Contracting authority: Ministry of Finance - Directorate for Finance and

Contracting of the EU Assistance Funds

Grant scheme for supporting the implementation of Smart

Specialisation Strategy through projects

Guidelines
for grant applicants

Budget line: IPA II - Annual Action Programme for Montenegro for year
2020

Reference: EuropeAid/175156/ID/ACT/ME
Deadline for submission of concept note: 30th January 2023

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 Notice
This is a restricted call for proposals. In the first instance, only concept notes (Part A of the grant application
form) must be submitted for evaluation. Thereafter, lead applicants who have been pre-selected will be
invited to submit a full application. After the evaluation of the full applications, an eligibility check will be
performed for those which have been provisionally selected. Eligibility will be checked on the basis of the
supporting documents requested by the contracting authority and the signed ‘declaration by the lead
applicant’ sent together with the full application.

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 Table of contents

1. SUPPORTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SMART SPECIALISATION STRATEGY

THROUGH PROJECTS 5

1.1. Background..........................................................................................................................................5
1.2. Objectives of the programme and priority issues.................................................................................6
1.3. Financial allocation provided by the contracting authority..................................................................6
2. RULES FOR THIS CALL FOR PROPOSALS 8

2.1. Eligibility criteria.................................................................................................................................8

2.1.1. Eligibility of applicants (i.e. lead applicant and co-applicant(s)) 8

2.1.2. Affiliated entities 10

2.1.3. Associates and contractors 11

2.1.4. Eligible actions: actions for which an application may be made 11

2.1.5. Eligibility of costs: costs that can be included 13

2.1.6. Ethics clauses and Code of Conduct 16

2.2. How to apply and the procedures to follow........................................................................................17

2.2.1. Concept note content 17

2.2.2. Where and how to send concept notes 18

2.2.3. Deadline for submission of concept notes 19

2.2.4. Further information about concept notes 19

2.2.5. Full applications 20

2.2.6. Where and how to send full applications 22

2.2.7. Deadline for submission of full applications 23

2.2.8. Further information about full applications 23

2.3. Evaluation and selection of applications............................................................................................24

2.4. Submission of supporting documents................................................................................................31
2.5. Notification of the Contracting Authority’s decision.........................................................................31
2.5.1. Content of the decision 31

2.5.2. Indicative timetable 32

2.6. Conditions for implementation after the contracting authority’s decision to award a grant...............33
3. LIST OF ANNEXES 34

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List of abbreviations
CFCU Directorate for finance and contracting of the EU assistance funds (also known as: the Central
Finance and Contracting Unit)
CfP Call for proposals
EC European Commission
EDF European Development Fund
EDP Entrepreneurial Discovery Process
EU European Union
IP Intellectual Property
IPA Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
PRAG The practical guide on contract procedures for European Union external action 
R&D Research and Development
RDI Research, development and innovation
S3 Smart Specialisation Strategy
SCO Simplified cost option
SME Small and medium sized enterprises

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1. SUPPORTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SMART SPECIALISATION STRATEGY
THROUGH PROJECTS

1.1. BACKGROUND
Over the course of the previous period, the former Ministry of Science and Ministry of Economic
Development have made systematic efforts to strengthen the RDI community and facilitate better approach
for the creation of innovation-based environment at national level. The reform has been principally reflected
in the adoption of the relevant strategic and legislative framework, including the Smart Specialization
Strategy /S3/ 2019-2024 in June 2019 which is “setting development priorities in order to build competitive
advantage by developing and connecting own capacities in research and innovation with the needs of the
economy”. Moreover, the most recent Law on Incentives for Research and Innovation Development (Official
Gazette of Montenegro No. 82/20) 1 and the new Law on Innovation Activity (Official Gazette of
Montenegro No. 82/20)2 are in itself a positive step towards the development of a new economic
environment, as they will contribute to accelerating the development of innovative projects and start-ups and
overall support the development of science and innovation environments. One of the most important
interventions of the new innovation law is the foundation for the establishment of a specialised institution
dedicated to implementation of S3 strategy and provision of innovation funding lines under standardized and
professionalised framework, the Innovation Fund of Montenegro.

Recognising the potential of developing innovative and fast-growing companies as a driving force of the
economy that could open new businesses with the support of high technologies, a number of mechanisms in
the field of RDI have already been launched at national level. This, among others, includes two calls
implemented within the national Programme of Grants for Innovative Projects 2018-2020, and another one
launched as part of the Collaborative Innovation Programme (2019-2024) adopted in July 2019, which fully
relies on the priorities identified by the previously adopted S3 Strategy. The call for the establishment of
centres of excellence (concluded in 2019) is among the main instruments for the implementation of S3
strategy, whereby 2 new centres have been contracted for funding during a 3-year period. In 2019, the former
Ministry of Science has started funding start-up pre-accelerator programmes on a yearly basis. Furthermore,
additional investments have been directed towards creating and strengthening the link between the academy
and industry for the benefit of stimulating applied research excellence and commercializing innovative ideas
into new or improved technologies, products and services in the private sector through the Grant Scheme
Programme for strengthening linkage between science and industry (conducted under IPA IV Component,
Operational Programme Human Resource Development 2012-2013) and the ongoing Collaborative Grant
Scheme for innovative project ideas (financed under IPA II Sectoral Operational Program for Employment,
Education and Social Policies 2015-2017), although with different focus. These initial funding lines have
started to create good dynamics in the National innovation system, with more and more SME-s being
stimulated to embark on innovation projects and collaborate with faculties.

However, further investment is needed to reinforce the links between academia and business and achieve a
more significant impact on the country’s path to innovation-based economy. Moreover, specific design of the
instruments is required which will channel the fragmented research and innovation efforts towards more
coherent initiatives, better aligned with S3 strategy, thus mutually strengthening specific sub-sectors of the
strategy and defining particular competitive niches where Montenegrin economy can step up and become
competitive at a wider scale. In European and wider public policies for research and innovation, defining
common missions has been recognised as a way how to speed up solutions, new, better products and
services. This approach has been gaining importance especially in the light of the Green Deal strategy of the
EU and big common challenges that Europe wants to address, most closely related to the climate change.
Policy lessons from the first innovation policy cycles in Montenegro are pointing at the issue of
fragmentation, but also not exploited opportunities identified during the Entrepreneurial discovery process of
the S3 strategy development. A support project of the Joint Research Centre of the EC for the
operationalisation stage of the strategy (December 2010 – February 2021) has helped to re-activate the EDP
and define more precisely the sub-priorities of the strategy, but also to identify the missions and challenges
which could inspire joint and connected action within the research and innovation system.

1
Law on Incentives for Research and Innovation Development (Appendix 1)
2
Law of Innovation Activity (Appendix 2)
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The Ministry of Economic Development and Tourism has recognized these needs and is therefore launching
the Grant scheme for supporting the implementation of Smart Specialisation Strategy through projects whose
final beneficiaries will be start-ups, innovative MSMEs and entrepreneurs that will contribute to the
strengthening of Montenegro’s innovation performance by implementation of S3 priorities in a challenge-
driven manner. The Programme will also represent a stimulus for further development of S3 priority areas by
supporting portfolio of projects connected by common goals and opportunities identified through EDP
process. Moreover, it will provide an opportunity for researchers to actively participate in commercialization
of innovation activities together with SMEs, by collaborating on the implementation of the successful
projects

1.2. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME AND PRIORITY ISSUES

The global objective of this Call for Proposals is to contribute to strengthening the economic
competitiveness and innovation capacity of Montenegro through reinforcing the linkage between science and
industry.

The specific objective of this call for proposals is to improve competitiveness of MSMEs by providing
funding support for development and co-creation of innovations, within the quadruple helix model (business,
academia, government, wider society). Main contribution to strengthening competitiveness will be made by
supporting business sector activities in Smart Specialization Strategy (2019-2024)3 priority areas.

The target group of this CfP are actors of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Montenegro.

The final beneficiaries of this CfP are MSMEs operating in S3 priority areas and subjects of innovation
infrastructure.
The priorities of this call for proposals are:

 Institutional support to the business sector by creating conditions for technology transfer, the
adoption of new technologies, support for attracting EU and other external funds for research and
innovation, and the establishment of strong cooperation with the academic sector.

 Increase in the number of projects that will raise the levels of research, development and innovation
activities in organisations and enable them to reach competitive edge.

Connecting fragmented research and innovation initiatives and projects around commonly defined
challenges, in line with S3 strategy of Montenegro and EU Green Deal.

1.3. FINANCIAL ALLOCATION PROVIDED BY THE CONTRACTING AUTHORITY

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 900,000.00. The
contracting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.

