EUREKA Secretariat Handbook Introduction€¦ · Introduction Part A EUREKA Network Environment A1 Introduction to the Network A2 The role of key components of the Network A3 The

1 | P a g e AP7.1_HLG3214 _ESE Handbook

EUREKA Secretariat Handbook

Introduction Part A EUREKA Network Environment A1 Introduction to the Network A2 The role of key components of the Network A3 The role of the EUREKA Secretariat Part B Staffing B1 Organigramme and Lines of Accountability B2 Key roles and responsibilities B3 Decision Making Process B4 The staff appraisal process B5 Recruitment

B6 Employment Regulations B7 Time sheets Part C Annual Resource Plan and Budgeting C1 Planning Cycle C2 Build up C3 Budgetary Responsibilities C4 Audit arrangements Part D Office Administration D1 General Office Administration D2 Procurement and expenditure D3 Travel arrangements and expenses D4 Credit cards D5 Staffing administration D6 Financial administration and internal control

HLG2

Oslo, 6 March 2014

EUREKA doc. 3214


Introduction

The purpose of the ESE Handbook is twofold:

define the context within which the ESE operates by describing the EUREKA Network and the role of the ESE (Part A);

set out key principles for the conduct of the ESE business by establishing the ground rules and procedural guidelines for ESE staff in relation to: o personnel roles and responsibilities (Part B) o annual resource planning and budgeting (Part C) and o general office administration (Part D).

Circulation The ESE Handbook is per definition an internal document primarily for the use and reference of ESE staff. However, it may also provide a useful reference tool on roles, responsibilities and procedures to a wider audience, in particular consecutive Chairs and any network member representative.


PART A

THE EUREKA NETWORK ENVIRONMENT The purpose of Part A is to define the scope of the work undertaken by the ESE and its staff, within the scope of the EUREKA Network. Part A covers:

a brief history and purpose of the Network (Part A.1)

a description of the key organisations and bodies involved in the management and coordination of the Network and their respective roles and functions (Part A.2) and

the role, scope and key responsibilities of the ESE (Part A.3). The information contained in Part A is intended to provide a contextual background for later sections of the Administrative Organisation. Further information regarding the scope of the Network and the operating guidelines under which it operates are set out in:

1) The Hanover Declaration and its Annex (Budapest Amended rules) 2) The Memorandum of Understanding on the EUREKA Secretariat

(Document EUREKA 15MC3b, London 19.06.1997) 3) International non-profit making association - New statutes

(Document EUREKA 2558, Rome 13 June 2007) 4) Roles and Responsibilities (Document EUREKA 2843, Berlin,

24.06.2010) A.1 Introduction to the Network EUREKA was launched in 1985 to help Europe‘s technology-oriented industries fulfil their potential in world markets. Its key characteristics are:

a ―bottom-up‖ approach – the management of projects is led by the industry and thus by the market and

a focus on near-market projects, including those of a strategic nature which are expected to lead to competitive products and services in the short to medium term.

EUREKA is a decentralised network, bringing together 40 European member countries plus the European Union, with the aim of fostering cooperative projects in research and innovation. Whilst each member controls its own funding, EUREKA facilitates the coordination of national funding.


European countries considering membership or in the process of joining are referred to as Associated Countries and NIPs (National Information Points) respectively. Membership of EUREKA results in access to international scientific and technical projects and provides a network of contacts between industry and research organisations interested in similar fields. EUREKA functions through a network of National Project Coordinators (NPCs) across the EUREKA members, promoting and facilitating cross-border projects involving companies, research organisations and universities working in advanced technologies. NPCs report to a High Level Group representative who ultimately reports to an appropriate responsible government minister. Since 2007, a European Joint Programme ―Eurostars‖ dedicated to R&D performing SMEs is co-funded by the European Communities and 32 EUREKA Member States. A.2 The role of key components of the Network The EUREKA Secretariat (ESE) exists to support the Network at all levels – the Chair, the HLG, the NPCs and the EG. It maintains a database of all EUREKA projects and provides a continuous base and a central memory for the Network through successive Chairmanships. Since 2007, EUREKA Members have agreed that the EUREKA Secretariat become the dedicated implementation structure for the Eurostars Joint Programme. This dedicated implementation structure is the recipient of the financial contribution from the Community and ensures the efficient execution of the Eurostars Joint Programme. To understand the role of the ESE and the scope and context of its activities, the roles and functions of the key components of the Network are set out and explained below. There are seven principle bodies involved in the management and co-ordination of the EUREKA initiative. These are:

the Ministerial Conference (MC);

the Inter-Parliamentary Conference (IPC);

the High Level Group (HLG);

the EUREKA Chair.

the Executive Group (EG);

the National Project Coordinators (NPC);

the General Assembly (GA);

the Executive Board (EB);

the Eurostars Advisory Group (EAG);


Reference document: Roles and Responsibilities, Berlin, HLG 2843.

The Ministerial Conference (MC) is a meeting of ministers from each EUREKA member country and a Commissioner from the European Commission. The MC is the highest ranking body within EUREKA. During the MC, ministers lay down political guidelines and officially announce the new EUREKA projects endorsed during the Chairmanship year. Ministers also take decisions on the further development of EUREKA and give approval on the admission or dismissal of members.

An Interparliamentary Conference (IPC) raises the public awareness of EUREKA‘s role. It makes recommendations on political issues concerning EUREKA to be brought to the attention of the European Parliament, appropriate EU Council bodies and the MC.

The High-Level Group (HLG) is the key decision-making body within EUREKA, acting on behalf of the Ministers. Each EUREKA member appoints a representative to this group, which is generally responsible for policy development, guiding the functioning of EUREKA and it decides on project endorsement and supervises the work of the NPC group and the ESE. The ministry responsible for EUREKA in each member country generally names its High-Level Representative (HLR). The HLG reports to the MC.

The EUREKA Chair: the Chairmanship of EUREKA rotates between member countries on a yearly basis and each mandate runs from July to June the following year. The role of the Chair is to sustain the momentum of the work of EUREKA, to organise the Ministerial Conference or Interparliamentary Conference, as well as High-Level Group, Executive Group and National Project Coordinator meetings, which it also chairs.

The Executive Group (EG) is a small body of HLG members, proposed by the Chair and approved by the HLG. It consists of the HLG chairperson, the Troika countries and four other countries to ensure an appropriate balance between the most active members, size of country and their geographical position. A member of the European Commission is also invited to attend EG meetings as is the Head of the ESE. The role of the EG is to act as an advisory body to the Chair, in particular on the Strategic Road Map review and on the implementation of the political priorities of the Chair‘s Annual Work Programme.

National Project Coordinators (NPCs) are at operational level, running the

National EUREKA Offices. They are the direct contact with project participants – and potential project participants - in each member country. NPCs facilitate the setting-up and running of a project and are responsible for project generation, national and international support and follow-up. The NPC group is accountable to the High-Level Group.

The General Assembly (GA) consists of HLG members and is the highest-level body of the ESE, it is vested with all the powers necessary to perform the objectives of this association.

http://www.eureka.be/contacts/AcFindGenContact.do?typeId=NPC


The Executive Board (EB) members are appointed by the General Assembly. The EB should consist of the same members as the EG and it is the sole responsible body for the management of the ESE.

The Eurostars Advisory Group (EAG) is the operational body for the Eurostars Programme; which is centrally managed and chaired by the ESE. The EAG is represented by the NPCs from the Eurostars member countries of EUREKA. The EAG reports to the Eurostars HLG.

A.3 The role of the EUREKA Secretariat The EUREKA Secretariat (ESE), an international association based in Brussels, acts as the central support unit for EUREKA and is the implementation body for the Eurostars Joint Programme. It is directed by the Head of the Secretariat. Its activities are laid down in the Statutes, Article 3:

―(a) Act as a central clearing house for the collection and dissemination of information on technological research and development projects; (b)Provide assistance to undertakings and research establishments concerned by such projects; (c)Provide assistance with the administrative arrangements required for EUREKA meetings; (d)Implement and manage R&D programmes entrusted to the Association by the European Communities or member states; (e)In general help achieve the aims formulated and to be formulated by the EUREKA members in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding relating to the Association.”

On an everyday basis, the ESE manages the project information database, analysing information received and giving an overview of project trends. It also evaluates EUREKA projects agreed by the HLG. The ESE monitors the work the Clusters and Umbrellas undertake, providing information on developments and achievements to the NPCs. As the dedicated implementation structure for the Eurostars Programme, the ESE handles Programme cut-offs, the evaluation process and the funding of Eurostars projects.


Support to the national offices is an important part of the Secretariat‘s daily work, whether it be developing communication material such as EUREKA News, the Annual Report, leaflets and other publications or welcoming new members countries by providing advice, training or direct support when necessary. The team provides administrative support for the EUREKA meetings including minute-taking. It also assists in defining, implementing and following-up on events, coordinating the efforts made by the different national offices and providing direct support and advice where appropriate.


PART B

STAFFING

This part of the Administrative Organisation sets out the:

Organigramme of the ESE and lines of accountability (Part B.1)

Key roles and responsibilities (Part B.2);

Decision-making processes and the purpose of staff meetings (Part B.3);

Appraisal process (Part B.4); and

Recruitment procedures (Part B.5). B.1 Organigramme and Lines of Accountability. The organigramme is to be found in Annex 1. The Secretariat is composed of directly employed personnel (DEP) directly hired from the market with a Belgian employment contract and seconded staff members (SEC) from participating EUREKA members. All members of staff are ultimately responsible and accountable to the Head of Secretariat for the duration of their secondment or employment with the Secretariat. For the day to day running of the Secretariat, staff is generally allocated in departments in charge of defined activities and to undertake specific duties related to that activity. These working relationships between teams on a daily basis, and lines of accountability, are shown in the Organigramme. • The Secretariat may be enlarged or reduced by the Group of High representatives B.2 Key roles and responsibilities The Head of the ESE, all department managers and advisers meet in the weekly Management Team meetings about general managerial ESE issues (logistics) and Eurostars. Minutes of the MT meetings are available to all staff. On a regular basis, informative discussion meetings for all the staff take place on all different topics.


On top of this, the respective managers organise weekly department meetings for operational issues, to receive input and to communicate on general matters. Minutes of the weekly department meetings are to be made available to all staff. B.3 Decision Making Process

The ESE is a small team which has to respond to a wide variety of demands. Therefore all staff needs to remain flexible and work as a team to ensure that the objectives of the ESE are achieved. The Head of the ESE has the decision-making authority. B.4 The Staff Appraisal Process The purpose and scope of the annual staff performance appraisal process is set out below. Staff members are assessed in relation of their level of assigned duties. The manager ensures that the appraisal interview is in line with earlier performance discussions. Managers are provided with the timetable for the evaluations and then prepare a conscientious and impartial preparation of the appraisal for their staff members. These draft evaluations are then discussed in a dedicated Management Team meeting, in order to come to a balanced evaluation with input and consensus of the Management Team. After this, the performance evaluation interviews are conducted between the individual staff member and the department manager and, on request of the staff member (in case of disagreement or comments), with the Head of the ESE. The managers forward the signed evaluation forms (signed by the staff member and the department manager) to the Head of the ESE. The manager concerned and the Head of the ESE make the final decisions on the appraisals and are signed by the Head of the ESE. The evaluation forms signed by all parties can be found in the Human Resource files. In the case of a seconded staff member, either a short report will be made to the appropriate contact within their home administration or the procedures used in the home administration of the seconded staff member will be applied.


