• Accountability

The obligation of one person or organisation to answer for the performance or dutites assigned to them.

• Accountable Body

The legally constituted organisation responsible for the correct administration and delivery of European funded project. The accountable body is also responsible for making grant repayments if problems are discovered with the project or its records.

• Action Plan

In the Objective 2 programme, an Action Plan is a strategic document prepared by an Action Plan Partnership that outlines European Social Fund (ESF) European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) eligible activities for the measure with projected outcomes and associated costs. The Partnership acts as the accountable body for the plan, administering the grant decision-making and payments processes. Individual project applications are submitted to the partnership for selection, appraisal and approval.

• Added Value

Added value is the amount of extra benefit in terms of outputs gained as a result of European funding for the project, over and above those benefits obtained from other funding sources.

• Additionality

Funds from Europe are intended to be additional to what national governments would normally have spent in an area: they should not displace such resources. Similarly, individually projects must be able to demonstrate that without European Funds their project would not be able to go ahead (or only in a reduced form). This is the principle of additionality.

• Applicant

The legally constituted organisation responsible for correctly administering and delivering the European funded project. The applicant will also be responsible for making grant repayments if the conditions for receiving European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)/European Social Fund (ESF) support are not met.

• Appraisal

The process whereby project applications are assessed for eligibility, fit, value for money, and quality.

• Article

Structural Funds are governed by legally binding agreements signed up to by all Member states of the European Union. These are written agreements, and each section is called an Article and has a number.

• Article 4

This refers to European Commission regulation 438/2001 which describes the need to carry out on the spot monitoring visits of all Structural Fund projects to make sure that they physically exist and have the records to verify the information provided in their claims and progress reports.

• Article 10

This refers to European Commission regulation 438/2001 which describes the need to carry out audits of Structural Fund projects selected by an appropriate sampling method. The audits are designed to verify the effectiveness of management and control systems, verify expenditure and outputs and to ensure compliance with all applicable EC regulations.

• Audit

An inspection of the systems and financial records of a project to confirm the accuracy, reliability and eligibility of funding claims.

• Beneficiary

The person or organisation recieving support from a European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)/European Social Fund (ESF) funded project.

• Benefits In-Kind

Non-financial support given to a project by a third party, for example, staff time working on a project. It must be possible to measure this in-kind support financially.

• Capacity Building

A commonly used term for project which improve the ability of communities to take the lead in their own social and economic renewal.

• Capital Projects

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) projects which involve an element of infrastruture development.

• Claim

A return completed by an organisation to show financial and non-financial information for a specific period. Also includes the claim for cash payable for the project.

• Co-financing

A system by which European Social Fund (ESF) and the required match funding is channelled to providers in a single stream.

• Community Support Framework (CSF)

The chief programming document for the Objective 3 Programme in Great Britain, which outlines how Objective 3 will be spent in the period 2000 - 2006.

• Cross Cutting Themes

These are priorities that should run through all projects and programmes. For European Regional Development Fund they are environmental sustainability, information and communication technology (ICT) and equal opportunties. For European Social Fund thay are sustainable development, ICT, equal opportunties and local development. They are sometimes known as horizontal themes or thematic priorites.

• De minimis

A value below which a cost is not to be taken into consideration. For example there is a de minimis level under which state aid to companies does not have to be reported to European Commission.

• Depreciation The calculated loss in value of an asset due to age, wear and tear, deterioration, or obsolescence.
• Direct Bidding

Direct bidding is where organisations apply direct to Government Office for ESF funding. It is more commonly known as alternative bidding. ESF can provide up to 45% of the cost of a project. The remaining 55% must come from match funding and at least 10% of the total project costs must be from a public sector source.

• Eligibility

The conditions that have to be met by beneficiaries, costs and activities if they are to be eligible for inclusion in an European Regional Development Fubnd (ERDF)/European Social Fund (ESF) funded project.

