Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1694844102157.pdf (Malta)
IT-TNAX-IL LEĠIŻLATURA P.L.

3042 Dokument imqiegħed fuq il-Mejda tal-Kamra tad-Deputati fis-Seduta Numru 169 tal-30 ta’ Ġunju 2014 mill-Ministru għall-Affarijiet Barranin, f’isem id- Deputat Prim Ministru u Ministru għall-Affarijiet Ewropej u t-Twettiq tal- Manifest Elettorali.

_______________________________ Raymond Scicluna Skrivan tal-Kamra APPLIKAZZJONIJIET TA' FONDI EWROPEJ - PROĊEDURI *10096.

L-ONOR.
L-ONOR.

ANTOINE BORG staqsa lill-Deputat Prim Ministru u Ministru għall- Affarijiet Ewropej u t-Twettiq tal-Manifest Elettorali: Jista' d-Deputat Prim Ministru jipprovdi kopja tal-proċeduri użati fl-evalwazzjoni tas-sottomissjonijiet li jsiru għall- applikazzjonijiet ta' fondi ewropej?

26/06/2014 ONOR.

LOUIS GRECH: Qed npoġġi fuq il-Mejda tal-Kamra kopja ta' linji gwida utilizzati fl-evalwazzjoni tas-sottomisjonijiet li jsiru għall-applikazzjonijiet ta' Fondi Strutturali, ta' Koeżjoni w dak Soċjali.
Liema dokument huwa diġa publiku u wieħed jista faċilment jaċċessah mill-website http://www.eufunds.gov.mt Seduta Numru 169 30/06/2014 1.1 Project Eligibility and Selection Criteria Projects received will be evaluated and ranked by a Project Selection Committee according to a set of eligibility and selection criteria (refer to Sections 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 and Annex I).

These criteria have been approved by the Monitoring Committee in line with Article 65 of Regulation (EC) 1083/2006.
To be considered for funding or to be placed on the reserve list, a project must pass all the Eligibility Criteria mentioned under Section 1.1.1 and must also obtain a minimum of 50% of the total marks allocated to the Selection Criteria mentioned in Section 1.1.2.

The marks allocated to each selection criterion are provided in Annex I.

1.1.1 Eligibility Criteria Eligibility criteria are a form of gateway assessment which ensures that all applications have reached a minimum standard.
Projects which do not comply with the gateway eligibility criteria will not proceed to full appraisal and scoring.

The project must fulfil the following criteria to be eligible for further assessment: a) Complete application form: The Applicant must present a complete application form, filled in with all relevant details and documentation, including complete annexes (where applicable).

Outline applications or incomplete applications shall not be considered.
All maps, diagrams and drawings should be of good quality and provide clear information that can be readily understood by those who are not familiar with the project.

For a project where physical works are involved, an outline drawing or plan of these works, clearly identifying the area for which funds are being sought through Cohesion Policy support, should be enclosed.
Any earlier or future phases should also be highlighted to demonstrate integration; b) Fits in with one or more of the focus areas of intervention: The project must fall within the scope of the relevant focus area of intervention that is open for project proposals; c) Contribute towards objectives: The project must contribute towards at least, one of the objectives of the Priority Axis under which it is being submitted; d) Contribute towards indicators: The project must have clearly identifiable and measurable targets that comply with at least one of the indicators set in the relevant Priority Axis/ (output, result and/or impact).
The Applicant must also provide a clear explanation of how the proposed targets presented in the application form for ‘outputs,’ ‘results’ and ‘impacts’ have been calculated and how they will be reached.

For example, if the project foresees the creation of a certain number of jobs, the Applicant must identify where and how these jobs are expected to be created.
The appropriate level of detail must be provided; e) Project remit within the mandate of the Beneficiary: Applicants must be publicly mandated to carry out the task of the project.

The project’s remit must fall within the mandate of the Applicant.

