applicant‘s seminar – 1st call...planning project communication • communication is integral...

Th i s p r og r am m e i s co - f i nanced b y the Eur op ean R eg i ona l D ev e l op m ent Fund .

JS/ MA

Applicant‘s seminar – 1st Call

Munich | Germany | 09 July 2015

Agenda

10:00 Official welcome by MA & JS

10:15 Contractual arrangements - partnership agreement & subsidy contract

10:35 Guidance on completing the AF in eMS

Intervention logic, work plan, state aid, financial tables

12:15 Lunch break

13:00 Guidance on completing the AF (continued)

2

Agenda

14:00 Eligibility rules, financial flows and first level control

14:30 National information by Alpine Space contact points

14:45 Next steps & open questions

15:00 Individual consultations with JS/ACP/MA

Check at registration desk for timing

16:30 End and departure

3


Contractual Arrangements

Relevant regulations and contracts

5

European Commission

Managing Authority

(ERDF) Lead Partner

ESI Funds Regulations

Subsidy Contract

Partner States

Partnership Agreement

Project Partners

Contractors Contractors

Programme Rules

Contractors Contractors

Relevant regulations and contracts/2

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http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/information/legislation/regulations/

http://www.alpine-space.eu/project-management/project-implementation-handbook/explore-the-handbook

European

regulations

Programme

rules

• article 13 of ETC-regulation: LP shall

make arrangements with PP

• solid legal basis for a sound project

implementation

• clear regulation of tasks, duties and

responsibilities of all project

participants

Why a partnership agreement?

• project management tasks of lead partner

• obligations of the project partners

• project steering group

• financial management, reporting

• first level control, audits

• intellectual property rights, project results, communication

• liabilities

• changes in the project and its partnership

Main elements

• to be submitted with project application to speed up process

• to reduce administrative burden:

template with minimum clauses provided by programme

only to be supplemented with project data

additional clauses can be added, but check of MA before signature required

Procedure

Procedure/2

Option 1 (minimum clauses)

Option 2 (additional clauses)

today´s seminar: guidance

submission with application form

today´s seminar: guidance

submission with application form

Friday, September 25th 2015

signature: (ERDF) LP with each PP

LP sends draft to MA for check as

soon as possible, at latest by

Friday, September 11th 2015 to

[email protected]

signature: (ERDF) LP with each PP

• each project participant shall receive one original

• the programme only needs a scan of the signed partnership

agreement

• in case of problems faced in the signature process please inform the

managing authority

Signature and copies

Option 1: bilateral Option 2: multilateral

Example: LP and 4 project partners

= 8 copies = 5 copies + 1 scan for programme

Signature and copies/2

12 copies in case of

ERDF-LP

6 copies in case of

ERDF-LP

+ 1 scan for programme

• article 125 of general regulation:

MA shall provide LP with document with

conditions for financial support

• clear regulation of tasks, duties and

responsibilities

Why a subsidy contract?

• award and paying out of subsidy

• eligibility of costs

• reporting and requests for payment

• obligations of LP, liability

• information and communication

• changes of project and project partnership

• financial control, audits

• repayment and stop of payment

• project outputs and results

Main elements

• template with standard clauses provided by programme

based on ESI regulations, best practice examples,

experience

• same provisions shall be applied to all projects

• references to application form and partnership agreement to

avoid re-signature during project lifetime

Procedure

Procedure

submission of signed PA with AF

Aim: all subsidy contracts signed within one month after approval

MA informs about approval and

sends e-version of subsidy contract

Project approval by programme

MA countersigns contract

Signature by LP (& ERDF-LP) and

sending to or handover to MA in LP-

seminar January 2016

September

December

January


Guidance on completing the AF in eMS

Guidance for AF and eMS

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Intervention logic

19

Programme and project intervention logic

20

Programme and project intervention logic

21

How to develop the project intervention

logic

22

Main transnational

challenge addressed

Main

cause

C 1

Overall

objective Main results

C 2 C 3 SO1 SO2 SO3 O1 O2 O3 O4

Programme

specific

objective

Programme

result

O1 O2 O3 O4

Workplan

Budget


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WP Communication Activities

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Why is communication important?

