Procedures for Evaluating Fundamental and Applied Research Projects and Administering the Financing Thereof

Issued pursuant to
Section 18.¹, Paragraph two, Clause 2 and Section 34,
Paragraph three of the Law on Scientific Activity

I. General Provisions

1. This Regulation prescribes the procedures for evaluating and financing fundamental and applied research projects (hereinafter - the project) and administering the State budget resources allocated for financing the projects.

2. The following terms are used in this Regulation:

2.1. scientific staff - leading researchers, researchers, scientific assistants, academic staff of an institution of higher education, and students;

2.2. scientific team - scientific and technical staff which participates in the project implementation. A scientific team shall be composed of a principal investigator, lead participants of the project, and participants of the project;

2.3. principal investigator - a scientist who submits the project, manages it and ensures the implementation thereof - plans and supervises the fulfilment of the project tasks, is responsible for his or her activity and activity of other persons involved in the project in conformity with the tasks defined for the project and rules of scientific ethics, for timely drafting and submission of the documentation characterising the progress of the project implementation in accordance with the procedures laid down in this Regulation;

2.4. lead participants of the project - scientists who implement the project and are responsible for the implementation of the parts thereof;

2.5. participants of the project - members of a scientific team who fulfil separate scientific tasks in the project implementation;

2.6. project secretary - a specialist who organises the selection of experts for the purpose of evaluating project proposals, mid-term scientific reports and final scientific reports, ensures circulation of documents and information relating to the project implementation and supervision, and also drawing up of draft decisions and communication;

2.7. submitter of the project proposal - a scientific institution registered in the register of scientific institutions (hereinafter - the scientific institution) and regardless of its legal status (entity governed by public or private law) or type of financing in conformity with the laws and regulations governing the activity thereof (articles of association, by-law or constitution) performs principal activities of non-economic nature and which complies with the definition of a research organisation defined in Article 2(83) of Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty;

2.8. quality threshold - the minimum number of points required for each criterion or in total that is indicated in the consolidated evaluation of the project proposal;

2.9. principal activity of non-economic nature - activity of a research organisation which does not fall within the scope of activity laid down in Article 107(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, including:

2.9.1. educational activities to achieve an increase in the number and qualification of the staff;

2.9.2. independent research and development to acquire more knowledge and a better understanding, including joint research and development by involvement of the research organisation in efficient co-operation;

2.9.3. dissemination of research results without exclusivity and discrimination, including through the use of teaching, free access databases, open publications or open source software;

2.9.4. knowledge and technology transfer if:

2.9.4.1. the activities related to knowledge and technology transfer are performed by a division of the research organisation or a subsidiary undertaking of the research organisation (a commercial company in which the participation share of the parent undertaking exceeds 50 per cent or in which the parent undertaking has majority of votes and which conforms to the definition of the research organisation), the research organisation together with other research organisations or the research organisation with third parties by entering into the contracts on certain services through an open call for projects;

2.9.4.2. all profit from such activity is reinvested in principal activities of the research organisation.

3. The purpose of fundamental and applied research projects is to create new knowledge and technological findings in all fields of science.

4. The total duration of the project implementation shall not exceed three years. The financing for the project shall be granted in stages with duration of one year in conformity with the decision by the Council referred to in Paragraph 27 of this Regulation and the contract entered into in accordance with the procedures referred to in Paragraph 31 of this Regulation.

5. The duration of the project implementation referred to in Paragraph 4 of this Regulation may be extended for a period up to one year if it is required for the purpose of consolidating and publishing project results without allocating the financing and evaluating the final scientific report on the project implementation.

6. The submitter of the project proposal shall implement the project of non-economic nature. The submitter of the project proposal shall clearly separate principal activities of non-economic nature (and financial flows related thereto) from the activities which may be qualified as economic activities. Activities performed upon assignment of a merchant, lease of research infrastructure, and consultancy services shall be considered as economic activities. If a scientific institution performs also other economic activities that do not comply with the principal activities of non-economic nature, it shall separate principal activities and financial flows related thereto from other activities of the scientific institution and financial flows related thereto.

