FAQ on various topics

A Gender Equality Plan (GEP) is a formal document that outlines a series of commitments and actions aimed at advancing gender equality within an organisation through both institutional and cultural changes.

The GEP is a requirement for public and private research organisations, higher education institutions, and public authorities seeking funding under Horizon Europe.

GEP should be holistic, inclusive, and comprehensive, addressing the entire organisation. It must involve all relevant stakeholders and include measures designed to create a meaningful impact on gender equality within the organisation.

Yes, both government agencies and research and higher education institutions, whether public or private, are required to have a GEP.

At the project application stage, it is sufficient to declare that a relevant GEP will be developed within the organisation. However, by the time the Grant Agreement is signed (if the project is selected for funding), the organisation must already have an approved and valid GEP. The existence of this Plan is a criterion for the organisation’s eligibility to enter into the Grant Agreement.

GEP must meet the following four mandatory criteria:

• it must be an official document signed by the institution’s management;
• it must be published and accessible on the institution’s website;
• resources must be allocated for its implementation;
• it must include provisions for data collection and processing to monitor its implementation.

Translation of the document into English is not required.

No, achieving gender parity is not an eligibility criterion for your project. However, it is recommended to consider the gender aspect in your project. While you may not achieve parity due to the demographics of your research area, addressing gender considerations is still advised.

First, review the Guidelines on the Gender Equality Plan for Horizon Europe provided by the European Commission.

Currently, there is no standardised template for a Gender Equality Plan due to the diverse nature of projects. However, the EQUAL4EUROPE project, funded under Horizon 2020, has developed a GEP template that may serve as a useful reference.

All documents for the Programme calls are prepared and submitted in English and do not require translation into Ukrainian.

Before initiating the reinstatement and appointment of a new LEAR (Legal Entity Appointed Representative), both the individual conducting the reinstatement and the future LEAR must have a personal account on the European Commission portal. If such an account does not exist, it is necessary to create and activate an EU Login account to complete the nomination process successfully.

Detailed instructions for recovering and appointing a new LEAR are available on the EU website at the  LEAR Recovery link.

When replacing a LEAR (Legal Entity Appointed Representative), the system generates a pre-filled document that must be printed, signed with a blue ink or ballpoint pen, scanned, and then uploaded to the system.

The complete list of documents to be uploaded includes:

• a letter of appointment for the LEAR, detailing the role and responsibilities, which must be dated and signed by both the legal representative and the LEAR;
• a declaration of acceptance of the Terms of Use of the portal, which must be dated and signed by the legal representative;
• a copy of a valid official identity document (ID card, passport) with a photo and signature:
  • for the legal representative of the organisation;
  • for the appointed LEAR;
• documents verifying the authority of the legal representative.

The submitted documents must:

• clearly specify the role or function of the individual in the organisation as the legal representative;
• identify and appoint an individual (including personal data) who performs this specific role or function.

For your reference, it is recommended to examine a document containing:

• an example of a LEAR Appointment Letter;
• the Roles and Responsibilities of LEARs.

It is advisable, following the appointment of a LEAR, to designate an Account Administrator for your organisation to prevent similar issues in the future.

In the Lump Sum detailed budget table, the term “cost per unit” refers to the cost associated with a specific service or product. For example, if the cost pertains to the work of a specialist, it denotes the monthly cost of their services, calculated according to the Financial Rules of Horizon Europe. If it concerns goods or services, it represents the “aggregate” unit cost for items such as publishing an article, organising an event, conducting a study, or a business trip.

The detailed breakdown of such “aggregate” unit costs, which may encompass various categories of services or goods, is not provided in the budget table but is detailed in the Cost Justification table within Part B of the project application.

Example 1: The “aggregate” unit cost for one trip to any EU country includes: airfare (estimated at €500 per person for a round trip); accommodation (for an average trip duration of 4 days/3 nights, with hotel costs amounting to €450 for 3 nights and per diem at 4 x €120 = €480). For 2 team members attending the working meetings, the total cost per travel unit is €2,860.

Example 2: A cost estimate is determined by multiplying the unit cost of a specific item by the number of units required. For instance, if a researcher with annual expenses of €72,000 works on a project for six months, the unit cost is €6,000 (calculated as €72,000 divided by 12 months), and the number of units is 6 (for six months). Thus, the detailed budget table would reflect an approximate cost of €36,000 (i.e., €6,000 x 6) for hiring this researcher.

For additional information on “unit costs”, please consult the instructions provided for the Lump Sum budget table in the Excel template available on the Funding and Tendering Portal. It is important to distinguish between “units” and “unit costs” in the detailed Lump Sum budget table and the concept of unit costs in EU grants. For Horizon Europe, the applicable unit costs are detailed in the General Annexes of the Work Programme.

