This guide explains the project monitoring and claims requirements that will apply if you receive grant funding from East Midlands Freeport (EMF). Please consider these requirements when planning your project budget, staffing, cash flow and project management arrangements. You will be expected to provide regular progress updates and evidence that grant funding has been spent in line with your grant funding agreement.
Monitoring Process
Under the grant funding agreement, grant recipients must provide updates on the areas below. This enables EMF to confirm that the project is progressing as agreed and to support you in addressing any challenges. You must notify EMF promptly if there are significant delays, new or increased risks, anticipated over or underspend, proposed changes to delivery, or changes to agreed outputs or outcomes.
- Progress
- Current risks/issues
- Money spent, plus any other funding being received from other organisations
- Marketing/comms activities
- Updates on outputs/outcome progress as detailed in your grant agreement
The format will differ depending on what grant you are accessing:
- Standard Grants (£5,000 to £50,000)
- Strategic Grants (above £50,000).
Please note Micro Grants are not available in this round of funding.
It will consist of:
- A monthly meeting with a member of EMF to discuss progress, expenditure, risks, communications activity and delivery against agreed milestones, outputs and outcomes (Standard and Strategic Grants).
- Completion of a quarterly Project Update Template providing more detailed information (Strategic Grants only).
Grant payments are dependent on monitoring being completed to EMF’s satisfaction. Payment may be delayed or withheld where monitoring is incomplete, information is inaccurate, agreed evidence has not been provided, expenditure is ineligible or costs were not approved in advance.
Claims process
Standard and Strategic Grant claims are normally paid in arrears against the stage payments and milestones agreed in your grant funding agreement. Applicants should therefore ensure they can manage the project’s cash-flow requirements. Only eligible expenditure incurred within the agreed funding period and in line with the approved budget may be claimed.
- Complete a claim form for each agreed stage payment. Claims must be submitted in arrears and relate to the approved budget and agreed milestones.
- EMF will confirm which items of expenditure require supporting evidence. Evidence should clearly show the supplier or payee, date, amount, description of the goods or services and, where requested, proof that payment has been made.
- Do not incur costs outside the approved budget or move funding between cost headings without obtaining written approval from EMF in advance.
- Keep all invoices, receipts, timesheets, payroll information and other supporting records for audit purposes in line with the retention period set out in your grant funding agreement.
- Once EMF has received and approved the claim form and satisfactory evidence, the relevant stage payment will be released.
- Invoices are processed monthly at the end of each month. To be considered within this timeframe, your invoice, completed claim form and satisfactory evidence must reach EMF by the second Wednesday of the month.
Before submitting a claim, check that: the claim form is complete and signed; expenditure matches the approved budget and agreed stage payment; requested evidence is attached; VAT has been treated correctly; any budget changes were approved in writing before the cost was incurred; and monitoring information is up to date.
Further clarification
For any specific advice on what would be required or for any questions regarding claims or monitoring, please contact us at info@emfreeport.com.
Appendices
Appendix A: Monitoring
The monthly monitoring meeting will cover the questions below. Strategic Grant recipients must also complete the Project Update Template each quarter, providing more detailed information and evidence where requested.
- What progress has been made during the last month?
- What activity is planned for the coming month?
- What is the current expenditure against the approved budget, and is there any forecast underspend or overspend?
- What communications and marketing activity has taken place and details of what is planned for the following month?
- What is the status of each agreed project milestone: complete, on track, delayed or not started?
- Have any risks or issues changed, and are there any new risks or issues?
- What progress has been made towards the agreed outputs and outcomes?
Quarterly updates require Strategic Grant recipients to complete the Project Update Template. This should provide a fuller account of progress, expenditure, delivery against milestones, outputs and outcomes, risks, communications activity and any proposed changes to the project.
Appendix B: Claims
The EMF claim form sets out the information you must provide to evidence expenditure and enable funding to be released. Supporting documents must be clear, legible and consistent with the amount and description shown on the claim form.
For the purposes of the grant, we expect the following proof of expenditure in relation to the project:
- A calculation for any staff time claimed, supported by:
- Evidence that the employee is employed and paid by the organisation, such as a relevant payroll record or payslip.
- Evidence of the hours claimed, such as a timesheet, staffing record or signed declaration of hours.
- Evidence of the pay rate used, such as a payroll record, contract or approved pay scale.
- A calculation for any travel claimed, including the journey details, mileage and rate used.
- Receipts for parking, public transport and other travel costs must be retained for audit and supplied if requested. Fuel receipts do not replace a mileage calculation.
- Invoices or receipts for goods and services purchased, showing the supplier, date, description and amount.
- Invoices for venue or equipment hire, together with proof of payment where requested.
VAT: If your organisation can recover VAT, the recoverable VAT is not an eligible project cost and must not be included in your claim. If VAT cannot be recovered, retain evidence of this where requested.
Please note, we cannot fund:
- Annual/usual organisation running costs and core staffing costs
- Payments towards endowment funds, deficit funding or loans
- Funding for trips abroad, gifts or hospitality to other organisations
- Retrospective costs (outside of the funding period agreed)
- Projects that will displace existing provision
- Activities that are statutory obligations