MOBILITY
Leonardo da Vinci
Handbook
for Project Beneficiary
2012
Call for Proposals
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction .............................................................. 5
1.1. ................................................................................................. The role of the National Agency
5
2. Background ................................................................ 5
3. Participants .............................................................. 5
3.1. ....................................................................... People in Initial Vocational Training (IVT)
5
3.2. ............................................................................................. People in the Labour Market (PLM)
5
3.3. .................................. Vocational Education and Training for Professionals (VETPro)
5
3.4. ............................................................................................................................. Placement Duration
7
4. Management of a Leonardo da Vinci Mobility Project ........................ 8
4.1. ................................................................................................................................................... Approval
8
4.2. ...........................................................................................................................................Pre-contract
8
4.3. ....................................................................................................................... Organisational Status
9
4.4. ..................................................................................................................... Financial distribution
9
4.5. ............................................................................................................................................. Contracting
9
4.6. .............................................................................................................. Your Mobility partnership
9
4.7. ............................................................................................................................. Host organisations
10
4.8. ................................................................................................................................ Placement Quality
10
4.9. .......................................The roles and responsibilities of the sending organisation
10
4.10. .... The joint roles and responsibilities of the sending and host organisation
10
4.11. ........................................... The roles and responsibilities of the host organisation
11
4.12. ........................................................ The roles and responsibilities of the participant
11
5. Project Monitoring ....................................................... 11
5.1. ............................................................................................................ Quarterly Monitoring Calls
11
5.2. ...................................................................................................................................... Project Visits
12
5.3. ............................................................................................................................. Project Evaluation
13
5.4 Dissemination of Results ................................................. 13
6. Financial Management ..................................................... 13
6.1. ......................................................................................................................... Eligible expenditure
13
6.2. .......................................................................................................... Organisation and Management
13
6.3. .......................................................................................................... Preparation of participants
13
6.4. ..................................................................................................................... Travel and subsistence
14
6.5. ...................................................................................................................Evidencing Travel Costs
14
6.6. ................................................................................................................................ Subsistence Costs
14
6.7. ....................................................................................................................... Participant Insurance
14
6.8. ......................................................................................................................... Accompanying persons
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16
6.9. ............................................................................................... Participants with specific needs
16
7. Payment Arrangements ..................................................... 16
7.1. ...........................................................................................................................................Bank Details
16
7.2. ................................................................................................................ Payments to participants
17
7.3. ..................................................................................................................... Ineligible expenditure
17
8. Changes to approved projects and contract amendments ..................... 17
8.1. ............................................................................................... Changes to destination countries
19
8.2. ................................................................................................... Withdrawals from the programme
19
8.3. ............................................................................................................ Withdrawal of participants
19
9. Final Reports ............................................................ 21
9.1. .............................................................................................................. Participant Questionnaire
21
9.2. .................................................................................................................................... Travel Evidence
21
9.3. ..................................................................................................................... Supplementary Material
22
10. Audit Arrangements ....................................................... 23
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GLOSSARY
Agreement/Contract: The legally binding agreement issued by the Maltese
National Agency to the Beneficiary for the implementation of the project.
'Agreement' and 'contract' may be used interchangeably.
Beneficiary: Any public, semi-public or private institution or body
declaring, in accordance with the established procedures, its intention
to submit a proposal for transnational co-operation under the programme.
The promoting organisation (Beneficiary) becomes the contractor when the
proposal is approved and assumes overall responsibility for carrying out
the project.
Participant: Anyone who is sent on a placement to a host country other
than that where they are employed, undergoing training, originate from or
reside. It should be noted that persons accompanying participants on
placement projects are not regarded as 'participants', although they are
eligible for financial support.
Partner: Sending organisation (if different from the Beneficiary), host
organisation or intermediary organisation.
Host Organisation: Company, institution or training
receives participants during their period of placement.
provider
that
Maltese NA: Leonardo da Vinci - Maltese National Agency.
Partnership: The Beneficiary and partners.
