GRIEG: information chat 18 September 2019

Yes, it is possible.

The system asks whether the publication (paper) is in open access

If by 'consortium manager' you mean the Principle Investigator then the answer is NO, if the administrative manager then YES.

The earliest start date of the project start is probably May/June 2020

We mean the limit for one entire item.

According to the call regulations, Norway is non - EU

NCN does not specify the source of the citation numbers.

It is possible to cover costs of maintenance of a project web site only during the project implementation.

No, it is not allowed

The PI can be involved part time.

In the application form in "Personnel costs and scholarships" you should plan the salary for the investigators. There is no need/place to give more specific information.

Please, provide a detailed description in section 3.3. A brief summary should be provided in the field 'Description of advantages of international collaboration'.

Where the entire purchase price of the equipment is eligible, the Project Promoter and partner should follow the rules indicated in GRIEG guide on page 14. The entire purchase price of that equipment cannot exceed PLN 500,000 per unit.

Only scientific work packages should be included. Management costs should be only planned in the budget.

Yes

Only entities from Poland and Norway can receive financing from GRIEG call.

Duration of the projects (24 or 36 months) may be extended up to 12 months, without additional funds. The end of the period for eligibility of expenditures in the GRIEG projects is 30 April 2024.

No. Remuneration of the administrative project manager or specialist administrative auxiliary post is eligible for all partners to the extent that it relates to the cost of activities which would not be carried out if the project was not undertaken.

Detailed enough for the experts to know what will the person do within the project team.

The Principal Investigator has to be employed full time in the Polish Project Promoter, with a permanent position or with a fixed term contract covering at least the duration of the project.

Costs of maintaining a bank account for the project are eligible direct costs. Exchange loses are not eligible.

Yes

In the GRIEG call a researcher on the Norwegian side can be Principal Investigator for several proposal.

NCN does not give definition of the depreciation. It should be understood in the way the depreciation is treated/understood in the entity.

According to the Guide for applicants audit is mandatory for Polish project partners when the grant amount equal to or greater than PLN 2 million. Norwegian partner should submit the audit certificate when his budget is more than 325 000 EUR .

There is no suggestion like that.

You should stick to the cost categories available in the OSF system e.g. travel and subsistence allowances for staff taking part in the project, costs of consumables and supplies, costs entailed by other contracts

The exchange rate in PLN/EUR is from the Polish National Bank on the day of the call announcement and it's 4,2599 in the OSF system.

The letter of intent should be signed by Partner's (Norwegian or/and Polish) authorised representatives, not PI.

Staff costs must conform to accounting principles, the usual internal rules and standard policy on remuneration in the organisation.

You may submit both proposals. However, if you are lucky with both we would need to analyse you situation individually. Please, be aware that under the GRIEG call the involvement of the PI has to be significant and sufficient for proper implementation of the project.

Where the entire purchase price of the equipment is eligible, the Project Promoter and/or partner should follow the rules indicated in GRIEG guide on page 14.

The definition of the natural person is according to the Civil Law. It should be a person not a company.

Such reallocation cannot exceed 15% of the total eligible costs of a Project Promoter or Partner and cannot exceed PLN 100.000. For reallocation above this limit, a contract amendment will be required before the date the modification should take place.

There is a limit of 500.000 PLN for purchase of single equipment.

According to the Financial Guidance, the cost of staff assigned to the project, comprising actual salaries plus social security charges and other statutory costs included in the remuneration, provided that this corresponds to the PP's and project partner's usual policy on remuneration.

Yes, it is allowed if the unit's regulations provide for it. Persons receiving salary supplements in projects must keep a working timesheets throughout their implementation.

Where the entire purchase price of the equipment is eligible, the Project Promoter and/or partner should follow the rules indicated in GRIEG guide on page 14.

In the "Research team" overlap - Scope of work place.

The post-doc has to be 'newly' employed according to the Guide for applicants. So the answer is NO. However, the person can be employed as a researcher/co-investigator.

The entire purchase price of that equipment cannot exceed PLN 500,000 per unit. Renting or leasing costs are eligible.

The co-investigator can also use part of the hours for administrative tasks.

The answer to your question can be found in frequently asked questions by Norwegian Partners. 

It might be a co-investigator or a specialist of auxiliary post or may be even subcontracting depending on the individual situation.

You should ask the administration at the institution as this aspect depends of the institutional regulations.

Previous scientific experiences of the Principal Investigator will be evaluated by international experts.

If the artistic activities are linked to the project, yes. The justification you provide will be assessed by experts during project evaluation.

The Staff costs for Norwegian partners are included in Guide for applicants p. 13 and on our website in Frequently asked questions by Norwegian Partners

Yes, it is possible. Please remember that the entity in administrative declarations declares to employ the project's principal investigator in compliance with the proposal and principles set out for the call.

