1) BACKGROUND
1.1 Presentation of CFI
Canal France International : a government agency to support media
CFI actively promotes the development of media in sub-Saharan Africa, the Mediterranean and the Levant. We are committed to working together with media organisations to promote dialogue between local authorities and citizens so that people can be as informed as possible. Combating disinformation, protecting the environment, and promoting human rights and gender equality underpin everything we do. CFI is an operator of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and a subsidiary of the France Médias Monde Group.
As part of its activities, CFI is implementing the Support to Democratic Reforms in Jordan Project.
1.2 Context of the Call for Projects
CFI is implementing a series of media activities including capacity-building, awareness campaigns and grant schemes for media initiatives, in order to use media as a booster to encourage democratic participation, in particular of women and youth, and push civic content related to the Elections.
In the frameworks of its “Support to Democratic Reforms in Jordan” funded by the EU Support to Jordan Democratic Institutions and Development program and led by Expertise France in a consortium, CFI, the French media development agency, is pleased to launch applications for grants in order to support media projects to foster civil society’s political awareness and encourage democratic participation.
The purpose of this Call for Projects is to define the contractual terms of the future grant agreement, hereinafter referred to as the “agreement”, to be concluded between CFI and the selected beneficiary(ies). The terms set out in this Call for Projects are for information purposes only and may be amended unilaterally by CFI prior to the conclusion of the agreement.
This Call for Projects does not constitute for any beneficiary a promise to award the future grant.
2) OBJECTIVES OF THE CALL FOR PROJECTS
2.1 Objectives and priorities
The general objective of this Call for Projects is: Supporting media projects through grants in order to foster civil society’s political awareness and encourage democratic participation.
The specific objectives of this Call for Projects are:
- To foster civil society’s political awareness
- To encourage democratic participation
- To enable public debate to be more vivid, more active and inspiring
- To make accessible to citizens more valuable content shared in the media sphere.
The priorities of this Call for projects is/are:
- To produce, publish and debate media content linked to the political Jordanian life focusing for example on the House of Representatives, Parliamentary debates etc
- To produce, publish and debate media content highlighting civic participation, innovative forms of citizenship, young inspiring political leader, women politically engaged, good governance, fake news in political life and any other topic to foster civil society’s political awareness and encourage democratic participation.
A total of six (6) grants will be awarded in the three (3) categories (podcast, radio, video content). The number of grants awarded per category will be determined by the relevance and quality of the projects submitted in each category.
2.2 Amount of the funding made available by CFI
The maximum amount made available under this Call for Projects is twenty-five thousand euros (€ 25.000) for each grant. This amount is indicative, CFI is not obliged to allocate the amount indicated and may unilaterally allocate a lower amount.
Estimated amount of grants:
Any grant requested under this Call for Projects must be between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
- Minimum amount: Twenty thousand euros € 20.000.
- Maximum amount: Twenty-five thousand euros € 25.000
2.3 Technical support provided by CFI
Successful applicants may receive technical support from CFI. The teams they mobilise for the project may take part in training and information sessions organised by CFI on contractual obligations.
3) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA for obtaining the grant
3.1 Eligibility Criteria relating to Applicant status
The criteria are cumulative; if the applicant does not meet one or more of the criteria set out below, its application shall be rejected by CFI:
Be a media outlet or media organization.
Be legally registered in Jordan;
Be established in Jordan;
Be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the project proposed under this Call for Projects.
3.2 Eligibility criteria relating to Project Activities
3.2.1 Duration
The selected projects must start no earlier than 1st December 2024 and end no later than 31st May 2026.
The initial planned duration of the selected projects may not be less than six (6) months or exceed twelve (12) months.
3.2.2 Geographic coverage
The proposed projects must be implemented in the following country: Jordan.
3.2.3 Sector(s) or theme(s)
The applicant for the grant must apply in only one of the following categories:
- Category 1: Podcast
- Category 2: Radio
- Category 3: Video content
The project must be a:
- Media project linked to the political Jordanian life focusing for example on the House of Representatives, Parliamentary debates etc.
- Media project highlighting civic participation, innovative forms of citizenship, young inspiring political leader, women politically engaged, good governance, fake news in political life and any other topic to foster civil society’s political awareness and encourage democratic participation.
3.2.4 Type of activities
Tailored media content will be produced, published and debated, focusing on:
- Media content production
- Communication and awareness-raising campaigns
- Documentary
- Broadcast
- Podcast
3.2.5 Visibility
Applicants must take all necessary measures to ensure the visibility of financing by the European Union. Projects financed by European Union in whole or in part must, wherever possible, include information and communication activities designed to raise awareness among all or a section of the public regarding the motivation behind the project and behind the support provided by European Union in the country or region concerned, and in terms of the results and impact of the support.
3.2.6 Ineligible activities
The following types of activities are not eligible. If the applicant’s project consists of one or more of the ineligible activities listed below, the application shall be rejected by CFI:
- Activities involving the organisation or financing of workshops, seminars, conferences, and congresses.
- Activities involving the financing of individual study or training;
- All activities that do not involve producing and disseminating media content
3.3 Eligibility criteria for costs
Only “Eligible Costs” shall be covered by the grant awarded. The budget is both an estimate of costs and an overall ceiling for “Eligible Costs”.
