Opportunities for Roma Inclusion Projects under the EEA and Norway Grants

in Romania

RO – Local Development Programme

Enhancing Roman inclusion and empowerment, Call no. 1

Reference: https://frds.ro/index.php?id=147

Publication start date 05/09/2019

Publication end date 18/12/2019

The Programme is implemented by the Romanian Social Development Fund - RSDF (as Programme Operator –
PO) in partnership with the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS) as Donor Project
Partner and with the Council of Europe (CoE) as International Partner Organization.

This call for project proposals falls under the programme area no. 7 “Roma Inclusion and Empowerment” and
contributes to the achievement of the programme outcome “enhanced inclusion and empowerment of Roma”
in Romania. Projects funded under the call shall contribute to meeting one or more of the following objectives:

 Increasing the access and quality of sectorial or integrated services for Roma, in the following sectors:
social assistance, education, employment, health and housing.
 Consolidating the capacity of existent educational / after school / day care centres working with a high
percentage of Roma children and youth.
 Empowering Roma people.
 Combating all forms of discrimination of Roma people.

Outcome Total Maximum Maximum Minimum Max and Min duration of

amount grant rate grant grant project (where relevant)
reserved for (%) amount per amount per
the Call (€) project project
including
co-financing

Enhanced €16 000 000 90 % €1 000 000 € 300 000 A: 18-30 months;
inclusion and B: 12-24 months;
empowerment C: 12-24 months
of Roma

Eligible partners

Under pre-allocations A and B of this call, the partnership between public entities / associations of local
authorities and NGOs (including local action groups) from Romania is mandatory and represents an eligibility
criterion which, upon failing to be met, results in the exclusion of the project in the formal verification stage. In
case of pre-allocation C, the partnership is not mandatory, but projects implemented in partnership
(irrespective of the type of entity) will receive distinct points in evaluation (max. 5 points).

Under this Call, in compliance with the provisions of chapter 2 - Eligibility, of the Annex II – Operational rules,
PA 10, of the Programme Agreement, the following public or private legal entities are eligible as partners:
www.eeagrants.org EEA and Norway Grants
Financial Mechanism Office
Boulevard du Régent 47-48
1000 Brussels, Belgium
a. from Romania: public entities, associations of local authorities (including Intercommunity Development
Associations) and nongovernmental organisations, including local action groups (GAL), established as
Romanian legal persons.

b. from Donor States: any public or private entity, commercial or non-commercial, as well as nongovernmental
organisations established as legal persons in the Donor States.

RO - Local Development Programme

Call for proposals on local development – increased use of social services by disadvantaged groups, Call no. 4

Reference: http://www.frds.ro/index.php?id=146&lang=2

Publication start date 11/09/2019

Publication end date 18/12/2019

The Romanian Social Development Fund, as Programme Operator of the "Local Development, Poverty
Reduction and Enhanced Roma Inclusion" Programme (Local Development), launched on the call (no 4) for
proposals "Local Development". The call for projects aims to implement measures to prevent and combat
poverty and social exclusion and to contribute to increasing the access of disadvantaged groups to social
services, as well as to increasing the level of satisfaction of these groups with regard to the quality of these
services.

Outcome(s) Total amount Maximum Maximum Minimum Max and Min

reserved for grant rate (%) grant amount grant amount duration of
the Call (€) per project per project project
including co- (where
financing relevant)

Increased use of 10 090 640 100 / 90 2 500 000 500 000 19 – 36

social services by moths
disadvantage d
groups

Eligible partners: The partnership between public entities and non-governmental organizations is mandatory
and, under this call, represents an eligibility criterion. In case the project does not fulfil this criterion, it shall be
rejected during the formal evaluation stage.

Eligible applicants are public entities, non-governmental organizations and associations of local authorities.

The activities supported by the projects financed under this call will mainly target the elderly, children affected
by the migration of parents, people with disabilities, serious illnesses, in the terminal phase, victims of abuse
and domestic violence, and other categories of groups.

The eligible activities will focus on the development or extension of support and assistance services, social and
medical care, to access the labour market, as well as promoting and replicating new models of intervention for
vulnerable groups. Also, other examples of measures are aimed at investments in the physical and
informational accessibility of social, medical and educational services, as well as assistance, support and
support in solving the housing situation for vulnerable groups and investments in the acquisition, renovation or
construction of houses for vulnerable groups.

