ALF Hands-On - Questions and Answers

Call for expression of interest

Information Session 16 January 2023

Q1 Who is responsible for the selection of the participants for the intended training sessions?

A1 The selection of trainees is the responsibility of the ALF Secretariat. The Foundation will launch outreach/dissemination campaigns to recruit participants. Moreover, if the pre-selected organisations are willing to launch complementary dissemination campaigns, this is very welcome by ALF noting that participants must apply for the trainings via the call for participation launched by ALF.

Q2 How can the applying organisation ensure that its training proposal will reach the minimum of 80% of the intended trainees?

A2 The minimum can be ensured by the organisation by designing an interesting proposal which will be considered appealing to potential participants. On top of that, the ALF’s Secretariat will ensure the dissemination of the training offer through effective campaigns with wide outreach.  

Q3 What happens if the training proposal did not reach the 80% of the intended participation? Will the organisation have to return the money to ALF?

A3 The contracts with the pre-selected organisations will be signed only after the selection of the trainees are finalised.

Q4 Regarding the selection criteria, what is meant by “Methodology”? Does it mean the different techniques of the training?

A4 The term “Methodology” refers to the approach explained in the application to guarantee and ensure a peer-to-peer interaction during the training between trainers and trainees.

Q5 Since there will be 2 rounds for the selection of trainees, do we have to submit 2 training proposals, one for each round?

A5 Every single pre-selected training proposal will be offered in the 2 rounds of call for trainees.   

Q6 How can we assume the organisation of the 2 rounds of training in our proposal?

A6 It is not necessary to take this element into consideration during the preparation of your proposal. The ALF Secretariat will agree with the selected organisations on the training schedules for each round.

Q7 Does the Foundation provide the online platform for implementing the training?

A7 For this particular call, the ALF will not provide the platform. It is up to the applying organisation to suggest the platform in its application. The performance of the proposed platform will be evaluated by ALF Secretariat among other selection criteria.

Q8 If the trainings are to be provided in either of the 3 languages (Ar, Fr or En). Maybe a certain topic provided in a particular language would interest trainees who are non-speakers of this particular language. How can this issue be solved? Can we use linguistic technologies for interpretation during the training?

A8 The use of interpretation technologies is very welcome by the ALF, and you can explain it in your proposal.

Q9 Do we have to present our proposal according to the three options of duration? (6, 12 and 18 hrs)?

A9 It is up to you to decide the length of your training proposal consistently with the content offered.

Q10 Can we promote the pre-selected training among our partners and select participants from interested candidates?

A10 Any promotion of the training offer is most welcome. Interested beneficiaries must apply through the online form that the ALF Secretariat will provide. The selection process of the beneficiaries/trainees is the sole responsibility of the ALF Secretariat.

Q11 How many proposals can be submitted in each call?

A11 For this specific call, the same organisation can submit up to 2 training proposals.

Q12 Do the sessions of the training module have to be about 1 topic? Or several topics can be presented under the same training module?

A12 It depends of the subject of the training. If under one subject, several topics are consistent, complementary and of good quality, it may be accepted. It all depends on the rational and explanation you are providing in your proposal.

Q13 Do we have to propose the same trainer for all sessions or we can have different trainers as per the sub-topics of the sessions?

A13 Both options are possible. The evaluation will take into consideration the consistency between the credentials/profile of the proposed trainers and the structure of the contents of the training proposal.

Q14 In case we wish to submit 2 proposals in the framework of this call, do we submit the 2 proposals in the same application?

A14 No, each proposal must be submitted via a separate application.

Q15 Thinking about sustainability and different needs, we would like to know whether there are previous projects to build on, needs assessment previously conducted, some urgent topics to tackle, preferred age of the population, etc.

A15 After vivid internal discussions within the ALF, it was decided not to direct the content of the trainings. The conditionality of meeting a minimum of 80% of the intended beneficiaries is actually a method to test the interests in different topics proposed.

Q16 How many trainings the ALF will select from each of the 3 languages?

A16 The selection will be based on quality and not a specific quota for each language.

Q17 Is the ALF going to cover the cost of the dissemination of the calls for trainees?

A17 The ALF will directly take care of the dissemination campaigns. Additional dissemination campaigns carried out by the organisation are welcome but are not obligatory.

