Project Handbook Guidelines for Administrative and Financial Management and Reporting

Transcription

1 ERASMUS + PROGRAMME Project Handbook Guidelines for Administrative and Financial Management and Reporting (Version 2015) etwinning National Support Services etwinning Plus Partner Support Agency 1 st version April 2015

2 Table of Contents Introduction Overview Project Life Cycle... 5 (from the signature of your contract until audit) Your project in the lifecycle of the Erasmus + Programme Monitoring of the actions by the Agency Purpose What kind of monitoring Reporting Structure of the reports Structure of the General Section Structure of the Specific Section How to send the Report Processing the Report Incompleteness of a report Rejection of a report Financial rules General Provisions on Eligibility of Costs Principles applied to the different categories of expenditures Staff costs Travel and subsistence costs (staff) Information and Communication Other Costs Indirect costs (overheads) Calculation of the final grant amount and supporting documents Checks and Audits Claims/Appeals Amendments Introduction Changes which require an amendment request form Changes which do not require an amendment request form Page 2 of 30

3 5.3.1 Changes via the Participant Portal Change of legal representative of the beneficiary organisation Change of contact person in the beneficiary organisation Dissemination and Exploitation of Results Dissemination and exploitation Recognition of Commission funding and use of Erasmus + logo Page 3 of 30

4 Introduction Purpose of the Handbook This Handbook applies to grants under the Erasmus + Programme for the actions: etwinning National Support Services (NSS) and etwinning Plus Partner Support Agency (PSA). Its principal aims are to: help beneficiaries to manage their project and run them efficiently; clarify matters arising from the grant decision/agreement and its annexes; provide practical information that may be referred to throughout the project's life; provide guidance on how to handle the financial side of projects in such a way that financial statement can be readily drawn up; promote the sound financial management and ensure that the best results/products are delivered at reasonable cost; encourage smooth relations between the parties involved by setting out an operational framework for the project. Other Documents This document should be read in conjunction with your grant decision/agreement and the Restricted Calls for proposals addessed to the designated Institutions in 2014: EACEA/21/2014, EACEA/35/2014, and EACEA/37/2014). For further information For further information or clarifications on the content of this handbook, please contact us via the functional mailbox for this action: EACEA-EPLUS-ETWINNING@ec.europa.eu Page 4 of 30

5 1. Overview Project Life Cycle (from the signature of your contract until audit) CONTRACTUALISATION Applicants who have been successful in the selection process receive a grant decision/agreement from the Agency. The decision/agreement indicates the grant awarded and sets out the Financial rules to be applied. Payments are usually made in instalment. ELIGIBILITY PERIOD AND PROJECT ACTIVITIES. The Eligibility Period is the time during which expenses can be incurred and covered by the European Union grant. The length of the eligibility period depends on the project duration. Planned project activities are carried out. MONITORING OF PROJECT The European Commission/Executive Agency monitors the implementation of the project through its life-cycle. In situ project visits and Monitoring initiatives are undertaken in some cases. REPORTING SUBMISSION OF FINAL REPORT & AUDIT At the end of the project, a Final Report is submitted which provides information on project implementation, results achieved and expenditure incurred. The report is assessed and given an appreciation. Once the project has been closed, the Agency/Commission may elect to carry out an audit within 5 years of the closure date. DISSEMINATION AND EXPLOITATION OF RESULTS WITHIN AND BEYOND PROJECT LIFETIME Page 5 of 30

6 1.1 Your project in the lifecycle of the Erasmus + Programme Policy The Erasmus + Programme is implemented via Calls for proposals and it is expected that your project will contribute to the policy priorities of this programme. Check the web pages of DG EAC (Directorate General for Education and Culture), CEDEFOP (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training), DG EMPL (Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion) and other relevant bodies regularly in order to keep your project in line with the latest policy development in the field and priority your project is linked to. Eligibility of costs and guarantee The Agency co-finances the costs of the project activities from the beginning until the end of the eligibility period. Any project activities occurring outside of the eligibility period are not eligible for funding. Depending on the evaluation of the financial capacity of the beneficiary organisation, the Agency may seek a financial guarantee before the pre-financing payment(s) are made. At the beginning of the project the Agency transfers to you a first pre-financing payment which amounts to the percentage of the European Union's contribution to the project costs set out in the grant decision/agreement. Depending on the duration of the project, there may be a second pre-financing payment. At the end of the project and after approval of the project results, analysis and approval of the costs incurred, the Agency will execute the final payment which is made up of the contractual percentage of the total eligible actual costs less the payments already made less the interests earned on the pre-financing payments. Monitoring and reports As part of the monitoring activity, the Agency may organise a meeting with the key people on your project (in Brussels or at your premises). To enable the Agency to assess the achievements of your project, you are required to submit a final report. Changes If during the project's lifetime the need for changes to the grant decision/agreement arises, you must request an amendment to the Agency PRIOR to the change(s). You can also make some modifications via the Participant Portal, if the nature of the changes needed allows you to do so. Keeping documents After the project's closure, independently of the report on factual findings made by an auditor to be transmitted with the final report, the Agency reserves the right to launch an audit to verify the accounts. The grant decision/agreement includes a specific requirement to keep records (accounts and all supporting documents) for 5 years after the final payment is transferred to the beneficiary's account. These areas are now presented in more detail. Page 6 of 30

