THE APPLICANT’S GUIDE
FOR THEDEVELOPMENT OF THE EXISTENT RESEARCH- DEVELOPMENT PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE CREATION OF NEW INFRASTRUCTURES
FINANCING:
A.SECTORAL OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME“Increase of Economic Competitiveness”
Priority Axis 2 – “Research, Technological Development and Innovation for Competitiveness”
Key Area of Intervention 2.2 – Investments in the RD&I infrastructure
- Operation 2.2.1: The development of the existent RD infrastructure and the creation of new RD infrastructures (laboratories, centres of excellence)
- NATIONAL PLAN FOR RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION
“CAPACITIES” Programme
- The first module – The development of the public RD infrastructure (large investment projects)
- Call2007-
Decision no. 9439/10.12.2007 of the President of the National Authority for Scientific Research
Introduction
This guide comprises the regulations, procedures and criteria to be followed at the call for proposals in 2007 in order to have access to the non reimbursable public funds allocated to “the development of the existent research - development infrastructure and the creation of new infrastructures” through the following programmes:
- Sectoral Operational Programme“Increase of the Economic Competitiveness” (SOP IEC), approved by the European Commission in the Decision no. 3472/12.07.2007
Priority Axis 2 – “Research, Technological Development and Innovation for Competitiveness” (SOP IEC- RD)
–Key area of intervention 2.2 “Investments in the RD&I infrastructure”
- Operation 2.2.1 “The development of the existent RD infrastructure and the creation of new RD infrastructures (laboratories, centres of excellence)”
- National Plan for RD&I II (NP II) approved through Governmental Decision 475/2007
- ‘CAPACITIES’ programme
- First module –Development of the RD public capacities (large investment projects)
The guide is divided in five sections, out of which the first, second and fifthsections are general for the projects related to SOP IEC, respectively NP II. The third and the fourth sections apply only to the projects that are to be selected and financed for SOP IEC.
- First section – General information about SOP IEC(chapter 1) and NP II (chapter 2);
- Second section – Rules regarding the call for proposals in 2007
Filling in and submitting the application form (chapter 3);
Appraisal and selection of the projects (chapter 4);
- Third section – Contracting and financing the projects forSOP IEC.
Contracting (chapter 5)
Financing the projects (chapter 6)
Programming and publicity
- Fourth section - Monitoring and financial control
- Fifth section – Annexes to the Applicant’s Guide
Furthermore, besides this guide, there will be also published another documentnecessary forthe call for proposals in 2007, which is the applicationform forthe non-reimbursable financial assistance granted by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the state budget, with its annexes:
- The checklist for receivability check (Annex 1)
- The checklist for the administrative eligibility (Annex 2)
- The checklist for technical evaluation (Annex 3)
The applicant’s guide addresses to the certified public high-education institutions and their components(including academic and clinical hospitals which carry outRD activity), and to public institutes, certified as research organizations.
In the RD infrastructure project proposals there will not be mentioned the option forSOP IEC or NP II, as they will be submitted in a single call.
STRATEGIC DOCUMENTS
The Sectoral Operational Programme“Increase of the Economic Competitiveness (SOP IEC), approved by the European Commission in the Decision no.3472/12.07.2007, represents a strategic document defining the context, the objectives, the strategy, the priority axis fund allocation, the involved bodies and the aspects related to the implementation of the Operational Programme. – published at (web page dedicated to the structural funds)
The Framework Document for Implementing (FID) the SOP IEC represents another strategic document including all the relevant details for the key areas of intervention and the SOP-IEP specific operations, as well as the funds allocated to the projects, categories of projects, activities, expenditure and eligible beneficiaries, the eligibility criteria for the application forms, etc. - published as draft at (web page dedicated to the structural funds).
The SOP IEC Environment Strategic Evaluation - published at
The National Plan for Research, Development and Innovation II (NP II) approved inthe Governmental Decision no. 475/2007 represents the main instrument by means of which the National Authority for Scientific Research (NASR) implements the National Strategy forResearch, Development and Innovation (RD&II). It is a framework programmethat includes six programmes defining the general specific objectives, the course of action and the specific indicators, as well as principles ofappraisal, monitoring, financial control and contracting the projects carried out within the programmes. - published at page dedicated to the NP II).
