GRANT AGREEMENT for a: Leonardo da Vinci Partnership. Under the Lifelong Learning Programme 1. AGREEMENT NUMBER: xxxx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx

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1 Centre for International Mobility CIMO PL 343 (Hakaniemenranta 6), Helsinki GRANT AGREEMENT for a: Leonardo da Vinci Partnership Under the Lifelong Learning Programme 1 AGREEMENT NUMBER: xxxx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx Name of the project (acronym) called hereafter "the National Agency" or "the NA", represented for the purposes of signature of this agreement by Pasi Sahlberg, Director General, of the one part, and Official registration number (Y-tunnus) called hereafter the beneficiary, represented for the purposes of signature of this agreement by N.N., title of the other part, 1 Decision N 1720/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15/11/2006 establishing an action programme in the field of lifelong learning, published in the Official Journal of the EU N L327/45 on 24/11/

2 the Special Conditions and Annexes below: HAVE AGREED Annex I Grant application Annex II Annex III Annex IV Annex V Annex VI Final report e-form an example Rules for calculation of the final grant amount Progress report form Pankkitieto- ja maksatuslomake (EU-ohjelmat) or Rekvisitionsblankett (EU-program) List of approved partner institutions which form an integral part of this agreement ("the agreement"). Annex II and IV are published at Kumppanuushankkeet The terms set out in the Special Conditions shall take precedence over those in the other parts of the agreement. 2

3 SPECIAL CONDITIONS ARTICLE 1 PURPOSE OF THE GRANT 1.1 The National Agency has decided to award a grant to the beneficiary for Leonardo da Vinci Partnership ("the action") under the Lifelong Learning Programme. 1.2 The beneficiary accepts the grant under the terms and conditions set out in the present agreement and undertakes to do everything in its power to carry out the action as described in Annex I, except in the case of force majeure 1. ARTICLE 2 - DURATION 2.1 The agreement shall enter into force on the date when the last of the two parties signs. 2.2 The action shall take place between 1 August 2012 and 31 July 2014, both inclusive. ARTICLE 3 - FINANCING THE ACTION 3.1 The NA shall co-finance the costs of the action up to a maximum grant amount of EUR The beneficiary shall perform a minimum number of 24 transnational mobilities. The term "transnational mobility" is defined in Annex III. 3.2 The grant shall take the form of a lump sum. 3.3 The final amount of the grant shall be determined in accordance with the rules set out in Annex III. 3.4 The beneficiary will cover any other costs related to the action. ARTICLE 4 PAYMENT ARRANGEMENTS 4.1 Pre-financing Within 45 calendar days of the entry into force of the agreement, the beneficiary shall receive a pre-financing payment of EUR 16000, representing 80% of the total maximum grant amount specified in Article Payment of the balance Within 60 calendar days after the final end date of the action specified in Article 2.2, but no later than 30 September 2014, the beneficiary must send a final report to the NA, using the eform provided by the NA. This report will be considered as the beneficiary's request for payment of the balance of the grant. In addition to the final report, the NA may request the beneficiary to submit proof of the travel and stay abroad for each participant in transnational mobility a copy of travel tickets and/or boarding passes and certificates of attendance issued by the host organisation. 1 Force majeure shall mean any unforeseeable exceptional situation or event beyond the contracting parties' control which prevents either of them from fulfilling any of their obligations under the Agreement, was not attributable to error or negligence on their part, and proves insurmountable in spite of all due diligence. Defects in equipment or material or delays in making them available (unless due to force majeure), labour disputes, strikes or financial difficulties cannot be invoked as force majeure by the defaulting party. 3

