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Grant Analysis

Purpose & Target

This grant, 'Connecting Spheres', aims to strengthen Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to prevent and respond effectively to gender-based violence (GBV), particularly against LGBTQIA+ people.
It supports direct service implementation for survivors, training, awareness-raising, and advocacy.
The primary objective is to promote a more equal society where LGBTQIA+ people can live free from violence.
Target recipients are small-medium Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
This is a SECTOR-SPECIFIC grant, focused on social development, gender equality, and human rights.
The geographic scope primarily targets organisations with registered offices and operational capacity in Italy (for Streams 1 and 2), with an aim to scale up impact at a European level through the involvement of organisations from other CERV eligible countries (for Stream 3).
Key filtering criteria include being a CSO, having relevant experience in GBV prevention/response or LGBTQIA+ rights, and meeting specific size (income) and legal establishment requirements.
This grant operates on a recurring basis, with multiple application deadlines throughout the year.

Financial Structure

Total overall grant budget: EUR 1,000,000.
Minimum grant amount per proposal: EUR 6,000.
Maximum grant amount per proposal: EUR 60,000.
Currency: EUR (Euros).
Eligible costs are not explicitly itemized but are inferred to cover costs associated with direct service provision, training, awareness campaigns, community mobilisation, advocacy, research, and analysis as outlined in the project activities.
Co-financing or matching fund requirements are not explicitly stated in the provided text.
Payment schedules and mechanisms are not detailed in the provided information, but 'Management and reporting guidelines' document is available.
Financial reporting and audit requirements are implied by references to EU Financial Regulation and general grant management guidelines.

Eligibility Requirements

Organizational Type and Status

Lead Applicant/Single Applicant must be a non-corporate Third Sector Entity (TSE) as per Italian Legislative Decree 117/2017 (Third Sector Code), or a Foundation, recognised/non-recognised association, committee, or a non-TS entity (Articles 14-42 of the Italian Civil Code).
Co-applicant (if applicable) must be a non-corporate TSE as per Italian Legislative Decree 117/2017 or a legally registered non-profit-making third-sector entity (e.g., CSO) under its respective national law and/or EU law if non-Italian.
Associated Partner must be a non-profit-making entity (non-corporate TSE, Foundation, recognised/non-recognised association, committee, non-TS entity, public body, university, research centre).

Legal Establishment and Experience

Lead Applicant/Single Applicant and Co-applicant must have been legally established for at least two years when submitting the project proposal.
At least one consortium member (Lead Applicant and/or Co-applicant) must demonstrate at least two years' experience in one of the following fields:
- Prevention and combating gender violence.
- Promotion and protection of women's rights.
- Promotion and protection of LGBTQIA+ people's rights.

Organizational Size and Capacity

Lead Applicant and Co-applicant must be a small or medium-sized organisation with an average income below or equal to EUR 500,000 in the last two years.
Lead Applicant/Single Applicant must have operational capacity in Italy and optionally in other European countries.
Co-applicant must have operational capacity in Italy (Streams 1 and 2) or in one or more European country(ies) (Stream 3).

Geographic Location

Lead Applicant/Single Applicant must have its registered office in Italy.
Co-applicant must have its registered office in Italy (for Streams 1 and 2) or in one of the CERV eligible countries (for Stream 3).

Exclusions and Restrictions

Applicants (Lead, Co-applicant, Associated Partner) must not be current beneficiaries, Lead applicants, Co-applicants, or Associated partners in a project funded by the Connecting Sphere programme GA101139923.
Must not be a recipient of contributions or grants from OIT, OII, or FGB for projects/programmes/initiatives launched before the submission of the proposal.
Must not meet exclusion criteria specified in Article 136 and 141 of the EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046.
Must not have connection, affiliation, or other relationship with political organisations or parties.
Must not have a conflict of interest with OIT, OII, FGB, consortium partners, or prospective suppliers.

