Recording Hours Guidelines for FP7 Projects
Issues surrounding 60% Derogation Overhead Rate for SMEs
Financial Viability Check tool v3 Available
SME Measures (CRAFT) changes in FP7
List of documents required to be seen by Auditor
Feedback survey on First FP7 Contract Negotiations
Upcoming Workshops & Events
Recording Hours Guidelines for FP7 Projects:
In order to receive money from the Commission, organisations must produce reports and costs showing that the costs claimed are related to the project. In order to claim personnel costs, organisations have to show that staff were working on a specific project. The way to show this is by keeping some sort of time recording mechanism (possibly even at a task level).
The Finance Helpdesk has produced a leaflet with Guidelines on how to correctly record personnel costs within FP7 projects.
To view the leaflet click here.
Issues surrounding 60% Derogation Overhead Rate for SMEs:
Currently, the way the rules stand, by including the term “SME” in the Rules and by using uninformed and unclear language in the subsequent documents, SME’s can benefit from “double” concessions in FP7.
Many SMEs may not have any formal method (and accounting system) in place which allows the calculation of overheads per project (or even a particular department), and therefore the derogation method is being used and approved by most SMEs in the 2007 Calls for proposal.
The Finance Helpdesk has produced a leaflet to provide some more information on this subject.
To view the leaflet click here.
Financial Viability Check tool v3 Available:
The Commission have produced an electronic tool for applicants to carry out a financial viability check on their companies prior to a Commission check. The results will give applicants an indication of what to expect from the Commission.
Please note that this tool is to be used at your own risk and is not a legally binding decision on the Commission.
To download the tool please click here.
SME Measures (CRAFT) changes in FP7:
There have been some major rule changes between FP6 and FP7. As an example, in FP7 RTD Performers like Universities and Research organisations can be the Coordinators of "Research for the benefit of SME" projects.
In order to answer requests, the Finance Helpdesk will be holding an open 1 Day FP7 SME Measures (CRAFT) Workshop on 30 Jan 2008, in Brussels, Belgium.
The Workshop is aimed at people from organisations who are interested in taking part in SME Measures (CRAFT) project proposals. The Workshop will specifically cover the financial rules and regulations related to this type of project and specifically the derogations from other types of Framework Program research proposals.
The workshop shortcuts the learning curve for participating in a project proposal with a higher chance of success.
For more information, please click here.
List of documents required to be seen by Auditor:
The European Commission performs audits of contractors at any time during the contract and up to five years after the end of the project.
Audits are carried out on a confidential basis and contractors have to provide the auditor with necessary information.
DG RTD of the European Commission have produced a list of required supporting documents that have to be provided for an audit.
The list can be downloaded from here.
Feedback survey on First FP7 Contract Negotiations:
Many of you have completed negotiations on the first FP7 Contracts.
It would assist the Finance Help-desk to understand how several financial aspects of FP7 Call 1 Contract negotiations were handled in practice by the various Commission Units. We ask that you spend 10 Minutes filling in our survey, so that we can provide recommendations to the Commission.
We undertake to keep the specific identities of the responders and their projects in confidence and will only publish non-attributable summaries and statistics.
The survey can be accessed from here.
Upcoming Workshops & Events:
11/02/2008 3 Day in-depth FP7 Financial Workshop in Brussels, Belgium.
14/02/2008 1 Day FP7 Contract Negotiation and Project Kick-off Workshop in Brussels, Belgium.
15/02/2008 1 Day SME Measures (CRAFT) Workshop in Brussels, Belgium.
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