The project consortium is responsible for carrying out the respective project. Good project management is therefore essential for smooth and successful implementation. The following information gives you an overview of the most important legal and financial steps to be followed in Horizon 2020 projects. Detailed information can be found on the relevant linked pages.
Comprehensive information on grant management can be found in the Online Manual of the EU Commission.
Coordinator vs. beneficiary
Each Horizon 2020 consortium must appoint a coordinator from among the beneficiaries. The coordinator acts as the communication hub between the EU Commission (i.e. the Project Officer) and the project consortium and must fulfil specific duties in this role (see article 41 of the Grant Agreement (GA)).
Reporting and payment requests
More detailed information can be found under "Reporting".
Key deadlines for the submission of reports and for grant payments:
| What? | Deadline | art. GA | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interim Report |
within 60 days after the end of the reporting period | 20.3 | |
| Final Report |
within 60 days after the end of the last reporting period | 20.4 | |
| Pre-financing Payment |
within 30 days | 21.2 | either from the entry into force of the GA or from 10 days before the starting date of the action (whichever is the latest) |
| Interim Payment | within 90 days from receiving the periodic report | 21.3 | |
| Balance Payment | within 90 days from receiving the final report | 21.4 |
Amendments
More detailed information can be found under "Amendments".
Consortium Agreement
More detailed information can be found under "Consortium Agreement".
Publication and dissemination of project results
More detailed information can be found under "Open Access" and "Open Data".
Key deadlines related to intellectual property:
| What? | Deadline | art. GA | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granting of non-exclusive licences with joint ownership of other beneficiaries | at least 45 days before granting | 26.2 | Notification of the other joint owners |
| Intention to stop protecting results/extending the protection of results | at least 60 days before the end of protection | 26.4.2 | Notification of the European Commission (with justification) |
| Dissemination of own results | at least 45 days before dissemination | 29.1 | Notification of the other beneficiaries |
| Transfer of ownership on own results | at least 45 days before transfer | 30.1. | Notification of those beneficiaries with access rights to these results |
Promoting the project and visibility of EU funding
The beneficiaries must promote the project and its results and provide information to a wider public. This also includes ensuring visibility of EU funding by displaying the EU emblem AND including the text set out in the GA.
Sticker templates providing reference to EU funding can be found in the Online Manual of the EU Commission.
More detailed information can be found in the Annotated Grant Agreement (AGA), article 38.
Checks, reviews and audits by the EU Commission
- "Checks"
Purely internal checks allow the EU Commission to examine all aspects of the project. If the result calls for a more detailed examination the check may be followed by a review or an audit.
- "Reviews"
The EU commission reviews the technical implementation of the project, which may, however, also include financial and budgetary aspects. The results are included in a review report.
- "Audits"
As a rule audits primarily focus on the financial implementation of the project by a beneficiary, but may also cover other areas, e.g. technical aspects. The results are documented in a final audit report and a letter of audit conclusions (LoC).
More detailed information can be found under "Audits".
Please note: Also eventual third parties may be subject to a check, review or audit! As a beneficiary, you should therefore (contractually) ensure that the EU Commission can exercise these rights against any third party. In this respect you may use our Sideletter as template.
Overview of deadlines related to checks, reviews and audits:
| What? | Deadline | art. GA | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keeping of records and other supporting documentation | until 5 years after the final payment | 18.1 | low value grants lower or equal to 60.000 €: 3 years |
| Keeping during on-going checks, audits, reviews etc. | until the end of these procedures | 18.1 | |
| Implementation of checks | unlimited | 22.1.1 | |
| Implementation of reviews | until 2 years after the final payment | 22.1.2 | |
| Implementation of audits | until 2 years after the final payment | 22.1.3 | |
| Checks and audits by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) | unlimited | 22.3 | |
| Impact evaluation | until 5 years after the final payment | 23.1 | low value grants lower or equal to 60.000 €: 3 years |
Records to be preserved in the 7th Framework Programme (FP7): at least 5 years after the END of the project!
Support for a successful project!
All important legal documents required for successful implementation of your project are available within the Reference Documents of the EU Commission:
- The (General) Model Grant Agreement (GA) is the standard MGA concluded between the EU Commission and the beneficiaries and is thus indispensable for any Horizon 2020 project. The content is adapted to the respective project and comes into effect upon signature.
Please note: In addition to the standard MGA, there are special regulations for some specific project types (e.g. MSCA, SME Instrument, ERA-NET Cofund). - We recommend consulting the Annotated Model Grant Agreement (AGA) for better understanding. This guide issued by the EU Commission provides annotations and guidance on the interpretation of the MGA (examples etc.).
- The content of the AGA was integrated into the EU Commission’s Online Manual, which can be found on the Funding & Tender Opportunities Portal. For all project participants who need quick access to specific information!
More information about minimum conditions for participation and the funding rates can be found on our relevant pages.
- If you need additional information, you can consult the guides issued by the EU Commission. These provide more detailed information about selected topics such as proposal submission and evaluation, legal entity validation, LEAR appointment and audits.
- The EU Commission provides several templates (e.g. time-sheets, reporting) under “Templates & forms”.
Funding & Tender Opportunities Portal
Communication between Horizon 2020 project consortia and the EU Commission takes place via an electronic platform, the Funding & Tender Opportunities Portal. The portal enables the submission of applications or reports and regulates all matters arising during the duration of the project, through to the final report. The portal offers comprehensive information about Horizon 2020 and other project participations, while also helping to manage the project-specific part via an ECAS account accessed through personal login details. This portal is also used for registering the organisation, which is an indispensable requirement for carrying out a project, and for role assignment.
Helpful information on the Funding & Tender Opportunities Portal:
- on the homepage of the EU Commission "Funding and Tenders Portal Introduction"
- in the presentation of the EU Commission "H2020 Coordinators' Day - Grant Agreement Preparation"
Detailed information on the individual management steps to be followed during project implementation can be found …
- in the information document of PwC und Technopolis Group "How to successfully manage a Horizon 2020-funded project"
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