Overview of APEC project procedures EGEE&C 39 Sydney, Australia 27-28 February 2012

APEC project funding Operational Account (OA) to support Economic and Technical Cooperation (ECOTECH) Trade & Investment Liberalisation & Facilitation Special Account (TILF) Achieving part 1 of the Osaka Action Agenda APEC Support Fund & Sub-Funds (ASF) Meeting the capacity building needs of developing economies Self-funding Economies source full project funding themselves Projects exist to assist progress in the priority areas being discussed by SOM. Started with seven projects in 1993, all self funded. Size and scope has grown since then – at 1 Jan 2010, APEC was funding 176 projects, to the value of US$15,297,009. From 2006 – 2008, the number of projects submitted increased by 40% from 128  180. In the same period, project funding availability grew by 35%. Coupled with an average increase in funds requested of 30%, it meant that project numbers grew by only 12%: 119  134. In 2009: 140 Submissions, 64 approved to the value of $5,230,811. 2

Project approval process Proponent submits Concept Note to forum Proponent secures co-sponsors Forum endorses & ranks all Concept Notes Proponent submits final Concept Note, & Fora submits ranking, to PD by the BMC deadline Deadline for session2 – midnight 9 June. Proponent must email the final CN to the PD by this deadline. The Fora must also have completed its ranking process by this time. This means that individual groups have to set their own deadline to allow time for endorsement and ranking. To ensure fairness and transparency, there will be no extensions beyond the midnight 9 June deadline. IF ASKED: Who can be a proponent: usually a government official, but can also be a academic, someone from the private sector etc. The key is that the proponent must go through an APEC group. Submissions can be done Face-to-Face or intersessionally Must have at least 2 cosponsors

Project approval process Relevant Committee / SFOM ranks & prioritises using APEC Funding Criteria Secretariat calculates votes. Refers Concept Notes to Principal Decision Makers for an APEC wide priority list (if required). BMC approves in-principle highest priority Concept Notes within funding availability All Concept Notes then go to the Prioritisation Phase: Committees / SFOM will categorise relevant Concept Notes into the relevant Funding Criteria rank (Rank 1-4). Committee / SFOM members also have to prioritse within each Rank. Members will be asked to refer to the prioritisation preferences from fora / WGs / TFs etc. Committees / SFOM will only consider Concept Notes from groups under their purview. All industry dialogue Concept Notes will be considered by CTI, SOM Concept Notes will be considered by SCE The Secretariat will calculate the results of Ctte / SFOM ranking and prioritisation and sort Concept Notes by Fund and by Funding Criteria Rank. If there are insufficient funds within a particular rank under any of the Funds, the Secretariat will refer the Concept Notes in question to the Principal Decision Makers to develop an APEC wide priority list. In developing an APEC wide priority list, PDMs must maintain the relative priority of each Committee / SFOM. This means it cannot put a Concept Note a Committee has put as priority no.2 over a Concept Note the same Committee has prioritised as no.1. The Secretariat will use PDM’s responses to develop a single APEC wide priority list The Secretariat will work from the top of that list down, seeing where the funding availability ends. The Secretariat will advise BMC of which Concept Notes are of sufficiently high priority that can be funded, and recommend them for in-principle approval. BMC grants in-principle approval, with final approval dependant on the Concept Note being expanded into a full project proposal, and that proposal being of satisfactory quality It is estimated that the Prioritisation Phase will take just over 3 weeks to be completed.

Project approval process Proponents with in-principle approval invited to complete full proposal form Full proposal endorsed & QAF done by fora Secretariat finds proposal ‘satisfactory’ quality Secretariat recommends to BMC that the project can commence Concept Notes with in-principal approval then move to the Quality Phase: Successful proponents must expand Concept Notes into a full proposal (NOTE – a new proposal template is under BMC consideration) Proponents are encouraged to work closely with their fora and the secretariat to develop a satisfactory quality proposal. The Secretariat is in the process of recruiting a new staff member that can assist proponents with developing good quality proposals. The full proposal must reach satisfactory quality before the Secretariat recommends it to BMC to start. The Secretariat will assess projects on the basis of Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact and Sustainability. It will be taken that members have assessed Relevance, and have found this criteria satisfactory. When satisfactory quality is reached, the Secretariat will recommend that the project commence. Proponents have until the next project approval session deadline to submit proposals. If it appears that a proposal will not reach satisfactory quality, the Secretariat will notify the BMC three weeks before the next submission deadline. The BMC may choose to fund the proposal as it stands, provide additional time to the proponent to reach satisfactory quality, or revoke the in-principle approval of the Concept Note.

