Apply for the Quality Label for Humanitarian Aid Volunteering
To apply for the Humanitarian Aid project in the Call 2024 you must submit the Quality Label application by 21 September.
The European Executive Agency EACEA held an informative webinar on 4 July to present the conditions for the European Solidarity Corps Quality Label for Humanitarian Volunteering and to share tips for preparing the application. During the webinar, the Agency's representatives stressed that applications for the Quality Label can be sent to EACEA continuously throughout the year, but organisations wishing to apply for a project in the next call (in 2024) must apply for the Quality Label by 21 September via the FTOP portal.
What is a Quality Label?
The Quality Label is a certificate that confirms that the organisation holding it adheres to the principles and objectives of Humanitarian Aid Volunteering within the European Solidarity Corps and the objectives and priorities of a specific call. It also demonstrates that the holder has the capacity to implement quality volunteering activities in support of humanitarian operations. All organisations involved in Humanitarian Aid Volunteering projects must hold the Quality Label (groups of young people are not eligible to take part in humanitarian volunteering). EACEA representatives also underlined that the Quality Label is a mandatory pre-condition for obtaining a grant for Humanitarian Aid Volunteering projects, but that it does not mean an automatic award of the grant. The label is valid for the entire programme period, until 2027, and the organisation that receives it can apply for multiple Humanitarian Aid Volunteering projects during this period.
Organisations can apply for one of two roles: support or host. However, the EACEA pointed out that, unlike the Quality Label for other European Solidarity Corps activities (Volunteering Projects, Volunteering Teams in High Priority Areas), one organisation cannot apply for both roles. The role an organisation can apply for is determined based on the location of the organisation. The support role is reserved for sending organisations from the European Solidarity Corps programme countries (EU Member States and Associated Countries), so none of these organisations can be host organisations. The support role allows one to be a coordinator or partner of a consortium and to submit grant applications. Only organisations from third countries not associated to the programme where humanitarian operations are taking place and where there is no ongoing armed conflict can apply for a host role. Thus, for example, organisations from Australia cannot apply for a host role.
If an organisation is based in a programme country, and have branches in eligible third countries, they can apply for a host Quality Label for these branches through a simplified application process for the host role. When completing the application for a Quality Label for a support role, the parent organisation can thus also apply for a Quality Label for a host role for its branch, which is the same legal entity. This gives the organisation a single Quality Label that entitles it to both the support role and the host role (via the branch).
How is the Quality Label awarded?
In order to be awarded the Humanitarian Volunteering Quality Label, the applicant organisation must meet three main criteria: admissibility (the application is complete, submitted on time via the FTOP portal, and does not exceed 40 pages), eligibility (the organisation is geographically and legally eligible to apply for the given Quality Label role) and award (the application is relevant, the proposed actions are of high quality, the organisation has sufficient structural, coordination and management capacity, and the application is in line with the priorities and objectives of the European Solidarity Corps - see the Programme Guide for more details on the criteria).
Timetable
Organizations wishing to apply for the Humanitarian Aid project in the Call 2024 must submit their Quality Label application by 21 September. The application will then be evaluated at the turn of 2023 and 2024. The latest date for communicating the results to all applicants is in March 2024, with the call for Humanitarian Aid Volunteering projects currently expected to close in May 2024.
For more information, you can watch the recording of the EACEA webinar from last year.
