capacity development facility to support the...

The European Union’s ENPI Programme for the Republic of Belarus

Capacity Development Facility to support the implementation of sector programmes under the ENPI Annual Action Programmes for Belarus (CDFB)

Contract N° ENPI/2013/319-630

Mission Reporton participation in the Seminar ofPL-BY-UA 2007-2013' CBC Programme ‘Planet of Ideas - cross-border transfer of knowledge in the area of attracting investments for development of border tourism’ projectGrodno country estate Karolino Reporting Period: 06.05.2014 - 07.05.2014

Consulting Group

This project is funded by the European Union

A project implemented by a consortium led by GFA Consulting Group GmbH

0(g

C apacity D evelopm ent Facility to su p p o rt the im plem entation of secto r program m es under

the ENPI A nnual Action Program m es fo r B elarus (CD FB)

EuropeAid/133092/C/SER/BYFunded by the European Union and Implemented by a Consortium led by GFA Consulting Group

G F A / tConsulting Group

MISSION REPORT

ON PARTICIPATION IN THE SEMINAR OF

PL-BY-UA 2007-2013' CBC Programme ‘Planet of Ideas - cross-border transfer of knowledge in the area of attracting investments for

development of border tourism’ project

Grodno country estate Karolino 6-7 May, 2014

1. Name of the participants, institution

Dina Goncharova - Executive Director of the National Coordinating Unit;

Dr. Janos Zakonyi - CDFB Project Team Leader;

2. Destination, dates and schedule

Grodno country estate Karolino 6-7 May, 2014

3. LogisticsThe logistics arranged by the CDFB Project staff was:1. Transfer to and from Grodno country estate Karolino.

The local logistics was (excellently) arranged by the T he Planet of Ideas - transboundary transfer of knowledge in the field of investment for the development of cross-border tourism’ project:

1. Registration of the participants for the Seminar2. Booking of the rooms for the participants in Grodno country estate Karolino (1 night)3. Provision of the participants with necessary materials on their participation in the

seminar4. Organisation of the seminar itself5. Dining at the restaurant in Grodno country estate Karolino

4. Purpose of visit

The purpose of the mission was two-fold:

1. According to the project training plan there is a significant number of trainings to be organised for the central / local authorities and non-state actors (C1).

2. Identification of ways on how to strengthen the aid coordination mechanism and make the NCU more effective in executing of its role, among others, in the regional/local context (C2).

In order to fulfil the above purposes, we utilised the opportunity of the two-days' Seminar organised by the “PL-BY-UA 2007-2013’ CBC Programme (‘Planet of Ideas - cross-border transfer of knowledge in the area of attracting investments for development of border tourism’ project), in which the NCU also participated in order to:

a) participate in the programme of the Seminar by occasional presentations and introduction of the CDFB project;

№

b) discuss cooperation opportunities and potential for synergies between the CBFB project and regional/local organisations and participants.

c) support the NCU new Executive Director in participation and presentation at the organised event.

5. AgendaTUESDAY 6 MAY 201411.00 Coffee break11.15 Donskih S.V. Development and promotion of projects12.30 Coffee break12.45 Donskih S.V. Presentation of the tourist project to the Partners from

Poland and Ukraine14.00 Lunch15.00 Li Chon Ku - Dina Goncharova Launch and implementation of CBC

projects-Project implementation stages: launch, main events, completion -Partner agreements -Internal orders-Bank account opening. Receipt and transfer of funds.-Accounting, tax relief -Project management

16.30 The procedure for the national approval and registration of ITA project: opportunities and obstacles

18.00 Individual consultations with the experts20.30 Dinner

WEDNESDAY 7 MAY 20148.00 Breakfast9.00 Li Chon Ku - Dina Goncharova Monitoring and reporting within the

ITA projects in accordance with national legislation- Provision of regular reporting on the implementation of the project (data, types of reports, timeline)

11.00 Coffee break11.15 Project communication policy

-Press-release and printed materials creation -Project materials organization and carrying out -Project website design

14.00 Individual consultations with experts15.00 Lunch16.00 End of the seminar

6. Description of the discussed issues

• Overall project design and management issues - adapted to CBC requirements and practice;

• Specific features of the tye of projects the experts present are to suggest for the next programming period;

• Requirements and practice of administration and management of ТА projects in Belarus, specifically adapted to CBC projects and regional/local organisations and participants;

• The role of the NCU and coordination - cooperation needs;

• The CDFB project - its aims and tasks with special regard to cooperation with regional stakeholders and projects.

2

m7. New contacts Mr Li Chon Ku - Senior Lecturer - Professor at Yanka Kupala State University of

Grodno (E-mail: tchonli(®vahoo.com: Tel: +375296710860):

Mr Koleda Sergei - Vice chairman of Grodno Regional Department of Social Organisation ‘Republican Union of Tourism and Sport (E-mail: koleda.s.i(a)qmail.com; Tel: +375296502073)Ms Polubenskaya Danuta- Organizer- Director of Nemnovotour (E-mail: avtovita(d)mail.qrodno.bv: Tel: +375296525903)

Participants in the seminar

8. ConclusionsThe participation in the Seminar presented a good opportunity a) to get acquainted with present level of project preparation experience and practice within the given CBC framework, b) to study the questions that participants were raising in connection with both general/theorethical and practical issues of designing and managing a CBC project in loight of the heavy belarusian administrative requirements, c) to build relations with the participants for future cooperation.DG has been co-presenter of all the major presentations and she has received a huge amount of questions regarding different topics.JZ has introduced the CDFB project and its tasks, and also answered to project related questions.The participants of the Seminar have been most active and committed and utilised the possibilities well to enhance their knowledge on all the topics on the agenda. This was the fourth Seminar of the organisers in the given topics, which will be concluded by a fifth one, where the specific project proposals will be discussed with the foreign partner organisations.Both the organisation and the content level of the Seminar have been impressive. A stong role in this was played by the presenters, the organisers of the Seminar and the participants themselves.

9. Relevance to Belarus

The event is not only ‘relevant’ to Belarus: it belongs to a most important practical step in ITA for Belarus - the preparation of the Belarusian project ‘proposers - future possible owners’ to implement their design related tasks committed and at a good technical / professional level. This CBC-regional event can serve as a good example for other segments of this type of work.

10. Subsequent actions

The NCU will use the experience gained in its future work.

The CDFB project will use the experience gained for building up its regional activities on those topics that are of most need and interest to the local stakeholders.

Dina Goncharova

Dr. Janos Zakonyi

(The signed copy is deposited in the CDFB Office)

3

mailto:[email protected]




Mission Report

on participation in the Conference ofthe “ Poland -Belarus -Ukraine ” Programme

Arlamow, Poland Reporting Period: 21.08.2014

Consulting Group


A project im plem ented by a consortium led by G FA Consulting Group GmbH

Capacity Development Facility to support the implementation of sector programmes under ^ С A

the ENPI Annual Action Programmes for V J и. г \Belarus (CDFB) Consulting Group

EuropeAid/133092/C/SER/BY Funded by the European Union and Im plem ented by a Consortium led by GFA Consulting Group

MISSION REPORT

ON PARTICIPATION IN THE CONFERENCE OF

the “Poland-Belarus-Ukraine” Programme

Arlamow 21 August, 2014


Victor Bury - Director of Gomel Regional Agency of Economic Development;Irina Bolotina - National expert of the National Coordinating Unit for the EU's TACIS Programme in the Republic of Belarus.


Arlamow, Poland 21 August, 2014

3. Logistics All the Logistics was arranged by the CDFB Project staff:

1. Booked round tickets (from Minsk to Rzeszow and from Rzeszow to Minsk)2. Arranged transfer from and to the airport in Minsk3. Arranged transfer from and to the airport in Poland (from Rzeszow airport to Arlam ow hotel and from

Arlam ow hotel to Rzeszow airport)4. Arranged meeting on the discussion of all the organization issues5. Conducted final meeting upon arrival in Minsk to discuss the results of the participations follow-up

activities

4. Purpose of visit The conference was targeted to present the state of play of the Programme, focus on current results of the implemented projects and present main assumptions on the CBC Programme Poland-Belarus-Ukraine 2014-2020.

5. Agenda Thursday 21 AUGUST 2014

09.30 Registration

10.00 Opening video (3 min) and keynote speeches:

- Representative of Poland (JMA)

- Representative of Belarus (NA)

- Representative of Ukraine (NA)

10.20 State of play of the Programme implementation

10.30 Implementation of the projects - a video/slide show

10.45 Panel discussion on projects implementation with participation of the beneficiaries - main

achievements within the 3 priorities

11.30 Coffee break

12.00 Main assumptions on the PL-BY-UA ENI CBC Programme 2014-2020

12.30 Q&A session

13.00 Lunch

14.30 Visiting the projects: IPBU.01.02.00-18-703/11 and IPBU.01.02.00-18-203/10

18.00 Common dinner


A welcom e speech with a special presentation was delivered by a m ember of Belarusian group in order to share Belarusian knowledge and experience on analysing and reporting upon participation in this specific type of international technical assistance, as well as to inform other countries about latest developments and approaches of Belarus in the cross-border cooperation field.

