will be used to cover at least 25% of the expenses to
occur. In that sense when these expenses occur, the funds will have to be available in order to
pay the expenses in question.
K.40 Please send me the last (current) table indicating current fee/personnel/work day for
COSME project per country. This information I need to prepare the financial part of a COSME
tourism proposal.
As indicated on page 26 of the Call for proposals "the costs of personnel working under an
employment contract with the applicant or equivalent appointing act and assigned to the action,
comprising actual salaries plus social security contributions and other statutory costs included in
the remuneration, provided that these costs are in line with the applicant's usual policy on
remuneration. Those costs may include additional remuneration, including payments on the
basis of supplementary contracts regardless of their nature, provided that it is paid in a
consistent manner whenever the same kind of work or expertise is required and independently
from the source of funding used".
This means that there are not specific rates per country/staff category and the applicants should
use actual and real costs of each partner organisation for calculation of the project budget.
43
K.41 In order to prove our financial capacity we will attach to the submission the "profit and
loss account, the balance sheet for the last financial year for which the accounts were closed".
Getting the translation of this document for each of the participating partners will be very
difficult. Can we leave them in their original languages?
Supporting document must be provided in one of the EU official languages.
However, please note that supporting documents proving that partners have the necessary
financial capacity as described in section 8.1 (see pages 20 and 21) will have to be provided at a
later stage, after the call deadline, when prompted to do so.
K.42 if SME owners are working for the project but they do not receive a salary, their costs
can be considered eligible? If this is the case, should they rely on reference costs such as the
"CORDIS SME Owners Rates" to calculate their hourly rates? To claim the costs, should they
submit Time Sheets?
At this stage we cannot assess the eligibility of a specific cost. This can only be done after the
submission of a proposal, taking into consideration the implication and the role of one person in
the proposed activity.
K.43 I didn't understand from your answers. Can we contribute financially with working
hours? Yes or no?
The working hours that your staff devotes to the implementation of the project are eligible
costs if they respect all requirements set in section 11.2 of the call. Hence, they can be declared
as costs in the budget template and they will contribute to the determination of the total
eligible costs.
At least 25% of the total eligible costs must be provided by applicants. The applicants' cofunding can take the form of
-
the beneficiary's own resources;
-
income generated by the action;
-
financial contributions from third parties.
When the salaries paid by an applicant for the hours its staff is devoting to the project come
from the applicant's own resources, then this amount contributes to the calculation of the
applicant co-funding.
K.44 Our company will act as both Project coordinator and tour operator. Tourism is a new
business line, which has been authorized end December 2014, and hiring of the staff will be
made since January 2015. Therefore, the condition mentioned in MGA - art. 6.2 Specific
conditions for costs to be eligible with regard to the personnel costs („The beneficiaries must
use the annual personnel costs and the number of annual productive hours for each financial
year covered by the reporting period concerned. If a financial year is not closed at the end of
the reporting period, the beneficiaries must use the hourly rate of the last closed financial
year available”) is not applicable. Is it possible to submit as annex the legal representative’s
decision with regard to the wages level for personnel to be hired for the tour operator line of
business? Also, for the additional remuneration for the personnel assigned to the project
management as well as for the travel allowances, is it OK to submit as annex the legal
representative’s decision that confirms the company’s usual remuneration/travel practices?
44
The proposed information can be provided as evidence and at the stage of evaluation further
information and/or proof will be requested if need.
L. Publicity and Data protection
L.1 Is there are any infoday planned for this call?
No, no infoday is planned. All questions should be sent to [email protected]
L.2 Is the text of the call for proposal also available in Italian?
We regret to inform you that the documents are only available in English.
L.3 Are there national contact points that could help us with our project?
There is no contact point in the member states for this call. All information is available on the
website.
L.4 Is there a national office (Italian in this case) able to help me with the entire submission
procedure and able to answer to my doubts?
No. Please refer to the answer given above to question L.3.
L.5 Can I receive information on how to apply for this call in Italian?
Please see answer to question L.2.
M. Submission of proposals
M.1 I am having technical problems with the online submission tool. Who should I contact?
The electronic tool for submission of proposals is run by IT experts in close cooperation with the
EASME and line DGs.
For any enquiry about the IT tool used for submitting the proposal and to solve technical issues,
you should get in touch with the Helpdesk of the Participants portal:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/api/contact/index.html
The link to the FAQs of the Participant Portal might also be useful:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/support/faq.html#f05
We strongly advise you to submit the proposal some days before the official deadline in order to
have time to eventually solve technical problems with the system. After the deadline expires we
will not have any possibility to accept your proposal, for any reason.
M.2 I cannot upload CVs in the online submission system. Why? How should I do it?