7. The submitter of the project proposal shall be responsible for the project implementation in general. The submitter of the project proposal may attract co-operation partners for the project implementation by entering into a contract on the fulfilment of definite tasks or activities and by appending written certification thereof to the project proposal of the co-operation partner. The co-operation partner shall comply with the definition provided for in Sub-paragraph 2.7 of this Regulation and shall engage in the project implementation with the property in its possession or ownership, intellectual property, financing or human resources thereof. When making the investments referred to in this Paragraph, there may not be any legal relationships between the submitter of the project proposal and the co-operation partner that correspond to the characteristics of a public procurement contract in conformity with the laws and regulations regarding public procurement.

8. The principal investigator and lead participants of the project may be concurrently indicated only in one project proposal in each call for projects and may participate in the implementation of not more than one project, but they may be indicated in other project proposals and participate in the implementation of other projects as participants of the project.

II. Project Evaluation

9. The call for projects shall be announced by the Latvian Council of Science (hereinafter - the Council) by publishing a notification in the official gazette Latvijas Vēstnesis, and also on the website of the Council and the National Information System of Research Activity (hereinafter - the Information System).

10. The Council shall draft the regulations for the call for projects and approve them not later than one month prior to the announcement of the call for projects and following co-ordination thereof with the Ministry. The following shall be determined in the regulations:

10.1. the procedures for the distribution of financing;

10.2. the maximum and minimum amount of financing of the project;

10.3. the items of eligible costs of the project and the permitted proportion thereof in the project budget;

10.4. the conditions for the participation of the principal investigator, lead participants of the project, and students;

10.5. the methodology for the drafting (including sections of the project proposal to be submitted in English), submission and evaluation of the project proposal, mid-term scientific report of the project, final scientific report of the project, financial statement of the project, and also the procedures for the preparation of the consolidated evaluation of the project proposal;

10.6. the guidelines for the selection of experts for the evaluation of the project proposal, mid-term scientific report of the project, and final scientific report of the project;

10.7. the sample forms for the necessary documents (for example, expert certification, expert evaluation, contract and annexes thereto);

10.8. the procedures and conditions for inviting the project secretary;

10.9. other information (if necessary).

11. The submitted of the project proposal shall submit the project proposal to the Council by using the Information System. Following the expiry of the laid down period of time the project proposals shall no longer be accepted.

12. The Council shall evaluate the conformity of a project proposal with the following administrative conformity criteria:

12.1. the project proposal has been duly completed, drawn up and submitted by using the Information System;

12.2. the translation of the relevant sections of the project proposal into English has been submitted in conformity with the requirements defined in the regulations for the call for projects;

12.3. the topic of the project complies with one or several priority directions of science approved by the Cabinet;

12.4. the requirements of the regulations for a call for projects in respect of the conditions for the participation of the principal investigator, lead participants of the project, and students has been met;

12.5. the project will be implemented at the scientific institution which complies with the requirements of this Regulation;

12.6. eligible costs indicated in the project proposal comply with the requirements defined in the regulations for the call for projects.

13. The Council shall hand over the project proposal to the expert commission or commissions of the Council (hereinafter - the commission) for the provision of an opinion of the compliance of the topic of the project with the requirements referred to in Sub-paragraph 12.3 of this Regulation.

14. If the submitted project proposal does not comply with any of the administrative compliance criteria, the Council shall take the decision to reject the project proposal within a month from the closure date of the call for projects. The Council shall draw up the decision in the form of an administrative act and send it to the submitter of the project proposal.

15. The Council shall send the project proposal for evaluation to the experts referred to in Paragraph 16 of this Regulation by using the Information System.

16. In order to ensure independent evaluation of the project proposals and to prevent a potential conflict of interests, the Council shall involve not less than two appropriate experts included in the database of experts of the European Commission in the evaluation of each project proposal, but in the event there are no such experts in the relevant database, experts included in another international database of experts shall be involved (hereinafter - the expert). The following conditions shall be taken into account, when involving experts:

16.1. the expert has a doctoral degree in science;

16.2. the scientific qualification of the expert conforms to the science sector and topic of the particular project proposal;

16.3. the previous evaluation competence and work experience of the expert conforms to the science sector and topic of the particular project proposal;

16.4. the expert shall carry out the evaluation independently and shall not represent the institution of the submitter of the project proposal, there shall be no circumstances in his or her activity that would give rise to a conflict of interests, including that do not cause and will not cause personal or material interest for the expert.