Size of grants

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum
amounts:

 minimum amount: 60,000.00 EUR

 maximum amount: 120,000.00 EUR
Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum
percentages of total eligible costs of the action:

 Minimum percentage: 50% of the total eligible costs of the action.

 Maximum percentage: 90% of the total eligible costs of the action (see also Section 2.1.4.).

3
Smart Specialization Strategy of Montenegro (2019-2024) (Appendix 3)
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The balance (i.e. the difference between the total cost of the action and the amount requested from the
contracting authority) must be financed from sources other than the general budget of the Union or the
European Development Fund4.

Applicants should note that, in case of grant award, they will be obliged to report funds received as de
minimis aid5.

4
Where a grant is financed by the European Development Fund, any mention of European Union financing must be
understood as referring to European Development Fund financing.
5
Recipients are subject to ceiling for receiving the state aid, up to 200,000 euros per economic entity for 3 fiscal years -
State aid declaration (Appendix 4)
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2. RULES FOR THIS CALL FOR PROPOSALS

These guidelines set out the rules for the submission, selection and implementation of the actions financed
under this call, in conformity with the practical guide, which is applicable to the present call (available on the
internet at this address https://wikis.ec.europa.eu/display/ExactExternalWiki/ePRAG).6

2.1. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

There are three sets of eligibility criteria, relating to:

(1) the actors (2.1.1.):

 the ‘lead applicant’, i.e. the entity submitting the application form;

 if any, its co-applicant(s) (where it is not specified otherwise the lead applicant and its co-
applicant(s) are hereinafter jointly referred as ‘applicant(s)’);

 and, if any, affiliated entity(ies) to the lead applicant and/or to a co-applicant(s);

(2) the actions (2.1.3.):

• actions for which a grant may be awarded;

(3) the costs (2.1.4.):

 types of cost that may be taken into account in setting the amount of the grant.

2.1.1. Eligibility of applicants (i.e. lead applicant and co-applicant(s))

Lead applicant

(1) In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must 7:

 be a legal person and

 be profit-making or be non-profit-making organization and

 be a specific type of institution, such as:

o 100% privately owned micro, small or medium-sized enterprise registered at least one
(1) year before the submission of the concept note 8 or

o Scientific-research institution registered as a legal person and licensed by the Ministry

of Science and Technological Development of Montenegro 9(in accordance with Article
28 of the Law on Scientific-research activities - Official Gazette of Montenegro, No.
80 40/11, 57/14, 82/2020) 10. Please note that the license must be effective at the time
of submission of the concept note or
6
Note that a lead applicant (i.e. a coordinator) whose pillars have been positively assessed by the European
Commission and who is awarded a grant will not sign the standard grant contract published with these guidelines but a
contribution agreement based on the contribution agreement template. All references in these guidelines and other
documents related to this call to the standard grant contract shall in this case be understood as referring to the relevant
provisions of the contribution agreement template.
7
Note that in the case of profit-making entities a financial guarantee (see Annex VIII) will be requested.
8
Registered under Law on Business Organisations (Official Gazette of Montenegro, No. 06/02, 17/07, 80/08, 40/10,
36/11 and 40/11) (Appendix 5)and Accounting Law (Official Gazette of Montenegro, No. 145/2021, Article No. 6)
(Appendix 6)
9
List of Scientific-research institutions (Appendix 7)
10
Law on Scientific-research activities (Appendix 8)
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 o public or private university; registered in the Register of licensed and accredited higher
education institutions11 as defined by the Law on Higher Education of Montenegro
(Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 44/2014, 52/2014, 47/2015, 40/2016, 42/2017,
71/2017, 55/2018, 3/2019, 17/2019, 47/2019, 72/2019, 74/2020, 104/21, 86/22) 12 or

o subjects of innovation infrastructure: science and technology park, innovation and

entrepreneurial center, business and technology incubator, technology transfer center,
cluster organisations and other subjects of innovation infrastructure registered in the
Register of innovation activity as defined by Law on innovation activity (Official
Gazette of Montenegro No. 82/2020, Article No. 24) 13 and Rulebook on the Register of
innovation activity (Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 100/21, Article 6) 14. Please
note that the registration certificate issued by the Ministry of Science and
Technological Development must be effective at the time of submission of the concept
note

and

 be established in15 Montenegro

and

 be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-
applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.

(2) Potential applicants may not participate in calls for proposals or be awarded grants if they are in any of
the situations listed in Section 2.6.10.1 of the practical guide;

Lead applicants, co-applicants, affiliated entities and, in case of legal entities, persons who have powers of
representation, decision-making or control over the lead applicant, the co-applicants and the affiliated entities
are informed that, should they be in one of the situations of early detection or exclusion according to Section
2.6.10.1 of the practical guide, personal details (name, given name if natural person, address, legal form and
name and given name of the persons with powers of representation, decision-making or control, if legal
person) may be registered in the early detection and exclusion system, and communicated to the persons and
entities concerned in relation to the award or the execution of a grant contract. In this respect, provisionally
selected lead applicants, co-applicants and affiliated entities or those placed in the reserve list are obliged to
declare that they are not in one of the exclusion situations through a signed declaration on honour (PRAG
Annex A14). For grants of EUR 15 000 or less, no declaration on honour is required. See Section 2.4.

In Part A, Section 3 and Part B Section 8 of the grant application form (‘declaration(s) by the lead
applicant’), the lead applicant must declare that the lead applicant himself, the co-applicant(s) and affiliated
entity(ies) are not in any of these situations.

The lead applicant may act individually or with co-applicant(s). The lead applicant or at least one of the
co-applicants should be privately owned micro, small or medium-sized enterprise (MSME). The
proposal should aim to improve competitiveness of the said MSME(s) by development and co-creation
of innovations in line with eligible actions under 2.1.4 of these Guidelines.

11
Register of licensed and accredited higher education institutions (Appendix 9)
12
Law on Higher Education of Montenegro (Appendix 10)
13
Law on innovation activity (Appendix 2)
14
Rulebook on the Register of innovation activity (Appendix 11)
15
To be determined on the basis of the organisation’s statutes, which should demonstrate that it has been established by
an instrument governed by the national law of the country concerned and that its head office is located in an eligible
country. In this respect, any legal entity whose statutes have been established in another country cannot be considered
an eligible local organisation, even if the statutes are registered locally or a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ has been
concluded.
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If awarded the grant contract, the lead applicant will become the beneficiary identified as the coordinator in
Annex G (special conditions). The coordinator is the sole interlocutor of the contracting authority. It
represents and acts on behalf of any other co-beneficiary (if any) and coordinate the design and
implementation of the action.

Co-applicant(s)

Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in
the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.

Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself:

Co-applicants must sign the mandate in Part B Section 4 of the grant application form.

If awarded the grant contract, the co-applicant(s) (if any) will become beneficiary(ies) in the action (together
with the coordinator).

(3) In addition, please note that contracts cannot be awarded to or signed with applicants included in the
lists of EU restrictive measures (see Section 2.4. of the PRAG).

2.1.2. Affiliated entities

The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies). Only the following entities
may be considered as affiliated entities to the lead applicant and/or to co-applicant(s):

Only entities having a structural link with the applicants (i.e. the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in
particular a legal or capital link.
This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:

(i) Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated
financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:

Entities affiliated to an applicant may hence be:

- Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (daughter companies or first-tier
subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant
(granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of
control;
- Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may
be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;
- Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies).
(ii) Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as a e.g. network, federation, association in which
the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g.
network, federation, association…) as the proposed affiliated entities.

The structural link shall, as a general rule, be neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose
of its implementation. This means that the link would exist independently of the award of the grant; it should
exist before the call for proposals and remain valid after the end of the action.

By way of exception, an entity may be considered as affiliated to an applicant even if it has a structural link
specifically established for the sole purpose of the implementation of the action in the case of so-called ‘sole
applicants’ or ‘sole beneficiaries’. A sole applicant or a sole beneficiary is a legal entity formed by several
entities (a group of entities) which together comply with the criteria for being awarded the grant. For
example, an association is formed by its members.

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What is not an affiliated entity?

The following are not considered entities affiliated to an applicant:

- Entities that have entered into a (procurement) contract or subcontract with an applicant, act as
concessionaires or delegatees for public services for an applicant,
- Entities that receive financial support from the applicant,
- Entities that cooperate on a regular basis with an applicant on the basis of a memorandum of
understanding or share some assets,
- Entities that have signed a consortium agreement under the grant contract (unless this consortium
agreement leads to the creation of a ‘sole applicant’ as described above).

