The Traineeship Programme 2015-2016 A programme which provides traineeships for young people
The Traineeship Programme A programme which provides traineeships for young people Contents Aims and objectives:... 2 The traineeship must be linked to high-priority areas... 2 Expected results... 2 Who can apply... 2 Direct intermediary organisations... 3 Intermediary organisations... 3 Selection of trainees... 3 Conditions for obtaining a traineeship position... 3 Conditions for the sending organisation... 3 Preparations and revision... 4 Finance and grant levels... 5 Grant for administration, seminars and on-site visits... 5 Applications... 6 How to apply... 6 Invitation or cooperation agreements... 6 Assessment of applications... 7 Assessment criteria... 7 Validity criteria for direct intermediary organisations... 7 Validity criteria for intermediary organisations... 7 Quality criteria for direct intermediary organisations... 7 Quality criteria for intermediary organisations... 8 Notification of decision... 8 If the application is granted... 8 If the application is not valid... 8 Reporting... 9 Interim Report... 9 Transfer of general grants... 9 Changes and repayment... 9 Page 1 (9)
Aims and objectives: The Traineeship Programme gives young people aged 20-30 the option of a traineeship placement in an organisation in a country with low or medium incomes. The aim of the programme is to broaden the Swedish base of resources, i.e. broaden the recruitment of young people who may work with development issues in Sweden or abroad in the future. The Traineeship Programme falls under the result strategy for capacity development and exchange 2014-2017, which states that Sida shall support programmes for young people within higher education as well as in government agencies and NGOs in industry and civil society. Experience from the traineeship must be fed back to the actors involved in the organisation in Sweden. The traineeship must be linked to high-priority areas Placements within the programme must be in accordance with Swedish priorities. There are six high-priority areas identified for global development efforts that Sweden finances: 1. Democratic development and human rights 2. Environment and climate 3. Gender equality and the role of women in development 4. Economic growth 5. Social development and security 6. Peace and security Read more about these areas at www.sida.se Expected results By participating in the programme, the participant is expected to develop various skills and abilities. A traineeship placement is expected to give the following results at the end of the traineeship period (approximately 18 months): The Trainee has increased competence within the relevant area has the ability/competence to work in a global context has an interest in working in global contexts and has increased his/her commitment to global issues. Who can apply Sida's framework organisations and trade organisations can apply. We make the decision on which organisations within trade and industry are entitled to apply in a specific order. This is because there are no associated framework organisations. You can apply either as a direct intermediary or as an intermediary organisation. Page 2 (9)
Direct intermediary organisations As a direct intermediary organisation you mediate traineeship placements directly to trainees, and thus apply for a grant for trainees on their behalf. A special application form is available for applications from direct intermediary organisations. Intermediary organisations As a framework organisation, you can apply for general traineeship grants on behalf of other organisations. You are then called an intermediary organisation. A special application form is available for intermediary organisations. If you are not a framework organisation, you can apply via the framework organisation from which you apply for other Sida-financed project grants. That is the relevant framework organisation that manages and handles the application and can answer your questions. Selection of trainees Since the purpose of the programme is to broaden the Swedish resource base, your selection of trainees is of great importance. The resource base should consist of people with different skills and backgrounds and you should take this into consideration in your selection. If your organisation is given a grant, you must approach different target groups with information about potential traineeship positions. You must also establish procedures for the selection of trainees. The selection process must be carried out in a fair, transparent manner and must be made available to all parties involved. The selection process must also be free from discrimination. You make the selection in consultation with the organisation that will take on the trainee. Conditions for obtaining a traineeship position For a trainee to be given a traineeship position through the Traineeship Programme, he/she must not have participated in a Traineeship Programme funded through the University and College Council previously be at least 20 years old and up to 30 in the year he/she starts the trainee project, which starts with a preparatory course have been granted a traineeship position, provided that he/she is a Swedish citizen or has permanent residence in Sweden. Nordic citizens must have been registered in Sweden for at least one year when they start the traineeship. not be or not have been employed by the mediating organisation before the application date. Conditions for the sending organisation The organisation that sends out trainees is responsible for reviewing and quality assuring traineeship placements. The trainee must not replace a regular employee. Learning is the main focus, and it is thus important that the trainee has a supervisor. The traineeship positions should be clearly linked to development cooperation and the relevant areas of activity must be supported by Sida. Traineeship tasks in the host Page 3 (9)
