PROJECT REPORTING in MSCA under H2020 NCP Academy Training Prague, 26/9/2017 Marcela Groholova Research Executive Agency Brussels
Table of content Monitoring Project Implementation Reporting obligations Continuous Reporting Periodic Reporting Amendments FAQs from projects
Monitoring Project Implementation Art. 22 of the GA: The Agency will during the implementation of the action or afterwards check the proper implementation of the action and compliance with the obligations under the Agreement, including assessing deliverables and reports. For this purpose the Agency may be assisted by external persons or bodies. Project Officers monitor projects. External experts may assist.
Participant Portal (PP): "The entry point for submission" Project Reports Researchers' Declarations for all researchers Other documents (e.g. Notification of Starting date, Amendment) "My Area" "My projects" tab
Principles of submission in H2020: Forms and templates provided in the electronic system (PP) Two-step submission process: 1 - Beneficiary Coordinator 2 - Coordinator REA No paper signed document, only electronic submission Single submission Process more automated
Type of reporting: Continuous reporting (at any moment): Monitoring of project implementation e.g. deliverables Some statistical data Periodic reporting (at the time of payment): After each reporting period Continuous Reporting Module Periodic Periodic Periodic + Final Project Start date End period 1 End period 2, 3 Project End date
1. Continuous reporting (during whole project life cycle) Researchers' Declarations (art. 19 of the GA) Deliverables Milestones Publications Dissemination and communication activities Progress Report (ITN and RISE) Patents Info on gender balance Training activities Questionnaires for researchers etc. 2. Periodic reporting (for each reporting period) Reports from art. 20 of the GA Predefined templates in the system
1 Continuous Reporting
Log on to the Participant Portal. "My Area" 9
Go to My Projects section. Then click on MP icon so to reach Participant Portal Grant Management Services 10
Continuous Reporting Module 11
Researcher's Declaration (RD): Art. 19 of the GA (ITN, RISE, COFUND) No RD for MSCA-IF To be submitted by each beneficiary for all researchers Content of RD: Personal data (name, date of birth, nationality, gender, family charges, email of researcher, etc.) Data linked to the project allowances: start date and end date of recruitment/secondment, hosting institution, etc.
Researcher's Declaration step 1: Project researcher library: Each beneficiary can add researcher and fill in all personal data It is saved in the project database Once RD needs to be created, researcher's data are taken automatically Advantages: Consistent data Time saving
Researcher's Declaration step 2: Create RD: According to GA to be submitted within 20 days after the recruitment (ITN) 20 days after the secondment (RISE): in case of split stays within 20 days after the start of the first stay 20 days after the start of the research training activities (COFUND) - For researchers that already exist in the project library, all personal data are automatically prefilled. - Who: - ITN and COFUND - recruiting beneficiary; - RISE seconding beneficiary (in case of Partner org. the coordinator will submit)
Researcher's Declaration important! RD is the main input document for calculating the duration of recruitment/secondment. Ensure that data encoded in the RD are 100% correct (mainly start date, end date, organization). RD feeds the financial statement. If the number of units in the financial statement is not correct, RD must be corrected and financial statement must be resubmitted.
RISE - How to report a split stay? Create and submit only one RD per secondment. In case of split stay, no new RD to be created "Add period" in the "Secondment period tab" for RD already created for the secondment.
Deliverables: To be uploaded directly on the PP by the Coordinator Scientific deliverables and other deliverables as defined in the GA Annex 1 Progress report (ITN and RISE) = deliverable : ITN - Within 30 days after year 1 RISE - Within 30 days after year 1 and 3 NO financial reports required Template defined on the Participant Portal Attachments possible Via PP MP
Deliverable's status (draft, pending (overdue), submitted, approved, rejected (comments possible)):
Continuous Reporting Current view Deliverables The status of the deliverable is 'Pending' when a deliverable hasn't been uploaded yet. When the status is displayed with a red background ( ) this means that the estimated delivery date has passed. If the deliverable s estimated delivery date falls in a given reporting period and the deliverable is not submitted here on time, before the periodic report is "Locked for review", participants will be asked to justify the delay (in the Periodic Reporting module). 21
Continuous Reporting Deliverables Before submission a comment can be added and user is asked for confirmation whether s/he wants to submit. Each time a deliverable has been submitted, the EU Officers will be notified. Each time the EU Officers reject the deliverable, the Coordinator Contacts and the Participant Contacts are notified through the Participant Portal Notification System. 22
Milestones Milestones as defined in the GA Annex 1 Tick box to confirm that it is achieved
Publications The main data to be specified (Title, author, journal, etc.)
