Registration, Application tools & Structure; the Proposal

1. Registration, Application tools & Structure; the Proposal September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 1

2. Index Preparatory Process Proposal viability The Rules for verification of existence, legal status, operational and financial capacity. Verification of the financial viability Registration The Participant Portal Drafting and submission of the proposal The EPSS The Structure of the proposal. September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 2

3. Preparatory Processa) Proposal viability The Rules for verification of existence, legal status, operational and financial capacity: http://cordis.europa.eu7FP7/find-doc_en.html. These rules are aimed to ensure, in these terms, a consistent verification of the organisations interested in participating as beneficiaries. These Rules are based on the Financial Regulation and its associated Implementing Rules They concern all FP7 Indirect Actions taking the form of Grant Agreement and will be implemented by all EC services involved in the management of FP7 projects. Financial viability check.A user-friendly electronic tool provided by the EC services to applicants to carry out their own financial viability checkhttp://cordis.europa.eu7FP7/find-doc_en.html. September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 3

4. Preparatory Processa) Proposal viability Guiding principles. Only information that is strictly required by the FP7 R of P and/or the Financ. Reg. and/or its Impl. Rules or for the provision of essential statistics will be requested from the applicants. The URF facilitates the participation of legal entities in subsequent FP7 proposals. (Legal entities will have to provide their basic data and official documents only once. However they’ll have to inform the EC of any modifications). The information shall be requested at the time when the verification/validation is to be done. (Information provided at the proposal stage will not be asked again during negotiations) The verification shall rely as much as possible on the self-declaration and auto-verification by participants. Due to the introduction of the Participant Guarantee Fund (PGF), no additional guarantee or security will be requested from participants. The EC will however strengthen ex-post controls. Standard procedures already in place within the EC for the validation of legal entities shall, as far as possible, be used. September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 4

5. Preparatory Processa) Proposal viability Verification of existence. (only the procedure used at proposal stage is considered) Principles. According to FP7 R of P and with the FR and its IR, a grant can only be awarded to an existing legal entity who: has submitted an eligible proposal using the EC procedure; and is not in a situation of breach of GA obligations, conflict of interests, or guilty of misinterpretation of the EC conditions for proposal submission. Implementation (at the proposal stage). After verification of proposal eligibility, the EC will verify its existence and legal status: Any legal entity, except if they had already provided, shall provide its administrative and legal data in the Proposal Submission Form (PSF), At this stage no supporting documents will be requested and no data verification by EC will be carried out other than the eligibility of the proposal purposes These data will be automatically uploaded into the Grant Agreement Preparation Form (GPF) at the beginning of the Negotiation stage. September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 5

6. Preparatory Processa) Proposal viability Verification of legal status. (only proposal stage is considered) Principles. Both the FP7 R of P and with the FR and its IR (in certain cases the Work Programme and the call for proposals) define different categories of legal entities. Depending on category they belong to legal entities may have different rights and obligations with respect to: rights in terms of the EC financial contribution to a participant; whether or not a financial capacity check of a legal entity is mandatory; whether or not a Competent public officer is allowed to certify Financial Stmts; the financial responsibility in the implementation of the project. Implementation (at the proposal stage).The EC services shall categorise each legal entity participating in FP7 projects. Additional information will, when necessary, be requested either at submission stage (proposal), at negotiation, and/or during implementation, This information will be collected through the PSF (at proposal -submission- stage) and/or GPF (negotiation stage) and/or during implementation/finalisation and will be stored in the URF. Data will be verified and validated by the EC mainly during negotiation stage. EC provides each legal entity with a validated Participant Identification Code (PIC). September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 6

7. Preparatory Processa) Proposal viability Main categories of legal entities are: Natural person Legal person Public body Non-profit Public body Profit Public body International Organisation of European interest Other. Secondary and higher education establishment Research organisation Enterprises SME Non-SME Legal entity guaranteed by a Member State or Associated Country Other (none of the above). September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 7

8. Preparatory Processa) Proposal viability Verification of operational capacity.(only for the proposal stage) Principles. As mentioned in the FR and its IR, the operational capacity of a participant must be assessed in order to ensure the applicant’s ability to complete the proposed action or work programme. Operational capacity relates to professional skills, qualifications, tools and/or knowledge necessary to achieve the project objectives. Two levels of operational capacity are considered: Consortium operational capacity; Each participant’s operational capacity. Implementation(at the proposal stage).The operational capacity of the consortium will be addressed at the Evaluation Stage by external evaluators assessing the criterion “Implementation”. For evaluation purposes, participants must provide in their proposal: At participant level, brief description of the organisation and short profile of staff members who will undertake the work. At consortium level, how participants collectively constitute a consortium capable of achieving the project objectives, The evaluators will provide comments to the EC for any legal entity whose capacity to perform is deemed to be insufficient. September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 8

