Lecture 2.1 Introduction to Information Society Technologies

Lecture 2.1
Introduction to Information Society
Technologies
Introduction
The Fifth Framework Programme (5FP) is the instrument of the European Union
aimed at supporting European activities in research, technological development and
demonstration (RTD). The programme distinguishes several “Thematic Programmes”,
each covering various technology areas (Key Actions). For each Key Action calls for
proposals are published inviting consortia to submit applications covering these
respective key actions.
One of the themes identified by the EU is ‘Information Society Technologies’ (IST).
With a budget of 3.6 billion Euro, it is the most important Thematic Programme of
FP5. The Programme follows on from the ESPRIT, ACTS and Telematics
Applications Programmes, which were carried out by the Community within the 4th
Framework Programme. It is based on a new, integrated approach that reflects the
increasing convergence of the information and communications technologies that
were addressed individually by those programmes.
Types of activities supported
IST supports projects in different stages of development.
Shared cost actions
Shared costs actions are RTD projects that are partly funded by the EU and partly by
the (commercial) partners whom submit the proposal. Projects concerning the
following shared cost actions must be submitted by a consortium consisting of at least
two organisations from at least two different EU member states. The candidate EU
member states do also qualify.
(a)
Research and development projects: Research projects aiming to develop
innovative1 new knowledge and projects aiming to develop innovative
products, processes or services;
(b)
Demonstration projects: Projects to prove the viability of new technology
offering potential economic advantage but which cannot be commercialised
directly;
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Innovation in proposals can be in the form of novel products, services or applications. It can
range from the development of novel techniques, systems and environments to the
integration of state-of-the-art technologies in original ways. It can include development of
novel business processes, new organisational practices or, more generally, novel forms of
interaction between people and information, whether at work or in daily life.
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(c)
Combined research and demonstration: A combination of the two projects
mentioned above.
Take-up Actions
Take-up actions to encourage take-up of innovative technologies in a co-operation
between users and suppliers. Take-up actions are more focused and have a shorter
duration than RTD projects. Unlike shared cost actions, take-up actions can be
submitted by a single organisation. Three types of take-up actions are eligible:
(a)
Assessment measures: Examining the suitability of technology for take-up
within an industrial context; the potential industrial user can conduct such an
assessment at two stages of development, close-to-production conditions and
proof-of-concept equipment tests (reduced assessments at an early
development stage (alpha type));
(b)
Best practice actions: Well-focused experiments aimed at identifying and
promoting improvements in the practices, processes and operations in industry
and services through the take-up of well-founded, mature and established (but
insufficiently deployed) methods and technologies;
(c)
Trials: Trails aim at the adaptation and introduction of leading edge
technology (promising but not yet established) in industrial/service
applications and its joint evaluation by supplier and user. Technologies are
typically either promising but yet unproven and new (maturity may range from
prototype/proof of concept or close to commercial availability stage).
Development work within a trial is restricted to the adaptation, fine-tuning,
customisation and improvement of already available methods and
technologies.
Support and eligible project costs Shared Costs and Take-up actions
The support for positively evaluated applications varies per type of activity. In the
following scheme an overview is given of the grant percentage and eligible project
costs per type of activity.
Cost category
Personnel
Durable
equipment
Consumables
Travel &
Subsistence
Computing
Subcontracting
IPR protection
Other costs
Overheads
Co-ordination
Shared cost actions
Take up action
Research and
Development
50%
50%
Demonstration Assessment
35%
35%
100%
0%
Best
Practice
100%
50%
Trials
50%
50%
35%
35%
100%
100%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
50%
80% of labour
35%
35%
35%
35%
80% of labour
0%
100%
0%
100%
0%
50%
100%
0%
100%
0%
50%
100%
0%
100%
0%
50%
35%
100%
100%
100%
100%
50%
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Special arrangements for SMEs
SME Co-operative research projects: projects enabling at least three mutually
independent SMEs from at least two Member States or one Member State and an
Associated State to jointly commission research carried out by a third party (financial
participation: 50 % of total eligible project costs). NIS’ participants can participate
without funding.
SME Exploratory awards: support of 75 % of total eligible costs for an exploratory
phase of a project of up to 12 months (e.g. feasibility studies, validation, and partner
search). Not open to NIS’ participation, only as supplementary partner.
Accompanying measures
Actions contributing to the implementation of a Specific Programme or the
preparation of future activities of the programme. They will also seek to prepare for or
to support other indirect RTD actions. Financial participation: maximum of 100 % of
total eligible costs.
Evaluation criteria
All RTD activities in 5FP are evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:
(a)
Scientific/Technological quality and innovation;
(b)
Community added value and contribution to EU objectives;
(c)
Contribution to EU social objectives;
(d)
Economic development and scientific and technological prospects;
(e)
Resources, partnership and management.
Programme priorities: overview
The strategic objective of the Information Society Technologies (IST) Programme is
to realise the benefits of the information society for Europe both by accelerating its
emergence and by ensuring that the needs of individuals and enterprises are met. The
IST Programme has four inter-related specific Key Actions described below.
Key Action I “Systems and Services for the Citizen”
This key action has the objective to foster the creation of the next generation of userfriendly, dependable, cost-effective and interoperable general-interest services,
meeting user demands for flexible access for everybody, from anywhere, at any time.
Subjects
Health: new generation computerised clinical systems, advanced tele-medicine
services and health network applications. Priorities are on professional health care
(systems enhancing the ability of health care professional for prevention, diagnosis
care and rehabilitation; advanced tele-medicine applications); personal health systems
(personal health monitoring and fixed or portable prevention; personal medical
advisors for supervision of prevention and treatment).
Persons with special needs, including the disabled and the elderly: person/system
interfaces and adaptive and assistive systems to overcome problems caused by
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environmental barriers and by physical or intellectual impairments and intelligent
systems and services to support autonomous living, social integration and
participation in the information society. Priorities are on: design for all products,
systems and services, including improved participatory design methods, multi-modal
terminals and universal interfaces; adaptive systems (e.g. communication tools for
persons with special requirements); multi-media applications for supporting daily
living and social integration at home, work, education etc.
Public administrations: multimedia systems and services addressing the specific
needs of all types of administrations (e.g. Community, national, regional, local), in
particular to support the widening and deepening of the EU. Priorities are on online
support for the democratic process; access to information and services; enhancing the
transparency and accessibility of administrations; innovative applications to support
the adaptation of administrations.
Environment: advanced systems and services for the identification, assessment,
monitoring and prevention of risks, and for the management and mitigation of
emergencies, both natural and man-made. Priorities are on monitoring, forecasting
and decision support, risk and emergencies.
