How to manage European projects

CO-FINANCED BY EU How to manage European projects INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH Authors: Loredana Alfarè, Paolo Di Leno RFO INNOREF – Innovation and Resource Efficiency as Driving Forces for a Sustainable Growth September 2007 2 www.innoref.net TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOLEDGMENTS FOREWARD INTRODUCTION PHASE I - PROJECT IDEA PROCESS 1. 1.1. 1.1.1. 1.1.2. 1.2. 1.2.1. 1.2.2. 1.2.3. 1.3. 1.3.1. 1.3.2. DEFINITIONS Definition of a project Definition of Project Management Project Management Mission Development of the project idea Partner search How to select partners How to select the programme where submitting your proposal How to fill in the application form Application Form: Activity section Application Form: Financial section PHASE II - PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION 2. 2.1. 2.1.1. 2.1.2. 2.2. 2.3. 2.3.1. 3. 3.1. 3.2. 3.2.1. 3.2.2. 3.2.3. 4. 4.1. 4.2. 4.3. 5. PROJECT STRUCTURES Building the Project Team Project Roles and Responsibilities Team work The hierarchy of needs Conflicts Conflict resolution MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION The 4 key questions in management and planning Project management methodologies Project Cycle Management (PCM) Logical Framework Approach Key steps in the Logical Framework Approach REPORTING Progress Reports Final Report Project closure COMMUNICATION 3 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOLEDGMENTS FOREWARD INTRODUCTION 5.1. 5.1.1. 5.1.2. 5.2. 5.2.1. 5.2.2. 5.2.3. 5.2.4. Internal communication Meeting management Stand PAT External communication Project Strategy Communication Plan Innovative communication The World Café method PHASE III - MONITORING AND EVALUATION 6. 6.1. 6.2. 6.3. 6.4. 6.5. 6.5.1. 6.5.2. 6.5.3. 6.5.4. 7. 8. 8.1. 8.2. 8.3. 9. 10. 11. THE 3 KEY FACTORS OF PROJECT CONTROL Monitoring Review Evaluation Why monitoring, reviewing and evaluating? Financial Monitoring Reporting Financial Evaluation of the Progress Report Public Procurement Audit trails CO-OPERATION NETWORKING Introduction Why participatory approach? How to build networks RECOMMENDATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY GLOSSARY 4 www.innoref.net ACKNOLEDGMENTS This book was prepared by Loredana Alfarè, INNOREF Coordinator and Paolo Di Leno, INNOREF Financial Manager under contract to Friuli Venezia Giulia Region as lead partner of the RFO INNOREF. The authors wish to thank the Steering Committee members (Ms. Marina Bortotto, Ms. Pavla Krbalkova, Mr. Nicola Beranzoli, Mr. Athanasios Kontos,); the Training Process Moderator (Mr. Engel Ruoss); the Regional Project Managers (Ms. Lavinia Clarotto, Mr. Giovanni Mastino, Mr. Nick Papatheodorou, Mr. Jan Balek); the Regional Financial Managers (Ms. Alba Barbina, Ms. Miloslava Caletková, Ms. Manuela Proietti De Santis, Mr. Nick Kallitsis) and the PSC’s staff for the precious help and support provided during the project period. The authors thank also the East Joint Technical Secretariat representative, Mr. Carlos Bolaños, for his advises and support. A particular thank goes to the INNOREF Sub-projects participants, to whom the Guidelines are mainly addressed, for their co-operation and contribution to the project success. 5 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH FOREWORD INNOREF Guidelines have been conceived as an effective support to local authorities, especially the ones of reduced proportions that have limited project capacity, diminished access and utilization of community financing and less know-how: factors that hinder the presentation of project proposals at EU level. The strong point of INNOREF is based on the promotion of a participative mentality that is performed through a method pattern which acknowledges the importance of local authorities in the sustainable growth of the territory. The collaboration between the various sub-projects and the different local administrations ensures that the results achieved are valid in the long-term and start a chain reaction with the presentation of new projects, the creation of new professional figures and above all the fundamental factor to the success of all initiative is that they work together. INNOREF has provided the involved Regions (Friuli Venezia Giulia, Umbria, Western Greece and Hranicko) with an innovative set of regional management tools. The four years experience in managing such a complicated structure with 35 partners at RFO and subproject level has strengthened the confidence of the participants in their capacity building ability. The success obtained at international level has been confirmed by the selection of INNOREF as one of the best practice example, among the RFOs, in project management, monitoring and communication. These recognitions confirmed that the content of these Guidelines derives from a good experience and that we can transfer our experience to other contexts. No doubt that this Operation has been a challenging opportunity for the Regions, especially for Hranicko and Western Greece, where 6 www.innoref.net FOREWORD bottom-up process were almost unknown. The Regional development strategy was updated with the objectives of the sub-projects and thus became a tool and a guide for project implementation, cooperation between stakeholders and networks on the basis of common goals. The work carried out by the RFO Team and the established regional Professional Service Centers (PSCs), has produced remarkable results among them: Creation of 150 new jobs(part-time, full-time, consultancy) at RFO and Sub-project level; Creation of new projects: thanks to INNOREF some of the sub-projects partners have formed a partnership to carry out new projects financed by other programs (WAREMA within Cadses, OLYMPIA within Unesco and 8 projects within the Czech National Leader Programme) . Establishment of Regional Partnership: contributing to the realization of regional strategies and the integration of various subprojects. We hope that these Guidelines will be a useful tool for enhancing the participation of local bodies, NGOs etc to EU projects because the new Programme period is focused on implementing regional strategies, a path already followed by INNOREF and its sub-projects. Marina Bortotto Friuli Venezia Region (LP) Pavla Krbalkova Hranicko Micro-Region Nicola Beranzoli Umbria Region Athanasios Kontos Western Greece Region 7 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH INTRODUCTION This book has the aim at providing useful advises on how to build up European projects. The experience gained in several years allow the authors to transfer their achieved knowledge and of course also suggestions on how to avoid mistakes. Several manuals and guidelines have been published on project management; we do not need to duplicate the work. Our wisdom is to provide regions and local authorities with practical information and simple methods based on the experience in managing a Regional Framework Operation (RFO) financed by the Community Initiative Interreg III C East. A RFO is a strategic cooperation between a group of regions, formed for the joint development of new approaches in regional development policy. This strategic project can be considered a kind of “miniprogramme” where the regional partners select sub-projects to be funded. The Operation INNOREF is focused at improving the capacity of local and regional communities to improve framework conditions for business and create a culture of learning among stakeholders. The adopted methodology (I-Method) is focused on a fully participative approach of local actors (bottom-up) achieved through the establishment of regional networks composed by key stakeholders. 8 sub-projects dealing with the 3 sectors of sustainable development have been financed. The total number of partners (Italian, Greek and Czech) at RFO and sub-project level is 35. To manage such high number of partner is not an easy task and it is only possible if the project has been well structured, if a common method, clear and shared objectives, efficient monitoring and a good team work, have been established. 8 www.innoref.net PHASE I - PROJECT IDEA PROCESS 1. DEFINITIONS 1.1. Definition of a project The term “project” is widely used, and we all think to know what it means but to find an adequate definition is not easy. According to the Oxford English Dictionary a project is defined as a Plan, Scheme. Some other definitions from literature: A collection of linked activities, carried out in an organized manner, with a clearly defined start point and end point to achieve some specific results desired to satisfy some clearly defined objectives; • An activity (or, usually, a number of related activities) carried out according to a plan in order to achieve a definite objective within a certain time and which will cease when the objective is achieved; • A group of activities that have to be performed in a logical sequence to meet pre-set objectives outlined by the client. • A set of activities to be carried out in a certain place, within a certain period of time, with certain resources, in order to achieve certain pre-established objectives and goals; after having studied or diagnosed the problem, this has been selected as the best alternative for achieving a solution. 1.1.1. Definition of Project Management Project management is a dynamic process, conducted within a defined set of constraints, which organizes and utilizes appropriate resources in a controlled and structured manner in order to achieve some clearly defined objectives. The PMBOK® Guide defines project management as “...the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities in order to meet or exceed sponsors’ needs and expectations from a project.” Project management balances competing demands (scope, time, cost, quality, requirements, etc.) throughout the project lifecycle and involves the interaction of three elements: People — People perform the work and determine the success or failure of a project, discusses the organizational structure and responsibilities of the project team and other stakeholders involved in project management. Project Management Institute. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) 2000 Edition, USA 9 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH Processes — Processes specify products or deliverables required for the project and identify who will perform the work and when. Tools — People use predefined tools and techniques to manage the project. More simply is a structured approach and a set of tools that helps to “get things done better”. 1.1.2. Project Management Mission The purpose of project management is to: • Deliver projects that satisfy customer needs • Improve project delivery performance related to quality, scope, schedule, and cost • Reduce the support cost of producing the project • Do the right things right the first time • Anticipate and respond to issues before they become problems • Communicate effectively with stakeholders • Manage change • Manage risk 1.2 Development of the project idea There are many ways to build up a project idea, each project developer has her/his method and it varies according to the situation. In developing the idea you must focus your attention on the following questions: a) What do we want to achieve? (aim) b) Why do we need this project? (scope) c) How can we achieve it? (method) A further step is to think how the outputs can be measured. A very well known method is the CARMAT test: • Clear: Is the activity to which the objective relates clearly defined? • Attractive: provoking changes • Realistic: Is the entire task, though challenging, physically possible? • Measurable: Will the outcomes sought be visible when the project task is completed? • Accepted: Is it accepted by the stakeholders? How will the project benefit the organization or team? Time-bound: What is the deadline for completion? 10 Caltrans Project Management Handbook, Sacramento, September 2002 www.innoref.net Once you have clear in mind the mentioned aspects you can draft your idea filling in 3-4 pages structured according to: objectives, activities, outputs, results, added value for the organization. With this proposal you have the possibility to submit the project idea to your organization/sponsor. The second step, once the project idea has been accepted by the organization, is to build-up the international partnership. 1.2.1. Partner search You have the following possibilities: Project fair Usually, at the beginning of a programme, the Managing Authority organize a project fair where participants can expose their posters containing the project idea and other informative material. In this way is possible to establish contacts and exchange ideas. This was the case of INNOREF, which had built up the partnership in Berlin during the Interreg 3C Forum. Project data base All EU programmes have a data base containing a short description of the projects financed and the contacts. You can contact the project responsible and see if he is interested in participating to your project. Personal contacts Direct contacts with institutions with whom you have already co-operated in the past or someone recommended by colleagues. Programme partner search Each programme set up a web site with a section dedicated to partner search, in this section you can insert the project idea and the contact person. If other potential partners are interested in your project topic they will contact you. Internet International data base, project data base; insert “key words” on the topic you look for. Institutional web site usually contain a section dedicate to projects, check projects with similar topics. Consolidate partnerships in previous projects This is the best opportunity; to build up a project with experienced and reliable partners means to decrease consistently risks of failure. 