7 2. Monitoring of the actions by the Agency 2.1 Purpose The main purpose of the monitoring is to provide support for each project, to offer guidance and advice which can be integrated by the project team as it endeavours to achieve a successful outcome. Monitoring also ensures that projects fulfil their stated objectives and allows the identification of good practices and lessons learned so that others may benefit from them. 2.2 What kind of monitoring A performance oriented monitoring is more relevant in the first half of the project and will target more at the way the project is being managed and how activities are developing as compared to initial plans. A result oriented approach is more relevant in the second half of project implementation and will focus more on the produced deliverables, their outreach, dissemination, future exploitation and sustainability. The Agency's monitoring may cover operational and/or financial aspects and may be performed through face to face meetings or remotely. Monitoring can be performed through different means: Agency's desk monitoring; Agency's monitoring visits: monitoring visits may consist of a visit by Agency s representatives or experts to the premises of the beneficiary (in situ visit); Meeting with a project at the Agency's premises: a visit by project representatives to the Agency. These meetings may be organised in conjunction with other meetings or events organised by the Agency or in the framework of the action. The above list is not exhaustive; additional project monitoring methods may be developed. 3. Reporting The Agency is currently revising its reporting procedure and is moving towards an ereporting system. This section of the Handbook will be updated as soon as the new rules for submitting reports are in place. Meanwhile, please refer to the currently available documents for preparing the reports as the information required will not be modified, only the procedure for submitting reports. A Final Report, covering the reporting for the entire project duration must be submitted two months after the end of the project. In order to provide a practical and structured means for a project to report its achievements, the Agency has report templates including a financial Page 7 of 30

8 reporting table accompanied by instructions on how to complete them. The links to the templates are respectively: (Choose the action Key Action 2 Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices etwinning and etwinning Plus) 3.1 Structure of the reports The Final Report consists of two sections: a General Section; a Specific Section. The General Section presents a summary of the content of the project and its achievements. This part will be used for the Executive Agency and the European Commission as a feedback to be taken into account for further improvements of the action. The Specific Section contains information about the execution of individual activities, the management of the project, the project finances, and any supplementary information the beneficiary would like to communicate to the Agency. The legal representative of the beneficiary organisation must confirm that the data and information contained in the report are accurate and in accordance with the facts. Please note: the General and Specific sections of the report when put together should offer the complete picture of a project thus enabling it to be fully evaluated. However, the two parts should not contain the same information. A complete financial analysis of the project's expenses will be done only at the submission of the Final Report. 3.2 Structure of the General Section This part of the report should include information on the 5 following headings: 1. Approach to achieve objectives: please describe the approach you have followed in order to achieve the objectives and priorities given in your Activity Plan for this period. 2. Activities carried out: please describe the activities carried out at national/regional level and your contribution to the collaborative activities carried out at European level. 3. Outcomes and results: please describe your achievements in the different field of activity. 4. Lessons learnt and plans for the future: please include a description of Lessons learnt and address how the achievements or the problems incurred of this contractual period impact on your future strategies or activities. 5. Extra Heading Section: is provided for observations or analysis you wish to include, but do not find appropriate to insert in the previous chapters. Please remove it, if you do not make use of this chapter. Page 8 of 30

9 The report should include details of all products/results produced within the reporting period in accordance with the approved Activity Plan. It may contain diagrams and pictures illustrating the work of the project. In terms of quality, copying content from the original application into the General Section is to be avoided. 3.3 Structure of Specific Section This part of the Final Report includes the following sections: Section 1- Declaration of honour by the Beneficiary Formal declaration of the accuracy of the information provided in your report. Make sure that the declaration is signed by the legal representative (the same person who signed the grant decision/agreement). If the declaration page is signed by a different person, the Agency will not be in a position to accept the report. In this case either a subdelegation proving the power of attorney or a new report bearing the signature of the legal representative will be requested by the Agency. Section 2 - Description of activities, products and results Describe in detail the activities, products and results for the whole duration of the agreement, including a list of achievements and indicators that give a picture of the overall situation at the end of the agreement period. Particular emphasis should be placed on the description of promotional, training, monitoring and dissemination activities at national and regional level, as well as type of actions, tasks assigned and the overall frameworks for action. Provide the targets and the indicators you used to measure progress obtained and explain in detail the efficiency and effectiveness of the activities carried out. Explain the methodology put in place to manage the action, the coordination arrangements with the different stakeholders and the implementation of quality assurance tools. Report on any particular difficulty encountered related to the management. Describe the strategies and means you used to increase the number of etwinning projects and to foster their quality, as well as which were the main achievements. In case of problems encountered or any deviation from the approved Activity Plan, describe the solutions that have been implemented. You have to attach to the Specific Section any document produced within the project that provides useful information for the assessment of the project performance. For instance, minutes of the meetings, any dissemination material you have produced such as publications, CD-ROMs, DVD, promotional material, articles published, etc.. Section 3 - Financial Statement The financial reporting for your project must be carried out using the Excel workbook that has been provided by the Agency for that purpose and is available from the following webpages: Page 9 of 30

