Call for Proposals: Rising Together - Action for Children & Women’s Rights in Laos

About

The European Commission has launched a call for proposals to help strengthen fundamental rights and rule of law in the Lao PDR, with a focus on girls and women, especially from ethnic groups and/or migrant workers in rural areas.

Objectives of the Programme and Priority Issues

• The specific objectives are as follows according the below Lots:

  • Lot 1: Elimination of child labour: prevention and response

    • The specific objective of Lot 1 is to contribute to work towards the elimination of child labour both in terms of prevention and response in the Lao PDR, in line with Government policies in this area.

    • The priorities of this call for proposal under this Lot 1 will be closely linked to the EU priority to promote child rights and responsible trade and investments in the Lao PDR under the Green and Inclusive Economy priority area in the MIP. It should also be seen from the perspective of the commitment of Lao PDR to graduate from the Least Developed Countries group status in 2026.

  • Lot 2: Women and girls’ social and economic empowerment

    • The specific objective of Lot 2 is to promote women and young girls rights, contributing to their social and economic empowerment at the local and national level.

    • The priorities of this call for proposal under this Lot 2 will focus on three domains: women’s access to economic assets, services and opportunities; enabling environment; and women’s voice and agency, in line with the 2nd National Plan of Action on Preventing and Elimination of Violence Against Women and Violence against Children (2021-2025), and the 4th National Plan of Action on Gender Equality (2021-2025).

• Proposals from both lots should respond to their specific priorities listed above, and must both apply a human-rights based approach, considering groups in vulnerable situations (e.g. persons with disabilities), and a gender-transformative approach as per the European Union principles and the GAP III.

• Cross-cutting issues include: promotion of human rights, gender equality, youth empowerment, democracy, good governance, conflict prevention, children's rights, indigenous peoples, environmental sustainability, non-discrimination, the rights of persons belonging to minorities, the rights of persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups including victims of human trafficking.

Sectors or Themes

• Child rights and gender equality.

Funding Information

• The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 2,660,000.00 The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds.

• Indicative allocation of funds by lot distribution:

  • Lot 1

    • Total available budget: EUR 1,000,000.00.

    • Maximum amount: EUR 1,000,000.00

  • Lot 2

    • Total available budget: EUR 1,660,000.00.

    • Maximum amount: EUR 1,660,000.00

Duration

• The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 36 months nor exceed 48 months.

Types of Activities

• Types of activities which may be financed under this call include:

  • Lot 1

    • Support activities to raise awareness of the child rights and the impact of child labour.

    • Strengthen labour relations and to build knowledge and capacities for local and national authorities on issues of decent work, forced and child labour, and the implementation of the existing legal framework.

    • Support strengthening laws and regulations and/or better enforcing the existing laws against child labour.

    • Address child labour in supply chains.

    • Contribute to reduce poverty, and the need of child labour, through alternative livelihood options.

  • Lot 2

    • Strengthen women’s voice and meaningful participation in social and economic life.

    • Create an enabling environment for women’s economic activities and access to productive resources and eco-system services, including women’s access to land activities, technology, and finance.

    • Strengthen women’s financial and business development skills, improving women’s access to markets, and better access to financial services, with a special focus on digital financial services.

    • Support local women-led organisations’ actions that promote women social and economic empowerment.

    • Promote digital literacy for women, as well as digital skills for jobs and entrepreneurship while addressing the gender norms and stereotypes that steer women away from technology.

Location

• Actions must take place in the Lao PDR.

Eligibility

• Lead applicant(s)

  • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:

    • be a legal person and

    • be non-profit-making and

    • be a civil society organisation (CSO) and its associations and

    • be established in Lao PDR, or in a Member State of the European Union or in any other country and

    • In case the lead applicant is established in a Member State of the European Union or any other country, it must have a country office registered in the relevant ministry of Lao P.D.R. 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.

  • International (inter-governmental) organisations as defined by Article 156 of the EU Financial Regulation   are not eligible, nor can act as co-applicant(s) under this call for proposals.

• Co-applicant(s)

  • If the Lead applicant is established in a Member State of the European Union or in any other country, it must have at least one co-applicant CSO established in Lao PDR.

  • 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 form.

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

• 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:

      • Control 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).

      • 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.