Call for proposals for action grants to support consumer education, awareness raising and local advice to consumers

Closed

Programme Category

EU Competitive Programmes

Programme Name

Single Market Programme (SMP) (2021-2027)

Programme Description

The Single Market Programme (SMP) covers the single market, competitiveness of enterprises, including small and medium-sized enterprises, the area of plants, animals, food and feed, and European statistics. Specifically, the programme brings together aspects in order to streamline, exploit synergies and provide a better flexible, transparent, simplified and agile framework to finance activities aiming at a well-functioning sustainable internal market.

Programme Details

Identifier Code

SMP-CONS-2024-EDU

Call

Call for proposals for action grants to support consumer education, awareness raising and local advice to consumers

Summary

The objective of this call for proposals is to protect, empower and assist consumers, in particular those who are the most vulnerable, by enhancing their skills, and knowledge, by providing local advice, by raising awareness of their rights, obligations, and choices in the market.

Detailed Call Description

In this context, through specific activities that the applicant will specify in its proposal, at least one of the following specific objectives need to be achieved:

  • Enhance consumers’ information and awareness of their rights, responsibilities, and choices in the marketplace.
  • Strengthen consumers’ skills and knowledge when shopping in the store and online.
  • Improve access to local advice services.
  • Promote sustainable consumption as part of the circular economy.
  • Improve digital literacy of consumers.
  • Strengthen cooperation between practitioners in the field of consumer education and local advice to enhance their knowledge and capacity to design and implement effective educational initiatives and exchange of best practices.

Proposals under this call shall address one or more of the following objectives reflecting the key themes and priorities in providing consumer education, awareness and local advice:

  • Consumer rights and responsibilities: understanding rules and regulations with which both businesses and consumers must comply as actors; understanding consumer right to safety, choice, information, and redress.
  • Financial literacy: budgeting, managing personal finances effectively, understanding mortgage, credits terms, interest rates and financial products.
  • Digital literacy and online safety: safe online shopping, recognising scams and phishing attempts, protecting personal data, developing critical thinking when consuming media content.
  • Environmental sustainability: reducing carbon footprint through environmentally responsible consumer choices, supporting eco-labels and sustainable practices.

A wide range of activities are eligible to be supported. Such activities may include for instance (non-exhaustive list):

  • Educational workshops, webinars, trainings, seminars, and community events.
  • Multimedia awareness raising campaigns.
  • Development and dissemination of educational materials, applications, websites, and online platforms.
  • Development and implementation of school-based programmes.
  • Providing local assistance and advice to vulnerable groups of consumers.
  • Sharing knowledge, facilitating cooperation and exchange of best practices, and learning on consumer education at national, regional, or EU-wide levels.
  • Activities strengthening the capacities of local organisations providing assistance and advice to consumers.
  • Promoting awareness of sustainable practices within the local community.

Call Total Budget

€1.200.000

Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan

85%

Project budgets (maximum grant amount) are expected to be around €150.000 per project.

Thematic Categories

  • Justice - Security
  • Other Services
  • Public Administration
  • Small-Medium Enterprises and Competitiveness
  • Social Affairs & Human Rights

Eligibility for Participation

  • Associations
  • Consumer Organisations
  • Legal Entities
  • Non Profit Organisations
  • Other Beneficiaries
  • Private Bodies
  • Semi-governmental organisations
  • State-owned Enterprises

Eligibility For Participation Notes

In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

  • be legal entities (public or private bodies)
  • be non-profit-bodies
  • be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
    • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs)
    • non-EU countries:

Consortium composition:
Proposals by a single applicant as well as by a consortium are allowed.

Call Opening Date

26/03/2024

Call Closing Date

06/06/2024

National Contact Point(s)

Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry
Industry and Technology Service
1421, Nicosia, Cyprus
Emailsit@meci.gov.cy

Contact Person:
Spyros Triantaphyllidis
Telephone: 22867333
Email: striantafyllides@meci.gov.cy

EU Contact Point

For help ( NON IT related)  to this call, please contact:EISMEA-CONS-GRANTS@ec.europa.eu