SOCIEUX Guide for Partner Institutions

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1 SOCIEUX Guide for Partner Institutions (version 11/10/2013) Purpose of the Guide The Guide for Partner Institutions provides information about the SOCIEUX programme, such as the functioning of the facility, the social protection areas covered and the possible types of intervention. It also contains detailed information on how partner institutions may request assistance under SOCIEUX and the financial and logistical aspects linked to the organisation of Actions and Activities. Scope: this guide applies to public administrations and mandated bodies dealing with social protection in partner countries who want to request SOCIEUX s technical assistance. 1. About SOCIEUX 1.1. What is SOCIEUX? SOCIEUX - Social Protection European Union Expertise in Development Cooperation - is a technical assistance facility established by the European Commission s Directorate General for Development and Cooperation EuropeAid- to support the efforts of partner countries to better design and manage social protection systems by means of short-term advice How does SOCIEUX work? Based on requests for assistance submitted by partner countries, the SOCIEUX team will then: assess the request and develop a detailed action plan; recruit and mobilise appropriate experts, mainly from EU Member States; implement a tailored assistance action; evaluate achievements; ensure further support and follow-up. The following workflow reflects the facility s functioning: Request Approval Implementation Evaluation Public administrations of partner countries submit request to SOCIEUX team or EU Delegation Request fine tuned in close collaboration with requesting authority and EU Delegation Preparation of Action Form Submission of Action Form for approval by EuropeAid Rapid mobilistation of social protection experts Preparation and organisation of activities Evaluation of the action by all stakeholders Dissemination of results Sharing best practices 1.3. Areas of technical assistance SOCIEUX has defined the areas of social protection for which assistance can be provided with the aim of enhancing the capacities of partner countries to better design, manage and implement inclusive, efficient and sustainable social protection systems. The areas of assistance are organised in a) thematic area of social protection and b) horizontal dimensions of social protection, as follows: a) thematic area of social protection (non-exhaustive list): Access to basic social services such as: education, health and employment; 1

2 Social Assistance: cash transfer programmes, child and the disabled support grants, social pensions and other old age benefits, income guarantee schemes, employment guarantee schemes, public works; Social Insurance: contributory pension schemes, health and accident protection, unemployment protection. b) horizontal dimensions of social protection: legal/ regulatory framework; policy/strategy development; management and administration; financing and budgeting; monitoring and evaluations systems, statistics and registration systems; communication and PR; IT systems, etc Methodology of SOCIEUX s interventions The SOCIEUX Actions may range from the very structural aspects, such addressing structural/institutional shortcomings in the beneficiary institutions to interventions that aim at ad-hoc transfer of know-how and expertise to strengthen existing capacities or respond to punctual needs. Some examples of these interventions (non-exhaustive) could be: assessment or fact-finding missions screening and reviews of legislation & strategic documents support in drafting legislation & strategies train-the trainer seminars technical trainings SOCIEUX is geared towards activities that take place within the beneficiary country, although approaches such as study visits to third countries, both within and outside the European Union, can also be considered How long will Actions and Activities last? SOCIEUX s Actions may contain on average up to 6 short term (1 to 2 weeks) Activities: 1 Action = several Activities; length of each individual Activity = 1-2 weeks 2. Eligibility, evaluation and application 2.1. Who is eligible for SOCIEUX? Eligible countries Countries eligible to benefit from SOCIEUX are those covered by EuropeAid assistance, in particular under the Development Cooperation Instrument, the European Neighbourhood Instrument and the European Development Fund: European Neighbourhood Latin America, Asia (including Central Asia) and Middle East Africa, Caribbean and Pacific The complete list of eligible partner countries is provided in the Annex I. 2

3 Eligible institutions Public authorities and mandated bodies (national and local) with responsibilities in the field of social protection from the above mentioned partner countries are eligible to apply for SOCIEUX. More precisely, the following public and semi-public sector bodies are considered as eligible: central governments, ministries, legislative councils and regional governments, mandated bodies, other institutions responsible for the implementation or provision of social protection. However, other stakeholders such as civil society organisations, social partners, international donors, etc. will be involved in the implementation of SOCIEUX Actions Criteria for request evaluation Requests for technical assistance actions will be evaluated and approved on the basis of the following categories of criteria: Relevance: To what extent is the proposed request for technical assistance suited to the objectives and principles of the European Commission Communication on Social Protection in EU Development Cooperation 2012? To what extent is the application relevant for the development of sustainable social protection systems in the respective country? Feasibility: Are the goals stated in the request realistically attainable within the expected timeframe (SOCIEUX Actions consist either of one or of a series of Activities; each Activity consists of a short-term mission of 1-2 weeks)? Effectiveness: To what extent does the request for technical assistance help the partner institution implement its initiative/project and meet the needs and priorities of its country? Sustainability: Are measures/policies/impact resulting from technical assistance likely to continue and grow after the completion of the Action? 2.3. Request approval The requests are assessed and evaluated according to the criteria presented above by the SOCIEUX team with the support of the European Commission services. It is the European Commission who decides whether a request is approved or rejected. The final decision will be communicated by to the requesting institution(s) approximately five weeks after the receipt of the request How to apply for SOCIEUX technical assistance? Interested partners institutions are invited to: 1. Download the SOCIEUX Request Form (doc. format) available at: ec.europa.eu/europeaid/socieux If you experience difficulty downloading the Request Form, please contact the SOCIEUX team (see below); 2. Fill out the Request Form in English or French; 3. Attach relevant supporting documents and information that are deemed appropriate; 4. Sign and date the request; 5. Please send the completed Request Form by , letter or fax to: SOCIEUX Social Protection European Union Expertise in Development Cooperation Avenue Paul Deschanel 62, 1030 Brussels, Belgium Telephone: / Fax: / contact@socieux.eu ec.europa.eu/europeaid/socieux 3

