EU Grant Scheme for Sustainable Tourism Projects by Enterprises: The Evaluation Procedure Cora Vella Laurenti Contact Person Tourism and Sustainable Development Unit Office of the Prime Minister Operational Programme I – Cohesion Policy Investing in Competitiveness for a Better Quality of Life Aid Schemes part-financed by the European Union European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Co-financing: 85% EU Funds; 15% National Funds Investing in your future

Introduction The Evaluation Procedure consists of 3 phases: 1.Eligibility Criteria 2.Preliminary Evaluation 3.Strategic Evaluation

Priority Eligibility CriteriaSelection Criteria Preliminary Evaluation Strategic Evaluation Complete Submission Fits in with one or more of the intervention areas Pending Issues related to IB or its agencies Compliance Issues Within State Aid Regime Eligible Applicant Project Implemented within eligible period Risk Appraisal Extent of Need for Support No. of intervention areas Horizontal Priorities Thematic Priorities Total Marks Ranking Marks Yes/No 20%10%5%10%55%100% Project Code

Phase 1 Eligibility Criteria In order to pass on to the other phases of the process, applicants must conform to all of the following Eligibility Criteria.

 Applicants must present a complete application form, including any necessary supporting documents (e.g. MEPA Application & VAT Certificate)  All signatures must be in blue ink Eligibility Criteria: Complete Submission

 It is imperative that any proposed project addresses one or more of the 5 intervention areas Eligibility Criteria: Intervention Areas

 Pending Issues refer to issues which fall within the remit of the IB (TSDU) & MTA.  The Evaluation & Decisions Committee will check with the Licensing Department within MTA for any pending issues up to the date of submission.  Pending issues which have not been resolved by 14 th January 2011 will not be eligible to move on to the 2 nd phase of evaluation. Eligibility Criteria: Pending Issues

 Activities proposed for funding must go beyond that which is required by law  Therefore activities complying with the law will NOT be eligible for funding  Project proposals must consist of the enhancement of the laws which are in force Eligibility Criteria: Compliance Issues

 Applicants must comply to one of the applicable state aid regimes.  Applicants falling under the De Minimis Block Exemption including proposed activities falling under the Marketing Intervention must not have received over €150,000 over a 3 year rolling period. Eligibility Criteria: Within State Aid Regime

 All enterprises aiming to implement a tourism project are eligible to apply.  Documentation confirming the applicants’ belonging to the eligible target group such as trading license, SME declaration, or VAT certificate must be presented as an attachment to the application form.  Applicants forming part of a group of companies will be evaluated in accordance with principles of the SME Recommendation, through the SME declaration attached in the application form. Eligibility Criteria: Eligible Applicant

 Applicants may start the proposed project activities as from February 2011 after receiving a written permission by the IB and must be completed by December  This however does not mean that the applicant has passed the evaluation process and any costs incurred throughout this period are at the applicant’s own risk. Eligibility Criteria: Project implemented within Eligible Period

Phase 2 Preliminary Evaluation This second phase has a weighting of 35% and is made up of the following stages.

Risk Appraisal 20% Risk will be assessed on:  type of organisation & how long the organisation has been established  project duration  ratio of total project value to net assets of the undertaking  level of commitment & capacity of applicant to implement the project

Risk Appraisal: Type/Age of Organisation The longer an enterprise has been established is inversely proportionate to the level of risk involved in co-financing Hence scoring increases as years of being established grows Scoring Type/Age of Organisation 5% weighting Established 0-2 years1 Established 2-5 years3 Established for over 5 years5

Risk Appraisal: Project Duration Projects with a longer duration involve higher risk levels as their project would be closer to the 3 year deadline. In fact, scoring increases as the duration shortens. Note: project duration refers to the time between project commencement and the submission of the last receipt. Scoring Time Critical – Project Duration 5% weighting Over 24 months months months5

Risk Appraisal: Ratio of total project value to net assets of the undertaking If total project value is nearly as costly as the net assets of the applicant, the higher the risk involved in co-financing such a project. Consequently, closer ratios will generate lower scores. Scoring Project investment costs vis-à-vis applicant net assets % of project investment costs vis-à-vis net assets 5% weighting More than 10%1 5% - 10% inclusive3 Less than 5%5

This is assessed on the basis of how the applicant demonstrates and determines the level of preparatory work that has been invested in designing the project such as:  the carrying out of a feasibility study  a cost-benefit analysis  in-depth research The applicant must show the structure it has put in place to implement and administer the proposed project. Such structure should at least indicate who will carry out project management, the financial and administrative procedures. Risk Appraisal: Level of Commitment & Capacity to Implement Project

Scoring Commitment & Capacity to Implement Project 5% weighting No background reports related to project0 Background report/s presented2 Allocated responsibility for project management and financial reporting and appointed project manager & accountant 1 Additional support responsible for implementation of project (besides accounting & PM)+2

Need for Support 10% Evaluation of this criterion will be based on its size, the degree of networking, and whether the applicant is a start-up. The scoring would proceed as follows: Scoring Need for Support 10% weighting Micro & Small & Self-employed (<50 AWU employees)7 Medium (more than 50 FTE inclusive but below 250 AWU employees) 5 Large (more than 250 AWU employees)3 Forms part of a Network or Start-up+3

The IB encourages projects which are holistic in nature, and therefore projects involving activities that relate to more than one of the intervention areas will be awarded more marks. 5% Number of Eligible Intervention areas Implemented in the Project Scoring Number of Eligible Intervention Areas implemented in Project 5% weighting One intervention in line with guidelines1 Two interventions in line with guidelines2 Three interventions in line with guidelines3 Four interventions in line with guidelines4 Five interventions in line with guidelines5

Phase 3 Strategic Evaluation The applicant must ensure that the project proposal is in line with a number of strategic priorities.

Strategic Evaluation 65% The third phase carries the most weighting and will be assessed upon: - Horizontal Priorities - Thematic Priorities

Environmental Sustainability & Equal Opportunity will be assessed on the extent to which applicants integrate these horizontal priorities into their project activities. Applications which demonstrate a genuine effort to effectively impact the horizontal priorities will be awarded marks accordingly. These two horizontal priorities each carry a 5% weighting in the Evaluation process. Horizontal Priorities Environmental Sustainability Equal Opportunity

National Tourism Policy 30% Seasonality General Policy Thematic Priorities 55% ICT 5% Employment 10% Innovation 10%

National Tourism Policy 30% Seasonality 10% General Policy 20%

Thematic Priorities 5% 2. Impact on Innovation 10% 1.Impact on Information & Communication Technology 3. Impact on Employment 10% 4. Compliance with National Tourism Policy 30%

In Conclusion… The Evaluation procedure will start soon after the deadline of 14 th January 2011 and ends approximately after six months; Applicants will be kept informed on the progress of their application form; Applicants have the right to appeal after each stage of the evaluation. In this case, the unsuccessful applicant must follow the Appeals Procedure which can be found in the Guidance Notes to the Application Form provided by the IB; Once the final ranking is issued, a Grant Agreement will be signed by both parties involved, this is a binding contract between the IB and the applicant to: – uphold all that has been stipulated in the approved application form; –follow all the necessary procedures and regulations with respect to Grant Scheme.