New options for financing rural development projects: Simpler but not focused on results

Author (Corporate)	European Court of Auditors
Series Title	ECA Special Reports
Series Details	Number 11
Publication Date	26/04/2018
Content Type	Report
	Summary: Simplified cost options (SCOs) can bring simplification and may decrease the administrative burden for both beneficiaries and Member State authorities. However, they only constitute a small part of rural development spending during the 2014-2020 period. By basing payments on output, SCOs shift the focus away from invoices but do not increase the focus on results. We found that SCOs can keep the costs of rural development projects under control, but only if set at the right level and based on a fair, equitable and verifiable methodology.
Source Link	Link to Main Source https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/DocItem.aspx?did=45664 Alternative Source 1 Alternative Source 2 Alternative sources https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/SR18_11/SR_SCO_EN.pdf http://publications.europa.eu/webpub/eca/special-reports/sco-11-2018/en/
Related Links	Official ECA News, 26.04.18: New cost options for rural development better, but should be more widely used by Member States https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/NewsItem.aspx?nid=10002
Subject Categories	Economic and Financial Affairs
Subject Tags	Development Aid \| Assistance
International Organisations	European Union [EU]