Patents (if applicable)
Gender information Gender dimension in research R&D participants involved in the project
Dissemination and Communication activities No of Dissemination/Communication activities Funding amount of the activities No of people reached by the activities
SME impact To measure impact on growth and job creation: Turnover and No of employees only for SMEs
Training activities Organizer Module title Skills acquired Duration No of project researchers attending the event No of external participants
Questionnaires (will be available soon): Evaluation questionnaire - at the end of the recruitment/secondment Follow-up questionnaire - two years after recruitment/secondment Each recruited/seconded researcher
2 Periodic Reporting
Periodic reporting obligations Article 20 of the GA Periodic Report (within 60 days following the end of each reporting period) Periodic technical report Periodic financial report Final Report (in addition to the periodic report for the last reporting period) Final technical report summary for publication Final financial report (final summary financial statement created automatically by the electronic exchange system, consolidating the individual financial statements for all reporting periods) NB: For MSCA IF with 1 reporting period - "Report "+ "Final Report" covering a single reporting period
Periodic report - template Template for periodic report (RIA, IA, CSA, SME, MSCA) published on the Participant Portal http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/d ata/ref/h2020/gm/reporting/h2020-tmplperiodic-rep_en.pdf
Periodic report - technical report Part A Publishable summary Data from Continuous reporting Information entered in the IT tool through the Continuous Reporting module. Part B narrative part Explanation of the work carried out by the beneficiaries and overview of progress Update of the plan for exploitation and dissemination of results Explanations on deviations from DoA Submitted in a PDF through the Periodic Reporting module.
Periodic report - financial statement 1. Individual financial statements (Annex 4 to the GA) Financial statements for MSCA: only No if units to report, costs are calculated automatically No of units coming from RD (ITN, RISE, COFUND) Duration of fellowships (IF) 2. Periodic summary financial statement including the request for payment Report generated automatically by the IT tool based on the information entered through the Periodic Reporting module.
Automatic activation except if an amendment with financial implications is on-going or a previous periodic report is still open. Periodic reporting module (Activated after the end of each reporting period) Beneficiaries complete on-line the financial statements. Coordinator uploads the Part B of the periodic technical report (narrative part). At the time the coordinator submits the periodic report, the IT tool will capture the information from the continuous reporting module in order to generate automatically the Part A of the Periodic report Make sure the information in the continuous reporting module is complete and up-to-date before the periodic report is 'locked for review' 44
Periodic Reporting Periodic Reporting Module 45
Final report (Art 20 of GA) Within 60 days following the end of the last reporting period Report covers whole project period Final technical report Final financial report (final summary financial statement created automatically by the electronic system, consolidating the individual financial statements for all reporting periods) To be submitted together with Periodic report for the last RP Via PP MP
Periodic Reporting Periodic reporting module summary of steps 1. Notification: All beneficiaries receive a notification. 2. Beneficiaries complete PR and e-sign FS: All beneficiaries complete their own Financial Statement and their contribution to the Technical Part of the Periodic Report. Beneficiaries e-sign and submit their Financial Statements to the Coordinator. 3. The Coordinator approves & submits the elements of the Periodic Report. Coordinator submits all reports in one package Single Submission. 4. The EU Services review the submitted Periodic Report and accept or reject it. 5. Interim or Final Payment NB: In case of need the Coordinator may decide to submit package without some Form Cs (beneficiaries didn't submit Form C on time and blocking payment for whole consortium), those beneficiaries will not have any opportunity to submit their Form C within the same reporting period, only in the next reporting period! 47
Notifications LEAR directly via PP To notify about changes in the organization legal data - address, name, universal transfer of rights, etc. PO is informed Via PP My Area My Organization
Amendments Changes in the Grant agreement (e.g. change in consortium, modification of Annex I, etc.) H2020 online manual (Amendments) With prior agreement of Project Officer Via PP MP
After the grant agreement is signed by the Coordinator and by the REA
It is highly recommended to involve the PO during the amendment request preparation
The Amendment Request can only be: Rejected (the whole) (with comments) Accepted (the whole) - 45 days Withdrawn by the initiating party No other option; no 'negotiation'
Coordinator Progress report Periodic report Final report Amendments Each beneficiary incl. Coordinator Financial Statement FORM C Researchers' Declarations Notifications Each researcher Questionnaires
Frequently asked questions:
How to report long-term sick leave in MSCA project: IF: Periods in which a researcher was absent for more than 30 days (for reasons other than normal annual leave) can NOT be charged to the action (and must be removed from the financial statement, by requesting an amendment to suspend the action; see Article 49.1.1.2). ITN, COFUND: Periods in which a researcher was absent for more than 30 days (for reasons other than normal annual leave) can NOT be charged to the action (and must be removed from the financial statement, by changing the researcher declaration).