organisation must be beneficial to all parties and relevant to its normal activities. Valid traineeship countries are those included on the OECD DAC list. The sending organisation is responsible for: ensuring that no enrolment fee or other fees directly related to the traineeship placement are charged for trainees to participate in the programme. organising a traineeship position with a placement for at least 5 months, of which at least 4 months are in the host country. Every trainee sent out must have a contact within the organisation in Sweden and the Swedish organisation is responsible for providing the trainee sent out with the leadership and the support required. The host organisation must have the capacity to receive a trainee and must appoint a supervisor. A certificate must be issued to the trainee after completion of the traineeship project. Prior to every placement, the sending organisation must establish a documented plan in consultation with the host organisation. The plan must include: Information on the aim and tasks, and a certificate to show that the traineeship will last for at least 16 weeks. Presentation of the cooperating organisation in the host country, proving that it has the resources to receive and supervise the trainee. A plan for preparation, supervision, monitoring and crisis management. The organisation must also ensure that trainees granted a placements will be informed about and accept the conditions and obligations in the agreement before the traineeship begins. Preparations and revision When the selection of trainees has been made, the trainee must attend a preparatory course at the sending organisation. The preparatory course should contain an introduction to: development cooperation the sending and hosting organisation, presentation of the supervisor tasks during the traineeship placement culture meetings personal health and safety documentation work how traineeship placements must be monitored, evaluated and revised. It is important that every individual organisation carefully prepares their trainees on the basis of the conditions that apply in each situation. The Sida Partnership Forum can offer free preparatory courses and reunions for trainees and network meetings for supervisors. These should only be seen as a complement to the sending organisation's own education, however. The traineeship abroad must be for at least 16 weeks and the remaining 4 weeks are carried out in Sweden. How these 4 weeks are allocated, either before or after the traineeship period, is decided by the host organisation. Page 4 (9)
When a traineeship period is completed, a revision must be carried out by the sending organisation. The knowledge and experience obtained must be returned to actors in Sweden who can benefit from it in the area of development cooperation. Finance and grant levels Grants are be awarded in the form of a standard sum of SEK 89,000/trainee, which corresponds to two price base amounts. The grant may be used for: Administration costs for the host organisation Administration costs for the sending organisation Insurance Domestic voyages in the traineeship country Local transport in the traineeship country Materials Revision work regarding the trainees Preparatory work regarding the trainees Travel to and from the traineeship country Subsistence allowance in Sweden Subsistence allowance abroad Vaccination costs Visa Administration costs may include salaries linked with the work of the Traineeship Programme and premises. Grant for administration, seminars and on-site visits If you have applied as an intermediary organisation it is possible to apply for a grant for carrying out administration and arranging seminars and on-site visits. The activities are there to enable you to administrate and quality assure the work with the Traineeship Programme, since you allocate the general traineeship grants to the sending organisations. Administration grant The administration grant is based on: A fixed amount of SEK 30,000 per organisation as a general grant is distributed to 3 percent of the general traineeship grant. Grant for seminars You can apply for grants to carry out joint seminars for the sending organisations. One condition is that you allocate grants to at least three sending organisations. You can apply for a maximum of two seminars per application and SEK 20,000 per activity. Grant for on-site visits Page 5 (9)
In order to apply for an on-site visit grant, you must allocate general traineeship grants to at least three sending organisations. You can apply for up to SEK 30,000 per on-site visit. Applications The application deadline for the Traineeship Programme 2015 is 1 November. The application period opens one month before the deadline. The project period, i.e. the period for preparing, training and revising, is between 1 January 2016 and 30 June 2017. How to apply You will find the link to the on-line application form on our website: utbyten.se - Application Traineeship Programme. In order to fill in an application, you will need to create your own user account for the applications system. You create a user account using the functions "Login" and "Register". After you have created your account, follow the instructions in the application system. When you submit an application you will be given a reference number to be used when you contact the Swedish Council for Higher Education. A confirmation that your application has been received by the Swedish Council for Higher Education will be sent to the e-mail address you entered when you created your account. All types of decisions and information regarding your case will be sent to the e-mail address specified in the application, as well as to vice-chancellor's/school director's e-mail address. You must submit one application for all general traineeship grants. Invitation or cooperation agreements You must attach an invitation/cooperation agreement/letter of intent from each host organisation. If the invitation is written in a language other than English or Swedish, it must be translated. The invitation/cooperation agreement/letter of intent must: Be dated. Show that the cooperation concerns the current traineeship project Include a time for when the trainee(s) will be received. State the number of trainees Describe the aims and working instructions Be signed by the person responsible for the host organisation, whose title must be stated. Page 6 (9)