10 Please ensure that also the financial tables are written in English, in French or in German as the rest of the report. If this is not the case, the Agency will request to put the financial sheets in conformity with the other parts of the final report, with a delay in the due payment. More information on the financial reporting is given in part 4. Financial Rules of this Handbook. Section 4 - Other Supplementary Information (optional) In this section you should include information or issue you do not consider suitable for Part 1 and 2 but that you wish to communicate to the Agency. 3.4 How to send the Report The complete report should be sent in the following way: 1 original copy of the final report on PAPER (report drafted on the template). This original copy has the signature of the legal representative. No supporting documents (results) or financial report (excel sheets) should be attached. 2 electronic storage devices (e.g. 2 USB sticks, 2 CD ROM ) with copies of the final report, of the financial statement (Excel) and of all products (publications, agendas of meetings and conferences, folders, photos of promotional gadgets ). For supporting documents on the financial report, please consult part 4.3 Calculation of the final grant amount and supporting documents. Please send 2 separate devices. One of them needs to be sent to an external expert. The address is: Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency Erasmus+ A5: Vocational Training, Adult Education, Platforms Office: BOU2 02/145 Av. du Bourget 1 BE Brussels BELGIUM 3.5 Processing the Report Each report must be submitted to the Agency by the deadline indicated in the grant decision/ agreement. Late submission may considerably delay the process of analysing and assessing the report. In general, the Agency uses external experts to help with the analysis of the report, the evaluation of the quality of the work accomplished and the formulation of an overall assessment. Page 10 of 30

11 The experts engaged by the Agency are obliged to declare in advance that no conflict of interest exists in relation to the projects they will assess Incompleteness of a report If a report is incomplete (for instance, some parts are missing or incorrect), the Agency may request that further information be supplied and provided through the submission of a new, updated version of the report. Nonetheless, if the missing or incomplete information relates to the Specific Section, the Agency may decide that the additional information can be submitted separately e.g. without the project having to submit a new version of the report. The Agency will specify the form in which the additional information should be submitted. In these cases, the period foreseen in the contract for payment will be suspended until the additional information has been received by the Agency Rejection of a report In addition, there are a number of elements that are indispensable for the Agency to carry out an analysis of the report. The absence of any of these elements would render the Agency unable to assess the report and would thus lead to a rejection of the report until the missing information had been provided. Reasons for rejecting reports: no original version of the report is received; the original signature of the legal representative is missing; the General or the Specific Section is missing; the financial report (electronic version) is missing or the amounts presented are not in accordance with the initially agreed budget; the report, including the financial report, has been submitted using different templates than the ones provided by the Agency; the report has been submitted in a language other than English, French or German. Based on the experts' assessment and their recommendations, the Agency takes a final decision with regard to the payment of the due part of the grant. In case that a report is not complete and additional information needs to be submitted, the related payment will be delayed. Once the assessment is complete, the Agency will inform the project of the final evaluation e.g. its decision and feedback on the project's progress and achievements. 4. Financial rules 4.1 General Provisions on Eligibility of Costs Eligible costs The general context, nature and amount of expenditure will be considered when assessing eligibility of costs. Page 11 of 30

