EU Commission Funding

Each proposal must complete an Ethics Self-assessment (proposal Part A Ethics Issue Table). If the proposal affirms the existence of any issues in the table, the applicants must explain in the proposal form and provide any additional supporting documents. Refer to the Commission’s How to complete your ethics self-assessment guide to complete the table. 

Successful European Commission projects are required to undergo an ethical review and a report will be requested for award holders to review and complete. Depending on the project, some grant agreements may not be signed until the ethics report is received and confirmed.  

Information on the EC ethics process can be found on the European Commission's website. 

All H2020 and Horizon Europe funding schemes - except for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) - are subject to a project-level audit at the end of an award if: 

• H2020: total expenditure exceeds €325,000 excluding overheads and partner costs. 

• Horizon Europe: total expenditure exceeds €430,000 including overheads and excluding partner costs.  

These audits are called a Certificate on the Financial Statements (CFS) and must be completed within 60 days of the award end date. Required supporting documents for CFSs include timesheets.   

The European Commission can also conduct financial and scientific audits at any time during project implementation and up to 5 years after a project’s end date. All funding schemes with any level of expenditure are within scope of these audits, including MSCA actions. These audits differ in scope, objectives and complexity to CFSs. They involve comprehensive review of Imperial’s internal controls, processes, policies and systems, extensive documentation, and interviews with key personnel. Multiple EU awards held across Imperial can be sampled during a single audit. 

Research data management, including Open Access provision is mandatory for Horizon Europe grants. A data management plan must be provided when applying for funding and any relevant costs related to compliance can be included in the project budget.   

More information on Open Access and data management at Imperial can be found here.  

All EC awards will have scientific and financial reporting requirements. 

Most projects require continuous reporting against project deliverables and milestones which feeds into periodic reporting. Periodic reports are usually due every 18 months (depending on the length of the project) and at the end of the project – please check individual terms and conditions to ensure compliance.  

Detailed EC guidance on reporting can be found on the EC website. 

Specific guidance on scientific reporting and how to submit this for ERC projects can be found here.  

All categories of staff (including PIs, Co-Is, PhD Students and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellows) charged to EC funded projects (including the UKRI Guarantee Schemes) are required to complete timesheets. 

Where casual workers are being engaged to work on an EC funded project, in the same way as other staff that are charged to the project, they will also be required to complete timesheets (in addition to completing and submitting Pay8B forms). 

ERC PIs must complete a timesheet even if they are not charging time to the ERC project to demonstrate that they have met their contractual obligations. 

The EC accepts that time entered on the timesheet can vary from month to month but it is important to ensure that costs within the financial system are reconciled to reflect actual time worked on the project. 

Information about absences included in timesheets must match records of annual and sick leave taken. Time taken for work-related travel must be supported by appropriate evidence, e.g. conference documentation, project meeting notes etc, as this will be verified against the timesheet to ensure it relates to the project. 

More information and links to Imperial timesheet templates can be found here.