Description
In European Research Council (ERC) grants, the coordinator is called "principal beneficiary". The "host institution (HI)" is the beneficiary that hosts (and normally also engages) the "principal investigator (PI)".
The principal investigator may request the transfer of the action (or his/her part of it) to a new beneficiary, provided that the objectives of the action remain achievable (art. 56a of the Grant Agreement). The principal beneficiary may object only on the basis that the transfer is not possible under national law.
The principal beneficiary must formally notify a request for amendment to the Agency (see Article 55 of the Grant Agreement).
For more information, please consult the Annotated Model Grant Agreement.
Scope
ERC grants can be transferred to a new beneficiary (or existing beneficiary in the case of multi-beneficiary actions) - at any time during the action implementation:
- the rights and obligations under the GA are transferred from the beneficiary to a new beneficiary - without passing via ‘termination’ (Article 50 of the Grant Agreement) or ‘addition of a new beneficiary’ (Article 56 of the Grant Agreement).
- NO transfer before the amendment has been accepted by the Agency. Transfers without a formal amendment are considered in breach of contractual obligations and may result in costs being declared ineligible and/or the Agency terminating the action early.
The transfer may be based on any ground that is beneficial for the PI and supports achieving the action’s objectives.
The former host institution may oppose a transfer only if it is not allowed under national law. It may however negotiate the transfer conditions (including transfer of team members, intellectual property rights and equipment) with the new host institution, taking into account the view of the PI.
How to transfer the Grant Agreement
| 1 | To transfer the Grant Agreement to an existing beneficiary, click Replace Host Institution. |
| 2 | Use the drop-down menu to update Host Institution by swapping the host beneficiary with another existing beneficiary. Click NEXT.
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| 3 | Choose the Transfer Date, flag Terminate old participant and click OK.
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| 4 | Complete the contact information for the new Primary Coordinator and click SAVE.
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| 5 | To transfer the Grant Agreement to a new beneficiary, click Add New Beneficiary.
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| 6 | Search for the new beneficiary on PIC and double-click on the correct beneficiary to add it.
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| 7 | Complete the Short Name of the beneficiary and the Start Date for the entry into force of the Amendment.
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| 8 | After the beneficiary has been added, click Replace Host Institution and follow the instructions for steps 2-4.
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In case of a replacement of the Host Institution, when the engagement status of the PI is to be changed, then the following rules will apply:
- The Grant Agreement (GA) Option "Preamble – PI hosted and engaged by principal beneficiary" will become editable (selectable/de-selectable) for the EU officer, ONLY if a change of host institution has been previously made through the Amendment clause AT71 (Transfer of the Grant Agreement).
- In all other cases, the GA option "Preamble – PI hosted and engaged by principal beneficiary" will be deselected and grayed out (not editable). However, the AT65 (General Manual Amendment Clause) option will be available should the engagement status for a PI be required to change. In this case you should contact the Service Desk in the first instance.