Assessment of applications After the application deadline we start assessing the applications. The assessment is carried out in two steps: The application is first examined for validity. If the application is considered to be valid, it is forwarded for quality evaluation. You cannot submit any additions to the application after the deadline. Assessment criteria Validity criteria for direct intermediary organisations The organisation applying must belong to one of Sida's framework organisations within civil society or in an approved trade and industry organisation. The relevant country/countries are found in the DAC list. Authorised signatories must have approved the terms and conditions for the programme. A valid invitation/cooperation agreement must be attached to the application. The application must relate to the correct project period. All of the questions in the application form must have been answered. Validity criteria for intermediary organisations The organisation applying must belong to one of Sida's framework organisations within civil society or in an approved trade and industry organisation. The relevant country/countries are found in the DAC list. Signatories must agree to the terms and conditions for the programme. The application must relate to the correct project period. All of the questions in the application form must have been answered. If your application is valid it will be forwarded for quality evaluation. We assess quality in accordance with the criteria below. Quality criteria for direct intermediary organisations The aim and objectives of the project must be consistent with the programme's aim and objectives. The traineeship project will increase the trainee's knowledge and skills within the subject area. The traineeship project will increase the trainee's ability/skills to operate in a global context. The traineeship project will increase the trainee's interest in working in a global context. The traineeship project will increase the trainee's commitment to global issues. There are good conditions (support, preparation, project management) for the implementation of the project. Cooperation with the host organisation. How the feedback of experience/knowledge to Swedish actors will take place. Page 7 (9)
The planned activities must be practical and relevant for the achievement of objectives. There is a realistic risk analysis and a plan for the management of the resulting risks has been made. How evaluation, follow-up and analysis will take place. Quality criteria for intermediary organisations How the criteria above are assured for sending organisations. The planned activities for sending organisations are concrete and relevant to the achievement of objectives. Notification of decision A notification of the decision and allocation will be sent to each organisation at the earliest four weeks after the application deadline. We cannot give any preliminary decisions. If the application is granted We will send notification of our decision by e-mail to the contact and the authorised signatory for your organisation. In Appendix 1 you will find the terms and conditions that apply if the grant is awarded (which must be approved by an authorised signatory in the application). The letter of decision shows the amount that you have been granted. The grant awarded is paid into the account number you stated in the application. If you are a sending organisation that is awarded a grant, you are responsible for following the framework of the Traineeship Programme. If you are an intermediary organisation, your role is to coordinate work with the sending organisations. You must then ensure that the sending organisations follow the framework of the Traineeship Programme be responsible for the processes of application, assessment, selection, reporting and repayment for sending organisations provide individual project support to sending organisations organise seminars for sending organisations on current issues to increase objective achievement in the programme forward current information from the Swedish Council for Higher Education in a transparent manner implement quality control and follow-up in Sweden and abroad (if necessary) make analyses and develop traineeship activities to increase objective achievement in the programme. If the application is not valid If the application is not valid for any reason, we will send a notification to the contact person and the authorised signatory via e-mail within four weeks after the deadline. Invalid applications are not forwarded in the assessment process. The notification gives the reason for the rejection. Page 8 (9)
The decision on grants from the Swedish Council for Higher Education may not be appealed, as explained in the Ordinance SFS 2012:811. Reporting The results of the approved traineeship placements are measured at the reporting stage. You report on-line via the link to the report for your project in the application system for the Traineeship Programme. You log in with the user information that you created when you sent in the application. As a approved organisation, you are responsible for: every trainee answering the questionnaire from the Swedish Council for Higher Education directly after completing the traineeship. You must enclose the results of the questionnaire with the report. The report must be sent no later than 15 October. Interim Report Projects that were given a grant in 2014 or earlier must submit an interim report. Transfer of general grants If you have been given general traineeship grants in 2015 for the project period 2016-2017, you cannot transfer unused grant funds to the project period 2017-2018. General grants given in 2014 for the project period 2015-2016 may, however, still be transferred to the project period 2016-2017. Changes and repayment If circumstances should arise that change the conditions for your project, you must notify us at the Swedish Council for Higher Education. This is the case if changes are made to the project's aim and activities the project cannot be implemented the grants paid are not utilised in accordance with your application and our decision. In such cases, we may request a repayment of the whole or part of the grant that you were allowed. Page 9 (9)