Welcome aboard the EA's e-learning experience
In this page you will find additional resources for the course
Financial Administration & Auditing Preparation for E.C. Funded Projects
You have 2 months access to the links and files here!
Course Material
Personnel Costs
Available after the course commences
Third Parties and ODC
Available after the course commences
Practice case 2
Receipts
Available after the course commences
Practice case 3 - Receipts
LINKS and DOCUMENTS
HORIZON EUROPE
- EU Budget and NextGenerationEU 2021-2027: Facts & Figures
- Horizon Europe – RTD Presentation 2019
- Final regulation establishing Horizon Europe
- Horizon Europe February 2021
- Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2021-2024
- Horizon Europe Programme Guide
- General Annexes
- Commission Implementing Decision
- HE Proposal Evaluation
- List of country-specific issues
- List of Participant Countries in the HE
- HE MODEL GRANT AGREEMENT
- Annotated HE Model Grant Agreement
- What are the European Partnerships?
- Use of unit costs for travel
- Webinar 21 April 2021 Horizon Europe
- Online Grant Manual
- IT How To
- Certificate on the Financial Statement
- Amendment Guide
- Practical Guide for China
- How to manage your lump sum grants
- Reference to country-specific coefficients for SME owner’s unit daily rate
- Unit Costs in Providing Access to Research Infrastructures
H2020
- The Financial Regulation of the EU/Euratom – Regulation 2018/1046
- Indicative Audit Programme H2020
- Annotated Model Grant Agreement H2020
- The H2020 Establishment Regulation of the EU 1291/2013
- Rules for Participation and Dissemination Regulation 1290/2013
- Rules of Application (RAP) – Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1268/2012
- H2020 Work Programme 2018-2020
- EC H2020 Online Manual portal
- COVID19 Related issues
- H2020 Interim Evaluation Key Findings
- More Reference Documents
- Exchange rate (InforEuro)
- Unit costs calculation for MSCA action grants
- Unit Costs for personnel costs
- Periodic Report (Model H2020)
- Guidance on Grant Reductions (H2020)
- Calculating monthly hourly rates
- Deducting parental leave from monthly hourly rate
- EU Grants: Declaration on exclusive work
- Amendements Types
- Coordinators’ Days
- Model for the Certificate on the Financial Statements
- Model for the Certificate on the Methodology
Additional Links
Additional Material
Editable formats of PM² Artefacts
All the above artefacts (templates), and even more, are also available in editable format (doc, ppt, xls).
Proposal writing steps
(press the presentation button on the upper right corner to navigate through the steps)
Glossary
An alphabetical list of terms and words related to Horizon 2020 and similar subjects, with a brief explanation.
| Academic sector |
| Consists of public or private higher education establishments awarding academic degrees, public or private non-profit research organisations whose primary mission is to pursue research, and international European interest organisations as they are defined in Article 2 of the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation. |
| Access rights |
| Rights to use results or background under the terms and conditions laid down in accordance with the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation (Regulation(EU) No 1290/2013) |
| Access to risk finance |
| Access to risk finance shall aim to overcome deficits in the availability of debt and equity finance for R&D and innovation-driven companies and projects at all stages of development. Together with the equity instrument of the Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs, it shall support the development of European Union-level venture capital. |
| Account Administrator |
| A role in the Participant Portal giving particular access rights for managing organisation-related data. Account Administrators are assigned by LEARs who delegate some of their tasks to them. Account Administrators have full read/write access to the organisation data and can assign Legal Signatories (LSIGNs) and Financial Signatories (FSIGNs). |
| Affiliated entity |
| Any legal entity that is under the direct or indirect control of a participant, or under the same direct or indirect control as the participant, or is directly or indirectly controlling a participant. Control may take any of the forms set out in Article 7 of Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation (Regulation (EU) 1290/2013). |
| Applicant |
| Legal entity submitting an application for a call for proposals. When the application is submitted in name of a consortium then the applicant is the coordinator. |
| Associated country |
| A third country which is party to an international agreement with the European Union, as identified in Article 7 of Regulation(EU) No 1290/2013 [Horizon 2020]. |
| Award Criteria |
| Also sometimes referred to as ‘evaluation criteria’. All proposals are evaluated on three criteria: excellence, impact, quality and efficiency of the implementation. The work programme or work plan shall lay down further details of the application of the award criteria and specify weightings and thresholds. |
| Background |
| Any data, know-how and/or information whatever their form or nature, tangible or intangible, including any rights such as intellectual property rights which are (i) held by participants prior to their accession to the action (ii) identified by the participants in accordance with Article 42 of Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation (Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013) and (iii) needed for carrying out the action or for exploiting the results of the action. |
| Basic act |
| A legal act adopted by the European Union institutions in the form of a regulation, a directive or a decision within the meaning of Article 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which provides a legal basis for the action. |
| Beneficiary |
| means the legal person, other than the European Commission, who is a Party in the Grant Agreement. |
| Beneficiary Register |
| A central database of organisations (legal entities) participating in EU funding programmes. Each organisation has a Participant Identification Code (PIC) that is used as the unique identifier in all interactions in any proposals or grants in which the organisation is involved. |
| Call Coordinator |
| A European Union official responsible for all practical questions in relation to a call, or part of a call, and who plans and organises the proposal reception and evaluation process. |
| Call for proposals |
| Procedure to invite applicants to submit project proposals with the objective of receiving funds from the European Union. |
| Call publication |
| Call publication is the act of publishing calls for project proposals on the Research & Innovation Participant Portal. |
| Civil society |
