‘ANNEX

STANDARD STRUCTURE FOR SINGLE PROGRAMMING DOCUMENTS FOR OVERSEAS COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES UNDER THE 10TH EDF

The full text, including the executive summary and chapters 1 to 6, should be limited to at most 15 pages (Word Count) plus annexes.

PART A: COOPERATION STRATEGY

Executive summary

SPDs should begin with a half-page executive summary. This should include the major political, institutional, economic, social or environmental challenges for the OCTs in the medium and long term, the main objective of the SPD, the principal reasons for the choice of focal area and the overall distribution of funds.

Chapter 1: EC cooperation objectives

In this section, the broad EC cooperation objectives are explicitly stated, as determined by the EC Treaty, the Overseas Association Decision, international agreements and the recent Statement on EC Development Policy.

Chapter 2: Assessment of the political, economic, social and environmental situation

Major domestic policy developments/issues and relevant aspects of the external context should be covered, including the political situation, trade aspects, the economic and social situation, environmental aspects and, finally, the sustainability of current policies and medium-term challenges.

This should be an analytical and not merely descriptive exercise. The analysis should be dialogue-driven, prepared in close cooperation with other donors (if applicable) and involving non-governmental actors.

Wherever relevant, special attention should be paid to the implementation of international good governance principles in the financial, tax and judicial areas, and to the extent and the calendar of reforms in this connection.

In the same way, special attention should be paid to the availability of up-to-date statistical data.

Chapter 3: Policy agenda of the OCTs

This section should provide a concise statement of the aims and objectives of the government, as set out in official policy documents, in medium- or long-term plans, reform strategies or development programmes. This should be completed by an indication as to how the government proposes to achieve these objectives.

Chapter 4: Assessment of past and ongoing EC cooperation

This section should contain a brief account of the results and “lessons learnt” from past and ongoing EC cooperation. Recommendations from relevant evaluations of the OCTs, specific sectors or projects should be considered.

A coherence paragraph (EC policy mix) should assess the linkages between the SPD and other Community policies, resources and instruments. Programmes of EU Member States and other donors (if applicable) should be outlined. Particular attention should be paid to coordination between territorial and regional programmes and to cooperation with ACP countries and the outermost regions referred to in Article 299(2) of the Treaty.

Chapter 5: Response strategy

This section should set out the strategic choices for EC cooperation, specifying on which area/sector assistance will concentrate. That choice should flow logically from:

— EC policy objectives,

— an analysis of the OCTs situation and its development strategy, determining the relevance and sustainability of the support strategy,

— conclusions reached in the context of any policy mix/coherence analysis exercise,

— the indicative volume of funds available,

— lessons learnt from past and ongoing EC activities,

— complementarity with assistance from other major donors and the OCTs Government’s own programmes. Community assistance should be focused in areas where it has comparative advantages or particular expertise.

This section should also contain a concise institutional capacity assessment and, where appropriate address the possible needs for institutional and capacity development actions, or, if necessary, support for actions to strengthen governance, including in the financial, tax and judicial areas wherever relevant.

Where support for programmes or projects is proposed as the financing modality, the exceptional and duly justified circumstances that would not allow assistance to be provided as budgetary support should be described. If the conditions for budgetary support are not met, a description should be provided of which measures will be carried out to ensure that the conditions for budgetary support are created.

PART B: TERRITORIAL PROGRAMME

Chapter 6: Territorial programme

This Chapter is a presentation of the OCTs territorial programme, which is based on and fully consistent with the strategic analysis. The territorial programme is an integral part of the SPD and should be composed of the following sections:

OPTION A: SECTOR POLICY SUPPORT PROGRAMME

Identification

Title Total cost Specify: EC contribution and if applicable contribution of the beneficiary OCTs (and of other donors, if applicable) Aid method/management mode Sector Policy Support Programme: — sector budget support (centralised management), — pool fund (centralised (direct or indirect)/decentralised/or joint management), — project mode (centralised (direct or indirect)/decentralised/joint management). DAC-code Sector

1. Rationale and OCTs context

Economic and social situation

Key conclusions from the assessment of the macroeconomic situation, in particular the medium to long term outlook.