3.3.1 Eligible direct costs
Eligible direct costs must meet all of the following criteria:
a) They must be incurred during the project implementation period by the beneficiary, with the exception of the costs of the final external audit. They must comply with the following formalities:
- (i) osts relating to supplies must concern the delivery and installation of the equipment needed of the content production (laptops, audio and video equipment, software etc) during the implementation period;
- (ii) Costs presented in the final reports should be paid before the final reports are submitted. In the event of a cash shortage, which is duly justified, they may be paid at a later date, provided that they are mentioned in the Final Report, together with the estimated date of payment;
b) They are mentioned in the budget allocated to the beneficiary;
c) They are necessary for the performance of the activities;
d) They are identifiable and verifiable, and in particular are recorded in the beneficiary’s accounts and determined in accordance with the accounting standards applicable in the country where the Beneficiary is established and with the beneficiary’s usual cost accounting practices;
e) They comply with the provisions of the applicable tax and social security legislation;
f) They are reasonable, justified and comply with the principle of sound financial management, particularly as regards economy, efficiency and the award of contracts (services, works, supplies) for which the procedures put in place by the beneficiary can be applied.
3.3.2 Budgetary rules relating to eligible direct costs
a) For all purchases of services and purchases in excess of €1,000 excluding tax (one thousand euros excluding tax), a transparent and impartial competitive bidding procedure for service providers/suppliers and the production of three (3) quotes will be required.
b) The service support human resources allocated to the project may not exceed 25% of the total eligible costs of the project.
c) An external financial audit must be included in the budget.
3.3.3 Eligible indirect costs
Indirect costs incurred during the implementation of the project may be eligible for flat-rate funding, up to a maximum of 3 % of the total estimated eligible direct costs. Indirect costs are eligible as long as they do not include costs taken into account under another heading or ineligible costs as defined under 3.3.4 Ineligible costs. No supporting documents need be provided to justify the use of the indirect costs granted.
3.3.4 Ineligible costs
The following costs are not eligible and cannot be included in the estimated budget submitted:
- Debts and debt servicing costs (interest);
- Provisions for losses or possible future liabilities;
- Costs declared by the beneficiary and financed by another action or programme ;
- Purchases of land or buildings;
- Foreign exchange losses;
- Loans to third parties;
- Taxes, including VAT, unless the Beneficiary is able to produce a certificate proving that it does not benefit from an exemption or other exceptions allowing it to recover VAT from the relevant administration and only in cases where the VAT to be paid was not included in the sums described in the budget submitted to CFI.
4) APPLICATION
Each applicant must produce an application including all the documents and information listed below, failing which they will be eliminated from the CFI selection process:
- Appendix 1: Project presentation note: each project must be presented in accordance with the document;
- Appendix 2: Provisional project budget: the provisional budget must be presented in accordance with the document and must include the external financial audit with a provisional unit cost of 2 500 €. must be drawn up in accordance with the provisions of Article 3.3.Eligibility criteria for costs;
- Appendix 3: Application form: it must be dated and signed and contain the Applicant’s legal registration document and bank details, failing which it will be incomplete.
Handwritten Applications are not accepted.
Applications must be submitted in English and Arabic.
Any application that does not comply with the above requirements shall be rejected by CFI without the applicant having the opportunity to amend it.
5) SELECTION OF APPLICATIONS
Applications shall be examined and assessed by CFI with the possible assistance of external assessors. All applications shall be assessed according to the stages and criteria described below.
If examination of the application reveals that the proposed project does not meet the eligibility criteria set out in this Call for Projects, the application shall be rejected for this reason alone.
5.1 STAGE 1: Opening and administrative verification
At the opening and administrative verification stage, the following elements shall be checked:
Compliance with the application deadline and format. Non-compliance shall result in automatic rejection of the application;
Compliance with all the criteria on the Application Form checklist (Appendix 3). If any of the information requested is missing or incorrect, the application may be rejected for this reason alone and shall not be analysed.
Compliant and complete project presentation notes shall be analysed with regard to the requirements of the Call for Projects and the relevance and design of the proposed Project.
5.2 STAGE 2: Assessment of the proposed project
The project presentation notes (Appendix 1) shall be given an overall score out of 100 points, broken down according to the assessment grid below. The assessment shall also check compliance with the instructions on how to complete the project presentation note. The assessment criteria are used to assess the quality of the applications in relation to the objectives and priorities set out in the Guidelines.
| 1. Relevance of the Project
Relevance is analysed according to the objectives and priorities of the Call for Projects, the identified needs of the Final Beneficiaries and the constraints of the target countries/regions. To what extent does the proposal meet the objectives and priorities specified in the call for projects? international organisations and the absence of duplication? |
25 |
| 2. Project Design
How coherent is the overall project conception? Does the design take into account external factors and relevant stakeholders (risks and assumptions)? To what extent are the parties concerned (end beneficiaries, target groups) clearly defined and selected in a strategic manner? Have their needs been clearly defined and are they adequately covered in the proposal? To what extent is the overall design of the project coherent? In particular, does it include the analysis of problems? |
25 |
| 3. Implementation approach
Is the action plan for implementing the Project clear and achievable? Does the Project include an effective and efficient monitoring system? Is an evaluation planned? |
15 |
| 4. Sustainability of the Project
Are the Project’s expected results sustainable? What impact will the project have on financial, institutional and political levels, etc.? |
15 |
| 5. Project Budget
Are the Activities adequately reflected in the Provisional Project Budget |
20 |
| TOTAL SCORE | 100 |
5.3 STAGE 3: Award
Applications will be assessed according to the above criteria. The two (2) applications with the highest scores in each category will be selected, provided that the score is above 80/100.
If the best score in one of the categories is less than 80/100, the grant will be awarded to the third best score in another of the categories.
A reserve list is drawn up by CFI. This list shall be used if other funds become available during its period of validity or if one of the selected projects does not give rise to funding.
Applicants shall be informed in writing of the action taken by CFI on each application.
6) APPENDICES
Application:
Appendix 1: Project presentation note;
Appendix 2: Provisional project budget;
Appendix 3: Application form.
For any question you can send an e-mail to the following addresses: mayan.attia@cfi.fr and heba.obeidat@externe.cfi.fr until 15 November 2024