Contracts & Finances

Marit HogendoornMetten Somers

CONTENTS OF THE PRESENTATION

• Grant Agreement• Consortium Agreement• Third Parties & Subcontractors• Finances• Pre-financing• Reporting• Where to get information

Grant Agreement

• We have received the signed GA

• The starting date is set at 01-02-2010

• The GA has come into effect at 26-03-2010

• All partners need to sign accession form (between Partner and UMC Utrecht)

• The EU requires to receive this before 10-05-2010

Grant Agreement

• We will send out the required documents (The signed GA, the currently approved Description of Work (annex I) and all other annexes to all partners after this weekend

• Each partner signs three copies of the accession document (1 for own administration, 1 for UMC, 1 for EU)

• We collect all signed forms and ensure timely delivery in Brussels

Consortium agreement: Purpose

To regulate critical aspects of project governance not covered by the grant agreement between the Commission and the project consortium.

Consortium agreement: Key aspects

• the internal organisation of the consortium

• the distribution of the Community financial contribution

• management of intellectual property and access rights to results

• liability and confidentiality arrangements between partners

Distribution of the Community financial contribution

• 7.3.2• The payment schedule, which contains the transfer of pre-financing

and interim payments to Parties, will be handled according to the following in conformity with the decisions of the General Assembly and any related decisions of a Sub Project Committee:

• In the first year, the initial pre-financing by the European Union (EUR 2,423,997) will be distributed to the partners, proportional to the expected investments of the individual partners during the course of the project. Expected investments are reflected in the current distribution of budgets.

Distribution of the Community financial contribution

• Interim payments will be made proportional to performance in the project. Performance will be rated according to an algorithm that will be based on the number of subjects that have been included, participation of these subjects in the different Workpackages, completeness of the scheduled visits and investigations (e.g. MRI, interviews, collection of bloodsamples and MRS) and progression towards completion of each Workpackage a subject has enrolled in.

• A detailed description of the payment algorithm will be provided in a next version of the Consortium Agreement.

Consortium Agreement: To do

• We have sent out a concept version

• All partners: please read this document thoroughly and inform us a.s.a.p. of necessary changes as well as agreement with the text

• Final version: requires agreement and signing by ALL partners

• Pre-financing can only be distributed AFTER signing by ALL partners

OPTiMiSE≠

EUFEST

Third Parties

• Example: having other sites perform work for yourself, as was common in EUFEST, is restricted in OPTiMiSE

• EU/FP7 Regulations

Third Parties

• Involvement of Third Parties that carry out part of the work requires approval by the EU

• Failing to organise this appropriately will cause major problems with payments later on

Third Parties

Requirements:• relationship between Partner and Third Party is broad and not

specifically created for the work in OPTiMiSE: its duration should pre-date and outlast the project.

• formal external recognition of this relationship (for example: the existence of joint research units or an official affiliation in terms of employment).

Third Parties

Third Parties need to be described in DoW:• Official Name• Relationship with Partner• Contents of work to be carried out• Allocation of budget

• We aim to add all Third Parties in the next DoW• Please send us the required information a.s.a.p.

Subcontracting

• Also requires approval by the EU

• Subcontractors have a commercial interest

• The contract between a partner and a subcontractor is set up accordingly

• A Subcontractor can not perform CORE PARTS of the scheduled work (for most partners: all patient-related activities in the DoW)

Basic Rules on Financing

• Each partner responsible for own cost (reporting)• Individual budget is maximum possible amount to be reimbursed• Actual reimbursement depends on actual eligible costs and

deliverables• All charges must appear in organisation’s general ledger with

supporting documents • Communicate any (minor) budget transfers

Non eligible direct costs

• VAT

• Communication and connection costs (computers, laptops)

• Any expense which is reimbursed by another source/3rd party

• Any expense that is considered indirect in your normal

accounting practices, e.g. overheads

Reimbursement of MRI costs

• EU: problem with reimbursement of ‘fixed costs’/ consumables• Most partners have ‘fixed costs’ in MRI budget• Solution: transfer to ‘Personnel Costs’• To do:• Check with own Financial Officer• If necessary: re-allocate internal budget distribution• Inform us of any changes• We handle changes with EU (e.g. new A3 form)

Pre-financing Optimise

1 UMCU Netherlands €

601.756

2 KCL UK €

375.354

3 INSERM France €

207.892

4 UNIMAN UK €

97.840

5 CIMH Germany €

305.046

6 TUM-KRI Germany €

89.897

7 RHP Denmark €

141.522

8 SERMAS Spain €

115.236

9 IMU Austria €

46.008

10 K.U.Leuven Belgium €

46.197

11 Sheba MCRF Israel €

44.705

12 PUMS Poland €

30.875

13 ZU Switzerland €

49.578

14 LMU Germany €

57.421

15 SUN Italy €

47.757

17 HMGU Germany €

46.194

18 TGD Romania €

91.354

19 CUNICzech

Republic €

29.365

TOTAL €

2.423.997

Reporting

• Respect reporting deadlines after each period

• Certificate on Financial Statements: report on

factual findings (form D)

• Risk of EU audit: be prepared!

• Registration of hours (per workpackage)

EXAMPLE TIME SHEET

Available on Cordis Website• Guide to Financial Issues

• Guide for Beneficiaries

• Guidance Notes on Project Reporting

• Guidance Notes on Certificates issued by External

Auditors

And also: your National Contact Points