- Category Certificate Program
- Number of Courses 3
- Language English
- Duration 30h
Certificate Program
Mastering winning proposals and EU Grants management
Two virtual classroom courses and one eLearning module to provide all the necessary skills to effectively work on EU international cooperation programs
Description
With this comprehensive and practical overview of EU grant management, participants will gain mastery in accessing EU funding and managing projects. The course teaches all the necessary skills to work with DG INTPA, DG NEAR and EU delegations on development projects. Rather than being intimidated by the grant application process, participants will develop their capacity to write proposals and prepare budgets, to ensure the set up of adequate tools for project monitoring and evaluation and to prepare narrative and financial reports for the EU, in accordance with the PRAG rules.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the Certificate Program, you will be able to:
- Identify relevant EU funding opportunities and calls for proposals
- Prepare successful project proposals and realistic budgets
- Set up and manage the M&E processes in your project
- Identify and prepare the most suitable M&E tools
- Manage financial support with third parties
- Comply with EU requirements in terms of visibility and communication activities
- Set up a code of conduct for your organisation
- Properly apply EU reporting requirements
- Collect the needed information and properly draft interim and final reports
- Provide full information on expenditure in the financial reports
- Ensure that project expenditures comply with EU rules
For any queries please have a look at our FAQs. If you don’t find what you’re looking for or need additional information, please get in touch with our customer care service.
Virtual Classroom
16-17 & 23-24 October 2023
Get EU Grants: writing successful proposals
This course provides practical guidance on how to prepare project proposals with the goal of obtaining funding from the DG INTPA/DG NEAR and the EU delegations for your development cooperation programs. Discover how the EU funding and programming system works and note our experts’ tips on how to establish a fruitful relationship with the EC and the EU delegations. Learn how to deal with calls for proposals and strengthen your competence in proposal writing and budgeting to be successful in the grant application process.
11-12 December 2023
Reporting on the implementation of EU Grants under the PRAG rules
Discover all the aspects related to reporting of EU Grants, including the main EU requirements and deadlines, according to the PRAG rules. Familiarize with the standard templates for the preparation of narrative reports, keep focused on results, respond to the EU expectations and communicate possible changes to the EU. Get benefit from an in-depth analysis of the preliminary steps to be followed to prepare accurate financial reports and to provide the needed information related to project expenditure. Know how to deal with payment procedures and currency conversion for reporting purposes.
eLearning
Gain in-depth knowledge and tools that will equip your organisation to act as a donor and award financial support to local CSOs, grassroots organisations or other entities within the framework of EU grants. Become familiar with the information that must be provided in your project proposals regarding this kind of “grants in cascade.” Be ready to manage financial support for third parties starting from the selection and award procedure, to the implementation and monitoring of related activities and results achieved, all the way through to reporting and expenditure verification or auditing processes.
