CALL FOR PROPOSALS

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria through the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Kiev announces a procedure for accepting and selecting proposals for projects to be implemented with a grant within the framework of the Official Development Assistance of the Republic of Bulgaria, with an initial deadline for launching in 2020.

Priority Areas and Directions for Implementing Projects on the Territory of Ukraine:

• Supporting the educational institutions, including by improving the quality of education of children with disabilities and special needs;
• Preserving cultural diversity by promoting intercultural dialogue, cultural exchange and reconstruction of cultural centers;
• Promoting entrepreneurship by enhancing the capacity of the public and local institutions supporting the small and medium-sized business development.
• Promoting media freedom and pluralism.

1. Objectives and Scope of the Projects:

• Setting up new and supporting existing specialized educational centers: laboratories, language cabinets, gyms etc.
• Contributing to the libraries of educational institutions
• Modernizing the infrastructure of educational institutions in terms of improving accessibility for people with special needs
• Organizing training courses for teachers
• Introducing latest technologies to the classrooms to improve the quality of the educational process
• Organizing art events: festivals (movies, theater, opera, dances, folklore, music etc.), art exhibitions, concerts etc.
• Maintaining and repairing cultural landmarks state or municipal property – theaters, galleries, monuments etc.
• Supporting and promoting movies and documentaries related to the cultural diversity in Ukraine
• Establishing specialized consultative bodies within the public and local administration for providing assistance to the small and medium-sized business representatives
• Organizing training courses for public and local administration representatives dealing with the small and medium-sized business
• Creating electronic portals providing information and administrative services for the small and medium-sized business
• Supporting journalistic platforms and projects oriented towards objectivity and truthfulness of information
• Supporting ethnic minorities media.

2. Target Groups:

• Students, including special needs persons
• School and university teachers and administrative staff
• Moviegoers, admirers of performing arts
• Entrepreneurs
• Government and local administration representatives
• Minorities members
• Freelance journalists
• Freelance political analyzers and experts.

3. Outputs/Results:

Affirmation of Bulgaria’s reputation and prestige;

Enhancing the quality of education and implementing new educational technologies;

Modernizing existing cultural spaces;

Founding independent media projects;

Organizing cultural events and introducing them to the cultural calendar of Ukraine;

Enhancing the social and economic development and the good governance leading to sustainable development, reducing poverty and welfare;

Promoting the institutional interaction at central, regional and local levels;

4. Eligible Project Budget:

4.1. Minimal amount of the project is 5 000 BGN.

4.2. Recommended maximum amount of the project is:

• for projects with main purpose to deliver goods and /or services - up to 70 000 BGN;
• for projects with main purpose to carry out repairs and /or construction activities - up to 270 000 BGN.

5. Implementation Deadlines and Duration of the Projects:

5.1. Project proposals must contain an indicative start date for the implementation of the project after March 1, 2020 and no later than November 30, 2020.

5.2. Projects must be completed no later than December 31, 2022 (the third year of the Bulgarian three-year budget forecast).

6. Eligible Candidates:

• Primary and secondary budget spenders - legal entities of Ukraine;
• International and local non-governmental organizations;
• Municipalities and their associations;
• Educational institutions (libraries included), health and social institutions;
• International humanitarian organizations;
• Others (cultural institutions, theaters, libraries, galleries).

No natural or legal person can apply for whom there are circumstances under Art. 23, para. 3-8[1] of Decree No. 234 of the Council of Ministers of 01.08.2011 on the policy of the Republic of Bulgaria on participation in international development cooperation.

7. Eligible Activities and Project Costs:

7.1. The costs of Project Implementation must meet all of the conditions below:

             -be lawful;

            - be executed only with the necessary invoices or supporting documents, testifying the expenditures incurred;

            - be within the budget limits of the project;

            - not funded by any other project, program or any other financial scheme, related to the national budget, the EU budget or any other donor.

7.2.   Compulsory Activities to be provided in the Project:
            - providing of an audit report by an independent financial auditor;
            - ensuring the visibility of the financial assistance provided, in accordance with the Guidelines for publicity and visibility of Bulgarian development aid.

7.3.     Examples of Activities Eligible for Funding:

Lawful activities contributing to strengthening public institutions in Ukraine that deal with the national policy implementation aimed at promoting their transparency, responsibility and effectiveness and adding to the development of the civil society, to increasing its share to the social justice, democracy and sustainable development, e. g.:

• Developing new/modernizing existing educational modules;
• Organizing training courses for representatives of Ukraine’s administration;
• Organizing training in Bulgarian institutions for sharing good practices and raising the qualification of the Ukrainian administration;
• Organizing seminars, forums and conferences;
• Developing researches and strategies;
• Activities spreading information regarding the rights of the citizens;
• Activities encouraging the multicultural dialogue and restraining racism, xenophobia, hate speech, discrimination and intolerance;
• Activities aimed at improving the dialogue between the NGOs and the local, regional and central authorities;
• Activities related to improving the infrastructure in the corresponding area and upgrading the location’s potential by new equipment, materials, construction works, renovation, rehabilitation, improving adjacent buildings and infrastructure, public buildings and others, e. g.
• Supplying equipment and materials for state- or municipality-owned buildings – schools, hospitals, kindergartens, nursery homes etc.
• Construction works to improve such locations.

8. Required Documents for Application:

An Application Form is available on the following website

in Bulgarian: https://www.mfa.bg/upload/37116/Формуляр%20F.doc

and English: https://www.mfa.bg/upload/37117/App_Form_Development_2019%20F.doc.

All parts of the application form should be filled in clearly and properly in either Bulgarian or English. In case of omissions that hinder the evaluation of the project proposal, the Embassy / Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria in ... may require additional information within a short period of time. Failure to provide such information within the deadline shall be considered a ground for rejecting the proposal.

9. 
   Method and Deadlines for Projects Applications:

All projects should be submitted by 28 June, 2019 to the Embassy’s e-mail: [email protected].

10. Additional Information:

Candidates shall be informed of the results of the evaluation within 10 working days of the decision of the competent authority. The Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Kiev has no obligation to inform candidates of the grounds for approval or refusal of the submitted project proposals.

See Annex 1