Project Development seminar Katerina Staneva Kring February 2010 | Prague

How? Operational Programme (OP) Overview of programme area + most important strengths and weaknesses Relevant European, national and regional policies Defines objectives – the targets for change Sets priorities and gives examples of the types of actions that will be funded 1.Contribute to change in Europe

2. Need for transnational cooperation Transnational cooperation is essential where Obstacles posed by national borders, natural or institutional/organisational barriers hinder meeting our common goals. The complexity of the problem favours solutions that involve different levels of government, different levels of decision- making, management, implementation and financing, and different sectors

Transnational added value Developing a joint learning and implementation environment. Can you promote complementarity of activities, policies and programmes? Could your actions support the delivery of concrete strategic actions and improve regional performance? Undertaking actions at the greater scale that transnational working enables - could this provide subsequent economies of scale or allow the development of a critical mass?

3. Building the right partnership – who should be involved?  Which categories and / or organisations need to be involved?  Who are the most relevant people within the organisations? (field of expertise, position)  What is our aim in involving them? (political backing, end-users, etc.)  What are their needs? What is their interest in the project?  How do we want to involve them? (conferences, Steering Group, piloting)  Do they have any other conflicting interests that might cause risks to the project?

Partnership complementarity Lead PartnerPartner 1Partner 2 Activity 1 Significant experienceFor example... Some experience, for example... Particularly interested in learning about... Activity 2 No experience Particularly interested in learning about Activity 3... Activity 4...

Being a Lead Partner Development & application Coordinates partner input Drafts and submits the application Co-financing Secures Lead Partner co-financing Ensures that partners have letters of commitment for co- financing Contracts Signs contract between with the programme Draws up Partnership Agreement incl. provisions for sound financial management and recovery of amounts unduly paid Implementation Overall responsibility for ensuring implementation Finance & reporting Checks that partner spending has been validated by approved controllers Ensures that spending has been incurred on agreed activities only Payments Generally, receives programme payments and transfers them to partners Irregularities Pays back the programme immediately for any irregularity detected in partner expenditure. Recovers funds directly from the project partner concerned

Tips  Project management takes time and money – Discuss it and include resources in the budget  Perhaps the most important task of the LP is to ensure that information reaches the partners. Don ‘ t leave this to chance  The best LPs are presidents – not dictators

4. Cooperation in your daily work 1. Idea generation & partnership development Partner search, elaboration of the idea, needs analysis 2. Project development & application Strategy & content, responsibilities, application requirements 4. Implementation Coordination of activities, reporting, monitoring, adjustments, financial management 5. Closure 3. Contracting & start-up Kick-off, detailed planning, contracts & agreements Post-project activities, use of results, follow-up

Joint work Joint development: All partners should be involved from an early stage and jointly agree on who will be the LP. LP is the coordinator. Joint implementation: All partners should contribute to the project objectives. Clear links between activities and regular contacts are necessary. Joint financing: The project budget is one pot of money. Balanced allocation among partners according to activities. One project account. Joint staffing: No duplication of functions, e.g. one project manager Joint Development Joint Implementation Joint Staffing Joint Budgeting

5. A good project = good application? Objectives (quantitative + qualitative) Resources (budget, staff) Time Project

A good application  Make sure that objectives, activities, results and budget are presented clearly and logically.  Make sure they are realistic – input from all partners  Programme decision is based on what is included in the application. Make sure to include all relevant information.  Make sure you understand what is wanted in each section – ask the programme.  Check the programme selection criteria – have you provided the information needed?  Writing the application is not a big job. Preparing it is!

6. Clarity of work planned is essential Global objective Operational objective1:Operational objective2: Work package 1: WP coordinator: Outputs: Time frame: total costs: Task 1.1: Responsible: Time: costs: Activity 2.2.1: Activity 2.2.2: Activity 1.2.1: Activity 1.2.2: Activity 1.2.3: Work package 2: WP coordinator: Outputs: Time frame: total costs: Work package 3: WP coordinator: Outputs: Time frame: total costs: Task 1.2: Responsible: Time: costs: Task 2.2: Responsible: Time: costs: Task 2.1: Responsible: Time: costs: Operational objective n: Work package n: WP coordinator: Outputs: Time frame: total costs: Activity 3.1.1: Activity 3.1.2: Task 3.1: Responsible: Time: costs:

7. Monitoring should allow you to assess project progress and whether the project has been a success

Indicators = Quantified targets for project performance OutputsWhat has actually been produced? Products and services financed, e.g. number of conferences, km of riverbed cleaned, number of innovation centres opened ResultsWhat is the benefit of the outputs? Immediate advantages of carrying out the activities e.g. number of regional policy changes, reduction of pollutants in a river system, number of business start-ups ImpactsHave the results caused the desired long-term improvement? Sustainable long-term benefits of an activity e.g. more effective policies, increase in biodiversity, % increase in regional GDP

Indicator tips Specific: is it directly related to the project? Measurable: can it be defined in terms of quality and quantity that can be assessed? Achievable: is it within the scope of the project (relationship between resources, time and quality)? Relevant: does the indicator really relate to what the project is trying to achieve? Time-related: how long will it take and when will it be completed?

Indicator tips  Focus on the logical links between outputs and results  Results are particularly important – they are the best way of showing what the programme gets for its money  Ensure all partners can and will collect indicator information  Use indicators to demonstrate your project‘s quality  Big is not always beautiful!

8. Thinking about what happens after the project end Vision for projects in this period:  “…they should make a real and measurable change to the way regions work. Even the remotest regions of Europe should be at the cutting edge of development and cooperation projects should play a vital role in this process.” (Elisabeth Helander) Requires strategic thinking from the start!

Promotion of project results  Main-streaming  Kick-starting additional actions (‘leverage’)  Awareness raising  Making a lasting change  Promotion of results will fail if it is only planned at the end of the project

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