17. When assessing the project proposal, the expert must not be exposed to a conflict of interests and must not disclose the information contained in the proposal to persons unrelated to the project evaluation. The absence of a conflict of interests and the commitment to confidentiality shall be certified by the expert prior to entering into a contract and commencing the evaluation of the project proposal by signing the expert certification. The Council shall enter into the contract with the expert by stipulating the liability which shall set in if the expert fails to comply with the signed certification.

18. The expert shall evaluate the project proposal, fill in the expert evaluation form and prepare the consolidated evaluation in accordance with the evaluation methodology where the compliance of evaluation points with quantitative and qualitative indicators is determined.

19. The project proposal shall be evaluated by the expert by taking into account the following criteria:

19.1. the scientific quality of the project proposal in accordance with Paragraph 20 of this Regulation;

19.2. the impact of the project results in accordance with Paragraph 21 of this Regulation;

19.3. the project implementation possibilities and security in conformity with Paragraph 22 of this Regulation.

20. The scientific quality of the project proposal shall be evaluated by taking into account the information provided in the project proposal and the following considerations:

20.1. the scientific quality, credibility and novelty of the research;

20.2. the scientific quality of the selected research strategy and methodological solutions and also suitability for the achievement of the laid down objectives;

20.3. the ability to create new knowledge or technological findings;

20.4. the investment of co-operation partners (if any), their scientific capacity, planned co-operation quality.

21. The impact of project results shall be evaluated by taking into account the information provided in the project proposal and the following considerations:

21.1. expected transfer of the acquired knowledge and skills in further activity and the development of scientific capacity;

21.2. research development possibilities, including investment in drafting new projects for submission to the calls for projects of the European Union Framework Programme for Research and Innovation "Horizon 2020" and other research and innovation aid programmes and technology initiatives;

21.3. the knowledge important for the relevant sector, development of the national economy and the society is created as the result of the research;

21.4. sustainability of the acquired knowledge and a qualitative plan for the dissemination thereof, including the planned scientific publications and public information;

21.5. research implementation promotes strengthening the scientific capacities of the scientific staff of the research, including students.

22. The project implementation possibilities and security shall be evaluated by taking into account the information provided in the project proposal and the following considerations:

22.1. quality of the research work plan and compliance thereof with the defined objective. The intended resources are adequate and sufficient for the achievement of the objective. The effective use of resources is provided for in the research. The planned work stages and tasks are clearly defined, suitable and credible;

22.2. scientific qualification of the principal investigator and lead participants of the project on the basis of the submitted curriculum vitae (CV);

22.3. suitable research management, including quality management, is envisaged. Management organisation enables following the progress of the project implementation. Potential risks are assessed and the plan for the prevention thereof or minimisation of the negative impact thereof has been developed;

22.4. research infrastructure is required for the performance of research, including access to equipment of co-operation partners (if applicable);

22.5. the institution which implements the research and co-operation partners thereof (if applicable) have the necessary knowledge and competence.

23. The evaluation form referred to in Paragraph 18 of this Regulation and the consolidated evaluation shall be sent by the expert to the Council by using the Information System.

24. The consolidated evaluation of the project proposal shall be calculated in percentage by taking into account the proportion of criterion referred to in Sub-paragraph 19.1 of this Regulation in the amount of 50 per cent, the proportion of the criterion referred to in Sub-paragraph 19.2 of this Regulation in the amount of 30 per cent, and the proportion of the criterion referred to in Sub-paragraph 19.3 of this Regulation in the amount of 20 per cent of the total evaluation.

25. After evaluation of all project proposals, the Council shall:

25.1. calculate the consolidated evaluation of each project proposal in accordance with Paragraph 24 of this Regulation and draft a list of the project proposals complying with the quality requirements in descending order according to the acquired evaluation in percentage in accordance with the regulations for the call for projects;

25.2. prepare a daft decision of the Council of the projects eligible for aid and projects non-eligible for aid by taking into account the Council recommendations on the distribution of the financing.

