C.5 Lump Sum Proposal Writing and Project Management

The share of lump sum funding in the Horizon Europe 2026-27 Work Programmes will be even higher than before. Lump sum funding was created to make the programme simpler by removing the need to report actual costs and reduce the financial error rate. However, the details are always important: simplification comes at a price, and these are the specific extra tasks and rules that everyone applying for lump sum funding should be aware of – both when writing a proposal and implementing a project.  

Agenda

08:30–09:00 Arrival of participants 

09:00–09:15 Event opening and introduction to the course                 

09:15–10:15 Lump sum proposals: Hands-on tips for Part B

• Proposal forms: proposal template 
• Work package distribution and responsibilities of the partners.
• Timing of the work packages considering the payment system – How much should we take into account the reporting periods?
• What to do with horizontal work packages?
  Deliverables and milestones – do we need more of them? 
• Showcasing a real proposal.

(10:15–10:30 Coffee Break)

10:30–11:30 Lump sum proposals: The detailed budget

• Introduction to the detailed budget table in Excel/PartA
• How to define and justify the lump sum amount.
• How to sufficiently estimate the costs under each cost category
• Small budget planning exercise with the participants on how to define and justify units in a lump sum budget
• Showcasing a real lump sum proposal budget

(11:30–11:45 Break)

11:45–12:30 Evaluation of lump sum proposals and a deep-dive into Grant Agreement and Consortium Agreement preparation

• Evaluation of lump sum proposals
• Grant Agreement Preparation of your lump sum projects
• Detailed introduction to the DESCA 2.0 and the lump sum additions
• Tips to specify lump sum features in your Consortium Agreement – e.g. the performance monitoring system.

(12:30–13:15 Lunch Break)

13:15–14:00 Project management and reporting of lump sum projects

• Changes in your lumps sum project implementation – How to amend your lump sum grant.
• How to report your lump sum project. Detailed introduction to continuous reporting and periodic reporting.  
• How to deal with partially completed work packages. How to report deviations in your lump sum projects.
• Showcasing a lump sum performance monitoring system. 
• Keeping records – what to actually keep? 
• Payment schedule – Partial payments
• Lump-sum ex-post technical reviews

14:00–15:00 Workshop: Lump sum project management case studies

Participants will act as coordinators of a lump sum project and will analyse several project management scenarios and solve specific issues of a hypothetical project consortium. 

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About the Horizon Europe courses 

The Research Council of Norway offers a structured series of courses for applicants to Horizon Europe. The courses are organised by topic, project role, and level of experience.  

Introductory courses (Series A and E) are digital and suitable for all roles, while Series B, C, and D are in-person, role-specific courses that typically run over one or two days. See all the course offerings.

C. Project Management

Courses in the C-series are suitable for Project Managers and Advisors responsible for planning and implementing Horizon Europe projects.  

C.1 Research and Innovation Project Management: the first steps 
C.2 Coordinating a Horizon Europe Project – special course for Coordinators 
C.3 Horizon Europe Project Management and Reporting 
C.4 Legal Agreements in Horizon Europe
C.5 Lump Sum Proposal Writing and Project Management