European Union European Regional Development Fund

1. European Union European Regional Development Fund Specific NPP ProceduresPart 1Niclas ForslingKirsti MijnhijmerFirst Level Control Event6 November 2008, Copenhagen

2. Application Procedure & Decision • Calls for applications: • Main projects: 1 or 2 calls per year • Preparatory projects: continuous call • Application Form: • Part 1 (Word): general information, project description, contribution to NPP concepts, indicators • Part 2 (Word): description of work packages • Part 3 (Excel): total project budget and financing plan, partner information, cost budget and financing plan per partner, common cost budget • Supporting Documents: • Budget breakdown forms for each partner and common cost budget • Signed Match Funding Commitments for each partner or financial contributor • Calculation models for proportional office costs if applicable • VAT statements if applicable

3. Application Form – Part 1 • Section 1: Project Information • Project title • Start and end dates • Priority • Target area • Total project budget and total funding request • Funding sources • Checklist supporting documents • Signed by authorised person in the LP organisation, accepting full liability and responsibility for project • Section 2: Partner Information • List of project partners • List of associated partners

4. Application Form – Part 1 • Section 3: Project Content • Synopsis • Project’s aims and objectives • General project description • Justification for approval • Section 4: Contribution to the NPP Concepts • Added value: products & services • Transnationality and transnational impact • Triple helix partnership or context • Section 5: Integration Horizontal Principles • Equal opportunity • Sustainable development • Section 6: Alignment European and domestic strategies • Lisbon & Gothenburg Agendas • Other

5. Application Form – Part 1 • Section 7: Communication Strategy • Internal communication and decision making structure • External communication strategy • Compliance with EU publicity requirements • Section 8: Total Budget and Financial Plan • Copy from Part 3 of the Application • Section 9: Indicators To measure progress towards achieving project and programme objectives • General indicators: incl. equal opportunities and number of SMEs • Priority specific indicators (activity, output and results): including number of products and services • Project specific indicators

6. Application Form – Part 2 • Structure • Activities structured into work packages • Maximum 5 work packages • WP 1 “Management, coordination and communication” • Work Package Description • Title • Strategic focus • Responsible partner and other partners involved • Expected outcome • Estimated % of total budget • Work package summary • Activity Plan incl. key dates for all activities in the WP

7. Application Form – Part 3 • Structure • Total project budget and financing plan • Partner information • Partner cost budget and financing plan • Common cost budget • Page1: Overall budget table for whole project per year • Project costs • Financing plan

8. Application Form – Part 3 • Partner Page1: Partner Information • Organisation name, legal status • Project title • Contact details • Bank information • Information about organisation: • Aim and core activities • Interest in the project • Use of project results in the organisation • Previous experience with ERDF funded projects

9. Application Form – Part 3 • Partner Page 2: Cost Budget & Financing Plan • Structure: • Cost budget per budget line per year • Financing Plan: match funding and NPP funding sources • Questions regarding supporting documentation and VAT status • Signature and stamp authorised person in partner organisation

10. Application Form – Part 3 • Partner Page 2: Cost Budget • Per budget line per year: • Staff costs including social contributions • Travel and accommodation • External experts • Office costs (directly allocated) • Office costs (distributed proportionally) • Promotion / publications, seminars / conferences, meetings • Equipment and supplies (Including small scale investments) • Other costs • In kind costs • Common costs • Project revenues • The cost budget must be broken down in a separate form to demonstrate that all costs are eligible, actual and realistic

11. Application Form – Part 3 • Partner Page 2: Financing Plan • Public match funding: • 2 types: in kind or cash • In kind contribution must equal the in kind costs • Match funding must be supported by a signed match funding commitment per partner or financial contributor • NPP co-financing: • Funding source depends on the location of the partner • Lead Partners can only use MS ERDF, Norwegian or Icelandic ERDF equivalent • Grant rate depends on source • Total financing plan must equal total partner costs budget

