EuropeAid Cooperation Office

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TACIS CBC SPF TACIS Cross-Border Co-operation
Small Project Facility

• EuropeAid Co-operation Office
• Brussels

BSR Partner Search Forum, Gdansk (Poland)
16-17/06/2003 Catherine BODSON
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Tacis CBC SPF Programme

• Cross-border co-operation is one of the
  multi-country programmes of the Tacis Programme
• Small Project Facility The support is provided
  by means of grants (max. 200.000)
• Tacis CBC SPF has this year a budget of 6,7 m
  (budget year 2002)
• Indicative budget next Call for Proposals
  (December 2003) 9,2 M

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The Tacis CBC Small Project Facility

• Wider Europe Communication
• (03/2003)
• 1.the EU should aim to develop a zone of
  prosperity and a friendly neighbourhoodwith whom
  the EU enjoys close, peaceful and co-operative
  relations

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Wider Europe Communication

• 2. Promote regional and subregional co-operation
  and integration that are the preconditions for
  political stability, economic development and the
  reduction of poverty and social division in our
  shared environment.

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Overall Objectives Tacis CBC SPF

• Have an impact on living standards in the border
  regions of Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine
• Have a cross-border impact to foster
  co-operation between regions and local
  authorities in the NIS, EU and CEC
• To support projects addressing a common CBC
  problem or developing the partners competencies
  on both sides of the borders

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Focuses on

• The cross-border dimension of projects and the
  local/regional dimension
• The common challenges
• The partnerships
• The sustainability of co-operation
• The co-ordination with other funding sources

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Budget and duration

• SPF projects min. 100.000
• max. 200.000
• MPF (Micro Project Facility)
• min. 10.000
• max. 50.000
• Partners co-financing min 20
• Max. duration 18 months SPF
• 6 months MPF
• ! Guidelines revised in September 2003
  
  

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Spheres of Co-operation

• Just one please!
• Local Economic development
• Environment and Energy Efficiency
• Administrative Reforms
• Social Affairs

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Spheres of co-operation
Administrative Reforms Management of local
and regional self-government Decision-making
procedures in local and regional
authorities Local regional democracy -
Participative approach Finance and
budgeting Decision-making procedures in local
and regional authorities Relations with the
public (e.g. information provision)
Local Economic Development SME support and
development Economic planning and industrial
conversion Economic development with sectoral
focus Development and tourism strategies
Strategies for tackling unemployment Rural
diversification
Environment Energy Efficiency Environmental
protection and improvement of standards Waste
management/ treatment strategies Transport and
traffic management Efficient energy supply and
monitoring of energy use Use of alternative
sources of energy
Social Affairs Urban and social health
policy Integration of national minorities and
disabled people Youth policy Education Fight
and prevention of trafficking in human beings
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Eligible Partners (1)

• Core partners
• Local or Regional Authorities in the eligible
  regions
• Association of Local and Regional Authorities
• Entity closely linked to the local or regional
  authority (Regional Development Agency) and
  mainly owned by the authority
• Min 2 core partners NIS/EU or NIS/Phare

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Partnership ? (2)

• Additional partners
• Role of the eventual EU partner
• Local or Regional Authorities in the eligible
  regions
• NGOs
• Public Utilities
• Locally or Regionally based education centres
• Subcontractors for a limited and specific part of
  the project (may even be commercial enterprises)

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Examples of Eligible Activities

• Training of personnel
• Study visits
• Establishment of best practice and procedures
• System analysis and transfer of knowledge
• Establishment of advisory and development
  functions
• Sectoral and regional studies
• Environmental management
• Human and institutional capacity building measures

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Types of non-eligible projects

• Individual sponsorships
• Individual scholarships
• One-off conferences
• Projects exceeding 18 months
• Projects submitted by other than local/regional
  authorities or associations of local/regional
  authorities
• Singular cultural events

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Project Selection Cycle

• The PSC starts as from publication of the Call
  for Proposals
• 3 months to prepare a project and send it to the
  EC, where tha application is registered
• Evaluation Committee on Administrative compliance
  and Eligibility
• Evaluation by experts and inter-service
  consultation
• Second Evaluation Committee for final decision
• Approval of decision by hierarchy

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Evaluation and Selection Criteria

• Administrative Compliance
• Eligibility of applicants, partners and project
• Evaluation of the quality of the proposal
• Financial Evaluation of project
• Evaluation grid

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Grounds for rejection of a proposal

• Application received after the closing date
• Application is incomplete
• The applicant or partners are ineligible
• The project is ineligible
• The project is not relevant
• The relevance and quality of the proposal is
  lower than that of the selected proposals
• Financial quality is insufficient
• After consultation with other services, project
  is rejected (overlap, bad experience, etc)

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Other Sources of Funding

• INTERREG Finnish / Russian border BSR
• Phare CBC on CEEC / NIS borders

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Co-ordination with the other Programmes

• Exchange of information with Delegation, INTERREG
  Secretariats and other services of the Commission
• Developing common procedures with INTERREG and
  Phare in view of the future guidelines
• Priority to support projects with a clear link to
  an INTERREG or a Phare project (projects, which
  could not be implemented without both fundings)

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What happens after signature of the contract?

