Champions for the Digital Decade Financial Support to Third Parties

Description

The outcomes of this FSTP call will vary depending on the status of the National Coalition applicants. The main distinction lies in Activity 1, as newly established NCs or those without a national website will be required to develop a new national website and connect it to the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform (DSJP). Existing NCs with operational websites will receive funding for the technical maintenance, upgrading, and security updates of their platforms. All National Coalition applicants must implement the activities outlined in Activity 2 and Activity 3 to ensure a cohesive and comprehensive approach to digital skills development across Europe. In Activity 1: Web Development, new National Coalitions must develop a national website/database that will serve as a structured and coherent web antenna to the DSJP, providing content and data on digital skills and jobs in the official language(s) of their country. These websites must include interoperable links to the Core Platform, ensuring alignment with technical specifications. For NCs with existing national websites, the focus will be on upgrading, maintenance, and implementing security updates, ensuring continued functionality and reliability.  Activity 2: Services, Content, and Community-Related Activities will require all NCs to develop and manage relevant digital skills content on their national websites. This includes presenting information about the National Coalition and its members, as well as curating and displaying relevant EU initiatives, funding opportunities, events, and training resources from the Core Platform. Each NC will implement an interoperable repository of good practices connected to the Core Platform and a repository of resources on digital skills, including strategies, training materials, case studies, and non-proprietary MOOCs. They will also highlight advanced digital skills training opportunities, ensuring accessibility across various learning formats and educational providers.  To further support digital skills promotion, NCs will present funding opportunities at national and EU levels, publish relevant events in an online calendar, and produce news and skills intelligence reports to inform stakeholders about digital skills needs in their country. Additionally, they will organise webinars, online events, and peer-to-peer learning exchanges, contributing to the knowledge-sharing and community-building efforts of DSJP. Communication, promotion, and community management activities will also be a key focus, ensuring the visibility and engagement of stakeholders through press releases, newsletters, social media, and digital outreach strategies.  Activity 3: Post-Editing and Localisation of Content will ensure that all National Coalitions translate and localise relevant content between English and their official language(s), making information accessible to national audiences while also sharing valuable national insights with the wider European digital skills community. This includes translating and reviewing EU policy information, skills intelligence, best practices, funding and training opportunities, news, and events. To facilitate efficient translation, NCs will have access to the European Commission’s translation system (eTranslation), with the responsibility of reviewing and refining machine-generated translations before publication results.   Concrete actions  More concretely the objectives stated above will be addressed via a number of concrete actions. National Coalitions websites are a gateway to variety of opportunities to empower citizens and organisation into their digital transition by offering relevant training opportunities, news, events, expert articles, etc to support skilling and upskilling. In particular, with regard to the outputs published on the National Coalitions websites, every National Coalition will meet the following KPIs:  Launch a national website and connect it to the Digital Skills and Jobs Platform (for newly established National Coalitions).   Presentation of the National Coalition and its members/activities in 4 categories  Overview of relevant national and regional strategies with description  Overview of EU initiatives and programmes in digital skills and jobs, relevant news and events  Presentation of 20 good practices from the national/regional/local level, with in depth  Presentation of 3 good practices  Presentation of 8 good practices from the Core Platform published on the national website  Presentation of 10 resources on digital skills  Presentation of 50 training opportunities targeting different groups of end- users  Presentation of 10 national and international financing opportunities in the field of digital skills  Publication of at least 20 relevant events in the calendar  Publication of at least 3 original news/announcements per month  Publication of at least 3 news/announcements per month transferred from the Core Platform  Publication and distribution of 2 original press releases per year  Organisation of at least 2 events, reaching on average 50 participants per event  Each National Coalition will use the e-Translation tool on the Core Platform to translate content from their national website and publish it on the Core Platform.  Each National Coalition must contribute at least 45 content items to the Core Platform.  Additionally, each National Coalition must pull and translate at least 120 content items from the Core Platform to publish on their national website

Beneficiary & submission

All interested applicants may submit their application at any time during the Call opening period through the form hosted by EUSurvey. Applicants shall complete the online application form and upload the supporting documents. Application forms must be filled out in English. To be considered admissible, an application must: ●Be submitted in the electronic submission system (above form) before the deadline stated in the Call ●Be written in the English language only. ●Be complete in all its parts. ●Respect the word count limits set out in each section of the application form Evaluation process: Evaluation is divided into three stages: 1) Eligibility; 2) Quality of the proposal; and 3) Selection 1.Eligibility EUN as the coordinator of the C4DD will evaluate applications against the minimum eligibility criteria. The eligibility criteria are specified in this call document in the section “eligibility criteria” above. Applicants who are not in compliance with the above eligibility criteria will be subject to rejection at this stage. 2.Quality of the proposal Four representatives of C4DD consortium partners will evaluate each application. The evaluators will assess three areas (“evaluation criteria”). Each area will be scored on a scale of 0-5. Applicants must score at least 3 points for each evaluation criteria in order to be selected. 0          Proposal fails to address the criteria 1 The topic is inadequately addressed, or there are serious weaknesses. 2 The proposal broadly addresses the criteria but there are serious weaknesses 3 The proposal addresses the criteria well, but a number of shortcomings are present 4 The proposal addresses the criteria well with few shortcomings 5 The proposal successfully addresses all relevant aspects of the criteria After evaluation by the selection panel, applications will be ranked, and the highest scorers will be eligible for funding. The maximum total score is 20 points. A minimum of 9/15 will be necessary to pass. 3.Selection The evaluation scores by each team will be reviewed by the full project partnership where the selection criteria are applied (see the above section, “Selection criteria”), and the final decision is taken. This decision is then formally ratified by the project General Assembly to decide on the winners, who will then be invited to draw up a contract with the coordinator of the C4DD project. All proposals will be informed about the evaluation result. Successful proposals will be invited for grant preparation; the other ones will be put on the reserve list or rejected.

Further information

The FSTP mechanism will provide targeted financial assistance to National Coalitions—both newly formed and existing—to support the implementation of activities outlined in this call. National Coalitions are multi-stakeholder partnerships that bring together a diverse range of actors—including ICT and ICT-intensive companies, training providers, education and employment ministries, public and private employment services, and civil society organisations—with the aim of developing concrete measures to deliver digital skills at every level of society within their countries. For new National Coalitions, this includes their establishment and the development of national websites that are seamlessly integrated with the Core Platform and interoperable with national, regional, and local stakeholders. For existing National Coalitions with websites already funded under the CEF-TC 2019–2020 calls, FSTP will support the upgrading and maintenance of digital infrastructure, enhancement of data exchange capabilities, and improved usability and accessibility to foster greater stakeholder engagement and content dissemination.  The allocation of FSTP will be based on the scope and scale of activities to be performed by each NC. This mechanism will play a crucial role in strengthening the overall network of NCs, fostering collaboration and ensuring effective skills development across all participating countries.