25-26/11/2010 essnet training budapest essnet training part 1 – administrative matters p. jacques

ESSnet Training

Part 1 – Administrative Matters

P. Jacques

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General ESSnet process Financial instruments:

– Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA)– Multi-beneficiary Grant Agreement (MBGA)

Administrative forms Follow-up of projects

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General ESSnet process (1)

Step 1: Preparation of the project– Choice of project at Eurostat level– Discuss the subject and content of the ESSnet project with

Member States in the different WGs and TFs and get interest and partnership including co-ordination from involved Member States

– Eurostat develops the yearly ESSnet plan of activities

Indicative calendar

New ESSnet selection procedure for 2011 onwards

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Step 2: Programming: – Eurostat prepares the annual work programme– Eurostat presents the ESSnet annual plan to the ESSC in May

for discussion– Eurostat includes ESSnet projects in the Financing Decision (FD)– Adoption of the FD by the Commission– ESSnet restricted invitation to submit proposals to be launched

once FD adopted.

Indicative calendar

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General ESSnet process (3) Step 3: Grant award procedure

– Restricted invitations to submit proposals: • Invitation letter to ESS organisations, with technical specifications (including

evaluation criteria), templates and model contract and deadline for submission of proposal. No informal contacts between MS and Eurostat once the restricted call is launched.

– Reception of proposals: • Detailed projects proposal sent by coordinators to Eurostat (at least 3 weeks for

preparation of the proposal – at the discretion of Eurostat unit)• Advise to set up a mailbox for exchange of information and documents between

partners Indicative calendar

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Step 3: Grant award procedure – Evaluation:

• Evaluation of proposals and selection of partners/ beneficiaries according to the eligibility and exclusion, selection and award criteria, followed by grant award decision

• Technical Proposal evaluated by Eurostat (positive, negative or request improvements)

• Use of thresholds.– Award decision:

• Taken by Authorising officer and documented

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Step 4: Commitment

– Eurostat prepares the contract: two types depending on characteristics of the action (clearly defined or not) and duration (more of less than 2 years)

– Multi-Beneficiary Grant Agreement: action clearly defined and with a duration of less than 2 years.

– Framework Partnership Agreement with multiple partners. This financial instrument is the solution for long term projects of about 4 years. They should however be supplemented by specific grant agreements.

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Step 5: Implementation– Pre-financing: if contractually agreed– Monitoring technical and financial report: On-going

monitoring of grant actions Step 6: Closure

– Final payment: Approval of the final payment.– Ex-post evaluation:– Feedback: collection of information about issues and

process weaknesses identified during the process

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Framework Partnership Agreement (1)

Partnership definition– partnership is an arrangement for 'long‑term cooperation' that

the Commission establishes with certain beneficiaries called 'partners'. It is established and governed by a specific agreement called the "framework partnership agreement .

Partnerships involve:– mutual interest and common general objectives shared by the

Commission and its partner in pursuing a Community policy;– actions that have been defined and agreed jointly between the

Commission and its partner, on the basis of common general objectives;

– an ongoing and formalised arrangement between the Commission and its partner to implement the envisaged actions

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Instruments– Partnerships are implemented by a legal instruments:

framework partnership agreements (and specific agreements) the first level is the framework partnership agreement

which sets out the conditions governing grants to partners for carrying out actions, on the basis of an action plan and jointly agreed general objectives.– this first‑level agreement does not constitute an obligation for

the Commission to award grants. the second level is the specific grant agreement which is

based upon the framework partnership agreement and leads to a Community grant for each partnership action.

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Duration: For ESSnets longer than 2 years but not exceeding 4 years, except in exceptional cases.

Contents:– Preamble, which justifies establishment of the partnership and

the nature of the actions envisaged.– Special and General Conditions, which define the respective

roles and responsabilities of the Commission and its partner.– Annexes:

• Actions planned under the partnership, • Model specific grant agreement• Mandates• Management arrangements (organisation of the team)

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The technical and financial arrangements are described in specific grant agreements.

