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Ares(2014)77315 - 15/01/2014

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL ENTERPRISE & INDUSTRY

Specific Call for Proposals

Mainstreaming Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) Among SMEs
Grant Programme 2005
1. Context
A European Multi-Stakeholder Forum on CSR (CSR EMS Forum) was set up in October
2002 as a key element of the Commission’s 2002 Communication on Corporate Social
Responsibility: A business contribution to Sustainable Development1. The Forum
provided a platform for dialogue among the main stakeholder groups at European level:
19 member organisations representing employers, business networks, trade unions and
civil society, as well as 11 observers, mainly other EU institutions and international
organisations. Its mission focused on the twofold objective of:
• improving knowledge about CSR by facilitating the exchange of good practice

• exploring the appropriateness of establishing common guiding principles on CSR

The Commission acted as a facilitator of the process, organising and chairing the
meetings. The Forum gathered at high plenary level to review progress and endorse
objectives and results, and at the level of theme-based Round Tables on: ´improving
knowledge about CSR´, ´fostering CSR among SMEs´, ´development aspects´ and
‘diversity, convergence and transparency’.
The stakeholders presented a final report2 about their work to the Commission at the
final Forum meeting on 29 June 2004. The report contains nine sets of
recommendations, addressed to all stakeholder groups including public authorities and
the EU. The Round Table reports, including on Fostering CSR among SMEs, form an
integral part of the final report. A joint meeting between stakeholders and the
Commission is planned for 2006 to review progress made in relation to the Forum’s
recommendations and on the trends, developments and innovations in CSR as a part of
the Lisbon agenda.
At the time of writing, the Commission was preparing a new Communication on CSR.
This Communication, which would build on the report of the Multistakeholder Forum, is
expected to endorse the objective of mainstreaming CSR, including amongst SMEs.
This call for proposals is part of the Multi-Annual Programme for Enterprise and
Entrepreneurship (Council Decision 2000/819/EC).3

2. Objective of the call

a) General Objectives
The objective of this call for proposals is to support stakeholders, in particular small
business organisations and public authorities (see below for a more detailed list of target
groups), in the implementation of the Forum recommendations in order to promote the
take-up of effective and credible CSR practices among European companies and in
particular SMEs, as a means to enhance their long-term competitiveness.
Scheduled start-up date for the action: October/November 2005

1 COM(2002) 347 final, 2.7.2002

2 The full text of the report can be downloaded at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/csr/documents/29062004/EMSF_final_report.pdf
3
See: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/enterprise_policy/mult_entr_programme/programme_2001_2005.htm
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b) Description of the work

Proposals corresponding to the Forum recommendations, in particular where they relate

to SMEs, shall be eligible. Within these recommendations, priority will be given to the
following issues:
Raising awareness and improving knowledge on CSR
− collecting, diffusing and exchanging information on effective and credible CSR
practices, tools and initiatives through channels already used by SMEs;
− developing an SME dimension in the future European multi-stakeholder run
internet portal on CSR as part of a long-term strategy to promote CSR among
SMEs;
− Developing better baseline data on SMEs and CSR – by business sector, type,
geography etc. – including research on the business case for SMEs and supply-
chain issues.
Developing the capacities and competences to help mainstream CSR
− Building the capacity of SMEs on CSR by promoting the exchange of experience
between companies, business organisations, and stakeholders, large and small
businesses - especially through the supply chain - and between for-profit
enterprises and social enterprises;
− Encouraging sectoral initiatives on CSR aimed at promoting effective, credible
and transparent CSR practices and instruments;
− increasing the general availability of easily accessible, ready-to-use, practical
information and advice appropriate to SMEs, and delivered through channels
known and trusted by SMEs;
− developing the capacity of SME intermediary organisations to make CSR part of
the core activities and services which they develop for SMEs, e.g. through
developing and implementing specific training modules for small business
advisors;
− mainstreaming CSR and related topics into traditional courses, in the curricula of
future managers and graduate students, in executive education, and in other
educational institutions, including schools.

The maximum duration of actions financed under this call for proposals will be 24
months.

c) Target groups

• (Small) business representative organisations and networks

• Trade/sectoral business associations
• Small business support providers (business advisors, banks, accountants)
• SME and regional development agencies
• Young entrepreneurs associations
• Social partner organisations
• Civil society organisations
• CSR intermediary organisations

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• public authorities (at national, regional or local level)
• Business/management schools, other educational establishments, and research
institutions with a focus on SMEs

d) Deliverables/Results

Effective follow-up of the recommendations of the EU Multi-Stakeholder Forum, in

particular as they relate to SMEs, through increased awareness, better knowledge and
enhanced capacities and competencies to mainstream CSR.

