Access Alliance Programme

Project Managers’ Workshop

Markham Vale Environment Centre

10 March 2010

Programme

• What is the Access Alliance Programme?• Why am I here today?• Aims of the seminar• Introduction to the projects• Marketing and promoting projects• Financial Claims• Output Monitoring and Evidencing• Project Sustainability• The Capital Assets Register & Inventory• Summary and Next AAP Events

What is AAP?

• The Access Alliance Programme• Managed by STAR on behalf of DEP

– Phase 1 Nov 2006 to Nov 2008– Phase 2 Dec 2008 to Nov 2010

• To develop sustainable transport schemes in Notts and Derbyshire

• To assist people in Notts & Derbyshire to access jobs and services, esp. those without access to a private car and young people

• To assist County Councils to deliver their Accessibility Strategies

Why am I here today?

• Why do I have to do anything – I’ve already been paid?

• What’s the point of the financial returns?• Why do I have to keep completing the outputs

profile?• What’s the benefit for my project?• I haven’t done this before! Why start now?• Why do I have to report so often?• Who can assist me?

Aims of the Seminar

• Explain reporting procedures• Explain monitoring procedures• Answer your questions and

queries• Share experiences among project

managers• Save time for you & STAR• Share top tips for an easy life with

AAP!

Introduction to the Projects

Retford Action Centre Bassetlaw Share-a-Ride - Steetley

Rural Community Action Notts

Ignition + Green Light Steetley

SLIC Training Rural Rover

Turning Point Improving Access to Empt & Training

Portland College Portland Skills Bus

University of Derby Chesterfield Cycling Infrastructure

North Notts / C’field College

J29A Transport to Training

Case Study

Elmton & Creswell Village Company

Serving the Community with Transportto Training

Marketing & Promoting Projects 1• Success of projects often depends

on getting the word out• Relatively short time to get

projects up and running• Avoid ‘if we build it, they will

come’ mentality• Hammer the message home!• Engage employee referral

partners to promote the project• Use local media to promote good

news in difficult economic climate

Marketing & Promoting Projects 2• Take photographs of the project in

action!• Ask punters what they think of the

transport provided & what it has meant for them

• Tell us how you are promoting your project

• Submit evidence of marketing efforts with your claims

Project Plan

• Schedule 4.2 of your AAP contract• We encourage all new projects to

prepare a project plan• Key milestones• Helps to focus the mind• Assists you in preparing claims

– are we where we planned to be?– If not, why not?

• Submit plan to STAR to be filed with your project documentation

Financial Claims 1

• Claim dates as per award letter and contract

• E-copy and signed hard copy• Justification of what has been spent• AAP grant and wider project /

matched funding• Intervention rate shows maximum

AAP funding• Spend to be in line with Spend Profile• If not, reprofile

Financial Claims 2

• Section 2 – Claim Summary• One line per time of expenditure• Specify revenue / capital• Provide invoice / receipt reference• Provide hard copy of receipt / invoice• Ensure figures sum correctly• Ensure figures agree with claim total on front

page of claim• Ensure figures tally with Spend Profile

(Section 6)• Ensure you provide details and evidence of all

project spend

Financial Claims 3

• Section 6 – Spend Profile• Actual / Forecast at head of each column• Split between capital and revenue expenditure• Provide “total” project costs – AAP funding plus

matched funding on which intervention rate is based• Show AAP spend separately• Reprofile the costs, if necessary • Ensure total project costs and total AAP grant spend

remain consistent throughout• Avoid underspend of matched funding and AAP grant

Project Spend - Pitfalls

• STAR is required to reclaim AAP funding from project managers if

– you do not spend grant which has been paid upfront– you do not obtain or spend matched funding– you do not evidence matched funding or AAP grant

spend– you do not use it for the purposes set out in the

funding application – you do not make any efforts to record outputs

• But we do not want to reclaim funds!