Legal representative / Authorised person: Individual person who is
authorised within your organisation to sign legally binding documents.
Mobility Tool: The on-line application and reporting tool for Leonardo da
Vinci Mobility projects: http://webgate.ec.europa.eu/eac/mobility
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1.
Introduction
This Handbook is designed to help you with the management of your 2012
Leonardo da Vinci Mobility project. It will provide step-by-step advice on
completing the documentation required by the Maltese National Agency (Maltese
NA) in order to draw up your contract, authorise project payments, and
prepare your final report. It will also outline the financial and
administrative rules applicable in the Malta for successful 2012 projects.
1.1. The role of the National Agency
The National Agency for Malta is the European Union Programmes Agency. The
Maltese NA has the lead responsibility for managing the Leonardo da Vinci
programme and supporting Maltese organisations in developing good quality
and effective projects that meet the priorities set out by the European
Commission and the Maltese National Government.
2.
Background
The Leonardo da Vinci programme is part of the European Commission's
Lifelong Learning Programme and is designed to build a skilled workforce
through European partnerships. Leonardo da Vinci Mobility funds overseas
placements with the objective of improving the provision of Vocational
Education and Training (VET) across Europe.
Leonardo da Vinci Mobility focuses on raising the quality and relevance of
VET, and this is an exciting opportunity for organisations involved in VET to
build European partnerships, increase the expertise of their staff and
develop the skills of learners. For a list of eligible participating
countries, please refer to the EU and Maltese Call documents.
3.
Participants
Participants in Maltese Mobility projects must be legally resident in Malta.
This can include those from other countries; however, participants may not
normally undertake placements in their country of origin. There are three
main target groups identified in the Council Decision:
3.1. People in Initial Vocational Training (IVT)
This action targets those individuals enrolled on a full-time or part-time
course of initial vocational training (e.g. MCAST and ITS students),
including apprentices. The beneficiary can send IVT trainees to another
European country for a work placement to enable them to gain real
experience and skills in employment.
3.2. People in the Labour Market (PLM)
This action targets those individuals in employment, those undertaking workbased training, those who have graduated from college or university, or those
who are looking for a job. You can send people in the labour market to
another European country for a work placement to enable them to gain real
experience and skills in employment.
3.3. Vocational Education and Training for
Professionals (VETPro)
This action targets those individuals those who are employed, in a business
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or training environment, to design or deliver training, professional
development or careers guidance. Professionals can take part in short
placements to learn from European colleagues. A placement will contribute to
their personal development, and they will be able to learn new skills and
ways of working to bring back to their job in Malta.
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3.4. Placement Duration
Placements in another European country must last between:
•
•
•
2 and 39 weeks for those in initial vocational training
2 and 26 weeks for people in the labour market
1 and 6 weeks for vocational education and training professionals
A week is generally defined as one calendar week given that that it can be
verified that a week incorporates 5 working days (excluding travel).
Minimum and maximum durations are set by the European Commission and must be
respected.
The Mobility Tool is to be used by the Maltese NA as an online project
management and reporting tool. The tool is used from the initial stage of the
project life cycle:
•
Application approval: the role of the Maltese NA is to input details of
the project with regards to finances, what has been requested and approved
by the selection and grant allocation committee.
•
Registering placements: The beneficiary is required to submit
information about participants and their placements as well as budgets
into Mobility Tool. The placement function also enables the Maltese NA to
monitor the performance of each project.
•
Final Reports: Data is submitted into Mobility Tool. This can then be
exported and forms an integral part of the final report. The Mobility Tool
collects both statistical and qualitative data about the projects for
reporting purposes to the European Commission.
The web address for Mobility Tool is
https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/eac/mobility. For information regarding the
Mobility Tool you should consult the Mobility Tool user manual provided.
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4. Management of a Leonardo da Vinci Mobility
Project
4.1. Approval
Once the application is selected for funding, the project will be passed on
to the Leonardo da Vinci Programme Officer within the Maltese NA, who is the
principal contact point for all issues relating to administrative and
financial management of the project. The Programme Officer will help
through the contracting process and will also be responsible for monitoring
the progress of the project in accordance with the terms of the Agreement.
