CONSORTIUM

The list of Implementing Partners included in the Single Form must give a comprehensive picture to DG ECHO on how the Action will be implemented. The list of Implementing Partners to include will depend on the level of their involvement in the Action and the budget managed. For example, in a consortium where each FPA member is also working with several local Implementing Partners, the lead organisation may decide to report in the Single Form the other members of the consortium and those local Implementing Partners which are in charge of managing a significant part of the budget /activities. Furthermore, it is also advisable to include those local Implementing Partners, which will be the final recipients of a donation. 

Partners need to sign a Memorandum of Understanding or equivalent agreement with each Implementing Partner and have to exercise effective control over them. Under these conditions, it is not mandatory that all local Implementing Partners are listed in the Single Form. When deciding whether to indicate these in the Single Form, partners should consider the need to ensure transparency towards ECHO, the share of the Action's budget the IPs manage, the level of the involvement of the IPs in the Action and the type of the Action. 

Consortia within ECHO-funded grant agreements are defined as an Action under which several FPA partners work together under a consortium arrangement, with one FPA partner signing the Specific Grant Agreement and acting as the lead of the consortium, while other FPA 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 Specific Grant Agreement will be signed only with the lead partner organisation, while the other consortia members will be described in section 6.7 of the Single Form. In order to ease ECHO assessment of the proposal, it might be advisable to indicate which partner will be in charge of a specific result.

As there is only one signatory of the Agreement, that partner carries the legal and financial responsibility for the action. 

Nevertheless, several facilities are available when working in an ECHO-funded Action implemented by a consortium:

• The consortium members may agree with the lead member that each applies its own procurement rules and, if applicable, their own depreciation methodology of equipment.
• In its risk assessment, ECHO will take in consideration the share of each consortium member from ECHO's contribution, rather than the whole amount being calculated under the share of the lead partner.
• In addition, it may be useful to recall that:
  • In case it is needed to have more time for the lead partner to gather the data from the other members, ECHO may agree to a longer final reporting deadline than the default 3 months after the end of the implementation.
  • In line with the general rules on eligibility, coordination costs linked to the consortia may be accepted as eligible, provided they are reasonable and necessary. 
     

Pursuant to Article 10.3 d)  of the general conditions, the threshold for low value allowance equipment is Euro 15 000 regardless of the Action's budget or the number of the  Consortium members (DIPECHO of Euro 400.000,00 or other ECHO Action of Euro 12.000.000,00).