Description:This 2-day seminar will be dedicated to looking at the key elements of the Structural and Cohesion Funds Regulations for the 2014-2020 period (and therefore much of the regulations affecting EAFRD and EMFF). It will examine practical challenges relating to the implementation of the new operational programmes. It will include detailed descriptions on how the rules have changed from the last programming period, under three headings: 1) programme finance and management 2) financial management and 3) financial control and audit.
The first part of the seminar considers the implications of the new result-orientation emphasis for programmes and projects, and the challenge of the new performance framework. We consider the impact of the new accounting year on financial planning, flows and management. There is a special session on how ESF has evolved and the new emphasis on simplification by using the simplified cost options. There will be a keynote intervention from a Polish Managing Authority, assessing the key issues, lessons and challenges for programme implementation in Poland. This will include reference to simplification, the ex ante conditionalities, the use of new instruments, respecting horizontal priorities, targets to be achieved, the selection of operations, as well as financial management and control.
The second part of the seminar examines the new monitoring and evaluation requirements and considers how best to set targets and measure impact. A range of implementation issues will be discussed, including national rules and “gold-plating”, versus simplification, achieving synergies with other funding sources, integrating horizontal priorities, and using new funding instruments. Numerous case studies will be introduced.
Target group:
The seminar is aimed at all economic actors in the Structural Funds /Cohesion Fund policy-making and implementation process, including Managing, Certifying, Audit authorities, Intermediate Bodies, and national, regional and local officials or representatives. It is also designed for project sponsors and applicants, as well as other implementing bodies, including agencies with an economic development role (such as regional development agencies), educational and training establishments, and other local partners, including consultants and NGOs.
Learning methodology
The seminar will consist of a series of illustrated presentations given by senior national practitioners and expert consultants. Ample time will be available for question and answer sessions, discussions and exchanges of experience. There will be practical workshops and exercises on calculation of the grant, revenue-generating projects, options for using flat-rates and standardized unit costs, irregularities, and setting budgets and targets for the Performance Framework.
Objectives:
By the end of the seminar, participants should have a clear understanding of the rules for the new programming period and how the challenges for implementation are being addressed. This includes reference to detailed management procedures and best practices for implementation, as well as the use of tools to measure the effects of interventions.