9. Preparatory Processa) Proposal viability Verification of financial capacity.(only for the proposal stage) Principles. The verification of the financial capacity is an integral part of the negotiation stage and needs to be completed before the signature of the Grant Agreement. Although this verification is made within the negotiation process, each applicant may carry out its own verification for financial viability by using the tool that the EC has made available to them. Thus, applicants will know their respective financial viability at the moment they consider to participate in FP7 and prior to engaging in drafting a proposal. September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 9

10. Preparatory Processb) Registration The Participant Portal. Is an FP7 unique entry point for external stakeholders (participants, LEARs, co-ordinators, experts, etc.), based on a single sign-on European Commission Authentication Service (ECAS).http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/pp_en.htmland http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/appmanager/participants/portal It hosts a full range of services, facilitating monitoring and management of both proposals and projects by participants throughout their lifecycle. Organisation, registration and data management. The PP is the gateway to access the URF. Management of projects. The PP is the gateway to access the FP7 Negotiation Facility (NEF) FP7 documentation. The PP is the gateway to access the new FP7 document search functionality. .../... September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 10

11. Preparatory Processb) Registration .../... The access to the PP is through an ECAS account.New users must register on the ECAS, which is free and easy. Once in: All users can: Search for FP7 supporting documents (no login required) Check if their organisation has already a PIC (no login required) Register their organisation in the URF Identify what they can perform on the portal to support their organisations and their projects. LEARs can: View the information stored in the account of their legal entity and introduce change requests. Access the list of projects that their organisations are currently working on. Co-ordinators, involved in the negotiation process can: Access the list of their projects and information on amendments Access the details of their projects. Get a direct access the NEF once the negotiation process is open. September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 11

12. Drafting and submission of proposalsa) The EPSS.General rules Applications for financial support under the FP7 are generally made in the form of proposals submitted to the Commission (EC). Proposals set out details of planned work, which will carry them out, and how much they will cost. The EC evaluates proposals and enter into negotiation with the co-ordinators of those having a sufficiently high quality. If negotiations are successful, the originating proposal becomes a project and a Grant Agreement providing for a Community financial contribution is established with the applicants. September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 12

13. Drafting and submission of proposalsa) The EPSS. Basic principles Excellence. Transparency.Funding decisions based on clearly described rules and procedures. Applicants should receive feedback on the evaluation of their proposals. Fairness & impartiality.All proposals are treated equally and evaluated impartially Confidentiality. All proposals are treated in confidence. Efficiency and Speed. Ethical & security considerations. Any proposal that contravenes fundamental ethical principles (Article 6 of the EC FP7 decision), or failing to comply with the relevant security procedures (Article 15.2 of the EC Rules for Participation) may be excluded at any time from the process of evaluation, selection and award. The Work Programmes (WP) implementing the specific programmes may set out specific evaluation criteria. The call for proposals and associated Guide for Applicants may specify in more detail the implementation of these rules. September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 13

14. Drafting and submission of proposalsa) The EPSS. The process Call for proposals (CP). Content and timing of calls are set out in the WP. Notifications of CP are published in the Official Journal of the EU. Call texts are published on CORDIS websitehttp://cordis.europa.euand include references to WP topics, indicative call budget, funding schemes, submission deadlines and links to the Electronic Proposal Submission Service (EPSS) The CORDIS website provides access to all necessary information for those wishing to apply to calls. The showed Guides for Applicants are produced for every CP; they explain the submission process and how applicants can seek assistance or information on any call-related matter. There is also support from the net of NCPs and a dedicated help desk for issues related to the EPSS. .../... September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 14

15. Drafting and submission of proposalsa) The EPSS. The process .../... Depending on the CP objectives, different types of collaborative projects, and between types of co-ordination and support actions, may be specified. A CP will also specify whether a single- or two-stage submission and evaluation procedure is to be followed. A Call Co-ordinator is appointed by the EC. This person acts as a contact point for practical questions related to the CP and ensures overall organisation of the reception and evaluation of proposals. One or more EC officials shall be nominated, who will be responsible for giving directions on how to deal with sensitive questions that may arise during submission and evaluation. Pre-proposal check. Depending on the nature of the CP an advisory pre-proposal check service may be offered by the EC to ensuring that proposal is within the scope of the CP. September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 15

