Implementation of the EU project
In the rest of the text, we have prepared for you what the implementation procedure looks like and what are the important characteristics that users of grant funds should pay attention to.
What does the implementation of the EU project look like?
Searching for the optimal EU tender, through which they would like to co-finance some of the desired project activities, is only part of the job for potential beneficiaries of grants, and often the easier part of the job. Projects that are co-financed have a maximum prescribed duration, usually up to 36 months depending on the complexity of the tender and related activities, and this period is called implementation.
In the implementation of the EU project, the users must realize all the activities and costs that they have specified in the project application and follow the given administrative frameworks by the competent authorities that are in charge of the entire system, as well as for the supervision of the user's project itself.
In the rest of the text, we have prepared for you what the implementation procedure looks like and what are the important characteristics that grant users should pay attention to.
When does the implementation of the EU project start?
We can say that project implementation begins with the evaluation process by an intermediary body, and considering that projects usually go through 4 stages of evaluation, it is important for the user to constantly monitor the messages he receives through the electronic system where projects are registered (Efondovi system).
There is a possibility that during the preparation of the project you addressed certain things unclearly, so the intermediary body will send a request in the form of a "Request for explanation", and each of these requests has a deadline for an answer, otherwise your application will be excluded from further evaluation.
Deadlines are present as a mechanism even after the project has been positively evaluated and scored, because in further stages you deal with things of an administrative nature, such as opening a special bank account to which you will receive grants, then a blank promissory note from the beneficiary, certain documentation that needs to be filled out and certified, and send back to intermediary body etc.
When you successfully go through all these stages and after you sign the Agreement with the competent authorities, it will be generated in electronic form in the previously mentioned Efonodos system upon signature, and you will start the implementation activities for which you signed up.
Initial steps in the implementation of the EU project
After the electronic generation of the Grant Agreement, the user is required to create the following:
Project procurement plan
The initial plan for submitting the Advance Payment Request
Initial plan for submission of Request for reimbursement of funds
In the procurement plan, the user creates a timeline of activities where it clearly indicates when certain activities and costs will be realized and is linked to the project budget that we put in the project application.
The beneficiary of grants may or may not request an advance, but if he decides to do so, then the advance must also be related to the dynamics of the project's activities and your needs in order to implement the project as optimally as possible. An advance can be requested in the amount of up to 40% of the grant received, and the condition for the payment of the advance is the delivery of a bank guarantee to the intermediary body that will supervise the implementation of the project.
The initial plan of the request for reimbursement of funds is also traceability in the realization of acceptable project costs, and it is being worked on for a period of three months within which the indicated costs should be realized.
The request for reimbursement of the funds is submitted by the user after independently realizing the activities and related costs, documenting the entire procedure and then requesting acceptable categories of costs from the competent authority.
After the expiration of the mentioned period of 3 months, the user has 15 days to collect all the documentation confirming the realization of eligible expenses and to enter it into the Efondovi system and send it to the competent intermediary body for verification.
Procurement as part of the project
Not all projects have the same amount of activities and associated costs, so even their realization is not always equally complex. In the case of those projects that require action in accordance with the "Rules on the implementation of procurement procedures for non-obligatory persons of the Law on Public Procurement", which are part of the official tender documentation, the beneficiary of the grant must publish the Call for Bids on the website www.struktrunifondovi.hr for the next :
1.
For the procurement of goods and services whose total estimated value of the procurement item without VAT is over HRK 400,000.00,
2.
For procurement of works above HRK 1,000,000.00.
Those users whose project costs exceed the indicated amounts are obliged to carry out procurement in accordance with the Rules, and in case of non-compliance with these Rules, the procurement procedure is subject to financial corrections defined in the Rules on Financial Corrections, which form an integral part of the terms of the Grant Agreement.
We wrote about financial corrections over EU projects in one of the previous blogs:
Rules on financial corrections of EU projects
Tips for a more successful implementation of the EU project
The goal of every beneficiary of grants is the successful implementation of their own project and the avoidance of any financial correction. The process sometimes looks complicated, and it can depend on the complexity of the project activities themselves, so focus on the following:
1.
Study the entire tender documentation, as well as the Grant Agreement. Within the mentioned documents, the user is clearly guided and explained which things are allowed during the implementation, and which are subject to corrective measures
2.
Take the time to successfully prepare your project, because you will have to implement what you write in the application form. The more qualitatively the time course of the activities in which they will be realized is worked out, the fewer operational problems you will have.
3.
Document each procurement process and file it in sequence, as this makes things significantly easier for yourself when submitting a Request for Reimbursement.