In Horizon Europe, eligible project costs consist of direct and indirect costs.

Direct costs are personnel costs, travel costs, or other goods, works and services directly related to the implementation of the project. They are financed based on actual costs or at various fixed amounts.

Indirect costs (“overhead costs”), such as office rent or operating expenses, are not directly related to the project but are necessary for its implementation. They are financed at a fixed rate of 25% of the direct eligible costs (less certain costs, such as subcontracting costs).

An example of the calculation methodology: 100 € – direct costs, 25 € - indirect costs, for a total of 125 € in eligible costs.

The rate of project funding (reimbursement of direct project costs by the EU) is announced in the terms of the call for proposals and is fixed in the signed Grant Agreement.

The funding rate for Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) is set at 100% of eligible costs for all types of organisations.

For Innovation Actions (IA), the funding rate varies based on the organisation’s legal status: 70% for profit-making entities and 100% for non-profit entities.

The definitions of non-profit organisations, legal entities, small and medium-sized enterprises and other legal forms in Horizon Europe are given in the European Commission’s manual Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, pp. 5–12.

The pre-financing of Lump Sum grants is calculated in the same way as for all Horizon Europe grants. The lump sum is a proportion of the total funding, which corresponds to the number of reporting periods. For projects with one reporting period, the pre-financing (advance payment) is commonly equivalent to 80% of the lump sum. For projects with two or more reporting periods, the up-front funding is usually 160% of the average EU funding for the reporting period (i.e. lump sum/number of periods). Similarly to other grants, a small percentage of the lump sum is retained as a contribution to the Mutual Insurance Scheme (MIM). The amount of pre-financing is stipulated in the Grant Agreement. The Coordinator must allocate it following the Consortium Agreement.

In case your project is implemented as prescribed in the Grant Agreement, the lump sum will be paid in full and can be used in any possible way. How the funds are spent depends on the internal consortium arrangements, and the European Commission will only ensure that the project is carried out under the agreement. Such flexibility is different and more far-reaching than the budgetary flexibility of actual cost grants.

Budget flexibility as understood by Actual Cost Grants is not applicable, as there are no actual costs in Lump Sum Grants. Thus, the transfer of funds between budget categories – as in Actual Cost Grants – does not exist in Lump Sum projects.

Lump Sum Shares can be transferred between beneficiaries (i.e., increasing the share of one beneficiary and decreasing the share of another) and/or between work packages (increasing the share allocated to one work package and decreasing the share of another).

Such transfer of funds must be well justified by the technical implementation of the project. If the consortium wishes to reflect these changes in the grant agreement, an amendment should be made, including an updated Annex 2. This may be useful, for instance, to ensure that the financial commitment corresponds to the actual distribution of the lump sum shares among the partners.

Unfortunately, this is not possible under the Horizon Europe Programme. There are two different Model Grant Agreements (MGAs) for Actual Cost grants and Lump Sum grants, and none of them provides for both funding models. If a topic specifies lump sum funding, each grant under that topic will be for the same type of funding.

The rules for suspension of payments are the same for all Horizon Europe grants (except that the eligibility of costs does not apply to lump sum grants, so it cannot be a reason for suspension).

The Granting Authority may at any time suspend payments in whole or in part to one or more beneficiaries if they do not comply with the provisions of the Agreement (for more details see Article 28.1 of the Model Grant Agreement on Lump Sum Grants).

If payments are suspended for one or more beneficiaries, the Granting Authority shall make a partial payment(s) for the part(s) that are not suspended.  If the suspension relates to the final payment, the payment (or reimbursement) of the remaining amount after the suspension will be considered as a project final payment.

There are two options for determining the Lump Sum funding amount:

Type 1. In this case, a fixed amount is specified by the Commission in the call for proposals, and the budget should be calculated in accordance with this amount. Proposals should outline the efforts and resources that the applicants are committed to mobilising this funding. Applicants should provide a budget breakdown of this amount per work package and per beneficiary and affiliated organisation.

Type 2. In this case, applicants themselves propose and justify the requested amount in their application based on an estimate of the direct and indirect costs of the project. Applicants must provide a detailed budget and provide a breakdown of the lump sum payments per work package, per beneficiary (and affiliated entity, if any).

The consortium is collectively responsible for the implementation of the activity in all joint grants. If the activity is not carried out properly (i.e. the activity is not carried out as described in the grant agreement and in accordance with the obligations set out in it), the funding may be reduced and this may affect all beneficiaries.

For Lump Sum Grants, proper implementation requires the completion of tasks within each work package. Should a work package not be completed by the end of the term, the lump sum grant share for that work package will normally be reduced in proportion to the amount of work not completed.

