HOW TO ASSESS THE ORGANISATIONAL AND MANAGEMENT SKILLS OF THE ORGANISATION Training Unit 1.2 Knowledge of eligibility and formal requirements

How to assess the organisational and management skills of the organisation Knowledge of eligibility and formal requirements Interventions of transnational mobility funded by Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP), especially the ones set up under Leonardo da Vincis sub-programme, follow the financial rules of all projects set up under LLP. This means that all projects are chosen on the basis of a selection consisting of analysing advanced proposals as reply of Calls for Proposals for submitting candidatures. The frequency of these Calls for Proposals is various, but for transnational mobility proposals the period 2007 – 2013 has established Calls for each year. Each Call for Proposals contains constant aspects of the LLP selection process, for example the procedure of selection (made, according to the project, at a European level or at a national one), the general objectives and priorities of the Sub-programme, deadlines for submitting proposals, the macro typologies of eligible candidates.

How to assess the organisational and management skills of the organisation The Decision of European Parliament and Council The 15th November 2006, (decision nr. 1720) established a programme of action in the field of Lifelong Learning. The Decision 1720/06 provides the necessary macro information needed to understand the articulation of LLP and to quickly understand its complexity. Moreover, the Decision provides some definitions of terms frequently used to prepare and develop a LLP project, as, for example, mobility, internship, study visits – that equalises the comprehension of terms that have often a particular meaning in the Community context. The planner of a mobility intervention should start working by this document in order to obtain a universal understanding.

How to assess the organisational and management skills of the organisation Call for proposals The structure model of Call for Proposals contains two parts: The first section relating to the strategic priorities, being made by an introduction with the general and specific objectives of the programme, and also indicating accurately its operative objectives and priorities of the single sub-programmes as well, information about duration and characteristics. The second section concerning the financial aspects, information about duration and characteristics of each action, support annexes for the planning (as, for example, tables of daily financial ceilings in relation to each country). The knowledge of information contained in the Call for Proposals is irreplaceable.

How to assess the organisational and management skills of the organisation Formal requirements of eligibility and essential elements of project approval The Call for Proposals, (the yearly advertisement; candidatures application form and guidelines for candidates) comprehensively indicates the appropriate elements to carry out effectively a candidature procedure. These elements can be divided into two macro-typologies: formal requirements of eligibility; substantial elements to be approved the project.

How to assess the organisational and management skills of the organisation The first ones concern the parts of candidature checked before the evaluation, which in case of being incomplete determine its exclusion. The substantial elements to be approved the project concern the aspects of coherency with general, specific and operative objectives of the Programme, as well as descriptive elements of the actions proposed: objectives of the action, partnership, organisational modalities, beneficiaries, schedule, monitoring and evaluation. These elements, which the evaluation of the candidature are based on and must be indicated in a clear and detailed way in the suitable sections of the application form, considering that in some occasion there is a limit for number of characters in some sections of the form.

How to assess the organisational and management skills of the organisation The general advertisement is updated each year: that means that the European Commission and the member States can introduce new procedural aspects and new objectives and priorities each year. Therefore, it is referred to the first point, as it is evident, that such a complex programme as LLP not ALL possible actions have been introduced since the first official advertisement, but it has been made gradually. In relation to the objectives and priorities, the European Commission owns the power of revising total or partially the operative objectives of the subprogrammes. As actions proposed must be coherent with these objectives, the planners must be informed about changes made each year. Moreover, member States are the power of introduce national priorities next to European Community ones. To this end it cannot be emphasised too much the necessity for prospective applicant organisations to regularly check their own national Agency website to confirm the priorities, that happens every year.

How to assess the organisational and management skills of the organisation Guide for the candidates and Guidelines for filling in the application form Amongst the tools of support for the knowledge of submission modalities for candidatures, the Guide for the candidates and the Guidelines for filling in the application form represent two very useful tools, because of the knowledge of formal and eligibility requirements too. The first document contains all information about characteristics of LLP, subprogrammes and transversal actions. The second document is annexed to the changes and the development of application forms that are updated every year

How to assess the organisational and management skills of the organisation Using check list The European Union Commission and the National Agencies, being aware of the complexity regarding the modalities to access for funds and of the consequent risk for making material mistakes, provide tools to help the candidates to control rightly the candidature documents that must be submitted together with the respective apply form. In general, it is about check lists included in the different documents analyzed in this TU, which the planners can make use of them to test that all is right.

How to assess the organisational and management skills of the organisation Contents: Procedural and legal basis of LLP. Institutional documents of setting up and management of LLP: European Decision, Calls for Proposals. Support documents: Guide for the candidate, guide for filling in the apply form. Formal requirements of eligibility for candidatures. Essential requirements for submitting a quality proposal. Specific priorities of Italy, Greece and United Kingdom for 2008 mobility calls for proposals. Check list to control of candidature documents.