Can an affiliated entity participate in your Horizon Europe project?

As the beneficiary of a Horizon Europe (HE) grant you might wonder: can another entity work with you on your project? The Grant Agreement (GA) foresees several possibilities such as affiliated entities, associated partners and subcontractors each with different rights and obligations. Today we’ll focus on the contribution affiliated entities can make to the implementation of your project. First, we’ll define an affiliated entity under HE rules, then we’ll look at the legal and financial rights and obligations.

Definition of an affiliated entity

Article 8 of the Annotated Model Grant Agreement defines an affiliated entity (previously known as ‘linked third party’ in the H2020 program) as “an entity with a legal or capital link which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation”.

In addition, affiliated entities must fulfil the same conditions for participation and funding as the beneficiaries, hence it needs to have a validated participant identification code (PIC).

For example, an affiliated entity in Horizon Europe could be a parent/daughter/sister company, or the spin-off of a university.

Legal considerations in your project

As general rule, all obligations that apply to the beneficiary also apply to the affiliated entity. Also keep in mind the following:

• The affiliated entity does NOT sign the GA (and therefore doesn’t have direct access to the portal).
• However, the affiliated entity must appear in Annex 1 of your GA.
  TIP: an amendment is needed if it the affiliated entity is not included in the initial project proposal.
• The affiliated entity may perform certain action tasks directly on its premises.
• The affiliated entity shall contribute to technical reports.
• The affiliated entity might be involved in deliverable preparation.
• The affiliated entity can undergo checks, reviews, audits and investigations by the granting authority and other bodies.

Financial responsibility for your project

From a financial point of view, the affiliated entity follows the same rules as the beneficiary:

• The affiliated entity’s cost must be included in Annex 2 of the Grant Agreement.
  TIP: an amendment is needed if the affiliated entity is not included in the initial project proposal.
• The affiliated entity can charge its actual costs to the project.
• Transfer of budget between beneficiary and affiliated entity is allowed.
• The affiliated entity applies its usual cost accounting practices.
• The affiliated entity must prepare its own financial statements.
  TIP: same eligible cost as the beneficiary, e.g. a Time Recording System, is needed for personnel cost.
• The affiliated entity must provide their own Certificate on Financial Statement if the total contribution is over EUR 430 000.

If this is exactly what you need and you want us to help set it up, no problem! Or on the contrary, if this does not fit the bill and other options should be explored such as associated partners, subcontractors, in-kind contributions, consult us at hello@getpolite.eu