The NCN aims at signing all contracts within two from receiving funding decisions by beneficiaries to minimise risks in the programme. Requests to delay the stating date in projects will be accepted by the NCN in exceptional, well justified cases.

All project costs must be paid between the first and final dates of eligibility of a project as specified in the project contract but not later than to 30 April 2024.

The NCN aims at signing all contracts within two from receiving funding decisions by beneficiaries to minimise risks in the programme. Requests to delay the stating date in projects will be accepted by the NCN in exceptional, well justified cases.

You need to analyse what existing legislation should be taken into account from the point of view of your project.

25% apart from research institutes

The wage-rates depend on where the person is employed.

Guidelines for completing the data management plan are available in the announcement of the GRIEG call on our webpage.

The name of the co-investigator is not required in the OSF system.

Yes

Yes

Please see the evaluation criteria (5.2) in the Guide for evaluators

The data management plan should cover the whole consortium.

Timesheets have to be used throughout the duration of the project to record working time.

Include Norwegian partners in participating entities. They will appear in international cooperation automatically. Non Norwegian foreign entities should be included in international cooperation only.

On the bottom of the application form in the OSF system there is place where you can add auxiliary editors/ readers.

Yes, if each costs 500,000.

The travel costs of any scientists employed in an organisation which is a project partner must be covered by such organisation. Travel costs of research team members of a Norwegian project partner may not be covered by a Polish entity. If a Polish project leader budgets reimbursement for the travel costs of an independent expert from Norway, not employed in a Norwegian partner entity, the relevant budget category for the expenditure should be: Costs entailed by other contracts for the purposes of carrying out the project, pursuant to Art. 8.3.1.f of the Regulation on the implementation of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021.

There is no limit connected with the total equipment budget per partner, but please remember to follow the rules indicated in Guide for Applicants (page 12-13).

The name of the co-investigator is not required in the OSF system

Civil law contracts may be used if they fulfil all conditions that you mention. Otherwise employment contracts need to be used.

In the main budget: Personnel costs and scholarships

It depends on the entity accounting principles.

Yes. Please, be aware that travel and accommodation costs of external experts has to be included in the 'costs entailed by other contracts' cost category. Not in travel costs, where only staff taking part in the project should be included.

It is your decision. Please note that PI will be evaluated by international experts.

According to the guide for applicants the indirect eligible costs will be determined by applying a flat rate of 25% of the total direct eligible costs. However, according to the Research Council of Norway's procedure for “Payroll and indirect costs”, the Norwegian entities classed as “Research Institutes” calculate the payroll and indirect costs together, as hourly rates for the staff participating in a project.

Only costs of staff assigned to the project can be covered, so you need to be named in the project team and recognised as a team member by your institution. However, if the institution can cover you remuneration for the work in the project from own sources it is allowable.

It means that the PI and the person representing the Project Promoter cannot be the same person. Therefore, if the PI is e.g. a Director, then as the person representing the entity, he must indicate another person to represent the entity in the proposal (e.g. deputy director).'

If the PI is not paid from the project that means that the hours are paid from the institution's own sources. A timesheet would be required anyway. Please, remember that the involvement of the PI must be significant and sufficient for proper implementation of the project.

Yes, the general rule is that the participation in the event financed by the project must be free of charges

Yes, it is possible. The rates for that additional salary should comply with the Project Promoter's and Project Partner's standard policy on remuneration. A timesheet would be required anyway. Please, remember that the involvement of the PI must be significant and sufficient for proper implementation of the project.

No

Yes, evaluation of the research track record of the Principal Investigator and the consortium partners is the part of evaluation criteria: GRIEG guide for evaluators - page 7

Active involvement of young researchers should be understood as supporting their career development and skills. Therefore, mentoring from experienced researchers is required. It is a good idea to involve young researchers as work package leaders or task leaders so that they could gain/enhance their skills in project management.

The NOK/PLN rate is not provided. Please, use any current rate to show your costs in PLN.

Only the PI and partners are indicated by name in the application form.

The budgetary flexibility is descripted in Guide for applicants section 4.8.

Yes

Announcement of the GRIEG call results is foreseen in March/April 2020 and the contracts are expected to be signed in April/June 2020. The first date of the project start can be May/June 2020

The PI in the GRIEG call employed under a full time employment contract may receive remuneration from other sources if it possible under general, Polish, EU law as well as the entity's employment procedures and regulations.

Yes, the co-investigator can be from outside EU (any nationality) but please remember that entity declare to employ investigators.

Yes

It should be for free.

