4.1 Project Start-up

4.1.1  Pre-contracting phase

In the period from the MC decision until a Grant Letter is issued, the JS desk officer will approach the Lead Partner and have regular exchanges on any pre-contracting actions in the MC decision to agree on required updates to the application, including additional information on project management, bank details, the location where original documents are kept, and beneficial owners (a natural person that ultimately owns a company or legal arrangement, e.g. foundations, trusts).

During the period between MC approval and the official project start date some project activities can be considered eligible. In general, these activities and costs should be limited addressing pre-contracting actions and other inception costs, such as administrative steps necessary to run the project. Core project activities should start on or after the official project start date.

Start-up activities and costs may include, for example:

1. Setting up administrative requirements for managing project costs at the partner organisation;

2. Setting up your partnership Steering Committee and rules of procedure;

3. Drafting a Partnership agreement;

4. Assigning roles in the partnership;

5. Initiating recruitment procedures for project staff;

6. Contacting controllers;

7. Travel costs to attend programme events.

4.1.2. Start date and end date

A formal start date for activities is set in discussion with the Joint Secretariat. The agreed date is stated in the Joint Secretariat assessment of pre-contracting actions and will be the date set in the Grant Letter. Before starting up any activities if a main project decision (Grant Letter) has not been issued, please contact the Joint Secretariat to ensure eligibility of activities and related costs.

Project expenditure for project activities is eligible from the date stated in the Grant Letter.

The end date will be stated in the Grant Letter and will normally be 36 months after the start date for a main project. For other types of projects it will be between 6-18 months.

During the project period (start date until end date) all project activities including closure activities must be finished and all project expenditure must be paid. After the implementation period projects will have a three-month period to report.

It is important that projects start according to the time plan in the decision to avoid delays towards the end of the project.

Table 11 - Overview of dates and meaning for eligible expenditure

4.1.3. Grant Letter and contracting

For projects recommended to be approved, a Grant Letter will be issued by the Managing Authority.  The Grant Letter states the obligations and rights of the parties and constitutes the main agreement between the project and the programme.

The Grant Letter contains information on the project, including start and end date of activities, total eligible budget, programme co-financing and contribution. In addition, detailed information on implementing conditions, reporting obligations and legal responsibilities are outlined in the Grant Letter. Once the Grant Letter has been issued, the project will be contracted in Jems, which will give the partnership access to the reporting sections.

4.1.4. Partnership agreement

While the Grant Letter is signed between the Lead Partner and the Managing Authority, project
partnership agreements constitute the formal contract between the partners. While the LP is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the entire project towards the MA, each PP is responsible for ensuring the implementation of its part of the project towards the LP.

The partnership agreement provides a framework for efficient project implementation and governance and aims at guaranteeing the project’s compliance with the Interreg NPA programme. The use of a partnership agreement to carry out projects should help reduce risks by outlining for example:

• Roles and duties in the partnership

• Financial management of the project

• Rules on recoveries

• Modifications, withdrawal from obligations

• Information and communication requirements, publicity and branding

• Intellectual property rights, confidentiality and conflict of interest

• Dispute settlement

• Third party contracts, liability and outsourcing

• Legal succession

The NPA programme requires every project to have a partnership agreement in place no later than when the first project report is submitted to the JS. The agreement is however not reviewed nor approved by the programme administration. There is a template provided by HIT, see link.

4.1.5 Discuss Horizontal Principles at the kick-off meetings

When a partnership is ready to begin implementing a project, it's customary to hold a physical or virtual kick-off meeting to agree on the actual implementation steps, tasks and responsibilities. During this meeting, it is also recommended that the partnership discusses the specific measures that will be taken to make events, meetings, and accomplishments more sustainable and inclusive. 

To assist projects in this task, the Secretariat prepared two documents to help partners identify, agree and follow such specific measures. The documents shall be used at the kick-off meeting and reviewed by the end of the 1st, 3rd and 6th reporting periods.

Download the documents here.