III. Procedures for Administering the Financing

26. The projects shall be financed from State budget resources allocated for the current year for ensuring the scientific activity. The funds in the amount not exceeding five per cent of the funds allocated for the current year in the budget of the Ministry of Education and Science (hereinafter - the Ministry) intended for financing the projects shall be envisaged for organising an expert examination of the project proposals, mid-term scientific reports, final scientific reports and for the remuneration of experts referred to in Paragraph 16 of this Regulation, and also for the communication.

27. The Council shall take a decision to finance the project within three months after the closure date of the call for projects. The decision shall be drawn up by the Council in the form of an administrative act and shall be sent to the submitter of the project proposal, whereas a certified copy of the decision - to the Study and Science Administration (hereinafter - the Administration).

28. After taking the decision referred to in Paragraph 27 of this Regulation, the Council in conformity with the laws and regulations regarding the database of the projects of scientific activity shall enter the information on the project to be financed in the Information System and notify the Administration and the scientific institution thereof.

29. The list of the projects to be financed shall be published by the Council on its website by specifying the name and number of each project, given name and surname of the principal investigator, the amount of financing to be allocated to the project and also the amount of the financing that shall be allocated to each involved scientific institution compared to the total amount of the financing that shall be allocated to the project.

30. After the receipt of the notification of the entry of information in the Information System, the scientific institution shall verify the entered information, where necessary, update it and confirm the actions made.

31. After the receipt of the information referred to in Paragraphs 27 and 28 of this Regulation, the Administration shall enter into a contract with the scientific institution and the principal investigator (hereinafter - the contract) in accordance with the conditions of the regulations for the call for projects.

32. The Administration shall transfer the financing to the scientific institution to the account in the Treasury in accordance with the contract. The scientific institution shall ensure clear separation of the financial flow of the project implementation and types of activities from other financial flows of the activities and types of activities of the scientific institution.

33. In conformity with the regulations for the call for projects and the contract, the scientific institution shall submit the following by using the Information System:

33.1. the financial statement of the use of the financing allocated to the project (hereinafter - the financial statement) for the previous fiscal year;

33.2. the mid-term scientific report if the duration of the project implementation is three years;

33.3. the final scientific report on the project implementation.

34. Experts shall evaluate the mid-term scientific report and final scientific report, fill in the expert evaluation form and prepare the consolidated evaluation in accordance with the evaluation methodology, and also include it in the Information System.

35. If the expert evaluation of the mid-term scientific report is "Suspend project implementation" or the expert evaluation of the final scientific report is "Project objective has not been achieved", the Council shall take a decision to terminate the project. The decision shall be sent to the principal investigator and the scientific institution, whereas a certified copy of the decision - to the Administration. After the receipt of a certified copy of the decision, the Administration by complying with the provisions of Paragraph 50 of this Regulation shall unilaterally terminate the contract and update the information on the project in the Information System.

36. If the expert evaluation of the final scientific report is "Project objective has been achieved", the Council shall immediately inform the Administration thereof in writing, and if the final financial statement referred to in Paragraph 46 of this Regulation is approved, the Administration shall act in accordance with Sub-paragraph 48.1.2 of this Regulation.

37. On the basis of the mid-term scientific reports and final scientific reports received in the relevant year, the Council shall prepare a report on the scientific usefulness of the projects, include it in the Information System and publish on the website of the Council.

38. In accordance with the requirements laid down in this Regulation, regulations for the call for projects, and the contract, the scientific institution shall prepare the financial statement and submit it to the Administration within one month after the end of the fiscal year and the end of the project if the end date of the project does not conform to the end of the fiscal year.

39. If the scientific institution fails to submit the documents referred to in Paragraph 33 of this Regulation within 10 working days following the laid down period of time, and also if the principal investigator or the scientific institution fails to fulfil any other obligations laid down in the contract, the Administration may suspend further financing of the project by immediately sending a written warning to the relevant principal investigator and scientific institution and requesting the fulfilment of obligations, and also inform on the consequences of such non-fulfilment.

