1. Supporting voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations to understand the information requirements when bidding for and receiving European funding

2. Types of European Structure and Investment Funds (ESIF) 2014 - 2020 Cohesion Fund European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development European Maritime and Fisheries Fund European Social Fund (ESF)

3. PURPOSE OF ESIF Improve local growth Create jobs (by investing in innovation, business, skills and employment)

4. HOW DOES ESF DO THIS? Removing barriers to participation in quality employment Encouraging social inclusion (combating poverty and discrimination) Developing potential and existing workforce by investing in education, training and vocational skills.

5. HOW IS THE PROGRAMME MANAGED? The Department of Work and Pensions is the Managing Authority for ESF in England. The Big Lottery Fund is delivering a portion of this through “Building Better Opportunities” The priorities for Cornwall and the IOS will be set by the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) There will be Lead Partner for all projects in Cornwall and IOS ( as yet undecided) Each project will have a lead organisation

6. Purpose of Today Brief update on ‘calls’ Understand what information organisations must provide:  to support partnership bidding  when receiving European funding Could you provide this now if asked? If not, what support do you need?

7. Calls Process There is a 2-stage application process. Outline applications are submitted first. These are assessed (1) to weed out any which are ineligible, and (2) against the selection criteria: strategic fit, value for money, management & control, deliverability, compliance. The Managing Authority makes the assessment and seeks advice from the local ESIF/LEP committee on local strategic fit. Based on their outline applications some projects are then invited to submit Stage 2 Full applications will then be assessed against the selection criteria again

8. Information requirements To support partnership bidding  concise and detailed info required  in v. short timescales to meet deadlines When receiving European funding  very specific & stringent requirements  monitoring and reporting systems required

9. Information to support partnership bidding Lead Organisation: Responsible for all legal and financial accountability of the project Proven track record of managing complex projects relative to size of project and money involved Clear vision re priorities for the area/expertise Good connections in sector to ensure cross selection or organisations are able to be involved Strategies for managing and coordinating the project Resources to respond to changing needs

10. Partnership Structures All organisations in partnership that have a delivery role need to sign partnership agreement Lead organisation needs to be legally constituted body in own right ( incorporated) or if consortium – single organisation identified or created (otherwise each organisation in consortium will need to individually sign partnership agreement). Once the partnership agreement is signed any changes in partners will need to be discussed and agreed with Lottery beforehand

11. Partnership Structures cont’d All partners need to be in place prior to submission of Stage 1 application Partnership agreement must set out responsibilities of each organisation

12. What needs to be in the partnership agreement? Purpose or aim of partnership Lead organisation Partner organisations Financial and contractual arrangements Roles and responsibilities Policies and procedures Administration meetings and record keeping Monitoring and reporting Communication Branding and Publicity Duration and Changes Sustainability

13. Delivering European Funding Checking project is on tract to meet targets and outcomes Checking it is addressing cross cutting themes of ESF Checking all expenditure is eligible and full evidence is provided Ensuring branding and publicity guidelines are adhered to Checking eligibility of participants Clawback!

14. Risk Management Minimum contract value: £330,000 ( more likely £500,000 to £1m) – likely only 20% of grants will be under £1m Full cost recovery: additional staff/resources Failures by lead organisation/partners Checks on participant eligibility Participants who leave project unexpectedly Clawback – set up systems and processes needed to capture/store and report information and evidence necessary

15. Brief update on ESIF opportunities: Current open calls in Cornwall and IOS – none Latest information – calls will open around October 2015

16. What happens next? Gaps in your ability to:  provide bidding info?  meet monitoring & reporting requirements? Start to think about now:  How can you fill those gaps? What must you do?  Do you have the skills and resources within your organisation or do you need support?  What specific support would help you?

17. What happens next? More calls will be announced through the year CRCC & PCDT or VSF will update you as they are released Big Lottery opt-in ‘Building Better Opportunities’ Other ‘opt-ins’ calls including Skills Funding Agency

18. For more information www.networkforeurope.eu www.gov.uk/european-structural-investment-funds www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/esf