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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: [email protected]
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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
• Our functional mailbox:
Thanks for your kind attention !
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