Login
 

Register your ECAS account 

What's New
 

Participant Portal V3.2 (02/2012)

 

  • Revised Role Management (allowing for more flexibility in assigning roles for negotiation and reporting in projects).
  • New functions related to the organisation registration (list of FP7 proposals for LEARS or Account Administrators, new self-registrant role).
  • Availability of FP7 documents (legal documents, work programmes, guidance notes, etc.).
  • New advanced search functions (for FP7 Calls and FP7 Documents).

read more 

Quick Links
 

FAQ
 

This page is updated with the answers to the most frequent questions that were submitted to the eFP7 service desk.
You can also find additional help in the following documents:

  • The Participant Portal User Manual which gives detailed information on the Portal and its components.
  • The "Role management changes in brief" quick information sheet, which gives an overview of the portal authentication mechanism as well as reference information about the different roles (and their associated capabilities) that can be assigned to Portal Users.

The questions and answers are organised along the following categories:

  1. Participant Portal

  2. User Registration and Authentication

  3. Roles

    About the role management in general

    • What is the Identity and Access Management (IAM) or role management in the Participant Portal?

      The role management of the Portal is a specific function that provides a personalised web space after log-in for each user including the entry points to all services.

      Each user involved in interactions with the Commission – eg. registering an organisation for a PIC number, negotiating a grant agreement, preparing a report – has a personalised page, where access to the different tools and services depends on the person and his/her role in the project and/or in the organisation.

    • What are the main principles of the role management?

      The Participant Portal offers a unique entry point for the interactions.

      • Each person has to register for an ECAS account (European Commission Authentication System). The unique identifier for a physical person is the e-mail address used for the creation of the ECAS account.
      • Each organisation needs to have a nine-digit PIC number for the identification of the entity.
      • The role management of the Portal is applied every time a user logs in according to the following main principles:
        • One login, the ECAS login is enough to get access to all the different tools and services.
        • The Commission/Agency can only approve/modify the 'top' roles within the consortium, but the granting of access rights to projects and provisioning of roles within a project is delegated to the members of each consortium.
        • Access can be provisioned to negotiations, amendments and/or financial and scientific reporting following a multi-level "pyramid" of rights, see Role management changes in brief.

      The project roles of a user can be checked after logging in to the ECAS account on the Participant Portal under the 'My Roles' tab.

    • Where can I check my rights in the projects?

      After logging in with the ECAS account to the Participant Portal, users can check their roles in their organisation(s) and project(s) under 'My Roles' tab.

    • How can I nominate/revoke colleagues?

      If a user has the necessary rights to nominate/revoke other users, nomination is possible by clicking on the blue or orange icons under the 'My Roles' or 'My Projects' tabs.
      Give access rights by clicking on the 'Add' or + buttons, specifying the e-mail and the user name of the person.
      Revoke a user by clicking on the 'Revoke selected' or 'x' buttons.

    Changes in the role management

    • What are the main changes in the new IAM version?

      The new release of the Participant Portal offers more flexibility in the management of access rights and roles in the projects, and brings a simplified structure of roles.

      The changes are:

      • Up to 5 Coordinator Contacts and Participant Contacts can be nominated per participant in the project.
        Note: due to the automatic transfer of roles from the previous version of IAM, there may be more than 5 Coordinator Contacts or Participant Contacts per organisation.
      • The current Coordinator Contact will become the Primary Coordinator Contact.
      • The scopes of scientific/financial/administrative/legal representatives disappear and are automatically transferred to new roles:
        • The current Scientific/Financial Representatives become Participant Contacts (or Coordinator Contacts for the coordinating participant).
        • Authorized Signatories become Participant Contacts.
        • Administrative/Legal Representatives become Task Managers.
    • What do entities need to do within my consortium to implement the new IAM version?

      Nothing, the transfer of roles is automatic. All access rights will be kept, but the level of access rights will change.
      A revision of the policy for granting accesses and roles within the consortium and within each organisation is advisable after the migration.
      You may check the new set of roles (under the "My Roles" or "My Projects" tab after ECAS login add or revoke roles within the consortium and/or within your own organisation, as necessary.

    • What do my roles become in the new IAM version?