11 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH 1.2.2. How to select partners Very often there is not much time between the call and the submission of the project proposal. Therefore it happens that we accept partners without investigating their reliability in project management and in financial contribution. In order to avoid that e.g. a partner decides to withdraw few days before the project submission, because his institution cannot co-finance the project, is highly recommended to organize a common meeting with partners where the project developer explain in detail the project steps (aim, objectives, activities, time schedule, partner tasks, programme rules) while the financial manager explains the budget, the financial rules, the payment cycle, the request for reimbursement etc. You must be sure that all partners have clearly understood the procedure. In that occasion the financial manager must check their financial availability and the project developer their previous experience in international projects. An aspect which is usually not taken into consideration and that causes problems during project life is the language. Be sure that the key persons of your partners speak fluently the working language in order to avoid misunderstanding. The preparatory meeting is crucial for the success of your project, if you have doubts with a partner better change him before is too late. 1.2.3. How to select the programme where submitting your proposal To choose the right programme to which to submit your proposal is very important. Usually, causality and urgency prevail on logic and strategy. If you do not know the sector or the procedure you will need much more time than the others in preparing the offer. Time is an essential factor for preparing a good proposal. If you do not have the necessary time, better to wait the next call. Another important aspect to take into consideration is the evaluation of cost/benefits. The quantitative and qualitative resources necessary to participate to a call of 200.000 or 2.000.000 euros are not so different and in any case do not increase proportionally. This means that the commitment for preparing the project is not much different, so consider if it is worth. 1.3. How to fill in the application form The first step consists in reading carefully the Programme documents (Operational Programme, Implementation Manual, Guidelines etc). These documents provide applicants with useful suggestions on how to prepare the project. Furthermore the chapter concerning the selection criteria must be 12 www.innoref.net taken into high consideration; the fulfillment of criteria will determine if your project is eligible and if it answers to the Programme requirements. Very often applicants do not read Programme documents and the result is a high percentage of projects not eligible. A good method is to check if your project is in line with the Programme objectives, if it fits into the right Measure and if it answer to all selection criteria. The second step is to decide about the title and the acronym. Your project will be known by the acronym so it is important to choose an easy-to remember one. Think of your title as a mini abstract. Remove words from your title that are not really necessary. Use only a single sentence for your title. Before filling in the Application Form you should prepare a work plan which contains a description of the necessary activities set out in stages, with rough indication of the timing. Furthermore to draw a good work plan will facilitate the completion of the application form. The aim of the work plan is to help you to: • Finish the project in time • Do the right things in the right order • Identify who will be responsible for which activity. The project developer should: • List all tasks required to implement the project • Put the tasks in the order in which they will be implemented • Show allocation of the responsibilities to the actors • Give the timing of each activity. Once the work plan has been accepted by the partners you can start to fill in the Application Form. 1.3.1. Application Form: Activity section The best procedure is that only the project developer and the financial manager fill in the form. In this way the style is homogeneous and there is a logical approach. An Application Form usually is composed by a general part which includes a background description, project abstract, objectives, expected results and partnership composition. A second part includes the action plan, the methodology, the work package description, the outputs. These 2 parts can be filled in by the project developer. Avoid to send the form to partners because usually the box where to insert the information have a limited number of characters. It is better to write the headlines on a word document and ask them to fill it in. Once you have received from each partner the text you can summarize and insert it in the form. 13 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH The project developer must have clearly in mind what will be the achievement of the project. Very often projects are a sum of activities without a final concrete results and sometime even without an aim! Let’s see how to proceed in filling in the various items of the Application Form: Project background: explain the background of the problems and their relevance for the partners and for the programme. General objectives: explain why the project is important for the society (long-term benefits), how the project interfere with the regional/national policies and involved institutions. Specific objectives: describe the objectives to be reached through project implementation. Activities: list the activities which will be carried out during project life. Check the congruencies with the time schedule and the budget (Do we have enough time and money to realize all the listed activities?) Outputs: list tangible goods or services directly produced by the project (technical reports, meetings, CDs, events etc). If possible quantify them. Results: describe the immediate effects of the project; be realistic (you cannot say that the project will reduce the air pollution of the region with a budget of 300.000 Euro per partner...) Impacts: describe the long-term effect of the project. According to our personal experience these sections containing the above mentioned items is the most difficult for applicants. Very often there is confusion among objectives, activities, outputs, results and impacts. 14 www.innoref.net Methodology: A method is an established systematic way of carrying out a particular task. In a project is often necessary to combine a series of methods. In the Application Form describe the approach and methodology to be used to produce the outputs, results and impacts, and to achieve the project objectives. Very often applicants write activities instead to describe how they will proceed in putting into practice the actions. Work packages/Components: This is a very important part of the Application Form because it describes the activities carried out by each partner. First of all assign the responsibility of each WP to partners. To be responsible does not mean to do the work alone but to coordinate the work carried out by other partners for that particular WP. It can also be that some projects assign the implementation of a WP to each partner. In this case only the assigned partner will implement WP activities. Describe in a detailed way the activities of the WP in order to avoid misunderstanding during the implementation phase. 15 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH (INNOREF Application Form abstract) Title Management and Coordination Strategic focus (maximum 350 characters) Defining structure of operation, organization and activities. Establishing operational strategies and common methodologies between regions, launch of public calls, operation assessment. Guarantee efficiency, planning, tasks and help partners in developing joint activites in due time. Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia being the Lead partner will assure the coordination, management, assessment and controlling of the operation at RFO level and sub-project level. Component 1 Responsible partner (maximum 350 characters) Involved partners (maximum 350 characters) All partners will co-operate to this component for their part in order to ensure the achievement of foreseen activities. Coherence between activities and objectives. Joint development of strategies. Assessment of operation development by establishing a Steering Committee and Partner Board. Establishment of local partnerships within Regions. Planned results (maximum 350 characters) Information and publicity: Describe the communication strategy adopted by the project, how you will disseminate the results, specify who are the target groups and the outputs. This item very often is underestimated by applicants but a project which is known only by the participants is not useful for the society. Management and coordination: This is a key item which will demonstrate to the evaluator if you are able to manage an international project so be very precise in describing the activities and the professional skills used for managing the project. (INNOREF Application Form abstract) Description of the Component 1 (maximum 1000+1000+1000 characters) The overall management of the operation will be carried out by the Lead Partner who will be also responsible of supervising the coordination of the operation in all its phases. During the kick-off meeting the regional partners will discuss in detail the operational activities in order to organize the work efficiently. The Steering Committee will monitor the activities of the operation, will supervise the production of documentation for the launch of the calls for proposals at two levels: 1. In the setting up of the Professional Service Centre - selection of the technical assistance staff; 2. In the sub-project proposals evaluation. The SC will also approve the working plan and control its implementation. The implementation of the whole operation, including sub-project activities, will be controlled by the SC through six-monthly project activity reports; six-monthly financial audited report; final project report. Common meetings between SC and PB will ensure an appropriate cooperation between strategic and operational level, the Coordinator will assure the correct functioning among these two levels and the FM will be responsible for the overall financial aspects of the project. The audit will be assured by an independent body, chosen at regional level. The PMs will carry out the operation on regional level and supervise the sub-projects implementation with the help of the personnel of the PSC who will deal with day-to-day management. The TPM 16 www.innoref.net will be responsible for the methodology and the training of the PMs, workshop moderators and assistants. The Workshop Moderators are responsible for the processes within the networks. Each region will provide experts in topic not covered by personnel such as (marketing, energy, labeling, certification etc). Their task is to advise and control together with the PMs the projects facing these issues. The assessment of the operation will be done through an assessment check list prepared by the PB and the results will be included in the mid term report. The SC will evaluate the results. In this way the operation will constantly be monitored. The LP will maintain contacts with Interreg 3C Programme bodies, in particular MA and JTS. Partner experience: Focus the description on international projects carried out by your institution related to the topic you are applying for. If you have not previous experience in international project emphasize the experience at national level on the related topic. 1.3.2. Application Form: Financial section Once the Activity section is completed it is time to start thinking about the costs. The definition of a detailed budget is limited sometimes by a not clear definition of activities/part of activities to be done. Therefore it is crucial to detail as much as possible the activities to be done but also other crucial aspects (e.g. who will work on the project? Internal or external expertise? How many events are planned? How many travels are foreseen? How many technical meetings are expected?...). The process for defining each cost could be summarized as follows: Staff costs: Which are the staff profile needed? How many persons? How much work there will be? Full time? Part time 20, 30, 50%? For how much time? For the whole project or for some moths only? Which is the gross cost of this person? Administration costs: Which are the direct and indirect costs that you plan for the implementation of the project? E.g. paper, copies, postage costs, overheads, consumables for the office... External Expertise: How many experts have to be selected? Which is their cost? For how long do they need to work? Which is the gross cost that has to be paid to have such kind of expertise? Which will be the duration of their contract? Investments: Which are the investments to be done (e.g. software, hardware, furniture ...)? Will the whole cost or the depreciation cost be eligible? It is necessary as well to detail the amount accordingly to the national rules that have to be applied. If for example an administration wants 17 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH to purchase some personal computer, they have to consider the time needed to obtain the full reimbursement according to the depreciation cost. Then it is necessary to verify if the period of the project is enough long to give the possibility to obtain a reimbursement of the full cost or if only a part of this cost will be declared and reimbursed. Moreover, in order to have the possibility of declaring depreciation costs from the early beginning of the implementation phase; it is suggested to buy these goods at the very beginning of the project. Meeting and events: How many events are planned? How many public events? How many technical events? How often the Steering group will meet? Where? In which place are these meetings expected to be held? Travel and accommodation: How many persons are involved in the implementation of the project? Will these persons work only at regional level or will they work also at international level? Sometimes it will be necessary to attend additional conferences or workshops during the implementation phase. Therefore it is highly suggested that, this budget line is adequately budgeted. Promotion costs Which kinds of promotion activities are planned? E.g. Brochures, leaflets, advertisements on newspapers (consider also information advertisements for the publicity of public procurements to be done during the project) It is useful therefore to divide very clearly the groups of activities foreseen. In this way it is possible to create some “work packages or components” meaning “homogeneous groups of activities” that can be budgeted therefore in a more specific way. In this way, dividing the budget into work packages it is also possible to evaluate which is the weight of each WP if compared with the whole budget (e.g. are the costs for the management overestimated if compared with the activities directly linked to the outputs of the project?...). Once every work package is correctly budgeted a definition of the budget breakdown is needed in order to plan the expenditure in the implementation time. One of the most important aspects for this matter is to verify as much as possible the time needed to start the implementation phase and, therefore, produce the relevant expenditure. At the beginning it will be necessary to do the call for tenders, to subcontract the activities, to sign contracts, to produce administrative acts and so on. So there should be a delay before starting spending the budget. Depending on the duration of the project the first period’s expenditure has always to be underestimated and an increase of the budget should be filled in the last periods. 