Specific grants are lighter documents containing:– the duration of the action– the detailed description of work to be achieved

during the period– the financial details (funding, repartition between

partners, payments details)

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FPA Procedure (1)

Preparation of the FPA (once for 4 years)– Discuss the general subject, the duration and elaborate the activities

to be covered by annual ESSnet projects with Member States in the different WGs and TFs and get interest and partnership including co-ordination.

– Start already to discuss the content of the first year of activity of the annual ESSnet project with Member States in the different WGs and TFs

– Eurostat develops the yearly ESSnet plan of activities. – Eurostat prepares the annual work programme. – Eurostat presents the ESSnet annual plan to ESSC in May for

discussion

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FPA Procedure (2)

How are the FPA awarded?– Eurostat launches an ESS restricted call for proposals for

an FPA.– Coordinator sends on behalf of partnership, a proposal

including the general implementation of the activities and the general administrative arrangements, partnership and resources devoted to the action

– Eurostat evaluates the proposal, negotiates points and generates the contract to be signed by the coordinator on behalf of the partnership.

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Preparation of the SGA (Specific Grant Agreement)

Procedure for selection of the proposal and start the project:– Yearly programme of activity developed and elaborated with MS in WGs or TFs– Invitation letter only to FPA partners, with technical specifications (including selection

criteria), templates and model contract and deadline for submission of proposal. – Detailed project proposal sent by coordinators to Eurostat (at least 3 weeks for

preparation of the proposal – at the discretion of Eurostat unit)– Technical Proposal evaluated by Eurostat (positive, negative or request

improvements)– Eurostat to prepare the contract (Specific Grant Agreement) and start the project

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FPA/MBGA. Some specificities

Role of the beneficiaries: A group of multiple partners / beneficiaries must always have a coordinator, who has certain responsibilities

Signature: All partners a power of attorney for the coordinator to sign the agreement. The mandate must be annexed to the agreement.

Organisation of the team: All partners must agree upon appropriate arrangements between themselves for the proper performance of the action.

Financial responsibility: An article (special conditions) provides the possibility to reduce the financial responsibility of each beneficiary of the agreement to the amount of the contribution it is entitled to receive.

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Role of the coordinator (1)

There is only one coordinator per FPA or MBGA; Is the contractual representative of the partnership The coordinator (main partner) has full responsibility to

– ensure that the project is implemented according to the grant agreement. – the technical and financial management of the action, except where

specifically stated otherwise in the grant agreement; All communication between the co-partners and the awarding authority

is done through the coordinator. Be responsible for supplying all documents and information to the

Commission which may be required under the agreement, in particular in relation to the requests for payment. – gather scientific, technical, administrative, financial info from partners and send

them to Eurostat Is responsible for receiving the funds and transferring them to the partners

(optional) The co-ordinator shall not delegate any part of this task to the co-

beneficiaries or to any other party

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Role of the coordinator (2)

The coordinator shall – inform the co-partners of any event which could be affect the

implementation of the action;– inform the awarding authority of transfers between items of

eligible costs;– establish the payment requests on behalf of the partners,

detailing the exact share and amount assigned to each partner;

– ensure that all the appropriate payments are made to the co-partners without unjustified delay

– shall inform the awarding authority of the distribution of the EU financial contribution among co-partners and of the date of transfer of funds to its associates

The coordinator is responsible, in the event of audits, checks or evaluations, for providing all the necessary documents, including the accounts of the co-partners, originals or certified copies of the original accounting documents and certified and signed copies of sub-contracts.

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Role of co-partner/co-beneficiaries The co-partners shall

– participate in the project to which they contribute financially;– shall agree upon appropriate arrangements between themselves for the proper

performance of the action. • The partners are encouraged to conclude an internal co-operation

agreement regarding their internal operation, financial responsibilities and co-ordination. The co-operation agreement shall include all aspects necessary for the management of the partners and the implementation of the action;

– forward to the co-ordinator the data needed to draw up the reports, financial statements and other documents provided for in the agreement including its annexes;

– ensure that all information is provided to the awarding authorities via the co-ordinator, except where the agreement specifically stipulates otherwise;

– inform the co-ordinator immediately of any event liable to substantially affect or delay the implementation of the action;

– inform the co-ordinator of transfers between items of eligible costs;– provide the co-ordinator with all the necessary documents in the event of

audits, checks or evaluations.

