eunbil · GT0N1282 · 2006-05-19 00:00:00 — (a) to endeavour to ensure that the legal entities identified in the grant agreement complete the necessary formalities for accession to the grant agreement; (b) to receive the Community financial contribution and to distribute it in accordance with the consortium and grant agreement; (c) to keep the records and financial accounts relating to the Community financial contribution and to inform the Commission of its distribution in accordance with Article 36; (d) to be intermediary for efficient and correct communication between the participants and the Commission. The coordinator shall be identified in the grant agreement. The appointment of a new coordinator shall require the written approval of the Commission. Changes in the consortium The participants in an indirect action may propose the addition of a new participant or the removal of an existing participant. legal entity which joins an ongoing action shall accede to the grant agreement. In specific cases, where provided for in the grant agreement, the consortium shall publish a competitive call and advertise it widely using specific information support, particularly Internet sites on the seventh framework programme, the specialist press and brochures, and the national contact points set up by the Member States and Associated countries for information and support. The consortium shall evaluate offers in the light of the criteria which governed the initial action and with the assistance of independent experts appointed by the consortium, in accordance with the principles laid down in Articles 15, and Article 17, respectively. The consortium shall notify any proposed change of its composition to the Commission, which may object within 45 days of the notification. Changes in the composition of the consortium associated with proposals for other changes to the grant agreement which are not directly related to the change in composition shall be subject to written approval by the Commission. MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF PROGRAMMES AND INDIRECT ACTIONS AND COMMUNICATION OF INFORMATION The Commission shall monitor the implementation of indirect actions on the basis of the periodic progress reports submitted pursuant to Article 19(4). In particular, the Commission shall monitor the implementation of the plan for the use and dissemination of foreground, submitted pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 20(1). For those purposes, the Commission may be assisted by independent experts appointed in accordance with Article 17. The Commission shall set up and maintain an information system allowing for this monitoring to take place in an efficient and coherent across the Framework Programme. The monitoring and evaluation referred to in Article 7 of the Framework Programme Decision shall include aspects relating to the application of this Regulation. In addition, the Commission may set up groups of independent experts appointed in accordance with Article 17, to advise on the implementation of Community research policy. Information to be made available Having due regard to Article 3, the Commission shall, upon request, make available to any or Associated country any useful information in its possession on foreground arising from work carried out in the context of an indirect action, provided that the following conditions are met: (a) the information concerned is relevant to public policy; (b) the participants have not provided sound and sufficient reasons for withholding the information concerned. Under no circumstances shall the provision of information pursuant to paragraph 1 be deemed to transfer to the recipient any rights or obligations of the Commission or of the participants. However, the recipient shall treat any such information as confidential unless it becomes public or is made available publicly by the participants, or unless it was communicated to the Commission without restrictions on its confidentiality. ELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDING AND FORMS OF GRANTS The following legal entities participating in an indirect action may receive a Community financial contribution: (a) any legal entity established in a or an Associated country, or created under Community law, (b) any international European interest organisation, (c) any legal entity established in an international cooperation partner country. In the case of a participating international organisation, other than an international European interest organisation, or a legal entity established in a third country other than an Associated country or international cooperation partner country, a Community financial contribution may be granted provided that at least one of the following conditions is satisfied: (a) provision is made to that effect in the specific programmes or in the relevant work programme, (b) it is essential for carrying out the indirect action, (c) such funding is provided for in a bilateral scientific and technological agreement or any other arrangement between the Community and the country in which the legal entity is established. The Community financial contribution for grants identified in part a) of to the Seventh Framework Programme shall be based on the reimbursement, in whole or in part, of eligible costs. However, the Community financial contribution may take the form of flat rate financing, including scale of unit costs, or lump sum financing, or it may combine the reimbursement of eligible costs with flat rates and lump sums. The Community financial contribution may also take the form of scholarships or prizes. The work programmes shall specify the forms of grants to be used in the actions concerned. Reimbursement of eligible costs Indirect actions financed by grants shall be co-financed by the participants. The Community financial contribution to reimburse eligible costs shall not give rise to a profit. Receipts shall be taken into consideration for the payment of the grant