How to verify the existence of the required link with an applicant?

The affiliation resulting from control may in particular be proved on the basis of the consolidated accounts of
the group of entities the applicant and its proposed affiliates belong to.

The affiliation resulting from membership may in particular be proved on the basis of the statutes or
equivalent act establishing the entity (network, federation, association) which the applicant constitutes or in
which the applicant participates.
If the applicants are awarded a grant contract, their affiliated entity(ies) will not become beneficiary(ies) of
the action and signatory(ies) of the grant contract. However, they will participate in the design and in the
implementation of the action and the costs they incur (including those incurred for implementation contracts
and financial support to third parties and subcontractors) may be accepted as eligible costs, provided they
comply with all the relevant rules already applicable to the beneficiary(ies) under the grant contract.

Affiliated entity(ies) must satisfy the same eligibility criteria as the lead applicant and the co-applicant(s).
They must sign the affiliated entity(ies) statement in Part B Section 5 of the grant application form.

2.1.3. Associates and contractors

The following entities are not applicants nor affiliated entities and do not have to sign the ‘mandate for co-
applicant(s)’ or ‘affiliated entities' statement:

 Associates

Other organisations or individuals may be involved in the action. Such associates play a real role in the
action but may not receive funding from the grant, with the exception of per diem or travel costs. Associates
do not have to meet the eligibility criteria referred to in Section 2.1.1. Associates must be mentioned in Part
B Section 6 — ‘Associates participating in the action’ — of the grant application form.

 Contractors

The beneficiaries and their affiliated entities are permitted to award contracts. Associates or affiliated
entity(ies) cannot be also contractors in the project. Contractors are subject to the procurement rules set out
in Annex IV to the standard grant contract.

2.1.4. Eligible actions: actions for which an application may be made

Definition:

An action is composed of a set of activities.

Duration

The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 10 months nor exceed 12 months.

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Sectors or themes

Project proposals must be in line with at least one thematic priority defined in the Smart Specialization
Strategy:

1. Sustainable agriculture and food value chain;

2. Energy and sustainable environment;

3. Sustainable and health tourism;

4. ICT.

Location

Actions must take place in the following country: Montenegro.

Types of action

The action under this Call embraces activities focused on strengthening research excellence, technological
development and innovation in priority areas recognised by Smart Specialisation Strategy, aiming to support
the development of new and innovative products, processes and services resulting from cooperation with
research community.

The following types of action are ineligible:

 actions concerned only or mainly with individual sponsorships for participation in workshops,
seminars, conferences and congresses;

 actions concerned only or mainly with individual scholarships for studies or training courses;

 actions linked to political parties;

 actions with provisions for financing the usual (routine) activities of national, regional and local
operators, related mainly to covering running costs;

 actions confined to charitable donations;

 actions currently funded by other programmes, including EU and/or other donor or state funding;
actions related to:

o the tobacco industry (CAEN code 16);

o production of alcoholic distilled beverages (CAEN code 1591);
o arms and ammunitions (CAEN code 296).

Types of activity

The possible types of indicative activities are the following:

 demonstrating, prototyping, piloting, testing and validation of new or improved products, processes
or services where the primary objective is to improve innovation capacity of the private sector;

 development of a commercially viable prototype or pilot, when necessary for industrial research and
technology validation;

 developing social innovations and/or public sector innovations for social enterprises and public
sector operators, with high impact on S3 implementation and EU Green Deal goals;

 integrating new technologies into existing products, services or processes in order to significantly
improve their performances and thereby increase their market value.

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Any new Intellectual Property and know-how, which may be created during the implementation of the
project must belong to the Applicant/Co-applicant and as such reported to the contracting authority. To
ensure this, the Applicant has to secure these IP and know-how rights in legal agreements concluded with
any third party.

Financial support to third parties16

Applicants may not propose financial support to third parties.

Visibility

The applicants must take all necessary steps to publicise the fact that the European Union has financed or co-
financed the action. Unless the European Commission agrees otherwise, actions that are wholly or partially
funded by the European Union must ensure the visibility of EU financing by displaying the EU emblem in
accordance with the guidelines set out in the Operational guidelines for recipients of EU funding, published
by the European Commission. If applicable, communication activities may be undertaken to raise the
awareness of specific or general audiences of the reasons for the action and the EU support for the action in
the country or region concerned, as well as the results and the impact of this support.

All measures and activities relating to visibility and, if applicable, communication, must comply with the
latest Communication and Visibility Requirements for EU-funded external action, laid down and published
by the European Commission (Communication and Visibility Requirements for EU External Actions |
International Partnerships (europa.eu)).

Number of applications and grants per applicants / affiliated entities

The lead applicant may not submit more than one (1) application under this call for proposals.

The lead applicant may not be awarded more than one (1) grant under this call for proposals.

The lead applicant may not be a co-applicant or an affiliated entity in another application at the same time.

A co-applicant/affiliated entity may not be the co-applicant or affiliated entity in more than three (3)
applications under this call for proposals.

A co-applicant/affiliated entity may not be awarded more than three (3) grants under this call for proposals.

Please note that awarded grantees will be obliged to register in the Register of innovation activities as
defined by Rulebook on register of innovation activities - Official Gazette of Montenegro No. 100/21,
Article No. 517.

Please note that in the event of failure to fulfil these requirements, the applications of all concerned entities
will be rejected.

2.1.5. Eligibility of costs: costs that can be included

Union contributions under this call for proposals take the following form(s):

- Reimbursement of eligible costs that may be based on any or a combination of the following forms:

(i) actual costs incurred by the beneficiary(ies) and affiliated entity(ies);

(ii) one or more simplified cost options (see below).

16
These third parties are neither affiliated entity(ies) nor associates nor contractors.
17
Rulebook on the Register of innovation activity (Appendix 11)
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 Only ‘eligible costs’ can be covered by a grant. The categories of costs that are eligible and non-eligible
are indicated below. The budget is both a cost estimate and an overall ceiling for ‘eligible costs’.

Simplified cost options (SCOs) may take the form of:

 unit costs: covering all or certain specific categories of eligible costs which are clearly identified in
advance by reference to an amount per unit.

 lump sums: covering in global terms all or certain specific categories of eligible costs which are
clearly identified in advance.

 flat-rate financing: covering specific categories of eligible costs which are clearly identified in
advance by applying a percentage fixed ex ante. This form is not applicable to output or result based
SCOs.

Simplified costs options are divided in two categories:

1/ "output or result based SCOs": this category includes costs linked to outputs, results, activities,
deliverables in the framework of a specific project (for example the determination of a lump sum for the
organization of a conference, or for the realisation of a determined output/activity). Where possible and
appropriate, lump sums and unit costs shall be determined in such a way to allow their payment upon
achievement of concrete outputs and/or results. This type of SCO can be proposed by the beneficiary (no
threshold is applicable) at proposal's stage (Grant application form – Full application). In case the evaluation
committee and the contracting authority are not satisfied with the quality of the justification provided,
reimbursement on the basis of actually incurred costs is always possible.

2/ "other SCOs": This second category entails simplified cost options embedded in the cost accounting
practices of the beneficiary, if they are accepted by national authorities under comparable funding schemes.
In this case, the grant beneficiary shall demonstrate that the national authority accepted the cost accounting
practices and will have to specify in which context this acceptance was given. The evaluation committee will
assess if the funding scheme is comparable. To obtain reimbursement of this category of SCOs, the
beneficiary shall make reference to the comparable funding schemes of national authorities in the budget
justification sheet (annex B). In case the evaluation committee and the contracting authority are not satisfied
with the quality of the justification provided reimbursement on the basis of actually incurred costs is always
possible.

The amounts or rates have to be based on estimates using objective data such as statistical data or any other
objective means or with reference to certified or auditable historical data of the applicants or the affiliated
entity(ies). Determining SCO is possible also through ‘expert judgement’ provided by internally available
experts or procured in accordance with the applicable rules. Experts must be either commissioned auditors or
chartered accountants, or staff of the contracting authority but cannot be staff of the beneficiary. The
methods used to determine the amounts or rates of unit costs, lump sums or flat-rates must comply with the
criteria established in Annex K, and especially ensure that the costs correspond fairly to the actual costs
incurred by the beneficiary(ies) and affiliated entity(ies), are in line with their cost accounting practices, no
profit is made and the costs are not already covered by other sources of funding (no double funding). Please
refer to Annex K for the details of the procedure to be followed depending on the type and amount of the
costs to be declared as SCO.