| Civil society which includes: labour-market players (i.e. trade unions and employers federations – the “social partners”); organisations representing social and economic players, which are not social partners in the strict sense of the term (for instance, consumer organisations); NGOs (non-governmental organisations), which bring people together in a common cause, such as environmental organisations, human rights organisations, charitable organisations, educational and training organisations, etc.; CBOs (community-based organisations), i.e. organisations set up within society at grassroots level which pursue member-oriented objectives, e.g. youth organisations, family associations and all organisations through which citizens participate in local and municipal life; and religious communities. |
| Civil Society Organisation |
| Any legal entity that is non governmental, non-profit, not representing commercial interests and pursuing a common purpose in the public interest. |
| Close-to-market action |
| An action primarily consisting of activities directly aiming at producing plans and arrangements or designs for new, altered or improved products, processes or services. For this purpose they may include prototyping, testing, demonstrating, piloting, large-scale product validation and market replication. |
| Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers |
| a set of general principles and requirements that should be followed by employers and/or funders when appointing or recruiting researchers. These should ensure observance of values such as transparency of the recruitment process and equal treatment of all applicants, in particular with regard to the development of an attractive, open and sustainable European labour market for researchers. |
| Cofunding of regional, national & int’l programmes |
| MSC action aiming at stimulating regional, national or international programmes to foster excellence in researchers’ training, mobility and career development, spreading the best practices of MSC actions. This will be achieved by co-funding new or existing regional, national, and international programmes to open-up to, and provide for, international, intersectoral and interdicisplinary research training, as well as transnational and cross-sector mobility of researchers at all stages of their career. |
| Communication |
| Communication on projects is a strategically planned process, that starts at the outset of the action and continues throughout its entire lifetime, aimed at promoting the action and its results. It requires strategic and targeted measures for communicating about (i) the action and (ii) its results to a multitude of audiences, including the media and the public and possibly engaging in a two-way exchange. |
| Conflict of interest |
| Any event influencing the capacity of a candidate, tenderer, contractor or grant beneficiary to give an objective and impartial professional opinion, or preventing it, at any moment, from giving priority to the interests of the Contracting Authority. Any consideration relating to possible contracts in the future or conflict with other commitments, past or present, of a candidate, tenderer, contractor or grant beneficiary. These restrictions also apply to any sub-contractors and employees of the candidate, tenderer, contractor or grant beneficiary. Within the meaning of Article 52 of the Financial Regulation conflict of interest means that the impartial and objective exercise of the functions of a player in the implementation of the budget or an internal auditor is compromised for reasons involving family, emotional life, political or national affinity, economic interest or any other shared interest with the beneficiary. |
| Consensus Discussion |
| A meeting of experts who participated in the individual evaluation, moderated by a Commission representative, usually performed in Brussels (or electronic forum), to discuss the scores awarded and to prepare comments. The experts attempt to agree on a consensus score for each of the criteria that have been evaluated and comments which justify the scores and are suitable for feedback to the proposal coordinator. Scores and comments are set out in a consensus report. |
| Consortium Agreement |
| Is an internal agreement between members of a consortium establishing their rights and obligations with respect to the implementation of the action in compliance with the grant agreement. |
| Continuous Submission Scheme |
| Some calls for proposals may be continuously open to allow proposal submission at any time, but may specify intermediate closure dates. |
| Contractor |
| Contractor means a natural or legal person with whom a procurement contract has been concluded. |
| Coordination and Support Action |
| An action consisting primarily of accompanying measures such as standardisation, dissemination, awareness raising and communication, networking, coordination or support services, policy dialogues and mutual learning exercises and studies, including design studies for new infrastructure and may also include complementary activities of networking and coordination between programmes in different countries. |
| Coordinator |
| The coordinator of a consortium who submits the project in the name of the consortium. In case of successful application it participates in the grant preparation in the name of the consortium and during the project period keeps contact with the European Commission in the name of the consortium. |
| Coordinator Contact |
| A role in the Participant Portal giving particular access rights for the paperless management of Horizon 2020 grants. Coordinator Contacts have full, read/write access to their own and the consortium’s common e-forms, and can submit to the Commission/Agency. They can nominate/revoke other Coordinator Contacts, Task Managers and Team Members of the coordinating entity. |
| Country correction coefficient |
| EU Funding in Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSC) is based on unit costs per researcher month. In MSC Innovative Training Networks (ITN) and MSC Individual Fellowships (IF) actions, Country Correction Coefficients are applied to the \”Living allowance\” unit cost in order to take into consideration the different cost of living. The applied correction coefficient is the one of the host country where the research work is carried out. |
| Data Management Plan (DMP) |
| A document outlining how the research data collected or generated by a research project in Horizon 2020 will be handled during and after project end. It describes what data will be collected / generated, what methodology and standards are used, whether and how this data will be shared and/or made open, and how it will be curated and preserved. |
| Digital Agenda |
| the first of seven flagship initiatives of Europe 2020 strategy which contains the strategy of the European Union towards a digital economy through utilisation of digital technologies by 2020. |
| Direct action |
| Research and innovation activities undertaken by the European Commission through its Joint Research Centre (JRC). |
| Dissemination |
| The public disclosure of the results by any appropriate means (other than resulting from protecting or exploiting the results), including by scientific publications in any medium. |
| Doctoral programmes |