The Head of the ESE conducts the appraisals for the department managers. Reference Evaluation Form including criteria and process attached as Annex 2. B.5 Recruitment

Recruitment always takes place on the basis of a job description including the objective of the job, the key result areas, the competency profile, the technical expertise, qualifications and experience required. The process consists of 7 phases:

1. Publication of the vacancy including objective criteria; 2. Nomination by the Head of Secretariat of the members of the panel

and/or assessors; 3. Invitation to interview of suitable candidates; 4. Interviews; 5. Shortlist; 6. Interview by the Head; 7. Final decision

All recruitments are decided by the Head of the ESE and result from a transparent, competitive and equal opportunity process. They are all in principle the subject of an open vacancy save in specific cases (continuity, limited duration, high profile skills or specific tasks that do not require the publishing of an open vacancy). Vacancies are therefore advertised to the maximum possible (published on media decided by the Head and also advertised on the European Commission and EUREKA websites). A selection panel is put in place by the Head of the ESE. It will be composed of a neutral Chairperson, the department manager for which a recruitment is taking place and maximum 3 other staff members. Assessors will be also be appointed by the Head of the ESE to scrutinise the CVs against a set of objective criteria as defined in the vacancy. Panel members and assessors are from different departments and not subordinated to each other. After having selected the best candidates, they are called for an interview and ranked on a shortlist by the interview panel. The shortlist is then submitted to the Head of the ESE. The Head of the ESE with the Department Manager then interviews the first two or three candidates of this list and if his/her assessment is favourable, recruitment is made accordingly in consultation with the department manager. In the case of seconded staff, the Head of the ESE has the right to veto a candidate proposed by a member, should his/her profile not match any vacancy or possible new staffing need arising at the ESE. The Head of the


ESE shall propose the candidate‘s file for final HLG approval, as stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding between EUREKA Members on the EUREKA Secretariat. B.6 Employment Regulations In Belgium, Employment Regulations are legally required for each employer by the Law of 8 April 1965 as of the first employee to whom he pays a salary. The purpose is to establish the general work conditions applicable in a company and to provide employees with information on the functioning of the company and the organisation of work within the company. At the signature of the employment contract or the start of the secondment term, each member of staff is provided with a copy of the employment regulations for which he/she has to sign a proof of delivery. Employment Regulations are about work timetables, conduct in the work place, public and other holidays, payment of salaries, length of notice periods, rights and obligations of the managing staff, urgent reasons for immediate dismissal and sanctions, modalities concerning holiday requests, sick leave, name(s) of the doctor(s) in case an employee facing a work accident needs one, coordinates of the inspection services, … Further to a recommendation by the Ex-Ante Assessment by the European Union on the EUREKA Secretariat as the implementation structure of Eurostars, an important annex was added to the Employment Regulations. It is the Code of Conduct, in which the values of the EUREKA Secretariat, ethical behavior and conflict of interest are clearly explained (see Annex 2-B).

B.7 Time sheets1 In order to register staff activities and to manage resources in order to measure the output of the ESE or to provide performance feedback to team members, time sheets are put in place. Moreover, the timesheets and the time registration are the basis for the cost allocation of the staff cost and overhead cost in the project accounting system or the ESE. Actual costs recorded in the financial administration (Navision) need to be allocated to projects in the analytical accounting/reporting. For the staff

1 Reference document: Timesheet Registration Manual (Annex 3)


and overhead cost this will be achieved through a fixed tariff per staff level that will be multiplied with the actual hours charged to a specific project. The timesheets is built up around projects as defined in the Annual Resource Plan approved by the General Assembly. Consequently, the projects‘ list is on a yearly basis.

A project is a defined branch/work area within EUREKA which has a budget over 50.000 EUR or a long life expectancy. Each of the projects has the same list of work activities.

An activity is a job task that can be performed for the project. The activities are decided upon at the start of an operational year in the Management Team meeting on the basis of a proposal by the financial team, in close consultation with all departments.


PART C

ANNUAL RESOURCE PLAN AND BUDGETING EUREKA‘s governance is set up in such a way that it provides strategic continuity through a Strategic Road Map and operational continuity through a Chair‘s Annual Work Plan, which provides concrete actions to implement the objectives of EUREKA‘s Strategic Roadmap on a yearly basis and committing sufficient resources to the Chair office to complete all the tasks which have been set out. The EUREKA Secretariat‘s Business Plan follows the structure of the EUREKA Strategic Road Map and is based on its achievements and major actions in order to fully implement it. The EUREKA Secretariat derives from those documents an Annual Resource Plan defining the level of support to be provided to the Chair & the Network, the resources needed for the implementation of the Programmes, with as a result a budget for presentation to the Executive Board and approval by the General Assembly. C.1. Planning Cycle Taking into account the Strategic Road Map as a reference document, and the presentation by the Chair is presenting its Annual Work Plan at the start of its term (June), the ESE‘s Annual Resource Plan and the Budget should be presented in the autumn meetings of the EB and the GA. Also the fact that from the budget, the Members‘ contributions are derived for the next operational year, and that timely payment is essential for the ESE‘s cash flow, the invoices for the payment of the Members‘ Contributions should be sent by the ESE to all Members before the year end. C.2. Build up The EUREKA Secretariat‘s budget set-up has been developed from the financial presentation model for SMEs made by the Institute Belge des Reviseurs d‘Entreprises (Belgian Institute for Corporate Auditors). It follows the official presentation of a financial budget with detailed explanations of each budget section and budget line. The Annual Resource Plan (ARP) lays down the financial budget into planned maximum amounts for projects, for a clearly determined period of time. It aims to ensure that the ESE uses its resources in the best manner to follow the strategic priorities in the EUREKA Strategic Roadmap and to keep the expenditures within the limit of the revenue.


The ARP is built up by allocating the available resources to projects on the basis of a total of amount of working days per year per resource. The resource cost is calculated by a staff cost tariff built up by the salary cost and overhead cost. The direct operational costs or the out of pocket costs are allocated to the project to which it belongs. C.3. Budgetary responsibilities The Head of the ESE is ultimately responsible and accountable for the delivery of the Annual Resource Plan and the Budget to the Board. The department managers are also involved in the detailed preparation for their business area in close collaboration with the financial team. As set out in the Statutes and the Roles & Responsibilities document, the General Assembly needs to decide on the ESE‘s budget with a double majority: a three-quarters majority of the votes representing at least two-thirds of the financial contribution for the membership to the budget of the Association. The realisation of the annual resource plan is monitored by the financial controller and reported to the Head and the Management team on a monthly basis. The process for daily financial commitments is set out in the procurement guidelines. C.4. Procedure for ESE Budget Control In order to allow the Executive Board to regularly follow up the EUREKA Secretariat‘s operations through the establishment of a budget, a regular and methodical monitoring and eventually adjustment of performance against this budget has been installed, comprising the budget set-up, approval, revision to audits and annual report (see Annex). C.5. Audit arrangements The Memorandum of Understanding stipulates: ―… The annual accounts of the EUREKA Secretariat will be audited in accordance with Belgian law.‖ Therefore the General Assembly on a proposal of the Board appoints the legal auditor for a mandate of three years. The same company may not realise the audit for more than two successive terms.


In compliance with the Belgian law2, by the 30th June every year:

the EUREKA Executive Board needs to establish the ESE accounts of the previous year;

the external and internal auditors need to audit the ESE accounts of the previous year;

the General Assembly needs to approve the ESE accounts of the previous year at the latest in the June meeting.

This audit consists of a risk-based approach where the focus is on the nature

of operations and their translation in the accounting records considering the

nature and volume of activities. Planning-wise, an interim audit takes place

in autumn, during which the inherent and control risk are assessed. This

interim audit will, if necessary, lead to recommendations intended to

improve the internal control system of the organization and its

administrative and accounting procedures.

The final audit takes place in the first quarter of the year and focuses on

the annual accounts of the ESE and will mainly comprise substantive testing

and analytical review. After completion of these procedures, the audit

report on the annual accounts is issued, and the Statutory Accounts can be

produced and verified for deposit at the National Bank. The acting and the incoming Chairmanships in concert also check the expenditures of the EUREKA Secretariat through the appointment of two internal auditors. The rationale for this internal audit is to verify whether ESE expenditures have served the purpose of EUREKA.

2 Loi sur les associations sans but lucratif, les associations internationales sans but lucratif et les

fondations (27 JUIN 1921) prescribes that the accounts are to be approved by the General Assembly

within 6 months after closing date. Furthermore, they need to be deposited by the latest at 31 July.


PART D

OFFICE ADMINISTRATION

In this part of the Administrative Organisation, the key operating and procedural guidelines for all staff are set out under the following headings:

o general office administration (part D.1) o procurement and expenditure (part D.2) o travel arrangements and expenses (part D.3) o staffing administration (part D.4)

D.1 General Office Administration D.1.1 Mail procedures All incoming and outgoing mail has to be registered in a chronological order. Incoming mail The Receptionist is responsible for all incoming mail and e-mail in the general mailbox. All official incoming mail shall be opened and distributed by the Receptionist to the addressee in his/her pigeon hole or forwarded in the case of electronic mail. The mail marked ―Personal‖ or recognisable as such shall be forwarded unopened. Invoices are stamped and forwarded immediately to the financial team. The incoming official mails shall be date stamped, stamped for internal addressing and distribution by the Receptionist. The original shall be scanned and filed directly. A copy shall be addressed internally to the staff member responsible for action and distributed to other staff members on a ―need-to-know‖ basis. Project-related mail is not copied but forwarded directly to the Programme implementation department. The incoming faxes and e-mails shall be registered and distributed immediately to the staff member in charge. Both originals and copies are handled in the same way as official mail. Eurostars related mail is forwarded directly to a dedicated person in the Eurostars team who takes care of any further distribution and filing. Mail out procedure The Receptionist is responsible for all outgoing mail. Mail which is not business related will be taken care of by staff at their own expense. Mail ready for postage by 12h shall leave on the same day.


D.1.2. First aid The Receptionist is responsible for the stocking and the upkeep of the First Aid kits, one is located on the 5th floor (reception) and one on the 4th floor (stock room) with a clear pictogram above them to indicate their location. Both the 4th and 5th floor have a medicine cabinet with a minimal stock for emergency purposes. D.1.3. Meeting rooms The EUREKA meeting rooms shall be used for EUREKA-related activities. External reservations should be made through the ―Request form for use of the Meeting Room‖ (Annex 5) which should be sent electronically to the Receptionist who will coordinate and process all such requests. Requests for equipment and/or catering facilities should be mentioned in the Form. No reservation of the meeting room will be made unless approval of the Head of the ESE is obtained. The ESE will bear the costs of all Network (EUREKA) related meetings and events. Separate charging will apply and the approval of the Head of the ESE will be required for any meetings and events which are not connected to the Network and/or which have been specifically requested by external organisations. Internal reservations of the meeting rooms should be made via and always communicated to the Receptionist. D.1.4. Parking There are 17 parking spaces available in the parking attached to the office building Rue Neerveld 107. If a visitor expresses a wish to obtain a temporary parking facility, the staff member receiving the visitor shall coordinate with Receptionist to ensure space availability. D.1.5. Switchboard The Switchboard is open between 08.30h – 17.30h. Before and after these hours, on weekends and on public holidays, the automatic answering service will be connected. D.1.6. Equipment All equipment of the EUREKA Secretariat shall be the subject of an inventory timely and updated in a quarterly basis. This inventory will clearly


mention the following: reference, purchase date and value of equipment, name of the individual to which it has been made available, in and out of office dates. The inventory is subject to the auditor‘s yearly verification. Material damaged or fully written off (depreciated) shall be put at zero value in the inventory or taken out if it is no longer used at the ES, it will then be destroyed (attestation), given away to a charity organisation (attestation) or sold (invoice). Portable equipment (mobile phones, laptops) can be used for official purposes only. Mobile phones are available upon request from the Office Administrator, laptops are available upon request from the IT Manager but always upon prior written approval by the Head of the ESE Each portable equipment made available to staff is entered in the register recording the date of the loan and the name of the staff. Broken equipment or equipment needing repair will be notified without delay by the equipment holder and brought back to the ESE. When leaving the ESE, all equipment made available to a staff member should be brought back. D.1.7. Office supplies The Receptionist shall be in charge of the office supplies which are kept in the stock rooms. D.1.8 Reservation of dinners Within the margins of the ESE Budget, the ESE has to organise dinners outside the office for participants in certain meetings held at the ESE (EG, EAG, IEP,…). Depending on the nature of the meeting, the budget and choice of restaurant varies. The receptionist is responsible to make the reservation at the restaurant, following the instructions given by the organising staff member and always upon prior approval of the Head of the ESE. If no other arrangements have been done prior to the event, payment is due by CC or cash at the restaurant at the time of dinner. For more details and budget allowed please see table in Annex x. D.1.9 Official representation Official representation has to be approved by the Head of ESE beforehand. The approval should be applied for through the official representation request (see annex 3) that can be found on O:\Management\000_Shared_info\1001_Common\1100_ADMINISTRATION\1101_Templates\11014_Expenses\Official_representation_request.


