Guidelines

1. Eligibility

1.1 Eligibility of applicants 

To be eligible, project proposals must meet the following requirements:    

• Projects must involve at least two partners: one must act as lead partner and the other(s) as co-applicant(s). The lead partner must be legally established in one of the eight target countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Chad, and have been active in the cultural and creative industries (CCI) since 2017 (see note 1).

• The co-applicant(s) may be legally established in an African or European country. 

• The lead partner must have directly implemented at least one project in the cultural and creative sector in the last two years (2019/2020) with an amount equivalent to at least 50% of the requested grant and must have been directly responsible for organising and managing the activities financed.

• For proposals with an application for European funding of over EUR 70 000, the lead partner must submit their annual accounts for 2019 and 2020, either audited or with proof of submission to the competent tax authorities.

• The lead partner must certify that the organisation and its representative have no outstanding social security or financial obligations (see note 2).

• Unlike the lead partner, the co-applicant(s) may be organisations that are not legally established, only in duly justified cases and provided that their existence can be proven (e.g., cultural and artistic groups or platforms of professionals that have implemented activities). 

• The lead partner is directly responsible for drawing up and managing the project proposal with the co-applicant(s), and must not act as an intermediary.

• The lead partner must have a valid and registered bank account in its own name.

1.2 Project eligibility

Duration
The project must be implemented between 1 September 2021 and 30 August 2023. 
The project must last from 12 months (minimum) to 24 months (maximum).

Types of eligible activity:
The following is a non-exhaustive list of activities for which an application may be submitted. 

Axis 1: Projects aimed at enhancing the creation and production of cultural goods and services, as well as increasing their quantity and quality.  

• Support for cinema and/or theatre and artistic education institutions, dance schools, writers' residences (including new communication technologies), on-the-job training, college apprenticeship, online learning.
• Support given to cultural projects concerning isolated areas and disadvantaged groups, hand in hand with support for beneficiaries (primarily local culture players of a smaller scope, reaching young audiences and isolated parts of countries, in particular public local cultural organisations). 
• Support for conservation and dissemination of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, including museums and collections (production and circulation of exhibitions, outreach activities facilitating access for new audiences to sites and/or collections, including through multimedia technologies, heritage documentation, information and awareness-raising activities).
• Support for production and/or development of cultural creations aimed at encouraging access to a diverse range of cultural expressions and cross-cultural understanding:
• creating local, regional and international cooperation networks to identify and share good practices and knowledge;
• Development of media initiatives, including their dissemination on the internet and on social media, or radio or television broadcasts. 

Axis 2: Projects to support national, regional and international market access through the widest possible circulation, dissemination and/or promotion of ACP goods and services. 

• Support given to markets via festivals, television stations and/or platforms that broadcast a quota of local films, galleries, performance halls, exhibition halls. 
• Support for developing online distribution and websites aimed at boosting the value of works (audiovisual, fashion, design, crafts, visual arts, heritage, etc.).
  • Support for broadcasting/screening works on the internet, on local and national television channels, in cultural and/or youth centres, in schools, including in rural and isolated areas, etc.
  • Support for promoting use of new audiovisual technologies among young people, among others.
  • Support for dubbing and subtitling in local and/or foreign languages, developing applications (cross-media) aimed at disseminating cultural content on tablets and mobile telephones.
  • Support for building professional capacities and skills to better adapt to international markets (e.g., administrative, creative and marketing skills; professional and technical training to strengthen links with the private sector; support for knowledge transfer, etc.). 

Axis 3: Projects aimed at promoting image education among audiences, in particular among young people.

• Support for developing and/or engaging new audiences and for cultural education, particularly aimed at youth audiences, including those who are excluded.
• Support for actions promoting visual image education, in particular for youth and women, and encouraging visual image education on public school syllabuses. 
• Support for actions promoting digital transition as part of visual image education, artistic education and cultural education actions.
• Support for developing educational, artistic, cultural and digital partnerships between schools, cultural institutions and digital spaces, as well as cross-sectoral projects.

Axis 4: Projects aimed at promoting access to financing through innovative mechanisms. 

