The analysis of prerequisites for approval and of possibilities and chances for funding of the project is important already during setting up the project. Without funds and formal approvals the project cannot be implemented.
The Project Manager normally presents all relevant documents of the project (e.g. Business Case, Project Fiche) to the superior level of the Project Owner (e.g. in case of Municipalities to the Municipal Council, in case of organisations governed by the public law to the Board of Directors) and asks for its approval. In case of projects funded by the EU, the relevant documents should be presented to the responsible Community Bodies or to the national special structures that have been appointed for the management of programmes under the European Structural Funds. Even in this case, the relevant documentation should be firstly reviewed and approved by the Project Owner.
Not only the question “Will the project be supported?” is important already in inception phase. The way and sources of funding may influence the financial procedures during project implementation. The project management may be obliged to follow special rules and regulations for structuring the project budget, for percentages of allocations, for procurement, for making commitments, for incurring expenditures and for keeping accounts. In the case of co-financing, several budgets may have to be established and administered (refer to 1.5.3.3 “Tool 1-8: Calculating the Provisional Project Budget & Determining the Funding Sources”).