Applicants proposing this form of reimbursement, must clearly indicate in worksheet no.1 of Annex B, each
heading/item of eligible costs concerned by this type of financing, i.e. add the reference in capital letters to
‘UNIT COST’, ‘LUMPSUM’, ‘FLAT RATE’ in the Unit column (see example in Annex K).

Additionally in Annex B, in the second column of worksheet no.2, ‘Justification of the estimated costs’ per
each of the corresponding budget item or heading applicants must:

 describe the information and methods used to establish the amounts of unit costs, lump sums and/or
flat-rates, to which costs they refer, etc for output or result based SCO;

 clearly explain the formulas for calculation of the final eligible amount for output or result based
SCO;

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  make reference to the national authorities comparable funding schemes for other SCOs.

Where SCOs are proposed the evaluation committee and the contracting authority decide whether to accept
the proposed amounts or rates on the basis of the provisional budget submitted by the applicants, by
analysing factual data of grants carried out by the applicants or of similar actions. In case the evaluation
committee and the contracting authority are not satisfied with the quality of the justification provided
reimbursement on the basis of actually incurred costs is always possible.

No threshold is set ex-ante for the total amount of financing that can be authorised by the contracting
authority on the basis of simplified cost options. Other SCOs can be proposed only if previously accepted by
national authorities in comparable funding schemes.

Recommendations to award a grant are always subject to the condition that the checks preceding the signing
of the grant contract do not reveal problems requiring changes to the budget (such as arithmetical errors,
inaccuracies, unrealistic costs and ineligible costs). The checks may give rise to requests for clarification and
may lead the contracting authority to impose modifications or reductions to address such mistakes or
inaccuracies. It is not possible to increase the grant or the percentage of EU co-financing as a result of these
corrections.

It is therefore in the applicants' interest to provide a realistic and cost-effective budget.

The grant may take the form of a single lump-sum covering the entire eligible costs of an action or a work
programme.

Single lump sums may be determined on the basis of the estimated budget, which should comply with the
principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. Compliance with these principles shall be verified ex
ante at the time of evaluation of the grant application.

When authorising single lump sums the authorising officer responsible shall comply with the conditions
applicable to output or result based SCOs.

When using this form of financing, the description of the action shall include detailed information on the
essential conditions triggering the payment, including, where applicable, the achievement of outputs
and/or results.

Eligible direct costs

To be eligible under this call for proposals, costs must comply with the provisions of Article 14 of the
general conditions to the standard grant contract (see Annex G of the guidelines).

Contingency reserve

The budget may include a contingency reserve not exceeding 5 % of the estimated direct eligible costs. It can
only be used with the prior written authorisation of the contracting authority.

Eligible indirect costs

The indirect costs incurred in carrying out the action may be eligible for flat rate funding, but the total must
not exceed 7 % of the estimated total eligible direct costs. Indirect costs are eligible provided that they do not
include costs assigned to another budget heading in the standard grant contract. The lead applicant may be
asked to justify the percentage requested before the grant contract is signed. However, once the flat rate has
been fixed in the special conditions of the grant contract, no supporting documents need to be provided.

If any of the applicants or affiliated entity(ies) is in receipt of an operating grant financed by the EU, it may
not claim indirect costs on its incurred costs within the proposed budget for the action.

Contributions in kind

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Contributions in kind mean the provision of goods or services to beneficiaries or affiliated entities free of
charge by a third party. As contributions in kind do not involve any expenditure for beneficiaries or affiliated
entities, they are not eligible costs (except for personnel costs for the work carried out by volunteers under an
action or an operating grant if so authorised).

Contributions in kind may not be treated as co-financing.

However, if the description of the action as proposed includes contributions in kind, the contributions have to
be made.

Other co-financing shall be based on estimates provided by the applicant.

Ineligible costs

The following costs are not eligible:

 debts and debt service charges (interest);

 provisions for losses or potential future liabilities;

 costs declared by the beneficiary(ies) and financed by another action or work programme receiving a
European Union (including through EDF) grant;

 purchases of land or buildings, except where necessary for the direct implementation of the action, in
which case ownership must be transferred in accordance with Article 7.5 of the general conditions of
the standard grant contract, at the latest at the end of the action;

 currency exchange losses;

 in kind contributions (except for volunteers' work);

 bonuses included in costs of staff;

 negative interest charged by banks or other financial institutions;

 credit to third parties.

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2.1.6. Ethics clauses and Code of Conduct

a) Absence of conflict of interest

The applicant must not be affected by any conflict of interest and must have no equivalent relation in
that respect with other applicants or parties involved in the actions. Any attempt by an applicant to
obtain confidential information, enter into unlawful agreements with competitors or influence the
evaluation committee or the contracting authority during the process of examining, clarifying,
evaluating and comparing applications will lead to the rejection of its application and may result in
administrative penalties according to the Financial Regulation in force.
b) Respect for human rights as well as environmental legislation and core labour standards
The applicant and its staff must comply with human rights. In particular, and in accordance with the
applicable act, applicants who have been awarded contracts must comply with the environmental
legislation including multilateral environmental agreements, and with the core labour standards as
applicable and as defined in the relevant International Labour Organisation conventions (such as the
conventions on freedom of association and collective bargaining; elimination of forced and compulsory
labour; abolition of child labour).
Zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment
The European Commission applies a policy of 'zero tolerance' in relation to all wrongful conduct which
has an impact on the professional credibility of the applicant.
Physical abuse or punishment, or threats of physical abuse, sexual abuse or exploitation, harassment and
verbal abuse, as well as other forms of intimidation shall be prohibited.
Applicants (and affiliated entities) other than (i) natural persons, (ii) pillar-assessed entities and (iii)
governments and other public bodies, whose application has been provisionally selected or placed in a
reserve list shall assess their internal policy against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEA-H)
through a self-evaluation questionnaire (Annex L). For grants of EUR 60 000 or less no self-evaluation
is required. Such self-evaluation questionnaire is not part of the evaluation of the full application by the
contracting authority, but is an administrative requirement. See Section 2.5.6 of the PRAG.

c) Anti-corruption and anti-bribery

The applicant shall comply with all applicable laws, regulations and codes relating to anti-bribery and
anti-corruption. The contracting authority reserves the right to suspend or cancel project financing if
corrupt practices of any kind are discovered at any stage of the award process or during the execution of
a contract and if the contracting authority fails to take all appropriate measures to remedy the situation.
For the purposes of this provision, ‘corrupt practices’ are the offer of a bribe, gift, gratuity or
commission to any person as an inducement or reward for performing or refraining from any act relating
to the award of a contract or execution of a contract already concluded with the contracting authority.

d) Unusual commercial expenses

Applications will be rejected or contracts terminated if it emerges that the award or execution of a
contract has given rise to unusual commercial expenses. Such unusual commercial expenses are
commissions not mentioned in the main contract or not stemming from a properly concluded contract
referring to the main contract, commissions not paid in return for any actual and legitimate service,
commissions remitted to a tax haven, commissions paid to a payee who is not clearly identified or
commissions paid to a company which has every appearance of being a front company.
Grant beneficiaries found to have paid unusual commercial expenses on projects funded by the
European Union are liable, depending on the seriousness of the facts observed, to have their contracts
terminated or to be permanently excluded from receiving EU/EDF funds.
e) Breach of obligations, irregularities or fraud

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 The contracting authority reserves the right to suspend or cancel the procedure, where the award
procedure proves to have been subject to breach of obligations, irregularities or fraud. If breach of
obligations, irregularities or fraud are discovered after the award of the contract, the contracting
authority may refrain from concluding the contract.

2.2. HOW TO APPLY AND THE PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW

2.2.1. Concept note content

Applications must be submitted in accordance with the concept note instructions in the grant application
form annexed to these guidelines (Annex A).

Applicants must apply in English.

Please note that:

1. In the concept note, lead applicants must only provide an estimate of the requested EU contribution
as well as an indicative percentage of that contribution in relation to the eligible costs of the action.
A detailed budget is to be submitted only by the lead applicants invited to submit a full application in
the second phase.

2. The elements outlined in the concept note may not be modified in the full application, except for the
changes described below:

 The EU contribution may not vary from the initial estimate by more than 20 %. Lead applicants
are free to adapt the percentage of co-financing required within the minimum and maximum
amount and percentages of co-financing, as laid down in these guidelines in Section 1.3.

 The lead applicant may add, remove or replace one or more co-applicant(s) or affiliated
entity(ies) only in duly justified cases.

The lead applicant may adjust the duration of the action if unforeseen circumstances outside the
scope of the applicants have taken place following the submission of the concept note and require
such adaptation (risk of action not being carried out). In such cases, the duration must remain within
the limits imposed by the guidelines for applicants. Own contributions by the applicants can be
replaced by other donors' contributions at any time.

