Criteria for financial contributions to the functioning of a non-governmental body or a specialised network (operating grants) under the second programme of Community action in the field of health (2008-2013)
ANNEX VSupplementary provisions
ANNEX V Criteria for financial contributions to the functioning of a non-governmental body or a specialised network (operating grants) under the second programme of Community action in the field of health (2008-2013) Decision No 1350/2007/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Article 4(1)(b) 1. EXCLUSION AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA Financial contributions by the Community may be awarded to the functioning of a non-governmental body or the costs associated with the coordination of a specialised network by a non-profit body. A specialised network is a European network representing non-profit bodies active in the Member States or in countries participating in the second Health Programme and promoting principles and policies consistent with the objectives of the Programme, which have a relevant track record of joint achievements and established rules of collaboration (e.g. SOPs or a memorandum of understanding). An organisation or a specialised network may receive funding if it: — is non-profit-making and independent of industry, commercial and business or other conflicting interests, — has members in at least half of the Member States, — has a balanced geographical coverage, — pursues as its primary goal one or more objectives of the Programme, — does not pursue general objectives directly or indirectly contrary to the policies of the European Union or associated with an inadequate image, — has provided to the Commission satisfactory accounts of its membership, internal rules and sources of funding, — has provided to the Commission its annual work programme for the financial year and the most recent annual activity report and, if available, the most recent evaluation report, — is not in any of the situations of exclusion listed in Articles 93 and 94 of the Financial Regulation. Any proposals received after the deadline for receipt, any incomplete proposals or proposals failing to meet the formal requirements laid down in the call for proposals will not be considered for funding. This does not apply in the case of obvious clerical errors within the meaning of Article 178(2) of the Implementing Rules. The criterion ‘independent from industry, commercial and business or other conflicting interest’ refers to three aspects which all have to be met by the applicant organisation: Legal independence Two legal entities shall be regarded as independent of each other where neither is under the direct or indirect control of the other or under the same direct or indirect control of a third entity as the other. Control may in particular take either of the following forms: (a) The direct or indirect holding of more than 50 % of the nominal value of the issued share capital in the legal entity concerned, or of a majority of the voting rights of the shareholders or associates of that entity; (b) The direct or indirect holding of decision-making powers, in fact or in law, in the legal entity concerned. However, the following relationships between legal entities shall not in themselves be deemed to constitute controlling relationships: (c) The direct or indirect holding of more than 50 % of the nominal value of the issued share capital of the applicant organisation or a majority of voting rights of the shareholders or associates of the legal entities is held by the same public body; (d) The legal entities concerned are owned or supervised by the same public body. Financial independence As a general rule, applicant organisations receiving more than 20 % funding from the private sector ( 1 ) or other conflicting interest for their functioning (core funding) shall be considered as financially dependent. Transparency of the applicant's activities and funding (e) All activities should be published in the applicant's annual report ( 2 ) . Applicants working with private sector actors regarded ineligible for example by the nature of their activity which is incompatible with the basic principles of the European Union as stated in Article 2 and 3 of the EC Treaty, can be considered unacceptable. (f) All information on funding is to be made available to the public via the applicant's website, broken down by type (core and project funding, contribution in kind) and by funding entity. (g) Existing position statements of applicants regarding their requirement on transparency are to be publicly available. 2. SELECTION CRITERIA The selection criteria make it possible to assess the applicant organisation's financial and operational capacity to complete the proposed work programme. Only organisations with the resources necessary to ensure their functioning can be awarded a grant. As evidence of this they must: — attach a copy of the organisation's annual accounts for the last financial year for which the accounts have been closed preceding the submission of the application. If the grant application is from a new European organisation, the applicant must produce the annual accounts (including balance sheet and profit and loss statement) of the member organisations of the new body for the last financial year for which the accounts have been closed preceding the submission of the application, — present a detailed forward budget for the organisation, balanced in terms of income and expenditure, — attach an external audit report produced by an approved auditor in case of operating grant applications in excess of EUR 100 000, certifying the accounts for the last financial year available and giving an assessment of the applicant organisation's financial viability. Only organisations with the necessary operational resources, skills and professional experience may be awarded a grant. To this end, the following information must be enclosed in support of the application: — the organisation's most recent annual activity report, or, in the case of a newly constituted organisation, the curricula vitae of the members of the management board and other staff and the annual activity reports of the new body's member organisations, — any references relating to participation in or applications for actions financed by the European Community, conclusion of grant agreements and conclusion of contracts from Community budget, 3. AWARD CRITERIA The award criteria make it possible to select work programmes that can guarantee compliance with the Community's objectives and priorities and can guarantee proper dissemination and communication, including visibility of Community financing. To this end, the annual work programme presented with a view to obtaining Community funding must meet the following criteria: 1. Policy and contextual relevance of the non-governmental body or specialised network's annual work programme (25 points, threshold 13 points) (a) Consistency of the annual work programme with the second Health Programme and its annual Work Plan in terms of meeting the objectives and priorities (10 points) (b) The organisation's activities ( 3 ) must be described in relation to the priorities detailed in the Work Plan for 2010 (10 points) (c) Pertinence of the geographical distribution of the non-governmental body or specialised network. The annual work programme of the applicant should include activities in a representative number of participating countries. (5 points) 2. Technical quality of the annual work programme proposed (40 points, threshold 20 points) (a) Purpose of the annual work programme: the work programme of the applicant must clearly describe all objectives of the organisation or the specialised network and their suitability for achieving the expected results. The applicant must demonstrate that the work programme submitted gives a true and fair view of all activities planned for the organisation/specialised network in 2010, including those activities which do not fit in the Work Plan for 2010 of the second Health Programme. (10 points). (b) Operational framework: the applicant's work programme should clearly describe the activities planned, tasks, responsibilities and timetables of the part of their work programme consistent with the Work Plan for 2010 of the second Health Programme and describe its relationship with the other parts of their activity. (10 points) (c) Evaluation strategy: the applicant's work programme must describe the internal and external evaluation of their activities and the indicators to be used. (10 points) (d) Dissemination strategy: the beneficiary must clearly illustrate the adequacy of the actions and methods for communication and dissemination. (10 points) 3. Management Quality (35 points, threshold 18 points) (a) Planning of the annual work: the applicant must describe the activities to be undertaken, the timetable; the list of deliverables and provide the nature and the distribution of tasks and a risk analysis. (10 points) (b) Organisational capacity: the applicant must describe the management process, human resources and competencies of staff, responsibilities, internal communication, decision making, monitoring and supervision. The applicant must also specify the working relationships with relevant partners and stakeholders. (10 points) (c) Overall and detailed budget: the applicant must ensure that the budget is relevant, appropriate, balanced and consistent in itself and for the activities planned. (10 points) (d) Financial management: the applicant must describe the financial circuits, responsibilities, reporting procedures and, where possible, controls. (5 points) Any proposal failing to achieve the threshold will be rejected. Following the evaluation, a list is drawn up of proposals recommended for funding, ranked according to the total number of points awarded. Depending on budget availability, the highest ranked proposals will be awarded co-funding. The remaining proposals recommended for co-funding will be placed on a reserve list. ( 1 ) The term ‘private sector’ covers ‘for-profit’ companies/enterprises/corporations, business organisations or other entities irrespective of their legal nature (registered/not registered), ownership (wholly or partially privately owned/state owned) or size (large/small), if they are not controlled by the public. ( 2 ) Collaborators in a position that could lead to a conflict of interest (Article 52 of the Financial Regulation and Article 34 of the Implementing Rules) shall be listed. ( 3 ) Lobbying activities exclusively targeted at EU Institutions are excluded from funding.