Participation of such experts should be justified in the proposal for the reviewers to assess if the participation is needed

According to the Resolution of the Council of the National Science Centre the total amount of scholarships and remuneration received does not exceed PLN 5,000 per month. More information on funding the Norwegian partners can be found in questions frequently asked by Norwegian partners.

No

You can think of quality assurance as the activities and management processes that are done to ensure that the project results will be delivered at the required quality level. It is focused on the development of the project results. You should use the tools and procedures that are accepted and commonly used at your entity.

You can establish rules especially for the project but they have to be compatible with the policy of your entity.

It is a question for the IT Department in your entity.

All the limits regarding overheads, salaries and management costs are indicated in the Guide for applicants document, part 4 Costs and expenditures.

Letters of intent will be evaluated by the experts as a part of the merit based evaluation. Be aware that all information included in the template has to be present in the letter of intent.

In case of the young researchers (post docs, scholarship grantee/student/PhD student) you should specify their position. Only PIs and partners are indicated with names and surnames. When planning project staff, there are planned positions not specific persons. So, when a project is underway it will, if necessary, be possible to change a given contractor. Scholarships for under-and post-graduate students must be awarded and new employees in post-doc positions recruited in accordance with the guidelines described in the Guide for Applicants.

The Principal Investigator is responsible for the GRIEG project implementation for 36 months. Therefore, he/she needs to be involved in the project implementation for 36 months. The PI does not need to work on the GRIEG project full time. Therefore, the PI can be parallelly involved in other projects. The involvement in the GRIEG project has to registered using a time sheet. Please, remember that the involvement of the PI must be significant and sufficient for proper implementation of the project.

In case of the full time post-docs they can be involved only in the GRIEG project. The co-investigators may be involved also in the other projects according to the internal rules that are in force in the each entity.

Yes

Subcontracting is possible according to Guide for Applicants part 4.4, page 16.

"Expenditures incurred after 30 April 2024 shall not be eligible in the GRIEG call. That leaves time for a three year project starting on 1 May 2020 with a possibility of up to 12 months extension. The NCN aims at signing all contracts within two months from receiving funding decisions by beneficiaries to minimize risks in the program. Requests to delay the stating date in projects will be accepted by the NCN in exceptional, justified cases. Need to finish a running project is not considered a convincing reason for delay.

In national calls there is a possibility of terminating the project in advance if all planned results have been accomplished. Unused costs of the full employment salary of the Principal Investigator and other unused costs should be returned to the NCN.

As the GRIEG call is announced only once within the Polish Basic Research Program under the Norway Grants the NCN may allow in justified cases for parallel implementation of a running national project and a project within the GRIEG call. However, each case will need to be analysed individually in the GRIEG project contracting phase. The Principle Investigator should propose the percent of the salary that will be covered by each of the projects during the contracting phase."

Yes

No, it is not planned

Authors of the proposal

Only the portion of the depreciation corresponding to the duration of the project and the rate of actual use for the purposes of the project may be considered eligible. However, in case the PO determines that the equipment is an integral and necessary component for achieving the outcomes of the project, the entire purchase price of that equipment may be eligible. The necessity of purchase needs to be justified in the proposal.

According to the Guide for applicants audit is mandatory for Polish project partners when the grant amount is equal to or greater than PLN 2 million. Norwegian partner should submit the audit certificate when his budget is more than 325 000 EUR. The cost of the audit can be planned in the other direct costs as costs arising directly from requirements imposed by the project contract for each project.

Yes, you can

The Norwegian partner can hire a PhD student and the type of employment depends on the rules in the Norwegian entity.

Yes

Yes, they are required

Yes, it is possible if it conforms to accounting principles, the usual internal rules and standard policy on remuneration at the entity. Therefore, the final resolution and decision on this issue lies with the organisation at hand. Persons receiving special allowances in projects have to complete time sheets throughout the duration of the project. Only the costs of the actual hours worked by the persons directly carrying out work under the project may be charged. Working time is the total number of hours, excluding holidays, personal time, sick leave, or other allowances.

Yes, it is possible if it conforms to accounting principles, the usual internal rules and standard policy on remuneration at the entity. Therefore, the final resolution and decision on this issue lies with the organisation at hand. Persons employed in projects have to complete time sheets throughout the duration of the project. Only the costs of the actual hours worked by the persons directly carrying out work under the project may be charged. Working time is the total number of hours, excluding holidays, personal time, sick leave, or other allowances.

Senior researchers can be employed in the project as researcher with full time position.

Yes, the PI can be responsible for the project management.

