E-SENS Electronic Simple European Networked Services e-SENS General Assembly Administrative procedures Berlin, Germany Apr 9th 2013.

e-SENSElectronic Simple European Networked Services

e-SENS General AssemblyAdministrative procedures

Berlin, GermanyApr 9th 2013

Agenda

• Documents• Reporting• Transfer of Funds• Internal Communication• Governance• Next Steps

Documents

Documents

Reporting

Eligible costs

• The EC funds 50% of eligible costs, never more. • Costs must be essential for the performance of

the project and would not be incurred if the project did not take place

• The beneficiaries must be able to justify the resources used to attain the objectives set.

• The Community financial contribution must not be diverted to finance other projects

• Each beneficiary is – at all times – responsible and accountable for the budget he has received

Extracts from the “Guide to Financial Issues relating to ICT PSP Grant Agreements” published by the European Commission

Extracts from the “Guide to Financial Issues relating to ICT PSP Grant Agreements” published by the European Commission

Each beneficiary

•Is responsible for the application and coordination of these principles in the beneficiary’s organization and in those of the partners in their ‘national consortium’•Acts as a single point of contact for all communication with the Project Coordinator on administrative and financial matters.•Maintains accounts and keeps the relevant supporting documentation for at least 5 years after the date of the final payment. •Ensures accounts and originals are kept by the partners of its national consortium. •Provides information on costs to the Project Coordinator

Cost categories

Personnel CostsDefinition: Gross total costs of the individuals working directly on the project

Personnel CostsDefinition: Gross total costs of the individuals working directly on the project

Indirect CostsDefinition: Also referred to as Overheads. A 30% flat rate is applied based on the total

personnel cost of individuals employed directly by the partner.

Indirect CostsDefinition: Also referred to as Overheads. A 30% flat rate is applied based on the total

personnel cost of individuals employed directly by the partner.

Direct CostsDefinition: Direct costs are travel expenses, allowances, and other expenditure such as

translation and equipment required by the project.

Direct CostsDefinition: Direct costs are travel expenses, allowances, and other expenditure such as

translation and equipment required by the project.

SubcontractingDefinition: A partner can choose to subcontract part of the tasks, provided he/she

justifies he/she does not have the capacity to perform this task on his/her own.

SubcontractingDefinition: A partner can choose to subcontract part of the tasks, provided he/she

justifies he/she does not have the capacity to perform this task on his/her own.

One golden rule: The eligible costs described above are reimbursed 50% by the European Commission. The 50% ratio applies to all costs.

One golden rule: The eligible costs described above are reimbursed 50% by the European Commission. The 50% ratio applies to all costs.

Mid Year & Annual Reportingto the EC

The Coordinator always reports to the EC. All beneficiaries report to the Coordinator.

Frequency?•Interim reporting every half year•Annual reporting at the end of each yearContent? •Person Months consumed•Budget consumed How to report?•Short-term solution: spread sheet template •Long-term solution: online reporting toolWho do you report to?•To the WP1 coordination team / PAC

EC

Coordinator

Beneficiaries

Long-term: Monthly reporting by National Consortium & WP

leaders

Short Term: WP1 to Provide a template for record keeping

• WP1 to provide registration template in MS Excel to National Consortium leaders to keep a record of time and expenses use in the meantime

• Once the Long Term solution is up and going, WP1 will transfer information from the templates

• National Coordinators will also be requested to collect project participant information from their respective Consortium to feed into the Long Term solution

• More information to come from WP1 by email

Transfer of funds

Financial operations

• The whole project lifetime is divided into 6-months intervals. Funds are transferred based on these intervals.

• The first pre-payment will be 1/6 of the total funding based on the initial budget forecast.

• Further (pre-) payments will be made according to the costs reported.• What is needed now in order to receive funds:

1. Sign the Grant Agreement, Coordinator co-signs, EC co-signs2. In parallel Send the bank account details of the Beneficiary

– The bank account must be owned by the Beneficiary – Funds cannot be transferred to the partners only to the Beneficiary

3. Comply with administrative reporting

Internal communication

Mailing lists…@lists.esens.eu

Groups• general: all project members• pd: primary / deputy contact person per Beneficiary (national coordinator and/or person who has mandate to vote in General Assembly)• aa: admin aspects -> Administrative person per Beneficiary• mb: management board• apb: advisory policy board• ab: architectural board• db: domain board

Work Packages• wp1• wp2• wp3• wp4• wp5

- wp5.1-wp5.4• wp6

-wp6.1-wp6.4

examples: [email protected]@lists.esens.eu

Mailing lists are automated mail distributors which accept emails sent to a central address and distribute the email to all members of the list. Every participant is allowed to e-mail to every list.

BSCW

Group specific folders:The access to these have to be approved in advance.• pd: primary / deputy -> national coordinator + person who

has mandate to vote in General Assembly• mb: management board -> MB members• apb: advisory policy board -> APB members• ab: architectural board ->AB members• db: domain board -> DB members

Work Packages:Each Project participant will get access to these folders.