The state of play of the existing Programme was presented: 117 contracts were signed by the JM A of the programme for the total amount of allocated funds of EUR 173,79 mln. As for today 16 projects have been finalized for the total amount of EUR 19,49 mln. The distribution o f the contracted projects by priorities was noted - 4 0 projects in Priority 1, 26 projects in Priority 2 and 51 project in Priority 3.

The following statistical information was shown: 104 addendums were concluded, 28 trainings were conducted in 2013-2014

As for the PL-BY-UA ENI CBC Programme 2014-2020 the following strategic objectives were presented: i) support to economic and social development of the regions on both sides of the border, ii) solving common challenges in the sphere of environment, health of the citizens, preventive measures, as well as crime fighting, and iii) providing better conditions and instruments for assisting persons, goods and capitals mobility. Out of 10 them atic objectives proposed by the European Commission, 4 were chosen for the new Programme: 1) Promotion of local culture and preservation of historical heritage, 2) Improving accessibility to the border region, 3) Common challenges in the field of safety and security, 4) Promotion of border management, and border security.

7. New contacts Mr Lev Zakharchishin - International Cooperation Department of Lviv Regional Executive Committee, Ukraine (E-mail: um s@ loda.aov.ua)Mr Taras Fedak - Head of the Standing Commission for Investment and Regulatory Policy Issues, Energy Efficiency and Business DevelODment of Lviv Reaional Council. Ukraine (E-mail: tbdeD(®ukr.net)Mr Andriy Vartsaba - Head of the Department of External Economic Affairs, Investment and Cross-border Cooperation of Uzhgorod Reqional Executive Committee, Ukraine (E-mail: m anaaer2a3v(3!amail.com)

8. Conclusions Visit to Arlam ow provided a unique opportunity to obtain information about the lessons learnt from the implemented Programme, as well as to know about the stage of developm ent of the new Programme for 2014-2020. Furthermore, participation in the Conference provided the opportunity to establish new contacts with the representatives of Ukraine and Poland in order to deepen cooperation between the bordering countries.


Belarus is a beneficiary of ENPI funds in term s of various programmes within the programming period 20072013 and a new programming period 2014-2020 in terms o f ENI instrument, therefore the participation in this Conference was extremely relevant for the country. All the obtained information and contacts will be used by the participants for further development of aid coordination system in the Republic of Belarus. The experience gained in Arlam ow will be implemented in programming within the PL-UA-BY 2014-2020 Programme. Besides, participating in the Conference gave an opportunity to promote participation of the least active Belarusian regions in international technical assistance field, as well as to learn about last one year’s experience of the Programme and exchange experience of Belarus w ith participants from the other

2

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

two countries.


The possibility to implement the gained experience. Jm ow ledge and skills by the participants in their organizations for the benefits a f Jhe deve lopm enysf international technical assistance programmes in Belarus and further participation^^ the events in ter/ns o f CDFB Project.

/ X / /

Irina

3

COOPERATION IS ON THE CLIMB Ariamow, 21 August 2014

ГОДОВАЯ ПРОГРАММНАЯ КОНФЕРЕНЦИЯ "СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВО НА ВЫСОТЕ” 2014

ПРОГРАМ М А ТРАНСГРАНИЧНОГО СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВА ПО ЛЬШ А-БЕЛАРУСЬ-УКРАИ Н А 2007-2013

21 АВГУСТА 2014, БЕЩАДЫ, ПОЛЬША

9:30 -10:00I ЧАСТЬ: ОБЗОР ПРОГРАММЫ

Регистрация

10:00-10:20 Видео-открытие (3 мин.) и вступительные слова:- Представителя Польши (СОУ)- Представителя Белоруси (Национальный орган)- Представителя Украины (Национальный орган)

10:20-10:30 Состояние реализации Программы

10:30-10:45 Реализация проектов - видео/слайды

10:45-11:30 Панельная дискуссия по реализации проектов с участием бенефициаров - основные достижения в рамках 3-х приоритетов

11:30-12:00 Перерыв на кофе

12:00-12:30 Основные предположения Программы ЕИП на годы 2014-2020

12:30-13:00 Сессия вопросов и ответов

13:00-14:00 Обед

II ЧАСТЬ: ПО СЛЕДАМ ПРОЕКТОВ

14:30-18.00 Визиты проектов: IPBU.01.02.00-18-703/11 и IPBU.01.02.00-18-203/10

18:00 Совместный ужин

5 | PL-BY-UA

ПРОГРАММА ТРАНСГРАНИЧНОГО СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВА

ПОЛЬША-БЕЛАРУСЬ-УКРАИНА 2007-2013

Состояние Реализации Программы

Арламув, 21 августа 2014

S I PL-BY-UA, 2 0 0 7 - 2 0 1 3

П р и о р и теты 1-3

Количество утвержденны х проектов : 117

Общая сумма выделенных средств :А2%

173,79 млн. евро58%

% использованных средств : 99,79%

Перечисленные средства проектам :■ Средства перечисленные проектам

72,25 млн. евро ■ Средства, которые осталось перечислить

Количество завершенны х проектов : 16Общая сумма заверш енных проектов : 19,49 млн. евро

Я PL-BY-UA2 2 0 0 7 - 2 0 1 3

Приоритет 1. Повышение конкурентоспособности приграничных территорий


Общая сумма выделенных средств : 55,1 млн. евро

% использованных средств : 99,78%

63%

Перечисленные средства п р о е кта м :

2 0 , 2 М Л Н . е В р О ■ средства перечисленные проектам

* Средства, которые осталось перечислитьКоличество завершенных проектов: 3

Общая сумма заверш енны х проектов: 0,65 млн. евро

Я PL-BY-UAI 5 0 0 7 - 3 0 1 3 1

Приоритет 2. Улучшение качества жизни



% использованных средств: 99,93 % S7% 43%

Перечисленные средства п р о е к та м :

32,95 млн. евро

Количество завершенных проектов: 7

Общая сумма заверш енны х проектов: 15,44 млн. евро

■ Средства перечисленные проектам

* Сре дства, которые осталось перечислить

З 3 9 PL-BY-UAц 2 0 0 7 - 2 0 1 3

Приоритет 3. Институциональное сотрудничество и поддержка местных инициатив



% использованных средств: 99,54%

Перечисленные средства проектам:

19,1 МЛН. еВрО I Средства перечисленные проектамСредства, которые осталось перечислить

Количество завершенных проектов: 6

Общая сумма завершенных проектов: 3,36 млн. евро

а PL-BY-UA2 0 0 7 - 2 0 1 3 1А г, ООО ООП 00

30000000,00

1S ООО 000.00

10000000.00

1.3

ИМ

■ 2011 • 2012

• 2013

2014 { В т )

Платежи по годам (евро)

PL-BY-UA2 0 0 7 - 2 0 1 3 1

Завершение проектов (по месяцах)

12 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 1S

Месяцы реализации Программы

Я PL-BY-UAШ т я 2 0 0 7 - 2 0 1 3

Интересная информация :* Количество поданных финансовых отчетов: 58* Количество поданных кратких отчетов:* Количество обращений о внесении

изменений:304* Количество заключенных

аддендумов: 104* Количество мероприятий и тренингов для

бенефициаров: 2013 р. -16 , 2014 р. -12

I

81 PL-BY-UA3 0 0 7 - 2 0 1 3

Спасибо за внимание

Томаш Енджеевски

Совместный Технический Секретариат Программы трансграничного сотрудничества Польша - Беларусь - Украина 2007-2013

ул. Доманевска 39а 02-672 Варшава

тел. +48 22 378 31 34email: [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

ПРОГРАММА ПОЛЬША-БЕЛОРУСЬ-УКРАИНА В НОВОЙ ФИНАНСОВОЙ ПЕРСПЕКТИВЕ

2014-2020

АРЛАМУВ, 21.08.2014

ЕИС 2014-2020

Европейский Инструмент Соседства (European Neighbourhood Instrument - ENI)

Решение Европейского Парламента и Совета (ЕС) № 232/2014 от 11 марта 2014 г. о создании Европейского Инструмента Соседства - основа для разработки Стратегии ЕИС ТГС и процедур внедрения

E l PL-BY-UA2 0 0 7 - 2 0 1 3

EMC 2014-2020

1Три стратегические цели трансграничного сотрудничества :■Содействие экономическому и социальному развитию регионов по обе стороны общей границы■Решение общих проблем, касающихся окружающей среды, здоровья жителей и профилактики а также борьбы с преступностью ■Обеспечение лучших условий и инструментов содействия мобильности людей, товаров и капитала

Перечень 10 тематических целей :

4 выбранные цели в рамках новой Программы = тематическая концентрация

ЕИС 2014-2020

Решение Совместного Программного Комитета

ТЕМАТИЧЕСКИЕ ЦЕЛИ:

ТЦ 3 - Продвижение местной культуры и охрана исторического наследия____________________________________________________

ТЦ 7 - Улучшение доступности приграничных регионов

ТЦ 8 - Общие вызовы в сфере безопасности

ТЦ 10 - Продвижение управления границами и охрана границ

ЕИС 2014-2020

Продолжение трехсторонней программы PL-BY-UA

Совместный Орган Управления (СОУ) - Министерство инфраструктуры и регионального развития (Польша)

Совместный Программный Комитет (ОПК) для подготовки Программы Польша-Беларусь-Украина 2014-2020

- встречи: март 2013, октябрь 2013, апрель 2014

СОУ заказал разработку экспертизы по функционированию Программы в новой перспективе.