This means that:

• in case of total cancellation of the work package, the beneficiaries participating in this work package are liable in the amount of their lump sum share in this work package;
• in case of partial refusal to perform a part of the work (partial payment), the liability shall be reduced proportionally;

● unless a particular beneficiary has not fulfilled its part of the tasks, only the lump sum share(s) of this beneficiary will be rejected without reducing the lump sum shares of other beneficiaries who have fulfilled their part of the tasks.

To calculate certain costs, it is necessary to multiply the planned time (person/month) by the projected monthly cost of involvement of each person who will contribute to the project.

As with Horizon 2020, the general rules of the new programme provide for reimbursement of actual costs. However, moving towards simplifying the rules for participation in the Programme, the European Commission has introduced some new options. Specifically, the introduction of a single conditional period of 215 days per year is noteworthy.

Additionally, during the financial reporting process, the Commission established a unique formula to estimate the time spent by personnel working on a project, which is multiplied by the daily rate and the time spent on the project.

No, a ‘time sheet’ shall not be required to verify the time spent by personnel involved in the Horizon Europe Programme.

However, the organisation must be able to demonstrate the time of the involved personnel or eligible equivalents during the audit. Several tools can be used to prove this:

• a time tracking system for the organisation (including the actual time sheet);
• monthly declarations (monthly report).

Some bonuses may be eligible. More information is available here and here.

Projects under the Horizon Europe Programme are required to be registered with the Ministry of Education and Science.

According to paragraph 3 of the Procedure for Registration of International Scientific and Technical Programmes and Projects Implemented within the Framework of International Scientific and Technical Cooperation by Ukrainian Scientists, as well as Grants Provided within the Framework of Such Cooperation, adopted by Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine No. 1507 dated 20.11.2017 (hereinafter – Order No. 1507), international technical programmes and projects carried out by the subjects of scientific and scientific and technical activities of Ukraine and in respect of which the provisions of Articles 66.8 and 66.9 of the Law of Ukraine “On Scientific and Scientific and Technical Activities” shall be subject to state registration.

As provided for in paragraph 5 of Order of the Ministry of Education and Science No. 1507, the technical processing of documents related to the preparation of international technical programmes and projects for registration and the maintenance of the Register is carried out by the Ukrainian Institute of Scientific and Technical Expertise and Information (hereinafter referred to as UkrISTEI).

Detailed information on the registration procedure, the list of required documents and processing time is to be found here.

Initially, a package of documents is prepared and submitted to UkrISTEI for examination. After the examination, UkrISTEI sends the package of documents to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (hereinafter – the Registrar) for consideration and decision on state registration within the established time limit. Within a certain period upon the receipt of the documents from UkrISTEI, the Registrar decides on state registration and orders the approval of the project.

An international research project under the Horizon Europe Programme may also be subject to state registration with the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, if there are grounds for such registration. The Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 153 of 15 February 2002 (hereinafter referred to as the Decree) specifies the grounds and procedure for state registration of a project as international technical aid. Typically, state registration is carried out if the beneficiaries of the project are state bodies, as defined in Article 2 of the Decree.

Project registration may also be required to exercise the right to apply for benefits, privileges, and immunities provided for by Ukrainian legislation and international treaties. The Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine carries out state registration, project monitoring, accreditation of executors, etc. State registration of the project is free of charge. The national coordinator is responsible for project registration and organises reporting on the results achieved throughout the project’s lifetime in accordance with the established form of ongoing and final monitoring in accordance with Annex 3 to the Decree.

Yes, Ukrainian candidates can register their profile in the expert database and be involved in the project evaluation process.

However, registration does not automatically mean signing a contract with the candidate and engaging them in the process of evaluating project applications, projects themselves, or other activities. After registration, the candidate is included in the database of experts, from which the European Commission engages experts as required.

Detailed registration information is available here.

Once your profile is selected from the database, you will need to upload copies of your identity documents. Such documents may include an ID card, a passport, an international ID, a permanent or temporary residence permit, etc.

For this purpose, it is necessary to have a bank account, which should be registered – My Expert Area / Bank account. After that, the Commission will verify and validate it, and your funds will be able to be transferred there. Find more information here.

There is no other method of payment for expert services provided, therefore, if the candidate has signed an agreement for the provision of expert services, he or she must necessarily set up a bank account and verify it following the procedure.

For more information, please visit IT HOW TO.

Yes, even those who are retired can register as an expert. However, it is important to take into account potential differences in national tax and social security legislation.

Experts are expected to have the language skills necessary to read and understand project proposals and/or project reports in the language in which they are submitted.

A good command of English is essential, and a satisfactory command of other European languages is also welcome.

The call for proposals for the engagement of experts reads as follows: “Very strong language skills (particularly in English) are required”.

It is possible to register in the database on an individual basis. It is not necessary to be recommended by an organisation. There are no special advantages for experts recommended or suggested by an organisation.