| One of the two types of programme supported by the MSC COFUND action addressing the development and broadening of the research competencies of early-stage researchers. The training will follow the EU Principles on Innovative Doctoral Training. Collaboration with a wider set of partners, including from the non-academic sector, which may provide hosting or secondment opportunities or training in research or transferable skills, as well as innovative elements of the proposed programme, are welcome. Each researcher shall be enrolled in a doctoral programme. |
| Electronic Submission |
| Project proposals for Horizon 2020 calls are prepared and submitted electronically via the Participant Portal by the coordinator of the project consortium. The electronic submission service is accessed by selecting an open topic in the Participant Portal call service. |
| Eligibility criteria |
| Criteria used to determine whether a proposal meets the requirements to become eligible for European Union grant. |
| Enterprise Europe Network |
| European information and consultancy network, funded by the European Union, providing innovation and business support to small business across the European Union. It consists of close to 600 business support organizations, such as chambers of commerce and industry, technology centers, research institutes and development agencies. |
| Entry into force |
| refers to the date upon which the grant agreement or amendment to the grant agreement has legal force and effect |
| Equity investment |
| Equity investment means the provision of capital to a firm, invested directly or indirectly in return for total or partial ownership of that firm and where the equity investor may assume some management control of the firm and may share the firm’s profits. |
| ERA chairs |
| A measure of the European Union to support outstanding academics with a clear potential for research excellence in order to help their institutions fully unlock their potential and create a more level playing field for research and innovation in the European Research Area (ERA). |
| ERA-NET |
| an instrument using grants to support public-public partnerships in their preparation, establishment of networking structures, design, implementation and coordination of joint activities as well as topping up of single joint calls and of actions of a transnational nature |
| ERA-NET Cofund |
| An action funding the implementation of a single joint call for proposals for trans-national research and/or innovation projects and additional joint activities related to the coordination of national/regional research and innovation programmes. For more details, see here. |
| ERC Executive Agency |
| the administrative organ of the European Research Council (ERC), which is responsible for all aspects of administrative implementation and execution of ERC programmes. This executive agency manages the awards of ERC grants. |
| ERC Scientific Council |
| One of the components of the European Research Council who is responsible for the scientific strategy for the ERC. |
| ERC Scientific Council Member |
| The members of Scientific Council are scientists, engineers and scholars of the highest repute and appropriate expertise, ensuring the diversity of research areas and acting in their personal capacity, independent of extraneous interests. They are appointed by the European Commission. |
| Ethics Appraisal |
| Following the evaluation of the research content, the Commission undertakes an ethics review of proposals that are in line for funding and raise ethical issues. |
| European Charter for Researchers |
| a set of general principles and requirements which specifies the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers as well as of employers and/or funders of researchers. It aims at ensuring that the nature of the relationship between researchers and employers or funders is conducive to successful performance in generating, transferring, sharing and disseminating knowledge and technological development, and to the career development of researchers. |
| European Charter for Researchers |
| A set of general principles and requirements which specifies the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers as well as of employers and/or funders of researchers. It aims at ensuring that the nature of the relationship between researchers and employers or funders is conducive to successful performance in generating, transferring, sharing and disseminating knowledge and technological development, and to the career development of researchers. |
| European Fellowships |
| Type of an MSC IF held in Member States or Associated Countries and open to researchers coming from within and outside Europe. The researcher must comply with the rules of mobility in the country where the European Fellowship is held. |
| European Industrial Doctorates |
| Type of an MSC ITN partnership. It is composed by at least two beneficiaries located in different Member States or Associated Countries, of which one must be entitled to award doctoral degrees and one must come from the non-academic sector, primarily enterprises. Above this minimum, the participation of institutions from any country or organisation is possible under the conditions provided by the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation. In EID the enrolment in the doctoral programme and a creation of joint governance structure with joint admission, selection, supervision, monitoring and assessment procedures is obligatory. In this programme, the early-stage researchers will spend at least 50% of their time in the non-academic sector. |
| European Investment Bank |
| the European Union’s development bank. It is owned by the member states of the European Union, and provides loans to support pan-European infrastructure, economic development in the poorer regions of the European Union and environmental objectives among other aims. |
| European Joint Doctorates |
| Type of an MSC ITN partnership. It is composed by at least three beneficiaries each entitled to award doctoral degrees located in different Member States or Associated Countries. Above this minimum, the participation of institutions from any country or organisation is possible under the conditions provided by the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation. In EJD the enrolment in the doctoral programme and a creation of joint governance structure with joint admission, selection, supervision, monitoring and assessment procedures is obligatory. In this programme, the enrolment of early-stage researchers will result in the award of joint, double or multiple doctoral degrees. |
| European Research Area |
| The European Union has the objective of strengthening its scientific and technological bases by achieving ERA in which researchers, scientific knowledge and technology circulate freely, and which encourages the European Union to become more competitive, including in its industry. |
| European Research Council |
| the first European Union funding body set up to support investigator-driven frontier research. Its main aim is to stimulate scientific excellence by supporting and encouraging the scientists, scholars and engineers in their research. |
| European Researcher’s Night |