LEGISLATION
a) regarding RD activity
- The Government Ordinance no. 57/2002 regarding the scientific research and the technological development approved by the Law 324/2003 with the subsequent completions and modifications
- The Government Ordinance no. 217/2007 regarding the approval of the National Strategy of the research, development and innovation activity for the period 2007-2013
- The Commission Decision no. 3472/2007 for the approval of the SOP IEC
- The Government Decision no.475/2007 for the approval of The National Plan for Research, Development and Innovation II (NP II)for the period 2007-2013
- The Government Decision no. 1265/2004 for the approval of the methodological norms regarding contracting, financing, monitoring and evaluation of programmes, RD&I projects and actions included in the National Plan for Research, Development and Innovation
- The Government Decision no. 551/2007 for the approval of the criteria and standards, as well as the method of evaluating and certifying the research - development activities carried out by entities having RDas object of their activity
b) regarding eligibility rules
-The Government Decisionno. 759/11 July 2007 (OJ 517/1 August 2007) regarding the eligibility rules of the expenditure made within the operations financed through operational programmes
-The Order no.2508/31/12.2008 of the Ministry of Economy and Finance for the approval of the Lists of Eligible Expenditure for the projects financed within the operations 2.2.1 - “The Development of the Existent RD Infrastructure and the Creation of New Infrastructures (laboratories, development centres)” and 2.3.1 - “Support for the Innovative Spins-off and Start-ups” in the Priority Axis 2 of SOP IEC
-The Government Ordinance no. 29/2007, regarding the allocation of the structural instruments, pre-financing and co-financing from the state budget and the National Fund for Development to the budget of the institutions involved in the administration of the structural instruments and their usage for the convergence objective, approved with further modifications and completionsby the Law no. 249/2007
-The Order no. 911/2007 for the approval of the methodological norms for implementing provisions of the Governmental Ordinance no.29/2007.
c) regarding public procurement:
-The Government Urgent Ordinance no. 34/2006 regarding the assignment of public procurement contracts,of public work concession contracts andof service concession contracts, approved through the Law no. 337/2006 withfurther modifications and completions
-The Government Decision no. 925/2006 regarding the applications norms of the provisions related to the assignment of the public procurement contracts, with further modifications and completions
-The Government Decision no. 1660/2006 for the approval of the application norms of the provisions related to the assignment of the public procurement contracts by electronic means from the Governmental Urgent Ordinance no. 34/2006
-The Order no. 183/2006 issued by the President of the National Authority for the Regulations and Monitoring of the Public Procurement regarding the application of the provisions related to the media publicity contract
-The Order no. 155/206 issued by the President of the National Authority for the Regulations and Monitoring of the Public Procurement for the approval of the guide for the assignment of the public procurement contracts, with further modifications and completions
-The Order no. 175/2007 of the Ministry of Economy and Finance regarding the approval of the operational manual of observation and checking the public procurement contract assignment
d) regarding national regulations for construction activity
-The Government Decision no. 1179/2002 regarding the approval of the General Financial Statement Structure and of the methodology to elaborate the general financial statement forinvestment objectives and works, or any other regulationsreplacing it
- The Law no. 50/1991 regarding the construction execution authorization and some measures for the house execution, republished
- The Order no. 1430/2005 for the approval of the application of methodological norms in Law no.50/1991
- The Government Decision no. 1072/2003 regarding the approval of the State Inspectorate in Constructions of the economic-technical documentations for the investment objectives financed from public funds
- The Order no. 74/2007 of the State Inspectorate in Constructions for the approval of the methodology to issue the notification note by the State Inspectorate in Constructions for the economic-technical documentations related to the investment objectives financed from public funds
- The Government Decision no. 1865/2006 for modifying the value limits regarding the approval competences of the economic-technical documentations for the new investment objectives
- The General Order no. 486/2007 of the Ministry of Development, Public Works and Accommodation Units and the State General Inspector of the State Inspectorate in Constructions no.500/2007 for the approval of the procedure regarding the agreement issuance by the State Inspectorate in Constructions for interventions in time upon the existent constructions
f) regarding environment protection
- The National Strategy for the environment protection
- The Government Urgent Ordinance no.195/2005 regarding the environment protection, with further modifications and completions
- The Government Urgent Ordinance no.152/2005 regarding the prevention, the decrease and the pollution integrated control, with further modifications and completions
