Distribution and monitoring of funds

All funding organisations participating in a joint call have to agree on a way to fund successful transnational proposals. The preferred funding mode for a specific call or network will depend on the involved funding organisations and the respective flexibility of national/regional programmes. It has strong implications on the necessary evaluation system and its required outcome, and often also on the funding contract and funding administration.

The funding modes can be sorted into the following main categories:

• Virtual common pot model or mixed mode: funds are usually provided directly by the respective national/regional funding organisations to successful applicants. Consequently, in a next phase the monitoring of funds is also done by the involved funding organisations.
• Real common pot: the programme owners agree to provide the financial contribution to the central unit (i.e. call secretariat). Funds are then distributed to the respective project consortia and the funded project is further monitored by the secretariat.

Usually, the real common pot is distributed centrally and the virtual common pot is operated by the individual funding organisations. The same applies for the two separate shares of the mixed common pot.

In any case, for transnational project cooperation it is important that all involved project participants receive funding more or less at the same time since any delay in funding one participant might delay the implementation of the entire project.