Approved official representation is covered by the ESE and should be mentioned on the Travel reimbursement form together with original receipt. D.2 Procurement and expenditure3 D.2.1 General Principles and Best Practice These purchasing procedures of the ESE are based on the following general principles and best practice:

Obtaining good value for money through: - making an assessment of what the market can offer; - balancing the trade-off between quality and price; - ensuring that the amount of staff time – and- hence cost – spent on

purchasing is in proportion to the value of the goods or services purchased;

Ensuring that there is transparency in the purchasing process, so that decisions are clearly documented and can be understood after the event;

As a general principle if the item/service to be purchased is a considerable cost and/or important to the ESE‘s core business a more formal and comprehensive procurement procedure is to be adopted. For all purchases above 1k€ the approval of the Head of the ESE is required prior to a formal order or tender acceptance letter being sent. D.2.2 Procurement Guidelines Annex 7: Belgium legal public procurement rules to which the ESE is subject. Guidelines – All Items/Services over 30.000 Euros For items/services over 30.000 Euros the Chair’s approval is required (see below for the process of obtaining chair approval). An individual contract should be set up through a formal tendering exercise, following the formal tendering procedure:

1) A written specification of the goods or services should be developed. This should include clear performance standards, such as quality, timing, key outputs, the criteria against which tenders

3 All figures referred to in this section are VAT included


will be assessed, and identification of a contract manager within the ESE.

2) Between three and five bidders should be invited to tender for the work. These bidders should be selected on the basis of past good performance or recommendation from other organizations. In practice most suppliers are likely to be based in Belgium but where location is not relevant to the supply of the goods or services, the Head of the ESE may decide to ask the members of the EUREKA network to propose potential suppliers; providing evidence of their performance against the criteria contained in the specification. As the person with overall responsibility for the purchasing at the ESE, the decision of the Head of the ESE will be final.

3) Written tenders will be sought from the bidders covering price, and evidence of capability to meet the performance criteria, such as references from existing customers, or past performance in contracts with the ESE.

4) The tenders will be evaluated against the assessment criteria, and the findings documented and recorded on file.

Contracts should be reviewed annually and formally re—tendered at least every 3 years. Guidelines – Items/Services between 30.000 Euros and 15.000 Euros Depending upon the frequency of the purchase of a particular item/service the procurement procedure should be as follows:

Frequently bought items/services require the set-up of a framework contract to be established, ideally using the formal tendering procedure set out above

Infrequent/one-off purchases should be purchased based upon the formal tendering procedure set out above with the only difference that no Chair approval is necessary. The Head of the ESE approves the outcome of the tender prior to the formal order or tender acceptance letter being sent.

Contracts should be reviewed annually and formally re-tendered at least every 3 years. Guidelines – Items/Services between 15.000 Euros and 1.000 Euros Depending upon the frequency of the purchase of a particular item/service the procurement procedure should be as follows:

Frequently bought items/services require the set-up of a framework or a contract to be established, using the purchase procedures explained below.

Infrequent/one-off purchases should be purchased based upon the procedure explained below.


Quotes should be sought from between three to five suppliers. These should be asked for in writing, where it is clearly specified the performance standards, such as quality, timing and key outputs of the service or product sought for. The quotes should be handed in in written and should be assessed by the staff member responsible for the purchase. A written report of the assessment and the decision should be kept on file and presented to the Head of the ESE for final written approval prior to order. All contracts are to be signed by the Head of the ESE. Contracts should be reviewed annually and re-bid at least every 3 years.

Guidelines – Items/Services less than 1.000 Euros Depending upon the frequency of the purchase of a particular item/service the procurement procedure should be as follows:

Frequently bought items/services should be purchased based upon the ESE general principle to find the best value for money. An assessment should be done to verify that the supplier chosen is providing the best value for money by for example a comparison between offers from two to three suppliers. No specific purchase procedure needs to be followed. Though, an assessment is required and the comparison and motivation for the chosen supplier should be in writing and kept on file. If a contract or framework is possible this should be set up with the supplier in question. The assessment and motivation should be approved by the Head of the ESE before the first order is done. The Head of the ESE should sign any contract or supplier framework. An early evaluation of each supplier is required, to assess whether the best value for money is still received. The evaluation should be done by a comparison of at least two suppliers. The yearly assessment and motivation should be in writing and kept on file.

Infrequent/one-off purchases should be purchased using the purchase procedures explained above for purchases between 15K€ to 1K€.

Contracts and frameworks should be reviewed annually and re-bid every three years. A yearly evaluation of the purchases made from each supplier should be made to verify if a framework or contract should be set-up. The contract manager shall be responsible for monitoring the performance of the contractor. Regular contact should be maintained and a structure for monitoring performance against the specification agreed at the outset of the contract. This might include, for instance, monthly review meetings and/or regular status reports. A written record of review meetings should be kept. A more formal review of the performance of contractors, where the value of the contract is over 15.000 Euros, should be carried out annually, and a record kept on file for future reference.

Limits set above should be strictly followed and not result in contract splitting


D.2.3 Order and Payment Procedures All incoming invoices are to be registered by the Receptionist and verified by the Accountant, numbered serially and kept in the invoice file. All payments for incoming invoices require a written authorization from the responsible staff member stating the compatibility of the claim with the contract (i.e. have the services/item been delivered/provided in accordance with the order or the terms of the original tender) and written payment authorization by the Head of the ESE (or other authorized staff member – see approval levels below). The checking, verifying and approving procedure of an invoice shall be completed within two weeks of the receipt of the invoice. Payments shall be effected through a bank and where grounds exist by petty cash. A maximum of 750 EURO is kept in the office safe. A receipt shall be obtained in respect of cash payments. Ideally, invoices will be paid latest at the end of the month following the month of receipt. For Eurostars experts, the fees will be paid by the ESE not later than 60 days after receipt of the experts‘ invoice. D.2.4 Chair Approval Process In the case of major purchases, which are individually above 30.000 EURO or which involve a framework contract likely to exceed this value, the approval of the Head of the ESE should be countersigned by the current Chair. Approval from the Chair will not normally be withheld where the expenditure:

Is planned and estimated in the approved Annual Resource Plan;

Arises from an approved decision agreed within an NPC/HLG meeting; and/or

Is unplanned expenditure which, following a written request for approval via the Chair to NPCs/HLGs, receives no objections. At least 10 days should normally be allowed for NPCs/HLRs to respond.

For all requests for Chair approval the following information should be provided:

The nature of the request (i.e. for goods/services, part of a framework contract, etc);


A summary of the rationale for that expenditure (and where relevant a reference to the Annual Resource Plan) including a description of the need for/demand for items/services;

Authority source for the expenditure (i.e. whether it is a HLG/NPC decision, business plan or written procedure consultation);

Relevant ESE budget headings;

Total amount (including its make-up where appropriate) to be approved; and

Summary of the tendering process adopted. All the above should be covered in a one A4 page only. D.2.5 Signature procedures for invoices All invoices are to be verified by the Accounting Officer, numbered serially and kept in the invoice binders. All invoices require three signatures before payment can be done.

Check signature The check signature is done by the Accounting Officer. This signature validates the financial aspects of the invoice, i.e. that the invoice contains the name, address and VAT number of the supplier, that the VAT is correct, that ESE coordinates are correct etc. The Junior Accountant/Accounting Officer will decide the GL account number on which the invoice will be booked in Navision and propose a project and activity.

Verification signature The verification signature is done by the person who can match the order with the invoice and who can judge the correctness of the invoice when it comes to price, delivery status of the goods/services and amount of the invoice compared to offer/purchase order.

Approval signature The approval signature is the final approval of the invoice to be signed by the Financial Controller. It shall always be completed with the date on which the approval signature was given. The signature indicates that the following controls have been done:

The invoice and offer/purchase order or contract corresponds

The offer/purchase order is signed by the Head of the ESE

The supporting documents and assessment following the procurement guidelines and motivation for the supplier are attached or that the contract/framework is available in electronic format on the o-drive.

The GL account, project and activity are correct

The checked and verified signatures are in place. The Financial Controller is also responsible to verify that the bank account on the invoice is the same as recorded in Navision.


The approval signature of the Head of the ESE is additionally required on all invoices which have been subject to Chair Approval (above 30.000 EUR). The checking, verifying and approving procedure of an invoice shall be completed within two weeks of the receipt of the invoice.

D.2.6 Payment procedure of invoices All invoices will be paid latest at the end of the month following the month of receipt or according to contract if mentioning a different payment delay. The Accounting Officer prepares payment batches in Navision for due invoices. The physical invoice and documentation is attached to the batch for verification. The Financial Controller verifies that the invoices correspond to the payment batch created in Navision. Checks include that account holder name, the amount and the bank account corresponds. The Financial Controller imports the payment batch file from Navision to the payment system Isabel, where a transfer document including the details of the payment batch and total amount of the batch is printed. The Head of the ESE signs the transfer document for final authorisation of the payment transfer from the bank account. Payment of invoices shall be effected through bank transfers only. Petty cash can be used in exceptional cases for small pre-approved purchases. 750 EURO shall be kept in petty cash in the office safe. A petty cash expense is to be approved by the department Manager on beforehand and receipt shall be obtained for reimbursement.

D.3 Travel Arrangements and Expenses D.3.1. Travel Planning Because of the nature of the EUREKA secretariat‘s activities and size of its wide network travel is required by the ESE staff. All invitations to and participation in events, conferences and meetings shall be discussed in the Management Team meetings if deemed necessary. All travel requests have to be approved by the Head of ESE before confirmation of the travel arrangements. D.3.2. Travel Authorisation


For each absence of the office, which is not in Brussels Capital Region, a Travel Authorisation Request (TAR) (see Annex 6) needs to be completed and to be presented to the Head of ESE for approval. The TAR includes the travellers name, destination, dates of travel, purpose/objective/contents of the meeting. The TAR can be found on O:\Office support\000_Shared_info\Travel\ESE Travel Request Form.

Before travel, the staff member gives the filled out TAR to the receptionist, indicating preferred travel dates and times, a copy of the meeting agenda and schedule, as well as hotel details when possible. The receptionist gets quotes for the transport and hotel. Travel arrangements are done on a cost effective basis ensuring that accommodation represents good value for money. The receptionist makes the preliminary reservations on basis of the TAR handed in. The TAR requires an approval signature of the Head of ESE. When the Head of ESE has signed the TAR, the TAR is handed back to the receptionist who takes care of the confirmation of the reservation of transport (train, plane, and car) and other requirements such as the hotel reservation. To give enough time for the reservation and approval procedure, get the best prices, requests have to be submitted as soon as possible, preferably at least two weeks before required travel date. No changes, except those out of ESE‘s control, are possible after the TAR has been signed by the Head of ESE. The final TAR is made in three copies. One for the reception to be put with the invoice from the travel agency, one for the traveller for information purposes, and the original for the financial team for later processing/conciliation with the expense report and to be registered in the Missions file. TARs which are not properly justified will be returned to the staff member who made the application. A missions and meetings table is updated on a daily basis by the Receptionist and is available to all staff.

D.3.3. Travel Expenses

Staff shall submit a Travel Reimbursement form (see Annex 7) to claim their travel expenditure, to which are attached the signed TAR, original boarding passes and receipts for hotel and other expenses obtained during the travel. The Travel Reimbursement form can be found on


O:\Management\000_Shared_info\1001_Common\1100_ADMINISTRATION\1101_Templates\11014_Expenses\Travel Expense form.