• Contribute to increasing cultural operators' access to markets (local, regional and international) and attract investors through: 
  • Support given to creators and/or artists by providing them with advice, tools and resources to start up their own business (video games, animated films, platforms, creation, design, web content).
  • Support given to existing companies by developing relationships with impact, venture and other innovative funds that enable access to working capital and growth. Support for research and/or improving access to financing mechanisms and innovative technological approaches.

 If activities are programmed outside the eight target countries, the applicant should justify this choice in the application form and explain the added value for the overall action as well as the local benefits.

The following project types will not be eligible for funding:

• Events of a religious or political nature.
• Projects related to sponsorship.
• Projects exclusively or primarily linked to individual scholarships for studies, research or training courses.
• Projects to raise funds for the lead partner or co-applicant(s).
• Projects aimed solely at raising the profile of the lead partner or co-applicant(s).

1.3. Added value

Although the following criteria do not determine the eligibility of a project proposal, they are deemed to have added value:

• Intraregional cooperation between countries of the subregion (Central Africa), regional (Africa) and with other ACP and European countries.
• Fostering gender equality and empowering women and girls (see note 3).
• Leadership and team of young professionals aged under 35.

2. Financing provisions 

The grants will cover up to 80% of the total eligible project costs. In duly justified exceptional cases, the contribution may cover up to 95% of the total eligible project costs.

2.1 Eligible costs

The grant will cover "eligible costs" only. Eligible and non-eligible costs are defined below. Eligible costs are the real costs that the grant beneficiary incurs. Eligible costs must meet the following criteria:

• They are incurred during the duration of the project.
• They are indicated in the estimated overall budget of the project.
• They are incurred by and necessary for the implementation of the action which is the subject of the grant.
• They are identifiable and verifiable, in particular being recorded in the accounting records of the beneficiary.
• They comply with the requirements of applicable tax and social legislation.
• They are reasonable, justified and comply with the principle of sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency. 

Eligible direct costs

• Staff costs linked to implementation of the project, in line with standards in the countries where the project is performed. 
• Travel costs (for networking meetings, training and peer-to-peer activities, conferences, etc.). 
• Daily subsistence allowances, within the ceilings set by the European Union (see note 4).
• Professional fees of experts directly involved in implementing the project.
• The cost of purchasing equipment needed to perform the action (see note 5) (limited to 30% of the total eligible direct costs for which EU funding is requested).
• The cost of supplies and materials, provided they are identifiable and assigned to the project.
• Costs related directly to project implementation requirements (information dissemination, translation, documentation, printing and distributing leaflets, etc.).
• Rental of venues and equipment related to the project.
• Mobility grants, aid aimed at entrepreneurs and cultural and creative businesses, artists and creators.
• The cost of the assessment.
• The cost of the external audit (this cost will be covered separately by the "Créer en Afrique centrale" project and must not exceed EUR 2 700).

Eligible indirect costs

Eligible indirect costs are overheads incurred in connection with the beneficiaries' operating and general activities: they are not fully attributed to implementation of the project but are always partially connected to it (e.g. costs related to infrastructure, legal advice, documentation, IT, office supplies, communication, etc.) (see note 6). These costs are limited to a flat rate of 7% of the total eligible direct costs for the action.

2.2 Ineligible costs

The following costs are not eligible:

a) debt and debt service charges (interest); 
b) provisions for losses, debts or possible future debts; 
c) costs declared by the beneficiary(ies) in the framework of another action or programme receiving a grant financed from the Union budget (including through the EDF); 
d) purchase of land or buildings, unless they are essential for the direct implementation of the action and meet the terms set out under special conditions. In any event, ownership must be transferred as set out in section 7.5, at the latest at the end of the action; 
e) exchange losses; 
f) loans to third parties, unless otherwise provided for in the special conditions; 
g) contributions in kind (with the exception of voluntary work ) (see note 7); 
h) salaries of national authorities staff, unless the special conditions provide otherwise and only if this cost is linked to activities that the public authority concerned would not perform if the action were not implemented; 
i) performance bonuses included in staff costs;
j) purchase of vehicles;
k) office rental, unless the applicant can prove that specific additional office space is necessary for the project implementation.

2.3. Co-financing (see note 8)

Co-financing may be provided either by means of the applicants' own financial contribution (self-financing) or from third parties (see section 2.1 above for cost eligibility conditions).
If a grant is awarded, the lead partner must duly justify and declare all costs incurred, both for financing received from the "Créer en Afrique centrale" project and for the total co-financing, in the final report.  