- The Government Decision no.1213/2006 regarding the determination of the frame procedure to evaluate the impact upon the environment for certain private and public projects
- The Order no. 462/1993 for the approval of the technical conditions regarding the atmospheric protection and the methodological norms of establishing the emissions of atmospheric pollutants, with further modifications and completions
- The Orderno.860/2002 of the Ministry of the Environment and Water Administration (OMEWA) for the approval of the evaluation procedure of the impact upon the environment and the issuance of the environment agreement with further modifications and completions
g) regarding equalopportunities
-The Government Urgent Ordinance no. 137/2000 regarding the prevention and penalization of all discrimination forms
- The Law no. 202/2002 republished regarding the equal opportunity for men and women, with further modifications and completions
- The Order no. 649/2001 regarding the approval of the norms toadjust civil buildings and the afferent urban spacing to the requirements of the disabled, reference PN 051/2000
h) regarding other national regulations
- The Government Decision no. 12/2007 regarding the modification and the completion of the Government Decision no. 79/2003 regarding the community funds recovery and control, as well as the financial infringements and irregularities
i) regarding EU regulations
- The Council Regulations (CE) no.1083/2006 regarding the general dispositions related to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Community Fund (CF)
- The European Commission Regulation no.1828/2006 regarding the establishment of the implementation rules of the Council Regulation no.1083/2006 regarding the general provisions related to EFRD, ESF, and CF, and the Regulation (CE) no. 1080/2006 of the European Parliament and Council regarding ERDF
- The Regulation (CE) no.1080/2006 of the Parliament and Council regarding ERDF
CONTENT
Page
Section I – GENERAL INFORMATION / 81. The Sectoral Operational Programme “The Increase of the Economic Competitiveness” – general presentation, objectives, priority axis / 8
1.1 General presentation / 8
1.2 Priority Axis 2 – “Research, Technological Development and Innovation for Competitiveness” / 10
1.2.1 General presentation / 10
1.2.2 Objectives / 10
1.2.3 Structure (key areas of intervention) / 11
1.3 Operation 2.2.1 –The development of the existent RD infrastructure and the creation of new RD infrastructures
(General presentation) / 11
2. The National Plan for Research, Development and InnovationII / 12
2.1 General presentation / 12
2.2 ‘Capacities’ Programme / 13
2.2.1 The objectives of the ‘Capacities’ Programme / 13
2.2.2 The structure of the ‘Capacities’ Programme / 13
2.2.3 The Module I of the ‘Capacities’ Programme –The development of the public infrastructure RD–investment projects / 14
SECTION II – RULES REGARDING THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS IN 2007 / 15
3.1 Who can apply for funding / 15
3.1.1 Categories of applicants / 15
3.1.2 Eligibility criteriafor applicants / 15
3.2. Project categories / 16
3.2.1. Project categories / 16
3.2.2. Eligibility criteria for projects / 17
3.3 Eligible activities / 18
3.4 Types of expenditure / 18
3.4.1. Eligible expenditure / 18
3.4.2. Specific and general criteriafor the eligibility of expenditure / 21
3.4.3. Categories of non-eligibleexpenditure / 23
3.5 Financing the projects / 23
4. FILLING IN AND SUBMITTING THE APPLICATIONFORM / 24
4.1 Horizontal themes / 25
4.2 How to fill in the application form / 26
4.3Submitting the projects / 32
4.4 Support documents / 35
5. APPRAISAL AND SELECTION OF THE PROJECTS / 37
5.1 The appraisal procedure – general information / 37
5.2 The receivability check / 37
5.3 The administrative check / 39
5.4 The technical evaluation / 39
5.5. Specific rules for selecting projects / 43
SECTION III – CONTRACTING AND FINANCING THE PROJECTS THROUGH SOP-IEP / 45
6. SIGNING THE CONTRACT / 45
7. FINANCING THE PROJECTS / 46
7.1 Pre- financing / 46
7.2 Reimbursement of expenditures / 48
7.3 Revenue generated by projects / 48
7.4 Public procurement / 48
7.5 Granting the VAT equivalent / 48
7.6 Archive / 48
8. COMMUNICATION AND PUBLICITY / 49
SECTION IV – MONITORING AND FINANCIAL CONTROL / 50
SECTION V – ANNEXES TO THE APPLICANT’S GUIDE / 52
Annex 1 – The application form / 53
Annex 2 – List of the support documents to the application form / 73
Annex 3 – The calculation of the non-reimbursable assistancefor revenue-generating projects / 74
Annex 4 – Statementof eligibility (the research organization) / 75
Annex 5 –Statement regarding the land/estate / 77
Annex 6 – Statement for avoiding the double financing from public funds / 78
Section I – GENERAL INFORMATION
1. The Sectoral Operational Programme“Increase of the Economic Competitiveness” – general presentation, objectives, priority axis
1.1. General presentation
The sectoral operational programme“Increase of the Economic Competitiveness (SOP IEC) is one of the seventh sectoral operational programmes (the SOPs) - instruments for achieving the priorities indicated in the National Strategic Reference Framework(NSRF) and in the National Development Plan (NDP) 2007-2013. These strategic documents at the national level aim to strengthen and apply Romanian economic and social cohesion and regional development policiesin compliance withthe European policies and the Lisbon strategy, mainly orientated towards economic growth and the creation of new jobs.
