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General Principles

1. Provisions of the Funding Guidelines

All costs that are directly attributable to the project and are appropriate to the project and the respective scientific field are eligible for funding. In its funding, WWTF focuses on financing additional personnel, in particular young scientists.

Non-eligible costs include those that are attributable to the basic equipment of the applicant institution, those that are not directly related to the funding application, those that arose outside the project period specified in the contract, as well as costs for the acquisition of real estate and buildings and costs for construction investments.

  • Funding is provided in the form of non-repayable grants. 
  • Only project-specific personnel and non-personnel resources required for the implementation of the project can be applied for and invoiced.
  • As a rule, WWTF does not finance existing infrastructure (see non-personnel costs) and in any case no basic equipment via projects/VRG/supplementary instruments.
  • The rules of economy and expediency apply. 
  • Indirect costs (overhead) are usually (as specified in the call specifications) calculated as a fixed overhead rate. 

The costs claimed are based on the scope of the project. The upper limits for claimable costs are specified in the respective Call Specifications. Funded parties may carry out larger-scale projects using their own funds and/or third-party funds (provided that no prohibition on double funding applies).

WWTF will not cover any costs that exceed the approved funding amount.

WWTF reserves the right to reduce the costs requested on the recommendation of the call jury after a decision by the committees if the call jury considers the costs to be unjustified. In extreme cases, incomprehensible cost planning can also be a reason for rejecting projects that would otherwise be eligible for funding.

2. Ratio of Personnel and Non-Personnel Costs

The ratio of personnel to non-personnel costs is determined on a call-specific basis prior to the call for proposals and is reflected in the call specifications and in the funding portal. The ratio is based on how equipment-intensive and, above all, consumption-intensive (laboratory materials, animal feed, etc.) a particular call is. For normal, non-equipment-intensive calls, the proportion of non-personnel costs may not exceed 30%.

3. Reallocations Between Cost Categories During the Term of the Project

Reallocations between cost categories are permitted within the meaning of a global budget. The reallocation of non-personnel costs to personnel costs does not require approval by WWTF. The reallocation of personnel costs to non-personnel costs above the lower earnings limit of €3,000 must be approved by the office and requires justification based on the achievement of the project goal and ensuring the success of the project. The application for this can be submitted informally to the office.

Reallocations within cost categories do not require approval by WWTF. Reallocations must be documented in the annual or final reports. Each reallocation must ensure that it contributes to the success of the project. 

4. Payments / Early Payments of Funding Installments

Funding installments are paid annually in advance based on the payment plan drawn up as part of the contract. Projects can apply for early payment of parts of the next installment. This must be justified in a plausible manner. Approval is the responsibility of the administrative office in accordance with the dual control principle with the managing director.

5. Payment Mode

The subsidy installments are paid out automatically by WWTF. The installments do not have to be requested by the recipient institution. The second and subsequent subsidy installments will only be paid out once a complete annual report has been submitted and approved by the administrative office. If the amount required is lower, the subsidy installments will be adjusted accordingly, and payment of the difference will be postponed. These deferred amounts can also be requested without submitting a report. An approved final report is required for the final installment to be paid out.   

6. Costs Not to Be Reported

Only those costs covered by the funding must be reported. If the recipients have additional expenses that are attributable to the project but are paid for from other funds, these do not need to be reported. If own contributions are required, these must be reported to the extent agreed in the contract.

7. Valorization of Personnel Costs

The valorization in the applications (shown in the budget section of the Funding Portal) is based on the overall economic environment, i.e., in particular, on the official inflation rate according to Statistics Austria and the forecasts for the coming years. 

An automatic valorization of personnel costs is implemented in the Funding Portal for applications.

  • Until the 2022 (ESS-22) call, it was 3%,
  • for the years 2023-2024 it was 6%.
  • For calls from ICT24 onwards, a valorization of 3.5% is planned.

It should be noted that the valorization rate is a planning variable for the application phase. The rate is intended to ensure that any cost increases due to inflation are considered in the planning. Billing is always based on actual costs. If actual inflation is lower than the planning figure, more resources are available for the project. If inflation is higher than the planning figure, the projects must find a way to deal with this.

8. Questions and Information

Marita Benkwitz, Controlling
T +43 1 402 31 43 13
marita.benkwitz@wwtf.at

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