Support to Operational Programme formulation

Objectives 1. Support the NIPAC (National IPA Coordinator), its support office and the relevant ministries in formulating mature and relevant Operational Programmes (OPs) in the following areas: Energy efficiency, Digital economy and society, and Youth. 2. Support the government and the relevant beneficiaries in the preparation of the entrustment under the respective OPs. Specific objectives: Identify the training needs of the relevant beneficiaries and deliver the necessary training to ensure a good understanding of OP drafting and preparation; Support the development of three multi-annual Operational Programmes (2023-2027) compliant with EU requirements in the areas of energy efficiency, digital economy and society, and youth. For each OP, this includes helping the relevant beneficiaries to: Place the OP within the Albanian sectoral institutional and policy context; Place the OP within the framework of EU policy instruments for the enlargement process and the Western Balkans region (e.g., the European Investment Plan, the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans, the Economic Reform Programme, etc.); Carry out a socio-economic impact analysis in the sector; Define activities including an intervention logic and specifying major projects, including a timetable and multi-annual budgets; Emphasise cross-cutting issues related to environment and climate change, rights-based approach, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and gender equality; Conduct a consultation process with relevant partners and stakeholders both within and outside government; Establish the institutional structure of the OP in accordance with IPA III requirements; Identify evaluation arrangements. Support the relevant government beneficiaries in the formal preparation of entrustments for the organisations identified under the respective OPs, which includes: Setting up a management and control system compliant with the Framework Financial Partnership Agreement (FFPA) with regard to the OPs, including potential preparation for working within the ex-post evaluation framework; Preparing the documents that will form the basis of the entrustment application, including job descriptions, procedure manuals, checklists, etc.; Preparing inter-institutional agreements within government to enable the functioning of the entrusted entities.