Transport and tourism: intelligent infrastructure and vehicle systems for the
management of all modes of transport, including for intermodal operations and
"nobility chains" for freight and passengers, for safety and operational efficiency in all
modes. Priorities are on surveillance, positioning and guidance systems; new traffic
control systems; on-board human-centred systems; telematic systems; multimedia
personalised information systems.
Overview
Action Lines for 2001
I.1 Health
Intelligent environment for citizen centred health
management Intelligent collaborative environments
supporting continuity of care Best practice and trials in
e-Health
I.2 Persons with Special
Needs, including the
Elderly and Disabled
Intelligent assistive systems for social inclusion.
I.3 Administrations
Intelligent environment for public sector workers at all levels.
Best practice and trials in administration systems
I.4 Environment
Best practice and trials in environment management
I.5 Transport and Tourism
Intelligent transport systems Integrated vehicle infrastructure
systems Ambient intelligence based application systems for
mobile users and travel/tourism business Take-up in
transport and tourism systems
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Key Action II “New Methods of Work and Electronic Commerce”
Developing information society technologies to enable European workers and
enterprises, in particular SMEs, to increase their competitiveness in the global
marketplaces and improving the quality of the individual's working life.
Subjects
Flexible, mobile and remote working methods and tools: an integrated approach to the
combination of business process and work organisation, human resource management,
and information society technologies. Priorities are on work methods (telework and
networked co-operative working; mobile working simulation- and virtual-realitybased methods); organisation (integration new or re-engineered work methods and
structures in all sectors; management and integration of workflow); socio economic
issues (analysing of change; human resources and training).
Management systems for suppliers and consumers: seamless end-to-end support,
covering both tangible and intangible products, for electronic trading and distributed
virtual enterprises and marketplaces. It will cover applications or systems for
interactions within and between consumers, individual entrepreneurs, businesses and
administrations. Priorities are on processes in development, marketing and sales,
financial services and consumer processes.
Information security: technologies to boost trust and confidence in the information
infrastructure, and in its services and information resources. Priorities are on
protecting information integrity; managing intellectual property rights; enhancing
privacy and techniques for combating computer crime; authentication techniques.
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Key Action III “Multimedia Content and Tools”
Improving the functionality, usability and acceptability of future information products
and services to enable linguistic and cultural diversity and contribute the valorisation
and exploitation of Europe's cultural patrimony, to stimulate creativity, and to
enhance education and training systems, in particular for lifelong learning.
Subjects
Interactive electronic publishing: new publishing and media paradigms for both
commercial and private use (including the evolution of the World-Wide-Web). Three
fast-evolving application areas will be addressed: knowledge publishing, lifestyle
publishing, geographic and statistical information. Priorities are on generating creative
content through advanced tele-collaborative real-time authoring and design systems
and skills development; managing digital content by supporting distributed and
networked content; personalising content delivery.
Digital heritage and cultural content: improving access to cultural patrimony,
facilitating its valorisation and stimulating cultural development. Priorities are on
integrated access to heterogeneous distributed collection and repositories in digital
and traditional form; improving the functionality’s of large scale repositories of
content; preservation of and access to valuable multimedia content from multiple
sources.
Education and training: enhancing the level of the citizens of Europe. Priorities are
on improving the learning process; developing higher quality learning material;
broadening access to learning resources and services.
Human language technologies: advanced human language technologies enabling costeffective interchanges across language and culture, natural interfaces to digital
services and more intuitive assimilation and use of multimedia content. Priorities are
on adding multilinguality to systems at al stages of the information cycle; natural
interactivity and usability of systems; enabling active assimilation and use of digital
content.
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Information access, filtering, analysis and handling. Priorities are on mastering
information; rich descriptive models of digital information content, covering all media
types and supporting all human senses; tools to enable users to develop information
profiles); information management systems; methods for multimedia information
sources (techniques for data warehousing); information categorisation, labelling and
filtering enabling selective information retrieval and filtering.
Overview of 2001 Action Lines
Action Line no
IST 2001
Action Line Title
Interactive publishing, digital
content and cultural heritage
III.1.1
III.1.2
III.1.3
Publishing digital content
Heritage for all
Next generation digital collections
Education and training
III.2.1
III.2.2
Self learning for work
e-Learning futures
Human language technologies
III.3.1
III.3.2
Multilingual Web
Natural and multilingual interactivity
Information access, filtering,
analysis and handling
III.4.1
Semantic Web technologies
Spanning actions
III.5.1
III.5.2
III.5.3
x-Content futures
Competence building
KA III specific support measures
Key Action IV “Essential Technologies and Infrastructures”
Promoting excellence in the technologies that are crucial to the information society,
accelerating their take-up and broadening their field of application.
Subjects
Technologies for and the management of information processing, communications
and networks, including broadband, together with their implementation,
interoperability and application: it will cover the development and convergence of
information processing, telecommunications and broadcast network and system
technologies. Priorities are on concurrent systems; real time systems handling large
volumes of data; broadband telecommunications networks; technologies for network
integration and new service independent architectures and systems; interoperability
and interworking of networks.
Technologies and engineering for software, systems and services, including highquality statistics: development, deployment, operation and evolution of softwareintensive systems embedded in goods and services and facilitating production and
enterprise processes, including technologies and tools for testing and validation at all
stages. Priorities are on software and systems engineering; service engineering;
software technologies.
Real-time and large-scale simulation and visualisation technologies: development
and integration of advanced simulation and visualisation technologies and
environments in all applications including distributed simulations and shared virtual
environments. Priorities are on simulation and visualisation; technologies and tools
for distributed simulations; shared virtual environments scaleable over large networks.
Mobile and personal communications and systems, including satellite-related systems
and services. Priorities are on development and evolution of new generations of
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affordable terrestrial and satellite broadband wireless architectures, systems and
technologies; service mobility and terminal roaming across terrestrial and satellite
wireless and wired networks; technologies, services and applications supporting
mobile and personal multimedia services.
Interfaces making use of the various senses: covers the provision of intuitive ways to
capture, deliver and interact with systems, including the development and integration
of advanced sensor, actuator and display technologies. Priorities are on multimodal,
multisensory interfaces and novel and devices validation and assessment.
Peripherals, subsystems and microsystems. Priorities are on advanced intelligent
computing communications network peripherals which have multiple functionality;
Subsystems (the building blocks of information processing and communications
systems and networks); intelligent microsystems (miniaturised systems compromising
sensing and/or actuating with processing functions and combining two or more
electrical or other priorities into a single chip of multichip hybrid).