For example, in Malta, the upgrading of TEN-T road infrastructure lies within the remit of the Roads and Infrastructure Directorate, within Transport Malta.
Consequently, any other agency applying for funds to upgrade a TEN-T road will not be considered as an eligible Applicant, unless, the agency provides a clear justification as to why they will be intervening in this context and obtain the endorsement of this justification by the agency with the mandate, in this case, Transport Malta; f) Project leader from Beneficiary Organisation: The project leader carries the overall financial and legal responsibility for the implementation of the project and hence, his/her direct association with the Beneficiary organisation is fundamental, especially 1 with a view to ensure that the grant will be exclusively used for the purpose stipulated in the project proposal; g) Proof of Co-financing (where applicable); In cases where Government is not co- financing the project from the national budget, with the application form, Applicants must produce: 1.
A set of signed audited accounts of the last two financial years; 2.

A joint declaration by the Executive/Head and Treasury/Financial Controller of the organisation, stating that the organisation commits to co-financing obligations and to finance any ineligible costs; and 3.
Where it is clear that the audited accounts do not provide evidence of availability of sufficient liquidity (cash or cash equivalent) to cover the co-financing and ineligible costs, other sources of assurances, such as a bank guarantee1 should be presented.

It is important to note that co-financing in kind is NOT eligible; and h) Project implemented within/ for the direct benefit of the eligible territory: The eligible territory for the Operational Programme is the whole territory of the Republic of Malta.
In cases of publicity /branding /marketing, actions may be aired or distributed outside the territory, if the benefit is clearly for the territory.

Once the projects have passed the eligibility test, they will proceed with a project scoring system based on a number of selection criteria.

1.1.2 Project Selection Criteria The selection stage is based on the amount of marks gained by the project on the basis of the criteria below.
A minimum of 50% of the marks must be obtained for the project to be eligible for co-funding.

If there are more projects then funds available attaining 50% of the marks, a ranking will be established which includes approved projects as well as projects on the reserve list.
a) Justified need to implement the Project: Under Section 5.6 of the Application Form, the Applicant should provide a detailed justification of why the project is required; the likely demand (perhaps the market failures that have brought about the specific local problems that the project is intended to address) or the opportunity of which the project will take advantage; why it is necessary; as well as, how the project will tackle these problems.
In the latter context, factual and statistical evidence to back up the justification will render the application more robust.

Details of any market research or other preliminary work evidencing the need should be provided.

b) National Priorities: National priorities should be anchored in relevant Government strategic documents (such as Budget and Pre-Budget Documents) or sectoral strategies (e.g.

Eco-Gozo Proposed action plan 2010-2012, The National Energy Policy for the Maltese Islands).
Projects will be scored in terms of their contribution to national priorities and relevant policies by showing how the planned work fits in with these strategies/programmes.

The project proposal must identify the name of the strategy, as well as, the relative extract of the strategy that relates to the project being proposed.
c) Further contribution towards indicators: Marks will be awarded if the project can demonstrate a clear contribution to the indicators (output/result/impacts) beyond the 1 All guarantees (including bank guarantees) should be clear and unequivocal that the co-financing will be provided should the project be selected.

2 minimum requirement.


The Applicant must also provide a clear explanation of how the targets for ‘outputs,’ ‘results’ and ‘impacts’ have been calculated and the method of measurement that will be used.

Additional 1-5 marks will be awarded if the project proposals can demonstrate that they will contribute to the job creation indicator.

d) Project Sustainability: Projects need to demonstrate their sustainability after completion.
The project proponent must show how the benefits of the project will continue to be delivered after grant support comes to an end.

The Applicant should ensure that the longer-term economic sustainability of the project is taken into account and appropriate measures to make this a reality are put in place.

An estimate of the recurrent / operational costs should be included together with the proposed source of funding post-completion.
As part of the application process, this may be demonstrated by the development of a financial assessment or financial feasibility study or cost benefit analysis2.

