When does a lump sum work package count as complete, and who declares it?

The coordinator declares a lump sum work package complete, and if several beneficiaries carry out a work package, "they cannot declare it as completed until all of them have completed it" How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, pp.9 and 11. So if one partner has not finished by the end of a period, the coordinator leaves that work package as not completed and declares it in a later period; read together, the rules mean every partner's share of that work package waits, while other work packages completed and accepted in the period are paid How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, sections 6.2 and 6.3, pp.11-12. If that partner never finishes, only its share is rejected, without reducing the shares of the partners that completed their activities Commission FAQ 22187; "Not settled yet" at the end lists what the rules leave open.

Two terms used below. A lump sum share is the part of a work package's lump sum that belongs to one beneficiary, as set in the lump sum breakdown in Annex 2 of the grant agreement Commission FAQ 11535 How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, p.10. The balance is the final payment at the end of the project; interim payments, where the grant's Data Sheet provides for them, come after the reporting periods before that Lump Sum MGA V1.0, Data Sheet 4.2, pp.12-13.

When one partner has not finished by the end of a period

Interim payments pay the lump sum shares for work packages completed during the reporting period and accepted by the project officer, and there is no interim payment for partially completed work packages How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.3, p.12. Lump sum contributions per work package are paid to the coordinator when their conditions are met; where they are not met in a period, they could be paid in the subsequent reporting period once they are Horizon Europe lump sum decision V2.0, Annex point 1, p.6. Incomplete work packages can be finished and declared later on, in any of the subsequent reporting periods How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, p.11.

What this means for the coordinator, from the rules above:

• Mark the shared work package as not completed for this period.
• Declare it completed in the report for the period in which the last partner finishes.
• Other work packages completed in the period are paid once the project officer accepts them.

ExampleMade-up figures

Five partners, one work package

Work package 3 is shared by five partners. At the end of period 2, three have finished their part and two have not.

• The coordinator marks work package 3 as not completed in period 2.
• Work package 3 is not paid in period 2, for any of the five partners, because it is not completed.
• The two remaining partners finish in period 3. The coordinator declares work package 3 completed in the period 3 report, and its shares can be paid once the project officer accepts it.

If the partner never finishes: the final payment

Payments for partially completed work packages are possible only at the end of the project, as part of the payment of the balance How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.3, p.12. For the last reporting period, the beneficiaries may exceptionally declare partial lump sum contributions for work packages that were not completed, for example due to force majeure or technical impossibility Lump Sum MGA V1.0, Art 21.2, p.37.

There are two different cases:

• One beneficiary did not do its part. "If it is only a specific beneficiary who did not perform its activities, only the lump sum share(s) of that beneficiary will be rejected without reducing the lump sum shares of other beneficiaries that completed their activities" Commission FAQ 22187. The reduction is only for that beneficiary and up to its lump sum share for that work package Commission FAQ 11535. The Commission's guide gives the case of a partner that wilfully stopped collaborating: the shares of the partners that finished are paid, and that partner's contribution is rejected How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, examples of non-acceptable partial work packages, example 1, p.12.
• The work package as a whole was not completed. The percentage of completion declared should correspond to the share of activities carried out and is not linked to costs How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, p.11. It corresponds to the percentage of payment requested Portal IT How To, Reporting process: Lump sum, Step 3A. The amount paid corresponds to the accepted part, which may be less than declared. A work package left incomplete for reasons other than technical reasons or force majeure may be rejected in full How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.3, p.12.

Of 520 lump sum grants closed by 23 May 2024 (445 under Horizon 2020 and 75 under Horizon Europe), 21 were paid partially. For 13 of them the partial payments were paid as declared; for the other 8, the project officer set a lower percentage of completion than declared, with a median grant reduction of 11% Commission assessment of lump sum funding, 25 July 2024, pp.15-16.

What a coordinator can do about a late partner

• Have the work done by someone else. If one beneficiary fails to implement its part, the other beneficiaries must ensure that this part is implemented by someone else, without an increase of the maximum grant amount and subject to an amendment Lump Sum MGA V1.0, Art 7, p.19.
• Request termination. The coordinator may request the termination of a beneficiary's participation on behalf of the other beneficiaries. The request needs the reasons, the opinion of the beneficiary concerned (or proof that it was requested in writing), and the end of work and termination dates Lump Sum MGA V1.0, Art 32.2.1, p.58. A terminated beneficiary receives its lump sum contributions for completed and approved work packages Lump Sum MGA V1.0, Art 32.2.2, pp.58-59. Amounts for work packages it worked on that are not yet accepted are paid to the coordinator once those work packages are accepted How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 7, p.13.
• Use the consortium agreement. Payments go to the coordinator, who must distribute them without unjustified delay Lump Sum MGA V1.0, Art 22.1, p.38, and Art 7, p.20. How and when payments are distributed is in principle an internal matter for the consortium, and the consortium agreement may provide for a distribution different from the contribution approved for each beneficiary AGA V3.0, Art 22.1, p.221. The Commission says the consortium agreement should contain provisions for this possibility, for example handling underperformance or lack of cooperation Commission FAQ 22187.