4.2. Pre-contract
Before commencing an EU funded project activity, the beneficiary must enter
into a contract with the Maltese NA. To initiate the contracting process,
you must ensure that the following information from the application (flows
and budgets) is correct:
• Destinations, dates and participant numbers (flows)
• Projected costs and requested Leonardo da Vinci mobility grant
• Euro bank account details
• Ensure that the start and end date of the project are in line with the
table below:
Earliest project start
date
Latest project end
date
15 June 2012*
30 May 2014
* Placements may start any time after the earliest project start date providing the
activity be completed by 30 May 2014.
The beneficiary is also required to submit the following documentation to the
Maltese NA:




Any outstanding original, signed letters of intent from partner
organisations that were missing from your application.
A signed Financial Identification Form, which must be signed and stamped
by your legal representative and by your bank.
Details regarding your organisational status (please see below for
further information).
The European Commission requests that EUPA publishes a directory of
the successful applicant organisations, also through internet, which
will include the name and address, the subject and purpose of the
grant, and the amount awarded. Unless you submit a letter of request
by the date indicated in the original application approval letter,
outlining why the Maltese NA should not disclose this information,
this will be done.
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4.3. Organisational Status
Prior to contracting every Beneficiary must submit documents (such as
memorandum and articles of association) as official proof that the promoting
organisation exists if the grant exceeds Eur 25,000. This is only applicable
for non-public organisations.
Beneficiary is also obliged to submit official accounts for the previous
financial year. Public organisations, including secondary and higher
education institutions, are exempted from fulfilling this obligation
provided that they enclose proof of their public status. "Official" means
accounts certified by an appropriate external body and/or published and/or
approved by the organisation's general meeting. These are required so that
a financial capacity check can be completed by the Maltese NA.
4.4. Financial distribution
Once the National Agency has received all necessary details and approved
your grant request, EUPA will complete the financial distribution on the
Mobility Tool. This information is taken from the application form and the
contract. The mobility grant awarded by the Maltese NA will be defined by
the funding the beneficiary requested at application stage and the grant
allocation selection letter sent together with the information on the
National selection decision.
4.5. Contracting
Once the financial distribution has been completed, the Maltese NA will raise
your contract.
The National Agency will send two copies, which must be signed by the legal
representative whose signature appears on the application form and returned
to the Maltese NA for signature by the NA Director. One copy of the contract,
signed by both parties, will then be returned to the beneficiary.
The following important points should be borne in mind before and during the
contracting stage:
• If the beneficiary incurs expenditure outside the project dates stated
in the contract, it will not be eligible for funding.
• Leonardo da Vinci funds will not be granted to part-fund placement
projects in cases where participants have started a placement before
commencement of the eligibility period.
4.6. Your Mobility partnership
Working trans-nationally depends on establishing clear goals, strong
partnerships and good management structures. Successful partnerships take
time to develop and build. It is important that you begin to plan, consult
and research early, and that you do not underestimate the resources
required both to build the partnership, and to maintain its momentum.
You must establish agreements with your partners (including host
organisations, intermediaries and any other Maltese sending organisations)
and participants to ensure that all partners comply with the terms of your
Agreement with the Maltese NA and participants are fully aware of their
duties, rights and responsibilities.
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You are required to use the European Commission's models as a basis for these
agreements. These models contain the minimum clauses that should appear in
the agreements; the partnership may, however, decide to introduce
additional clauses as appropriate. Please be aware that the Maltese NA
requires you to submit sample copies of these agreements. These models can be
found at www.llp.eupa.org.mt/resources.php?id=162
4.7. Host organisations
Certain types of organisations are not permitted to host placements:
• European institutions (defined by the Commission as "social partners at
Community level, European employers' and trade union federations in
specific sectors, and bodies and organisations with a European status or
scope");
•
•
•
Organisations which manage Community programmes;
Maltese national organisations (e.g. embassies, consulates, cultural
institutes, regional and national representations); and
Teaching placements are not encouraged except where the placements form
an integral part of a recognised teacher-training programme.
