Managing authority

The Managing Authority (MA) of the Programme is part of the Regional Council of South Karelia’s organization (Cross Border Cooperation Unit) and located in Lappeenranta, Finland. The MA carries out the majority of operational and financial day-to-day tasks related to the overall implementation of the Programme. The MA works according to the annual work programme, which is approved by the Joint Monitoring Committee. The MA manages the projects’ application, evaluation and decision-making process, and it signs contracts with lead partners of the awarded projects. It verifies that performed services, supplies and/or works have been paid and that the procedures comply with applicable laws, rules and conditions for supporting cross-border cooperation actions. The MA also ensures that all relevant information is available for all target groups, draws up needed reports, records and stores data on each project necessary for monitoring, evaluation, financial management, control and audit. The MA is also responsible of the Programme’s visibility and communication activities.

Branch Office

The programme’s Branch Office (BO) is set up in Saint Petersburg, Russia and it works in close cooperation and under the supervision of the Managing Authority. The BO assists the Managing Authority as well as the Russian national and regional authorities in their tasks on the Russian side and provides assistance in projects’ preparation, application and evaluation processes, as well as in Programme’s communication activities. Branch office personnel also take part in the activities that provide support to on-going projects and missions on their monitoring.