Knowledge for Action in Prevention and Preparedness (KAPP)

The composition of the consortium can be changed through an amendment procedure after the signature of the grant agreement, respecting the grant agreement and the agreed contribution of the project.

Countries which are not part of the European Union do not need to follow EU public procurement rules as the EU Public Procurement Directive (2014/24/EU) is not applicable to them. On the other hand, ‘Contracting authorities’ receiving grants (as defined by the EU Public Procurement Directive), inside and outside the EU, must apply their national legislation on public procurement.

Subcontractors are physical or legal persons who have been selected to deliver a service following an appropriate public procurement procedure. The name of the subcontractors do not need to be included in the application form Part B, in order to avoid unnecessary amendments should there be a change in subcontracted personnel.

Subcontracting should normally constitute a limited part and must be performed by third parties (not by one of the beneficiaries/affiliated entities). Subcontracting going beyond 30% of the total eligible costs must be justified in the application. Subcontracting going beyond 30% of the total eligible costs must be justified in the application.

It should be presented by all participants which themselves are not the national authority or an international organisation (the status of international organisation should be clearly specified for the respective organisation). If there are several participants from the same country, and none of them is the national civil protection authority, only one letter is required.

The consortium must be composed, in all cases, of at least three legal entities from three eligible countries. Eligible countries are EU Member States, EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) Participating States, Instrument for Pre-Accession beneficiary countries not participating in the UCPM and the European Neighbourhood Policy countries mentioned in section 6 ‘Eligibility’ of the call document. The coordinator must be always from an EU Member States or UCPM Participating State. The decision of the countries to involve correspond to the applicants and it should be coherent with the scope and objectives of the proposed project.

An organisation registered in the United Kingdom or Switzerland cannot participate as a beneficiary or an affiliated entity, unless it is an international organisation. An organisation registered in the United Kingdom or Switzerland could be an associated partner, meaning that it could participate in the project without the right to receive a share of the grant.

Yes, international organisations are eligible. The rules on eligible countries do not apply to them. They do not count to the minimum of three entities from three different countries. Please pay attention to properly identify international organisations as such in the Part A. In addition, international organisations cannot act as lead consortium partner.

Section 6. ‘Eligibility’ of the call document (page 20) establishes that the consortium must include at least one civil protection or disaster risk management public administration organisation, as a beneficiary or associated partner. This organisation may be a national, regional or local authority (+30,000 inhabitants). So, as long as they fulfil these requirements, there are no further limitations.

Yes, a flat rate of 7 % for indirect costs is applicable by default (see Excel Detailed budget template) and should not be removed from the template.

Communication efforts of the projects are very much valued. Especially how the project engages and makes use of the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network is very important as this contributes to ensure project objectives and results reach the broad civil protection community. Communication costs are in general eligible costs. As regards project websites related costs, the call is clear: “project websites: communication costs for presenting the project on the participants’ websites or social media accounts are eligible; costs for separate project websites are not eligible”. Concerning websites, we encourage you to use the project dedicated space on the Knowledge Network platform. Every project will own their own page where they can upload content and write contributions. We also invite you to use your own organisational websites to promote your project. Costs associated to this communication work is fully eligible. Communication material should be reported under category C.3 – other goods works and services, while the staff time should be reported under category A - unless subcontracted (Category B).

Please note that, indeed, the use of actual costs for personnel is possible. The use of average personnel costs (unit cost according to usual cost accounting practices) is only possible for entities that consistently calculate average rates for their staff, as indicated in the Annotated Grant Agreement.

Projects must budget with unit costs in the terms of the call document: average personnel costsPDF; SME owner/natural person; and travel, accommodation and subsistence costs (Annex 2aPDF).

The eligibility of software license costs depends on both the cost and the specific use within the project:

• General software licenses are usually considered part of indirect costs and should be covered by the overhead.

• If the software is specifically needed or developed for the project, it can be classified as a direct cost.

