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Financing and Monitoring
Financing of Projects
(i) The total sum of financial support for a project cannot exceed 4% of the total budget of the Fund. The minimal sum is determined individually for each program.
(ii) The Fund never finances the total cost of a project. The Fund’s contribution to an approved project cannot exceed 90% of the total cost of the project. Minimum 10% of the costs should be provided from other sources (host institution, sponsor…).
(iii) Before the start of financing of the approved project, the project leader and all other responsible persons (in corporation, institute, university…) sign Contract on Financing with the authorised representative of the MSES. The Contract obliges the organizations and the project leader to implement the project according to the framework given by the project’s plan and schedule of work. The Contract obliges the MSES to provide financial funds according to the contract and the Steering Committee’s regulations. The Contract defines the rights and obligations of the contract parties, including the intellectual property rights as well as other rights deriving from results of a project. The contract is being designed and approved by Steering Committee.
(iv) A special annex which determines financial regulations is added to the Contract. The financial regulations include the following: an accepted financial plan cannot be changed afterwards, an accepted financial plan may be subject of 10% change within individual entries; maximum overhead paid to the legal person where the project is performed cannot be higher then 20% of the total approved funds; costs for remuneration and salaries of researchers on the project cannot exceed 50% of the total approved funds; maximum cost of research work can be 20 EUR per hour.
(v) Payments to the UKF’s beneficiaries are performed half-yearly by UKF Secretariat and PMU, according to the plan of financing approved by the SC. The payments are delivered from the WB loan (74%) and MSES (26%).
(vi) The Fund supports only a part of total project costs, while the remaining part of costs must be covered from other sources. Especially institutions – users of the Fund – have to prove their commitment to the project by participation in financing. The amount of share of the Fund’s support is decided by the Steering Committee according to specific program and call.
(vii) General principles of how Fund will finance particular projects (maximum percentages):
- 90% for projects that produce only scientific result at non-profit institution
- 80% for projects that produce only scientific result at for-profit corporatio
- 80% for projects that are being realised in cooperation with foreign institutions
- 50% for projects that produce a commercial result
- 30% for projects that are being realised in cooperation with BICRO programs
(viii) The financing is based on an approved business plan and financial plan of a particular project. The financing scheme is determined on a case-by-case basis for each project and is stated in the contract. All projects can receive maximum 90% of designated funds during their implementation and the remaining 10% will be provided after their successful completion (positive final evaluation). The first installment is made after the signing of the contract. Other payments are made according to conditions described in mechanisms of care and supervision
Supervision, Care and Evaluation of Implementation
(i) Supervision and care for projects relates to the general relationship between the Fund and the approved project after the financing has started. The Fund is looking after projects through its mechanisms of care, supervision and control. The Fund, without affecting the subsidiarity of the project leader, keeps certain mechanisms of controlling a project, which are regulated by the agreement in order to ensure the success of the project.
(ii) The mechanisms of care and supervision also include:
- supervision through quarterly reports provided by the project leader that include descriptive accounts on the progress of a project as well as quantitative indicators of success
- occasional visits by the UKF Secretariat representatives
- review by an independent auditor
- evaluation of the project by the Steering Committee after the half of the period of implementation has passed, or after the 50% of the funds have been used
- final evaluation of the project by the Steering Committee
- participation in public presentations of the Fund
- obligatory participation in activities of the Fund (seminars, workshops, internet platforms…)
(iii) The evaluation of approved projects within programs will be realised in accordance to the previously defined implementation indicators. These indicators must be measurable, separately defined for every program and set out in the contract.
(iv) The complete set of measurable indicators that will apply to programs depending of program and instruments is following:
- key publications in which the project participants were the lead authors
- newly developed products and processes and other applications of research
- success in applications to international funds and foundations
- amount of funds received from private sources
Publication and Intellectual Property Rights
(i) An acknowledgement of support by the Unity through knowledge Fund must be included in all publications resulting from work carried out under the supported project.
(ii) The project leader, or the management of the host institution, must ensure the inclusion of the UKF logo in all advertisements relating to the project.
(iii) The assignment of intellectual and industrial property rights stemming from a project financed by the UKF will be determined by the parties concerned (researchers, their research organizations or companies) on a case-by-case basis.
(iv) IPR arrangements may include: requirements about diffusion of information such as disclosure and methods of publication, and requirements regarding ownership and exploitation of the results arising from the project.
(v) The Fund (and MSES) has the preferential right to claim any intellectual and industrial property rights produced by the projects financed by Fund. The beneficiaries of the Fund may exploit the IPR after consultation and agreement with UKF.
(vi) Where one of the purposes of the financed research project is commercial in nature, UKF and the institution at which the research is conducted shall hold joint property rights in respect of all results generated by it. Where a research project has no such commercial purpose but nevertheless produces results which can be the subject of IPR or generates knowledge which may lead to some other form of commercial exploitation, UKF shall have the right to claim co-ownership of those results or that knowledge.
Performance indicators
(i) The success of the UKF can be judged mainly on success of the particular projects that were financed and supported through the Fund. An essential part of the project proposal is the suggestion of the key performance indicators (KPI) and an assessment of their achievements. Special attention will be given to KPIs in the project evaluation stage, and they will also play an important role in the monitoring of the accepted projects.
(ii) A set of common KPIs which assesses future performance of UKF in general have also been developed. They serve as orientation for the overall success of the UKF programs.
Table 1: Key Performance Indicators of the Fund
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