S I PL-BY-UA| | 2 0 0 7 - 2 0 1 3

КЛЮЧЕВЫЕ ВОПРОСЫ,КОТОРЫЕ ДОЛЖНЫ БЫТЬ РЕШЕНЫ

Сфера мероприятий, финансируемых в рамках отдельных тематических целей

Создание Системы Управления и Контроля (в частности, организации и их функции, система конкурсных наборов и оценки проектов, принципы реализации, базы данных) - PRAG необязательный

1 Распределение средств на территории поддержки Программы

1 Перечень БИП (больших Инфраструктурных Проектов), которые получат непосредственное финансирование

51 PL-BY-UAЯ м * ° 0 7 - 2 0 1 3

Financed by I the European Union |

Спасибо за вниманиеЭва Адамчук

Совместный Технический Секретариат Программы трансграничного сотрудничества

Польша-Беларусь-Украина 2007-2013

www.Dl-bv-ua.eu

[email protected]

http://www.pl-bv-ua.eumailto:[email protected]


Contract № ENPI/2013/319-630

Mission Report

on participation in the Seminar on‘Financial Accounting in EU External CooperationFunding’

Berlin, GermanyReporting Period: 25.08.2014-26.08.2014

Consulting Group



Capacity Development Facility to support the implementation of sector programmes under

the ENPI Annual Action Programmes for Belarus (CDFB)

EuropeAid/133092/C/SER/BY

GFA AwConsulting Group

Funded by the European Union and Implemented by a Consortium led by GFA Consulting Group

M ISSIO N REPORT

ON P AR TIC IPATIO N IN THE SEM IN A R ON

Financial Accounting in EU External C ooperation Funding

Berlin 25-26 A ugust, 2014


Vadim Pakhomchik - Counselor of the Department for common European cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus;Elena Vauraniuk - Specialist of the Department of foreign economic relations of the Brest regional executive committee;Dina Goncharova - Executive Director of the National Coordinating Unit for the EU’s TACIS Programme in the Republic of Belarus.


Berlin, Germany 2 5 - 2 6 August, 2014


1. They made registration of the participants for the Seminar2. Booked round tickets (from Minsk to Berlin and from Berlin to Minsk)3. Arranged transfer from and to the airport in Minsk4. Arranged transfer from and to the airport in Berlin5. Booked the Hotel in Berlin for the whole period of stay (3 nights)6. Provided the participants with necessary materials on their participation in the Seminar and stay in

Berlin7. Arranged meetings on the discussion of all the organization issues8. Conducted final meeting upon arrival in Minsk to discuss the results of the participations follow-up

activities

4. Purpose of visit The seminar was targeted towards national and regional authorities which are involved in the financial management of the projects funded by EU external cooperation programmes such as European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI), Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) and European Development Fund (EDF)

5. Agenda MONDAY 25 AUGUST 2014

08.30 Registration and hand-out of the seminar materials

09.00 Opening remarks from the European Academy for Taxes, Economics and Law

09.05 Welcome note from the chair and round of introductions

09.30 Financial Reporting and contract Addenda

10.15 Group exploration: what are the main factors for accurate financial reporting, discussion

round

10.30 Financial accounting for projects financed by EU External Cooperation Funding

12:00 Discussion Round

12.15 Lunch and networking opportunity

13.30 Eligible costs and financial reporting for projects financed by EU External Cooperation Funding

Staff cost accounting

Practical exercises

16.30 EU funding trends and access to EU funding for civil society organisations

18.00 End of the first day

TUESDAY 26 AUGUST 2014

09.00 Welcome note from the chair.

European commission audits of projects funded by EU External Cooperation Programmes

10.00 Discussion round

10.15 Coffee break and networking opportunity

10.45 How to prepare for financial audits

12.00 Discussion round

12.15 Lunch break

13.15 EU public procurement rules for EU grant beneficiaries and service providers

15.15 Final discussion round

15.30 End of seminar and hand-out of certificates


Dav 1

1. Financial Reporting and contract Addenda

First of all there were presented the EU’s financial instruments for external aid for the new financial period. In November 2013 a new Multiannual Financial Framework for 2014 -2020 has been adopted with a budget of 11.7 billion Euro. The External Action Financing Instruments are:

- Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA)- European Neighborhood Instrument (ENI)- Development Co-operation Instrument (DCI)- Partnership Instrument (PI) - New instrument- Instrument for Stability and Peace (IfSP)- Instrument for Nuclear Safety Co-operation (NSCI)- European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR)

2

- European Development Fund (EDF) (is outside of the mentioned budget).

Then there were presented all main sources of information as well as accounting standards and regulations which should be applied to all issues relating to EU external assistance. Then we are talking about different levels of controls, verifications and auditing, about types of reports (interim and final)as well as reporting with different currency and how to deal with the projects with different partners from different countries; contract modification (when, why and how); submission and approval deadlines; bank accounts and transfers. After presentation it was a group exploration on two issues: “What are the main factors for accurate financial accounting” and “Contract modification”. The discussion was very useful, interesting and lively.

2. Financial accounting for projects financed by EU External Cooperation Funding

First of all there was presented common information about European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD): when it was established, who are members and recipient, budget and capital base, main objectives, organizational structure. Further the detailed information on financial and reporting aspects of EBRD was provided (accrual-based accounting, specific reporting to EU, types of reports, internal controls, accounting for staff, specific challenges).

3. Eligible costs and financial reporting for projects financed by EU External Cooperation Funding. Staff cost accounting

There were presented and late discussed such very important issues as: what costs of the project can be recognized eligible and what are ineligible; what supporting documents should be provided for expenditure verification; which costs require justification and which don’t; exchange rate and bank accounts; VAT exemptions and accounting of VAT. The second part of presentation was devoted to the one of the main parts of all EU-funded projects - personal costs. Almost every project contains staff costs (human resources). The key issues and questions relating to human resources are: who are allowed to receive salaries from the project, how to calculate personnel costs, what supporting documents should be presented to justify human resources, percentages of co-financing (co-financing rates)

4. How to prepare for financial audits

First of all there were presented legal base and basic terms of financial audit such as Financial Regulations of the EU, main principles of sound financial management. Then it was detailed presentation of all steps that should be made during preparing for audit. There were presented the key areas to be audited: internal controls, documentation, filing and report keeping, procurement, payroll, cash and banks, accounting, financial reporting. After the presentation there was an active and very useful discussion of a real life case of auditing of a grant project.

5. EU public procurement rules for EU grant beneficiaries and service providers

During presentation there were presented detailed information on public procurement rules: who, what and why, main steps and main documents, types of contracts, rules of nationality and origin, eligibility of procedures. The presentation was accompanied by practical advices and group discussions.

7. New contacts Dr Bettina Geiken - Senior EU External cooperation projects manager(E-mail:[email protected]); Mr Christopher Konig - EuropeAid partnership programme assistant, Save the children Brussels office, funding for development and Relief work group, Concord - The European NGO Confederation (E-mail: [email protected]);Mr Mehmet Uvez - Deputy Head of Audit Authority and Vice chairman of Treasury controllers, treasury Republic of Turkey (E-mail: [email protected]);Ms Melinda W ezenaar- Branch director MDF training and consultancy, Brussels brunch

8. Conclusions

1

Visit to Berlin gave a very good opportunity for all participants to learn how to manage and implement projects according to EU regulations, how to conduct the financial accounting and project management of EU-funded projects correctly, to ensure that funds used for development and cooperation projects are spent properly. They also enhanced the understanding of the EU public procurement rules and procedures and learned how to avoid the most common mistakes. The participants developed practical skills in many

3

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

financial and reporting issues as well as in main aspects of international audit and procurement rules.


Belarus is a beneficiary of ENPI funds in terms of various programmes within the programming period 20072013 and a new programming period 2014-2020 in terms of ENI instrument, therefore the participation in this Seminar was extremely relevant for the country. All the obtained information and contacts will be used by the participants for further coordination and realization of EU external assistance programs and project in the Republic of Belarus. The experience gained in Berlin will be implemented in programming and coordination especially taking into account the introduction of the system of shared management within the ENI 2014-2020 as well.


The possibility to implement the gained experience, knowledge and skills by the participants in their everyday work in their organizations for the benefits of the development of international technical assistance programmes in Belarus and further participation in the events in terms of CDFB Project.