at the end of the implementation of the action. In order to be considered eligible, costs incurred for the implementation of an indirect action shall meet the following conditions: (a) they must be actual; (b) they must have been incurred during the duration of the action, with the exception of final reports when provided for in the grant agreement; (c) they must have been determined in accordance with the usual accounting and management principles and practices of the participant and used for the sole purpose of achieving the objectives of the indirect action and its expected results, in a consistent with the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness; (d) they must be recorded in the accounts of the participant and, in the case of any contribution from third parties, they must be recorded in the accounts of the third parties; (e) they must be exclusive of non-eligible costs, in particular identifiable indirect taxes including value added tax, duties, interest owed, provisions for possible future losses or charges, exchange losses, cost related to return on capital, costs declared or incurred, or reimbursed in respect of another Community project, debt and debt service charges, excessive or reckless expenditure, and any other cost that does not meet the conditions referred to in points (a) to (d). For the purposes of point (a), average personnel costs may be used if they are consistent with the management principles and accounting practices of the participant and do not differ significantly from actual costs. While the Community financial contribution shall be calculated by reference to the cost of the indirect action as a whole, its reimbursement shall be based on the reported costs of each participant. Direct eligible costs and indirect eligible costs Eligible costs shall be composed of costs attributable directly to the action, hereinafter "direct eligible costs" and, where applicable, of costs which are not attributable directly to the action, but which have been incurred in direct relationship with the direct eligible costs attributed to the action, hereinafter "indirect eligible costs". For the coverage of indirect eligible costs, a participant may opt for a flat-rate of its total direct eligible costs, excluding its direct eligible costs for subcontracting. The Commission shall establish such flat rates based on a close approximation of the real indirect costs concerned, in accordance with the Financial Regulation and its Implementing Rules. The grant agreement may provide that the reimbursement of indirect eligible costs is to be limited to a maximum percentage of the direct eligible costs, excluding the direct eligible costs for subcontracting, in particular in the case of coordination and support actions, and, where appropriate, actions for training and career development of researchers. Non profit public bodies, secondary and higher education , and research organisations, which are unable to identify with certainty their real indirect costs for the action concerned, may calculate their indirect costs in a simplified in accordance with provisions to be established in the grant agreement. Principles to be followed in this respect shall be set out in the model grant agreement. For research and technological development activities, the Community financial contribution may reach a maximum of of the total eligible costs. However, in the case of non-profit public bodies, secondary and higher education , research organisations and SMEs, it may reach a maximum of of the total eligible costs. For demonstration activities, the Community financial contribution may reach a maximum of of the total eligible costs. For activities supported by frontier research actions, coordination and support actions, and actions for the training and career development of researchers, the Community financial contribution may reach a maximum of of the total eligible costs. For management activities including audit certificates, and other activities not covered by paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, the Community financial contribution may reach a maximum of of the total eligible costs. The other activities referred to in the first subparagraph include, inter alia, training in actions that do not fall under the funding scheme for training and career development of researchers, coordination, networking, and dissemination. For the purposes of paragraphs 1 to 4, eligible costs and receipts shall be taken into consideration in order to determine the Community financial contribution. Paragraphs 1 to 5 shall apply, as appropriate, in the case of indirect actions where flat rate financing or lump sum financing is used for the whole indirect action. Reporting and audit of eligible costs Periodic reports shall be submitted to the Commission regarding eligible costs, financial interest yielded by pre-financing, and receipts in relation with the indirect action concerned and, where appropriate, certified by an audit certificate, in accordance with the Financial Regulation and the Implementing Rules. The existence of co-financing in relation with the concerned action shall be reported and, where appropriate, certified at the end of the action. Audit certificates shall not be required for indirect actions entirely reimbursed by means of lump sums or flat rates. In the case of public bodies, research organisations, and higher and secondary education , an audit certificate as required under paragraph 1 may be established by a competent public officer. The work programme shall provide for the forms of grants to be used for Networks of Excellence. (a) Where the Community financial contribution to Networks of Excellence takes the form of a lump-sum it shall be calculated according to the number of researchers to be integrated in the Network of Excellence and the duration of the action. The unit value for lump sums paid under paragraph 1 shall be 500 per year and per researcher. That amount shall be adjusted