You can do changes to the project and the project plan. Bigger changes will need and amendment to the contract. Ask your research support team if the changes you will make requires and amendment and get help with the process.

You need an amendment in these cases:

• Partners leaving the consortium
• Adding new partners
• Changes to partner’s legal names and official registration numbers or VAT number
• Changes to third parties
• Change of coordinator
• Change of project bank account (only the one held by the coordinator)
• Changes of staring date or duration of project
• Changes to Annex 1
  • Changes to tasks and work
  • Changes involving subcontracting
• Bigger budget changes (however transfer of budget between partners will in most case be allowed without an amendment)
• Changes of specific cost categories such as unit costs (e.g. unit cost for clinical trials)

Though not very popular by the EC the most frequent reason for an amendment is duration of project which means and extension and a later finishing date. You will need credible reasons for an amendment on duration. In most cases this means that external factor out of your immediate control has caused the delay.

You have great freedom to do budget transfers between partners and cost categories without amending the Grant Agreement. However, the project must deliver work and results as foreseen in the Annex 1. Tasks may not be transferred between partners without an amendment.

The GA says:

4.2 Budget transfers

The estimated budget breakdown indicated in Annex 2 may be adjusted by transfers of amounts between beneficiaries or between budget categories (or both). This does not require an amendment according to Article 55, if the action is implemented as described in Annex 1.

Which means that:

• money not spent by one partner can be transferred to another partner.
• cost budgeted for personnel, travel, consumables or equipment can be transferred between these categories
• in the case of unit costs
  • the number of units budgeted may be transferred between partners
  • the cost per unit cannot be changed

Reasonable guidelines for budget transfers:

• Each partner should get its costs covered up to the total budget limit for the partner
• Only budgeted costs not claimed by a partner will be transferred
• No partner has any “right” to get budget transfers.
• Each partner is obliged to deliver their work as described in Annex 1 for the budgeted cost

To be able to do budget transfers each partner and the consortium must take measures to follow up cost so that over and underspending between partners and cost categories can be detected before the final costs are reported to the EC. In most cases the reasons for budget transfers should be easy to spot by the partner work e.g. work requires more effort than planned or more travels have been needed.

It is strongly recommended that you use the DESCA model. To be found here:

http://www.desca-2020.eu/

This model is made to cover all that a project will need. DESCA will not repeat definitions or issues covered by the Grant Agreement.

This means that input from partners to the model text should be limited as much as possible to their own background, how the project will handle results and how they will give access to background and results to each other.

Before the Consortium Agreement is sent to partners it should be checked against what is written in Annex 1 of the GA and updated accordingly. As the GA will prevail over the CA there is no point in keeping contradictory texts between the two.

Do:

• Take all persons and roles mentioned in the Annex 1 and update the CA.
• Align voting rights and conflict resolution between the two.
• Align the management structure between the two
• Trust each other and agree that “fair and reasonable conditions” may be ok as a text for future use of needed background or results.

Do not:

• Add new definitions without being 100% sure that they are needed and not already in the GA
• Put in any numbers on budgets and payments. Always refer to the GA and the numbers as shown in the EC systems. This will prevent you from amending the CA for any minor changes of sums.
• For review of publications: Allow partners to have an opinion on the specific text in publications. A publication should be the full responsibility of the authors.

If partners want changes to the general text in the CA ask them again if it is really needed and if it will make any major difference for them. This may avoid several rounds of useless detail reviews and updates. 

In formalising your project, you must:

• Get your project approved by the right instances in your organisation
• Appoint persons with the power to sign contracts and costs statements according to your internal signatory practice i.e. the person that sign must have a formal position to sign for your organisation
• Get your project registered in your organisation
• Get your project registered in your accounting system. The cost of your project must be identifiable i.e. you need a separate account/number in your accounting system
• Set up a way to register hours worked on the project
  • use your normal time schedule system if you have one
  • use Excel timesheets if you do not have a system

It is you as project manager that is responsible for connecting your project to your organisation. You will need help and support from your administration and accounting colleagues so keep them informed and establish a good communication with them.  Organisational routines and EC project routines may be difficult to match so do your best for a smooth run of your project within your organisation.

Remember:

Get yourself familiar with your organisations quality management systems, handbooks and procedure. Your project activities must comply with these.

Probably not. The Annex 1 is already your project plan. Much of the information needed is available in the Participant Portal. For the rest, you will do fine with Excel spreadsheets and mail. What you may need is a safe place to store project files. SEE XXX

Several projects have tried project management systems and project planners. In most cases the conclusion seems to be:

• It takes too much time and effort to put the project into a system
• The project does not really fit into the system
• The project mgm system does not communicate with your accounting system or the EC systems leaving it alone and separate from updated data
• It is hard to get the partners to use and accept an additional system. They will probably continue to send you mails and files.

Previous                              Next

©OUS-aro