Marie Curie Monitoring Action and Information Days
Barcelona, June 9th-11th 2010
Nicolo’ Giacomuzzi-Moore
Unit A.2 – Finance
Financial Verification
Financial aspects of
PEOPLE program and actions
managed by REA
First Class Support for Excellence in Research
Marie Curie Actions
Initial training
International dimension
IOF - International Outgoing Fellowships
for career development
IIF - International Incoming Fellowships
ITN - Initial Training Networks
IRSES - International Research Staff
Exchange Scheme
Researcher’s
Night
Life-long training
IEF - Intra-European Fellowships
for career development
Industry - Academia
IAPP - Industry-Academia
Partnerships and Pathways
ERG - European Reintegration Grants
IRG - International Reintegration Grants
COFUND - Co-funding of regional,
national and international programmes
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Eligible costs
• Actual
– however People specific programme includes the possibility of
Flat rate costs
• Incurred by the beneficiary within the duration of the
project
– Exception: final reports + CFS
• Registered in the accounting following the usual
practices of the beneficiaries
• Used for the sole purpose of the project (economy
efficiency effectiveness)
• Have been indicated in the overall budget in Annex 1
First Class Support for Excellence in Research
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Non eligible costs
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Identifiable taxes, including VAT
Duties
Interest owed
Provisions for possible future losses/charges
Exchange losses
Costs reimbursed in respect of any other EU project
Debt and debt service charges
Excessive or reckless expenditure
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General rules for Marie Curie Actions
• The Community financial contribution to the Marie Curie indirect
actions takes in general the form of grants covering up to 100%
of the budget of the indirect action, comprising, if the case arises,
predetermined scale of unit costs (flat rates) for various
categories of expenses.
• The eligible expenses that can be charged can be broadly
divided into:
– Eligible expenses for the activities carried out by the researchers
– Eligible expenses for the activities carried out by the host
organisations.
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Cost categories
for Marie Curie Actions
Living allowance (salary)
Cost Category A
Mobility allowance
Travel allowance
Cost Category B
Career Exploratory allowance
Cost Category C
Contribution to research and training costs
Cost Category D
Contribution to networking costs, costs of
execution of the project
Contribution to the organisation of external
Beneficiary events
Management
(host)
Overheads
Cost Category E
Researcher
Other
Cost Category F
Cost Category G
Cost Category H
Cost Category I
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Monthly living: Cost Category A
• For each eligible researcher, the host organisation can opt
between recruiting the researcher under an employment
contract or on a fixed amount fellowship with minimum social
security, depending on the legal and/or administrative
situation of the beneficiary and/or the researcher.
• As a general rule, researchers should be appointed under an
employment contract, except in adequately documented
cases (such as for short stays) or where national regulation
would prohibit this possibility.
• Rates applicable are included in WP correspondant to the
call.
• For individual countries, correction factors mentioned in WP
have to be applied
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Monthly living allowance: Cost Category A
WP
2007
2008
2009
2010
Employed
researcher
Fixed
amount
minimum
social sec.
Employed
researcher
Fixed
amount
minimum
social sec.
Employed
researcher
Fixed
amount
minimum
social sec.
Employed
researcher
Fixed
amount
minimum
social sec.
Early stage
researchers
33800
16900
34500
17250
35300
17650
36700
18350
Experienced
researchers
(4-10 years
experience)
52000
26000
53000
26500
54300
27150
56400
28200
Experienced
Researchers
(>10 years
experience)
78000
39000
79500
39750
81400
40700
84500
42250
Categories
For individual countries, correctionFirst
factors
in WP have
to be applied
Class mentioned
Support for Excellence
in Research
Marie Curie Actions
Monthly living and mobility allowance:
Cost Category A
• a "mobility allowance" will be paid for
some categories of researchers, which will
take due account of the researcher’s
family situation
– Researchers without a family 500€/month
– Researchers with family 800€/month
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Travel allowance:
Cost Category B
• Researchers entitled to the monthly mobility allowance
shall also receive a travel allowance calculated on the
distance between the place of origin and the
beneficiary’s premises. The travel allowance is paid for
every period of 12 months or less
Distance (km)
Fixed-amount contribution (€)
< 500
250
500 – 1 000
500
1000-1500
750
1500-2500
1000
2500-5000
1500
5000-10000
2000
>10 000
2500
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Living, mobility and travel allowances:
Cost Category A and B
What records do we need to keep for EU audit purposes?
