1- In the case of R&D enterprise projects, demonstrator projects and mobilizing programmes, the following expenses are considered eligible:
a) Direct costs:
i) Expenses for technical staff of the beneficiary dedicated to R&D activities, including grant holders hired by the beneficiary with a scholarship fully supported by the latter;
ii) Acquisition of patents from external sources or licensed by them, at market prices, and which translate into their effective endogenization by the beneficiary;
iii) Raw materials, consumables and components necessary for the construction of pilot or experimental and/or demonstration facilities and for the construction of prototypes;
iv) Acquisition of services from third parties, including technical and scientific assistance and consultancy, as well as costs arising from the use of electronic platforms for open innovation and ‘crowdsourcing
v) Acquisition of scientific and technical instruments and equipment, to the extent used in the project and during its implementation;
vi) Acquisition of specific software for the project, to the extent used in the project, and during its implementation;
vii) Expenses related to the promotion and dissemination of the results of product or process innovation projects with applications in the field of science and technology
viii) Trips and stays abroad directly imputable to the project and demonstrably necessary for its implementation, excluding trips for contacts and other purposes of commercial nature;
ix) Expenses related to the certification process of the certified research, development and innovation management system according to NP 4457:2007, namely consultancy fees, training and preparation of the process with the certifying entity;
x) Costs related to the intervention of a technical-scientific auditor;
xi) Expenses related to the intervention of chartered accountants or certified public accountants, in the validation of payment claim expenses up to a limit of 5.000 euros per project;
xii) Contributions in kind, under conditions to be defined;
b) Indirect costs.
2- In the case of R&D clusters, the following expenses are eligible
a) Direct costs:
i) Expenses on technical staff dedicated to the promotion of the R&D Nucleus, including grant holders hired by the beneficiary with a scholarship fully supported by the latter; in the case of individual projects, only the hiring of a maximum of three new technical staff who must be exclusively dedicated to the project, with a qualification level equal to or higher than VI (degree), for a period of up to twenty-four months, is eligible under this heading;
ii) Training of human resources with the following eligible expenses, according to the nature and limits foreseen in a specific legislation
(1) Direct costs with internal and external trainers;
(2) Other costs, calculated on the basis of a fixed rate up to a maximum of 40% on the value of the direct costs with trainers, to be determined in accordance with the methodology defined in technical guidelines;
iii) Acquisition of services from third parties, including technical and scientific assistance and consultancy necessary for structuring the nucleus;
iv) Acquisition of scientific and technical instruments and equipment, to the extent that they are used in the project, and during its implementation;
v) Acquisition of specific software for the project, to the extent used in the project, and during its implementation;
vi) Adaptation of buildings and facilities to the extent used in the project, and during project implementation;
vii) Expenses related to the certification process of the certified research, development and innovation management system, according to NP 4457:2007, namely consultancy fees, training and preparation of the process with the certifying entity;
viii) Expenses related to the intervention of Chartered Accountants or Statutory Auditors;
ix) Expenses related to the intervention of a technical-scientific auditor;
x) Contributions in kind, under conditions to be defined.
b) Indirect costs.
3- For demonstration projects, besides the expenses foreseen in no. 1 above, direct expenses with:
a) Adaptation of buildings and facilities insofar as they are used for the project, and during the execution of the project;
b) Transport, insurance, assembly and dismantling of equipment and facilities specific to the project
c) Expenses inherent to the actual application in the user sector, up to a maximum limit of 15% of the project’s eligible expenses;
d) Computer models of the prototypes with simulation functions, when appropriate for demonstrating results.
4- Whenever the instruments, scientific and technical equipment or software acquired for the project foreseen in the previous numbers may be used for productive or commercial purposes after the end of the project, the value of the depreciations corresponding to the period of their use in the project is considered as eligible expenses.
5- The acquisitions foreseen in sub-paragraphs ii) and iv) of paragraph a) of no. 1 must be made under market conditions and to third parties unrelated to the acquirer.
6 – The eligible costs presented in the payment requests from the beneficiary are based on real costs and must be justified through paid invoices or other accounting documents of equivalent probative value, except when the simplified costs modality is foreseen.
7 – Where there is the possibility of imputing indirect costs, they shall be calculated on the basis of simplified costs, based on the application of the flat rate of 25% of direct eligible costs, excluding subcontracting and resources made available by third parties, in accordance with the provisions of Article 20 of Delegated Regulation (EU) No 480/2014, of 3 March.
8- For the purpose of determining staff costs related to the implementation of the project, the following simplified cost methods may in addition to the actual cost allocation be applied:
a) Simplified cost methodology based on the application of an hourly rate, calculated by dividing the most recent documented gross annual costs with work by 1,720 hours;
b) Standard cost methodology, in the case of expenses with Research Grants, based on the reference values in Annex I of the Research Grant Regulations of the Foundation for Science and Technology for the different categories of grant holders.
9- The number of hours of the beneficiary’s technical staff approved in the decision establishes the maximum eligible threshold for the project, which cannot be changed during implementation.
10- In the case of industrial property protection projects, costs related to obtaining and validating patent applications, utility models, designs or models, including fees, charges and other related expenses, shall be considered eligible.
11- In the case of R&D internationalization projects, the following are considered eligible:
a) Acquisition of consultancy services with the preparation of an application proposal to the R&I Programmes financed by the European Union, namely to Horizon 2020;
b) Trips and stays abroad directly imputable to the project and demonstrably necessary for its implementation.
12- In the case of vale R&D projects, consultancy services in research and technological development activities are considered eligible, as well as technology transfer services provided if they cumulatively meet the following conditions:
a) They are exclusively attributable to the establishment of the beneficiary where the project is developed;
b) They result from acquisitions under market conditions from third parties unrelated to the acquirer
c) They result from acquisitions from entities qualified to provide the service in question.