NEXT
Electronic-only submission of FP7
financial statements (forms C)
NEXT
Forms C – current situation
• Electronic preparation and submission of forms C via
the participant portal
• After submission, print-out of pdf version; signature by
representative of the beneficiary, sending by post to the
coordinator
• Coordinator sends package by post to Commission
• Commission checks paper version against electronically
submitted data
Form C preparation
Commission
Coordinator
Participant B
Form
C
Form
C
Participant C
Form
C
(Form C: including upload of scanned copy of certificates, if applicabe)
Form C submission
Commission
Coordinator
Participant B
Scnt
Rpt
Form
Form C
C Form
C
Participant C
Form C submission
Commission
Coordinator
Participant B
Form
Scnt
Form
C Form
RptC
C
Participant C
Electronic proof of submission
Commission
Eproof
Form
Scnt
Form
CForm
RptC
C
Eproof
Eproof
Coordinator
Participant B
Participant C
Electronic proof of submission
Commission
Form
Scnt
Form
CForm
RptC
C
Coordinator
Participant B
Eproof
LEAR B
Eproof
Participant C
Eproof
LEAR A
LEAR C
Electronic proof of submission
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
pdf document containing all information submitted (for
coordinator: full periodic report; for partners: form C and
scanned copy of certificates (if applicable))
Containing credentials (ECAS account) of submitter
Digitally signed by Commission - integrity
Certified time-stamp
“Court-proof”:
for the beneficiary: proof that exactly this information was
submitted at that time and received by the COM
for the COM: proof that exactly this information was
submitted at that time
Electronic proof of submission
Persons (IAM roles) involved
•
Submission from participant to coordinator: any (!) participant
contact (PaCo) in the organisation
•
Submission from coordinator to COM: any (!) coordinator
contact (CoCo) in the organisation
Need for review of internal working methods and approval
processes for forms C in participant organisations
Transition from current approach
•
Modification of model grant agreements
•
Immediately applicable to grants signed after modification
•
Application to grants signed before: information to all ongoing
grants plus special screen when pressing Submit button
•
Ad-hoc offline appeal possibility (with time limit), if form C
submission seems erroneous
Transition from current approach
•
Modification of model grant agreement:
Article 8 – Communication
1. Any communication or request concerning the grant agreement shall identify the grant agreement
number, the nature and details of the request or communication and be submitted to the following
addresses:
For the Commission: European Commission
DG [name]
[B-1049 Brussels
[Belgium] [Luxembourg]
For the coordinator: [name of contact person]
[contact address]
2. For information or documents to be transferred by electronic means, the following addresses shall
be used:
For the Commission:
For the coordinator:
Transition from current approach
•
Modification of model grant agreement:
II.2. Organisation of the consortium and role of coordinator
…
3. The coordinator shall:
…
e) monitor the compliance by beneficiaries with their obligations under this grant
agreement.
f) [obligation with regard to identity and access management]
…
4. Beneficiaries shall fulfil the following obligations as a consortium:
…
e) allow the Commission to take part in meetings concerning the project.
f) [obligation with regard to identity and access management]
II.3. Specific performance obligations of each beneficiary
…
o) [obligation with regard to identity and access management]
Transition from current approach
•
Special screen when pressing Submit button:
Since xx.xx.xxxx, the paper signature of FP7 financial statements is
replaced by a secured electronic submission via the Participant Portal.
Pressing the “Submit” button below will trigger a legally valid submission
of your form C. An electronic proof of submission, in the form of a pdf
document containing all submitted information, digitally signed by the
Commission, will be made available to you, to the LEAR of your
organisation and to the coordinator of the project.


I confirm that the ECAS account xyz linked to e-mail address
aaa@bbb.cc is my personal account
I confirm that I am authorised to submit FP7 financial
statements (forms C) for my organisation
SUBMIT
Discussion
• How is form C approval currently organised in
your organisation (actors involved, work flow)?
• What is your opinion on the proposed new
approach?
• What changes would be necessary to the
processes in your organisation?
• Questions on technical details