EUROPEAN COMMISSION Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis The ‘Madad Fund’ EUROPEAN UNION REGIONAL TRUST FUND IN RESPONSE TO THE SYRIAN CRISIS, THE 'MADAD FUND' Q&A WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR PARTNERS On 15 December 2014, the European Commission and Italy signed the constitutive agreement to launch the first ever EU Regional Trust Fund as a new strategic financing tool to mobilise more aid in response to the Syrian Crisis. The initial funding of €40 million for the EU Trust Fund is coming from the EU budget and Italy. Germany also announced a €5 million contribution to the EU Trust Fund. Further substantial contributions from the EU budget are expected before the end of the year, when a second round of response programmes can be adopted. The EU Trust Fund will initially focus on support to refugees and host communities in Syria's neighbouring countries. While other already existing Trust Funds for affected countries operate only at a national or subnational scale, the EU Trust Fund provides a regional scope responding to a regional crisis, thus enabling the EU and its Member States to jointly intervene flexibly and quickly in response to shifting needs during the crisis. The EU Trust Fund will also bring strong efficiency gains on the financial side, as it can operate with overhead costs of significantly less than 5%, depending on the size of overall contributions. It could also become a funding vehicle for a future post-conflict reconstruction effort already being operational when the time comes. It will address the massive and increasing resilience and stabilisation needs in Syria's neighbouring countries, in particular Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt, as well as inside Syria. The first Board meetings of the Madad Fund took place on 29 May 2015 in Brussels. Opened by Commissioner Johannes Hahn, the EU Trust Fund Board adopted first response programmes for €40 million. It will provide aid to about 400,000 Syrian refugees and most affected host communities in Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan, focusing on education, livelihoods and food security, targeting especially children and young people. The following provides all questions received by partner organisations since the initial information session on 26 March 2015 regarding potential EU Trust Fund funding opportunities for their proposals and projects, with the respective answers in a general Q&A document. This document and the Action Documents adopted by the Madad Fund Operational Board will be made available online on the dedicated website http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/neighbourhood/countries/syria/madad/index_en.htm Commission européenne/Europese Commissie, 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel, BELGIQUE/BELGIË - Tel. +32 22991111 Questions asked by partners by email to the functional mailbox near-madad@ec.europa.eu (Version 3 – 13 July 2015 – updates are shaded in yellow) No. 1. Question Answer General information and background on the Madad Fund All information about the Madad Fund is available at its dedicated Commission website: a) I would like to have more information about Madad program and in particular about the HE dimension. http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/neighbourhood/cou ntries/syria/madad/index_en.htm b) I was searching for the following documentation related to the MADAD fund, which I have been unable to source: ‘Madad Fund "Detailed description of the objectives and purpose of the Trust Fund" adopted with the Madad Fund agreement by the Commission on 10 December 2014’ The "Detailed description of the objectives and purpose of the Trust Fund" is to be found at the end of the Fund’s agreement, equally available on the website: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/neighbourhood/pdf/ key-documents/syria/20120212-signed-ca-eutfc) The Q&A document refers several times to a "Detailed syrian-crisis-and-annex1-objectives-anddescription of the objectives and purpose of the Trust purposes.pdf Fund" adopted with the Madad Fund agreement by the Commission on 10 December 2014", which I don't seem to be able to access. Could you please send the link of this document to me? d) Where can we find the detailed objectives and activities of the Madad trust fund? And which countries can apply for projects in this program? 2. Format for concept notes and proposals a) Template (full proposal, concept note + which annexes and do these need to be in the EU general format)? b) Are there submission formats that we can use to present our plans? c) Is there a specific CN template for consortiums to adopt? d) We planned to use the formal Europeaid template (4 pages max) for the Concept Note. Is it also still valid for the Madad Trust fund or should we submit a longer Concept Note? For first submissions, please use the general format for concept notes for grants (Part A of application form): http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/annexes.do?ann exName=E3b&lang=en A specific format for concept notes for the Madad Fund might be introduced in the coming months. In the meantime applicants should continue using the above general format for grants. The 4-page limit might be moderately exceeded in view of the scope of the proposal. No detailed budget is requested at this stage but a synthetic budget and other relevant annexes can be added. e) Could you tell me more about the policies of the Fund (type of activities, locations, implementers, applicant Please submit concept notes directly and at all times entities etc.) and about the procedures for submitting a only to the functional mailbox near-madad@ec.europa.eu project? f) Please can you kindly send us the latest version of the submission form and eventual guidelines for applicants if available? It is not necessary to submit the signed declaration by the applicant at this stage. The declaration will be requested in the contract preparation phase. g) We are working on drafting a CN to apply to the Madad fund; we understood that there is a simplified format for application? Is that correct? Or should we On 29 May 2015, the Operational Board of the Madad fund adopted the document “Operational 2 No. Question Answer use the general CN for grants? h) Is the submission of annexes such as Organisational Chart, details on a project module, etc. together with the Part A of the Application eligible and wanted ? 