In While Establishment and Management of Funding Agreements

ʹ ANAO Report No.10 2014–15 Administration of the Biodiversity Fund Program 93 Project planning

6.29 The

first requirement for grant recipients following the execution of their funding agreement was the development of a detailed plan known as a ‘project plan’ in Round 1 and a ‘MERI plan’ in latter rounds that established the activities and deliverables for their project. Environment was to accept these plans prior to the commencement of project implementation. The MERI plans also included a ‘program logic’ that outlined how the on‐ground activities and deliverables would contribute to project outcomes and more broadly, the Biodiversity Fund program high‐level outcomes. 131

6.30 All

of the funded projects reviewed by the ANAO had an accepted project plan or MERI plan in place. For the projects for which the information was available 132 , the average time taken by Environment to review and accept the submitted plans was 38 days—inside the 40 day timeframe outlined in the funding agreements. Mid-year and annual reporting

6.31 The

primary interaction between grant recipients and Environment is via a mid‐year report due February each year and annual report due in August each year, which outlines progress against the projectMERI plans.

6.32 The

mid‐year and annual reports are identical in terms of the information they request from grant recipients. Grant recipients are required to provide information including: an updated risk assessment; progress reports for activities for example, number of trees planted or hectares revegetated; stakeholder engagement; public engagement events; a project budget, including current expenditure and in‐kind contributions; and supporting documentation such as photographs and maps.

6.33 After

submitting the annual report at the end of each financial year, grant recipients are also required to provide Environment with an audited financial statement of project expenditure for that financial year.

6.34 For

Round 1 grant recipients, Environment provided a report template that recipients were required to complete and email to the department. These 131 An example of a MERI Plan and program logic is available from: http:www.environment.gov.au cleanenergyfuturebiodiversity-fundmeripubsbf-meri-plan.pdf [accessed 24 November 2014]. 132 In the case of 22 out of the 64 Round 1 projects reviewed, the documentation retained by the department did not clearly record the date the department had initially received the draft project plan. ANAO Report No.10 2014–15 Administration of the Biodiversity Fund Program 94 arrangements were in place for the first two reports. 133 Since December 2013, all grant recipients have been required to report using a new online reporting tool MERIT.

6.35 The