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1. At the initiative of the Commission, the Funds may support preparatory, monitoring, control, audit, evaluation, communication including corporate communication on the political priorities of the Union, visibility and all administrative and technical assistance actions necessary for the implementation of this Regulation and, where appropriate, with third countries.

2. The actions referred to in paragraph 1 may include in particular:

(a) assistance for project preparation and appraisal;

(b) support for institutional strengthening and administrative capacity-building for the effective management of the Funds;

(c) studies linked to the Commission’s reporting on the Funds and the cohesion report;

(d) measures related to the analysis, management, monitoring, information exchange and implementation of the Funds, as well as measures relating to the implementation of control systems and technical and administrative assistance;

(e) evaluations, expert reports, statistics and studies, including those of a general nature, concerning the current and future operation of the Funds;

(f) actions to disseminate information, support networking where appropriate, carry out communication activities with particular attention to the results and added value of support from the Funds, and to raise awareness and promote cooperation and exchange of experience, including with third countries;

(g) the installation, operation and interconnection of computerised systems for management, monitoring, audit, control and evaluation;

(h) actions to improve evaluation methods and the exchange of information on evaluation practices;

(i) actions related to auditing;

(j) the strengthening of national and regional capacity regarding investment planning, funding needs, preparation, design and implementation of financial instruments, joint action plans and major projects;

(k) the dissemination of good practices in order to assist Member States to strengthen the capacity of the relevant partners referred to in Article 8(1) and their umbrella organisations.

3. The Commission shall dedicate at least 15 % of the resources for technical assistance at the initiative of the Commission to the delivery of greater efficiency in communication to the public and stronger synergies between the communication activities undertaken at the initiative of the Commission, by extending the knowledge base about results, in particular through more effective data collection and dissemination, evaluations and reporting, and especially by highlighting the contribution of the Funds to improving the lives of citizens, and by increasing the visibility of support from the Funds as well as by raising awareness about the results and the added value of such support. Information, communication and visibility measures on results and added value of support from the Funds, with particular focus on operations, shall be continued after the closure of the programmes, where appropriate. Such measures shall also contribute to the corporate communication of the political priorities of the Union as far as they are related to the general objectives of this Regulation.

4. The actions referred to in paragraph 1 may cover previous and subsequent programming periods.

5. The Commission shall set out its plans when a contribution from the Funds is envisaged in accordance with Article 110 of the Financial Regulation.

6. Depending on the purpose, the actions referred to in this Article may be financed either as operational or administrative expenditure.

7. In accordance with point (a) of the second subparagraph of Article 193(2) of the Financial Regulation, in duly justified cases specified in the financing decision and for a limited period, technical assistance actions at the initiative of the Commission supported under this Regulation in direct management and the underlying costs may be considered to be eligible from 1 January 2021, even if these actions were implemented and incurred before the grant application was submitted.