Overview
Action Lines for 2001
IV.1 Work spanning Key Action IV
•
•
•
IV.2 Computing, communications and
networks
•
•
•
•
IV.3 Technologies and engineering
for software, systems and
services
•
•
•
Design of networked embedded systems
Multiservice networks - middleware for
seamless access to services
Development of skills in micro- and optoelectronics
Real time distributed systems
Network and services interoperability,
interworking and management
Terabit optical networks
Computing, communications and networks Take-up measures
Software architecture
Functionality models and building blocks for
end-user services
Free software development: towards critical
mass
Simulation and visualisation Mixed realities and
new imaging frontiers
IV.4 Real time and large-scale
simulation and visualisation
technologies
•
IV.5 Mobile and personal
communications and systems,
including satellite related
systems and services
•
•
•
Reconfigurable radio systems and networks
Terrestrial wireless systems and networks
Satellite systems and services
IV.6 Interfaces making use of the
various senses
•
•
IV.7 Peripherals, sub-systems and
microsystems
•
•
•
IV.8 Microelectronics optoelectronics
•
Advanced displays and sensors
Interfaces and buffers for seamless end to end
services
Subsystems
Microsystems
Subsystems and microsystems - Take-up
measures
Microelectronics design and test & application
specific microelectronics
Microelectronics technologies: processes,
equipment and devices
Optical and opto-electronic technologies
Industrial microelectronics technologies - Takeup measures
•
•
•
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Microelectronics: development of electronic components, their packaging,
interconnection and application. Priorities are on hardware/software co-design
methods and tools; support for semiconductor materials and equipment development
and assessment, packaging and interconnect technology; compound semiconductor
components; macrocells and support tools; optical technologies (new optical sources,
opto electronic integrated circuits, active and passive optical components and devices
at new wavelengths).
Cross-programme Themes
Cross-programme themes are the most practical manifestations of both the integrated
nature of the IST Programme and of the underlying convergence of information
processing, communications and media. The objective of the Cross-programme
actions and clusters is to ensure that topics associated with more than one Key Action
are addressed in a coherent manner, with each Key Action concentrating on and
contributing from its particular perspective. These activities add value by facilitating
information exchange, consensus and co-ordination on themes that cut across the
Programme.
The strategy for facilitating the emergence of Cross-programme themes is twofold:
On the one hand Cross-programme actions (CPAs) invite proposals on themes which
span more than one Key Action. Cross-programme Action Lines are a strong
integration mechanism that allows proposers the flexibility to address
multidisciplinary and multi-purpose RTD related to more than one Key Action, in a
coherent way. The projects arising from Cross-programme Action Lines should seek
to work closely with the most relevant projects in the Key Actions. They are expected
to be grouped into cross programme clusters once they are launched. Thirteen themes
are proposed as Cross Programme Actions in WP2001 and are described in the
following Action Lines.
IST Action line number
Cross Programme Theme description
IST 2001 - V.1.1
•
CPA1: Home environments
IST 2001 - V.1.2
•
CPA2: Multimodal and multisensorial dialogue modes
IST 2001 - V.1.3
•
CPA3: Use of Geographic Information
•
CPA4: Towards dependable and survivable systems and
infrastructures
IST 2001 - V.1.5
•
CPA5: Smart cards
IST 2001 - V.1.6
•
CPA6: Next generation networks
•
CPA7: Socio-economic analysis and indicators for the
information society
IST 2001 - V.1.8
•
CPA8: eLearning for European youth in a digital age
IST 2001 - V.1.9
•
CPA9: Grid test beds, deployment and technologies
IST 2001 - V.1.10
•
CPA10: Next generation micro- and nano-technologies
•
CPA11: Regional and sectoral pilot actions and
demonstrations
IST 2001 - V.1.12
•
CPA12: Application services provision
IST 2001 - V.1.13
•
CPA13: Advanced signal processing systems and
applications
IST 2001 - V.1.4
IST 2001 - V.1.7
IST 2001 - V.1.11
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On the other hand Cross-programme clusters (CPCs) will build a-posteriori links
between ongoing projects throughout the Programme and provides the glue that
reinforces the complementarily of these projects and the synergies derived from their
work. Projects in a Cross-programme cluster, although located in several Key
Actions, will share common topics and objectives.
Future and Emerging Technologies (FET)
This specific activity on future and emerging technologies covers research that is of a
longer term nature or involves particularly high risks - compensated by the promise of
major advances and the potential for industrial and societal impact. Such research will
typically be either transdisciplinary or in an emerging discipline. It will reinforce the
link and flow of ideas, initiatives and people between academia and industry in the
EU and in Newly Associated States.
This area is implemented in two parts: the open domain and a limited number of proactive initiatives. The open domain ensures a seamless coverage of all Information
Society technologies by keeping the door open to any new idea, with a potential for
industrial or societal impact, in a bottom-up fashion. A Call for proposals will be open
throughout the duration of the Programme.
The proactive initiatives have as objective the focusing of resources on a few key
emerging visionary and challenging long-term goals. The selection of Action Lines
for proactive initiatives is based on their potential for long-term industrial and societal
impact and their timeliness. Each initiative consists of a set of autonomous but closely
interacting and appropriately networked projects that co-ordinate their research,
reinforced with some shared research facilities when these provide economies of
scale.
Networks of Excellence may also be launched to support a given proactive initiative
in terms of cross-project co-ordination and of ensuring that research visions and
results are shared with the broader scientific community.
IST Internet links
IST Homepage
IST Work Programme 2001
IST Call for Proposals
IST Project d-base
http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/src/3rdcountries.htm
http://www.cordis.lu/ist/bwp_en6.htm#3.7
http://www.cordis.lu/ist/particip.htm
http://www.cordis.lu/ist/projects.htm
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Schematic overview of the IST Programme
Total indicative budget : 3600 ?M
Support activities
KEY ACTION 1
Systems and services
for the citizen
KEY ACTION 3
Multimedia contents
and tools
KEY ACTION 2
New methods of work
and e-commerce
Project
Take-up Measures
18% (of total
budget)
16%
Cross-
Programme
15%
actions
Clusters
Testbeds
4%
Shared Cost
RTD
Research
Networking
38%
KEY ACTION 4
Essential Technologies and infrastructures
9%
Future and Emerging Technologies
Integrated Key Actions
Activities
Complementary
Initiatives
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Lecture 2.2
How to submit a FP5 proposal
Introduction
If you, after reading the previous lecture on the IST Programme and you are getting
interested in ways to participate in FP5, the next question you will have to answer is
“How to submit a FP5 proposal”. This lecture will give a comprehensive overview of
the different stages you will have to go before you can start working on a FP5
proposal.
Stage 1: How can we participate in FP5?