In this regard, an idea of the annual (operational) costs (covering at least 5 years following completion of the project) involved in sustaining the termination of the grant should be provided.

e) Readiness: Marks will be awarded for projects that are in an advanced state of readiness, e.g.
where Applicants have already prepared the tender dossier or launched the tender or are in possession of the relevant environmental / planning permits.

In cases where cost benefit analysis is required, marks will be given if this has been finalised or is in an advanced stage of drafting at the time of submission.

Evidence of readiness such as the provision of a planning permit reference number should be provided.
f) Capacity of the Organisation: Capacity to implement the project is part of the commitment of the Applicant towards the project.

Projects cannot depend on external expertise or contracted managers.

Capacity is assessed both in terms of adequate human resources, as well as, previous experience in the implementation of projects co-financed through structural funds or other EU programmes.
Organisations that have had previous (positive) experience in the implementation of Cohesion Policy- funded projects will be given additional marks.

Consideration may also be given to applications demonstrating previous experience in own-funded projects of similar size and nature.
Organisations must present an organigram of the persons that will be involved in the implementation of the project, especially in the day-to-day management and also state what the different persons will be doing with regard to the implementation of the project.
The Applicant must show how the project will be organised including full details of the persons involved in the day-to-day management of the project, as well as the financial management of the project especially since the systems used must show how the grant will be used.
Beneficiaries are also obliged to keep records which will be subject to checks by horizontal stakeholders such as the Managing Authority and the Certifying Authority, as well as, audits carried out by national audit institutions, as well as, the European Commission and other European institutions.

g) Quality of the Application Form: Marks will be awarded for exceptional quality, e.g.

where market research was carried out to prepare a budget breakdown or where quantitative data is provided.
It should be noted that hastily prepared applications are likely to be referred back or will fail to gain a positive recommendation during the appraisal process.

Contact details of experts are given for certain sections of the application form.

It is the responsibility of the Applicant to seek advice from the experts (those identified or others of the Applicant’s choice) to ensure the full comprehension of certain concepts, terminology and processes.
2 The type of study required depends on (a) the total project cost and (b) whether the project is revenue generating or not.

3 h) Horizontal Priorities: Marks will be awarded to Applicants who make an effort to integrate effectively the horizontal priorities into the project.

Equal opportunities and sustainable development are identified in Council Regulation 1083/2006 as horizontal themes that should be incorporated into Cohesion Policy Programmes.
Low or no points will be awarded for run of the mill statements.

Sustainable development as a horizontal theme is incorporated into Cohesion Policy Programmes.

All projects will consequently have to demonstrate how the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic growth, social cohesion and the protection of the environment – will be taken into account throughout the life of the supported activity.
The economic and social impacts of the projects are easily identified in various sections of the project proposal and through other cross-cutting themes, hence, to assess environmental sustainability, separately.

Applicants would be required to demonstrate that they have considered environmental issues at all stages of the design of the project, where possible.
The Applicant must demonstrate how the project has been structured to ensure that environmental issues will be mainstreamed throughout the project’s aims and operation.

The project proponent must think of environmental sustainability on different platforms: the need i.

Can compliance with relevant European and National environmental legislation and regulation be demonstrated?

ii.
ii.

Describe the project’s environmental impacts (useful questions): - - - - - Does the project increase resource efficiency and so limit/reduce adverse environmental impacts (reuse of buildings or previously developed sites and selection of material that takes account of environmental costs such as transport, extraction, processing and disposal)?

Does it increase environmental awareness among citizens, businesses and tourists?
Does it minimise environmental impacts in design, construction and operation of business, tourism or community infrastructure/buildings (in terms of impact, biodiversity, historic environment/archaeology, landscape, visual transport and access)?

Does it demonstrate environmental good practice in project operation as well as delivery (green public procurement)?

Does it protect and enhance the area’s environmental assets?
Projects must also contribute to the attainment of the horizontal priority/cross-cutting theme of Equal Opportunity.

Equal Opportunity has been identified as a horizontal theme of the Programme.

