Teachers:ESD Erasmus Project 2013

Important Documents

• Lifelong Learning Programme Guide - Part I – General Provisions
• Explanations on the actions - ERASMUS Academic Networks

LLP Countries

• the 27 EU Member States
• Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway
• Turkey, Croatia
• Switzerland
• Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia
• Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro may become eligible to participate in the Lifelong Learning Programme Call 2013 as full partners, provided that the formal steps for participation for each country are completed in due time.

Third countries

However, projects and networks are at liberty in their applications to make a case for including partners from other countries where the organisations concerned have demonstrably important expertise to share with their European counterparts. In all instances the involvement of partners from third countries must be justified in terms of the value added to experience within the European countries participating in the programme.

Eligibility period

The period of eligibility for costs and activities starts and finishes on the dates indicated in the Grant Agreement. Under no circumstances can the eligibility period for costs and activities start before the date for submission of the grant application.

Financial capacity

For grants exceeding EUR 750.000:

• an audit report produced by an approved external auditor certifying the accounts for the last financial year available

Financial Provisions

• Reimbursement of a percentage of eligible costs: the applicant will define his expenditure in terms of real costs (where maximum eligible rates may apply). European Union financing will be calculated by applying a percentage to real eligible expenditure. The contribution will be reduced pro rata if, at final reporting stage, the project is not fulfilled or is only partially fulfilled or funds have been spent on ineligible expense items. Where the reported costs are less than foreseen, the contribution will be reduced by applying the percentage fixed in the Grant Agreement.

• Applicants from countries outside the Euro zone must use the conversion rates published in the Official Journal of the EU, series C, on the date of publication of the Call for proposals. (p 41)

Applicants shall base the project budget:

1. on real daily staff cost rates. Under no circumstances may these exceed the maximum rates indicated in Table 5a below. Any excess amount will be considered as ineligible. The veracity of these costs may be the subject of an audit;
2. on real daily subsistence rates. Under no circumstances may these exceed the maximum rates indicated in Table 5b below. Any surplus will be considered as ineligible;
3. on real costs with regard to other categories of cost, as indicated in the application form.

Eligible costs

The following criteria apply to the cost category for which the cost is estimated and either the associated number of units (which will lead to the estimated cost applying the appropriate formula) or the estimated cost as such.

• They must relate to activities involving countries that are eligible to participate in the programme. Any costs relating to activities undertaken outside these countries or by organisations that are not registered in an eligible country are not eligible unless they are necessary for the completion of the project and duly explained and justified in the application form.
• They must be actually incurred by the beneficiary and members of the consortium and be recorded in their accounts in accordance with the applicable accounting

principles, and be declared in accordance with the requirements of the applicable tax and social legislation; - This means no "in kind" contributions.

• VAT is eligible only if it is not recoverable under the applicable national VAT legislation. The only exception relates to activities or transactions in which states, regional and local government authorities and other public bodies engage as public authorities.

Non-eligible Costs

• exchange losses
• costs declared by the applicant and covered by another action or work programme receiving a European Union grant or any other source of funding
• costs associated with the preparation of the application for the Lifelong Learning Programme;

• costs of opening and operating bank accounts (costs of transferring funds are eligible);

Eligible Indirect Costs

The eligible indirect costs are those costs which, with due regard for the conditions of eligibility described above, are neither identifiable as specific costs directly linked to the project nor can be booked to it directly, but which have nevertheless been incurred in the management of the project. They may not include any eligible direct costs.

The indirect costs of the project eligible for EC funding are a flat-rate amount set at a maximum of 7% of the total amount of eligible direct costs. The corresponding costs need not be justified by accounting documents. Indirect costs shall not be eligible under a project grant awarded to a beneficiary organisation which is already receiving an operating grant from the Commission during the period in question.

Examples of indirect costs are:

• All costs for equipment related to the administration of the project (i.e. PC's, portables, etc.)
• Communication costs (postage, fax, telephone, mailing, etc.)
• Infrastructure costs (rent, electricity, etc.) of the premises where the project is being carried out
• Office supplies
• Photocopies

Staff Costs

The following applies to all partners of a consortium, e.g. the rules on staff costs apply to all partners (including the applicant) of the consortium.