      For the coordinating entity:

      • The Coordinator Contact automatically becomes the Primary Coordinator Contact.
      • Scientific or Financial Named Representatives and Authorized Signatories automatically become Coordinator Contacts

      For participants:

      • The Participant Contact remains a Participant Contact.
      • Scientific or Financial Named Representatives and Authorized Signatories automatically become Participant Contacts

      For each entity:

      • Administrative/Legal Named Representatives automatically become Task Managers.
      • Task Managers remain Task Managers, but the different scopes no longer exist.
      • Team Members remain Team Members, but the different scopes no longer exist.
      • No change for the LEAR and the Account Administrators.

      After the changes of roles, for each person the new roles are displayed under the 'My Roles' tab.

    • How do I get access to the Participant Portal?

      Except for the Primary Coordinator Contact and the LEAR, every role and access level to the Participant Portal is defined and modified by the participants.

      Some roles are automatically provisioned in the early stages of the Project as follows:

      • The Coordinator Contact identified in the proposal will be recognised by the Commission as the Primary Coordinator Contact for the negotiations, which can be modified later by the Project Officer.
      • The contact persons of the participating organisations identified during proposal submission will become Participant Contacts at the beginning of negotiations.
      • The (Legal Entity Appointed Representative) LEAR is validated by the Commission during the validation process of his/her organisation.

      The usual process for nominating the different actors in a consortium is as follows:

      1. At the start of the negotiations the contacts identified in the proposal submission forms get access to the Participant Portal and to the Negotiation Tool (NEF).
      2. The Primary Coordinator Contact can nominate further Coordinator Contacts and Participant Contacts.
      3. The Participant Contacts can add other Participant Contacts within their organisations (up to the limit of 5 persons).
        1. The Primary Coordinator Contact or the Coordinator Contact(s) can add Task Managers and Team members to the coordinating organisation.
        2. The Participant Contacts can add Task Managers and Team members to their own participating organisations.

      On the organisation level – to give access to the online management of the legal and financial data of the entity - the LEAR can nominate Account Administrator(s).

    • Who is the Primary Coordinator and what is (s)he authorized to do?

      The Primary Coordinator Contact is the primary point of contact between the Commission and the consortium.
      The Primary Coordinator Contact can only be revoked or modified by the Commission.

        The Primary Coordinator Contact:
      • Has full, read-write access to all the common forms and the entity's own forms,
      • Can submit to the Commission/Agency the consortium's forms,
      • Can nominate/revoke the rights of Coordinator Contacts (for his/her own entity) and/or Participant Contacts (for the partners). No more than 5 contacts are allowed. If the number is higher than 5 due to the transfer, no such contacts can be added.
      • Can nominate Task managers and/or Team Members for his/her own entity.
    • What are my rights as a Coordinator Contact?
        Coordinator Contacts:
      • Have full, read-write access to all the common forms and the entity's own forms,
      • Can submit to the Commission/Agency the consortium's forms,
      • Can nominate and/or revoke the rights of Coordinator Contacts (for his/her own entity - max.5).
      • Can nominate Task managers and/or Team Members for their own entity.
    • What are my rights as a Participant Contact?
        Participant Contacts:
      • Have full, read-write access to the entity's own forms,
      • Can submit to the coordinating entity their own forms,
      • Can nominate/revoke the rights of other Participant Contacts (within the entity – max. 5).
      • Can nominate Task managers and/or Team Members for their own entity.
    • What are my rights as a Task Manager?
        Task Managers:
      • Can read, create and update forms for their own organisation;
      • Submit (save) forms to the Participant Contacts.
    • What are my rights as a Team Member?
        Team Members:
      • Have read-only access.
    • What are my rights as a Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR) or Account Administrator?
        The LEAR can:
      • Request online the update of the organisation-related legal and financial data; view the history of changes for the data,
      • View the list of all roles of personnel representing the organisation,
      • View the list of projects and proposals of the entity,
      • Nominate and revoke Account Administrators within their organisation;
      • Request (via the helpdesk) to revoke users from roles within his/her organisation.
        Account Administrators can:
      • Request online the update of the organisation-related legal and financial data; view the history of changes for the data,
      • View the list of all roles of personnel representing the organisation,
      • View the list of projects and proposals of the entity,
      • Request (via the helpdesk) to revoke users from roles within his/her organisation.
    • Who can I nominate or revoke?
      • The Primary Coordinator Contact can nominate/revoke up to 5 Coordinator Contacts within his/her organisation, Task Managers and Team Members for the coordinating entity and Participant Contacts for other participating organisations within the consortium.
      • The Coordinator Contact can nominate/revoke up to 4 Coordinator Contacts within his/her organisation, Task Managers and Team Members of the coordinating entity.
      • The Participant Contact can nominate/revoke up to 4 Participant Contacts within their organisation, Task Managers and Team Members of their own entity.
      • The Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR) can nominate/revoke Account Administrators of his/her own entity.
      • Only the Commission/Agencies can nominate/revoke the Primary Coordinator Contact and the LEARs.

