The Grant Contract

1. Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union The Grant Contract Key Aspects of the Contract and some common misconceptions Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

2. A reminder of the characteristics of a ‘grant’ Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union • A payment of a non-commercial nature by the Contracting Authority to a specific beneficiary to implement an action intended to help achieve an objective forming part of a European Union policy • But it is not a gift!!! • Funds support activities of the beneficiary • Funds cover only eligible incurred costs • All the conditionality of the grant award is set out in the Grant Contract Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

3. Thus, we need to have a clear understanding of the Grant Contractand of ‘PRAG’,the guidelines which determine the way in which EU funds are spent outside of the EU Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

4. What is PRAG ? Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union The Practical Guidelines for contractual/procurement procedures involving EU funds for external assistance is commonly known as PRAG. PRAG guides how we can spend EU funds and how we need to be accountable, transparent & fair, and get the ‘best value’. Therefore, it’s a key tool in project implementation. The essential parts of PRAG that relate to procurement under grant contracts are often summarised in Grant Implementation Manuals Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

5. Why PRAG can be a challenge for CSOs Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union • CSOs are not generally structured to manage Public Funds and often have weak capacity for managing finances • The language of PRAG is not always easy to understand • As PRAG offers ‘guidelines’ rather than ‘rules’, different stakeholders may interpret aspects of the guidelines in different ways BUT, these challenges must be overcome, otherwise CSOs may be in danger of not having all their grant-project costs recovered Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

6. Parts of the Grant Contract Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union Special Conditions Annex I : Description of the Action Annex II : General Conditions Annex III : Budget for the Action Annex IV : Contract-award Procedures Annex V: Standard Request for Payment, Financial Identification Form Annex VI :Template for Reports Annex VII: Expenditure Verification Report Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

7. Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union Annex I : Description of the Action Description of the action contains the description of the grant beneficiaries project. May need revisions on application form No major changes to the application Check translation Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

8. Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union Annex II : General Conditions General conditions specify the general obligations and financial provisions under the contract. Reporting Liability of Parties Visibility of Projects Ownership of the Equipments Evaluation/Monitoring Contract Ammendments Eligible costs Extension, Suspension, Termination of Projects Payment Methods And other legal issues Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

9. Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union Annex III: Budget Budget is a breakdown of all eligible project related costs. It is important to have a clear, and easy to understand budget attached to the contract as it directly impacts smooth implementation of the project. Estimate Only!!! Final disbursement will depend upon project outputs Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

10. Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union Annex IV: Contract Award Procedures Simplified procedures of service, works and supply tenders, for more information PRAG. Annex V: Standard Request for Payment and FIF BEST PRACTICE: Encourage grant beneficiary to submit this annex ASAP and manage this process efficiently Annex VI: Template for Reports Annex VII: Expenditure Verification Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

11. Managing the Contract Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union Managing the grant contract should be an integrated part of the overall project management Pay special attention to: Making any changes to the contract Procurement of any goods/services above 10,000 euros Keeping records & reporting Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

12. Modifying the Contract Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union • Minor Changes Changes in activities or budget that do not affect the basic purpose of the project Transfer between budget headings involving a variation of 15% or less Changes of address or phone number Changes of bank account Change of project manager or key experts Changes to HR unit rates • Major Changes • Significant changes in activities affecting the basic purpose and indicators of the project • Transfer amongst budget headings outside the limits of minor modification (15%) • Addition of a new budget line or spending zero against a budget line • Change of Project partners • Extension of Contract • Changes in grant beneficiary status or name Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

13. Making major changes to the contract should be handled carefully, and, if possible, avoided! Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

14. Procurement Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union All stakeholders engaged in an EU-funded project take on the responsibility of managing Public Funds. To help fulfil these responsibilities, the EC provides PRAG. Thus, Grant Beneficiaries MUST: Use the models published on the Commission’s web site, relating to external actions Ensure time-limits for receipt of tenders and requests to participate must be long enough to allowreasonable and appropriate period to prepare and submit tenders Allow requests to participate and tenders declared as satisfying the requirements to beevaluated and ranked by an Evaluation Committee Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

15. Procurement:Be aware of what PRAG says about Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union Rule of Origin Country of Origin Derogation Grounds for Exclusion Conflicts of Interest Retroactivity Fair competition Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

16. Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

17. Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union Good practice in Project Management is to draft a Procurement Plan along side the overall Project Work Plan and Budget Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

18. Keeping Records & Reporting Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union During the implementation period Grant Beneficiaries need to • Manage their own internal monitoring and administration of the project • Facilitate external monitoring of the project and provide obligatory reports to the Contracting Authority Thus, systems must be in place to ensure that there is compliance to the Contract and PRAG, And management of data to help show progress (or otherwise) towards the project’s objectives Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

19. Keeping Records & Reporting Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union Below is a list of some of the questions that an external project monitor may want answers to: Were the correct procedures used for the tender value? Are the equipment/supplies there? Is it being used for the purpose it was intended? Do the serial numbers match the invoice? Is the EU being given appropriate visibility? What will happen at the end of the project? Check for a list of equipment. Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

20. Keeping Records & Reporting Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union Obligatory Technical Reports (Interim & Final) Information on progress of activities; Information on Project/Programme results; Information on programme/ project impact; Follows the structure of the reporting template. Description of Activities; If any modifications have occurred should be well documented and justified! Detailed description of projects achieved; Level of achievement of the project stated objectives; May include annexes. Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

21. Keeping Records & Reporting: Obligatory Financial Reports (usually ‘Final’ only) Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union Financial Reports include: Project costs In table format which are standardised; Copies of supporting documents are requested; Copies of Time-sheets. Checking of financial reports against the contract and the supporting documentation: Eligible expenditure Consistent with application Correct exchange rates being used Appropriate supporting documentation VAT is not included Significant deviance from planned expenditure Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

22. Keeping Records & Reporting: Supporting Documents Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union • For Human Resources Term of reference/job profile Timesheets Copies of the outputs Activities reports • For Travel Tickets (paper tickets and boarding passes) Any other proofs • For Trainings A detailed description of the training – training modules, training hours per subject, methods, etc. Training schedule List of participants /Attendance sheets List of trainers / lecturers Feed-back questionnaires Training evaluation report • For Surveys /studies Detailed description of the methodology Reports • For Publications • Copies of publications • Distribution lists • For Seminars, working meetings • Programme • List of presentations / conference reports • Handouts • List of participants • List of speakers • Minutes (if applicable) • Press clippings • Feed-back questionnaires (if applicable) • For Supplies/Works • Invitation to tender (all documentation) • All offers received • Tender Opening Report • Administrative Compliance Grid • Technical Evaluation Grid • Evaluation Report • Shipping bills Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

23. Monitoring-Evaluation-Audit Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010

24. Approaches to Monitoring & Evaluation Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organisations Regional Office This project is funded by the European Union The Spectrum of Approaches Technocratic Pluralist Scientific approach Mixed perspectives Objectivity Non-neutral Standardisation Non-standard Judgemental / Managerial Facilitates learning & further dialogue Regional Training on 'Development & Management of EU-funded Projects', Istanbul March 2010