CALL FOR PROPOSALS

ACP-EU CULTURE PROGRAM: SUPPORT
FOR CULTURAL AND CREATIVE
SECTORS IN WEST AFRICA

AWA

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

The ACP-EU CULTURE PROGRAM: SUPPORT FOR THE CULTURAL AND CREATIVE SECTORS IN WEST AFRICA) – AWA (Art in West Africa) is one of the six (06) regional projects selected under the ACP-EU Program Culture, a joint initiative of the European Union (EU) and the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), through the establishment of the new decentralized regional mechanism intended to strengthen the competitiveness of cultural and creative industries in ACP countries.

The ACP-EU CULTURE PROGRAM: SUPPORT FOR THE CULTURAL AND CREATIVE SECTORS IN WEST AFRICA-AWA has a double objective, namely: on the one hand, to support the revitalization of the competitiveness of the cultural and creative industries all along the value chain (creation, production and distribution) in the 16 West African countries and on the other hand, to help support the development of the digital economy in West Africa by supporting cultural and creative industries actors in their digital transition.

The program is implemented over a 40-month period (December 2020 – April 2024) by the consortium Institut français de Paris (IF) and Centre Culturel Kôrè de Ségou (CCK).

Thus, as part of the implementation of this project, a first call dedicated to support for the structuring of operators of the cultural and creative sector in West Africa is launched. The maximum amount of the grant awarded under this call is 150,000 euros.

 

Objectives of the call

The objective of the structuring fund is to support the professionalization of cultural operators over three years and to make their action sustainable.

Fifteen (15) operators will be selected to benefit from this fund. A multiannual agreement will be signed between the consortium of the ACP-EU culture (West Africa) – AWA program and the operators selected with a view to defining strategic objectives for sustainable cultural development, integrating reflection on new business models.

The fifteen (15) selected operators will also benefit from a capacity building program planned over the duration of the project (3 years) at the rate of a maximum 14-day session / year and an annual networking event. The selected operators undertake to participate by designating a person in charge of the structure who will follow the training and networking sessions.

 

Types of eligible entities / organizations

Are eligible for this call, associations, NGOs, umbrella organizations for culture, foundations, cultural enterprises in the private sector, incubators, startups, all under local law which mainly carry out their activity in the cultural and creative sector and who have had a legal existence and a fiscal and administrative address for at least 3 years in one of the 16 target countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo).

Types of eligible activities

For this call, the activities described according to the three axes mentioned below are eligible:

Axis 1: Creation / production of quality goods and services at a competitive cost, and in increased quantity in a dynamic of professionalization.

Examples of supported activities:

  • Support and promotion of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, in particular through sustainable digital solutions enabling the development of audiences; examples: support to the improvement of work tools, support for production, creation of digital platforms, putting resources online, etc.
  • Creation of networks and local, regional and international cooperation actions for the sharing of good practices and the circulation of cultural content. Examples: support for the organization of professional sectors and regional distribution networks, support for projects of professional meetings, regional markets, etc.

Axis 2: Access to markets at the national, regional and international levels, circulation / dissemination / promotion of ACP goods and services as widely as possible

Examples of supported activities:

  • Development of professional capacities and skills for better adaptation to markets;
  • Dubbing projects, subtitling in local or European languages, allowing the development of new markets and access to audiences far from the cultural offer, through digital tools (tablets, smart phones);
  • Monetization solutions for cultural content allowing the development of own revenues (online ticketing, telephone payments, etc.);
  • Support for the distribution and promotion of online cultural content (digital platforms);
  • Skills transfer projects (training of trainers, transmission to local actors, tutoring, incubation, support for the creation of enterprises, etc.)

Axis 3: Access to funding facilitated via innovative mechanisms, allowing co-financing and aiming to reduce the dependence of ACP cultural operators on international financing.

Examples of supported activities:

  • Research or improvement of access to innovative financing mechanisms.

 

Note: For this call, film productions are not eligible or any other program / project or segment already funded by other EU / OACPS support mechanisms in the West African sub-region.

