Reporting for preparatory funding

Preparatory Funding coordinators are required to submit

• a formally complete Academic Partnership project proposal that meets the thematic requirements of the APPEAR programme
• a financial report on all expenses occurred within the Preparatory Funding phase

The project coordinator submits the financial report that presents the entire expenses of all involved institutions within two months after the project end set out in the grant agreement.

Reports have to be submitted in hardcopy and electronically.

During the Preparatory Funding phase, the partner institutions assess each other’s respective institutional and social environments (management structures, objectives, activities, methodologies, etc.) and jointly design a project proposal for Academic Partnership which is to be submitted in the subsequent Call.

A guidance for proposal writing can be found in the guidelines of the respective Call.

For the financial report the Guidelines for the Budget and Financial Report for Preparatory Funding are mandatory.

The financial report comprises:

• Summary of expenses and detailed cost breakdown of all institutions
• Confirmation of the financial report
• Austrian partner institutions: financial statement covering the costs of the Austrian partner institutions. All expenses have to be supported by invoices (will be assessed by the APPEAR Office).
• Institutions in eligible countries: external audit report (see audit report - information below)

Partner institutions in eligible countries have to provide external audit reports as part of the financial reporting.

The APPEAR Terms of Reference (ToR) and the Guidelines for the Budget and Financial Report for Preparatory Funding are mandatory.

The external audit report must consist of:

• Signed engagement letter
• Audit Report of Factual Findings
• Financial statement (detailed cost break down) of each institution (in excel)

In exceptional cases Preparatory Funding will not necessarily lead to a project proposal for an Academic Partnership. If in the course of the Preparatory Funding the implementation of an Academic Partnership is perceived as not being conducive, a report has to be submitted that undertakes a substantive examination of the causes for not submitting a full project proposal. Furthermore, only a maximum of half of the approved budget will be granted.

A financial report as stated above has to be submitted in order to calculate the actual expenses.

For more information on project implementation, such as budget reallocation, work verification, regulations regarding travel and subsistence, carbon offsetting, dissemination or visibility and logos, see this section.