Due to the current coronavirus pandemic, applicants, evaluators and financing institutions of pub-licly funded R&D and innovation projects are all facing new challenges. The NRDI Office comes up with eased rules for disbursement of advances to alleviate cash-flow difficulties of ongoing pro-jects and supports beneficiaries of funded proposals with simpler administrative procedures and prolonged submission deadlines.

These measures can be followed on the website of the Office, while a new communication tool called RDI Hotline has been installed to efficiently handle in-quiries and suggestions.

The National Research, Development and Innovation (NRDI) Office plays a key role in implementing the government’s RDI strategy and innovation efforts. However, the state of danger caused by the coronavirus pandemic requires the NRDI Office to adopt new approaches and introduce targeted tools.

Dr Zoltán Birkner, President of the NRDI Office pointed out: ‘We have reviewed the entire portfolio of calls to identify the difficulties funded projects currently face. As an immediate measure, we modified the cost eligibility and reporting rules, and provisionally suspended on-site inspections. Our latest measure has eased the rules of disbursing advances from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund to all beneficiaries, and is expected to speed up the disbursement of nearly HUF 28 billion to up to 340 innovation projects and 450 OTKA basic research projects in the upcoming months. In addition, we have extended the period for using the innovation funds, set longer deadlines for the submission of invoices, supporting documents and responses to deficiency notices, and adjusted the rules governing mandatory commitments and indicators set out in the funding agreements. In the case of running innovation projects, this affects nearly 950 beneficiaries, including approximately 600 businesses and 330 pubic research organisations, and a total funding volume of around HUF 180 billion. As for the Thematic Excellence Programme and the Excellence Programme for Higher Education Institutions, we have extended the period for using the awarded funds (around a total of HUF 30 billion in over 90 priority thematic areas), and the same measures have been applied to the 1600 ongoing scholarship projects of the New National Excellence Programme, benefitting of more than HUF 2.9 billion funding.

The NRDI Office is continuously assessing the necessity of further measures. The President of the NRDI Office highlighted: ‘Questions, comments and suggestions in relation to the new measures are welcome and will be responded as quickly as possible at the RDI Hotline, a recently introduced communication tool.’

The NRDI Office has dedicated a thematic webpage to all COVID-19 related information, including the rules of application updated in response to the emergency situation, and fresh Hungarian and international news about research and development in relation to the pandemic. The recently launched RDI Hotline information channel primarily helps to manage the increased number of customer and partner queries more effectively and to relieve our phone and email customer service lines, which are also available. The RDI Hotline offers a user-friendly easy-to-use interface with drop-down menus and open text form fields to pick a topic and send queries. The new system enables faster processing and response times, while continuous monitoring helps to evaluate measures already taken and plan new ones to address the emergency situation.

Budapest, 20 April 2020

 

Source: https://nkfih.gov.hu

In consideration of the pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the state of danger declared in Hungary, and the expected economic and social consequences of the situation, the National Research, Development and Innovation (NRDI) Office has adopted measures to simplify and facilitate the financing of research, development and innovation projects funded from the National Research, Development and Innovation (NRDI) Fund.

The measures include the introduction of eased rules for the disbursement of advances, as detailed in the attached official notice published on the NRDI Office’s website. The beneficiaries are also notified over the EPR in the case of research and development projects, and also in email in the case of innovation projects. most important information about the measures introduced by means of the notice are summarised below:

Form of measure

The measure in the notice has been introduced by the NRDI Office as a unilateral amendment (of the funding agreement / funding document).

Scope of measure

The measure in the notice applies to all funding agreements and funding documents which name the NRDI Fund as the source of funding and set the end date of project implementation to a date after 1 March 2020.

Note that the measure in the notice has temporary effect: the amended provision on the disbursement of advances can be applied by 30 September 2020. (Accordingly, the measure applies to reports to be submitted by 30 September 2020, that is, the project stage covered by the report must end by 31 August 2020.)

After the expiry of the above deadline, the original provisions of the funding agreements, funding documents and their annexes governing the disbursement of advances will come back to force.