Communication is a toolkit that…

• Increases the impact of your project

• Helps to reach your aims

• Makes your results and good

practices visible

• Raises awareness

• Builds an image

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Planning project communication

• Communication is integral part of the project set-up and implementation. Do not underestimate the importance of this WP and the efforts to be invested into it.

• Communication is a continuous activity

• Providing information is NOT communication

• Communication is about making your audience understand the importance and the value of what you are doing.

• Know your target audience: plan communication activities that match your audience

• Draft communication plan before drafting WP, have a dedicated communication officer in your team and communicate with one voice.

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Completion of WP communication

• Mandatory activities are stated in subsidy contract:

• programme logo with project acronym and reference to ERDF financing

• project website

• final public event

• poster about the project

27

Logo

• Work for graphic designer:

• Just project name: 1–2 hours

• With logo: depends on logo,

max. 1 day

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Website

• „About the project“

is linked with the eMS and

updates automatically.

• Do NOT include

project website hosting

in your budget plan.

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Selection criteria

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• Coherency with overall project objectives

• Completeness Are mandatory and additional key deliverables

foreseen?

• Accuracy in targeting an audience How well are they identified and how will they be

addressed?

• Concreteness of actions How far is methodology to address target

audience described?

• Reach of planned activities In how far do planned activities address

decision makers, civil society, media, etc.

Support

Continuous support by JS and MA –

contact us!

After approval:

• There will be further trainings for

approved project partners

• Communication toolkit will be

provided, explaining CD rules and

giving recommendations on how to

plan activities

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32

Overview on State aid

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State aid – Key elements

General principle

• Competition must not be distorted by the granting of subsidies

Relevant provisions

• Articles 107-109 of the TFEU

• (EEA agreement / bilateral agreements for LI and CH)

Definition of state aid

• Any aid granted through public resources which may distort

competition by giving an advantage to certain undertakings which

affects trade between Member States

If any of these conditions is not fulfilled, there is no state aid!

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Selective advantage for undertakings

What is an undertaking

• Any entity carrying out an economic (commercial) activity => offering goods or

services on a given market, even if free of charge

• No matter if private or public, profit-making or not

• Classification always connected to a specific activity (entity that carries out both

non-economic and economic activities regarded as undertaking only for latter)

What is an economic advantage

• Benefit that would not have arisen in normal market conditions

e.g. undertaking receives subsidy for research activities

• No advantage if it is passed on to other actors

e.g. an organisation offers trainings for free to companies

Selectivity

• The aid discriminates certain market operators compared to others, based on

the size, type of activity, location, etc.

e.g. the aid is granted to SMEs only

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Some examples (1)

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Project partner Activity Rationale State aid

relevance

University

Developing new

training course

Topic of training is of

non-commercial interest

Low

R&D

institute/university

Research activities Research has

non-economic character

Low

Regional business

support agency

Development of

business plans and

publication on project

website

Activity is part of

institutional scope of the

agency. There is a market

for such services, but

project result is

accessible free of costs

for all interested persons.

Low

Some examples (2)

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Project Partner Activity Rationale State aid

relevance

Company Creation of a new

brand, e.g. bio milk

Alpine Space

Project aims at creating a

market for a new product by

creation of brand, is of pre-

commercial nature

Low

Company Presentation of

brand at fairs and

marketing activities

Presentation of

product/brand aims at sales

promotion

High

Development

agency

Consulting,

workshops,

seminars offered

free of costs to

SMEs

Activity is part of institutional

scope of the agency.

Advantage is passed on to

SMEs.

