Amendments in lump sum projects
You have been awarded a lump sum grant – lucky you, no need to report actual costs or keep detailed financial records. This means less paperwork and more time to focus on the technical implementation of the project.
You planned everything in detail while preparing the proposal, but life is unpredictable. Unexpected situations may appear, or your work plan does not align with reality anymore. How do you manage this? One way is to adjust your approach via amendments to the Grant Agreement.
How does it work?
The European Commission introduced lump sum grants to minimize administrative burden and to allow you to focus on delivering results. However, it may happen that you need to make changes or adjustments in the project. The European Commission understands this and allows you to request amendments to your Grant Agreement when necessary. The requested changes should not influence the nature or general idea of your project.
This flexibility, which applies both to actual costs and lump sum funding schemes, ensures that even in case of challenges you may keep your project on track and achieve the planned project objectives. It’s also worth noting that not every change requires a formal amendment. For example, updates like a change in the person coordinating the project, the bank name, or the account holder don’t require an official amendment, as long as they don’t affect the Grant Agreement itself.
However, in all cases, it’s important to inform the European Commission by contacting your Project Officer directly. Transparency is key — a simple update now can save you many complications later.
What kind of amendments can be done?
Amendments can cover a wide range of changes depending on your project’s needs. Examples include:
- Amending work packages and work plan. Keep in mind that completed (and paid) work packages cannot be amended in lump sum projects.
- Budget transfers. You can adjust the breakdown of the lump sum shares if the deviation is significant. However, these changes should be well-justified and cannot involve WPs already declared as completed.
- Change of the starting date, project duration or reporting periods. Any change to the project duration or reporting periods shall be requested via amendment. Extensions of the project duration should be requested in advance before the project ends and require strong justification.
- Other amendments: change of bank account number/IBAN code for payments, change of coordinator (e.g because of financial difficulties), removal of an affiliated entity etc.
What is the procedure?
The procedure remains the same as for projects under actual costs funding scheme:
- Prepare an Amendment Request: You should prepare a formal request for amendment directly in the Portal Amendment tool. Be sure to include a clear and concise justification and appropriate supporting documents.
- Review by the PO: After submission, your PO will carry out an informal assessment. This helps identify any gaps or potential issues before the formal steps begin.
- Ping-pong phase: if the EC spots missing info or mistakes, your amendment will be returned for revision. This back-and-forth continues until everything looks good. If everything is correct and no additional information/documents are requested the amendment will become available for your signature.
- Signature and submission: you should sign and submit the amendment directly in the Portal Amendment tool. Easy and paperless.
- EC Approval: After you sign the amendment request, the EC has 45 days to accept or reject it. They might ask for more information and extend the deadline if needed. If accepted, the EC will countersign the amendment, completing the process. And voila, it comes into force.
Tip: Talk to your PO first.
Contact your Project Officer (PO) before starting the amendment. The PO will assess if an official amendment is actually required or if your change can be treated as a simple deviation.
We are here to guide you through the amendment process, don’t hesitate to reach out: hello@getpolite.eu