12 Costs linked to Professional Development Workshop (PDW) activities should be declared under the appropriate categories. The worksheet "Revenue from PDWs" shall be filled in accordingly in order to make clear which part of the costs have been reimbursed and which part is claimed in the final report by the organising NSS/PSA. The parts of the costs reimbursed by other NSS/PSA attending the PDW are not eligible for the organising NSS and they must be deducted from the different budget categories by inserting negative amounts in the appropriate worksheets. Description Budget category Organisation of a PDW Amount declared in the Final Report by the organising NSS/PSA Amount reimbursed by the attending NSS/PSA Amount claimed by the organising NSS/PSA after reduction of reimbursed amounts Hotel Invoice I.B-I.C Travel and subsistence Catering I.C Subcontracting Bus/Local Transports I.C Subcontracting Printed material I.C Other communication costs Promotional materials I.C Other communication costs To be considered as eligible costs, they must satisfy the following general criteria: they must be related to activities described in the approved Activity Plan and targeted to the eligible countries listed in the call "etwinning National Support Services and etwinning Plus Partner Support Agency". they must be incurred by the legal entity mentioned in the decision/agreement; they must be connected with the project (i.e. relevant for the action and be directly connected with execution of the project in accordance with the Activity Plan); they must be foreseen in the estimated overall budget of the project. Should the Beneficiary anticipate incurring costs that were not foreseen in the estimated budget, the prior approval of the Agency should be sought. In some specific cases an amendment will be necessary (see section 5); they must be necessary for the performance of the project; they must be reasonable and justified and they must be in accordance with the principles of sound financial management 1, in particular in terms of value for money and costeffectiveness; they must be generated during the contractual lifetime of the project 2 as defined in the decision/agreement, with the only exception of costs relating to the staff completing 1 Costs shall be defined in accordance with the principle of sound financial management, namely with the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The principle of economy requires that costs shall be defined in due time, in appropriate quantity and quality and at the best price. The principle of efficiency is concerned with the best relationship between resources employed and results achieved. The principle of effectiveness is concerned with attaining the specific objectives set and achieving the intended results. 2 e.g. generated by an activity that takes place during the lifetime (legal duration) of the project / action. Activities taking place before or after the period specified in a grant decision/agreement are not eligible for funding. Page 12 of 30

13 the final reports and the "Report of Factual Findings" as defined in the decision/agreement in the agreement. they must be actually incurred by the beneficiary and be recorded in its accounts in accordance with the applicable accounting principles and be declared in accordance with the requirements of the applicable tax and social legislation; costs which are not paid yet at the time of submission of the report cannot be recorded in the final financial statement. they must be identifiable and verifiable and determined according to the applicable accounting standards of the country where the beneficiary is established and according to the usual cost-accounting practices of the beneficiary. The beneficiary's internal accounting and auditing procedures must allow direct reconciliation of the costs and revenue declared in respect of the project with the corresponding accounting statements and supporting documents. Where national taxation and accounting rules do not require an invoice, an accounting document of equivalent value means any document produced in order to prove that the accounting entry is accurate and complies with the applicable accounting law. The beneficiary must keep all supporting documents relating to the project. Unjustified costs will not be considered as eligible by the Agency and/or by the auditors. Non-eligible costs The following items of costs are not eligible and should therefore not be included under any headings in the Budget: - contributions in kind; - return on capital; - debt and debt service charges; - provisions for losses or potential future liabilities (provisions for contractual and moral obligations, fines, financial penalties and legal costs); - interest owed; - doubtful debts; - exchange losses; - VAT 3 ; - costs declared by the applicant and covered by another action or work programme receiving an EU grant 4 ; - excessive or reckless expenditure; - purchase of capital assets; - in the case of rental or leasing of equipment, the cost of any buy-out option at the end of the lease or rental period; - costs associated with the preparation of the application; - costs of opening and operating bank accounts (costs of transferring funds are eligible); 3 The VAT paid by public bodies or private bodies that cannot be recovered according to national legislation is an eligible cost. 4 The beneficiary who already receives an operating grant financed from the Union budget during the period in question can not claim indirect costs, e.g. it cannot ask the 7% overheads (section 4.2.5); Page 13 of 30

14 - cost of transfer from the Agency charged by the bank of the beneficiary; - cost of replacing staff involved in the action; - expenses for travel to/from countries other than those participating in the project/programme, unless explicit prior authorisation is granted by the Agency, In particular, if the etwinning Support Service is a National Agency, it will take care to avoid dual funding, i.e. both as an activity supported under the Operating grant of the National Agency concerned and as an activity supported under the present call. Similarly, there may be no duplicate funding of staff costs already covered by the Operating grant of the National Agency. Costs which could be considered as eligible according to the criteria detailed under section 4.1 become ineligible if they are not supported by adequate supporting accounting documents. In addition, internal invoices will not be accepted as valid supporting documents. For more information regarding costs linked to bank transfers, please read article and II of the grant decision/agreement. You are reminded about two additional important points: 1. EU logo and communication: The Agency reserves the right to reject costs relating to documents and materials which do not state the EU logo and funding disclaimer as defined in the Special Conditions of the grant decision/agreement (see section 6.2 below). 2. Timely recording of costs: Expenses must be recorded in the accounting system on the basis of adequate supporting documents at the time the costs were incurred. Documents created after the period in which the costs were incurred, will be declared ineligible (e.g. declaration of costs incurred in 2014, created/dated in 2016). 4.2 Principles applied to the different categories of expenditures Staff costs Costs relating to the following categories of staff are considered eligible: Statutory staff, having either a permanent or a temporary employment contract with the contracting organisation or equivalent appointing act; temporary staff, recruited through a specialised external Agency; other types of contracts as far as the national labour law assimilates them to employment contracts/staff. Learners/Trainees, volunteers and persons working through subcontracting (e.g. freelancers, self-employed person, sole traders) cannot be considered as staff member. Staff costs must be broken down into four categories: Staff category 1 Manager Page 14 of 30

