This pilot represents a major step forward in the journey to implement SUMMA for the European Commission, as eGrants is one of the key corporate systems that needed to integrate with SUMMA. Moreover, it set the basis for the integration of SUMMA with the other corporate and local systems. The integration of SUMMA with the corporate and local systems approved by the Commission’s IT governance will be one of the key pillars of activity for the SUMMA programme in 2023.

At the end of last year, SUMMA also released additional functionalities for the year-end process to the first three Pilot Agencies: CINEA, ERA and EUROJUST. The experience gained from this first-year end process will help us fine-tune the process that will be implemented in SUMMA for the European Commission at the end of 2024.

In parallel, much progress has been made in the area of change management. DG BUDG has developed a change management and training strategy for 2023 to prepare the Commission for the transition to SUMMA. With your strong engagement and collaboration, Change Leads and Change Coordinators have been appointed in all DGs and Entities affected. The Change Coordinators Network kicked-off its activities during the last week of January with highly interactive “activation labs”, involving representatives of all DGs/Services. During that exercise, we learned a lot from you, we better understood your needs and were able to fine-tune our strategy. This, of course, was not a one-off activity, but the beginning of a partnership.

We also started the planning and preparation for the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) phase, which is crucial for the successful implementation of SUMMA. All DG and entities were requested to appoint key users, who will participate in the testing sessions and execute scenarios relevant to their DGs and roles. Our experience from the Pilot Agencies showed that UAT is of paramount importance in identifying critical issues and allowing us to solve them on time. We count on your teams to ensure that we will thoroughly test the system we built for the Commission.

As you well understand, 2023 will be critical for the rollout of SUMMA to the European Commission. The SUMMA team is currently focusing on completing the building of the system, as well as ensuring its integration with the other corporate and local systems. The preparation of data migration and technical activities prior to the release of the new system will be also essential; and a dedicated team is working tirelessly to achieve this goal.

As the year goes by, we will continue providing you with updated information about the different activities that are being implemented for the release of SUMMA to the European Commission in 2024. We will also ensure that you receive all the support you need to prepare your DGs for this transition.

See you soon,

Vincenzo Curiale, Head of Corporate Financial and Accounting Systems and SUMMA Lead Programme Manager