| MSC supporting action aiming to bring the researchers closer to the general public and to increase public awareness of the research and innovation activities, with a view to supporting the public recognition of researchers, creating an understanding of the impact of researchers’ work on daily life, and encouraging young people to embark on scientific careers. It takes place yearly, typically on the last Friday of the month of September and is the occasion for a European wide public and media event for the promotion of research careers, in particular towards young people and their parents. |
| European Training Networks |
| Type of an MSC ITN partnership. It is composed by at least three beneficiaries located in different Member States or Associated Countries. Above this minimum, the participation of institutions from any country or organisation is possible under the conditions provided by the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation. In ETN early-stage researchers may benefit from a period of training from 3 months to 3 years, or enrol in a full doctorate programme (up to 3 years) if one of the beneficiaries is entitled to award doctoral degrees and the network foresees such a possibility. |
| Evaluation Procedure |
| Methodology under which the evaluation is performed for a specific call for proposals. |
| Evaluation Review Procedure |
| A coordinator may request an Evaluation review procedures if he/she believes the evaluation has not been carried out in accordance with the procedures set out in the Rules for Participation, the relevant work programme or the call for proposals. The review shall cover only the procedural aspects of the evaluation, and not the merits of the proposal. |
| Evaluation score |
| Proposals for projects to be funded in Horizon 2020 are evaluated on the basis of selection criteria (financial and operational capacity) and award criteria (excellence, impact, efficiency of implementation). Unless otherwise specified in the conditions of the call for proposals, each of the award criteria is scored between 0 and 5. The total score is calculated as a weighted sum of the scores for each criterion. The default is equal weight for all criteria. For Innovation Actions and the SME Instrument the impact criterion is given a weight of 1.5 to determine the ranking. Other weightings may be specified in the conditions of the call for proposals. |
| Evaluation threshold |
| These are the minimum evaluation scores that a Horizon 2020 project proposal must receive in order to be ranked. The default thresholds are a score of least 3 out of 5 for each individual criterion and a score of at least 10 out of 15 for the sum of the individual scores. The thresholds are applied to unweighted scores. Different thresholds may be specified in the conditions of the call for proposals. Proposals scoring below any of the thresholds will be rejected. |
| Exclusion Criteria |
| Experts check on the exclusion criteria which reflect if applicant is or not excluded and the reasons for exclusion. Tenderers and applicants must be excluded from participation in procurement procedures if they incur in one of the grounds set out in Article 93 of the Financial Regulation. Furthermore contracts shall not be awarded to tenderers or candidates who, during the procurement procedure for the contract in question find themselves in one of the situations referred to in Article 94 of the Financial Regulation. |
| Executive Agency |
| organisations established in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 (OJ L 11, 16.1.2003) with a view to being entrusted with certain tasks relating to the management of one or more Community programmes. |
| Exploitation |
| The utilisation of results in further research activities other than those covered by the action concerned, or in developing, creating and marketing a product or process, or in creating and providing a service, or in standardisation activities. |
| Family allowance |
| It is an allowance granted to the resesarcher who has a family at the time of recruitment in ITN action, or at the time of call deadline in IF action. For this purpose family is defined as persons linked to the researcher by (i) marriage, or (ii) a relationship with equivalent status to a marriage recognised by the legislation of the country where this relationship was formalised; or (iii) dependent children who are actually being maintained by the researcher. |
| Fellowship programmes |
| One of the two types of programme supported by the MSC COFUND action funding individual research training and career development fellowships for experienced researchers. The programmes have regular selection rounds following fixed deadlines or regular cut-off dates allowing a fair competition between applying researchers. The selections must be based on open, widely advertised competition, with transparent international peer review and selection of candidates on merits. Mobility types supported by fellowship programmes may be similar as the ones supported under MSC IF. Fellowship programmes should be based on individual-driven mobility, i.e., researchers should be able to freely choose a research topic and the appropriate host organisation fitting their individual needs. |
| Financial Instruments |
| Financial instruments mean European Union measures of financial support provided on a complementary basis from the budget in order to address one or more specific policy objectives of the European Union. Such instruments may take the form of equity or quasi-equity investments, loans or guarantees, or other risk-sharing instruments, and may, where appropriate, be combined with grants. |
| Financial Regulation |
| Contains the principles and procedures governing the establishment and implementation of the budget of the European Union and the control of the European Communities’ finances. |
| Financial Signatory |
| A role in the Participant Portal giving particular access rights for the paperless management of Horizon 2020 grants. Finacial Signatories (FSIGNs)are persons in a beneficiary organisation authorised to (electronically) sign financial statements for EU grants. FSIGNs are nominated in the Participant Portal by the Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR) of the organisation. For more information on roles and access rights in the Participant Portal, see http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/docs/h2020-funding-guide/user-account-and-roles/my-area_en.htm |
| Force majeure |
| Any unforeseeable exceptional situation or event beyond the parties’ control, which prevents either of them from fulfilling any of their obligations under the grant agreement, which was not attributable to error or negligence on their part or on the part of subcontractors, affiliated entities or third parties involved in the implementation and which proves to be inevitable in spite of exercising all due diligence. |
| Frontier research |
| reflects a new understanding of basic research. On one hand it denotes that basic research in science and technology is of critical importance to economic and social welfare, and on the other that research at and beyond the frontiers of understanding is an intrinsically risky venture, progressing on new and most exiting research areas and is characterized by an absence of disciplinary boundaries. |
| Funding Body |
