PRAG Compliance Review — Eliminating Disqualifying Errors Before Submission
Expert PRAG compliance review for EuropeAid grants and tenders. We check your submission against the Practical Guide requirements to eliminate disqualifying errors before submission.
A systematic check of your EuropeAid submission against the Practical Guide (PRAG) requirements.
The EU's Practical Guide to Contract Procedures for External Actions (PRAG) is a dense procedural document of over 500 pages governing every aspect of EuropeAid grants and tenders. A single administrative error — a missing declaration, a signature in the wrong place, an ineligible cost category — can disqualify an otherwise excellent submission. INTERALTER's PRAG compliance review service provides a structured, expert audit of your complete submission package against the applicable PRAG requirements, call guidelines and EU Delegation instructions.
Where compliance failures occur
- Missing or incorrectly completed mandatory administrative documents
- Co-applicant declarations not signed by the correct authorised representative
- Budget lines for ineligible costs or exceeding the indirect cost ceiling
- Proposal narrative exceeding page limits or using fonts smaller than required
- Inconsistencies between the narrative, budget and logframe
Our compliance review covers
Administrative Compliance Check
We verify all mandatory administrative documents are present, correctly completed, signed and dated — including the application form, declarations, financial identification forms and supporting documents.
Budget Eligibility Review
We check all budget lines against the PRAG cost eligibility rules for the specific instrument and call — identifying ineligible costs, incorrect indirect cost calculations and missing justifications.
Narrative Format Compliance
We verify that the proposal narrative meets all format requirements: page limits, font and margin requirements, section structure and required annexes.
Internal Consistency Review
We cross-check the narrative, logical framework, budget and work plan for internal consistency — numbers, dates, outputs and indicators must align across all documents.
Call-Specific Requirements Check
Beyond PRAG, each call may have specific requirements set by the contracting authority or EU Delegation. We review your submission against these call-specific rules in full.
What you receive
- Compliance checklist against PRAG and call guidelines
- Annotated review document with all issues flagged
- Budget eligibility analysis
- Internal consistency report
- List of corrective actions required before submission
- Post-correction sign-off memo
Review process
Document collection
You share the complete draft submission package — narrative, logframe, budget, all administrative documents and annexes.
PRAG and call guideline analysis
We read the full call guidelines, PRAG provisions applicable to the instrument, and any EU Delegation-specific instructions.
Systematic compliance check
We work through a structured checklist covering all mandatory requirements, producing an annotated report of every finding.
Findings debrief
We discuss the findings with your team, explain each issue and agree on corrective actions and timeline.
Post-correction sign-off
Once corrections are made, we perform a final review of the amended documents and provide written sign-off.
Who should request a compliance review
- Any organisation submitting an EuropeAid grant application
- Organisations submitting a service tender technical offer
- First-time EuropeAid applicants with no prior PRAG experience
- Experienced applicants who have previously been disqualified on administrative grounds
- In-house teams finalising a proposal and needing an external quality check
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the PRAG?
- The Practical Guide to Contract Procedures for EU External Actions (PRAG) is the EU's binding procedural handbook for all EuropeAid contracts and grants. It sets out eligibility rules, procurement procedures, contract templates, and required documentation for every type of EU External Action funding instrument.
- How far in advance of a deadline should we request a compliance review?
- We recommend requesting a review at least 5–7 working days before the submission deadline. This gives time to address any findings. For complex submissions with many annexes, 10 working days is preferable.
- Can you do a compliance review on a very short deadline?
- Yes, we offer an express compliance review service (48–72 hour turnaround) for urgent submissions, subject to availability. Contact us immediately when you know your deadline.
- Does a compliance review guarantee the proposal will pass?
- A compliance review significantly reduces the risk of disqualification on administrative and formal grounds. However, it does not assess the quality of the technical proposal or guarantee a high evaluation score. We offer separate proposal quality review services.
- Do you cover both grants and tenders?
- Yes. Our PRAG compliance review service covers all EuropeAid instruments: calls for proposals (grants), restricted tenders, open tenders, negotiated procedures, and framework contract competitions.
Related Services
Book a Free Assessment · Send Us Your Call
Relevant expert profiles
Explore the senior specialists whose experience may support this EuropeAid service area.
Ready to discuss PRAG compliance review?
Free Assessment
Book a free assessment call — we will review your needs, the applicable call requirements and how we can support your organisation. No commitment required.
Book Free EuropeAid Assessment · Email Our Team