The system allows for an upload of one document only per functional button. Hence, CVs shall
be uploaded as one document only, in a pdf format.
45
It would be advisable to include the CVs according to the list of partners as presented in your
proposals, i.e. start with the CVs of the 1st partner, then the 2nd partner, 3rd partner etc. It is
recommended to use the Europass CV template. However, others will be accepted.
M.3 Is this necessary to submit the proposal electronically?
Yes, the only eligible way to apply for the call is the electronic submission.
M.4 Is this necessary to use a PIC number?
In order to submit your application, your organisation needs to be registered and have a 9-digit
Participant Identification Code (PIC).
You can verify in the Participants Portal's Beneficiary Register whether your organisation has
already registered:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/organisations/register.html
Registration process:
•
If you already have a user account for the Participant Portal, you can log in straight
away and start entering information to register your organisation on the Beneficiary
Register page.
•
If you're new to the Participant Portal, you will first need to create a user account (ECAS
account), before you start the registration process.
For more information please consult: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/docs/h2020funding-guide/grants/applying-for-funding/register-an-organisation/registration-oforganisation_en.htm
M.5 How can we apply to the call "Facilitating EU transnational tourism flows for seniors and
young people in the low and medium seasons"?
Please consult the website of the call: http://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/cos-tflows-2014-3-15
where you will find all documents of the call (including templates to be used) and the link to the
online submission system.
Please also refer, for more information, to the answers given to the questions here above (from
M.1 to M.4).
M.6 Must all partners have the PIC number to submit the project?
Yes. All partners must register to the Beneficiaries Register.
Please also refer to answer given to question M.4 here above for some useful link. The link to
the
FAQs
of
the
Participant
Portal
might
also
be
useful:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/support/faq.html#f05
M.7 Could you kindly confirm that the only supporting documents requested to all involved
organizations (project partners) are those listed at page 20 of the call? In addition to the CVs
of the persons in charge of the project implementation and the list of projects?
All applicants must provide proof that they fulfil the eligibility criteria set in section 6, that they
are not in a position of exclusion criteria (see section 7), that they have the operational and
financial capacity as requested in section 8.
46
Please note that at page 19 the call reads: "ATTENTION: The onus will be on the applicants to
demonstrate that they fully respect the requirements set in the call. Please provide any useful
supporting document and proof of the fulfilment of the above-mentioned compulsory
requirements and clearly indicate in the submitted proposal, the name of the applicants fulfilling
them, in order to allow the evaluation committee to accomplish its assessment."
Hence, in addition to the supporting documents asked at page 20 under section 7.3, please
provide any supporting document that may help the Evaluation Committee assessing if the
consortium as a whole and each partner comply with the eligibility conditions (see pages from
15 to 19) and have the operational capacity as described in section 8.2 (page 21).
Applicants must also provide the supporting documents proving that they have the necessary
financial capacity as described in section 8.1 (see pages 20 and 21): However, these latter
documents can be provided at a later stage, after the call deadline, when prompted to do so.
Finally, applicants must submit online the whole "submission set" for this specific call, which is
composed of "Administrative forms" (to be filled directly online) and "Part B and Annexes" (a
set of documents provided for download from the website. For more information we advise you
to read the "Guide for Applicants" published on the call webpage.
M.8 If I have already registered my organization and got the PIC number under another
programme (particularly Erasmus +), is my PIC valid also for this call for proposal? Do I need to
add some documents to my registration page?
The LEAR appointment must be done before the submission of the proposal or after the
project is approved?
Please refer to the answer given to question M.1.
In particular, for any enquiry about the IT tool used for submitting the proposal you should get
in
touch
with
the
Helpdesk
of
the
Participants
portal:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/api/contact/index.html
The following links to the FAQs of the Participant Portal might be useful:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/support/faq.html#f04
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/support/faq.html#f03
M.9 In the Call for Proposals you mention that we should provide some supporting
documents, such as declaration of honour, CVs of the person in charge, balance sheet, etc.
However, in the online system we can only upload the documents provided in templates (i.e.
PART B, List of previous projects and budget). Where are we expected to upload those
documents (i.e. declaration of honour, CVs of the person in charge, balance sheet, etc)?
The system requires only one pdf file with maximum 10Mb. Only files submitted electronically
via the Submission System will be taken in consideration for evaluations. If you have several
documents (e.g., CVs) you have to merge them all in a single pdf file with maximum size of
10MB.
Please also refer to the SEP user manual you can find at
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/support/sep_usermanual.pdf
47
this
page:
M.10 Is there any text length limitation (pages, characters etc.) for the Section 2 - 4 in
PartB_Technical_Annex1 document? "Section 1." has a 2 pages limit, does it refer to the
whole Section 1?
