Support to the Government Office for Cooperation with Civil Society

Workshop for grant beneficiaries “Implementation of the projects supported under

the EU Civil Society Facility 2011”

12th February 2013, Belgrade

OBJECTIVES OF THE WS• To present the role of the TA to the Office for

Cooperation with Civil Society.

• To introduce the TA to the DEU Serbia and provision of support to grant beneficiaries.

• To provide an overview of the rules and procedures related with implementation of the CSF 2011 grants.

AGENDA Time Topic

09,30 – 09,45 Welcominge note

09,45 – 10,30 Roles of the main actors in the project implementationGrant agreement

10,30 – 11,00 Coffee break

11,00 – 12,30 Grant agreement – continuation Programme and finance management

12,30 – 13,30 Lunch

13,30 – 14,00 VAT exemption procedure

14,00 – 15,00 Secondary procurement procedures

15,00 – 15,30 Coffee break

15,30 – 16,00 Visibility rules and procedures

16,00 – 17,00 Other issues and closure of the workshop

ROLES OF THE MAIN ACTORS IN THE PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

Grant contract/Special conditions

• Project monitoring

• Reporting

• Requesting/providing approvals

DEU Serbia

SIPU Technical Assistance

Successful applicant/Gra

nt Beneficiary

COMMUNICATION • English language • Written vs. Phone communication • Official requests and related information always in written

(article 5.1 „Any communication relating to this Contract must be in writing, state the number and title of the Action”)

• Contacts in DEU – as specified in the SC, Article 5 • TA contacts – Ms. Andreja Tonč

– Phone: 011/311 – 4247– Mobile: 063 752 66 25 – E-mail: official e-mail will be provided soon

WHAT TA INCLUDES? • On-going provision of the Q&A related with

implementation of the grants • Capacity building activities following the grant

beneficiaries needs • Monitoring of the grants on the filed• Additional support in the promotion/visibility

of the grants

GRANT AGREEMENT• Grant Contract/Special Conditions

– Article 1 – Purpose– Article 2 - Implementation period of the Action– Article 3 - Financing the Action– Article 4 - Narrative and financial reporting and

payment arrangements– Article 5 - Contact addresses– Article 6 - Annexes

Grant Agreement - Article 6 - Annexes • Annex I: Description of the Action• Annex II: General Conditions applicable to European

Union- financed grant contracts for external Actions• Annex III: Budget for the Action (worksheets 1 and 3)• Annex IV: Contract-award procedures• Annex V: Standard request for payment and financial identification form• Annex VI: Model narrative and financial report• Annex VII: Model report of factual findings and terms of

reference for an expenditure verification of an EU financed grant contract for external actions

• Annex IX: Standard template for transfer of assets Ownership

Annex II – General ConditionsGENERAL OBLIGATIONS

• The Beneficiary shall implement the Action under its own responsibility

• The Beneficiary shall implement the Action with the requisite care, efficiency, transparency and diligence

• The Beneficiary shall mobilise all the financial, human and material resources required for full implementation of the Action as specified in the Description of the Action.

Annex II – General ConditionsOBLIGATION TO PROVIDE INFORMATION

• Project reports shall cover the Action as a whole, regardless of which part of it is financed by the Contracting Authority

• The Contracting Authority may request additional information at any time and that information must be supplied within 30 days of the request

Annex II – General ConditionsOWNERSHIP/USE OF RESULTS AND ASSETS

– The Beneficiary grants the Contracting Authority the right to use freely and as it sees fit all documents deriving from the Action, other than those reports referred to in Article 2, whatever their form, provided it does not thereby breach existing industrial and intellectual property rights.

Annex II – General ConditionsAMENDMENT OF THE CONTRACT

• Any request for changes or modifications of the contract should be submitted in written form during execution period of the contract.

• An addendum may not have the purpose or the effect of making changes to the Contract that would call into question the grant award decision or be contrary to the equal treatment of applicants.