15 Staff category 2 Researcher, Teacher, Trainer Staff category 3 Technical Staff category 4 Administrative Beneficiaries should report staff costs based on real daily staff cost rates, corresponding to the beneficiary's usual policy on remuneration, comprising actual salaries plus social security charges and other statutory costs included in the remuneration, respecting the non-profit making principle which applies to EU grants. Non-statutory costs like bonuses, lease car, expense account schemes, incentive payments or profit-sharing schemes are excluded. Salary policy shall be the same for all staff no matter if they work or not in the project: the use of grid of salary for staff working in the frame of beneficiary activities in parallel with different rates for staff working on an EU project is not acceptable. In case of ad-hoc staff daily rates on EU funded actions, this one will be considered ineligible. The veracity of these costs may be the subject of an audit. Staff costs should be claimed on the basis of the actual daily salary/fees of the employee/interim staff and multiplied by the number of days spent on the action and supported by time sheets. i.e.: Please note that work outside regular working hours (like weekends), substantial increase of the number of working days and/or a significant shift between the categories in the final report in comparison to the initial estimated budget must be duly justified. Staff members of the beneficiary are not allowed to operate in a subcontracting capacity for the action. Costs related to persons working through subcontracting shall be included under the appropriate category. To be noted: This cost must be the actual cost incurred by the beneficiary; staff cost of other organisations is eligible only if it is paid directly or reimbursed by the beneficiary. These costs may include additional remuneration, including payments on the basis of supplementary contracts regardless of their nature, provided that it is paid in a consistent manner whenever the same kind of work or expertise is required and independently from the source of funding used. The corresponding salary costs of personnel of national administrations are eligible to the extent that they relate to the cost of activities which the relevant public authority would not carry out if the concerned action (etwinning) was not undertaken. Costs for replacing staff involved in the action are not eligible. Page 15 of 30

16 4.2.2 Travel and subsistence costs (staff) Travel costs Travel costs are considered eligible, provided that they are in line with the beneficiary organisation s usual practices on travel costs; Costs may be claimed only for journeys directly connected to specific and clearly identifiable project-related activities. Reimbursement must be based on real costs, regardless the means of travel chosen (rail, bus, taxi, plane, hire car, etc.). Beneficiaries are required to use the cheapest means of travel (e.g. use Apex tickets for air travel and take advantage of reduced fares; where this is not the case, a full explanation should be provided). The travel cost for a journey should include all costs and all means for travel from the point of origin to the point of destination (and vice versa) and includes visa fees, travel insurance, cancellation costs and travel agency fees if applicable. Once the point of destination reached, local transports from should be considered in the subsistence costs (see section ). Expenses for private car travel (personal or company cars), where substantiated and where the price is not excessive, will be reimbursed as follows (whichever is the cheapest): either a rate per km in accordance with the internal rules of the organisation concerned up to a max of EUR 0.22; or price of a rail, bus or plane ticket shall be reimbursed, independently of the number of people travelling in the same vehicle. For hired cars (maximum category B or equivalent) or taxis: the actual cost will be considered eligible where this is not excessive compared with other means of travel (also taking account of any influencing factors e.g. time, excessive luggage). Travel costs incurred outside the countries participating in this action of the Eramus+ Programme are not eligible, unless explicit written prior authorisation is granted by the Agency Subsistence costs Subsistence costs are eligible under this budget heading. Costs may be claimed only for journeys directly connected to specific and clearly identifiable project-related activities. Subsistence rates cover accommodation, meals and local travel costs (except local travel costs incurred to travel from point of origin to point of destination). The maximum number of days that can be claimed is the number of event/conference/meeting days + 1 (this additional day is eligible in case of prior arrival or Page 16 of 30

