Criteria for financial contributions for conferences under the second programme of Community action in the field of health (2008-2013)
ANNEX VISupplementary provisions
ANNEX VI Criteria for financial contributions for conferences 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)(a) 1. EXCLUSION AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA 1. Applicants will be excluded from participation in an award procedure of the second Health Programme if they: (a) are bankrupt or are being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations; (b) have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata ; (c) have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the contracting authority can justify; (d) have not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established or with those of the country of the Authorizing Officer or those of the country where the contract is to be performed; (e) have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity detrimental to the Communities' financial interests; (f) are currently subject to an administrative penalty referred to in Article 96(1) of the Financial Regulation; (g) have received unlawful aid, on which the Commission has adopted a negative decision involving a recovery order, and the aid has not been recovered in accordance with Article 14 of Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999. Evidence: Candidates shall provide a declaration on their honour, duly signed and dated, stating that they are not in any of the situations listed above. 2. 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. Each application must contain the documents required according to the call for proposals, including the following documents: — Administrative data on the main partner, — Technical description of the conference, — Global budget of the conference and the requested level of Community co-financing. Evidence: Application content. 3. Actions which have already commenced by the date on which the grant application is registered will be excluded from participation in the second Health Programme. The duration of the action must not exceed 12 months. Evidence: The scheduled commencement date and duration of the action must be specified in the grant application. 2. SELECTION CRITERIA Only proposals which have met the requirements of the exclusion criteria will be eligible for evaluation. All the following selection criteria have to be met. 1. Financial capacity Applicants must have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain their activity throughout the period during which the activity is being carried out and to participate in its co-funding. Evidence: Applicants must supply the profit and loss account and the balance sheets for the past two complete financial years. The verification of financial capacity will not apply to public bodies, or to international public organisations created by inter-governmental agreements or to specialist agencies created by the latter. 2. Operational capacity The applicant must have the professional resources, competences and qualifications required to complete the proposed action. Evidence: Applicants must supply the organisation's most recent annual activity report including operational, financial and technical details and the curricula vitae of all relevant professional staff in all the organisations involved in the conference. 3. Additional documents to be supplied at the request of the Commission If so requested, applicants must supply an external audit report produced by an approved auditor, certifying the accounts for the last financial year available and giving an assessment of the applicant's financial viability. 3. AWARD CRITERIA 1. Content of the proposal (60 points, threshold 30 points) (a) Relevance of the content and expected results of the event in relation to the objectives and priorities described in the second Health Programme and its annual Work Plan (15 points) (b) Participation (15 points) The applicant should describe the expected number and profile/function of the target participants in the event, making reference to distribution by Member State, organisation and type of expertise. (c) European dimension (15 points) The conference should have a wide European Union dimension, with participation of representations from 10 or more countries participating in the second Health Programme, (d) Follow-up and evaluation methodology (15 points) The applicants have to describe their dissemination strategy. An adequate evaluation should be foreseen based on an evaluation plan with corresponding design, method, responsibilities and timing making use of indicators. 2. Management Quality (40 points, threshold 20 points) (a) Planning of the event (15 points) The applicant must describe the methodology, tools, timetable and milestones, deliverables, nature and distribution of tasks, risk analysis, and financial circuits. (b) Organisational capacity (10 points) The applicant must describe the management structure, competency of staff, responsibilities, decision making, monitoring and supervision. (c) Overall and detailed budget (15 points) The applicant must ensure that the budget is relevant, appropriate, balanced and consistent in itself and in relation to the objective/s of the conference. 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.