• Changes of address, bank account or auditor may simply be notified.

Annex II – General ConditionsAMENDMENT OF THE CONTRACT

AMENDMENT MODIFICATION

SIGNIFICANT CHANGES MINOR CHANGES

WRITTEN REQUEST - AT LEAST 30 DAYS BEFORE THE CHANGE

WRITTEN REQUEST - AT LEAST 10 DAYS BEFORE THE CHANGE

GROUP EXCERSISE –

review of examples of

possible changes

Annex II – General ConditionsPAYMENTS

Option 1: Actions with an implementation period not exceeding 12 months or where the financing provided by the Contracting Authority does not exceed EUR 100 000• The Contracting Authority shall pay the grant to the

Beneficiary in the following manner:– pre-financing of 80% – the balance within 45 days of the Contracting Authority

approving the final report

Annex II – General ConditionsPAYMENTS

Option 2: Actions with an implementation period of more than 12 months and where the financing provided by the Contracting Authority is more than EUR 100 000, The Contracting Authority shall pay the grant to the Beneficiary in the following manner:

• an initial pre-financing instalment of 80% of that part of the estimated budget for the first 12 months

• further pre-financing instalments designed to normally cover the part of the Beneficiary’s financing needs for each twelve month period of implementation of the Action

Annex II – General ConditionsPAYMENTS

NOTE for Option 2: • Further pre-financing may only be given if the part of the expenditure

actually incurred which is financed by the Contracting Authority (by applying the percentage set out in Article 3.2 of the Special Conditions) stands at 70% at least of the previous payment (and at 100% of any previous payments) as supported by the corresponding interim report and, where applicable, by an expenditure verification report as specified in Article 15.6.

• Where reports are submitted in compliance with Article 2 but where the consumption of the previous pre-financing is less than 70%, the amount of the new pre-financing payment shall be reduced by the amount corresponding to the difference between the 70% threshold and the amount actually consumed of the previous pre-financing payment.

PROGRAMME AND FINANCE MANAGMENT

PROGRAMME FINANACE

REVISION OF THE ACTION PLAN MONTHLY/QUARTERLY FINANCIAL PLANS

REVIEW OF THE INDICATORS CREATION OF THE PROCURMENT PLAN

CREATION OF THE VISIBILITY PLAN CREATION OF TENDERING DOSSIERS

DEFINING LIST OF PROOF DOCUMENTS DEFINING LIST OF PROOF DOCUMENTS

PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT MAIN CHALLENGES FROM PRACTICE

• Often changes among the management staff• Managing relationships with partners• Communication with stakeholders• Low participation of the target group members in the

project activities • Poor quality of materials produced; Not clear

purpose of the materials produced • Poor visibility of the project activities and EU support

FINANCE MANAGEMENT MAIN CHALLENGES FROM PRACTICE

• Delays in procurement process• Partial tender dossiers, not adequate procurement

procedure, basic procurement principles not followed

• Filing system not established, proof documents are missing

• (Non)eligibility of costs • Miscalculation of the exchange rates

FINANCE MANAGEMENT ELIGIBLE COSTS (General Conditions)

• Incurred during the implementation of the Action;• Indicated in the estimated overall budget of the Action;• Necessary for the implementation of the Action;• Identifiable and verifiable, in particular being recorded in the

accounting records of the Beneficiary and determined according to the applicable accounting standards of the country where the Beneficiary is established and according to the usual cost accounting practices of the Beneficiary;

• Reasonable, justified and comply with the requirements of sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency.