Flat rates are intended to be to the exclusive benefit of the
researcher. The Host must therefor be able to demonstrate –
upon REA’s request – that salary, allowance, employer’s social
security charges are at least equal to the declared flat rate.
 Proof of payment of the salary to the fellow and of the deductions for
social security etc
 Employment contract/agreement with the fellow
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Living, mobility and travel allowances:
Cost Category A and B
 Evidence that the fellow worked full time on the project: this can
include lab books, conference abstracts, library records, etc
 Time sheets are not an obligation for the Marie Curie Fellows.
However, if this is required across the institute then the fellow can also
be asked to complete them
 Evidence of the family status of the fellow at the time of recruitment
and at the call deadline (Individual actions)
 Evidence of the distance between the place of origin and the
beneficiary’s premises
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Eligible expenses for activities carried out by researchers:
Cost Category C and D
Career exploratory awards and participation to seminars
•
Career exploratory awards allowance is a single payment of
€2000/fellow paid only for recruited researchers appointed under
the project for at least one year, and is intended to enable each
researcher to help develop their career
Contribution to participation to seminars is managed by the
beneficiary for expenses related to the participation of the
researchers in research and training activities (contribution to
research-related costs, meetings, conference attendance, training
actions, etc). It consists of a fixed amount:
•
–
–
€600 per researcher-month recruited for initial training: for laboratory
based research projects + €300 per researcher-month recruited for
initial training: for non-laboratory based research projects (ITN)
€800 per researcher-month recruited for initial training: for laboratory
based research projects + €500 per researcher-month recruited for
initial training: for non-laboratory based research projects (Individual
actions)
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Cost Categories C and D
What records do we need to provide for EU audit of category C
costs?
• Evidence that the fellow has been working on the project for at least 1
year.
• Records of payments to the fellow
What records do we need to keep for EU audit of category D costs?
• Flat rate for which no proof of actual spending is required
• REA may withhold all or part of the flat rate for category D when it
becomes aware that the beneficiary is not supporting the researcher for
participation to seminars/conferences
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Category E: Contribution to the research training /
transfer of knowledge programme expenses
•
•
•
This is flat rate contribution of
a fixed amount per
researcher/month, depending
on the type of host driven
action, that goes to the
beneficiary for the execution of
the project.
It covers the participation of
eligible researchers in
research and transfer of
knowledge activities (research
costs, participation in meetings
and conference attendance,
etc) and contribution to the
expenses related to the
coordination between
participants (partnership
meetings, secondment of staff,
etc).
Different on the base of WP
YEAR 2007
ITN
2008
2009
600€ 600
IAPP 800€ 800
2010
1200
1200
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Research/Training/ToK: Cost Category E
What records do we need to provide for EU audit purposes?
• For the purposes of the Grant Agreement, you do not need to keep
detailed records of what the money was used for
• However, please ensure you keep sufficient records to comply with
the accounting rules of your institution as they will normally require
more records than that required by the Grant Agreement
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Contribution to the organisation of international
conferences, workshops and events - Category F
• This category is valid for ITN/IAPP only
• This contribution fo 300€ researcher/day for researchers
from outside the partnership is managed by the
beneficiary for the organisation of international
conferences, workshops and events open to participants
outside the network, including: organisational expenses
(invitation of keynote speakers, publications, rental of
premises, web casting) and participation fees of eligible
researchers from outside the partnership.
• This category was abolished from 2009 WP
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External events – Cost Category F
What records do we need to provide for EU audit purposes?
• For the purposes of the Grant Agreement, you have to provide
evidence and records that the conference effectively took place and
ensure you keep sufficient records to comply with the accounting
rules of your institution as they will normally require more records
than that required by the Grant Agreement
• In the case of an audit by the EU, the consortium will need to
provide the attendance list for the event showing clearly the
presence of the external researchers
• If you make a profit with this event, you must report it
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Management activities:
Cost Category G
•
The amount of eligible expenses for management
activities is defined in the Work Programme relevant to
the call under which the proposal was submitted and in
Annex I to the grant agreement. Various modalities
have been defined, dependent on the action and
relevant Work Programme:
–
–
Variant 1: based on actual costs incurred for the management
of the project, up to a maximum of 3% or 7% of the total
Community contribution depending on the action and number
of beneficiaries
Variant 2 (for individual fellowships – IEF, IIF, IOF – since
2009 Work Programme onwards): a flat rate amount of 700€
per researcher/month covering not only the management of
the project but also a contribution to indirect costs (correction
factor applies for this category)
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Management: Cost Category G
What records do we need to keep for EU audit purposes?