The Beneficiary should give details of how this horizontal theme has been taken into account in the development of the project and what impact the project will have on the horizontal theme.

E.g.

What consultations have been carried out with equality groups in developing the project proposal?
The beneficiary must show how this policy is being translated into action.

This refers to the theme of equal opportunities in its broadest sense to include also race and disability exclusion, etc.
All projects will have to demonstrate how equal opportunities will be taken into account and/or mainstreamed throughout the life of the supported activity, through for example, ensuring accessibility to persons with disabilities or encouraging people from under-represented groups to participate in business start-ups.
i) Carbon Impact – Government has set itself an ambitious target and it is important that Applicants reflect well on the issue of climate change (energy and resource efficiency) when designing projects.

Project leaders must ask themselves whether the project addresses climate-change implications (for example through ensuring high insulation or high ventilation and cooling and conservation such as dual flush toilets and spray taps and use of renewable technologies for heat or power).
Projects should 4 aim to promote the achievement of a low to neutral Carbon impact and possibly go beyond this (to achieve a negative Carbon status) during, as well as after, project implementation.

The contribution to the Carbon indicator is regarded over and above the effort made in contributing to other related indicators.
5 ANNEX I – Ranking Sheet ERDF/CF Project Eligibility & Selection Criteria Priority Eligibility Criteria Selection Criteria / / s e Y o N / / / - o c o N / / 10 10 15 10 15 10 10 10 10 100 m r o F n o i t a c i l p p A e t e p m o C l o N / s e Y s k r a M Project Code 1.1 Project Eligibility and Selection Projects received will be evaluated and ranked by a Project Selection Committee according to a set of eligibility and selection criteria (refer to Sections 1.1.1 and 1.1.2).
These criteria have been approved by the Monitoring Committee in line with Article 65 of Council Regulation 1083/2006.

To be considered for funding or to be placed on the reserve list, a project must pass all the Eligibility Criteria mentioned under Section 1.1.1 and must also obtain a minimum of 50% of the total marks allocated to the Selection Criteria mentioned in Section 1.1.2.

The marks allocated to each selection criterion are provided in Annex I.
1.1.1 Eligibility Criteria Eligibility criteria are a form of gateway assessment which ensure that all applications have reached a minimum standard.

Projects which do not comply with the gateway eligibility criteria will not proceed to full appraisal and scoring.

The project must fulfil the following criteria to be eligible for further assessment: a.

Complete application form: The Applicant must present a complete Application Form, filled in with all relevant details and documentation.
No outline applications or incomplete applications shall be considered.

It is important for Applicants to ensure that all sections of the Application Form are completed and all relevant supporting documents are submitted.

b.

Fits in with one or more of the Focus Areas of intervention: The project must fall within the scope of the relevant Focus Area of intervention that is/are open for project proposals.
c. Contribute towards objectives: The project must contribute towards at least one of the objectives of the Priority Axis under which it is being submitted.

d. Contribute towards indicators: The project must have clearly identifiable and measurable targets that comply with at least one of the indicators set in the relevant Priority Axis / Programme (output, result and/or impact).
The Applicant must also provide a clear explanation of how the proposed targets for ‘outputs,’ ‘results’ and impacts (in the Application Form) have been calculated and how they will be reached.

e. Project remit within the mandate of the Beneficiary: Applicants must be publicly mandated to carry out the task of the project.

The project’s remit must fall within the mandate of the Beneficiary.

For example, in Malta, education policy lies within the remit of the Ministry for Education and Employment.
Consequently, any other project promoter applying for funds to change education policy will not be considered an eligible Applicant, unless, the project promoter provides a clear justification as to why they will be intervening in this context and obtain the endorsement of this justification by the agency with the mandate, in this case, the Ministry for Education and Employment.
f. Project Leader from Beneficiary Organisation: The project leader carries the overall financial and legal responsibility for the implementation of the project on behalf of the Beneficiary and hence, his/her direct association with the Beneficiary organisation is fundamental, especially with a view to ensure that the grant will exclusively be used for the purpose stipulated in the project proposal.
g. Proof of Co-financing: In cases where Government is not co-financing the project from the national budget, the entity committing itself to provide the co-financing (public and other organisations) must produce proof that co-financing over the whole period of the project is available.
A joint declaration by the Executive/Head and Treasurer/Financial 1 Controller of the organisation, stating that the organisation commits to co-financing obligations and to finance any ineligible costs must be attached to the Application Form.

