Download - Access Alliance Programme
Access Alliance Programme
Project Managers’ Workshop
Markham Vale Environment Centre
10 March 2010
Programme
• What is the Access Alliance Programme?• Why am I here today?• Aims of the seminar• Introduction to the projects• Marketing and promoting projects• Financial Claims• Output Monitoring and Evidencing• Project Sustainability• The Capital Assets Register & Inventory• Summary and Next AAP Events
What is AAP?
• The Access Alliance Programme• Managed by STAR on behalf of DEP
– Phase 1 Nov 2006 to Nov 2008– Phase 2 Dec 2008 to Nov 2010
• To develop sustainable transport schemes in Notts and Derbyshire
• To assist people in Notts & Derbyshire to access jobs and services, esp. those without access to a private car and young people
• To assist County Councils to deliver their Accessibility Strategies
Why am I here today?
• Why do I have to do anything – I’ve already been paid?
• What’s the point of the financial returns?• Why do I have to keep completing the outputs
profile?• What’s the benefit for my project?• I haven’t done this before! Why start now?• Why do I have to report so often?• Who can assist me?
Aims of the Seminar
• Explain reporting procedures• Explain monitoring procedures• Answer your questions and
queries• Share experiences among project
managers• Save time for you & STAR• Share top tips for an easy life with
AAP!
Introduction to the Projects
Retford Action Centre Bassetlaw Share-a-Ride - Steetley
Rural Community Action Notts
Ignition + Green Light Steetley
SLIC Training Rural Rover
Turning Point Improving Access to Empt & Training
Portland College Portland Skills Bus
University of Derby Chesterfield Cycling Infrastructure
North Notts / C’field College
J29A Transport to Training
Case Study
Elmton & Creswell Village Company
Serving the Community with Transportto Training
Marketing & Promoting Projects 1• Success of projects often depends
on getting the word out• Relatively short time to get
projects up and running• Avoid ‘if we build it, they will
come’ mentality• Hammer the message home!• Engage employee referral
partners to promote the project• Use local media to promote good
news in difficult economic climate
Marketing & Promoting Projects 2• Take photographs of the project in
action!• Ask punters what they think of the
transport provided & what it has meant for them
• Tell us how you are promoting your project
• Submit evidence of marketing efforts with your claims
Project Plan
• Schedule 4.2 of your AAP contract• We encourage all new projects to
prepare a project plan• Key milestones• Helps to focus the mind• Assists you in preparing claims
– are we where we planned to be?– If not, why not?
• Submit plan to STAR to be filed with your project documentation
Financial Claims 1
• Claim dates as per award letter and contract
• E-copy and signed hard copy• Justification of what has been spent• AAP grant and wider project /
matched funding• Intervention rate shows maximum
AAP funding• Spend to be in line with Spend Profile• If not, reprofile
Financial Claims 2
• Section 2 – Claim Summary• One line per time of expenditure• Specify revenue / capital• Provide invoice / receipt reference• Provide hard copy of receipt / invoice• Ensure figures sum correctly• Ensure figures agree with claim total on front
page of claim• Ensure figures tally with Spend Profile
(Section 6)• Ensure you provide details and evidence of all
project spend
Financial Claims 3
• Section 6 – Spend Profile• Actual / Forecast at head of each column• Split between capital and revenue expenditure• Provide “total” project costs – AAP funding plus
matched funding on which intervention rate is based• Show AAP spend separately• Reprofile the costs, if necessary • Ensure total project costs and total AAP grant spend
remain consistent throughout• Avoid underspend of matched funding and AAP grant
Project Spend - Pitfalls
• STAR is required to reclaim AAP funding from project managers if
– you do not spend grant which has been paid upfront– you do not obtain or spend matched funding– you do not evidence matched funding or AAP grant
spend– you do not use it for the purposes set out in the
funding application – you do not make any efforts to record outputs
• But we do not want to reclaim funds!
