Updated version of the Grant Agreement published.
By Ingemar Pongratz
The European Commission has recently published an updated version of the Model Grant Agreement (MGA) used for different accepted EU funded projects from Horizon 2020. The updated version of the Grant Agreement published covers further clarifications of legal and financial issues for Horizon 2020 funded EU projects
This is the thirteenth! update of the MGA. Interestingly, the current document is well over 600 pages long and covers the different Horizon 2020 funding schemes such as the SME Instrument, Marie Curie projects etc.
The main changes of this version of the Model Grant Agreement compared to previous versions are providing additional information and clarification on the costs for services and / or equipment incurred during the project but invoiced after the project, additional examples of costs that are not in line with sound financial management, additional information on remuneration to students and personnel, calculation of productive hours, costs for third parties, VAT and other important issues.
The issues presented above only represent examples of the different financial issues that have been changed or clarified in the current version which is available in the European Commission Participant Portal.
Clearly, this is lengthy document but since the MGA covers all the different types of projects that are financed by the European Commission under Horizon 2020, not all the changes are relevant for all projects. However, the size of the MGA is considerable and many organization interested in participating in Horizon 2020 are concerned with the heavy legal costs associated with the MGA.
The Updated version of the Grant Agreement published is part of the simplification activities undertaken by the European Commission will truly serve the purpose of simplification.
Fenix Scientific AB / Pongratz Consulting was established by Ingemar Pongratz. We help companies and other organizations to find and apply for financing from different sources including Horizon 2020 schemes. If you like to discuss your project needs with us please use the Online Contact form or by email to:
Ingemar.Pongratz (a) pongratzconsulting.com
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