Not-for-profit European sport events

1.   Eligible countries: as described in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.

EU Member States take part in the Erasmus+ Programme. In addition, in accordance with article 16 of the Erasmus+ Regulation, the following third countries are associated to the programme (subject to the signature of the Association Agreements between the European Union and those countries):

- members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) which are members of the European Economic Area (EEA): Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein;

- acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates: Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of Turkey and Republic of Serbia;

The EU Member States and the above mentioned third countries associated to the programme will be hereafter called “Programme Countries”.

2.   Eligibility and admissibility conditions: as described in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.

 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Who can apply:

Any public body or organisation, with its affiliated entities (if any), active in the field of sport, established in a Programme Country. For example, such organisation can be (non-exhaustive list):

• a public body in charge of sport at local, regional or national level;
• a sport organisation at local, regional, national, European or international level;
• a National Olympic Committee or National Sport confederation;
• an organisation representing the 'sport for all' movement;
• an organisation active in the field of physical activity promotion;
• an organisation representing the active leisure sector;
• an organisation active in the field of education, training or youth.

What types of organisations are eligible to participate in the project?

Any public body or private organisation, with its affiliated entities (if any), active in the field of sport, established in a Programme Country.

Number and profile of participating organisations

A Not-for-profit European Sport Event is transnational and involves:

For the European local event (Type I): from a minimum of 3 organisations coming from 3 different Programme Counties to a maximum of 5 organisations coming from 5 different Programme Countries.

For the European local event (Type II): a minimum of 6 organisations coming from 6 different Programme Countries.

For the European-wide event: a minimum of 10 organisations coming from 10 different Programme Countries. In addition of the coordinator of the project, the applicant needs to identify in the application form at least 9 organisations that are considered associated partners. For contractual management aspects, these associated partners are not considered to be project partners, and they do not receive any funding from the Programme as part of the project.

Venue of activities

For the European local events (Type I and II) the activities must take place in each Programme Country involved in the Not-for-profit European Sport Event.

For the European-wide event, the activities must take place in the Programme Country of the applicant organisation involved in the Not-for-profit European Sport Event.

Duration of project

The duration must be chosen at application stage (12 or 18 months), based on the objective of the project and on the type of activities foreseen over time.

ADMISSIBILITY CONDITIONS

Admissibility criteria

Applications must be sent no later than the deadline for submitting applications as indicated in the call.

Applications must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System: https://ec.europa.eu/info/fundingtenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home. Applications (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using the forms provided in the Submission System.

The applications must be readable and accessible.

Applications must be complete containing all parts and mandatory annexes. Only clerical errors can be corrected after the submission deadline upon request of the managing agency.

FUNDING RULES

The contributions for Not –for – profit European Sport Events take the form of lump sums. The amount of the fixed lump sum depends on the number of events and number of organisations involved in the project.

Applicants will choose between the 3 pre-defined amounts according to the number of events and number of organisations involved in the project.

European local events: At least one event per country in a minimum of 3 different Programme countries

Type I: from a minimum of 3 organisations coming from 3 different Programme Countries to a maximum of 5 organisations coming from 5 different Programme Countries.

Fixed lump-sum: 200.000 EUR

European local events: At least one event per country in a minimum of 3 different Programme countries

Type II: a minimum of 6 organisations coming from 6 different Programme Countries

Fixed lump-sum: 300.000 EUR

European-wide events: one event with at least 10 participating organisations from at least 10 Programme countries (including the applicant organisation)

Fixed lump-sum: 450.000 EUR

Requirements:

a)       For the European-local event (Type I): 200.000 EUR

Proposals concern multi-beneficiary projects in which all expenses must be covered by the Applicant and Partner organisations. The participant organisations identified (from 3 to 5) are considered co-beneficiaries and the events and the side activities organised will take place in each Programme Country involved.

Proposals shall include a specific section with the distribution of tasks and EU grant among partners. The timeline for implementation of each project activity and the deadline for the production of project deliverables shall be indicated as well.