40. If within 14 days after sending the warning referred to in Paragraph 39 of this Regulation the principal investigator or the scientific institution fails to fulfil the relevant obligations, the Administration shall immediately notify the Council thereof in writing. The Council shall review this information within a month and, if necessary, request explanations from the scientific institution and the principal investigator. If it is established by the Council that the principal investigator and the scientific institution:

40.1. have fulfilled the obligations laid down in the contract, the Council shall immediately notify the Administration thereof in writing and the Administration shall resume financing to the relevant project;

40.2. do not fulfil the obligations laid down in the contract, the Council shall take a decision to terminate the relevant project. The decision shall be sent to the principal investigator and the scientific institution, whereas a certified copy of the decision - to the Administration. After the receipt of a certified copy of the decision, the Administration by complying with the provisions of Paragraph 50 of this Regulation shall unilaterally terminate the contract and update the information on the project in the Information System.

41. If the principal investigator and lead participants of the project change within the course of the project implementation, the scientific institution by complying with that laid down in Sub-paragraph 10.4 of this Regulation shall co-ordinate the changes with the Council, submit an application to the Administration and append the information thereto which justifies the necessity of the changes referred to in this Paragraph, and also a signed draft agreement on amendments to the contract. After amending the contract, the scientific institution shall update the referred to information in the Information System.

42. If the number of the participants of the project has changed within the course of the project implementation by more than 50 per cent, the scientific institution by complying with the provisions of Sub-paragraph 10.4 of this Regulation shall co-ordinate the changes with the Council and the Administration. If the number of the participants of the project has changed within the course of the project implementation by less than 50 per cent, the scientific institution shall change the participants of the project by complying with the provisions of Sub-paragraph 10.4 of this Regulation, and shall not co-ordinate the changes with the Council and the Administration.

43. The scientific institution, without prior co-ordination with the Administration, may introduce changes in a separate classification code of the budget financing by not exceeding 20 per cent (inclusive) and increasing the total amount of the project financing. The scientific institution shall indicate such changes in accordance with the procedures provided for in Paragraph 38 of this Regulation and append information justifying the necessity of the changes referred to in this Paragraph.

44. After co-ordination with the Council, the scientific institution by submitting an application may ask the Administration to introduce changes in a separate classification code of the budget financing by not exceeding 30 per cent (inclusive) and increasing the total amount of the project financing. The information justifying the necessity of changes referred to in this Paragraph, and also a signed draft agreement on amendments to the contract shall be appended to the application. The scientific institution has the obligation to submit the documents referred to in this Paragraph not later than five working days prior to the deadline referred to in Paragraph 38 of this Regulation.

45. The Administration shall review the financial statement within a month after the receipt thereof.

46. If the Administration establishes that the financial statement has been drawn up in conformity with the provisions of laws and regulations, regulations for the call for projects, and the contract, it shall approve the received statement, notify the scientific institution and the Council thereof and continue project financing in conformity with the contract. If this is the final financial statement within the scope of the project, the Administration shall act in accordance with Sub-paragraph 48.1.2 of this Regulation.

47. If the Administration establishes that the financing allocated for project implementation has not been used in conformity with the objective or tasks of the project laid down in the contract, or the financing laid down in a separate classification code of the budget financing is exceeded by more than 30 per cent, and also other discrepancies of the financial statement with the provisions of laws and regulations, regulations for the call for projects or the contract, the Administration shall immediately notify the Council thereof in writing.

48. The Council shall review the information referred to in Paragraph 47 of this Regulation and, if necessary, request explanations from the scientific institution and the principal investigator. If the Council:

48.1. does not discover discrepancies in the documents submitted by the scientific institution, it shall immediately inform the Administration thereof in writing, and the Administration shall:

48.1.1. approve the report received, unless it is the final financial statement within the scope of the project, and inform the principal investigator and the scientific institution thereof, and continue the project financing in conformity with the contract;

48.1.2. sign a deed of acceptance and transfer with the principal investigator and the scientific institution in accordance with the procedures laid down in the contract and update information on the project in the Information System, unless it is the final financial statement within the scope of the project and the information referred to in Paragraph 36 of this Regulation is received;

48.2. discovers discrepancies in the documents submitted by the scientific institution, it shall take a decision on the termination of the relevant project. The decision shall be sent to the principal investigator and the scientific institution, whereas a certified copy of the decision - to the Administration. Following the receipt of a certified copy of the decision, the Administration, in compliance with the provisions of Paragraph 50 of this Regulation, shall terminate the contract and update information on the project in the Information System.