Summary• For large file transfers use the BSCW server.• Send mails with specific topics / questions to correct lists (not always just to general

list).• You can participate in several lists at the same time.• Do not use your own mailing list!

How to get access to the e-SENS folders on the BSCW server and how to subscribe to a mailing list:

Please obtain approval from the WP leader / domain or cluster leader• Please address your requests to:

[email protected]

In this e-mail please add your contact details for the Yellow Pages! (Name, Organization, Address, Phone)

Governance

Important Definitions

• Beneficiary: means a legal entity which participates in the grant agreement concluded with the Community. The beneficiary will be receiving the funds and will act as a single point of contact with the Coordinator and towards the EC, when applicable.

• Partner: means a legal entity attached to a specific beneficiary, and the beneficiary itself. The partner is listed in the Technical Annex. Financial rules apply equally to partners and beneficiaries. However, the beneficiary coordinates and consolidates the reporting from the partner(s) it is linked to. A Beneficiary and its partner(s) are commonly referred to as a national consortium.

• Disclaimer: the legal nature of the link between a beneficiary and its partner(s) lies

within the responsibility of the beneficiary.

National Coordination

• The e-SENS consortium has agreed that there will be only one beneficiary per country and that national participation must be coordinated and organized via the creation of a national consortium. It is up to each and every country to set up their national consortium and to involve the relevant partner organizers. The beneficiary can therefore be any one of the partnering public administrations within the country.

• Costs for the management of national consortium are considered to be overhead costs and therefore fall under the cost category “indirect costs”.

e-SENS project governance and organisation

Coordinator (WP1)

Coordinator (WP1)

Administration, advocacy &

overall management

WP1WP1

WP1leader

WP4WP4

WP4leader

Management BoardManagement Board

General Assembly(1 representative per beneficiary)

General Assembly(1 representative per beneficiary)

. . . .

WP2WP2

WP2leader

EC, Council, Etc.

WP6WP6

WP6leader

WP5WP5

WP5leader

WP3WP3

WP3leader

Partner = Beneficiary (national consortium)Partner = Beneficiary (national consortium)

Technical governanceAdministrativegovernance

Advisory Policy BoardAdvisory Policy Board

WPLEC

Policygovernance

Domain Board

Architectural

Board

Partner 1Partner 1

…..

Partner 1Partner 1 Partner 2Partner 2 Partner nPartner n

Partner 2Partner 2

Partner nPartner n

QMWP1leader

WP2leader

WP3leader

WP5leader

WP4leader

WP6leader

eHealth

eJustice

eProc.

eBusiness

eID eDelivery

eSign. eDoc.

Governance StructureThe objective of the Governance structure of e-SENS is to describe clear working mechanisms and to ensure transparency in reporting, representation and decision making. In a nutshell:

• Partners work in the various work packages (WPs)

• WPs report and coordinate via the Management Board

• The Architecture Board is part of WP6 and works on the overarching architectural aspects. It reports to the Management Board.

• The Domain Board is part of WP5 and ensures horizontal cooperation across domains. It reports to the Management Board.

• The Management Board is responsible for the operational aspects of the implementation of the project. It cooperates with the Advisory Policy Board and reports to the General Assembly.

• The advisory Policy Board addresses specific policy related issues within domains and clusters. It cooperates with the Management Board and reports to the General Assembly.

• The Coordinator ensures the managerial coordination of the project

• The General Assembly is the ultimate decision making body of the project.

• Partners are present in the General Assembly (1 per beneficiary)

• Each country has one vote in the General Assembly

Key items to remember!

Daily ProjectOperations

WP Leaders, cluster and domain Leaders are the contact point for daily work

Feel free to contact the technical/administrative coordinators should you have any questions

Each WP has specific calls, meetings… Please register to and use mailing lists… all material is on the BSCW

General admin.financial

Interim reporting every 6 months to WP1 -> EC

Annual reporting and review to WP1 -> EC

Financial Rules

You are responsible for the use of funds you claim/receive – only worked planned for within the project can be considered

Reporting is done every 6 months from the Coordinator to the EC

Funds are transferred per 6 month period based on work done, forecasted and delta

National coordination

National coordinators are responsible for the organization on national level

Costs for national coordination activities are covered by the indirect costs

Regular monthly reporting to WP1

Next steps

Next Steps: Grant Agreement

• Finalization of the TA• Update partner factsheets with

subcontracting, key personnel, direct costs• GPF forms• National Consortium Agreements

Grant AgreementDeadline:

Apr 19th 2013

Next Steps: Consortium Agreement

• Comments on the CA• Accession form to the CA• Bank details

Consortium Agreement

Deadline:Apr 30th 2013

Next Steps: general

• Indicate the persons for: aa and pd• Project Handbook• Reporting template

Daily Operations

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb MarM1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 M12

Year 1 - WP1 deliverables

Internal Guidelines

Internal Guidelines

•D1.1 How to Write a Good Deliverable (M2)•D1.2 Internal Communication Plan (M2)•D1.3Risk Management and Quality Assurance (M2)

Interim ReportInterim Report

•D1.4 Interim Activity Report (M7) Annual ReportAnnual Report

Thank you for your attention!