| A body or authority, other than the European Commission, as referred to in point (c) of Article 58(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012, to which the European Commission has entrusted budget implementation tasks in accordance with Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013[Horizon 2020] |
| Global Fellowships |
| Type of an MSC IF based on a secondment to a third country and a mandatory 12 month return period to a European beneficiary. The researcher must comply with the rules of mobility in the country where the Global Fellowship secondment takes place, and not in the country of the return phase. GF are open to nationals or long-term residents of Member States and Associated Countries. |
| Gold open access / open access publishing |
| The publication is immediately provided in open access mode by the scientific publisher. In this model, the payment of publication costs is shifted away from readers paying via subscriptions. The business model most often encountered is based on one-off payments by authors. These costs (often referred to as Author Processing Charges, APCs) can usually be borne by the university or research institute to which the researcher is affiliated, or to the funding agency supporting the research. Under both FP7 and Horizon 2020, gold OA costs incurred during project duration are eligible for reimbursement. |
| Grant |
| Grants are direct financial contributions, by way of donation, from the EU budget in order to finance any of the following: a) an action intended to help achieve an EU policy objective; b) the functioning of a body which pursues an aim of general EU interest or has an objective forming part of, and supporting, an EU policy (‘operating grants’). |
| Grant Agreement |
| A contract concluded between the European Commission (representing the European Union) and the beneficiary (or beneficiaries) under which the parties receive the rights and obligations (e.g. the right of the Union’s financial contribution and the obligation to carry out the research and development work). It consists of the basic text and annexes. |
| Grant Management Services (GMS) |
| Grant Management Services (GMS): please see under Participant Portal Grant Management Services (PPGMS). |
| Green open access / self-archiving |
| The published article or the final peer-reviewed manuscript is archived (deposited) by the author – or a representative – in an online repository before, alongside or after its publication. Repository software usually allows authors to delay access to the article (‘embargo period’). | Guarantee |
| Guarantee means a written commitment to assume responsibility for all or part of a third party’s debt or obligation or for the successful performance by that third party of its obligations if an event occurs which triggers such guarantee, such as a loan default. |
Horizon 2020 |
It refers to the EU funding programme for Research and Innovation in the period 2014-2020. It covers the funding previously provided through the (seventh) Framework Programme for Research and Technical Development (FP7), the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). |
Host institution |
The applicant legal entity that engages and hosts the Principal Investigator. It is established in a Member State or an Associated Country. |
| Independent Observers |
| With a view to ensuring a high degree of transparency, the Commission may appoint independent experts to act as observers of the evaluation process from the point of view of its working and execution. Their role is to give independent advice to the Commission on the conduct and fairness of all phases of the evaluation sessions. |
| Indirect action |
| Research and innovation activities to which the European Union provides financial support and which are undertaken by participants. |
| Individual Evaluation Report |
| Outcome of the individual evaluation process which includes a minimum of three experts At the end of the process, each expert should produce for each proposal an Individual Evaluation Report with justification for all scores. |
| Individual Fellowships |
| MSC action enhancing the creative and innovative potential of experienced researchers wishing to diversify their individual competence through advanced training, international and intersectoral mobility. This action provides opportunities to acquire new knowledge and to work on research projects in a European context (Member States and Associated Countries) or outside Europe. It develops or helps to restart the careers of individual researchers that show great potential, considering their experience. It also particularly supports the reintegration of researchers currently outside Europe who have previously worked here. |
| Innovation |
| the process, including its outcome, by which new ideas respond to societal or economic needs and demand and generate new products, services or business and organisational models that are successfully introduced into an existing market or that are able to create new markets and that contribute value to society. |
| Innovation action |
| An action primarily consisting of activities directly aiming at producing plans and arrangements or designs for new, altered or improved products, processes or services. For this purpose they may include prototyping, testing, demonstrating, piloting, large-scale product validation and market replication. |
| Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) |
| The Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) is the successor organisation of the Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency (TEN-T EA). INEA has officially started its activities on 1 January 2014 in order to implement parts of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and the \”Smart green and integrated transport\” and the \”Secure, clean and efficient energy\” Societal challenges of Horizon 2020. |
| Innovation Union |
| a flagship initiative of the Europe 2020 strategy. This initiative aims to improve conditions and access to finance for research and innovation in Europe to ensure that innovative ideas can be turned into products and services that create growth and jobs. Horizon 2020 is a key tool to implement the Innovation Union. |
| Innovative Training Networks |
| MSC action aiming at training of a new generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative early-stage researchers, able to face current and future challenges and to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic and social benefit. In order to increase the employability of the researchers, the research training will be complemented by meaningful exposure of each researcher to other sectors and by substantial training modules addressing key transferable skills common to all fields (e.g. entrepreneurship, management and financing of research activities and programmes, management of intellectual property rights, other exploitation methods of research results, ethical aspects, communication, standardisation and societal outreach). The training will follow the EU Principles for Innovative Doctoral Training. |
| Intellectual Property Rights |