FOR VARIANT 1
•
This is a real cost category therefore you need to keep full evidence:
– All records of expenditure
– Full timesheets for personnel costs
•
These do not need to be provided to the REA with the reports, however the periodic report
must give an explanation of the breakdown of costs charged to cost category G and proof
documents should be provided upon request
FOR VARIANT 2
•
For the purposes of the Grant Agreement, you do not need to keep detailed records of what the
money was used for
•
However, please ensure you keep sufficient records to comply with the accounting rules of your
institution as they will normally require more records than that required by the Grant Agreement
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Contribution to indirect costs:
Cost Category H
•
The amount of eligible expenses for indirect costs is
defined in the Work Programme relevant to the call
under which the proposal was submitted and in Annex
I to the grant agreement. Various modalities have been
defined, dependent on the action and relevant Work
Programme:
–
–
Variant 1: a flat rate payment up to 10% of the direct costs,
excluding costs for subcontracting. The flat rate applies per
period per project: participants are free to declare more or less
overheads within the ceiling of 10% overheads for the project
as a whole.
Variant 2 (for individual fellowships – IEF, IIF, IOF – from the
2009 Work Programme onwards): category merged with G in a
sigle flat rate.
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Other types of eligible expenses:
Cost Category I
•
With respect to the Marie Curie Industry-Academia Partnerships and
Pathways (IAPP), participating SMEs can charge small equipment
expenses to the project up to a maximum of 10% of the total negotiated
contribution to the SME participant, provided that they are:
–
–
–
•
IRG ERG contribution to integration of Researcher in host organisation:
–
–
•
duly justified for the project;
based on real costs;
with prior agreement by the Commission and included in ANNEX I.
ERG 15.000 euro per researcher/year (max 3 years)
IRG 25.000 euro per researcher/year (max 4 years)
With respect to reintegration grants as well as the Incoming International
Fellowships (IIF) this is the only relevant category of expenses. A fixed
amount per researcher/year is specified in the Work Programme relevant
to the call under which the proposal has been submitted. This amount is
managed by the beneficiary with the objective to reintegrate the
researcher in the organisation of the beneficiary.
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Other type of eligible expenses – Cost Category I
What records do we need to provide for EU audit purposes?
•
For 10% SMEs equipment: This is a real cost category therefore you need
to keep full evidence of
– All receipts of expenditure
– Detailed calculation of the depreciation in accordance to the local accounting
principles
•
For IRG ERG flat:
– For the purposes of the Grant Agreement, you do not need to keep detailed
records of what the money was used for
– However, please ensure you keep sufficient records to comply with the
accounting rules of your institution as they will normally require more records
than that required by the Grant Agreement
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Specific Actions
managed by REA
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ERG/IRG
• Cost categories :
– (I) Other type of costs = expenses by hosting
organisation related to integration of researcher
• ERG = Fixed amount 15.000 € per researcher/year up to 3
years
• IRG = Fixed amount 25.000 € per researcher/year up to 4
years
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IEF IOF IIF
• IEF cost categories (A B C D G/H):
– Monthly living and mobility allowance (see tables and
apply correction coefficient)
– Travel allowance
– Career exploratory allowance
– Contribution to participation expenses
– Management activities (2007-2008): maximum 3% of
EC contribution
– Overheads (2007-2008): 10% of direct costs
– Since 2009: Management + Overheads = 700€ per
researcher/month up to 20% of total direct costs
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IEF IOF IIF
• IOF cost categories (A B D G/H):
– Monthly living and mobility allowance (see tables
and apply correction coefficient)
– Travel allowance
– Contribution to participation expenses
– Management activities: maximum 3% of EC
contribution
– Management activities (2007-2008): maximum 3%
of EC contribution
– Overheads (2007-2008): 10% of direct costs
– Since 2009: Management + Overheads = 700€ per
researcher/month up to 20% of total direct costs
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IEF IOF IIF
• IIF cost categories (A B D G/H I):
– Monthly living and mobility allowance (see tables and apply
correction coefficient)
– Travel allowance
– Contribution to participation expenses
– Management activities (2007-2008): maximum 3% of EC
contribution
– Overheads (2007-2008): 10% of direct costs
– Since 2009: Management + Overheads = 700€ per
researcher/month up to 20% of total direct costs
– Optional return Phase 15.000€ under (I) for reintegration of
researcher
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NIGHT
• Up to 100% of costs (CSA)
• Mono/Multi-beneficiary
• Indirect costs max 7% of direct costs
(not a flat rate, it is a ceiling)
• Duration 7 months
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IRSES:
– 1800€ per seconded researcher per
months (management Included)
covering mobility costs
– Not a salary/allowance!
