Interreg III C North STIMENT Programme

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Interreg III C North STIMENT Programme
Lead Participant Seminar in Luleå, Sweden 27th
March 2004 Magnus Wiklund County Administration
of Västerbotten
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We all aim to avoid this....
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Working in PartnershipLead Participant
Responsibilities

• Bear the overall finanancial and legal
  responsibility of the whole project
• Ensure the co-ordination and day-to-day
  management of the project
• Prepare the contracts and reference terms for
  sub-contracting, monitor agreements e.g.
  Partnership agreement between project partners
• Communicate with the partners often all have
  said yes, all have agreed

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Working in Partnership Lead Participant
Responsibilities

• Manage the team responsible for administrative
  and financial matters, bookkeeping, verification
  of accounting records
• Organize the projects participation in
  inter-network activities
• Maintain dialogue with the Managing authority
• Inform about the project disseminate the
  project results

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Working in Partnership Participants
Responsibilities

• Carry out the measures in his/her respective area
  according to the application and the partnership
  agreement
• Follow the conditions, rules and regulations
  provided by the Lead Participant
• Follow the eligible budget and expenditure
  targets
• Keep up with the time schedule
• Ensure and organize a separate project account in
  the accountancy
• Communicate with the Lead Participant, colleagues
  and the other partners
• Frequently report to the Lead Participant
• Organize an audit of the costs by an independent
  authorised auditor for every progress report
• Inform about the project and disseminate the
  project results

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Working in Partnership The
agreement

• Purpose and duration
• Project organisation- the overall project
  management
• Obligations of the partners- what is my role and
  responsibility?
• Financial administration and accounting- how and
  when?
• Project costs, income and financial results-
  eligibility, timetable, etc.
• Publicity- how and who?
• Partner's liability
• Settlement of disputes

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Project Administration
Reporting Procedures Requirements

• Progress reports
• The project leader is to draw up a progress
  report and application for payment every six (6)
  months
• Reporting periods To be reported by
• 1 January 30 June 1 August
• 1 July 31 December 1 February

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Project AdministrationReporting
Procedures Requirements

• Keep in mind when reporting
• Please make sure documents correspond
• Include examples of information material
• Indicate right to alleviate VAT
• Only include VAT when non-recoverable
• Keep in line with annual spending targets
• NOTE ALL project partners must be audited by an
  independent authorized auditor
• REMEMBER TO SIGN ALL THE DOCUMENTS!

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Project AdministrationReporting
Procedures Requirements

• Other Reporting
• The Lead Participant should report to the
  managing authority
• difficulty of a technical nature
• problems or delays (annual spending targets)
• need for adjustments in project

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Project Payments Financial

Control How to Receive
STIMENT Funding

• Payments
• Payments will be made in EUR
• Payments will be made retrospectively against
  actual expenditure paid out
• Applications for payments should be sent to the
  Lead Partner with the six-monthly progress
  reports

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Project Payments Financial Control
How to Receive STIMENT Funding

• Payment Procedure (2)
• The conformity with financial regulations and
  requirements are controlled by the Paying
  Authority
• The Paying Authority issues a payment to the Lead
  Participant
• The Lead Participant distributes the payment
  among participants

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Project Accounts Budgets How to
Manage Project Finances

• PROJECT ACCOUNTS (1)
• The Lead Participant and Participant must keep
  separate project accounts in national currencies
  as well as in EUROs
• The accounting system must ensure the posting of
  all expenditures and revenues related to the
  project
• Expenditures must be entered into the accounts
  and paid before they can be claimed
• The Lead Participant keeps the overall accounts
  for the project and reports bi-annually to the
  Lead Partner
• All expenditures and revenues must be posted and
  detailed in bi-annual progress reports
• Expenditures that are charged to the project
  must occur in the given project period

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Project Accounts Budgets How to
Manage Project Finances

• PROJECT ACCOUNTS (2)
• The progress report should include an
  independent authorised auditors statement.
• The Lead Partner is responsible for the overall
  project accounts
• It is also necessary that separate project
  accounts be organised and maintained at the
  partner level by each partners project
  coordinator

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Project Accounts Budgets How to Manage
Project Finances

• SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION PRESERVATION OF
  SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
• The Lead Participant must receive copies of all
  supporting documents relating to project
  accounts. i.e receipts, rental agreements,
  service contracts etc
• It is the responsibility of each partner to
  send copies of supporting documents to their Lead
  Participant
• Supporting documents are to be archived and
  preserved for ten years in the offices of the
  lead participant
• The Lead Participant must preserve copies of all
  supporting documents in the case of an audit
• Supporting documents must also be archived and
  preserved for the same length of time in the
  offices of project participant in the case of an
  audit

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Project Accounts Budgets How to Manage
Project Finances

• WHO CAN AUDIT YOUR ACCOUNTS?
• Representatives for the Managing Authority,
  Paying Authority and the JTS Secretariat
• Representatives from the European Commission and
  the European Court of Auditors
• All are entitled to examine a projects relevant
  documentation and accounts of the project up to
  ten years after the final payment of their grant
• At any time during the project period
  on-the-spot checks may take place

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Project Accounts Budgets How to Manage
Project Finances

• All expenditures are regulated through Commission
  Regulation (EC) No.448/2004 regarding eligibility
  of expenditures of operations co-financed by the
  Structural Funds
• The budget has eight expenditure categories
• External experts and consultancy fees
• Staff costs including social contributions
• Travel costs and subsistence
• General costs
• Promotions and publications
• Meetings, conferences and seminars
• Equipment
• Other costs

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Eligible Expenditure What Can We Claim?