| the legal rights granted with the aim to protect the creations of the intellect. These rights include Industrial Property Rights (e.g. patents, industrial designs and trademarks) and Copyright (right of the author or creator) and Related Rights (rights of the performers, producers and broadcasting organisations). |
| International European interest organisation |
| An international organisation, the majority of whose members are Member States or associated countries, and whose principal objective is to promote scientific and technological cooperation in Europe. |
| Joint Research Centre |
| A Directorate-General of the European Commission. It provides independent scientific and technical advice to the European Commission and Member States of the European Union in support of EU policies, and it takes part in research and technological development actions through direct actions. |
| Joint technology initiatives |
| Public-private partnerships for performing research at European Union level with dedicated structures, used as a strategy of implementing Horizon 2020 to support, in a limited number of cases, initiatives that could not be implemented efficiently, using the other R&D funding mechanisms. |
| Joint undertaking |
| It is a collaboration of two or more companies to undertake a common project or to pursue a specific objective. To this end, co-venturers bring together their common resources and capabilities, such as project funding, capital equipment, know-how and intellectual property. The joint venture has the scope to create a legally independent company to develop a competitive advantage by commercialising a new product or service. |
| Key Enabling Technologies |
| A major component of ‘Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies’ in Horizon 2020 are Key Enabling Technologies (KETs), defined as micro- and nanoelectronics, photonics, nanotechnology, biotechnology, advanced materials and advanced manufacturing systems . These multi-disciplinary, knowledge and capital-intensive technologies cut across many diverse sectors providing the basis for significant competitive advantage for European industry, for stimulating growth and for creating new jobs. |
| Legal entity |
| Any natural person, or any legal person created and recognised as such under national law, European Union law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations. |
| Legal Entity Appointed Representative |
| A person appointed by the legal representative of a legal entity participating in EU funding programmes. The LEAR is usually an administrative staff member of the central administrative department of the organisation. The LEAR provides the Commission with up-to-date legal and financial data, including the persons in the organisation authorised to sign grant agreements (LSIGNs)and financial statements(FSIGNs) and commits to maintain the information up-to-date, enabling future use for grants and other transactions between the entity and the Commission research (and other) programmes. The LEAR can delegate some of his/her tasks to Account Administrators. |
| Legal representative |
| A legal representative is a natural person who has been empowered (directly or indirectly) by a legal entity to enter into legal commitments on its behalf. |
| Legal Signatory |
| A role in the Participant Portal giving particular access rights for the paperless grant management in Horizon 2020. Legal Signatories (LSIGNs) have full read/write access to the e-forms for grant management and are authorised to electronically sign grant agreements and amendments. LSIGNs are assigned in the Participant Portal by the Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR) of the organisation (or one of its Account Administrators). |
| Living allowance |
| In MSC ITN and MSC IF actions, it is an allowance paid to the researcher, in line with the established MSCA rates, to cover the living expenses. It includes all compulsory deductions under national applicable legislation. It does not concern any additional contribution which might be paid to the researcher by the beneficiary or any other body. A correction coefficient is applied according to the country where the research work is performed, except for secondments. |
| Loan |
| Loan means an agreement which obliges the lender to make available to the borrower an agreed sum of money for an agreed period of time and under which the borrower is obliged to repay that amount within the agreed time. |
| Loan Service for Research and Innovation |
| a debt facility developed by the European Commission and European Investment Bank (EIB) Group which provides loan finance to private and public entities for the support of additional investments in Research, Development and Investment. |
| Marie Curie Alumni Association Services |
| Services oriented at the establishment and operation of the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA), which is an organisation for the benefit of Marie Curie grantees past and present. |
| Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions |
| Part of the first priority of H2020 (\”Excellent science\”), it is a programme that provides excellent and innovative research training as well as attractive career and knowledge-exchange opportunities through cross-border and cross-sector mobility of researchers to best prepare them to face current and future societal challenges. |
| Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions |
| Part of the first priority of H2020 (\”Excellent science\”), it is a programme that provides excellent and innovative research training as well as attractive career and knowledge-exchange opportunities through cross-border and cross-sector mobility of researchers to best prepare them to face current and future societal challenges. |
| Member state |
| a state that is party to treaties of the European Union and thereby subject to the privileges and obligations of European Union membership |
| Mobility allowance |
| In MSC ITN and MSC IF actions, it covers expenses linked to the personal household, relocation and travel expenses of the researcher. |
| Model grant agreement |
| the compulsory form of a grant agreement. It consists of a core text (determining the basics of a project) and several annexes |
| NACE code |
| In French \”Nomenclature générale des Activités économiques dans les Communautés Européennes\”, NACE refers to the statistical classification of economic activities. NACE groups organizations according to their business activities. Statistics produced on the basis of NACE are comparable at European level and, in general, at world level in line with the United Nations’ International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC). |
| National Contact Point |
| A person or organisation under the responsibility of a national administration, providing support and guidance to applicants and beneficiaries in Horizon 2020. The database of NCPs is accessible at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/support/national_contact_points.html |
| Non-profit legal entity |
| A legal entity which by its legal form is non-profit-making or which has a legal or statutory obligation not to distribute profits to its shareholders or individual members. |
| Open Access (OA) |
