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Semelhante a Are EU Structural Funds a relevant source of funding for my organisation?
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Are EU Structural Funds a relevant source of funding for my organisation?
- 1. Are EU Structural Funds a relevant source of funding for my organisation? Judith Stone - Third sector European team (3-SET) jstone@wcva.org.uk www.wcva.org.uk 0800 2888 329 help@wcva.org.uk Up-dated June 2013
- 2. Overview • Understand the key principles and terminology of EU Structural Funds • Understand the third sector’s role in delivering EU funded projects in Wales • Understand the support available from WCVA’s third sector European team (3-SET) • Sign post organisations to relevant information and sources of advice on EU funding
- 3. What’s all the fuss about? “David Cameron issues veiled threat to EU funding for Wales” Western Mail, 12.11.12 “Wales could lose £1bn of EU funds if cuts go ahead “ Daily Post, 25.01.14 “More European aid set to be available for Wales' poor areas” BBC News, 22.04.12
- 4. EU Structural Funds: the fundamentals • What? EU regional development aid • Who? Granted to all regions within the 28 EU Member States; two areas within Wales: West Wales & the Valleys (WW&V) and East Wales • Why? To raise the economic wealth (GDP) of regions; with a focus on regions with less than 75% EU average GDP (‘lesser developed’ regions) • When? Seven year programme cycles (2000-2006; 2007- 2013; 2014-2020) • How? Managed in Wales by the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO), part of the Welsh Government’s Finance Department • How much?...
- 5. EU Structural Funds in Wales 2014-2020 £1.4bn £300m £75m
- 6. EU Structural & Investment Funds • European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) • European Social Fund- (ESF) • Rural Development Plan (RDP) • Fisheries funds (EMFF) There are many other sources of EU funding, particularly for working with partners in other EU Member States
- 7. Principles of funding • Operational Programmes (OP) with priorities and themes for investment = the contract between the Welsh Government and the European Commission • A small number of joined up projects, aligned to Welsh Government policies • Procurement, not grants – tighter processes and competition to secure value for money • Levels of funding – from small contracts (up to £25k) to £multi-million projects
- 8. Key features • Added value • Match funding • Volunteer time as in-kind match funding • Cross cutting themes: equality of opportunity and environmental sustainability • Partnership Principle • Rules and regulations and audit • High levels of bureaucracy • Rigorous monitoring: outputs, results and impacts
- 9. How to access European Structural Funds
- 10. • Project sponsor • Joint sponsor • Contractor / supplier
- 11. EU funding in Wales 2000-2020 2000-2006 2007-2013 2014-2020 Total funding allocation £1.2bn £1.4bn £1.4bn Total no. projects > 3000 286 ? Total funding to third sector £206m £97m (£63.5m grants + £140m contracts) ? Total third sector projects 508 (319 orgs) 45 (29 orgs) ? Key features Bottom up; duplication; social; equalities Strategic; economic; procurement Social and economic focus...
- 12. Routes of access for EU Structural Funds • Direct applications to WEFO (‘lead/joint’ sponsor) – Read WEFO Guidance for Project Sponsors • Partnership approach with third party lead body • Contracting opportunities
- 13. How can WCVA help? • 3-SET support –Information –Advice on project development/’critical friend’ –Help to identify contract delivery opportunities –Training/capacity building –Events and networking • Third sector European forum (3-SEF) – network of support for lead/joint sponsors
- 14. Further information •Contact 3SET@wcva.org.uk / 0800 2888 329 • Or local groups can speak to local SET teams: http://wefo.wales.gov.uk/publications/sets/outreach/?l ang=en •www.wcva.org.uk/funding/europe •www.wefo.wales.gov.uk •www.europa.eu
Notas do Editor
- Introduce Self and 3-SET project, which is part funded by the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) using ESF and ERDF to provide information, advice and training to third sector organisations seeking to deliver the EU Structural Funds programmes in Wales 2007-2013. This is a short session to introduce basic information about EU Structural Funds in Wales. It’s designed to be basic to ensure everyone has the same base level of understanding regarding Structural Funds – some are experts and some may be new.
- The aims of the session are to: Understand the key principles and terminology of EU Structural Funds Understand the third sector’s role in delivering EU funded projects in Wales Understand the support available from WCVA’s third sector European team (3-SET) Sign post organisations to relevant information and sources of advice on EU funding The first slides will provide a brief overview of Structural Funds, to set the scene and provide context and a base level of information.