4 The NA has 45 calendar days to approve or reject the final report and any supporting documents. This period may be suspended if the NA requires additional documents or information from the beneficiary. In that case, the beneficiary shall have 30 calendar days to submit the additional supporting documents or information. Within 45 calendar days of approval of the final report the NA shall notify the beneficiary of the final grant amount and issue either the balance payment of the remainder of the grant or a recovery order for the amount due for reimbursement by the beneficiary. The beneficiary shall have 30 calendar days from the date of notification by the NA of the final grant amount or, failing that, the date on which the payment of the balance was received, to request information in writing on the determination of the final grant, giving reasons for any disagreement. After this time such requests shall no longer be considered. The NA undertakes to reply in writing within 30 calendar days following the date on which the request for information is received, giving reasons for its reply. 4.3 For reporting and dissemination purposes the beneficiary will use the informatics tools required by the NA and the European Commission, in accordance with the instructions that will be provided to that effect. ARTICLE 5 - BANK ACCOUNT Grant payments shall be made to the beneficiary in euro to the beneficiary's bank account indicated in Annex V. ARTICLE 6 PUBLICITY The beneficiary shall acknowledge the grant received under the Lifelong Learning Programme in any product or material produced with the grant support, or in any published document, statement or interviews relating to the action. The acknowledgement shall be followed by a disclaimer stating that the content of the publication is the sole responsibility of the publisher and that the European Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the information. Any graphical material shall be produced in accordance with the visual identity guidelines provided by the European Commission at ARTICLE 7 MONITORING, EVALUATION AND CONTROL 7.1 By the beneficiary shall send a progress report to the NA using the model provided in Annex IV. 7.2 The beneficiary accepts to participate in and contribute to monitoring and evaluation activities organised by the NA and the European Commission as well as by persons and organisations mandated by them, in relation to the action. 7.3 The beneficiary grants the NA, the European Commission, the European Anti-Fraud Office OLAF, the European Court of Auditors as well as persons and organisations mandated by them right of access to all documents and information, including information in electronic format, concerning the implementation of the action, its results and the use of the grant in accordance with the terms and conditions of the present agreement. This right of access shall be granted until five years after the date of the payment of the balance of the grant or the reimbursement thereof by the beneficiary. 4

5 ARTICLE 8 DISSEMINATION The beneficiary is required to input information on the progress and results of the project in the programme database EST (European Shared Treasure) on the website The approval by the NA of the final report from the beneficiary will be subject to compliance with the required data input in EST by 30 September ARTICLE 9 LIABILITY The beneficiary has sole responsibility for complying with any legal obligations incumbent on it. The beneficiary bears sole liability vis-à-vis the NA, the European Commission and any third party for damage of any kind sustained by them as a result of the execution or faulty execution of the action by the beneficiary. ARTICLE 10 - LAW APPLICABLE This agreement is governed by the terms of the agreement, the EU law applicable and, on a subsidiary basis, by the law of Finland. The NA and the beneficiary may bring legal proceedings regarding decisions by the other party concerning the application of the provisions of the agreement and the arrangements for implementing it before Helsinki district court (Helsingin käräjäoikeus). ARTICLE 11 MODIFICATION OF THE AGREEMENT 11.1 Any amendment to the terms and conditions of this agreement must be the subject of a written supplementary agreement, or be the subject of a notification letter from the NA formally accepted by the beneficiary. Oral agreements are not valid If the request for amendment is made by the beneficiary, it must send it to the NA at least one month before the closing date of the action specified in Article 2.2, except in cases duly substantiated by the beneficiary and accepted by the NA. ARTICLE 12 SUSPENSION The beneficiary may request suspension of the implementation of the action if exceptional circumstances make this impossible or excessively difficult, notably in the event of force majeure. The beneficiary shall submit a request for suspension to the NA without delay, in writing. The NA may accept or reject this request or accept it subject to agreement from the beneficiary to any conditions set by the NA. The NA will notify the beneficiary accordingly in writing, in accordance with Article 11 as appropriate. ARTICLE 13 - TERMINATION OF THE AGREEMENT 13.1 Termination by the beneficiary In duly justified cases, the beneficiary may withdraw its request for a grant and terminate the agreement at any time by giving 60 days' written notice stating the reasons, without being required to furnish any indemnity on this account. If no reasons are given or if the NA does not accept the reasons, the beneficiary shall be deemed to have terminated this agreement improperly. In such case, the NA may require full or partial reimbursement of any pre- 5

