Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

I am an individual who has implemented several practical projects to combat poverty. Can I apply? 

Yes, individuals are eligible. To be eligible, individuals must be either EU citizens or citizens of a third country who are legally resident on the territory of the EU.

I am a Turkish citizen who lives in the Netherlands. I have carried out an initiative addressing the specific challenges of children, large families and single parents. Can I apply?

Third-country nationals are also eligible, provided they are legally resident in the territory of the EU. If you have resident status in the EU, e.g. in the Netherlands, you can apply.

We are a Swedish local administration which has implemented several projects to ensure universal access to affordable high quality social and essential services. Can we apply? 

We appreciate your efforts, but unfortunately you cannot apply. The prize is open only to non-profit initiatives carried out by civil society organisations, individuals and companies. For the definition of civil society organisations, individuals and companies, please refer to the contest rules.

We are a small Romanian NGO which has implemented projects linked to upskilling, re-skilling and life-long learning. For our project, we cooperate with our neighbouring countries, specially with Moldova and Serbia. Can we apply?

Yes, you can apply. As NGO you are eligible. Concerning the place where the project is carried out: only the projects implemented – at least partially – on the territory of the EU are eligible. 

We are a commercial company which has implemented an innovative project on inclusive recruitment. Can we apply?

It depends. The prize is open to commercial companies, but only non-for-profit activities. If your activity was non-for-profit you can apply. If your project was not a charity project, it is not eligible.

We are a research institute which has published a book on the link between poverty and mental wellbeing. Can we apply?

As regards your institute: it depends on your statute. If you are a public entity, you are not eligible. If you are a non-profit organisation you can apply. 

As regards the content of your project: no, it is not eligible. Journalistic, literary, or scientific publications of any kind and in any format, audio-visual products, and any kind of artwork are not eligible. 

We are a British NGO. We have carried out several projects to tackle energy poverty and the increasing cost of living. Can we apply?

No, unfortunately you cannot apply. Only entities officially registered in the EU can apply. 

We are three friends who take care of elderly people in need. Our project matches the eligibility criteria. Shall we send three applications? 

No, you should send only one application for your project. Various scenarios are possible. If you have founded some kind of organisation or association to launch and/or implement the project, the candidate shall be the organisation/association. If/when you are asked to submit the legal entity form and the financial identification form, you shall submit the forms for that organisation/association. If you are carrying out the project as individuals, without any legal link or contract between the three of you, you should apply as individuals. The candidate should be the person who is legally responsible for the project. If the three of you are equally responsible, you should still send only one application, but in the application form you should indicate the three names. 

We are a large group of volunteers; we try to combat homelessness in our city and to provide affordable and decent housing to all. Shall we send one or more applications?

You should send only one application. For further details, please refer to the previous question.

We are two NGOs which jointly carry out one project. Shall we send two applications?

No, you shall send only one application. It shall be in the name of the "lead" organisation. In the application form you should clearly indicate that the project is carried out in cooperation with another NGO. If there is no lead organisation, you still have to send only one application, but in the application form you should indicate the names of both NGOs. 

We are an NGO which carries out a project which is partially financed by public money. More precisely, we receive some funding from our national Ministry of Social Affairs and from the EU budget. Can we apply?

Yes, you can apply. Please kindly indicate all funding details in the application form. 

Our organisation implemented several projects dealing with poverty. Can we apply for all of them? 

No, you should choose only one project or initiative. 

In which language shall I submit the application?

You can apply in any EU official language. However, to speed up the evaluation process, we would appreciate to receive the application form in English. 

Is the application form available only in English?

We can make the application form available in any other EU official language upon request.

I am preparing the application together with a colleague. My colleague has read the prize rules in English, whereas I have read them in my mother tongue. We have the impression that one requirement is not exactly the same in both language versions. What shall we do? 

Please kindly refer to the English version. Only the English version of the contest rules is binding. The other linguistic versions are "courtesy" translations and are not legally binding. They are generated by eTranslation, a machine translation tool provided by the European Commission. Machine translation can give you a basic idea of the content in a language you understand. It is fully automated and involves no human intervention. The quality and accuracy of machine translation can vary significantly from one text to another and between different language pairs. The European Commission does not guarantee the accuracy and accepts no liability for possible errors. The same applies to the privacy statement. Only the English version is binding. The other versions are "courtesy" translations generated by eTranslation. Upon request, we can provide a "traditional" translation in another EU language done by our Translation Service. 

Shall I answer to each of the questions corresponding to the prize award criteria listed in the contest rules?

Yes, you should definitely answer all the questions because the evaluation will be based only on the information you provide in the application form. 

My project is quite weak on one award criterion. Does it make sense to apply?

It depends on how strong your project is on the other award criteria. There is no minimum threshold for each individual criterion. Applications will be eliminated only if they do not reach a total score of at least 50 points, regardless of how weak or strong each criterion is. 

Will you inform candidates about every step of the evaluation? 

The on-line application system will confirm that the application has been successfully sent. Candidates will not receive any other confirmation message, and they will not receive any feedback after the various evaluation steps. Results will be notified to all candidates after the final evaluation, indicatively by the end of March 2027.

How can I apply? 

You should first check the contest rules, and in particular the eligibility criteria, to make sure you are eligible. Then you should fill in the on-line application form. You should apply on-line by 6 November 2026, 10:00 CET. 

I have tried to send the application short before the deadline, but I received an error message. Can I apply after the deadline?

If you receive an error message a few days before the deadline, we kindly invite you to try again later. If you receive again an error message, please contact our team by email (civilsocietyprize@eesc.europa.eu) to find a solution. If you receive an error message just a few minutes before the deadline, we invite you to send your application by email before the deadline. Please send us also a copy of the error message (e.g. screenshot). Applications sent after the deadline will be rejected. To avoid system overloading, we strongly recommend that candidates send their applications in advance.

I prepared and saved my application long in advance but due to unforeseen circumstances I managed to send it out only one minute after the deadline. Will you reject applications received only one minute after the deadline?

Yes, the on-line application tool registers the exact timing and we will check it. To guarantee fair treatment of all candidates, applications sent only one minute after the deadline (i.e. at 10:01 CET) will also be rejected. 

Shall my organisation be nominated by an EESC member, a national economic and social council or a Pan-European organisation/network?

None of them. Each candidate shall apply directly.

What happens if I am nominated by an umbrella organisation or by a local authority and I do not send the application myself?

Your application will be rejected. Candidates shall apply directly.

Should I attach supporting documents? 

No, at this stage you should only fill in the application form. 

In the contest rules you mention also the Legal Entity Form and the Financial Identification Form. Shall I fill them in and attach them to my application?

No, we do not need these forms at this stage of the procedure. Please send these documents only if/when the EESC asks you to do so.

How much does it cost to participate in this competition?

Entering the competition is free of charge. 

Before sending my application, I called the EESC and asked to clarify one point. I also had some travel costs because I met twice with other members of the project team, who is based in another city. Will the EESC reimburse the cost of this international telephone call and the train tickets?

No, in accordance with the contest rules, the EESC will not reimburse any costs incurred in entering the competition.