Division 5.2 Operating grants

Article 21 of the LIFE Regulation provides for support for certain operational and administrative costs for non-profit-making entities which pursue an aim of general Union interest, are primarily active in the field of environment and/or climate action and are involved in the development, implementation and enforcement of Union policy and legislation.

The system of biennial framework partnership agreements for operating grants, established under the MAWP 2014-2017, will be maintained in order to keep the balance between the need for certainty and stability of the beneficiaries and a certain level of competition among non-profit-making entities. In this framework, a restricted call for proposals will be organised in 2018. It will address only those NGOs that were selected for an FPA signature under the FPA call in 2017 (call identifier: LIFE-NGO-FPA-EASME-2017).

In 2019, a new call for proposals for FPAs will be launched, to select the NGOs for an operating grant covering their financial years 2020 and 2021. This will be followed by two restricted calls in view of signing specific grant agreements with the FPA partners.

Operating grants outside the call for proposals may be awarded in duly justified exceptional cases as defined in Article 190 Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012^f1, in particular where the characteristics of the beneficiary leave no other choice or where the beneficiary is identified as such in a legal basis.

Proposals will be checked for their compliance with eligibility and selection criteria. For proposals that comply with these criteria, the overall relevance and quality will be assessed in relation to the award criteria. Points will be given according to these criteria and a minimum quality level will be required. The final award decision will be taken based on the results of the evaluation process.