The Minister of Health as the Operator of the
PL13 Programme Reducing social inequalities in health financed by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 and Polish state budget
publishes a restricted call for proposals
for the amount of PLN 64,944,036 i.e. EUR 15,423,206 EUR.
(calculated on the basis of the exchange rate set as the average of the official monthly exchange rate published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union for the six month period up until one month preceding notice publication i.e. EUR 1 = PLN 4.2108)
1. Thematic areas eligible for support under the restricted call
In the restricted call for proposals grants may be awarded to community-based health promotion and/or disease prevention pilot projects consisting of:
- disease prevention programmes and/or
- educational health-related measures.
Projects have to be prepared in accordance with the provided health needs assessment model (Annex 1 to the notice) and health promotion and/or disease prevention programme model (Annex 2 to the notice).
2. Types of entities that may apply for financing
Applications may be submitted by Polish poviats indicated in Annex 3 to the notice. These include poviats with the highest standardised mortality rates (SMRs) in a three-year period 2009-2011, identified in the following categories: all causes of death; malignant neoplasms in total; cardiovascular diseases; respiratory system diseases; digestive system diseases and external causes of death.
This means that the application should be signed and submitted by legal representatives of poviats indicated in Annex 3 according to Article 48 of the Act of 5 June 1998 on poviat local government or in the case of cities with poviat rights - Article 46 of the Act of 8 March 1990 on municipal local government.
Each of the entities indicated in Annex 3 to the notice may submit only one application.
Should the applicant submit more than one application, the Programme Operator shall request the applicant to indicate the proposal that is to be appraised until a specified deadline. The remaining applications shall be withdrawn by the applicant. Otherwise, all proposals submitted by a given applicant shall be rejected.
3. State aid
Generally, poviats as local governments provide non-commercial health care. Pilot projects will be implemented on the basis of health promotion and/or disease prevention models. Accordingly, support for poviats for the aforementioned programmes will not constitute unauthorised state aid, as defined in Article 107 (1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
4. Partnership projects
Projects under the restricted call may be implemented in partnerships. No extra points at the stage of application appraisal will be awarded to partnership projects, yet the Programme Operator encourages project implementation with partner institutions from both Poland and Norway.
Eligible project partners from Norway include municipalities/county authorities as well as NGOs, research and educational institutions (universities and colleges) operating in the field of health care.
Partners from Poland may only include other poviats indicated in Annex 3 to the notice. Each eligible entity may be a partner in unlimited number of proposals.
5. Amounts allocated to project financing
The total allocation available within the NFM grants and Polish state budget is PLN 64,944,036, i.e. EUR 15,423,206. The national contribution is financed by the Programme Operator, which means that there is no need for the Project Promoter to provide own contribution to cover a part of eligible project costs.
6. Grant rate
Grant rate (co-financing level) for all Project Promoters - 100% of the total eligible project costs.
The minimum value of total eligible project costs amounts to PLN 1,263,240, i.e. EUR 300,000.
The maximum value of total eligible project costs amounts to PLN 4,210,800, i.e. EUR 1,000,000.
The grant will be paid in PLN.
7. Specific terms of expenditure eligibility
All measures planned under a project must comply with the Regulation on the implementation of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014.
Eligible expenditures under the project have been specified in Article 7.3. of the Regulation. A derogation in PL13 form Article 7.3 of the Regulation consists in the purchase of land or real estate (this cost is not eligible).
According to Article 7.3 of the Regulation, eligible expenditures include:
- costs of staff assigned to the project;
- travel and subsistence allowances for staff taking part in the project;
- costs of new or second hand equipment, provided that it is depreciated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles applicable to the Project Promoter and generally accepted for items of the same kind. Only the portion of the depreciation corresponding to the duration of the project and the rate of actual use for the purposes of the project may be taken into account by the Programme Operator as eligible costs;
- costs of consumables and supplies;
- costs resulting from by other contracts awarded by a Project Promoter for the purposes of carrying out the project, provided that the awarding complies with the applicable rules on public procurement and the Regulation (especially costs of educational and prevention programmes, including medical procedures);
- costs arising directly from requirements imposed by the project contract for each project (e.g. dissemination of information, specific evaluation of the action, audits, translations, reproduction), including the costs of any financial services (especially the cost of financial guarantees).
