The European Commission is inviting applications for Reducing Obstacles and Promoting Access to Basic Services for Third-Country Nationals.

Objectives

The objective of this topic is to improve access to basic services for TCNs, by identifying and reducing obstacles to access services in one or several of the following areas:

• Health care, including mental health, psychological support, COVID-19 related information and support,
• Labour market, especially access to public employment services and to vocational training,
• Social security benefits,
• Housing,
• Financial literacy and access to financial services,
• Continuous education from primary to tertiary levels.

In particular the aim is to improve the quality and availability of information on accessing these services, the capacity of service providers to deal with TCNs, addressing language, cultural and other possible barriers in accessing these services. Consequently, proposals should include a “multi-stakeholder approach” and ensure the involvement of the relevant actors.

Actions

Actions funded under this topic can focus on providing one specific basic service or on a transversal approach to accessing the basic services referred to in the previous section.

Actions can also include the organisation of trainings, conferences, webinars as well as mapping and research.

Proposals should include one or more of the following actions (non-exhaustive list):

• The development and testing of local one-stop-shops to provide information and orientation to a wide range of services, e.g. housing, health care, education, etc.;
• Mechanisms and/or structures to provide effective access to a specific service, such as health care, education, social housing, provision of training for staff in contact with TCNs, e.g. doctors, nurses, teachers, social assistants, interpreters, and administrative staff;
• Setup of cooperation amongst relevant actors relating to innovative tools and/or methods to provide mental health and psychological support to TCNs, especially victims of violence, trauma and/or torture;
• Preparation and provision of adequate language and support courses for TCNs who have the necessary qualifications to access vocational or higher education programmes;
• Support to access to housing through information mechanisms regarding available properties and mediation between TCNs and landlords to facilitate access to housing, especially concerning private housing, which can supplement social housing if shortages occur;
• Actions relating to financial literacy of TCNs and facilitating access to financial services such as creating awareness raising campaigns, organizing trainings, simplifying procedures to open digital accounts and providing incentives for migrants to use digital mediums;
• Preparation and provisions of adequate trainings by qualified institutions for interpreters involved in supporting access to basic services for TCNs;
• Support capacity building for service providers on intercultural competences;
• Promote Public Service Interpreting standard setting, as well as training of interpreters involved in supporting access to basic services for TCNs by qualified institutions;
• Support teacher training for TCNs in order to broaden their competencies in dealing with migrant children while streamlining language learning for TCNs and enhancing teachers’ competences;
• Set up language learning programmes tailored to the learners’ needs in communicative competence.

The proposed actions should employ a “multi-stakeholder approach” ensuring the involvement of relevant actors, such as public authorities (local, regional or national), economic and social partners, employers, service providers in the relevant areas, e.g. health care, housing, and financial services, civil society organisations, including migrant associations and local communities in the design and implementation of the proposed actions. Applicants should consider and clearly detail in their application how the different domains and relevant actors are to be involved.

Outcomes

Proposals should focus on contributing to the achievement of the following outcomes:

• Develop approaches to facilitate access to basic services that can be adapted to local contexts;
• Mapping of obstacles to basic services for TCNs, including main obstacles preventing access to basic services;
• Improved access to comprehensive health care services for TCNs including mental health, women and children's health, taking into account cultural differences;
• Improved access to social security benefits for TCNs as well as to services facilitating labour market integration;
• Improved access to financial services for TCNs;
• Improved access to housing for TCNs by supporting them in their housing queries and helping to provide them with affordable accommodation based on their needs;
• Improved access to education for TCNs at all levels from primary to tertiary;
• Replicable methodology/projects/tools:
• Improved access to health care services, housing, education, financial services, social welfare rights and/or labour market;
• Improved coordination between relevant stakeholders;
• Improved transnational coordination and cooperation between the relevant stakeholders following the implementation of the projects’ actions;
• Increased awareness of the obstacles faced by TCNs to access those services and the possible solutions by relevant actors across the EU.

Eligibility Criteria

• All EU Member States, with the exception of Denmark.
• For UK applicants: Please be aware that following the entry into force of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement on 1 February 2020 and in particular Articles 127(6), 137 and 138, the references to natural or legal persons residing or established in a Member State of the European Union are to be understood as including natural or legal persons residing or established in the United Kingdom. UK entities are therefore eligible to participate under this call.

For more information, visit European Commission.