The European Research Council Pierre Dubosc ERC Executive Agency Unit C2 Grant Agreement Preparation Lyon 07/05/2014
Overview H2020 ERC Grant Agreement The ERC Grant Agreement and the Annexes New Specificities of the ERC Grant agreement Novelty compared to Ideas The Grant Preparation Process Overview What's new in H2020 2
The ERC Grant Agreement H2020 Core text Special clauses General conditions Annex 3
The ERC Grant Agreement H2020 Model Grant Agreement Chapter 1: General Single article: subject of the agreement Chapter 2: Action Action, duration and budget Chapter 3: Grant Amount, reimbursement rates, eligible costs Chapter 4: Rights and obligations To implement the action: resources, in-kind contributions, subcontracts Grant administration: reporting, payments, audits Background and results: access rights, protection of results, exploitation, dissemination Others: gender equality, ethics, confidentiality Chapter 5: Division of roles Roles and responsibilities, internal arrangements Chapter 6: Rejection, reduction, penalties, termination, etc Rejection, reduction, recovery and penalties Suspension and termination of the action Chapter 7: Final provisions Accession, entry into force, amendments, applicable law 4
H2020 Model Grant Agreement Annexes to the grant Annex 1: Annex 2: Annex 3: Description of the Action Estimated Budget Accession Forms, 3a & 3b Annex 4: Financial Statements Annex 5: Annex 6: Certificate on the Financial Statements Certificate on the Methodology 5
New Specificities of the ERC Grant agreement Reference to working conditions and social rights for PI and the teams (Art 32) Reference to European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for Researchers Recruitment More detailed budget template providing details such as breakdown on category of personnel (PI, postdocs, students, etc..) Multi-beneficiary GA obligation for international division of roles and responsibilities (Art 41.2) and for internal arrangements (Art 41.3) 6
New Specificities of the ERC Grant agreement PI named in preamble, but not signatory. However the obligations and rights are enshrined in the text of the Grant Agreement (new art 7.1) Focal role of the PI Guidance of PI & right of portability expressly mentioned Reduced deadlines for payments to be done to beneficiaries (Art 21) 7
Novelty compared to Ideas Certificate on financial statements: only at the time of claiming the payment of the balance of the grant when amount is equal to or greater than EUR 325 000 (instead of 375K) as reimbursement of actual costs (No CFS for each interim payment) Financial viability :Most beneficiaries exempt from detailed analysis; only systematic check for coordinators when requested EU funding for the project is EUR 500 000 Communication : contact person not mentioned anymore in the grant agreement (means no amendments when change of contact person). 8
Novelty compared to Ideas Indirect costs from 20% to 25% Time-recording abolished ( for Researchers working 100% on project) Audits may be started up to two years after the payment of the balance. (instead of 5 in FP7) VAT is eligible costs in case this cannot be claimed under national rules Acceptance of additional remuneration Up to 8000 Euro/year/person working full-time exclusively in the action and limited to non-profit legal entities 9
Novelty compared to Ideas Third Parties Contracts - subcontractors Core tasks can now be subcontracted New vocabulary Beneficiaries may purchase goods, works or services (see Article 10), use in-kind contributions provided by third parties (see Articles 11 and 12) or call upon subcontractors or linked third parties to carry out work under the action (see Articles 13 and 14). 25% overheads are applicable for contracts 10
Novelty compared to Ideas Payments One Pre-financing Time-to-Pay 30 days Retention 5 % of maximum grant for the Guarantee Fund From The latest between starting date and entry into force Interim Payments 90 days From reception of periodic report Based on financial statements (EU contribution= eligible costs approved * reimbursement rate) Limit = 90 % of the maximum grant (Retention 10%) Payment of the Balance 90 days From reception of final reports
Grant Agreement Preparation process The Grant Agreement Preparation is the process by which a Host Institution/ Principal investigator and the ERC exchange information to prepare a Grant Agreement (GA) regarding the funding of a research project. The goal of the information exchange is to produce the Grant Agreement (GA) and its annexes and the Description of the Action (DoA). The process is as follows: 12
Grant Agreement Preparation process Call deadline Info to beneficiaries: ESR (+ Invitation) Grant signature Evaluation Grant preparation: Interaction with beneficiaries Pre-financing 13
Grant Agreement Preparation process The Consortium receives the Invitation letter inviting them to edit the Grant Agreement data in the Participant Portal.. 14
Grant Agreement Preparation process The Coordinator clicks on "Grant Agreement Data preparation" to edit and complete the necessary forms. Once the Coordinator has clicked the "Grant Agreement Data preparation" task, he can complete the necessary forms. (ie Description of the Action, Estimated budget) Once all forms have been completed, the Coordinator clicks the "Submit to EU" button. 15
Grant Agreement Preparation process The GA data is checked and validated by the ERC. Beneficiaries "electronically" sign declaration forms which have been sent to them (contact person, previous GPF/A2.5 A2,6 form). The Host Institution sign the Grant Agreement. The ERCEA signs the Grant Agreement. 16
Grant Agreement Preparation process 17
Grant Agreement Preparation process H2020 is only electronic The entire grant preparation process, including communication with the ERCEA, and the subsequent signature of the Grant Agreement, shall be carried out through the Research Participant Portal Grant. Management Service. By logging into your individual account in the Participant Portal and selecting the project under the Grant Management Service section, each step of the grant preparation process can be followed, and all relevant documents consulted, at any time. 18
What's new in H2020 H2020 is only electronic All interactions with the beneficiaries will be electronic and through a single communication channel: the Participants Portal The portal foresees different roles and access rights for beneficiaries: Beneficiaries manage access rights within their organization LEAR+ is the only actor approved by the EC. He assigns roles for signatories of grants, amendments and financial statements Beneficiaries manage access rights within their organization ERC Authorising Officers sign grant agreements electronically 19
What's new in H2020 Electronic signature Of the Grant Agreement Of the Amendments Financial Statements and Technical reports Communication between the ERC and the beneficiaries Through the Participant Portal Electronic-only submission of reports Disclaimer: Information not legally binding
Training & Support External Wiki https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/fpfis/wikis/display/ecresearchgms/h2020+ IT+Documentation Participant Portal http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/home.html Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) http://erc.europa.eu/faq 21
Key messages New Grant agreement model One single document Continuity and new rules 25% overheads, Certificate on financial statements Participant Portal Communication preparation signature 22
Thank you! 23