3. i) As you mentioned in your last Q&A document that this is not a Call for Proposals, I was wondering whether the space restrictions of the concept note (5 pages for section 1) are applying here or whether the narrative can be longer - given various countries, sectors and partners which are most probably included in most of the project ideas. j) Is it necessary to submit a budget at the stage of the concept note ? Should the concept note be delivered in hard by post (and at which address) or only in electronic version at near-madad@ec.europa.eu ? Is it necessary to submit the signed declaration of the applicant together with the CN ? Amounts of funding a) Funding ceiling for proposals (for each individual proposal). Are there minimum and maximum amounts for actions to be proposed? b) Amount available now? We assume this is 23m EURO, so concepts submitted now can ask for any amount up to this or the whole pot? 4. Timeframe of actions a) What would be the timeframe for actions? b) We are preparing a 36-months programme proposal: is it possible to submit a financing request to the first Madad Fund board meeting for the initial 12 months, and then request financing for the remaining 24 months during the following allocation rounds? criteria for A) concept Notes: proposals submitted to the Madad Fund Manager, and B) Action Documents submitted to the Madad Fund Operational Board”. Concept Notes received will be analysed based on these operational criteria. As we are not in a Call for Proposals there are no fixed ceilings. However, and as noted on 26 March, due to the need to minimize contract management and to maximize coherence and synergies, we are looking for large multi-partner, multi-country, and multi-year actions. While not stipulating a minimum or maximum ceiling for actions, such actions should be conceived accordingly in order to ensure sufficient impact and beneficiary numbers. As noted on 26 March, the timeframe for actions financed under the Madad Fund is only limited by the Fund's current lifetime, which has been initially set at 5 years from December 2014. Considering the resilience focus of the actions to be supported, project duration should be between 24 and 54 months. Proposals should be submitted for the whole period of the action. c) Length of project, any ideas? Some NGO's think concepts of 24 months duration are appropriate. Is this the case? 5. Eligibility of applicants a) I understood that the funding is accessible to NGOs as well as to government agencies, could you please explain in more detail who will be the beneficiaries and to which percentages (if such a splitting is foreseen)? b) May I ask one question relative to your last statement: “through their own delivery and implementation capacities”? Does this clearly mean that funds will only be accessible to implementing agencies and not to financial institutions which fund development projects and technical assistance yet without implementing itself (more so by contracting with local actors)? What does this imply in terms of 3 a) There are no pre-set percentages for funding to different categories of partners or a limitation to the number of consortia. Please refer to the "Detailed description of the objectives and purpose of the Trust Fund" adopted with the Madad Fund agreement by the Commission on 10 December 2014 (also attached to this report). On page 7 it says: " Given the Trust Fund's objective in an emergency and post-emergency situation, flexible crisis procedures as authorised by applicable Commission rules and regulations, and as appropriate to the local environment will be used to ensure that the Trust Fund is effective and responsive. To avoid duplicating structures on the ground while making the best use of No. Question Answer contributions to the fund / management of the fund? c) Has the EC indicated if they are looking to fund just one consortium or several? d) Do NGOs and partners all have to be registered in PADOR? e) Would a proposal submitted by a non-EU NGO as prime applicant be eligible for funding? f) donors' expertise, delegated cooperation with Member States' national agencies and other Fund donors shall be the preferred option wherever it will offer an appropriate response in terms of the cost, effectiveness and European visibility of the Trust Fund-financed actions. Equally, the capacity of international, European and local NGOs shall be leveraged to maximise the effectiveness of the response provided by the Trust Fund." Could you please clarify whether an INGO could be eligible for submitting 2 different concept-notes to Madad before the 31st of July 2015: one as the lead b) This also indicates that while own delivery and implementation capacities are an added value, agency of a consortium, and the other as a separate also other potential added values, such as implementer of a specific programme? engaging and