Detailed rules of expenditure eligibility are set forth in the Applicant's Manual, which constitutes Annex 6 to the notice.
In the case of including indirect costs in the application, the Project Promoter may choose between two options of reimbursement:
- in line with Article 7.4.1a of the Regulation - expenditures are identified and reimbursed on the basis of actual indirect costs borne by those Project Promoters and project partners that have an analytical accounting system to identify their indirect costs,
or
- in line with Article 7.4.1b of the said Regulation - as a flat rate of up to 20% of total direct eligible costs excluding direct eligible costs for subcontracting and the costs of resources made available by third parties which are not used on the premises of the Project Promoter - reimbursement of expenditures is based on a report made by an independent certified auditor confirming that the flat rate overheads represent a fair apportionment of the overall overheads.
The applicant is obliged to indicate the selected method of settling indirect costs in the application.
The costs of the following items shall be eligible under the project:
- project activities,
- project management,
- information and publicity,
- reserve for unforeseen expenditures.
Budget limits:
- The maximum amount of management costs represents 10% of the total amount of eligible project costs.
- The maximum amount of reserve within the project budget represents 5% of the total amount of eligible project costs. Funds may be allocated to unforeseen expenditures in accordance with Article 6.7.3 (k) of the Regulation.
The Project budget has to include sufficient funds for information and publicity to meet the requirements specified in the Information and Publicity Requirements available at www.zdrowie.gov.pl.
Expenditure specified in Article 7.6 of the Regulation, real estate and land purchase, and expenditure unrelated to the project objectives, as well as expenditure incurred before or after the eligibility period shall be considered non-eligible.
Projects that apply for Programme grants may not generate profit.
It is not possible to use a project for commercial purposes.
The final date of project expenditure eligibility is 30 April 2016.
8. Selection procedures and criteria
The projects are evaluated in two steps: formal review and content-related appraisal. Only projects that comply with all formal criteria will be subject to content-related appraisal. The selection procedures and criteria shall adhere to non-discrimination and tolerance principles.
Formal review is carried out by the Formal Review Team (ZOF). The review is carried out with zero-one method, which means that the fulfilment or non-fulfilment of formal criteria is verified.
Content-related appraisal of each application is carried out by the Content-Related Appraisal Team (ZOM-T).
ZOM-T experts score projects according to the content-related appraisal chart.
In case of health criteria, a project must comply with accessibility criteria in order to be subject to review in terms of other health-related criteria and finance & management criteria. This means that obtaining a negative assessment (0) as regards accessibility criteria excludes the application from the content-related appraisal.
Next, ZOM-T experts score each criterion on evaluation charts.
Based on the given scores a ranked list is developed. A project has to score at least 22 points (out of 36) for content-related criteria in the field of health care and 14 points
(out of 23) for content-related criteria in the field of finances and management to enter the ranked list. Moreover, if a project is awarded 0 points for criterion 3 (Coherence of the proposed disease prevention and/or health promotion programme with the outcome of the health needs assessment)
or 7 (Impact on horizontal issues and compliance with European and national law) included on the health-related appraisal chart, the project shall be rejected at the stage of content-related appraisal.
Furthermore, if a project is awarded 0 points for criterion 8 (Eligible expenditure) included on the finance and management chart, the project shall be rejected at the stage of content-related appraisal.
Dissemination of project outcomes and undertaking project-related actions after its completion give extra points (maximum 4) at the stage of finance and management appraisal (criterion 5 Multiplier effects in the project).