Low State aid

relevance at project

partner level

But relevance at

SME-level

ASP guidance and approach

Guidance from the programme

- Information to applicants / project holders through:

o Factsheet on State aid

o Guidance from ACP, MA/JS

o Seminars (applicant seminars, lead partners seminar)

o Analysis of EoI and AF + recommendations

Programme approach to State aid

- Design project so that it is not state aid relevant

- in case of state aid relevance ERDF granted as de minimis aid

- De minimis aid provided by MS where the MA is located (Austria)

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De minimis aid

• Considered compatible with the market due to low amounts

• Regulated by Regulation 1407/2013

• Main requirements:

max EUR 200,000 (gross grant equivalent) or EUR 100,000 for road freight transport sector

over a 3 year period

per single undertaking

per Member State

• Self-declaration by the undertaking

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Which impact on ASP projects

Project development

• Be aware of State aid issues when developing your project application

• Describe activities that might be state aid relevant clearly

• Assess cost-benefit for your project when planning state aid relevant

activities relevance of the activities vs administrative constraints

Project approval

• Funding of State aid relevant activities subject to limits of de minimis aid

Project implementation

• State aid checked by FLCB with payment claims + ex-post audits

• If State aid rules not complied with, expenditure deemed ineligible

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Guidance

• ASP factsheet on state aid + annex

• Articles 107-109 of the TFEU

• EU Regulation 1407/2013 on de minimis aid

• Draft Commission notice on notion of State aid http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consultations/2014_state_aid_notion/draft_guidance_en.pdf

• INTERACT questions and answers on state aid

http://admin.interact-eu.net/downloads/9263/Questions_Answers_ETC_and_State_Aid_April_2015.pdf

• DG Competition website: http://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/overview/index_en.html

• EFTA website: http://www.eftasurv.int/state-aid/state-aid-in-the-eea/

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http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consultations/2014_state_aid_notion/draft_guidance_en.pdf





http://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/overview/index_en.html

http://www.eftasurv.int/state-aid/state-aid-in-the-eea/












Eligibility rules, financial flows and

first level control

43

Managing Authority

JS

Certifying Authority Audit Authority/GoA

Auditor

ACP

= On the spot audits of the EC to verify the functioning of the system => THIRD LEVEL

= Check of all expenses and certification of eligible ones => FIRST LEVEL

= Audits on operations, sample check => SECOND LEVEL

=> TO ENSURE THAT ONLY ELIGIBLE EXPENSES ARE CO-FUNDED (=PROPER USE OF FUNDS)

European Commission

first level controller Project Participant

Financial control

Financial flows

44

European Commission

Managing Authority/Certifying Authority

Lead Partner

Service provider

= ERDF co-funding

= national funding

JS

services, invoices

payment

1st level control

progress report and certifications

Project Partner

Partner State 1 2

5

4 7

6

partner reports incl.

certifications of expenditure

3

The eligibility rules

• Based on the new legal framework

especially • Regulation (EU) No 1299/2013

• Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013

• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No

481/2014

• Working with simplified cost options (such

as lump sums, overheads and flat rates)

• Harmonised with other ETC programmes

• Considering experiences made in the past

• Agreed among all Member States

• Relevant for all project participants of the

programme’s Member States Austria,

France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia

• Basis for first level control

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Structure of the eligibility rules

General principles of eligibility

Detailed rules concerning the budget lines

• Staff costs

• Office and administration expenditure

• Travel and accommodation costs

• External expertise and services costs

• Equipment expenditure

Ineligible expenses

46

General principles of eligibility

• Expenditure

• shall be essential and additional,

• must comply with the principles of efficiency, economy and effectiveness and with the principle of

real costs except for specific cases such as flat rate, lump sum or depreciation further detailed,

• related to contracts between project partners cannot be co-funded,

• of organisations contracted via in-house procurement can be considered eligible as long as based

on verified actual and eligible costs without any additional fees charged,

• shall be supported by invoices and proofs of payment,

• When applicable, the relevant public procurement procedures need to be observed,

• reported to ASP must be in euro.

• Double financing shall be excluded.

• Revenues generated must be deducted from the total eligible costs.

• Only expenses incurred on the level of the respective project participant are eligible.

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General principles of eligibility The eligible period

Expenditure incurred in the eligible period (between project start and project closure date) shall be eligible.

Pre project phase (project preparation): A lump sum of EUR 20.000 for total eligible costs

(corresponding to maximum EUR 17.000 ERDF) is granted if the project is approved. Therefore, costs

incurred during the preparation phase can never be claimed on a real costs basis.