4.8. Placement Quality
It is the responsibility of the Beneficiary to check the quality of planned
placements. Where the beneficiaries are co-ordinating an IVT, PLM or VETPRO
project they must ensure they comply with the quality commitment to training
placements (Annex V). The roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders
are outlined below:
4.9. The roles and responsibilities of the sending
organisation







Define the placement objectives in terms of the skills and
competencies to be developed;
choose the appropriate target country, host organisation, project
duration and placement content to achieve these objectives;
Select participants on the basis of clearly defined and transparent
criteria;
prepare participants in collaboration with partner organisations for
the practical, professional and cultural life of the host country, in
particular through language training tailored
to
meet
their
occupational needs;
Establish a contract including a training agreement whose contents are
transparent for all parties involved;
Manage the transport, accommodation, visa/work permit arrangements and
social security cover and insurance (please see below for further
clarification regarding insurance arrangements);
Evaluate with each participant the personal and professional
development
achieved
through
participation
in
the
Leonardo
programme.
4.10. The joint roles and responsibilities of the
sending and host organisation

Negotiate a tailor-made training programme for each participant (if
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



possible during preparatory visits);
Agree the monitoring and mentoring and evaluation arrangements;
Implement agreed validation procedures to ensure recognition of
skills and competencies acquired;
Establish appropriate communication channels for all parties including
participants; and
Evaluate the progress of the project on an on-going basis and take
appropriate action if required.
4.11. The roles and responsibilities of the host
organisation





Foster understanding of the culture and mentality of the host country;
Assign tasks and responsibilities to the participants that match their
knowledge, skills, competencies and training objectives and ensure
that appropriate equipment and support is available;
Identify a tutor to monitor the participant's training progress;
Provide practical support if required; and
Check appropriate insurance cover for each participant.
4.12. The roles and responsibilities of the
participant



5.
Comply with all arrangements negotiated for his/her placement and
to do his/her best
to make the placement a success;
Abide by the rules and regulations of the host organisation, its normal
working hours, code of conduct and rules of confidentiality;
Communicate with Beneficiary/sending organisation about any problem or
changes regarding the placement
Project Monitoring
The Beneficiary is responsible to the Maltese NA for the correct
implementation of the project, for the use of funds received and the
amounts paid to participants. You must therefore ensure that appropriate
reporting and monitoring procedures are put in place. Project monitoring
should include both the financial performance and general performance of the
project against the objectives set out in the application. You must gather
and retain all necessary information and documentary evidence demonstrating
proper management of the project. The European Commission and/or the Maltese
National Agency may inspect this at any time.
For your project to be successful, it is important that you monitor it
while it is running and, to measure its effectiveness after it has ended.
You will have already identified the need for the project and so its
performance will be important to you as a way of achieving your objectives.
Monitoring will also allow to identify any problems early so that action
can be taken to correct any errors.
5.1. Quarterly Monitoring Calls
The Maltese
information
risen. The
lifetime of
NA will undertake quarterly monitoring calls/e-mails to collect
about your progress and to address any issues that may have
Programme Officer will schedule these calls throughout the
your project.
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5.2. Project Visits
The Maltese NA will also visit Mobility projects, where possible, at least
once during their lifecycle. The visit is an opportunity for the
beneficiary to take stock of the project achievements and review the
progress against the objectives. The key areas for discussion are:





Selection and Preparation of Participants
Project Management
Dissemination and Innovation
Project Evaluation and Future Activity
Financial Information
The visit provides the opportunity for the Maltese NA to gain a greater
understanding of your project and to review whether the project meets the
needs of other stakeholders and the participants. The visits also enable the
National Agency to ensure that you can deliver your project to the
specifications detailed in your application, your contract and the
requirements of the Lifelong Learning Programme.