Expected deliverables are:

- pooling and disseminating information and good practice examples on CSR and
SMEs including through a virtual resource centre which should be sustainable
after Commission financing has come to an end;

- better baseline data on CSR and SMEs and an improved understanding of the link
between CSR practices and competitiveness;
- integration of CSR in the core activities of business support providers through,
which could include the development of a training module for business advisors.

Additionally, a comprehensive final report will be produced for each action financed.

3. Financing
The maximum budget allocated for the operation is :

€ 950.000,-
The maximum amount by project is :
Maximum 75% of the eligible costs, with a maximum EC contribution of € 300.000,-

The draft grant agreement attached to the “Submission set” specifies the payment
arrangements (see article I.4) as well as eligible and non-eligible costs (see article II.14).
The grant may not finance the entire costs of the action or the entire operating
expenditure of the beneficiary body.
The beneficiary shall supply evidence of the co-financing provided, either by way of own
resources, or in the form of financial transfers from third parties, or in kind. Please note
that the co-financing in kind can be accepted by the Commission only in duly
substantiated exceptional cases.
Please note that one action may give rise to the award of only one grant from the budget
to any one beneficiary.
The Commission reserves the right to award a grant of less than the amount
requested by the applicant. Grants will not be awarded for more than the amount
requested.
The publication does not guarantee the availability of funds for the above action.

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4. Eligibility
Applicants must comply with the following conditions in order to be eligible for a grant:

• Application must be signed, dated and complete, using the standard submission set;

• Application must be received before the closing date mentioned below;

• Corporate bodies must be properly constituted and registered under the law;

• Applicants must correspond to the definition, if any, of the target organisations set in
point 2 c);

• Only projects that are strictly non-profit-making and/or whose immediate objective is
non-commercial shall be eligible.

Moreover, according to article 93 of the Financial Regulation mentioned below,

candidates shall be excluded from participation in a grant procedure if:

(a) they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs
administered by the courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors,
have suspended business activities, are the subject of proceedings
concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a
similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;

(b) they have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional

conduct by a judgement which has the force of res judicata;

(c) they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any
means which the contracting authority can justify;

(d) they have not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social
security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal
provisions of the country in which they are established or with those of the
country of the contracting authority or those of the country where the
contract is to be performed;

(e) they have been the subject of a judgement which has the force of res
judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any
other illegal activity detrimental to the Communities' financial interests;

(f) following another procurement procedure or grant award procedure

financed by the Community budget, they have been declared to be in serious
breach of contract for failure to comply with their contractual obligations.

By using the “Exclusion Form” (attached to the “Submission Set”), applicants shall
declare on their honour that they are not in one of the situations listed above. The
authorising officer responsible may however request the evidence described in the
“Exclusion Form” above mentioned. In such case, applicants shall be bound to supply
such proof, unless there is a material impossibility recognised by the authorising officer
responsible.
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In addition, and according to article 94 of the Financial Regulation mentioned below,
grants may not be awarded to candidates who, during the award procedure:
(g) are subject to a conflict of interest;

(h) are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by

the contracting authority as a condition of participation in the contract
procedure or fail to supply this information.

Please note that, according to article 96 of the Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) n°
1605/2002 of 25 June 2002 on the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget
of the European Communities and according to article 133 of the Commission
Regulation (EC, Euratom) n° 2342/2002 of 23 December 2002 laying down detailed
rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) n° 1605/2002 on the
Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities,
administrative and financial penalties may be imposed by the Commission on applicants
who are excluded in relation to points a) to h) above mentioned.

Applicants may act individually or in consortium with partner organisations; Partners of

applicants must satisfy the same eligibility criteria as those for applicants; the applicant
will be the lead organisation and, in case of selection, the contracting party (the
“Beneficiary”).

5. Selection
Applicants’ financial capacity to complete the proposed operation

Applicants must show they have stable and sufficient sources of finance to ensure the
continuity of their organisation throughout the project and, if necessary, to play a part in
financing it.

They must include with their grant application form their annual accounts (i.e. profit and
loss accounts; balance sheet) for the two last financial years4.

Alternative or additional ways to show the financial capacity to complete the proposed
operation can be provided by:

a guarantee equivalent to all or part of the grant being sought;

an explicit undertaking from each co-financing organisation to provide the

amount of funding stated in the grant application for the operation (signed
form E) and

an explicit undertaking by the applicant to cover its share of the financing

and, if necessary, to finance expenditure not covered by the Community
grant should other co-financers default.