3. Beneficiary monitoring and support

The steering committee (SC) of the "Créer en Afrique centrale" project will support grant beneficiaries with matters such as project management and dissemination to ensure that the implementation complies with the criteria set out in this document and in the grant contract (see below). 

A tailor-made coaching programme for each beneficiary will be offered as part of the overall capacity-building component of the "Créer en Afrique centrale" project. 

4. Contract and terms of payment

The contracting party will sign a contract with the grant beneficiary. The contract will include details of the activities to be implemented, the contractual value, terms of payment and reporting obligations.
The grant beneficiary will electronically submit one or more technical and financial progress report(s), depending on the duration of the project (see note 9), and a final technical and financial report, electronically and on paper (see note 10). 

Terms of payment (see note 11):
Payment of the grants will be made as follows: 

• A first pre-financing payment of 30% of the grant paid upon signature of the contract;
• A second pre-financing payment(s) of 40% of the grant, upon submission and approval of progress report(s) by the contracting party. 
• Final payment (balance) of 20% of the grant, upon submission and approval of the final report(s) by the contracting party

The "Créer en Afrique centrale" project consortium will directly manage 10% of the grant awarded. This percentage will be allocated entirely to mobility, i.e., networking and training events in Africa and/or other countries that at least one representative of the beneficiary must attend during implementation of the project. 
All payments shall be made by bank transfer to the bank account of the beneficiary (lead partner).

5. Visibility

During the implementation of their project, grant beneficiaries will take all necessary measures to ensure the visibility of the European Union co-financing as well as that of other co-financing bodies (eg. press releases, publications, posters, programmes, audiovisual material, dissemination on website and social media, etc.). To do so, the consortium will provide communications guidelines, including visual identity, to the "Créer en Afrique centrale" project grant beneficiaries. 
The European Union, Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the consortium reserve the right to use, broadcast, reproduce and distribute the content and outcomes of the financed projects. 

6. Submission and selection of proposals

Project proposals may be written in French, Spanish, English or Portuguese and must be submitted by 8 June 2021 at 12:00 (GMT) by completing the application online.  
Queries about applications can be sent by email before 3 May 2021 to: info@acp-ue-culture-cac.eu.

After this date, an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document will be posted on the "Créer en Afrique centrale" project website.

All applicants will be informed of the results of the evaluation process by email by 10 August 2021 (see note 11). The results will then be published on the information channels of the "Créer en Afrique centrale". 

1.  The following is a non-exhaustive list of eligible organisation types: companies in the various for-profit CCI sectors (including SMEs/SMIs, cooperatives, social and solidarity economy) and CSOs in the CCI; public and private cultural and artistic institutions; public and private training centres; chambers of commerce and trades; public administrations (local, national, regional) responsible in particular for culture, employment, vocational training, business development, and trade.  

2. See the document "Third-party declaration".

3. For "gender equality and empowering women and girls", see SDG 5: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/en/gender-equality/. 

4. https ://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/system/files/per-diem-rates-20200201_en.pdf

5. The costs of purchasing equipment and supplies (either new or second-hand) specifically required for the project must be subject to a transfer of ownership at the end of the action.

6. Companion Document - European Commission - DG International Cooperation and Development (europa.eu)

7. Exceptionally, contributions in kind may include staff costs for work done by volunteers in the framework of an action or work programme (which are eligible costs).  Voluntary work can account for up to 50% of co-financing. To calculate this percentage, in kind contributions in the form of voluntary work are calculated on the basis of the unit cost provided by the contracting authority. This type of cost must be set out separately from the other eligible costs in the estimated budget. The value of volunteer work is never included in the calculation of indirect costs. 

8. The term "co-financing" refers to the financial contribution made by the lead partner and the co-applicant(s). It is expressed as a percentage of the total project cost: in the specific case of this call for proposals, it must account for at  least 20% of the total project cost. 

9. The number of progress reports will be set down in the grant beneficiary contract.

10. Please note that reports must be submitted in French only (guidelines and templates will be provided).

11. The information below is merely indicative and the exact payment terms will be set down in the grant beneficiary contract.