Ist CALL FOR PROPOSALS JANUARY 2013 Foundation for the Development of the Education System as the Programme

Operator of the Scholarship and Training Fund in Poland announces the 1st open Call for proposals The Scholarship and Training Fund appointed within EEA and Norway Grants aims to contribute to the development of social and economic cohesion within European Economic Area through facilitating cooperation in the field of education between Poland and the Donor States: Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. 1. Eligible activities for financing within 1st Call for proposal Call is open for applications submitted within the Preparatory Visits short mobilities of representatives of educational institutions, aiming at: establishing cooperation between institutions; supporting and developing of existing inter-institutional contacts; preparing and planning joint project; submitting of an application for one or several measures covered by the Fund or other programmes. 2. Eligible applicants Poland Institution which may participate in any of the actions within the Scholarship and Training Fund: schools (primary, lower-/upper secondary, vocational), HEIs and other institutions engaged in formal education. Polish institution needs to have partner -a hosting institution from Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. Donor States (Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway) The eligible institutions are: schools, HEIs, other institutions providing education at all levels, private sector enterprises and social partners cooperating with education institutions, private and public organisations including not-for-profit and non-governmental institutions, research centres. An applying institution from Donor State needs to have a partner from Poland as a hosting institution. 3. Project duration Duration of one visit is from 1 up to 5 working days. Visit may start on 7th March 2013 at the earliest and has to be finished on 30th June 2013 at the latest. 4. Total allocation

The total possible amount of funds to be distributed between beneficiaries (allocation from EEA/Norway Grants 2009-2014 as well as national contribution) within this Call for Proposals is 200 000 EUR. Call for proposal is on-going thus each application fulfilling formal and quality criteria will be recommended for funding on current basis as long as the budget is available. 5. Project grant rate Grant from the STF will cover 100% of total eligible project costs. No contribution of the applicant is required. 6. Eligible costs The following categories of expenditures will be eligible within the Preparatory Visits: cost of travel and insurance up to 500 ; subsistence cost of 250 per day; additional, individual cost resulting from disability (if applicable). 7. Selection criteria Project appraisal is a two-staged process and consists of formal and content-related appraisal. Only projects that meet all the formal criteria will be subject to content-related appraisal. The formal and content-related appraisal is carried out by the Programme Operator. Applications will be regarded as meeting the formal and eligibility criteria if i.a.: a) are submitted within defined deadline, b) are submitted using appropriate application forms, c) are signed by relevant persons, d) all required obligatory annexes are attached. The complete list of all criteria is given in the Formal assessment sheet. The quality assessment will comprise a review of following points: a) objectives of the visit for individual and institution; b) agenda and plan for the activities to be undertaken during the visit; c) contribution of the activities planned to drafting the future project; d) qualifications and professional background of the participant; e) letter of intent (Host institution) and letter of recommendation (Home institution) confirming that the institutions are supporting the visit. Additionally, quality assessment will include a formal assessment of the requested budget in relation to activities proposed. Formal and content-related appraisal sheets together with detailed selection criteria are to be found in the attachment to the announcement. The final recommendation of the projects for financing is made by the STF. The final decision on the projects to be financed is made by the FRSE Management Board by means of resolution.

8. Information on appeal measures available to applicants Applicants may turn to appeal procedure against the decision to reject the application at the stage of formal check or content-related appraisal. The appeal procedure consists of two instances. The Programme Operator is the institution of the first instance while the National Focal Point (NFP) is the second instance. There is no appeal procedure against the decision of the second instance. There is also no appeal procedure against the decision of the Programme Operator. 9. Payment flows and reporting An advance payment up to 80% can be made upon signature of contract. A final balance payment, up to 20% can be made upon acceptance of the Completion Report. The final settlement of the project is made upon acceptance of the Completion Report, submitted within 10 working days after completion of the visit. The report includes confirmation from the hosting institution and travel documents confirming incurred expenditure. In case of additional questions, the Programme Operator may ask Beneficiary for further explanations/clarifications. 10. Date, place and mode of submitting the applications for project financing The application is submitted to the Programme Operator at least 8 weeks before the planned visit. The Call for proposals takes place from 10th January 2013 till 7th March 2013, till 16:00. The deadline refers both to the hard copy version and electronic version of the application submitted via application form generator. The application form must be submitted via application form generator that is to be found at online.frse.org.pl. Then, the printed version of the application form together with all required attachments must be delivered in one envelope or parcel, through the post (in this case, the deadline refers to a post stamp), dispatch rider (in this case, the deadline refers to register date) or in person, in 2 copies to the Programme Operator under the address: Foundation for the Development of the Education System (FRSE) The Scholarship and Training Fund 43 Mokotowska str. 00-551 Warsaw Poland 11. Documents to be downloaded Application documents: Application form template Instruction on completing the application List of attachments Formal assessment and quality assessment sheet

Guideline for applicants Additional programme documents: Regulations on the implementation of the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 Guidelines of the Donor-States (available at http://www.eeagrants.org/id/2511.0) Guidelines of the Ministry of Regional Development (available at http://www.eog.gov.pl) For additional information, please contact (working days, from 9.00 till 16.00): Foundation for the Development of the Education System (FRSE) Scholarship and Training Fund 43 Mokotowska str. 00-551 Warsaw tel.+48/22 46 31 000 fax +48/22 46 31 028 fss@frse.org.pl www.fss.org.pl According to the art. 35 1 of the Administrative Code in Poland all queries will be answered without undue delay (in general - within 21 working days, but in justified cases this period may be longer). Contact details for additional information on partner search for Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein: Norway Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU) Veena Gill and Ieva Serapinaite Postbox 7800 N-5020 Bergen Norway tel. + 47 55 30 88 00 fax + 47 55 30 88 01 siu@siu.no www.siu.no Iceland Icelandic Centre for Research (RANNIS) Vidar Helgason Laugavegur 13 101 Reykjavk Iceland tel. +354 515 5800 fax +354 552 9814

rannis@rannis.is http://www.rannis.is Liechtenstein Agentur fr Internationale Bildungsangelegenheiten Marion Kindle-Khnis Postplatz 2 / Postfach 22 FL- 9494 Schaan tel. +423 236 7220 fax +423 236 7224 info@aiba.llv.li http://www.aiba.llv.li/ http://www.eeagrants.li.com Supported by a grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.