Who declares, and what "completed" means

The coordinator must complete the "status of work packages" table and mark each work package as completed or not completed How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, p.9. In the Funding & Tenders Portal, only the coordinator's contacts can complete it; the other beneficiaries see it read-only and contribute to the technical part of the report Portal IT How To, Reporting process: Lump sum, Steps 1 to 3A. By signing the financial statement, the coordinator confirms on behalf of the consortium that the work packages declared have been completed Lump Sum MGA V1.0, Art 21.2, p.37.

• In Horizon Europe, work packages are assessed "on the basis of the activities carried out, irrespective of the results obtained or objectives achieved" How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, p.10.
• A work package can normally be declared completed only when all the work has been carried out as described. It can also count as completed when all essential work has been completed, equivalent work has been carried out, or deviations have been duly justified How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, p.10.
• Normally all deliverables must be completed: the work done and the deliverable reports submitted and accepted. Reaching objectives and milestones is desirable but not a requirement How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, pp.10-11.
• The technical report must explain and justify each work package declared completed, and should detail who did what at the level of the participating organisations, not individual staff How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, p.10.
• Ethics and Security work packages should be completed in the final report Portal IT How To, Reporting process: Lump sum, Step 3A.

The project officer rejects a work package when a significant or essential part of the work has not been completed and the deviation is not justified or not acceptable, after inviting you to respond to the observations How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, pp.11-12.

Not settled yet

• Finished partners at an interim payment. No official text says in one sentence that the finished partners' shares wait when one partner lags. It follows from two rules read together: a shared work package cannot be declared completed until all have completed it, and there is no interim payment for partial completion.
• Percentage to euros. The Commission decides the partial amount case by case Commission FAQ 11528. The European Court of Auditors found that the rules on assessing partial implementation and its financial implications "remain to be clarified" ECA annual report 2025, chapter 5, para 5.25, p.186.
• Withholding a late partner's payment. The EU documents describe distribution as an internal matter for the consortium AGA V3.0, Art 22.1, p.221 and give the coordinator no procedure of its own to withhold or reduce a partner's share short of termination. Whether that is possible depends on the consortium agreement.
• Where the shared work package rule comes from. It is stated in the Commission's lump sum guide, not in the Lump Sum Model Grant Agreement itself.

Sources

1. How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, pp.9 and 11ec.europa.eu
2. How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, sections 6.2 and 6.3, pp.11-12ec.europa.eu
3. Commission FAQ 22187ec.europa.eu
4. Commission FAQ 11535ec.europa.eu
5. How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, p.10ec.europa.eu
6. Lump Sum MGA V1.0, Data Sheet 4.2, pp.12-13ec.europa.eu
7. How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.3, p.12ec.europa.eu
8. Horizon Europe lump sum decision V2.0, Annex point 1, p.6ec.europa.eu
9. How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, p.11ec.europa.eu
10. Lump Sum MGA V1.0, Art 21.2, p.37ec.europa.eu
11. How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, examples of non-acceptable partial work packages, example 1, p.12ec.europa.eu
12. Portal IT How To, Reporting process: Lump sum, Step 3Awebgate.ec.europa.eu
13. Commission assessment of lump sum funding, 25 July 2024, pp.15-16ec.europa.eu
14. Lump Sum MGA V1.0, Art 7, p.19ec.europa.eu
15. Lump Sum MGA V1.0, Art 32.2.1, p.58ec.europa.eu
16. Lump Sum MGA V1.0, Art 32.2.2, pp.58-59ec.europa.eu
17. How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 7, p.13ec.europa.eu
18. Lump Sum MGA V1.0, Art 22.1, p.38, and Art 7, p.20ec.europa.eu
19. AGA V3.0, Art 22.1, p.221ec.europa.eu
20. How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, p.9ec.europa.eu
21. Portal IT How To, Reporting process: Lump sum, Steps 1 to 3Awebgate.ec.europa.eu
22. How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, pp.10-11ec.europa.eu
23. How to manage your lump sum grants V1.5, section 6.2, pp.11-12ec.europa.eu
24. Commission FAQ 11528ec.europa.eu
25. ECA annual report 2025, chapter 5, para 5.25, p.186eca.europa.eu