Q18 Does a newly established organisation have the possibility to get selected in this call?

A18 The selection will be made according to the announced selection criteria which include the evaluation of the background and experience of the lead organisation in the specific field of the proposed training in addition to the quality of the proposal and other elements. As an assumption for this possible scenario, a newly established organisation will have less chances to be selected.

Q19 What are the available funds for this call?

A19 The global financial envelope for this call is 95,000 Euro

Q20 How many proposals are you going to accept in the framework of this call?

A20 It depends on the quality of the proposed trainings, the fulfilment of the minimum number of trainees and according the pre-established lump sums for each training duration

6 hrs - 1,500 Euro
12 hrs - 2,700 Euro
18 hrs - 3,600 Euro

Q21 Is the time spent in asynchronous work, time of interactive work among participants or time for creating some material during the training period, count as training hours?

A21 No, the indicated hours refer to the duration of the training sessions.

Q22 What is the foreseen number of participants in each training?

A22 Each training is targeting between 15 and 20 trainees.

Q23 Do we have to work on the 3 topics/domains indicated in the call at the same time? or only one topic? Is it possible to apply for all three? 
“Emerging intercultural challenges in the Euro-Mediterranean region”
“Management of intercultural organisations and projects”
“Strategic planning, governance and leadership for civil society organisations”

A23 Each organisation can submit up to 2 training proposals in the framework of this call. It is up to the organisation to select the topic according to the 3 domains indicated in the call.

Q24 Is there a maximum number of hours if we increase the number of hours allocated for the training?

A24 Each proposal must meet one of the three different durations indicated in the call (6 hrs, 12 hrs and 18 hrs). It is assumed that 2 hours per session is convenient for online training. However, if there is a reasonable rational, you may propose a different duration per session.

Q25 Is the Secretariat going to send out an official application form or is it published already?

A25 Proposals can be only submitted via the online form, which is already available in the call as a hyper link “apply here”. Please click on the hyperlink which directs you to the online application form. Please fill it in and submit it electronically.

Q26 Can the application be modified?

A26 It is not possible to save the online application as a draft or to make any changes after submitting it. It is therefore recommended to first view the application and scroll through it before starting to fill it in. In case of receiving many submissions for the same proposal from the same organisation, the most recent application will be taken into consideration for the evaluation process.

Q27 Did the Foundation take into consideration the necessary time to obtain visa?

A27 The trainings will take place only online, no visa is required.

Q28 What is the link between the beneficiaries and the ALF, are they the trainees of the members of the network? Are they ALF trainees themselves?

A28 In general terms, they are middle-level staff of civil society entities at large.

Q29 What is the level of education of potential trainees?

A29 In general terms, bachelor’s degrees and beyond.

Q30 Will the participants need to stay the same for the whole module?

A30 Yes.

Q31 Does that mean that the same people will need to participate in 9 sessions within two months (in case of a 9 sessions module)?

A31 Yes, that is correct.

Q32 What if there are drop-outs once the sessions are running? This will not have an influence on the grant, right?

A32 If there are drop-outs once the sessions are running, that will not influence the lump sum allocation received by the leading organisation. The 80% attendance threshold needs to be reached prior to the contract signature and modules implementation through a dissemination campaign launched by the ALF.  A reserve list of participants will be prepared by ALF Secretariat and will be contacted if needed in case of drop-outs.

Q33 The group needs to be between 15 and 20, right? What if more people register? Can they be accepted? For example, 25 or 30?

A33 Through the dissemination campaign that the ALF will launch to target beneficiaries, only 15 to 20 beneficiaries - according to the number entered by the leading organisation in the application form - will be selected for each training module, to ensure interaction and a proper use of the training provided. A maximum of +2 participants may apply in case the Secretariat identifies a large number of qualified beneficiaries for a specific module.

Q34 There are two rounds. Does this mean that the modules are implemented twice? So, an organisation carrying out 9 sessions for 3.600 Eur will do another 9 sessions for another 3.600 Eur? (so 7.200 Eur for 18 sessions, 36 hours in the end?)

A34 This will be the case for leading organisations whose training module reaches the 80% participation threshold during both dissemination campaigns launched by the ALF (in April and September respectively). All pre-selected training modules will be included in the two dissemination calls, each round with a separate contract and an independent lump sum allocation.