Who needs to be informed?
The Unit Director, Head of Administration, Research Adviser and Finance Consultant.
Allocation letter from funder
The department must first receive the allocation letter from the funder. An allocation letter specifies who the funder is, which project is being funded and how much funding has been allocated for the project.
Revision of project descriptions and budgets
In some cases, you may not get the full amount for which you applied. There may also be other changes that have budgetary implications. In such cases, the budget and the project must be revised. Most funders require revised budgets, including a description of how the project can be implemented with the allocated funds.
Such revisions are conducted with assistance from the research administration and the finance section in consultation with management.
From application budget to operating budget
The most detailed budget possible must be drawn up for the operation of the project. If the project includes partners to which expenses must be reimbursed and/or who are participating in exchange for a fee, a separate budget must be drawn up for
each of these. It is important to clarify whether the partners will manage and enter expenses for operations in accordance with agreed activities and receive reimbursement for these against invoices over an agreed period or whether funds will be transferred in advance and the partners will
periodically present documentation showing that the funds have been used in accordance with the agreement. This must be assessed in accordance with the contract with the funder.
Such revisions are conducted with assistance from the research administration and the finance section in consultation with management. Partner budgets must be clarified at an authorised management level with partners who will use resources.
Contract proposal from funder
After reaching agreement with the funder concerning the revised project and budget, the funder will submit a contract proposal.
The research administration must quality-assure all contracts in consultation with the project manager, finance section and management and no contract may be signed before such quality assurance work has been completed. The University of Oslo’s legal department can assist in the assessment of contract proposals from funders.
The EU and the Research Council of Norway have their own standard contracts that have already been quality assured. Contracts from all other funders must be submitted to the University of Oslo’s legal advisers for legal verification. This is done by the research administration.
The following are verified in particular:
- rights to the outcomes
- what kind of project it is? Commission or contribution?
- is the project subject to value-added tax?
- how will payments be made?
If there are other institutional partners in the project, the funder will require cooperation agreements to be entered into and presented to the funder before the contract is signed.
Cooperation agreements with partners
Different funders have different requirements concerning cooperation agreements, for different types of projects and different partners. The University of Oslo has a website that provides guidance in the selection of agreements and a legal department that can assist in the selection and design of cooperation agreements.
Funders do not require cooperation agreements to be entered into with partners from other units at the University of Oslo. However, the rule at the Faculty of Educational Sciences is that project collaborations must also be contractual for internal collaborations at the University of Oslo. This is to guarantee agreement and a shared understanding among project participants and to ensure that participation is anchored among management at all involved units. Nevertheless, internal collaborations at the University of Oslo may be agreed using a simplified cooperation agreement.
Signing the contract with the funder
Once we have reached agreement concerning the contents of the contract with the funder and cooperation agreements have been signed with any partners and presented to the funder, the contract with the funder can be signed. Contracts are usually signed electronically. Only unit directors and heads of administration are authorised to sign contracts on behalf of the unit.
Create the project in the University of Oslo’s finance system
Before project participants can start charging costs against the project, the project must be registered in the University of Oslo’s finance system and be allocated a project number.
The finance section will apply for the creation of new projects in the University of Oslo’s finance system.
This can be done when the contract with the funder has been formally approved by both parties and the following documents have been archived in ePhorte (this is done by the research administration):
- application
- project description
- allocation letter
- budget
- cooperation agreements with partners
- contract with funder
The finance manager then submits a project creation application.
The project is allocated a number when it has been created in the University of Oslo’s central system. The project number must be specified when recording costs against a project.
In connection with the project creation, the finance section will also agree how the project manager and project economist will follow up on the project in terms of internal and external management and reporting.
Ready - Set - Go!
Everything is now ready to order what you need for the project’s scientific kick-off!
And remember... Explain financial management to project participants
The project manager is responsible for the financial management of the project. This includes ensuring that project participants are familiar with the budget limits for the activities for which they are responsible or involved in and that they are familiar with the University of Oslo’s rules and procedures for procurements (orders) and expenses and that these are complied with.
The project manager will be given assistance by the finance section as needed to go through this with the project participants.