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RO-Education Programme
Education, Scholarships, apprenticeships and your entrepreneurship programme, Call for proposals 2017 -
preparatory visits

Reference: http://www.eea4edu.ro/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CALL_VP_2017_EN.pdf

Publication end date rolling deadline until 30.06.2022

Programme Operator (PO): National Agency for Community Programmes in the Field of Education and
Vocational Training (ANPCDEFP)

The main objective of the preparatory visits action is to enhance collaboration between Romanian and Donor
State institutions in order to conclude new inter-institutional agreements for mobility in higher education and
develop new partnerships under the framework of ESAYEP-EEA grants. The main areas of support:

 Enhancing the quality and relevance of education and training in the Romania at all levels of education
 Higher education student learning mobility and staff mobility between donor and beneficiary
countries
 Cooperation and partnerships between education and the world of work
 Professional development of teachers
 Improvement of the Roma population inclusion

Outcome(s) Total amount Maximum grant Maximum grant Minimum grant Max and Min
reserved for rate (%) amount per amount per duration of
the Call (€) project project project
including co- (where
financing relevant)

Enhancing the € 50 000 80% €3860 €425 Min. 1 day;

human capital and Max. 5 days of
knowledge base in activity
Romania

Priorities for projects are: social inclusion; democracy and citizenship education; improvement of the inclusion
of the Roma population; projects that envisage synergies with programmes: Research, Business Development,
Innovation and SMEs, Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Energy Security.

Eligible applicants: Accredited higher education institutions (universities) from Romania which hold an Erasmus
Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) approved by the European Commission; Accredited HEI’s from DS; -County
school inspectorates, Teacher Training Centres, County Centers for Resources and Educational Assistance from
Romania; VET schools from Romania; Any public or private entity of DS.

Who can participate: Employees of a higher education institution (teaching or non-teaching staff); Educational
experts and managers from County school inspectorates, Teacher Training Centres, County Resource Center
and Educational Assistance; Teaching staff (from VET disciplines) and eligible VET schools managers;
Representatives of private or public DS entities.

3
RO-Research Programme
Call for collaborative research projects

Reference: https://uefiscdi.gov.ro/eea-grants-collaborative-research-projects

Publication start date 10/09/2019

Publication end date 16/12/2019

Programme Operator: Executive Agency for Higher Education. Research, Development and Innovation
Funding (UEFISCDI)

The purpose of this Call for proposals is to provide funding through collaborative research projects that aim to
enhance research-based knowledge development in Romania.

The objectives are:

 to support research cooperation between Romania and Norway (Donor State) through establishing of
long-term strategic partnerships between research institutions from both countries;
 to increase the application of research results;
 to increase the research capacity, including through increasing the number of young researchers,
encouraging their training in an environment of high scientific quality and supporting the careers of
female researches;
 to enhance the performance of the Romanian research at international level;
 to support an active participation of Romania in the European Research Area, including increasing
the potential or Romanian researchers for further applications to EU framework programmes calls
and other international funding sources.

Research projects within each of the following thematic areas shall receive grants: energy; environment;
health; social sciences and humanities, including gender studies and social inclusion studies; ICT;
biotechnology. Projects shall be considered as falling primarily under the key topic 'Roma inclusion and
empowerment' when the project's focus is on understanding and improving the situation of the Roma
population and the project includes specific research questions relevant for improving the situation of the
Roma population especially under health as well as social sciences and humanities including gender studies
and social inclusion studies.

Outcome(s) Total amount Maximum Maximum Minimum Max and Min

reserved for the grant rate (%) grant amount grant amount duration of
Call (€) including per project per project project
co-financing (where
relevant)

Enhanced €24.687.500 * €1.200.000 €500.000 Max. 36

performance of months;
Romanian research possible 6-9
internationally months
extension

Eligible applicants:

project promoters are Research Organizations as defined in the Community Framework for State Aid for
Research and Development and Innovation (2014/C198/01);

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Project Partners are Research Organizations and/or Companies (small, medium and large sized enterprises as
defined in the Community Framework for State Aid for Research and Development and Innovation
(2014/C198/01);

The organizations (as Project Promoters and/or Project Partners) financed under this program have to be
located in Romania or Norway;

Other eligible partners are Research Organizations from third countries but they cannot receive funding from
the project grant.

5
RO - Active Citizens Fund (upcoming)
The programme under the objective “civil society and active citizenship strengthened, and vulnerable groups
empowered”, Call no 8

Future reference: https://www.eeagrants.ro/en/calls ; https://eeagrants.org/currently-available-funding

Estimated date: Round 1: November, 2019 (70% of the allocated amount) Round 2: Quarter 2, 2020

Fund Operator: Civil Society Development Foundation (lead) in consortium with the Romanian Environmental
Partnership Foundation, Resource Center for Roma Communities, PACT

Outcome(s) Total amount Maximum grant Maximum grant Minimum grant Max and Min
reserved for rate (%) amount per amount per duration of
the Call (€) project project project (where
including co- relevant)
financing

Vulnerable €4 500 000 90% €250 000 €50 001 Min. 6 months,
groups are max. 3 years
empowered (Round 2: max.
30 months)

Eligible applicants and project partners:

The rules on eligibility of applicants are set in Article 6.1 of the Programme Implementation Agreement and
section 7.1 of the Manual for Fund Operators of the Active Citizens Fund.