FINANCE MANAGEMENT PROOF DOCUMENTS (General Conditions)

• Accounting records;• Proof of procurement procedures such as tendering

documents, bids from tenderers and evaluation reports;• Proof of commitments such as contracts and order forms;• Proof of delivery of services such as approved reports,

time sheets, transport• tickets , proof of attending seminars, conferences and

training courses (including relevant documentation and material obtained, certificates), etc;

FINANCE MANAGEMENT PROOF DOCUMENTS (General Conditions)

• Proof of receipt of goods such as delivery slips from suppliers;• Proof of completion of works, such as acceptance certificates;• Proof of purchase such as invoices and receipts.• Proof of payment such as bank statements, debit notices,

proof of settlement by the contractor;• For fuel and oil expenses, a summary list of the distance

covered, the average consumption of the vehicles used, fuel costs and maintenance costs;

• Staff and payroll records such as contracts, salary statements, time sheets.

VAT EXEMPTION PROCEDURE

SECONDARY PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES

SECONDARY PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES

Following the rules prescribed in Annex IV to the Grant contract, the contract for the respective services/supplies/works must be awarded to the best value for money tender (i.e., the tender offering the best price-quality ratio), in accordance with the principles of transparency and fair competition for potential contractors and taking care to avoid any conflict of interest.

RULES ON NATIONALITY AND ORIGINELIGIBLE GROUP

COUNTRIES

EU member states Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom

European Economic Area member states

Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway

IPA countries Croatia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, including Kosovo

European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument countries

Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Russian Federation, Syria, Tunisia, UkraineImportant

• The country of origin is deemed to be the country in which the goods have undergone their last, economically justified, substantial transformation

PRINCIPLES AND RULES

Principles to respect

Rules to apply Other essentials

Equal treatment Eligibility criteria: nationality and origin

No retroactivity

Non-discrimination Grounds for exclusion Standard documents

Transparency Administrative and financial penalties

Record keeping

Fair competition Visibility

Useful information: Experts proposed in the context of procedures for the award of contracts are not required to comply with the nationality rule.

MAIN STEPS Step 1: Choosing the correct procurement procedure (Annex IV)Step 2: Preparation of a tender dossier as per section 3 of Annex IVStep 3: Publication of a Procurement notice / sending Invitation letterStep 4: Constituting the Evaluation Committee (minimum 3 members):

Chairperson, Secretary and odd number of voting members.Step 5: The Evaluation Committee examines the tenders received.Step 6: Awarding the contract to the successful tenderer

– for Services: The contract shall be awarded to the tenderer with the technically compliant offer being most economically advantageous and the sole award criterion is the best value for money.

– for Supplies and Works: The contract shall be awarded to the tenderer offering the technically compliant offer with the lowest price.

Step 7: Notifying the successful tenderer and signing the contract

PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES>=200.000International restricted tender

200.000>&>10.000Negotiated procedure

<= 10.000Direct award/single tender

>=150.000International open tender procedure

150.000>&>60.000Local open procedure

60.000>&>10.000Negotiated procedure

<= 10.000Direct award/single tender

>= 5.000.000International open tender procedure

5mil>&>=300.000Local open procedure

300.000>&>10.000Negotiated procedure

<= 10.000Direct award/single tender

Services

Supply

Works

OFFERESTender procedure Negotiated procedure Single tender

Services

minimum 3 offers min. 1Supplies

Works

The time-limits for receipt of tenders and requeststo participate must be long enough to allow interestedparties a reasonable and appropriate period to prepareand submit their tenders.

VISIBILITY RULES AND PROCEDURES

VISIBILITY RULES AND PROCEDURES

Communication and Visibility Manual for European Union External Actions (July 2010) sets written and visual identity of EU

http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/work/visibility/index_en.htm

VISIBILITY RULES AND PROCEDURESThe graphic identity of the EU must enjoy an equally prominent place and size as all other emblems being used.All project materials and info-tools have to contain the EU identity:• EU logo/flag• Statement: Financed by the European Union under the Support to Civil

Society Project (in Serbian: Finansirano od strane Evropske unije u okviru projekta “Podrška civilnom društvu”)

• Legal disclaimer This publication [or leaflet/or brochure/video material...] has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of [name of the author/ contractor/ implementing partner] and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union

OTHER ISSUES CLOSURE AND EVALUATION