1) Costs relating to the following categories of staff are considered:

• Statutory staff, having either a permanent or a temporary individual contract with a partner of the consortium. To be considered in this category, staff must report to the relevant partner organisation as an employee.
• Temporary staff recruited through a specialised external agency by any of the consortium partners;

Costs related to staff working through subcontracting shall be included under the category "Subcontracting costs" (see below).

Staff members of Project partners are not allowed to operate in a subcontracting capacity for the project.

2) Applicants should base the project budget on real daily staff cost rates, in accordance with the usual salary policy of the organisation. However, any amount that exceeds the maximum eligible daily rates indicated in Table 5a below will be considered as ineligible. The veracity of these costs may be the subject of an audit.

3) The rate of the country in which the partner organisation is registered will be applied, independent of where the tasks will be executed (i.e. a staff member of an organisation of Country A working fully or partly in Country B will be budgeted on the basis of the rates of Country A).

4) Real daily staff cost rates are based on average rates corresponding to the applicant's usual policy on remuneration, comprising actual salaries plus social security charges and other statutory costs included in the remuneration. Nonstatutory costs such as bonuses, leased car, expense account schemes, incentive payments or profit-sharing schemes are excluded.

5) The applicant will define the category of staff and the number of days to be worked on the project, which must be commensurate with the nature of the project and the work plan.

LLP Table 5a - Maximum eligible daily rates

Subsistence Costs

(1) Subsistence costs for staff undertaking travel to another participating country in the framework of Multilateral projects, Networks and Accompanying Measures are eligible. The budget should be based on the maximum rate in the Subsistence Costs table 5b below. Any surplus will be considered as ineligible. The rate to be applied is the one of the country of destination, i.e. where accommodation costs are incurred.

(2) Costs may be claimed only for journeys directly connected to specific and clearly identifiable project-related activities. For information on charging Subsistence Costs for non-staff members please refer to Section ‘Other Costs’ and ‘Subcontracting Costs’.

(3) Reimbursement is based on the existing internal rules of the Partner organisations, which may be on an actual cost (reimbursement of receipts) or daily allowance basis. In either case, proof of attendance and overnight accommodation will be required to substantiate declared costs at reporting stage.

(4) Subsistence rates cover accommodation, meals and all local travel costs at the place of destination abroad (but not local travel costs incurred to travel from place of origin to place of destination). In calculating the number of days for which to apply the Daily Subsistence Rate it should be noted that a FULL day normally includes an overnight stay. In duly substantiated cases, a full day’s allowance without an overnight stay may be allowed with a pro rata reduction (costs limited to 50% of the maximum) for accommodation.

(5) A pro rata reduction must be applied if accommodation, meals and local travel costs are provided for by a third party. Eligible subsistence costs are calculated on the basis of scales of eligible unit costs. The Subsistence costs in Table 5b represent the maximum eligible daily rates. The resulting amounts will be included in the budget and will be taken into account when calculating the European Union contribution.

LLP Table 5b - Maximum eligible daily rates

Travel Costs

Travel costs are allocated on the basis of real costs.

(1) Travel costs for staff taking part in the project are allowable, provided that they are in line with each partner’s usual practices on travel costs.

(2) Costs may be claimed only for journeys directly connected to specific and clearly identifiable project-related activities. For information on charging Travel Costs for non staff members please refer to Section "Other Costs" and "Subcontracting Costs".

(3) The travel cost for a journey should include all costs and all means for travel from the point of origin to the point of destination (and vice versa) and may include visa fees, travel insurance and cancellation costs.

(4) Reimbursement is based on real costs, independent of the means of travel chosen (rail, bus, taxi, plane, hire car). Partners are required to use the cheapest means of travel (e.g. use best value for money tickets for air travel and take advantage of reduced fares, where this is not the case then a full explanation should be provided).

(5) Expenses for private car travel (personal or company cars), where substantiated and where the price is not excessive, will be refunded as follows (whichever is the cheapest):

• Either a rate per km in accordance with the internal rules of the organisation concerned up to a max of €0.22;
• Or the price of a rail, bus or plane ticket (see point (3) above). Only one ticket shall be reimbursed, independently of the number of people travelling in the same vehicle.

(6) For hire cars (maximum category B or equivalent) or taxis: the actual cost where this is not excessive compared with other means of travel (also taking account of any influencing factors such as time, large volume of luggage due to the nature of the project). Reimbursement takes place independently of the number of people travelling in the same vehicle.

