ER2020 INFO DAY LEGAL & FINANCIAL ISSUES FÉDIA MATTARELLI, LEGAL OFFICER

Transcription

1 1 ER2020 INFO DAY LEGAL & FINANCIAL ISSUES FÉDIA MATTARELLI, LEGAL OFFICER

2 SESAR Exploratory Research Conditions of implementation of ER2020 activities 2

3 List of topics covered Structure of a SESAR2020 Grant Agreement Duration and start date Role of the coordinator Responsibility of beneficiaries Joint liability Consortium Agreement List of beneficiaries and linked third parties Third parties: carrying out work in the action Minimum conditions for participation H2020 Highlights Intellectual Property Rights 3

4 Chapter 1: General Single article: subject of the agreement Chapter 2: Action Action, duration and budget Chapter 3: Grant Amount, reimbursement rates, eligible costs Chapter 4: Rights and obligations To implement the action: resources, in kind contributions, subcontracts Grant administration: reporting, payments, audits Background and results: access rights, protection of results, exploitation, dissemination Others: gender equality, ethics, confidentiality Chapter 5: Division of roles Rolesand responsibilities, internal arrangements Chapter 6: Rejection, reduction, penalties, termination, etc. Rejection, reduction, recovery and penalties Suspension and termination of the action Chapter 7: Final provisions Accession, entry into force, amendments, applicable law Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

5 SESAR 2020 model Grant Agreement: Exploratory Research CfP Annexes to the grant agreement Annex 1: Annex 2: Annex 3: Description of the action Estimated budget Accession Forms, 3a & 3b Annex 4: Annex 5: Annex 6: Financial statements Certificate on the financial statements Certificate on the methodology 5 Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

6 Duration and start date Duration: in months, foreseen in Article 3 SGA Start Date: established in Article 3 SGA, the first day of a month By default: the month following the entry into force Only if justified: fixed date General rule: later than the date of entry into force Exceptionally: between the date of the submission of grant application and the entry into force 6

7 Role of the coordinator The members of any consortium wishing to participate in an action shall appoint one of them to act as coordinator. The coordinator must: monitor that the action is implemented properly act as the intermediary for all communications between the beneficiaries and the SJU request and review any documents or information required by the SJU and verify their completeness and correctness before passing them on to the SJU submit the deliverables and reports to the ensure that all payments are made to the other beneficiaries without unjustified delay inform the SJU of the amounts paid to each beneficiary 7

8 Responsibility of beneficiaries The beneficiaries have full responsibility for implementing the action and for complyingwith the GA. This means that: each beneficiary must ensure that it complies with its obligations under the GA each beneficiary must ensure swift and proper implementation of the action (i.e. that there are no delays which can be attributed to it) each beneficiary is responsible (towards the SJU) for the tasks performed by its subcontractors and linked third parties the SJU is not responsible for the implementation of the action and has no responsibility for the way in which the action is conducted (or any adverse consequences). 8 The beneficiaries are jointly and severally liable for the technical implementation of the action.

9 When to ask for joint liability? Declaration of joint & several liability will be requested if: The beneficiary is weak, AND The linked third parties account for 50% or more of the EU contribution of the beneficiary! If requested, the beneficiary must submit it to accede to the GA! 9

10 Consortium Agreement (CA) CA is mandatory Article 41.3 of Model Grant Agreement Partner Characteristics Consortium Agreement Partner It is a private agreement between the beneficiaries and does not involve the SJU (which, however, provides guidance). & Deals with the rights and obligations of the beneficiaries amongst themselves. IPR provisions Examples: internal organisation, distribution of SJU funding, additional rules on IPR, settlement of disputes, etc. In principle to be concluded before signing the Grant Agreement! You can find a model Consortium Agreement on the IPR helpdesk website: Coordinator 10

11 List of beneficiaries and linked third parties List of beneficiaries Coordinator + beneficiaries Appears in the preamble of the GA (before the articles) Options: beneficiaries not receiving EU funding Linked third parties Will appear in Article 14 Option: to require joint and several liability 11 Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

12 Third Parties: carrying out work in the action Beneficiary Linked third parties Affiliated entities Third parties with a legal link Subcontractors Equivalent to FP7 Special Clause 10 Must be identified in the GA Same cost eligibility criteria than beneficiaries! NEW: the SJU may request them to accept joint and several liability for their EU contribution Article 14 MGA The responsible entity remains the beneficiary 12 Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

13 Third Parties: carrying out work in the action Beneficiary Linked third parties Affiliated entities Third parties with a legal link Subcontractors Ensure best value for money and avoid any conflict of interests Estimated costs and tasks must be identified in the budget and Annex 1 of the SGA! NEW: if not identified in Annex 1, the SJU may still approve them (beneficiary bears the risk of rejection) 13 Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

14 Third Parties: others For the purchase of goods, works or services Beneficiary Contracts necessary for the implementation Contributions in kind Ensure best value for money and avoid any conflict of interests Article 10 MGA Free of charge or against payment are eligible costs if they meet the eligibility conditions Must be set out in Annex 1! NEW:if not identified in Annex 1, the SJU may still approve them (beneficiary bears the risk of rejection) 14 Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