4

Vadim Pakhomchik

Elena Vauraniuk

Dina Goncharova

/fry ,

©European Academyfor Taxes, Economics & Law

Financial Accounting in EU External Cooperation Funding

Practical Sem inar

25th _ 26th August 2014, Berlin

Sem

inar

m

ater

ial

Contents

W elcome NoteDipl.-Jur. Christoph Brauner & Dipl.-Jur. Christian Klingenberg

Financial Reporting and Contract Addenda

Financial Accounting for Projects Financed by EU External Cooperation Funding

Financial Accounting in EU External Cooperation Funding- Eligibility of Costs

Financial Accounting in EU External Cooperation Funding- How to handle accounting of personnel costs

Financial Accounting in EU External Cooperation Funding Accounting - Not only a technical question...Group exploration

EU Funding Trends and Access to EU Funding for Civil Society Organisations

European Commission Audits of Projects Funded by EU External Cooperation Programmes

How to Prepare for Financial Audits

EU Public Procurement Rules for EU Grant Beneficiaries and Service Providers

5

8

22

36

48

58

64

112

146

168

Annex 191




Mission Reporton participation in the Seminar on ‘Practical Toolbox for EU Funds Project Managers under European Academy for Taxes, Economy and Law’Berlin, GermanyReporting Period: 25.08.2014-27.08.2014

Consulting Group



Capacity Development Facility to support the implementation of sector programmes under Л &

the ENPI Annual Action Programmes fo r V J Г M M T Belarus (CDFB) Consulting Group

E u ro p eA id /1 33 0 9 2 /C /S E R /B YFunded by the European Union and Im plem ented by a Consortium led by GFA Consulting Group

MISSION REPORT

ON PARTICIPATION IN THE SEMINAR ON

Practica l Too lbox fo r EU Funds P ro ject Managers under

European Academy fo r Taxes, Economy and Law Berlin 25-27 August, 2014

1. N am e o f the partic ipants , institu tion

Y auhen ia T ru sev ich - m ain specia lis t o f the D epartm en t of S tra teg ic D eve lopm en t and Fore ign Investm en t C oopera tion of the M in is try o f Energy o f the R epublic o f Belarus:Yury K o lesau - D eputy d irec to r of the D epartm ent of Fore ign E conom ic R e la tions of B rest R egiona l E xecu tive C om m ittee ;G erm an A rtam on au - Deputy head of the D epartm en t of In te rna tiona l C oopera tion of the M in istry of E duca tion o f the R epub lic o f Belarus;A lesya S h m arhu n - C h ie f spec ia lis t o f the D epartm ent for E conom ic A na lys is and D eve lopm en t H ealth of the M in is try o f H ealth o f the R epub lic o f Belarus;A ndrei P i l ip c h u k - Deputy head o f the D epartm ent of R egu la tions Im pacts on A ir and W ate r R esources of the M in is try o f N a tura l R esources and E nvironm enta l Pro tection;Irina B o lo tina - N ationa l expert o f the N ational C oord ina ting Unit fo r the E U ’s TA C IS P rogram m e in the R epub lic o f Belarus.

2. D estination , d ates and schedu le

Berlin, G erm any 25-27 A ugust, 2014

3. Log istics All the Log is tics w as arranged by the C D FB P ro ject staff:

1. T hey m ade reg is tra tion o f the partic ipan ts fo r the Sem inar2. P rovided pa rtic ipan ts w ith v isa and health insurance (for those w ho needed)3. B ooked round ticke ts (from M insk to Berlin and from Berlin to M insk)4. A rran g e d tran s fe r from and to the a irport in M insk5. A rran g e d tran s fe r from and to the a irport in G erm any (from B erlin -Tege l a irpo rt to hotel and from hotel

to B e rlin -Tege l a irport)6. Booked the Hote l in Berlin fo r the w ho le period o f s tay (4 n ights)7. P rov ided the pa rtic ipan ts w ith necessary m ateria ls on the ir pa rtic ipa tion in the S em inar and stay in

Berlin8. A rranged m ee tings on the d iscussion of all the o rgan iza tion issues9. C onduc ted fina l m eeting upon arriva l in M insk to d iscuss the resu lts of the pa rtic ipa tions fo llow -up

activ ities

4. Purpose of visit The se m ina r w a s ta rge ted tow ards pro ject m anagers, experts and p ro fess iona ls in the con text o f EU pro jec ts and p rog ram s dea ling w ith financia l and econom ic a n a lys is /co s t-b e n e fit ana lys is and va lue ana lysis, p ro jec t and p rog ram m e p lanning and im p lem en ta tion , p ro jec t m anagem en t/p ro jec t cycle m anagem ent, log ica l fram ew ork approach, resu lts-based m anagem ent, eva lua tion .

5. A genda M O N D A Y 25 A U G U S T 2014

08.30 R eg istra tion

09.00 O pening o f the sem inar: w e lcom e note from the cha ir and round of in troductions

09.30 In troduction of C ost-B enefit A na lys is and V a lue A na lys is

10.30 C offee break

10.45 S tandards and G u idance fo r the P repara tion o f C os t-B ene fit A na lys is

11.45 Key A ssum p tions Required During the D eve lopm en t of a C BA

12.45 Lunch

14.00 C A S E STUDY: Key C haracte ris tics of a C B A by S ecto r

15.00 C offee break

15.30 W O R K S H O P : W orked E xam ple of C B A in T ransp o rt

16.30 E xchange of E xperiences and R ev iew of the S em inar Day

17.00 End o f the S em inar Day

T U E S D A Y 26 A U G U S T 2014

08.30 R eg istra tion

09.00 O pening o f the sem inar: w e lcom e note from the cha ir and round o f in troductions

09.30 The Policy C ontext

09.45 C offee break

10.15 U sing P ro ject Cycle m anagem ent (PC M ) as M ethodo log ica l Ins trum ent for A dvanced EU Funds P ro jec t M anagers

11.15 The Logical F ram ew ork A pproach (LFA) w ith in PCM as T oo lbox and P rocess to F orm ula te P ro jects - Part I: S takeho lde r A na lys is

11.45 Lunch

13.00 The Log ica l F ram ew ork A pproach (LFA) w ith in PCM as T oo lbox and P rocess to F orm ula te P ro jects - Part II: Further Too ls

15.00 C o ffee break

15.30 A na lys is W orkshop

16.30 Form ula tion W orkshop

17.00 End o f the S em inar Day

W E D N S E D A Y 27 A U G U S T 2014

2

0 8 .30 R egistra tion

09.00 O pening o f the sem inar: w e lcom e note from the cha ir and round of in troductions

09.30 A n In troduction to Evaluation

10.15 C offee break

10.45 R igo rous Eva luation M ethods to p rov ide Best Q ua lity E v idence fo r D ecis ion M aking

11.45 E va lua tion in Practice: P lanning Y our P rog ram m e E va lua tion

12.45 Lunch

13.45 E va lua tion R equ irem ents in the New P rog ram m ing Period 2 014-2020 - W h a t Does the E uropean C om m iss ion Expect Now'?

14.30 D ra fting the Term s of R eference

15.30 C o ffee break

15.45 T ips and tricks on How to E laborate Y our E va lua tion Plan

17.00 End of the course

6. D escrip tion of the d iscussed issues

D av 1

1. In trod uc tio n of C o st-B ene fit A nalys is and V alue A nalys is

C B A is a sys tem a tic approach /p rocess to eva lua ting and ca lcu la ting and com paring benefits and costs o f a pro jects, dec is ions o r gove rnm en t polic ies (hereafter, "p ro ject"). As a resu lt o f eva lua tion p rocess the s treng ths and w ea kn e sses of p ro ject are identified. It w as sta ted th a t C B A has tw o purposes: i) to de term ine if it is a sound inves tm en t/dec is ion (justifica tion /feasib ility ), and ii) to p rov ide a basis fo r com paring pro jects. It invo lves com paring the total expected cost o f each option aga inst the to ta l expected benefits, to see w h e th e r the benefits ou tw e igh the costs, and by how m uch. C B A es tim a tes and to ta ls up the equ iva len t m oney va lue o f the benefits and costs to the com m un ity o f p ro jec ts to es tab lish w he the r they are w orthw h ile . It w as h igh ligh ted that C ost Benefit A na lys is (C BA) a ttem pts to so lve socia l p rob lem s in the ana lys is o f pub lic investm en ts and expenditures, w h ich arise w hen ind iv idua ls or g roups purs ing narrow se lf-in te res t w ith o u t coo rd ina tion arrive at ou tcom es tha t are co llec tive ly in fe rio r to those tha t cou ld be ach ieved w ith coo rd ina tion . C B A is an econom ic appra isa l too l fo r com paring the costs and benefits assoc ia ted w ith va rious m utua lly exc lus ive com pe ting p ro jec ts each o f w h ich rep resen ts an option to reso lve a spec ific p rob lem and w hich w ould requ ire the a lloca tion o f scarce resources if it w ere chosen to be im p lem ented . C B A is concerned w ith econom ic cho ice and a im s to ass is t dec is ion m akers in decid ing w here to a lloca te so c ie ty ’s ava ilab le scarce resources. It w as noted th a t it is im portan t to m ake a C B A be fore m aking a p ro jec t (before financing), as it is necessary to p rove tha t the benefits of the p ro jec t w ill exceed the costs. The Pareto C rite rion w as in troduced; the keyno te o f the c rite rion is th a t a change in the econom y is said to rep resen t a P are to im provem ent ove r w ha t cam e be fore it if at least one person is m ade be tter o ff as a resu lt o f the change and no person is m ade w orse off.