The form should list, individually, all items of miscellaneous (e.g. taxis) and planned expenditure (e.g. private car kilometres) and the justification/explanation for the expense incurred. The principles of reimbursement for the different expenses are the following: Travel by Train: For train tickets, 1st class tickets will be authorised. It will be allowed to take a plane instead, if the plane ticket is cheaper than the train ticket. Travel by Plane:

If the flight is not intercontinental or the flight time is less or equal than 4 hours, the staff member will normally travel in economy class, unless:

the flights are full,

difficult to change without costs later on,

multiple successive meetings then business class may be allowed upon prior approval of the Head

On the purchase of the travels, low-cost carriers will also be taken into account. APEX ticket (prolongation over the weekend): only allowed if overall ticket/accommodation cost lower than normal return/departure. Travel by Car:

Travel by car is only authorised in exceptional (justified) cases. Following conditions apply:

a heavy/large load needs to be transported which cannot be sent ahead by courier;

more than one person who will attend the meeting will be travelling in the vehicle;

time constraints & difficult transport connections mean that no other mode of transport is more convenient;

Even though the use of a private car is authorised, the staff member shall be fully liable for any accident to his/her car or to third parties. In no case shall the EUREKA Secretariat take responsibility.

The reimbursement of the kilometres will be done on the basis of the yearly updated OECD figures on kilometric allowance.


For travel of a group of ESE staff members to a destination which is easily accessible by car, the possibility of hiring a van with a driver will always be taken into consideration.

Hotel room: The hotel will be booked prior to the travel by the receptionist, taking into account the allowances authorized by OECD. If an employee wishes to reserve his/her hotel by own means, these reference figures should also be taken into account. If an employee stays with friends, family and does not present a hotel invoice, no reimbursement will take place. Instead, costs for a representation gift (flowers, chocolates) will be accepted. Expenses at the charge of the ESE staff member:

bar/minibar/laundry expenses Exception: bar expenses are sometimes to be considered as official representation costs with members of the EUREKA Network or business contacts important for EUREKA subject to approval of the Head

phone calls should be specified as private/business; if they are not, they will all be considered as private calls;

extra charges for internet in hotel room if for personal use.

Exception: charge for internet for professional usage in hotel room is at charge of the ESE.

A daily allowance is given to the staff member based on the OECD Per Diem quotes announced once a year. The reimbursement is set to 40% since the OECD per Diem quotas are including hotel and breakfast allowance, which for the ESE is booked and paid for by the ESE or other organizer directly. For ½ day of travel (4-8 hours) a ½ daily allowance is given. The daily allowance should cover meals and other expenses during the trip. For external parties (non-ESE staff), travel and accommodation shall be reimbursed in line with the rules applied at the ESE except for the daily allowance. All travel / accommodation arrangements should be authorised in advance by the ESE (details to be provided by e-mail). The external party will, however, be responsible for travel and other insurance.

D.3.4. Process


The travel reimbursement form is to be sent electronically to the finance mailbox: [email protected]. All original receipts should be given to the financial team. The financial team is responsible for verification of the documents and calculation of the daily allowance. A completed Travel reimbursement request is printed including the daily allowance. This form together with all underlying documents, are verified and signed by the Financial Controller before it is handed back to the staff member for signature and/or addition of missing receipts/information. At the end of the month/beginning of the next, the Accounting officer summarises all Travel reimbursement forms per person on a Travel reimbursement summary form including the total amounts of all individual Travel reimbursement requests for that month. The Summary is the basis for the booking in the accounting software Navision. The Travel reimbursement summary is handed over to the Financial Controller for verification before the cost is booked in Navision. The reimbursement summary is booked as a ―Note de Frais‖ in the NF daybook and kept in a separate ―Note de Frais‖ binder in ascending number order. The signature of the Head of ESE for both the individual travel reimbursement request and the summary is attained when the reimbursement summary is collected for payment. The Chairman of HLG (High Level Group) approves all travel and expenses incurred by the Head of ESE on a regular basis. D.3.5. Travel Reports Following all business travel, an oral and/or written report (‗mission report‘) is required and should be done orally at MT or submitted to the Head of the ESE. Approval and authorisation from the Head of the ESE for future travel may depend upon the timely and accurate submission of ―mission reports‖ for past travel. D.4 Credit cards Company credit cards are to be used by the staff members for business related travel expenses, subsistence and pre-approved representation expenses. The rules are laid out below: 1) The ESE credit card will exclusively be used in connection with

travel and representation expenses* in order not to jeopardise manageability and control of the ESE Budget. All other expenses (purchases, investments) made by a Staff Member in connection with its activities at the ESE should follow the normal procedures and will


be paid for in the regular way from the central bookkeeping point only;

2) It is not authorised to use the ESE credit card for the withdrawal of

cash money; 3) It is not authorised to use the ESE credit card for private expenses.

The Head of the ESE can at every moment reconsider his decision to allocate an ESE credit card to a Staff Member if one of these rules is violated.

* For the use of the ESE Business Eurocard for representation expenses, the prior approval of the Head of the ESE is needed.

Since 2011, a company credit card is also used by the Receptionist as a guarantee for the reservation/blocking of hotel bookings only. D.5 Staffing Administration Salaries of Directly Employed Staff are calculated, treated and paid by the social secretariat Partena. Salaries are paid into the staff member‘s account latest by the 27th each month. All Directly Employed Staff are entitled to meal vouchers for all worked days, distributed monthly. All employees who have worked more than six months are also entitled to gift checks distributed twice a year, in June and in December. D.5.1. Salaries

The amount of worked days and any deviation to the normal schedule because of holiday, sick leave or other leave are communicated to the social secretariat. This is done in dedicated software called NetSalary, provided by the social secretariat. The social secretariat makes the salary calculation and individual salary statements. Before the 27th each month, the salaries are transferred to each staff member‘s bank account. The salary file with individual salary statements, accounting spread sheets per department is sent by e-mail and by post to the Resources Manager.


At the end of each month the salary cost is booked in Navision. The booking is done per department according to the documentation sent by Partena. The salaries are booked in the daybook ODS ―Operations divers salaires‖ in Navision. D.5.2. Meal vouchers

Meal vouchers for directly employed staff are ordered and distributed monthly. The vouchers are ordered through an internet account at Sodexo.be by mid-month to be delivered before the end of the month. The order is made per person based on the ―cheques repas‖ table prepared by the financial controller each month. Each employee is entitled to one cheque per worked day. Sick-leave, missions and other absence is not entitling a cheque. When the cheques arrive, the personalised envelopes are distributed. Each individual staff member has to sign-off for reception on the pre-printed sheet provided by Sodexo. D.5.3. Gift vouchers

Gift vouchers are ordered from Sodexo through the internet account on Sodexo.be for all entitled staff members, i.e. employed staff who have worked for the ESE more than six months (managers and seconded staff are not entitled to this advantage). The list of entitled staff has to be approved by the Head of ESE before order completion. The vouchers are distributed end June and before the Christmas holidays. An overview for distribution showing the staff member‘s full name, amount of checks, check number sequence, signature and date received is prepared. Each staff member has to sign-off for the reception of the checks. D.5.4. Hospitalisation & group insurance

The EUREKA Secretariat is offering a 'hospitalisation' insurance of which the employee‘s expenses are covered by EUREKA; the possibility of covering one or more members of the family shall be borne by the employee. The Secretariat is offering a group insurance pension scheme, which represents 5% of the gross salary. D.6 Financial administration and internal control

D.6.1 Purchase Invoices


Invoices can be arriving both in paper form by post and electronically by e-mail. The latter is accepted as legal document and since beginning of 2004 there is a Belgian law (Royal Decree 16/02/2004) based on the European Council directive 2001/115/EC regarding storage and handling of all electronic invoices. All invoices received have to be stored for 7 years (for VAT purposes) or 10 years (for accounting purposes). In the case of the existence of an electronic version this one is the legal invoice. The storage of the paper and electronic invoice has to be done to keep the integrity, authentic and readability of the document. It can either be done in-house or at an external service storage provider. At the ESE all incoming electronic invoices are printed and treated in paper form as well as saved in its electronic version on the financial o-drive and stored for 10 years. All incoming invoices are following the three steps described below to fulfil the ESE administration value chain.

i. Collection of supporting documents and signatures, ii. Booking in Navision, iii. Creation and verification of payment batches and payments.

i. Collection of supporting documents and signatures

All incoming invoices have to be supported by documentation to prove the subject of & amount on the invoice. These documents can be of the following sort: - Contract, - Purchase order, - Competitive quote, - Written note to the file, if no competitive quote is available because of

special circumstances or order was made by telephone because of urgent delivery needs.

A signature stamp for internal control is put on all invoices. The invoice has to be authorized by three signatures (see point D.3 above). Collection of the supporting documents is made in two stages described below.

Reception

All incoming paper invoices by post are initially handled in the reception in the following steps: i. All invoices are stamped with a date stamp for date of reception and a

signature stamp for the internal control of accounting and signatures,


ii. For all invoices regarding centrally ordered supplies (e.g. sandwiches, office supplies, coffee, drinks, etc.) the purchase order or other supporting document is matched to the invoice by the receptionist. The purchase orders are to be found in the reception order binder in alphabetical order after supplier names.

iii. Invoices for products /services ordered by any of the departments are separated for supporting documentation to be collected by Accounting.

Processing

The receptionist hands over all invoices to the Accounting Officer. The Accounting Officer handles the invoices in the following steps:

i. Invoices are registered with financial account, department code, project and other necessary dimensions,

ii. For products and services ordered by the departments, the supporting documentation is collected from the purchase order binders and contract binders. If the supporting document is not to be found, the accounting officer has to retrieve it from the ordering staff member directly,

iii. The Accounting team verifies the supporting documents with the invoice and thereafter signs the check signature,

iv. Signatures are collected from the ordering staff member for the contents of the invoice and the fulfilment of contractual obligations as well as from respective department manager for the payment and project verification.

ii. Booking in Navision

All purchase invoices are booked in the financial accounting system Dynamics Navision by the Accounting Officer. The purchase invoices are booked in the following daybooks:

i. ACHAT - General supplier invoices ii. ACH-EXPERT - Invoices from Eurostars experts iii. ACH-AV - Credit notes

Invoices are booked in the month of reception, i.e the date of the date stamp, but with the document date equalling the invoice date. Payment due date is normally 30 days from the first of the month following the invoice date if nothing else is stated on the invoice. Invoices are automatically given the next in sequence document number for the daybook chosen. All invoices are registered with financial account, project, department and person dimension. Invoices related to general office functions, such as coffee, drinks, telephone, cleaning and office supplies are also specified by the nature dimension. A comment to clearly describe the nature of the invoice is to be registered on each invoice.


For invoices in foreign currency where no EUR amount is mentioned the invoice should be booked in the foreign currency to the exchange rate towards EUR on the invoice date, which is to be found on: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/inforeuro/index.cfm?fuseaction=home&Language=en After the invoice is booked, the accountant notes down the document number of the daybook on the upper right hand corner of the invoice. The invoices are stored in binders in number sequence, separate binders for each daybook. If an invoice covers several months, provisions are made to spread the costs equally. Provisions are also made for charges belonging to next coming year. No provisions are currently made for late incoming invoices. At year end a thorough investigation is done to make provisions for all deferred invoices and accrued payments.

iii. Creation and verification of payment batches

After the approval of payments by the Head of ESE, the electronic signature in the dedicated software Isabel to transmit the payment list to the bank is performed by the Financial Controller. To respect the principle of segregation of duties, the financial controller has only consultation access to Navision, except for the registration of staff remunerations. Operational Payments Payments are made throughout the month. The limit amount for a single signature is 25.000 Euros per batch. The payment procedure is done in the following steps:

i. The Accounting team creates a list in Navision of all invoices needed to be paid. The total amount per list (batch) can be 25.000 Euro.

ii. The list with the chosen invoices to be paid is printed and the Accounting team gathers all invoices/travel expenses mentioned on the batch,

iii. The Financial Controller verifies that the invoices/travel expenses contains all necessary supporting documents, that all invoices mentioned on the payment batch are attached, and that they are all signed for approval by respective department manager or traveller,

iv. If all documents and signatures are correct the payment batch is imported into the payment system Isabel, from where a payment sheet is printed. All documents are handed over to the Head of

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/inforeuro/index.cfm?fuseaction=home&Language=en

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/inforeuro/index.cfm?fuseaction=home&Language=en


ESE for payment signature. The Head of ESE verifies randomly invoices in a batch,

v. If any supporting documents or signature is missing, the batch is handed back to the Accounting team to be updated,

vi. When the signature of payment is obtained, the Financial Controller executes the payment in Isabel,

vii. The Administration Department Manager does random verifications of invoices and its supporting documents before the payments are executed,

viii. Urgent payments can be manually introduced into Isabel by the Financial Controller or Administration department Manager.