The Applicant must also provide a set of audited accounts of the last 2 financial years1 including a note from the organisation’s auditor stating that the organisation is likely to be able to meet the co-financing obligations and cover any ineligible costs.
It is important to note that co-financing in kind is NOT eligible.

h. Project implemented within / for the direct benefit of the eligible territory: The eligible territory for the Operational Programme is the whole territory of the Republic of Malta.

In cases of publicity / training abroad/marketing, actions may be aired or distributed outside the territory if the benefit clearly targets the eligible territory.
Once the projects have passed the eligibility test, they will proceed with a project scoring system based on a number of selection criteria.

1.1.2 Project Selection Criteria a.


Justified need to implement the Project: The Applicant should provide a detailed justification of why the project is needed, the likely demand (perhaps the market failures that have brought about the specific local problems that the project is intended to address) or the opportunity of which the project will take advantage, why it is necessary, as well as, how the project will tackle any problems identified in Section 3.5 of the Application Form.
In the latter context, factual and statistical evidence to back up the justification will render it more robust.

Details of any market research or other preliminary work evidencing the need should be provided.

b.

National Priorities: National priorities should be anchored in relevant Government strategic documents (such as the Pre-Budget Documents) or sectoral strategies.
Projects will be scored in terms of their contribution to national priorities and relevant policies by showing how the planned work fits in with these strategies/programmes.

The project proposal must identify the name of the strategy, as well as, the relative extract of the strategy that relates to the project being proposed.
c. Further contribution towards indicators: Marks will be awarded if the project can demonstrate a clear contribution to the indicators (output/result/impacts) beyond the minimum requirement.

The Applicant must also provide a clear explanation of how the targets for ‘outputs,’ ‘results’ and ‘impacts’ have been calculated and the method of measurement that will be used.

d. Project Sustainability: Projects need to demonstrate their sustainability after completion.
The project proponent must show how the benefits of the project will continue to be delivered after grant support comes to an end.

The Applicants should ensure that the longer-term economic sustainability of the project is taken into account and appropriate measures are put in place.

e. Readiness: Marks will be awarded for projects that are in an advanced state of readiness, e.g.

where Applicants have already prepared the tender dossier or launched the tender.
In cases where a feasibility study is required, marks will be given if this has been finalised or is under implementation at the time of submission.

The more advanced the project, the more marks will be awarded.

Evidence of readiness should be provided.

f. Capacity of the Organisation: Capacity to implement the project is part of the commitment of the Applicant towards the project.

Projects cannot depend on external expertise or contracted managers.
Capacity is assessed both in terms of adequate human 1 In cases where the organisation has been set up for only one year, the audited accounts of the year would suffice.

2 resources, as well as, previous experience in the implementation of EU projects, preferably Structural Funds or similar.

Organisations that have had previous (positive) experience in implementing Structural Fund projects will be given additional marks.
Organisations must present an organigram of the persons that will be involved in the implementation of the project, especially in the day-to-day management and also state what the different persons will be doing with regard to the implementation of the project.

Furthermore, the Legal Act on which the entity is constituted shall be attached.
Projects should be carried out by an organisation with a proven capacity to carry out EU co- funded projects both in terms of adequate human resources, as well as, previous experience in the implementation of EU projects, preferably Cohesion Policy Funds or similar.
The Applicant must also show how the project will be organised including full details of the persons involved in the day-to-day management of the project, as well as indicate the financial management of the project, especially since the systems used must show how the grant will be used.
The records Beneficiaries keep will be subject to checks by horizontal stakeholders such as the Managing Authority and the Certifying Authority, as well as, audits carried out by national audit institutions, as well as, the European Commission and other European institutions.

g. Quality of the Application Form: Marks will be awarded for exceptional quality, e.g.

where market research was carried out to prepare a budget breakdown, adequate results, and consistency.
It should be noted that hastily prepared applications are likely to be referred back or will fail to gain a positive recommendation during the appraisal process.

