HOW TO GO ABOUT…

HOW TO GO ABOUT…

Purchasing goods or services

For information and support relating to purchases consult your reference STG, depending on your scientific AREA.

Fill in the purchase request on the STG FORM, possibly including the cost estimate/s and indicating the funds to which the expense will be charged. This is a very simple procedure that takes only a few minutes.

In the case of purchases exceeding 5,000 Euros, your STG will also involve the SNS Tendering and Purchasing Service, which will be able to proceed with the necessary steps for the purchase itself, including any necessary tender procedures.

We remind you that for Information & Technology and connectivity goods and services to be acquired using research funds, according to the regulation the procedure can be carried out exclusively through electronic portals (e.g. MePA). Any exceptions can only be managed with a specific authorisation given by the General Secretary and forwarded to ANAC and AgID. This provision does not apply to purchases of IT and connectivity goods and services related to educational activities.

Your STG will proceed with the purchase, filling in the relative request on SERSE and carrying out the subsequent procedures (arrival and delivery of goods, temporary inventory if necessary, validation of invoices) in collaboration with the other SNS offices involved and/or in charge.

Normative reference: Regulation of trading activities

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Requesting a refund for a purchase

This kind of purchase is managed by the SNS through the so-called Economic Fund. On 1st June 2023 the new text of the regulation for the management of the economic fund came into force.

Your reference STG will give you support, and so you are advised to refer to it before proceeding.

We take this opportunity to highlight some fundamental principles:

1) the use of the economic fund (in the form of cash or credit cards) is an extraordinary procedure of derogation from the ordinary purchase methods and payment through orders

2) the use of the economic fund is strictly reserved for unforeseen urgent needs where payment by cash or credit card is the only method.

3) the fund can be used for the purchase of low-value goods and services (max €999.00 including VAT) which cannot be programmed and cannot be referred to current supply contracts

4) cash advances have to be requested in advance and authorised by the treasurer. Fill in the form and send it to aba.sbc@sns.it

5) advance purchases that for reasons of necessity and urgency employees make in their own name but on behalf of the SNS must be authorised in advance by the treasurer. Fill in the form and send it to aba.sbc@sns.it before proceeding with the purchase. The purchase can then be completed by the STG upon the explicit authorisation of the treasurer.

Finally, the refund request must be presented on the SerSe platform.

Normative reference: Economic fund management regulation

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Travelling for work

1) Fill in the form Missioni on the U-Web application before the beginning of your trip. Connect to UGOV first and then click on U-Web Missioni.

2) On your return, fill in the reimbursement request and attach the electronic receipts for the expenses on the U-Web platform (see item 1). Any paper receipt or ticket must be sent to the missions office in a sealed envelope by internal mail. On the envelope write the identification number (Request number) assigned by the U-Web system to your request. In case of need, write to aba.personale@sns.it.

***For insurance reasons, it is important that the mission on U-Web is opened before your departure, or it will not be possible to refund the expenses.***

3) Missions for which refunds have to be reported on externally funded research projects (e.g. EU projects, PNRR) must be shown to be connected to the scientific programme of the project, thus ensuring easy passage through the various audit steps. You are requested to provide the following additional documents (attach them in U-Web Missions - button at the top left of the platform: Attachments):

a) For participation in a conference/meeting: the programme of the event at which your talk appears (if the programme is available online, it is sufficient to include the link to the website) and the abstract of the talk, with express reference to the project (at the end of the abstract the following sentence must be inserted: "The activity was carried out within the project xxx entitled ".... code xxx..."/The activities mentioned herein are performed in the framework of the project xxx, title ".... code xxx..."). In the case of participation in a meeting of the research project, it is sufficient to attach the agenda of the meeting.

b) For scientific collaboration: a copy of the e-mails exchanged with the host institution (teacher or researcher contact), briefly indicating the activity to be carried out and specifying the close relevance of the collaboration to the project activity; in the reimbursement request attach a brief report of the activity carried out, with express reference to the project (at the end of the report the following sentence must be inserted: "The activity was carried out within the project xxx entitled ".... code xxx..."/The activities mentioned herein are performed in the framework of the project xxx, title ".... code xxx...".)

c) For library/archive research or field research: a brief report outlining the objectives attained in relation to the activities to be carried out in the project (we suggest that you insert at the end of the report the following phrase: "The activity was carried out within the xxx project entitled ".... code xxx..."/The activities mentioned herein are performed in the framework of the project xxx, title ".... code xxx...".)

Should the required documentation as specified in the points above be unavailable, the cost of the mission will come out of overheads, if available. In this case, please contact the Research and technological transfer service.
 