12. Application Form – Part 3 • Partner Page 2: Questions and signature • Supporting evidence common cost budget if applicable • Distribution model proportional office costs if applicable • VAT declaration if the organisation cannot recover VAT • The form should be signed by the person responsible for the partner organisation

13. Application Form – Part 3 • Partner Page 3: Common Cost Budget • This table should only be filled in for the holder of the common costs. • The individual shares should be filled in on the budget line “add: share of common cost” in each partner’s cost budget. • Supporting evidence should be provided

14. Supporting Documents • Budget Breakdown Template • This form should be filled in for: • Each partner • Common cost budget if applicable • The form demonstrates that the costs are eligible, actual and realistic and follow the NPP 2007-2013 Common Eligibility Rules.

15. Supporting Documents • Match Funding Commitment • This form should be filled in: • by each partner • or by each organisation providing public match funding • Two types of match funding: cash or in kind • In Euros • This form should be signed and stamped

16. Application Procedure

17. Application Procedure After receipt and registration: • Admissibility and eligibility assessment by the Programme Secretariat • To ensure that applications meet the technical requirements in the eligibility criteria • Appraisal Regional Advisory Groups (RAGs) • Assessing eligible applications from a regional perspective. Recommendation sent to Secretariat. • Programme Secretariat completes assessments and makes Decision Proposal • Decision proposal is based on final assessment and RAG recommendations • Selection of projects by Programme Monitoring Committee (PMC) • The PMC consists of national and regional representatives from 9 countries • There are 4 possible decisions: • Approval without conditions • Approval with conditions • Rejection with recommendations for resubmission • Rejection

18. Application Procedure • Grant Offer by the Managing Authority (MA) • The official decision and Grant Offer will be issued by the MA. • The document consists of: • Main decision: official decision signed by MA and PMC Chair, stating eligible budget, start and end date and reporting deadlines • Enclosure 1: detailed project description including work packages, indicators and project budget • Enclosure 2: legal conditions and responsibilities to be met by the Lead Partner • A Partnership Agreement needs to be in place before Enclosure 2 can be signed. • The Partnership Agreement could possibly give information about the internal division of tasks and other administrative agreements within the partnership

19. Project partner: Statement of Expenditure + documentation • National controller: • First level control • Certificate of Expenditure • -FLC Checklist Lead Partner: - Activity report - Project Claim - Certificates of Expenditure - FLC Checklists JPS-MA-CA Assessment and payment of grant Project partner: -Certificate of Expenditure + FLC Checklist Claim Procedure

20. Document retention NOTE: In case of an audit, all project partners are instructed preserve copies of ALL supporting documents until three years have passed after Programme closure. We recommend that supporting documentation is preserved at least until year 2020. Lead Partner and Partners must also consider national legislation regarding preservation of accounting material. NOTE: The bodies responsible for each nation’s first level control system are responsible for collecting and preserving documentation from all first level controls performed. We recommend that supporting documentation is preserved at least until year 2020. First level controllers must also consider national legislation regarding preservation of accounting material.

21. Project partner: Statement of Expenditure + documentation • National controller: • First level control • Certificate of Expenditure • -FLC Checklist Lead Partner: - Activity report - Project Claim - Certificates of Expenditure - FLC Checklist JPS-MA-CA Assessment and payment of grant Project partner: -Certificate of Expenditure + FLC Checklist Supporting Documents to National Controllers • National Controllers will most likely require the following documents in order to complete a first level of control: • Statement of Expenditure (signed by authorized person) • Ledger for the current reporting period (every partner should keep separate project accounts) • Time sheets (for part time employees) • Copies of all invoices and receipts • Employment contracts (for full time employees) • Model to show the office costs distributed proportional + supporting documentation (when applicable) • Other relevant documentation Note: It is up to each programme partner country to establish what documentation they will require. This is only an indicative list of required documentation for the first level control provided by the Managing Authority.