No. Text length limitations apply if and where they are explicitly mentioned.
Hence, the 2 pages limitation only applies for the section 1.1, where it is mentioned.
M.11 In the Call for Proposals you mention that we should provide some supporting
documents, such as declaration of honour, CVs of the person in charge, balance sheet, etc.
Where are we expected to upload those documents (i.e. declaration of honour, CVs of the
person in charge, balance sheet, etc)?
You can upload them within "Part B" in a single pdf file (with maximum 10Mb) together with the
description of work.
M.12 What are the requested documents for an applicant with less than one year of life?
Please refer to the answer already given to question "M.7".
There is no specific and additional documentation for entities operating from less than 1 year.
However, please be aware that, in case you are an SME, the call states at page 18 that: "For the
purpose of the present call, it is considered that an SME being the partner in the consortium has
to provide a proof that is established and has been operating on the market for at least 2 years
and has to act in one of the following fields: […]".
M.13 Do we need something more documentation for the registration (application form,
budget plan, list of projects, declaration of honour and CV's from all partners in Europass
model)?
Please refer to the answer already given to question "M.7".
M.14 I am writing to have a clarification about 2 sections of the application form. In section
“1.3 Description of work methodology and tools” we have to describe (b) the analysis of
alternative solutions to address the identified needs and their cost-effectiveness, and (c) the
description of and reasons for the chosen solution. What does this mean? We are going to
present the idea of tourism product we want to develop. What is an “alternative solution”
given that we have not yet tested the idea we have?
The template you will download for the description of work provides guidelines like the ones
you mention to help applicants better understand and what kind of information it is expected
them to mention. These are only guidelines and if you estimate it is not necessary to follow
some of them this is a choice that remains with you.
However, on the meaning of them: your proposal is expected to address certain needs you have
identified. There could also be other possible solutions addressing the same needs. Hence, you
can here explain why your proposal is the best among the various alternatives and why you
choose to perform an activity X instead of activity Y.
Moreover, we remind you that section 2.4.1 of the call lists some expected (hence, not
compulsory) requirement proposal should comply with. Among them, the requirement that
proposals should be supported by a business plan developing on certain elements (including an
analysis of needs and of alternative solutions).
48
Finally, please note that proposals will also be evaluated on the basis of the "award criteria" set
in section 9 of the call, among which the followings: "How well does it fit with the
expectations/needs of the identified target group? […] Is the link between identified needs,
proposed actions, specific objectives and expected results well described and justified?"
M.15 The system does not take the information of a partner and its contacts. Should it
necessarily be the person registered with a PIC?
No, you need a PIC to add a partner but any email can be entered as the contact person of the
organisation.
M.16 For unreferenced partners, the FAQ told me that I enter them and that they will receive
an invitation to register with a Pic number.
No, you need to know the PIC to enter the partner.
M.17 I see I must download the projects of all partner. What form does it take? How long? I
don't see a "modèle"
According to section 8.2 of the call you must provide a "list of previous projects/activities" and
you will find a template for download on the Participants Portal.
M.18 The only budget document is the Technical Annex 2? Does each partner have to
complete a more detailed budget in the project page? I have not seen a model of these
projects.
There is only 1 template you must use for the budget. The excel file contains different excel
sheets and you will have to detail the budget per each partner there.
M.19 How to get affiliated entities in the budget? I can't get them in, shall it be globalized
with funding from the participating partner and they stay invisible? In our case, the main
partner, the XXX metropolis, the tourist office and home of the bike. Must they have a PIC?
According to point 3 of section 6.2 of the call, affiliated entities may declare their eligible costs.
If this is the case affiliated entities can report separately their budget (filling the budget
template as any other partner of the consortium), but they have to present themselves as
affiliated entities by identifying the mother entity to which they belong.
Only partners must have a PIC to be entered in the proposal.
M.20 Participants with little experience will be able to follow the procedure and obtain the
PIC in time before the 15th January and will they have the approval of the Commission?
Anyone can register an organisation on the portal, you receive a draft PIC quite directly and you
can start working with it.
M.21 Which documents are compulsory to be added to the application and which other
documents are required. Do any of them have to be signed by the statutory representative? If
yes - by the applicants statutory representative or by all partners?
On the list of documents to submit, please refer to the answer already given to question "M.7".
In particular, please note that supporting documents proving that partners have the necessary
financial capacity as described in section 8.1 (see pages 20 and 21) will have to be provided at a
later stage, after the call deadline, when prompted to do so.
49
Only declarations of honour must be signed by the Legal Representative. They do not need to
be counter-signed by all partners. In case, there will be a need for the Evaluation Committee to
obtain the signed version of other supporting documents, this will be requested at a later stage.