D.6.2 Debit Notes The ESE makes debit notes for various costs charged to the ESE by suppliers but which should be paid by third party. The debit notes are made in ascending number sequence. All debit notes are saved on the o-drive under O:\Financial\001_Non_Shared_info\1100 Invoices & justification material\1120 Debit Notes

Before the debit note is sent, all supporting documents such as copy of original invoice, contract stating that the charge is to be invoiced to third party etc., is attached to the debit note. All debit notes are payable to the ESE bank account at ING. Examples of who debit notes are made to: - Staff members for sandwiches ordered centrally, corporate credit card expense of private nature, travel expense not entitled to reimbursement - Third party for events contribution where a contract exists saying the third party is contributing with part of the event fee or other cost for the event, - Third party for travel charges for ESE staff member, where contract exist that third party will pay for travel charges for ESE staff member to attend conference or other seminar. Debit notes from the ESE are payable within 30 days after the issue date of the invoice. Late interests will be due according to Article 1153 of the Belgian Civil Code in case of later payment. The legal interest rate in Belgium is to be found in the Belgian State Gazette. D.6.3 Members’ Contributions The Member Sate Contribution per country is defined in the Memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the EUREKA Secretariat between the members of EUREKA in its yearly updated Annex (Document EUREKA 15 MC 3B, London, 19.6.97). The contribution is calculated on the indexed GDP % partition in the MOU Annex. The contributions together with other expected income should cover the budgeted cost for the year. The budget for next coming year is presented for approval at the Executive Board and the General Assembly meeting held each October proceeding the operating year. When the budget is approved and by this the annual contribution per country, a debit note of the total amount per country is prepared by the Accounting Officer. These debit notes are sent to each country in November/December preceding year. The debit notes are booked in the VENTES daybook in Navision and kept in separate ―Ventes‖ binders.


Payments and due contribution are summarised in a document on the o-drive under O:\Financial\001_Non_Shared_info\1100 Invoices & justification material\1140 Member's Contributions First reminders for unpaid member state contributions are sent in the April/May and thereafter in July/August by post fax or e-mail and then followed up monthly until paid.

D.6.4 Monthly closing, VAT and reporting

Closings in Navision

At the end of each month/beginning of the next the Accounting Officer books all remaining invoices, debit notes and bank statements for the past month. The travel reimbursement summaries are prepared and signatures are acquired before booking. The credit card statements, which are arriving in beginning of the next coming month, are prepared with expense reports for each receipt and signatures for approval are acquired before booking. All provisions for invoices covering several months as well as depreciations are booked. The petty cash is calculated and booked at a monthly basis with closing.

Petty cash

The ESE has a petty cash of 750 EUR. The petty cash is to be used for small cash purchases like birth cards, staff member leaving gift etc. The Administration Manager is in charge of the petty cash and the petty cash book. If a staff member is asked to make a purchase, money is to be asked for in advance from the Administration Manager. Change and original receipt is to be returned to the same manager, who fills in the receipt amount in the petty cash book. The petty cash amount is checked on a monthly basis. A cash expense sheet is prepared to each receipt. All receipts are booked in Navision at monthly closings. The petty cash is booked in the CAISSE daybook in Navision and kept in separate ―Caisse‖ binders. When needed money up to 750 EUR is taken out from the ESE bank account at ING. The withdrawal is made upon approval by the Head by a staff member through a power of attorney given by the Head.

Depreciations

As from 1st of January 2008, the ESE adapted the bookkeeping from taking all investment cost directly into the result instead of in the balance as a fixed asset, depreciated over time. All investments with a lifetime above one year should be capitalised as fixed assets in the accounting and depreciated accordingly under the evaluation rules.


The evaluation rules have been posted with the annual accounts 2008 and were approved by the Board and the General Assembly. Here below you find a summary of the rules:

- Immaterial fixed assets - 3 years linear - Material fixed assets:

i. Land – no depreciation ii. Real estate- 20 years linear iii. Installations, machines and tools – 4 years linear iv. Office furniture – 5 years linear v. Office material, IT and Hifi – 3 years linear vi. Vehicles – 5 years linear

- Leasing – Fixed depreciation according to the nature of product following the depreciation rules mentioned above,

- Development of rented areas – 5 years linear or according to length of rental agreement

According to the evaluation rules, the depreciation per fixed asset is calculated. The depreciation calculation table is to be found on O:\Financial\001_Non_Shared_info\1200 Assets\1220 Depreciations At the monthly closing a provision of 1/12 of the total yearly depreciation is booked. In December a regularisation is made to adjust any deviation between what is booked in Navision and the depreciation in the calculation table. All depreciations are booked in the general daybook AMORT in Navision. New investments acquired during the year are depreciated with 12 full monthly provisions from the year of acquisition. In the month of purchase an adjustment provision is made to book the total amount to be depreciated for the elapsed months that year.

Special VAT and VAT number

ESE is an international scientific non-profit making association governed by the provisions under the Title III of the Law of 27 June 1921. However, ESE regularly receives invoices for services from foreign suppliers (consultants/experts). According to the VAT-Directive4 ― the place of supply of some services to taxable persons established in the Community but not in the same country as the supplier, shall be the place where the customer has established his business or has a fixed establishment for which the service is supplied (in Belgium)‖. This implicates that the ESE has to pay the VAT due on these types of invoices to the Belgian VAT authority.

4 Article 56,1° c


For a detailed list of services falling under above article see O:\Management\000_Shared_info\1001_Common\1300_FINANCIAL\1367_VAT issues\VAT status of EUREKA secretariat.pdf. ESE has received a special VAT number from the Belgian VAT authorities for this purpose. This number may only be communicated to the foreign suppliers if the reverse charge rule is applicable. The letters BE should not proceed the special VAT-number. The supplier shall invoice net amounts only, indicate the VAT-number of the ESE and insert the following mention on the invoice, ―Belgian VAT is due by the co-contractor according to article 196 of the VAT Directive‖ As from 2009 the special VAT due, is to be declared and paid to the Belgian VAT authorities on a quarterly basis. The due date for sending the declaration as well as paying the VAT due is 20th of the month following the quarter.


ANNEXES

Annex 1: Organigramme

Annex 2: Code of Conduct

Annex 3: Timesheet Registration Manual

Annex 4: Procedure for ESE Budget Control

Annex 5: Request form for use of the Meeting Room

Annex 6: Procedure for organising dinners outside the ESE

Annex 7: Belgian Regulation relative to the purchase of material by EUREKA

Annex 8: Travel Authorisation Request (TAR)

Annex 9: Travel Reimbursement Form


ANNEX 1: ORGANIGRAMME


ANNEX 2: CODE OF CONDUCT

The EUREKA Secretariat

Code of Conduct

Introduction The key element of this Code of Conduct is integrity. Integrity can be defined as a steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.

In both our private and professional lives our integrity is measured on a daily basis.

This Code of Conduct contains the basic principles for the integrity of each individual within the EUREKA Secretariat (ESE). The Code of Conduct is an elaboration of the values set forth in EUREKA‘s mission statement and ESE employment regulations. It provides guidance as to the manner in which the ESE wishes to act vis-à-vis its customers, partners, employees and society in general.

EUREKA‘s mission is to raise the productivity and competitiveness of European businesses and to boost national economies, strengthening the basis for lasting prosperity and employment.

Based on its principles, the ESE is inspired and guided by its members and customers, who use and have an interest in its services.

In carrying out its mission, the ESE fully appreciates its responsibility:

Vis-à-vis its customers, in the EUREKA network, to provide useful services to help its customers realise their objectives;

Vis-à-vis its employees, at the ESE, to form an active working community that is challenging and provides scope to develop personal attributes.

This Code provides the basic rules for the conduct required of everyone within the ESE: employees, managers, consultants and interim staff.

Why have a Code of Conduct? Its key values reflect the way in which an organisation wants to work. The ESE is largely defined by five basic values:

Integrity: to carry out all activities with honesty, sincerity, care and reliability;


Professionalism: to provide customers with high-quality expertise and facilities;

Respect: to work on the basis of respect, appreciation and commitment;

Responsibility: to be responsible for ones actions;

Team spirit: to build relationships and to develop mutual respect and trust.

These five primary principals determine the way in which the ESE meets the needs of its customers and its internal operations. Customers The ESE aims to serve the interests of its customers by developing products and providing services.

Integrity is a condition of existence for the ESE; it should not enter into or participate in any transaction that could diminish that integrity.

The reliability of the ESE is key to its relationship with customers. The aim is to always base relationships on openness, consultation, credibility and consistency.

Confidential information should be treated carefully and should not be misused for personal gain.

All employees should act professionally, honestly and reliably with both internal and external contacts.

Accepting or giving personal gifts that could affect the integrity of business decision-making is not permitted.

The ESE prefers to work with suppliers and organisations that act according to the spirit of this Code of Conduct.

The ESE respects local cultures and customs. No distinction is made based on religion, life convictions, political views, race, age or sex.

Employees The ESE comprises four departments, whose shared purpose is to provide added value for customers. Productive working relationships and optimum cooperation between these departments, whilst respecting each other‘s specialised areas and domains, form the basis for realising high-quality services.

Relationships within the ESE should be developed on the basis of mutual respect characterised by maturity, openness and involvement.

The ESE is committed to creating a good working environment that gives employees full scope for personal development. A criterion for


newly recruited employees is that they have the ability to develop and produce added value within the ESE.

Professionalism demands that employees are familiar and comply with legislation and regulations, internal rules, guidelines and agreements.

The ESE believes it is important for employees to pursue social activities outside their job; this expands and broadens horizons. However, these activities must not impede their integrity and objectivity in carrying out their job at the ESE.

Cooperation and team spirit are the key factors in creating a successful working environment within the ESE.

The ESE believes its workforce should represent the broadest possible cross-section of society. Diversity enhances the quality of services. It also rejects every form of unequal treatment of employees for which there is no objective and reasonable justification.

All employees are to work without discrimination. Sexual intimidation, bullying, aggression and violence are unacceptable. (Reference should be made to the annex of the ESE employment regulations)

Conclusion This Code of Conduct reflects the philosophy and actions which are the cornerstones on which the ESE is founded. It is each individual‘s responsibility to implement these general conduct guidelines in the proper manner, daily. Knowledge sharing and constructively advising colleagues is a collective task. Management bears special responsibility in this area, which is expressed through exemplary conduct and the initiation and monitoring of activities.


ANNEX 3: TIMESHEET REGISTRATION MANUEL

Timesheet registration

manual 2014


Table of Contents

1. Introduction ...................................................................... 46 2. Definition and description of Projects and Activities ...................... 46

2.1 Project description ........................................................ 46 2.2 Activity description ....................................................... 54 2.3 ESE Indirect activities ..................................................... 56

3. Where and How to fill in your timesheet..................................... 57 3.1 Timesheet overview ....................................................... 57 3.2 Time registration page.................................................... 57 3.3 How to split your day ..................................................... 57 3.4 Timesheet import in Navision ............................................ 58


1. Introduction The timesheets for 2014 have been adapted according to the new list of projects as defined in the Annual Resource Plan and approved by the HLG in November 2013. Project rearrangement has been made in the ARP to better suit the new priorities and avoid overlaps in coverage in the projects.

Most of the projects remains the same as in 2013 but under updated names.