Claim Forms – Top Tips 1
• Ask for advice if you need it• Liberal use of highlighter!• Consistency of figures• Transparency of figures• Underspending is bad• Don’t bury you head in the sand• Tell us if things aren’t going so well• VAT claims – depend upon your VAT
status
Claim Forms – Top Tips 2
• Provide evidence with every claim• Ensure spend is correctly recorded
as capital or revenue• Reprofile spend and outputs• Ensure you talk to STAR• Agree monitoring programme with
STAR
Output Monitoring• Funding award relates to the number of outputs to
be delivered• Output numbers in contract are minimum expected• If you are unable to achieve outputs profiled for each
claim, let us know before claim due date!• All outputs must be evidenced with supporting
documentation, submitted with each claim form• If your evidence is one line of a document or letter,
highlight it!• Output profile within the claim form - change the ‘F’
to an ‘A’• Use the new output monitoring forms
T1 Outputs
• Jobs created or safeguarded• Jobs must be
– Permanent– Paid posts (not voluntary work), and– Full time (although part time can be
counted pro-rata)
T1 Outputs (continued)• A job is created and counted when it
is– New– Has a life expectancy of at least one year– A post that is actually filled as a result of AAP
intervention
• A job is safeguarded if it – exists and is forecast to be lost within 1 year of when
the project was approved– is still in existence at the time of counting and no
longer at risk of being lost within a year
T2 Outputs
• People assisted to get a job• The output is the number of people who
have been assisted regardless of their success
• Those assisted must be– Resident in Derbyshire or Nottinghamshire– Unemployed or economically inactive or– In employment but at risk of losing their job
• This output does not include assistance with skills development (T6)
T4 Outputs
• Businesses assisted to improve their performance
• The output is the number of businesses who have been assisted regardless of their success
• Businesses assisted do not have to be based in Derbyshire or Nottinghamshire
T5 Outputs
• Public and Private regeneration infrastructure levered
• i.e. funding levered from other sources by AAP funding
• Public or private sector sources• If other agencies are counting this output,
the outputs should be apportioned between them
• Need a copy of a grant award letter from agencies to confirm that funding has been levered
T6 Outputs• People assisted in their skills development• The output is the number of people who have
been assisted regardless of whether their skills were developed
• Assistance to attend vocational training or general education course
• Training does not have to be certificated• People of any age• Only extra-curricula training for those of
school age• Minimum of 6 hours training• People who are resident in Nottinghamshire
or Derbyshire
Qualitative Surveys 1
• Exit survey / questionnaire• SMS / text survey• On-bus survey• Stakeholder interviews• User focus groups• Stakeholder focus groups• Intercept survey, etc
Qualitative Surveys 2
o STAR to adviseo STAR to conduct (some) focus
groupso STAR to analyse resultso STAR to assist as necessaryo Ask for help !
Output Monitoring in Action
Jayne Ball, Portland College
Project Sustainability
• AAP funding is to pump prime projects• Some projects will have achieved
everything they set out to achieve• Others need to think about how to ensure
the project continues after AAP• Start to think about it now – not at the
11th hour• Who could / should fund in the future?• How can I demonstrate the positive
impacts of the project to potential funders?
Capital Assets Register & Inventory
What is ‘capital’ spend?
• Equipment or assets• £1000 or more• Useful life of more than 12 months• Feasibility study leading to capital project• (adding value to assets)• Other costs including administration are
“revenue”
Capital Assets Register 1
• Owner• Description• Price paid (net of recoverable VAT)• AAP funding applied to asset• Location of title deeds (if applicable)• Location of asset• Serial / Identification Number• Date of disposal• Sale of proceeds (net of VAT)
Capital Assets Register 2
• Items worth more than £1,000, and• Items with more than £2,500 AAP funding• Recording of disposal of assets• Project Manager to notify STAR / DEP of
disposal of asset• AAP / DEP may require a share of the proceeds• Disposal value must be actual / estimated
market value• Clawback will always be applied unless
explicitly agreed otherwise• Change of use of asset / needs of AAP / funds
recovery
Capital Assets Inventory
• Items worth less than £1,000• Items with less than £2,500 AAP funding• Same asset descriptions as for Register• Same requirements re disposal of asset
Any Questions
AAP Diary Dates
Weds 14 April @ 12:00 with lunchAAP Publicity Event at MVEC
Weds 6 Oct 9:30 – 13:00AAP Conference at National Fluid Power
Centre
www.accessalliance.co.uk
Thank you for coming along
Lunch is served!