 

 

 

General conditions of eligibility of funding requests

To be eligible, applicants must meet the following conditions:

  • Being an artistic, cultural organization operating in one of the 16 target countries, and having at least three (03) years of legal and functional experience (provide proof of legal existence).
  • Providing a document retracing the biography of the person in charge of the organization and the organization chart of the structure.
  • Providing activity reports and financial statements of the organization for the last two years (2019 and 2020).
  • Providing the 2021-2023 action plan of the organization (provisional budget and technical proposal according to the models provided) and a development strategy over the 5 years of the organization.
  • Being directly responsible for the preparation and management of the funded activities;
  • Providing a letter of recommendation from at least one recognized reference person in the discipline exercised by the organization or a certificate of successful completion.

The cultural organizations selected must present the documents required above within a time limit following the notification of selection, otherwise they will not be able to benefit from financial support.

 Reminder of the exclusion criteria

The following types of actions are not eligible:

  • Actions consisting solely or mainly of financing the participation of individuals in workshops, seminars, conferences and congresses;
  • Actions consisting solely or mainly of financing individual scholarships for studies or training;
  • Actions aimed at raising funds or promoting the visibility of the applicant or his partner / partners;
  • Actions constituting discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, fortune, birth or any other status;
  • Actions directly or indirectly supporting political parties or actions of a propaganda, proselytizing or pornographic nature or actions contrary to the policies of the European Union.

The third party must not be affected by any of the exclusion criteria referred to in point 2.6.10 of the PRAG (http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/document.do?nodeNumber=1).

 Note: The selected third parties will be asked to sign a third party declaration. It should also be noted that that this call is subject to the terms of the EU grant award.

 

The applications selection procedure comprises five (05) steps:

  1. Registration and classification of applications.
  2. Administrative review of applications.
  3. Evaluation by the award committee (Jury).
  4. Approval of the list of selected projects.
  5. Approval of funding allocation.

Applications will be evaluated by an independent selection committee made up of professionals working in the cultural sector and familiar with the artistic realities of the West African region.

The selection committee evaluates the applications according to four (04) criteria:

  1. Organizational capacity of the structure (25 points);
  2. Business plan over 3 years: Technical and financial quality / Concept. (25 points);
  3. Development strategy over 5 years: Relevance (25 points);
  4. Originality of the project and Promotion of the SDGs (25 points).

An amount of € 150,000 will be granted per beneficiary. This amount will be disbursed at a maximum of € 50,000 per year over 3 years.

The aid granted must be between 20% and 70% of the annual activity budget of the candidate structure.

It is capped at € 50,000 per year and will be paid in two installments, 80% upon signature of the contract and the balance upon presentation of supporting documents at the end of the year 1. Grant for the years 2022 and 2023 are also capped at € 50,000 and can only be allocated once the accounts for year N-1 have been closed and the narrative and financial reports validated. An annual expenditure verification report by an auditor will be provided in accordance with the ToR of the EU General Grant Conditions.

Activities Deadline
Announcement of the launch of the call 3 March 2021
Deadline for admissibility of requests for clarification 23 March 2021
Deadline for clarification 31 March 2021
Deadline for submission of proposals 17 April 2021
Announcement of the results of the evaluation by the selection jury 31 May 2021
Notification of funding allocations 7 June 2021
Signing of Grant Agreement Protocols From 14 June 2021

How to apply?

Applicants must complete an application form for funding (download here) and submit it online via the following link: https://koresegou.org/submission-of-funding-request-program-acp-ue-culture-awa/

  • Applications sent by any other channel will not be accepted.
  • Applications can be submitted in English or French.
  • The deadline for submitting proposals is April 17, 2021 at midnight GMT.
  • Incomplete requests will not be taken into account.
  • The applicant will receive an automatic email acknowledgment of receipt once the application has been received.
  • The results will be disseminated on the website and social networks of the consortium partners (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram).

Only successful candidates will be contacted. The latter must then provide all the previously mentioned administrative documents, within a maximum period of 10 days from the date of notification.

 

The Consortium of the ACP-EU CULTURE (West Africa) – AWA Program undertakes to implement the appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against, in particular, alteration, dissemination or unauthorized access, and to preserve their total confidentiality.

 

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