- ASK: Why are Structural Funds a big deal in Wales? Here are some quotes from the media about EU Structural Funds in Wales. EU Structural Funds attract a lot of political and media attention in Wales – why is this? Because the funding is over and above what is allocated by the UK Government to the three devolved regions through the ‘Barnett Formula’. And West Wales & the Valleys qualified for the highest level of grant aid from the EU in 1999 i.e. at the time of devolution – there was a strong sense of this being money for Wales, and people and politicians felt like they had a big stake in it. This is extra money, and we get to decide how to use it in Wales (in consultation with the EU Commission!)
- Why are Structural Funds a big deal in Wales? Because the funding is over and above what is allocated by the UK Government to the three devolved regions through the ‘Barnett Formula’. This is extra money, and we get to decide how to use it in Wales (in consultation with the EU Commission!) This is why EU funding is very political and gets a lot of media coverage in Wales. What? EU development aid Who? Granted to all regions within the 28 EU Member States. In Wales there are two areas: WW&V (“less developed”) and East Wales (“more developed”) Why? To raise the economic wealth (GDP) of regions; with a focus on regions with less than 75% EU average GDP (the ‘lesser developed’ regions). The funds are designed to promote economic development and social cohesion. When? Seven year programme cycles (2000-2006; 2007-2013; 2014-2020 How? Funds go directly to Welsh Government and are managed in Wales by the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO), part of the Welsh Government’s Finance Department How much…..
- It was confirmed in 2006 that WW&V would receive Convergence funding for 2007-2013 and at this point, our average GDP was just below the 75% threshold. Our GDP remains around 73% of the EU average, therefore West Wales & the Valleys has qualified again for the highest level of EU development aid for 2014-2020. Cornwall is the only other region in the UK to qualify as a ‘lesser developed’ region for the highest level of EU development aid. This map of Wales identifies the unitary authorities that are eligible for EU funding, and the areas remain unchanged from the previous programmes: WW&V (list 15 LA areas) - £1.4bn EU funding, total investment with match funding = £3.2bn RCE (list 7 LA areas) - £300m EU funding, up lift from £97m in current programme ; total value with match funding = £600m Ireland – Wales – TBC (current = EUR 70m) for projects delivered in partnership by organisations in Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire and South West Wales with the regions of Dublin, Mid East and South East in Ireland and the adjacent areas of Swansea and Flintshire and Wrexham
- Parts of Wales benefit from four funds and collectively these four funds are known as the European Structural & Investment Funds: ERDF typically funds capital interventions: buildings, sites; infrastructure (physical and ICT); business support etc ESF invests in people: employability, young people, skills, training etc Rural Development Plan (RDP) – run by WG, with some funding available at local level through the LEADER programme, administered by Local Action Groups Fisheries funds – run by UK Gov’t: LIMITED KNOWLEDGE There are many other sources of EU funding, particularly for working with partners in other EU Member States eg Interreg, Horizon 2020, Erasmus+ TODAY WE ARE FOCUSSING ON ESF
- These are to core principles of EU funding: Operational Programmes are negotiated and agreed by WEFO and the European Commission. They govern how the programmes will be delivered in West Wales and the Valleys and East Wales, including the priorities for funding and the programme level outputs, results and impacts. Each region within the EU will have these documents. This is essentially what each project is delivering against. Structural Funds make up a small percentage of investment in Wales: EU funds represent around £300 million a year of investment, covering a wide range of investments in people, businesses, infrastructure, and urban and rural development, whilst the total WG budget for 2012-13 was £15bn. Therefore the driving principles from the WG perspective for the 2007 round onwards are that the EU funds should be used in a strategic way, focussed on a relatively small number of joined up projects (around 300) that are aligned to WG policies. The European Commission also want to see tighter processes used, including procurement of delivery opportunities to promote transparency and competition to get the best impact and value for money out of the programmes. This will help to avoid issues with State Aid, EU competition laws that govern the amount of public funding that can be given to projects before it is deemed to be anti-competitive. The idea is that there will be fewer projects in total funded by WEFO but the same amount of delivery activity on the ground as in the previous programmes, with opportunities to deliver made available through procurement. We will talk later about the ways in which the third sector can access EU funding but will note for now that the levels of funding available for projects vary enormously from: £multi million projects (for orgs applying directly to WEFO) to smaller amounts of funding for delivering EU funded contracts. QUESTIONS?