15 Minimum Conditions for Participation The minimum conditions for participation are provided for in the Rules for Participation (Article 9 RfPs) Regulation No 1290/2013: RIAs: at least 3 legal entities, each one established in a different Member State or Associated Country no additional conditions are required for the ER2020 CfP! 15

16 H2020 Highlights 1/3 Maximum Time to Grant: 5 months for evaluation from the Call/invitation deadline (i.e. on 25 June 2015) 3 months for signature (i.e. on 25 September 2015) 16

17 H2020 Highlights 2/3 No time for negotiation No possibility to reshuffle the organisation of the consortium and to recalculate the costs and funding All Legal/financial/Intellectual property aspects must be correct and stable already in the proposal Participants make a contribution of 5% withheld from the pre financing for the Participant Guarantee Fund which is returned to the participants at the end of the project with the final payment (cf. Article 32(5) RfP) 17

18 H2020 Highlights 3/3 A legal entity with a weak financial capacity cannot be accepted as a coordinator (it will nonetheless be able to be a participant) Any legal entity with a weak financial capacity may be subject to a reinforced monitoring (more checks may carried out) during the implementation of the project and/or systematic initiation of audit or review If the result of the financial viability check is insufficient, the applicant cannot participate (unless duly justified grounds if necessary for the implementation of the action according to a risk assessment) 18

19 Intellectual Property Rights 19

20 KEY CONCEPTS 1/2 Results: any tangible or intangible output of the action, including any attached rights Background: any data, know how or information, whatever its form, including any rights: held by beneficiaries prior to their accession to the grant agreement, needed to implement the action or to exploit its results, identified by beneficiaries 20

21 KEY CONCEPTS 2/2 Exploitation: use of results in further research (outside the action), (ii) in developing, creating or marketing products, services or processes, or (iii) in standardisation activities Dissemination: public disclosure of results by any appropriate means including by scientific publications Access rights: right to use results or background 21

22 Intellectual Property Rights I Ownership: Protection: for the beneficiary who generates the results joint ownership in specific circumstances where appropriate Exploitation: general obligation to exploit Dissemination general obligation to disseminate 22

23 Intellectual Property Rights II Open Access: obligatory for scientific publications and, Visibility of EU funding: use of emblem and standard sentence 23

24 Intellectual Property Rights III Access Rights 1/2 Within an action If needed by another beneficiary to implement its own tasks If needed by another beneficiary to exploit own results a participant must grant access to its background Royalty free unless otherwise agreed before accession to the GA Fair and reasonable conditions a participant must grant access to its results Royalty free Fair and reasonable conditions 24

25 Access Rights 2/2 Access rights: must be exercised in writing, do not include right to sublicense unless agreed otherwise Access rights for affiliated entities Access rights for the Union,/SJU: royalty free Additional access rights 25

26 Intellectual Property Rights IV Transfer and licensing of results: Each beneficiary has the possibility to transfer or license its results The SJU has the right to object for certain reasons 26

27 Financial & Budgetary Issues 27

28 H2020 Main Novelties Certificates on Financial Statements are only requested if the total amount of the SGA for the beneficiary as reimbursement of actual costs (or optionally average personnel costs) is EUR at the time of the payment of the balance (cf. Article 34 RfP) No more timesheets for personnel working full time on a single project Indirect costs are reimbursed according to a 25 % flat rate of the eligible direct costs 28

29 Reimbursement rates Maximum reimbursem ent rates Research and technological development activities (*) Demonstratio n activities Other activities One action = One rate for research actions Network of excellence Collaborativ e project(****) Coordinatio n and support action 50% 75% (**) 50% 75% (**) 100% 50% 100% 100% (***) (*) Research and technological development includes scientific coordination. (**) For beneficiaries that are non-profit public bodies, secondary and higher education establishments, research organisations and SMEs (***) The reimbursement of indirect eligible costs, in the case of coordination and support actions, may reach a maximum 7% of the direct eligible costs, excluding the direct eligible costs for subcontracting and the costs of resources made available by third parties which are not used on the premises of the beneficiary. (****) Including research for the benefit of specific groups (in particular SMEs) For all beneficiaries and activities in the grant. Defined in the Work Programme: Up to 100 % of the eligible costs for research actions; Up to 70 % for innovation actions (possible exception for non-profit organisations up to 100%).

