Access to Facilities Guidelines
Updated 29 Mar 2017, 21:45
NOTE that the EuHIT project is officially finish. New proposals are not longerofficially supported by the EU.However, we welcome you to contact directly with the Research Infrastructure
and discuss your project idea! These guidelines will help the prospective EuHIT users with the
understanding of the access to facilities procedure and with the submitting of application forms. The
guidelines will also be useful for the implementation of the projects and reporting.
Glossary
Project Leader researcher responsible for all dealings with the EuHIT coordinators including contacting,
applying, implementing and reporting. His name is given on the Project Proposal forms.
Research Infrastructure (RI) Institution, partner of the EuHIT, which has at its disposal one or
more turbulence facilities. RI is the place, where the prospective research is to be made. Each
RI cooperating with the EuHIT has a contact person responsible for communication with EuHIT
coordinators and the applicants.
Facility Single installation designed for the turbulence research experiments. In every RI there is one or
more facility. Specifications of each of them can be found at the EuHIT website.
Transnational Access (TNA) The crucial role of the EuHIT is to enable the transnational access to
facilities for groups of researchers from countries which which do not have installations suitable for
planned experiments. The TNA procedure is described in the guidelines to be found at the EuHIT
website.
Coordinator Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS), Göttingen, Germany.
Selection Panel (SP) collective body responsible for the final selection of the applications.
Reviewers external experts whose role is to review every project. Evaluations given by reviewers are
important for the selection procedure.
T&S costs Transport and Subsistence costs. All costs of accommodation, board and transport incurred
by the Users in connection with the project. They are reimbursed directly by the Coordinator.
Receipts are obligatory.
User Every participant of the EuHIT projects (past, present and prospective).
I. Before submitting the application
I.1 Applicants profile
EuHIT is open to individual researchers and teams of researchers working in the field of turbulence research.
The programme is intended for researchers from European institutions (from member states and associated
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states of the EU) who would like to do an experiment using facilities outside their home countries.
Every research team needs to be represented by one Leader responsible for the project preparation,
implementation and reporting. The Project Leader will also handle all communications on behalf of
the team.
I.2 Eligibility of the research groups
To be eligible to benefit from access to the infrastructure under the grant agreement, a research group
must fulfill the following two conditions:
1. The Project Leader and the majority of the Users must work in an institution established in a
Member State or Associated State of the European Union;
2. The Project Leader and the majority of the Users must work in a country other than the home
country of the legal entity operating the infrastructure to be used. When the infrastructure consists of
several installations operated by different legal entities, this condition shall apply to each installation.
This condition shall not apply:
• when the applicants institution is an International Organisation or a Joint Research Center;
• in case of remote access to a distributed set of infrastructures or installations offering the same
services.
The Users home institution can be either academic or business. Freelancers cannot be Project Leaders.
I.3 Direct contact with the Research Infrastructure
It is possible to apply without prior contact with the chosen Research Infrastructure (RI). However, strong
preference will be given to the projects formulated in close cooperation between the Project Leader and
the contact person of the given RI. Good communication, mutual understanding and consensus between
the Users and RI will increase the chances of the project being approved. They will clearly be also very
important when the project is realised. Early contact with the RI is the right way to proceed, as in any
case the RI must agree with the proposed research project. The Project Leader should discuss with the RI
the feasibility of the project and estimate efforts involved (including required time, technical support and
manpower). The list of Research Infrastructures with the descriptions of their facilities and the contact
data of the EuHIT contact persons are available at the EuHIT website.
I.4 Eligible projects
All turbulence research projects are eligible, but priority will be given to those where the transnational
access to the facilities creates a significant added value. The applicants may represent more than one
institution – the projects may be both inter-institutional and international. It is important to consider,
that all projects should be realised within one year from the date of the announcement of the application
results. Exceptional extensions must be approved by the Coordinator.
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I.5 Multiple and repeated applications
Applicants may apply several times. The same person can be the Project Leader of no more than 2
concurrently running projects. All related past and current EuHIT projects must be indicated in the
application form.
II. Project Proposal
II.1 Application procedure
All applications must be submitted through the on-line application system at the EuHIT web portal. Prior
to the submission, proposals should be consulted with the chosen RI as described in paragraph I.3. In order
to get access to the on-line application system, the Project Leader must register at the EuHIT web portal.