Disbursement conditions

The detailed conditions of the disbursement of advances are included in the Terms of Performance annexed to the funding agreement or funding document. The Terms of Performance originally provide that, among other conditions, advances may only be disbursed if the NRDI Office has approved the (technical and financial) report. The measure in the notice amends this provision to the effect that during the temporary period it is sufficient to submit the report (and, for innovation projects, the request for advance) for the next advance payment. (Requests for advance must be submitted over the EPTK portal for innovation projects and via email, as a scanned copy, for other projects.)

Please be advised that all other provisions of the funding agreements, funding documents and their annexes that are not affected by the measure introduced with the notice (such as the rules of eligibility for funding or advance payments) remain effective without any change.

Following disbursement of an advance, the NRDI Office will assess the submitted report in line with the funding agreement, funding document and their annexes, and will decide on approval based on the outcome of the assessment. In other words, the disbursement of an advance is no guarantee for the approval of the report.

Notice on the temporary rules of disbursement of advances for projects funded from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic PDF (273 KB)

Budapest, 21 April 2020

National Research, Development and Innovation Office

 

Notice in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic on the extension of the duration of projects funded from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, on the performance of mandatory commitments and monitoring indicators and on the extension of certain deadlines set out in the funding agreements.

In consideration of the pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the state of danger declared in Hungary, and the expected economic and social consequences of the situation, the NRDI Office notifies the beneficiaries of projects funded from the NRDI Fund in relation to 1) the extension of project durations, 2) mandatory commitments and monitoring indicators specified in the funding documents (hereinafter: Funding Agreement), and 3) compliance with certain deadlines set out in the Funding Agreement.

1) Extension of the duration of funded projects

Pursuant to Section 18 of Government Decree 85/2020 (IV. 5.) on the specific rules applicable in domestic and administrative affairs in a state of danger the duration of projects

• implemented until the termination of the state of danger and
• in progress when the state of danger was declared (11 March 2020) (the legal provision applies to projects that meet both conditions)

is extended with a period equal to the period of the state of danger.

The above provision also applies to projects for which the funding relationship was established in the period of the state of danger.

Please note that the measure creates an option (not an obligation) for beneficiaries to extend the duration of their projects. Beneficiaries will decide for themselves whether to take the option or stick to their original project schedule.

 

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Source: https://nkfih.gov.hu

 

Information on the extension of deadlines for the utilisation of funds awarded under the Thematic Excellence Programme and the New National Excellence Programme.

 

In consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the state of danger declared in Hungary as a result, the National Research, Development and Innovation (NRDI) Office informs the beneficiaries of ongoing projects funded in 2019 under the Thematic Excellence Programme, the Excellence Programme for Higher Education Institutions and the New National Excellence Programme as follows:

In view of Section 18(1) of Government Decree 85/2020 (IV. 5.) on the specific rules applicable in domestic and administrative affairs in a state of danger, based on the decision of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology as the funding entity, the NRDI Office extends the deadline for the utilisation of awarded funds

• until 30 November 2020, or until the deadline set out in Section 18(1) of Government Decree 85/2020 (IV. 5.), whichever is later, for projects funded under the Thematic Excellence Programme or the Excellence Programme for Higher Education Institutions;
• until 31 December 2020, or until the deadline set out in Section 18(1) of Government Decree 85/2020 (IV. 5.), whichever is later, for projects funded under the New National Excellence Programme.

Section 18(1) of Government Decree 85/2020 (IV. 5.) stipulates as follows: “the duration of funded activities governed by funding relationships under projects/programmes implemented from public funding from the central budget until the termination of the state of danger and being within the relevant implementation period when the state of danger was declared, shall be extended with a period equal to the period of the state of danger.”

The extension applies to beneficiary institutions whose projects are currently in progress based on the provision regulating the deadline for the utilisation of funds in the relevant funding agreement, funding document or other agreement.

Please note that the extension is only an option to utilise the awarded funds in a longer period of time. If the beneficiary institution can submit the report on the utilisation of funds to the NRDI Office earlier, it may certainly do so in line with the terms of the funding agreement, funding document or other agreement.

The NRDI Office gives effect to the extension in an amending document which will be sent to the beneficiary institutions electronically.

Budapest, 08 April 2020

National Research, Development and Innovation Office

 

Source:https://nkfih.gov.hu