Project Officer (PO)

A project officer appears once your proposal is selected and stays with the project until closure. They are your single official point of contact on the funder's side.

Grant preparation

The officer enters the agreement data, checks what the consortium submitted and returns it for changes where needed – the documents call this "ping-pong".

The timings are tight: first version of data and annexes three weeks after the invitation letter; finalisation up to two weeks after the officer replies; declaration of honour signed no later than six weeks; grant signature three months from the invitation.

The officer may extend deadlines in exceptional circumstances. But where a deadline is missed without an extension, grant preparation may be terminated and the proposal rejected – after it was selected.

If the consortium must change before signature, the coordinator raises it: explaining why and proposing a solution.

During the project

The officer runs the ethics check – an internal one, drawing on ethics experts where needed. They organise project reviews assessing the work done, deliverables submitted, resources used, continued relevance of objectives and management procedures.

They receive periodic reports: either accepting them and preparing payment, or asking for changes.

The rule people forget

The grant agreement requires all communication to be electronic, through the portal, in writing, clearly identifying the project number and acronym. An understanding reached by phone or ordinary email is not legally recorded.

And the second half of the same rule: the receiving date is the moment the communication is accessed, and formal notifications not accessed within 10 days are considered accessed. A coordinator's holiday does not stop the clock.