Projects Media – Marketing and events were regrouped into one project called Communication,

Project Clusters & Umbrellas were split into two different projects in order to better follow them,

Two new projects were added from last year and are dedicated to Monitoring ESE and to the ESE governance (working group to be organized by The Norwegian Chairmanship

As previously, please note that the basic principle of the project accounting process is that actual costs recorded in the financial administration (Navision) need to be allocated to projects in the analytical accounting/reporting. For out-of-pocket costs (cost directly linked to a project) these will be directly transferred from the financial to the analytical accounting. For the staff and overhead cost these will be achieved through a fixed tariff per staff level that will be multiplied with the actual hours charged to a specific project. The timesheets and the time registration will be the basis for the cost allocation of the staff cost and overhead cost in the new project accounting system. 2. Definition and description of Projects and Activities The timesheet is built up around projects as defined in the Annual Resource Plan and one project for ESE indirect activities. A project is a defined branch/work area within EUREKA which has a budget over 50.000 EUR or a long life expectancy. Each of the projects has the same list of work activities. ESE indirect has its own list of activities (see below in section 2.2 and 2.3) A work activity is a job task that can be performed for the project. The activities have been identified by management team in close consultation with all staff. Further down you find a list of the projects and activities.

2.1 Project description Individual Projects


The objective of this project is to support the generation of EUREKA Individual Projects. Maintaining the flexible bottom-up approach of EUREKA in the form of generation of and support to individual R&D projects remains an important priority and a key pillar of support under EUREKA to fund R&D activities through national programmes in the member countries. The ESE keeps and maintains a database shared by all EUREKA members managing the information on individual projects. Eurostars 1 The objective of this project is to implement the final part of the Eurostars 1 programme (started in 2008 and ends in 2017). This joint R&D programme between EUREKA and the European Commission is targeting small and medium enterprises, in particular R&D performing SMEs. This work carried out for the Eurostars Program can be described by the following major activities to be performed and requested by the ESE :

Monitor the remaining 650 Eurostars running projects until 2017 Allocate the remaining 50 M€ of EC funds to Member states, by

notably performing financial controls of NFBs, until 2017 Review the 1500 expected final reports of completed projects until

2017 and support the ex-post evaluation of Eurostars 1 Support the production and distribution of Eurostars success stories Manage the audit reports Organize annual training sessions for stakeholders

Eurostars 2 The objective of this project is to implement the follow on of the Eurostars Programme. Eurostars 2 aims to unlock the full potential of research performing SMEs as engines of European innovation and growth. The ESE will be providing analysis and supporting actively the work of the Taskforce that will propose further improvements to Eurostars 1 and propose developments for Eurostars 2. It will discuss the different options for Eurostars 2, taking into account the current weaknesses and strengths of Eurostars 1 and assessing the financial aspect :

EUREKA, through the HLRs and NPCs and with the support of the ESE, needs to actively lobby at the European Council and European Parliament in view of having the final decision on Eurostars 2 as close as possible to the Budapest document and General Implementing Guidelines.

Negotiate and sign the Eurostars 2 delegation agreement with EC and prepare and sign the bilateral agreements with NFBs

Based on the General Implementing Guidelines, adapt the Eurostars operations (e.g. ICT, Guidelines, initiate monitoring and Top up management) in view of the first cut off (expected in March 2014)


Organize the training of relevant people (e.g. ESE, NPC, Project officer, NFBs, Technical experts, IEP members).

Organize the International promotion of Eurostars 2, through info days in member states, and one big annual and central conference

Manage the submission, eligibility, evaluation, funding and monitoring of the two first cut offs (1200 applications expected out of which 260 projects should be funded).

Identify which programmes in the ERA could benefit from the Eurostars model and its IT infrastructure

Chair and Network Support The objective of this project is to provide continuous assistance to the Chair with respect to ESE resources. This service consists of :

Support of official meetings (NPC/HLG-NPC/HLG/EG/IPC/MC/BOARD/GA/NPC WG) organized by the Chair with invitations,

Upload of meeting documents onto the restricted website, Minute-taking, timely amended and approved minutes according to a

transparent procedure Logistical support and pre-drafting of input documents such as action

plans, memo‘s, MC Communiqué or IPC Resolution, discussion papers for meetings

Providing ideas and to be a sparring partner. Travel and participation time are also included in this project. Advising the Chair on EUREKA rules and procedures

Clusters

The objective of this project is to support EUREKA Clusters. Initiated by Europe's industry, EUREKA Clusters are long-term and strategically significant initiatives. They aim to develop generic technologies of key importance for European competitiveness. Addressing the needs of large companies and SMEs, they are the engine for industrial innovation and economic growth. More specifically, the project focuses on:

Promotion of the Clusters, Investigation on the possibilities to set up new Clusters, Revision of the application procedure for Clusters The hosting of Clusters at the ESE facilities is part of this project.

Umbrellas

The objective of this project is to support EUREKA Umbrellas, which are thematic networks, created as bottom-up initiatives by member countries and industry. They promote and organise partnering for the generation of EUREKA projects (both individual and Eurostars). Umbrellas can also help generate non-EUREKA projects, including for example projects within the EU


Framework Programme. Umbrellas also stimulate networking and create visibility for EUREKA in a particular technology field. The objective of this project is to:

Develop stronger links between EUREKA Umbrellas and sub-critical related ERA-NETs

Organize the reporting of Umbrellas activities to be integrated in the EUREKA Annual Report 2013

Promote the Umbrellas better through all communication channels

Follow on Projects The objective of this project is to support the follow-on of EUREKA projects. Limited access to provide financial support to the post-R&D phases of innovation impedes the development of new products, services or processes and hampers entrepreneurial activity or the startup of new businesses. Closing this 'innovation gap', often referred to as the 'valley of death', is a challenge particularly for SMEs and young entrepreneurs.

The priority of ―Supporting follow‐on activities of EUREKA projects‖ is clearly addressed by the Strategic Roadmap (SRM) 2010-2014 as one of the seven action fields that underpin EUREKA vision. The actions foreseen shall contribute to step‐up support to businesses in bringing innovations to the global market and create better access to alternative sources of financing.

The objective is to develop new tools to support EUREKA portfolio companies at the period of completion of their EUREKA grants till ensuring the commercialisation of their project results. A dedicated taskforce oversees the progress made. Deliverables of this project are threefold:

a guarantee fund for SMEs via RSFF, EIB and EIF; negotiations to be continued;

collaboration with EEN; a web application (Innovest - hosted by the EUREKA website)

which puts in contact EUREKA portfolio companies to VC‘s; a yearly ―Investors event‖ where private money and knowledge

based companies market each other. The investor‘s event is planned for June 2012.


Internationalisation The objective of this project is to support the implementation of the EUREKA International Strategy. Taking advantage of the opportunity of the increased international dimension that characterises world affairs, EUREKA‘s ambition is to provide industry with the most suitable conditions to cooperate safely, reliably and effectively with partners outside EUREKA Member States. The objective is to support the permanent Working Group on International Cooperation (ICS WG). This Working Group has to implement a proactive approach and identify potential candidate countries for membership under the leadership of the Chair. It will also finalize the negotiation process with South Africa, investigate on potential new partnership agreement to be made (Brazil, South Africa and Singapore). The ESE provides services such as advice on protocol and preparation, information and training activities, together with active support and participation on fact finding missions.

Communication (Media – Events – Marketing) The objective of this project is to support the communication of EUREKA, which remains paramount to increase its visibility and promote its added value. The primary purpose of promoting EUREKA is to make more funding accessible for its operations and promote better synchronisation of the funding sources. Therefore, communication activities are targeted primarily at a political level in member countries, as well as the European, national and regional funding agencies in Europe.

The ESE will continue to work with and expand its relations with the media. EU Institutions and Media monitoring and writing for the website as well as the bi-weekly distribution of the electronic newsletter E-zine is part of the Media products as well as much of the content and the management of www.eurekanetwork.org. It will also review and re-launch the EUREKA and Eurostars public websites. The Success Stories are indispensable for exposure and awareness-building of EUREKA/Eurostars achievements in the global media, as it is a news resource with human interest continuing being the most attractive source of EUREKA news for science journalists and are a key tool for dissemination of EUREKA‘s visibility.

Much of the support provided by the ESE Marketing and

Communications team is in the organisation of and support provided at international events. The ESE constantly monitors and is in contact with a number of EU institutions and other high level players who organize relevant events in Brussels and beyond. Thus, the ESE, in support of the Chair priorities and in close collaboration with the Chair and the Network proposes regularly a number of relevant events where Chair, Network and ESE representatives can participate as speakers, attendees. Support of events is granted in the form of

http://www.eurekanetwork.org/


services such as speakers, stands, documentation and publicity (generally online, using the web, social media and newswires).

This project includes also some kind of marketing, as the

development and maintenance of the corporate house style, the production of corporate gifts and promotional giveaways generally distributed at events based on the guidance of the Head of the Secretariat and the needs of the network. In addition to promotional giveaways, a considerable number of brochures and posters are produced each year by the team to support EUREKA Network‘s and Chair presence at events. The figure for design consultancy assumes the continuation of the 1-day weekly contract with an external consultant (HUE).

Regionalisation The objective of this project is to support the implementation of the regionalisation strategy of EUREKA. This area has become a priority of the network since the Hungarian chairmanship and the Ministerial Conference held in Budapest confirmed that exploring the regional dimension of EUREKA has a high potential and great importance for the future financing of EUREKA activities. The objectives of the project are:

Mapping the regional dimension of EUREKA Identifying new financial resources for EUREKA projects (incl. both

the R&D and the go-to-market phases) Strengthening a structured dialogue with key actors in Europe Promoting NIPs in all project generation activities

Monitoring & Evaluation The objective of this project is to support the monitoring and evaluation of EUREKA activities. Measuring the impact of EUREKA and its portfolio is of key importance to demonstrate the added value it can offer and to support the adjustment of the objectives and directions of EUREKA's strategy. EUREKA‘s aim is to continuously improve its methodological approach to assessing its impact on increasing the competitiveness of European businesses, creating growth and new jobs. This project consists of:

Based on the new monitoring and evaluation framework, key performance indicators are identified

Assess the need to carry out an evaluation of EUREKA activities on a regular basis every 2 or 4 years.

Production of the EUREKA Annual Report 2013 in the first trimester of 2014.

Establish a EUREKA Academy on EUREKA Impact involving NFBS and key actors in the field of evaluation in view to develop structural collaboration with academic and consultancy teams involved in impact assessment.


EUREKA is to interact with the European Commission on the terms of reference of the ex-post evaluation study of Eurostars 1 program and once launched, support the panel with all relevant statistics and ad-hoc analysis required.

Translate in the bilateral agreements, the decision taken on the role of NFBs on program and project evaluation laid down in the general implementing guidelines of Eurostars 2

EUREKA Governance

The objective of this project is to support the implementation of the Strategic Road Map priority related to EUREKA Governance. In the more than 25 years of its history, EUREKA has proved to be an efficient, low-cost initiative devoted to facilitate market-driven research and innovation in Europe. To achieve its ambitious strategic goals under these circumstances, EUREKA reviews and assesses its present operations and makes the necessary decisions to become more effective and efficient. The Governance with the new Roles & Responsibilities and the introduction of a directly recruited Head require re-visiting some of the basic documents/functioning of EUREKA. The Head of the ESE will implement the recommendations made by the Deloitte Report ESE administration The objective of this project is to provide continuous financial, human resources and office support to the ESE and Eurostars activities. These activities are focused on the overall management of the ESE and its office facilities. The Eurostars Programme with obligations from the Delegation Agreement between the EC and the ESE, the Bilateral Agreements between the ESE and each Eurostars National Funding Body, the audit requirements and recovery procedures, puts legal demands on the ESE. On a more practical level, this project is also about:

the coordination, preparation and hosting of meetings at the ESE, such as the NPC WGs, Cluster & Umbrella meetings, EG meetings, Eurostars eligibility check and IEP sessions, Academy Events, workshops and task force meetings;

Everything related to the work environment with security, insurances, office equipment, telecommunication, network communication, cleaning but also procurement (procedures / rules / evaluation). Also the reception (meeting rooms handling, travel arrangements and maintenance of office equipment) belongs in here.

An important element of the project Office Administration is the ESE management reporting and accounting with the use of time sheets and a project set up for a sound financial reporting with project progress reports,


analyzing Eurostars implementation costs and the handling of different audits.