by the Commission in accordance with the Financial Regulation and the Implementing Rules. (b) The work programme shall establish the maximum number of participants and, where appropriate, the maximum number of researchers that may be used as the basis for the calculation of the maximum lump sum. However, participants over and above the for the of the financial contribution may participate as appropriate. (c) The payment shall be effected by means of periodic releases. Those periodic releases shall be made according to the assessment of the progressive implementation of the Joint Programme of Activities through the measurement of integration of research resources and capacities based on performance indicators, negotiated with the consortium and specified in the grant agreement. PAYMENT, DISTRIBUTION, RECOVERY AND GUARANTEES The Community financial contribution shall be paid to the participants via the coordinator without undue delay. The coordinator shall keep records making it possible to determine at any time what portion of the Community funds has been distributed to each participant. The coordinator shall communicate that information to the Commission upon request. The Commission may adopt a recovery decision in accordance with the Financial Regulation. Retained amounts for risk avoidance The financial responsibility of each participant shall be limited to its own debt. Depending on the level of risk associated with non-recovery of sums due to the Community, the Commission may retain a small percentage, to be fixed after an overall risk-assessment and not exceeding one per cent, of the Community financial contribution to each participant in an indirect action in order to cover any amounts due and not reimbursed by defaulting participants in indirect actions. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to the following: (a) public bodies, legal entities whose participation in the indirect action is guaranteed by a or an Associated country , and higher and secondary education ; (b) participants in actions to support training and career development of researchers, frontier research actions, and actions for the benefit of specific groups with the exception actions for the benefit of SMEs. The amounts retained shall constitute revenue assigned to the Seventh Framework Programme within the meaning of Article 18(2) of the Financial Regulation. At the end of the framework programme an assessment shall be made of the amounts required to cover outstanding risks. sums in excess of these amounts shall be reimbursed to the framework programme and constitute earmarked revenue. DISSEMINATION AND USE, AND ACCESS RIGHTS Foreground shall be the property of the Community in the following cases: (a) coordination and support actions consisting in a purchase of goods or services subject to the rules on public procurement set out in the Financial Regulation; (b) coordination and support actions relating to independent experts. Foreground arising from work carried out under indirect actions other than those referred to in paragraph 1 shall be the property of the participant carrying out the work generating that foreground. If employees or other personnel working for a participant are entitled to claim rights to foreground, the participant shall ensure that it is possible to exercise those rights in a compatible with its obligations under the grant agreement. Joint ownership of foreground Where several participants have jointly carried out work generating foreground and where their respective share of the work cannot be ascertained, they shall have joint ownership of such foreground. They shall establish an agreement regarding the allocation and terms of exercising that joint ownership. Where no joint ownership agreement has been concluded, each of the joint owners shall be entitled to grant non-exclusive licenses to third parties, without any right to sub-licence, subject to the following conditions: (a) prior notice must be given to the other joint owners; (b) fair and reasonable compensation must be provided to the other joint owners. Ownership of foreground by specific groups In the case of actions for the benefit of specific groups, Article 39(2) and Article 40(1) shall not apply. In such cases, foreground shall be jointly owned by the participants which are members of the specific group benefiting from the action, unless otherwise agreed by those participants. Where the owners of the foreground are not members of that group, they shall ensure that the group is provided with all the rights to that foreground required for the purposes of using and disseminating it in accordance with the technical annex to the grant agreement. Where a participant transfers ownership of foreground, it shall pass on its obligations regarding that foreground to the assignee including the obligation to pass them on to any subsequent assignee, in accordance with the grant agreement. Subject to its obligations concerning confidentiality, where the participant is required to pass on access rights, it shall give prior notice to the other participants in the same action, together with sufficient information concerning the new owner of the foreground to permit them to exercise their access rights under the grant agreement. However, the other participants may, by written agreement, waive their right to individual prior notice in the case of transfers of ownership from one participant to a specifically identified third party. Following notification in accordance with the first subparagraph of paragraph 2, any other participant may object to any transfer of ownership on the ground that it would adversely affect their access rights. Where any of the other participants demonstrate that their rights would be adversely affected, the intended transfer shall not take place until agreement has been reached between the participants concerned. Where appropriate, the grant agreement may provide, that the Commission is to be notified in advance of any