– Mono-beneficiary (2007/08)
– Multi-beneficiary (2009/10)
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COFUND
– Financing for funding bodies and fellowship
schemes
– EC contribution = 40% of fellowship cost for
eligible researchers
– Max 5 million € per single applicant per call
– Scale unit costs method = flat rate amount
calculated on negotiated budget per project
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ITN
• the recruitment of researchers to be
trained;
• networking costs and the organisation of
short training events (workshops,
seminars, summer schools and
conferences).
• where applicable, the recruitment of the
senior “visiting researchers”;
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ITN
Cost categories (A B C D E F G/H):
•
•
•
•
•
Monthly living and mobility allowance
Travel allowance
Career exploratory award
Contribution to participation expenses
Contribution to research/transfer of knowledge
– Please not that since 2009 these two categories were merged
• Management costs
• Indirect costs
• Maximum of 40% of the EU contribution to any one
country in the network
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IAPP
• Exchange of know-how and experience through twoway or one-way secondments of research staff
between commercial and non-commercial partners
• Recruitment of experienced researchers from outside
the partnership, for involvement in the transfer of
knowledge and⁄or the training of researchers
• Networking, workshops and conferences involving
external researchers as well as the partners' own
research staff.
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IAPP
Cost categories (A B C D E F G/H):
•
•
•
•
•
Monthly living and mobility allowance
Travel allowance
Career exploratory award
Contribution to participation expenses
Contribution to research/transfer of knowledge
– Please not that since 2009 these two categories were merged
• Management costs
• Indirect costs
• Small equipment expenses for SMEs participating (Max
10% of negotiated SMEs contribution)
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Summary of « People » Actions
Elegible cost categories for
activities carried out by researcher
Action
Monthly living
allowance A
Travel
allowance B
YES
IAPP
YES
YES
For newly recruited
researchers only, not
for seconded staff
NO
IEF/IOF/IIF
YES
YES
IOF IIF NO
800€ per
IEF YES
researcher/month for
lab projects and €500
for non-lab projects
NO
General rules
YES
Participation
expenses D
ITN
IRG/ ERG
YES
Exploratory
award C
600€ per
researcher/month for
lab projects and 300€
for non-lab projects
NO
NO
NO
For specific amounts
see table
correspondent WP
For specific amounts
see table
correspondent WP
2000€ per fellow
Fixed amount per
researcher/month for
lab projects and for
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non-lab projects
Summary of « People » Actions
Cost Categories for activities carried out by host
ITN
TRANSFER OF
KNOWLEDGE
CONFERENCES
MANAGEMENT
INDIRECT
COSTS
600€ per
researcher/month
YES
7% for networks
3% for mono
10% of direct
Since WP 2009
1200€ per researcher/month
IAPP
800€ per
YES
beneficiary and
twinning
3%
10%
Max 10% of
beneficiaries
contribution can be
charged by SMEs
for equipment
3%
10%
15.000€ per
researcher/years
for return phase
IOF/IIF
Since WP 2009
1200€ per researcher/month
NO
IRG/
ERG
NO
NO
700€ per researcher/month
(starting with WP 2009)
up to 20% of total direct costs
NO
3%
10%
(2007 WP)
(2007 WP)
15.000€ per
researcher/year
ERG
NO
(2008 onwards)
General rules
NO
costs
researcher/month
IEF
IOF
IIF
OTHER
800€ or 600€
per
researcher/month
300€ per
researcher/day
7% or 3%
of EC contribution
25.000€ per
researcher/year IRG
10% of direct
costs, except
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subcontractors
Summary of « People » Actions
Financial rules for other actions
IRSES
NIGHT
COFUND
1800€ per seconded researcher/months
100% of costs, during 7 months (CSA)
40% of the fellowship costs for eligible researchers, with a
maximum overall of EUR 5 million to a single applicant entity
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Recurrent questions
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Payments flow
TOTAL EU CONTRIBUTON = 100%
month 2
Pre-financing
Project duration
5% for Guarantee fund
month 12
Month 24
After final payment
Interim Payment
Final Payment
Guarantee Fund
restitution = 5%
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Guarantee Fund
• FP7 Guarantee Funds of the Participants (GF)
has been established in order to cover amounts
due and not reimbursed by defaulting partners
• GF intervene in favor of the consortium for the
amount not spent by the defaulting participant in
order to ensure the continuation of the project
• At the end of the project the 5% of EU
contribution is returned to the beneficiaries
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Purchase of durable equipment
• General Rules:
– Direct cost
– No VAT
– Depreciation for the period must be charged
• In which category?
