The Funding & Tenders Portal is home to a variety of accounts, each with specific rights and functions depending on whether they are linked to an organisation (beneficiary) or a project, and whether a project involves a single beneficiary or a consortium.

Organisation roles and project roles manage different aspects of the portal, focusing on their own “circles” of responsibility. In this article, we will focus on two key roles associated with the beneficiary: the LEAR and the Account Administrator.

LEAR: More Than Just a Role

The LEAR, or Legal Entity Appointed Representative, is more than a simple portal role. This person represents the organisation in all interactions with the European Commission related to EU funding. The LEAR is appointed during the organisation registration process in EU services and is responsible for managing the organisation’s data in the portal.

Becoming a LEAR requires a validation process: supporting documents must be submitted through the portal to verify the LEAR nomination. Once validated by the Central Validation Services, the LEAR becomes the authorised representative of the organisation toward the European Commission and the primary point of contact.

LEARs can:

• View and modify organisation data
• Access the list of projects (but need to request access to enter each project)
• Delegate tasks to other members of the organisation.

Importantly, the LEAR is the only portal role that cannot be manually revoked. Any change requires completing the LEAR appointment procedure again, to select a new LEAR.

Account Administrators: Delegating for Efficiency

To help manage portal functions, LEARs can delegate rights to other organisation members and appoint one or more Account Administrators.

Account Administrators have the same portal rights as the LEAR but do not replace the LEAR’s ultimate legal responsibility toward the European Commission. This delegation ensures that daily management tasks are shared, helping the organisation respond promptly to EC requests and manage organisation-level tasks efficiently.

Account Administrators can be appointed and revoked by the LEAR at any time.

A Tip for Managing Portal Roles

In smaller organisations, one contact person can often handle both beneficiary-level and project-level responsibilities, simplifying portal management. In larger organisations, however, it is advisable to appoint one or two Account Administrators to ensure that all EC requests are addressed promptly and deadlines are met.

Furthermore, since Account Administrators hold the same rights as LEARs, they can step in as backup to ensure access to the organisation’s portal management. This means that if the LEAR is unavailable, the Account Administrator can take over the duties.

Want more about how roles work in the Funding & Tenders Portal? Reach out to us at [email protected]