18 www.innoref.net After all these aspects have been estimated it is important to discuss the budget proposal with the partners and verify in detail if there are some aspects to change or not. The budget definition’s phase is completed once all the partners approve the proposal and there are no more requests of change on it. Once the budget is ready the application form should be filled in with the relevant information. If the budget was built with a high detail it will be possible to aggregate the information in every way needed and therefore, the operation of filling in the application form should be very easy to be done. Now the Application Form needs to be checked by each partner. It is recommendable to finalize it as soon as possible in order to have time for signing the official documents such as letter of intent, co-financing statement, cooperation agreement which usually must be sent together with the Application Form. In all the mentioned documents must be written the budget of each partner and the total budget, this is the reason why the application form and the annexes must be ready at least 15 days before the closure of the call. At this point the Application Form is ready; remember to check it and to include all the requested annexes. Do not forget to control the stamps and signatures! 19 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH PHASE II – PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION 2. PROJECT STRUCTURES The first project implementation step is the set up of project structures. To allow an effective management and assessment you need to establish a strategic body (Steering Committee) composed by high rank persons in the organization, which will design project strategies and an operational body (Partner Board) composed by the Coordinator or Project Manager and Partner’s Project Managers who will implement and monitor project activities. It almost goes without saying that all systems and processes need to fulfill a strategic purpose. Yet many system implementations are undertaken at a tactical or even operational level without considering the overall strategic vision of the organization. The Steering Committee should provide a strategic evaluation of systems implementation starting with a single fundamental question. ‘How does this system benefit the institution and the citizens?’ INNOREF PROJECT STRUCTURE These two bodies must cooperate very closely. It is highly recommended to foresee some common meetings in order to allow an exchange of ideas and propositions between the two bodies. A good rule is to invite to the SC meeting also a person of the programme, in this way you can establish a co-operation with the person avoiding a relation based only on control duties. 20 www.innoref.net The method adopted in INNOREF has been satisfactorily and has allowed saving time and long discussions during the SC meetings. Before each SC meeting the PB prepared all sets of documents with the results of the PB discussion, solutions and possible alternatives so that SC members’ work consisted mostly in approving the issues. 2.1. Building the Project Team Every project has a project team. The project team consists of all people who work on a project, including state employees, consultants, contractors, utility companies, resource agencies etc. Project team members are responsible for delivering products with the quality promised, in a timely and cost effective manner. In any project you need to get the right team together in order to deliver a successful result. If you need to bring together people from different backgrounds and experience in order to take important decisions for the organization, you need to allow some time for them to develop as a group. In small projects, very basic training or a detailed briefing may be all that is required. In major undertakings, time invested in developing your team will help you make the right decisions. In INNOREF a Trainer Process Moderator was appointed for implementing the common methodology and training the Professional Service Centers’ staff. When you have a big project you need competent people. This is the reason why a detailed job requirement has to be prepared for selecting the most appropriate persons. It is important to get the right mix of people involved in a team. You need a combination of people who: · know why we carry out the process · know ‘how we do it now’ · can inject new ideas · motivated people · have different background and experience Your team members may be chosen for their specialist experience in a particular function but they will also bring to the team their own style of working and problem solving. They must be able to challenge the status quo and offer solutions that impact across the organization. 21 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH 2.1.1. Project Roles and Responsibilities The template used for INNOREF: Title Role The person responsible for developing, in conjunction with the Financial Manager, a definition of the project. The Project Manager then ensures that the project is delivered on time. He/she ensures the project is effectively resourced and manages relationships with a wide range of groups (including all project contributors). The Project Manager is also responsible for managing the work of consultants, allocating and utilizing resources in an efficient manner and maintaining a co-operative, motivated and successful team. The PM is a person with a high goal orientation and identification with the project topic and the implementation practice. Flexibility and international thinking is needed considering the co-ordination work, the numerous traveling and organization activities Coordinator/Project Manager(PM) Responsibilities • Management and organization of the overall project • Responsible for calls/applicant packages/selection procedure of subprojects • Responsible for international activities (website, events, publications, conferences) • Organization of Partner Board (PB) and Steering Committee (SC) meetings • Organization of activity reports, guidelines • Provide assistance to Trainer in connection with goal and implementation orientation • Co-operation with Financial Manager • Monitoring and assessment • Managing and leading the project team. • Recruiting project staff and consultants. • Managing co-ordination of the partners and working groups engaged in project work. • Detailed project planning and control including: • Developing and maintaining a detailed project plan. • Managing project deliverables in line with the project plan. • Recording and managing project issues and escalating where necessary. • Resolving cross-functional issues at project level. • Monitoring project progress and performance. • Managing project evaluation and dissemination activities. • Managing consultancy input within the defined budget. • Final approval of the design specification. Competencies needed • University degree in a discipline connected with regional development and/or partici¬pation processes (e.g. social sciences, natural sciences, regional economy) with abilities in interdisciplinary working and integration of different disciplines. 22 www.innoref.net • Professional experience of a minimum of 8 years • English fluently written and spoken • Experience in participatory processes • Experience in international projects • Experience in project management and organization abilities • Good knowledge of Programme procedures • Good knowledge of implementation and methodology of sustainable development • Contacts at national and international level with experts and decision makers and familiar with social behavior of European countries. Title Role Provides administrative support to the Coordinator/PM. The Financial Manager has the complex task of monitoring from the financial point of view the expenses at project and to check the financial flow at subproject level. To reach this goal a good experience in transnational projects is needed as well as a good knowledge of the European legal framework and particularly of Programme rules. Financial Manager Responsibilities • Sets up and manages support functions covering planning, tracking, reporting, quality management and internal communication. • Produces consolidated reporting to the Steering Committee, including milestone summary, key issues, risks, benefits, summary of costs incurred. • Reviews project activities for compliance with procedures and standards. • Manages the support and provision of project tools and equipment. • Contract activity • Preparation of budget documents for the sub-project calls • Cooperation with the PM in preparing the applicant packages (financial part) • Preparation of documents to be certified and audited • Organization of financial reports • Request for reimbursement • Following the iter for ERDF distribution among partners • Monitoring and assessment of expenses at both level • Participation at SC meetings Competencies needed • University degree in disciplines related to economy and financial issues • Ability in working in team, including capacity of coordination of the work of other financial managers involved in the project • Professional experience of minimum 5 years in trans-national projects • English spoken and written • Good knowledge of European and Programme rules • Good knowledge of Excel and Access programs 23 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH Title Role In order to assure an ongoing process and good results, a supervision of the process is needed as well as a permanent training and support through the trainer. The person needs good goal orientation, holistic thinking, know-how and experiences in different methodologies and subjects needed, being strong in communication (including languages), having convincing and diplomatic behavior in critical situations and following a professional project evolution. Beside theoretical know-how and experience the Trainer needs high social and spiritual competences Trainer Responsibilities • Setting of methodologies and providing methodological guidelines: participation, tipping point, project management, leadership methodology, networking, moderation, controlling, conflict prevention • Training of INNOREF Team in methodology, sustainable development, integrative regional development, conflict resolution, psychology of people • Support the SC, PB, PM, PSC in their activities • Moderate context analysis process in order to evaluate the regional potential • Define the requirements for project and personal needed to achieve good results • Assist at meetings in the regions in order to improve training and support • Assist the PM in connection with coordination • Supervision of the process by establishing indicators and a process controlling • Contribution to reports, events and guidelines • Support of PSC in regional processes and implementation of INNOREF goals • Provide contacts to UNESCO, Universities and other regions involved in similar processes in order to exchange knowledge and best practice experiences. Competencies needed • University degree and training experiences at higher school level or further training courses • Good knowledge in sustainable development, regional development, ecological cycles, regional economy, resource efficiency, value creation, network moderation, including instruments like planning, labeling, eco and bio brands, marketing, process visualization, controlling • Experience (minimum 8 years) in regional development, management, participatory processes • Experience in international projects • English fluently spoken and written; another language spoken in one of the participant countries (preferably Italian). • Methodological competences (SWOT analysis, moderation, tipping point, innovation, participatory processes, leadership methodology, regional management, process communication) • Contacts to experts, scientists and decision makers in order to improve best practice exchange with partners 24 www.innoref.net Title Role The task of the Moderator needs high social and professional competences. The moderation of integrative projects and interdisciplinary networks demand a high sensibility in connection with people and processes. The moderator will mainly work on regional level. Therefore an excellent knowledge of the region and good contacts to the leaders of stakeholders is needed. High flexibility, good holistic know-how and communication abilities will improve the process and prevent conflicts. The moderator should ensure a continuity of the process over the whole project phase and if needed continue work after the end of the project. Workshop Moderator Responsibilities • Prepare, moderate and analyze workshops of networks • Part time employment, personal identification with goal oriented working • Integrate regional stakeholders and interested people into the process of the single networks • Establishing and supporting networks and organization of the procedure during the project • Co-operate, initiate and co-ordinate projects with a special emphasis for synergy creation • Prevention or solve conflicts within networks or subprojects • Cooperation with PM and PSC on regional level and in connection with subprojects • Provide networks and PM with workshops reports • Participate at the trainings together with assistants of PSC • Provide knowledge of local situation and regional development (culture, economy, society, environment) as well as decision processes • Integrate different subjects and stakeholders into a interdisciplinary process • Social competences, existing personal network within the region (with universities, public bodies, NGO`s etc Competencies needed • Preferably university degree with competences in moderation and communication as well as regional development • English fluently spoken and written • Excellent communication abilities, able to listen, to simplify, to summarize and to concentrate on priorities • Experiences in moderation (minimum 8 years), goal orientation and participatory processes • Interdisciplinary interest and competences in order to integrate different sectors in subprojects • Broad holistic knowledge of local situation and regional development (economy, society, environment) as well as decision processes • Ability to integrate stakeholders of different sectors and to initiate innovation processes • Public acceptance, credible and neutral personality • Contacts in the region with decision makers, experts, organizations 25 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH Title Role The task of the PSC Assistant needs a good competence in transnational projects, initiative and ability in communication and organization being the PSC contact point for the SP applicants and other stakeholders. Facilitation, teamwork and co-operation on regional level are main tasks of the Assistant. Assistants Responsibilities • Setting of methodologies and providing methodological guidelines: participation, tipping point, project management, leadership methodology, networking, moderation, controlling, conflict prevention • Training of INNOREF Team in methodology, sustainable development, integrative regional development, conflict resolution, psychology of people • Support the SC, PB, PM, PSC in their activities • Moderate context analysis process in order to evaluate the regional potential • Define the requirements for project and personal needed to achieve good results • Assist at meetings in the regions in order to improve training and support • Assist the PM in connection with coordination • Supervision of the process by establishing indicators and a process controlling • Contribution to reports, events and guidelines • Support of PSC in regional processes and implementation of INNOREF goals • Provide contacts to UNESCO, Universities and other regions involved in similar processes in order to exchange knowledge and best practice experiences. Competencies needed • University degree • English fluently spoken and written • Minimum experience in project management • Experiences and interest in trans-national projects (in particular Interreg) • Knowledge of local situation and regional development (economy, society, environment) • Adequate personal network within the region • Adequate organization and communication abilities • Pleasure in representation activities, helpful and friendly • Residence in the region 2.1.2. Team work In a project you will need to manage people and tasks. Achieving the balance will require tact and diplomacy and a good portion of fortune. We have seen in the previous chapter that it is essential to have skilled personnel but most of all it is important to motivate them. Too often, especially in the public sector, the staff is 26 www.innoref.net not very motivated, that’s why you need to find good reasons and rewards. In a team each person is different, therefore, people with the same skills working in a project may act differently and of course their behavior will affect the project. The role of the Project Manager is fundamental in building up the team, as a PM you have to devote yourself to maintaining a balance between the demands and the needs of: • the project and its final beneficiaries • any outside support contracted to support the project (consultants) • the Programme Managing Authority and its procedures and constraints. A crucial aspect emerged in several projects is the difficulty in delegating part of the work to subordinates. Most managers don’t know how to delegate. Many times, managers dump their work onto someone else, but there is a big difference between delegating and dumping. When you delegate something to a subordinate it should serve two purposes: • it must lighten your load so you can concentrate on more important issues; • it must help the receiver to learn and grow. When you delegate, opposite to dumping, you give the other person the same authority to complete the task as if you have done yourself. This does not mean you delegate all your authority to that individual, only that you have to give them the authority to do what you would have been able to do. You must remember that you can delegate the authority but not the responsibility. It is your duty to see that the person is adequately trained before you delegate to him and is adequately supervised after you delegate. The result is that in delegating you have lightened your load and you have helped one of your people develop further. 2.2. The hierarchy of needs 27 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH The “hierarchy of needs” theory is based on the premise that individuals require satisfaction on ascending level of needs. Maslow, who developed the theory, suggested that when one level of satisfaction is achieved another level of need becomes important, rather like and ascending staircase or pyramid. 1. Physiological needs (air, water, food, sleep, sex) 2. Safety needs (shelter and clothing, personal safety and security) 3. Love/belonging needs (friend and colleagues, to be part of a group or teqm) 4. Esteem needs (enjoying a personal status, knowledge) 5. Self actualization needs (to be the best that we can be, sense of life) According to numerous researches what collaborators want more is: • Appreciation • Feeling involved • Help with personal problems The project manager must take into account these aspects in managing the project if he wishes to have a good team and a successful project. A motivated team respond more quickly to technological, economic, and market changes. An effective team makes better decisions, move more quickly and solve problems more creatively than any group of talented people working independently. Teams, like individuals, are motivated by rewards, so a carefully designed reward system can be an important driver of your teams’ success. In rewarding keep in mind: • Emphasize the group, not the individuals; • Offer rewards not only at the end of the project but also at strategic milestones. Some suggestions about rewards to be used in international projects: • Offer the possibility to a collaborator to make public presentation/ speeches/ moderation; • Give him/her the possibility to participate to an international event; • Mention his/her contribution in brochures, reports etc. • During conferences, meetings etc. do not forget to thank your team for the good work done; • At the end of the project write a letter of appreciation for the work done. 2.3. Conflicts Unfortunately sometime it happens that within a team there are persons who create conflicts, if this is the case do your best in clarifying things as soon as possible. A conflict between 28 www.innoref.net 2 people can harm a team’s morale and performance. If it is only one person who creates problems, after having tried to persuade her, if the situation will not improve you must replace the person. Whether or not your team has problems, as it moves along in the project, periodically plans to reinvigorate its commitment. Conflict is inevitable in any team environment. Project teams bring together a variety of personality and skills, each perceiving tasks and actions in different ways. This diversity is what gives the team depth and broad range of skills required to successfully achieve the project objectives. Yet, this diversity will inevitably bring conflicts ranging from simple disagreements on task details to fundamental personality clashes. Simply stated, Conflict is the discrepancy between what is the perceived reality of the situation and what is seen as the ideal. Conflict can be healthy and will allow participants to expand their understanding of issues and tasks. Applying the appropriate approach to conflict will help manage conflict when it occurs. Project Managers must consider two aspects of any conflict to successfully manage them: • The effect of conflict on the personal relationship between participants • The effect conflict will have on the tasks being performed on the project. 2.3.1. Conflict resolution In order to foster strong relationships between participants and promote the continued progress toward project objectives, Project Managers will need to employ a variety of conflict resolution approaches. Managers will also need to recognize the approach that others are employing in order to identify the common ground between individuals involved in a conflict. There are different approaches to conflict, each has a time and place, but in most cases the ultimate goal is to achieve a consensus. Consensus is the best tool for conflict management, and for even moderately important conflicts Project Managers should consider reaching a consensus as opposed to any other approach. So how does one seek to achieve consensus? Below is a set of tools and techniques that will aid project managers in achieving a successful consensus. Assume the Role of Facilitator In nearly every situation a facilitator is required to bridge the gaps between participants in a conflict and provide open lines of communications. Even when the conflict is between the Project Manager and other team members, the Project Manager can potentially serve as a facilitator, but in some cases it may be more beneficial to call on an outside source to facilitate more serious conflicts. 29 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH Identify Common Ground In most cases, participants in a conflict share common objectives, but do not recognize that others share many of the same ideas and believe. Conflict may often be over a very isolated detail or subsection of the bigger picture. Start by highlighting where viewpoints are shared and build a foundation of assumptions and objectives that are shared between involved parties. This effort will isolate the points of contention and put them into perspective. Fully Analyze Each Position Outline the position of each side to the conflict and systematically discuss resolutions on each point. Consensus can only be achieved when all involved parties are satisfied, their thoughts have been understood, and can agree on the resolution to individual points. 3. MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION It is a sad fact that many projects fail. The diagram below takes a tongue-in-cheek look at a common project scenario3 The main reasons of failure are: • Poor project specification • Unrealistic timescale • Inappropriate staff • Failure to manage changes • Delays in payments 30 3www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk www.innoref.net According to our experience most projects fail because they are not effectively managed and the most important aspect of the management task is managing relationships with the involved persons. There are no magic formulas for ensuring that a project is successful, but there are well known techniques available to help plan and management projects. The majority of projects are managed by external consultancy and this can be a good choice in case there are no appropriate skills in the organization but it would be better if each institution develop a sufficient “home-grown” project management skill to be able to evaluate the performance of contracting partners. 3.1. The 4 key questions in management and planning If there were no problems, then there would be no need for management. There are always problems; that is the way of life. Management is too important to be left only to the managers; it needs to be the responsibility of all. If so, then all should be aware of these 4 questions and all should contribute to identifying their answers. • What do we want? (what is the main problem to be solved?) • What do we have? (where are we now?) • How do we get what we want with what we have? • What will happen when we get it? These 4 questions should be used by the Project Manager as a framework for organizing the project and the team. 3.2. Project management methodologies There are many project management methodologies that combine a framework or approach with a set of project tools and guidelines. The most known are: Project Cycle and the Logical Framework Approach. Here we mention only the most important aspects of these two methods. 3.2.1. Project Cycle Management (PCM) The term is given to the process of planning and managing projects, programmes and organizations. It is used widely in the business sector and is increasingly being used by development organizations.. PCM is based around a project cycle, which ensures that all aspects of projects are considered. The process of planning and managing projects can be drawn as a cycle. Each phase of the project leads to the next . 