4 3. Financial and logistical aspects 3.1. Costs covered by SOCIEUX For all actions and activities carried out under framework of SOCIEUX, the following costs will be covered: Financial compensation, travel and accommodation for the experts contracted Translation of documents Interpretation upon request of the partner institution For workshops or seminars- costs for venue, catering, interpretation, accommodation and local transportation of participants (under certain conditions presented below) Financial and logistical provisions for participants taking part in SOCIEUX activities Accommodation Participants who live in a distance of at least 100 km away from the venue are entitled to accommodation (including the night before the activity). For activities lasting more than one day, all Participants (including those residing less than 100 km from the venue, but excluding those residing at the place of the venue) will have to be accommodated during the activity. The SOCIEUX team or national staff providing logistical/administrative support shall take care of the booking and payment of the accommodation of Participants who are entitled to it, on a 'bed & breakfast' basis Local travel Transport to and from the venue of an activity can be organised. National Participants, living more than 400 km from the venue, are entitled to travel by plane, organised by the SOCIEUX team/local support. In order to avoid high local (inter-city) transport costs for internal flights, trains, bus or taxis, the SOCIEUX team should, wherever possible, organise group transport, e.g. hiring cars, minibuses or buses as appropriate. These arrangements shall be agreed with the requesting institution. Should they not wish to travel by plane, travel costs will be reimbursed as a lump sum following a request of the partner country s institution and upon prior agreement of the SOCIEUX team. The rates to be paid as lump sum to the Participants are to be agreed on a case by case basis and should also be checked with EuropeAid. In general the transport for the participants within a partner country should be organised by the SOCIEUX team. Local travel agencies might also be asked for support International travel Partner countries Participants attending an activity abroad are entitled to have their international travel arranged and paid for (booking, issuing of tickets and payment) by the SOCIEUX team. Exceptionally, and with the prior agreement of the SOCIEUX team, travel arrangements can be made and directly paid for by the Participant. The corresponding costs shall be reimbursed as soon as possible upon receipt of a proper invoice and supporting documents (original ticket and boarding passes). 4

5 If the ticket bought independently is more expensive than the ticket that would have been bought by the SOCIEUX team, reimbursement of costs will be limited to the value of the latter. If the Participant insists on a more expensive travel option than the one proposed and if the reason for rejecting the proposed option is not related to professional activities, the difference between the costs of the two flight options is deducted from the per diem. Flight tickets are reimbursed only on the basis of economic class and only if the boarding passes are kept and provided as supporting evidence Per diems Participants from the partner countries who need to travel outside of their country in order to take part in a SOCIEUX Activity are entitled to receive a per diem for each overnight spent outside their normal place of posting. For a one-day Activity with no night spent on site, half the per diem is granted. The per diem covers accommodation costs, meals, local travels and sundry expenses at the location and during the period of the activity. Any per diem to be paid for an Activity undertaken as part of this contract must not exceed the per diem rates published on the Web site: The per diems will be paid as lump sum, without evidence of actual costs, on the basis of the travel schedule and justified by boarding passes or other additional documents for missions not requiring travel by air. The per diem shall be made available by bank/money transfer services to the Participants latest on arrival in the location where the activity takes place. A signed receipt from each Participant is required Visa Participants who may need visa are responsible for obtaining it themselves. The SOCIEUX team will however assist the Participants by providing useful information regarding the visa procedures and by intermediating the preparation and delivery of an invitation letter by the host institution. Visa costs will be reimbursed to the Participants (from incidental expenditure) upon request and provision of an invoice Insurance and vaccinations Participants also need to take of vaccinations and insurance necessary for the travel and during the mission. The costs for vaccinations and insurance specifically required for an activity can be covered by the incidental expenditure. Participants who need to travel abroad for attending an Action will be provided with international health and accident insurance for the duration of their mission. 5