2. S tand ard s and G uidance fo r the P reparation o f C o s t-B e n e fit A nalys is

C B A p resen ts a m e thodo logy for econom ic decis ion m aking by p rov id ing a sys tem a tic basis fo r appra isa l o f cap ita l and cu rren t costs. D iffe ren t points o f v iew for C B A w ere d iscussed - the firm ’s and the g o ve rn m e n t’s ones. It w as de te rm ined that the private firm genera lly lim its its conce rns to the e ffec t its pro ject investm en t dec is ions has on its own opera tions and its own pro fitab ility tak ing cog n iza nce o f the legal position w h ile the G ove rnm en t ou tlook extends beyond the e ffects o f a p ro jec t inves tm en t dec is ion on its financia l accounts and e ncom passes the e ffec ts tha t any such decis ion m ay have on socie ty at la rge (the gove rnm ent m ust cons ide r the w ide r socia l cost and social benefit im p lica tions for socie ty o f undertak ing a pro ject). There w ere p resen ted tw o m ain m odes o f CBA: the financia l ana lys is and the econom ic analysis. The financia l ana lys is o f the p ro jec t genera lly p recedes the econom ic ana lys is . The financ ia l ana lys is exam ines the

3

poten tia l re turn on the p ro jec t investm en t via cash flow, pro fitab ility , fund ing requ irem ents , using a varie ty of ind ica to rs such as payback period, in terna l rate o f return, net p resen t va lue, etc. T he ob jec tive o f the econom ic ana lys is o f a p ro jec t is to assess the im pact o f the p ro jec t on the econom y as a w hole. The econom ic ana lys is focuses on those aspects of the p ro jec t w h ich are not trea ted in the financia l analysis.

3. Key A ssum ption s R equ ired D uring the D eve lop m ent o f a C B A

T here are th ree p rinc ip le types of CBA: ex-ante (is carried ou t be fore the p ro jec t is started. C learly, the resu lt o f ex-an te C B A can assis t the decis ion m aker by fu rn ish ing im p o rta n t facts to the proposed p ro ject and w h e th e r it o ugh t be undertaken); ex-post (is conducted a fte r the p ro jec t has been im p lem en ted and con tribu tes to the learn ing process vita l to the deve lopm en t o f C B A in the fu tu re ); as in m edium res (is carried du ring the cou rse o f the project. N ew in fo rm ation can becom e ava ilab le to in fluence the course of the p ro jec t by a lte ring the a llocation o f the resources from one part o f the p ro jec t to another). A lso there w ere p resen ted bas ic s teps o f CBA: op tions (the a lte rna tive p ro je c ts /o p tio n s to be sub jected to the C B A m ust be iden tified); s tand ing (it is necessary to decide for w hom the C B A is be ing conducted); un its (the m easu rem en t unit fo r each benefit and cost shall be specified ); im pacts (pred ic tion of the e ffects o f each of the op tions in q uantita tive te rm s over o f the pro ject); m one tiza tion (ass ign ing m oney va lue to each of the option e ffec ts listed in the C BA study in the yea r in w h ich they occur); d iscoun ting , net p resen t va lue ca lcu la tion , sensitiv ity , recom m enda tions. M ain d ifficu lties w hen carry ing ou t C B A w ere re flec ted (identify ing d iffe ren t types o f costs, va lua tion techn iques, ensuring tha t all necessa ry da ta are accu ra te and are inc luded). It w as h igh ligh ted th a t w hen carry ing ou t C BA the fo llow ing im portan t m om ents should be cons ide red : ensu ring th a t re levan t costs and benefits are inc luded and th a t costs are not underestim ated .

D a y 2

1. The P o licy C o n tex t

The m ost ev iden t w e aknesses w h ich ind ica te the need fo r reform o f cohes ion po licy w ere presented, nam ely, m ethodo log ica l and opera tiona l p rob lem s th a t have p reven ted both the approp ria te use of ind ica to rs and ta rge ts (for w h ich no com parab le in fo rm ation is ava ilab le ) and a sa tis fac to ry ana lys is o f "w hat w orks" in te rm s o f po licy im pact; and a rem arkab le lack o f po litica l and po licy debate on resu lts in te rm s of w e ll-be ing o f peop le at both local and EU levels, m ost o f the a tten tion being focused on financ ia l absorp tion and irregu la rities . T he re w as identified a new set up fo r a resu lt-o rien ted po licy de live ry system E uropean P arliam en t w ill focus the a ttention on the resu lts ra ther than com p liance ; co m p liance w ith p rocedures w ill be m in im ized and adm in is tra tive p rocedures w ill be s im plified . It w as po in ted out th a t access to the fund w ill be cond itiona l upon to the estab lishm en t o f a m on ito ring and eva lua tion fram ew ork. The spec ific ities of in te rna tiona l dec la ra tions on in te rna tiona l aid e ffec tiveness w a s p resen ted - Rom e D ecla ra tion on H a rm on isa tion in Februa ry 2003, Paris D ecla ration in M arch 2005, A ccra A genda fo r A ction in S ep tem ber 2008 and Busan P artnersh ip fo r E ffective D eve lopm en t in D e cem ber 2011

2. U sing P ro jec t C ycle m an agem en t (PC M ) as M eth o d o lo g ica l Ins tru m en t fo r A dvanced EU Funds P ro jec t M anagers

It w as sta ted tha t P ro ject C ycle M anagem ent (PCM ) is not a regu la to ry s ta tem en t in m ost EU funding ins trum en ts (w ith the excep tion o f EQ U A L C om m unity In itia tive). The m ain parts of PCM w ere d iscussed - inputs, activ ities , ou tpu ts , ou tcom es, im pact. The essen tia l d iffe rence be tw een the ou tpu ts and the resu lts w as ind ica ted - a sh ift o f ow nersh ip from a p roducer to a user (if a p roduct cannot be used, it stays as an ou tpu t). T w o types o f p ro jec t fo rm u la tion w ere reflected: supp ly -le d /in p u t-o rie n te d (focus on p ro jec t p rom ote rs and the financ ia l m eans p rovided to them ) and dem a n d -le d /re su lts o rien ted (focus on final bene fic ia ries and the real im provem en t o f the ir s ituation). T he fo llow ing m ain PCM p rinc ip les w ere d iscussed: 1) use o f the log ica l fram ew ork approach to ana lyse th e p rob lem s and w ork out a su itab le so lu tion - o pe ra tion /in te rven tion design, 2) d isc ip lines p roduction o f key docum en t(s ) in each phase, to e nsu re s truc tu red and w e ll-in fo rm ed decis ion-m aking , 3) consu lting and invo lv ing key s takeho lde rs as m uch as possib le , 4) c learly fo rm u la ting and focusing on the ope ra tiona l purpose , 5) inco rpo ra tion of key qua lity issues in to the design from the beg inning. It w as d iscussed, th a t the com m on v is ion on a p rogram m ing stage o f PCM inc ludes the fo llow ing parts: i) identify ing p rog ram m e s takeho lde rs (carry ing out s takeho lde r ana lys is), ii) ana lys ing p rob lem s (carry ing ou t prob lem ana lys is), iii) iden tify ing ob jec tives and stra tegy (carry ing ou t ob jec tive ana lys is), iv) taking into account lessons learnt, v) lis ten ing to o th e r donors. It w as re flected , th a t p rog ram m ing is m ulti-annual, coord ina ted by the donor or the donor and rec ip ien t country; s itua tion in the sec to r/reg ion /s ta te is ana lysed during th is stage, as w e ll as p rob lem s, cons tra in ts and opportun ities are iden tified , soc io -econom ic reality and d o n o r/rec ip ien t p rio rities are taken into cons ide ra tion , and lessons of past experiences are incorpora ted . T w o approaches w ere separa ted in the iden tifica tion stage o f PCM - pro ject approach (w hen fund ing is a lloc a ted a fte r all docum en ts under each

4

p ro jec t are prov ided) and p rog ram m e o f p ro jects app roach (w hen fund ing is a lloca ted before the provis ion o f T oR s and spec ifica tions fo r each project).

3. The Log ica l F ram ew ork A pproach (LFA) w ith in PCM as T o o lb o x and Process to Form u late P rojects

It w as de te rm ined th a t a log ica l fram ew ork is a set of too ls to p resen t an in te rven tion stra tegy in a log ica l and transpa ren t way. It p rov ides all in fo rm ation to understand an ope ra tion o r a g roup of ope ra tions and to enab le a fo llow -up o f an in tervention . It w as de fined tha t a log ica l fram ew ork sets ou t the m ost im portan t aspects o f an in te rven tion in a system atic and log ica l w ay, reflec ting the causa l re la tionsh ips betw een the d iffe ren t leve ls o f ob jec tives, and ind icate how to check w h e th e r these ob jec tives have been ach ieved It a lso iden tifies and es tab lishes the assum ptions fo r cond itiona litie s and risks ou ts ide the contro l o f the partners tha t m ay in fluence the in te rven tion success. It w as sta ted tha t the log ica l fram ew ork is a key com ponen t to PCM . The m ain s tages o f PCM w ere ind ica ted - p rog ram m ing , iden tifica tion , fo rm ula tion, im p lem en ta tion , m on ito ring and eva luation . C arry ing out s takeho lde r ana lys is is very im portant; herew ith the s takeho lde rs th em se lves can help to define all g roups to be inv ited . It w as reflec ted that problem analysis, ob jec tive ana lys is and strategy ana lys is shall be m ade before d ra fting the log ica l fram ew ork matrix. W hen dra fting the log fram e matrix, the chosen ind ica to rs shall be S M A R T (Specific , M easurab le , Accep tab le , R e levan t and T im e ly). The fo llow ing sources of ve rifica tion w ere p rov ided as good exam p les for log fram e m atrix - adm in is tra tive records, m anagem ent reports, ava ilab le s ta tis tics, adap ted ava ilab le statistics, and spec ia lized surveys. The fo llow ing advantages o f LFA w ere no ted ' i) it he lps th ink about and conceptua lise in te rven tions in a s truc tu red m anner, ii) it p rov ides com m on te rm ino logy tha t can help fac ilita te d iscussion , iii) it show s the fo rm a lized w ay o f rep resen ting the in te rven tion th a t those w ho have been tra ined in it can read and unders tand , iv) it p rov ides an ove rv iew o f the m ain a spec ts o f the in te rven tion as well as the in fo rm ation needed fo r m on ito ring and evaluation.