An explanation/justification of the relevant replacements/adjustments shall be included in section

2.1.1. of the full application form. Should the explanation/justification not be accepted by the
evaluation committee, the proposal may be rejected on that sole basis.

3. Only the concept note form will be evaluated. It is therefore of utmost importance that this document
contains ALL relevant information concerning the action. No additional annexes should be sent.

Please complete the concept note form carefully and as clearly as possible so that it can be assessed properly.

Any error or major discrepancy related to the concept note instructions may lead to the rejection of the
concept note.

Clarifications will only be requested when information provided is not sufficient to conduct an objective
assessment.

2.2.2. Where and how to send concept notes

The concept note and declaration by the lead applicant (to be found in Part A Section 3 of the grant
application form) must be submitted in one original and 3 copies in A4 size, each bound. Hand-written
concept notes will not be accepted

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An electronic version of the concept note must also be submitted. A CD-Rom or USB stick18 with the
concept note in electronic format will be included, along with the paper version, in a sealed envelope as
described below. The electronic file must contain exactly the same application as the paper version
enclosed.

Where lead applicants send several different concept notes (if allowed to do so by the guidelines of the call),
each one must be sent separately.

The envelope must bear the reference number and the title of the call for proposals, together with [the lot
number and title] the full name and address of the lead applicant, and the words ‘Not to be opened before the
opening session’ and ‘Ne otvarati prije zvaničnog sastanka za otvaranje prijedloga projekata’.

To reduce expense and waste, we strongly recommend that you do not use plastic folders or dividers. Please
also use double-sided printing if possible.

Concept notes must be submitted in a sealed envelope by registered mail, private courier service or by hand-
delivery (a signed and dated certificate of receipt will be given to the deliverer) to the address below:

Postal address

Ministry of Finance

The Directorate for Finance and Contracting of the EU Assistance Funds

Stanka Dragojevića 2, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro

Address for hand delivery

Ministry of Finance

The Directorate for Finance and Contracting of the EU Assistance Funds

Stanka Dragojevića 2, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro

Opening hours of the contracting authority: 07:00h – 15:00h

Concept notes sent by any other means (e.g. by fax or by e-mail) or delivered to other addresses will be
rejected.

Please note that incomplete concept notes may be rejected. Lead applicants are advised to verify that
their concept note is complete using the checklist for concept note (Part A Section 2 of the grant
application form).

2.2.3. Deadline for submission of concept notes

The applicants' attention is drawn to the fact that there are two different systems for sending concept notes:
one is by post or private courier service, the other is by hand delivery.

In the first case, the concept note must be sent before the date for submission, as evidenced by the postmark
or deposit slip19, but in the second case it is the acknowledgment of receipt given at the time of the delivery
of the concept note which will serve as proof.

The deadline for the submission of concept notes is 30 th January 2023 as evidenced by the date of dispatch,
the postmark or the date of the deposit slip. In the case of hand-deliveries, the deadline for receipt is at 30 th

18
If you want to allow for other devices (e.g. USB sticks), make sure that appropriate IT security measures are in place.
19
It is recommended to use registered mail in case the postmark would not be readable.

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January 2023, before 14:00 hours local time, as evidenced by the signed and dated receipt. Any concept note
submitted after the deadline will be rejected.

The contracting authority may, for reasons of administrative efficiency, reject any concept note submitted on
time to the postal service but received, for any reason beyond the contracting authority's control, after the
effective date of approval of the concept note evaluation, if accepting concept notes that were submitted on
time but arrived late would considerably delay the evaluation procedure) or jeopardise decisions already
taken and notified (see indicative calendar under Section 2.5.2).

2.2.4. Further information about concept notes

Notice on information session on this call for proposals will be published within 15 days of the launch of this
call for proposals on:

 the EuropeAid website:

https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.welcome

Questions may be sent by e-mail no later than 21 days before the deadline for the submission of concept
notes to the address(es) below, indicating clearly the reference of the call for proposals:

E-mail address: DELEGATION-MONTENEGRO-CFCU-GRANT-SMART@eeas.europa.eu

Please note that, due to communication breakdown the Ministry of Finance - Directorate for Finance
and Contracting of the EU Assistance Funds (the CFCU) is facing following the recent cyber-attacks,
the EU Delegation to Montenegro is temporarily providing the above e-mail address solely for the
purpose of this call for proposals and only for receiving questions from the potential applicants. The
CFCU, as the contracting authority, remains fully in charge for this call for proposals.

The contracting authority has no obligation to provide clarifications to questions received after this date.

Replies will be given no later than 11 days before the deadline for submission of concept notes.

To ensure equal treatment of applicants, the contracting authority cannot give a prior opinion on the
eligibility of lead applicants, co-applicants, affiliated entity(ies), an action or specific activities.

No individual replies will be given to questions. All questions and answers as well as other important notices
to applicants during the course of the evaluation procedure will be published on the website where the call
was published: website of DG International Partnerships
https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/funding/looking-for-funding_en or Funding & Tender
opportunities (F&T Portal) https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home and
the contracting authority’s website: http://www.cfcu.gov.me/en/tenders/grants/open_calls 20, as the need
arises. It is therefore advisable to consult the abovementioned website regularly in order to be informed of
the questions and answers published.

Please note that the contracting authority may decide to cancel the call for proposals procedure at any stage
according to the conditions set out in Section 6.5.9 of the PRAG.

2.2.5. Full applications

Lead applicants invited to submit a full application following pre-selection of their concept note must do so
using Part B of the grant application form annexed to these guidelines (Annex A). Lead applicants should
then keep strictly to the format of the grant application form and fill in the paragraphs and pages in order.

20
Due to the cyber attack on the government information platforms the contracting authority’s website may be non-
functional. Please use website of DG International Partnerships or F&T Portal for all information regarding this grant
scheme.
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Please note that the elements outlined in the concept note may not be modified in the full application except
for the changes described below:

 The EU contribution may not vary from the initial estimate by more than 20 %. Lead
applicants are free to adapt the percentage of co-financing required within the minimum and
maximum amount and percentages of co-financing, as laid down in these guidelines in
Section 1.3.

 The lead applicant may add, remove or replace one or more co-applicant(s) or affiliated
entity(ies) only in duly justified cases.

 The lead applicant may adjust the duration of the action if unforeseen circumstances outside
the scope of the applicants have taken place following the submission of the concept note
and require such adaptation (risk of action not being carried out). In such cases, the duration
must remain within the limits imposed by the guidelines for applicants.

An explanation/justification of the relevant replacements/adjustments shall be included in section

2.1.1. of the full application form Should the explanation/justification not be accepted by the
evaluation committee, the proposal may be rejected on that sole basis.

Lead applicants must submit their full applications in the same language as their concept notes.

Please complete the full application form carefully and as clearly as possible so that it can be assessed
properly.

Any error related to the points listed in the checklist (Part B, Section 7 of the grant application form) or any
major inconsistency in the full application (e.g. if the amounts in the budget worksheets are inconsistent)
may lead to the rejection of the application.

Clarifications will only be requested when information provided is unclear and thus prevents the contracting
authority from conducting an objective assessment.

Please note that only the full application form and the published annexes which have to be filled in (budget,
logical framework) will be transmitted to the evaluators (and assessors, if used). It is therefore of utmost
importance that these documents contain ALL the relevant information concerning the action. With the full
application the lead applicant also has to submit completed PADOR registration form (Annex F) for
the lead applicant, each co-applicants (if any) and each affiliated entities 21 (if any).

Please note that the following documents should be submitted together with PADOR registration form and
the full application:

1. The statutes or articles of association of the lead applicant, of each co-applicant (if any) and of each
affiliated entity (if any). Where the contracting authority has recognised the lead applicant’s, or the
co-applicant(s)’s, or their affiliated entity(ies)’s eligibility for another call for proposals under the
same budget line within 2 years before the deadline for receipt of applications, what should be
submitted, instead of the statutes or articles of association, is a copy of the document proving their
eligibility in a former call (e.g. a copy of the special conditions of a grant contract received during
the reference period), unless a change in legal status has occurred in the meantime. This obligation
does not apply to international organisations that have signed a framework agreement with the
European Commission.

2. Legal entity form (see Annex D of these guidelines) duly completed and signed by each of the
applicants (i.e. by the lead applicant and by each co-applicant, if any), accompanied by the justifying
documents requested there. If the applicants have already signed a contract with the contracting
authority, instead of the legal entity form and supporting documents, the legal entity number may be
provided, unless a change in legal status occurred in the meantime.

