07-06-2021 17:00
Today the 7th of June, The Programme Operator of Programme “Local development, poverty reduction and enhanced inclusion of vulnerable groups”, funded by the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021, announces a call for project proposals “Education and care in early childhood”.
The procedure aims to provide support to children from vulnerable groups, including Roma communities in early childhood and their families to improve access to health care, develop parenting skills, improve the family environment, increase school readiness for children, inclusion in the education system, with the aim of reducing the transmission of intergenerational poverty. The procedure provides support for the establishment of centers and/or for the implementation of a complex of functionally related services (hub*) for education and care at an early age.
The budget for each individual project may be from 200,000 (two hundred thousand) Euro to 500,000 (five hundred thousand) Euro, with a total estimated budget of 6,029,412 Euro. This procedure does not require co-financing by the applicant.
Eligible applicants: Municipalities in Bulgaria with at least three socially isolated communities with a concentration of problems creating a risk of poverty, social exclusion and marginalization, and with not less than 300 children aged 0-6. Municipalities in disadvantaged areas with a percentage of Roma population above 5% will be prioritised. The planned activities shall be targeted at representatives of the target groups from all project partner municipalities simultaneously. Every municipality may take part (as an applicant or partner) in only one project proposal. Priority will be given to projects implemented in partnership with other municipalities to achieve the common requirements.
IMPORTANT! The project shall be implemented in partnership with a non-governmental organization established in Bulgaria working in the area of Roma social inclusion, education and care in early childhood, social and/or health activities, and having the necessary experience, as defined in the Selection criteria.
IMPORTANT! The applicant could use assistance for the preparation of the project proposal from the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, which will provide expert assistance under the GALOP project, financed with funds from the EEA FM.
Eligible partners from Bulgaria: public authorities, municipalities, associations of municipalities and non-governmental organisations. Partners that are not municipalities may apply as partner in up to three project proposals.
Eligible partners from the Donor States: Republic of Iceland, Principality of Liechtenstein and Kingdom of Norway, other Beneficiary States or a country outside the European Economic Area that has a common border with Bulgaria: public or private persons, governmental and non-governmental organisations pursuant to Article 7.2.2 of the Regulation on the implementation of EEA FM.
Any international organisation or body or agency thereof, may be an eligible partner.
The participation and inclusion in the project and the implementation of activities by partner(s) from the Donor States is not a mandatory requirement; however, it is supported and encouraged in relation to the main goal of EEA FM to improve the bilateral relations between Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway and the Beneficiary state.
Project activities shall cover measures for early childhood education activities, early childhood development and care activities, social inclusion activities, measures to engage and activate parents, encourage the participation of families, municipalities, NGOs and relevant local stakeholders, development and delivery of didactic materials, and the achievement of the results shall be ensured by project experts, i.e. pedagogues, Roma educational mediators, psychologists, social workers, medical specialists, etc. Eligible are activities for repair of premises that will be used for the purposes of the projects, supply of furniture and equipment, activities for management and exchange of experience and good practices with organisations from Bulgaria and the Donor States.
The deadline for application is September 15th, 2021 until 18:00 h.
The Application Guidelines and the related documents are published in UMIS 2020:
https://eumis2020.government.bg/bg/s/Procedure/Info/7ae1575e-a627-447d-9941-c7dedb6c7b22
On June 10th, 2021 the Programme Operator of “Local development, poverty reduction and enhanced inclusion of vulnerable groups” Programme funded by the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021, will hold an Information Day for the Call for project proposals “Education and care in early childhood”, explaining to potential applicants technical details of the Application Guidelines.