- In summary, these are the key features of EU funding: Added value – this is a key principle of EU funding: it must not be used to fund activities that national, regional or local government have a statutory responsibility to provide e.g. primary education, health service etc but they can be used to complement existing government interventions e.g. helping people move into work and sustain employment; providing support to YP who are NEET etc. Match funding – EU funding is ‘gap funding’ ie it will only fund the % towards costs that cannot be sourced elsewhere. Match funding is granted up to a ceiling %; this is called the intervention rate ie EU funding typically contributes around 50% towards the total project cost and the project sponsor must source the remaining 50%. Match funding must be from a ‘clean’ source ie it must not contain EU funding. Volunteer time as in-kind match funding – Wales is unique in the UK and the rest of Europe in using time dedicated by volunteers towards the running of a project as ‘in kind’ match funding i.e. a notional value is attached to the value of work undertaken in support of the project by volunteers e.g. admin, delivering support to clients, stewards for events etc, and this may be used as match funding towards the total project cost. Cross cutting themes: equality of opportunity and environmental sustainability – these are the two mandatory CCTs that all EU funded projects, across the 28 EU Member States must embed in the delivery of their projects. Part of the EU’s social agenda to raise standards across Member States. Equal opportunities - Reducing injustice and promotion social cohesion. Environmental sustainability- Ensuring economic activity will not adversely impact on the environment and the promotion of the environment as an economic driver. Partnership Principle – EC guidance on involvement of stakeholders in design, management, monitoring and implementation of funds = excellent practice in Wales, with high levels of engagement by WEFO with external stakeholders. Rules and regulations and audit– laws governing how EU funding should be implemented, which are then overlayed with Member State rules and regulations. Audits check compliance against these rules. All EU funded projects must receive an annual independent audit. Project sponsors will receive, in addition to this, up to four other types of audit (and atleast one):PIV; WG EU Structural Funds Branch (who audit WEFO’s audit authority and provide assurance to the European Commission); the EU Court of Auditors (who provide assurance for WG audit processes) and EC DGs. High levels of bureaucracy! Ask anyone involved in EU funding about the key features and they will mention the high levels of bureaucracy, form filling, rigorous monitoring etc! Plus the requirement to retain documentation for a long time after project closure (2024 currently!) Rigorous monitoring - projects must gather lots of data about businesses supported/people benefitting from the project.
- In theory the EU Structural Funds programmes run by WEFO are open to access for all. This is technically true: no organisations are excluded from applying BUT there are some practical considerations which mean that direct bidding to WEFO only happens in a minority of cases within the third sector: There has to be a strong rationale as to why an organisation is best placed to apply for funding and deliver a project, and they must demonstrate how the intervention fits with other projects; Procurement – means that if WEFO deem there to be a competitive market for services delivered by a project, they will ensure that the activity is procured from the open market. This makes it an unattractive prospect for many organisations who want to deliver their work. Cash flow – EU funding is paid three months in arrears, which means in reality that only larger organisations, with sufficient cash flow are able to meet the financial demands of running an EU funded project. So in practice this means that applying for EU funding direct to WEFO is only appropriate for certain organisations within the third sector. Much of my work is in helping organisations consider the best approach to accessing EU funding.
- In this round of EU funding, WEFO have funded a smaller number of projects: around 290 in total, in comparison to over 3000 individual projects that were funded under the Objective 1/2/3 programmes in 2000-2006. Consequently, organisations are engaged with EU funded projects at different levels and I’ve included some third sector examples from this round of programmes: Project sponsor – a properly constituted legal entity that applies to WEFO for funding and is responsible for fulfilling the terms and conditions of that grant. For example, WCVA is sponsor for the Engagement Gateway project. Chwarae Teg/Prince’s Trust/Cynon Valley Crime Prevention – tend to be larger organisations, capable of cash flowing projects. ADVS: you have control over the design and delivery of the project DISADVS: you are responsible for meeting all project management and audit requirements; and for cash flow; due diligence on partners/contracts. Joint sponsor – an arrangement whereby a project is being delivered collaboratively. WEFO will award EU funding to a single properly constituted legal entity, classed as the Lead Sponsor for the purposes of the project. However, all of the joint sponsors in the collaborative arrangement will share and be accountable for their ‘share’ of the project, ie their share of the funding, outputs, risk and compliance requirements. For example, CVCs involved in the Collaborative Communities project (led by Carmarthenshire CC); Menter Mon lead a project involving four Las; SNAP and Urdd were two of eight third sector partners involved in the Reach the Heights project. Regional local authority projects also operate in this way. ADVS: higher profile; working in partnership to deliver strategic goals; DISADVS: unlikely to have direct relationship with WEFO – control; part of supply chain: payments etc can be delayed; complex governance and responsibilities Contractor /supplier – an organisation that has successfully bid to a lead/joint-sponsor to deliver goods or services for a project. Accountable to the sponsor for delivery as specified in a contract or grant offer letter. For example, Gateway or ILM suppliers: Flintshire Refurbs; Gingerbread; Merthyr Tydfil Institute for the Blind; Llamau and WCADA – durg and alcohol agency delivering WG Peer Mentoring project ADVS: focus on delivery; reduced bureaucracy and admin; reduced audit requirements DISADVS: often short term funding; you have to deliver what the sponsor wants, in the way that they want. Part of my work is helping third sector organisations to find the best route of access to EU funding for them.
