IPROMS

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IPROMS Kick-Off Meeting Andrea GENTILI EC
Project Officer (Andrea.gentili_at_cec.eu.int) 15
October 2004, Cardiff, United Kingdom
This presentation is a DRAFT version, any
information given is INDICATIVE and NON-BINDING
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Project Organisation

• Co-ordinator
• Project Management Board
• Project Technical Committee
• Task Leaders
• Exploitation Group - User Group
• Commissions Programme Officer

3
Critical Success Factors

• Clear project programme with partners roles well
  defined
• Partners commitment to objectives - in-line with
  business strategies
• Effective Management and understanding between
  partners
• Sound exploitation plans and continuous follow-up
  of exploitation and dissemination

4
Contract Structure

• Core contractstandard with specifics of project
• Annex IDescription of Work - the project
• Annex IIGeneral Conditions
• Annex III Specific provisions (e.g. competitive
  calls for new contractors)

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Contract Structure

• Annex IV - Form A
• Consent of contractors identified in the
  core-contract (article 1.2) to accede to the
  contract.
• Annex V - Form B
• Accession of new legal entities to the
  contract.
• Annex VI - Form C
• Financial statement per activity. Specific to
  each instrument and/or type of action. To be
  filled periodically by each contractor.

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Range of Contractual Agreements
Subcontractor
Coordinator
Contract
Contractor x
ConsortiumAgreement
Commission Contract
Commission
Contractor y
Contract
Contractor z
Subcontractor
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Contractors

• General Rule Participant contractor
• Every legal entity contributing to a project
  must have a contractual link with the Community
• A contractor may carry out exclusively management
  tasks
• Exceptional cases subject to very restrictive
  rules
• Third parties identified in Annex I
• Subcontractors

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Subcontracting

• Subcontracting is considered as an exception
• where it is necessary to subcontract certain
  elements of the work, this should be clearly
  identified in Annex I.
• any subcontract, the costs of which will be
  claimed under the project, must be offered to the
  best bid (value for money) in compliance with the
  national legislation of the contractor concerned.
• For public legal entities internal rules for
  selection of service providers (public call for
  tender)
• For private legal entities submission of several
  quotes (usually a minimum of three), unless it
  has an established framework contract for the
  provision of those services.

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Signature and entry into force

• Contractual link of all contractors with the
  Commission
• New Contract enters into force upon signature
  of coordinator and Commission
• All the contractors are identified in the core
  contract Art. 1.2
• Coordinator must ensure other contractors sign
  within delays
• Distribution of advance - Several options
  available minimum number of participants/all
  participants
• Evolution of consortium possible
• where one or more does not sign the Form A
  article 2
• in case of enlargement (new contractors)
  article 3
• Project begins in the date established in the
  contract (this can be before the contract enters
  into force but usually later)

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Amendments

• Art.10 of Core Contract Art.8 of Annex II
• Request in writing
• New at the request of the coordinator, deemed to
  act on behalf of the consortium
• New Tacit amendments with implicit agreement of
  the Commission within 6 weeks only for
  modification and evolution of the consortium and
  for technical reports
• New in IP/NoE, enlargement of the consortium to
  new contractors and new activities may be
  foreseen. This enlargement follows, in principle,
  a competitive call launched by the consortium
  with evaluation of proposals by external experts

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Further novelties

• Payments to be confirmed by an audit certificate
• Consortium Management costs reimbursed up to
  100 within the limit of 7 of Community
  contribution
• cost categories are replaced by conformity to
  contractors own accounting rules and legal
  environment

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pre-financing and start of project

• Distribution of pre-financing to co-ordinator
  within 45 days of the date of entry into force of
  contract/date of signature of minimum number of
  participants/date of signature of last contractor
• Distribution of pre-financing to contractors
  not before minimum number of contractors have
  acceded to the contract
• Project begins in the date established in the
  contract (this can be before the contract enters
  into force but usually later)

