Administrative and financial aspects: recommendations for the preparation of proposals

Transcription

1 Environment (including climate change) Theme 2012 Calls 17 June 2011 Administrative and financial aspects: recommendations for the preparation of proposals Vincent Favrel Deputy Head of Unit Unit I.6 Administration and Finance Directorate I Environment European Commission - Research DG Vincent.Favrel@ec.europa.eu 12 July

2 Administrative and financial aspects: recommendations for the preparation of the proposals Outline: Building the consortium Calculating the budget More information? 2

3 Building the consortium Validation of participants Highly recommended: To clarify the legal status of all consortium members (e.g. public/private, profit/not-profit, SME, international organisations, etc) that is determining the upper-limit for the EU contribution and, in some cases, the eligibility of the proposals (e.g SME participation) To this aim, please make sure that all participants: Are registered in the Unique Registration Facility or URF in order to get a Participant Identification Code (PIC) see Have submitted the documents for their validation in order to be validated preferably before submitting the proposal. All self-declared SME should pre-check their status against the EU definition (see tool provided on-line at: and submit the required documents 3

4 Building the consortium Project coordinator (2/2) Coordinators should not be selected exclusively based on their scientific excellence! Issues to be addressed at the proposal preparation stage: Has the coordinator the operational and financial capacity required for his role (see Article II.2.3)? Verification of the Financial Viability required if the coordinator is a not public organisation (see pre-check tool available on Cordis for pre-check: Split of Financial/Administrative & Scientific roles is possible. However: Financial/Administrative Coordinator always deemed to be the Coordinator for contractual purposes. Coordination tasks cannot be outsourced (only limited support administrative tasks can). 4

5 Building the consortium Contribution from third parties (1/3) Please make sure that all possible internal and external contributions are identified during the proposal preparation phase. General principle: Beneficiaries (i.e consortium members) should have the operational capacity to carry out the work themselves. BUT: Under certain conditions, legal entities that are not part of the consortium may also contribute to the projects and the costs incurred by these third parties not signing the GA may be eligible. Three types of third parties can be identified depending on their contribution to the project In all cases: A beneficiary cannot be the third party to another beneficiary Third party s contribution (tasks + budget) should be discribed in the proposal The beneficiary retains sole responsibility for the work 5

6 Building the consortium Contribution from third parties (2/3) Key questions in order to identify the type of third parties: Is the third party carrying out part of the work under its own supervision OR is it simply making resources (staff, infrastructures?) available to a beneficiary? If the third party makes resources available to a beneficiary: Are the resources under the full supervision, management and control of the beneficiary? Does the beneficiary reimburse the third party (= eligible costs) or is it free of charge (possibly a receipt for the project)? Costs reported by the beneficiary itself (not the third party) Examples: Foundations, spin-off companies, etc., created in order to manage the administrative tasks of the beneficiary The case of resources (professors/equipment) working for, or used by a university but whose salaries/costs are paid by the Government: beneficiary is free to use these resources at will 6

7 Key questions in order to identify the type of third parties (ctd.): If the third party is carrying out part of the work: Does its contribution concern a limited part of the work or the provision of (technical) support to a beneficiary? OR Building the consortium Contribution from third parties (3/3) Is it a service provided at market price, for profit with no specific interest in the research? Third party = subcontractor Only the tasks and indicative budget (not the name of the subcontractor) have to be identified in the proposal! Does its contribution concern research tasks with scientific added value? Is there a formal relationship between the beneficiary and the third party prior and not limited to the project? Are the costs of the third party charged without profit? Third party + beneficiary = members of a Joint Research Unit (UMR), a grouping or affiliates Grant Agreement must include the Special Clause 10 and the third party will claim its own costs. 7

8 Form of grant: reimbursement of direct and indirect eligible costs (see definition in GA Art. II.14) Eligible costs must be actual and may include: Costs of personnel working on the project (to be documented by time sheets) Subcontracting costs Calculating the budget: General principles (1/2) Other costs: travel and subsistence; durable equipment; consumables and supplies, etc. Indirect costs calculated according to the Indirect Costs Method validated for each legal entity (actual costs, simplified method, standard and special transitional flat rate) 8

9 EU contribution Calculating the budget: General principles (1/2) Legal entities established in Member States, Associated Countries, ICPC and international European Interests organisations are eligible for EU funding Maximum reimbursement rate (50%, 75% or 100%) depending on: - the legal status of the organisation (e.g. public vs private) Reporting: - the funding scheme (e.g. collaborative project vs coordination and support action) - the type of activity (e.g. research vs management) Costs to be reported at the end of each period (Form C) Certificates on Financial Statements (CFS) to be provided when (and only when) the EU contribution requested exceeds

10 Certification on the Financial Statements (CFS) General principles: Mandatory for a beneficiary when its cumulative requested EU contribution for the project exceeds 375,000; Otherwise, no CFS requested, not even at the end of the project. If above the threshold, 2 exceptions: for project of 2 years or less, CFS submitted only at the end; if a certification on the methodology is provided, no intermediate CFS required but only at the end. CFS costs to be budgeted as management costs (e.g. subcontracting) BUT they will be eligible only when it is contractually required (EU contribution > ) 10