30 Eligible costs: forms of costs Actual costs Costs actually incurred, identifiable and verifiable, recorded in the accounts, etc. NEW: non deductible VAT paid is also eligible Unit costs A fixed amount per unit determined by the Commission. Example: SME owners' unit cost For average personnel cost (based on the usual accounting practices) Flat rate A percentage to be calculated on the eligible costs Example: Indirect costs = 25 % Direct costs Lump sum A global amount to cover one or several cost categories Example: Phase 1 of the SME instrument

31 Eligible costs: single indirect costs rate Simplifying project management and removing recurrent errors. 60%? 20%? Real? Simplified? Single model: 25 % Flat Rate

32 Forms of costs & budget categories FORMS OF COSTS Personnel Subcontracting Financial support to 3rd parties Other Actual costs Unit costs Yes for - Average personnel costs - SME owners & natural persons without a salary BUDGET CATEGORIES DIRECT COSTS INDIRECT COSTS SPECIFIC CATEGORIES OF COSTS Yes if foreseen by Comm. Decision Flat-rate costs Lump sum costs Yes if foreseen by Comm. Decision

33 Annex 2 - Eligible costs and maximum grant amount 5. Total eligible costs 6. Maximum grant amount

34 Budget categories: budget transfers Form of costs**** Estimated eligible* costs (per budget category) [C. Direct B. Direct costs of A. Direct personnel costs costs of fin. D. Other direct costs subcontracting support] A.1 Personnel A.4 SME owners without salary D.1 Travel A.2 Natural persons under direct contract A.3 Seconded persons [A.6 Personnel for providing access to research infrastructure] Actual Unit A.5 Beneficiaries that are natural persons without salary Unit XX EUR/hour Actual Actual D.2 Equipment D.3 Other goods and services D.4 Costs of large research infrastructure Actual (a) Total (b) No hours Total (c) (d) (e) (f) Beneficiary Beneficiary

35 Budget categories: budget transfers Budget transfers and re allocation Amendment needed? From one beneficiary to another NO From one budget category to another NO Re allocation of Annex 1 tasks Transfers between forms of costs (actual costs, unit costs, etc.) New subcontracts YES YES if no budget was foreseen for the "form" receiving the transfer YES (strongly advised) Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

36 Pre-financing, Payments, Guarantee Fund One Pre-financing Time to Pay 30 days From From: entry into force or 10 days before the starting date (whichever is the latest) Retention 5 % of maximum grant for the Guarantee Fund Interim Payments 90 days From reception of periodic report Payment of the Balance 90 days From reception of final reports

37 PERSONNEL COSTS: novelties Less requirements for time records Example: No time records for researchers working exclusively on the project. Wider acceptance of average personnel costs Broadening the acceptance of usual cost accounting practices (including cost centre approaches) as unit costs. Acceptance of additional remuneration Limited to non profit legal entities PERSONNEL COSTS Up to 8000 Euro/year/person working full time exclusively in the action Subject to specific conditions Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

38 Actual personnel costs: structure TOTAL REMUNERATION Standard remuneration Additional remuneration Basic Salary "Mandatory extras" Fixed by law or by contract to remunerate the main activity of the employee Payment not subject to discretion by the employer Not linked to a specific project Examples: 13 th month, hazardous work allowance, etc. Other bonuses Only eligible for non profit legal entities Subject to specific eligibility criteria Maybe triggered by the participation in a specific project Hourly rate Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

39 Actual personnel costs: calculation - I Actual Personnel Cost = Hours worked for the project x Hourly rate Hourly rate = Annual personnel costs Annual productive hours The hourly rate is to be calculated per financial year If the financial year is not closed at the time of reporting, the beneficiary must use the last closed financial year available. Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

40 Actual personnel costs: calculation - II Use of the last closed financial year 01/10/ /03/2016 Reporting period (example) Hourly rates of 2015 will also be used for these months ADVANTAGES FOR THE BENEFICIARIES NO ADJUSTMENTS TO BE DECLARED IN THE NEXT PERIOD LEGAL CERTAINTY: NO DOUBTS ABOUT WHAT PERIOD AND WHAT DATA MUST BE USED FOR THE CALCULATION REMOVES ERRORS DUE TO INCORRECT CALCULATIONS FOR FRACTIONS OF A YEAR Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

41 Actual personnel costs: annual productive hours 1720 hours Individual annual productive hours Formula: annual workable hours + overtime absences Standard annual productive hours According to the beneficiary's usual accounting practices; Minimum threshold: annual productive hours 90 % of the standard workable hours Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

42 Controls and audits: ex-ante Financial viability CONTROLS Most beneficiaries exempt from detailed analysis; only systematic check for coordinators when requested EU funding for the action is EUR Certificates AND AUDITS Certificate on the financial statements: Only for final payments when total EU contribution claimed by the beneficiary on the basis of actual costs + unit costs for average personnel EUR (! excluding e.g. flat rates!) Certificate on the methodology: Optional for average personnel costs (now under unit costs) Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

43 Controls and audits: ex-post Ex post audits Audits of the SJU limited to two years after the payment of the balance Extension of audit findings Former "extrapolation" (FP7) now included in the MGA In the case of systemic or recurrent errors, irregularities, fraud or breach of obligations Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

44 ADDITIONAL INFO: Participant Portal At: Horizon 2020 Annotated Grant Agreement Horizon 2020 On line Manual Questions? Research Enquiry Service

45 45 Thanks for your attention