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financial aspects

• No cost categories but list of ineligible costs
  Art. II.19(2)
• For financial reporting use Form C - Model of
  Financial Statement per Activity (specific per
  instrument)
• To be eligible, costs must be
• actual, economic and necessary for the project
• incurred during the duration of the project
• (exception costs of final reports)
• recorded in the accounts of the contractor (or
  third parties) and must exclude indirect taxes,
  duties, interests, costs reimbursed in respect of
  another Community project
• follow contractors own accounting rules
• Not give rise to profit

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financial aspects

• Indication on cost categories in annual report
• Audit certificates by external auditor (for
  public bodies - competent public auditor) per
  partner every year (IP/NoE) after 1 year and at
  the end (STREP/CA) only at the end (SSA)

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Costs

• Breakdown between type of activity Demo, RTD,
  Training, Management and Other activities
• Each cost must be recorded under the correct type
  of activity in order to allow easy verification
  of the costs (audit certificate)
• Management cost are limited to 7 of the total EC
  funding

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Cost reporting models

• FC actual direct and indirect costs
• FCF (variant of FC) actual direct costs flat
  rate for indirect costs (20 of total actual
  direct costs minus subcontracting)
• AC actual additional direct costs flat rate
  for indirect costs (20 of total actual
  additional direct costs minus subcontracting) -
  only for those non-commercial or non-profit
  organisations that do not have an accounting
  system allowing to share direct and indirect
  costs relating to the project

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Cost reporting models
General Rule a legal entity applies the same
cost model in ALL contracts established under FP6
except may move from AC to FCF/FC or from FCF to
FC (one way ticket)
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Progress Reporting Schedule
Reporting schedule for a 36-month project
Interim Activity report (normally 6 months
intervals)
Periodic activity report
Periodic Financial Management Report (cost
statements)
Audit certificate
Final Activity Report
Final Financial Management Report
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30
24
18
6
12
Project Months
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Payments and reporting schedule (example of a 3
year contract)
Final reporting period
Final report
Audit
Reported costs
Second reporting period
Periodic activity report
Audit
Reported costs
Third advance payment
Detailed work plan
Periodic activity report
First reporting period
Audit
Reported costs
Second advance payment
Detailed work plan
Start of the project
Initial advance payment
Detailed work plan
0
6
12
18
24
30
36
20
Cash Flow
Total Spent
Negative cash flow
Pre-financing(85 for first 18 months)
PeriodicPayment
Periodic Payment
Final Payment
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Implementation of the project

• Periodic Report containing (45 days after the
  end of each reporting period)
• Activity Report
• A management level overview of the activities
• A description of progress toward scientific and
  technological objectives
• A description of progress toward the milestones
  and deliverables foreseen
• The identification of problems encountered and
  corrective action taken

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Implementation of the project

• Management Report
• A management-level justification of the
  resources, linking them to activities implemented
  and justifying their necessity
• A financial part
• A financial statement showing the total eligible
  costs incurred broken down by type of activity
  (by each participant)
• A summary financial report consolidating the
  costs and requested Community contribution,
  broken down by type of activity (by the
  co-ordinator)
• A report on the allocation of the Community
  financial contribution to each participant

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Implementation of the project

• Final Report containing
• Final Report
• A Final Activity Report covering all the work,
  objectives, and the final plan for using and
  disseminating the knowledge, including summary of
  all aspects
• A Final Management Report covering the full
  duration of the project including a summary
  financial report consolidating the claimed costs
  of all contractors
• Any Supplementary Final Reports required by any
  Annex to the contract.
• A Report on the distribution between participants
  of the final payment of the Community financial
  contribution. (60 days after receipt of final
  payment by the coordinator)

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Implementation of the project

• Audit certificate
• In addition, and at the times foreseen by the
  contract, the consortium will submit an audit
  certificate for each participant.
• The audit certificate will be provided by an
  independent external auditor or by a competent
  public official and will certify the overall
  total of eligible costs incurred by each
  participant.

