Who can apply?
Any non-governmental organization, network, association or
local authority, with partners in at least eight Program countries, may
apply.
These projects must involve at least six different Program countries which
agree to exchange volunteers. They may take place in any Program country
(see section B.2).
A Europe-wide project must have a coordinating organization
located in a Program country. This organization takes on a central role on
behalf of all participating partners and undertakes to fulfill all
contractual obligations relating to the project. It assumes responsibility
for submitting the application. Please note that each partner organization
must be clearly identified in the application.
The coordinating organization also ensures the
general management of the project, including contractual and financial
aspects, and provides all the information required by the European
Commission.
The coordinating organization is responsible for organizing training sessions
and circulating information to the local partners. It also takes on tasks
related to building or maintaining a European-level network and makes sure that
all partners are directly involved in the project.
What are the specific selection criteria?
The following criteria apply on top of the general criteria applicable to all EVS projects as described in section
D.3:
- Project content
The project needs a strong and coherent thematic content.
The project should represent an effort to become involved in new activities
and to widen the scope of experience.
The European dimension of the project is represented by a common approach to
coordination, networking and exchange of good practice between all the
partners.
There should be a concrete reference to how the project intends to transfer
experience acquired to the decentralized part of the YOUTH program.
- Project partners
There must be at least three sending organizations and at least three host
organizations, each in a different Program country.
In the case of partnerships that have previously participated in EVS,
projects submitted should involve a number of partners (20%) who have not
participated in Europe-wide projects before.
- Volunteers
A minimum of 12 and maximum of 60 volunteers, originating from at least three
Program countries.
A maximum of four volunteers per host organization and no more than two from
the same country.
- Project and voluntary activity duration
The duration of the project overall may not exceed 24 months, including
preparation and follow-up. The duration of each individual voluntary service
project may not exceed 12 months, with the exception of projects involving
young people with less opportunities.
- Training
Training sessions form an integral part of each EVS project, as described in
section D.5. It is the responsibility of the
organization coordinating the project (i.e. the applicant organization) to
ensure that all volunteers involved in a Europe-wide project receive
pre-departure and on-arrival training, as well as attend mid-term meetings and
possibly also a final evaluation meeting. Details of these sessions must be
included in the application.
Training sessions organized by the National Agencies should be made use of
wherever possible. On-arrival training might be organized by the coordinating
organizations themselves (minimum 5 EVS volunteers in projects involving
Program countries) in line with the guidelines provided by the European
Commission.
- Follow-up projects
In the case of follow-up projects, substantial further development is required
in terms of project content and partners involved, taking into account the
experiences and evaluation results of the previous project. They must involve
at least 20% new partners who have not participated in EVS projects before.
In exceptional cases the European Commission might also accept Europe-wide
projects, which gather a similar number of volunteers in one and same host
project linked to one specific event (e.g. in the area of sports, culture,
youth, civil protection etc.) in program countries. These collective voluntary
service projects should follow the aims and principles of EVS and the duration
should be at least 3 weeks. A geographical balance among sending countries and
volunteers should be aimed at. Please contact the European Commission for more
information.
What is the priority for project funding?
The European Commission will give priority to projects focusing on the theme
of inclusion of young people with less opportunities and involving
organizations working with this target group. The voluntary service period may
also be short-term.
How is a project financed?
Coordinating organizations may receive a specific
YOUTH contribution, in addition to those mentioned in section
D.8.
Contribution from the YOUTH program
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Coordinating organization's obligations
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- Fixed amount per partner organization
- 50% of actual costs, backed up by invoices / receipts
- Pre-departure training, mid-term and final evaluation meetings
(actual costs up to fixed amount/participant/meeting)
- Actual costs up to fixed amount/volunteer (minimum 5 EVS
volunteers from the same project application in Program countries)
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- Administration: monitoring costs, communications costs,
administration and salaries
- Other activities: costs for one coordination meeting,
networking of individual host and sending sites (meetings, training,
materials)
- Volunteer meetings: pre-departure training, mid-term meeting
and final evaluation meeting if applicable, according to the
Commission’s guidelines
- On-arrival training for volunteers according to the
Commission’s guidelines
|
The budget item coordination costs covers the costs of both administration
and other activities. Its total cannot exceed € 10 000 and is subject to the
European Commission’s agreement. The actual costs for other activities will be
assessed by the European Commission on a case-by-case basis, in relation to
the nature/content of the project as well as the profiles of the volunteers,
the duration of the project, the number of countries involved, the number of
meetings proposed between the partners, and the average number of hours spent
managing the project. In addition, actual costs for volunteer trainings and
meetings may also be covered by the Community grant.
How to apply?
The National Agencies and the European Commission provide the official
application forms. They may also be downloaded from the Commission's and other
websites (see downloads of Eurotool). Applications must be submitted by the deadlines for
selection at European level given in section B.5.
Please contact your National Agency for assistance with filling in the forms,
or see Eurotool's section Filling Advice.
Every single host project in program countries must have an approved
Host Expression of Interest by the European Commission, independent of the
project format, application level or geographic dimension (for details see
section D.9).
One of the partner organizations takes the lead in submitting the application
as well as in implementing the project. This organization is responsible for
submitting the grant application. It will receive the grant for the whole
project and is responsible for transferring, to each partner organization, its
respective share of the grant. It is also responsible for reporting and
presenting final accounts.