Detailed selection criteria are as follows:
I Formal criteria:
(a) Criteria in relation to which no supplements or adjustments to an application can be made:
1. Was the application submitted to a correct institution before the deadline?
2. Was the application submitted on a correct form for PL13 (in one original hard copy)?
3. Is the applicant one of the poviats indicated in the notice of the call for proposals that are eligible under the programme?
4. In the case of partnership projects: Is the partner one of the eligible partners?
5. Does the total amount of eligible expenditure indicated under "Total amount of eligible expenditure" in the application form comply with the financial limit indicated in the notice of the call for proposals?
6. Does the amount of management costs indicated under "Total amount of eligible expenditure" in the application form comply with the financial limit indicated in the notice of the call for proposals?
7. Does the project completion date comply with the date of expenditure eligibility indicated in the notice of the call for proposals?
(b) Other criteria that can be supplemented or adjusted in accordance with the Guidelines of the Minister of Regional Development on the procedure of the call for proposals under the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014.
8. Is the application form signed by a person authorised to represent the applicant and dated in accordance with the Application form user guide?
9. Does the application include all annexes required by the Application form user guide?
10. Is the submitted electronic version of the documents (CD/DVD) consistent with the hard copy and recorded in formats specified in the notice of the call for proposals?
11. Are the application form and all annexes (with the exception of a summary in English and documents signed by a partner from a Donor State) made in Polish? (Letter of Intent / Partnership Agreement concluded with a Norwegian partner must be prepared in two counterparts, in English and in Polish)
12. Are the following documents prepared in English?
- project summary
- statement on VAT eligibility of the Norwegian partner (if applicable),
- statement on the eligibility of the Norwegian partner (if applicable),
- Letter of Intent / Partnership Agreement concluded with a Norwegian partner (if applicable - Letter of Intent / Partnership Agreement concluded with a Norwegian partner must be prepared in two counterparts, in English and in Polish).
13. Are all mandatory boxes in the application form filled in?
14. Does the amount of financial reserve comply with the limit indicated in the notice of the call for proposals?
15. Is each annex signed or initialled and provided with a personal name stamp by a person authorised to represent the applicant and dated in accordance with the Application form user guide?
16. Are all true copies certified by a person authorised to represent the applicant?
17. Does the project contribute to at least one mandatory outcome indicator (i.e. "Community-based health promotion programmes" and/or "Community-based disease prevention programmes")?
18. Does the information included in the application form (i.e. financial limits, indicator values and project duration) comply with the information provided in the annexes?
II Content-related criteria in the field of health care:
(a) Accessibility criteria:
1. Is the health needs assessment included in the application conducted in accordance with the health needs assessment model attached to the notice of the call for proposals?
2. Is disease prevention and/or health promotion programme included in the application prepared according to the disease prevention and/or health promotion model attached to the notice of the call for proposals?
Only projects that meet accessibility criteria shall be verified in terms of the remaining content-related criteria. Points for accessibility criteria are not added to the points for health-related criteria.
(b) other content-related criteria in the field of health care.
1. Presentation of a problem diagnosed in the poviat area during health needs assessment
2. Target group
3. Coherence of the proposed disease prevention and/or health promotion programme with the outcome of the health needs assessment
4. Tools for the execution of individual measures
5. Project comprehensiveness
6. Impact on the implementation of priorities included in European, national and regional strategic documents
7. Impact on horizontal issues and compliance with European and national law
If 0 points are awarded for criterion 3 or 7, the project shall be rejected from content-related appraisal.
III Content-related criteria in the field of finances and management.
1. Measurability of indicators
2. Risk analysis
3. Project schedule
4. Time feasibility of the project
5. Multiplier effects in the project
6. Rationality and necessity of project expenditure
7. Correctness of planned expenditure
8. Eligibility of expenditure
9. Budget accuracy
10. Functionality of project management mechanisms
11. Project monitoring and evaluation
12. Substantive capacities of the project team
13. Applicant's experience in the implementation of projects financed with non-refundable funds from foreign sources
14. Information and publicity
If 0 points are awarded for criterion 8 (Eligibility of expenditure), the project shall be rejected at the stage of content-related appraisal.