Applicants must split the project activities in “work packages”. Each work package shall be linked to specific objectives, and applicants must identify a set of quantitative and qualitative indicators allowing to assess the level of achievement of those objectives.

b)      For the European-local event (Type II): 300.000 EUR

Proposals concern multi-beneficiary projects in which all expenses must be covered by the Applicant and Partner organisations. The participant organisations identified (minimum 6) are considered co-beneficiaries and the events and the side activities organised will take place in each Programme Country involved.

Proposals shall include a specific section with the distribution of tasks and EU grant among partners. The timeline for implementation of each project activity and the deadline for the production of project deliverables shall be indicated as well.

Applicants must split the project activities in “work packages”. Each work package shall be linked to specific objectives, and applicants must identify a set of quantitative and qualitative indicators allowing to assess the level of achievement of those objectives.

c)       For the European-wide event: 450.000 EUR

Proposals concern mono-beneficiary projects which means that all expenses must be covered by the Applicant organisation. The 10 participant organisations identified are considered associated partners and the event and the side activities organised will take place in the Programme Country of the Applicant organisation.

The timeline for implementation of each project activity and the deadline for the production of project deliverables shall be indicated.

Applicants must split the project activities in “work packages”. Each work package shall be linked to specific objectives, and applicants must identify a set of quantitative and qualitative indicators allowing to assess the level of achievement of those objectives.

3.   Evaluation

Evaluation criteria, scoring, threshold and process are described in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.

 Relevance of the project (maximum score 30 points)

The extent to which:

• the proposal is relevant for objectives and priorities of the Action;
• the proposal is based on a genuine and adequate needs analysis;
• the proposal is innovative;
• the proposal is complementary to other initiatives already carried out by the participating organisations;
•  the proposal brings added value at EU level through results that would not be attained by activities carried out by a single country

Quality of the project design and implementation (maximum score 20 points)

The extent to which:

• the project work plan is clear, complete and effective, including appropriate phases for preparation, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and sharing project results;
• the project is cost-effective and allocates appropriate resources to each activity;
• the proposed methodology is clear, adequate and feasible;
• the project proposes relevant quality control measures to ensure that the project implementation is of high quality, completed in time and on budget;
• the project incorporates the use of digital tools and learning methods to complement their physical activities, and to improve the cooperation between partner organisations.

Quality of the partnership and the cooperation arrangements (maximum score 20 points)

The extent to which:

• the project involves an appropriate mix of participating organisations in terms of profile and expertise to successfully complete all project objectives;
• the proposed allocation tasks demonstrates the commitment and active contribution of all participating organisations;
• the proposal includes effective mechanisms for coordination and communication between the participating organisations, as well as with other relevant stakeholders
• if applicable, the extent to which the involvement of a participating organisation from a Partner Country brings an added value to the project.

Impact (maximum score 30 points)

The extent to which:

• the project proposal includes concrete and logical steps to integrate the project results in the regular work of participating organisation;
• the project has the potential to positively impact its participants and participating organisations, as well as the wider community;
• the expected project results have the potential to be used outside the organisations participating in the project during and after the project lifetime, and at local, regional, national or European level;
• the project proposal includes appropriate plans and methods to evaluate the project outcomes;
• the project proposal includes concrete and effective steps to make the results of the project known within the participating organisations, to share the results with other organisations and the public, and to publicly acknowledge the European Union funding;
• the project proposal includes concrete and effective steps to ensure the sustainability of the project, its capacity to continue having an impact and producing results after the EU grant has been used up.

 To be considered for funding, proposals must score at least 60 points, taking into account the necessary minimum pass score for each of the four award criteria: minimum 15 points for “relevance of the project” and “impact” categories, and 10 points for “quality of the project design and implementation” and “quality of the partnership and the cooperation arrangements” categories. In ex aequo cases, priority will be given to highest scores for "relevance of the project" and then “impact”.

4.   Indicative timetable for evaluation and grant agreement: as described in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.

Publication of the call:  25/03/2021

 Indicative timeline for notification of the grant award decision and signature of the grant agreement: the notification of the award decision will take place, indicatively, 6 months after the submission deadline and the signature of the grant agreement will take place, indicatively, 9 months from the submission deadline.