mb 16 06 11 item 12 doc 10a - Grants and procurement programme 2012 Management Board 16 June 2011 Budapest, Hungary Subject : Grants and procurement programme 2012 Document number: Submitted by : mb 16 06 11 item 12 doc 10a Science Strategy and Coordination Directorate- AFSCO Document for : X Information Discussion Possible adoption
mb 16 06 11 item 12 doc 10a - Grants and procurement programme 2012 SCIENCE STRATEGY AND COORDINATION DIRECTORATE 2012 ANNUAL WORK PROGRAMME FOR GRANTS Cover Note The annual work programme for grants has to be adopted by the Management Board and published on EFSA s website as per Article 110 of the Financial Regulation (Regulation (EC Euratom) No. 1605/2002 as amended by Regulation (EC Euratom) No. 1995/06) which states that: Grants shall be subject to an annual programme to be published at the start of the year (before the 31 st March). A similar programme was adopted by the Management Board and published on the EFSA website for the years 2007 to 2011. The 2012 programme has been developed in consultation with the Advisory Forum and the Scientific Committee, and has also been consulted with the sister agencies ECDC, ECHA and EMA. In addition to the programme for grants under Article 36, scientific cooperation with Member State organisations also takes place via public procurement procedures. The choice on whether to address a scientific support need via the grant or procurement scheme is based on the provisions set in EFSA s Founding Regulation and the Implementing Rules for Article 36 Cooperation (Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2230/2004), the provisions set in the EU Financial Regulation and its Implementing Rules regarding grants and public procurement, and EFSA s experience with these schemes. Between 2007-2011 procurement projects have mainly been used to support the evaluation of authorisation dossiers where EFSA needs ownership. Grant projects have mainly been used for cooperation projects, e.g. for supporting general risk assessment activities, where networking is of particular importance 1. Continuing the trend from previous years, EFSA is increasingly using long-term support procurement contracts (e.g. Framework and Multiannual contracts) over the more specific and short-term contracts (e.g. Direct contracts and Negotiated procedures), aiming at increasing efficiency and capacity building in the context of medium term planning. To this end, two new multiannual Framework contracts are already foreseen to be launched in 2012, bringing the total number of the ongoing Framework contracts to 21, compared to two Framework contracts ongoing in 2008. It is anticipated that next year a multi-annual proposal could be made, based on the multi-annual work plan agreed with the European Commission. The total amount of funds spent or planned for cooperation projects with institutions and organisations in Member States to support EFSA in its scientific tasks (grants and procurement) has considerably increased (nearly threefold) between 2007 and 2011, and a further increase is proposed for 2012. Most of the funds (grants and procurement) continue to be allocated to supporting directly risk assessment activities (i.e. for the examination of authorisation dossiers and general risk assessment), followed by data collection and analysis. Grants are limited to the organisations on the Article 36 list, but also most of the contracts under procurement have been signed with organisations on the Article 36 list which have submitted a proposal in a procurement 1 A more detailed description on the choice of the scheme can be found in p.13-14 of the EFSA Technical Report Evaluation of EFSA s Science Grants and Procurement Schemes available at http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/networks/art36.htm 1 P age
mb 16 06 11 item 12 doc 10a - Grants and procurement programme 2012 procedure. To further improve the cooperation activities with the Member State competent organisations, EFSA has started developing guidance for Member States on the designation of competent organisations and the overall management of the Article 36 list (e.g. ensuring that competent organisations are always on the list, that EFSA s remit is covered, that the designation process is clear and efficient, and that the list remains always updated to optimise networking). Table 1 provides an overview on the work programme 2012 in comparison with earlier work programmes. Table 1: Work programmes 2008 2012: Total Grants Procurement -budget (m ) -No. of calls -budget (m ) -No. of calls -budget (m ) -No. of calls 2012 proposed 11.30 72 3.03 13 8.27 59 2011 as approved 8.59 68 2.54 15 6.05 53 2010 as executed 7.84 77 2.11 8 5.73 69 2009 as executed 6.72 70 2.54 18 4.18 52 2008 as executed 5.54 60 1.96 18 3.58 42 In order to further anticipate the implementation of the 2012 work programme for Article 36 grants, the programme is presented already at the June Management Board Meeting, bringing it forward from October (2009-2012 programmes) and December (2008 programme). This will allow EFSA to anticipate the preparation and launch of the calls in 2011 even more, as well as to provide more time to potential applicants to prepare their proposals, both of which have proven very useful in optimising the use of this procedure, in line with the recommendations by the Court of Auditors. The programme may need adjustment in December 2011 to match the final decision of the 2012 budget by the budgetary authority. Conclusion The Management Board is requested to adopt the 2012 annual work programme for grants subject to the final approval of the 2012 budget by the budgetary authority in December 2011. 2 P age
mb 16 06 11 item 12 doc 10a - Grants and procurement programme 2012 SCIENCE STRATEGY AND COORDINATION DIRECTORATE 2012 ANNUAL WORK PROGRAMME FOR GRANTS 1. Introduction Article 5 (2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2230/2004 foresees that financial support for tasks entrusted to organisations on the Article 36 list shall take the form of grants awarded in accordance with EFSA s financial regulation and implementing rules. Based on these rules the grants shall be subject to a public annual work programme which, as a rule, will be implemented through the publication of calls for proposals. 2. Basic act and financing source Basic Act: Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council Article 36 and Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2230/2004. Budget lines: 3001, 3011, 3021, 3031, 3041, 3051, 3061, 3071, 3081, 3091, 3101, 3111, 3121, 3131, 3141, 3144, 3151, 3211. 3. Tasks to be entrusted, the objectives to be achieved, and priority areas Support for the examination of authorisation dossiers, in the areas of plant protection products and feed additives; Preparatory work for risk assessment in the areas of animal health, animal welfare, contaminants, and plant health; Data collection and analysis supporting risk assessment and risk monitoring, in the areas of emerging risks in animal and plant health, food composition and food consumption, and electronic transmission of chemical occurrence and zoonoses data; Horizontal issues and scientific cooperation in the area of emerging risk identification. 4. Eligibility of the applicants The applicants must be on the list adopted by the Management Board of EFSA on the 20th of December 2006 as updated ever since (implying fulfillment of the criteria set in the Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2230/2004); The applicants shall not be, at the time of a grant award procedure, in one of the situations referred to in Articles 93 and 94 of the Financial Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No. 1605/2002) as amended. 3 P age