Project Leader using his/her account submits the Project Proposal by filling the on line application form
which consists of information concerning the main scientific question to be answered, scientific description
of the project, draft budget, work plan including the number and character of proposed research visits
and objectives. Project Proposal form is to be filled on line through the on-line application system by
the deadline of the grant call. No other documents are needed to support the application except for the
scientific CV of the Project Leader which is an obligatory attachment. The CV should be structured and
contain updated publication record of the Project Leader. In case the Project Leader doesnt have a PhD,
it is important to indicate the name(s) of the scientific supervisor(s). In such a case the supervisor must
register and enter a letter of support at the EuHIT portal. Beware, that each box of the on-line application
form has a limit on the number of characters. You will not be able to submit until all boxes are within
the limit.
II.2 Deadlines
Application deadlines are announced on the EuHIT web portal. Normally 4 calls per year will be organised
(less in 2013). Each deadline will be on Sunday at 23:59 AOE (Anywhere on Earth).
III. Project selection
III.1 Evaluation period
The project selection procedure may last up to 8 weeks from the deadline of each grant call.
III.2 Selection Procedure
1. Project Leader submits an on-line application form with the description of the prospective project
by the deadline of the grant call.
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2. The Research Infrastructure concerned evaluates the projects and, if more than one was submitted,
ranks them in order of preference.
3. Two independent external reviewers appointed by the Coordinator evaluate each application.
4. Financial approval: after receiving the external reviews, the Coordinator approves the budget. At
this stage Coordinator may consult details with both the Project Leader and the RI.
5. Final approval: Selection Panel selects projects for funding. Project Leaders are informed about the
outcome of the grant procedure through the on-line system.
III.3 Selection criteria
During careful review of the projects, the reviewers and the Selection Panel take into consideration:
• Scientific value of the proposed project
• Proposed work plan and its feasibility
• Scientific Curriculum Vitae of the Project Leader
The external reviewers mark the projects by giving points for particular parts of the Project Proposal.
The marking is done as shown here:
1. Scientific background and objectives – max 6points
2. Work plan – max 4points
Additionally the chosen RI must answer positively to the following questions:
1. Is the proposed project appropriate for the selected Research Infrastructure?
2. Does the RI agree with this plan? Will its facility(-ies) be ready to receive visitors and to conduct
the proposed experiment?
If the RI negatively answers to any of these questions, the project is immediately rejected.
III.4 Announcement of results
Approved projects are listed on the EuHIT website no later than 8 weeks from the deadline of each
grant call. A notification e-mail is sent automatically to the Project Leaders.
IV. Contractual terms and project implementation
Project implementation period starts on the day of announcement of the call results and may last up to
one year from this date.
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IV.1 Contractual terms
There is no contract to be signed with the Coordinator. The reimbursement is based on the financial
documents presented. However, there is an agreement to be signed between the Project Leader and the
Research Infrastructure prior to the first visit: Guest Residency and Use of Facilities Agreement. This
document is available here.
IV.2 Acknowledging EuHIT
EuHIT must be acknowledged in any publication resulting from or related to the EuHIT projects. This
applies to any form of publication such as scientific articles, reports, conference presentations and science
communication through television, radio broadcasts or press releases. EuHIT logo and promotional
materials may be downloaded from the EuHIT internet site. EuHIT users are strongly encouraged to
circulate information about and to give publicity to the opportunities offered by the EuHIT programme.
V. Reimbursement procedure
V.1 TNA financial rules
The Transnational Access to facilities programme is the main activity within the EuHIT. Enabling free use
of foreign research infrastructures is the major part of the project budget. These activities will be entirely
financed from the EuHIT budget. However, there are two separate types of costs: the RI costs (technical
and personnel costs) and the Users expenditures for transport and subsistence (T&S costs). The former
are covered by the Research Infrastructures. The T&S costs of the EuHIT Users are reimbursed directly
by the Coordinator. There are two possible options of reimbursement payment:
1. Users may claim their travel and lodging expenses from their home institution. In this case the home
institution does the calculations according to its own rules and gets reimbursed by the Coordinator
after sending an invoice or other document proving the incurred costs.
2. The Users claim their travel and lodging expenses directly from the Coordinator. In this case Users
must provide original travel documents (tickets, hotel bills etc.) and fill a separate reimbursement
form of the Coordinator.
The following details are valid if the Users claim their expenses from the Coordinator. Differences may
occur if the Users claim their expenses from their home institutions.