Regarding classification and depreciation, it may vary according to national legislation. If the license is purchased along with equipment, it may be depreciated according to the same rules. Alternatively, it could be classified as "Other goods." If the cost exceeds a specific threshold, it may also be subject of depreciation.

In the case of the KAPP call, volunteers’ costs are not considered as personnel costs, and they are explicitly excluded from being eligible as unit costs. Therefore, volunteers’ costs relating to per diems for transportation and meals, should be allocated to travel and subsistence costs.

The Key Performance Indicators annex should be submitted with the proposal and, if the project is awarded, as a deliverable to be submitted in the last month of the project duration. Please consult pages 17 and 28 of the call document.

LEAR appointment is not a condition for the submission of a proposal, but it must be completed before the signature of the grant agreement.

The signatory of the letter of support must be, in all cases, by the competent national civil protection authority of each country participating in the consortium that will receive the EU grant, namely, beneficiaries and affiliated entities. The only cases when the letter of support is not needed is when the participant is a national civil protection authority itself or if it is an international organisation. It is neither needed for associated partners.

Previous proposals are not publicly available. However, previous funded projects are available in the Funding & Tenders Portal and in the UCPKN page.

The Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network platform (UCPKN) is the hub for prevention and preparedness activities under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. It can be a very useful channel to increase the visibility of your project and a place to share good practice with others. We ask as a minimum requirement that all projects (including those funded under KAPP) use the project page as a communication tool. Depending on the project content, other functions being rolled out in the coming year may also be helpful to your project. This could include: discussion groups, thematic communities and the Knowledge Library. The UCPKN team will work with willing consortia to identify appropriate avenues of contribution. The Commission project officers will be available to answer project-specific questions about the platform once the project implementation phase begins.

In principle, the developments proposed in the question would be eligible. This reply does not prejudge the eligibility and admissibility of the entire proposal.

Activities that are not eligible for funding under the call are also not eligible for funding through subcontracting. Please see section 2.4 ‘Non-eligible activities’ of the call document. Section 10 of the call document includes the cost eligibility rules. Please note that subcontracting going beyond 30% of the total eligible costs must be justified in the application, as indicated in section 13 of the call document.

While the beneficiaries shall decide how to classify their deliverables, projects are expected to make the majority of their deliverables public. For deliverables classified as ‘sensitive’, executive summaries in English of those deliverables should be submitted separately, as a different deliverable.

Yes, one entity may be involved in more than one application, in principle. However, it is fundamental that you prioritise your needs before preparing and submitting a proposal, and make sure that it has the highest possible relevance, quality and impact, not only for the countries involved, but also for the UCPM.

Regarding the financial and operational capacity of the entity, please note that it must have stable and sufficient resources, as well as the know-how and qualifications to successfully implement the project(s). So, please assess your financial and operational capacity before you participate in several proposals.

For questions related to the call document (scope, priorities, eligibility, admissibility, etc.) the contact is ECHO-CP-P-P@ec.europa.eu or ECHO-CP-KAPP@ec.europa.eu. For technical questions related to the submission of the proposal (forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc.) IT-Helpdesk.

The evaluation of the proposals is carried out by an evaluation committee including experts from DG ECHO and other relevant Commission services and agencies.

The grant agreement is the last step before a project starts. It is only required for awarded projects.

The general model grant agreementPDF and the annotated grant agreementPDF are available on the Funding and Tender opportunities portal. They provide detailed information about this document.

While EU funding programmes 2021-2027 share the same EU Annotated Grant Agreement, they may have specific rules and specificities. In terms of keeping records and supporting documents, for projects funded by DG ECHO/under the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, entities need to keep timesheets for employees involved in the project (please see the Model Grant Agreement: Article 20.1 (e)).

No. The final report (known as Periodic Report) - with its two parts - technical and financial - will be submitted in the final reporting and payment phase, opened after the end of the project (deadline for submission of the final report is 60 days after the project closure). However, a Layman report summarising the work of the project for a general audience is required as a mandatory deliverable.