    The Legal Entity Appointed Representatives'(LEARs) role

    • What is the LEAR?

      The LEAR, Legal Entity Appointed Representative, is a person within an organisation appointed by a legal signatory of that legal entity to be the correspondent towards the Commission on all issues related to the legal status of the entity.

      The LEAR provides the Commission with up-to-date legal and financial data (including supporting documents, where necessary) and commits to maintain the organisation's account up-to-date. This would enable the quick use of updated information for grants and other transactions between the entity and the Commission's research (and other) programmes.

    • How can I appoint a LEAR?
      • The legal entity has to provide the research DGs (DG RTD, DG TREN, DG INFSO, DG ENTR) with the following documents. Both documents have to be duly signed. The LEAR Appointment document needs to be completely filled in:
        1) LEAR Appointment [PDF] [DOC]
        2) LEAR role and tasks [PDF] [DOC]
      • The documents must be sent by regular mail to:
        European Commission
        Research Executive Agency
        FP7 Support (A1)
        COV 2 - 13/132
        B-1049 Brussels
        Belgium
      • In order to activate the LEAR user account in the URF application, the LEAR will:
        a) receive an e-mail confirming the creation of his/her user account. The email will contain username, hyperlink and instruction how to activate the user account.
        b) receive a letter (by post) containing the PIN Code required for the LEAR account activation.
    • What are the role and tasks of the LEAR?
      Rights
      • The LEAR has the right to consult and request the update of the legal and financial information of his legal/entity through a secure Internet site that ensures adequate authentication and confidentiality mechanisms.
      • The research DGs (DG RTD, DG TREN, DG INFSO, DG ENTR)commit to the LEAR to treat all personal data provided by the LEAR in accordance with applicable law and regulations on protection of personal data.
      • The LEAR will have online access to the status of validation of the legal and financial data of the legal entity he/she presents.
      Tasks
      • The LEAR provides the research DGs upon their request with up-to-date legal and financial data (including supporting documents) concerning the legal entity he/she represents. The LEAR enters the data through URF/PDM hosted on the Participant Portal and the Validation Services (VS) performs the validation after the data has been completed.
      • The LEAR engages his/her organisation to maintain and update regularly the legal and financial data held by the research DGs regarding his/her legal entity, thus enabling its use for contracting and other transactions between his/her legal entity and the respective DGs. The LEAR should regularly check the correctness of the available data, in particular when he/she is aware of changes, or of negotiations and other ongoing transactions.
      • The LEAR distributes the PIC to other employees in his/her legal entity who might need it in the context of dealings with the research DGs for example for electronic submission of proposals or negotiation of grant agreements.
    • Can I appoint anyone in the organisation as a LEAR?

      The LEAR can be anyone in the organisation who has the capability to execute this task. Please do not forget that a legal signatory must sign the appointment letters.

    • I have sent the LEAR appointment documents. How long should I now wait until I can use the URF to modify the data?

      It might take between 2 and 4 weeks of time before the appointed LEAR is registered in our database. The research DGs (including DG RTD, DG TREN, DG INFSO, DG ENTR) will provide the LEAR with a confirmation letter stating the next steps for the use of URF.

    • How long should I wait before the modified data in URF is taken into account during the submission of a proposal?

      Modified data need to be first validated by the Central Validation Team. The modification requests sent by LEARs receive are considered as high priorities for validation.

    • I am the LEAR of my organisation and have made an update in the URF some days ago, but it seems that nothing has been updated. The status of my request (in the request history field) is still "CREATE".

      Your request to change information is being processed by the Validation Services (VS). Please note, that if you modify fields concerning legal information (e.g. address, VAT number, registration number, status of your organisation, etc), you are required to submit supporting documents to the VS. The requested documents can be either sent electronically to the VS or dispatched by post to:

      European Commission
      Research Executive Agency
      FP7 Support (A1)
      COV 2 - 13/132
      B-1049 Brussels
      Belgium

      You can find more information about the validation process on this link: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/pp-valid_en.html. If you need further details you can also contact the VSfor more information. Please provide them your PIC code and send your request from the LEAR email address.

