The green economy, green skills and green jobs are poised to play a key role in a sustainable recovery of the Southern Mediterranean region in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The post-crisis reconfiguration of economies is an opportunity to make use of the lessons learned during the pandemic, in particular with a view to advancing green transition, digitalization and value chain management.
With the Grant Scheme to Promote Employment and Entrepreneurship in the Green Economy, the UfM is actively supporting not-for-profit organisations that work to advance the green transition of economies in the Southern Mediterranean in an inclusive and socially just way. Building on the previous UfM Grant Scheme, which supported employment promotion projects in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this Grant Scheme focuses on sustainable approaches to job creation, skill acquisition and entrepreneurship in the green economy.
With the financial support of GIZ, on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ) and the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID).
This Grant Scheme’s overall objective is to support the green transformation of the Southern Mediterranean economies with a view to supporting employment promotion in the green economy. This call for proposals is especially targeted to benefit vulnerable groups, which are disproportionately affected by the consequences of climate change and the related changing socio-economic landscape.
The specific objectives and priorities of this call for proposals are the listed below.
Fostering skills, especially for young people and women, in order to enhance their chances to find employment in sectors related to the green economy transition
Supporting entrepreneurial activity and the capacities of MSMEs with a view to enabling income generation and job creation in green and sustainable sectors.
Supporting the economic empowerment of women in the green economy, for example through skills training, awareness raising or capacity building initiatives.
In addition, projects that provide for the following elements of added value, may obtain a higher score:
Regional added value
Proposals demonstrate an ac-tual need for the UfM region and address common regional needs by providing tangible benefits for the identified target groups.
Innovation
Proposals consider state of the art methods, techniques, international best practices and lead to innovative solutions and results for the concer-ned territories.
Complementarity
Proposals take into account interna-tional, national and/or regional po-licies and other projects, as well as other programmes in the coopera-tion area in order to exploit potential synergies and complementarities.
Impact
Foreseen impact of proposals in a medium- and long-term perspective (beyond project duration) is based on quantifiable result indicators.
Sustainability
The sustainability of project outputs and results will ensure territorial impact and long-term benefits.
Response to climate change
The project needs to be related to the challenges of climate change and their relation to the Mediterranean economies and labour markets.
Experience
The applicant should have a proven track record of working in the proposed field of action, either through individual expertise and experience, previous projects, or partnerships with experienced stakeholders.
Target groups
Projects with a special focus on vulnerable target groups are preferred, such as women, people living in rural areas, young people struggling to enter the labour market, migrants and people with disabilities.
Local Context
The initiative should clearly account for the local conditions it is to be implemented in.
Additionally, becoming a grantee gives you access to the UfM’s technical expertise, networking opportunities and visibility.
Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall under a minimum amount of 150.000€ and a maximum amount of 300.000€.
Furthermore, any grant requested under this call for proposals must represent a minimum of 50% of the total eligible costs of the action and a maximum of 80% of the total eligible costs.
The balance (i.e., the difference between the total cost of the action and the amount requested from the contracting authority) must be financed from sources other than the Union for the Mediterranean.
The initial planned duration of an action may not be lower than 6 months nor exceed 12 months.
Only applications in which the lead applicant or at least one co-applicant are based in one of the following UfM Member States will be considered: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia.
Actions can only take place in one or multiple of the following UfM Member States: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia.
Priority will be given to regional actions, i.e., involving at least 3 of the aforementioned countries.
In order to apply for a grant, the lead applicant must:
Government agencies, local authorities, public sector operators and international organisations are not eligible under this call
It is important to note that enterprises cannot apply directly for funding under the Grant Scheme, nor can funds be forwarded to for-profit entities.
The deadline for the submission of applications is the 19th of June 2023 at 15:00 (Barcelona, GMT+1), as evidenced by the date and time of email reception, or the date and time of delivery receipt.
Any application submitted after the deadline will automatically be rejected.
It is important to note that enterprises cannot apply directly for funding under the Grant Scheme, nor can funds be forwarded to for-profit entities. However, the activities or measures to be implemented may provide capacity building for enterprises with social benefit purposes.
Deadline for requesting any clarifications from the contracting authority
08/05/2023
Last date on which clarifications are issued by the contracting authority
18/05/2023, 11h
Deadline for submission of applications
19/06/2023, 15h
Information to lead applicants on opening, administrative checks and concept note evaluation (Step 1)
15/09/2023
Information to lead applicants on the evaluation of the full applications (Step 2)
31/10/2023
Notification of award (after the eligibility check) (Step 3)
27/11/2023
Contract signature
20/12/2023
Before submitting the documents, please read our guidelines.(there is no Annex F)
Annex H:
Annex I:
Daily allowance rates (per diem), available at the following address
In a first step, the applications will be evaluated according to their relevance and design. After this pre-selection, the proposals will be selected according to these criteria:
If you have questions regarding this call, please contact: callforproposals@ufmsecretariat.org
This webpage and brochure have been prepared for information and dissemination purposes. Further requirements and conditions are specified in the guidelines and corresponding annexes. For more detailed information, please consult these documents.