31 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH Identification The first step in the project cycle is to identify an issue that a project could address. This usually involves a ‘needs assessment’ which finds out what community needs are and whom they affect. Only when we know what people really want can we develop an effective project. Project design Once a priority community need has been identified, we can start to think about how it can be addressed. Project design consists of: − Stakeholder analysis − Research, including problem analysis − Log frame − Risk analysis − Action planning − Budgeting Implementation and evaluation During the implementation of the project it is important to monitor and review the progress of the project and any outside changes that affect it. The project plans should be adjusted where necessary. Evaluation could be carried out a few months or years after the project has finished in order to assess its long-term impact and sustainability. Lessons learning While the project cycle is a useful way of outlining the stages of a project, it has one drawback: it makes it look as though one tool follows another. In fact, many of the planning tools can be used at any stage of the project. They should be repeated throughout the project’s life to ensure that any changes that might affect project success are accounted for. Findings should also be used for organizational learning and to improve other projects. A central value of the PCM method is that aspects of the project are reconsidered throughout the project cycle to ensure that any changes which have occurred are included in the project design. As a result, projects are more likely to be successful and sustainable 32 www.innoref.net 3.2.2. Logical Framework Approach The Logical Framework Approach (LFA) is an analytical, presentational and management tool which can help planners and managers to: • analyze the existing situation during project preparation; • establish a logical hierarchy of means by which objectives will be reached; • identify some of the potential risks; • establish how outputs and outcomes might best be monitored and evaluated; and • present a summary of the project in a standard format. Key steps in the Logical Framework Approach 1. Establish the general scope and focus of the project. 2. Agree on the specific planning framework, terminology and design process. 3. Undertake a detailed situation analysis. 4. Develop the project strategy (objective hierarchy, implementation arrangements and resources). 5. Identify and analyze the assumptions and risks for the chosen strategies and modify the project design if assumptions are incorrect or risks are too high. 6. Develop the monitoring and evaluation framework. The Logical Framework Approach involves problem analysis (problem tree), stakeholder analysis, objectives tree, objectives hierarchy and selecting a preferred implementation strategy. The product of this analytical approach is the matrix (the Logframe), which summarizes what the project intends to do and how, what the key assumptions are, and how outputs and outcomes will be monitored and evaluated. 33 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH 4. REPORTING 4.1. Progress Reports Progress reports must be produced by implementing partners/project managers on a regular basis (as specified in the call documents). The Lead Partner has to submit a Progress Report containing activities and expenditures covering the established period. The report is composed by an activity section which includes information on project progress and produced outputs and a financial section which includes information on expenditures paid during the reporting period. In order to duly fill in the Progress Report the Project Manager must have the contribution of all partners; it is recommended that 15 days before the delivery of the Progress Report each partner must send to the Project Manager a simple format containing the activities carried out in the reporting period. This procedure has the double aim of providing help in writing the Progress Report and to monitor project progress of each partner. The Progress Report must be compiled in a way that the reader has a whole vision of the project; it should be avoided to list activities and outputs according to each partner. This method creates confusion and does not allow understanding the project progress as a whole. Furthermore it is important to state the deviations from the Application Form. Deviations can consist in extra activities/outputs done but not foreseen in the original plan and anticipation or postponement of activities/outputs to another reporting period. 4.2. Final Report After project finalization, a Final Report must be submitted to the Managing Authority together with the last Progress Report. This report contains a summary of the activities carried out during the project life and the main results. 4.3. Project closure A Project has a beginning (Start-up phase), an implementation phase and an end (Project closure). This may be stating obvious but a project can be considered closed when: • The Managing Authority has accepted formally all outputs • Documentation and reference material is in place • Actions and recommendations are documented and disseminated • All expenditures have been paid and certified. 34 www.innoref.net 5. COMMUNICATION 5.1. Internal communication During INNOREF lifetime, we have seen that at sub-project level the organization of the Steering Committees or Partner Boards meetings presented several difficulties. 5.1.1. Meeting management Meetings can be very productive but they can be also a waste of time, here some ways to improve your meeting management skills. 5.1.2. Stand PAT A meeting has to have a Purpose, an Agenda and a Timeframe. You should be able to define the purpose of the meeting in one or two sentences at most. Set an agenda. List the items you are going to review/discuss. Better to assign a time limit to each agenda item and identify the person responsible to speak or moderate the discussion. Set a timeframe. We recommend setting a duration for each item in the agenda. These should total to the overall meeting timeframe. An important task for the meeting organizer is to write the minutes of the meeting. How detailed these are depends on the nature of what is being discussed and the skill of the available note taker. The minutes should record the list of participants, what was discussed, any agreement reached and any action items that were assigned. Soon after the meeting, the minutes should be distributed to all participants by e-mail asking for integrations/amendments. The minutes concerning the Steering Committees or Partner Boards should be considered internal so they must be distributed only to SC or PB participants. It is not very polite to publish private discussions, problems or disagreements among participants. 5.2. External communication This activity usually is not taken into the appropriate consideration but plays a great role for the success of your project. It is important to create a project logo, which must be very simple and sticky so to allow a good reproduction and make your project immediately recognizable. Any relevant project documentation should display on their title page the EU emblem including the text: „Project part-financed by the European Union“, the Programme and the project logos. 5.2.1. Project Strategy The Project Manager in cooperation with the Expert in communication has to plan an overall dissemination strategy for the project. The dissemination strategy will focus on what the community needs to learn from the project, and the processes needed for embedding and 35 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH take-up. It will cover any important initiatives e.g. conferences or workshops, and ensure there is a coherent plan for projects to build on. The dissemination strategy will be shared with partners at the start of the project to help them think about outcomes, embedding, and sustainability and how dissemination can contribute to the overall strategy. 5.2.2. Communication Plan Each partner must develop its own communication plan as part of the overall project plan and report on results in progress reports and in the final report. The communication plan will explain how the project plans to share outcomes with stakeholders, relevant institutions, organizations, and individuals, and contribute to the overall dissemination strategy for the programme. The dissemination plan will explain: • What you plan to disseminate – the message • To whom – the audience • Why – the purpose • How – the method • When – the timing. Purpose All dissemination should have a purpose, and support or inform project development in some way. The purpose of the activity may be to: • Raise awareness – let others know what you are doing • Inform – educate the community • Engage – get input/feedback from the community • Promote – ‘sell’ your outputs and results. First think about what you want to achieve. You may want to announce the project’s inception, highlight a specific result or finding, or get early feedback before going on to the next stage. Then think about what the project will gain from it, e.g. raise your profile, gain support, or get input to influence future project work. Think about the key message you want to send. It’s often useful to think of the person on the receiving end. What do they need to know about your project? How can you communicate it clearly before they delete your email, throw away your brochure, or nod off during your presentation? • Focus on clear, simple messages that are easily understood. • Get the right message to the right audience. You can send the same message to different audiences, but make sure it’s relevant to each one. 36 www.innoref.net • Coordinate messages within and across projects. Messages from a group of projects often have greater impact than messages from a single project. . • Don’t build up unrealistic expectations at the start of the project. Target Think about who you want to reach and what they can do for your project. Identify the different individuals, groups, and organizations that will be interested in what you’re developing, particularly with respect to take-up at the end of the project. You should identify people who will be affected by your project and whose support you need. Use dissemination to inform and engage stakeholders, and get them to buy into your work. Methods There are a wide variety of dissemination methods. The trick is to select the right one(s) to get your message to the target audience and achieve your purpose. The following table lists some of the many methods you can use and how to make the most of them. Method Institution newsletter Project web site Purpose Αwareness Inform Αwareness Inform Promote Αwareness Hints and Tips Use the institution newsletter to announce the project, give regular updates, develop a profile, and get buy-in. Be creative. For example, include an interview with your project ‘champion’, some quotes from end users, or praise from an external evaluator. Your project web site is one of the most versatile dissemination tools. Put plenty of information there for different audiences. Add to it regularly so people keep coming back. Sell the project and engage the community. A press release is a formal announcement to the national press. It takes skill to write a press release and get it to the right media. Though much communication is electronic, it is still often useful to create an A4 flyer that can be circulated in printed form, e.g. to hand out at conferences or to colleagues at your institution. The electronic version (e.g. PDF file) can also be circulated electronically. National and international conferences are an important opportunity to share your achievements with experts in various fields. Make sure you have something to say, select conferences where it will have an impact, and ones that will attract the experts you want to impress. A poster session at a conference may be more appropriate when you have work in progress. You write up your work in poster format, and present it to delegates who attend the session. Workshops are small interactive events held to achieve a specific objective. A workshop could be used to get feedback from users on a demo or to get feedback from experts on a particular 37 Press releases Flyers /brochures Conference presentations Conference posters Workshops Αwareness Engage Promote Engage Promote Engage INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH Method Purpose Hints and Tips issue. Though there may be an introductory presentation to set the scene, the emphasis is on discussion to inform future development. Any and every opportunity should be taken to get articles published about the project. Consider peer reviewed journals in relevant disciplines near the end of the project when you have data and results to report. During the project you may want to contribute to electronic newsletters. You may be preparing reports on specific topics. Post them on your web site so they are accessible to a wide audience. Think of anything your project has developed that may be useful to others, e.g. guidelines, methods, evaluation criteria, toolkits, or questionnaires. Journal articles Inform Reports and other documents Inform Timing Decide when different dissemination activities will be most relevant. Messages will vary during the timeframe of the project. For example, at the start focus on awareness of your project, and at the end on ‘selling’ achievements. Also think about the time commitments of your target audience. Collaboration As noted above, the Project Manager in cooperation with the Expert in communication will have a dissemination strategy for the project. This will ensure that the project has a high profile, the community learns from its achievements, and outputsare embedded and taken up. The Expert in communication will share the strategy with the partners’ project managers early in the project and invite them to contribute ideas. Thinking early about the ‘big picture’ will maximize the impact of dissemination and the sustainability of its outputs. Language Your project may be developing something that’s technically difficult and complex. In dissemination activities, use language appropriate for the target audience, and non-technical language where possible. This is particularly important for dissemination to stakeholders. They need to know what you’ve achieved and why it’s important. You can send the same messages to different audiences, but use appropriate language for each audience. Evaluate Success In planning the purpose of a dissemination activity, you decide what you want to gain from it. Try to build an evaluation component into any major dissemination activity to see if 38 www.innoref.net you’ve achieved your purpose. For example, if you invite people to visit your web site, check the usage logs. If you hold a workshop, hand out a short questionnaire to find out what participants thought of it. Project Web Site • Each partner must create a web page/site. The lead institution must host it on its server for at least 3 years after the end of the project. • There’s a standard format for project pages, e.g. background, aims and objectives, overall approach, contacts. It informs the community about the project while the project develops its own proper web site. • Project web sites will vary according the nature and scope of the project. The project web site is an important and versatile dissemination tool. It will inform the community about your project, findings, resources you have created, and what you have learned. As a dissemination vehicle, it should include any publicity the project has created, journal articles, other publications, and presentations at conferences. Projects should also post their core project documents on their web site. As a minimum, post the project plan and final report. Progress reports are also useful, as this lets other projects know where you are, and they can learn from how you’re dealing with problems and issues. • Creating a private area on the web allows inserting all the relevant project documents (Subsidy Contract, Cooperation Agreement, SC regulations, Progress Reports etc.) available for consultation by the project team. This method of archive documents has been very useful during INNOREF project. However, projects should note the following hints and tips: • Make it attractive and easy to use, with intuitive navigation; • Keep the web site up to date; • Submit the web site to key search engines so it gets lots of traffic; • Ask key web sites on similar topics to link to yours. 