21
Natural persons who apply for a grant (if so allowed in the guidelines for applicants) do not have to provide an
organisation data form. In this case, the information included in the grant application form is sufficient.
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 3. A financial identification form of the lead applicant (not from co-applicant(s)) conforming to the
model attached as Annex E of these guidelines, certified by the bank to which the payments will be
made. This bank should be located in the country where the lead applicant is established. If the lead
applicant has already submitted a financial identification form in the past for a contract where the
European Commission was in charge of the payments and intends to use the same bank account, a
copy of the previous financial identification form may be provided instead.

In addition, for the purpose of the evaluation of the financial capacity, the following documents should be
submitted22:

1. For action grants exceeding EUR 750 000 and for operating grants above EUR 100 000, the lead
applicant must provide an audit report produced by an approved external auditor where it is
available, and always in cases where a statutory audit is required by EU or national law. That report
shall certify the accounts for up to the last three available financial years.

In all other cases, the applicant shall provide a self-declaration signed by its authorised representative
certifying the validity of its accounts for up to the last three available financial years. Such self-
declaration shall be dated and signed, either by hand or by applying a qualified electronic signature
(QES)23 by an authorised representative of the signatory.

This requirement shall apply only to the first application made by a beneficiary the same contracting
authority in any one financial year.

The external audit report is not required from the co-applicant(s)) or affiliated entities (if any).

This obligation does not apply to secondary and higher education establishments.

2. For action grants not exceeding EUR 750 000 and for operating grants below EUR 100 000, a copy
of the lead applicant’s profit and loss account and the balance sheet for up to the last three financial
years for which the accounts were closed 24. A copy of the latest account is neither required from the
co-applicant(s) (if any) nor from affiliated entity(ies)(if any).

Documents must be supplied in the form of originals, photocopies or scanned versions (i.e. showing legible
stamps, signatures and dates) of the said originals.

Where such documents are not in one of the official languages of the European Union in Montenegrin, a
translation into English of the relevant parts of these documents proving the lead applicant's and, where
applicable, co-applicants' and affiliated entity(ies)' eligibility, must be attached for the purpose of analysing
the application.

Where these documents are in an official language of the European Union other than English, it is strongly
recommended, in order to facilitate the evaluation, to provide a translation of the relevant parts of the
documents, proving the lead applicant's and, where applicable, co-applicants' and affiliated entity(ies)'
eligibility, into English.

If the abovementioned supporting documents are not provided by the deadline for the submission of the full
application, the application may be rejected.

No additional annexes should be sent.

22
No supporting documents will be requested for applications for a grant not exceeding EUR 60 000.
23
Please note that only the QES within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS Regulation) will be
accepted. Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic
identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC.
24
This obligation does not apply to natural persons who have received education support or who are in most need or in
receipt of direct support, nor to public bodies and to international organisations. It does not apply either when the
accounts are in practice the same documents as the external audit report already provided pursuant to Section 2.2.5,
point 1.
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2.2.6. Where and how to send full applications

Full applications (i.e. the full application form, PADOR registration form the budget, the logical framework
and the declaration by the lead applicant) must be submitted in a sealed envelope by registered mail, private
courier service or by hand-delivery (a signed and dated certificate of receipt will be given to the deliverer) to
the address below:

Postal address

Ministry of Finance

The Directorate for Finance and Contracting of the EU Assistance Funds

Stanka Dragojevića 2, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro

Address for hand delivery

Ministry of Finance

The Directorate for Finance and Contracting of the EU Assistance Funds

Stanka Dragojevića 2, 81000 Podgorica, Montenegro

Opening hours of the contracting authority: 07:00 – 15:00h

Applications sent by any other means (e.g. by fax or by e-mail) or delivered to other addresses will be
rejected.

Applications must be submitted in one original and 3 copies in A4 size, each bound. The full application
form, budget and logical framework and PADOR registration form must also be supplied in electronic
format (CD-Rom USB stick25) in a separate and single file (i.e. the full application must not be split into
several different files). The electronic file must contain exactly the same application as the paper version.
Hand-written applications will not be accepted.

The declaration by the lead applicant (Section 8 of Part B of the grant application form) must be stapled
separately and enclosed in the envelope.

Where lead applicants send several different applications (if allowed to do so by the guidelines of the call),
each one must be sent separately.

The envelope must bear the reference number and the title of the call for proposals, together with the
number and title of the lot, the full name and address of the lead applicant, and the words ‘Not to be opened
before the opening session’ and ‘Ne otvarati prije zvaničnog sastanka za otvaranje punih aplikacija’.

Applicants are advised to verify that their application is complete using the checklist (Section 7 of Part
B of the grant application form). Incomplete applications may be rejected.

2.2.7. Deadline for submission of full applications

The applicants' attention is drawn to the fact that there are two different systems for sending full
applications: one is by post or private courier service, the other is by hand delivery.

In the first case, the full application must be sent before the date for submission, as evidenced by the
postmark or deposit slip, but in the second case it is the acknowledgment of receipt given at the time of the
delivery of the full application that will serve as proof.

25
If you want to allow for other devices (e.g. USB sticks) make sure that appropriate IT security measures are in place.
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The deadline for the submission of full applications will be indicated in the letter sent to the lead applicants
whose application has been pre-selected.

The contracting authority may, for reasons of administrative efficiency, reject any application submitted on
time to the postal service but received, for any reason beyond the contracting authority's control, after the
effective date of approval of the full application evaluation, if accepting applications that were submitted on
time but arrived late would considerably delay the award procedure or jeopardise decisions already taken and
notified (see indicative calendar under Section 2.5.2).

Any application submitted after the deadline will be rejected.

2.2.8. Further information about full applications

Questions may be sent by e-mail no later than 21 days before the deadline for the submission of full
applications to the addresses listed below, indicating clearly the reference of the call for proposals:

E-mail address: DELEGATION-MONTENEGRO-CFCU-GRANT-SMART@eeas.europa.eu

Please note that, due to communication breakdown the Ministry of Finance - Directorate for Finance
and Contracting of the EU Assistance Funds (CFCU) is facing following the recent cyber-attacks, the
EU Delegation to Montenegro is temporarily providing the above e-mail address solely for the purpose
of this call for proposals and only for receiving questions from the potential applicants. The CFCU, as
the contracting authority, remains fully in charge for this call for proposals.

The contracting authority has no obligation to provide clarifications to questions received after this date.

Replies will be given no later than 11 days before the deadline for the submission of full applications.

To ensure equal treatment of applicants, the contracting authority cannot give a prior opinion on the
eligibility of lead applicants, co-applicants, affiliated entity(ies), or an action.

No individual replies will be given to questions. All questions and answers as well as other important notices
to applicants during the course of the evaluation procedure, will be published on the website where the call
was published: website of DG International Partnerships:
https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/funding/looking-for-funding_en or Funding & Tender
opportunities (F&T Portal) https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home and
the contracting authority’s website: http://www.cfcu.gov.me/en/tenders/grants/open_calls26 as the need
arises. It is therefore advisable to consult the abovementioned website regularly in order to be informed of
the questions and answers published.

Please note that the contracting authority may decide to cancel the call for proposals procedure at any stage
according to the conditions set out in Section 6.5.9 of the PRAG.

2.3. EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF APPLICATIONS

Applications will be examined and evaluated by the contracting authority with the possible assistance of
external assessors. All applications will be assessed according to the following steps and criteria.

If the examination of the application reveals that the proposed action does not meet the eligibility criteria
stated in Section 2.1, the application will be rejected on this sole basis.

26
Due to the cyber-attack on the government information platforms the contracting authority’s website may be non-
functional. Please use website of DG International Partnerships or F&T Portal for all information regarding this grant
scheme.
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(1) STEP 1: OPENING & ADMINISTRATIVE CHECKS AND CONCEPT NOTE
EVALUATION
During the opening and administrative check the following will be assessed:

 If the deadline has been met. Otherwise, the application will be automatically rejected.
 If the concept note satisfies all the criteria specified in the checklist in Section 2 of Part A of the
grant application form. This includes also an assessment of the eligibility of the action. If any of the
requested information is missing or is incorrect, the application may be rejected on that sole basis
and the application will not be evaluated further.

The concept notes that pass this check will be evaluated on the relevance and design of the proposed action.

The concept notes will receive an overall score out of 50 using the breakdown in the evaluation grid below.
The evaluation will also check on compliance with the instructions on how to complete the concept note,
which can be found in Part A of the grant application form.

The evaluation criteria are divided into headings and subheadings. Each subheading will be given a score
between 1 and 5 as follows: 1 = very poor; 2 = poor; 3 = adequate; 4 = good; 5 = very good.

