All you wanted to know and never dared to ask about ... · All you wanted to know and never dared...

All you wanted to know and never dared to ask about contractual and reporting

issuesby

Barbara HERMANSProject Advisor-EACEA A1

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CONTENT

1. The Forward-looking & project lifecycle2. Actors and their roles3. Contractual documents

Grant agreementAmendmentsReporting

Progress reportFinal report

4. Project monitoring5. Tips & Hints

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Overview

1. The Forward-looking & project lifecycle

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Forward-looking lifecycle

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Project life cycle

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Overview

2. Actors and their roles

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Multi-beneficiary Grant Agreement

EACEA CoordinatorLetter of mandate

Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries

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Grant Agreement

ACTORS

Project

• Beneficiaries

Coordinator• Legal representative

• Project manager

• Subcontractors

EACEA

• Project officer

• Financial officer

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Grant AgreementCOORDINATOR

(Art II.1.3)

• Intermediary between the Agency and the Beneficiaries

– Establishes communication between the Agency and the Beneficiaries

– Provides all necessary documentation and information to the Agency

and to the Beneficiaries

• Sole recipient of payment ensure that all Beneficiaries receive

the payment

• Monitors budget

• Ensures that agreed actions are implemented

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COORDINATOR

Legal representative

• Person who signs all legal documents

Eg. Grant agreement, amendment requests

• Replacement by valid power of attorney

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COORDINATOR

Project manager

• Staff member of the Coordinator

• Person managing the day-to-day communication from and to the

Agency

• Manages beneficiaries' work and deals with problems between

beneficiaries

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BENEFICIARIES (Art. II.1.1-1.2)

• Are the organisations not the persons

• Co-responsible for the implementation of the project

• Share part of the budget

- Receive part of the EU contribution

- Contribute to the co-financing

• Report to the coordinator and transmit all justifying costs

• Respect the deadlines

• Inform the coordinator of any problem or deviation from the agreed work programme

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OTHER PROJECT PARTICIPANTS

Subcontractor

• Organisation/person that does not belong to

Beneficiary organizations and performs specific tasks

for which no competence exists amongst the

Beneficiaries.

• Project management and the general administration

of the project may not be subcontracted.

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The Agency - EACEA

• Management of centralized actions

• Calls, selections, contracts, monitoring, acceptance of reports,payments / reimbursements

• Responsible for the legal and financial compliance of the project

Project officer• Performs continuous monitoring of the project

• Acts as helpdesk during the project lifetime

• Validates the assessments of progress and final reports

Financial officer• Assesses the financial part of Progress and Final reports

• Acts as helpdesk concerning financial matters during the projectlifetime

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3. Contractual documents

• Grant Agreement• Amendments • Reporting

Progress reportFinal report

Overview

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Call documentationTHE GRANT AGREEMENT

1. Special Conditions

2. General Conditions

3. Annexes:

1.Description of the Action

2.General Conditions

3.Estimated Eligible Budget

4.List of Beneficiaries and Mandate Letters

5.Reports Template (technical report)

6.Reports Template (financial statement)

7.Guidance Note Audit Certificate type I or type II

8.Model terms of reference for the operational verification report:n/a

9.Project Handbook

Legally binding!

By order of importance!

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Call documentationTHE GRANT AGREEMENT

Fundamental information:

1. Project description & Work programme

2. Eligibility period (Art. I.2.2)

3. Payment arrangements and reporting dates (Art. I.4.1)

4. Eligible budget (Annex III)

5. General Conditions (Annex II)

6. Handbook 2015

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Call documentationAMENDMENTS

WHY? to give you some flexibility against unpredictable changes

during the project's lifetime but

cannot change the substance of the selected project

must be officially requested and approved by the Agency

WHO? Coordinator – request duly signed by the Legal Representative of the Coordinating organisation

WHEN? Anytime during the project’s life BEFORE the change takes

place AND at the latest 1 month before end of eligibility

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Call documentationAMENDMENTS

HOW? - in writing (sent by email attaching a scanned signed

letter signed by the legal representative)

- motivate the request

- provide supporting documents

Email: EACEA-Policy-Support@ec.europa.eu

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Call documentationAMENDMENTS

Two categories of amendments:

1. Amendments via the Participant Portal:

- legal name, legal status, address of Coordinator and Beneficiary/ies

2. Amendments requested to the Agency (via exchange of letters)

- legal representative, project manager, eligibility period, work programme, budget, change of partners, bank account, coordinator, etc.

