Personnel costs
Appropriateness of personnel costs
Personnel costs are only eligible for funding up to the amount that corresponds to the federal salary scheme and the 1955 travel fee regulations for comparable federal employees (the collective agreements of universities, for example, are also included here). Alternatively, the hourly rates of the FWF or the GÖD can be used.
What are overhead costs?
Overheads are overheads such as infrastructure and management costs (the costs of using the infrastructure/basic equipment of a university institute and/or the management costs of a project).
Overheads can only be charged on direct personnel costs at a rate of 20%. The costs can be charged at a flat rate.
How can teachers be remunerated?
Teachers must be involved in the project within the framework of contracts for work and labour. Teachers' personnel costs are only eligible for funding if the activities for the object of funding are carried out outside of teaching duties. These personnel costs must be documented with fee notes and must include a detailed description of the amount of work performed. The maximum hourly rate for these services may not exceed € 25. As schools are not entitled to deduct input tax, VAT is taken into account as an eligible cost component. If teachers are involved via work contracts, the teachers concerned must be officially identified as part of the research team, both in the project application (e.g. a competence profile must be submitted) and later on the project website.
How are personnel costs accounted for?
Service contracts for employees of your own organisation must be settled as follows: Salary & non-wage labour costs.
Contracts for work = gross costs. Contracts for work regulate the delivery of a certain work within a certain period of time. Therefore, no fixed hourly rates are to be stated. The appropriateness of the contract for work is at the discretion of the project management.
Can all permanent employees of a university (including technical, administrative or scientific staff) be included in the personal contributions?
Yes, but only if they are an active and essential part of the project. These persons must also be remunerated within the personnel rates (KV, FWF, GÖD).
Does the annual adjustment of salaries have to be included in the project application?
Yes, this must be taken into account when submitting the project. Only those costs that are approved at the beginning will be reimbursed.
Is there a maximum limit for external services from the total budget?
No, there is no limit here. The scientific reviewers will judge whether the expenditure is appropriate or not.
Material costs
Appropriateness of material costs
All funding must be utilised in accordance with the principles of economy, expediency and efficiency. Material costs must be balanced and in proportion to the other costs in the overall project.
Are publication costs or open access costs eligible for funding?
Yes, as long as these costs are incurred during the project period. No costs can be charged before the start and after the end of the project.
How are equipment purchases handled?
In principle, the federal government retains ownership of the residual value of all equipment purchased. The funding recipients are therefore obliged to keep the equipment available at the end of the project period and to hand it over to the BMBWF if it requests it. However, if the funding recipient can demonstrate in the final statement that the equipment will continue to be used in accordance with the purpose of the funding, the project recipients can be released from this obligation.
Additional funding
Is it possible to apply for 10% additional funding to develop CS expertise through international networking as well as 10% funding to promote science in schools?
Yes, for projects that fulfil one of the criteria, the non-repayable grant amounts to a maximum of 385,000 euros.
For projects that fulfil both criteria (‘Development of CS know-how through international networking’ AND ‘Science in schools’), the non-repayable grant amounts to a maximum of 420,000 euros.
Note: These are the maximum amounts. It is also possible to apply for less funding.
Can part of the approved research funding be transferred abroad?
Yes, the transfer of approved funding abroad is possible up to a maximum total of 15% of the approved funding (including additional funding/s).
Own resources
The funding applicant's own contributions include both own funds in the narrower sense and own contributions in kind and labour. The appropriateness of own contributions will be reviewed by the reviewers on a project-specific basis. However, it must amount to at least 10% of the project total.
Does the maximum funding amount include own funds?
No, the maximum funding amount does not include own funds. The BMBWF can be charged a maximum of 350,000 euros (or a maximum of 385,000 euros or a maximum of 420,000 euros if one or two additional grants are applied for). This sum is calculated from the project costs (personnel costs, travelling expenses, material costs), from which own funds and income (e.g. co-financing, sponsoring, etc.) are deducted.
Does the own funding have to come exclusively from the institution submitting the project?
The majority of own funds must come from the project-leading institution. However, they can also be provided by scientific co-operation partners. It is not permitted for own funds to come from schools. If schools provide their own funds, which could be the case, these are not included in the 10%.
Does a higher equity ratio of over 10% lead to a better evaluation of the project?
No, the amount of own funds is not evaluated by the evaluators, but it must be at least 10%
Can employer contributions be included as own funds?
Personnel costs are subsidised on a gross-to-gross basis. In the case of personnel costs that are included in the own funds (e.g. professors' salaries), the gross-gross costs can therefore also be included in the own funds.
Proof of own funds
As part of the final statement, own funds only need to be roughly itemised, e.g. what percentage is allocated to personnel costs and what percentage to material costs. However, project participants must be able to provide evidence of their own funds with supporting documents upon request, and this for up to seven years after completion of the project.
General information
Can project costs also be paid outside the project duration?
No, all project costs must be incurred within the specified project period. A project publication, for example, which is produced and printed after the official end of the project, can no longer be covered by funding.
How is the funding paid out?
This takes place in three instalments, the first of which is transferred after submission of the initial report (two months after the start of the project), the second after submission of the interim report (in the middle of the term) and the third after successful evaluation of the final report.
Where can I find the General Guidelines for the Granting of Subsidies from Federal Funds (ARR 2004)?
The current version of the Ordinance of the Federal Minister of Finance on General Framework Guidelines for the Granting of Funding from Federal Funds (StF: Federal Law Gazette II No. 51/2004) can be found on the website of the Federal Legal Information System (RIS).
Where can I find the federal travel fee regulation?
The current version of the Federal Government Ordinance of 29 March 1955 concerning fees for business trips, business assignments at the place of employment, duty assignments and transfers (Reisegebührenvorschrift 1955; StF: BGBl. Nr. 133/1955) can be found on the website of the Federal Legal Information System (RIS).