On this page you will find some Frequently Asked Questions regarding GeoERA.
About the Project Implementation Phase
| Q: | How will the Projects be monitored and reported? |
| A: | Reporting Procedures and Monitoring Indicators are described in detail in Document No PI1. Furthermore, the definition of eligible costs are explained as well as the expectations on Project Coordinators and Monitoring and Reporting Officer. Reporting Templates and E-Tools, to be published later) aiming to assist the Project Coordinator will facilitate this. |
| Q: | How to increase the bid limit, ie. my maximum inkind contribution commited at an earlier stage of GeoERA and represented in Table 1 of JC Doc 3, for the Second Stage call? |
| A: | Send a letter on 12th of December the latest based on the template provided on the GeoERA Intranet. |
| Q: | How is a non-funded party defined, can it also be an interested stakeholder that delivers data or that likes to stay informed? |
| A: | See JC Doc 3. A non-funded partner has a role within the project, it actively participates and spend hours work in delivering something to GeoERA that is relevant for the end-result of the GeoERA project. This can be a governmental agency, a industry partner, an academia partner, etc. A non-funded partner becomes part of the project by signing the Project Agreement.
An external stakeholder (from government, industry or academia) that wants to follow a project and likes to be closely informed is very much invited to do so. It is important to keep external stakeholders closely involved, so that relevant applied research finds its way to the end-user as soon as possible. Since these stakeholders do not deliver something to GeoERA and they are not mentioned in the activities that are being carried out in the workpackages and there are no dependencies (they do not deliver something that contributes to the end-result of the GeoERA project), they are not a non-funded party. |
| Q: | Do the proposals need to be signed by the Director? |
| A: | The proposals do not need separate signatures of the directors, since they have already signed the Grant Agreement and signed for their commitment as indicated in Table 1 of JC Doc. 3 Admissibility and Eligiblity. |
| Q: | Is there a maximum percentage for the direct costs (e.g. for travel)? |
| A: | There is a rule of thumb that says you should account for a maximum of 15% of direct costs (travel and consumables). However, it is understood this depends on the activities you are going to carry out. In case you will need substantial consumables or additional travel, which clearly results from the described activities in the proposal, you can exceed this percentage if a good justification is provided. |
| Q: | How many project reporting periods are there? |
| A: | Please Review PI Doc 1. There are two reporting periods for the project itself, which runs from 1st of July 2018 untill the 30th of June 2021:
– 1.7.2018 – 31.12.2019
– 1.1.2020 – 30.6.2021 In these reports (financial and progress) the Project Lead reports to the GeoERA board. Besides those reporting periods the Project lead will have to submit the cumulative expenditure for the Project to the designated MRO via e-mail for the purpose of GeoERA Co-fund Action. This is a number which I need at the end of every year to submit to the European Commission (NB this is not a report!). |
| Q: | Can I add a Linked Third Party? |
| A: | Read about it in JC Doc 3. You can add a Linked Third Party in case you are legally linked with each other independent of GeoERA. The addition of a Linked Third Party requires approval by the GeoERA General Assembly and the European Commission, and requires an Amendment to the Grant Agreement. This needs to be requested by the Coordinator. |
| Q: | Does the proposal also need to contain the specified budget for the Linked Third Parties? |
| A: | Yes. See Art. 4.1 of the Grant Agreement: The ‘estimated budget’ for the action contains the estimated eligible costs and the forms of costs, broken down by beneficiary (and linked third party) and budget category. |
| Q: | Who has to submit each project proposal by the 12th January? |
| A: | The Project Lead of every Project Proposal will have to submit the proposal, on behalf of the other participants, within the ISAAC online submission tool for GeoERA.
This implies that the GeoERA partners, that do not intend to lead a project, will not have to register into the system. |
| Q: | What is the EU reimbursement rate for the GeoERA projects? |
| A: | This is 29,7%. The official reimbursement rates in ERA-NETS is 33%. However, it has been agreed in the Grant Agreement that 10% of the 33% is withheld for the coordination costs of GeoERA (33-3,3 = 29,7). |
| Q: | Can I subcontract activities? |
| A: | See Article 13 and 35 of the H2020 AMGA. You are allowed to subcontract activities that are clearly activities outside of the capabilities of the GSOs of the GeoERA consortium themselves, e.g. accounting, buying website-space, specific analyses you and/or the other GSOs do not have laboratories for, etc. Subcontracting may cover only a limited part of the action. The beneficiaries must award the subcontracts ensuring the best value for money or, if appropriate, the lowest price. In doing so, they must avoid any conflict of interests. The beneficiary/beneficiaries, that subcontract remain fully responsible for the work done by the subcontractor. |
About the Call Stage Two – Call for Project Proposals (Call closed)
| Q: | How can I become participant of a Project? |
| A: | You can become a participant of a Project if you are 1) a beneficiary (member of the GeoERA Consortium), 2) a linked third party to one of these beneficiaries, or 3) a non-funded partner. Details are described in Document No JC 3, Admissibility and Eligibility. |
| Q: | How can I propose a Project Proposal? |
| A: | Project Proposals must be submitted using a template which will be available on the Call page when the Stage Two Call is launched. |
| Q: | How will the Project Proposals be evaluated and selected? |
| A: | Preceding the Evaluation, submitted project proposals will be checked for Admissibility and Eligibility (see Document No JC 3) by the GeoERA Secretariat. Then eligible Project Proposals will be forwarded to the Expert Panel.
Eligible proposals will be subject to an Independent Expert Evaluation (see Document No JC 8, Evaluation and Selection), following the general H2020 evaluation rules and award criteria. The Expert Panel will prepare a consensus report for each Project Proposal and establish a ranking list on the basis of which Project Proposals will be funded. Read here about the ranking procedure. An Independent Observer will accompany the process to observe whether the rules that govern the EU H2020 ERA-NET Co-funding are followed. He reports back on this to the European Commission. For further information see the EC Guidelines for Independent Observers. |
| Q: | How will the Projects be agreed and financed? |
| A: | Projects will be implemented on the basis of Project Agreements. Project Agreements will be set up by the Consortium of Participants following a template given by Attachment 4 of the GeoERA Consortium Agreement. |