During the visit, we will explore with you any examples of good practice that
you have developed which other projects might benefit from. The information
gathered during the visit is fed into our work in monitoring the progress of
the Programme in Malta as a whole and will be used to inform reports produced
to the National Authority for the programme in Malta as well as the European
Commission.
Please note that the project visit will not be used to undertake detailed
auditing, but to ensure that the beneficiary has put financial and monitoring
systems in place to manage the project budget.
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5.3. Project Evaluation
The beneficiary is to evaluate the performance of the project while it is
running and as soon as possible after the project has finished. This will
make sure that it is still fresh in the minds of those involved. To
ensure that the project received a thorough evaluation, you should
evaluate it at all levels from the experience of individual participants
to the final organisational objectives that the project met.
The beneficiary is to circulate the results of the evaluation to appropriate
personnel and senior management. The main benefit of evaluation will be to
know whether the ideas you r have worked in practice and to identify the
key lessons/improvements that should be passed to others or used in
subsequent funding applications.
5.4 Dissemination of Results
Dissemination should be carried out throughout the project and should be
linked directly to the project’s evaluation process. Dissemination is an
essential part of the LLP funded projects and should raise awareness
about your project, its activities and highlight the outcomes of the
project. Participants, sending organisations and host organisations
should all be included within the project’s dissemination activities. For
Vetpro
projects
it
is
particularly
important
that
participants
individually disseminate their findings across both formal and informal
networks upon their return from their work placement.
6.
Financial Management
6.1. Eligible expenditure
The Leonardo da Vinci grant is regarded as a contribution to your project
costs, and is not intended to cover the total cost of the project. Grants
are awarded on a per participant basis under the following cost type
headings.
6.2. Organisation and Management
These funds form a contribution to the costs of organising, managing,
monitoring and evaluating the project. The Beneficiary has the option,
through agreements with the other partners, of sharing the management funds
awarded with those organisations that actually bear the costs.
Leonardo da Vinci - Maximum scale of unit costs to apply to calculate
grants to higher education institutions and placement consortia to ensure
quality of the mobility arrangements for students and staff.
Scale 1 (1st to 25th
person)
Scale
2 (26th to 100th
person)
Scale
3 (101st to 400th
person)4 (> 400th person)
Scale
Eur 160€/
beneficiary
Eur 80 €/
beneficiary
Eur 40 €/
beneficiary
Eur 40 €/
beneficiary
6.3. Preparation of participants
Funding is available for the pedagogical, linguistic and cultural preparation
of participants. This allowance is intended primarily for placement projects;
however, we will also consider requests, which relate to VETPro participants.
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Funding can only be awarded where the training does not form part of the
participant's normal course of study. Linguistic preparation must be
connected to the content of the placement and must be provided by
professionals. Generally all preparation should take place in Malta
prior to the participants’ departure. If language preparation is to
continue whilst on placement all costs must be covered through the
participants’ preparation grant and should not be covered through their
subsistence allowance.
Pedagogic, linguistic and cultural preparation: A contribution may be granted
up to a lump sum of maximum Eur 150.00 per participant.
6.4. Travel and subsistence
Travel costs are defined as the cost of the entire journey from Malta to
the country of destination of the placement abroad. As such, this does
not include local travel costs to and from the accommodation and the
placement during the visit. Airport transfers, that is, by taxi or
otherwise from airport to the hotel and vice-versa form part of
subsistence costs, unless there is no other transport means to reach the
hotel and the cost is disproportionate (EUR 40-50). Travel Insurance also
forms part of subsistence costs.
Travel costs will be treated as a separate component of expenditure for which
real costs will be paid by the National Agency. The declared real costs have
to be supported with the appropriate receipts showing the amount in Euros.
Please note that travel costs must be calculated on a per participant basis.