Project implementation: starts with the project approval and lasts until all activities related to the approved

work packages of the project have been completed. Costs related to the project implementation and

incurred between the project start date and the project closure date are eligible if following the rules as

outlined in this paper. Sufficient resources for the administrative project closure (e.g. for the reporting to the

LP, the drafting of the final report, preparation of the FLC) shall be foreseen.

Post project phase: Any costs related to activities implemented in this phase are ineligible with the

exception of the costs related to the first level control of the last reporting period.

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Staff costs

• Staff costs cover gross employment costs of staff members employed by the project

partners and working full or part time on the project in line with their respective

employment contracts.

• Staff costs of the project partner can be co-financed by the programme on the basis of:

• Real costs

• 20 % flat rate of the direct costs reported under the budget lines “travel and

accommodation costs”, “external experts and services costs” and “equipment

expenditure”.

• Each project partner shall decide on whether to apply the real costs or the flat rate

principle in the project application phase. Its choice is valid for all staff members of the

project partner and it cannot be modified during the entire project duration.

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Staff costs Real costs method – eligible costs and calculation

Eligible are the following cost components:

• Salary including overtime (provided it is paid out),

• other costs linked to the salary such as employment taxes and social security contributions which

have to be borne by the employer if they are stated by law and not recoverable by the employer.

Depending on the extent of assignment to the project the following calculation method applies:

• Full time assignment on the project: 100% of the gross employment costs are eligible (as long as

they are in line with the general principles outlined above).

• Part-time assignment on the project – fixed percentage of time: The gross employment costs

multiplied by the fixed percentage of time worked on the project is eligible (percentage shall be fixed

in project assignment).

Please consider the principles to be obeyed as outlined in the eligibility rules.

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51

Pros

Cons

- The calculation method is simple (the risk of

any error in the calculation is low).

- In case of a full-time assignment, 100% of

the staff costs can be co-financed and no

further calculation is necessary.

- No working time registration is necessary.

In comparison to the flat rate calculation:

- The actual staff costs can be reported and

can be co-funded (in most cases

considerably more than 20% of all other

direct costs).

The extent of assignment requires a clear

definition of tasks and activities per staff

member as well as a well-founded calculation

basis.

The staff costs need to be documented properly

(e.g. pay slips).

Staff costs Real costs method – pros and cons

Staff costs Flat rate – principles and calculation

• The staff costs are calculated as a flat rate of 20% of the project partner’s direct costs

other than staff costs.

• The eligible amount for staff costs is thus equal to 20% of the total eligible amount

declared under the following budget lines:

• Travel and accommodation costs,

• External expertise and services costs,

• Equipment expenditure.

• If the beneficiary opts for the flat rate financing of direct costs, no direct staff costs can be

claimed.

• When the 20% flat rate option is applied, it has to be proved that the project partner has

at least one employee (e.g. by providing a registration at the social insurance agency).

Project partners do not need to document that the expenditure has been incurred and

paid.

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Pros Cons

- The calculation method is very simple (the

risk of any error in the calculation is also

very low). The calculation itself should be

done automatically by the e-monitoring

system.

The flat rate of 20% will not be attractive for

most beneficiaries (in the past programming

period an average of 50% of the total project

budget was dedicated to the cost category

staff).

- Therefore the financial risk connected with

it can be considered as low.

- Beneficiaries do not need to document that

expenditure has been incurred and paid,

they just have to provide a proof of the

existence of any staff.

The flat rate is linked to the eligibility of other

direct costs. Should financial corrections be

necessary (e.g. due to deficiencies in

procurements) and lead to the fact that a

smaller amount of direct costs is eligible, the

basis for calculation of the flat rate will reduce

correspondingly and this will result in a lower

amount of staff costs that can be co-funded.

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Staff costs Flat rate – pros and cons

Office and administration expenditure

• Office and administration expenditure covers operating and administrative expenses of

project partners (such as office rent, utilities, office supplies, IT systems, communication,

bank charges).

• For office and administration expenditure a flat rate of 15% of the reported staff costs

can be granted. No direct costs can be considered eligible.

• The list on cost items covered by office and administration expenditure stated in the

delegated act is exhaustive. All listed items are to be considered as covered by the flat

rate and cannot be reimbursed under any other budget line.