intended transfer of ownership or any intended grant of an exclusive licence to a third party which is established in a third country not associated to the Seventh Framework Programme. Preservation of European competitiveness and ethical principles The Commission may object to the transfer of ownership of foreground, or to the granting of an exclusive licence regarding foreground, to third parties established in a third country not associated to the Seventh Framework Programme, if it considers that this is not in accordance with the interests of developing the competitiveness of economy or is inconsistent with ethical principles or security considerations. In such cases, the transfer of ownership or grant of exclusive licence shall not take place unless the Commission is satisfied that appropriate safeguards will be put in place. PROTECTION, PUBLICATION, DISSEMINATION AND USE Where foreground is capable of industrial or commercial application, its owner shall provide for its adequate and effective protection, having due regard to its legitimate interests and the legitimate interests, particularly the commercial interests, of the other participants in the indirect action concerned. Where a participant who is not the owner of the foreground invokes its legitimate interest, it must, in any given instance, show that it would suffer disproportionately great harm. Where the foreground is capable of industrial or commercial application and its owner does not protect it, and does not transfer it to another participant in accordance with Article 42(1) and (2), no dissemination activities may take place before the Commission has been informed. In such cases, the Commission may, with the consent of the participant concerned, assume ownership of that foreground and adopt measures for its adequate and effective protection. The participant concerned may refuse consent only if it can demonstrate that its legitimate interests would suffer disproportionately great harm. Statement relating to Community financial support All publications, patent applications filed by or on behalf of a participant, or any other dissemination relating to foreground, shall include a statement that the foreground concerned was generated with the assistance of financial support from the Community. The terms of that statement shall be established in the grant agreement. The participants shall use the foreground which they own, or ensure that it is used. Each participant shall ensure that the foreground of which it has ownership is disseminated as swiftly as possible. If it fails to do so, the Commission may disseminate that foreground. Dissemination activities shall be compatible with the protection of intellectual property rights, confidentiality obligations, and the legitimate interests of the owner of the foreground. Prior notice of any dissemination activity shall be given to the other participants concerned. Following notification, any of those participants may object if it considers that its legitimate interests in relation to its foreground or background could suffer disproportionately great harm. In such cases, the dissemination activity may not take place unless appropriate steps are taken to safeguard these legitimate interests. ACCESS RIGHTS TO BACKGROUND AND FOREGROUND Participants may define the background needed for the purposes of the indirect action in a written agreement and, where appropriate, may exclude specific background. All requests for access rights shall be made in writing. Unless otherwise agreed by the owner of the foreground or background, access rights shall confer no entitlement to grant sub-licences. Exclusive licences for foreground or background may be granted, subject to written confirmation by all the other participants that they waive their access rights thereto. Without prejudice to paragraph 3, any agreement providing access rights to foreground or background to participants or third parties shall be such as to ensure that potential access rights for other participants are maintained. Without prejudice to Articles 50 and 51 and the grant agreement, participants in the same action shall inform each other as soon as possible of any limitation to the granting of access rights to background, or of any other restriction which might substantially affect the granting of access rights. The termination of its participation in an indirect action shall in no way affect the obligation of that participant to grant access rights to the remaining participants in the same action under the terms and conditions established by the grant agreement. Access rights for implementation of indirect actions Access rights to foreground shall be granted to the other participants in the same indirect action, if it is needed to enable those participants to carry out their own work under that indirect action. Such access rights shall be granted on a royalty-free basis. Access rights to background shall be granted to the other participants in the same indirect action, if it is needed to enable those participants to carry out their own work under that indirect action provided that the participant concerned is entitled to grant them. Such access rights shall be granted on a royalty-free basis, unless otherwise agreed by all participants before their accession to the grant agreement. However, RTD Performers shall grant access rights to background on a royalty-free basis. Access rights for use Participants in the same indirect action shall enjoy access rights to foreground, if it is needed to use their own foreground. Subject to agreement, such access rights shall be granted either under fair and reasonable conditions or be royalty-free. Participants in the same indirect action shall enjoy access rights to background, if it is needed to use their own foreground provided that the participant concerned is entitled to grant them. Subject to agreement, such access rights shall be granted either under fair and reasonable conditions or be royalty-free.