4. P ractica l w orksho p: carry ing out problem ana lys is and o b jec tives analys is

W hen carry ing out a prob lem analysis, the fo llow ing 4 ru les shall be observed : 1) a problem should be clear, no ja rgo n te rm s sha ll be used, 2) absent so lu tions cannot be fo rm u la ted tha t im ply only one w ay forw ard, 3) situa tion shall be recogn ized as existing by all s takeho lders, 4) the p rob lem s m ust not be specific and exist fo r a certa in sub -g roup only (if a sub-g roup has a lot o f spec ific p rob lem s not com m on w ith o ther groups, the prob lem shall be then separa ted into a separa te p ro jec t and an o th e r p rob lem tree). W hen carry ing out an ob jec tive ana lys is , the fo llow ing 4 rules shall be observed : 1) an ob jec tive is not an activ ity or a deliverab le , but a pos itive fu tu re rea lity /cond ition , 2) ob jec tives shou ld be rea lis tic in te rm s o f tim e and in fluence, 3) ob jec tives m ust be m ade clear, but not quantified , 4) ob jec tives can be added if necessary. W hen carry ing out s tra tegy ana lys is , the fo llow ing issues should be included. 1) eco n om ic and financ ia l costs and benefits, 2) a va ilab ility o f financ ia l resources, expertise , 3) ins titu tiona l capac ities (w ho has the right to carry out the activ ities), 4) u rgency, 5) fit o f the strategy w ith po licy and p rog ram m e priorities. 6) ta rge t group priorities, 7) com p lem en ta rity w ith o the r p rogram m es or projects.

D a y 3

1. An In trod uc tio n to Evaluation

The e lem en ts of eva lua tion m ethodo logy w ere p resen ted - key de fin itions, func tions and purposes of eva lua tion , its ’ types (form ative /sum m ative , in te rna l/ex te rna l), s tages (ex-ante , interim , ex-post). The sem ina r dem onstra ted how the eva lua tion can be in teg ra ted into the p ro g ra m m e ’s structure, listing the dec is ions and steps th a t m ust be m ade before, du ring and a fte r an in te rven tion . The role o f the p rog ram m e m anage r in the process o f eva lua tion w as spec ified at all s tages - p lann ing eva lua tion , m anag ing eva lua tion and using e va lua tion ’ find ings.

2. R ig orou s E valuation M ethods to Provide B est Q uality E v id ence fo r D ecis ion M aking

T here w e re cons ide red eva lua tion designs (w hen conduc ting an im pact eva lua tion), w h ich are de te rm ined by the cho ice o f m ethods used to identify the coun te rfa c tua l data and can be broad ly c lass ified in to th ree ca tegories tha t vary in feasib ility , cost, and degree o f se lection bias: experim enta l, quas i-expe rim en ta l, and non-experim enta l.T here w as sta ted tha t the estim ation m ethod "D iffe re n ce -in -d iffe re n ce s" can be applied in both expe rim en ta l and non-experim en ta l designs and is the es tim a te o f the im pact o f the program m e. The m ethod com pares a trea tm e n t and a com parison g roup (firs t d iffe rence ) be fore and after the in te rven tion

(second d iffe rence). A no the r m ethod "D iscon tinu ity d e s iq n ” a llow s to ass iqn the trea tm e n t or Droaram m e to those w ho m ost need or dese rve it.There w ere p resen ted m ain de fin itions of Term s o f R e fe rence (ToR) and basic s truc tu res o f ToR that inc lude backg round in form ation, objective , purpose and resu lts, assum ptions, scope o f the w ork, log istic, requ irem en ts , reports, m onitoring.

3. E va lu ation in Practice: P lanning Y our P rog ram m e E va lu ation

It w as h igh ligh ted tha t the fo llow ing should be cons ide red before sta rting the eva lua tion process: ob ject o f eva lua tion , tim e for eva lua tion , s takeho lde rs to be invo lved in the eva lua tion process. The fea tu res of eva lua tion ques tions w ere d iscussed - they should be judged on re levance, e ffec tiveness, e ffic iency, sus ta inab ility and utility. A dvan tages and d isadvantages o f in te rna l and exte rna l eva lua to rs w ere cons ide red . T here w ere described Term s o f R efe rence as a s tra tegy-leve l do cu m e n t tha t de fines the tasks and du ties requ ired from a pro ject m anager, and h igh ligh ts p ro jec t background and ob jec tives at high level. The docum en t also states the p lanned activ ities, expected inpu ts and outputs, p ro jec t budget.

4. E va lu ation R equ irem ents in the N ew P rog ram m in g Period 2014 - 2020

T he re w as em phas ized tha t the m ain in ten tions o f the new in te rven tion log ic (2014+) of a p rogram m e are the im p rovem en t of the quality o f the design and im p lem en ta tion o f each program m e, se lecting c lear resu lts ind ica to rs, eva lua tion o f operationa l p rogram m es, ex post eva lua tion . It w ill exam ine the e ffec tiveness and e ffic iency o f the funds and the ir im pact on econom ic , socia l cohesion. It w as stated tha t in the next p rog ram m ing period at least once during the p rog ram m ing period an eva lua tion shall assess how support from ESI Funds has con tribu ted to the o b jec tives fo r each priority. An eva lua tion plan fo r each P rog ram m e shall be prepared w ith in 1 yea r a fte r the adoption o f the opera tiona l p rogram m es. It w as em phas ized tha t the E uropean C om m iss ion e ncourages the M em ber S ta tes to include, on a vo lun ta ry basis, the exam ina tion o f the im pacts o f s im ila r in te rven tions in a prev ious p rog ram m ing period (this can m ake sense as fo r m any in te rven tions it takes years before the e ffects fu lly are rea lized, e.g. fo r large sca le in frastructures). In the new p rog ram m ing period the concentra tion o f eva lua tion is sh ifted from the p rocess to the effects.

5. P ractica l w o rksh o p : D rafting the Term s of R eference

U nder the gu idance o f the lecturers the partic ipan ts w ere d iv ided in to 4 g roups to p repare the T erm s of R e fe rence fo r an in terim eva luation of an under-perfo rm ing E U -funded p rog ram m e (eva lua tion questions, eva lua tion fram ew ork (in ternal, externa l), recom m enda tions for rea lloca ting funds), as w ell as to dec ide on the m ethods, the scope and the tim e period for the eva lua tion o f th is p rogram m e fo r the next p rog ram m ing periodThis task w as extrem e ly e ffec tive for both those w ho deal w ith d ra fting the ToR for the pro jects from the p rog ram m ing side and those w ho deal w ith the p ro jec ts from the im p lem en ta tion side as it show s the im pact o f des ign ing the ToR on the quality o f carry ing out the pro jects.

7. N ew contacts M r D eclan W vlde - F inance D irector, R ailw ay P rocu rem ent A qencv, Ire land (E-m ail: D ec lan .w vlde@ roa.ie ) M r John R. H arvey - E xpert in T ransport m anagem ent, Institu te of techno logy. Ireland M r B en ed ic t W au te rs - D eputy D irec tor fo r S trategy, Innova tion , E va lua tion and M ethodo logy, ESF A gency F landers, BelgiumMs A nna K anakak i - C ertified P ro ject m anager and fo rm er S en io r P rog ram m ing and Eva luation Expert, ESF M anag ing A uthority , H e llen ic M in istry o f H ealth and W e lfa re , G reeceM r S tan is law B ienias - Form er Head of the N ationa l E va lua tion Unit o f the M in istry o f R egional D eve lopm ent, P o land (E-m ail: stan is lavb ienias(c8 ideaorq .eu)M r S tu art S co tt - S en io r ERDF D eve lopm en t M anager, E uropean P rog ram m es M anagem en t Unit, G rea te r London A cadem y, UK (E-m ail: s tu a rt.sco ttffilo nd o n q o v .uk )Ms O livia Lake - E xpert o f the M in istry o f G enera l A ffa irs , Sent M artin (E-mail: olivia. la k e ® s in tm a a rte nq o v .o rq )Ms M ariann e M on zert-B o nn - E xpert o f the P rocu rem en t and F inance Unit o f the B onn-R hein-S ieg U n ive rs ity of A pp lied Sciences, G erm any (E-mail: m a ria n n e .m o n z e rt-b o n n 6 lb rs u .d e )Ms O xana P aiere le - R epresen ta tive of the M in istry o f R eg iona l D eve lo p m e n t and C onstruction , M oldova (E-m ail: pa ie re le o xa n a@ vah o o .co m )M r A drian E rm urach i - R epresen ta tive o f the S ta te C hance lle ry, M oldova (E-mail: ad ria n .e rm u ra ch i(® q o v .m d )Ms Elena M intiron i - S pecia lis t o f the R egiona l D eve lo p m e n t Agency, Italy (E-m ail:

6

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

e lena .m ontiron i(a )am ail com)M r Ian B ugeja - E xpert o f the M anagem ent and S truc tu ra l Funds, M acedon ia (E-mail: ibuqe ia87(d)qm ail.com )Ms G alina G eorg ieva H ristova - Head o f G roup - E uropean N e ighbo rhood Policy activ ities P artnersh ips and N e tw orks P roqram m e, E uropean E nvironm ent A qency (E-m ail: G a lin a .G e o rq ie va & e e a .e u ro p a .e u )Ms T atjana Ivanova - Team M anager C ustom er R e la tionsh ip M anagem ent, E uropean A cadem y fo r Taxes. E conom ics and Law (E-m ail: ta tiana .ivanova(a)euroacad.eu)

8. C onclus ions V is it to Berlin p rov ided a un ique opportun ity to rece ive ex tens ive set o f p ractica l ins trum en ts fo r the daily w ork o f those dea ling w ith in te rna tiona l techn ica l ass is tance pro jects . Furthe rm ore , it gave a chance to deepen know ledge on the m ost im portan t m ethods and te ch n iqu e s fo r inves tm en t p lann ing, p ro jec t m anagem en t and eva lua tion . The partic ipan ts im proved th e ir skills and qua lifica tions in com posing requ irem en ts in the form o f Term s o f R eference, iden tify ing p rob lem s and ob jectives, de term in ing the poss ib le w ays o f ve rify ing activ ities accom plishm ent. They a lso enhanced the unders tand ing o f the eva lua tion p rocedures and learned how to avoid the m ost com m on m istakes.

9. R elevance to B elarus

Belarus is a benefic ia ry o f ENPI funds in te rm s o f various p rog ram m es w ith in the p rogram m ing period 2 0 0 7 2013 and a new prog ram m ing period 2014-2020 in te rm s o f ENI instrum ent, the re fo re the partic ipa tion in th is S em inar w as ex trem e ly re levan t fo r the country. All the ob ta ined in fo rm a tion and con tacts w ill be used by the pa rtic ipan ts fo r fu rthe r deve lopm ent o f aid coo rd ina tion system in the R epub lic of Belarus. The experience ga ined in Berlin w ill be im p lem ented in p rog ram m ing w ith in the ENI 2014-2020 and in coo rd ina tion o f ex te rna l ass is tance as well.

10. S ubseq uen t actions

The poss ib ility to im p lem en t the ga ined experience, know ledge and sk ills by the pa rtic ipan ts in the ir line M in is tries fo r the benefits o f the deve lopm ent o f in te rna tiona l techn ica l ass is tance p rog ram m es in Be larus and fu rth e r pa rtic ipa tion in the events in te rm s of C D FB Project.

Yauhen ia T rusevich

Yury K olesau

G erm an A rtam onau

Irina Bolotina

/ V

“ JA lesya S hm arhun ____________

A ndrei P ilipchuk

i ,

7

Contents

W elcome Note 5Dipl.-Jur. Christoph Brauner & Dipl.-Jur. Christian Klingenberg

Introduction of Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) 6and Value Analysis (VA)

Standards and Guidance for the Preparation 14of Cost-Benefit Analyses

Key Characteristics of a CBA by sector 44

European Academyfor Taxes, Economics & Law

Practical Toolbox

Project Management26th August 2014, Berlin

Contents

Welcome Note 5Dipl.-Jur. Christoph Brauner & Dipl.-Jur. Christian Klingenberg

Project Management - Part I 6

Project Management - Part II 54

оEuropean Academyfor '1 axes, Economics & Law

Practical Toolbox

Evaluation Techniques27th August 2014, Berlin

Contents

W elcome Note 5Dipl.-Jur. Christoph Brauner & Dipl.-Jur. Christian Klingenberg

An Introduction to Evaluation 6

Rigorous Evaluation Methods to Provide Best Quality 18Evidence for Decision Making

Evaluation in Practice: Planning Your Programme Evaluation 38

Evaluation Requirements in the New Programming Period 2014-2020 - What Does the European Commission Expect Now?

48


Contract № ENPI/2013/319-630

Mission Report

on participation in the Study Tour to Lithuania

Vilnius, Trakai, LithuaniaReporting Period: 15.10.2014-18.10.2014

Consulting Group



Capacity Development Facility to support the implementation of sector programmes under ^ г л Я

the ENPI Annual Action Programmes for W Г"M # ▼Belarus (CDFB) Consulting Group

EuropeAid/133092/C/SER/BYFunded by the European Union and Implemented by a Consortium led by GFA Consulting Group

M ISSIO N REPORT

ON PA R TIC IPATIO N IN THE STU D Y TO U R TO LITHU A NIA

15-18 O ctober, 2014


Aleksandr G avrish - Head of Law Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of BelarusDina Goncharova - Executive Director of the National Coordinating Unit fo r the EU’s TACIS Programme in the Republic of BelarusIrina Bolotina - National expert of the National Coordinating Unit for the EU's TACIS Programme in the Republic of BelarusIrina Bylina - National expert of the National Coordinating Unit for the EU’s TACIS Programme in the Republic of BelarusVolha Savelyeva - Deputy Head of the International Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Finance o f the Republic of BelarusAnastasiya Tsimashonak - Advisor of the Division for Foreign Economic Relations and International Cooperation of the Ministry o f Energy of the Republic of BelarusAleksandra Kondakova - Senior Inspector of the International Technical Assistance Projects Monitoring Division of Minsk Central Custom HouseAleksandr Svidersky - Head of the International Cooperation Division of the State Border Committee of the Republic of BelarusDzmitry Vindzihulski - Head of the Division for Control Activity Coordination and Organizational W ork of Grodno Regional Committee of Natural ResourcesSvetlana Shotskaya - Chief Specialist of the International Projects Sector of the Ministry of Emergency of the Republic of BelarusEkaterina Kosykh - Deputy Director of Brest Transborder Info CenterKanstantsin Chorny - Deputy Chief of the Economy Department of Vitebsk Regional Executive CommitteeAleksandr Tatun - Head of the International Cooperation Division of the State Committee for Standardization of the Republic of BelarusIrina Novik - Deputy Director on Economic Research of the Public institution “Republican scientific practical center of medical technologies, informational support, management and health economics" Ivan Shchadranok - Director of the Local Foundation for Promotion of International Dialogue and Cooperation "Interakcia"Alexandre Zhed - Deputy Council Chief of the Belarusian Public Association “Ecologic Initiative” Svetlana Zinkevich - Director of the Office for European Expertise and Communication Anastasiya Zhdanovich - Director of the Public association “Otechestvo”Andrei Pinigin - Council Chief of the Public Association “Green Economy”Aleksandr Uspenskiy - D irector of the Republican center for technologies transfer Janos Zakonyi - Team Leader of the CDFB project Veaceslav Scobioala - Key Expert of the CDFB project Ekaterina Romankina - Secretary of the CDFB project


Vilnius, Lithuania Trakai, Lithuania 15-18 October, 2014


1. They organized all the arrangements for 23 participants in Lithuania2. Provided participants with visa and health insurance (for those who needed)3. Arranged transfer M insk-Vilnius-Trakai-Minsk4. Booked the Hotel in Vilnius for the whole period of stay (3 nights)5. Provided the participants with necessary materials on their participation in the Study tour and stay

in Vilnius6. Arranged meetings on the discussion of all the organization issues7. Conducted final meeting upon arrival in Minsk to discuss the results of the participations follow-up

activities

4. Purpose of visitThe purpose of the study tour was team-building; continuing exchange of views on EU related cooperation as well as on ITA coordination topics and gaining direct experience of the Lithuanian situation in the respective fields.

The Study tour was organised to planned members of the Belarusian EA platform. These ideas have been raised at the Workshop on 23 July 2014 and further developed during the Round table event and the Visibility Conference on 14 October 2014.

Participation in the Study tour helped to:1. Increase the participants’ knowledge and skills on the subjects that will be on the agenda

and through it will to contribute to capacity building at the different sectorial ministries and regional authorities and NGOs;

2. Promote direct exchange of information between different governmental institutions on one side and between governmental experts and NGOs and central and regional level experts - on the other;

3. Contribute to the process of 'training the trainers’ that is one of the aspects of the CDFB project and,

4. Increase motivation of the participants in working on external assistance topics, which are often regarded as additional burden to experts of different ministries.

