Partners are expected to submit their proposal using the eSingle Form. This eSingle Form is part of the “eTools”, a system developed by DG ECHO, which automates the preparation, submission and approval of project proposals, project reports and modification requests made by DG ECHO partners.
It aims at speeding up the process for treating humanitarian aid projects and to increase the overall quality of the process. The advantages of shifting from paper Single Form to electronic Single form (eSingle Form) are numerous: instant transmission of data, reduced possibility of errors, usage of standard lists (e.g. sectors), information generated automatically, automatic and uniform archiving, no risk of loosing information or previous version, easier access to same information for all people concerned, easier statistics, automatic registration, real-time vision on project status, less paper.
The format of the eSingle Form is similar to the paper version of the Single Form. The same information is requested.
To differentiate the paper and electronic copy, the documents relating to the eSingle-Form are called eDocuments. The different eDocuments are:
In general, eSingle Form refers to these eDocuments without distinction.
Guidelines on how to use the etools are available on DG ECHO website (http://ec.europa.eu/echo/partners/humanitarian_aid/etools_en.htm)
The eSingle Form is accessible through APPEL (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/appel) i.e. DG ECHO's application for electronic exchange of information between DG ECHO and its partners.
In order to be able to connect to APPEL and use it safely, the partner will use its ECAS account.
Each organisation will be responsible for the management of its own staff user rights and can decide on the best workflow for the transmission of documents to DG ECHO, either via headquarter, regional centres or in the field.
As for the paper Single Form, the Partner will continue to create and update the list of legal representatives and the email addresses through the APPEL interface.
As soon as the APPEL account is accessible, the partner can start working on eSingle Form and submit proposals to DG ECHO.
When a project proposal is transmitted through APPEL, all the other documents relating to the project (eReport, eModifications, etc) have to be transmitted via the same system.
The eDocuments encoded in APPEL are not accessible to DG ECHO while the status of the Single Form is “draft”. After submission to DG ECHO, all eDocuments are registered and given a reference number.
The Partner can see at any moment the status of the proposal (Draft, submitted, active, favourable, refused, etc) as well as the status of the project (Under negotiation, Ongoing or closed).
eDocuments transmitted via APPEL do not have be transmitted to DG ECHO by other means (fax, mail, email).
Each time the Partner submit an eDocument to DG ECHO, the Desk Officer will receive a notification. However, if they wish so, the Partners can contact by phone or by email the Desk Officer to inform of the upcoming submission of the eDocument.
Currently, the system does not allow DG ECHO to reply to the submission of eDocument using the etools. The communication between DG ECHO and its partners such as letters and emails are not supported by the eSingle Form application. To approve or refuse an eDocument DG ECHO will continue sending emails or PDF documents. The signature of the agreement will continue on paper. (see for details below).
When encoding a new project, a request number will be attributed to the project composed of the year and the sequence order. (e.g. 2010/0008).
When submitting the RQ, a more detailed reference number will appear on the screen, consisting of:
Year/sequence number /type of document/document number/version number.
E.g.: 2010/00008/RQ/1/3 - relates to the third version of an eRequest submitted in 2010. This was the 8th request submitted in the system.
2010/00008/IR/2/2 - relates to second version of the second Interim Report.
The two first elements of the reference number (in bold) are common to all the edocuments of the same project.
In article 1.2 of the Agreement, the reference number will consist of the year, the DG ECHO eTools internal code and the project sequence order. (e.g. 10.9900008)
The reception and registration date is the date of submission of the eDocuments. There is no difference anymore between the two dates.
After having submitted an eDocument, the Partner will receive a message informing of the successful submission of the document.
Final reports received electronically after 17:00 (Brussels time) will be considered as having arrived the following working day for the calculation of payment delays.
After the submission of the eRequest a message will appear on the screen indicating that the project has been created and that the workflow has been launched. This message is replacing the letter “Acknowledgement receipt”. It can be printed by the partner for its files.
The RQ will be received by DG ECHO Archives Service which will attribute the RQ to the relevant Desk Officer. The desk will carry out an administrative check to verify that the proposal is receivable and eligible. The Desk Office will then forward the RQ to DG ECHO Field Expert for comment.
When the status of the proposal is mentioned as active, the Partner can submit a new version of the RQ. The Partner can submit a new version either upon its own initiative or upon request of DG ECHO (request usually submitted by email). DG ECHO will not have access to the revised text until it is officially re-submitted. DG ECHO will only have access to the previous version formally submitted.
As soon as the Desk Officer and Field Expert have finalised their appraisal, the RQ will be locked and it will not be possible for the Partner to submit new version of the request.
The Partner will know that the project has been approved by DG ECHO management when the status of the RQ indicates “favourable” (green light). This status appears when the agreement is signed by DG ECHO and is ready to be sent to the Partner. DG ECHO will send by registered mail to the Partner two signed copies of the agreement together with a copy of the logframe and table 11 (extracted from the RQ). The Partner will sign and return the agreement.
In case the eRequest is rejected, DG ECHO will send a letter explaining the reason for rejection. The status will show the project as “Refused”.
See Fact Sheet A.7 for further information.
For additional information please visit the section dedicated to eTools.
References and useful links