Scores*

1. Relevance of the action Sub-score 20

1.1 How relevant is the proposal to the objectives and priorities of the call for proposals 5
and to the specific themes/sectors/areas or any other specific requirement stated in the
guidelines for applicants? Are the expected results of the action aligned with the
priorities defined in the guidelines for applicants (Section 1.2)?

1.2 How relevant is the proposal to the particular needs and constraints of the target 5
country(ies), region(s) and/or relevant sectors (including synergy with other
development initiatives and avoidance of duplication)?

1.3 How clearly defined and strategically chosen are those involved (final beneficiaries, 5
target groups)? Have their needs (as rights holders and/or duty bearers) and
constraints been clearly defined and does the proposal address them appropriately?

1.4 Does the proposal contain particular added-value elements (e.g. innovation, best 5
practices)?

2. Design of the action Sub-score 30

2.1 How coherent is the overall design of the action? 5x2**

Does the proposal indicate the expected results to be achieved by the action? Does
the intervention logic explain the rationale to achieve the expected results?

2.2 Does the design reflect a robust analysis of the problems involved, and the capacities 5
of the relevant stakeholders?

2.3 Does the design take into account external factors (risks and assumptions)? 5

2.4 Are the activities feasible and consistent in relation to the expected results (including 5
timeframe)? Are results (output, outcome and impact) realistic?

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 2.5 To which extent does the proposal integrate relevant cross-cutting elements such as 5
environmental/climate change issues, promotion of gender equality and equal
opportunities, needs of disabled people, rights of minorities and rights of indigenous
peoples, youth, combating HIV/AIDS (if there is a strong prevalence in the target
country/region)?

TOTAL SCORE 50

**this score is multiplied by 2 because of its importance

Once all concept notes have been assessed, a list will be drawn up with the proposed actions ranked
according to their total score.

Firstly, only the concept notes with a score of at least 30 will be considered for pre-selection.

Secondly, the number of concept notes will be reduced, taking account of the ranking, to the number of
concept notes whose total aggregate amount of requested contributions is equal to at least 200% of the
available budget for this call for proposals. The amount of requested contributions of each concept note will
be based on the indicative financial envelopes for each lot, where relevant.

After the evaluation of concept notes, the contracting authority will send letters to all lead applicants,
indicating whether their application was submitted by the deadline, informing them of the reference number
they have been allocated, whether the concept note was evaluated and the results of that evaluation. The pre-
selected lead applicants will subsequently be invited to submit full applications.

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(2) STEP 2: OPENING & ADMINISTRATIVE CHECKS AND EVALUATION OF THE
FULL APPLICATION
Firstly, the following will be assessed:

 If the submission deadline has been met. Otherwise, the application will automatically be rejected.

 If the full application satisfies all the criteria specified in the checklist (Section 7 of Part B of the
grant application form). This includes also an assessment of the eligibility of the action. If any of the
requested information is missing or is incorrect, the application may be rejected on that sole basis
and the application will not be evaluated further.

The full applications that pass this check: they will be further evaluated on their quality, including the
proposed budget and capacity of the applicants and affiliated entity(ies). They will be evaluated using the
evaluation criteria in the evaluation grid below. There are two types of evaluation criteria: selection and
award criteria.

The selection criteria help to evaluate the applicant(s)'s and affiliated entity(ies)'s operational capacity and
the lead applicant's financial capacity and are used to verify that they:

 have stable and sufficient sources of finance to maintain their activity throughout the proposed
action and, where appropriate, to participate in its funding (this only applies to lead applicants);

 have the management capacity, professional competencies and qualifications required to successfully
complete the proposed action. This applies to applicants and any affiliated entity(ies).

The award criteria help to evaluate the quality of the applications in relation to the objectives and priorities
set forth in the guidelines, and to award grants to projects which maximise the overall effectiveness of the
call for proposals. They help to select applications which the contracting authority can be confident will
comply with its objectives and priorities. They cover the relevance of the action, its consistency with the
objectives of the call for proposals, quality, expected impact, sustainability and cost-effectiveness.

Scoring:

The evaluation grid is divided into Sections and subsections. Each subsection will be given a score between
1 and 5 as follows: 1 = very poor; 2 = poor; 3 = adequate; 4 = good; 5 = very good.

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Evaluation grid

Maximum
Section
Score

1. Financial and operational capacity 20

1.1 Do the applicants and, if applicable, their affiliated entity(ies) have sufficient in-house 5
experience of project management?

1.2 Do the applicants and, if applicable, their affiliated entity(ies) have sufficient in-house 5
technical expertise? (especially knowledge of the issues to be addressed)

1.3 Do the applicants and, if applicable, their affiliated entity(ies) have sufficient in-house 5
management capacity? (Including staff, equipment and ability to handle the budget for
the action)?

1.4 Does the lead applicant have stable and sufficient sources of finance? 5

2. Relevance 20

Score transferred from the Concept Note evaluation

3. Design of the action 15

3.1 How coherent is the design of the action? Does the proposal indicate the expected 5
results to be achieved by the action? Does the intervention logic explain the rationale to
achieve the expected results? Are the activities proposed appropriate, practical, and
consistent with the envisaged outputs and outcome(s)?

3.2 Does the proposal/Logical Framework include credible baseline, targets and sources of 5
verification? If not, is a baseline study foreseen (and is the study budgeted appropriately
in the proposal)?

3.3 Does the design reflect a robust analysis of the problems involved, and the capacities of 5
the relevant stakeholders?

4. Implementation approach 15

4.1 Is the action plan for implementing the action clear and feasible? Is the timeline 5
realistic?

4.2 Does the proposal include an effective and efficient monitoring system? Is there an 5
evaluation planned (previous, during or/and at the end of the implementation)?

4.3 Is the co-applicant(s)'s and affiliated entity(ies)'s level of involvement and participation 5
in the action satisfactory?

5. Sustainability of the action 15

5.1 Is the action likely to have a tangible impact on its target groups? 5

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 5.2 Is the action likely to have multiplier effects, including scope for replication, extension, 5
capitalisation on experience and knowledge sharing?

5.3 Are the expected results of the proposed action sustainable? 5

- Financially (e.g. financing of follow-up activities, sources of revenue for covering all
future operating and maintenance costs)

- Institutionally (will structures allow the results of the action to be sustained at the end
of the action? Will there be local ‘ownership’ of the results of the action?)

- At policy level (where applicable) (what will be the structural impact of the action —
e.g. improved legislation, codes of conduct, methods)

- Environmentally (if applicable) (will the action have a negative/positive environmental

impact?)

6. Budget and cost-effectiveness of the action 15

6.1 Are the activities appropriately reflected in the budget? /5

6.2 Is the ratio between the estimated costs and the results satisfactory? / 10

Maximum total score 100

If the total score for Section 1 (financial and operational capacity) is less than 12 points, the application will
be rejected. If the score for at least one of the subsections under Section 1 is 1, the application will also be
rejected.

If the lead applicant applies without co-applicants or affiliated entities the score for point 4.3 shall be 5
unless the involvement of co-applicants or affiliated entities is mandatory according to these guidelines for
applicants.

Provisional selection

After the evaluation, a table will be drawn up listing the applications ranked according to their score. The
highest scoring applications will be provisionally selected until the available budget for this call for
proposals is reached. In addition, a reserve list will be drawn up following the same criteria. This list will be
used if more funds become available during the validity period of the reserve list.

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(3) STEP 3: VERIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY OF THE APPLICANTS AND
AFFILIATED ENTITY(IES)
The eligibility verification will be performed on the basis of the supporting documents requested by the
contracting authority: (see Sections 2.2.5). It will by default only be performed for the applications that have
been provisionally selected according to their score and within the available budget for this call for
proposals.

 The declaration by the lead applicant (Section 8 of Part B of the grant application form) will be
cross-checked with the supporting documents provided by the lead applicant. Any missing
supporting document or any incoherence between the declaration by the lead applicant and the
supporting documents may lead to the rejection of the application on that sole basis.

 The eligibility of applicants and the affiliated entity(ies) will be verified according to the criteria set
out in Section 2.1.1.

Any rejected application will be replaced by the next best placed application on the reserve list that falls
within the available budget for this call for proposals.