mb 16 06 11 item 12 doc 10a- Grants and procurement programme 2012 5. Selection and award criteria The eligible proposals will be evaluated against the selection criteria indicated in each specific call. In general there are two sets of selection criteria to be assessed: Financial capacity Technical capacity The proposals which meet the selection criteria will be evaluated against the award criteria indicated in each specific call. In general there are three sets of award criteria to be assessed: Quality of the proposal Quality of the management Cost effectiveness 6. Maximum rate of co-financing Up to 90% of the eligible costs 7. Schedule of calls for proposals for 2012 Launch of calls for proposals: July 2011 October 2012 2 8. Indicative amounts available for calls for proposals for 2012 Areas Amount ( ) 1. Support for the examination of authorisation dossiers 429 000 2. Preparatory work for risk assessment 936 000 3. Data collection and analysis supporting risk assessment and risk monitoring 1 436 000 4. Horizontal issues and scientific cooperation 225 000 Total 3 026 000 Submitted for adoption in Budapest, Hungary on 16 June 2011 For the EFSA Management Board: Prof. Diána Bánáti Chair of the Management Board 2 In case a call for proposals is launched before the official approval of the budget, a respective clause will be added to indicate that the project is subject to the approval of EFSA 2012 budget by the budgetary authority and no grants will be awarded before such approval. 4 P age
mb 16 06 11 item 12 doc10b - Amendments to the Art. 36 list of organisations Management Board 16 June 2011 Budapest, Hungary Subject : Document number: Submitted by : Amendments to the Art. 36 list of organisations mb 16 06 11 item 12 doc 10b Science Strategy and Coordination Directorate- AFSCO Document for : X Information Discussion Possible adoption
mb 16 06 11 item 12 doc10b - Amendments to the Art. 36 list of organisations SCIENCE STRATEGY & COORDINATION DIRECTORATE AMENDMENTS TO THE ART. 36 LIST OF ORGANISATIONS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY New designations for organisations to be included into the Article 36 list of competent organisations, which may assist the Authority with its mission, require the endorsement of the Management Board based on the proposal from the EFSA s Executive Director. Three new designations are described in the document that follows. The revised Article 36 list of organisations including the above change is presented for the adoption of the Management Board in Annex I. In addition and in accordance with the Management Board decision of 18 December 2008, the Management Board must also be informed of technical changes adopted by the Executive Director in her recent Decision of 30/05/2011. Technical changes are summarised in Annex II and are already reflected in the revised list presented in Annex I. 1 P age
mb 16 06 11 item 12 doc10b- Amendments to the Art. 36 list of organisations SCIENCE STRATEGY & COORDINATION DIRECTORATE NEW ORGANISATION DESIGNATIONS FROM ESTONIA AND NORWAY FOR THE ART. 36 LIST The Article 36 list was initially drawn up by the Decision of the Management Board of 19 December 2006 following the procedure set out in Regulation (EC) 2230/2004; the list is regularly reviewed by the Member States, including for new designation proposals and changes to existing organisations. I. New designations for the Article 36 list The Estonian Permanent Representation has officially notified EFSA of a new designation proposal for the Article 36 list for the following competent organisation: 1. National Institute for Health Development, a Public Institute under the Ministry of Social Affairs. The Mission of Norway has officially notified EFSA of two new designation proposals for the Article 36 list for the following competent organisations: 1. Norwegian Food Safety Authority, a governmental organisation advising and reporting to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Ministry of Health and Care Services and the Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs. 2. Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety, a governmental organisation appointed by the Ministry of Health and Care Services. EFSA has screened the designation proposals in order to ensure that they comply with the criteria set out in Article 1 (1) of Regulation 2230/2004 1. Following this screening, the designated organisations were found to meet all the criteria and therefore considered to be eligible for inclusion in the Article 36 list. 1 The criteria the designated organisations have to meet can be described as follows: A) They must carry out scientific and technical support tasks in the fields within the mission of the European Food Safety ; B) They must be legal entities pursuing public interest objectives and be able to ensure that the tasks entrusted to them by the Authority will be performed with independence and integrity C) They must possess a high level of scientific or technical expertise in one or several fields within the Authority s mission ; D) They must have the capacity to operate in a network on scientific actions. With regards to the criterion B, designations have been considered to be legal entities pursuing public interest objectives if the organisations fall into the following categories 1 : Public/ Governmental organisations and Foundations Universities (including Associated organisations) Certified public interest organisations (ex: charities, organisations empowered with statutory duties) 2 P age
mb 16 06 11 item 12 doc10b- Amendments to the Art. 36 list of organisations II. Conclusion The Board is therefore requested to approve the updated list of organisations (see Annex I) after: adding on the Article 36 list the designated organisations by Estonia and Norway. The Board is also informed of the technical changes adopted by the Executive Director in her recent Decisions of 30/05/2011 (see Annex II). 3 P age