Background	Deadline
Grant Size	Application Forms
Own Contribution	Application & Procedures
Funding Priorities	Languages
Grantmaking Criteria	Tips
Project Duration

Within the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the rehabilitation and development directorate (YDAS-2 – Hellenic Aid 2) is in charge of cooperation with NGOs. It is responsible for all the phases from evaluation to implementation of development programmes submitted by NGOs or universities and aimed at the sector-by-sector development and reconstruction of developing countries. It oversees compliance with the criteria and conditions that these programmes must satisfy, based on sectors and priority countries.

Once a year, Hellenic Aid addresses calls for proposals to ministries, legal entities, NGOs, universities, etc. that wish to submit programmes/projects for consideration. This invitation sets out the goals of the development cooperation policy for the year, the priority sectors for development aid, the priority countries related to the MDGs, as well as other relevant details regarding the proposal submission procedure.

If grants are in excess of €60,000 a decision of the General assembly of the Association to accept the programme is required. If the amount is less than €60,000 a decision of the Board of Directors of the Association is required to accept the programme. Grants that are in excess of €100,000 require a letter of guarantee for good project execution.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs co-finances 50% of the total budget for the programme. The NGO is required to contribute at least 15% of the total cost either financially or in kind; however, the ministry could provide up to 75% of the total budget for programmes where:

• the programme is implemented in priority countries of national development policy;

• new NGOs that have not acquired two years of experience in implementing programmes in developing countries are acting jointly; or
• there is a reliable local partner, development priorities of the developing country are compatible, and the programme contributes significantly to combating poverty.

Basic Priority Sectors of co-financed Development Programmes are:

• Enhancing anthropocentric programmes pertaining to the social sector, basic health, basic education and vocational training involving young people and women in particular 
• Enhancing programmes for environmental protection, agricultural growth, housing, and material and technical infrastructure 
• Enhancing programmes in sectors producing income and substantially reducing the level of poverty 
• Enhancing programmes in the department of small infrastructure and local business initiatives in order to combat underemployment and unemployment 
• Enhancing programmes in the sectors of human rights, gender equality, the building of democratic institutions, enhancement of local communities and participatory decentralised growth 

Programme implementation agencies are Ministries and NGOs registered in the Foreign Ministry’s Registry of NGOs and other Civil Society Agencies.

Eligibility criteria are:

• Hellenic Aid is able to fund Greek NGOs. Efforts are being made to alter regulations to enable it to fund, through the local Greek embassy,  international NGO projects in developing countries as well. Hellenic Aid is not able to fund activities by NGOs from other OECD countries.
• Good acquaintance with the country and particularly the specific area where the programme is implemented, in addition to the local needs, situation and problems
• Ability to cooperate and coordinate with local NGOs, other local development agencies, in addition to knowledge of governmental priorities
• Ability to cooperate with European NGOs and international organisations actively involved in the same area
• Ability to motivate Greek civil society and new volunteers in solidarity activities involving problems in developing countries and countries in transition
• The Greek NGO must also have a minimum of two years’ field experience and adequate human resources and administrative experience to implement the proposed project.
• Eligible programmes should meet the following fundamental criteria
• They should meet the fundamental needs for economic and social development of the population in developing countries effectively, particularly with regard to poorer layers and vulnerable groups, such as children and women.
• They should improve the quality of life of the target group and also enhance the local population’s ability to promote development and the enhancement of its income by employing their own powers
• They should promote ownership of development advantages deriving from implementing programmes within local communities

All applications must be made in regard to EU and Greek legislation and in particular:

• The Law 2731/1999 (GG 138.A/05.07.1999), "Regulation of issues Bilateral Official Development Cooperation and Assistance legislation on Non-Governmental Organisations and other provisions”
• The Presidential Decree 224/2000 (GG193 A '/ 6.9.2000) "For the organisation, staffing and operation of the Agency for International Development Cooperation (Y.D.A.S.) Ministry of Foreign Affairs'
• The Law 2297/1995, Article 7 (GG 50/8.3.1995), in conjunction with Decree 159/2002 (Official Gazette 140/17.6.2002)

One year

Applications for general call for proposals in 2008 had to be submitted no later than 31st July.

Each programme proposal submitted must be accompanied by:

• a written agreement with a reliable local NGO or, in the absence of such, with a local municipal or state authority;
• a document from an official state authority in the recipient country, in co-operation with the NGO, regarding the need for the proposed programme; and
• written consent from the nearest Greek diplomatic mission regarding the programme (to be requested by the implementing agencies).

documents, will not successfully pass the preliminary evaluation phase conducted by the competent Directorates of Hellenic Aid.

Application and Procedures

All applicants submit the proposal in print and electronic form. In the initial stage, the programme/project proposals are evaluated by the competent Hellenic Aid Directorates. The second stage involves the consideration of proposals by the nine-member NGO Certification and Evaluation Committee, in an advisory capacity. The objective is, on the one hand, to guarantee that all the approved programmes/projects square with the goals of the overall development strategy and the geographic and sectoral priorities of Greece’s Five-Year Development Cooperation and Assistance Programme, and, on the other, to administer the implementation of the bilateral Official Development Assistance budget.

Once the development programme/activity has been approved, the implementation agency signs a Financing Contract with Hellenic Aid. The amount financed by the Greek public sector, through Hellenic Aid, is disbursed in three instalments. The first instalment is given in advance upon contract conclusion, while the other two after the submission of the respective mid progress reports by the NGO to Hellenic Aid as well as the relevant opinion of the competent Greek diplomatic authority.
 
Following up each implementation stage of the programme/activity constitutes a sine qua non on part of the evaluation procedure and, consequently, a necessary prerequisite for the continuous amelioration of the humanitarian and development assistance provided by Greece. Thus, during all implementation stages, Hellenic Aid executives as well as members of the Greek diplomatic missions abroad conduct an in-depth performance monitoring and thorough evaluation of the progress and outputs, resulting from the aforementioned development interventions.

Greek

The presence of a reliable local partner able to ensure the sustainability of projects after the involvement of the Greek NGO has ended is a fundamental condition for receiving co-financing from Hellenic Aid.

The Greek Committee for Development NGOs can also be contacted for more general information on development cooperation and on accredited NGOs.¹ 

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¹ Contact information can be found in the NGO Platform Contact Information section of this Guide.