The following limitations shall apply:

 Eligible applicants or partners cannot receive more than €550,000 in total support from the ACF or be
involved in more than 4 projects during the course of the programme, excluding any grants in rapid
response to emerging needs and any support received through the Fund for Bilateral Relations and
the Regional Civil Society Initiatives.
 With reference to Article 6.1.3 of the Programme Implementation Agreement, only the following
entities are eligible to receive funding as project partners under the programme:
o entities who fall within the definition of NGOs, as set in Article 6.1.1 of the Programme
Implementation Agreement, and comply with the principles set in section 7.1 of the Manual
for Fund Operators of the Active Citizens Fund;
o international organisations or agencies or bodies thereof; and
o public entities
 Organisations from which the amount due was not recovered, following a final court decision in
connection with the NGO Programme 2009-2014 in Romania, shall not be considered as eligible
applicants and/or partners.

6
RO- Health Programme (upcoming)
Future reference: https://www.eeagrants.ro/en/calls ; https://eeagrants.org/currently-available-funding

Publication start date December 2019

The Programme Operator is the Romanian Ministry of Health. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI)
and the Norwegian Health Directorate (HDIR) are the Donor Programme Partners (DPPs).

The programme objective ‘improved prevention and reduced inequalities in health’, will be achieved through
two outcomes:

The programme shall support the outcome `policies and services for the prevention of diseases improved` by
way of four pre-defined projects (PDPs) and a Small Grant Scheme (SGS).

The programme shall support the outcome ‘Access to health care services for vulnerable groups1 improved `
by way of four pre-defined projects, one call for project proposals and one SGS.

Outcome(s) Total amount Maximum Maximum grant Minimum grant Max and Min
reserved for the Call grant rate amount per amount per duration of
(€) including co- (%) project project project (where
financing relevant)

Access to health 9,000,000 100 % 1, 000,000 500,000 ≤18 Months

care services for
vulnerable groups
improved
Access to health 1,000,000 90 % 200,000 50,000 ≤18 Months
care services for
vulnerable groups
improved

Eligible applicants:

Outcome(s) Modality Eligible applicants Eligible partners Eligible partners Donor

(project promoters) Romania States
Access to health care Call for proposals Public entities Public entities, NGOs, Any public or private
services for private entities entity, commercial or
vulnerable groups non-commercial, as well
improved as non-governmental
organisations
established as a legal
person in one of the
Donor States.
Access to health care Small grant scheme NGOs Public entities, NGOs, Any public or private
services for private entities entity, commercial or
vulnerable groups (general non-commercial, as well
improved practitioners). as non-governmental
organisations
established as a legal
person in one of the
Donor States.

1
Soma projects build on the results of the Roma health mediator project supported by the RO19 programme
under 2009-201, but in the annex only mentions vulnerable groups.

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RO – Culture Programme (upcoming 2020 - call 6)
Call on Cultural Entrepreneurship, Cultural Heritage and Cultural Cooperation.

Future reference: https://www.eeagrants.ro/en/calls ; https://eeagrants.org/currently-available-funding

The Programme Operator is the Ministry of Culture and National Identity. The Norwegian Directorate of
Cultural Heritage (RA) and the Arts Council Norway (ACN) are the Donor Programme Partners (DPPs).

The programme shall support the outcome “access to culture increased” by way of four calls for proposals.
Projects selected under this outcome shall focus on increasing the audience for cultural activities, stimulating
entrepreneurial skills with a view to increasing employment and ‘on the job’ training for staff of cultural
players. A dedicated call supporting projects aimed at the development of Roma cultural initiatives shall be
included.

Outcome(s) Total amount Maximum grant Maximum grant Minimum grant Max and Min
reserved for rate (%) amount per amount per duration of
the Call (€) project project project (where
including co- relevant)
financing

Access to € 2,000,000 90% € 200, 000 € 50,000 *

culture
increased

Eligible applicants:

Outcome(s) Eligible applicants (project
promoters)
Access to culture a) Public cultural institutions,
increased b) NGOs whose activity
(according to their legal
documents) is, inter alia, in the
cultural and creative sectors as
defined in Regulation (EU) No
1295/2013 and have been
established for at least 2 years.
c) SMEs whose economic activity
(according their legal
documents) is, inter alia, in the
cultural and creative sectors as
defined in Regulation (EU) No
1295/2013 and have been
established for at least 2 years
Eligible partners Romania
Any public or private
entity, commercial or non-
commercial, as well as
non-governmental
organisations established
as a legal person in
Romania and whose
activity (according their
legal documents) is, inter
alia, in the cultural and
creative sectors as defined
in Regulation (EU) No
1295/2013
Eligible partners Donor States
Any public or private entity,
commercial or no commercial,
as well as non-governmental
organisations established as a
legal person in one of the
Donor States and whose
principal activity is in the
cultural and creative sectors as
defined in Regulation (EU) No
1295/2013.