Claim Forms – Top Tips 1

• Ask for advice if you need it• Liberal use of highlighter!• Consistency of figures• Transparency of figures• Underspending is bad• Don’t bury you head in the sand• Tell us if things aren’t going so well• VAT claims – depend upon your VAT

status

Claim Forms – Top Tips 2

• Provide evidence with every claim• Ensure spend is correctly recorded

as capital or revenue• Reprofile spend and outputs• Ensure you talk to STAR• Agree monitoring programme with

STAR

Output Monitoring• Funding award relates to the number of outputs to

be delivered• Output numbers in contract are minimum expected• If you are unable to achieve outputs profiled for each

claim, let us know before claim due date!• All outputs must be evidenced with supporting

documentation, submitted with each claim form• If your evidence is one line of a document or letter,

highlight it!• Output profile within the claim form - change the ‘F’

to an ‘A’• Use the new output monitoring forms

T1 Outputs

• Jobs created or safeguarded• Jobs must be

– Permanent– Paid posts (not voluntary work), and– Full time (although part time can be

counted pro-rata)

T1 Outputs (continued)• A job is created and counted when it

is– New– Has a life expectancy of at least one year– A post that is actually filled as a result of AAP

intervention

• A job is safeguarded if it – exists and is forecast to be lost within 1 year of when

the project was approved– is still in existence at the time of counting and no

longer at risk of being lost within a year

T2 Outputs

• People assisted to get a job• The output is the number of people who

have been assisted regardless of their success

• Those assisted must be– Resident in Derbyshire or Nottinghamshire– Unemployed or economically inactive or– In employment but at risk of losing their job

• This output does not include assistance with skills development (T6)

T4 Outputs

• Businesses assisted to improve their performance

• The output is the number of businesses who have been assisted regardless of their success

• Businesses assisted do not have to be based in Derbyshire or Nottinghamshire

T5 Outputs

• Public and Private regeneration infrastructure levered

• i.e. funding levered from other sources by AAP funding

• Public or private sector sources• If other agencies are counting this output,

the outputs should be apportioned between them

• Need a copy of a grant award letter from agencies to confirm that funding has been levered

T6 Outputs• People assisted in their skills development• The output is the number of people who have

been assisted regardless of whether their skills were developed

• Assistance to attend vocational training or general education course

• Training does not have to be certificated• People of any age• Only extra-curricula training for those of

school age• Minimum of 6 hours training• People who are resident in Nottinghamshire

or Derbyshire

Qualitative Surveys 1

• Exit survey / questionnaire• SMS / text survey• On-bus survey• Stakeholder interviews• User focus groups• Stakeholder focus groups• Intercept survey, etc

Qualitative Surveys 2

o STAR to adviseo STAR to conduct (some) focus

groupso STAR to analyse resultso STAR to assist as necessaryo Ask for help !

Output Monitoring in Action

Jayne Ball, Portland College

Project Sustainability

• AAP funding is to pump prime projects• Some projects will have achieved

everything they set out to achieve• Others need to think about how to ensure

the project continues after AAP• Start to think about it now – not at the

11th hour• Who could / should fund in the future?• How can I demonstrate the positive

impacts of the project to potential funders?

Capital Assets Register & Inventory

What is ‘capital’ spend?

• Equipment or assets• £1000 or more• Useful life of more than 12 months• Feasibility study leading to capital project• (adding value to assets)• Other costs including administration are

“revenue”

Capital Assets Register 1

• Owner• Description• Price paid (net of recoverable VAT)• AAP funding applied to asset• Location of title deeds (if applicable)• Location of asset• Serial / Identification Number• Date of disposal• Sale of proceeds (net of VAT)

Capital Assets Register 2

• Items worth more than £1,000, and• Items with more than £2,500 AAP funding• Recording of disposal of assets• Project Manager to notify STAR / DEP of

disposal of asset• AAP / DEP may require a share of the proceeds• Disposal value must be actual / estimated

market value• Clawback will always be applied unless

explicitly agreed otherwise• Change of use of asset / needs of AAP / funds

recovery

Capital Assets Inventory

• Items worth less than £1,000• Items with less than £2,500 AAP funding• Same asset descriptions as for Register• Same requirements re disposal of asset

Any Questions

AAP Diary Dates

Weds 14 April @ 12:00 with lunchAAP Publicity Event at MVEC

Weds 6 Oct 9:30 – 13:00AAP Conference at National Fluid Power

Centre

www.accessalliance.co.uk

Thank you for coming along

Lunch is served!