Financial Commitment

Reliable commitments of all participating funding organisations are crucial factors for a smooth operation and a successful call administration. Budgets must be secured before the call is launched. It is up to each funding organisation to decide on their respective financial contributions. Budgets should balance the demand, ie. should be of a reasonable size with respect to the expected number of submitted proposals. Flexible funds with options for an increase during the call will be a welcome feature.

All partners must consider the availability of their committed funds within the agreed timeline.

Depending on the nature of the call or the respective network budgets can be committed through a Consortium Agreement or a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which contain a description of the call procedures including the methods for selecting and funding successful proposals. Partners formally accept these procedures and declare their commitment. The nature of the document may vary and even the degree of liability is variable.

Concerning the financial commitment it also has to be clarified how any activities beyond the duration of the network will be carried out and how the necessary resources will be secured.

ERA-LEARN provides examples of legal documents which are available for download here:

• Memorandum of Understanding
• Model Consortium Agreement for co-funded Partnerships

Advice for Co-funded European Partnerships: All national/regional funding organisations must declare their preliminary financial commitments when submitting the Horizon Europe Programm Cofund Action proposal. A dedicated deliverable is foreseen for the commitments on availability of funds for the selected projects in the co-funded calls. The distribution of EC funding is up to the consortium (use consortium agreement).