European Partnership Help Center

Welcome to the ERA-LEARN Help Center for European Partnerships. Here you will find a collection of frequently asked questions and answers from our webinars and events. More questions and answers will be added over time. If you have any partnership related questions, please send them to office@era-learn.eu and we will add them to the Help Center.

Will the reporting template be available soon? What are the requirements and what kind of data do we need to request from the projects?

The new template will be fully aligned with regular Horizon Europe reporting e.g. the periodic reporting template. It is being designed so that many fields will be optional to make the process as easy as possible for partnerships, particularly those already addressing this requirement. Some work is still being done within the Commission to finalise the template, and no specific date can, as yet, be provided regarding its release. Efforts will be made to communicate clearly and as early as possible to allow adjustments to be made as necessary. The Commission acknowledges that some partnerships have already started to prepare the internal reporting templates and would be happy to receive copies of these to help ensure the new template is comprehensive but easy to work with.
In addition to the data submission process (XML templates), co-funded European Partnerships are expected to record the same data in the Funding & Tenders portal (continuous reporting). Is there a way to automatically transfer the data into the F&T portal?

To reduce administrative burden, the EC is exploring whether FSTP reporting via Sygma for co-funded partnerships could be waived or simplified in the future. In the meantime, and at least until the data transfer process is fully operational and reliable, Sygma reporting will remain in place. Further information will be communicated soon.
Which Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) are possible for the transnational projects funded in a (financial support to third parties) FSTP call of a co-funded partnership?

The partnership members agree among themselves what type of projects should be financed. This is also part of the Description of Action (Grant Agreement). There is no need for each funding agency to support the same level of TRLs in a joint call. National funding rules can be applied.
Step 2 of the evaluation procedure in FSTP calls involves the assistance of three independent experts. What does 'independent' mean? What are the requirements for being considered independent?

Independence means not linked to the beneficiaries of the actions. They must not have any connections to these entities.
For financial support to third parties (FSTP) funding there is normally a ceiling of EUR 60.000 – does this apply to co-funded partnerships?

There is such a ceiling set in the EU financial regulation. However, co-funded partnerships are treated as exceptional cases, as their main activity is to provide FSTP and their lifespan is much longer than a regular Horizon Europe project. Thus, this ceiling does not usually apply to co-funded partnerships, and the applicable ceiling (typically much higher than EUR 60.000) is defined in the respective call conditions for the programme co-fund action that will implement the partnership. The applicable ceiling is then also reflected in the Grant Agreement.
For co-funded partnerships, the evaluation process may extend beyond the Commission’s usual time-to-grant, and a retroactive starting date may occasionally be used to accommodate this. How does a retroactive starting date work in practice?

In principle, a retroactive starting date is possible, but this possibility must be foreseen in the call conditions, and cannot be before the submission date of the proposal, or in exceptional cases, the call deadline. It should be noted that if a partnership begins implementing activities before the successful conclusion of the proposal evaluation, it does so at its own risk. Should the proposal not be successful, no costs can be reimbursed, regardless of whether a retroactive starting date had been envisaged.