GfNA-III.11- Erasmus+ Technical instructions for managing changes to the composition of Strategic Partnerships in
Ref. Ares(2016)3996406 - 29/07/2016
EPlusLink – version 23 April 2015
Technical instructions for managing changes to the composition of Strategic
Partnerships in EPlusLink
Disclaimer: As a follow-up to numerous requests for guidance on the steps to be taken in case of
withdrawal/change/adding of partners in KA2 projects, the present instructions have been prepared for the NAs
to facilitate the implementation of changes in EPlusLink.
I.
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS (MULTI-BENEFICIARY AGREEMENT)
According to the multi-beneficiary agreement (article II.15.2), in duly justified cases, following the
termination of one or more beneficiaries, the coordinator together with the remaining beneficiaries can
make a proposal (amendment request) to the NA to replace the withdrawing partner/s, and/or
redistribute their activities among the remaining partners. This proposal should also provide
indications on how the budget of the Strategic Partnership should be revised. An amendment has to be
made to introduce the necessary modifications.
Before authorising a change in any of the cases described in this Annex, the National Agency shall
conduct a viability assessment to determine that the proposed change:
Does not impact the eligibility of the project as a whole: the minimum number and type of
participating organisations is preserved
Does not hinder the ability of the Strategic Partnership to carry out the planned core-activities
and reach the intended objectives (i.e. if the role of the withdrawing partner is fundamental for
the implementation of the project and/or it is not being replaced by a partner with equivalent
profile and expertise).
1.
REPLACEMENT OF PARTNERS – the following procedures should be followed by the NA:
a) If the withdrawing partner has been contributing to the activities of the partnership for a
certain period of time and therefore is entitled to receive a part of the grant in relation to
the activities undertaken, the NA
must not delete the replaced partner in EPlusLink.
Instead, the NA should reduce the withdrawing partner's budget to the amount that it is
entitled to receive for the performed activities, including the appropriate amount of PMI
funds.
If the partner has not contributed to the activities of the partnership and therefore is not
entitled to receive a part of the grant, the NA
must delete the replaced partner in
EPlusLink.
b) Add a new partner with the corresponding budget. If the new partner has not registered in
URF in the past and does not have a PIC, the organisation has to first register in URF. The
new partner has to be validated by their respective NA.
c) Add a note or attach a file in EPlusLink documenting the replacement of the partner.
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GfNA-III.11- Erasmus+ Technical instructions for managing changes to the composition of Strategic Partnerships in
EPlusLink – version 23 April 2015
2.
WITHDRAWAL OF PARTNERS – if the NA has conducted the viability assessment and concluded
that the partnership may continue without the withdrawing partner, it shall approve the withdrawal
and implement it by following the same procedure as in case of partner replacement.
Additionally, if requested by the project coordinator and deemed appropriate by the NA, the
unused part of the withdrawing partner's budget may be re-allocated to the remaining partners
according to the re-allocation of the withdrawing partner's tasks to other partners in the project.
Finally, the withdrawal should be documented in EPlusLink with an appropriate note or
attachment.
3.
CHANGE OF COORDINATOR – is not possible as it would inevitably constitute a substantial
change of the nature of the partnership due to the unique role and necessary financial and
operational capacity of the coordinator organisation.
A technical change
of the coordinator is allowed only in the case of a merge or split of the
coordinating organisation which determines a change in its legal status (while the organisation
substantially remains the same as the one that has applied for funds on behalf of the partnership).
To address such a case, the coordinating NA should manually modify the details of the
coordinator in EPlusLink and document this change with an appropriate note or a file attachment
showing the change in the legal status of the coordinator.
4.
ADDING A PARTNER – it is possible on the condition that it can be soundly proven to increase the
quality of the partnership. Taking over by a new partner of responsibilities in the implementation
of tasks originally foreseen for partners specified in the application form should only be allowed
under duly justified circumstances and proving that at least the same level of project quality is
ensured.
The new partner has to have a PIC, be validated by their respective NA and must sign a mandate
that should be submitted by the applicant together with the request to add the new partner to the
partnership.
In EPlusLink, the NA should: add the new partner with the corresponding budget, modify the
budget of the other partners (if requested by the applicant and approved by the NA), add a note or
attach a file documenting the addition of the new partner.
II.
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS FOR SCHOOLS ONLY (MONO-BENEFICIARY GRANT
AGREEMENTS)
1.
REPLACEMENT OF PARTNERS, ADDING OF PARTNERS OR CHANGE OF COORDINATOR – there is
no possibility to implement any of these changes with the mono-beneficiary Grant Agreements.
2.
WITHDRAWAL OF PARTNERS – both the Partner NA and the Coordinator NA must receive a
written request from the withdrawing school that they wish to withdraw from the project. The
Coordinator NA shall then verify if the project can continue without the partner by assessing the
essential conditions defined in the opening part of this Annex.
Following the decision by the Coordinator NA, the Partner NA terminates their agreement with
the withdrawing school.
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GfNA-III.11- Erasmus+ Technical instructions for managing changes to the composition of Strategic Partnerships in
EPlusLink – version 23 April 2015
3.
REDISTRIBUTION OF ACTIVITIES FOLLOWING A WITHDRAWAL OF A PARTNER – no transfer of
funds can take place between the withdrawing partner and the remaining ones due to the
partnership being contracted with mono-beneficiary grant agreements.
However, some or all of the activities that would have been organised by the withdrawing partner
can be re-allocated to remaining partners. The funds for the re-allocated activities may be obtained
either by transfers between budget headings without Grant Agreement amendment or via Grant
Agreement amendment, if necessary.
The reallocation of activities may occur only if it does not cause undue constraint on the budgets
of the remaining partners. The National Agencies who are in a contractual relationship with the
remaining organisations in the partnership should coordinate to decide jointly which overall re-
allocation of activities is viable, taking into account that the quality of project implementation and
expected impact must not be adversely affected. Whenever possible, this step should therefore be a
part of the viability assessment conducted by the Coordinator NA upon receiving the request for
withdrawal.
To ensure continued viability of the partnerships, an appropriate reduction of the scope of re-
allocated activities can be made insofar as it does not affect the core-activities planned by the
partnership and does not prevent the remaining partners from reaching the project's overall
objectives. The re-allocated activities should be reported in the final report by the project and will
be taken into account at the final assessment stage.
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