If budget support is used as financing modality, indicate the following:

— macroeconomic situation: structure of GDP; recent economic performance and expected trends, covering GDP growth and inflation; public finances, fiscal deficit, debt burden and amount of arrears; share of spending in key sectors; balance of payments current and capital account, reserves; monetary situation; role of external assistance in the economy; relationship with the International Monetary Fund,

— profile and trends in poverty: evolution of real GDP per head of population; consistency between rate of growth and challenge of poverty reduction; results of poverty surveys; situation of main social indicators compared to other countries; evolution of indicators of recent years (where available),

— that the relevant eligibility criterion for Budget Support is fulfilled, namely that a sufficiently stable macroeconomic situation exists.

Cooperation policy of the beneficiary OCTs

Main policy, strategic priorities and orientations:

— the main features of national development policy and strategy (analysis of current situation, statement of policy and strategy, action plan(s), medium-term financial perspectives and budget, performance measurement, monitoring and evaluation),

— the realism of the policy and strategy (for example links between growth and poverty reduction, strategic orientations),

— ownership of policy and strategy by Government in general and sector Ministry specifically.

Government Sector Programme

Origin and status of the Government sector programme:

— main findings of the assessment of the sector policy and the sector budget and its medium-term financial perspectives (if available) as well as the link with the territorial strategic framework,

— assessment of the institutional capacity,

— overall framework for monitoring implementation of sector policies and strategies.

If budget support is used as a financing modality, provide key conclusions on the assessment of public financial management:

— the quality of the existing public financial management system including any specific public financial management sector issues and reforms,

— an assessment of the process of improvements in public financial management.

If budget support is used, indicate that the relevant eligibility criteria are fulfilled:

— a well defined sector policy and,

— a well defined programme to improve public financial management.

Lessons learnt

Reference to reviews, assessments, monitoring results and evaluations of relevant previous actions.

Complementary actions

General overview of ongoing EC actions, actions of other donors and/or of the beneficiary OCTs complementary to the present one.

Donor coordination

Description of the coordination process with the beneficiary OCTs and/or other donors, notably Member States.

2. Description

Objectives and expected results

Objectives and key elements of the Government sector programme and the objectives of the present Sector Policy Support Programme in relation to that programme.

Results anticipated from the Government sector programme and from the Sector Policy Support Programme; specific activities to be undertaken under the Sector Policy Support Programme.

Stakeholders

Description of main stakeholders, including beneficiaries; consultation of civil society and other partners; ownership and assessment of institutional capacity.

Risks and assumptions

Identification of main risks and overview of mitigating measures; elements evidencing the sustainability of the proposed action. If Budget Support is used as the financing modality, risks with respect to eligibility criteria should be mentioned.

Crosscutting issues

Environmental sustainability, gender equality, good governance and human rights.

3. Implementation issues

Implementation method

Choose the relevant option in accordance with the selected financing modality:

— centralised management,

— joint management through the signature of an agreement with an international organisation,

— decentralised management through the signature of a financing agreement with an OCTs (in case of partly centralised implementation and partly decentralised implementation, use this option). In case of decentralisation of procurement contracts and grant award procedures: — the Commission controls ex ante the contracting procedures for procurement contracts > EUR 50 000 and ex post for procurement contracts < EUR 50 000, or — the Commission controls ex post the contracting procedures (full decentralisation can only be chosen if the criteria of decentralisation set out in the Financial Regulation are fully met). In case of decentralisation of payments (only possible where the award procedures for the relevant contracts have been decentralised): — through the programme estimates, payments are decentralised for operating costs and contracts up to the following ceilings, Works Supplies Services Grants < EUR 300 000 < EUR 150 000 < EUR 200 000 ≤ EUR 100 000 or — the payments are fully decentralised (full decentralisation can only be chosen if the criteria of decentralisation set out in the Financial Regulation are fully met).

Procurement and grant award procedures

The following is to be inserted without modification for those activities for which EC procedures apply: “All contracts implementing the action must be awarded and implemented in accordance with the procedures and standard documents laid down and published by the Commission for the implementation of external operations, in force at the time of the launch of the procedure in question.”

