The European Union (EU) has announced a call for proposals for the Cyber Diplomacy Support Initiative.

Objectives and Priority Issues

The global objective of this call for proposals is to promote and protect a single, open, free and secure cyberspace which fully reflects and respects the core EU values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. 

The specific objective(s) of this call for proposals are to contribute to: 

• Increased consensus in partner countries for open, free, and secure cyberspace, through the promotion of existing international law, norms of state behaviour and confidence building measures in cyber space and increase cyber resilience (Cyber consultations component)
• Greater convergence between partner countries and regional organisations standards, policies and best practices and those of the EU (Cooperation and Capacity Building Component)
• Raised awareness of the EU's contribution to global cyber stability and resilience in partner countries and regional and international organisations (Outreach and Public Diplomacy component).

The priority(ies) of this call for proposals are:

• To enhance engagement and advocacy through regular dialogues and consultations with key global partners on cyber security topics of shared or converging interest;
• To increase consensus with partner countries on how to apply existing international law in cyberspace;
• To enhance development of cyber norms and confidence building measures;
• To strengthen multi-stakeholder cyber engagement; and
• To enhance dissemination of EU best practices in strengthening cyber resilience and protecting critical cyber infrastructure.

This Action will complement EU official cyber dialogues with strategic partners and its engagements at regional and international level. The action should coordinate with the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission activities in the context of the ongoing EU international engagements on cyber diplomacy and resilience. 

Funding Information

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 3,500,000. The contracting authority reserves the right not to award all available funds. 

Size of grants

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:

• Minimum amount: EUR 3,000,000
• Maximum amount: EUR 3,500,000

Eligibility Criteria

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 specific type of organisation such as: think tanks, non-governmental organisation, research institutes or other civil society organisations, EU specialised agencies and regional and international (inter-governmental) organisation as defined by Article 156 of the EU Financial Regulations, and
• be established in a Member State of the EU or in an eligible country as defined under the Regulation (EU) No 236/2014 establishing common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union's instruments for external action (CIR) and Regulation (EU) No 234/2014 establishing a Partnership Instrument for cooperation with third countries. This obligation does not apply to international organisations, 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.

Co-applicant(s)

• 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 entity(ies)

• 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, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU 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.

For more information, visit EuropeAid and download the guidelines.