Can we shift resources between partners?

You have great freedom to do budget transfers between partners and cost categories without amending the Grant Agreement. However, the project must deliver work and results as foreseen in the Annex 1. Tasks may not be transferred between partners without an amendment.

The GA says:

4.2 Budget transfers

The estimated budget breakdown indicated in Annex 2 may be adjusted by transfers of amounts between beneficiaries or between budget categories (or both). This does not require an amendment according to Article 55, if the action is implemented as described in Annex 1.

Which means that:

• money not spent by one partner can be transferred to another partner.
• cost budgeted for personnel, travel, consumables or equipment can be transferred between these categories
• in the case of unit costs
  • the number of units budgeted may be transferred between partners
  • the cost per unit cannot be changed

Reasonable guidelines for budget transfers:

• Each partner should get its costs covered up to the total budget limit for the partner
• Only budgeted costs not claimed by a partner will be transferred
• No partner has any “right” to get budget transfers.
• Each partner is obliged to deliver their work as described in Annex 1 for the budgeted cost

To be able to do budget transfers each partner and the consortium must take measures to follow up cost so that over and underspending between partners and cost categories can be detected before the final costs are reported to the EC. In most cases the reasons for budget transfers should be easy to spot by the partner work e.g. work requires more effort than planned or more travels have been needed.