| The practice of providing on-line access to scientific information that is free of charge to the reader. In the context of Research and Innovation, open access typically focuses on access to ‘scientific information’, which refers to two main categories: peer-reviewed scientific research articles (published in academic journals) and scientific research data (data underlying publications and/or raw data). |
| Open Access to publications |
| Online access to publications that is free of charge for any user. There are two main routes towards open access to publications: self- archiving (also referred to as \”green\” open access – see separate definition) and Open access publishing (also referred to as ‘gold’ open access – see separate definition). Open access to publications resulting from Horizon 2020 publications is mandatory. |
| Open Access to research data |
| The practice of providing access and the possibility to re-use digital research data. In a research context, examples of data include statistics, results of experiments, measurements, observations resulting from fieldwork, survey results, interview recordings and images. Openly accessible research data can typically be accessed, mined, exploited, reproduced and disseminated free of charge for the user. Under Horizon 2020, projects in certain areas are part of the Open Research Data Pilot and others may opt in. |
| Panel Report |
| Includes lists and scores of all evaluated proposals in an indicative budget line for Commission records. |
| Participant |
| Any legal entity carrying out an action or part of an action under Regulation (EU) No1290/2013 [Horizon 2020] having rights and obligations with regard to the European Union or another funding body under the terms of the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation (Regulation 1290/2013). |
| Participant Contacts |
| A role in the Participant Portal giving particular access rights for the paperless management of Horizon 2020 grants. Participant Contacts have full, read/write access to their own e-forms, and can submit to the coordinator. They can nominate/revoke other Participant Contacts, Task Managers and Team Members of their organisation. |
| Participant Identification Code |
| A 9-digit number serving as a unique identifier for organisations (legal entities) participating in EU funding programmes. |
| Participant Portal |
| It is the single online gateway for applicants and beneficiaries in Horizon 2020, for identifying funding opportunities, accessing documents and guidance, submitting proposals and for the paperless management of grants and expert contracts. |
| Participant Portal Grant Management Services |
| The Participant Portal Grant Management Services (PPGMS) is a suite of IT services, supporting and enabling the electronic-only grant management from grant preparation through amendments and formal communication to reporting and follow-up of funded actions. PPGMS is integrated in the Research Participant Portal (PP) and accessible through the ‘My Area’ section of the PP. |
| Participants Guarantee Fund |
| a safeguard mechanism that mitigates the risk associated to the amounts due and not reimbursed by a defaulting participant |
| Pre-Commercial Procurement |
| A Horizon 2020 funding instrument that cofunds the preparation, implementation and follow-up of a single joint public procurement of research and development services as well as other related additional coordination and networking activities undertaken by grant beneficiaries referred to as the lead procurer and buyers group of the action. |
| Pre-commercial procurement cofund action |
| A Horizon 2020 funding instrument that cofunds the preparation, implementation and follow-up of a single joint public procurement of research and development services as well as other related additional coordination and networking activities undertaken by grant beneficiaries referred to as the lead procurer and buyers group of the action. |
| Principal Investigator |
| The individual researcher that may assemble a team to carry out the project under his/her scientific guidance. |
| Priority Date |
| the first filing date of a patent application, anywhere in the world to protect an invention. The priority date is used to determine the novelty of the invention. |
| Prize |
| Prize means a financial contribution given as a reward following a contest. |
| Programme co-fund action |
| An action funded through a grant the main purpose of which is supplementing individual calls or programmes funded by entities, other than European Union bodies, managing research and innovation programmes, which may also include complementary activities of networking and coordination between programmes in different countries. |
| Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions cofund |
| Public Procurement of Innovative Solutions cofund action is a Horizon 2020 funding instrument that cofunds the preparation implementation and follow-up of a single joint public procurement of innovative solutions as well as other related additional coordination and networking activities undertaken by grant beneficiaries referred to as the lead procurer and the buyers group of the action. |
| Public procurer |
| Public procurers are organizations that are contracting authorities or contracting entities according to the definition of those terms in the EU public procurement directives 2014/24/EU, 2004/25/EU, 2009/81/EC‘Contracting authority’ means the State, regional or local authorities, bodies governed by public law, associations formed by one or several of such authorities or one or several of such bodies governed by public law (for the full definition, see Article 2(1)(1) of Directive 2014/24/EU). Bodies governed by public law also include entities financed mostly by the State, regional or local authorities, or other bodies governed by public law and entities controlled by those bodies (for the full definition, see Article 2(1)(4) of Directive 2014/24/EU). This includes for example ministries, regions, cities, road management authorities, public hospitals, central purchasing bodies etc. ‘Contracting entities’ refers to entities operating in specific sectors (such as utilities for water, energy, transport, postal services covered by Directive 2014/25/EU and contracting entities in the field of security covered by Directive 2009/81/EC). They may be contracting authorities, public undertakings or entities operating on the basis of special or exclusive rights (for the full definition, see Article 4 of Directive 2014/25/EU).For the purpose of Horizon 2020, public procurers include also entities that are contracting authorities/entities according to the above definition but to which the EU public procurement Directives itself do not apply (e.g. international organisations such as ERICs – European Research Infrastructure Consortia – which are formed by several contracting authorities). |
| Public-Private Partnership |
| A partnership where private sector partners, the European Union and, where appropriate, other partners, such as public sector bodies, commit to jointly support the development and implementation of a research and innovation programme or activities. |
Quasi-equity investment |
