Quality Infrastructure for Circular Economy/Facility- First Call
QI4CE Fund
First call for proposals – Terms of Reference
Background
The regional project “Quality Infrastructure for Circular Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean – QI4CE” seeks to promote collaboration and thus strengthen the quality infrastructure (QI) in the field of circular economy (CE) in Latin America and the Caribbean.
So far one of the central action lines in the project is a CABUREK process where individual country teams develop national projects related to three value cycles (plastics, construction and agri-food).
Now in order to support additional quality infrastructure initiatives for the circular economy, the QI4CE project sets up a Fund.
It is important to highlight that the QI4CE Fund is different from the CABUREK process and is another mechanism of the regional project to identify, select and support relevant and promising initiatives that explore further interlinkages of QI and CE.
- Proposals for the QI4CE Fund can be from any value cycle (not limited to agri- food, plastics and construction)
- Proposals need to be submitted by at least two countries (see specifications below), i.e. national projects from the CABUREK process are not eligible for funding through the QI4CE Fund.
- Proposals can only be submitted by QI institutions, i.e. national members of the Pan American Standards Commission (COPANT), the Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) or the Inter-American Metrology System (SIM).
Purpose
The purpose of this call is to identify further regional QI initiatives that contribute to the circular economy in Latin America and the Caribbean in different sectors.
Who is eligible for funding?
All quality infrastructure institutions from the LAC region can apply. Applicants should be member organizations of one of the QICA (Quality Infrastructure Council of the Americas) bodies, i.e. a member organization of COPANT, IAAC or SIM.
Due to the regional approach of the QI4CE project, at least two applicants from two countries are required to submit a joint proposal:
- At least one country should be a bilateral partner country of German Development Cooperation (Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru).
- Alternatively, proposals from two or more countries of Central America (SICA members) and/or the Caribbean (CARICOM members) are also
In addition, the participation of organisations and companies working on circular economy approaches is explicitly desired and should be mentioned in the funding applications.
What can be funded?
All initiatives that contribute to the development and application of quality infrastructure services in a circular economy sector are eligible for funding. Supported are the identification of QI service needs for specific value chains and the development of QI services for the Circular Economy itself.
However, the funding preferably refers to soft measures (consulting, training, and information dissemination, travel expenses, proficiency tests) and only to a small extent (less than 10% of the funding volume) to acquire e.g. reference materials.
The total amount of a grant should not exceed 50,000.00 Euro.
How can interested parties apply for funding?
The ToR and an application form for funding are available on the QICA website and in addition sent via email to the national members of COPANT, IAAC and SIM.
All applications must be submitted via email in PDF format to the following email: [email protected]
For further information see below “What documents must be submitted?”
Applications may be submitted within the deadline defined in the TOR of the call for proposals.
What must the beneficiaries contribute?
To strengthen the ownership, funding applications should include contributions by the beneficiaries. The own contribution could be made in kind, i.e., providing staff, premises, and catering.
How are the funding projects selected?
Funding is provided in periods, so-called “calls”. The first call is planned for 1 April 2022. COPANT, IAAC, SIM, PTB and possibly OAS each will appoint and delegate one member to the selection committee.
The selection committee will decide on the eligible proposals promptly.
In the selection, the committee will apply five criteria for the evaluation, prioritization and selection of the proposals.
| Criterion | Question |
| 1. Contribution to the cooperation between QI services and the Circular Economy | Will QI and Circular Economy stakeholders be working together to implement the proposal? |
| 2. Contribution to the generation of new QI knowledge products | Will the proposal’s implementation result in a publication demonstrating the importance of QI for the circular economy? |
| 3. Contribution to the generation of new or improved quality services aimed at the circular economy | To what extent will the QI institutions concretise new or adapted services for the circular economy? |
| 4. QI-Components | How many QI components (metrology, standardization, accreditation and conformity assessment) are involved in the proposal? |
| 5. Learning | To what extent is learning promoted among the participants? |
What is the timetable?
The first call for funding proposals will be published on 1 April 2022.
The interested QI bodies would have to submit their proposals by 31 May. By 24 June, the Steering Committee should confirm the selection of approved applications. The activities should be implemented within 6 to 9 months from this point on.
| Milestone | Deadline |
| Formal publication of 1st call | April 1, 2022 |
| Q&A session(s) | beginning of May |
| Deadline for submitting of proposals | until May 31, 2022 |
| Communication with successful applicants / need for revision | June 24, 2022 |
| Specification of activities by selected initiatives | July 11, 2022 |
| Implementation of activities | max. until April 30, 2023 |
| Submission of final report of each initiative | max. until May 31, 2023 |
What documents must be submitted?
Please prepare your proposal by using the template in Annex I.
It is also necessary to submit a tentative operational plan, taking into consideration the Annex II.
The applications may be written in English or Spanish.
All applications must be submitted via email in PDF format to the following email: [email protected], please refer in the subject: QI4CE Call- Application (Title proposal).
Please note that any application submitted after the deadline (May 31st, 2022) will not be considered or evaluated.
For questions on the project or selection process please contact to Thomas Bollwein or Laura López through the following email: [email protected].
How will communication and reporting be if the proposal is accepted?
Funded projects should always acknowledge the support of QI4CE (media, presentations, websites etc.). Furthermore, QI4CE logos must be visible in all communication material related to the project.
A reporting template will be provided. Reporting will take place in accordance with the requirements of the PTB. Furthermore, PTB will establish regular contact with the approved projects to ensure visibility and support.
Annex I. Template of the Proposal
Annex II. Operational Plan_English_Spanish