The Horizon Europe MGA

General overview and state of Play

Disclaimer: presentation reflecting the latest developments. May be subject to modifications depending
on the finalisation of internal procedures
A bit of background…
 Numerous Model Grant Agreements (MGAs):
paper-based or electronically-managed (‘eGrants’)

 eGrants serving already for several programmes + to serve for other

programmes
Main objectives of the corporate MGA

 Rationalization and streamlining of the MGAs landscape

•Harmonise the contractual models and guidance for all
Harmonisation & post-2020 programmes
standardisation •Build on the standardisation of post-2020 basic acts

•Use the same terminology across programmes

Consistent •Ensure uniform and consistent interpretation of rules
interpretation •Allow equal treatment of beneficiaries
•Create synergies between programmes

Integration of •Specific options and

Programme
specificities •Specific annex for 'special rules’
The HE MGA – General Overview

Annex 2 Annex 3 Annex 4 Annex 5

CORE Accession Financial Special
Budget
PART forms for Statement Rules
Table
beneficiaries Model

Annex 2a Annex 3a
Additional Joint liability
information on of affiliated
unit costs and entities
contributions

Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

 Structure – core part
Core
Part

Datasheet
a summary of the specific data of the grant
agreement

Articles
grouped in seven chapters Chapter 1 – General (Articles 1-2)
Chapter 2 – Action (Articles 3-4)
Chapter 3 – Grant (Articles 5-6)
Chapter 4 – Grant Implementation (Articles 7-26)
Chapter 5 – Consequences of non-compliance (Articles 27-35)
Chapter 6 – Final provisions (Articles 36-44)

Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

 Structure – Annex 5
• Security (Article 13)
Annex 5
Special • Ethics (i.e. research integrity) (Article 14)
Rules
• Values (i.e. gender mainstreaming) (Article 14)

• IPR (Article 16)

• Communication, Dissemination, Open Science and Visibility (Article 17)

• Specific rules for carrying out the action (Article 18)

− recruitment and working conditions,
− specific rules for access to research infrastructure actions,
− specific rules for PCP and PPI procurements,
− specific rules for co-funded partnerships,
− specific rules for ERC actions,
− specific rules for EIT-KIC actions,
− specific rules for MSCA actions
− Specifc rules for EIC actions
Disclaimer: Information not legally binding
 Annex 2 – Budget table*

* For general HE MGA – different budget tables for Lump sum and unit-based MGA

Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

 Annex 2 – Budget table*

… …

* For general HE MGA – different budget tables for Lump sum and unit-based MGA

Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

 Annex 2 – Budget table*

* For general HE MGA – different budget tables for Lump sum and unit-based MGA

Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

Main differences with the H2020 MGA

more user-friendly Improved content Alignment with new

structure and & features Financial Regulation
readability (FR 2018)

• Data Sheet • reporting explicitly divided • reduction/suspension/

• Common numbering into continuous and termination grounds
• Common labelling periodic reporting
(‘granting • Receipts (only for profit
authority’) •Amendment procedure for legal entities)
• Grouping of BEN termination, GA
provisions for suspension + GA
 Types of termination by consortium
participants and (instead of Formal
their roles Notification)
 Rules concerning
project •less descriptive provisions
implementation (reference to published
 Payments and templates)
recoveries
 Certificates (CFS,
SPA)

Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

 Overall state of play

Processing…

 Key important aspects such as the structure and interplay between core part and Annex 5 for
programme-specific rules have been settled

 Most of the specific provisions for PCP/PPI, Programme Cofund actions, ERC, Research
Infrastructures, Euratom, EIT and MSCA together with updated CFS thresholds, including for low-risk
classification following a SPA are stable/almost finalised

 EIC specific provisions under development

Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

Horizon Europe MGA
Financial provisions
Personnel costs
Internally invoiced goods & services
Personnel costs
General case – Corporate daily rate provisions
Horizon 2020: a snapshot of the situation
 The Corporate Approach

Goal: Simplification & harmonisation

• Adopted 12/06/2020 (C(2020)3759)

• The Commission made the use of the

Corporate MGA mandatory for all funding
programmes

• Certain options and provisions can be

adapted to each programme according to its
specific rules

• BUT daily rate approach for personnel cost

is a fixed provision across all programmes

Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

Formula

Days worked
Personnel costs Daily rate
in the project

Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

 Daily rate calculation
How?

actual annual personnel costs for the person

Daily rate
215*

*For Horizon Europe: Still possible to deduct actual working days spent on parental leave from the fixed number of 215 days
Disclaimer: Information not legally binding
Daily rate calculation
When?

• per calendar year (from January to December)

• except for the months running from the end of the last calendar year until the end of the reporting
period. For those months, you must calculate a separate partial daily rate as follows:

{actual personnel costs of the person incurred over those months

divided by

{215 / 12 (months) x number of months from the January until the end of the reporting period}}
Example
Costs for Researcher Y in reporting period 1. Reporting period 1 runs from 1/09/2021 until 31/03/2023:
2021

2023
2022
actual personnel actual personnel actual personnel
costs incurred for costs incurred for costs incurred for
that person in 2021 that person in 2022 that person until
31/03/2023 Personnel
Costs
215 215 (215 / 12 x 3) RP1
X X X
days worked by that days worked by that days worked by that
person on the person on the person on the
action from action in 2022 action until
1/09/2021 31/03/2023
 Days worked – record keeping

− use reliable time records (i.e. time-sheets) either

on paper or in a computer-based time recording
system.

