It is a key priority for the NRDI Office to provide practical help in answering applicants’ questions regarding H2020, contributing thereby to the success of Hungarian institutions. In light of that, the Office – together with the financing institutions of numerous EU13 countries – joined a Polish-Slovenian initiative the representatives of which, including experts of the NRDI Office, carried on negotiations in Brussels on the above issue with the European Commission and other Member States. The negotiations revealed that, while there is a little chance to amend the legal frameworks of the H2020 due to the lengthy modification procedure and the lack of political consensus, the Commission is open to find a solution, by way of bilateral discussions, to the cost accounting problems of researcher wages faced by the EU13 countries.

In order to set the scene for the negotiations with the Commission and to initiate joint thinking aimed at problem solving, the NRDI Office initiated broad consultation with the involvement of stakeholders from Hungary, including the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Human Capacity, academic institutions and other research organizations in September 2015. Since November 2015, the NRDI Office has been organizing monthly consultations in H2020-related financial and legal matters specifically for experts dealing with funding application management at universities and research institutes. The event provided a forum for showcasing the accounting criteria and for answering participants’ questions regarding, among others, researchers’ remuneration.

In order to identify individual institutional practices and to help harmonize internal regulations with the rules of the Horizon 2020, the NRDI Office experts carried on several rounds of bilateral consultations with concerned partners from the academic institutions and research organizations (Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Research Centre for Natural Sciences of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Széchenyi University, University of Miskolc). Institutions attending the consultations were encouraged by professionals of the NRDI Office to develop internal policies using an objective set of criteria to create the opportunity for linking wage increase not only to project participation but also to researchers’ professional performance in general.

Upon the initiative of the Corvinus University of Budapest and the University of Miskolc, a chancellor level discussion was held, with the active participation of associates from the NRDI Office and numerous academic institutions, in the topic of institutional policies aligned with the legal framework of the H2020 programme on 15 April, 2016. The meeting provided an excellent opportunity for a review of and exchanging opinions on internal policies already in place or in the pipeline, and also for the identification of regulation elements that are inevitable for meeting the criteria of H2020 audits.

The NRDI Office remains open to continue consultations with the organizations concerned. By expressing opinion on institutional policies and acting as an intermediary towards the Commission, the NRDI Office helps establish a process that will bring more favorable accounting conditions for Hungarian applicants. The Office is keeping track of and informs Hungarian applicants on similar efforts by other countries. A mid-term evaluation of the H2020 programme will take place in 2017, providing opportunity for raising some of the most critical problems faced during the implementation of the programme (such as the issue of researcher wages) and for initiating potential modifications. The representatives of the NRDI Office are taking an active role in the relevant Member State initiatives.