• If no staff costs are foreseen and reported for respectively by the project partner no flat

rate for office and administration costs can be charged.

• No specific audit trail is necessary. Project partners do not need to document that the

expenditure has been incurred and paid.

59

Travel and accommodation costs

• This budget line covers travel and accommodation costs (i.e. travel costs, costs of meal,

accommodation costs, visa costs and daily allowances) of project partners that relate to

project activities.

• This budget line follows the real costs principle.

• Only travel and accommodation costs of the following staff members shall be eligible:

• responsible person and contact person indicated in the AF and their officially

designated substitutes (in case of applying the flat rate for staff);

• responsible person and contact person indicated in the AF and their officially

designated substitutes as well as the staff members officially assigned to the project

for the period in question (in case of applying the real costs principle for staff costs

calculation).

• Please consider the principles to be obeyed as laid down in the eligibility rules (including

indicative daily rates for hotel and maximum daily subsistence allowances) .

60

External expertise and service costs

• This budget line cover expenses related to professional services and expertise provided by

external service providers (other than the PP) contracted to carry out certain activities linked

to the delivery of the project.


• Please consider the principles to be obeyed as laid down in the eligibility rules

• As regards the procurement of services the following is regulated:

• Beneficiaries which fulfil the definition of a contracting authority according to the relevant national

procurement legislation have to respect these public procurement rules and properly document the

procurement procedure.

• All other beneficiaries must ensure adequate market research for contracts with a value higher than

EUR 5,000 excluding VAT. For purchases with an estimated contract value of EUR 50,000 net and

more, a call for offers must be published on the programme´s dedicated website allowing interested

companies appropriate time to file an offer (at least two weeks). The purchase process must be

documented using a form provided by the programme.

• Expenses based on contracts concluded and payments effected between PP or PP and

observers are ineligible.

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Equipment expenditure

• In this budget line equipment purchased, rented or leased by a PP, other than those covered by the office

and administration budget line, shall be reported. Equipment is limited to the items listed in the eligibility

rules (such as office equipment, IT hard- and software, furniture, laboratory equipment, tools or devices).


• Please consider the principles to be obeyed as laid down in the eligibility rules

• Equipment can only be co-financed if it is necessary for the project implementation or if is considered as a

project output.

• An equipment necessary for the project implementation is a tool or device used to carry out project activities. It

must be necessary for the delivery of the project and used for that purpose. The full purchase price is eligible if used

solely for the purpose of the project and depreciable within the eligible period. Otherwise a pro-rata needs to be

calculated on the basis of a justified and equitable method.

• An equipment considered as a project output (small scale investment) is a tool or device that remains in use by the

target group after the completion of the project. Such equipment may be approved by the Programme Committee

provided that the transnational benefit is well justified in the application form. The full purchase price is eligible.

• Equipment is eligible only if listed in the approved AF and not covered by the office and administration costs

(e.g. the IT system of a PP is covered by the overhead for office and administration while any IT system

developed for the project specifically is not).

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Ineligible expenses

Non-exhaustive list of ineligible expenditure:

• VAT unless it is genuinely and definitely borne by the project partner;

• interests on debts;

• exchange rate losses;

• national banking charges;

• housing (residential building, domestic architecture);

• purchase of land;

• fines, financial penalties and expenditure on legal disputes and litigation;

• contributions in kind (provision of land, real estate, equipment, unpaid voluntary work…);

• gifts;

• any costs incurred before project approval and after project closure (except the costs related to the first level

control of the last reporting period);

• expenditure already funded in total with public funds;

• communication material that is not in line with the programme rules on communication;

• tips;

• fees between beneficiaries of the same project for services, supplies and work carried out within the project;

• costs related to the contracting of employees of the partner organisations as external experts (e.g. as freelancers).

As the list of ineligible expenditure is not exhaustive, expenditure not listed should not be necessarily considered as

eligible.

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National information by Alpine Space

contact points


Next steps & open questions


Individual consultations with JS/ACP/MA

Ineligible expenses

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applicant‘s seminar – 1st call...planning project communication • communication is integral...

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