Contact persons are given for certain sections of the applications.

It is the responsibility of the Applicant to seek advice from the experts (those identified or others of the Applicant’s choice) to ensure the full comprehension of certain concepts, terminology and processes.
h. Partnership – in view of Government’s aim to enforce the implementation of the partnership principle at the project level, projects that are implemented between two or more partners will gain additional points.

If more than one organisation is involved in the implementation of the project, additional points will be provided as follows: 1-2 additional partners – max 2 points; 3 additional partners or more - max 5 points.
Government would also like to encourage partnership between public organisations (including local councils) and other organisations (such as Voluntary Organisations).

In this regard projects may gain a maximum of 5 additional marks.

Thus, the maximum marks gained totals 10; Applicant should demonstrate the expertise of the partner in the respective policy area.

No marks will be given for partner organisations that have no responsibility for implementation within their remit.
In the case of provision of training at a recognised NQF level, any partner that will provide training must be a registered/recognised training institution.

i. Horizontal Priorities: Marks will be awarded to Applicants which make an effort to integrate effectively the horizontal priorities into the project.

Low or no points will be awarded for run of the mill statements.
Equal opportunities and sustainable development are identified in the Council Regulation 1083/2006 as horizontal themes that should be incorporated into Cohesion Policy Programmes.

In terms of Equal Opportunities, Projects must contribute to the attainment of the horizontal priority of Equal Opportunities, in its broadest sense.
The Applicant should give details of how this horizontal theme has been taken into account in the development of the project and/or how it will be mainstreamed throughout the life of the supported activity, and what impact the project will have on the horizontal theme.

Other considerations include the consultations that have been carried out with equality groups in developing the project proposal.

The Beneficiary must show how this policy is being translated into action.
Projects must also contribute to the attainment of sustainable development.

Sustainable development covers economic growth, social cohesion and the protection of the environment, which will be taken into account throughout the life of the supported activity.

The economic and social impacts of the projects are easily identified in various sections 3 of the project proposal and through other cross-cutting themes, hence, the need to assess environmental sustainability, separately.
Applicants would be required to demonstrate that they have considered environmental issues at all stages of the design of the project, where possible.

The Applicants must demonstrate how the project has been structured to ensure that environmental issues will be mainstreamed throughout the project’s aims and operation.
The project proponent must think of environmental sustainability on different platforms when describing the project’s environmental impacts: - Does it increase environmental awareness among participants?

- Does it demonstrate environmental good practice in project operation as well as delivery (green procurement)?

j. ESF Principles: Projects fulfilling the ESF Principles of Innovation and Transnational and Interregional Co-operation will gain additional marks in the selection process.
In terms of Innovation, should the project Applicants indicate that the their project fits within the definition of innovative activities as established in the Operational Programme under the respective Priority Axis will gain additional points in the selection process.

As regards, Transnationality, Projects with a transnational / interregional dimension that adds value to the principle of innovation will also gain additional marks in the selection process.
4 Annex I - Ranking Sheet ESF Project Eligibility and Selection Criteria Priority Eligibility Criteria Selection Criteria Horizontal Priorities ESF Principles l e t e p m o C m r o F n o i t a c i l p p A Yes / No Project Code - o c f o f o o r P e r e h w i ( g n c n a n i f l ) & y t i l i i b a n a t s u s n o i t a v o n n I & Yes / No Yes/No Yes / No Yes / No Yes / No Yes / Yes/No 10 10 10 5 10 10 15 10 10 10 100 No / NA