17 late departure due to flight/train/means of transports schedule). A full day normally includes an overnight stay. Without an overnight stay, the allowance is adapted with a pro-rata reduction for accommodation (costs limited to 50% of the maximum rate). A pro-rata reduction must also be applied if accommodation, meals or local travel costs are provided for by a third party. In all cases, proof of attendance and overnight accommodation may be required to substantiate the costs declared. Within these limits, subsistence expenses may be reimbursed on an actual or daily allowance basis as per beneficiaries' usual practices on subsistence costs and, in any case, they cannot exceed the following ceilings established in Euros: Belgium BE 232 Malta MT 205 Bulgaria BG 227 Netherlands NL 263 Czech Republic CZ 230 Austria AT 225 Denmark DK 270 Poland PL 217 Germany DE 208 Portugal PT 204 Estonia EE 181 Romania RO 222 Greece EL 222 Slovenia SI 180 Spain ES 212 Slovak Republic SK 205 France FR 245 Finland FI 244 Ireland IE 254 Sweden SE 257 Italy IT 230 United Kingdom UK 276 Cyprus CY 238 Iceland IS 261 Latvia LV 211 Norway NO 260 Lithuania LT 183 Croatia HR 180 Luxembourg LU 237 Turkey TR 142 Hungary HU 222 FYROM MK 171 Albania 233 Bosnia and Herzegovina 130 Montenegro 143 Serbia 158 Armenia 138 Moldova 173 Azerbaijan 311 Ukraine 316 Georgia 209 Tunisia 156 Costs in countries other than the ones listed are not eligible. Subsistence policy should be the same for all staff no matter if they work or not in the project: the use of a grid of subsistence for staff working in the frame of beneficiary activities in parallel with different rates for staff working on an EU project is not acceptable. Ad-hoc subsistence rates on EU projects will be considered ineligible. The veracity of these costs may be the subject of an audit. Page 17 of 30

18 To be noted: Reimbursement of travel and subsistence expenses will be limited to one representative from each NSS and PSA for Management meetings and two for Working Group meetings. If the beneficiary calls on the services of outside experts (i.e. a person not on the payroll of the beneficiary organisation) the costs for travel and subsistence must be declared under the sub-contracting budget heading and be included and detailed in the contract signed with the sub-contractor in order to be sure to respect the conditions laid down in the section Information and Communication The Heading "Information and communication" is based on 4 sub-categories: 1. Travel and subsistence for non staff attendants 2. Equipment 3. Subcontracting (max 35% of the total direct expenses) 4. Other costs linked to information and communication Those categories refer to costs in connection with: - travel and subsistence costs incurred for the participation of selected teachers and other educational staff (experts, school authorities) in professional development events, conferences, workshops organised by the NSS itself, by another NSS/PSA or by the CSS; - organising conferences, seminars, meetings; - publications (including electronic-publications); - advertising; - translation; - distribution and other dissemination activities Travel and subsistence costs (non staff) The same rules mentioned in section apply to costs for travel and subsistence of non staff who do not belong to the category of staff as defined in section Equipment Purchase, rent or lease of equipment (new or second-hand), including the installation, maintenance and insurance costs, are considered eligible costs: only when specific and necessary for achieving the goals of the project. Proposed equipment costs must always be duly justified. The rules for procurement defined in the grant decision/agreement apply; provided that it is written off in accordance with the tax and accounting rules applicable to the beneficiary and generally accepted for items of the same kind. Only the portion of the equipment's depreciation corresponding to the duration of the action and the rate of actual use for the purposes of the action may be taken into account by the Agency. The beneficiary shall explain the rules applied. If the nature and/or the context of its use justify different treatment, this should be duly justified. All equipment related to the administration of the project (e.g. PCs, portables, etc.) and all equipment purchased before the start of the action is covered by indirect costs of the project (see below). Page 18 of 30

19 Subcontrating costs Any amount paid to an outside body, organisation or individual 5 which carries out specific and limited work for the project through procurement contracts, shall be charged to this heading. The beneficiary shall award the contract to the tenderer offering best value for money, that is to say, to the tender offering the best price-quality ratio, in compliance with the principles of transparency and equal treatment for potential contractors, care being taken to avoid any conflict of interests. The beneficiary is expected to clearly document the tendering procedure and retain the documentations for the event of an audit. Sub-contracting must satisfy the following conditions: the essential activities of the project may not be subcontracted; it may only cover the implementation of a limited part of the action, and in any case not more than 35% of the total direct costs; it must be justified having regard to the nature of the action and what is necessary for its implementation; it must be clearly stated in the proposal or prior written authorisation from the Agency must be obtained. Essential activities which cannot be subcontracted include: management and general administration of the action; coordination and steering of activities; reporting to the Commission on policy developments at national/regional levels, reporting to EACEA on administrative issues; liaising with relevant national bodies, content related activities that are at the core of the action. Parts of the action which can be subcontracted (non-exhaustive list): translation, interpretation, design and printing costs for brochures and publicity materials; organisation of logistics aspects of seminars/events (including rent of rooms, catering services, the production of proceedings of a seminar, posters, badges, banners, programmes, interpretation booths, local transport, the purchase of product-related consumables such as reams of paper for printing of publications, blank DVD); production of videos or short promotional films; participation of experts in focus groups, seminars; technical development of websites. If the beneficiary calls on the services of an outside expert (i.e. a person not on the payroll of the beneficiary organisation) as a consultant, the costs will be eligible subject to the conditions mentioned above and provided that they are strictly necessary for the performance of the action and are reasonable in amount. All the costs directly connected with subcontracting must be declared under the sub-contracting budget heading whatever the nature of the costs concerned (e.g. subcontracting staff costs and travel costs, etc.) and be included and detailed in the contract signed with the sub-contractor. 5 This refers to individuals who may be self-employed i.e. who are responsible for their own social security or social contributions, pensions and taxes. National legislation on the definition of these individuals can vary and should always be considered. Page 19 of 30