• EXTERNAL EXPERTS and CONSULTANCY FEES
  (Subcontractors charges)
• Costs for work done by an independent consultant
  or expert are eligible if the work is essential
  to the project and the costs are reasonable. The
  recommended max. rate for a senior consultant is
  600-700 /day. Note that the hiring of
  consultants is subject to public tender
  regulations
• STAFFING COSTS
• Staffing costs salary, taxes and social
  contributions, are considered eligible for
  personnel directly engaged on the project where
  the applicant can clearly demonstrate that the
  personnel concerned are working with additional
  tasks. Expenditure by public administrations is
  eligible if it relates to the execution of an
  operation provided that it does not arise from
  the statutory responsibilities of the public
  authority or the authority's day-to-day
  management, monitoring and control tasks

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Eligible Expenditure What Can We
Claim?

• TRAVEL COSTS and SUBSISTENCE
• Travel costs must be directly related to and
  essential for the effective delivery of the
  project
• GENERAL COSTS
• General costs include premises, which must be
  additional related solely to the project,
  postage, telephone, fax and office supplies
• Overhead costs are considered as eligible
  provided that they are based on real costs
  directly related to the project. The OH costs
  should be allocated pro rata according to a
  justified and fair equitable method

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Eligible Expenditure What Can We Claim?

• PROMOTION and PUBLICATIONS
• may include costs related to promotion and
  publications specific to the project such
  asdesign and production of marketing materials,
  brochures and publications as well as targeted
  advertising campaigns
• MEETINGS, CONFERENCES and SEMINARS
• may include costs related to aspects of
  organizing of and participating in meetings and
  seminars, such as rent of premises used,
  catering, general transportation

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Eligible Expenditure What Can We Claim?

• EQUIPMENT
• Only equipment, which is essential for the
  delivery of the project, which will be used
  solely for that purpose and has been purchased
  from third parties within the eligible time
  period
• Depreciation of owned equipment
• the cost and description of the item purchased
• the purchase date the number of years over which
  the item is being depreciated (this must be a
  minimum of 3 years)
• the of the item use devoted solely to the ERDF
  project, over the life of the item
• OTHER COSTS
• Other eligible costs clearly needed and relevant
  to the project. The costs must be specified and
  justified

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Eligible Expenditure What Can We Claim?

• INELIGIBLE COSTS
• Loan charges
• VAT which is legally recoverably
• Any costs born beyond the eligible project period
• Costs prior to the official start date
• Costs resulting from the deferral of payments to
  creditors
• Legal costs in respect of litigation
• Costs involved in winding up a company
•  Payments into private pension schemes
• Compensation for loss of office

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Eligible Expenditure What Can We Claim?

• INELIGIBLE COSTS
• Bad debts
• Gifts
• Costs of works being carried out as a statutory
  requirement
• Costs of public administration staff engaged in
  their usual duties of managing, monitoring and
  inspection as commissioners of projects
  undertaken by other bodies
• Daily allowances for those benefiting from
  certain measures taken under the project (e.g.
  participation in seminars, training, publicity
  visits, study trips)
•  Exchange rate losses whether they are related to
  sums collected, movements of funds between
  project participant, payment of suppliers and
  service providers
•  Overtime pay

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Information Publicity Requirements EU
Legislation

• Why, what, who where?

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Information Publicity Requirements EU
Legislation

• Why?
• Its a condition of grant and also in the
  regulations
• aim to
• - increase public awareness
• - increase transparency of EU activities

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Information Publicity Requirements EU
Legislation

• What?
• THIS PROJECT IS BEING PART- FINANCED
• BY THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY
• European Regional Development Fund

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Information Publicity Requirements EU
Legislation
Using the Emblem

• colours
• get it the right way up
• timing

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Information Publicity Requirements EU
Legislation

• Who?
• Aim to inform potential/final beneficiaries
• regional and local authorities
• economic and social partners
• NGOs esp. promoting equal opportunities,
  protecting environment
• project operators and promoters
• AND THE PUBLIC

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Information Publicity Requirements EU
Legislation

• Who is responsible?
• Recipients of grant/Lead Participant
• Participant
• Managing Authority

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Information Publicity Requirements EU
Legislation

• Where?
• All information literature
• websites
• seminars, conferences
• project logos vs ERDF STIMENT logo
• It is not sufficient to just use the Stiment
  logo!

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Public Procurement Competiton
Policy EU Rules National Rules of
Thumb

• Public Procurement Rules
• Apply to public sector bodies
• May be applicable to other organisations when
  receiving public grants
• Aim at securing transparent and fair conditions
  on the common market by principles of openness
  and competition
• Mainly applicable when hiring consultants to the
  project

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Public Procurement Competiton
Policy EU Rules National Rules of Thumb

• Public Procurement on EU Level
• A call for tender on a European level is
  compulsory for service contracts over 200 000 EUR
  (excluding VAT) awarded by a public sector body

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Public Procurement Competiton Policy
EU Rules National Rules of Thumb

• Public Procurement - National Level RULE OF
  THUMB
• Sweden
• Apply tendering procedures when awarding
  contracts for over 70 000 SEK (approx 7800 EUR)

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Public Procurement Competiton
Policy EU Rules National Rules of Thumb

• Public Procurement National level RULE OF
  THUMB
• Finland
• Competitive tenders for awarding contracts
  below the thresholds by sending out requests for
  tender to a sufficient number of potential
  suppliers in the field or by publishing an
  announcement
• Thresholds 162 293 EUR General state admin
• 249 681 EUR Other authorities