Good Old Advice Says: Let the Experts Help You

[March 2007, EUROREPORT PLUS]

For several years now, the European Union has also been providing help to Slovakia by means of its funds. Even though we stated that we know how to use this aid efficiently, the reality is a little different. It is reflected in sanctions in the form of having to return in some case a significant part of the resources obtained. The reasons for this vary; however, one phrase characterises them best: inefficiently handling of money. S&K Management Systems provides its services to those who are interested in rationally fulfilling the intentions of the European community. We spoke to the manager of the Euro-consulting division, Ján Trgala.

What experience does S&K Management Systems have with providing interested parties with consulting services on European Union funds

The Euro-consultants at S&K Management Systems are qualified specialist with over six years of experience in the field of European Union funds, project management in Slovakia and abroad. The basic precondition for providing high quality services in the field of consulting is selecting creative and dynamic workers. We use the system of permanent professional training and a regular transfer of know-how with foreign partners. Euro-consulting is one of the four divisions in the company which has been operating successfully as a consulting company since 1994. Euro-consulting helps use resources from European Union funds for the private and public sectors. The division has agencies in Prague and Košice. We are also preparing the opening of branches in Banská Bystrica and Žilina.

What can S&K Management Systems offer its clients?

 
Our client is our partner to whom we pass on our knowledge and experience gained from carrying out successful projects in various areas. We offer our clients a wide range of services: from project preparation, through processing to project management of implementation. In practice, this means “keys in hand” supply… The existing system of announcements being published in individual resorts has taught us to react flexibly to everything that is current. At present, the system is changing, announcements should be made in various areas at approximately the same time, which will allow us to specialise on those areas which bring our client a higher added value. It is in the European Union’s interests to even out the existing differences between individual regions.

What investments have there been to date in regional development?

As part of the previous programme period, regional development projects focused, for example, on infrastructure projects: health, social, cultural and education. On top of this, there was the preparation of territorial planning documentation, plans for socio-economic development and further projects to support partnerships, characterised as so-called “light”. However, these projects are not able to change dramatically the differences between individual regions or districts. For example, renovating several schools in the Prešov self-governing region isn’t a driving force in itself for regional development. Investment purely into the renovation of real estate is not capable of starting off the overall development of regions. From the perspective of the previous period, projects on the development of partnership had a lot of potential. This is a key idea which should be developed much more intensively. Individual regions and districts are not yet aware that mutual cooperation from a long-term perspective can help achieve more that when one applicant from one small village submits the same projects as the neighbouring village. Then they compete against each other in the selection process and only one of them wins. Slovakia is just one dot on the world map and this is why partnerships are so important. So together, we can obtain much more from the European funds than on our own.
    
What is your knowledge and experience to date with using EU funds in towns?
The experience of S&K Management Systems points to further disadvantages such as the four-year election period and the lack of strategic plans. It is a problem if the region, district, town or village has no long-term strategic plan which goes beyond the four-year period which the representatives of the opposition and coalition are already aware of. As a result of election periods, the strategic plans are constantly changed and do not achieve the add-on effects from the use of funds from the European Union. The key problem is the inability to accept such a strategy that might be acceptable for all parties without fundamental changes. As well as which, a detailed follow-up of this strategy being met must be in operation.
   
In what way can the town ensure its long-term strategic development?

 
For example, towns can now mobilise themselves by having socio-economic development plans prepared. This is a project made for seven and more years in advance and contains a strategy for the town’s development. There are two approaches from the towns themselves. Some towns perceive this plan as a document thanks to which they can draw resources from Euro-funds, and keep strictly to it. Other towns see this plan as indispensable for its development, but do not require it to be kept to, which is not correct. All the town’s activities should be thoroughly followed up on the basis of such a document. The documents of regions, towns and villages should be processed into a synergic strategy. Of course, they should be based on Slovakia’s overall development strategy. For the moment, unfortunately, this is only an ideal which differs from reality – to everyone’s detriment.

What should be the correct procedure to draw Euro-funds?

 
The basic aim for using Euro-funds, in our opinion, should be to start off activities and development systems in individual local governments. This will help even out more rapidly the differences between regions, despite the fact that this is very difficult without infrastructure. European funds are a starting line. Other financial resources obtained from the state budget, from regional finances, from private sources and by associating financial resources, should be used to carry out the extra structure for the start. When submitting projects, applicants bind themselves that the project will be viable for at minimum of five years after the end of the project. Here, short-sightedness is not worth it, because our experience points out the breaking-point takes place after these very five years.

What do you consider to be your main motto when helping clients?

Within all its overall activities, S&K Management Systems strives for added value. From this point of view, we consider as positive examples projects for a plan of socio-economic development which help the town set up a long-term strategy, to a certain extent, the right direction in which the town should go. We enjoy our work on projects which are not given huge importance yet from the overall social aspect. This is the field of the environment. People are still used to the fact that today they might be drinking tap water, but don’t think about whether it’ll be the same in the future. Not everyone thinks about the fact that exhaust fumes are not just a momentary problem, but will shortly affect them themselves and their offspring. So a project to exchange widespread coal stoves in large factories and the extension of the gas supply are of exceptional important for the cleanliness of the atmosphere. It is a similar situation with renovating sewage pipes and water pipes, where water losses in certain cases reach over twenty percent. In this case, these are saved resources which can be invested back into further progressive technologies to the benefit of the development of the town, village and region. So it really is like perpetuum mobile for increasing the growth of the standard of life based on the right starting project. 

How interested are regions in the aid?

Regions are undoubtedly interested in obtaining resources from the European Union. However, not everyone is an expert in the given field, and should be prepared to accept advice. The representatives of regions, towns and villages come to S&K Management Systems with their ideas which are not always realistic. The company’s attitude to clients is more strategic. The first step from our side is analysing the client’s needs, which we confront with the strategies which they have at, let’s say, the level of the town. We then prioritise these needs and then match them with the possibilities of financing from funds. We have a database of clients whose needs weren’t able to be satisfied in the past, and we address them when the situation changes and they have a change of being successful. Despite this fact, we consider it very necessary for each town to have its own plan to satisfy its own development needs by means of the European Union, and to carry it out together with the town’s expenditure on other activities. This is where a strategic approach comes into place. Our main aim is to increase the chances of the client in question to receive money from European Union funds. In many cases, we were able to explain to clients that the plan they wanted to carry out using the Euro-funds was not too suitable, but at the same time, we suggested an adequate solution.

What does S&K Management Systems recommend to clients to make sure the project they submit for co-financing from structural funds is successful?

Above all, it must be submitted by an authorised application in accordance with the programme document, the programme appendix or provisions and the appeal for submitting projects. As part of assessing the application’s entitlement to a grant, it is important to pay attention to the territorial entitlement according to the applicant’s headquarters. Further, all the prescribed formal project criteria must be unconditionally met in accordance with the appeal for submitting projects (submitting all the required documents and project annexes). The project should attract attention by its unusual resolution, for example, it should use innovative methods to carry out individual activities, it should define its accordance with development priorities in the given areas and describe the defined development strategies.  All the specific conditions must be met, which vary in each operational programme and in the programme document. This concerns, for example, meeting the prescribed criteria as part of certain indicators of financial analysis for investment projects, or else ensuring sufficient financial resources of one’s own necessary to conclude the financing of individual projects, or else meeting certain criteria to protect the environment and so on.