The travel budgets cannot be combined to form one ‘pot’ of funding, and care
should be taken not to exceed the maximum for any one participant. (table of
travel rates attached)
6.5. Evidencing Travel Costs
Travel documents should relate to travel from Malta to the destination
country and back. The dates of travel must be consistent with the dates of
the placement stated in the final report.
Projects must submit the travel tickets (originals) and invoices from
travel agencies to evidence that the travel and placement took place.
These documents must include the dates of travel, names of participants,
destination and cost. Where actual documented travel costs are lower than
the amount originally allocated, only these actual costs (i.e. only those
for which evidence is provided) can be reimbursed. The most economic
forms of travel should be used, booking should be made in advance and
where possible group rates should be utilised to reduce prices.
6.6. Subsistence Costs
The subsistence allowance is intended to help cover costs of
accommodation, food and local daily travel to and from placements in the
host country. (table of subsistence rates attached)
6.7. Participant Insurance
Beneficiaries are required to ensure that participants have adequate
insurance for their work placements. This should be paid for from the
Subsistence budget heading.
All participants qualifying under national legislation should apply for the
European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which entitles the holder to reduced
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cost, sometimes free, healthcare in most European countries.
In addition, you should establish whether the host organisation has insurance
that covers participants in the workplace during their placement. In cases
where existing insurance does not provide this type of cover, the
Beneficiary should ensure that additional insurance is taken out for the
period of the activity.
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6.8. Accompanying persons
Funding is available for accompanying
persons for projects involving
participants who require additional support such as people with special
needs. The number of accompanying persons funded will depend on the number of
participants and their needs. You should provide a clear justification in
your application form.
Given that funding for accompanying persons is intended to assist where
participants are in need of additional support, staff should in most cases
be present throughout the duration of the placement to provide continuous
support. If there are exceptional circumstances, which justify alternative
arrangements, you should provide clear justification. It is acceptable for
one member of staff to replace another during the placement if circumstances
prevent a single member of staff from staying for the whole duration. In such
cases, it is possible to claim travel expenses for each accompanying person,
and subsistence in respect of the period spent accompanying the participants.
Grants for accompanying persons are not intended to fund monitoring visits;
these costs fall under the 'management and monitoring' subheading.
6.9. Participants with specific needs
Funding can be provided in cases where a participant has a disability or
other specific needs for which additional costs will be incurred to
facilitate their inclusion in the project. This has to be requested at
application stage. The allowance awarded will normally be against real
costs, provided receipts support these. When requesting funding for people
with specific needs, please justify the amount required using quotes for
specific costs where possible. For example, if you will need to hire an
accessible minibus in the destination country, please research the cost of
this and refer to a quote in your application.
7.
Payment Arrangements
Projects will be awarded the first pre-financing payment amounting to 80%
(60% in the case of a total grant greater than Eur 25,000) of the total
grant. A final payment will be made based on approval of the final report
and associated documentation.
The first pre-financing payment will be made within 45 days of the contract
signed between the Maltese NA and the Beneficiary entering into force, and
the final payment will be made within 45 days of the approval by the
Maltese NA of the final report and associated documentation.
7.1. Bank Details
The account into which the Leonardo da Vinci grant will be paid must be a
separate Euro account specific to the project opened in the name of the
contracting organisation (under no circumstances can it be a personal
account) at a banking institution established in Malta. If it is a general
account, the contractor will set up an accounting system so that, in all
cases, it will be possible to identify expenditure and income relating to
the project. The Maltese NA will pay all grants to project Beneficiary in
Euro by Bank transfer.
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7.2. Payments to participants
The beneficiary may pay travel and subsistence allowances to the
participant in the form of a bank transfer. In the case of short
placements, where direct bank transfers to individual participants may not
be cost-effective, allowances may be managed on behalf of the
participants by the sending organisation.
If cash payments are made to participants, you are required to obtain signed
receipts from the individuals concerned. For longer-term placements, you
should pay subsistence allowances directly into participants' bank accounts
by instalments and keep appropriate evidence of this expenditure.
It is recommended that the most cost-effective means are used at all
times. For example travel bookings should be done in advance and wherever
possible group bookings are to be effected.