20 A subcontract must at least indicate: the reference to the tender and offer; the reference to the EU project; the start/end date; the tasks to be implemented within a certain time schedule; the value of the contract; the payment modalities (amount or percentage and deliverables to be achieved; law applicable in case of contestation, etc.) date of signature of the decision/agreement. For translations carried out by an outside body, only expenditure directly related to translations from and into the official languages of the countries formally participating in the action will be accepted, unless explicitly mentioned in the approved application or prior authorisation was granted by the Agency. Translation costs may not be higher than the market prices in the country where the translation is done. To be noted: When the rules of your institution oblige you to work with a unique supplier for each assignment with the aim of obtaining the fairest economic conditions, this situation can be accepted provided that you can prove that a procurement procedure was launched in order to choose this subcontractor in tempore non suspecto (i.e. existing framework contract) Other costs linked to information and communication Other direct costs, arising directly from requirements linked to the performance of the action in terms of information and communication costs (publications, prizes, promotional gadgets, supplies, etc.) are eligible provided that they are: necessary for the performance of the action; reasonable in amount; fully documented and clearly itemised in the application; not indicated under another heading or item of expenditure. A clear description must be provided in the report. Example of costs under this category are: the organisation of seminars such as rent of rooms, catering services, the production of proceedings of a seminar (posters, badges, banners, programmes...), interpretation booths, local transport, etc; however, if the costs incurred for conferences and seminars are made under a subcontracting agreement, they should be included under subcontracting costs Other Costs Other direct costs are reimbursed on the basis of real costs. Specific items of expenditure eligible under this heading include: costs arising for a specific evaluation of the action; costs to cover the Report of Factual Findings on the Final Financial Report - Type I or II, required by the grant decision/agreement (see part 4.3 of this Handbook); Page 20 of 30

21 bank transfer and exchange costs (but excluding exchange losses) relating to receipts and payments for eligible expenditure under the action; costs relating to a pre-financing guarantee lodged by the beneficiary of the grant, where required; Please note: All costs related to the administration of the action (i.e. consumables, supplies, photocopying costs, telephone costs, internet access, paper, etc.) are not eligible under this sub-heading. They are covered by Indirect costs Indirect costs (overheads) The eligible indirect costs for the project represent the beneficiary's general administrative costs, with due regard to the conditions of eligibility described above. Indirect costs are costs, which are recorded in the project's accounts and incurred in connection with the implementation of the action, but which are not identifiable as specific costs. They cannot be included under any other eligible direct costs. The indirect costs of the project eligible for European Union funding is a flat rate amount set at a maximum of 7% of the total amount of eligible direct costs. This indirect cost rate was contractually 6 agreed and is given in Annex III of the grant decision/agreement. The corresponding costs do not need be justified by accounting documents. This percentage may not be modified once the budget is approved. Indirect costs cannot be transferred to another category. In addition indirect costs shall not be eligible under a project grant awarded to a beneficiary who already receives an operating grant from the Commission during the period in question for the same activities. Examples of indirect costs are: all costs for equipment related to the administration of the project (e.g. PCs, portables, etc.); communication costs (postage, fax, telephone, internet access, mailing, etc.); infrastructure costs (rent, electricity, etc.) of the premises where the project is being carried out; office supplies; photocopies. 4.3 Calculation of the final grant amount and supporting documents The final amount of the grant to be awarded to the beneficiary is established after completion of the action, upon approval of the request for payment containing the following documents: - a final report providing details of the implementation and results of the action; - the final financial statement of costs actually incurred. Supporting documents to be provided with the financial statement are as follows: 6 See Special Conditions of the grant decision/agreement: article 3 and 1.3 respectively. Page 21 of 30