    • As a LEAR, I want to change the indirect cost method (I.C.M.) but the field is read-only. How can I change it?

      The choice of Indirect Cost Method is considered as special information negotiated between the FP participants and the European Commission. Therefore, when designing the URF system, it was decided to block this cell for direct modification by the LEAR. It is only the Central Validation Team who can introduce any modifications to the I.C.M.

      To change your I.C.M., you should send your request to REA-URF-validation@ec.europa.eu (The request should be sent only from the LEAR email address).
      Please introduce in the subject line of your email: Request for ICM change "your legal name" and "your PIC number".

      The definition of the cost method could be found on pages 45 to 51 of the document: "Guide to Financial Issues relating to FP7 Indirect Actions"

    • I am the LEAR and I received the letter with the PIN code, but I did not receive the email mentioned in the letter. How can I get it?

      As the emails from ecas-admin@ec.europa.eu and digit-efp7-support@ec.europa.eu are sent with a "private" tag on them, they cannot be seen if using a shared or functional mailbox. To see the emails, you have to login to your shared or functional mailbox using Microsoft Outlook Web Access (OWA) or other web mail access. This way, you will use a password to login through the Outlook Web Access or web mail server, and the system will allow you to see the emails. If you need assistance to determine your type of mailbox or with the web mail access, you might contact your IT administrator.

      Further on:

      • If you think the email might have been treated as spam, contact your IT administrator to search for the email from:
        • the eFP7 Service Desk Team subject: 7th Framework Programme - User account creation.
        • the eFP7 Service Desk Team subject: 7th Framework Programme - User account upgrade.
      • If the email address recorded in the letter is wrong, then you should contact REA-LEAR-validation@ec.europa.eu and give them the details of your PIC, username and LEAR email address. Please attach the received LEAR appointment form in your email.
      • If the email address recorded in the letter is correct, then you should contact DIGIT-EFP7-SUPPORT@ec.europa.eu and give them the details of your PIC and username. This request can only be submitted from the LEAR email address (as sender) and the LEAR will receive a reply on his email address, once the issue has been solved.
    • I am the LEAR and I received the letter with the PIN code, but the email address in the letter is incorrect. How can I change it?

      If the email address recorded in the letter is wrong, then you should contact REA-LEAR-validation@ec.europa.eu and give them the details of your PIC, username (if you have created one) and LEAR email address. Please attach the received LEAR appointment form in your email.

    • I am the LEAR and I tried to activate my account by using the link in the email. But when I filled in the username and the PIN code, I received the error message: "Incorrect username or PIN code supplied, please try again"

       

      • This problem could be caused by using an incorrect domain in the ECAS service. You should check if your domain is "External" (you can change it in the top right-hand corner of the ECAS password initialisation page). To change the domain to "External" you can use this link and select "External" domain in the scroll menu, then click on the "select" button
      • If you are in the correct domain and the problem persists, please contact DIGIT-USER-ACCESS@ec.europa.eu and give them the details of your PIC, username and LEAR email address.

      Ecas screenshot
    • I am the LEAR and I have successfully entered my username and PIN code as requested, but I never received the email that the system should send me.
      • W Contact your IT department to check if the email from the Authentication Service subject: ECAS Password Initialisation is not "queuing" in the mail server.
      • The problem could occur if the email is treated as a spam. Ask your IT administrator to remove ecas-admin@ec.europa.eu or the domain ec.europa.eu from the spam filter.
      • If the above do not solve the problem, please contact DIGIT-USER-ACCESS@ec.europa.eu and give them the details of your first name, last name, username and email address. This request can only be submitted from the LEAR email address (as sender) and the LEAR will receive a reply on his/her email address, once the issue has been solved.
    • My organisation wants to change the LEAR. How should we process?

      You should provide a new LEAR appointment form to REA-LEAR-validation@ec.europa.eu. You should send the details of your PIC, the name of the previous LEAR and his email address. To find out how to appoint a LEAR, please follow this link: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/pp-lear_en.html

    • I am the LEAR of my organisation and I have changed my email address. How can I change it in URF?

