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EDF Micro-Projects
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BACKGROUND

The European Development Fund (EDF) does not form part of the general Community budget, but is managed by the European Commission. The first EDF (or EU-ACP Partnership Agreement) was set up in 1959 and since then EDFs have continued to be created. Each EDF typically lasts five years and budgets, strategies and priorities are negotiated for each agreement individually. For more information on the EDF, go to: http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/r12102.htm

The legal basis for EDF Micro-Projects (also: Multi-Annual Micro-Project Programmes, known as MMPs) for ongoing activities is the Cotonou Agreement, which entered into force on 1 April 2003 (art. 70, 71). All future initiatives will fall under this ACP-EU Agreement (the 9th EDF) concluded at the same time as the Cotonou Agreement and which also came into effect in April 2003. Its main focus is on poverty reduction and ultimately eradication, sustainable development and progressive integration of the ACP (African Caribbean Pacific) countries into the world economy. The complete Cotonou Agreement can be viewed at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/body/cotonou/index_en.htm

For the first time, sexual and reproductive health is explicitly integrated in an EU-ACP Partnership Agreement (art. 25 of the Cotonou Agreement).

As a practical response to the development needs of local communities, the EDF participates in the financing of micro-projects at the request of the ACP States. Programmes for micro-projects cover projects, which are likely to have an economic and social impact on the life of the people and the local communities in the ACP States. These projects are carried out mainly in rural areas. The general framework of these programmes is laid down in the National Indicative Programmes (NIPs) and in the Regional Indicative Programmes (RIPs) and is set out in more detail in the Annual Workplan for each initiative.

The Micro-Project Programmes are one potential resource for decentralised co-operation. They are intended to support community or collective projects and they are implemented with the participation of the people who will benefit from the programme. They typically involve small economic and social facilities in rural environments (e.g. village water supplies, building of infrastructure, education and health projects).

TYPES OF GRANT

Financing of micro-projects in ACP States comes from the EDF, with the exception of South Africa, which has a special budget line 21 03 17 financed from the EC general budget.

GRANT SIZE

The grant size (EDF contribution) shall not normally exceed 75% of the total costs of each project and may not exceed the limit set in the Indicative Programme.

OWN CONTRIBUTION

The EC can contribute up to 75% of total project costs. The balance shall be provided either by the local community concerned (in kind or in the form of services or cash and adapted to its capacity to contribute), or by the agents of decentralised co-operation, or exceptionally by the ACP State concerned (in the form of a financial contribution or through the use of public equipment or the supply of services).

FUNDING PRIORITIES

In order to be eligible for EU funding, the micro-projects must incorporate the following basic principles of:

• collective benefit (have a social and economic impact on the lives of all the local community)
• contribution (in kind or in cash as required from partners)
• ownership (beneficiaries should be included at every stage of the process).

Individual funding priorities for each country and each region are specified in the National Indicative Programmes (http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/body/country/country_en.cfm) and the Regional Indicative Programmes (http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/body/csp_rsp/rsp_en.cfm)

More detailed information is given in the Financing Agreements, which can be obtained from the desk officers or from the EC Delegation (see weblink above) for each country.

GRANTMAKING CRITERIA

The EDF contributes to the financing of micro-projects at the request of the ACP States concerned and must be based on an initiative from the local community, which is to receive the aid. Further, it must address a real priority-need demonstrated and observed at local level and be undertaken with the active participation of the local community.

Micro-projects are normally co-financed by:

• the local community concerned, in the form of a contribution in kind, or by supplying services or cash, in accordance to its capacity to contribute;
• the EDF, whose share normally does not exceed three-quarters of the total costs of each project. This ceiling does not apply to technical assistance which, where applicable, may be planned either at programme level or at the level of individual projects and is usually carried out by individual experts or by European NGOs;
• the ACP State concerned, in the form of a financial contribution, or by making public equipment available or providing services.

GUIDELINES

Specific guidelines are elaborated individually for each country. Please contact the responsible EuropeAid unit (see contacts above) for relevant information on particular projects.

PROJECT DURATION

Multi-annual project duration: the maximum project duration is usually five years. However, no official minimum or maximum duration limit exists.

DEADLINE

No deadline applies.

APPLICATION FORMS

No application forms exist.

APPLICATION AND PROCEDURES

NGOs interested in participating either directly or indirectly (e.g. through the local counterparts) in Micro-Project Programmes should contact the local Commission Delegation and the relevant National Authorising Officer (NAO), who is usually an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Co-operation or Finances. Alternatively, the relevant EuropeAid unit in Brussels (see above) can be approached.

Each Multi-Annual Micro-Project Programme is approved in Brussels by the EuropeAid office. Within the framework of a programme, which has already been approved, the local Head of the Commission Delegation is empowered to sign agreements directly for each project to be financed.

LANGUAGES

All EU languages, however, English and French are preferred.

TIPS

Make sure to provide a clear list of objectives, a detailed and transparent budget and logical framework, as well as performance indicators. The activities should fit in with the country’s strategy and involve beneficiaries and other interlocutors as much as possible.

It is also advisable to keep in touch with the national authorities and the EC Delegation as to their priorities and what other related projects are in progress.

latest update of this datasheet: 01.02.2005

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