In general, organisations from NIS/CIS countries can participate in all FP5 projects
(including IST) but without funding for their activities. However, if you submit a
proposal together with partners from EU Member States or Associated States and you
can prove the added value of the NIS partner, the work of this NIS partner might also
be funded. “Added value” means that the work done by the NIS organisation can not
or is difficult to be delivered by an organisations from a EU Member or Associated
States. It is also possible to include the NIS partner in the role of subcontractor to a
consortium comprised by organisations based in EU Member and Associated States.
Their costs will then be covered from the project budget and not directly by funding
from the EC. The “added value” requirement also applies when using this option.
In addition, under the Copernicus-2, NIS/CIS’ partners can receive full funding for
their activities. The Programme is not open for all Key Actions (KA) and Action
Lines (AL) but only applies to a limited number of actions. Also additional criteria for
selection apply. Proposals should have clear links to relevant EU and wider policy
(e.g. TACIS) and participation between EU and NIS/CIS partners should be
significant and balanced. The project must have sufficient size to have a noticeable
impact, local resources must be used and local targets groups should be involved in
the project.
Important: You should always read the official documents before you start writing an
application, no matter for which programme or Key Action you are planning to
submit your proposal. Documents that you should always read carefully and can be
found at the IST website are:
(a) Annual workprogramme IST
(b) Guide for Proposers
(c) Evaluation Manual
Participation non-EU (NIS)
http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/src/3rdcountries.htm
Workprogramme, Guide for Proposers
& Evaluation Manual
http://www.cordis.lu/ist/calls/200101.htm
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Stage 2: Defining the organisations’ profile
The profile of the company, organisation or joint venture is an important issue. The
main factors are its legal status (for example if it is part of a group), the nature of the
business (industry, service or agriculture) and the size of the company or organisation
(SME, number of employees). Some KAs and ALs are only intended for research
institutes and universities whilst others are specifically aimed at small and mediumsized enterprises.
FP5-IST is particularly relevant to companies and organisations involved in
international co-operation. Many European grants explicitly require that there must be
co-operation between at least two independent companies or institutions from at least
two EU Member States.
Stage 3: Categorising the project
Each of the KAs or ALs applies to a certain type of project. In such cases, the nature
and aims of the project and the stage that the project has reached are decisive. The
definitions may vary from one scheme to another but projects are usually categorised
follows:
Shared-cost RTD projects
• Feasibility project: systematically organised and completed analysis and
estimation of the technical and economic potential and consequences of a new
business activity, technology, product or process, or legal person.
•
Research project: planned activity aimed at increasing technical/scientific
insights.
•
Development project: systematic activity geared towards using the results of
research activities to develop a piece of equipment, system or technology for
practical applications: this culminates in prototyping.
•
Pilot project/trial project: activities with technical risks that are needed to test the
application of a new technology, method or product, often on a limited scale.
•
Demonstration project: activities with a technical and economic risk oriented
towards new practical applications of systems, equipment, products or processes
for demonstration to the market and other similar companies.
Accompanying Measure Projects
• Public information project: activities relating to the dissemination of information
such as publications and seminars.
•
Training project: training of personnel, placements, exchanges, and development
of teaching materials.
•
Network project: building new or extend existing networks of researchers,
institutes or projects with the objective to enhance research.
Stage 4: Initial selection of Key Action or Action line
After the relevant area, profile and activity have been established, you can begin to
identify one or more KAs or ALs for which it may be possible to apply. More
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information on the KAs and ALs is given in the pervious lecture. However, you
should always check the FP5 Internet site CORDIS for up-to-date details and Calls for
Proposals.
Calls for Proposals
Key Actions
http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/src/calls.htm
http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/src/key.htm
Stage 5: Go/no go decision for a grant application
Applying for a grant is usually a time-consuming and complicated process. It requires
proper preparation. It is therefore very important to identify projects that may be
eligible for funding as early as possible. Grant applications, virtually without
exception, have to be submitted before the project begins. Drawing up a proper
project plan, certainly when co-operation with foreign partners is involved, often takes
several weeks or months. Before you (unnecessarily) invest a great deal of time in
preparing and submitting an application it is important to look carefully at the
feasibility of your application. The following questions, in particular, are crucial:
1) When can a grant application be submitted?
Virtually all KAs and ALs follow the Call for Proposals mechanism. This means that
applications have to be submitted by a specific date. This submission date must fit in
with the plans for the project. Rolling calls are used for certain kind of projects, e.g.
Accompanying measures or SME Action. A rolling call means that proposals can be
submitted at any time. Usually, evaluation of proposals submitted takes place
according a fixed timetable.
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2) Does the project meet all the criteria of the funding scheme?
Once sufficient points of contact have been found with a KA or AL you need to find
out whether the project meets the specific requirements of the scheme in question. If
this is not the case for example because the project does not incorporate the required
co-operation with a foreign partner, you should consider whether this requirement
could be met.
3) What are the possible benefits of a grant application and the costs associated with
it?
Since there are costs associated with preparing a grant application (for example
internal staff costs and possibly also external consultancy costs), a project will have to
have a minimum level of costs in order for an application to make sense. In practice
the schemes themselves also often require a minimum level of project costs.
Maximum values are sometimes imposed as well.
If you have an answer to the questions set out above, you can decide whether or not
you can go ahead with preparing a grant application. The next lecture gives an
overview of what is needed to write a proposal.
A few reminders
Organisation
Many specialities and skills need to be combined in order to produce a successful EU
grant proposal: project management, commercial knowledge, technological
knowledge, editorial skills, financial skills, legal knowledge, knowledge of EU policy,
etc. It is not only necessary to achieve maximum output in all these individual areas,
but also for all these specialities to be brought together in a balanced way.
Confidentiality
A potential applicant becoming aware for the first time of the rules surrounding the
awarding of grants may be surprised by the amount of confidential information that
has to be submitted to the European Commission. It therefore makes sense to look at
the stipulations relating to secrecy and publication of information. Indeed each
participant is obliged to provide the Commission with all information necessary to
assess the progress and final success of the project. Such necessary information is
also, of course, provided at the application stage. However, all Commission officials
are bound by a confidentiality agreement in relation to this information.
How to built a Consortium?
All funding programmes in which a co-operation framework is a condition for
financial support have set out certain specific requirements that this co-operation
framework must meet. Failure to meet these requirements will result in the application
being ineligible.