16. Drafting and submission of proposalsa) The EPSS. The process EPSS The proposals are submitted electronically via the web-based Electronic Proposal Submission Service (EPSS)(only on very exceptional circumstances proposals may be submitted on paper) Among the applicants in a proposal consortium, only the co-ordinator (identified by user ID and password) is authorised to submit a proposal. Preparation and uploading of all the proposal data, and the applicants’ agreement to the conditions of use of the system and of the evaluation must take place prior to attempting to submit the proposal. The EPSS will carry out a number of basic verification checks, including completeness, internal data consistency, absence of viruses, and conformity to the file types and size limitations. Only upon completion of these checks, which do not replace the formal eligibility checks, will EPSS allow the applicant to submit. …/… September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 16

17. Drafting and submission of proposalsa) The EPSS. The process(proposal submission) .../... Submission is deemed to occur at the moment the proposal co-ordinator initiates the final submission process, as indicated by the EPSS and not at any point prior to this. The proposals submitted via EPSS are entered into databases after the CP closure. The EC has no access to the proposal until the CP deadline has passed. In case of continuous submission schemes, after interim cut-off dates. Versions in paper(except in the exceptional cases referred to above), CD-ROM or diskette, e-mail or fax shall be disregarded by the EC A procedure for the withdrawal of a proposal by its co-ordinator is given in the Guide for Applicants. If more than one copy of the same proposal are received, only the most recent eligible version is evaluated. Proposals are archived under secure conditions at all times. After completion of evaluation and any subsequent negotiation, all copies will be destroyed other than those required for archiving and/or auditing purposes. .../... September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 17

18. Drafting and submission of proposalsa) The EPSS. The process(reception by EC) .../... The date and time of reception of the last version of submitted proposals are recorded. After the call closure or cut-off in continuous submission, an acknowledgement of receipt is sent to the co-ordinator by e-mail containing: Proposal title, acronym and unique proposal identifier (proposal number) Name of programme and/or activity/research area & CP identifier Date and time of receipt. There is normally no further contact between the EC and applicants until after completion of evaluation, except for proposals subject to hearings. The CE may at any moment contact applicants for clarifications. September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 18

19. Drafting and submission of proposalsa) The EPSS. The process(eligibility check) Proposals must fulfil all the eligibility criteria if they are to be retained for evaluation. In the case of two-stage proposal submission, each stage is subject to an eligibility check. The following criteria apply: Receipt of proposal by the EC before the deadline and time established in the CP. Minimum conditions (such as number of participants) as referred to in the CP. Completeness of the proposal (the eligibility test only apply to the presence of the appropriate parts of the proposal). Scope of the CP: the content must relate to the topic(s) and funding scheme(s) set out in the part of WP open in the CP. If before, during, or after the evaluation phase it becomes clear that one or more of the eligibility criteria have not been fulfilled, the proposal is declared ineligible by the EC and is withdrawn from any further examination. September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 19

20. Drafting and submission of proposalsa) The EPSS. The process(eligibility review committee) If the question of eligibility is not clear-cut, the call co-ordinator may convene an internal eligibility review committee The committee role is to ensure a coherent legal interpretation of such cases and equal treatment of applicants. The committee is composed of EC staff having the necessary expertise in legal matters, S&T content, and/or information systems. It is chaired by the call co-ordinator. The committee may decide to contact the applicant in order to clarify a particular issue. September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 20

21. Drafting and submission of proposalsb) The Structure of the proposal Part A. It contains the administrative forms or the proposal. The proposers need to fill the A forms appropriately and save them on the EPSS server. Depending on the type of CP, Part A shows the overview of forms A1, A2, A3.1 and the summary A3.2 (certain sub-schemes also have and A4 form or do not have A3.1/A3.2 forms. Part B. Is the description of the content of the proposal. Proposers must use templates that are downloaded (RTF format) and uses it as a guide to structure the Part B. The template Part B RTF is open and edited, the file saved, converted to PDF and then added to the proposal. There is a check list for Part B in order to ensure that no special characters or spaces are included, no colours used for figures, file ends in .pdf, and is in PDF format. Annexes. For the majority of instruments and project types Part A and Part B form the complete proposal. Where, in some particular actions annexes are required, the EPSS section Annex Upload must be used. September 09 Rodolfo Piedra 21