      In order to change your email address in URF, as this is an important detail for the LEAR identification, please send a new LEAR appointment form to REA-LEAR-validation@ec.europa.eu, where you also state the details of your PIC. For the LEAR appointment form, please follow this link: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/pp-lear_en.html.

    • I am the LEAR, but when logging in the URF, the system shows me an error message.

      You should contact the eFP7 SUPPORT Team DIGIT-EFP7-SUPPORT@ec.europa.eu and provide them the details of your PIC, username and LEAR email address, along with the description of your problem.

    • Some functionality seems to have disappeared since my last login. What happened?

      This can be the result of one of the following:

      • Each user of the Participant Portal is assigned one or more Role in relation to projects and or legal entities. It is possible that your (or one of your) role(s) has been modified since your last login. Please consult the "Role management changes in brief" quick info sheet and chapter 2 of the User Manual in order to have more information about Portal Roles and their associated rights.
      • The functionality disappeared since your last login because the life cycle of the entity it was impacting has evolved and does not need it anymore.

  4. Organisation registration and organisation data management

    • What is the Unique Registration Facility or URF?

      The Unique Registration Facility (URF) is a service hosted by the Participant Portal which provides the users with an intuitive and user-friendly web based interface allowing participants to register and submit their legal- and financial data. LEARs/Account Administrators will be able to access the URF to perform updates on the legal- and financial data of their organisation.

    • Where can I find URF?

      The Unique Registration Facility or URF is hosted into the Participant Portal.

    • I have created my ECAS account, how could I access the URF registration form?

      You should login the Participant Portal and select the "My organisation" tab. There will be a link available to create a new organisation.

    • I registered my organisation in the URF within the Participant Portal but I cannot see my organisation under the tab 'My organisation'. Why is that?

      For now it is only the Legal Entity Appointed Representative (LEAR) who can see the organisation(s) he/she is responsible for. For more information on the LEAR please visit: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/pp-lear_en.html

    • I would like to become a contact point for the European Commission, how should I proceed?

      The only contact point for the organisation will be the LEAR. Please visit the LEAR information page for more detailed info.

    • What happens if my organisation registered twice in URF?

      If there is a duplicate registration (the same organisation has been registered twice), the new (or 2nd) PIC will be replaced by the PIC obtained with the first registration The participant will be informed about any PIC related updates should the submitted proposal reach the negotiation stage.

    • I tried to log in to the URF, but I could only view my data.

      You cannot log in the URF to change organisational data, if no LEAR has been appointed. As soon as a LEAR has been appointed by your organisation and has been authorised by the European Commission, the LEAR will receive the credential to log in to the URF and manage the data. To find out how to appoint a LEAR, please follow this link: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/pp-lear_en.html

    • I have registered my organisation in URF but when I tried to log in to the URF, the data could only be viewed in read only mode.

      You can not edit your data in the URF, if no LEAR has been appointed. As soon as a LEAR is appointed, the LEAR will receive the credentials to log in to the URF and will be able to edit the data. To find out how to appoint a LEAR, please follow this link: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/pp-lear_en.html.

    • Does the URF webpage exist in any language other than English?

      URF is only available in English at this moment.

    • When I go on "My organisation", the system invites me to create a registration. What shall I do?

      If you already have a PIC displayed in the webpage, you should not use this link. The link to the page inviting to create a registration concerns only new participants, as they register to obtain a temporary PIC. If you are a new participant and want to register your organisation, you should click the "register here" link to start the registration of your organisation and you will then obtain a PIC (the PIC will be a temporary one until it will be validated, but it can still used for proposal submission).

    • How can I make a modification of my organisation's data?

      For all validated participants who wish to change their data, it is only the appointed LEAR (Legal Entity Appointed Representative) who can request modifications in the database (using the PIC code of the validated entity).

      Once the requests have been made in the system, then the LEAR has to send a mail to the Validation Services (VS), always mentioning in the reference -at least- the PIC code, explaining what modifications are needed and, eventually, providing the relevant supporting documents for the requested modifications. The VS evaluates the accuracy of the request and, if possible, changes the information in PDM.

      If something more needs to be clarified or provided, the VS will contact the LEAR (He/she should not make a new request in the system while the previous one is still pending).

    • Who are the VS or Validation Services?

      The Validation Services (VS) carries out the validation of the legal entity status of FP participants (public or private bodies, research organisations, SME's, etc.). The VS acts on behalf of the Commission and more particular, on behalf of the research DGs (DG RTD, DG TREN, DG INFSO, DG ENTR). The validation of the status of participants is required before grant agreements can be signed either within the FP7 and other programmes managed by the research DGs.