The composition of the co-operation framework is also particularly important. This
may be decisive in determining the ranking given to the application and hence the
decision to award the grant. A common saying in this context is: "A good consortium
is half the application"
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Specific criteria for NIS’ participation
The Copernicus-2 Programme can support FP5 proposals that include CIS partners
(including funding for these CIS partners). In case a proposal has been submitted
under the Copernicus-2 Programme, the consortium should meet specific criteria to be
eligible for evaluation. For Shared Cost actions, the consortium shall comprise at least
2 partners from the European Union (1-2 from EU and/or 1 partner from a Associated
State) and at least 2 partners from a non associated Central/East European Country
(CEECs) or from the New Independent States (includes all European countries from
the Commonwealth of Independent States). For Concerted Actions and Thematic
networks the consortium shall comprise at least 3 partners from the European Union
(1 – 3 from EU and 2 partners from a Associated States) and at least 3 partners from a
Non Associated Central/East European countries (CEECs) or from the New
Independent States (NIS/CIS).
Particpation rules :
http://www.cordis.lu/inco2/src/participation.htm
Roles must be correctly allocated between the partners: there is a preference for
projects in which all the links in a production chain are represented and have a
significant role: a developer, a manufacturer, a supplier and an end-user. If one of
these is missing, it may be possible to remedy the problem, for example by using a
sounding-board group of suppliers or end-users. Several industrial sectors should be
represented, if possible.
Partner search
As we have indicated, the composition of the consortium is one of the most important
evaluation criteria. It is therefore of vital importance to find the right partners who are
willing to participate in the project. The method that is used for this is called a partner
search. The key questions are as follows:
•
What tools can be used for a partner search?
•
What are "the rules" in a partner search?
Tools for the partner search
There are many tools which can be used in looking for potential partners and setting
up a co-operation framework. The tools which are available for use in the "orientation
stage", in particular, have become more numerous in recent years. Here is a summary
of the tools that are most widely used:
•
FP5 has developed effective tools for partner search. The CORDIS Partner
Service is a free on-line tool designed to help organisations locate suitable partners
for participation in FP5 or other international collaborations. The service includes
details (in English) on thousands of active partnership request from companies,
research institutions and universities across Europe and around the world. The
targeted FP5 ‘expression of Interest (EoI)’ services enables users to focus their
search for partners among only those organisations who have expressed an interest
in participating in FP5 projects. Specific EoI services also exist for the following:
16
− User-friendly Information Society (IST): CORDIS offers a free Expression of
Interest service to assist organisations to identify potential partners for
participation in the IST Programme. The service enables you to search for
potential collaborators, and to both submit and update your own profiles.
− SME Measures: Most of the SMEs selected to receive an Exploratory Award (a
grant to cover costs related to writing a full FP5 proposal) are also looking for
additional partners. To further assist them in this first step, the Commission will
load on the EOI database all the selected Exploratory Awards. For each of them,
the record will give the names of the companies involved, an abstract defining the
intended research project as well as keywords and a short text describing the
competencies of the partners being sought.
•
Your own network. As time goes by, every organisation develops a network of
customers, suppliers, colleagues in the sector, and suppliers of knowledge.
Detailed exchanges of ideas with these parties about possible R&D co-operation
can be achieved fairly quickly. This is in fact the most important and successful
tool in the partner search. Often, however, it is ignored, or not used to the full.
•
Publications and reference works: the many books which are published each year
about industrial sectors, areas of technology and other sectors can often be a useful
tool in the initial orientation process. The Internet (more specifically the WWW)
may also fit into this category.
•
Public organisations: these include Euro Info Centres, Innovation Relay Centres,
Chambers of Commerce, enterprise associations and special national government
departments.
17
Rules of the partner search
Although the partner search is not a standardised process with strict rules, there are a
few guidelines that may help you to succeed:
•
make sure the interests of the parties complement each other and result in a
common interest (the result must be a win-win situation);
•
pay sufficient attention to formulating motives and expectations on all sides;
•
before entering into the co-operation, make sure you have enough information
about the potential partner;
•
establish as many issues as possible on a legal basis right from the beginning;
•
the co-operation only has a real chance of success if it is not intended solely to
obtain the grant.
IST Expression of Interest
SME Expression of Interest
http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/src/eoi.htm
http://www.cordis.lu/sme/src/partner.htm
18
Lecture 2.3
Preparation of a grant application
Introduction
If you have reached the conclusion that a IST Key Action or Action line does contain
possible links with your project, then you need to answer the following question:
"How can I prepare a grant application as efficiently as possible, so that it will have
the highest possible chance of success."
The chance of success is of course largely determined by the nature of the project and
the extent to which it fits in with the aims of the scheme in question. You cannot
influence this at all. The quality of the grant application is, however, also very
important you can influence this by taking a careful and planned approach to the
application process.
In this lecture we will consider the way in which a co-ordinator can organise the
application process in order to optimise the chances of receiving financial support. We
have used the submission procedure for R&D projects as a starting point since it
provides the clearest illustration of the relevant organisational aspects.
Please remind that organisations based in the so-called New Industrial States
(comprising amongst others the European states of the Commonwealth of
Independent Sates (European CIS countries)) cannot act a co-ordinator of a project.
But they can participate in FP5 projects on a no-fund basis or act as subcontractor
when their participation is of high added value to the European Union and the
Programme objectives. When an organisation from a CIS country decides to
participate, it is important to know how the application process works. This will
enable good anticipation of the work to come and to safeguard the benefits normally
achieved from FP5 participation.
Preparation of the grant application in stages
We can identify the following stages in the preparation of a grant application
1. formulating a project idea;
2. elaborating the project idea;
3. pre-screening;
4. producing a draft project description/budget;
5. creating a consortium;
6. final preparations and submission.
Stage 1: formulating a project idea
Every grant application begins at the "project idea" stage: the project co-ordinator
intends to start up a project in the near future and finds that there is an overlap with an
existing funding programme. They then work out this project idea briefly in order to
clarify their thinking. A project idea must at least include the following:
1. a description of the problem and expected guidelines for the solution;
19
2. the beginnings of a consortium: which parties are needed for implementation and
which are the parties with whom co-operation or a least some contact already
exists;
3. an estimate of the costs of the project;
4. a view on the extent to which information can be made public.
Stage 2: elaborating the project idea
On the basis of the information gathered in the first stage, the project co-ordinator can
now fill in the details of the project and look for partners. Together with them he
further elaborates the project description and finds the parties who can be added to the
project (more about this at the end of this under "partner search", previous lecture).
He then studies the Work Programme, the Guide for Proposers and the details of the
Call for Proposals in relation to the relevant Key Action or Action line and draws up a
list of unsolved issues.
Stage 3: pre-screening
After the project idea has been worked out roughly the project partners have to decide
on whether or not to go ahead with the application. A good way of making a decision
on how and whether to proceed is to carry out a brief feasibility study, which is also
referred to as "pre-screening". In a pre-screening study, the rough project idea and the
documents which are available (e.g. Work Programme, the Guide for Proposers and
the details of the Call for Proposals) are used as a basis to test the chances of
ultimately obtaining a grant. If possible, discussions can take place on this subject
with the intended grant-awarding body. The precise way in which pre-screening takes
place depends on the formal or informal opportunities which does the European
Commission make available.
