Once selected, the Fund Operator will work with the FMO and the Donor Contact Point to develop a bilateral plan (‘plan for the bilateral fund’) for the full implementation period of the programme. The Donor Contact Point must be invited to provide input to the plan. The bilateral plan should also be coordinated with the other selected Fund Operators.

The bilateral plan concerns the use of the bilateral funds for the achievement of the bilateral objective. It shall describe the administrative procedures for how to manage the fund to best achieve the bilateral objective. It shall outline the main priorities for bilateral cooperation, how the bilateral funds will be used to support these priorities, which and how the open calls will support bilateral cooperation, and the cooperation foreseen with the Donor Contact Point. 

The Fund Operator will submit the bilateral plan to the FMO for approval in GrACE within 12 months of the signing of the Programme Implementation Agreement. The plan is in English, and follows the template provided by the FMO.

From the second year of implementation and onwards, the Fund Operator submits annual updates to the plan for the bilateral fund to the FMO.

The FMO will share information on the bilateral plans with the other EEA Civil Society Fund Operators to ensure a strategic approach to bilateral cooperation across the Beneficiary States and informs the Donor State Embassies of significant bilateral activities.

The Fund Operator will make the bilateral plan available via their webpage.

7.1 Fund for bilateral relations

The Fund Operator is responsible for the use of the bilateral fund and makes sure the activities contribute to the bilateral objective and to the Fund objective.  

Both donor state entities and relevant entities in the beneficiary state shall be eligible beneficiaries as promoters or partners under the bilateral fund.

The involvement of a donor state entity is a prerequisite for the activity to be considered a bilateral activity. International organisations may also be involved in bilateral activities, provided that there also is a donor entity involved. Experts from third countries can participate in specific activities funded by the bilateral fund. The Fund Operator should strive to finance initiatives that have a clear bilateral profile and serve the purpose of strengthening bilateral relations between the Donor and Beneficiary States.

As an example, in an event supported under the fund for bilateral relations, having attendants from Donor State entities at the actual event is not considered sufficient to define the activity as ‘bilateral’. The event must reflect the bilateral ambition throughout the event programme, e.g. through a focus on exchanging relevant experiences between the donor and beneficiary state. Donor partners shall be actively involved in planning and organising the activity.

Examples of activities that could be carried out under the fund for bilateral relations include:

• matchmaking events
• development of donor partnership project applications
• technical cooperation and exchange of experts
• secondments and internships
• capacity building and short-term training
• workshops and seminars on topics of common interest
• joint side events at international meetings
• joint participation in international network organisations
• study tours and visits
• data collection, reports, studies and publications
• campaigns, exhibitions and promotional material

This list is non-exhaustive.

Examples of bilateral activities under the fund for bilateral relations 

The Fund Operator in cooperation with the FMO and the Donor Contact Point assesses that several project promoters are active in the field of human rights education and would benefit from cooperation with a donor partner in this area. With support from the Donor Contact Point, possible donor partners with experience in this are identified. Exchange visits and internships between donor and beneficiary state partners are organised, enabling sharing of good practice in human rights education that benefits both parties and strengthens bilateral relations.

A project partner in the beneficiary state has identified an area for common concern with a donor state and would like to initiate exchange study visits, With the help of the Donor Contact Point and in cooperation with the Fund Operator, they identify a suitable partner in the donor country. Study visits and conferences facilitate mutual learning and enable both sides to improve policy and practice.

Support for exploring partnership possibilities 

The fund for bilateral relations may be used for activities that support exploring partnership possibilities and/or the development of project applications. This support can include for example travel and meeting costs for potential partners or any costs related to the development of the project application or development of the partnership. Funds for this purpose can be allocated through open calls for proposals at specific points of time (e.g. some months prior to the main calls for proposals), or by allowing for applications on a continuous basis, depending on the specificities of the programme.

Question: Is it necessary to have a Selection Committee for initiatives funded under the bilateral fund? (1) If yes, can it be an extra Selection Committee or do we need to use a Selection Committee that has been established for one of the thematic outcomes? (2) If no, can the Steering Committee of the Fund Operator be the decisive body?

Answer: Depending on what sort of initiatives the bilateral funds will support, different types of selection procedures might be appropriate. For certain travel grants an administrative eligibility check has sometimes been considered sufficient without further assessment of the applicants. The main issue is for the process to be proportionate from an administrative perspective while still ensuring due process and transparency. It would be good to have a mechanism for selection, and a simple selection committee is a transparent way of selecting projects. This could be done also as a written procedure, without an official meeting or by the Steering Committee of the Fund Operator or by an existing Selection Committee.  

(1) You can select the process that would work best for you. 

(2) Yes, the Steering Committee of the Fund Operator can be the decisive body. Please note you should still produce minutes of the selection.

The Fund Operator can also initiate and organise events and meetings to promote donor partnership projects, for instance through outreach and matchmaking seminars for potential project applicants and potential donor project partners, to allow them to explore cooperation possibilities. The Fund Operator may decide to distribute such funds through calls for proposals, or simple expression of interest.

Where a Fund Operator themselves implement a bilateral initiative, there must be a separation of tasks between the staff selecting and monitoring the initiative and the staff implementing the initiative.

In the awarding of funds for bilateral relations, the Fund Operator shall apply the principles of good governance, transparency, equality, efficiency and zero-tolerance towards corruption. 

The success of the funds for bilateral relations is dependent on relevant entities being aware of the availability of funding opportunities. Information on the existence and the procedures for the use of the bilateral fund shall therefore be accessible to all relevant stakeholders, including to Donor State entities. The information must be available in English.

7.2 Bilateral funds eligibility costs and disbursement

Question: Can personnel costs related to bilateral activities be covered under the budget for bilateral cooperation? 

Answer: Personnel costs for implementing bilateral activities can be covered by the bilateral fund. Care must be taken to ensure such costs covered directly by the bilateral outcome would not fall under the responsibility of what the Fund Operator is expected to cover with the management fee when it comes to bilateral, paying particular attention to Article 2.1.(w): facilitating and encouraging bilateral exchanges at programme and project level which will be mutually beneficial and contribute to the objective of the Programme, including defining administrative procedures and managing the funds in a way that will facilitate such exchanges.

The Fund Operator’s staff costs related to organising a bilateral call, selecting the initiatives and contracting are covered by the programme management fee.

For reference, bilateral activities include networking, exchange, strengthening cooperation, sharing and transfer of knowledge, technology, experience and good practice between civil society organisations and other entities in the Beneficiary States and in the Donor States. Therefore, when planning costs to be charged to the bilateral fund, always consider how those costs link to the above-mentioned activities. This is especially important if you have doubt on whether a personnel cost is to be covered under the management fee or the bilateral fund. If in doubt, do not hesitate to contact the FMO.