Harmonised Implementation Tools 1 st Meeting on HIT with Cross-Border Cooperation and Transnational Cooperation Programmes in the Mediterranean Area 17 September 2014 | Milan, Italy

2 1.What is HIT? 2.Why harmonise? 3.Harmonisation process 4.How to use HIT tools?

3 Administrative and Eligibility Checklist Quality Assessment Criteria Strategic and Operational Assessment Criteria Application Form Project / Partner Progress Report Progress Report Monitoring Checklist YES Project selectionProject implementation A – Project Summary B – Project Partnership C – Project Description D – Project Budget E – Partner Budget F – Annexes PART A – Activity report PART B – Finance report Programme intervention logic Analysis of current good practice Legal package Budget lines fact sheets ETC specific indicators Project Final Report FLC Certificate FLC Checklist FLC Report

4 Why harmonise? We all mean the same, but use different terminology!  70% already the same  Make use of good practice and lessons learned

Why harmonise? Simplification for applicants, beneficiaries and programme bodies Common understanding of concepts/definitions by beneficiaries and programmes and between different programmes Clear result orientation: focus on results and link programme – project intervention logics A minimum set of shared criteria in overlapping areas Harmonisation based on legal requirements and minimum expectations Efficient data collection (application form for assessment and monitoring) Accepted tools and requirements for audits

The process

HIT Milestones TN programmes meet; request for harmonisation of procedures and monitoring systems expressed Typology of projects developed Structure consultations; COM positions paper: simplification Working Group in Amsterdam (all strands); HIT, legal package+ strategic pro- gramming Working Group in Brussels (all strands); HIT, legal package + strategic pro- gramming Network meetings: start of work on harmonising budget lines Working Group in Brussels: Budget lines, eligibility, FLC from COM asking for support from INTERACT Working Group in Madrid: Budget lines, eligibility, FLC Finance network meeting (all strands): Budget lines, eligibility, FLC, application and monitoring processes First HIT package published on INTERACT website 3 meetings with EC experts in simplified cost options Programmes meet in Barcelona (all strands) to jointly work on HIT

HIT Milestones st meeting with TN programmes + IVC to agree on a HIT TN package 1 st meeting with CBC programmes to agree on CBC HIT package Meetings with EC Auditors 2 nd meeting with TN programmes + IVC to agree on a HIT TN package 3 rd meeting with TN programmes + IVC to agree on a HIT TN package HIT package presented at annual ETC conference HIT package presented at Dutch annual event HIT package presented to French programmes HIT presented to Austrian programmes HIT package presented to the Commission

HIT Milestones th meeting with TN programmes + IVC to agree on a HIT TN package Regional meeting with AT programmes 2 nd meeting with CBC programmes to agree on CBC HIT package 3 rd meeting with CBC programmes to agree on CBC HIT package 1 st NW zone regional HIT meeting Follow-up meetings with programmes HIT network meetings 2 nd NW zone regional HIT meeting th meeting with TN programmes + IVC to agree on a HIT TN package

Stakeholder involvement HIT were consulted with all relevant parties! Programmes Tools developed jointly during meetings Unanimous agreement by programmes Tools consulted with controllers and auditors Beneficiaries Opinions collected and taken into account European Commission Consultations with EC experts Input provided to drafting of the Delegated Act on eligibility of expenditure Stakeholder involvement 10

11 Administrative and Eligibility Checklist Quality Assessment Criteria Strategic and Operational Assessment Criteria Application Form Project / Partner Progress Report Progress Report Monitoring Checklist YES Project selectionProject implementation A – Project Summary B – Project Partnership C – Project Description D – Project Budget E – Partner Budget F – Annexes PART A – Activity report PART B – Finance report Programme intervention logic Analysis of current good practice Legal package Budget lines fact sheets ETC specific indicators Project Final Report FLC Certificate FLC Checklist FLC Report

12 How are HIT tools build? Tools represent the core common information on top of which programmes can add, when necessary. Required Desired Nice-to-have

13 Harmonisation does not mean ’identical’!  Reasonable harmonisation!  Common foundation on which to build programme- specific elements. 13 How much flexibility is in it for programmes?

Forms and checklists are models!  They specify: The scope of what is assessed and what is monitored as the minimum requirement The scope and wording of the Application Form and Progress Report (terminology) 14 How to use templates?

 They do not give details of: The technical implementation (online or Excel, automatic checks) The format (order of sections, format of data, separate fields for certain data) The procedures (who does what and when)

HIT & eMS

Each ETC Programme has to run software on its own ETC might need additional functionalities (not provided by INTERACT) Needed steps: buy / rent server or online server services (incl. installation + administration costs) install software according to installation instructions Recommended: Find internal IT-skilled person (no need of programmers) Optional: Set aside budget for additional functionalities What’s needed to use e-MS? State of play of the e-MS project 17

18 Questions?

Project Selection 19

Administrative & Eligibility Checklist  ≠ core element (different procedures & AF format)  Feel free to integrate these checks in your system how it fits you best! Some checks might be automatic.  No project content checks at this stage.  The column ‘description’ has indicative character.  What you consider a knock-out criterion is up to you!  You may combine administrative & eligibility criteria in one step.

Assessment criteria STRATEGIC assessment criteria Project’s context (relevance and strategy) Cooperation character Project’s contribution to programmes’s objectives, expected results and outputs Partnership relevance OPERATIONAL assessment criteria Management Communication Work plan Budget Guiding principles

Application Form Part A – Project Summary Part B – Project Partners Part C – Project Description Part D – Project Budget Part E – Partner Budget Part F - Annexes

Project Intervention Logic 23

Programme - Project Intervention Logic 24

How to make a link … 25 Programme output indicators Project main outputs Number of people trained on energy efficiency 250 people from the whole programme area trained on energy efficiency in primary and secondary schools Number of enterprises cooperating with research institutions 3 medium-sized enterprises 12 micro-sized enterprises (3 from each participating country) Length of newly built, reconstructed or upgraded transport infrastructure 8 km of newly built road connecting village D from YY and town U from XX

Project intervention logic 26 Overall objective  Establish cooperation among enterprises and regional support structures in the cross-border area Specific objective  Ensure expert, development and advisory assistance for the region’s wood technology industry Project result  Established cooperation among wood technology enterprises and regional support structures in the cross- border area Project main output  1 cross-border wood technology development centre  10 enterprises receiving non-financial support

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