Equipment costs

(1) Purchase, rent or lease of equipment (new or second-hand), including the installation, maintenance and insurance costs, is considered eligible

• only when specific and necessary for achieving the goals of the project/action. Proposed equipment costs must always be clearly explained and specifically

justified. The rules for procurement apply (see "Subcontracting costs" below);

• provided that, in case of purchase only, the equipment is depreciated in accordance with the tax and accounting rules applicable to the beneficiary / consortium partner incurring the cost, and generally accepted for items of the same kind. Only the portion of the equipment's depreciation corresponding to the duration of the action and the rate of actual use for the purposes of the action may be taken into account. The applicant must explain the rules applied. If the nature and/or the context of its use justify different treatment, this should be duly justified.

(2) All equipment related to the administration of the project (i.e. PC's, portables, etc.) and all equipment purchased before the start of a project can be covered only by the indirect costs of the project.

(3) The total cost for equipment may not be more than 10% of the eligible direct costs of the project.

(4) Third Country partners cannot claim Equipment costs ¨

Subcontracting costs

(1) Costs entailed by procurement contracts for the purposes of carrying out specific and limited work for the project, can be considered eligible when awarded by a partner to an external body, organisation or individual (only if not employed by any of the Partner organisations of the consortium). This includes work such as translation, interpretation and printing, etc.

(2) In order to maintain the concept of the project partnership, the management and the general administration of the project may not be subcontracted.

(3) Costs are based on a verifiable estimate or, if the subcontractor is identified in accordance with the procedures set out in 4 and 5 below, on the basis of an offer. The estimate/offer will cover all costs (i.e. staff costs plus travel costs, etc.).

(4) The beneficiary will award the contract to the tender offering best value for money, or, as appropriate, to the tender offering the lowest price, in compliance with the principles of transparency and equal treatment for potential contractors, care being taken to avoid any conflict of interests.

(5) For actions managed through the Commission Procedure, the following specific European Union rules with regard to procurement apply:

• Payments of amounts not exceeding EUR 1.000 in respect of items of expenditure may consist simply in payment against invoices, without prior acceptance of a tender;
• Contracts with a value over €1.000 and not exceeding €15.000 are subject to a procedure involving a single tender following a negotiated procedure without prior publication of a contract notice;
• Contracts with a value over €15.000 and not exceeding €60.000 are subject to a procedure involving at least three tenderers following a negotiated procedure

without prior publication of a contract notice;

• For contracts of a value over €60.000, national rules with regard to procurement apply.

(6) The total costs for subcontracting may not be more than 30 % of the total direct costs of the project

(7) Third Country partners cannot claim Subcontracting costs

Other Costs

Other costs are allocated on the basis of real costs.

(1) The category "Other costs" can only contain costs incurred by the partners themselves.

(2) Costs arising directly:

• from requirements imposed by the Grant Agreement are eligible(dissemination of information, specific evaluation of the action, audits, reproduction, translation etc.), including the costs of any financial services (notably the cost of financial guarantees);
• from the realisation of specific activities or of products/results of the project are eligible (e.g. the organisation of seminars where the seminar is foreseen as a product/result and where task-related costs are easily identifiable), the production of proceedings of a seminar, the production of a video, the purchase of product-related consumables (reams of paper for printing of publications, blank DVD), etc.

(3) All costs incurred through subcontracting must be mentioned under the "subcontracting" category

(4) Only activities which are specific and necessary for achieving the goals of the project are considered eligible. Proposed costs must always be duly justified.

(5) When travel and/or subsistence costs are reimbursed to third parties (i.e. for the costs of people who are neither staff of the partners in the consortium, nor subcontractors), the rules applicable to the reimbursement of costs for staff of the partners in the consortium will be applied.

(6) In certain cases, other costs which are not covered by the other cost categories mentioned above may also be considered eligible. Some examples are: one-off costs for press releases and publicity, purchase of copyrights and other Intellectual Property Rights, purchase of information materials (books, studies and electronic data); conference fees; registration fees for conferences; rental of exhibition space, etc. Also Travel costs and subsistence costs for Comenius Multilateral projects involving mobility activities during Initial Teacher Training are covered under this heading.

All costs related to the administration of the project (i.e. consumables, supplies, photocopying costs, telephone costs, paper, etc.) are covered by indirect costs of the project.