2.2 Activity description 1. ICT - SYSTEMS MONITORING:

Infrastructure (server, desktop, pcs…) and system maintenance & monitoring (hardware)

2. ICT – TOOLS DEVELOPMENTS:

Website development Web development E! and E* restricted websites Development of ICT application tools (software) Reporting tools & maintenance

3. ICT – TOOLS MONITORING Maintenance and monitoring of ICT application tools (software) Monitoring of external IT projects

4. ICT – SUPPORT / HELPDESK General, project & website helpdesk to end-users

5. E* EXPERTS‘ DATABASE

Recruitment, communication and evaluation of experts Management of the database Review applicants‘ CVs on technical expert database Communicating with technical applicants, NPCs

6. PROJECT EVALUATION

Submission and evaluation of project proposals, database input Categorizing proposals into technical and marketing areas Administration of evaluation process Support / help desk to applicants

7. PROJECT MONITORING

Monitoring and funding of projects Assessment major changes to project proposals Administration of monitoring and funding info Support / help desk to project participants, NPCs

8. REPORTING / STATISTICS :

Gathering & analysing data and documents Statistical analysis (portfolio analysis, …) General reporting (ESE current activities, …) Reporting to Network & EU (impact assessment, annual report, …) Structure and redaction of reports incl coordination of requested

documents, data analysis and external support 9. EVENTS / LOGISTICS :

Event set-up, stand building & design, organization, before and during events


Events coordination & management; scheduling, negotiation and follow-up

Events staffing; delivering material and information to all meetings

Network support; promotional material, event collaboration, preparation, staffing, bilateral meetings

ESE support; promotional material, stock etc. 10. PUBLICATIONS – PUBLISHING:

Publishing (on & off line): brochures, flyers, news, press releases, events, leaflets, success stories)

EUREKA news, EUREKA Review, E-ZINE Editing/approving success stories (E*, E!) Press releases

11. PROMOTION, PR & INSTITUTIONS:

Development of contact with international and national organizations dealing with R&D and innovation

Marketing support to Chairmanship, Member/NIP/Associated counties

Program communication & presentations Cooperation with EU programs / EU institutions Cooperation with relevant stakeholders EU media relations & media campaign

12. OFFICE FACILITIES / LOGISTICS:

Work environment & reception Office management projects Mail (in- and out-) Suppliers: orders, contracts, evaluation, follow-up Maintenance of stock room Kitchen keep-up (dishwasher, coffee) Travel arrangements Contact Administration (CRM)

13. MEETINGS SUPPORT & DOCUMENT HANDLING:

Travel time to meetings Meeting minutes Preparation of IT material for meetings and travels etc Documentation handling, versioning & uploading Preparations official meetings (deadlines, definition of

documents‘ writers, draft agenda‘s, participants‘ lists) Translation documents Department meetings presence

14. POLICY / STRATEGY / DRAFTING DOCUMENTS:

Drafting strategic documents Preparation of international cooperation documents EUREKA future development


Preparation of analytical documents Procedures for new membership/NIP/Associated country General EUREKA strategy Technology brief Strategy and new programs analysis Presentations Design of programmes

15. Management:

ESE management (Management team – Department management): resources, project set up and follow up, …

16. Accounting:

Accounting & facility (input, declarations, reports) Communication with suppliers/clients VAT declarations

17. Controlling & Budget:

Checking documentation; invoices, travel reimbursement forms etc

Periodically reporting and analysis Annual budget and follow-up Fiscal matters

18. Payments: Preparation of payment batches Verification of payment batches Executing payments

19. Legal:

Legal matters EUREKA, E* and others Official Communication with NFBs

20. HR:

Personnel matters, recruitment procedures, job descriptions Salaries, hospital and group insurances Employment contracts Social Secretariat

21. Executive assistant:

Administrative support to Direction

2.3 ESE Indirect activities

1) Holiday 2) Sick leave 3) Other approved absence 4) Training (internal or external)


3. Where and How to fill in your timesheet The timesheets are to be found on the EUREKA Secretariat web dash board. Enter the website http://ese.eureka.be/login.action (use Mozilla Firefox web browser) and log in with your user name and password used for the restricted websites. You are now on the EUREKA Secretariat Web Dash board. Click on the grey icon with a clock on the left hand side of the page to enter the timesheets.

3.1 Timesheet overview The timesheet is built up showing one work week (5 days) at a time. Dates for each day are mentioned on top of each day column. Legal holidays are automatically grayed out and no registration is possible these days. No registration is possible on weekends. You can go to the next or previous week by using the arrows at the bottom of the timesheet. The overview page shows the list of projects and total registered time per project per day. No registration is possible on this page.

3.2 Time registration page To register time, click on the project in question. You will enter a new page with all activities columned horizontally. An explanation of the activity is showed when browsing the mouse marker over the activity name. Register the time spent for the activity in question by putting the mouse marker where the horizontal column for the day and vertical line for the activity meets, deleting the 0 and putting in the time spent. Part of hours is separated with a dot (not a comma), f.ex. 7.5 for 7½ hours. Click on the save button on the bottom of the sheet or press enter to save and exit the activity page when done registering time on the project.

3.3 How to split your day You can split your day (7.5 hours) on different projects and different activities within the projects. However, the minimum but also maximum hours per day to be filled in are 7.5, counted for all projects and activities for that day. Filling in more than 7.5 for a day is not possible and if trying, a message appears saying: “You filled in more than 7.5 hours for xxxday. (Including other projects) You can only fill in xx more hours on xxxday for this project. The amount will be reset to zero”


The total hours per week are 37.5 for fulltime staff and adapted accordingly to part time staff. More hours are not possible to fill in. If 7.5 hours per day and/or 37.5 hours per week are not filled in by the end of the week, there is an automatic reminder sent out by e-mail to the respective staff member on Monday morning. If the timesheet is not completed thereafter, the web browser will be blocked to show only the timesheet site until the registration is completed. The timesheet should be filled in on a weekly basis minimum. However, a daily routine is recommended and even a daily reminder in outlook to not forgetting the registration is advisable. During the course of the month, changes in the timesheet for previous days and weeks of that month are allowed. However, after the month is finished the registration pages locks and changes are no longer possible.

3.4 Timesheet import in Navision Each month, the timesheet tables are imported into the accounting system, Navision. The hours registered per person per project are multiplied by the predefined salary tariff per hour for each staff level and from there the salary cost per project is calculated. For the seconded staff the salary tariff is set to 0 as the ESE does not have any direct salary cost for the seconded staff. However, the time registered by the seconded staff is used together with the time registered by the directly employed staff to calculate the overhead cost for each project. The time is also used for time allocation analysis on projects and activities. Since the timesheet registration is the basis for the cost allocation in the project accounting it is of great importance that the timesheets are filled in accurately and on a regular basis as indicated above. Great deviances towards budget and the financial accounting are analyzed monthly before the month is closed in Navision. The responsible department manager is accountable to correct any odd figures or mal-registration noticed in his/her staff members‘ timesheets.


ANNEX 4: PROCEDURE FOR ESE BUDGET CONTROL

In order to allow the Executive Board to regularly follow up the EUREKA Secretariat‘s operations through the establishment of a budget, a regular and methodical monitoring and eventually adjustment of performance against this budget has to be installed. A proposal for a procedure from budget set-up, approval, revision to audits and annual report has been prepared and comprises the following steps: 1. Setup of ESE Budget proposal by the Executive Board

The ESE budget proposal, including the Annual Resource Plan, will be prepared by the Head of the Secretariat, based on the Strategic Roadmap and the Chairmanship priorities. The budget is presented to the Executive Board for amendment and their initial approval in September Y-1. The Chairman of the Executive Board distributes the amended budget to the members of the General Assembly well in advance before the fall General Assembly meeting. 2. Approval of ESE Budget by the General Assembly

The ESE Budget and its income coverage should be presented by the Executive Board to the General Assembly for approval in official fall meetings in October/November. The approval of the ESE budget requires a

double majority: a three-quarters majority of the votes representing at least two-thirds of the financial contribution for the membership to the budget of the Association. 3. Quarterly financial report

The Head of the Secretariat shall prepare a quarterly financial report on the income/expenditures and comparison towards the ESE Budget approved. This quarterly report should be distributed to all members of the Executive Board by end of the month following the finalised quarter.

4. Biannual ESE Budget review.

As the ESE Budget is approved in October/November (Y-1) and the incoming Chair is announcing its priorities in June during the year of the budget implementation, a budget revision could be needed to cover the second part of that year. This revision will be based on the actual first half year results and if needed include a proposed ESE Budget revision report prepared by the Head of the Secretariat. If the revised ESE Budget stays within the total budget as approved at the start, the Executive Board approves the revision. The revised budget shall be distributed to the General Assembly members for information. If the revised budget exceeds the total approved budget, a decision from the General Assembly is needed.


The Head of the Secretariat shall be allowed to move budgeted figures within the same chapter (Income, Operational costs, Remunerations, Deprecations) as long as the move represents less than 10% of the budget line. Such changes shall be reported to the Executive Board in the quarterly report.

5. Internal audit of the ESE accounts

The internal audit is a procedure to verify that the expenditures are done in the benefit of EUREKA policy. The internal audit is ordered by the Executive Board and should be performed by the present and incoming Chair accompanied by their internal auditors or similar. The audit should be performed during the first quarter of the year covering the ESE accounts of the previous year. The audit report should be ready and attached to the Annual Financial Report due for presentation to the Executive Board and the General Assembly in April.

6. External audit of the ESE accounts

The external auditor is selected by the General Assembly on a proposal of the Executive Board for a mandate of three years. To avoid any conflict of interest, an independent budget should be given to the Executive Board to manage the audit or controls they would like to organise. Consequently, the Executive Board shall prepare the ESE Financial Report, which includes the obligatory statutory audit report with the management letter, and they will comment/action upon this. They then return the fully prepared ESE Financial Report to the external auditor for finalization, after which it should directly be provided to the General Assembly for approval.

7. ESE Financial Report to the General Assembly

Further to the Articles of the EUREKA Secretariat Association (EUREKA Document 2558, Rome 13th June 2007):

The Board shall prepare the annual accounts, (…) which will be submitted to the approval of the General Assembly; The General Assembly (…) has the competence for the approval of the accounts relating to the preceding financial year, as well as the voting related to the discharge to be given to the members of the Executive Board for the management of the Association for the preceding financial year;

The approval of the ESE Financial Report requires a double majority: a three-

quarters majority of the votes representing at least two-thirds of the financial contribution for the membership to the budget of the Association. Proposed schedule of ordinary Executive Board meetings

1. March

Preparation of Annual ESE Financial Report (Y-1)


2. July

Biannual ESE Budget review (Y)

3. September

Preparation ESE Budget proposal (Y+1)

Proposed schedule for ordinary General Assembly

1. April

Approval of Annual ESE Financial Report (Y-1) and discharge

2. June

Nomination of the Executive Board members and Chairman of Executive Board and General Assembly

3. October/November

Approval of the ESE Budget (Y+1)


ANNEX 5: REQUEST FORM FOR USE OF THE MEETING ROOM EUREKA Secretariat tel – 32-2-777-0950

Rue Neerveld 107 fax – 32-2-770-7495

B – 1200 Brussels email : nicole.suenens @eurekanetwork.org

Help us to help you!

Please complete this form and return it to the EUREKA Secretariat

REQUEST FOR THE USE OF EUREKA MEETING ROOMS

Meeting title: Meeting date: Reason for hosting meeting at the ESE:

Time schedule:*

from :

to :

* Our offices are open from 09h00 to 17h00

Nature & objective of meeting :

Participants : Date of request:

ESTIMATION

of the number of guests :

Minimum two days before the meeting:**

CONFIRMATION

of the number of guests : ** No lunch will be ordered if confirmation is not sent at least 5 days prior to the meeting.

Minimum two days before the meeting:

Transmission of PARTICIPANTS NAMES

[email protected]


Minimum two days before the meeting:

Transmission of PRESENTATIONS – optional

[email protected]

Facilities: Lunch & Coffee: Number of guests :

Equipment:

Beamer

Microphones (min 30 participants)

Flip chart

Parking spaces:(2

available)

Name/s

Requester’s contact details :

Name & telephone no:

Email address :

Additional information: Please specify if you request a member of the ESE to attend the meeting and if so, may the results of the meeting be communicated to the EUREKA network?