      The VS functions currently as a department within the Research Executive Agency, which was entrusted by the European Commission to carry out the validation of the status of the participants who will receive funding through specific European research programmes.

    • What is the PIC or Participant Identification Code of my organisation?

      The Participant Identification Code (PIC) is a 9 digits unique identifier for every validated legal entity. Participants will not have to submit their legal and financial information (and supporting documents) each time they submit a proposal or negotiate a grant agreement, but just their PIC.

    • Is it mandatory to have an ECAS account in order to get a PIC?

      Yes. An ECAS account is required in order to log into the Participant Portal where the URF is hosted. Through the URF you can register your organisation and will then receive a PIC.

    • How can I find out whether my organisation already has a PIC?

      First, try to find out within your organisation who is the LEAR of your organisation; he/she will be able to tell you what the PIC is. If you still cannot find the PIC of your organization, please use the "Search PIC" functionality which you will find under the tab 'My organisation'.

    • What was the situation in FP6 and first calls of FP7 and why is it being changed?

      • Organisations' legal and financial information was requested on a project basis leading to multiple redundant requests and overloading of administrative and scientific staff

      • Legal data was requested at both proposal submission and negotiation stage (again a redundant request)
      • In FP6, organisations were, in most cases, validated for their legal existence and status every time they were about to sign a grant agreement, leading to multiple requests for the submission of supporting documents.
    • What are the advantages for participants using a PIC?
      • Participants will not have to submit their legal and financial information (and supporting documents) each time in preparation of a new grant agreement with the research DGs (DG RTD, DG TREN, DG INFSO, DG ENTR), but just their PIC;
      • Participants (through their appointed Legal Entity Appointed Representatives - LEARs) will be able to check the legal and financial data the Commission has on their organisation; they will be able to propose changes if their records are not correct or up-to-date; any new transactions will automatically take the changes into account and this will reduce the administrative workload;
      • The Central Validation Team will establish a privileged relationship with the LEAR, which will alleviate administrative and scientific personnel from the task of following-up on administrative data submitted, providing legal and financial information and related supporting documents.
    • I know that my organisation does not have a PIC. How can I get one?

      If your organisation does not have an FP7 grant agreement, then you should create an account in the Participant Portal in order to be able to register your organisation in the Unique Registration Facility (URF). A PIC is provided at the end of the registration process and can be then used for proposal submission after 48 hours. During registration, URF does not check for duplicate registrations; this will be done if your proposal is retained for negotiation.

    • How can I use the PIC in general?

      In the Electronic Proposal Submission Service (EPSS) and Negotiation Form (NEF) there will be fields available where you will be able to enter the PIC, and by that to provide the identity of your organisation.

    • Our organisation is made up of different departments, should I get more PICs?

      No, we do not take into account all different departments from one legal entity. Hence, all departments should make use of the same PIC of the legal entity. As for the LEAR, currently only one person should be appointed for the entire legal entity.

    • I have received two PICs for my organisation, what should I do?

      You might have received two PICs, if your organisation has been registered twice, and thus one registration is a duplicate. Duplicate registrations (and the respective temporary PICs) will be identified by the VS if the proposal is successful and the participants enter negotiation. Your organisation would be notified then about the PIC which has been validated as permanent, and it is that permanent PIC you would use in any applications. Until a PIC is validated as permanent, you can use any of the received temporary PICs when submitting your proposal.

    • How long should I wait before I can start using the PIC once I registered in URF?

      New participants register their organisation in the Unique Registration Facility hosted by the Participant Portal. After the registration, they will receive a PIC. Although the legal data is directly saved in the participant database, there will be a delay of 48 hours before the data will be visible in EPSS. However the PIC can be used immediately in NEF for negotiation.

    • After the registration of my organisation, I did not receive any email with the PIC code.
      • Contact your IT department to check if the email from the Authentication Service <fp7-urf-no-reply@ec.europa.eu> subject: Your registration request in URF is not "queuing" in the mail server.
      • The problem could occur if the email is treated as a spam. Ask your IT administrator to remove fp7-urf-no-reply@ec.europa.eu or the domain ec.europa.eu from the spam filter.
      • If it does not solve the problem, please contact DIGIT-EFP7-SUPPORT@ec.europa.eu and give them the details of your first name, last name, email address, username (if created) and the legal name of your organisation.
    • I was already using a PIC for my proposal. Then I received a new PIC from the Validation Services (VS). What happens to my old data?

