Project Start-Up

Based on the assessment of the proposal, the Monitoring Committee may define a number of points that need to be addressed before the project can be contracted, the pre-contracting actions.  

Pre-contracting actions require updates to the project application. These are carried out jointly by the Lead Partner and the Desk Officer at the Secretariat, and finalised in Jems.

Learn more about the pre-contracting actions here.

During the period between MC approval and the official project start date some project activities can be considered eligible.

In general, these activities and costs should be limited addressing pre-contracting actions and other inception costs, such as administrative steps necessary to run the project. Core project activities should start on or after the official project start date.

Learn more about the start-up costs here. 

In order to complete the Grant Letter, i.e. the legal document between the Managing Authority and the Lead Partner, the project will be asked to fill in important data such as:

• Start and end date of the project
• Partner organisation details
• Lead Partner bank details
• Entry into force data of the Partnership Agreement

Learn more about the start and end dates here, and about the Grant Letter here.

The Partnership Agreement is signed by all project partners. It provides a framework for efficient project implementation and governance and aims at guaranteeing the project’s compliance with the Interreg NPA programme.

The NPA programme requires every project to have a partnership agreement in place.

The Partnership Agreement is not reviewed nor approved by the programme administration. There is a template provided as a blueprint.

Learn more about the Partnership Agreement here.

In order to receive the grant, project expenditures incurred by each partner must be verified and approved by a controller. This happens through submitting a partner report.

It is a good practice to get started with a controller as soon as possible, in order to meet the reporting deadline. 

Click here to find out how to get a controller.

To ensure consistent communication and promotion of Interreg NPA and EU funding, all projects must comply with the publicity requirements stipulated in the European regulations.

Appoint a project communication manager and follow the guidance to meet the relevant requirements:

• All projects must meet the EU requirements  > >
• Main projects must also meet the NPA requirements > >

Contact the Communication Manager at the Secretariat to join the network of communication managers.

The project kick-off meeting is the time to agree how to run a project that is sustainable, inclusive and gender-balanced.

Follow these steps to integrate Horizontal principles in your project work and report to the programme.