• Eligible Costs

Costs that are to be taken as allowable charges of becoming employed, such as literacy training or specific vocational qualifications.

• European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

One of the four Structural Funds and the principle fund in the Objective 2 programme. It funds a wide range of measures to stimulate economic development, leading to the creation of local jobs e.g. creating new business parks, helping communities to use IT, and support for businesses to expand.

• European Social Fund (ESF)

One of the four Structural Funds. Aims to improve the skills and employability of people in the European Union, usually through training or work subsidy.

• Final Claim (ERDF)/project closure report (ESF)

The final return completed by an organisation to show financial and non-financial information for a specific project.

• Government Office for the West Midlands (GOWM)
• Horizontal Themes

These are priorities that should run through all projects and programmes. For ERDF they are environmental sustainability, ICT and equal opportunties. For ESF they are sustainable development, ICT equal opportunties and local development. They are sometimes known as cross-cutting themes or thematic priorities.

• Implementation

Any process necessary to deliver the objectives in the Single Programming Document following its approval by the European Commission.

• Intervention

An action taken to achieve a specific goal, such as delivery of trainig to help improve the employability of individuals.

• Intervention Rate

The percentage of eligible project expenditure provided by European funding, for example, up to 50% for European regional Development Fund (ERDF) Objective 2 and up to 45% for European Social Fund (ESF). Also known as grant rate.

• Match Funding

All Structural Fund resources have to be matched by other funds. These can come from national sources (SRB, Lottery) private sector contributions, in-kind and volunteer time.

• Measure

Sub-division of a Priority or Policy Field which lists rationale, objectives, indicative list of eligible actions, available funds, baseline date and target indicators.

• Objective

The bulk of Structural Funds are dedicated to delivering three Objectives. Objective 1 programmes help regions lagging behind the EU average to re-structure their economies. Objectives 2 programmes help regions with specific incidences of industrial decline converge or re-convert. Objective 3 programmes are not geographically targted and deliver the European Employment Strategy.

• Offer Letters

This is a letter from either GOWM or Partnership which offers to successful ERDF project applicants. It contains details of the grant offered and conditions which must be satisfied in order that grant will be paid.

• Outputs

Outputs are one of the ways of measuring the progress of a project. they are achievements that can be measured e.g. people trained, businesses supported or square feet of workspace created.

• Prority

A set of specific aims within a programme that are to be tackled by the delivery of particular measures.

• Profile

This is a forecast of the timing of project expenditure.

• Project Appraisal

The process whereby project applications are assessed for eligibility, fit, value for money, and quality.

• Private Sector Leverage

This refers to private sector funds which are committed to the programme which would not be spent in the area or on that strategy without the influence of the Structural Funds.

• Public Match Funding

Financial support propvided to a project by a publicity funded organisation.

• Revenue Projects

Projects without any element of infrastructure development (e.g. advice to businesses; R&D collaboration; tourism promotion ; etc).

• SMEs

Small and medium sized enterprises.

• Spend

Programme spend takes place when a project begins to make claims.

• State Aids

State Aid is aid that is considered to distort the competition between companies and pose a threat to the operation of the internal market. European Community rules on State Aids apply limits to the level of help the public sector can give to industry. Examples of State Aid include direct grants: subsidised loans etc or where there are benefits to firms from subsidised business support schemes (e.g. reduced cost business consultancy, subsidised rents, training.) This is a very complex area and detailed guidance notes are available to view on the European pages of the GOWM website.

• Structural Funds

A collection of funds channelling financial assistance to the less well off regions of Europe in order to encourage greater economic and social cohesion. There are four Structural Funds; European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF), European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG).

• Technical Assistance

  A part of the Structural Funds budget which can be used to assist with amoung other things, Structural Funds eligibility, fit with the Regional Economic Stratgey, and quality.

• Transitional Areas

Some areas, though eligibile for Structural Funds in the 1994-1999 period, run by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, to transform the delivery of ERDF in England.