2014 CEF Transport Calls National Info Day – Czech Republic Michal Ziliak Innovation and Networks Executive Agency Prague, 28 November 2014

Overview Innovation and Networks Executive Agency 2014 CEF Transport Calls The Call process Preparation of proposals

From TEN-T EA to INEA From 1 January 2014 – INEA replaced TEN-T EA INEA started with TEN-T EA's 100 staff – and will reach 318 staff managing projects by 2020 with a budget of €37 billion Currently 145 staff in a multinational team of 25 nationalities Specialists in engineering, project management, finance, evaluation, accounting, audit, financial engineering, IT, statistics, communication, and legal affairs

European Commission defines the policy Makes all CEF/TEN-T programming decisions Defines strategy, objectives and priority areas of action Selects the projects for co-financing Monitors the Agency Evaluates the CEF programme and the Agency’s performance INEA turns policy into action and makes implementation happen Follows up the technical and financial implementation of the projects Manages the entire project lifecycle Executes the CEF budget Gives feedback, assistance and reports to the Commission Provides administrative support to the beneficiaries of CEF financing Coordinates with other Commission services, programmes, Institutions and financial instruments

INEA's main tasks Managing Calls for Proposals and external evaluations Managing the ensuing grant agreements Providing support in programme implementation Monitoring the projects Bringing innovative ideas, concepts and products to implementation Support to the Commission for programme and project- related tasks Controlling the use of allocated funds Promoting achievements, results and successes Supporting the Commission - giving feedback as input to policy-making Raising visibility of CEF Transport programme Promoting funding opportunities

INEA's programmes From 2007 to 2013: The mandate covered only transport and implementation of the TEN-T Programme From 2014 to 2020: The mandate is extended to:  Parts of the CEF programme (transport, energy and telecommunications)  Parts of transport and energy research under the Horizon 2020 programme  The legacy of the TEN-T programme  The legacy of the Marco Polo programme (managed under last MFF by EACI – now EASME) * Including Cohesion Fund allocation

INEA - organisational structure

Implementing CEF in 2014 Max budget available: 11bln Objective: stimulate efficiency; strengthen visibility of the 9 corridors Coverage: pre-identified projects along the 9 core network corridors, other core network projects and horizontal priorities (Annex 1 of the CEF regulation) Max budget available : 1bln Objective: implementation of the core network by 2030 and comprehensive network Coverage: transport infrastructure development / transport services and facilities; projects on the core and comprehensive network MAP Work programme AP Work programme

CEF Transport Funding Objectives Removing bottlenecks and bridging missing links (~80% of max budget) Ensuring sustainable and efficient transport in the long run (~5% of max budget) Optimising integration and interconnection of modes and enhancing interoperability (~15% of max budget) FO1 FO2 FO3

FO1 FO2 FO3 MAP calls Call 2 Call 3 Call 4 Call 5: Cohesion countries AP Call 1 €4 billion €6 billion €250 million €750 million €11 billion €1 billion

Delivering CEF- Transport grants

External evaluation Individual assessment Each proposal is assessed independently by at least three independent experts which give scores from 0 to 5 Each expert completes an evaluation form, commenting and scoring each criterion Scores must be in line with comments; minimum threshold per criterion is 60% No contact between experts

External evaluation Consensus Experts agree during the consensus meeting on: Comments and give a score for each of the four award criteria mentioned before A general recommendation Experts will not recommend for funding proposals that score <3 points for one or more of the four award criteria!

External evaluation: Criteria Relevance Contribution of the proposed Action to the TEN-T & CEF priorities and priorities of the calls EU added value Maturity Is the proposed Action ready to go? Impact Expected effect on financial viability Expected socio- economic effects, climate and environmental aspects Quality Completeness and clarity of the proposal Description of the planned activities Coherence between objectives, activities and planned resources Soundness of the project management process

External evaluation: Key principles

Selection Committee Composition: DG MOVE, INEA & DG ENV Role: Assess and validate the list of proposals recommended for funding and those not to be funded paying particular attention to: Contribution to the balanced development of the network Complementarity with other EU funded projects Comparative EU added value in relation to other proposed Actions Budgetary constraints Potential synergies across the different CEF sectors and/or other EU Programmes Any risks of double- funding from other Union sources

Two additional aspects for projects funded under the CEF Transport call for Cohesion countries The programming for the European Structural and Investment Funds in order to ensure complementarity between the two sources of funding How the proposed Action fits in the national transport plan in the Member State(s) concerned where appropriate

Provisional timeline Deadline for submission of proposals26 February 2015 Deadline for submission of translations in English (if applicable) 5 March 2015 Evaluation of proposals March - April 2015 (indicative) Consultation of Financial Assistance Committee; scrutiny right of European Parliament June 2015 (indicative) Signing of individual grant agreements As from September 2015 (indicative)

Grant Agreement Replaces the funding Decision used under the predecessor programme Will be used across the three CEF sectors and are harmonised as much as possible Will be signed bilaterally by INEA and beneficiary Implies a lighter administrative procedure and therefore less time to grant Detailed discussions – Grant Agreement Preparation Meeting

Proposal - Application form A Essential information on the applicants (general) and the proposal (content and finance) to be encoded online in the TENtec electronic tool Includes Form A2.2 that requires signature of the applicants and Form A2.3 for Member State validation Start early, save frequently Allows for access and editing by more than one person

Proposal - Application form B Administrative information on applicants and information on the operational and financial capacity Some categories of applicants do not need to demonstrate their operational and financial capacity (Member States, third countries, public bodies established in the EU)

Proposal - Application form C Collects information to allow the assessment of compliance with EU law Environmental protection (e.g. EIA, Natura 2000, Water Framework Directive, consultation with environmental authorities) and requires declaration by relevant environmental authorities State aid Public procurement Other sources of EU financing Transport mode specific law (i.e. on interoperability)

Proposal - Application form D Technical information describing the proposed Action and its activities in detail Structure reflects the four blocks of Award Criteria Should provide all information needed by the technical experts and the Commission for a fair and comprehensive evaluation of the proposal Cannot exceed 40 pages

Proposal - Submission Call deadline: 26 February 2015 at Mandatory electronic submission using the TEN- Tec eSubmission module Part A automatically generated, other parts need to be downloaded from the call website and duly filled in Less paper! Paper version of part A and annexes only

How to improve your proposal Anticipate competition and oversubscription Read the work programme, call text and Guide for Applicants very carefully Take available guidelines seriously, especially on formal, selection and award criteria Use the application check list & consult the FAQ regularly for updates

How to improve your proposal Start early (especially for MS endorsement, compliance with EU law and multi-applicant proposals) Pay attention to each question, they may not seem important to you, but they are for evaluators (project management, risk assessment, communication, etc.)

Provide enough detail Objectives and the means to achieve these Realistic planning & reliable financial data Elaborate and explain on each question, avoid mere statements Do a consistency check of the financial tables, double check formatting of decimals How to improve your proposal

Re-read your proposal and ask yourself Is it clear and does it cover all points the evaluators need to know? Does it make the case for why it should receive EU funding above others? Do not submit by mistake Part A based on MS Word, only submit the eSubmission print out! How to improve your proposal

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