Can we make changes in the secondment plan? If so, how flexible are you? It depends. Normally changes should be limited to the minimum necessary and should be duly justified. However contact your PO to discuss the details. Is it possible to replace a partner/beneficiary during GAP? Normally not. H2020 proposals must be mature and ready to be implemented (no negotiation). Changes during GAP are limited to the absolute minimum (e.g. participant becomes bankrupt). I cannot submit my amendment request, why? The amendment request can be prepared by anyone having access to the participant portal (with Coordinator Contact rights) but the submission and withdrawal buttons can only be clicked by the PLSIGN.
Would a request for exceptional funding (TC) be accepted during GAP or project implementation? Very unlikely, this must be part of the evaluation (see General Annex of the WP "List of countries eligible for funding"). How is the EU contribution in RISE calculated for split stays? For partial months (split stays), a pro-rata unit cost of 1/30 will be reimbursed for each day (for ease of implementation, each month is considered to have 30 days). Details are available in AGA. When does the consortium receive the EU contribution and how should it be distributed? Pre-financing payment within 30 days, either from the entry into force of the Agreement or from 10 days before the starting date, whichever is the latest. Interim payment and Payment of balance within 90 days from receiving the complete Interim/Final report. Distribution according to GA and detailed in Consortium agreement.
RISE: Are ESRs without employment contract with the sending University eligible? Are there any special arrangements possible? Employment contract is not an obligation for RISE, staff members must be actively engaged in or linked to research and/or innovation activities for at least one month (full-time equivalent) at the sending institution, before the first period of secondment. More details are in AGA. Where to find the template for periodic report? Participant Portal: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/gm/reporting/h2020-tmplperiodic-rep_en.pdf. Can 'Publishable summary '' in the Continuous reporting be filled in at any time during project implementation or only at the end of the project? Yes, it can be filled in at any moment during the project duration, but at the latest before submission of the Periodic report (Final report for IF).
What is the procedure for Early termination? It is a Notification, not an Amendment, "Launch new interaction" in the PP. The Termination Date and the Fellowship End Date (for IF) should be specified. It cannot be retroactive date, if this is the case, the date of Notification is taken by the system. IF: My project already finished and I realized that my Start date, communicated to the REA, is wrong in the system: can I change it? No, it is not possible to change anything after the project end date. How to submit the Final Report? The Final report must be submitted together with the Periodic report for the last reporting period, Normally it is triggered by the system after the end day of the project. Who can submit the Financial statement (access rights): Only the FSIGN can submit the financial statement.
Where to upload the scientific deliverables: IF no scientific deliverables needed, only Ethics requirements and the Data Management Plan (if art. 29.3 activated); ITN, RISE, COFUND deliverables are contractual obligation, submit under Continuous reporting. Which information provided in the Reporting are considered confidential? Is Publishable summary confidential? 'Publishable summary' is public information, ensure that no confidential information is included. All Deliverables marked as "confidential" are not public. All information included in the Part B (Technical report) of the proposal are also confidential. Do I need to involve PO before I submit my amendment request? It is not an obligation, but it is highly recommended. Please consult your PO before you formally submit your amendment in order to avoid delays in the process.
Do we need a web site and can we submit without one or whether we should put the one that is linked to the institution? Whatever fits better to your project needs. But ensure that your PO can access it. When do we need to submit the Data Management Plan and what it should contain? A DMP should be submitted during the project implementation, it is part of the deliverables. It is obligatory for all projects which do not "opt-out" of the Open Research Data Pilot. It describes the data management life cycle for the data to be collected, processed or generated by a research project. It must cover how to make data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR). More information on PP http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/docs/h2020-funding-guide/cross-cuttingissues/open-access-dissemination_en.htm
More information and help: http://ec.europa.eu/mariecurieactions REA-MSCA-H2020-ITN@ec.europa.eu REA-MSCA-H2020-IF-EUROPEAN@ec.europa.eu REA-MSCA-H2020-IF-GLOBAL@ec.europa.eu REA-MSCA-H2020-IF-CAR-INT@ec.europa.eu REA-MSCA-H2020-RISE@ec.europa.eu REA-MSCA-H2020-COFUND@ec.europa.eu
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