Question 9

Q9:

1. Is it correctly understood that the Call for Concept Note specifies two different types of partnerships?

a.  Operational partnerships covering Lebanon and/or Jordan for objective 1 and 2.

b.  Advocacy and Policy partnerships covering objective 3 with a broader geographic focus.

2.  Does the call allow for one application from an organisation covering objectives, 1, 2 and 3 together?

A9:

It is correct that SO1 and SO2 geographically cover Lebanon and/or Jordan, while SO3 can cover a broader geographical focus related to the Syria displacement crisis.

Yes, it is possible for proposals to cover all three objectives.

Question 10:

Q10:

·        Eligibility: Can you please confirm that organizations established outside the European Union are eligible under this call for concept notes? Can you please confirm that the following statement “Applicants listed as ineligible to receive funds from EU will be disqualified” only refers to entities who are in any of the situations listed in Section 2.6.10.1 of the European Union’s practical guide.

·        Number of applications per organization: The call guidelines state that one organization can only submit one application per country, either as lead or co-applicant. Does the same apply to applications submitted as “regional”? For example, can the same organization submit one application for Lebanon, one application for Jordan, and one “regional” application? 

·        Objectives: Can proposed interventions be framed to answer one objective partially? For example, can a project respond to gender equality only and not to gender equality AND child labor, under objective 2? 

·        Partner capacity development: We understand that additional funding will be allocated to selected grant recipients to conduct partner capacity development activities. Should such activities be mentioned in the concept note (but not budgeted for) or will such activities be agreed upon at the co-creation stage? 

A10:

• Eligibility: Organisations established outside the European Union are eligible to apply for the call. We confirm that applicants listed as ineligible to receive funds from the EU refers to the situations listed in section 2.6.10.1 of the European Union Practical Guide available here: ePrag-en-2019.0.pdf (ufmsecretariat.org)

• Number of applications per organisation: As stated in the Call ‘One entity can only submit one concept note per country, whether as a main applicant or co-applicant.’ As such, an organsiation can submit a concept note for Lebanon, one for Jordan and one regional. RDPP would most likely not chose to engage in 3 separate contracts with one organization, but it will of course depend on the content and how the concepts align with RDPP priorities.

•  Objectives: Yes, a concept note can address an objective partially i.e. it does not have to address gender equality and child labour. Neither does it for example have to address job creation, employability and income generation in the same project proposal

• Partner capacity development: For selected direct partnerships (lead applicant) with national and local entities, once a concept note has been approved, direct partnerships with national and local organisations will include specific budget allocations and results framework references related to the partners’ organisational capacity development and support. The intended or proposed activities can be mentioned in the concept note, but will be finally negotiated and budgeted during the full proposal development phase. For other capacity development activities, such as capacity development of national structures or institutions under 4.2, these should be included in the budget.

Question 11:

Q11:

We have a question about "RDPP III will engage in operational partnerships under SO 1 and 2 in Jordan and Lebanon, while partnerships under SO 3 may cover engagements with a broader geographical focus related to the Syrian displacement crisis and as per the priorities and directions defined in the Program Document "

Our organization is established in Turkey but the operations areas in Syria, Are we eligible to apply for application? 

A11:  

As an organization based in Türkiye with operations areas in Syria, your organisation would be eligible to apply under Specific Objective 3. To apply under Specific Objective 1 and 2, the applicant/s will need to be registered with the relevant authorities in the country the proposed project will be implemented in. SO1 and 2 are geographically limited to Lebanon and Jordan.

Question 12:

Q12:

• Is a non-European international development agency (non-profit entity) registered in Jordan and / or Lebanon eligible to apply? If yes, as the lead or co-applicant or as either of these? 

•  Does an applicant applying for specific objective 1 and/ or 2 need to be a registered entity in both countries if the project is intended to be implemented in Jordan and Lebanon? 

• Would an applicant registered in Jordan and a co-applicant registered in Lebanon (or vice versa) be considered eligible to apply for / implement a project intended to be implemented in Jordan and Lebanon, or do all the applicants/ co-applicants need to be registered in both countries?

A12:

• Yes, a non-European international development agency registered in Jordan and/or Lebanon can apply as either lead applicant or co-applicant

•  The applicant for SO 1 and 2 will need to be registered to implement the intended activities in the countries the proposed project is targeting.

• The applicant/s (lead applicant and co-applicant/s) need to be able to legally operate in the country of the implementation of the activities under SO 1 and 2. If the co-applicant is the lead on the implementation in one of the countries and registered with relevant authorities in this country, this should be specified in section 8 of the concept note.

Question 13:

Q13:

Our association is a local association that was established in 2020, and has implemented several social activities through its own efforts and the subscriptions of its six members.

Can this association be a partner in this program? If yes, what is required to be implemented now? Is it enough just to send the name of the association via the email sent?

A13:

Non-profit entities can apply for the Call. To apply for the Call, a concept note in the format attached to the Call document should be submitted together with the two mentioned annexes. The deadline for application is 1^st of March at 12.00 Beirut-time. 

Question 14:

Q14:

There is a section in Annex 2 of the Programme Document that splits the objectives into two separate calls (see below). It is only mentioned in the Programme Document, there is nothing about this in the call for CNs. Could you kindly confirm that we can apply for Livelihood Support, Gender Equality and Child Labor within one call/CN, or are we restricted to the framework highlighted below?

A14:

Yes, confirmed that you can apply for livelihood support, gender equality and child labour in the same proposed project/CN.

Question 15:

Q15:

Regarding section 8 in concept note: Is this section asking to list the responsible staff member managing each division, to provide their cv's and the amount they will each be responsible for?

A15:

No, this section is requesting the lead applicant and possible co-applicant/s to describe their existing organisational capacities and expertise related to the focus of the concept note. If co-applicant/s are included, the section should describe the division of roles of the applicants (lead and co-applicants) in the proposed project, including the division of budget each will be responsible for.

Question 16:

Q16:

Regarding section 12 Localisation: Is it considered an approved localisation activity if our organisation addresses it's own organisational capacities and in doing so consequently supports the capacities of national/sub national institutions through the rise in employability and income generation of it's beneficiaries?

A16: If the lead applicant is a national or local organisation, then the focus of the localisation can be to enhance the organisations own capacities. The purpose does not have to be linked to employability or income generation objectives. The RDPP will support capacity development of national or local organisations to strengthened institutional and organisational growth and development that will increase the capacity or the supported organisation to address the needs of their target groups.

Question 17:

Q17:

As the exchange rates are ever changing, what do you recommend we do when equivalating the costs from Lebanese pounds to DKK?

A17: The RDPP will only approve budgets in DKK. Most budget calculations we review are calculated in USD to DKK. The budget amount RDPP commits to will be the DKK amount.

Question 18:

Q18:

The maximum percentage of indirect/overhead costs set in the call of 7% is lower than the global agreement with UN agencies signed by all donors unless stated otherwise in a bilateral framework agreement with a donor. Will UN agencies be able to be considered for funding with the percentage of overhead cost agreed with the respective UN agencies or would this be a disqualified for our application from the start of the evaluation process?

A18:

As the RDPP is managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, which adhere to the global agreement on the indirect/overhead costs for UN agencies, the indirect/overhead cost for UN agencies will be allowed to exceed 7%.