Quasi-equity investment means a type of financing that ranks between equity and debt, having a higher risk than senior debt and a lower risk than common equity. Quasi-equity investments can be structured as debt, typically unsecured and subordinated and in some cases convertible into equity, or as preferred equity. |
| Ranking |
| According to the Rules for Participation and Dissemination in H2020 (Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013), proposals are ranked on the basis of the evaluation results. The selection shall be made on the basis of that ranking. |
| Research and Innovation Action |
| Action primarily consisting of activities aiming to establish new knowledge and/or to explore the feasibility of a new or improved technology, product, process, service or solution. For this purpose they may include basic and applied research, technology development and integration, testing and validation on a small-scale prototype in a laboratory or simulated environment. Projects may contain closely connected but limited demonstration or pilot activities aiming to show technical feasibility in a near to operational environment. |
| Research Executive Agency |
| A funding body created by the European Commission to foster excellence in research and innovation. As of 1 January 2014 in the framework of H2020 the REA has been entrusted with the implementation of parts of Excellence Science, Industrial leadership, Societal challenges, Spreading excellence and widening participation and Science with and for Society plus the implementation of the legacy of parts of FP7 (People, Research for SMEs and for SMEs associations, Space and Security). |
| Research infrastructures |
| facilities, resources and services that are used by the research communities to conduct research and foster innovation in their fields. Where relevant, they may be used beyond research, e.g. for education or public services. They include: major scientific equipment (or sets of instruments); knowledge-based resources such as collections, archives or scientific data; e-infrastructures such as data and computing systems and communication networks; and any other infrastructure of a unique nature essential to achieve excellence in research and innovation. Such infrastructures may be ‘single-sited’, ‘virtual’ or ‘distributed’ |
| Reserve list |
| Due to budgetary constraints it may not be possible to support all proposals that have been evaluated positively. In such conditions, proposals on a reserve list will only be financed if funds become available. |
| Results |
| Any tangible or intangible output of the action, such as data, knowledge and information whatever their form or nature, whether or not they can be protected, which are generated in the action as well as any attached rights, including intellectual property rights. |
| Self-registrant |
| A role in the Participant Portal giving particular access rights for managing organisation-related data. Self-registrants acquire this role by registering a new entity in the Beneficiary Register on the Participant Portal. Self-registrants have full read/write access to the organisation data until the moment when the organisation is validated and has a Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR). At this moment the role of self-registrant is removed. For more details on the management of roles and access rights in the Participant Portal, see http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/docs/h2020-funding-guide/user-account-and-roles/my-area_en.htm |
| Small or Medium-Sized Enterprise (SME) |
| A micro, small or medium-sized enterprise within the meaning of Recommendation 2003/361/EC. Necessary (but not sufficient) conditions for being an SME are a number of employees smaller than 250 and an annual turnover not exceeding €50 million, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding €43 million. These ceilings apply to the figures for individual firms only. A firm which is part of larger grouping may need to include employee/turnover/balance sheet data from that grouping too. More details are explained athttp://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/files/sme_definition/sme_user_guide_en.pdf. |
| Specific Programme |
| the official document which contains the main targets of Horizon 2020 and lays down the implementation modalities and the content in terms of the broad lines of activities. |
| Submission |
| The formal act to submit a proposal to the Commission. |
| Task Manager |
| A role in the Participant Portal giving particular access rights for the paperless management of Horizon 2020 grants. Task managers have full, read/write access to their own e-forms but cannot submit to the coordinator or Commission/Agency. For more details on the management of roles and access rights in the Participant Portal, see: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/docs/h2020-funding-guide/user-account-and-roles/my-area_en.htm |
| Team Member |
| A role in the Participant Portal giving particular access rights for the paperless management of Horizon 2020 grants. Team Members have read-only access to the project information For more details on the management of roles and access rights in the Participant Portal, see: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/docs/h2020-funding-guide/user-account-and-roles/my-area_en.htm |
| Third Country |
| Countries outside the EU/EEA, or which are not associated to Horizon 2020. |
| Topic |
| Horizon 2020 calls for proposals (as defined in the bi-annual work programmes) are subdivided into topics. A topic defines a specific research and innovation subject or area for which applicants are invited to submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and expected impact of the projects to be funded, and also the type of project, evaluation criteria and deadline for submission of proposals. |
| Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union |
| Belonging to the basic treaties of the European Union it defines in details the role, policies and operation of the European Union determining its internal and external actions, its common institutional and financial provisions. |
| Two-stage call |
| The proposal coordinator submits a short proposal that is evaluated; successful proposals are invited to submit a full proposal. The evaluation of this full proposal leads to an ordered list to be forwarded to the Commission for ranking selection. |
| Type of Action |
| Projects funded under Horizon 2020 can take different pre-defined shapes, in terms of requirements on partnership (mono- or multipartner), purpose (research, innovation, networking, fellowship …), reimbursement rate etc. These pre-defined project shapes are referred to as \”types of action\”. |
| Work Plan |
| The document similar to the European Commission work programme adopted by funding bodies entrusted with part of the implementation of Horizon 2020 in accordance with Article 9(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1290/2013 [Horizon 2020]. |
| Work Programme |
| The document adopted by the European Commission for the implementation of the specific programme in accordance with Article 5 of Council Decision (2013/743/EU) [H2020 Specific programme]. |
