Grant preparation in Horizon 2020

What happens during the grant preparation?

• The information provided in the proposal is checked and amended, where necessary.
• Key data of the project, such as start of the project, number and duration of reporting periods, budget and amount of pre-financing are specified.
• The financial capacity of the coordinator is usually checked (so-called "financial capacity check").
• The results of the "ethics review" and/or "security scrutiny" are implemented, if applicable.

How is the Grant Agreement signed?

• Following the grant preparation phase, each applicant signs the so-called „Declaration of Honour (DoH)“.
• The Grant Agreement (GA) is then signed, first by the coordinator followed by the EU Commission.
• The other beneficiaries may join the agreement within 30 days via the so-called "Accession Form" (Annex 3 of the GA).
• All the agreements and documents mentioned above are signed electronically in the Funding & Tender Opportunities Portal by the "Project Legal Signatory (PLSIGN)".
   

Important notes

• Failure to meet the deadlines specified in the invitation to prepare a GA (without extension of the deadline) may cause the project to be rejected!
• “Substantial” deviations of the GA from the proposal are not accepted by the EU Commission. All changes must in principle be covered by the invitation to grant preparation. Obvious errors and contradictions may be rectified.
• Suggestions made by the evaluators in the Evaluation Summary Report (ESR) may, but need not be implemented.
• Changes in the composition of the consortium are only possible in extraordinary cases. They must be agreed with the "Project Officer (PO)" stating the reasons.
• Each beneficiary and each linked third party needs a validated PIC (= "Participant Identification Code") prior to signing the GA. Each beneficiary must additionally have a validated "Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR)" for Horizon 2020.
• For contacting the validation service of the EU Commission please follow these instructions: 1. Log in to the Funding & Tenders Opportunities Portal, 2. Click on "My Organisation(s)" in the left menu bar, 3. Click on "Actions" and on "Modify Organisation" on the right next to your organisation, 4. Click on "Messages" and on "Create a new message" in the left menu bar.
• The Consortium Agreement is also prepared during the grant preparation phase. Please note: The EU Commission is not involved in this agreement, which is concluded between the participants.

More detailed information can be found ...

• in the presentations of the EU Commission "H2020 Coordinators' Day - Grant Agreement Preparation"
• in the infosheet of the EU Commission "Signing Horizon 2020 grant agreements electronically – what's involved?"