strengthening local capacities, will g) We have been informed about EU Trust Fund Program be taken into account. lately. As far as I have gone through the website there are three responses of the program. However; there is c) While trying to maximise coherence and efficiency through limiting the number of one thing that we would like to be sure about; as a contracts and actions, the Madad Fund has no Turkish local organization (NGO) is there a possibility limit in terms of partnerships or groupings of for us to apply as an organization or do we need a applicants it could potentially finance. partner to apply? And about the documentation of the program I wasn't able to find any in the website? d) As we are not in a Call for Proposals there is no Would you be so kind to assist us on that? obligation for PADOR registration. h) We heard about the creation of a trust fund to address e) Yes. Please refer to the "Detailed description of the Syrian crisis with particular regard to the refugees the objectives and purpose of the Trust Fund" question. We would like to understand how the fund adopted with the Madad Fund agreement by the works: Will associations such as XXXX France be able Commission on 10 December 2014 (also to apply to the European funding by presenting a attached to this report). On page 7 it says: "the program with affected local authorities from Lebanon, capacity of international, European and local Jordan and/or Turkey? If yes, how and where can we NGOs shall be leveraged to maximise the find the necessary information about the procedure? effectiveness of the response provided by the Trust Fund." i) As International NGO, do we need to be registered in the country/ countries where we want to implement our programs? f) Yes. g) Yes, see answer e). In case the project is submitted as a Consortium, in h) Yes, see answer a). terms of registration, do all the INGOs/ NGOs need to be registered? or just the applicant and/ or the co- i) There is no requirement to be registered in the country/countries where the program in applicant? implemented. Nevertheless, the rules applicable k) We read that the Board of the Madad Fund would have in the country must be respected. in-depth discussions and negotiations to establish the desired large multi-partner, multi-country, and multi- j) See answer i. The coordinator needs to be an entity with legal personality. The co-applicants year actions, based on initial concept notes and can be entities which do not have legal potentially also with the need to combine a number of personality under the applicable national law, proposed actions. As a relatively small, international provided that their representatives have the NGO specialised in an innovative and effective capacity to take on legal obligations on their approach to psycho-social support and peacebuilding, behalf and that they offer financial and and having engaged very effectively in some programs operational guarantees equivalent to those in Lebanon and Iraq, could we submit a concept note provided by legal persons. that can possibly be integrated into other multi-year, multi-partner programs? k) Yes, but you should ideally team up with other organisations beforehand rather than submitting a single applicant concept note. We cannot impose on different partners to work together. j) 4 No. 6. Question Answer Deadlines for submission of concept notes and proposals As we are not in a Call for Proposals there are no specific deadlines. a) Could you please specify the timeframe for concept notes/ full proposals to be submitted? We understand that you expect a first round of concept notes by June 2015. Could you confirm this? Due date for submission in advance of the May board meeting? The Madad Fund’s Operational Board on 29 May adopted regional programmes in the field of livelihoods and higher education on the basis of 3 and 2 concept notes from different groupings, respectively, received already. These applicants will be contacted by the end of July to begin discussions on how to allocate available funding based on the evaluations of these concept notes. There is no need to resubmit these concept notes. b) We hear there is a preliminary deadline for expression of interest at April 30. What would you need from our side, at minimum, to be accepted as an interested party? c) When would be the (first) deadline for a final proposal? We understand there may be several rounds, is that correct? d) Is it preferable to the EC to receive concept notes for Madad before the board meeting in May/June? (We are aware that earlier submissions are possible, but we would be simply interested in learning about your preferences and possibly already offering you a feasible concept to discuss for the next meeting of the board) e) We have an indication that proposals should be submitted by 30th June. Can you give more information whether proposals submitted after this date would be considered? f) I would like to confirm with you the deadline for CN submission. Our Representative in Amman has been informed the concept note for proposition should be submitted by May 4th as the steering committee will meet on May 15th. Could you confirm ? We initially planned for a submission by the end of May but we will adjust if confirmed. g) I understood from previous communication exchanges that the submission deadline for projects under MADAD was in May (concept note submission), now I am hearing that this deadline has been extended until end 2015. I would be grateful if you could bring some clarity on this issue, as this will certainly change our HI’s stand. h) After the board meeting on the 29th May I am contacting to enquire on the status of our submission and planned timetable going forward? i) What would be the timeline to receive feedback from the EU MADAD fund team about the concept notes submitted in April for the committee review on May 29th? j) I would like to follow up with you regarding the decision of the Board during the 29th May meeting. I have seen that €10m has been allocated for livelihoods in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey and would like to know if the XXXX Consortium concept note has been accepted as part of this allocation. 