7.3. Ineligible expenditure
Certain types of expenditure will be considered ineligible in all cases,
namely:









Expenditure relating to movement between countries located outside
the European Union and not among the other countries officially
participating in the programme
Expenditure incurred outside the eligibility period detailed in the
contract
Expenditure incurred with no direct link to the project
Expenditure already financed by another Community source
Cost of independent consultants
Purchase of equipment
Bank charges and interest on loans
Losses
connected
with
exchange
transactions
or
exchange
rate
fluctuations
Staff costs
8. Changes to approved projects and contract
amendments
Changes to your approved project activities, partnership or target groups
constitute a significant change to your project and contract. It is very
important that you are able to identify any potential difficulties at an
early stage and where possible take measures to improve the situation.
Beneficiary should contact the Maltese NA if uncertain whether to report the
proposed changes or not. The list below details examples of changes, which
must be reported to the Maltese NA:





Changes to the content of the project from that set out in the
original approved application, for example changing the scope,
delivery or aim;
Changes to the project management or delivery;
Changes to the project membership, for example introducing new
partners, removing partners or introducing a new partner in a new
country;
Changes to the number of participants within or between flows;
Changes to the duration of the placement period;
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

Change of the legally-authorised signatories;
Change in the bank account.
Where the beneficiaries believe they are unable to rectify a situation, it is
their responsibility to discuss any changes with the Maltese NA as soon as
these are discovered to agree on the way forward. Beneficiary should submit a
contract amendment request in writing to the Maltese NA, which provides a
full explanation of the circumstances, outlines the reasons for the request
and demonstrates how the project will still meet its aims and objectives.
The Maltese NA will then assess the change against the original application
and objectives under which the project is funded. If the proposed change
substantially alters the application form annexed to your contract, you
may be required to re-submit certain sections of the application.
If the beneficiary’s request is approved, the Maltese NA will provide
written approval and where necessary issue a contract amendment, (which must
be signed by the authorised person who signed your original contract and by
the Maltese NA Coordinator).
Please note that if the beneficiary proceeds with altering the project
without
the
Maltese
NA's
authorisation and/or without appropriate
justification, the Maltese NA reserves the right to request repayment of the
corresponding part of the grant. This could also influence the success of
future applications.
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8.1. Changes to destination countries
If for some reason the beneficiary needs to change the host country of
the project, the beneficiary needs to inform the National Agency in
writing. The beneficiary must work within the constraints of the existing
budget. Please note that if the beneficiary changes the destination country
of the project without an agreed contract amendment the Maltese NA reserves
the right to request repayment of the corresponding part of the grant.
8.2. Withdrawals from the programme
The decision by an approved project to withdraw from the Leonardo da
Vinci Mobility action is not taken lightly. Any beneficiary considering
taking this step should discuss this issue with the Maltese NA as soon as
possible. The Maltese NA will offer advice and support and will work closely
with the beneficiary to prevent the withdrawal wherever possible, for
example, by exploring opportunities for other organisations to take on the
role of Beneficiary.
If the project is to withdraw, the beneficiary must take the following
actions:



Formally advise the Maltese NA of the decision on letter-headed
paper (fax or email is not acceptable), setting out the reason for the
withdrawal and notifying the Maltese NA of the project's intended end
date if applicable.
Notify the respective Transnational Partners in writing of the
withdrawal and confirm to the Maltese NA that the Transnational
Partners have been notified.
Bring about the proper closure of the partnership and submit all
eligible placements on the Mobility Tool and a Final Report to the
Maltese NA within 1 month of the new end date.
Please note: If the project withdraws from the Programme without
incurring any expenses or prior to any payments being made, the
Beneficiary is not required to submit any placements or a Final
Report. However, if the project has incurred costs for eligible LDV
expenditure, the Beneficiary must submit all placements on the
Mobility Tool and a Final Report. Failure to do so will deem the
funding ineligible and the Beneficiary will be required to refund all
of the funds received.
