200917 EM Büscher 5stepstotake - EMDESK...Seite 5 STEPS YOU HAVE TO TAKE WHEN YOU HAVE RECEIVED AN H2020 GRANT 5 In this webinar Melanie Büscher, expert at Way2Connect, will give

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5 steps you have to take when you have received an H2020 grantOCT 29, 2020 14:00 - 15:00 (+30 MIN Q&A)

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TODAY’S SPEAKER

Kimberly ALBEÑO

Client Relationship Specialist at EMDESK

Researchers are crucial in today's world and I want to do my part to help them.

Connect on LinkedIn with Kim

twitter.com/emdeskpm

[email protected]

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-albe%C3%B1o-ab02b91a6/https://twitter.com/EMDESKpmhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-albe%C3%B1o-ab02b91a6/https://twitter.com/EMDESKpmmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-albe%C3%B1o-ab02b91a6/

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TODAY’S SPEAKER

Melanie BÜSCHER

Horizon 2020 trainer and consultant @Way2Connect

Connect on LinkedIn

Visit our website way2connect.dk

Email: [email protected]

https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-buescher/http://way2connect.dkmailto:[email protected]

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5 STEPS YOU HAVE TO TAKE WHEN YOU HAVE RECEIVED AN H2020 GRANT

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In this webinar Melanie Büscher, expert at Way2Connect, will give you the 5 steps to take when you have received a Horizon 2020 grant.

This webinar is presented by EMDESK in cooperation with Way2Connect.

Today’s Topics:

Implementing the 5 steps into your Horizon 2020 project

Ensuring your project administration is in line with the Grant Agreement

Afterwards, you will know exactly what crucial five steps to take and why.

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What is EMDESK?

EMDESK is a project and work management solution for research and innovation projects.

It helps large teams across organisations to organise and collaborate in EU funded projects while keeping maximum control and transparency.

DEVELOPED AND HOSTED IN GERMANY

EU PROJECT COMPLIANCE (H2020)

HIGH DATA SECURITY (AES256)

FULL PROJECT LIFE CICLE

GDPR COMLIANT ALL IN ONE SOLUTION

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Focus on what you do best - research and innovation

Plan & Organize Design and budget projects of any scale

Execute & Report Gain control by building

reports that matter

Control & Analyse Take control with power analytics

Collaborate & Communicate Increase productivity with

efficient communication

An all-in-one solution for the entire lifecycle of projects of any scale and complexity with the flexibility to customise to specific needs.

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Focus on what you do best - research and innovation

EMDESK - From planning, controlling, reporting, and collaboration. One stop solution you need to work more efficiently with others in real-time.

Leading project and work management solution for H2020 projects

Our customers report an increase in efficiency of more than 30%

Trusted by 20.000+ users in 3.000+ projects worldwide since 2008

from small to billion Euro projects involving 150+ organisations (like EU flagships HBP and Graphene)

“Combining a personal service with flexibility and solution-oriented thinking, EMDESK is a highly reliable solution that helps us to manage and monitor all our project activities efficiently.”

Dr. Katarina Boustedt Head of Administration of the EU FET Graphene Flagship at Chalmers University of Technology

19000+ users

89% found EMDESK helpful in overcoming the challenges they usually face

95% Of those using EMDESK

would use it again

3000+ projects

Users report an average efficiency

gain of 30%

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TRUSTED BY EUROPES TOP RESEARCH ORGANISATIONS

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Find me on linkedin.com/in/melanie-buescher or way2connect.dk

Five foundational practices for H2020 financial

management

Get it right from the start


Agenda: five foundational practices

What they mean, why they are important and how they make your H2020 - life easier.

1. Documentation requirements 2. Use of resources 3. Sound financial management 4. Budget transfers 5. Some specificities with regarding the cost categories


Let me be your #H2020Guide

• Have worked with the EU research and innovation programmes since 2007

• As official National Contact Point in Denmark

• Since 2017 as self-employed consultant for SMEs with H2020 projects

• Since 2019 also Research Supporter at IT-University of Copenhagen

• H2020 consultant and H2020 online trainer


Poll

Have you already reported your expenses to the EU? (Periodic reporting for H2020 project)

❑Yes ❑No ❑I am not sure


Poll

When is your next Financial Statement due (periodic or final reporting)?

❑Within the next three months ❑Within the next six months ❑Later ❑Not sure


• The financial reporting is not very extensive as such. • Only a few figures. • The Grant Agreement (GA) states that you have to have the

underlying documentation available, though.


Financial Statement – a few figures


Documentation? Why?

EU contributions to Horizon 2020 projects are a reimbursement of the costs you have incurred. It is your responsibility to document the costs that you claim to the EU.


Distribution of errors


Most common errors in H2020

https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/other/comm/190305_avoiding-errors-when-claiming-costs_en.pdf


If it is not on Facebook, it hasn’t happened

If they are not documented, the expenses are not eligible for EU funding…


Practice no 1

Record all your expenses, even your time


Record all your expenses, even your time

In order to be eligible for funding, costs have to be, amongst others,

• actually incurred, identifiable and verifiable • Every EUR charged on the project has to be documented • Contracts, timesheets, log books, invoices, internal policies • If you did not document them, ”the costs have not incurred”….

Art. 6, 18 and 22 Grant Agreement (GA)


Poll

Have you ever taken the opportunity to read the Grant Agreement (GA) you have signed?