5 For all other applications and sectors outside of the actions adopted on 29 May (e.g. WASH, municipal support, education, etc.), these will be considered for funding at the 2nd meeting of the Madad Fund Operational Board planned for November. Concept notes already submitted might be resubmitted by 31 July, but don’t have to. New concept notes should be submitted by 31 July, in order to allow the Fund management to evaluate all concept notes on a comparable and equal basis, and to have sufficient time for in-depth discussions and negotiations to establish the desired large multi-partner, multicountry, and multi-year actions, potentially also with the need to combine a number of proposed actions. Applications submitted at a later stage will be taken into account for future Operational Board meetings in 2016. No. Question Answer k) If so, could you please confirm the amounts to consider in the detailed budgeting exercise as well as the timeframe for proposal development? l) The recent press release on the MADAD fund mentions that the available funds (EUR 40 million) were allocated to three programs following the TF Board Meeting held on 29 May and that further funds are only expected by end of the year. Could you kindly clarify whether this means that we are not eligible to submit our proposal by end of June to apply for funds available now (as these are gone), but that we will need to wait for the second round of fund allocation to submit our proposal? m) I wanted to touch base on the MADAD applications that you have received, recognising that the board had a chance to meet on the 29th of May. Have there been any decisions on the allocations? And when will the EU be able to share the results with applicants, either positive or negative? n) We read concept notes needed to be submitted before end of June. Does the announcement of the 3 programmes mean that funding has already been allocated? If so, is the end of June indicative deadline still valid and when would the next funding be allocated? o) We submitted a Concept Note for the evaluation of the 1st meeting of the Fund’s Operational Board. As we did not receive any feedback, in order to be considered for the 2nd meeting of the Fund’s Operational Board in November, do we have to re-submit the Concept Note within the 31st of July? p) We have submitted in early May 2015 a Concept Note. As far as we know, we have not received yet any feedback from Madad team about the submitted conceptnote and would be pleased to get comments that would allow us to improve the proposal should need be, before the extended deadline of the 31st of July 2015. When could we expect a reply to the note from the EC Madad team? // We have submitted a concept note within the deadline for the board meeting of May 29th. However, we have not yet received any feedback on our submission while we understand that Madad has allocated funds to specific countries already and I was wondering if there is a timeline for receiving feedback on single concept notes. 7. Contacts for questions and submissions a) Where and how to submit a proposal? Is there any detail available on the contact persons at local level? Do we need to engage and discuss directly with the EU Delegations in Beirut and Amman? What are the respective roles of EU Brussels and Delegations in dealing with applications for the Madad Fund? b) Who would be the contact person at the MADAD fund 6 Please submit concept notes directly and at all times to the functional mailbox: near-madad@ec.europa.eu The Madad Fund team at DG NEAR will contact applicants in case of questions, and will directly liaise with relevant EU Delegations for the evaluations. No. Question Answer for the development and submission for our plan(s)? The Madad Fund will place its own liaison officers in the EU Delegations in Beirut and Amman before the end of 2015, who will then act as local contact points and coordinators. c) Just for my information, I would like to know if there is a focal point for Madad trust funds in Jordan, to whom we can talk about a livelihood approach (and possibilities to include Community health, linked with resilience) that we have to be implemented in Jordan (also in other countries in the region). d) For our project we do have initial funding coming from our funder, but we are looking for ways that there would be larger buy in from various societies and the scope of this program could grow. Therefore, I’d want to learn more on the MADAD fund and what are the ways for our university to apply. Physical meetings between potential applicants and the Madad Fund team in Brussels are not excluded, but not always possible, given the number of requests for such meetings and the fact that the Fund team is not completely recruited as of yet. e) I am emailing to learn more about the types of programmes that the EU Trust Fund is looking to support, and in particular whether any Calls for Proposals have been issued, and what the submission process entails. […] It would be great to learn more about your priority areas and submission procedures. If there is a website or document that someone can refer us to, it would be greatly appreciated. If you have a team in Turkey that we could possibly meet with to learn more, that would also be great to arrange. 