The SOP IEC answerson one hand to the first priority of the NDP 2007 – 2013 “Increase of economic competitiveness and development of the knowledge-based economy” and on the other hand to the second priority of NSRF, that is “Increase of economic competitiveness on long term”, contributing at the same time to the implementation of all the other NSRF priorities.
In order to define the operational aspects related to the SOP IEC implementation, the elaboration of the Implementation Framework Document took into consideration both the relevant European policies and the strategies of the Romanian Government, which foster the development of the economic competitiveness and will influence the social cohesion and economic policies:
-Strategy forthe Development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) (2004-2008)
-National Strategy forResearch, Developmentand Innovation (RD&I)
-National Strategy for the Development of Communications and Information Technology (CIT)
Objectives
The general objectiveof SOP IEC is to develop Romanian enterprises’ productivity and to reduce the gaps considering the average productivity at the EU level. The measures that are to be taken will generate an average productivity annual growthof about 5.5% until 2015 and will allow Romania to reach a level of about 55% of the EU average.
The priority axis ofSOP IEC
Consideringthe possibilities identified for the improvement of Romanian enterprises’ competitiveness to face the new challenges and the opportunities to operate on the European Sole Market, as well as Romania’s eligibility for the ERDF funding, there were identified the following priority axisofSOP IEC:
-Priority Axis 1: A innovative and eco-efficient production system
-Priority Axis 2: Competitiveness through research, technological development and innovation
-Priority Axis 3: Communications and information technology (CIT)for public and private sectors
-Priority Axis 4: Increase of energetic efficiency and securesupply in preventing weather changes
-Priority Axis 5: Technical assistance
The structures within the SOP IEC implementation system
The Management Authority (MA) for the Sectoral Operational Program “Increase of Economic Competitiveness” (GD no. 497/2004, GD no. 738/2004, GD no. 386/2007, with further completions and modifications) operates within the Ministry of Economy and Finance and it is responsible forSOP IEC management, administration and implementation according to the principle of a rigorous financial management principle, as it is mentioned in the Article 60 of the Council Regulation (EC) no. 1083/2006 from 11 July 2006 with further completions and modifications.
Intermediate Bodies (IB)
Intermediate bodies for SOP IEC per each priority axis were appointed for a better implementation of the programmes.
For the Priority Axis 2 “Competitiveness through research, technological development and innovation” the National Authority for Scientific Research (withinthe Ministry of Education, Research and Young People) was appointed IB.
The responsibilities of the IB are established in the delegation agreement between the Management Authority and the related Intermediate Body.
The Payment unit means the structure within the Ministry of Economy and Finance responsible for the transfer of pre-financing and co-financing allocated sums from the state budget as well asof the non - reimbursable financial assistance to beneficiaries for the Sectoral Operational Programme “Increase of the Economic Competitiveness”.
Payment and Certification Authoritymeans the organizational structure within the Ministry of Economy and Finance responsible for the certification of the sums in the list of eligible expendituresent to the European Commission, for the reception of the funds transferred to Romania from ERDF,ESF and CF and for their transferto beneficiaries,together with the co-financing and pre-financing sums related to these from funds allocated from the state budget.
The Audit Authority appoints the public authority, at national level, responsible for the verification of the management operations and the control system for each operational programme functionally independent from the Management Authority and the Payment and Certification Authority.