11 Allocation of resources and related costs to activity types (1/2) Types of activities: RTD Research and technological development activities DEM Demonstration activities COORD/SUP Coordination and support activities MGT Management activities including: Overall legal, ethical, financial & legal coordination; Certificates on Financial Statements (ONLY if contractually required!); Audits & Technical Review costs; Implementation of competitive calls for the selection of additional beneficiaries Maintenance of the Consortium Agreement; OTH Other activities including: Dissemination, networking, intellectual property rights (patent), studies, promotion of the exploitation of results Training and career development of researchers actions 11

12 Allocation of resources and related costs to activity types (2/2) Points to bear in mind when preparing the proposal: Tasks and efforts to be allocated to the correct activity type One activity type per Work Package as a general rule In addition to research (coordination/support) Work Packages, you should generally have one Work Package for management + one Work Package for dissemination (incl. communication and training activities) Costs and EU contribution budgeted must be consistent with the task allocation in the proposal 12

13 Exceptions - Average personnel costs and flat rates Costs claimed may not be actual in the following cases: Average personnel costs if it is based on a methodology considered as beneficiary s usual cost accounting practice and applied consistently to all participations in FP activities (see new eligibility criteria in the Decision on 3 measures to simplify the management of EU FP7 grants); Natural persons (self-employed, one-man company, etc.) and SMEowners who do not receive a salary registered as such in the accounts Use of a flat rate based on the ones published in the annual People Work Programme (Marie Curie Fellowships) and a standard number of productive hours equal to per year; Flat rates may be used to claim daily subsistence costs and accommodation related to travel as part of the implementation of a project it applies to any travel of this participant in the specific project or only for external experts/advisors needed for the project; For more information: 13

14 Exceptions Indirect Costs in Coordination and Support Actions (1/2) Specific rules for Coordination and Support Actions: The transitional flat rate of 60% does not apply to Coordination and Support Action (CSA) but only to funding schemes with RTD and demonstration activities The 20% standard flat rate applies and is calculated automatically in NEF for the participants using the transitional flat rate of 60% 100% EU funding of direct eligible costs BUT indirect costs will be reimbursed up to maximum 7% of the direct eligible costs, excluding subcontracting and the costs of resources made available by third parties which are not used on the premises of the beneficiary. 14

15 Exception - Third Countries and International Organisations Legal entities established in International Cooperation Partner Countries (ICPC) are entitled to EU funding. Participants from third countries other than ICPC (i.e. high-income countries) + International Organisations (different from International European interest organisations) may: Participate if participation conditions already fulfilled; Receive funding only if: provided for in the SP or WP (not applicable for FP7 ENV Calls 2011) the EU financial contribution in respect of this participant is essential for carrying out the project it should be duly justified and approved by Commission services provision for funding is provided for in a bilateral agreement between Community and the third country. 15

16 Exceptions Lump sums (1/2) Optional alternative funding form for International Cooperation Partner Countries participants The lump sum covers all the costs of an ICPC participant, including not only the costs for personnel and travel, but also those of equipment, consumables and indirect costs. Lump sum calculated based on: Lump sum amount per researcher per year based on the economy of the ICPC (3 income groups) The number of person-years requested for the project by the legal entity (efforts for research activities only!) As for any other participants, the reimbursement rate is based on the funding scheme and the legal status 16

17 Exceptions Lump sums (2/2) Points to bear in mind when preparing the DoW and the GPF: Make sure that the lump sum is calculated according to the rules and consistent with the contribution (in Person- Months) of the participant to the project activities: Interest of ICPC participants to use the lump sum option should be checked at an early stage 17

18 Reporting periods Reporting periods 18-month period to be used as a general rule to reduce the administrative burden 18 months is a maximum duration for a reporting period If project duration not multiple of 18 months: Preference should be given to shorter periods at the end of the project (e.g instead of ) More balanced periods can also be envisaged for a better monitoring of the project (e.g instead of 18+6) 18

19 Reporting Periodic reports to be submitted by coordinator 60 days after end of period: overview of progress of the work, including a publishable summary report, use of the resources and Financial Statement (Form C) Final reports to be submitted by coordinator 60 days after end of project: publishable summary report, conclusions and socioeconomic impact, covering wider societal implications and a plan on use and dissemination of foreground. Commission has 105 days to evaluate and execute the corresponding payment: No tacit approval of reports Automatic payment of interests 19

20 Payment modalities One pre-financing (45 days after entry into force of the GA) for the whole duration of the project): Indicative amounts: For projects with more than two periods: 160% of estimated average EU funding per reporting period (=max EC contribution/n of periods); For projects with 1-2 periods: 60-80% of the total EC contribution. 5% of maximum EC contribution (Art. 5.1 GA) is transferred from the prefinancing to Guarantee Fund; Coordinator is deemed to have received full prefinancing; Signed Form A needed by the Coordinator before transfer of pre-financing can be made. Interim payments based on financial statements (EC contribution= amounts justified & accepted * funding rate); Retention (10%); Final payment (with recovery of the 10% retention and the 5% contribution to the Guarantee Funds if possible). 20

21 More information? Documents to read carefully (all beneficiaries!) Model Grand Agreement (incl. the General Conditions and Special Clauses) Reference documents Rules for participation and dissemination of results Guide to Financial Issues Rules to ensure consistent verification of participants Guide to Intellectual Property Rules Guidance notes on project reporting Guidance notes on audit certification Find a document FP7 Helpdesk 21