4) PhD student missions: PhD students may be authorised to carry out off-site missions using research funds. If the holder of the funds is a different person from the supervisor, the latter's agreement must be obtained; exclusively in this case, the student must attach to the reimbursement request a copy of the e-mails exchanged with his/her supervisor prior to the mission.
 
Normative reference: Mission regulation

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INVITATIONS FOR SEMINARS OR STUDY MEETINGS ON RESEARCH FUNDS

Starting from February 1st 2024, the invitation procedure for seminar and cultural activities follows two different paths, depending on the type of financing fund:

1.      Institutional: invitations are managed by the three SNS Classes and by the Cultural Events and Career Service;

2.      Research: invitations are managed by the relevant STGs offices.

Below the procedure with dematerialized flow regarding invitations financed by research funds:

Starting from the initial invitation request, made by the applicant, up to the verification of the regular event’s development, the procedure is managed by a specific form (bilingual).

Steps to follow:

1.      In the invitations section, select “Invitation form for seminar and/or study meeting financed by research funds [A2] BETA version”

2.       Click on "START with NEW REQUEST"

3.       Log in with your university’s account and password

4.       Fill the form in, with all the required information:

• type of initiative;
•  speaker’s name, affiliation and contacts
• estimated costs for any compensation or travel reimbursement, food and accommodation expenses;
• relevant STG office
• research funds to be used (there is the possibility of using up to 2 research funds, also a third one may be admitted just in case the fund belongs to another teacher, whose authorization must be attached).

5.       Data confirmation and continue.

At this point the request is sent for validation to the Dean of the relevant Class and is subsequently taken in charge by the relevant STG office in order to fill the event form in.

The relevant STG office carries out a funds feasibility assessment and verifies the amounts included in the request. Once this step is completed, the form, which may contain changes, compared to the initial amounts, is sent to the funds’ owner for final authorization.

6. The owner of the research funds can authorize, authorize with reservation or refuse with reasons the authorization request.
7. Once the owner authorizes the funds’ use, the invitation card is sent to the General Secretary for signature and to the protocol office for registration.

Some clarifications:

• The request must be sent at least 15 DAYS before the expected date of the seminar or guest’s arrival
• In case of seminars, check the availability of the space by consulting the planning system before proceeding with the request. Where the space is available, request a reservation and wait for confirmation from the relevant service.
• According to Italian law, both the compensation and the reimbursement of expenses, if combined with the compensation, are subject to taxation.
• Guest's CV is a mandatory attachment, so please arrange for it in advance.
• In case of use of third party funds, the authorization from the funds’ owner is a mandatory attachment
• The authorizations of the Dean, owner of the funds and General Secretary may be given, given with reservation and/or refused with detailed reason.
• The applicant must only fill out the form without doing personal reservations at Puteano or any other hotel, nor request meal codes from other services that are not required by the STG

Further information:

The above seminars are those regulated by art. 16 paragraph 1, letter a) of the “regolamento per il conferimento a soggetti esterni di incarichi di prestazione d’opera (collaborazioni occasionali)”, which provides:

• Who can apply – both professors and researchers, including those on contract, may invite qualified Italian or foreign scholars to participate as speakers in conferences, workshops, study meetings, seminars or series of seminars (invitations for seminar and cultural activities);
• Who validates in the behalf of the School - The Dean of the Class to which they belong to and the General Secretary in case of institutional funds; The Dean of the Class, the funds’ owner and the General Secretary in the case of research funds;
• Duration of the stay and commitment required to the guest - Invitations to hold series of seminars can last for a maximum duration of one month, and include the speaker contributions from a minimum of two to a maximum of five hours per week;

What the invitation may include - The provider is entitled to any compensation, reimbursement of travel expenses and any room and boarding costs, according to criteria and parameters determined by the governing body upon proposal of the Academic Council. In the occasion of its meeting on 27th September 2022, the governing body decided to recognize a gross compensation of an amount of no more than € 400,00 for each seminar (or study meeting), up to a maximum of four seminars within the same invitation. For any further seminars within the same invitation, it is proposed to recognize a gross provider fee of no more than € 300,00 per seminar. The School may also recognize reimbursement for travel expenses, room and boarding expenses, according to the rules defined by the Regulations for negotiation activities.

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Who to contact for any queries:

• For information regarding the reimbursement procedure, write to the e-mail address aba.personale@sns.it
• For information regarding the use of funds and the accountability of expenses, write to the e-mail address ricerca@sns.it or ricercaeuropea@sns.it.
• For information regarding the missions, write to the Salary Service (Servizio Stipendi) (stipendi@sns.it).

For information regarding purchases and all else not expressly indicated above, your reference STGs will give you support, collaborating with the other relevant offices of the SNS.

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