Meeting:                    Thursday 12^th May 2011

Venue:                        CRC Offices, Dungannon

Present:                    Brendan Mackin (Chairperson), Helen Johnston, Jackie Witherow, Stella McDermott, Lisa-Jane McIlveen, Jim Deery, Aidan O’Reilly

In attendance:           DFP: Steve Clements (representing Martin Tyrell)

                                   SEUPB:Shaun Henry

Pobal:Paddy McGinn, Colette Nulty, Pauline Perry, Mary McConnell (Minutes)

                                    Community Relations Council: Duncan Morrow, Frank Murphy, Gordie Walker, Naomi Doak

1     Chairperson

Due to the current chairperson being unavailable for the meeting it was agreed that Brendan Mackin would chair the meeting.

2     Conflict of interest:

2.1. Declaration of conflict of interest for meeting

Brendan Mackin completed and signed the form in relation to item 7.1 on the agenda

3     Minutes:   

Previous minutes agreed with the following amendment:  point 6.4, bullet point 3 amended to read; ‘Project extensions will be approved only in exceptional circumstances by the Programme Manager/Director’

4     Matters Arising: 

The Chair welcomed the new committee member Aidan O’Reilly (Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs), and Steve Clements who was deputizing for Martin Tyrell

4.1. Project ref no: 002590, Queen Mary University of London:

As this is one of the Consortium’s strategic flagship project Strand 1, Addressing Legacy and Truth in Public Memory, it was noted to the Committee that whilst the project has commenced a number of significant issues have arisen in terms of the eligibility of specific overhead costs for the Lead partner Queen Mary and its partners Trinity College, Dublin and Dundalk Institute of Technology; and there remains a number of outstanding pre-funding conditions.  The Consortium has had a number of meetings with the promoter to discuss the specific issues of budget, prefunding conditions and the timeframe for completion of the project.   As a result the project has submitted a written request for significant changes to the current Letter of Offer which will be presented to the Steering Committee for consideration in June.

4.2. Project ref no: 002853, National Museums NI:

The following update was noted:

·     Consortium staff have met with the promoter to discuss the substantial number of pre-funding conditions and this process will be completed shortly

·     The application and assessment has been forwarded to OFM/DFM for consideration

·     It is envisaged that the application will be presented to the Steering Committee for final consideration in June

5     Update;

5.1. Financial update on Theme 1.2 Acknowledging and Dealing with the Past

The Steering Committee was presented with an overview of the current allocations against budget as at the 30^th April 2011.    The total available budget for Theme 1.2 is currently €24,436,895.   It was noted that this figure is likely to increase as a result of the completion of the de-committal process at the end of 2010.

6     Reopening of Theme 1.2:  

6.1. Progress to date:

·     113 Applications are screened with a Basic Eligibility Check completed.  Acknowledgement letters have been sent to all Lead Partners.

·     Any applicant who did not submit all the supporting documentation as per the Application Checklist were given an additional 5 working days to submit the outstanding appendices to their application.   The outstanding information was requested in writing to the Lead Partner.

·      9 applications are incomplete and for consideration by the Committee

·      11 Stage 1 Assessments have been completed and are for consideration by the Committee 

6.2. Assessment process

Due to the oversubscription of applications, the current available  budget and to ensure compliance with timelines set out by the Managing Authority for dealing with applications the following process was outlined and agreed by the Steering Committee:-

(A) Applications less than £475,000/€690,000 i.e. applications below the Economic Appraisal Threshold

·     An indicative budget of €10m was agreed for allocation for this group of applications

·     All Stage 1 assessments for these applications will be completed and presented to the June 2011 Steering Committee Meeting

·     Stage 2 Assessments for those recommended by the Steering Committee   will be prioritized by the Consortium for full  assessment in July to August and will be presented to the Steering Committee for consideration in September

(B)  Applications greater than £475,000/€690,000 i.e.  Applications requiring Economic Appraisals

·     All Stage 1 assessments for these applications will be completed and presented to the June 2011 Steering Committee Meeting

·     To improve the efficiency of the Stage 2 appraisal process for this group of applications the following was agreed:-

                 i.       An initial Stage 2 Assessment will be undertaken on all applications that have progressed from Stage 1

                ii.       For those applications where the recommended score reaches the minimum threshold score of 65% these will be presented to the Steering Committee for consideration and agreement to progress to Economic Appraisal

               iii.       For those applications where the recommended score is above the quality threshold of 65% at this stage in the assessment process, the Programme Manager/Director may commission the Economic Appraisal for the application without further consideration and approval by the Steering Committee

              iv.       The scores recommended and agreed by the Steering Committee at Stage 1 may be amended by the Steering Committee as part of the Stage 2 assessment based on clarifications requested and received from the applicant

               v.       The final decision on all applications will be made by the Steering Committee on consideration of the application form, the economic appraisal and the Consortium’s assessment  of the application

6.3. Communication with Applicants

Applicants will be informed in writing by the Consortium of the progress of their application to Stage 2 assessment or the decision to reject their application when all Stage 1 assessments have been completed and considered by the Steering Committee.   The letter to applicants will clearly outline the timeframe for the Stage 2 process and will emphasize that progression to Stage 2 is neither an indication nor guarantee of approval for funding.

6.4. Actions agreed for next Steering Committee meeting:-

·     In light of the amended process for assessment the Steering Committee requested that an overview of procedure for the Open Call is presented at the next meeting

·     An overview of the peace and reconciliation and Theme 1.2 Acknowledging and Dealing with the Past criteria for project selection for this call is presented at the next Steering Committee meeting.  The paper will be discussed in advance with the Special EU Programmes Body.

7     Project recommendations for consideration

7.1.  Ineligible Applications for Consideration.  

The Steering Committee agreed that all nine applications were rejected as presented

7.2. Stage 1 Assessment Reports for Consideration

All decisions have been recorded on the Project Decision Grid attached.

7.3. Decommittals and extensions for noting

·      Peace Factory decommittal figure was confirmed

·      All other de-committals and transfers were noted by the Steering Committee.

8     Project Specific Issues

It was noted that the Certifying Authority has assumed responsibility for the recovery of funds in respect of the following three projects:

·     FAIR:   Project SACRED (000893) and Project CAPABLE (000990)

·     SAVER NAVER:   Practical Steps towards Reconciliation (000595)

Additional updates will be provided when available in respect of Forward Learning and South Armagh Rural Women’s Network.

9     Date of Next Meeting:     10.30am Thursday 30th June 2011

CRC Offices, Belfast.