[{"bbox": [146, 166, 770, 200], "category": "Section-header", "text": "# 4 IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS"}, {"bbox": [146, 228, 445, 261], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 4.1 Financing Agreement"}, {"bbox": [146, 270, 1083, 326], "category": "Text", "text": "In order to implement this action, it is envisaged to conclude a financing agreement with the partner country."}, {"bbox": [146, 338, 573, 371], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 4.2 Indicative Implementation Period"}, {"bbox": [146, 380, 1084, 515], "category": "Text", "text": "The indicative operational implementation period of this action, during which the activities described in section 3 will be carried out and the corresponding contracts and agreements implemented, is 48 months from the date of entry into force of the financing agreement. Extensions of the implementation period may be agreed by the Commission's responsible authorising officer by amending this Financing Decision and the relevant contracts and agreements."}, {"bbox": [146, 526, 758, 559], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 4.3 Implementation of the Budget Support Component"}, {"bbox": [146, 569, 190, 594], "category": "Text", "text": "N/A"}, {"bbox": [146, 610, 503, 642], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 4.4 Implementation Modalities"}, {"bbox": [146, 652, 1084, 731], "category": "Text", "text": "The Commission will ensure that the EU appropriate rules and procedures for providing financing to third parties are respected, including review procedures, where appropriate, and compliance of the action with EU restrictive measures¹⁴."}, {"bbox": [146, 744, 485, 773], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### 4.4.1 Direct management (Grants)"}, {"bbox": [146, 784, 383, 813], "category": "Section-header", "text": "#### (a) Purpose of the grant"}, {"bbox": [146, 822, 1084, 928], "category": "Text", "text": "The grant will contribute to achieve Specific Objective 3 of the Action, more specifically Output 3.1. With the purpose of providing solid evidence on HGSF as a tool to not only improve nutrition and education outcomes, but also to improve market opportunities for smallholder farmers, the grant will conduct randomised control trials in selected schools."}, {"bbox": [146, 940, 1084, 1046], "category": "Text", "text": "A baseline survey will be conducted in all selected schools and ECD centres, as well as with smallholders in their catchment areas. The baseline survey will measure the outcomes of interest, such as human capital outcomes for the children, and income, welfare and market participation among smallholders."}, {"bbox": [146, 1059, 1084, 1168], "category": "Text", "text": "After the baseline survey, half of the schools and half of the ECD centres will be randomly selected to participate in the exercise, while the other half will be excluded. When the exercise is rolled out, the schools and ECDs that were not selected to participate in the programme (the control group) will be the ideal comparator to those that received the intervention (the treatment group)."}, {"bbox": [146, 1178, 1084, 1286], "category": "Text", "text": "After the exercise is rolled out and sufficient time has passed for its effects to start showing, a follow-up survey will be conducted in both the treatment and control groups. Changes in the human capital of children and welfare of smallholders since the baseline will be assessed. The differences in growth of these outcomes in the control and the treatment groups will reflect the true project impact."}, {"bbox": [146, 1296, 1084, 1405], "category": "Text", "text": "This call has been launched on 15 March 2023 under a suspensive clause prior to the adoption of this Decision. This is justified because of the time sensitivity of the activities. The control group and the group of schools in which school meals are provided need to be randomly selected before the start of the academic year in October 2023 and the start of activities by WFP."}, {"bbox": [146, 1416, 452, 1445], "category": "Section-header", "text": "#### (b) Type of applicants targeted"}, {"bbox": [146, 1454, 884, 1483], "category": "Text", "text": "Applicants will be international research institutions/ not for profit organisations"}, {"bbox": [146, 1539, 1083, 1616], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹⁴ www.sanctionsmap.eu. Please note that the sanctions map is an IT tool for identifying the sanctions regimes. The source of the sanctions stems from legal acts published in the Official Journal (OJ). In case of discrepancy between the published legal acts and the updates on the website it is the OJ version that prevails."}, {"bbox": [966, 1680, 1083, 1706], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 22 of 26"}]