Ref. Ares(2012)1389824 - 23/11/2012
FP7 Grant Agreement –
ANNEX III – SPECIFIC PROVISIONS FOR TRANSNATIONAL ACCESS ACTIVITIES
III.1 : Definitions
In addition to those of Article II.1 , the following definitions shall apply:
1. Access provider : means the beneficiary
that is in charge of prov iding access to the
infrastructure(s)
or installation(s) , as specified in Annex I.
2. Infrastructure : means a facility, a resource (or a coherent set of them) together with the related
services, that are used by the scientific community to conduct research.
3.
Installation : means a part of an
infrastructure that could be used independently from the rest .
4. User : means a researcher within a
user group , including the
user group leader.
5. User group : means a research team of one or more researchers give n access to the
infrastructure
under the
project. Each
user group is led by a
user group leader.
III.2 : Performance obligations
The
access provider shall, in addition to the other provisions of this grant-agreement :
(a) provide access free of charge to selected
user groups to the
infrastructure or the
installation(s)
managed by it , including all the logistical, technological and scientific support as well as specific
training, that is normally provided to external researchers using the
infrastructure;
(b) publicise widely, including on a dedicated Web page on the Internet, the access offered under this
grant-agreement,
in a way that researchers who wish to have access to the
infrastructure may be made
aware of the possibilities open to them;
(c) ensure that
users comply with the terms and conditions of this grant-agreement;
(d) maintain appropriate documentation to support and justify the amount of access reported; this
documentation shall include records of the names, nationalities, and home instituti ons of
users, as well
as the nature and quantity of access provided to them.
III.3 : Eligibility and selection of the user groups
1. To be eligible to benefit from access to the
infrastructure under the grant-agreement, a
user group
must satisfy the follow ing two conditions:
a) the
user group leader and the majority of the
users must work in a institution established in a
Member State or Associated State ;
b) the
user group leader and the majority of the
users must work in a country other than the
country(ies) wh ere the legal entity(ies) operating the
infrastructure is(are) established.
When the
infrastructure is composed of several
installations operated by different legal
entities, this condition shall apply to each
installation.
This condition shall not apply :
-
when the
access provider is an
International Organisation or the
JRC.
-
in case of remote access to a distributed set of
infrastructures or
installations offering the same services ,
2. Only
user groups that are entitled to disseminate the
foreground they have generated under the
project are eligible to benefit from access free of charge to the
infrastructure under th is
grant-
agreement.
3.
User groups requesting access shall be required by the
access provider to submit in writing a
description of the work that they wish to carry out and the names, nationalities and home institutions
of the
users.
4. The
access provider shall set up a selection panel, which will assist the
access provider in the
selection of the
user groups . The selection panel shall assess all proposals received and recommend a
short-list of the
user groups that should benefit of access free of charge under the
grant-agreement. In
so doing, it will apply the principles of transparency, fairness and impartiality.
5. The selection panel shall be composed of international experts in the field, at least half of whom
shall be independent from the
infrastructure, unless otherwise specified in Annex I.
6. The selection panel shall base its selection on scientific merit, taking into account that prio rity
should be given to
user groups composed of
users who:
- have not previously used the
infrastructure, and
- are working in countries where no such research
infrastructures exist.
The Commission may request the
access provider to follow additional prio rities in the selection of
user groups in the interest of the Communit
y. The
access provider may oppose to such a request
providing duly justified reasons .
7. The
access provider shall seek written approval of the Commission for the selection of
user group s
requiring access exceeding 3 months, unless such longer access is foreseen in Annex I.
III.4 : Reports and deliverables
The
access provider shall include a section in the periodic reports on the access activity, indicating the
membership of the selection panel as well as the amount of access provided to the
user groups , with
the description of their work, and the names and home institutions of
users.
III.5 : Confidentiality
The
access provider shall ensure that the
users have the same rights and obligatio ns in regard to
confidentiality as referred to for the
access provider in Article II.9.
III.6 : Publicity
The
access provider shall ensure that the
users have the same rights and obligations in regard to
publicity as referred to for the
access provider in Article II.12 .
In particular, the
access provider shall, throughout the duration of the
project, take any appropriate
measure to ensure that, in their publications,
users make suitable publicity about the support given by
the European Community for the access provided to them.
The Commission shall be authorised to publish, in whatever form and on or by whatever medium,
including the Internet, the list of the
users.
III.7 : Access rights
The
access provider shall ensure that the
users enjoy, on a royalty -free basis,
access rights to the
background of the
access provider and to the
foreground, if needed to carry out their own work under
the
project.
III.8 : Incompatible or restrictive commitments
The
access provider shall inform, as soon as possible, the
users of any restriction which might
substantially affect the granting of
access rights .
III.9 : Community financial support for access costs
1. The
access provider may charge the amount resulting of multiplying
a unit cost by the quantity of
access provided .
The unit cost shall correspond to the direct costs of providing access to the
installation incurred
during the year prior to the signature of this grant -agreement, plus a flat rate for indirect costs of 7% of
all direct costs minus costs of subcontracts , divided by the total quantity of access to the
installation
provided to researchers during that year .
Average personnel costs may be used for the calculation if they are consistent with the management
principles and accounting practices of the
access provider. The direct cost s may include cost of
preparatory work but shall exclude all contributions to the capital investments of the
infrastructure.
This unit cost shall be specified in Annex I and shall be revised at the end of a reporting period if there
have been substantial variations on the costs .
Community financial support for access costs shall not exceed 20% of the operating costs to the
installation providing the access over the duration of the project
.
In addition, Community financial support may also cover the travel and subsistence costs related to
visits by
users and to the meetings of the selection panel, where necessary.