49. The Administration has the right to verify the use of financing at the scientific institution allocated within the scope of the project.

50. The Administration has the right to request from the scientific institution to repay, either in full or in part, the financial means received within the scope of the project in the case referred to in the second sentence of Paragraph 35, Sub-paragraphs 40.2 and 48.2 and Paragraph 57 of this Regulation, and also in the case if the project is terminated on the basis of the decision by the principal investigator and the scientific institution.

51. On the basis of the financial statements submitted in the current year, the Administration shall prepare a report on the use of State budget resources allocated to the projects within two months after the receipt thereof and shall send it to the Ministry, and also include it in the Information System and publish on the website of the Administration.

52. The Administration shall ensure the entry of the financial statements of the approved projects in the Information System.

53. The principal investigator may, within one year from the commencement of the project implementation, submit to the Council a coordinated application for the change of the scientific institution jointly with the scientific institution - the principal investigator - and co-operation partners (if applicable).

54. The following shall be appended to the application for the change of the scientific institution:

54.1. the financial statement drawn up by the scientific institution referred to in Paragraph 53 of this Regulation and approved by the Administration containing the information on the financial means spent within the scope of the project and also specifying the received amount of financial means which has not been spent yet;

54.2. the information which provides evidence that the scientific institution with which the principal investigator plans to start employment legal relationships complies with the criteria referred to in Sub-paragraph 2.7 of this Regulation, and also the written certification of this scientific institution to start the project implementation;

54.3. the documents certifying the planned termination of employment legal relationships with the scientific institution referred to in Paragraph 53 of this Regulation and commencement of legal employment relationships with the scientific institution referred to in Sub-paragraph 54.2 of this Regulation.

55. If the Council receives the application for the change of a scientific institution, it shall immediately notify the Administration thereof in writing. The Administration shall suspend further project financing. The Council shall review the application within a month, assess the compliance of the scientific institution referred to in Sub-paragraph 54.2 of this Regulation with the criteria referred to in Sub-paragraph 2.7 of this Regulation and shall take the decision to change the scientific institution or reject the application. The abovementioned decision shall be sent to the principal investigator and both scientific institutions referred to in Paragraph 54 of this Regulation, whereas a certified copy of the decision - to the Administration.

56. After receipt of the decision to change the scientific institution, the Administration, the principal investigator and both scientific institutions referred to in Paragraph 54 of this Regulation shall sign the agreement on amendments to the contract and the Administration shall update information on the project in the Information System. The project objective and tasks must not be changed, and the amount of the project financing must not be increased with such agreement. When signing the agreement, the deed of transfer and acceptance shall be appended thereto as the integral part thereof, thereby certifying that the scientific institution referred to in Paragraph 53 of this Regulation has handed over the movable property purchased within the scope of the project and received financial means which have not been spent yet to the scientific institution referred to in Sub-paragraph 54.2 of this Regulation.

57. Upon receipt of the decision that the application for the change of the scientific institution has been rejected, the principal investigator and the scientific institution may proceed with the project implementation. If the principal investigator or the scientific institution takes the decision not to proceed with the project implementation, the contract shall be terminated in accordance with the procedures laid down in the contract and Paragraph 50 of this Regulation.

IV. Closing Provisions

58. Cabinet Regulation No. 227 of 29 March 2011, Procedures for the Evaluation, Financing and Administration of Fundamental and Applied Research Projects (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2011, No. 51), is repealed.

59. The project which has been commenced prior to the entry into force of this Regulation shall be implemented in conformity with Cabinet Regulation No. 227 of 29 March 2011, Procedures for the Evaluation, Financing and Administration of Fundamental and Applied Research Projects.

Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis

Minister for Education and Science Kārlis Šadurskis

Translation © 2018 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)