4
Not applicable to national or regional administrations being eligible as applicants for submission of
proposals under this specific call

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 Applicants’ technical capacity to complete the proposed operation

Applicants must show they have the operational (technical and management) capacity to
complete the operation to be supported and must demonstrate their capacity to manage
scale activity corresponding with the size of the project for which a grant is requested. In
particular, the team responsible for the project/operation must have adequate professional
qualifications and experience.

Applicants must include with their grant application form the curriculum vitae of the
staff who will actually be performing the work involved, and professional references and
details of past similar projects.

Applicants must be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the
project, not acting as an intermediary.

6. Award
An evaluation of the quality of proposals, including the proposed budget, will be carried
out in accordance with the following award criteria:

1. Relevance /20
2. Visibility /10
3. Impact /30
4. Quality /20
5. Budget and Cost-effectiveness /20

Maximum total score /100

If a total score lower than 70 points or a score lower than 50% for any of the above five
criteria is obtained, the proposal will not be evaluated further.

The complete selection and evaluation procedure is described in point III of the guide for
submission appended to the standard Submission set.

Scheduled date for closing the award procedure: September 2005

Please note that, in case of award, the beneficiary authorises the Commission, according
to article II.5.2 of the Draft grant agreement, to publish the following information in any
form and medium, including via the Internet:
- the beneficiary’s name and the address,
- the subject and purpose of the grant,
- the amount granted and the proportion of the action’s total cost covered by the
funding.

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7. Submission of proposals
The proposal must be drafted using the specific submission set available for this call.

The submission set can be obtained:

Either at the following address:

European Commission
Directorate-General Enterprise & Industry
Call for proposals ENTR/05/CP/01
Mainstreaming Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Among SMEs
Contact:Mr T. Dodd/Mrs C. Gintersdorfer
B-1049 Brussels – BELGIUM
Fax: (+32-2)-299.39.39 – e-mail: entr-csr@cec.eu.int

or to be downloaded from Europa web site:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/funding/grants/themes_2005/calls_prop_2005.htm

Proposals must be submitted, on paper :

a) Either by registered mail, postmarked not later than 29 July 2005, to the
address indicated below.

European Commission
Directorate-General Enterprise & Industry
Call for proposals ENTR/05/CP/01
Mainstreaming Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Among SMEs
Office address: BREY 12/112
B-1049 Brussels, Belgium

b) or delivered by hand, i.e. by delivery in person or by an authorised

representative (including private courrier services) not later than 4 p.m. on 29
July 2005, to the following address :

European Commission
Directorate-General Enterprise & Industry
Call for proposals ENTR/05/CP/01
Mainstreaming Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Among SMEs
Unit I/4, Office : BREY 12/112

Service central de réception du courrier

Rue de Genève, 1
B-1140 Bruxelles, Belgique

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 How to reach rue de Genève 1 :
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/calls/hand_delivery.html

Please note, that for security reasons, hand deliveries (including private
courrier services) shall no longer be accepted in other Commission’s
buildings. An acknowledgement of receipt shall be delivered by the
“Service central de réception du courrier”.

The proposal must be placed, in triplicate, inside 2 sealed envelopes. The

inner envelope should be addressed to the department indicated above. It
should bear the following description: ‘Call for proposals ENTR/05/CP/01’
and the following note: ‘Not to be opened by the internal mail
department’. If self-adhesive envelopes are used, they must be sealed with
adhesive tape and the sender must sign across this tape.

Please note that electronic submissions are not allowed for this call.
Applicants shall observe precisely the above indications in order that
proposals can reach their precise destination in due time.

Reminder: Late delivery will lead to the applicant being excluded from
the award procedure.

- Main documents to attach to the submission set: Full proposal and description of the
project/ action. Legal documents: Official registration certificate, Articles of
association/Statutes, List of directors/executive board members (names and
forenames, titles or positions in the applicant organisation), organisation chart, rules
of procedure. Evidence of technical capacity: Curriculum vitae of persons to be
performing work in connection with the operation. Financial capacity: Annual
accounts (audited, where applicable) for the last two financial years5. Idem for
partners.

8. Equal opportunity
The European Community has the task to promote equality between women and men and
shall aim in all its activities to eliminate gender inequalities (articles 2 and 3 of the EC
Treaty). In this context, women are particularly encouraged to be involved in proposal
submission.

5
Not applicable to national or regional administrations being eligible as applicants for submission of
proposals under this specific call