5. Agenda W EDNESDAY 15 OCTOBER 2014

17.00 Gathering and leaving to Vilnius by bus

20.30 Accommodation in the hotel

THURSDAY 16 OCTOBER 2014

09.30 - 11.30 Utilization of EU financial assistance instruments (2007-2013 and 2014-2020) for thepurposes of regional development of Lithuania

11.30 Coffee-break

11.30 - 13.00 EU financial aid provided fo r the development of educational, health care and socialservices institutions in the Republic of Lithuania

13.00 Lunch

1 4 .3 0 -1 6 .0 0 Visiting the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania

16.00 Coffee-break

1 6 .3 0 -1 8 .0 0 Macro regional strategies: possibilities of cross-border cooperation development between Lithuania and Belarus within the EU financial mechanism 2014-2020

Round table for the Belarusian participants on discussing the problematic issues of ITC development

19.00 Dinner

FRIDAY 17 OCTOBER 2014

0 9 .0 0 -0 9 .3 0 Moving to Trakai

2

0 9 .3 0 -1 7 .0 0 Cooperation between central and local authorities while developing and implementing the EU-funded projects. Successful experience of the regional authorities by the example of the Strategy for Trakai region development with EU assistance

Visiting the objects constructed with the help of EU financing in Trakai and the suburbs

17.30 - 20.30 Wrap-up of the study tour. Dinner

SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER 2014

0 9 .0 0 -1 4 .0 0 Free time

14.00 Leaving to Minsk


Dav 1

1. Utilization of EU financial assistance instruments (2007-2013 and 2014-2020) for the purposes of regional development of Lithuania

National regional policy of the Republic of Lithuania is aimed at proximity of regions with the help of EU funds which includes supporting regional centers, villages, districts, rural sector, local communities, development of rail transport, social housing, etc. The Regional Policy Department was created under the Ministry of Interior of the republic of Lithuania. This Departm ent implements National regional policy together with the National council o f regional developm ent which comprises the representatives of all ministries and agencies of Lithuania. Priority regions are determined in Lithuania which are of top priority in the sphere of obtaining assistance for development (so-called “problem territories”). These territories act as aid beneficiaries, while the other regions act as donors - this grading is made in accordance with the potential and the level of economic development. It is now under discussion that Vilnius (capital city) can be excluded from the list o f aid beneficiaries.Strategic documents of regional development of Lithuania are the following:

- Strategy of regional development of the republic of Lithuania;- Program for narrowing social and economic differences;- National development program (horizontal priority “Regional development").

The following main advantages of regional planning of projects were determined:- Implementation of subsidiarity principle;- Long-term strategic planning;- Effective decision-making system;- Complexity of investments;- Direction towards territorial, economic and social proxim ity’- Providing transparency.

Strategic directions of regional development are transport, business infrastructure, public spaces, entertainment and sports, roads, education, etc.In the process of participating in EU financial instruments increase of the regional councils role is envisaged:

- Qualifications of the personnel are improved by means of the obtained skills and experience;- Confidence in central authorities expands;- Possibilities of applying regional planning instruments are extended.

Important experience of planning regional programs of Lithuania was presented - planning is being carried out at the level of main beneficiaries - municipalities and self-administrations, while the Council o f regional development carries out preliminary selection of programs.

2. EU financial aid provided for the development of educational, health care and social services institutions in the Republic of Lithuania

In the course of the study tour we learnt about the practice of the republic of Lithuania in the sphere of attracting, coordinating, monitoring and evaluating of EU technical assistance programs and projects in the sphere of educational, health care and social services institutions. This work is being done by Central Project Management Agency (CPMA). It was stated that almost 300 employees work in the CPMA - all o f them are professionally involves in project management. In order to work professionally they are constantly being trained, motivated and don’t have any other tasks. CPMA is financed from

3

the budget in the amount of 15% only; the other part is financed from EU funds and economic operations. The Agency performs the functions of the state agency.Main functions of CPMA are:

- management of EU-financed funds;- consulting and training on project applications preparation, as well as on project

implementation issues;- analyzing project applications in regard to their compliance with program rules, documents on

carrying out procurements within the projects;- carrying out trainings for the new personnel on project management.

It was stated that on average financing of projects out of EU funds amounts to 85%, while from thenational budget or local budget of self-administrations - up to 15%. Information on the lists of allsubmitted project applications, as well as on all implemented projects is on open access.

3. Visiting the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania

During the study tour we had an opportunity to visit the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania. We learnt the brief review of EU and Lithuanian legislation, including from the point of view of separation of powers of government agencies:

- Exclusive competence of EU (regulations, directives);- Joint competence of EU and Lithuania;- National legal system of Lithuania.

Information on EU institutions was presented.It was indicated that the process of Lithuanian legislation harmonization in accordance with EU legislation was started in 2004 after Lithuania joined the EU. Taking into account a huge number of legal acts the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania had to engage nonorganic specialists into this process. A lot of advanced training courses were organized, including studying English language.

4. Macro regional strategies: possibilities of cross-border cooperation developmentbetween Lithuania and Belarus within the EU financial mechanism 2014-2020

Information on acting and planned macro regional strategies and projects was presented; projects possible for joint implementation by Belarus and Lithuania within the EU financial mechanism 20142020 were discussed.W e studied the possibilities provided by the project “Neman way” , as well as by the Baltic sea region Strategy.The project “Neman way” is focused on security protection of food products and veterinary medicine, development of cultural tourism, environment protection, cooperation between self-administrations, scientific research, innovations, prevention of emergency situations, decreasing the criminality level. Sources of funding such as Eastern Partnership, Horizon 2020, Europa-2020, Structural and Norwegian funds were proposed as possible for the mentioned project implementation.

5. Round table on discussing the problematic issues of ITC development

During the round table we had an opportunity to discuss problems that Belarusian beneficiaries of ITA projects face and tried to find solutions to those problems.All the discussed problems can be divided into several groups:

1. Coordination issues2. Procedural issues3. Training

The following was discussed within those groups of problems:1. It is necessary to change the principles of the National program of ITC development and implementation. National priorities of the Government of the Republic of Belarus and of the donor community should be complementary. This program should as well include risks and measures to mitigate risks. Potential partners from both sides (Belarusian and foreign) should be determined in the program, as well as potential sources of funding. Data base of ITA projects shall be designed- it shall be on open access, should include sectorial ITA division, as well as regional maps of ITA.2. “One window” principle can be applied to the procedures of projects’ approval and registration, but the most complicated problem is adjustment of the projects with public

4

administrations, therefore we discussed the possibility of adjusting the project with the concerned ministries and agencies at the stage of project preparation (not when the project has already been approved by EU and there is no possibility to introduce considerable changes or amendments to it). Moreover, there was an opinion that if the project is of local significance, it may be enough to obtain adjustment from the regional executive committee in the operational area o f which the project would be implemented without adjusting the project with all line ministries. In case if approval by the Council o f Ministers is nevertheless needed, it may be enough that the projects are approved by the acting ITC Commission under the Council o f Ministers. Other tasks of the mentioned Commission may include: development of strategic, priority-oriented lines of cooperation between Belarus and donors, presenting recommendations to the beneficiaries on project proposals’ content, etc.3. There can be several types o f trainings to be conducted in the ITA sphere:

a. Trainings for senior management officials from republican agencies of state administration - w ith emphasis on planning and evaluation;b. Trainings for employees of profile structures - with emphasis on procedural issues (such as approval, registration, changes in the projects, reporting, control, coordination skills);c. Trainings for direct project implementers;d. Trainings for potential beneficiaries.

The following topics for trainings are currently of high priority:- Financial management of the projects;- Procurement procedures;- Recruitment;- Elaborating the standards and requirements for the procured equipm ent - where to payattention to;- Developing projects - how to bring the needs of the specific organization into compliancewith the priorities of EU program.

Day 2

1. Cooperation between central and local authorities while developing and implementing the EU-funded projects. Successful experience of the regional authorities by the example of the Strategy for Trakai region development with EU assistance

W e had a meeting with the administration of Trakai regional self-administration. During this meeting it was indicated, that depending on the strategic importance and complexity of the project the amount of co-financing from the sources of local budget of self-administration and national budget of Lithuania usually is 10-15%.It should be noted that distribution of EU funds is carried out in accordance with the approved Lithuanian strategy on distributing aid from EU structural funds, as well as in accordance with separate Action programs on Strategy implementation.Main problem of the region is urbanisation. Therefore main target of the programming is creation of programs fo r improving local infrastructure in order to create better conditions for living.Key role in the sphere of cooperation with population have Local Activities groups which cooperate with local authorities, communities headmen, non-governmental organizations in determining the region’ needs.Projects are implemented on the basis of long-term plans of the Republic of Lithuania, as well as short-term plans of Trakai region development.Main directions of using EU financial aid in Trakai are:

- Human resources development (“ life-long learning” focused on constant professional training, improvement of local self-administration, installation of quality m anagement system);

- Economy growth (e-democracy for all, reconstruction of public space);- Cohesion encouragement (development of recreational eco-tourism, reconstruction of social

sites).Currently there are 35 projects that are now being implemented with the total financing of more than 11 mln. Euro.In order to implement effective social policy the self-administration created a system allowing for considering population needs in the development strategies that are formulated.Projects implemented with the EU financial assistance made it possible to improve internal

I management system, as well as contributed to region transport infrastructure updating and

5

development, extension of social infrastructure in the sphere of tourism, development of ecological state of the region, and energy efficiency.

2. Visiting the objects constructed with the help o f EU financing in Trakai and the suburbs

W e had an opportunity to visit the following EU-funded projects in the Trakai region:- City of Trakai (reconstruction of streets, houses renewal, public infrastructure development);- Intake and delivery measuring station of Trakai region;- From Zalesye to Uzutrakis (visiting Uzutrakis manor estate);- National crafts’ centre;- Rural tourism estates.

7. New contactsMr Virginijus Smigelskas - Director, Institute for Regional and Democracy Development (E-mail: v.sm iaelskasOam ail.com }Ms Virginija NaSleniene - Project manager, Institute for Regional and Democracy Development (Email: virainiia.naslenienefiJamail.com)

8. ConclusionsA mixed group (representatives of public authorities and non-governmental organi

capacity development facility to support the...

Documents