All complaints during the implementation of the Programme should be addressed to the Complaints Committee, which is intended to be an accessible, transparent and consistent mechanism for entities to express their concerns about alleged bad management.

The Complaints Committee (Article 50 of the Programme Rules) is composed of a member of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation Board of Trustees, a representative of the Bissaya Barreto Foundation, the Programme Director and an external member to the Programme. The President of the Complaints Committee shall have a forming vote.

The Complaints Committee shall:

• Provide an accessible, transparent and consistent mechanism for complainants to express concerns regarding a supposed occurrence of mismanagement
• Assess each complaint submitted to it in a timely and effective manner
• Provide guidance and recommendations regarding follow-up, and
• Report back to the complainant (and to the FMO upon request) on corrective actions when applicable to resolve any assumed incidents of mismanagement.

Complaints shall be submitted by sending an email to [email protected]

If the Complaints Committee concludes that a complaint is a serious case of irregularity, the complaint shall be reported to the Management Office of the European Economic Area Financial Office which shall take a decision thereon.

Complaints that may be submitted to the Complaints Committee:

• Mismanagement of Programme’s Funds by supported NGOs;
• Misconduct of the Fund Operator Project Managers;
• Duality of criteria applied by the PMU.

Situations that should not be submitted to the Complaints Committee:

• Requests for appeal on the decision on the admissibility of an application;
• Complaints about approval or rejection of an application;
• Complaints about decisions on eligibility of expenditure.