Role of EUROSTAT in ESSnets

Project Manager/Officer– Are the interface between the project (Coordinator) and the Commission

(Eurostat)– Ensure administrative and technical follow-up of the project– Check project on schedule, should be informed of all problems, admin and

technical– Validate technically the deliverables and ensure they are relevant– Responsible for the Commission of the project achievements– Report achievements, problems, delays to governance structure– Is responsible for the final evaluation of the project (May be helped by

colleagues or external experts)– Sign the final payment

Steering Group– monitor the main achievements – help the Eurostat project manager to validate key results and options or

developments Directors Group

– Validation of the results DIME (Directors of Methodology)

– annually on the achievements of all the ongoing ESSnet projects. – validates of annual ESSnet achievements before presentation to the ESSC in

May

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Restricted Call for proposal MBGA/FPA/SGA

Invitation Letter to 27 NSIs + Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway + Switzerland– In case of SGA, invitation letter only to FPA partnership members

Annexes :– Technical Specifications– ESSnet MBGA/FPA/SGA application– Budgetary details – excel sheet– Template of MBGA/FPA/SGA contract– Guidelines– Template for technical implementation reports and financial

statements (if applicable)– Template of audit certificate (if applicable)

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Technical Specifications: Evaluation criteria

Eligibility criteria : The eligibility criteria shall determine the conditions for participating in a call for proposals– National Statistical Institutes or other authorities empowered to produce

official statistics– minimum of two partners – The Solemn Declaration concerning situations which would exclude the

applicant from the participation. It is sufficient to send this once a year.– Applications must be signed, dated and complete, using the standard

submission set;– Applications must be submitted before the closing date mentioned in the

invitation letter;– Applications must respect the maximum duration of projects (see part A).– Applications must be in line with the scheduled start date (see part A).– Applications must respect the maximum EC contribution as laid out in the

invitation letter.

Exclusion criteria– Grants may not be awarded to applicants who are, at the time of a grant

award procedure, in one of the situations referred to in Articles 93 (1), 94 and 96(2)(a) of the Financial Regulation.

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Technical Specifications: Evaluation criteria

Selection Criteria– applicants must have access to solid and adequate funding sources. Not

necessary to justify for public bodies.– Applicants must show that they have the operational (technical and

management) capacity to complete the operation– The following are supporting documents to justify the operational capacity:

• Grant agreements awarded by the Commission in the last three years for actions ( this information is collected once per year at central level)

• Grant applications submitted during the current year.• Curriculum vitae of the person coordinating the action, the work package

leaders and the rest of the staff involved in the ESSnet.• If applicable, letter of commitment from any external sponsors, specifying

the amount

Award Criteria: will be defined in order to assess the quality of proposals and to maximise the overall effectiveness.

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General Award Criteria (1)Criterion Score

Content of the action and deliverables (description of the planned results in accordance with the aims and objectives), understanding of tasks and quality of proposed approach

(0-XX)

Plan for communication/networking with external national authorities (0-XX)

Presentation of expected results, expected impact and sustainability of the action

(0-XX)

Network organisation and capacity (quality of the organisation and coordination)

(0-XX)

Time schedule of the action (work plan) and evaluation of progress of the action

(0-XX)

Overall and detailed budget:Applicants must ensure that the budget is relevant, appropriate, balanced

and consistent in itself, between partners and with the specific objectives of the project. Budget should be distributed within partners at a minimum reasonable level, avoiding excessive fragmentation

(0-XX)

100

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General Award Criteria (2)

From 2010 onwards, Eurostat has improved the evaluation process to ensure that the award criteria maximises the overall effectiveness of the Community actions by means of the specifications in the invitations to submit proposals: – If a proposal is to be classified as worth funding, the grand

total of the marks for all the award criteria should be equal to or greater than 60% of the maximum total score. In addition, a mark of over 50% will be required for each criterion. The Proposal that passes these thresholds might be considered for funding.