Formal review and content-related appraisal charts together with detailed criteria are to be found in annexes 7 and 8 to the notice.
9. Information on the means of appeal available to applicants
Applicants may appeal against a decision to reject the application at the stage of formal review and content-related appraisal. The appeal procedure follows a two-tier principle. The appeal in the first tier is considered by the Programme Operator. The appeal in the second tier is considered by the National Focal Point.
The National Focal Point's decision is final and may not be appealed against.
No appeal is envisaged against the decision of the Selection Committee and the Programme Operator concerning the ranked list.
Details of the appeal procedure are provided in the "Guidelines of the Minister of Regional Development on the procedure of the call for proposals under the EEA Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014" and in the Applicant's Manual.
10. Ranked list
After the expiry of the deadline for the submission of appeals against the results of the content-related appraisal, the Programme Operator estimates the value of the financial reserve available after the end of the appeal procedure.
The ranked list is submitted to the Selection Committee. The Committee reviews the ranked list and may modify it in justified cases. The Selection Committee presents a list of recommended projects to the Programme Operator. The Operator checks whether the process of project recommendation was in line with the Regulation on the implementation of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 and whether the recommendations of the Selection Committee comply with the principles and objectives of PL13. After such a verification, the selection results are approved by an Officer in the Ministry of Health. Next, the Officer in the Ministry of Health approves the decision of the Selection Committee on granting assistance to selected projects. After the applicant accepts the terms and conditions of grant assistance provided in the decision of the Officer in the Ministry of Health, a project contract is signed.
In the case of projects placed on the ranked list as a result of an appeal, the procedure is the same as described above, i.e. the Selection Committee reviews the ranked list, and then the Programme Operator submits the list for approval to the Officer in the Minister of Health.
11. Standby list
Projects that have been positively verified and exceeded a threshold specified in the notice, but have not been awarded grants due to limited allocation for the programme, are placed by the Programme Operator on a standby list.
If any additional funds are unlocked e.g. due to a Project Promoter abandoning a project or shifts between programmes, the Programme Operator shall sign a project contract with applicants in accordance with their order on the standby list.
12. Payment system
NFM and state budget project grants take the form of advance payments, with the exception of the final balance, which shall take the form of expenditure reimbursement. The total assistance transferred to a Project Promoter in the form of advance payments shall not exceed 90% of the allocated grant.
The first advance payment up to 10% of the grant is made after the conclusion of the project contract. Interim payments are only made if the Programme Operator certifies that previous interim payments settled in the payment claims have been spent correctly in substantive and financial terms. The payments of subsequent instalments are made subject to approved payment claims and depend on the settlement of at least 70 percent of the already received advance payment. This requirement may be cancelled by the PO in justified cases. The final balance representing 10% of the grant shall be paid after the approval of the final project report by the Programme Operator.
The Project Promoter submits the following documents to the Programme Operator:
- interim reports (payment claims) for: January-April, May-August, September-December),
- project final project report.
Project Promoters submit payment claims no later than 10 working days after the end of the reporting period.
All eligible expenditures related to the project implementation must be evidenced by true copies of invoices or accounting documents of equivalent probative value, along with copies of documents certifying the payment and receipt of a service, a payroll and agreements with contractors.
In the case of partnership projects implemented with Polish or Norwegian entities, the Project Promoter shall attach to the payment claim: true copies of invoices or accounting documents of equivalent probative value, along with copies of documents certifying the payment and receipt of a service, a payroll and agreements with contractors related to the partner's expenditure. Alternatively, a payment claim may be accompanied by a report by an independent certified auditor certifying that the reported costs have been borne in accordance with the Regulation, the national law and accounting practices of the project partner's country, which is a sufficient proof of expenditure incurred by the project partner.
