Programme Management and Project Selection in the Border, Midland and

Western Region of Ireland

Mr. Gerry FinnDirector

Border, Midland and Western Regional Assembly Ireland

September 2004

Slide Overview

Project Selection and Appraisal Techniques

Examples of Project Appraisal in Practice

Management and Monitoring of Projects by Implementing Bodies

Project Selection – General Principles

Programme and Measure Objectives Economic Impact – taking account of Deadweight and Displacement Financial Viability – PPP and productive Sector Projects Cost effectiveness Environmental Impact Impact on equality of opportunity Impact on poverty Impact on rural development

Programme Complement set out specific criteria to be usedGreater degree competition especially aid to private sector

Source: National Development Plan 2000 – 2006 P. 212

Principal Appraisal Techniques

Financial Analysis Cost Benefit Analysis Cost Effectiveness Scoring ; Weighting ; Ranking Multi Criteria Analysis (M.C.A)

Cost Benefit – Mandatory for projects €50m + – Recommended for other large

infrastructural projects

Source: Fitzpatrick Associates: Review of Project Selection Procedures and Appraisal Techniques in the CSF. May 1999

Cost Benefit Analysis

Source: Fitzpatrick Associates: Review of Project Selection Procedures and Appraisal Techniques in the CSF May 1999

APPLICATION KEY FEATURES LIMITATIONS

Essential to demonstrate the economic costs and benefits of projects from the perspective of the national economy or social welfare

Comprehensive

Comparison of costs and benefits, including non-market.

Treatment of risk.

Can include estimation of multipliers

Impacts require common monetary numeraire

Data demands can be considerable

Can have inadequate political or social acceptability

Project Appraisal – Scoring, Weighting, Ranking (SWR)

The criteria against which projects will be appraised are identified

A weighting is assigned to each criteria based on importance (no weighting = equal value)

Each project receives numerical score against different criteria

Different project applications ranked against each other

Source: IPA: Implementation and Administration of E.U. Structural And Cohesion Funds in Ireland – Procedures Manual: P. 65

Value for Money - Definitions

Additionality: Measure of economic output i.e. amount of project output compared to what would have occurred without intervention

Deadweight: Opposite to additionality i.e. could project have proceeded without State Aid

Displacement: Activities that would or could have been financed by the private sector are displaced by publicly subsidised activity

Cost-effectiveness: Projects selected contribute the largest amount possible to policy objectives at the minimum possible cost.

Source: Fitzpatrick Associates: Review of Project Selection Procedures and Appraisal Techniques in the CSF. May 1999

Project Appraisal – Scoring, Weighting, Ranking (SWR)

Criteria Score (0-5) Weight Revised Score

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Contribute to OP Objectives

Impact on Employment

Risk of Deadweight

Risk of Displacement

Cost Effectiveness

NON-ECONOMIC IMPACT

Contribution to OP Objectives

Environmental Impact

Impact on Equal Opportunities

Spatial ImpactSource: Fitzpatrick Associates: Review of Project SelectionProcedures and Appraisal Techniques in the CSF May 1999

Project Appraisal – Scoring, Weighting, Ranking (SWR)Criteria Score (0-5) Weight Revised Score

Commercial/Financial Appraisal      

Market Need      

Projected Sales Demand      

Financial Projections      

Risk of not Achieving Forecasts      

Access to Matching Funding      

Ability of Promoter to Achieve Forecasts      

Long-term Exchequer Implications      

Scheme-Specific Criteria      

Total Score      

Project Selection – Transparency Issues

Public Promotion Eligibility Criteria Published Criteria for selection available Weightings for criteria available Decisions made by Committee Conflicts of interest avoided (Declarations) Information given to unsuccessful applicants Competitive or queuing basis Appeals system in place

Project Appraisal – CEB Procedure

CEB County based structure Legal Entity – Company limited by guarantee Directors – State Sector; Social Partners;

Elected Members Independent Evaluation Committee

• Business Expertise• Banking Expertise• Private Sector Expertise• Other – Technical

Source: Roscommon CEB Procedures Manual

Project Appraisal – CEB Procedure

Idea Initial contact with County Enterprise Officer Business Plan / Formal Application Site visit to project Appraisal by CEB staff Assessment by Evaluation Committee CEB Board decision

Roscommon CEB Procedures Manual (12)

Project Appraisal – CEB Criteria for Assistance

You must show:• that the project is commercially viable• That there is a market for the product or service• That adequate finance will be available to fund

the project• That the promoter has the management and

technical capacity to handle the project• That the promoters tax affairs are in order and

proper company structure

Project Selection - Tourism Procedure Initial call for applications – 2 stage process Assessement of Proposals

• Initial review by Regional Tourism Organisation• Assessment and scoring of proposals by Fáilte Ireland• Assessed by Fáilte Ireland Assessment Committee• Considered and approved by Product Management

Board Shortlisted applications complete detailed proposal form Evaluation by Fáilte Ireland evaluation team Assessment Committee review recommendations Product Management Board consider – approve, defer or

reject

Project Management – Role of Implementing Body

Design of overall scheme Seek applications by public advertisement Review and approval of project applications received

from project promoters Ongoing monitoring of projects Reviewing progress expenditure, final project costs

and irregularity reports if applicable Review, approval and payment of project manager

payment claims Prepare claims for Managing Authority on to Paying

Authority

Source: IPA: Implementation and Administration of E.U. Structural And Cohesion Funds in Ireland – Procedures Manual: P. 65

Project Reporting to Monitoring Committee Introduction – description measure, commentary on

progress Expenditure to date Performance Indicators – progress against targets North/South Co-operation Information and Publicity Requirements Horizontal Issues – Environment; Gender Equality;

Poverty; Rural Development Future Prospects Adjustments required Annexes

Contact DetailsBMW Regional AssemblyThe SquareBallaghaderreenCo. RoscommonTel. (353) 094 9862970 Fax. (353) 094 9862973Email: info@bmwassembly.ieWebsite: www.bmwassembly.ie

National Development Plan: Website: www.ndp.ie

EU Structural Funds: Website: www.eustructuralfunds.ie