6 financing payments in accordance with Article 4.2 and with consequences set out in Article If the beneficiary decides to withdraw from the partnership and terminate the agreement, the beneficiary shall immediately notify also all partner institutions of the termination in writing Termination by the NA The NA may decide to terminate the agreement, without any indemnity on its part, in the following circumstances: (a) in the event of a change to the beneficiary s legal, financial, technical, organisational or ownership situation that is liable to affect the agreement substantially or to call into question the decision to award the grant; (b) if the beneficiary fails to fulfil a substantial obligation incumbent on it under the terms of the agreement, including its annexes; (c) in the event of force majeure, or if the action has been suspended as a result of exceptional circumstances; (d) if the beneficiary is declared bankrupt, is being wound up, is having his affairs administered by the courts, has entered into an arrangement with creditors, has suspended business activities, is the subject of any other similar proceedings concerning those matters, or is in an analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations; (e) where the NA has evidence or seriously suspects the beneficiary or any related entity or person, of professional misconduct; (f) if the beneficiary has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which it is; (g) where the NA has evidence or seriously suspects the beneficiary or any related entity or person, of fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity detrimental to the Communities' financial interest; (h) where the NA has evidence or seriously suspects the beneficiary or any related entity or person, of substantial errors, irregularities or fraud in the award procedure or the performance of the grant; i) if the beneficiary has made false declarations; is guilty of misrepresentation or submits reports inconsistent with reality to obtain the grant provided for in the agreement; (j) if the partnership has become ineligible 1 following the withdrawal of one or more partners (cf. Art.13.1 Termination by the beneficiary). 1 Less than 3 partners in a multilateral or less than 2 in a bilateral Partnership 6

7 13.3 Termination procedure The procedure is initiated by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt or equivalent. In the cases referred to in points (a), (b), (d), (e), (g) and (h) above, the beneficiary shall have 30 days to submit his observations and take any measures necessary to ensure continued fulfilment of his obligations under the agreement. If the NA fails to confirm acceptance of these observations by giving written approval within 30 days of receiving them, the termination procedure shall continue to run. Where notice is given, termination shall take effect at the end of the period of notice, which shall start to run from the date when notification of the NA s decision to terminate the agreement is received. If notice is not given in the cases referred to in points (c), (f), (i) and (j) above, termination shall take effect from the day following the date on which notification of the NA s decision to terminate the agreement is received Effects of termination In the event of termination, payments by the NA shall be limited to the eligible costs actually incurred by the beneficiary up to the date when termination takes effect, in accordance with Article 4.2. Costs relating to current commitments that are not due to be executed until after termination shall not be taken into account. The beneficiary shall have 60 days from the date when termination takes effect, as notified by the NA, to produce a request for final payment in accordance with Article 4.2. If no request for final payment is received within this time limit, the NA shall not reimburse the expenditure incurred by the beneficiary up to the date of termination and it shall recover any amount if its use is not substantiated by the final report requested and approved by the NA. By way of exception, at the end of the period of notice referred to in Article 13.3, where the NA is terminating the agreement on the grounds that the beneficiary has failed to produce the report within the deadline stipulated in Article 4.2 and the beneficiary has still not complied with this obligation within two months following the written reminder sent by the NA, the NA shall not reimburse the expenditure incurred by the beneficiary up to the date on which the action ended and it shall recover any amount already paid to the benficiary as pre-financing. By way of exception, in the event of improper termination by the beneficiary or termination by the NA on the grounds set out in points (a), (e), (g), (h) or (i) above, the NA may require the partial or total repayment of sums already paid under the agreement on the basis of reports approved by the NA, in proportion to the gravity of the failings in question and after allowing the beneficiary to submit his observations. ARTICLE 14 DATA PROTECTION All personal data contained in the agreement shall be processed by : the NA in accordance with the national legislation, in particular Personal Data Act (henkilötietolaki) and 7