- During the Structural Funds Programmes 2000-2006, WEFO funded over 3000 individual projects. £206m of Objective One funding was committed to 508 third sector projects (319 organisations). The WG’s intention for 2007-2013 was to reduce the no of projects funded directly by WEFO to around 250, with a second layer of organisations involved in delivering contracts on the ground. Third sector organisations are smaller in size than their public sector counter parts and less able to cash flow projects, therefore it was expected at the start of the programmes that the sector would engage in the main as contractors, rather than lead sponsors. WCVA has undertaken research into the third sector’s role in delivering the 2007-2013 Structural Funds Programmes in Wales 2007-2013 and found that: £104m of EU funding has been committed to 43 third sector projects = 5% of the total funds available. Across a range of ERDF and ESF priorities including - Transport, heritage, community buildings, community economic development, social enterprise support, youth, employment, skills. Approx £63m in EU grants to third sector organisations through 29 projects led by the public sector (either as a joint sponsor or as a prime contractor ie Welsh Government projects with a major third sector foot print) – this includes Communities 2.0, a digital inclusion project led by Wales Co-operative Centre; a Peer Mentoring substance misuse project, involving 8 third sector suppliers; Reach the Heights YP project, led by DFES, working with 7 third sector delivery partners. 3-SET has supported collaborations of this nature by providing capacity building training to third sector delivery orgs, and we continue to broker collaboration between WG and third sector orgs for the 2014-2020 round 421 third sector suppliers have secured £140m worth of contracts to deliver services for other EU funded projects – including over 200 organisations that have received funding through WCVA’s Engagement Gateway and ILM projects. 3-SET supports contractors with information, advice, training, events, and facilitated networking. In total it is estimated that approx £304m of the total value of ESF and ERDF has been allocated to third sector organisations = 9.4% of the total approved £3.7bn project cost (+£2m to 3-SET)
- For organisations seeking funding in the 2014-2020 programmes, there are three main routes of access: DIRECT APPLICATIONS TO WEFO Register your interest via the WEFO website/Helpline; assigned a PDO to undertake a structured dialogue about the project and complete an intervention logic table outlining the proposed impacts. The PDO will then work with the applicant to build up a business case, with a section for each of the nine selection and prioritisation criteria. The key elements are: strategic fit; delivery; and finance. PARTNERSHIP APPROACH WITH A THIRD PARTY LEAD BODY If your organisation would prefer not to lead, or there is an alternative suitable lead body, organisations are encouraged to work collaboratively to design the most interventions that effectively meet the needs of the client group and integrate well with existing investments/initiatives to secure the greatest value added. Partnerships may be formal i.e. joint sponsorship arrangements such as Reach the Heights, or informal eg where relevant stakeholders may influence the design and shape of the project. ‘Partners’ may subsequently secure contract delivery opportunities where they have had a role in the design of a strategic project (respecting procurement boundaries/Chinese Walls) eg Peer mentoring – substance misuse orgs. CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES Some organisations may be best suited to wait for relevant contracting opportunities to filter through the process and deliver to their strengths i.e. no involvement in influencing the design of projects. QUESTIONS? Now look at the role of the ‘Cross-cutting themes’ in EU Structural Funds
- 3-SET provides information, advice and training to third sector organisations seeking to benefit from European Structural Funds – as a lead/joint sponsor or helping organisations to identify appropriate opportunities to bid for contracts. We can support third sector orgs as well as WG seeking to engage the third sector in delivery of a project with: Information Advice on project development/’critical friend’ (POLICY – HW and PRACTICE – JS) Help to identify contract delivery opportunities FREE Training/capacity building: managing an EU funded project; measuring soft outcomes; gaining publicity; risk management; how to tender; lean and QA. Events and networking 3-SEF - For third sector lead/joint sponsors we have the 3-SEF network, which brings together peers in the sector to share experiences and intelligence. Awareness raising events in July – outreach to build knowledge and understanding of orgs that may not have been involved with EU funding in the past, to help them to make an informed decision about whether to engage with the 2014-2020 programmes.
- If you have a specific question or would like further information about EU funding (in particular Structural Funds) please contact me Or local groups may wish to contact their local authority SET teams for information and advice about EU funded locally. You can find contact details on the WEFO website. Or view the WCVA website for information sheets OR View the WEFO website or the European Commission’s website