Formal pre-screening
In some cases an opportunity will be provided to present a draft proposal or short
project profile for pre-evaluation to the European Commission. It provides an
opportunity to make adjustments to projects at an early stage. Pre-screening is useful
because it confronts the organisation submitting the project with the real situation at
an early stage. Specific indications can also be obtained in relation to which aspects of
a proposal needs improvement. It is also important to understand that the prescreening process is the first opportunity for Commission officials to learn about the
project. It is therefore recommended to make a good impression. It is recommended to
submit the pre-screening document in draft form to an outside expert first for example
a national focal point usually assigned by the EU to assist proposers.
Informal pre-screening
When a funding scheme does not provide an opportunity for formal pre-screening, the
project co-ordinator can carry it out on his own initiative. This can simply be done by
deciding on a date by which it is necessary to have a clear indication on whether to go
ahead with the application. The draft application can then be compared with the
conditions and criteria of the relevant funding scheme. It is best for the project coordinator to call upon an external expert, who also knows the reasons for the rules and
can take this into account. He will also take an unbiased approach to the project.
20
Preparations continue
Pre-screening is a snapshot. The response to a draft application that assents in writing
will take a few weeks to come back. If the time available before the final submission
date is short, you should not wait for the reply. Work should be continued in parallel
with the pre-screening process.
Preliminary consultation with the EU
The pre-screening process described above leaves out one important aspect of the
application procedure: the preliminary consultation. If at all possible, it is advisable
for the project co-ordinator submitting an application to discuss it with the relevant
Commission officials. By giving a verbal explanation of the proposal to be submitted,
possible bottlenecks can be detected beforehand and feedback in relation to content
can be obtained.
Assessment means follow-up
Whatever form of assessment is chosen, some kind of feedback will always be
obtained. It is of course important to take these comments seriously and to incorporate
them into the project description. It may seem obvious, but in practice it has been
found that this area often generates considerable resistance. Time is often a critical
factor. Following up on the feedback can also mean that radical choices will have to
be made. At the time of the assessment there are often already some firm ideas about
the organisation and scope of the project, the participants and their tasks, etc. Remind
that it will be needed to create a certain amount of flexibility in the draft proposal in
order to incorporate the feedback received.
Stage 4: forming the consortium
Once the structure and content of the draft project description are established, the
partners can be more specific about their possible involvement in the project. The key
issue is that the parties concerned must have reached an overall agreement about the
content of the project proposal at least a few weeks prior to submission. On this basis,
the internal procedure leading to signature by the management can be initiated.
Now the time has also come to establish the final shape of the consortium.
Agreements have to be made about the distribution of tasks and the function of
partners in the project.
•
Who is the project co-ordinator (who acts as an interlocutor with the
Commission)?
•
Who is a contractor (other partners who participate in the project on their own
account and at their own risk)?
•
Who is an associated contractor (a third party contributing technically and
financially to part of the work on the project under a contractual agreement with a
contractor)?
•
Who is a subcontractor (a third party carrying out work on the project at no cost to
itself)?
•
The fourth and fifth stages will usually take place simultaneously.
21
Stage 5: producing a draft project description
A FP5 grant application in principle consists of two parts:
•
a formal part (often a set of standard forms giving information about the
participants, schedule of project costs, summary of the project, etc.);
•
the project description, in which the project being put forward for funding is
described.
The project description is the part of the application that forms the basis for the
evaluation of the project's content. Naturally, as much attention as possible must be
paid to this part. A high ranking cannot be achieved without a good project
description. Here are a few hints to help you to produce a good project description:
•
The project involves a number of parties. All the potential participants must
therefore be involved in producing the project description, but one party must have
a clear co-ordinating role.
•
Ensure that all documentation relating to the funding programme is available.
Precise knowledge of the IST objectives with the funding programme is needed in
order to achieve a good project description.
•
Present clearly those points on which the project scores highly and exploit this to
the full.
•
Proposals are evaluated within a very short space of time. Take advantage of this
by making the text as clear as possible: use summaries, quantification’s, diagrams
and tables.
•
Check the draft at least a few times and then give it to "someone who is not
involved" to ensure that it is readable and easy to understand.
•
The application must be drafted in an official language of the European Union.
Because languages of NIS are not included, you shall have to use English or
French, so bear this in mind early on.
•
Decide together with your partners who will be drafting the text of the application.
Stage 6: final preparations and submission
Formalities
In practice, calls for proposals are often heavily over-subscribed. This means that a
strict selection procedure will be carried out even on formal details. You should
therefore ensure that all formalities have been fulfilled: forms correctly filled out,
budgets correctly defined, original signatures of all partners, correct date and method
of submission, the right number of copies (the application often has to be submitted
on loose sheets in several copies), etceteras.
Presentation
Applications are evaluated within a very short time frame. It is therefore important to
pay as much attention as possible to the presentation: clarity, readability, quantitative
information, evidences to support assumptions, illustrations, tables, etc.
22
Submission
It may seem obvious, but if the application is submitted too late it will not be eligible.
You should pay careful attention to the precise formulation of the final deadline. Does
it say "... the application must be received by ...at the latest" or does it say "…the
application must be sent by ...at the latest"? In the latter case, proof of dispatch by
registered mail may help.
The proposals shall be submitted at the address mentioned in the Call for Proposals.
Submission of the proposal in person is also possible. It is recommended to ask for an
Acknowledgement of receipt.
The applications forms can be downloaded by the PDF application form. By opening
this file with the Acrobat Reader (version 3.02 or above), it is possible to fill in the
forms on your screen and print them page by page. You cannot, however, save the file
with your encoded data. When submitting by paper, the form will be read by an
Optical Reader, so to minimise the possibilities of your proposal details being read
incorrectly, the forms should be as clean as possible and not folded, stapled or
amended with correction fluid. When printed the print option "Fit to page" / "Shrink
to fit" of Acrobat Reader should be disabled. Do not send MS Word versions to the
Commission. Only forms with original layout will be accepted.
Hard copy submission forms
http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/src/forms_a.htm#F
Electronic Submission
ProTool is a computer programme that helps to prepare the administrative part of the
application forms for almost all actions of the 5th Framework Programme. It also
allows for electronic submission of the full proposal to the European Commission.
ProTool is provided free of charge.
The use of ProTool is not compulsory. The European Commission recommends its
use but you may decide to fill in the application forms by hand and send them by
mail. ProTool has, nevertheless, many advantages. If you want to use ProTool at
work, you will have to get it installed and running your computer. You will have to
keep an eye on the ProTool website in order to get always the last version of the tool.