Be realistic about what you can achieve Some key things to remember while drafting Concept Notes and proposals: Be realistic about what you can achieve Be specific about who will benefit and how stakeholders will be involved Show that you’ve done your homework Be accurate in developing your budget Remember the audience: not all proposal readers will be an expert In addition, the Secretariat has compiled some basic drafting hints for both Concept Notes and proposals.

APEC FUNDING CRITERIA IN 2012 Rank 1: Projects that specifically and significantly contribute to promoting regional economic integration via free and open trade and investment – includes: Promoting greater alignment in regulatory approaches, including through standards, regulatory coherence and cooperation, technical regulations, conformity assessment, risk assessment Trade facilitation and supply chain performance Environmental goods and services

APEC FUNDING CRITERIA IN 2012 Rank 2: Projects that directly support the Action Plan in the APEC Leaders' Growth Strategy – includes Sustainable Growth: Energy security Renewable energy development, alternative energy sources Reducing energy intensity and promoting energy-efficient technologies Phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies Low-emissions development strategies (LEDS) Green jobs education and training Climate change mitigation and adaptation

APEC FUNDING CRITERIA IN 2012 Rank 3: Projects that are linked to other priorities identified by Leaders and Ministers but are less closely linked to regional economic integration via free and open trade and investment

APEC Project Quality Criteria Relevance Effectiveness Efficiency Impact Sustainability Projects must meet a satisfactory standard in each criterion to be recommended for funding For those Concept Note proponents that are asked to complete full proposals, it is important to be aware of the project quality criteria. APEC’s quality criteria come from the OECD & represent good international practice for evaluating proposals. Information on each criteria is available on the PDB. Proposals must be rated as satisfactory against each criteria – the Secretariat will assess the Effectiveness, Efficiency, Impact and Sustainability criteria. Members will assess Relevance through their assessment of priority.

Implementation Projects must be implemented within two APEC financial years – e.g. projects approved at any point in 2012 must be completed by 31 December 2013. Once a project is approved, the Project Proponent (PP) becomes the Project Overseer (PO) and is responsible for managing the project Requests for proposals/tenders to implement projects are advertised on the APEC website.

Implementation Projects are implemented in line with the Guidebook on APEC Projects Monitoring reports are submitted at 6 month intervals Completion report is submitted within 2 months of project completion BMC has approved a new monitoring tool and a new approach to reporting at the end of a project. Details of this new framework will be conveyed to fora and members as soon as possible. “Completion” is the point after all activities are finished and invoices submitted, or the end of the allocated time for the project – whichever is earlier

Project Overseer (PO) responsibilities Monitor and report on progress Apply APEC project guidelines, e.g. financial contracting, publications Briefing contractors, participants, speakers and experts of their roles and responsibilities A PO must not: Misuse or misappropriate APEC funds Put themselves in a conflict of interest position During implementation, the PO is essential to ensuring that the project is carried out correctly. POs are expected to be aware of the Guidebook on APEC Projects, and use the latest versions of policies guidelines (e.g. Publications). POs should also work closely with their fora’s PD and PE to ensure consistency with project requirements.

Monitoring Every six months the PO must complete a monitoring report. The Secretariat reports projects that have not met the monitoring reporting requirements. POs that fail to submit monitoring reports may not put forward new concept notes or proposals until all overdue reports are submitted.

Project completion An APEC project is considered ‘completed’: on 31 December of the year following the funding approval, or when all project activities have been finished and all project invoices received, or if it is terminated by its approving body (i.e., BMC or SOM). POs may submit a Request for Extension through the APEC Secretariat. The PO must submit a completion report within two months after project ends & submit it to the PD at the APEC Secretariat. Overdue completion reports may prevent the forum from putting forward new concept notes or proposals.

See the Projects Section on the APEC website at www.apec.org Thanks See the Projects Section on the APEC website at www.apec.org