Research Funding - EU Project management tips and advice

As of the reporting month of January 2017, redesigned and revised timesheets are available for download for currently funded research projects of the 7th Framework Programme and Horizon 2020. Please note: Monthly timesheets are required from all individuals working on an EU project. This also applies to personnel who are working 100% on an EU project. Even though official Horizon 2020 rules do not require timesheets from full-time project employees, maintaining such records is highly recommended with a view toward a possible second-level audit.

For the purpose of employment confirmation and plausibility checking, managers of Horizon 2020 projects must also keep a timesheet (see "Services") even if no personnel costs are charged.

Unlike for projects in the 7th Framework Programme, in Horizon 2020 a Certificate on the Financial Statement need be prepared only with the final financial report of the project and then only if total funding was at least 325,000 euros. In order to avoid the risk of serious accounting errors that may not come to light until an internal audit review or the end of the project, an internal audit at the end of each reporting period is mandatory for projects valued at 325,000 euros or higher. The required documents must be submitted to internal auditing through the Research Division. The cost of these audits will not be charged to the project until the final Certificate on the Financial Statement at the end of the project.

Note: In Horizon 2020 projects, personnel costs are charged based on „individual annual productive hours“.