According to the Guide for Applicants, the Applicants should note that during the course of the project, budgetary flexibility is given in order to allow for appropriate project management. Reallocation of funds among the cost categories does not require the prior approval of the Programme Operator and would not result in an addendum to the contract. Cost categories are defined as one of the main sub-heads of the budget which are the cost of staff assigned to the project; the cost of new and second-hand equipment and other costs. Such reallocation cannot exceed 15% of the total eligible costs of a Project Promoter or Partner and cannot exceed PLN 100.000.

Polish PI

In the proposal you can plan the maximum amounts of staff costs. However, they must conform to accounting principles, the usual internal rules and standard policy on remuneration. Therefore, the final resolution and decision on this issue lies with the organization at hand.

Benefits increasing basic remuneration for work performed to carry out project assignments under Norway Grants and EEA Grants are eligible expenditures if the rules applicable at a given entity provide for such payments. According to regulations on the implementation of the Financial Mechanisms, they must conform to accounting principles, the usual internal rules and standard policy on remuneration. Therefore, the final resolution and decision on this issue lies with the organisation at hand. A prerequisite is that the benefits should be paid in proportion to the objectives for which they are paid and should be necessary for proper implementation of the project. It should also be remembered that project expenditures must be spent exclusively for the attainment of project goals and for expected results in an economically rational, effective and efficient manner. Persons receiving benefits in projects have to complete time sheets throughout the duration of the project. Only the costs of the actual hours worked by the persons directly carrying out work under the project may be charged. Working time is the total number of hours, excluding holidays, personal time, sick leave, or other allowances.

Yes, the co-investigators in the proposal are anonymous.

Yes, you can plan the maximum salary as a PI in the GRIEG's proposal. However, the salary must conform to accounting principles, the usual internal rules and standard policy on remuneration. Therefore, the final resolution and decision on this issue lies with the organization at hand.

Yes it is possible.

Yes, they are allowed

It has to be done in the end of the project and contained in the final financial report.

It is OK that a device is fully depreciated during the project duration. This must however be done according to the internal accountant policy in your entity.

According to the GRIEG rules only Polish Principal Investigator must, as a minimum, have a PhD.

All staff members who are not employed 100% in the project have to record time using time sheets. Working time is the total number of hours, excluding holidays, personal time, sick leave, or other allowances. Working time should be recorded throughout the duration of the project by timesheets or suitable time recording system, adequately supported by evidence of their reality and reliability.

Yes, it is possible

Yes it is possible

Each entity calculates their own indirect costs as 25% of their eligible direct costs.

It depends on the internal accounting policy

No

You can recruit the PhD over the year

However, in the guide for applicants it is clearly stated that the person has to be newly employed.

The Project Partners have to supply a letter of intent for the implementation of the research project, which has to be submitted together with the proposal. Please note that adding Project Partners during the project is not allowed. The Project Promoter and Project Partners must sign a partnership agreement for the implementation of the research project before the Project Contract is signed. The partnership agreement template will be provided at the contracting stage. Only the leader signs the contract with the NCN.

Costs in respect of which an invoice has been issued in the final month of eligibility are also deemed to be incurred within the dates of eligibility if the costs are paid within 30 days of the final date for eligibility. However, no costs can be paid after 30 April 2024.

Most partners (such as universities, university colleges, enterprises) from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, should use the same rates for personnel costs as in H2020 projects. Indirect costs (overheads) are calculated as a flat rate of 25% of all the direct costs. However, Norwegian research institutes which report personnel rates to the Research Council of Norway, and have those personnel rates approved by the RCN, may use those as Standard scales of unit costs (ref. Regulation art. 8.4.b). This means they should use the same rates as in applications to RCN calls. It is important to note that in such cases, no indirect or overhead costs should be included in the budget, as they are already included in the personnel rates.

The PI has to describe the tasks and point out the differences between the studies previously or currently carried out and the tasks covered by this application in order to exclude double financing.

To limit a potential risk of double funding the partners are advised to open dedicated bank accounts for the project if possible. The cost of opening and maintaining a separate bank account is eligible.

Indirect eligible costs will be determined by applying a flat rate of 25% of the total direct eligible costs, excluding direct eligible costs for subcontracting and the costs of resources made available by third parties which are not used on the premises of the beneficiary, as well as financial support to third parties.

In the category "Costs entailed by other contracts" the costs of other contracts linked to the implementation of the project are eligible for the Project Promoter and/or Partner, provided the awarding complies with the applicable rules on public procurement and the Regulation. In the category "Costs arising directly from the requirements imposed by the project contract" costs of the report by an independent auditor, costs of opening and maintaining the bank account, etc., may be incurred.

These kind of issues need to be solved by the applicant according to their entity policy, legal requirements, rules of ethical commissions etc.

Yes, it is possible

The nationality of the investigators in the GRIEG's project is not the case the most important is that the investigators have to be assigned to Polish or Norwegian entities.