5.2.3. Innovative communication During the four years of INNOREF we have had many successfully events (info-meetings, conferences, exhibitions, workshops, seminars and round tables), toward the end people got tired to use these communication tools, therefore we have started to use more innovative methods. In order to avoid a sequence of power point presentations, followed by round tables we decided to adopt the World Café methodology, which we experimented in a RFO Forum organized by the East Joint Technical Secretariat of Interreg 3C in Bologna in 2006. On the 24th of May 2007 we organized the Sub-Projects Forum in Patras (Greece) adopting this new method and the results were amazing. Participants were enthusiastic and some 39 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH of them decided to implement the method in future projects/meetings. The advantage to use this method is that there is an interaction among participants, everybody expresses his opinion and there is a feedback between participants and organizers. The World Café method The environment is set up like a café, with tables for four-five, tables covered by paper tablecloths, some colored pens and refreshments. People sit to a table and have a series of conversational rounds lasting from 20 to 30 minutes about one question. At the end of each round, one person remains at each table as the host, while each of the other travel to separate tables. Table hosts welcome newcomers to their tables and share the essence of that table’s conversation so far. The newcomers relate any conversational threads which they are carrying -- and then the conversation continues, deepening as the round progresses. At the end of the second round, participants move on to other tables for one or more additional rounds -- depending on the design of the Café. In subsequent rounds they may explore a new question or go deeper into the original one. After three or more rounds, the whole group gathers to share and explore emerging themes, insights, and learning, which are captured on flipcharts or other means for making the collective intelligence of the whole group visible to everyone so they can reflect on what is emerging in the room. At this point the Café may end or it may begin further rounds of conversational exploration and inquiry. 40 www.innoref.net PHASE III – MONITORING, REVIEW AND EVALUATION 6. THE 3 KEY FACTORS OF PROJECT CONTROL 6.1. Monitoring In order to be able to asses the project you must establish a monitoring, review and evaluation system which takes into account the efficiency of the management and coordination, project progress and dissemination of activities. Monitoring involves the collection, analysis, communication and use of information about the project’s progress. Monitoring should highlight strengths and weaknesses in project implementation and enable responsible personnel to deal with problems, improve performance, build on successes and adapt to changing circumstances. It is fundamental that the Project Manager and the Financial Manager visit the partners so that problems can be quickly solved and in a most efficient way. Very often, the language barrier create problems which cannot be solved in a written way so a face to face meeting can help in a more concrete way. The maintenance of accurate project information enables ongoing assessment of progress against predictions and early identification of any drift away from project spends profile. There is no one model equally suitable for all projects. Each scheme has individual characteristics and monitoring systems need to be tailored to the requirements of each project and the programme providing the funding. During the Partner Board meeting in the agenda there must be always the issue concerning the project-state-of-the-art, each PM has to update the others with the progress or problems in his/her organization. This will allow members to find solutions. In INNOREF an assessment check list to be filled in by PMs was prepared; this tool was proved to be useful in monitoring the advancement of project activities. 6.2. Review Regular reviews provide the opportunity for project implementers to further analyze information collected through monitoring, reflect on the implications, make informed decisions and take appropriate management action to support effective implementation. Furthermore regular review allows problems and issues to be addressed, as they occur, by the project management. The main purpose of reviews is to share information, make collective decisions and re-plan the forward project as appropriate. Regular reviews may be conducted at different levels within the project management structure, at different times and with varying frequency. However, the main point is that they should be regular (pre-planned) and they should have a clear agenda and structure. 41 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH 6.3. Evaluation Why do we need to evaluate? There are several reasons among them: • To learn from the experience of what succeeded and what did not; • To consider if there were better ways of designing the project; • To check that the objectives of the projects have been fulfilled; • As background to any conflict with the contractor over what has been achieved. In general the evaluation must be carried out by an external evaluator (independent source). It is important to underline that evaluation is not an audit. It is not a check that all procedures have been adhered but it is a chance to decide whether the project has met its wider objectives. The evaluation should be qualitative and quantitative. Furthermore evaluation can be distinguished from monitoring and regular review by: • Its scope (broader – being concerned with, whether or not, the right objectives and strategies were chosen); • Its timing (less frequent – usually at completion or ex-post); • Those involved (will usually involve ‘external/independent’ personnel to provide objectivity); • The users of the results (including planners and policy makers concerned with strategic policy and programming issues, rather than just managers responsible for implementing the tasks in hand). The main differences between monitoring, reviewing and evaluation is that they are carried out at different stages of the project: • Monitoring: is done continuously to make sure the project is on track, for example, every 2 months. • Reviewing: is done occasionally to see whether each level of objectives leads to the next one and whether any changes need to be made to the project plans, for example, every six months. • Evaluation: is usually done at the end of the project to assess its impact. 6.4. Why monitoring, reviewing and evaluating? There are two main reasons for measuring our performance: • We need to show those who give us resources and those who benefit from our work that we are using the resources wisely. • By measuring, analyzing and reflecting on our performance, we can learn lessons that will enable us to either change our project plans or change our approach to other projects. 42 www.innoref.net To measure performance, we need to address: Relevance - Does the project address needs? Efficiency - Are we using the available resources wisely? Effectiveness - Are the desired outputs being achieved? Impact - Has the wider goal been achieved? What changes have beneficiaries? Sustainability - Will the impact be sustainable? occurred that help 6.5. Financial monitoring If the activity monitoring is important for comparing expected outputs to foreseen (and approved) plans of work, the financial monitoring is fundamental in order to check if the expenditure of the project is increasing properly, following the foreseen budget breakdown or not. Therefore, one of the most important aspects that have to be seriously taken into consideration at the beginning of the project is the financial monitoring system that has to be adopted for checking the implementation. At the beginning of the project, therefore, when the monitoring system has to be set up, it is important to verify how this system has to work, which level of detail is needed (and will be asked to all partners and participants) and how often these information will be requested. a. How the system has to work: the setting up of the monitoring system is something that 43 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH has to be done by the Financial Manager of the project as soon as the implementation phase starts. Usually a good practice is to foresee “who sends what to whom?” meaning which kind of information have to be sent, how and to whom. As it has been said before, the financial manager is the person who collects all the financial information received by the partnership and elaborates these data in order to have an overview about the financial situation/implementation of the project. In order to be able to do that, if a project involves a lot of partners, it is necessary that the FM asks and receives clear information. For doing that it is necessary that FM sets up a monitoring system at the early beginning of the project. b. In order to do that it is important to analyze the original budget and see, compared to the application form, which are the compulsory elements approved. Usually, more detailed is the budget approved by the Managing Authority (the one who finance the project) more detailed will be the monitoring. If the budget of the application form is divided per budget line, partner, work packages and semesters, the FM has to plan a system that gives him the possibility of knowing all these information. Therefore the detail of the monitoring information requested has to be in line with the approved budget, otherwise the monitoring could not give a good feedback about the real financial progresses of the project. It is also suggested to foresee at the early beginning a formal procedure for the submission of the monitoring information: e.g. foresee adequate files for monitoring, deadlines for the submission .... Collecting figures from 30 or more partners could be very difficult if the system is not correctly set up at the beginning c. A good monitoring system is the one that gives a clear overview about the financial implementation of the project and, compared with the approved budget, gives possibility of analyzing elements that should be corrected (e.g. over/underspending). Since the monitoring information take a photo of the project at a certain date, it is obvious that usually the FM analyzes passed situations. Therefore, as often the FM receives new information, more often he/she is able to have an overview about the financial implementation. It has to be mentioned that it is not possible to ask too often for these figures because it should be time consuming and giving to partenrs to much work for the 44 www.innoref.net management. Nevertheless, based on the experience of INNOREF, to receive monitoring information every two months is an acceptable term. In order to monitor in a proper way the financial implementation of the project these are the minimum information that should be checked for each single expenditure incurred: 1. Budget line (e.g. staff, investments, ....) 2. Work package/Group of activity (1, 2, 3...) 3. Description of the specific cost declared (e.g. “invoice n. 1 of the external expertise named ..... concerning the activity 2”) 4. Amount of the payment 5. Cash date of the payment The sheet that could be used for the monitoring could be the following one: Sometimes (especially next to project closure) it should be interesting to analyze also the expected closure of the project. For doing that the FM should request the usual monitoring Reporting Period Partner Budget line Comp. Specification of costs/activity Payments Invioce n. Date Total amount of Payroll of cash the payment information as well as a forecasts of expected payments sure to be done in the next months. Even if the examination about the eligibility of the expenditures will be done by different bodies (E.g. national authorities, ministry, accounting firms, ....) it is helpful that the FM checks the expenditures done and verify if, in his/her opinion, some expenditure has not the elements for being approved (e.g. expenditure not financed by the programme, not eligible for EU cofinancing, expenditure paid later or before the term for the eligibility of the expenditure, ...) 