Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Aspects of Project Preparation & Implementation

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Aims of Training Workshop n To understand the nature & purpose of successful project preparation & implementation n Toexamine key elements in the definition of relevant project activities & budgets n To determine the ‘maturity’ of proposed projects & gauge their sustainable impact n To appreciate the importance of partnership & the project manager

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Workshop Structure & Method n Welcome n Presenter & participant introductions & expectations n Domestic arrangements & logistics n Active participation & sharing of experience n Practical exercises, participant & trainer feedback

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Project Preparation  What is a project?  Project intention, objective, goal and tasks  SMART Project  Structure of Project  Appropriate Project  Success of Project

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia What is the project? „ project“ is often used to describe something outside normal day-to-day work. „ project “ is a proposal for implementation of a certain intention together with the way it is supposed to be implemented Project Preparation

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Project:  is a unique undertaking: each one will differ from every other in some respect;  has specific objectives (or goals) to achieve;  requires resources;  has budget;  project has schedules;  project requires the effort of people; and measures of quality will apply. Project Preparation

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Project intention :  a long-term ambition and strategy a purpose, idea Objective :  a mid-term plan: a step to the fulfilment of intention Target :  short-term plan a quantified step towards achieving an objective Project Preparation

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia SMART (targets of a) project Planned targets should be: S - specific (concrete) M - measurable A - adequate R - realistic T – timed Project Preparation

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Project Preparation Structure of Project  introduction (justification of the need, SWOT analysis, theoretical framework)  project description (organisation, methods, activities, management)  inputs (material, human resources)  outputs (results)

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Structure of a Project... continued n schedule of activities n budget n sustainability of the project and its impacts n risks; follow-up to other activities and projects; ownership of project outputs n annexes and background documents Project Preparation

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Project Preparation Appropriate Project is: n when change is necessary/desirable; n when organisational structures are clear; n when introducing new programmes/laws/policies/systems; n when piloting or trialing something new;

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Project Preparation Appropriate Project...continued   our project will solve the issue to be tackled;   project goals are in harmony with programme objectives;   project is very likely to be successful;   project has clear goals, which are measurable;   project provides the best possible problem solution.

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Project Preparation

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Start to write:  project title  sources of financing  required amount  project beneficiaries  partners  project intention  project objective  project applicant Project Preparation

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Project Activities  Levels of objective  What are project activities?  Activities features  Project Components

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Project Activities

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Activities are : n tasks executed as part of a project to procedure the project results n objectives that – by the “means-to- ends” – produce the Results n formulated with the verb in front “Organise training sessions”, “Co-ordinate with major stakeholders”, etc. Project Activities

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Project Activities Activities features:  what  when  how long  who  dependency/independency  sources

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Project Activities ACTIVITY1st month 2nd month 3rd month 4th month Addressing potential training programme participants, feed- back Feed-back processing, training design, organisational preparation Workshop I. Workshop II. Evaluation of the programme, processing proposals for future concept

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Project Components n ‘deliverables’ - things that must be delivered if the project is to be successful n each of these will contain many tasks n at the beginning of a project everyone involved needs to work together to identify its components. n once of the first decisions that has to be made concerns the order in which the components will be worked. Project Activities

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Project Participants  Beneficiaries  Partners  Stakeholders  Target Groups

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Beneficiaries n are those who benefit in whatever way from the implementation of the project. Final beneficiaries n Those who benefit from the project in the long term at the level of the society or sector at large, n e.g. “children” due to increased spending on health and education, “consumers” due to improved agricultural production and marketing. Project Participants

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Partner – anybody who will ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE on a project implementation  Regional and Local Authorities,  Municipalities,  Micro-regions,  Local and regional public organisations,  Chambers of Commerce,  Professional Organisations,  Associations of towns & cities,  Non Government Organisations,  Local Development Organisations.... Project Participants

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Stakeholder Individuals or institutions that may – directly or indirectly, positively or negatively – affect or be affected by the outcomes of projects or programmes and Project Participants

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Stakeholders:  might be affected by the project;  might affect the project;  might become useful project partners even though the project may also be implemented without their contribution;  might become conflict partners as they may face the project as a threat for their role and interests;  will anyway be involved in the project. Project Participants

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia n Project Participants What are Stakeholders roles?   Is the stakeholder group (organisation, group of people, etc.) supposed to work in the project, co-finance it, or benefit from the project?   Is it a supporting organisation?   Does it have a controlling function, etc.?

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Target group – a group / entity who will be directly positively affected by the project at the Project Purpose level; Identify:  size  type  characteristics (social, organizational...)  possible influence to a project implementation Project Participants

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Project Budget n eligible costs n ineligible costs n items n budget preparation n contributions n co-financing n sources

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Eligible costs must be: n based on real costs, not lump sums n necessary for carrying out the action, n provided for in the contract n be recorded in the Beneficiary's or the Beneficiary's partners' accounts or tax documents, n be identifiable and verifiable, and be backed by originals of supporting documents Project Budget

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Direct eligible cost: n the cost of staff assigned to the action; n travel and subsistence costs for staff taking part in the action, n the cost of purchasing equipment (new or used) and services, n the cost of consumables and supplies; n subcontracting expenditure; n costs arising directly from the requirements of the contract Project Budget

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Eligible indirect costs (overheads) are: n a lump sum not exceeding 7% of the direct eligible costs n do not include costs assigned to another heading of the contract budget. n the Beneficiary receives does not receive an operating grant from the EU Project Budget

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Ineligible costs: n costs incurred prior to the signing of a contract; n debts and provisions for losses or debts; n interest owed; n items already financed in another framework; n purchases of land or buildings, currency exchange losses; n taxes, including VAT Project Budget

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Budget preparation n copy the list of Activities n use each Activity as a checklist to ensure that all necessary Means under that Activity are provided for n remember that this list may become very detailed n check final figures (horizontally & vertically, subtotals, total) Project Budget

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Budget items n cost per unit (without VAT) n number of units n costs per year n in EUR Project Budget

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Budget items: n site purchase n construction n other capital costs n equipment and supplies n local office/project costs n human sources n travel costs n professional fees n other costs (publication, studies, translation, seminars...) Project Budget

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Co-financing (generally) n contributions in kind & cash n the costs corresponding to actual prices, salaries, flat-rate reimbursement... n be identifiable and verifiable, and be backed by originals of supporting documents Project Budget

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Level of Co-financing reflects: n a beneficiary priority n a project sustainability Project Budget

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Expected sources of founding (EUR & %) n Applicant's financial contribution n Commission contribution sought in this application n Contribution(s) from other European Institutions or EU Member States n Contributions from other organisations (name & condition) n Direct revenue from the project Project Budget

Local partnership for Employment, Croatia Summary & Conclusions n Successful project preparation & implementation is not a mystical art. n Focus upon project objectives and targets, activities and components, which are SMART in nature. n Choose your project partners & identify all stakeholders carefully! n Precision is needed in definition of the scope of project activities and budgets.