8.3. Withdrawal of participants
Where there are good reasons for a participant to withdraw part way
through a placement, and the Beneficiary has taken all reasonable steps
to avoid it, non-refundable costs incurred by the Beneficiary, which
cannot be claimed from an insurer, can be covered by the project. The
Beneficiary must clearly explain (in writing) the reasons for the withdrawal
and state which costs are non-refundable. Usually the subsistence grant
would be reduced to reflect the period of time spent abroad, although if
certain costs cannot be refunded for example pre-booked accommodation the
Beneficiary must clearly make the case for including these additional
costs.
If the timing of the withdrawal means that the length of the placement is
ineligible, the Beneficiary must justify the withdrawal and demonstrate that
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they took all reasonable steps to avoid the participant's early return. If
the Beneficiary cannot demonstrate the steps taken to resolve the situation,
the Maltese NA reserves the right to request repayment of the corresponding
part of the grant. Please note that in this situation if the participant is
not personally at fault the Beneficiary must confirm in writing that the
participant will not be asked to return their grant.
If the participant decides of his or her own accord to leave their
placement early, without a valid reason, the Beneficiary must use their
participant contracts and attempt to recover the money spent.
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9.
Final Reports
The final report should include:
• Final report templates including financial tables
• Expenditure record sheet for each participant
• Travel evidence for all participants to substantiate the duration of the
placement
• Boarding passes
• Participant contracts and reports (submitted on-line by participants)
• Training agreements
• Certificates of attendance
• Any supplementary materials
9.1. Participant Questionnaire
The Beneficiary is to submit all individual participants' evaluation reports
as part of the final report. The questionnaires must be printed and signed
together with the Mobility Tool questionnaires.
If the Beneficiary chooses to submit also his/her own participant reports,
they should provide an overall assessment of the placement from the
participant's perspective, and should focus on the following areas:
•
•
•
•
Preparation - an assessment of the effectiveness of pre-departure
briefings and language training.
Content - a description of the host organisation and evaluation of the
training placement or visit undertaken. This should include an example of
a typical day at work and details of the type of tasks undertaken (for
placement participants) or a copy of the
Work programme (for VET professionals). Participants should describe any
new skills/competencies acquired, different types of equipment/techniques
used and comments on any perceived differences in approaches to training
and work in the host country.
Outcomes - an overall assessment of the benefits of the placement, with
particular reference to professional and personal development. For
placement participants, the impact (if any) has the placement had on the
individual's employability/job prospects.
Problems encountered and solutions found
9.2. Travel Evidence
Documentation must be sent to support claims for travel expenses. The
Beneficiary should make sure that s/he has clearly referenced all of the
elements of the travel costs, which are being claimed for each participant
to enable the Maltese NA to cross-check the documentation with the figures
entered into the Mobility Tool.
All final report documentation should be delivered at the EUPA’s
Reception in Santa Venera. Consequently, it shall be handed over to the
LDV Mobility Officer and Finance section for assessment. Once the full
assessment is complete, the Beneficiary will receive the determination of
the final grant and subsequently the final balance payment (or recovery
order).
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9.3. Supplementary Material
The MTNA is also interested in seeing any supplementary material
associated with the project. This could include in-house reports,
materials from your website, or newspaper cuttings. EUPA would appreciate
and encourages any supporting information and videos/photographs from the
projects.
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10. Audit Arrangements
The Beneficiary must set up an appropriate accounting system, which
identifies all sources of funding and expenditure relating to the
project, and incurred during the contract period. The European Commission
may request an external audit or wish to arrange a random inspection of
project accounts after the project have been completed. The Beneficiary is
therefore required to keep all original documents relating to the
implementation and financial management of the project for a period of five
years after the final payment has been made.
Should the institution not have an appropriate accrual accounting systems
it is recommended that separate bank account is opened for every project
and that costs relating to a project are managed from this bank account to
make reporting to the NA and recording of accounting easier and traceable.
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