45 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH 6.5.1. Reporting Depending on the own procedure of each European programme, on a regular base the partner of a project is requested to submit to the Managing Authority a progress report. In this report has to be indicated also the financial implementation of the project up to this point. Usually these kind of report are requested to be submitted twice a year, every 6 months. If the monitoring activity has been done in an adequate way, the financial report will just confirm the monitored payments incurred during the relevant period and, therefore, the FM will be able to check if the financial framework declared in the Progress report is in line with the monitoring figures received within that period. With the financial progress report, therefore, the Lead partner of a project report declares which is the amount of the incurred expenditures of the project within the foreseen period. The expenditure has to be indicated according to budget categories, in order to give to the managing authority the clearest overview about underspending of overspending. As said before, the Progress report contains two parts: the first concerns the Activity report, the second one the Financial report. The financial section is also divided into other parts, intended to give a clear overview about the financial implementation of the Project from different points of view. Usually these are the tables that are attached to a progress report: 6. A table concerning the financial implementation of the activities. In this table the amount spent has to be divided giving an overview of the costs incurred for each group of activity/component. This gives the possibility to understand if activities were budgeted in the proper way or if a reallocation is needed (for overestimation or underestimation). The table should be as the following one: Specificaton of Costs Staff Administration Costs Travel and Accomodation External Expertise 46 Component 1 Component 2 Component 3 Component 4 Component 5 27.729,37 10.854,65 4.979,03 4.779,27 1.010,57 7.382,89 704,22 Total 50.746,18 6.693,82 2.679,53 768,32 779,84 419,88 711,49 19.968,82 40.348,44 11.228,00 6.635,84 78.181,10 www.innoref.net Specificaton of Costs Meetings, Events Investments Promotion Costs TOTAL FOR COMPONENT Component 1 Component 2 Component 3 Component 4 Component 5 Total 2.252,81 4.940,96 144,00 50.746,18 6.693,82 0,00 145.638,40 48.466,51 58.665,97 17.437,72 21.0688,20 7. A table concerning the financial implementation of each partner: in this table the same amounts have to be indicated BUT they have to be divided in a different way. It has to be reported the whole expenditure that each partner has paid for each budget line. The table in this case is the following: Specificaton of Costs Staff Administration Costs Travel and External Expertise Meetings, Events Investments Promotion Costs TOTAL FOR COMPONENT Partner 1 16.976,13 4.167,06 2.617,23 67.189,10 2.068,01 1.881,17 144,00 Partner 2 Partner 3 26.324,99 1.010,57 0,00 8.728,00 184,80 1.058,29 0,00 Partner 4 7.445,06 1.516,19 62,30 2.264,00 0,00 2.001,50 0,00 Partner 5 Total 50.746,18 6.693,82 2.679,53 78.181,10 2.252,81 50.746,18 6.693,82 145.638,40 95.042,70 0,00 37.306,65 13.289,05 The two tables, therefore, have to present the same financial implementation figures ONLY divided in different ways. Therefore the whole amount declared as well as the amount of each budget line, has to be the same in both the tables. 47 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH 8. Another table is often required in a progress report and it is the table concerning the external expertise. It is important to detail as much as possible the list of expertise paid during the semester, by providing the name of the consultant, the content of the expertise, the relevant component, ant the specific amount paid. The table should be as the following one: External Expertise Expertise contracted Related Component Participant responsible for contracting Amount in EUR Once all the figures have been filled in the relevant sheets, the Partner has to verify the coherence between all the sheets (even if in some cases, the electronic templates that have to be used give in automatic the possibility of checking this coherence). 6.5.2. Financial Evaluation of the Progress Report Once the Progress Report has been submitted to the relevant bodies, the Managing Authority has to start the financial evaluation of the sub projects. These are just some of the elements that should be verified during this evaluation: 1. Has the project respected the foreseen budget breakdown/amount to be spend? 2. Is there an over/underspending? 3. Is there congruence between activities done and costs declared? 4. Are costs justified for these kinds of activities? 5. Is the report duly filled in all the foreseen sheets? 6. Are there some deviations? 7. Are there errors? 8. Do all the sheets are coherent each other? 9. Do all the partners are increasing their expenditure with the same speed? 10. Which are the reasons for one partner’s underspending? 11. Will they be able to absorb in the next periods the amounts not declared in the analyzed period? Another important aspect to be analyzed is the analysis of the deviations. Sometimes due to 48 www.innoref.net over/underspending (but also due to typing errors) some deviations are highlighted in the progress report. We have a deviation when there is a disparity or incongruence between the budgeted amount for a certain cost (e.g. investments) and the spent amount. When these differences are found it is necessary to analyze and verify the reason why there are these deviations. The financial progress report could not be approved until all these elements have been duly clarified by the partner. 6.5.3. Public procurement It is also important that the FM pays attention to the subcontracting activity of the Partners: it has to have guarantees that the public procedures of procurement have been adequately followed as well as the selection procedure has been duly publicized. If a co-financing from EU will cover part of costs of these procurement, it is important that all the relevant regulations have been respected in the selection procedure. It is important that national and regional legislation is followed as well. 6.5.4. Audit trails If a project is financed by public resources, usually, a specific way of storing the documents is required. If the project is financed by structural funds, in particular, there are a lot of things to be done in order to adapt the own procedure of the partner to the relevant regulations (e.g.EC Reg 438/2001). A particular attention has to be given to the accounting system that will be used for the implementation of the project: this system has to give the possibility of checking the registration of each single payment that has to be declared for the project and verifying, in this way, that the relevant cash payment has been duly recorded in the accounting system of the partner. Then another important point, already mentioned, is the way of storing documents related to the project (as for example documents concerning public procurements done for the project, invoices, acts of payment, progress reports, ...). As a general rule, all the documents concerning a project have to be stored in the same place and the access to these documents has to be easy. Article 7 of EC regulation 438/2001 concerns the so called “audit trail” and gives a clear overview about the system that has to be set up for the implementation of a project co-financed by Structural Funds. 49 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH 7. CO-OPERATION Values and understanding are very important concepts in the field of co-operation, the way people perceive each other is also an important aspect; we must admit that cultural differences still pose problems in this field. Cultural differences and procedures led to misunderstanding which cause delays in implementing project activities. According to our experience several difficulties can be mentioned: • different administrations and powers; • different legislation; • geographical distance makes monitoring difficult; • different general and administrative cultures; • language problem; • often dismissed as theoretical discussions or projects that have no real impact on ordinary people; • cultural differences led to misunderstandings which hampered the smooth running of co-operation activities (delays in implementation, different types of behavior, etc.); • lack of political commitment and support. To implement the co-operation require the following basic conditions: • a high degree of coordination; • good ICT connection to the partner; • adequate support from politicians and authorities, etc.; • new technologies which allow good contact to be maintained in spite of distance; • promoting the region and its image abroad; • supporting the setting up of projects; • providing long-term support for projects; • expressing an interest in the assessment of results and taking an active part in changing or improving subsequent projects; • Establish an efficient co-operation network. 50 www.innoref.net 8. NETWORKING 8.1. Introduction This aspect is not part of the project management but we think that a successful project cannot avoid involving stakeholders. To build a wonderful project has no meaning if nobody knows about it. We must share our experiences, install a dialogue and improve the co-operation among experts and civil society. From this sharing and confrontation we can achieve better results and increase the acceptance of the project by stakeholders. INNOREF has been built keeping in mind this concept and the achieved results have confirmed that the idea was correct; we have established 531 networks in the 4 regions, they have created new projects, shared their visions and local knowledge with us, established new partnerships and ensured a project follow-up. We believe that our experience and methodology can be considered a best practice and can be easily adopted by other regions. Here we give you just some hints, for more detailed information you can read the Methodological Manual and the Participation Process Assessment, both documents published on INNOREF web site (www.innoref.net). 8.2. Why participatory approach? Successful projects require the involvement of all stakeholders from the very beginning as well as their continued participation and inputs throughout the process. Without a diversity of values, knowledge and perspectives involved in the process, decisions reached by partnership are unlikely to be widely accepted, adopted or sustained over time. Without the trust developed over time through considerable public discussion and an open democratic or consensus-based process, the partnership may create opposition or apathy which can limit its effectiveness. There are several reasons why stakeholders should have the opportunity to participate in a project (especially if this is related to planning, environment issues, socio-economic development etc, all topics which affect directly the citizens’ lives): • The main reason is that only stakeholders can provide the information needed to develop, maintain, and carry out an effective comprehensive project. Professional planners, experts and local officials need comments and ideas from those who know the community best: people who live and work there. • Stakeholder’s involvement educates the public about planning. It creates an informed community, which in turn leads to better planning. • It gives members of the community sense of ownership of the project. It fosters cooperation among citizens and between them and their region. That leads to fewer conflicts and less litigation, which finally reduces costs for re-planning and conflict resolution and leads to a higher acceptance of results. • Finally, stakeholder’s involvement is an important means of enforcing various laws. 51 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH 8.3. How to build networks Then the Moderator can start to organize the workshops and invite the identified stakeholders (some of them suggested by the key persons, others chosen according to their position/role in the community). It is very important to have an interesting agenda and to have a relaxed environment in order to attract stakeholders and to have continuity in their participation. If your workshop deals with interesting topics, discuss and produce concrete proposals and are well managed you can multiply the number of participants and enlarge the project networking. The role of the Moderator is fundamental in the networking success, it depends on him to avoid conflicts, litigations, keep the discussion on topics which can be affected realistically by stakeholders. 52 www.innoref.net 9. RECOMMΕNDATIONS Based on the findings outlined above, find the following recommendations: • It would be much more efficient and guarantee of good results if the Project Developer and the Project Manager will be the same person. Who writes the project has clearly in mind what and how he/she will achieve the expected results. To manage a project written by others causes several drawbacks due to the difficulties in understanding the process; • In order to add value to the organization, Steering Committee members must support the team in the achieve¬ment of its common objectives and promote the project internationally; • A good monitoring is the key factor for a successful project from the activity and financial point of view, do not underestimate this task. • Select the key people very carefully, you can have junior staff but at least the PM and FM need good experience in managing transnational projects. • When problems arise, look immediately for a solution; do not wait until the situation is not resolvable. • Create a feedback mechanism which allow to stimulate the project (press review, external observers etc.). • Ensure a permanent information exchange with the Managing Authority. • The more concrete and measurable the goals are defined, the more clear and communicable is the project and furthermore the assessment gets easier. • Assure that the commitment of the authorities is adequate for promoting your project in a broader scale (society and policy). • Last but not least: apply innovative procedures and solutions; organize events in a creative way; create a pleasant environment for collaborators. The project will benefit! 