Implementing the promotion
What to bear in mind with regard to personnel expenses
In the ERDF/JTF NRW program, personnel expenses are not reimbursed on the basis of actual costs, but are calculated according to so-called personnel expense flat rates. Depending on the activity performed and the training required for it, your employees are assigned to one of the four benefit groups. Employees who work exclusively in the funded project are billed on the basis of monthly rates. Employees who are also employed outside the project are billed on the basis of hourly rates. In the case of full-time employees, a maximum of 1,720 hours per year can be taken into account across all publicly funded projects.
Special regulations apply to staff employed on a fixed-term basis in accordance with the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (German Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act).
Funding for employment contracts in accordance with the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz
The funding of staff who fall under the German Academic Fixed-Term Contract Act (WissZeitVG) is limited to 70% of the contractually agreed working hours across all publicly funded projects. For full-time employees, this means a limit of 1,204 hours per year (i.e. 70% of a maximum of 1,720 eligible hours).
The following examples illustrate what this means in concrete terms:
The employment contract stipulates that the employee must work at least 70% of the contractually agreed working time on the ERDF/JTF-funded project. The remaining working time may be used for the employee's own scientific or artistic qualification.
- For a full-time employee with a Master's degree (performance group 1), the personnel expenditure allowance is 70% of 8,815.00 euros/month*, i.e. 6,170.50 euros/month*.
- In addition, there is a communal expenditure allowance amounting to 15% of the personnel expenditure allowance, i.e. 925.57 euros/month*.
- In addition, there is a right to choose whether the direct material expenditure of a project (land acquisition, construction work, deliveries, services and travel expenses) should be settled individually or through a material expenditure allowance. The lump sum for material expenses is 25% of the lump sum for personnel expenses, in this case €1,542.62/month*.
These lump sums represent the assessment basis to which the funding rate (usually 90% for universities and research institutions in the non-economic sector) is applied.
In this example, the funding according to the personnel and overhead flat rate is therefore 6,386.46 euros/month*; if the material expenditure flat rate is selected, it is 7,774.83 euros/month*.
Actual expenses not covered by the funding must be covered by the beneficiaries from their own funds.
The employment contract stipulates that the employee performs and is remunerated for 70% of a full-time position in the ERDF/JTF-funded project. The remaining time for a full-time position is to be used unpaid for the employee's own scientific or artistic qualification.
In this case, only 49% (70% of 70%) of the personnel expenditure allowance can be taken into account as a basis for assessment because the contractually agreed and remunerated working time is what counts.
The full-time employee under the WissZeitVG works in equal parts in an ERDF/JTF-funded project and in a project financed from other public funds.
In the project financed from other public funds, 860 hours/year are accounted for.
In the ERDF/JTF-funded project, therefore, only 344 hours/year (1,204 hours - 860 hours) can be accounted for.
The full-time employee under the WissZeitVG works in equal parts in an ERDF/JTF-funded project and in a project financed from other public funds.
In the project financed from other public funds, 602 hours/year can be accounted for.
In the ERDF/JTF-funded project, 602 hours/year (1,204 hours - 602 hours) can also be accounted for.
A full-time employee under the WissZeitVG works 50% in an ERDF/JTF-funded project, 20% in a project financed from other public funds and uses 30% of the working time for his/her own scientific or artistic qualification.
In the project financed from other public funds, 344 hours/year can be accounted for.
In the ERDF/JTF-funded project, 860 hours/year (1,204 hours - 344 hours) can be accounted for.
Calculation of billable hours in the call for funds for employees working part-time in the project
In order to calculate the billable hours of employees who work part-time in your project and receive funding accordingly, you must create a call for funds. The following information must be provided:
- Net working days: Number of days Monday to Friday in the specified period excluding public holidays, vacation and sick days
- Calendar days in the specified period
- Upper limit of productive working hours: Consideration of a maximum of eight hours per net working day for full-time employees
- Billable hours: The maximum billable hours result from the difference between the upper limit of productive working hours and in other projects financed from public funds.
Helpful documents on personnel expenses can be found on the page "Supporting materials for the implementation of funding".
Increase awareness of your project
Your project will contribute to regional development and the digital and green transformation in North Rhine-Westphalia. You will receive funding from the state of NRW and the EU for this. This makes it all the more important that you communicate to the outside world what you are achieving with the help of ERDF/JTF funding in NRW. This will not only enhance your reputation, but also make the use of European funds visible to local people. This is very important to the EU. Informing the public is therefore one of your obligations.
Please pay attention to the following basic guidelines in your communication measures:
- Mention the support of the European Union on all communication materials. Use the EU emblem for this purpose.
- Since your project is co-financed by the state of NRW, you must also use the logo of the co-financing ministry or the logo of the NRW state government in addition to the EU emblem. To do this, get in touch with your contact person at the funding body.
- Describe your project on your official website - including the objectives and results.
- Also refer to the EU and state funding in posts about your project on social media, for example, by using the EU emblem or a text note. In addition, use hashtags such as #efrenrw or #jtfnrw and mention official program accounts.
- Place a DIN A3 poster about your project with a reference to the EU funding in a clearly visible location.
Helpful documents for communicating about your project with all specifications can be found on the page "Supporting materials for implementing the funding".
Keeping an eye on the project
Each project funded under the ERDF/JTF NRW 2021-2027 program should contribute to the achievement of a specific objective. The effects of the implemented measures and thus their contribution to one of these objectives are measured using output and result indicators. The monitoring system of the funding program ensures the ongoing documentation of program effects and the measurement of target achievement.
The monitoring forms record so-called ex-ante values, which provide information on the expected outputs and results of the approved projects. You submit these when you submit your application.
In order to track developments in the project and the impact of your work on an ongoing basis, you also submit an actual report once a year - by March 31 of each year at the latest. In it, you document:
- the use of the grant and the interim results achieved in comparison to the specified objectives
- the information provided to the public about the project
And after the promotion?
You must also pay attention to certain aspects after the project has been completed. No later than three months after the end of the approval period, you must submit a record of use, which enables a final performance review. It consists of the following components:
- a final technical report, in which the use of the grant and the results achieved are presented in detail and compared with the specified objectives and the necessity and appropriateness of the work carried out are explained
- a final numerical report, which contains all income and expenditure associated with the purpose of the grant
- Final monitoring sheet, which shows the contribution made to the result and output indicators
One year after the end of the implementation period of your project, you should also submit a results sheet. In it, you document the updated contribution to the result and output indicators in order to gain insights into the sustainability and long-term effects of the project carried out.
If assets were acquired or produced as part of the project, you may only use them for the purpose of the grant within the assignment period and only then dispose of them freely. The earmarking period often extends beyond the duration of the project, as it is based on the normal useful life of the asset.
You must retain all documents relating to the funding of your project in accordance with commercial and tax regulations, unless a different retention period has been specified in the grant notification. This applies to receipts and expenditure documents as well as proof of payment such as bank statements, contracts and documentation on the awarding of contracts, all other documents proving eligible expenditure as well as all documents proving compliance with publicity regulations and the information in the final monitoring and results sheet.
Requirements for projects with total costs of 10 million euros or more
The requirements that recipients of ERDF/JTF funding in North Rhine-Westphalia must observe are also partly based on the total expenditure of your project. If they exceed the limit of 10 million euros or if it is a so-called project of strategic importance, you must carry out at least one major communication activity in which you involve the ERDF managing authority and the European Commission. To do this, please get in touch with your contact person at the granting authority.