You will have to read the Information Package corresponding to the call you want to
respond. ProTool is not meant to offer the same detail of information as the
information packages and some of them impose restrictions to the general use of
ProTool. If you decide to submit electronically, you will have to get used to the
inherent complexity of e-commerce. You will have to learn why an electronic
signature is needed and how encryption works
To electronically submit your proposal you need an electronic certificate. To obtain
one you have to generate your certificate request using ProTool, and submit it to the
Certification Service Provider. Once you receive your electronic certificate you have
to integrate it in ProTool to enable the electronic submission features. When you
submit your proposal electronically to the European Commission, it arrives at the
electronic reception desk, where it is decrypted, time-stamped and dispatched to the
programme to which it has been submitted. There is only one electronic reception
desk for the whole 5th Framework Programme.
23
Although electronic submission is possible from any country in the world, not all
certificate classes are allowed in all countries. Electronic submission with Class I
certificates (Class I allows you to submit only one proposal) is allowed from any
country in the world because the submission files are not encrypted. Electronic
submission with Class II certificates (allows submission of multiple proposals) are
encrypted. Due to export restrictions of the encryption enabler library, Class II
certificates can only be requested from the following countries: Argentina, Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands,
New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal Rep. of Korea, Romania, Russian
Federation, Singapore, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States.
Therefore, if the country from which you want to submit in not listed above, you
cannot use a Class II certificate. You may still electronically submit using a Class I,
though.
The details on how to submit your proposal electronically are left for the sections of
the ProTool website, the Information Packages and the online help of ProTool.
Protool Homepage
Download ProTool
ProTool Help Section
Certificate desk
ProTool Tutorial
http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/protool/whatis/home.html
http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/protool/download/home.html
http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/protool/help/faqlist.htm
http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/protool/help/faqs7.htm
http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/protool/tutorial/home.html
24
Lecture 2.4
The grant award and project implementation
Introduction
You have submitted the grant application and it is accepted by the European
Commission. The consequences of this for the project co-ordinator and the other
partners are described in this lecture. The question that we will be looking at here is:
"What should you do if your grant application is approved by the Commission?”
In that case there will be more detailed agreements to be concluded about the
implementation of the project. In particular, the legal relationships, both between the
European Commission and the contracting partners and between the individual
contracting partners, will have to be regulated in detail in order to prevent any
confusion about the rights and obligations on each side. It should be remembered that
General Terms and Conditions that are laid down by the European Commission and
from which no deviation is possible normally govern the relationship between the
Commission and the contracting parties. On the other hand, contracting parties have
more freedom to determine the relationships between them. In this lecture, we will
look at both relationships.
Contracts with the European Commission
The legal relationship between the European Commission and the contracting party
(parties) is normally regulated by what is known as the model contract, also referred
to as EU or Commission contract, to which some form of the actual project plan will
be added as an annex. The model contract that is laid down by the European
Commission comprises the General Terms and Conditions for the project and for the
use of its results. The contract applies to most EU programmes in the area of research
and technological development. The contracting party that has obtained approval for a
European grant has to sign the model contract presented by the European
Commission. If open for discussions, parties should give attention to the question
which national law should apply to the contract.
The General Terms and Conditions of the model contract include, among other things,
specific stipulations relating to the management of the project to be implemented,
participation of third parties in the project (such as associated contractors and subcontractors), Commission controls on the implementation of the project, liability and
the termination of the contract by the Commission and the contracting party (parties).
Intellectual Property Rights
The stipulations relating to ownership and protection of the research results that are
contributed and acquired are particularly important. The principle here is that the
contracting party, which has produced a creation, open to intellectual property rights
protection, within the context of the project or has developed a research result, obtains
ownership thereof. The contracting party is obliged to take the necessary action to
protect the knowledge, which has been acquired, if it can be used for industrial or
commercial purposes. The use of the knowledge which is thus acquired and the
obligation to make it available to others, possibly under specific conditions – for
25
example if the knowledge could be used within the framework of another EU projectis explicitly regulated in the General Terms and Conditions.
The General Terms and Conditions oblige both the European Commission and the
contracting party, in principle, to keep secret all confidential information and
documents which relate to the project and are not of a general nature. The
Commission does reserve the right to pass on reports relating to the project to other
Community institutions and, to a certain extent, to Member States, international
organisations and third parties.
IPR Help site
http://www.intas.be/mainfs.htm
Contracts between the parties
Although the General Terms and Conditions of the model contract are binding on all
contracting parties, they mainly regulate the legal relationship between the
Commission and the consortium as a whole, rather than the legal relationship between
the individual contracting parties. Furthermore, some aspects although adequately
covered in a legal sense, merit further detailing in order to avoid potential
miscommunication from the start. It is, therefore, important to regulate the
relationship between the contractors in an additional and preferably anterior cooperation agreement. In this context "a consortium agreement" should initially be
considered. Although the EC model contract always prevails, it can thus be
complemented in a satisfactory manner.
It is preferable to sign a consortium agreement before the research proposal is written.
If this is not feasible, the agreement could be concluded before the proposal is
submitted to the European Commission, before the EU contract is signed, or before
the project commences. Due to the complexity of this area, it is recommended that the
consortium agreement should be drafted by a specialised lawyer.
A consortium agreement must, in any case, contain apart from the parties, the
essential terms relating to the work involved, such as: the purpose of the co-operation
and the subject of the contract. Technical, organisational and financial stipulations
must also establish the relationships between the parties and their respective
contributions to the project in more detail. Commercial stipulations are also very
important in a consortium agreement. In particular these involve the confidentiality
that must be respected by the contracting parties in relation to the research and its
results, ownership and legal protection of the research results and the commercial use
of those results. Optionally, statements pertaining to the (collective) exploitation of
the results that are to be generated may be included as well. Again, parties should give
attention to the question which national law should apply to the contract. In this
respect, it seems wise to harmonise any additional contract with the EC contract.
The consortium may wish to further reinforce its legal identity. The following legal
forms of co-operation might be considered:
1. Within the context of co-operation, the contracting parties can also enter into what
is known as a European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG). An EEIG is a "Legal
instrument allowing companies to co-operate with partners based in other
Community countries for the realisation of a specific project in a loose, flexible
form of association and on an equal footing in the legal domain while maintaining
26
their economic and legal independence". One advantage of an EEIG is that it
creates a certain degree of legal stability. Furthermore, an EEIG may strengthen
your negotiating position because it provides evidence of unanimity between the
parties involved. The EEIG itself is not itself taxed for the profit from its activity,
but its members are liable (this is called "transparence fiscale"). Finally, when
structuring the co-operation, it is also possible to link it to specific European
legislation in this area. Note that an EEIG with members from "third countries "
(including NIS/CIS) is therefore not possible. If your organisation is based in a
NIS/CIS state, you will not be able to participate in such an organisation
2. One far-reaching form of co-operation can be achieved by signing a joint venture
agreement. This means that the parties create a collective enterprise ("joint
venture") which is under their collective authority. Joint ventures are possible in
many different areas, from (exclusive) research and development to production
and distribution.