8 by the EU institutions and bodies in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council 1 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and the free movement of such data. Such data shall be processed solely in connection with the implementation and follow-up of the agreement by the NA and the Commission, without prejudice to the possibility of passing the data to EC internal audit services, to the European Court of Auditors, to the Financial Irregularities Panel and/or to the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) for the purposes of safeguarding the financial interests of the EU. The beneficiary may, on written request, gain access to his/her personal data and correct any information that is inaccurate or incomplete. S/he should address any questions regarding the processing of his/her personal data to the NA. The beneficiary may lodge a complaint against the processing of his/her personal data with the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman (Tietosuojavaltuutettu) or with the European Data Protection Supervisor. ARTICLE 15 - OTHER SPECIAL CONDITIONS 15.1 Any communication in relation to this agreement shall be made in writing, indicating the agreement number, and shall be sent to CIMO/Ammatillisen koulutuksen yksikkö, PL 343 (Hakaniemenranta 6), Helsinki, or contact persons The beneficiary shall respect the requirement as laid down in the present grant agreement and in the LLP Guide that the action is not supported by any other grant from the EU budget. In case of non compliance, the NA reserves the right to terminate the agreement by invoking Article 13.2 (g) and require the partial or full reimbursement of any pre-financing payment. SIGNATURES For the beneficiary: N.N. Principal For the NA: Pasi Sahlberg, Director General Done at on Done at Helsinki on In duplicate in English. 1 Any questions on the application of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001should be referred to the European Data Protection Supervisor ( 8

9 ANNEX I Grant Application ANNEX II Final report e-form An example is published at the following internet address Kumppanuushankkeet The customized final report e-form pre-filled with some project data will be sent to the beneficiary before the end of the partnership for completion. 9

10 ANNEX III Rules for the calculation of the final grant amount Full grant amount The full grant amount indicated in Article 3.1 of the grant agreement will be awarded if the following conditions are fulfilled: 1. Realisation of activities The final report provides sufficient information on the realisation of the activities, mobilities and outcomes planned in the Partnership application (Annex I) or of equivalent relevant activities, mobilities and outcomes aimed at achieving the objectives of the Partnership. 2. Realisation of eligible and relevant mobility activities The beneficiary has carried out at least the minimum number of mobilities indicated in Article 3.1 of the grant agreement. The mobility activities are eligible according to the definitions in this annex and relevant to the Partnership in question. Reduction of grant amounts The following cases will lead to the reduction or recovery of the grant amount indicated in Article 3.1 of the grant agreement Reported activities, mobilities and outcomes do not correspond to those presented in the application form (Annex I) and are not relevant to the Partnership in question. > The final grant amount will be zero and the National Agency will recover the full pre-financing amount paid to the beneficiary The required minimum number of eligible and relevant mobilities indicated in Article 3.1 of the grant agreement has not been achieved. > For each mobility not carried out or not accepted, the NA will reduce the grant by an amount estimated to correspond to one mobility. If no mobilities have been carried out, the final grant amount will be zero and the National Agency will recover the full pre-financing amount paid to the beneficiary. > The National Agency will reduce the grant amount according to the final number of accepted mobilities as shown in the example below: Grant amount: Minimum required number of mobilities: 12 Estimated amount per one mobility: 1000 ( divided by 12) Number of eligible mobilities reported: 10 Final grant: ( x ) 10