2 types

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AMENDMENTS

Format of the request

1. Formal amendment request -> changes to:

coordinator or beneficiaries

eligibility period

budget breakdown above 10% rule (Art. I.8)

bank account

work programme

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AMENDMENTS

Format of the request

2. No official template : scanned letter peremail -> changes to:

Legal representative of coordinator

Contact person of coordinator

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AMENDMENTS Do’s and don’ts

• In case of doubt, discuss amendments in advance with your EACEA project officer

• Submit amendments without delays

• Duly justify the reasons for the proposed changes (or request may be rejected)

• If possible, put together different issues in one amendment request

• Don’t submit amendment retrospectively• Don’t add a new partner without clear/relevant tasks and added

value to the project• Don’t request budgetary changes at the end of the project• Don’t request prolongation of eligibility period a few weeks before

the end just because you cannot finish the project on time

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Reporting: progress and final report

WHY?

For the benefit of the entire project consortium Measure the state of progress Adopt solutions to improve certain aspects Improve visibility in the consortium and in the wider community

For the Agency's benefit and useMonitoring by the Agency

Decision on evaluation – next payment Identification of good practices or projects needing follow upFeedback to the Commission for policy-making

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Call documentationReporting stages (Art. I.4.1, I.4.2, II.23, II.24)

Signature of Agreement

1st Pre-financing payment

Progress report 2nd Pre-financing payment

Final report Final payment

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Call documentationProgress Report

WHEN? 3 contractual dates depending on the project duration:

• 15/11/2016

• 15/02/2017

• 15/05/2017

WHAT? Assessment of the mid-term implementation

40% pre-financing foreseen (if 70% of 1st prefinancing spent)

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Call documentationFinal Report

WHEN? 60 days after the end of the project’s eligibility period

Reporting period = eligibility period

WHAT? Assessment of overall achievements and impact of the project assessed in comparison with :

1) the application work plan and the budget

2) the feedback to the Progress Report

Final payment: up to 30% balance -> In case of low performance, the EU

contribution to eligible staff costs

may be reduced28

Call documentationProcessing the reports

Submission deadlines to be respected

Signed by the Legal Representative of the Coordinator

Analysis of the Report: by EACEA staff with assistance of external experts

Decision and feedback on the report to the beneficiaries including recommendations from the Agency

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Call documentationHints for reporting

• Collect and check supporting documents on a regular basis

• Provide supporting documents upon request

• Fill in the forms from the beginning of the project

• Use only Excel reporting form developed by the Agency

• Get help from financial colleagues within your organisation

• Discuss financial issues with co-beneficiaries and financial officers from the Agency (originals from co-ordinator and certified copies from co-beneficiaries)

• Keep all correspondence, including emails

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Overview

5. Project monitoring

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MONITORING

Objectives

Ensure that:

•The goals will be achieved as scheduled

•The quality of products is high

•The financial and administrative regulations are respected

•The project’s evaluation supports the project work

•The partnership cooperates well

•The dissemination and exploitation are efficient

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MONITORING

Activities

Online support documents• Project management information published on the website

(contractual documents, handbook, guidelines)

Helpdesk from project and financial officer• E-mail

Reporting• Evaluation of progress and final reports – feedback (content &

finances)

Meetings• Coordinators’ meeting including workshops• Visits to projects• Thematic cluster meetings• Attending key events organised by the projects

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Positive Indicators

Expert’s recommendations at selection stage followed

Balanced work plan

Active participation of all partners, clear management structureand division of tasks

Project coordinators supported at institutional level for allaspects of project implementation

Good internal/external communication (strategy, tools..)

Webpage as a dynamic tool for dissemination and promotion

Highly engaged target groups and stakeholders

MONITORING

Strategy

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Negative Indicators

Delays in work plan (e.g. partner withdrawal)

Partners with low commitment

Very few activities implemented

No compliance with publicity clause

Weak implementation of dissemination strategy from theproject start

No internal quality control / evaluation mechanisms

MONITORING

Strategy

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PROJECT HANDBOOK

1. Different roles

2. Monitoring

3. Reporting

4. Financial rules

5. Publicity and dissemination

6. Amendments

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5. TIPS & HINTS

•Read carefully all legal documentation

•Sign partnership agreements & establish a common

approach within the consortium to address concerns

•Keep an eye on your planning, activities & budget

•Start dissemination activities and stakeholders’

involvement from the very beginning of the project

•Consider the feedback on your application and Progress

Report

•Consult us for advice and support ☺

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Call documentationUSEFUL LINKS

Kick off meeting 2016

EACEA website

EACEA website «Beneficiaries' space»

Participant Portal

Dissemination Platform and Exploitation of results

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CONTACTS

•Your project officer

name.surname@ec.europa.eu

• Our functional mailbox:

EACEA-Policy-Support@ec.europa.eu

Thanks for your kind attention !

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