8. Yes, this is possible. Sub-granting Beyond involving local partners as co-beneficiaries of a grant, could also sub-granting be the purpose of actions? 9. Geographic scope of actions a) Which countries are eligible for actions under the Madad Fund? Is it possible for example to include support to Syrian refugees and host communities in Libya? b) Where can we find the detailed objectives and activities of the Madad trust fund? And which countries can apply for projects in this program? c) When it comes to targeting locations inside Syria, are the opposition held areas the only locations to be considered under this concept note or also activities in the government held areas could be included as well? This point has not been fully clarified in the Madad guidelines. d) In the document “Q&A” it is defined that the actions funded by the Madad Fund should fall under the geographical scope of the neighbouring countries of Syria primarily affected by the Syrian crisis. I would like to check from you how the geographical eligibility of the following action before filling in a concept note: The main objective of the action would be to provide a targeted group of Syrian Higher Education students with an opportunity to continue their studies in Finland and in this way to improve capacity for rebuilding of Syria after the crisis. After completing 7 According to Art. 9 of the Madad Fund agreement, "The Action must fall under the geographical scope of the Trust Fund, which is primarily Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Egypt or any other country in the region affected by the Syrian crisis", while according to Article 2 "Assistance inside Syria will be considered taking into account, and avoiding overlap with, the action of other existing international funding instruments, and depend on agreement with the Syria Recovery Trust Fund". As regards the latter there is no specific distinction between or exclusion of any type of territory inside Syria, but given the difficult conflict and access situation inside Syria, and the existence of the SRTF, the Fund’s focus remains on the refugees and their host countries. On the other hand, the Fund’s agreement is quite clear that “The Action must fall under the geographical scope of the Trust Fund, which is primarily Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Egypt or any other country in the region affected by the Syrian crisis” (see above), and thus activities in Europe are not as such eligible. No. Question Answer preparatory studies in targeted countries, such as Jordan, scholarships would be provided for a group of students to complete a Master’s degree in Finland. Would this kind of activity be eligible for Madad Trust Fund? Or should the whole activity take place in the neighbouring countries of Syria? 10. Co-financing and retroactivity a) What are the rules for co-financing and retroactivity? b) Upon reviewing the Q and A document and also going through PRAG Annex A11a, it is not clear if cofinancing by the implementing partner will be a requirement or not, and if yes what would be the percentage of the cost share? c) XXXX is finalizing a CN for submission to the fund; in case of approval of the initial CN, may the contribution requested to EU vary at full proposal stage? Does the general rule of 20% flexibility apply for the Madad fund? 11. a) As the Madad Fund is a "Union trust fund(s) for emergency or post- emergency action" in the sense of Art. 187 of the Financial Regulation, please refer to the PRAG, Annex A11a: Guidelines on contractual procedures to be used in cases of crisis situations under the EU budget and EDF (in particular Section 5. How are flexible procedures applied?). b) Not proposing a co-financing is not a ground for exclusion. However, 100% Trust Fund financing could only be envisaged in duly justified cases. The co-financing rate may vary, and co-financing constitutes an element of added value for any proposal. c) Yes, if CN is selected, contribution requested by the EU may vary more than 20% in the negotiation process, notably to take into account availability of funds. Please refer to section 3. Eligible sectors of activities, Sectors of intervention in the "Detailed description of the objectives and a) What are the priority sectors of intervention? Is purpose of the Trust Fund" adopted with the Madad housing, WASH, malnutrition, access to informal/ Fund agreement by the Commission on 10 December non-formal education for out-of-school children also 2014. The Trust Fund Board on 29 May adopted a eligible? document with more focused priorities for the initial b) Sectoral focus: Apparently the focus is resilience, the 1-2 years of the Fund’s operations (“strategic emphasis of the response should be LLH (livelihoods), orientation document for the ‘Madad fund’) and the but is this too narrow? Can complimentary sectors Operational board adopted a document entitled “Operational criteria for A) concept Notes: proposals also be considered? If so, education and the like? submitted to the Madad Fund Manager, and B) c) We are very willing to create projects for children not Action Documents submitted to the Madad Fund only in Gaziantep but also in neighbour cities which Operational Board”. Concept Notes to submit before hosts Syrian refugees. Could you please inform us 31 July should be guided by these 2 documents. about eligible costs, priorities and dead-line for application of EU Trust Fund? Please note that the Fund focuses on resilience and d) Would the Madad Fund fund psycho-social