In the process of submitting a project proposal besides the editing of a convincing innovative project idea, the composition of a persuasive value for money budget, and the sustainable sharing of time and activities among partners a less exciting, though necessary, activity characterises the tasks of a project manager: collecting partners’ documentation.
Here, the creative fleur of the project designer and the technical eye of a good manager needs to give access to the meticulous check of digital papers which represent the administrative duty for the project submission. Even the most romantic designers have to devote time and particular attention to this aspect since its completeness and appropriateness will be checked first by evaluators, even before entering the matter of the project quality as a whole.
According to the different programs and calls the following information and documents might be needed:
- The identification codes of the partners which each organisation shall have after a quick and simple application in the EU program portal.
- The summary description of the organisation (PIF) where the core mission and activities shall be presented tailoring them towards the specific topic the project will address. Generic presentations, where the relevance of the partner towards the subject of the proposal is not evident, might not be a winner.
- The importance and relevance of the organisation are also represented by the professional profiles and expertise of those working in it. In some cases a short description of each professional (one paragraph) is enough, in other cases, EU programs require to attach the extended professional CVs, possibly in Europass format.
- The capability of an organisation in delivering the tasks of a project is also indicated by the number of human resources available. Thus, it is not wise to deliver only two CVs, a richer list of competent people in the organisation shall confirm this potentiality.
- The financial capacity of an entity plays an important role in the formal check of the documentation. Especially for the role of partnership coordinator, the financing agency wants to make sure that the organisation has enough economic stability and liquidity to afford issues like co-financing, deposits, delays in down payment, along with the matter of assuring the EU about an overall financial strength. Self-declarations or evidence of recent annual returns of the lead partner might be asked and need to be thorough. In some cases, a financial bank guarantee might be required. (link to article 01)
- The statute, registration number, VAT registration, legal address, legal representative, website, mail address are usually among the documentation and information required by the program to verify the legitimate and legal existence of a partner.
- Each application form required the lead partner to sign a Declaration of Honour and partners to present a Letter of intent or mandate. Both documents state the committed intentions of the organisations to invest in the project implementation declaring their integrity regarding legal impediments and previous technical obstructions. These documents need to be signed by the legal representative or someone appointed of each partner.
It takes order, precision, and meticulousness on behalf of project managers in collecting the above, especially if the partnership is quite large. Be ready for delays in the sending of these documents, for a scarcity of completeness, lack of update along with the expected different formats and approach of the papers given to the different national regulations along with the issue of language diversification. One might find itself asking several times a partner to re-send the documentation with the necessary amendments.
Easy to be said than to be done. Therefore, a lot of patience and a good checklist will definitely be of help.