In the case of (particularly larger) companies, it is important to remember that the
agreements which they sign may fall within the scope of European and/or national
competition legislation, so that they are restricted to certain limits when it comes to
choosing the form and content of the agreements. It is generally advisable to approach
specialised legal advisors for a recommendation on the (final) content of the
agreements.
Contract preparation material
http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/cont-prep.html
Changes in the co-operation framework
To what extent is it possible to alter a partnership during execution of the project?
One of the partners may want to opt out, or a third party may want to join in. Finding
an answer to this question may be difficult, since both the project partners and the EU
have say in the matter.
Approval by the European Union
During implementation of the project, specific difficulties or unforeseen
circumstances may arise. The need for one of the partners to opt out of the
partnership, or the need for accession of a third party, are of course two clear
examples of circumstances that can lead to change. As long as important grounds for
such changes can be proven (either commercial, financial or technical), the EU may
allow alterations of this kind. New negotiations will then be started, resulting in an
updated version of the contract.
Approval by the partners
As withdrawals and accessions have a considerable influence on the result of the
project, the consortium agreement between the partners may contain certain
provisions about this, e.g. veto rights and compensation. Whether these provisions are
made, and to what extent, is a matter to be settled exclusively between the partners.
The EU does not intervene.
27
Management, administration and payment of the grant
When the contract is signed, the grant award is formalised: the participants jointly
agree to carry out a specific project and the Commission agrees to finance part of this
project. No payment takes place at this stage. The agreement simply means that the
Commission does an advanced payment and reserves the rest of the amount. The
agreed sum cannot be fully paid out until after completion of the project, if it is
established that the project was carried out in accordance with the agreements made
beforehand.
For the applicant and the other participants in the project, this means that the
relationship with the grant provider continues for some time. What is more, the
number of rules that have to be complied with is even greater after the contract is
signed. From this point onwards the successful applicant is obliged to maintain proper
financial administration and project administration procedures and submit progress
reports. Advances can also be applied for. After the project is completed, a final report
has to be produced, final accounts are drawn up, checked by your own external
accountant and then submitted, and verification and payment is carried out by the
European Commission. Each of these points is discussed below.
Management & Legal issues
http://www.cordis.lu/fp5/management/home.html
Financial administration
The parties implementing the project must maintain a separate financial
administration for the project so that it is possible to see at any time what costs have
been incurred and paid out in relation to the project: including depreciation costs,
invoices, lists of salaries, etc. The European Commission carries out checks on a
random basis to ascertain whether this is being done.
The project co-ordinator maintains the overall summary and opens a special bank
account for payments received from the Commission and payments made to the
partners. There is a tendency, however, to relieve the co-ordinator of these tasks and
to make payments directly to the participants.
Time accounting
Part of the financial administration procedure involves time accounting. One major
cost item which is eligible for financial assistance involves the organisation's own
man-hours which are devoted to the project. In relation to this item, each participant is
obliged to maintain a time accounting system. For each unit of time (for example,
once a week) there must be records for each employee showing the amount of time
which has been spent on the project. The precise requirements relating to this time
accounting system (must it be closed, must it be initialled etc.) might vary from one
Community programme to another. You have to check the “Guide for Co-ordinators”
for details.
Prior consultation with an external accountant
It can be seen from the above that the requirements in relation to financial project
administration overlap in many respects with the administrative organisation and
internal control (AO/IC) within the enterprise. Many businesses consult an external
28
accountant for advice in relation to AO/IC issues. It is therefore advisable to use the
same accountant to set up the financial administration procedures for a project
supported by the EU.
Another good reason to involve the accountant at an early stage will be explained in a
later section. In some cases a final declaration and a statement by the accountant on
the correctness of the expenditure is required.
The marginal costs model
The comments made above about financial administration procedures do not apply to
all participants. A separate model, known as the marginal cost model, is often used for
universities and research institutions.
This model is used because the way in which these institutions are administered often
does not make it possible to identify and monitor all the direct and indirect costs
associated with each project. In the marginal cost model, therefore, they are allowed
to disclose only the marginal (extra) costs related to the project. These are all costs
that are incurred over and above the fixed costs of the organisation -exclusively
because of the project in question. In exchange for this, the EU is prepared to
contribute 100% of these extra costs instead of the usual 50%.
Project administration and progress reports
In addition to the financial administration described above, the co-ordinator also has
to maintain a project administration system from which it is possible to determine the
progress achieved in relation to the content of the project. The European Commission
often requires simultaneous submission of a content-based report and a financial
report for the purpose of checking expenses declared against the progress achieved in
terms of content (and vice versa). In the same way, the progress of the project also has
to be accounted for in progress reports. These are required once or twice a year. A
contact person (“Scientific or Project Officer”) within the EU is appointed to receive
these reports. This person can also be approached, outside the context of the reporting
process, for information or consultation.
The final report is rather different: it not only looks backwards ("what has been
achieved"), but the achievements are also set against their future strategic importance.
In the case of R&D projects, this involves the project's commercial prospects and any
exploitation activities to be undertaken.
Applying for advances
Financial support is awarded on a provisional basis. The actual amount of a grant is
determined at the final accounting on the basis of actual project costs. The rules do,
however, provide scope for obtaining advances:
•
within a short time after the contract is signed a considerable proportion of the
grant is paid out in the form of an advance (as much as 50% in some cases);
•
depending on the progress of the project further advances may also be obtained,
either once or twice a year.
The total amount of advances must never exceed about 80% of the grant. The
remaining balance is paid out after all the obligations concerning reporting to the EU
have been fulfilled.
29
Final report and final accounts
After the project is completed and after the final (content-based and financial) reports
have been submitted, the remainder of the grant is paid out. One important point in
relation to this completion and payment process is verification of the stated costs.
External accountants are often (but not always) commissioned to conduct this
verification procedure. The following scenarios can arise:
•
the final declaration produced by the project partners must include a statement by
an external accountant concerning the correctness and completeness of the stated
costs;
•
the European Commission orders its own internal accountancy department to
investigate the final declarations which are submitted;
•
An accountant visits participants in a Community assistance programme on a
random basis to carry out an audit of their books on site.
These three scenarios are often used in combination with each other. It is now very
rare for a grant to be paid out without an external verification having taken place.
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