If a proposal has been successfully evaluated and the Senior Auditor accepts the ERC grant, the ERC prepares an application-based grant agreement. This grant agreement offers few opportunities for adaptation. As a general rule, the agreement is non-negotiable. In addition to the scientific report, the host institution must submit a “financial report” at the end of each reference period. The ERC`s general grant agreement provides for different reporting periods for financial and scientific reports. Normally, the reference period is 18 months. There are four reference periods for a five-year grant; The last reference period is only six months. A change in the work description (Annex I) is always necessary to: modify the scientific work or modify the objectives of the project; removing/adding tasks or making significant changes in the distribution of work among recipients (for multi-recipient grants); introducing/removal of third parties and/or subcontractors (excluding the outsourcing of minor tasks); and the addition or revocation of a beneficiary (including the change of the host institute). The agreement as a whole and its provisions are non-negotiable. Only elements important for financial and contractual management, such as reference periods and the amount of pre-financing, are negotiable to adapt to the specific administrative context of each project. As with general H2020 subsidies, maximum flexibility will be possible on the due dates for the results, milestones, scientific and financial reports, and the implementation of the action that has been influenced by containment measures (see FAQs on delays in reporting or results, to develop the Onsager Fellowship and Outstanding Academic Fellows program to double the number of grants awarded to Horizon 2020 UNNT researchers compared to the seventh framework program. As part of the 2019 work programme, the ERC is implementing a comprehensive approach to the ERC`s proof of concept-grants. This means that eur 150,000 will be allocated to each successful project.
There is no need to formulate a budget proposal during the submission phase. Nevertheless, the costs of the project must be described narratively in the proposal. Only costs that can benefit from an effective subsidy can be financed by the lump sum. These may include personal costs, subcontracting and other direct and indirect costs that may relate to auditing work, validating results, clarifying IPR or knowledge transfer strategy, market analysis, etc. If a proposal has been successfully evaluated and the Senior Auditor accepts the ERC grant, the ERC prepares an application-based grant agreement. The grant agreement is signed by the European Commission (represented by the ERC Executive Agency, ERCEA) and by the host institution which receives the ERC grant. For Horizon 2020, a specific grant agreement for the ERC will be used. Changes may be made to the original proposal during the preparatory phase of the grant agreement and during the implementation of the action. Both types of amendments must be approved by the ERC`s scientific department.
When the change occurs after the grant agreement is signed, an amendment is normally required (the changes are included in the PC 7 amendment guide). If the lead investigator is able to directly supervise the project during maternity/parental leave, he or she may do so in accordance with applicable national law. The senior auditor informs the ERCEA when they take maternity/parental leave and if they wish to apply for the suspension of the grant for that period.