Tips on managing EU-funded projects
Delivering a 2-3 year EU funded project requires considerable project management skills, accountability and political tact.
Every project is different.
There is no one size fits all approach but there are a few vital factors to success.
The first thing I want to talk about is the management committee of your partnership or consortium.
In all projects there is a lead partner who acts on behalf of the project and is the legal entity that draws down the money
and disperses it to the other partners and accounts for the money and the delivery of the project on a day-to-day basis.
But don't for a minute think that the lead partner can do what they want.
The lead partner is authorised on behalf of the management group.
The first thing a project needs is a partnership agreement between its members.
This outlines who does what, it defines, authorises and delegates powers to the Lead partner
and outlines all contingency issues, what happens if partners disagree and fall out.
What is the process if a partner leaves during the life of the project.
What is the process in wrapping up the project at the end and who owns what assets etc.
The agreement should also outline ownership of intellectual property rights and other obligations of partners.
It is critical to get this right early on.
The management group must meet regularly and get reports on all activities done in its name.
It should also make final decisions on problem issues as they arise.
A partner dropping out during the life of a project can be quite disruptive.
You should have this addressed in the partnership agreement and a contingency process for replacing a partner.
However, this must be agreed by the EU management authority involved before any new partners can take part.
Remember that you will have a legally binding contract with the EU as well as the legally binding partnership agreement
so make sure you know what you are signing up to before signing on the dotted line.
The next issue I want to talk about is staffing.
If you are only getting co-funding of say 50 or 55% then, in effect, you are providing existing staff to the project
and the EU is providing the project money for the current staff to deliver actions.
If, however, you get 80% co-funding then you are probably looking at recruiting project staff
specifically to deliver the project on top of current staff numbers.
The lead partner will probably be the legal employer unless set out differently in the partnership agreement.
Getting the right reporting structure to the management group is very important.
Making sure there are proper contracts of employment in place, that recruitment is done in line with EU guidelines
and that all employment law and obligations to staff are met and these are basic requirements.
The third issue to discuss is finance and reporting.
I have already mentioned the issue regarding the percentage of co-funding but here I am discussing the actual draw down of EU funds.
Each programme is different but many do not provide up-front funding.
Thus, you may need to carry the costs of setting up and running the project for the first six months
and be able to wait another three or four months to receive your first traunch of funding.
This is a major issue for many projects and a deterrent for some to sign the final contracts.
Once the first six month payment is made then the following tend to happen more easily and, of course,
the last payment will be received six months after the end of the project.
The EU always makes good its end of the contract but not necessarily quickly.
The draw down is based upon reporting of financial and non-financial outcomes. 43 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:48,000 It is important to get your accounting system right up front.
Any issues in the report that raises questions, that comes back to you, puts off the payment date of finance.
The cleaner the paperwork, the quicker you receive your money.
The non-financial relate to your key perfomance indicators and deliverable outcomes
as set out in your contact, which usually comes from your initial application.
Getting your non-financial outputs and indicators is just as important as the financial ones.
Again, the less questions to be asked in the return, the quicker you get paid.
Another related issue is the interim and final evaluation reports.
If the project is 3-years long you will probably need an interim and final evaluation.
Shorter projects need a final evaluation only.
These evaluatiuons aim to assess what happened, look at what was learned
and what can be shared as best practice with other European projects and institutions.
It is possible to write these evaluations internally, if you have the skills within the partnership.
However, many projects would bring in a consultant or researcher to do this work.
These evaluations are very important and, properly done, can assist with the dissemination of best practice and knowledge of the project.
A few final comments:
Please make sure all the EU and programme logos are included on all stationery, paperwork and promotions.
It is a condition of the contract and is seen as bad form, as you are not acknowledging the people giving you the money.
Having an initial plan is great but remember that these are, in the main, pilot projects,
things will change, you will find out that some assumptions you made were wrong 63 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:29,000 and you will learn new things which will affect the future direction of the project.
All of this is good stuff, just remember 2 things.
Record the learning for the final evaluation and get the agreement of the EU authority for changes to the plan before you do them.
That being said, the EU has learned more from the unsuspected things learned that anything else...
pilot projects will go where they lead and do not try and predetermine the outcome.
Finally, if you are really interested in EU funding on an ongoing basis then join a network.
If your organisation is big enough then set up an EU funding function within the organisation.
This can be internal staff, outsourced to consultants or researchers or a mixture of both.
The more you are involved the more you learn, the more contacts and potential partners you know
and you can even get to input to the EU's own evaluation of programmes.
This is the point where I mention that my contact details will follow shortly and if I can be of assistance then please get in touch.
The EU can provide significant amounts of funding to assist your organisation try new models, methods or address newly arising issues.
This funding can make things happen that might not happen in other circumstances
but it does require taking a serious interest in the area.
Always remember that you don't have to lead a project to get involved.
Initially act as a junior partner and get involved at a slower pace.
That being said, EU funding programmes are always worth exploring.
Good luck.
www.fundingmaster.eu, info@fundingmaster.eu