22. General information • Two types of budgets in an application • Project specific cost budget • Common cost budget When claiming and distributing common cost throughout the project partnership: • Distribution of common cost is made by an invoice between the different partners, the invoice should be supported by documentation that supports to common cost normally a ledger. • The invoice from the holder of the Common cost to the other partners has to specify the cost in accordance with the applications Budget lines. • Each partner will state their share of common cost in their Statement of Expenditure • The partner share of Common Cost will be certified by the national controller for each partner

23. Statement of Expenditure by MS Partners to National Controller 1 (6)

24. Statement of Expenditure by MS Partners to National Controller 2 (6)

25. Statement of Expenditure by MS Partners to National Controller 3 (6)

26. Statement of Expenditure by Partners to National Controller 4 (6)

27. Statement of Expenditure by Partners to National Controller 5 (6)

28. Statement of Expenditure by Partners to National Controller 6 (6)

29. Supporting document to Statement of Expenditure • Currency conversion sheet All project partners have to state their expenditure in Euro, only programme partner countries using Euro are Finland and Ireland. All other partners except for Finnish and Irish partners have to convert their currency into Euros. This is made by applying the Currency conversion sheet, and its principles: Currency conversion sheet (for non Euro partners) The currency used in the Northern Periphery Programme 2007-2013 is Euro (EUR). Consequently all non Euro partners must convert their expenses from national currency into Euro. All costs should be converted using the monthly Commission rate for the last month in the current reporting period. The Commission exchange rates is found on the official website: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/inforeuro/index.cfm?fuseaction=countries&Language=en

30. Currency Conversion Sheet 1 (2)

31. Currency Conversion Sheet 2 (2)

32. Project partner: Statement of Expenditure + documentation • National controller: • First level control • Certificate of Expenditure • -FLC Checklist • Lead Partner: • - Activity report • Project Claim • - Certificates of Expenditure • - FLC Checklists JPS-MA-CA Assessment and payment of grant Project partner: -Certificate of Expenditure + FLC Checklist Supporting documents from National Controllers 1 (2) • National Controllers will send two main documents to the project partner: • Certificate of Expenditure • First Level Control Checklist

33. Certificate of Expenditure 1 (4)

34. Certificate of Expenditure 2 (4)

35. Certificate of Expenditure 3 (4)

36. Certificate of Expenditure 4 (4)

37. Project partner: Statement of Expenditure + documentation • National controller: • First level control • Certificate of Expenditure • - FLC Checklist Lead Partner: - Activity report - Project Claim - Certificates of Expenditure - FLC Checklists JPS-MA-CA Assessment and payment of grant Project partner: -Certificate of Expenditure + FLC Checklist Documents from Partner to Lead Partner • All partners have to sumbit the following documents to the Lead Partner: • Certificate of Expenditure (blue ink version) • First Level Control Checklist (blue ink version) • Additional documents which may be part of the Partnership Agreement: • Partner Activity Report (as part of the aggregated activity report) • Other documents agreed within the project partnership

38. Project partner: Statement of Expenditure + documentation • National controller: • First level control • Certificate of Expenditure • -FLC Checklist • Lead Partner: • - Activity report • Project Claim • - Certificates of Expenditure • - FLC Checklists JPS-MA-CA Assessment and payment of grant Project partner: -Certificate of Expenditure + FLC Checklist Documents from Lead Partner to the Secretariat • In order to make a complete Progress Report the Lead Partner has to submitt the following documents to the Secretariat: • Activity Report • Project Claim • Certificate of Expenditure (blue ink version) from all partners • First Level Control Checklists (blue ink version) from all partners • Note that the Activity Report and the Project Claim have to be submitted both in blue ink version, by post, as well as an electronic version by e-mail.