M.22 Regarding the administrative aspects, we would like to know if this means that the
other documents usually required in previous Calls (partners’ operational and financial
declaration of honor, legal entity form, power of attorney, etc.) are no more necessary or
have to be added according to a different procedure. As for the technical aspects, it is not
clear if the CVs of the staff involved in the project have to be added and, if yes, how they can
be uploaded.
Please refer to answers given to the questions "M.7", "M.9" and "M.11".
M. 23 I need more information about the MODEL Grant Agreement. Which fields must be
filled and how we have to submit it?
The Model Grant Agreement is a template that is provided for information only and must not be
filled in nor submitted. This template will serve as a basis for the Grant Agreement that will be
established by the EASME Agency and signed by the applicants selected for funding and the
Agency itself.
M.24 Paragraph 2.4.2 of the Call "Reporting obligations" rules that only the following two
reports have to be submitted to the EASME: 1 interim technical implementation report after 6
months following the start date of the action; 1 final technical implementation report,
including all deliverables. Instead, Art. 15 of the Grant Agreement foresees also a ‘periodic
financial report’ and ‘final financial report’ (including also a ‘certificate on the financial
statements’ for each beneficiary). In order to correctly plan the costs to be budgeted per each
partner, I would like to know if the reporting obligations include also the requirements of Art.
15 of the Grant Agreement (i.e. the certificate on the financial statements)
The Grant Agreement is the agreement that will be signed between the applicants selected for
funding and the EASME. It will be the binding document once signed. Therefore, all obligations
here foreseen must be met by both signing parties.
Both technical and financial reports (the characteristics of which are defined in the Grant
Agreement) must be provided.
However, please note that the document you refer to is a "Model Grant Agreement". Hence, it
is a template that is provided for information only and it contains options to be chosen and
fields to be filled. The model does not provide the information on how many reports have to be
provided and with which frequency.
On the contrary, section 2.4.2 of the Call "Reporting obligations", that only refers to the
technical implementation reports, provides details on the quantity and frequency of reporting.
M.25 Is the PADOR Number equivalent to PIC number for this Call for Proposal?
No. Please note that to submit a proposal under this call you need a PIC number.
In case you have additional technical questions, please refer to the answer given to question
"M.1".
M.26 If I make a registration for this call is valid for the entire cosme programe (even for other
calls)?
50
The ECAS account is a unique identifier to the Portal website, so you can apply to all the calls
with it.
A draft proposal is specific to one call so you have to create a new draft for each proposals you
want to submit.
M.27 Is it possible to submit the proposal in English but have some official documents such as
balance sheet uploaded on another language?
Yes. Supporting document must be provided in one of the EU official languages.
However, please note that supporting documents proving that partners have the necessary
financial capacity as described in section 8.1 (see pages 20 and 21) will have to be provided at a
later stage, after the call deadline, when prompted to do so.
M.28 Could you please confirm that, by the deadline for the proposal's submission, we have
to provide the following supporting documents? Any document that proves that each partner
fulfils the eligibility criteria as set in Section 6 of the Call for Proposal; Documents that prove
that each partner has the operational capacity as requested in section 8 (cvs and list of
projects).
Yes. Please refer to the answer given to question "M.7".
M.29 Could you please confirm that supporting documents proving that partners are not in
one of the situations referred to articles 106(1) and 107 to 109 of the Financial Regulation and
supporting documents proving the financial capacity as described in section 8.1 (declaration
of honour and profit and loss account), can be provided at a later stage, after the call
deadline?
These documents will have to be provided by successful applicants when prompted to do so.
M.30 I cannot find a place where I could submit the letter on the platform "Submission of
Proposals"
You can upload them within "Part B" in a single pdf file (with maximum 10Mb) together with the
description of work.
M.31 Where do I send all documents? By email?
Section 14 of the call states: "Applicants are requested to log in at
http://ec.europa.eu/easme/cosme_en.htm and follow the procedure for submitting an
application."
Please note that submission of proposals under this call is only electronic and done via an online
Submission Tool on the Participants' Portal.
Hence, we invite you to follow the instructions given on the call webpage where you will find a
link to the submission tool. This is the direct link to the submission tool for this call:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/opportunities/cosme/calls/costflows-2014-3-15.html#tab2
Please note that section 5 "Admissibility requirements" lists the conditions that must be
respected for the call in order to be admissible. Among them, that the submission follows the
procedure of section 14 and therefore that it is done using the indicated electronic submission
tool.
51
Hence, proposals submitted with a different tool (i.e. by email or mail) will not be considered
"admissible".
M.32 I don't know where update the Support letters of public governmental authority
You can upload them within "Part B" in a single pdf file (with maximum 10Mb) together with the
description of work.
52