Days worked Or

− sign a monthly declaration on days spent for

the action (template under development).

Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

Time recording system in hours
‘Day-equivalent’  3 conversion rules at hand

1. A conversion based on the average number of hours that the person must work
per working day according to her/his contract.

Example: if the contract says that the person must work 37,5 hours per week distributed in 5 working days, a
day-equivalent for the person is 7,5 hours (37,5 / 5). In the same example, if the person works 50 % part-time,
the day-equivalent would be 3,75 hours ( 18,75 / 5).

2. A conversion based on the usual standard annual productive hours of the

beneficiary, if it is at least 90% of the workable time (i.e. continuity with H2020)

Example:
Standard annual productive hours of the beneficiary = 1600 Standard annual workable hours of the beneficiary = 1720
1720 x 90% = 1548 < 1600
1600/215 => 7.44 hours = 1 day-equivalent

3. A conversion based on a fixed number of hours (e.g. for beneficiaries with no

reference in their contracts nor standard annual productive hours):
1 day-equivalent = 8 hours
Disclaimer: Information not legally binding
Time recording system in hours
‘Day-equivalent’: When to do the conversion?

Each time that you have to calculate a daily rate  per calendar year

For example at the time of a reporting period:

If a daily rate is calculated for year 2021, the beneficiary must convert
into day-equivalents the total number of hours worked by the person on
the action during 2021 altogether.

Disclaimer: Information not legally binding

 Main differences with H2020

 Discontinuation of the different formulas (annual and monthly) and options for productive
hours (entailing difficult and error-prone calculations)

 No more ‘last closed financial year’ rule

 Instead, use of a single corporate daily rate and calendar year approach
Project-based remuneration
Horizon Europe specific provisions
 For whom?

 For each employee of the beneficiary whose level of remuneration over the calendar year
increases because the employee works in projects.

 This applies irrespectively of the number of projects for which the employee receives a
higher salary or the source of funding of those projects.

Example:
an employee who gets a bonus or a new contract with a higher salary level for working in a project.
 How?
 Compare the action daily rate with the daily rate that you would pay to the person for work in national
projects in accordance with your usual remuneration practices (national projects daily rate)

 The daily rate eligible for declaring personnel costs will be the lower of the two.

actual personnel costs of the person

for her/his work in the action over the calendar year
Action daily rate
days worked by the person in the action over the calendar year

monthly personnel costs for the person based on the remuneration

National Projects the person would be entitled to for work in national projects X 12

daily rate
215
 Specific case – ‘fall-back option’
 If there are no regulatory requirements and you do not have internal rules defining
objective conditions or if your internal rules provide for a bonus range (e.g. between
500 and 1000; between 10% and 50%) or a maximum ceiling (e.g. up to 50) rather
than a precise amount per day or per hour, on which the national projects’ daily rate
can be determined:
 you must calculate the national projects daily rate as follows:

total personnel costs of the person in the previous calendar year

minus remuneration paid for EU actions
National Projects
daily rate 215 minus days worked in EU actions
 Main differences with H2020

 Discontinuation of the additional remuneration extra calculation

(entailing difficult and error-prone calculations)

 No more obligation to have paid at least once a project-based remuneration for work
in nationally-funded project BEFORE the submission of a proposal in Horizon Europe
Internally invoiced goods & services
Horizon Europe specific provisions
 What?
This budget category covers the costs for goods and services which are:
− produced or provided within the beneficiary’s organisation directly for the action and
− the beneficiary values on the basis of its usual cost accounting practices.

Examples:
− self-produced consumables (e.g. electronic wafers, chemicals)
− specialised premises for hosting the research specimens used for the action (e.g.
animal house, greenhouse, aquarium)
− standardised testing or research processes (e.g. genomic test, mass spectrometry
analysis)
− use of specific research devices or research facilities (e.g. clean room, wind tunnel,
supercomputer facilities, electronic microscope)
 Key features
− Documented methodology

− Supporting evidence of the use of the good or service for the action showing the number
of units used

− Share of cost item used for the production of the good or service must be calculated
using the allocation keys defined in the beneficiary’s usual costs accounting
practices
example: power supply costs allocated to a clean room on the basis of the square
meters it occupies.

Allocation keys resulting in a higher unit cost for the internally invoiced good or service
when used in EU projects compared with other projects will not be accepted.
Main difference with H2020

 Wider reliance on beneficiary’s usual cost accounting practices for

the unit cost calculation:

− No application of the 25% flat-rate on top of the unit cost (H2020

rules) but instead
− Possibility to accept actual indirect costs allocated via key drivers in
the unit cost calculation
Systems and Process Audit
(SPA)
Open Science
&
Exploitation obligations
Thank you!