Virtual Classroom
DAY 1
Module 1: The Financial Instruments for External Aid and the Trust Funds
- The MFF 2021-2027: focus on ‘Neighbourhood and the World’ and its financial instruments
- Main component of the NDICI
- Analyses and use the MultiannuaI Indicative Programmes (MIPs)
- Top priorities and management modalities of the Trust Funds
Module 2: How to Be Prepared for Funding Opportunities
- Align your objectives with the EU and partner’s country priority and expected results
Module 3: Working with the EU
- Two ways to get funding: direct negotiation and calls for proposals
- How to be proactive to ensure a fruitful relationship with the EC and EU delegations
DAY 2
Module 4: The Call for Proposals System
- Steps of the application process
- Using the guidelines for applicants
- Application documents and mandatory declarations
Module 5: Drafting Your Proposals
- General tips for successful proposals
Module 6: Logframe Matrix
- Build your results chain
- Identify SMART indicators and reliable sources of verification
- Identify key assumptions
- Describe the main activities
- Results and indicators for development – a new DEVCO tool: how to use the tool for the preparation of good logframes
DAY 3
Module 7: Drafting the Concept Note
- Description of the action: how to identify and explain the project logic
- Relevance to the EU call and programme objectives
- Problem analysis
- Stakeholder analysis and description of target group and beneficiaries
Module 8: The Key Aspects of the Full Application
- Description of the action in detail
- Methodology: don’t forget a list of equipment and supplies and the organisational structure (staff employed)
- Sustainability: risks, impact, multiplier effects
- Workplan
DAY 4
Module 9: Drafting the Budget
- The budget format
- Direct (actual costs and apportionment of local office costs) and indirect costs
- Eligibility principles
- Financial support for third parties
- Volunteer work
- The possible use of simplified cost options
- How to justify the costs
Module 10: Key Elements of the Implementation Rules to Take into Consideration When Preparing the Budget
- Human resources vs consultants
- Handover of equipment and supplies
- Contingency reserve for possible situations of hyper-inflation
Day 1
The grant contract: reporting requirements and timeline
- General requirements and deadlines
- Reporting and EU approval timeline
Preparing for reporting
- Collecting the needed information for reporting
- Dealing with changes
- Records-keeping system
Drafting interim and final narrative reports
- Introduction to narrative reports
- The Annex VI: report on activities, results and coordination mechanisms
- Updating the logframe
- Reporting on Visibility
Day 2
Preparing the financial report
- Preparatory phase
- Ensure the eligibility of the expenditure
- Currency conversion for accounting and for reporting
- Preparing the financial report
- Annexes to the financial report
- Payment procedure
Preparing for Expenditure verification
- The process
- The documents to be prepared
Annexes to the interim and final reports
- Summary of information and documents to be provided with the interim and final reports
- Documents to be kept for the expenditure verification and other possible checks and evaluations
eLearning
Module 1: Propose Financial Support for Third Parties
- Let’s analyse key information from the guidelines for applicants of calls for proposals
- Who are the third parties of financial support?
- Checklist of key elements to be provided at proposal stage
Module 2: Select the Beneficiaries of Financial Support
- The different types of selection procedures
- Calls for proposals
- Preparation activities: call announcement, full details of the call for proposals, publication of the call
- Proposals reception, evaluation and selection
- Supporting evidence of the evaluation process
Module 3: Awarding Financial Support
- Signature of agreement with the beneficiaries of financial support: key responsibilities of both parties
- Startup of financial support: briefing third parties on the use of EU funds
- Other activities of capacity development
Module 4: Monitoring and Reporting
- System of control set up to verify the eligibility of costs
- Reporting expenditure of financial support beneficiaries
- Supporting evidence and documentation that must be kept in your possession
By subscribing to the Certificate Program, you will have access to each course in the PuntoSud learning platform. From here, you can join the live sessions, download the course materials (including PowerPoint presentations, official EU documents, infographics and other useful links and materials), complete the eLearning modules, review the recordings of the live sessions and complete the initial and final test and participate in the active forum.
Throughout the whole period, by using the forum you will be able to communicate with the trainers, post questions and share information and best practices with other participants.
Staff of not-for-profit organisations (not suggested for UN agencies and other pillar-assessed organisations’ staff) with limited or no experience with EU development programmes.
- Consultants who are interested in a detailed overview of the EU programming and funding system, the grant application process and grant management.
- University or post-graduate students.
Previous experience or knowledge relating to the access and management of EU funds is not required.
You will need access to a computer or tablet with a microphone and speakers or a headset, as well as an Internet connection. The course will be held over Zoom – no additional software is required.
- Virtual class – for 2 weeks after the end of the last training session
- eLearning – for 30 days after you first access the course
Once you have completed all the training material and passed the exit test, your certificate of attendance for each specific course will be available to download from the learning platform.
Once you have also concluded the learning plan exit test, you will receive the final certificate. The certificates are always available in your profile page with historical data of all punto.sud Academy courses you’ve attended.
750Euro
(excluding VAT - to be added if due)
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Skill Level
Beginners - Intermediate - Advanced