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Report preparation procedure
Partners
Commission
Respect deadlines
Periodic Report
Issues/Requests/Reminders
Consolidate technical, exploitation financial
data
Co-ordinator/Project Office
Early reminders about reports due
Individual partners
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Web-site to be considered

• Public pages
• project abstract, contact details
• publications
• Internal pages (FTP server)
• full contact details of personnel
• project programme, contract
• meeting schedules, venues
• minutes of meeting, reports, etc.

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Joint liability (1)

• New Collective responsibility of the contractors
• Mechanism by which a contractor may be held
  liable, technically and/or financially, fully or
  partially, for the action of another contractor
• Why?
• Reinforce the protection of the financial
  interests of the Community, both quantitative
  (only pay what is due to be paid) and qualitative
  (ensure that the project continues)
• Consequence of FP6 principle of autonomy of the
  consortium if the money is granted to the
  consortium, which decides on its allocation, then
  the consortium as a whole is to be held liable

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Audits and Controls

• The Commission may at any time during the
  contract and up to five year after the end carry
  out scientific, technological or financial
  controls or audits
• These controls and audits can be carried out by
  the Commission or by outside reviewers or
  auditors
• In exceptional cases outside reviewers may be
  refused on the grounds of commercial
  confidentiality

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Controls (2) Art. II.29
How? New continuous monitoring by Commission
with external experts (mandatory for IP and
NoE), based on simplified procedures (no public
procurement) New periodical reviews of results
achieved and expenditure made - go/no-go
procedure (12 months basis for IP NoE - ad hoc
for other instruments)
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Sanctions
Autonomy implies accountability New in case of
irregularity in a contract... 1 - exclusion from
the contract 2 - New exclusion from OTHER FP6
contracts, and from other Community policies 3 -
New ineligible to participate in FP6 activities,
and from other Community policies New
liquidated damages in case of financial
overstatement Without prejudice to civil and
criminal sanctions
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Consortium agreement

• Regulates internal organisation and management of
  consortium (Mandatory for IP and NoE)
• Between contractors - NOT signed nor approved by
  the Commission
• Non binding guidelines provided by the Commission
• Suggestion should include clear agreements in
  case of joint liability (e.g. a common emergency
  fund)

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Consortium Agreement
Complementary to Commission Contract

• Management
• distribution of funds (automatic or
  non-automatic)
• internal organisation of work, internal
  reporting
• evolution of the consortium
• IPR (to be decided before signature of contract)
  
• Risk management / collective responsibility
• Decision-making process

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Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

• Developed on the basis of
• Feedback from FP5
• Features of the new instruments
• contractors may leave/join during the project
• larger projects

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IPR - Principles

• Consistency with FP5 (similar concepts)
• Simplification
• ? New Same IPR rules for ? all instruments
  (fewer exceptions)
• ? New Same IPR rules for all contractors
• Increased certainty, in particular regarding
  access rights (restricted to what is necessary)
• Increased emphasis on the management of knowledge
  and IP (especially new instruments)

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Rules relating to Intellectual Property
Access Rights (art. II.35)
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For more information

• Legal framework within FP6 / Model contract
• europa.eu.int/comm/research/fp6/working-groups/mod
  el-contract/index_en.html
• www.cordis.lu/fp6/find-doc.htm
• Approved core contract and annex II
• Approved annex III
• Consortium checklist, financial guidelines, Form
  A- accession to the contract
• Helpdesk
• www.ipr-helpdesk.org
• RTD-A03-Question-juridiques_at_cec.eu.int
• General information on FP6-NMP
• www.cordis.lu/fp6/nmp.htm
• Guidelines
• For Project Co-ordinators
• For Reporting (draft available at
  http//www.cordis.lu/nmp/find-doc.htm)