Framework Partnership Agreement partners? Get prepared!
The Terms of Reference for the ex-ante assessment to be undertaken in order to sign the FPA 2021 have been released.
You can find them here: http://dgecho-partners-helpdesk.eu/become_a_partner/start
(please share them with your colleagues from peers NGOs and/or via the national platforms to make sure they reach all ECHO partners).
The timeline and deadline to submit the report of the ex-ante assessment is positive: in line with the FPA Watch Group demand. NGOs have until 1st JULY 2020 to submit their reports – deadline that would secure a continuity with the ongoing FPA.
The ex-ante assessment is an in-depth assessment of the organisation that goes beyond the current application process to sign an FPA. However, the fundamental eligibility criteria remains the same – preserving the capacity for ECHO to maintain a very diverse group of NGOs partners.
The ex-ante assessment articulates the three different options for partnership between ECHO and NGOs:
- Becoming an FPA partner as niche organisation
- Becoming a ‘standard’ FPA partner
- Becoming a FPA partner with perspective of adopting a programmatic approach
The Terms of Reference are very detailed – they allow you to prepare at best for the exercise, to limit a subjective interpretation from the auditors and make the process quite predictable to NGOs.
Next steps:
- Share those Terms of Reference with your internal auditor(s): you might want to use the Tors internally first to self-assess your NGO before commissioning an external auditor
- Liaise with your statutory auditor: depending on his/her degree of qualification, he/she might be in capacity to undertake this ex-ante assessment. This might be an added value given his/her degree of knowledge of your organisation and way of working.
- An information session will be organised by ECHO on the 12th of September. ECHO partners will receive the information and a registration link from ECHO in the coming days/week. Feel free to share with the VOICE Secretariat any question you might have ahead of the session. Those questions will be gathered and shared with ECHO in advance to ensure relevant information is shared during that meeting.