❑Yes ❑No ❑All 58 articles??


Poll

Do you have the possibility to find the GA while we talk and take a look at it?

❑Yes, it is already on my table ❑Yes, just a sec ❑No, I cannot access it right now, unfortunately


If you only read one article of the GA…

Article 6.1 GA


Your responsibility

! This means it is your responsibility to show that you have had the costs that you asked the EU to reimburse.


Documentation for having followed the rules

Compliance means typically: “can you document that you followed the rules for eligibility of costs”?


Timesheets

Timesheets – Timesheets – Timesheets – Timesheets – Timesheets

Reliable time records Reliable

Time Records

Art. 18 GA describes some minimum criteria


Minimum requirements on time sheets


Practice no. 2

In order to be eligible for funding, costs have to be

• incurred in connection with the project as described in Annex 1 and necessary for its implementation

Art. 6 GA


Practice no 2

Purposefully link your expenses


Probably the biggest time saver of them all:

• Make it a routine to show the link between cost and project when registering costs • For every single invoice, and every single hour on the project: • Work package relation • A sentence or two/ minutes for meetings/ invitations • The link has to be clear


Financial Statement – additional information


Use of resources

You have to fill in

• Personnel costs: Person Months per work package, including text fields • Most other costs: distribution per work package, including text

fields for individual subcontractors, description of major cost items …


Poll

Do you purchase goods (material, consumables, travels..) or services for your project?

❑Yes ❑No ❑I think so


Poll

Can you document that the purchases you made are best value for money?

❑Yes ❑No ❑Not sure


Practice no. 3

Always counter quote


Sound financial management

In order to be eligible, costs must be

• reasonable, justified and must comply with the principle of sound financial management, in particular regarding economy and efficiency;

Art. 6, 10, 13 GA


Purchase of goods, services, subcontracting

• The project partners must base their purchases either on the best value for money (considering the quality of the service, good or work proposed, i.e. the best price-quality ratio) or on the lowest price. • Not necessarily competitive selection procedures, but be able

to demonstrate best-value-for-money

From art. 10 and art. 13


Not ”sound financial management” = “excessive expenditure” (put in a simplified way)

If the EC finds some of your claimed costs to be ineligible, it means you have to bear these costs yourself


Practice no. 4

Find your freedom in your budget


Freedom? Yes, limited, but yes!

• While H2020 project administration is very rigid, there is also surprisingly big room for manoeuvre with regards to the budget

• With or Without an amendment of the GA

Art 4 GA and your technical report


Key words are “as described”

”If the project is implemented as (formerly) described in Annex 1 (=your application)”

It means: If there is a significant change of the project tasks compared to how you have originally described them (e.g. if tasks are added/removed) or if you distribute the work differently than originally described, you can still make changes – but you also have to change Annex 1, together with the EU.


Therefore:

Report and claim the costs that you have actually incurred, even though they deviate from the original budget.

Although: you will probably not get more EU contribution than planned, unless there is unused budget, and you are good at negotiating with the coordinator


Important to remember

• Make sure that your Financial Statement, Use of Resources and the Technical Report convey the same message • In particular when there are changes


Practice no. 5

Categorize your contracts


We have different cost categories

Financial Statement


Three main points of attention

1. Service contracts 2. Affiliated entities 3. Internal consultants


1. Service contracts


1. Service contracts - Poll

• You purchased consultancy services. Do they categorize as

❑“Subcontracts” ❑“Other direct costs” ❑Depends on my original description in application/ Annex 1 ❑Depends on the amount


It depends on your Annex 1

It depends solely on what is covered by the contract/ invoice: • if it covers activities that are described as tasks in your

application/ Annex 1 ! Subcontracting • If it covers activities that support you in implementing the tasks

in your application/ Annex 1 ! Other direct costs


2. Affiliated entities

For example: - mother/ daughter companies within the same corporate group - Legal entity with a legal link to your organisation


2. Affiliated entities - Poll

What can be the problem with affiliated entities participating in the H2020 project and charging their costs to the EU?

❑They did not sign the Grant Agreement, so they are not a real project participant

❑Only beneficiaries can claim costs to the EU, and they are a different legal entity

❑They are not a subcontractor, so they cannot just send an invoice for the work they do.


All of the above is true.

Affiliated entities have to be mentioned as so-called “linked third parties”. Otherwise their costs are not eligible for EU reimbursement. They have to be clearly mentioned in article 14 GA and in the budget (Annex 2).


3. Internal consultants

• If they are “internal consultants” as defined by the GA, their costs are claimed under your personnel costs. • If they actually are “external consultants”, their costs are

claimed either under Subcontracting or Other Direct Costs, depending on the work they do.

See EMDESK video on “internal vs. external consultants”


To sum it up


Bonus tips

1. Read the GA (and your Consortium Agreement) 2. If you expect a large EU contribution*, get an auditor to look

at your calculations and documentation already for the next project period. (“Partial Certificate on the Financial Statement”)

*325.000 EUR in EU contribution trigger a so-called Certificate on the Financial Statement is correctly described as:

Your #H2020Guide

You can find me on linkedin.com/in/melanie-buescher or way2connect.dk

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200917 EM Büscher 5stepstotake - EMDESK...Seite 5 STEPS YOU HAVE TO TAKE WHEN YOU HAVE RECEIVED AN H2020 GRANT 5 In this webinar Melanie Büscher, expert at Way2Connect, will give