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2.4. SUBMISSION OF SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
The lead applicant should submit the documents listed in Section 2.2.5

In addition, a lead applicant whose application has been provisionally selected or placed on the reserve list
will be informed in writing by the contracting authority. It will be requested to supply the following
documents27:

1. Declaration on honour: the lead applicant as well as all co-applicants and affiliated entities shall fill
in and sign the declaration on honour certifying that they are not in one of the exclusion situations
(see Section 2.6.10.1 of the PRAG) where the amount of the grant exceeds EUR 15 000. The
declaration on honour shall be dated and signed, either by hand or by applying a qualified electronic
signature (QES)28 by an authorised representative of the signatory.

2. Self-evaluation questionnaire on SEA-H: the lead applicant as well as all co-applicants and affiliated
entities shall fill in the self-evaluation questionnaire assessing the organisation’s internal policy and
procedure against sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEA-H) (Annex L) where the amount
of grant exceeds EUR 60 000 (see Section 2.5.6 of the PRAG) 29.

3. For companies, copy of registration certificate issued by the Central Registry of Business Entities
(CRPS) should be submitted to confirm that the company is registered in Montenegro.

4. Scientific research license issued by the Ministry of Science and Technological Development of
Montenegro (in accordance with Art 28 of the Law on Scientific-research activities - Official
Gazette of Montenegro, No. 80 40/11, 57/14, 82/2020)30. Please note that the license must be
effective at the time of submission of the concept note.

5. For subjects of innovation infrastructure, copy of registration certificate in the Register of innovation
activity issued by the Ministry of Science and Technological Development should be submitted.
Please note that the registration certificate must be effective at the time of submission of the concept
note.

After verifying the supporting documents, the evaluation committee will make a final recommendation to the
contracting authority, which will decide on the award of grants.

NB: In the eventuality that the contracting authority is not satisfied with the strength, solidity, and
guarantee offered by the structural link between one of the applicants and its affiliated entity, it can
require the submission of the missing documents allowing for its conversion into co-applicant. If all
the missing documents for co-applicants are submitted, and provided all necessary eligibility criteria
are fulfilled, the above mentioned entity becomes a co-applicant for all purposes. The lead applicant
has to submit the application form revised accordingly.

2.5. NOTIFICATION OF THE CONTRACTING AUTHORITY’S DECISION

27
No supporting documents will be requested for applications for a grant not exceeding EUR 60 000.
28
Please note that only the QES within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS Regulation) will be
accepted. Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic
identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC.
29
Applicants, co-applicants and affiliated entities who are (i) natural persons (ii) pillar-assessed entities and (iii)
governments and other public bodies do not have to submit the self-evaluation questionnaire.
30
Appendix 8
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2.5.1. Content of the decision

The lead applicants will be informed in writing of the contracting authority’s decision concerning their
application and, if rejected, the reasons for the negative decision. Please note that the lead applicant is the
intermediary for all communications between applicants and the contracting authority during the procedure.

An applicant believing that it has been harmed by an error or irregularity during the award process may
lodge a complaint. See Section 2.12 of the practical guide.

Applicants and, if they are legal entities, persons who have powers of representation, decision-making or
control over them, are informed that, should they be in one of the situations of early detection or exclusion,
their personal details (name, given name if natural person, address, legal form and name and given name of
the persons with powers of representation, decision-making or control, if legal person) may be registered in
the early detection and exclusion system, and communicated to the persons and entities concerned in relation
to the award or the execution of a grant contract.
For more information, you may consult the privacy statement available on
http://ec.europa.eu/budget/explained/management/protecting/protect_en.cfm

2.5.2. Indicative timetable

DATE TIME

1. Information meeting (if any) Date and time to be announced within 15 days of the
launch of this Call for Proposals (see 2.2.4 above)

2. Deadline for requesting any clarifications 9th January 2023 15:00

from the contracting authority

3. Last date on which clarifications are issued 19th January 2023 14:30
by the contracting authority

4. Deadline for submission of concept notes 30th January 2023 14:00h

5. Information to lead applicants on 7th March 2023 -

opening, administrative checks and concept
note evaluation (Step 1)

6. Invitations to submit full applications 7th March 2023 -

6. Deadline for submission of full applications 21st April 2023 -

7. Information to lead applicants on the 31st May 2023 -

evaluation of the full applications (Step 2)

8. Notification of award (after the eligibility 7th July 2023 -

check) (Step 3)

9. Contract signature 28th August 2023

All times are in the time zone of the country of the contracting authority.

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This indicative timetable refers to provisional dates (except for dates 2, 3, and 4) and may be updated by the
contracting authority during the procedure. In such cases, the updated timetable will be published on the web
site where the call was published: website of DG International Partnerships:
https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/home_fr or Funding & Tender opportunities (F&T Portal)
https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home and the contracting authority’s
website: http://www.cfcu.gov.me/en/tenders/grants/open_calls31.

2.6. CONDITIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION AFTER THE CONTRACTING AUTHORITY’S DECISION

TO AWARD A GRANT
Following the decision to award a grant, the beneficiary(ies) will be offered a contract based on the standard
grant contract (see Annex G of these guidelines). By signing the application form (Annex A of these
guidelines), the applicants agree, if awarded a grant, to accept the contractual conditions of the standard grant
contract. Where the coordinator is an organisation whose pillars have been positively assessed, it will sign a
contribution agreement based on the contribution agreement template. In this case, references to provisions
of the standard grant contract and its annexes shall not apply. References in these guidelines to the grant
contract shall be understood as references to the relevant provisions of the contribution agreement.

Implementation contracts

Where implementation of the action requires the beneficiary(ies) and its affiliated entity(ies) (if any) to
award procurement contracts, those contracts must be awarded in accordance with Annex IV to the standard
grant contract.

In this context, a distinction should be made between awarding implementation contracts and subcontracting
parts of the action described in the proposal, i.e. the description of the action annexed to the grant contract,
such subcontracting being subject to additional restrictions (see the general terms and conditions in the
model grant contract).

Awarding implementation contracts: implementation contracts relate to the acquisition by beneficiaries of

routine services and/or necessary goods and equipment as part of their project management; they do not
cover any outsourcing of tasks forming part of the action that are described in the proposal, i.e. in the
description of the action annexed to the grant contract.

Subcontracting: subcontracting is the implementation, by a third party with which one or more beneficiaries
have concluded a procurement contract, of specific tasks forming part of the action as described in annex to
the grant contract (see also the general terms and conditions in the model grant contract).

31
Due to the cyber-attack on the government information platforms the contracting authority’s website may be non-
functional. Please use website of DG International Partnerships or F&T Portal for all information regarding this grant
scheme.
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3. LIST OF ANNEXES

DOCUMENTS TO BE COMPLETED

Annex A: Grant application form (Word format)

Annex B: Budget (Excel format)
Annex C: Logical framework (Excel format)
Annex D: Legal entity form
Annex E: Financial identification form
Annex F: PADOR registration form

DOCUMENTS FOR INFORMATION32

Annex G: Standard grant contract

- Annex II: general conditions
- Annex IV: contract award rules
- Annex V: standard request for payment
- Annex VI: model narrative and financial report
- Annex VII: model report of factual findings and terms of reference for an expenditure verification of
an EU financed grant contract for external action
- Annex VIII: model financial guarantee
- Annex IX: standard template for transfer of ownership of assets

Annex H: Declaration on Honour

Annex I: Daily allowance rates (per diem), available at the following address:
https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/system/files/per_diem_rates_20191218.pdf
Annex J: Information on the tax regime applicable to grant contracts signed under the call.
Annex K: Guidelines for assessing simplified cost options.

Annex L: Self-evaluation questionnaire on SEA-H

Appendices :

Appendix 1 : Law on Incentives for Research and Innovation Development

Appendix 2 : Law on innovation activity
Appendix 3 : Smart Specialization Strategy of Montenegro 2019-2024
Appendix 4 : State aid declaration
Appendix 5 : Law on Bussines Organisations
Appendix 6 : Accounting Law
Appendix 7 : List on Licensed Scientific-research institutions
Appendix 8 : Law on Scientific-research activities
Appendix 9 : Register of licensed and accredited higher education institutions
Appendix 10 : Law on Higher Education of Montenegro
Appendix 11 : Rulebook on the Register of innovation activity

Useful links:

Project Cycle Management Guidelines

https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/funding/managing-project_en

32
These documents should also be published by the contracting authority.
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The implementation of grant contracts
A Users' Guide
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/companion/document.do?nodeNumber=19&locale=en
Financial Toolkit
https://ec.europa.eu/international-partnerships/financial-management-toolkit_en
Please note: the toolkit is not part of the grant contract and has no legal value. It merely provides general
guidance and may in some details differ from the signed grant contract. In order to ensure compliance with
their contractual obligations beneficiaries should not exclusively rely on the toolkit but always consult their
individual contract documents.
* * **

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