• Project partners
• - Transparency between partners
• - Communication with project partners and with
  Project Manager
• - Role of partners
• - Activities of each partner
• Tacis financing covers
• - The activities for the benefit of the Tacis
  partner
• - The input of the different experts of the
  project travel expenses/per diems
• - The equipment purchases of the Tacis partner

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The internal organisation of your project

• The Project Team
• ? The key implementing instrument
• - Project Co-ordinator
• - Financial Co-ordinator
• - Partners contact persons

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The Project Team (1/3)

• Duties of the Project Co-ordinator
• Co-ordination of the projects (making things
  happen)
• Liaison with Project Managers of the EC
• Liaison with Financial Co-ordinator
• Compilation the reports
• Publication and communication on project results
• Identification of a substitute...

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The Project Team (2/3)

• Duties of the Financial Co-ordinator
• Belongs to the lead authority
• Prepares the project s financial reporting
  systems (incl. Bookkeeping)
• Close communication with the other project
  partners
• Keeps track on budget and expenditure
• Liases with the auditor
• Compiles the financial reports to the Project
  Manager AND the EC

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The Project Team (3/3)

• Partners
• Each partner identifies a contact person who is
• Actively involved at all stages and communicates
  with other partners
• Responsible for the participation of the partner
  in the project
• Ensures adequate bookkeeping
• Prepares the partners contribution to the reports

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Co-financing

• 20 of the total amount of the project
• No in-kind contribution allowed
• Types of financial contribution
• - Cash
• - Fees of civil servants (daily rates on the
  market)
• - All other expenses made by the partners for the
  project

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Before designing a project proposal

• Identify the needs/problems of the beneficiary
  country
• Identify if these needs/problems are met by
  potential partners in the border regions
• Identify the solutions adopted by other countries
  / border regions / partners
• Identify possible partnership with border regions
  and eventual EU countries

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When designing a project proposal

• Be clear !
• Be consistent
• Transparency with the project partners
• Communication with the partners
• Budget / Expenses for the benefit of the Tacis
  partner
• Staff
• Equipment
• Travel expenses and per diems
• Sustainability of the project

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Joint Projects

• Definition
• Joint projects are prepared by the project
  partners on both sides of the border and are
  implemented jointly on each side of the border
• Financing
• The Tacis funding covers the activities for the
  benefit of the Tacis partner, while
  INTERREG/Phare cover the activities of the
  EU/Phare partners
• Link between applications
• In theory, a true joint project can only be
  successful if both sides of the border receive
  the funding...

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Joint Projects

• Information Sheets until 2004
• Exchange of information with the Secretariats
  until 2004
• Neighbourhood Instrument for the 2004-2006
  period single application, single evaluation,
  allocation per border (INTERREG model)

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Post Enlargement

• No real changes except new INTERREG Programmes
• Eligible areas the same border
• Priorities of Tacis CBC SPF remain unchanged

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Assistance to Applicants

• Russia
• Kaliningrad and Southwestern Russia Catherine
  BODSON (EU Commission)
• Leningrad Oblast and Northwestern Russia
  Mia-Fatima DUBOIS-BOUSSAID (EU Commission)
• St Petersburg Liaison Office
• Belarus
• Martin EISENBEIS (EU Commission)
• National Co-ordinating Unit (NCU)
• EC Delegation in Minsk (Tacis Branch Office)

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Assistance to Applicants

• Moldova
• Martin Eisenbeis (EU Commission)
• NCU
• EC Delegation in Chisinau (Tacis Branch Office)
• Ukraine
• Corinne DELEU (EU Commission)
• NCU
• Delegation of the EU in Minsk

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The Tacis CBC SPF Team in Brussels

• Bodil PERSSON
• Programme Manager
• Catherine BODSON
• Programme Co-ordinator, Project Manager,
• Kaliningrad and SW Russia
• Mia-Fatima DUBOIS-BOUSSAID
• Project Manager, NW Russia - Leningrad Oblast
• Martin EISENBEIS
• Project manager, Belarus and Moldova
• Corinne DELEU
• Project Manager, Ukraine

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Contact details

• Tacis CBC SPF Website
• http//europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/projects/tacis
  _cbc_spf/
• index_en.htm
• The European Commission
• 1049 Brussels - Belgium
• Tel [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• e-mail firstname.lastname_at_cec.eu.int