      Your data will not be lost. This is not a problem, since duplicate registrations (through temporary PICs) will be identified by the VS if the proposal is successful and the participants enter negotiation. From that moment on, you should only use the PIC validated by the VS.

    • When I entered the PIC in EPSS, I received an error message "No data is associated with this PIC". What shall I do?
      • If you have just registered your organisation in URF, the data will be recognized by EPSS only 48 hours after the registration.
      • In case you have registered your organisation more than 48 hours ago, you can receive this message if your PIC is still under validation.
      • If your PIC number has been previously confirmed by the Validation Services (VS) and you still get the mentioned message, you should contact support@epss-fp7-org. Please also provide the details of your PIC.
    • I registered twice my organisation and have obtained a new PIC code. What shall I do?

      This is not a problem, since duplicate registrations (through temporary PICs) will be identified by the VS if the proposal is successful and the participants enter negotiation. From that moment on, you should only use the PIC provided by the VS (displayed when you log in URF).

    • Does my organisation's financial capacity need to be checked?

      The financial capacity of the coordinator and any other applicant requesting an EU contribution exceeding EUR 500,000 is assessed, except for public bodies, higher and secondary education establishments, international organisations and entities whose participation is guaranteed by a Member State or an Associated Country, in accordance with the Rules to ensure consistent verification of the existence and legal status of participants, as well as their financial capacity to be downloaded from CORDIS or from the Participant Portal (ftp://ftp.cordis.europa.eu/pub/fp7/docs/rules-verif_en.pdf) and the Guide to Financial Issues (ftp://ftp.cordis.europa.eu/pub/fp7/docs/financialguide_en.pdf).

    • How can I check the financial viability of my organisation?

      If your entity's financial capacity has to be assessed, you will be informed of the exact process and the official contact persons. Please note that the REA will gradually take over the verification of the financial documents.

      Currently either the REA or the Legal/Financial Officer given in the Negotiation Mandate will gather the necessary documents. Financial verification by the REA: The supporting documents for the financial capacity check (balance sheet etc.) should be uploaded, and the simplified accounts seen in Appendix 1 of the Negotiation Guidance Notes should be encoded under the "My Organisations" tab of the Participant Portal by the LEAR (usually) of the entity only upon request by the Commission/REA). A copy of the submitted documents has to be sent to the Legal/Financial Officer of the project only if definitely required (eg. DG INFSO projects). The REA will have to validate this information after verifying the accuracy and reliability of the financial documents and correctness of the information encoded in the Participant Portal. Please note that the final assessment and interpretation of financial viability remains within the competence of the responsible Authorising Officer in the Commission/REA.

  5. Proposals and their submission

    • What are the changes in EPSS?

      • All participating organisations will be assigned a PIC
      • A PIC has already been assigned to all organisations with FP7 grant agreements, which has been or will be soon communicated to the grant agreement contact points
      • Organisations without FP7 grant agreements can use the URF to register and get a PIC
      • EPSS is progressively being adapted to allow for the use of the PIC
      • The use of the PIC in proposal submission is optional but highly recommended
    • How should I use the PIC in EPSS?

      • If you registered your organisation, make sure that registration took place at least 48 hours before using it in a proposal submission, otherwise the URF data will not be visible to EPSS
      • In EPSS, type your PIC when asked; EPSS will show you part of the legal data associated to that PIC, so that you can check that the PIC you are using is the right one
      • If you think there are errors in the data shown that might affect the eligibility of your proposal (such as SME status) you can always remove the PIC and fill in the data as previously.
    • Do I need to have a PIC to submit a proposal in EPSS?

      The use of a PIC is not compulsory for proposal submission, but it is strongly recommended as it helps identify the participant.

      A participant shall submit his/her proposal without using a PIC in the following cases:

      • Important fields (such as the legal name or the legal status) displayed after entering a PIC are totally incorrect;
      • The participant is an organisation which has not registered yet for participation in FP7 calls and wants to submit a proposal for a call which closes in less than 48 hours. This is due to the fact that a PIC can be used only 48 hours after the registration of the organisation.

    • Can I use the PIC for all calls?

      You can use the PIC for all FP7 calls.