support recovery activities, and not on humanitarian and life / peacebuilding skills training in Lebanon and assistance. Iraq as well (apart from Turkey)? e) Do we understand it well that the concept notes to submit before 31st July need to fall under the three articulated program strands described on the website? f) I am emailing to learn more about the types of programmes that the EU Trust Fund is looking to support, and in particular whether any Calls for Proposals have been issued, and what the submission process entails. […] It would be great to learn more about your priority areas and submission procedures. If there is a website or document that someone can refer us to, it would be greatly 8 No. Question Answer appreciated. If you have a team in Turkey that we could possibly meet with to learn more, that would also be great to arrange. 12. Government approvals How can actions in Jordan receive approval from MOPIC if the donor has not already confirmed funding? 13. Please refer to section 4. in the "Detailed description of the objectives and purpose of the Trust Fund" adopted with the Madad Fund agreement by the Commission on 10 December 2014 (also attached to this report), where it says: "The Trust Fund can on request of donors and subject to approval of its Board establish separate funding windows where and when it is deemed required, feasible and appropriate to do so. Such windows may cover assistance in a specific sector or country, or modality (e.g. budget support) and would be reported accordingly in the Trust Fund’s regular reporting to donors." This would however fall under the so-called notional approach and does not constitute direct earmarking. Earmarking and notional approach Will the Madad Fund allow for earmarking? 14. Management costs How can regional, multi-partner actions be managed in terms of the additional costs this generates? 15. Such additional costs will have to be accordingly budgeted and negotiated with the Commission. International organisations a) We would also like to ask if you have more details about the second info session for IOs that DG NEAR is planning to organise after Easter? b) We were wondering whether different modalities, obligations, deadlines, eligibility criteria and management mode will be presented and offered to IO’s than to EU agencies and NGOS’s. c) Are UN agencies eligible to liaise with the Madad Trust Fund for possible collaboration? 16. While the Madad Fund would as a priority consider actions for funding that have already received government approval in the respective neighbouring country outside Syria, we will try to elaborate a practical solution for this specific issue in Jordan together with the EU Delegation in Amman. Financing and disbursement modalities In case of approval of a project proposal, how the financing will be disbursed? With how many instalments and of which percentage of pre-financing and balance? If there are no thresholds, will it be necessary to provide a bank guarantee? On 30 June, The Madad Fund team held a dedicated information meeting with representatives from UN agencies and IO's offices in Brussels in which all current questions were discussed and clarifications provided. All rules and agreements currently applicable to EU Budget external aid in relation to different categories of implementing partners also apply for the Madad Fund. Please refer to the PRAG and Companion for details. The number, type and percentage of payments will depend on the value and duration of the contract and shall follow the usual provisions of the general conditions for grant contracts. Similarly, the provision of a financial guarantee under a grant contract will be subject to Art 15.8 of the general conditions. Please refer to the general conditions for EU grant contracts: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/annexes.do?an nexName=E3h2&lang=en and the other EU grants annexes in the PRAG: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/document.do?n odeNumber=6.11 Financial guarantees are not requested under 9 No. Question Answer PAGODA. 17. Target groups/final beneficiaries Could you confirm that Iraqi IDPs cannot be included as target beneficiaries of the Madad Fund? Please refer to the overall objective of the Trust Fund, which is to “provide a coherent, coordinated and reinforced aid response to the Syrian crisis on a regional scale, responding primarily in the first instance to the needs of refugees from Syria in neighbouring countries, as well as of the communities hosting the refugees and their administrations, in particular as regards resilience and early recovery." The primary focus is thus on addressing the needs of Syrian refugees and their host communities and not Iraqi IDPs. Further Links: Grants general description https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/node/1071 PRAG: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/  Annex A11a: Guidelines on contractual procedures to be used in cases of crisis situations under the EU budget and EDF (in particular Section 5.How are flexible procedures applied?) Annexes and contract templates from the Companion http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/companion/document.do?isAnnexes=true Format for Concept Notes http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/prag/annexes.do?annexName=E3b&lang=en Documents to be consulted on the webpage:    Madad Fund agreement and annex Strategic orientation document for the ‘Madad Fund’, adopted on 29 May 2015. Operational criteria for A) concept Notes: proposals submitted to the Madad Fund Manager, and B) Action Documents submitted to the Madad Fund Operational Board 10