CONSORTIUM

The list of Implementing Partner included in the Single Form must be comprehensive. 

All types of DG ECHO Partners, i.e., certified humanitarian non-governmental organisations (EU Humanitarian Partners, Niche Partners, potential Programmatic Partners), recognised Member States’ Specialised Agencies and pillar assessed international organisations (including UN agencies), participating in the Action.  When providing such information in Chapter 10.6 e-SF the Partner will have to select the co-beneficiary(ies) using a drop-down menu.  For more information see the Single Form Guidelines

The threshold for low value allowance equipment is Euro 15 000 regardless of the Action's budget or the number of the consortium members (i.e. mono- or multi-beneficiary grant).

All DG ECHO certified partners are on an equal footing, even though they will still have a coordinator. All non-certified NGO partners will be considered as implementing partners.

The coordinator receives the EU contribution and distributes the funds to the other  beneficiaries without unjustified delay (which does not mean immediately upon receipt 
from the Commission!). The coordinator is the interlocutor between the consortium and  the Commission, monitors the implementation of the action, submits reports, etc. (See article 7 b) MGA)

No, DG ECHO does not ask for such an agreement (See Data Sheet – Consortium Agreement: NO), but the beneficiaries must have internal arrangements regarding their operation and coordination, to ensure that the action is properly implemented (See article 7 MGA). 

No, only the coordinator will receive the EU contribution and will distribute the payments received to the other beneficiaries without unjustified delay (see article 7 MGA).

According to article 7 MGA, co-beneficiaries are jointly responsible for the technical implementation of the action. If one of the beneficiaries fails to implement their part of the action, the other beneficiaries must ensure that this part is implemented by someone else (without being entitled to an increase of the maximum grant amount and subject to an amendment; see Article 39). The financial responsibility of each beneficiary in case of recoveries is governed by Article 22.

The general liability regime for recoveries is as follows: At final payment, the coordinator will be fully liable for recoveries, even if it has not been the final recipient of the undue amounts. At beneficiary termination or after final payment, recoveries will be made directly against the beneficiaries concerned.

Yes, according to article 40.2 MGA, in justified cases the coordinator may request the addition of new beneficiary(ies). A modification request needs to be submitted to DG ECHO and the Accession Form (Annex III to the MGA published on ‘Reference Document Page’ of this website) signed by the new beneficiary needs to be sent to DG ECHO according to the modalities described in the document itself.

Not at the level of the grant agreement, as only DG ECHO certified partners can accede  to it. Local NGOs can be implementing partners.

Partners are jointly responsible for the technical implementation of the action. If one of  them fails to implement its part, the other beneficiaries must ensure that this part is 
implemented by another beneficiary. Also, the consortium can request to the  Commission the termination of the participation of one or more beneficiaries in the  action. 

In a DG ECHO funded Action, NGOs certified DG ECHO partners can only act as implementing partners if they cooperate with an Organisation (i.e. an International Organisation including the UN) which signs with the Commission acontribution agreement (i.e. Humanitarian Aid Contribution Agreement – HACA).

If the agreement framing the action is a grant agreement (using the model grant agreement), then all certified NGO partners will become co-beneficiaries/co-partners.

Partners should look at explanation of the standard justifications for exceeding the EUR 60 000 ceiling provided in the WWD Annex, HIP Technical Annexes and Single Form Guidelines (Financial support to third parties).

A consortium is a group of certified partners agreeing to conclude with the Commission a multi-beneficiary grant agreement. Certified partners can decide to work  with IPs (based outside the EU) for the implementation of such grant agreement.

In the case of a consortium with NGOs who have been awarded different types of EU Humanitarian Certificates (i.e. EU Humanitarian Partnership Certificate, EU Humanitarian potential Programmatic Partnership Certificate, EU Humanitarian Niche Partnership Certificate) all co-beneficiaries will be on an equal footing. However, the specific NGO Partners are meant to participate in the Action within the scope of their Certificate.  

Implementing partners can be EU or not EU-based as long as they directly contribute to the implementation of the action. See also FAQ 84.

No, as long as the implementing partners (IPs) directly contribute to the implementation of the action. However, should the amount allocated to the individual IPs exceed EUR 60 000 then it needs to be justified in the SF Chapter 10.6.  For more information see the Single Form Guidelines. 

Yes, the principle is that it will not be possible to use certified NGO partners as implementing partners: they will have to be associated to the lead certified NGO partners in the grant agreement as co-partners (co-beneficiaries). It has to be noted that International Organisations and Member State Specialised Agencies which are DG ECHO Partners can also be co-beneficiaries under the MGA (see FAQ 29).

Co-beneficiaries decide on the allocation of the budget of the action among themselves.

Consortia within DG ECHO-funded grant agreements is defined as an Action under which several partners work together under a consortium arrangement, with one Certified NGO partner signing the MGA and acting as the coordinator, while other Certified NGOs and partners also take part in the implementation. DG ECHO will not impose on partners to work in consortia. However, it may decide to fund voluntary consortia when operationally justified.

The MGA will be signed only with the lead partner organisation, while the partners will sign Accession Forms (Annex III to the MGA). All consortium members will be listed in the e-Single Form (Chapter 10.6). In order to ease DG ECHO assessment of the proposal, it might be advisable to indicate which partner will be in charge of a specific result.