– Detailed and, as far as possible, harmonised criteria to assess the proposals (evaluation criteria)

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Simplifications from 2010

Options for signing: – power of attorney for signing the contract or – signature for each co-beneficiary

Role of the coordinator: it is very heavy. – Proposal: Modify article I.3.1 of the MBGA. The coordinator in

charge of the “technical" coordination and a specialised firm in charge of the administrative coordination (subcontracting), under supervision of the coordinator. To be discussed with Commission central services.

Threshold regarding transfers between items of eligible direct or transfers between partners without amendments ( article I.4.4 MBGA) : increase to 20%.

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MBGA/FPA/SGA application Part B – Administrative forms

1. General Information on the Co-ordinator (C)2. Information on Co-partners (CP) involved in carrying out the ESSnet proje

ct3. Other community funding4. Involvement of third parties in the action5. Excel sheet: grant budget – estimated costs (application)6. Financial information sheet (bank details, C only or all partners)7. Declaration by the C (application is correct)8. Contracts for implementing the action (Subcontracts !!!! 20% rule)9. Financial support for third parties10. Curriculum vitae of the person coordinating the action and the work pack

age leaders11. Solemn Declaration (sent only once a year to Eurostat)12. Mandate conferring powers of attorneys from the CP to the C 13. Letter of commitment from any external sponsors14. List of grants obtained from the Commission in the least three years (sent

only once a year to Eurostat)15. List of grants submitted during the current year

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Reporting Contractual reports

– Intermediate (template available) and final report (template available)

– Quarterly reports (template available)– Cost statement– Manuals, web site, etc.

Project Officer (Eurostat) Steering committee Network of methodologist Final Review Audits Evaluation by Directors Group in charge (BSDG, SDG,

CPSA, ITDG, DIME…) Annual evaluation of results and screening by DIME Reporting to ESSC

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Depending on the importance and duration of the project– Steering group:

• Eurostat staff members from the interested units + one member of the ESSnet (preferably the coordinator) at least one member of the ESS not participating in the project (+ eventually, external experts)

• For continuous monitoring + mid-term and final evaluation.

• To assure knowledge transfer and dissemination

– A responsible staff member from Eurostat unit in charge to be designated for follow-up and good execution of the project.

– Continuous information and involvement of the network of methodologists for validation/support/advice and transfer of results to other domains/areas.

– General report to ESSC on proposals retained, agreements signed and results (preliminary/final)

Follow-up of ESSnets

Evaluation criteria (1) Criteria to be used for:

– Ex ante documentation– Evaluation of the interest to launch the project– Continuous monitoring– Final evaluation– Ex post assessment

Quality of the project proposal– Interest from ESS members in the outcomes. (Does the project

answer a need that is shared by the ESS?); – Clarity of the objectives, the approach and the definition of

operational results. (Are the objectives, approach and methodology defined in such a way that they give a sufficient assurance on the added value for the ESS? Is the output product clearly identified?);

– Complementing not duplicating ongoing or planned actions (research, ESTAT work, other ESSnets). (Is the project compatible with other existing actions in the same area of GSBPM?).

Evaluation criteria (2)

Potential impact of the project proposal– Potential impact for the improvement of a GSBPM step in

the ESS (GSBPM step(s) involved should be identified. An assessment will be made on the potential gain in the GSBPM assessing whether the project can be generalised in the GSBPM step, it is innovative and it contributes to integration, harmonisation and comparability of outputs)

– Compliance with the "vision". (Is the project in line with the "vision"?)

– Compliance with Code of Practice (CoP). (Does the project improve compliance with the CoP?)

Evaluation criteria (3)

Operationalisation and cost-effectiveness– Capacity and knowledge of the partnership to successfully

achieve the proposed results. (Is the partnership identified? Does it have the knowledge in the domain?)

– Promotion of results and implementation facilities provided. (Is the promotion phase presented sufficient, taking into account that sharing of results is the main characteristic of an ESSnet?)

– Resources involved vs. expected results, cost-benefit analysis. (Is the project cost effective?)

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Part 1 – Administrative Matters

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

For further questions:

[email protected]

25-26/11/2010 essnet training budapest essnet training part 1 – administrative matters p. jacques

Documents

essnet projects

essnet trainingpart

essnet annual plan

process weaknesses

evaluation of proposals

award criteria

eurostat positive

eurostat leveldiscuss