Approval: Head of the ESE


ANNEX 6: PROCEDURE FOR ORGANISING DINNERS OUTSIDE THE ESE The ESE organises dinners outside the office for the participants in certain meetings held at the ESE. Depending on the group of participants, the budget and choice of restaurant varies. The receptionist is responsible to make the reservation at the restaurant, following the instructions given by the organising staff member and prior approval by the Head of the ESE. If no other arrangements have been done prior to the event, payment is due by CC or cash at the restaurant at the time of dinner.

PO IEP

Responsible for organisation Eurostars team/MVA Eurostars team/MVA

Responsible for reservation Reception Reception

Approval Head Head

Budget (all included) €30,00 €40,00

Restaurants (bills payable by CC or cash in restaurant if nothing else indicated)

L'Huitiere: menu all included from 30€ to 45€ (invoice possible)


Bonsoir Clara: menu from 30€ to 50€ - beverage not included


Le Cercle des Voyageurs: menu all included from 30€ to 55€


La Manufacture: menu all included from 30€ to 50€

EAG EG

Responsible for prganisation Eurostars team/MVA LVH/Head

Responsible for reservation Reception Reception

Approval Head Head

Budget (all included) €40,00 €45,00










Louise Avenue: menu all included from 35€ to 65€

Louise Avenue: menu all included from 35€ to 65€

Aux Armes de Bruxelles: menu all included 40€


Domenican: menu from 35€ to 45€, beverage not included

E* WG

Responsible for organisation MVA/DG Responsible for reservation Reception Approval Head

Budget (all included) Payable by participants - aim 30€/pp





List of restaurants is not exhaustive. New proposals for restaurants are welcome.


ANNEX 7: BELGIAN REGULATION RELATIVE TO THE PURCHASE

OF MATERIAL BY EUREKA

1. Principle: “EUREKA is responsible for ensuring that its members obtain the best possible value for their money‖ 2. Applicable law a) The EUREKA AISBL being founded according to Belgian law and being established in Belgium it is subject to Belgian law. Note that the acronym AISBL stands for international non-profit organisation based in Brussels. b) The AISBL being financed by public funds it is subject to public procurement legislation for all purchases including supplies5 c) The Belgian legislation of reference. Texts applicable for the contracts awarded from July 1st, 2013 onwards (royal decree of June 2nd, 2013 fixing the date of entry into force of the Law of June 15th, 2006 relative to public contracts and certain contracts for works, supplies and services and of its implementing royal decrees): - Law of June 15th, 2006 relative to public contracts and certain contracts for works, supplies and services; - Law June 17th, 2013 relative to motivation, information and rights of appeal in matters of public contracts and certain contracts for works, supplies and services; - Royal decree of July 15, 2011 relative to public contracts in traditional sectors; - Royal decree of January 14, 2013 laying down the rules of execution of public contracts and concessions of public works; 3. Existing procedures 1. Principles ruling different procedures -principle of equal treatment (non-discrimination), -principle of transparency (sufficient level of publicity of the contract‘s conditions) and -principle of competition modulated by a principle of adequation (you need several tenderers and their number has to be proportional to the amount of the contract). 2. Ordinary procedures a) The allotment is a procedure to which the contracting authority can always use (discretionary choice of the authority independently of the amount of the contract). The contract is awarded on the basis of the sole criteria of the price. Thus, the contract will have to be attributed to the tenderer offering the lower price, not applying this procedure is punishable. Two types of allotment exist: public procedure or restricted tendering procedure. →Interestingly, when only a few versions of a given product exist on the market it is called a ―standardised product‖. Through this, Belgian legislators are targeting the market of supplies for very specific technical

5 Article 2 of the Law of the June 15

th, 2006 on public contracts and certain contracts for works,

supplies and services.


material or high technology material. Is that the case of the server which you are considering to purchase? →Disadvantage: The only criteria of attribution being the price, the procuring authority cannot put forward the superior quality of a product in a given offer. b) The call for tender is a procedure which the procuring authority can always use (discretionary choice of the authority independently of the amount of the contract). The market is attributed on the basis of several criteria, for example the price, the technical value, the after-sales service, the warranties offered, etc. These criteria can be measured depending on the importance given to them by the procuring authority. The specifications have to figure in the contract and cannot be changed during the procedure6. Those criteria have to be linked to the object of the market and allow an objective comparison of the offers. → Comment: This procedure takes place in a framework of rules which result in ―a certain rigidity in the process of the awarding of the contract, as they do not allow for the offers to be modified after their opening‖. The rules which have been formulated for that matter are precise and strict, they provide a framework to the degree of discretion of the procuring authority. Two types of call for tenders exist: public procedure or restricted tendering procedure7. The open procedure is characterised by two elements:

- Every company interested can present an offer

- The opening of the offers is public

The restricted procedure comprises an extra step: the selection of companies

- Any company can ask to take part in it

- The candidates are selected by the procuring authority (EUREKA in

this case)

- The companies selected present an offer

- The opening of the offers is made in the presence of the selected

companies which are willing to attend to it

The choice between the two procedures must be done before the publication of the call for tender and be précised in the contract‘s specifications in order to grant the appropriate information and level of transparency towards the companies. → Comment: the choice of the procedure is more a question of strategy and will have no sensible influence on the final choice of the company. The open procedure is the most transparent of both procedures but requires more work for the procuring authority. The restricted procedure carries with itself a lighter work burden but is longer and comprises a risk of

6 The criteria must be in accordance with the principles of free movement of goods, freedom of

establishment and freedom to provide services. 7 Article 3 of the Law of June 15th, 2006


contestation during the selection of candidates if the published text is not clear enough. A priori, I would opt for an open procedure which, only if it has no results, would allow us in a later time to carry a negotiated procedure (article 26 1.d) of the Law of 2006; see below exceptional procedures). 3. Exceptional procedures c) The negotiated procedure with prior publication is a procedure in which the contract is awarded on the basis the price criteria only, or on the basis of several attribution criteria. It is possible only if -the amount considered is less than 85.000 euro Excl. VAT -if the call for tender has been inconclusive -if there is a state of emergency8. It takes place in two phases: the procuring authority has as an obligation to publish a contract notice and to precise in this notice the minimal requirements in financial, economic and technical terms which the interested companies should comply with and the deadline for reception of the applications. Only the companies which will have been judged the most capable of executing the contract and which are not in an excluding situation (bankruptcy, tax arrears or debt to the ONSS…) are then selected (minimum three if there is a sufficient number of relevant candidates) and are in a second phase invited to provide an offer for a fixed date. The special contract specification has to be made available at the sending of the invitation latest. d) The unpublished negotiated procedure is an exceptional and not formalised procedure. The procuring authority negotiates a contract with one or several competitors, in the respect of the principle of equal treatment (the demands of participation or the objectively comparable offers have to be treated in the same way). This procedure is only possible for the purchases which are less than or equal to 85.000 euro Excl. VAT9. → This procedure is open to us but it will be rejected because of its lack of transparency. e) The competitive-dialogue procedure is a procurement procedure in which every entrepreneur, supplier, or service provider can ask to take part and in which the procuring authority dialogues with the selected candidates, in view of developing one or several solutions adapted to answer to its needs and on the basis of which the selected candidates will be invited to bid (only applies to the traditional regime). → This procedure can be interesting when a researched product does not exist on the market and has to be realised specifically for the needs of the entity. Is this our case? 5. Handling of the procedure

8 Article 26 of the Law of June 15, 2006 relative to public contracts and certain contracts of works,

supplies and services. 9 Article 26 Law of 2006


a) There are no constraints to the choice of the procedure: the allotment (public or restricted) and the public procurement (general or restricted). On the other hand, the choice of the negotiated procedure with or without publication is permitted only in the cases foreseen by the Law of 200610. b) Publication: All contracting procedures require the prior publication of a contract notice. This publication has to take place inevitably in the Bulletin des Adjudications (publication of public procurement notices) 11. The publication date affects the period during which companies can answer to the call for tender. This period cannot be less than 36 calendar days. - Online, the publication is free of charge. - When the contracts are higher than certain given amounts (more than 200.000), the publication has also to be made in the Official Journal of the European Union, S supplement. - Only the unpublished negotiated procedure allows the contracting authority in cases foreseen by Law to contact with one or, if possible, several competitors in order to start negotiations. c) The phase of qualitative selection The qualitative selection phase allows the contracting authority to verify for every candidate or tenderer:

Its right of access (no definitive condemnation for participation in a

criminal organisation, corruption, fraud, or money laundering) ;

Its individual situation allowing to conclude that the company is not

in a situation of exclusion (no bankruptcy, payment of social security

contributions,…);

Its capacity to exercise a professional activity;

Its financial, economic, technical and/or professional capacity.

During a public allotment or a general call for tender, the information required in matter of qualitative selection is joined to the offer. During a restricted allotment, a restricted call for tender or a negotiated procedure with prior publication, this information is joined to the demand of participation. d) The evaluation of the offers In a public allotment and in a general call for tender the verification will be about:

The formal regularity of the offer (signature, joined documents,

absence of reserves,…) ;

The capacity of the company (does it comply with the minimal

criteria fixed for the qualitative selection?);

The analysis of the conformity of the works, supplies and services

offered with the special specifications of the contract and on the

appreciation of their value as attribution criteria.

10

Article 17, para. 2 and 3 of the Law of 2006 11

Advertising rules to be respected are to be found in the Articles 27 to 41 (supplies) of the Royal

Decree of January 8th, 1996 with regard to the traditional regime.


6. Conclusion The order of events to be respected during a procedure of call for tender is the following:

1. Prospect the market

Procedure which consists in the prior gathering of objective information in an informal manner from the targeted companies.

2. Redaction of the contract‘s specifications

Definition of the needs. This document comprises two types of prescriptions. It rules on one side on the manner in which the contracting authority will choose the counterparty (mode of procurement, qualitative selection, criteria of attribution, etc.) and determines on the other side the object of the prestations asked for and the modalities of their execution (delays, quantities, payments, control of reception, etc.).

3. Determine the responsible person, who will sign the documents and

chair the different meetings.

4. Publish the call for tender in the in the Bulletin des adjudications and

the Official Journal of the European Union if necessary

5. Respect the delays for the opening of the offers

Engage the procedure for the attribution of the market (choice of the company)


ANNEX 8 : TRAVEL AUTORISATION REQUEST

Please fill in this form and attach all relevant travel/mission information.

Traveller:

Other travellers:

Purpose of mission:

Comments:

From Via To

Departure:

Date:

Time :

Transport mode: Plane – Train – Car

Start of work:

From Via To

Return:

Date::

Time :

Transport mode:

Plane – Train - Car

End of work:

Need Hotel:


‘O‘ Drive/Office support/Shared info/Travel/ESE Travel Request Form.

ANNEX 9 : TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT FORM


TRAVEL EXPENDITURE REPORT

I. TO BE FILLED IN BY THE TRAVELLER Name :

Country/City :

Leave from home/office : Leave from destination :

Arrival at destination : Arrival at home/office :

Start of business (at destination) :

End of business (at destination) :

Who paid for the hotel ? ESE traveller

Who paid for the transport ? ESE traveller

Miscellaneous expenses *please itemize and attach receipts

*please do not fill in the exchange rate column

*when other than public transport used, please justify

Description Amount in local Exchange Amount

currency rate EURO

TOTAL 0,00

II. TO BE (CALCULATED AND) FILLED IN BY ESE ACCOUNTING

Days of absence : 1

Per diem : 1 x EURO

Subtotal Per Diem: 0,00 EURO (1)

Subtotal Miscellaneous Expenses : 0,00 EURO (2)

Less advance received : 0,00 EURO (3)

TOTAL AMOUNT PAYABLE : (1) + (2) - (3) 0,00 EURO

0 BEF

Signature: Approval:

Documents

EUREKA Secretariat Handbook Introduction€¦ · Introduction Part A EUREKA Network Environment A1 Introduction to the Network A2 The role of key components of the Network A3 The