The following is to be inserted without modification if the agreement with an international organisation foresees the use of its own rules and procedures, which comply with the international standards set: ‘‘All contracts implementing the action must be awarded and implemented in accordance with the procedures and standard documents laid down and published by the International Organisation concerned.’’

If rules and procedures other than EC procedures apply, these procedures should be specified and fulfil criteria set out in the Financial Regulation.

Budget and calendar

Indicative breakdown of overall amount by main components, including evaluation, audit and visibility. Where appropriate, specify also the contribution of the beneficiary OCTs per budget item and whether this contribution is in kind or in cash.

Where possible, indicate proportions of financing reserved for grants and for procurement contracts; for contracts, indicate type of procurement (services, supply, works), and for grants, indicate the main category of intended beneficiaries.

If applicable: Give indicative timeframe for launching the procurement procedures or the call for proposals.

If budget support is used as the financing modality, provide indicative calendar for disbursements in months, distinguishing between fixed and variable tranches, where appropriate.

Indicate operational duration indicated in months as from signature of Financing Agreement (contract or other implementing agreement if no Financing Agreement is signed).

Performance monitoring and criteria for disbursement

Description of performance monitoring arrangements.

Performance indicators for the Sector Policy Support Programme; coherence with the overall government sector programme performance assessment framework; process of performance monitoring; means of verification; steps to strengthen performance measurement (as appropriate).

Where budget support or pool funding is chosen as the financing modality: general conditions for disbursement of all tranches; areas in which specific conditions for disbursement of individual tranches will be defined.

Input, output, outcome, and, as far as possible, impact indicators should be identified for policy areas covered by the focal area. Indicators should take into account the SMART criteria (specific, measurable in the short/medium term, achievable, realistic and time-bound) and include a starting level, a target and a clear time-horizon, to allow for comparisons at the time of annual, mid- and end-of-term reviews.

Evaluation and audit

Description of evaluations (mid-term, final, ex post) and audit arrangements.

Communication and visibility

Description of communication and visibility activities.

OPTION B: GENERAL BUDGET SUPPORT

Identification

Title Total cost EC contribution Aid method/management mode General budget support — centralised management DAC-code Sector

1. Rationale and OCTs context

Economic and social situation

Macroeconomic situation: structure of GDP; recent economic performance covering GDP growth and inflation; public finances, fiscal deficit, debt burden and amount of arrears; share of spending in key sectors; balance of payments current and capital account, reserves; monetary situation; role of external assistance in the economy; summary of the main past and expected trends in macroeconomic variables; description of the relationship between the partner country and the International Monetary Fund; any special topics of macroeconomic interest specific to the OCTs.

Profile and trends in poverty: evolution of real GDP per head of population; consistency between rate of growth and challenge of poverty reduction; results of poverty surveys; situation of main social indicators compared to other countries; evolution of indicators of recent years (where available).

Indicate that the relevant eligibility criterion for budget support is fulfilled, namely that a stability-oriented macroeconomic policy is in place or under implementation and that this policy should be supported by the EC.

Cooperation policy and strategy of beneficiary OCTs

Main policy and strategic priorities and orientations:

— OCTs policy and strategy: — the main features of the OCTs policy and strategy (analysis of current situation, statement of policy and strategy, action plan(s), medium-term financial perspectives and budget, performance measurement, monitoring and evaluation), — realism of the policy and strategy (for example links between growth and poverty reduction, strategic orientations), — ownership of policy and strategy;

— performance measurement: the existence of a monitoring process with performance indicators to measure achievement of objectives; coherence with the Millennium Development Goals and political and economic approximation to the EU; existence of a programme to ensure the quality of performance indicators used,

— indicate that the relevant eligibility criterion for budget support is fulfilled, namely that a well defined development or reform policy and strategy is in place or under implementation and this policy should be supported by the EC.

Sector policies (where appropriate)

Overview of the characteristics of the main sectors and the sector policies in the priority areas addressed by this programme.