– Category E/D
– Look for which activity the durable equipment
is used
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More on cost categories
• Transfer of costs between categories
–
–
–
–
Allowed only in some exceptional cases
Allowed within the two large categories (HOST/FELLOW)
Allowed from the HOST towards the FELLOW
Ask for agreement from PO
• Underpayment of the fellow
– Not possible
– Breach of the contract
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Subcontracting
Is subcontracting allowed?
•
Yes, if foreseen in Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement
What can be subcontracted?
•
Only non-core tasks
•
Many tasks of the coordinator cannot be subcontracted
What procedures do we need to follow?
•
You need to follow the rules of your institution
•
In addition the choice of subcontractor must be transparent, on the basis of equal treatment and
represent best value for money.
Why do I need to record all subcontracting costs?
•
Subcontracting costs do not generate overheads (cat H) therefore must be recorded separately to
ensure correct calculation of Cat H
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Maternity leave
Can a fellow take maternity or parental leave?
•
Yes, in accordance with the national legislation
Are the costs of the leave eligible?
•
When mandatory under national law and not refundable from social secutiry
What costs can we claim?
•
The difference between the amount provided by social security and the amount payable to the fellow
(the latter capped at the flat rate provided in the GA)
Will the EU contribution automatically be increased by that amount?
•
This is examined on a case-by-case basis and is not decided until the end of the project
–
Often, by the end of the project the total amount of costs claimed are less than the maximum EU contribution
therefore no increase is necessary
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Interest on prefinancing
• Interest bearing bank account (for new projects)
– Obligation to use Interest bearing bank account for all
coordinators and mono-beneficiaries
– Exception for pre-financing of less than 50.000 euro
– Following GA and FR, interest must be recovered
• How to declare interests
– Interest generated by pre-financing must be declared in the
FORM C (specific box)
– They will be offset, usually at the final payment
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FORM C: What is it?
•
•
•
•
•
•
It is a cost statement, a declaration on
honour that its content is real and
reliable (also from Audit point of view)
Has to be filled and submitted by
beneficiaries not later than 60 days after
the end of each reporting period
(electronically and paper)
Has to be signed by beneficiary’s
representative
Includes projects details, cost
categories, indication of receipts,
certificates to be included
It is checked by REA officials against
FP7 rules, the GA conditions and the
provisional budget established
If inconsistencies are found beneficiaries
are contacted in order to have
complementary information
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Certificate on financial statement
– Certificates on the Financial Statements (CFS) are
not required for indirect actions entirely reimbursed by
means of lump sums or flat rates.
– CFS should be provided only once the threshold
mentioned in the GA (EUR 375,000) has been
reached.
– EC contribution is equal or superior to EUR 375,000
when cumulated with all previous payments
– Standard EU templates provided
– Filled by authorised Auditor at EU level
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Thank you and good luck!
Nicolo' Giacomuzzi-Moore
Head of Sector - Financial Verification
Research Executive Agency
COVE 15/102
Place Rogier,16 ,B-1049 Brussels
Tel: +32 2 29 94376
nicolo.giacomuzzi-moore@ec.europa.eu
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