Process description and steps

The general concepts of the Grant Management Services system also apply to the Grant Agreement Termination Process. 

Step 1: The Coordinator logs in to the Funding & Tenders Portal

Please click here to get an overview of the Funding & Tenders Portal. The coordinator needs to access My Projects and select the Manage Projects option under Actions to launch the project for which the grant agreement termination will take place. 

 Only the Coordinator Contact Person can perform this action.

Step 2: The Coordinator launches the Grant Agreement Termination and prepares all data

The Grant Management Services analyses the validity of the request to be able to sign and submit it. Once it is considered valid, the coordinator can lock the data for review, which triggers the generation of a PDF. The termination request is considered as prepared and the metro line consequently moves to the status "prepared".

2.1 Launch a new interaction with the Service

 Only the Coordinator Contact Person can perform this action.

Then choose the relevant option. 

 Please note that a Participant NS message will be sent to all Participant Contacts (PaCOs) and Legal Signatories (LSIGNs) within the consortium informing them of the launching of the Grant termination. 

This will create the request for termination. Please wait for the reference number to appear and click the "refresh processes" button to make the task appear. An termination request reference number, containing the project number, is being created. This number is important, because it will allow you to trace the termination request. 

Finally, the task Grant Agreement Termination preparation will be available, as soon as the button Lock for Review appears. 

Once officially requested, the person launching the termination request can cancel the request at any point before the signature of the PLSIGN. 

Only the Coordinator Contact Person can perform this action. 

 Please refresh the page regularly to move the process forward!

After these steps, the termination request is launched 

2.2 Prepare the termination data

The Grant Agreement termination preparation task, allows you to prepare the termination information. 

 Only the Coordinator Contact Person can perform this action.

Clicking on the Grant Agreement termination preparation task will open a new browser window. Please click on the GA termination tab and start preparing the termination data: 

• select the termination date: 
  • on the day after submission of this notification, or 
  • a fixed date in the future
    

 Please note that Sygma will display a non-blocking system warning and a warning text if the selected date goes beyond two months (or 62 calendar days) from the current date.: 

In addition, the chosen effective date of termination cannot be equal or go beyond the end date of the action (as defined in the GA).

• complete the Fellowship end date (for MSCA-IF only)
  
    Please note that Sygma will display a non-blocking system warning stating that the fellowship end date will be used for the automatic calculation of the number of units for the financial statements. Therefore please make sure it corresponds to the real end date of the researcher activities (i.e. actually implemented person months). 
   Please note that the Fellowship End Date cannot be later than the Grant Agreement Termination Date. 
• complete the justification 

• Then click Save

As soon as you have saved your modifications, you can review the Notification of GA termination document (which will be signed electronically): go to the Documents tab and click the Notification of GA termination icon.

Step 3: The Project Legal Signatory signs and submits the termination request

The termination request is ready for signature as soon as:

• The documents are correct (Notification of GA termination), and 
• there are no blocking issues for the submission of the termination request, i.e. there's no yellow triangle next to the Grant Agreement Termination preparation task. 
  
   Clicking on the yellow triangle, shows you whether there's blocking issues for the submission of the termination request. 

3.1 Lock the termination request for review

The termination request can be locked for review (the data are locked, a pdf is generated ready for electronic signature), in order to assess the request. This means that nobody can edit any data any more at this point.  

 Only the Coordinator Contact Person can perform this action. 

Please click ok to confirm that you have read the warning. 

 Please refresh the page regularly to move the process forward!

The pdf of the termination request has been created. The Coordinator contact can still view the notification, but can no longer edit it. 

After this step, the termination request is in status Prepared 

3.2 Sign and submit the termination request

After reviewing the request, the Project Legal Signatory (PLSIGN) logs in to the Funding & Tenders Portal. He then Signs and submits the termination request to the EU. In case he would like to make some changes to the request he can click the Unlock to draft button and send it back to the people who prepare the termination request (Coordinator Contact Person). 

 Only the Project Legal Signatory can sign and submit the termination request. 

Please click ok to confirm that you have read the message. 

The signature is being processed. 

Once the PLSIGN has signed the termination request, the process box turns blue, which means that the session is now in the hands of the EU. The status of the termination request is "signed" now. 

The process specific documents will now include the termination request pdf without signature and the signed pdf. 

Step 4: The EU Services acknowledge the termination request

During the assessment of the termination request for acknowledgement by the EU, no task is available for the external user. The EU Services have 15 days to acknowledge the request. Once acknowledged, the termination request acknowledgement will be available on the Funding & Tenders Portal. 

Once the request has been acknowledged, the process goes to the status acknowledged.