11 If a Multilateral Partnership with 3 participating institutions need to be terminated due to the withdrawal of one partner, such case shall be considered as "force majeure". In such case if the beneficiary has not done any eligible mobilities, but incurred costs related to the activities of the partnership, the NA can make an exception to the contractual rules for defining the amount to be reimbursed by the participating institutions. The NA shall ask the beneficiary institution to submit a financial report on the real costs incurred including supporting documents (receipts) and a final report eform explaining the activities carried out. The final grant amount shall be limited to the real costs incurred and accepted by the NA or the initial grant amount awarded whichever of the two is the lowest. If the eligible mobilities have been undertaken, the Article 13.4 applies and no further reimbursement based on real costs incurred can be claimed. Definition of transnational mobility For the purposes of this agreement, the following definitions apply: A mobility is a trip abroad carried out in the framework of the Partnership from the country of the beneficiary either to one of the partner institutions listed in Annex VI or to an event organised by a LLP (or predecessor programme) project or network. One trip by one person is counted as one mobility. The same person may carry out several mobilities during the Partnership duration. If two or several countries are visited during a single round trip, this is counted as one mobility, e.g. from France to Belgium, from Belgium to Finland and from Finland to France. There is no minimum or maximum requirement for the length of mobility. Only transnational mobility (i.e. travel abroad) counts for the calculation of the minimum mobility numbers. "In-country" mobility to or from Overseas Countries and Territories 1 and the ultra-peripheral regions of the EU 2 will also be considered as transnational mobility, e.g. mobility by a beneficiary from mainland France to a partner in Martinique. Eligible mobility At final report stage, mobilities will be considered eligible if they meet the following conditions: Mobilities have been carried out to partner institutions approved for funding in the same Partnership or to events organised by LLP (or predecessor programme) projects or networks (e.g. Comenius or Grundtvig networks) Mobilities have been undertaken by o staff or pupils / learners / trainees of the participating organisations 3 o in the case of mobility involving persons with special needs, accompanying persons such as parents, guardians or carers. Mobilities have taken place within the duration of the grant agreement defined in Article 2.2 of the grant agreement. 1 Overseas Association Decision of the Council, 2001/822/EC of 27 November 2001, OJ L 314/1 2 Canary Islands, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion, Azores, Madeira 3 Silent partners are not considered as participating organisations 11

12 Relevant mobility In addition to being eligible, the mobilities carried out must be relevant to the Partnership in question. In their final report, beneficiaries will be requested to report on the aims, activities and outcomes of each mobility activity carried out by individuals or groups. The report shall show how the activities carried out during each mobility period were relevant for achieving the objectives of the Partnership. Reduction of the minimum mobility number If an institution is planning mobility activities that involve staff or pupils / learners / trainees with special needs 1, it may request that the NA reduce the minimum number of mobilities corresponding to the grant awarded. This is intended to make funds available for specific extra costs linked to the participation of staff and pupils / learners / trainees with special needs. This reduction can be requested by the beneficiary either before the grant agreement is issued, or later during the lifetime of the project, by submitting a written request to the NA before carrying out such mobilities. The NA will communicate its decision in writing and may agree to reduce the minimum number of mobilities by up to half. In order to apply for the reduction, the institution needs to provide to its NA the details below: Details on the nature of the special needs which are linked to the extra costs Details on the extra costs Number of mobilities that the institution can carry out with the funding available The same possibility of reduction applies to mobility activities that include travel to and/or from Overseas Countries and Territories or the ultra-peripheral regions of the EU 2. If an institution is planning such mobility activities, it can apply for the reduction by providing the details below: Details on the planned mobility activities and on the travel costs involved Number of mobilities that the institution can carry out with the funding available Exceptional cases In exceptional cases not covered by the above requirements, the National Agency will decide on the final grant amount on the basis of proofs provided by the beneficiary. 1 The term "special needs" is intended to cover special learning, behavioural, health or physical needs 2 See footnotes 1 and 2 on page 2 12

13 ANNEX IV Progress report - published at the following internet address Kumppanuushankkeet ANNEX V Pankkitieto- ja maksatuslomake (EU-ohjelmat) or Rekvisitionsblankett (EU-program) 13