V.2 Eligible costs
Only the following T&S costs are eligible for reimbursement:
1. Travel costs (including plane tickets, railway tickets, bus tickets and taxi bills).
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2. Accommodation (reasonably priced hotels should be chosen).
3. Daily allowance (Travel Times and border crossing must be specified).
Reimbursement for any use of private or hired car or taxi must be well justified and approved in advance
by the Coordinator. Only one travel per person per project is allowed! The following costs are
not eligible and therefore cannot be considered for refund:
1. Travel or accommodation not directly linked with the project
2. Expenditures of persons not included on the list of participants of the project
3. Any purchases not directly related with the T&S costs.
Important notice: It is necessary that the projects are finished, including the final report, data upload
(at least some test data)and travel reimbursement by March 31, 2017. If you need an extension, the
expenses cannot be covered by EuHIT.
V.3 Reimbursement claiming procedure
Project Leader chooses between the two reimbursement options. If he/she chooses payment through the
home institution, then this institution is obliged to present precise calculations according to its internal
rules and send a reimbursement request. This document(s) must be signed by the official authorities of the
sending institution and delivered to the EuHIT Coordinator within three month after the last research trip
is made. If the Project Leader chooses to have the costs reimbursed directly, he/she fills the Coordinators
T&S document, attaches original documents (bills, tickets, invoices) and sends them to the Coordinator
within three month after the last research trip was made. The Coordinator will reimburse all eligible
costs through a bank transfer to the account given on the Financial Statement. It is important not to
forget about the international banking numbers (SWIFT/BIC and IBAN code). In either case no refund
will be made unless the Coordinator receives reporting documents: Final Report and the User Group
Questionnaire (see: VI. Reporting).
V.4 Financial documentation
The following documents are used for the TNA costs reimbursement:
1. Coordinators T&S document This document is to be downloaded from the EuHIT website. It
should list all T&S costs of the entire project (all visits). It has to be signed by the Project Leader.
2. Attachments The following original documents must be enclosed with the Financial Statement:
• Tickets (in case of electronic tickets, please attach printed version including the paid amount)
and boarding cards
• Bills and receipts (only for T&S costs)
• Invoices
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In case the currency is not Euro, please provide credit card statements to get reimbursement for currency
exchange rate fees.
V.5 Time limits
Reimbursement of the T&S costs is made within three month from the date of delivery of the Final Report
and of the financial documents. It is necessary to send both documents. Reimbursement will not be made
until the Final Report is delivered.
VI. Reporting
VI.1 Final Report
The Final Report is to be filled by the Project Leader through the EuHIT web portal within one month
after the last research trip was made. It should consist of the research activities summary, brief description
of the research stays and information on the cooperation with the Research Infrastructure. There is a
special place to attach project documentation (including multimedia). The attachments may include
photos, videos, diagrams, audio files etc. Project Leaders are strongly encouraged to use this possibility.
VI.2 Acceptance by the Research Infrastructure
After submission by the Project Leader, the Final Report is reviewed and accepted by the Research
Infrastructure. The RI may supply the Final Report with additional information. This information is
very useful for the Coordinator giving him better view of what the project implementation looked like.
VI.3 Acceptance by the Coordinator
The Coordinator accepts the Final Report and the Financial Statement. This approval is the basis for
reimbursement. At this stage the Coordinator may also ask for additional information.
VI.4 Rejection by the Coordinator
In exceptional cases, when the project realisation significantly differed from the submitted Proposal, the
Coordinator may reject the Final Report. In such case the reimbursement will not be paid or will be
paid only in part. It is important to stress, that this situation does not apply to unsuccessful scientific
experiments, but to projects with serious defects in implementation, reporting and financing.
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VI.5 User Group Questionnaire
Apart from the EuHIT internal report, there is an obligatory questionnaire for all users profiting from the
transnational access to facilities provided by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme. The
questionnaire is to be filled directly on the website of the European Commission.
VI.6 Data upload to TurBase
Within one month after the last research trip was made, the data that was obtained during the visit at
the Research Infrastructure has to be uploaded to the EuHIT turbulence databaseTurBase. Alternatively
the Project Leader may provide a date within the next 12 month by which she/he promises to complete
the upload. In this case the Project Leader is asked to upload already some test data to TurBase.
Reimbursement will not be made before either the data upload is completed or the Project Leader delivers
a definite deadline to complete the upload, and having uploaded already a test case.
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