Public finance

Main public finance issues in two key areas:

— public financial management, — assessment of the quality of the existing Public Financial Management system, — assessment of the process of improvements in Public Financial Management, including the OCTs authorities’ commitment to improve Public Financial Management performance; the relevance and degree of implementation of the reform strategy; the relevance and degree of coordination and implementation of the capacity development programmes in the area of public financial management, — indicate that the relevant eligibility criterion for budget support is fulfilled, namely that a credible and relevant programme to improve the management of public finances exists;

— national budget and medium-term financial perspectives: the size of budget support in relation to the budget; the type and coverage of the budget (including structure of budget income and expenditure; coherence between OCTs policy and strategy and budget allocations and expenditure; budget strategy (including fiscal sustainability, debt sustainability, budget rules, financing strategies); any work on value for money; and status of any medium-term financial perspectives (including coverage, extent of integration or not into budget process, extent of reorientation in line with policies and strategies).

Lessons learnt

Summary of lessons learnt, including results of reviews, assessments, monitoring and evaluations of previous actions relevant to this specific programme.

Complementary actions

General overview of ongoing EC actions, actions of other donors and/or of the beneficiary OCTs complementary to the present one.

Donor coordination

Description of the coordination process with the beneficiary OCTs and/or other donors, notably Member States.

2. Description

Objectives

Overall Objectives: derived from the OCTs policy and strategy, this usually covers a contribution to broad development objectives and Millennium Development Goals, such as growth, poverty reduction, security and good neighbourliness, integration in the world economy, economic partnership.

Purpose (specific objective): derived from the OCTs policy and strategy, this refers to particular aspects of the overall strategy. It is often related to improving macroeconomic stability, public financial management, implementation of reforms and improvements in the performance of government and social services.

Expected results and main activities

Expected results: this is often related to the better functioning of the public or general government sector and the goods and services it supplies, as well as improvements in the framework for public policy and public expenditure. These goods and services would be those that contribute towards the overall objectives, such as those related to poverty reduction and Millennium Development Goals.

Activities cover the issues related to policy dialogue, capacity development activities, monitoring of conditions for disbursement of budget support. Means (or inputs) will refer mainly to the financial support provided by budget support, indicating the size of this support in relation to key macroeconomic variables.

Stakeholders

Description of main stakeholders, including beneficiaries; consultation of civil society and other partners; ownership and assessment of institutional capacity.

Risks and assumptions

Identification of main risks, notably with respect to eligibility criteria and overview of mitigating measures.

Crosscutting issues

Environmental sustainability, gender equality, good governance and human rights.

3. Implementation issues

Budget and calendar

Total budget and indicative calendar for disbursements in months, distinguishing fixed/variable tranches where appropriate.

Operational duration indicated in months as from signature of Financing Agreement.

Budget allocations for complementary support measures for the action.

Budget support modalities

Specify: direct/indirect; targeted/non-targeted; medium-term/short-term policy and strategy (as appropriate).

Procurement and grants award procedures

Only for complementary support like technical assistance, audit, evaluation. To be inserted without modification: “All contracts implementing the action must be awarded and implemented in accordance with the procedures and standard documents laid down and published by the Commission for the implementation of external operations, in force at the time of the launch of the procedure in question.”

Performance monitoring and criteria for disbursement

Description of performance monitoring arrangements, general conditions for disbursement of all tranches, specific conditions for disbursement of individual tranches. Input, output, outcome, and, as far as possible, impact indicators should be identified for policy areas covered by the focal area. Indicators should take into account the SMART criteria (specific, measurable in the short/medium term, achievable, realistic and time-bound) and include a starting level, a target and a clear time-horizon, to allow for comparisons at the time of annual, mid- and end-of-term reviews.

Evaluation and audit

Description of evaluations (mid-term, final, ex post) and audit arrangements.

Communication and visibility

Description of communication and visibility activities.

OPTION C: PROJECT APPROACH

Identification

Title Total cost Specify: EC contribution and if applicable contribution of the beneficiary OCTs (and of other donors, if applicable) Aid method/management mode Project approach — centralised (direct or indirect)/decentralised/joint management DAC-code Sector

1. Rationale

Sector context

Characteristics and policies of concerned sector or thematic area (at regional level, where appropriate) and main problems the project is intended to address.