13. Project sustainability.
Project funds are allocated e.g. for popularising the achieved objectives and for increasing the scope of effective measures that will be continued after project completion. Therefore, the project shall describe how the achieved results will be used to ensure long-term positive effects also after its completion. Projects that clearly indicate ways to disseminate project results and ensure sustainability of measures after project completion will be awarded extra points (maximum 4) at the stage of content-related appraisal (criterion 5 - multiplier effects in the project - finance and management appraisal).
14. Time, place and manner of submitting applications.
The call for proposals takes place from 31 March 2014 to 2 June 2014 until 4:15 p.m.
The application form should be submitted in one hard copy signed by a person authorised to represent the Applicant and in one electronic version (CD/DVD). The data carrier containing completed application form with annexes should be attached to the hard copy of the application.
Files recorded on the carrier must be in formats read by MS Office /Acrobat Reader, and:
- the application form must be in MS Excel format (e.g. .xlsm) and as a scan to be read by Acrobat Reader (.PDF),
Scans of the other documents must be done when documents are signed/initialled by an authorised person.
Health needs assessment and health promotion and/or disease prevention programmes should be recorded on a CD/DVD in the form of scans signed/initialled by an authorised person and in a format read by the MS Office (the electronic version does not require signature/initials).
Valid application form and annexes are available on the website of the Programme Operator www.zdrowie.gov.pl, section EEA FM and NFM 2009-2014 (EEA and Norway Grants) / PL13 call for proposals 1/2014 / Documents.
The application form has to be delivered in an envelope or a parcel by post, courier mail or in person. In the case of sending the application in a post office or by courier mail, the applicable date is the date as postmarked or of the postal receipt, yet the date of delivery to the seat of the PO shall not be later than 10 days from the deadline for application submission - this period consists of working days from Monday to Friday (from 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.) with the exception of bank holidays.
Place of filing the documents:
Ministry of Health
Department of European Funds
ul Długa 38/40 room 109 (secretariat)
00-238 Warsaw
The application form should be submitted in a sealed envelope or a parcel with the following information:
- Wniosek aplikacyjny w ramach PL07 [Application form for PL07]
- Nr konkursu: [Call number] NMF/PL13/2014
- Project name:
- full name and address of the applicant,
- Programme Operator's full name (Ministry of Health - Department of European Funds) and address (ul. Długa 38/40, 00-238 Warszawa).
The application form should be encased in a binder or a file with a label containing the aforementioned information.
15. Documents
The application form should be prepared in line with the following programme and application documents annexed to the notice:
Application documents
1. Health needs assessment model
2. Health promotion and/or disease prevention model
3. List of poviats authorised to take part in the restricted call, together with the methodology of their selection
4. Application form
5. Application form user guide together with documents templates
6. Applicant's Manual - Principles of application preparation and participation in the call for proposals for PL13 Reducing social inequalities in health
7. Formal review chart
8. Content-related appraisal charts
Programme documents
9. Memorandum of Understanding on the implementation of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014
10. Regulation on the implementation of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014
11. Guidelines of the Minister of Regional Development on the procedure of the call for proposals under the EEA Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014
12. Other guidelines of the Minister of Regional Development available at: www.eog.gov.pl
16. Contact details for additional information
The duties resulting from the function of the Programme Operator served by the Minister of Health are carried out by the Department of European Funds in the Ministry of Health.
Address:
ul. Długa 38/40
00-238 Warszawa
Additional information may be obtained on working days from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., by calling 22 530 01 66 or writing at: eog@mz.gov.pl.
In accordance with Article 35 § 1 of the Code of Administrative Procedure, all inquiries shall be processed without delay (in general - within 21 working days; however, in justified cases this deadline may be extended).
All information required to submit an application is available on the website of the Programme Operator www.zdrowie.gov.pl, section EEA FM and NFM 2009-2014 - (EEA and Norway Grants / PL13 call for proposals 1/2014