22 Option 1 In case of grants for an action equal or inferior to EUR , the beneficiary is required to submit the following sample of supporting documents: Budget item/heading Staff Subcontracting Travel and subsistence Sample to be annexed to the Final Financial Report 5% of all costs declared under this budget item The three highest value subcontracts 25% of the highest costs declared under this budget item Example of underlining documents to be submitted in support of the final payment: 1) Staff costs: employment contract (or equivalent document), payslips (or remuneration s receipts), proof of payments (if applicable) and, if foreseen by the call for proposals, the time sheets or equivalent documents showing the manpower s work effort (i.e. number of working days); 2) Subcontracting: quotes (if applicable), contracts, invoices and proofs of payments; 3) Travel and subsistence: copy of tickets and boarding passes, hotel invoices (and proof of payments). Option 2 In case of grants for an action of more than EUR , but less than EUR The beneficiary is required to submit, in support of the final payment, a Report of Factual Findings on the Final Financial Report - Type I produced by an approved auditor or in case of public bodies, by a competent and independent public officer. The procedure and the format to be followed by an approved auditor or in case of public bodies, by a competent and independent public officer, are detailed in the Guidance Notes provided in the Audit procedure available at: The use of the report format set by the Guidance Notes is compulsory. Option 3 In case of grants for an action of EUR and more. The beneficiary is required to submit, in support of the final payment, a Report of Factual Findings on the Final Financial Report - Type II produced by an approved auditor or in case of public bodies, by a competent and independent public officer. The certificate shall certify, in accordance with a methodology approved by the Agency, that the costs declared by the beneficiary in the financial statements on which the request for payment is based are real, accurately recorded and eligible in accordance with the grant decision/agreement. The procedure and the format to be followed by an approved auditor or in case of public bodies, by a competent and independent public officer, are detailed in the following Guidance Notes : Page 22 of 30

23 The use of the report format set by the Guidance Notes is compulsory. The "Report of Factual Findings on the Final Financial Report" Type I or II is an integral part of the final report. Please note that the text of the Independent Report of Factual Findings, signed by the Auditor should respect the template provided and cannot be modified. The "Report of Factual Findings on the Final Financial Report" is considered complete when all the compulsory parts are submitted: Cover letter; Annex 1 Information about the Grant Agreement/Decision; Annex 2 List of specific procedures to be performed; Annex 3 Compulsory report format and procedures to be performed. The non-compliance with the official template of the "Report of Factual Findings" will result in the rejection of the final report. The submission of a proper Report of Factual Findings on the Final Financial Report doesn't prevent the Agency to request additional supporting documents inquiring on the triggering event generating the costs and proving the direct links with eligible staff working days. EU grants may not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit within the framework of the action of the beneficiary. Profit shall be defined as a surplus of receipts over the eligible costs incurred by the beneficiary, when the request is made for payment of the balance. In this respect, where a profit is made, the Agency shall be entitled to recover a percentage of the profit corresponding to the Union contribution to the eligible costs actually incurred by the beneficiary to carry out the action. If the eligible costs actually incurred by the beneficiary are lower than anticipated, the Agency will apply the rate of co-financing stated in the grant decision/agreement to the expenditure actually incurred. As mentioned in article 25.4 and II.25.4 of the grant decision/agreement, in the event of nonexecution or clearly inadequate execution of an activity planned in the application attached to the funding decision/agreement, the final grant will be reduced accordingly. The following documents are to be kept as supporting evidence for the costs that will be submitted in the Final Report Staff costs: employment contract salary payslip (monthly or annual slip) time sheets confirming the number of days worked will need to fulfil the following minimum requirements: to have the title and reference number of the EU project; have to be done for each person working on the EU project; have to be filled in as a minimum on a monthly basis; Page 23 of 30

24 have to mention the hours spent on the EU project versus total working hours on other normal activities with indication of activity title and tasks; have to be signed and dated by the person and by an authorised person annual accounts Equipment costs: contracts and invoices, proof of payment Travel costs: original plane/train ticket, original boarding pass or e-ticket and e- boarding pass invoice from the travel agency Subsistence costs: internal rules pre-existing to the project method of calculation attendance list of participants or, if not available, minutes of meetings or invitation to meeting hotel/accommodation invoices Subcontracting costs: tendering specifications/terms of reference (if applicable) dated and signed received offers (if applicable) evaluation report, award decision, notification letters (if applicable) procurement contract invoices Other costs: invoices of the specified costs (only real incurred costs are considered for this sub-heading) Internal and non official documents (e.g. self declarations) are not acceptable as supporting documents. All documents mentioned above (invoices, employment contracts, salary payslips, subcontracting contracts) need to fulfil the respective requirements imposed by the national legislation. 4.4 Checks and Audits The audit we are referring to here are the ones launched a posteriori by the Commission, the Agency or the Court of Auditors. It does not refer to the audit certificate ("Report of Factual Findings on the Final Financial Report" Type I or II requested with the final report). Please refer to Articles 20 and 27 of the grant decision and II.20 and II.27 of the grant agreement for more information on possible checks and audits. Page 24 of 30