53 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH 10. BIBLIOGRAPHY Caltrans Project Management Handbook, Sacramento, September , 2002 De Toffol Fabiola, Stra.S.S.E. Guidelines on participation in sustainable local development projects, Municipality of Corciano, 2007 European Communities, A guide to successful communications Luxembourg, 2004 EU Commission, EuropAid Cooperation Office, Aid Delivery Methods Vol. 1 – Project Cycle Management Guidelines, Bruxelles, March 2004 INNOREF Participation Process Report, 2007 Leading Teams, Harward Business School Press, Boston, 2006 Levine Harvey A. Practical project management : tips, tactics, and tools. New York : John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2002. Nardini Andrea, Decidere l’ambiente con l’approccio partecipato, CIRF, Mazzanti Editori, Venezia, 2005 Project management Institute. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) 2000 Edition, USA Ruoss Engel, INNOREF Methodological Manual, 2007 Scholtes Peter R., The Leader’s Handbook, McGraw-Hill, New York , 1998 54 www.innoref.net 11. GLOSSARY Application Form Applicant Package Audit Form containing information concerning the project (description, budget, partnership etc), to be filled in by the applicant and submitted to the Managing Authority of the Programme. Set of documents (Application Form, Applicant Manual, Glossary) needed for developing and submitting an application. Official examination of accounts, reports, etc carried out by an independent body. The aim is to check whether they fulfil the requirements, so that ERDF financing can be distributed. This approach is based on the participation of people in the decision process since the first steps; it is in contrast with the usual top-down procedure which is based on a hierarchy structure. Bottom-up approaches ensure stronger effectiveness of promoted social/economic/ environmental changes due to the commonly shared decision-making process. Bottomup approaches will be enhanced by appropriate identification of key local participants (stakeholders). Period of time during which applications can be submitted to the Managing Authority of the Programme. Bottom-up approach Call for proposals Community Initiative INTERREG Programme document describing background, objectives, financing and implementation of the programme. This document is approved by the European Commission. Programme (CIP) Co-operation Agreement Cost-benefit analysis Effectiveness Efficiency Eligible costs European Regional Development Fund Contract between the Lead partner and the project partners Cost-benefit analysis involves the valuation of the flow of the project’s costs and benefits over time to determine the project’s return on investment. A comparison is made between the situation ‘with’ and ‘without’ the project to determine the net benefit of the project. The contribution made by the project’s results to the achievement of the project purpose The fact that the results were obtained at reasonable cost, i.e. how well means and activities were converted into results, and the quality of the results achieved Costs eligible for reimbursement (ERDF) The ERDF is intended to help reduce imbalances between regions of the Community. The Fund was set up in 1975 and grants financial assistance for development projects concerning the less developed regions. In terms of financial resources, the ERDF is by far the largest of the EU’s Structural Funds. 55 INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH Evaluation A periodic assessment of the efficiency, effectiveness, impact, sustainability and relevance of a project in the context of stated objectives. It is usually undertaken as an independent examination with a view to drawing lessons that may guide future decision-making. A feasibility study, conducted during the Formulation phase, verifies whether the proposed project is well-founded, and is likely to meet the needs of its intended target groups/ beneficiaries. The study should design the project in full operational detail, taking account of all policy, technical, economic, financial, institutional, management, environmental, socio-cultural, and gender-related aspects. The study will provide the European Commission and partner government with sufficient information to justify acceptance, modification or rejection of the proposed project for financing. Project participants. They can be public, public equivalent bodies or privates. The promotion of equality between women and men in relation to their access to social and economic infrastructures and services and to the benefits of development is vital. The objective is reduced disparities between women and men, including in health and education, in employment and economic activity, and in decision-making at all levels. All programmes and projects should actively contribute to reducing gender disparities in their area of intervention. Long-term effects produced by the project Costs not eligible for reimbursement The Joint Technical Secretariat in Interreg programme is responsible for the day-to-day management of the programme. Each programme zone has its own Joint Technical Secretariat. Lead partner at Sub-project level in a RFO (see Lead Partner) Lead partner at RFO level. It has full financial responsibility for the entire operation including all partners and is responsible for proper progress reporting to the Joint Technical Secretariat, as also stipulated in the Subsidy Contract A methodology for planning, managing and evaluating programmes and projects, involving stakeholder analysis, problem analysis, analysis of objectives, analysis of strategies, preparation of the Logframe matrix and Activity and Resource Schedules In the context of the Structural Funds, this means any public authority or body at national, regional or local level designated by the Member State to manage assistance from the Structural Funds. Feasibility Study Final beneficiaries Gender Equality Impacts Ineligible costs Joint Technical Secretariat Lead Participant Lead Partner Logical Framework Approach (LFA) Managing Authority 56 www.innoref.net Minutes Monitoring Networks Are the formal record of the meetings The systematic and continuous collecting, analysis and using of information for the purpose of management and decision-making. Cross-sectoral groups of stakeholders who find solutions in order to improve opportunities. Common goals and interests lead to enhance synergy and speed up development. Objective 1 Objective 1 of the Structural Funds is the main priority of the European Union’s cohesion policy. In accordance with the treaty, the Union works to “promote harmonious development” and aims particularly to “narrow the gap between the development levels of the various regions”. This is why more than 2/3 of the appropriations of the Structural Funds (more than EUR 135 billion) are allocated to helping areas lagging behind in their development (“Objective 1”) where the gross domestic product (GDP) is below 75% of the Community average. The Structural Funds will support the takeoff of economic activities in these regions by providing them with the basic infrastructure they lack, whilst adapting and raising the level of trained human resources and encouraging investment. Objective 2 of the Structural Funds aims to revitalise all areas facing structural difficulties, whether industrial, rural, urban or dependent on fisheries. Though situated in regions whose development level is close to the Community average, such areas are faced with different types of socio-economic difficulties that are often the source of high unemployment. These include: • the evolution of industrial or service sectors; • a decline in traditional activities in rural areas; • a crisis situation in urban areas; • difficulties affecting fisheries activity. Tangible and visible outcomes of the sub-project activities. They are typically measured in physical units such as: number of meetings/seminars/training sessions, number of networks established, number and type of reports/policy tools/written concepts, etc. See ‘bottom-up approach’. Costs incurred for the development of project idea and application. Are only eligible for approved projects on condition that they were incurred between a certain period established In INNOREF the regional PSC is a structure composed by the Project Manager, the Workshop Moderator and PSC’s assistants which act as help desk for sub-project applicants. The main tasks are: provide competencies, coordinate the regional and interregional networks, promote contacts and cooperation at national and international level. 57 Objective 2 Outputs Participation Process Preparation Costs Professional Service Center (PSC) INNOVATION AND RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AS DRIVING FORCES FOR A SUSTAINABLE GROWTH Programme Complement (PC) Document created for the 2000-2006 programme period, specifying the Interreg Programme in more detail than the Community Initiative Programme (CIP). It is an interim report on progress of work on a project submitted by the project management/ contractor to the partner organisation and the Commission within a specific time frame. It includes sections on technical and financial performance. It is usually submitted quarterly or six-monthly. A project is a series of activities aimed at bringing about clearly specified objectives within a defined time-period and with a defined budget. A methodology for the preparation, implementation and evaluation of projects and programmes based on the principles of the Logical Framework Approach. Public equivalent body means any legal body governed by public or private law: established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character , and having legal personality, and her financed, for the most part, by the State or regional or local authorities or other bodies governed by public law, or subject to management supervision by those bodies, or having an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the State, regional or local authorities or by other bodies governed by public law. The purchase of goods and services, as well as the ordering of public works, by public bodies, is subject to rules (procurement rules). These aim at securing transparent and fair conditions for competing on the common market and should be followed by the project partners when commissioning the above services, works or deliveries. A regional framework operation is one of the three types of operations (the other ones are individual projects and networks) funded from INTERREG IIIC. It is performed by a group of regional authorities or equivalent bodies aiming at exchanging experience on methodology and project-based activities. It can be considered a mini programme which finances subprojects. It is an approach to be followed by a private or public institution concerned with the participative Progress Report Project Project Cycle Management Public equivalent body Public procurement Project Idea Form Regional Management implementation of sustainable regional development concepts. Regional partnerships Stakeholders included in different networks at regional level Results Selection criteria 58 Results are direct and immediate effects brought about by the sub-project. They provide, for example, information on improvement in capacity/efficiency of partners or enhancement of performance. Criteria used to assess the quality of the proposed Sub-projects. www.innoref.net Stakeholders Individuals who are delegated the responsibilities of both the project manager and the functional manager for the production of particular elements in the project. Include any one who has an interest in a territory. This ranges from SME representatives, economic operators, local elected officials, chambers of commerce, environmental education organisations, farm groups, students, financial groups, credit unions, land developers, etc. Stakeholder analysis involves the identification of all stakeholder groups likely to be affected (either positively or negatively) by the proposed intervention, the identification and analysis of their interests, problems, potentials, etc. The conclusions of this analysis are then integrated into the project design Transnational body composed by voting members: 1 representative per partner and non voting members: Coordinator, Financial Manager and Observer (s). It is concerned with strategic management. The EU’s Structural Funds are administered by the Commission to finance Community structural aid. Financial support from the Structural Funds mainly goes to the less developed regions to strengthen the Union’s economic and social cohesion so that the challenges of the common market can be met throughout the EU Projects financed by an Interreg IIIC RFO . The contract signed between the Lead Partner and the Managing Authority. It determines the rights and responsibilities of the Lead Partner against the Managing Authority; the scope of activities to be carried out, terms of funding, requirements for reporting and financial controls, etc. The concept of sustainable development refers to a form of economic growth, which satisfies society’s needs and well-being in the short, medium and - above all - long terms. It is founded on the assumption that development must meet today’s needs without jeopardising the prospects of future generations. In practical terms, it means creating the conditions for long-term economic development with due respect for the environment. The Copenhagen world summit for sustainable development (March 1995) stressed the need to combat social exclusion and protect public health. The Treaty of Amsterdam included an explicit reference to sustainable development into the context of the EU Treaties. Is the key part of the invitation to tender, specifying the work to be done, the objectives to be fulfilled and the way in which the tenderer should approach the project. A detailed document stating which activities are going to be carried out in a given time period, how the activities will be carried out and how the activities relate to the common objectives and vision. 59 Stakeholder Analysis Steering Committee Structural Funds Sub-projects Subsidy Contract Sustainable development Terms of Refence (TOR) Work Plan www.innoref.net REGION OF FRIULI VENEZIA GIULIA Via Caccia, 17 - 33100 Udine - Italy ph. 0039 0432555247 www.regione.fvg.it REGION OF UMBRIA Centro Direzionale Fontivegge 06124 Perugia - Italy ph. 0039 0755045931 www.regione.umbria.it REGION OF WESTERN GREECE Patron Athinon 69-71 26442 Patras - Greece ph. 0030 2610465859 ww.westerngreece.gr ASSOCIATION OF MUNICIPALITIES “HRANICKO REGION” Parnstejnske namesti c.p.1 - 75337 Hranice (Czech Republic) ph. 00420 581626202 www.microregion-hranico.cz