Lessons learnt

Reference to reviews, assessments, monitoring results and evaluations of previous actions, relevant to this specific project.

Complementary actions

General overview of ongoing EC actions, actions of other donors and/or of the beneficiary OCTs complementary to the present one.

Donor coordination

Description of the coordination process with the beneficiary OCTs and/or other donors, notably Member States.

2. Description

Objectives

Overall objectives and purpose (specific objective) of the EC support.

Expected results and main activities

Strategy selected to remedy identified problems the project is intended to address; description of expected results and indication of the way they will be achieved.

Stakeholders

Description of main stakeholders, including beneficiaries; consultation of civil society and other partners, where appropriate; ownership and assessment of institutional capacity.

Risks and assumptions

Identification of main risks and overview of mitigating measures, including conditions to be met prior to and during implementation; elements evidencing the sustainability of the proposed action.

Crosscutting issues

Environmental sustainability, gender equality, good governance and human rights.

3. Implementation issues

Implementation method

Choose the relevant option in accordance with the selected financing modality:

— centralised management,

— joint management through the signature of an agreement with an international organisation,

— decentralised management through the signature of a financing agreement with an OCTs (in case of partly centralised implementation and partly decentralised implementation, use this option). Indicate the tasks (procurement and grant award procedures/payments) which are foreseen to be centralised or decentralised, and the contracting and paying authority(ies). In case of decentralisation of procurement contracts and grant award procedures: — the Commission controls ex ante the contracting procedures for procurement contracts > EUR 50 000 and ex post for procurement contracts < EUR 50 000, or — the Commission controls ex post the contracting procedures (full decentralisation can only be chosen if the criteria of decentralisation set out in the Financial Regulation are fully met). In case of decentralisation of payments (only possible where the award procedures for the relevant contracts have been decentralised): — through the programme estimates, payments are decentralised for operating costs and contracts up to the following ceilings: Works Supplies Services Grants < EUR 300 000 < EUR 150 000 < EUR 200 000 ≤ EUR 100 000 or — the payments are fully decentralised (full decentralisation can only be chosen if the criteria of decentralisation set out in the Financial Regulation are fully met).

Procurement and grant award procedures

The following is to be inserted without modification for those activities for which EC procedures apply: “All contracts implementing the action must be awarded and implemented in accordance with the procedures and standard documents laid down and published by the Commission for the implementation of external operations, in force at the time of the launch of the procedure in question.”

The following is to be inserted without modification if the agreement with an international organisation foresees the use of its own rules and procedures, which comply with the international standards set: ‘All contracts implementing the action must be awarded and implemented in accordance with the procedures and standard documents laid down and published by the International Organisation concerned.’

If rules and procedures other than EC procedures apply, these procedures should be specified and fulfil criteria set out in the Financial Regulation.

Budget and calendar

Indicative breakdown of overall amount by main components, including evaluation, audit and visibility. Where appropriate, specify also the contribution of the beneficiary OCTs per budget item and whether this contribution is in kind or in cash.

Where possible, indicate proportions of financing reserved for grants and for procurement contracts; for contracts, indicate type of procurement (services, supply, works), and for grants, indicate the main category of intended beneficiaries.

If applicable, give indicative timeframe for launching the procurement procedures or the call for proposals.

Foreseen operational duration indicated in months as from signature of Financing Agreement (contract or other implementing agreement if no Financing Agreement is signed).

Performance monitoring

Description of performance monitoring arrangements; overview of key indicators measuring progress. Input, output, outcome, and, as far as possible, impact indicators should be identified for policy areas covered by the focal area. Indicators should take into account the SMART criteria (specific, measurable in the short/medium term, achievable, realistic and time-bound) and include a starting level, a target and a clear time-horizon, to allow for comparisons at the time of annual, mid- and end-of-term reviews.

Evaluation and audit

Description of evaluations (mid-term, final, ex post) and audit arrangements.

Communication and visibility

Description of communication and visibility activities.’