Compliance and Values

Lead Applicant and Co-applicant must have fulfilled obligations regarding payment of social security contributions and/or taxes, or be fully tax exempt (with reason specified).
Lead Applicant and Co-applicant must adhere to the values of the European Union as set forth in Article 2 of the Lisbon Treaty and in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Associated Partner must comply with values of respect, dignity, equality, non-discrimination, in line with Oxfam's Code of Conduct.
Lead Applicant/Single Applicant must be directly responsible for presenting, implementing, reporting, monitoring, and evaluating activities without acting as an intermediary.

Application Process

Application Deadlines

The grant has multiple cut-off dates for submission. The latest deadline is 2025-09-30 23:59:00+00:00.
Other deadlines:
- 2025-01-31 23:59:00+00:00
- 2025-05-31 23:59:00+00:00

Application Procedure and Submission

Project proposals must be submitted by filling out online fields and attaching required documents.
A video tutorial for the submission process is available.

Required Documentation and Materials

'Narrative application Form'
'Application Form - Budget'
'Checklist eligibility criteria' (implied as part of the submission or pre-submission)

Grant Duration and Project Implementation

Project duration can range from 6 months to 18 months.
Implementation timeline expectations will be detailed in the project proposal.

Post-Award Requirements

Reporting Obligations: 'Management and reporting guidelines' are available for grant beneficiaries.
Compliance with grant agreement provisions on 'conflict of interests', 'confidentiality and security', 'ethics (including adherence to EU values)', 'visibility', 'specific rules for carrying out action', 'information', and 'record-keeping' is mandatory.

Evaluation Criteria

Scoring Factors

The provided grant documents do not explicitly detail the specific scoring factors or a numerical scoring system for evaluation criteria. Applicants are advised to review the full 'Call for proposals' and 'Checklist eligibility criteria' documents for any implied or detailed evaluation aspects not summarized here.

Expected Project Qualities (Inferred)

Impact Potential: Projects are expected to demonstrate significant impact in preventing and combating GBV against LGBTQIA+ persons, fostering inclusion, and promoting anti-discriminatory cultural change.
Relevance: Alignment with the grant's three streams (support services, awareness-raising/norm transformation, legislative/policy influence) is critical.
Sustainability: Implied expectation for long-term effectiveness of the proposed activities beyond the grant period.
Consortium Strength: The experience and operational capacity of the lead applicant and co-applicants, particularly their track record in relevant fields, will likely be a key factor.

Compliance & Special Requirements

Regulatory Compliance

Compliance with EU Financial Regulation 2018/1046, specifically Articles 136 and 141 concerning exclusion criteria, is mandatory.
Italian entities must comply with Italian Legislative Decree 117/2017 ('Third Sector Code') for non-corporate Third Sector Entities.
Non-Italian entities must be legally registered as non-profit-making third-sector entities under their respective national law and/or EU law.

Ethical and Values Standards

All applicants (Lead and Co-applicants) must adhere to the values of the European Union as outlined in Article 2 of the Lisbon Treaty and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Associated Partners must comply with Oxfam's Code of Conduct, which emphasizes respect, dignity, equality, and non-discrimination.

Financial and Legal Obligations

Applicants must be tax compliant and have fulfilled social security contribution obligations in their country of operation, unless legally exempt.

Unique Aspects and Strategic Opportunities

Focus on LGBTQIA+ individuals: The grant specifically addresses gender-based violence against LGBTQIA+ persons, highlighting an inclusive approach to GBV prevention and response.
Cascade system: The Civil Society Organisations benefiting from the grant will be able to re-grant to a broader network, allowing for a 'cascade system' to respond to the needs of LGBTQIA+ people.
European Scale-up: While based in Italy, the grant explicitly encourages European-level involvement and scale-up, fostering multi-country collaboration.
Capacity Building: Beyond financial support, the program offers technical and thematic capacity building, promotion of peer learning, and multilevel networking and advocacy, providing holistic support to CSOs.

Risk Management

While not explicitly detailed, the requirement for compliance with EU financial regulations and direct responsibility for project implementation implies expectations for sound financial and operational risk management.

Grant Details