39. Project partner: Statement of Expenditure + documentation • National controller: • First level control • Certificate of Expenditure • -FLC Checklist • Lead Partner: • - Activity report • Project Claim • - Certificates of Expenditure • - FLC Checklists JPS-MA-CA Assessment and payment of grant Project partner: -Certificate of Expenditure + FLC Checklist Documents from Lead Partner to the Secretariat

40. Project Claim • Project Claim: formal declaration by the LP to receive ERDF or ERDF equivalent co-financing. • Project Claim Page 1: • Reporting period • Claim number • Project title • Priority • Contact details • Bank details

41. Project Claim • Project Claim Page 1 continued: • Checklist of supporting documents • Questions about other funding measures and the EC publicity requirements • Questions about the expenditure stated in the Project Claim • Signature of authorised person in LP organisation

42. Project Claim • Project Claim Page 2 • Overview of total project claim per budget line. • Total project expenditure per budget line per funding source • Total public match funding paid out • This table is automatically generated by page 3, the Summary of Certificates of expenditure

43. Project Claim • Page 3: Summary of Certificates of Expenditure • Summary of CoE is the ”calculator” to ensure that the project claim has been compiled correctly • The LP copies from each partner’s CoE, the certified expenditure and paid public match funding per budget line.

44. Documents from Lead Partner to the Secretariat • Changes in project implementation • All changes in project implementation have to be communicated to the Secretariat and need preapproval before becoming eligible. The degree of the change (major or minor) will be determined by the Secretariat: • Rule of thumb: • Please describe the change in the budget, activity plan, partnership, project co-ordinator staff, project time period and or indicators to the Secretariat in an e-mail. • Justify the need for change • Describe the impact on project implementation. • Maximum number requests two per year.

45. Documents from Lead Partner to the Secretariat • Changes in project implementation • Minor changes are: • A change with no major impact on project implementation and less than 40 000 Euro increase in one project budgetline • A change of a minor impact is approved in regular correspondence between the Lead Partner and the Secretariat, i.e request and answer by e-mail. • All changes are to be listed in the project activity report and should confirm the picture that the changes are of a minor degree when being described in its full context. • Major changes are: • A change with a major impact on the projects implementation or more than 40 000 Euro increase in one project budgetline • A change with a major impact normally requires a formal request in a specific template and the Secretariat will provide information on how to make that request. • Different bodies can be responsible for approving the change (Managing Authority and Programme Monitoring Committee) • Major changes on the overall project can normally only be allowed once during the project lifetime.

46. Project partner: Statement of Expenditure + documentation • National controller: • First level control • Certificate of Expenditure • -FLC Checklist • Lead Partner: • - Activity report • Project Claim • - Certificates of Expenditure • - FLC Checklists JPS-MA-CA Assessment and payment of grant Project partner: -Certificate of Expenditure + FLC Checklist What happens after submitting the Progress Report

47. What happens after submitting the Progress Report • Project Monitoring by the Programme Secretariat • Coherence of activities with objectives • Concrete actions meeting programmes horizontal principles • Quality of partnership and distribution of roles between the partners • Current degree of project progress achieved • Efficiency and Effectiveness • Measurement of quality and quantity of project outputs and results • Impact, Added value and Sustainability • Improvement proposed and anticipated results • Analysis of project expenditure and other budgetary matters

48. What happens after submitting the Progress Report • Managing Authority • Content and compilation check: • Completeness of documents • Correct compilation of claim documents • Certification by national controller • Correct calculation of amounts claimed • Issuing a Decision of payment • Forwarding the Decision of Payment to Certifying Authority

49. What happens after submitting the Progress Report • Payment procedure • Decision of Payment to Certifying Authority • Final payment check before transfer of programme funding • Entitlement of final beneficiary to receive co-funding • National match funding has to be paid out before a claim to the NPP can be put forward • Payment and payment notification to Lead partner • Payment will be allocated in accordance with grant contract and approved claim • Receipt of Grant by Lead partner • Allocation of Grant to individual project partners

50. Overview Claim & Payment Procedure