    • I have registered in the URF within the Participant Portal, I got a PIC, but when using it in EPSS I receive the message that the PIC is wrong. What shall I do?

      Although the legal data is directly saved in the participants database, there will be a delay of 48 hours before the PIC can be used and thus the data be shown in EPSS. Please see also Q: Do I need to have a PIC to submit a proposal in EPSS?

    • Why can't I modify the data directly in EPSS when I use a PIC?

      The data shown in EPSS when entering a PIC has been validated and can only be changed by the LEAR of the organisation in the Unique Registration Facility (or URF) hosted by the Participant Portal.

    • The data displayed when using my PIC is not correct, what should I do?

      If the incorrect data might put at risk the eligibility of your proposal - SME status or country of establishment - then you should submit your proposal without entering the PIC by manually re-entering all the legal and financial data.

      For all other information, if wrongly recorded, you can submit your proposal with the given PIC as it does not imply a risk and during the negotiation stage you will be able to modify these data through the LEAR of your organisation.

    • How can I modify the legal data shown in EPSS?

      You should take contact with the LEAR of your organisation. The LEAR will then log in the Unique Registration Facility (or URF) hosted by the Participant Portal and will modify the legal data. The modifications will be taken into account in EPSS after they have been validated by the Central Validation Team.

  6. Negotiations

    • What are the changes in grant agreement negotiations?
      • The Validation Services (or VS) centralise the collection of legal and financial documents and validates all participating organisations only once
      • All organisations negotiating an FP7 grant agreement must appoint a Legal Entity Appointed Representative (or LEAR) who will be in charge of providing the legal and financial documents to the VS and can request modifications of the legal and financial data held by the Commission via the URF on the Participant Portal
      • During negotiation, it will not be possible to directly modify the organisation's legal and financial data directly in NEF (NEF stands for Negotiation form, which replaces the Grant Preparation Form editor). Hence, the appointment of the LEAR can become a blocking issue to conclude negotiations in case changes are required.

      If your proposal is retained for negotiation, then the VS will validate your legal and financial information. If an organisation has registered more than once, the VS can identify the multiple registrations, and discard the redundant ones. Before joining the negotiation process, you will be invited to designate a LEAR. The LEAR provides the Commission with up-to-date legal and financial data (including supporting documents, where necessary) and commits to maintain the information up-to-date, enabling future use for grants and other transactions between the entity and the Commission's research (and other) programmes (see Q&A : "How to appoint a LEAR").

    • Why can I not modify the data directly in the NEF forms?

      You need to contact the LEAR of your organisation in order to request an update of the data. The LEAR will then submit a request for update in the Unique Registration Facility hosted on the Participant Portal and as soon as it will be validated by the Commission, NEF will be updated.

    • I want to involve a new participant, what should I do?

      The new participant first needs to register in the URF and get a PIC. Once the participant is registered, it can immediately use the received PIC in the corresponding field in NEF.

    • Where can I find more information about NEF?

      You can find more information about NEF in the NEF online Manual.

  7. (NEW) Reporting

    About the reporting in general

    • Where do I find the links to the reporting functions?

      After login on the Participant Portal, the 'My Projects' tab shows the user the links to the different IT tools under the 'Actions' column. By clicking on one of the icons of users can access the required function.
      As users are offered a personalised space on the Portal, they will have access only to those IT tools that are relevant to their projects - no mistake can be done by the user.

    • Which functions do I have to use to prepare my reports and where to find more help?

      There are three reporting tools that are available on the Participant Portal currently:

      • FP7 Periodic reporting - the tool is available for ICT projects mainly. See online guidance in the online Manual.
      • FP7 Financial reporting is the function to be used when the financial form, Forms C are prepared. Details are available in the User Manual.
      • FP7 Reporting and deliverables is the function where scientific periodic and final reports can be prepared, deliverables, publications, etc. can be uploaded. Details are available in the User Manual.

      The reporting responsibilities of the beneficiaries are described in the Guidance Notes on Project Reporting, the guide and templates are available under the guidance section of the FP7 Doc tab of the Participant Portal: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/page/fp7_documentation.

    Explanation on the use of resources

    Explanation of personnel costs, subcontracting and any major costs incurred by each beneficiary, such as the purchase of important equipment, travel costs, large consumable items linked to work packages.

  8. Joint Technology Initiatives

  9. Calls

  10. FP7 Documentation