Dean's Measure No. D117

regulating the system of bonus reimbursements to the Faculty of Science researchers for projects and supplementary activities, and determining the method of co-financing projects

Version 1.3 issued on the 13^th of October 2026

Č.j.: JU/2026/014306

FSc USB financially motivates successful applicants for projects and employees carrying on supplementary activities through a system of bonus reimbursements, which researchers can use for any needs within the limits of drawing the so-called RVO funds. The system is set up to be transparent and to allow bonus funding to be awarded to investigators across all types of projects if the basic conditions for awarding the bonus are met.

Article I
Projects with the obligation to co-finance and their economic balance

For projects with the obligation of co-financing, it is necessary to provide the FSc USB Academic Senate with the D114 form and the budget, including an explanation, well in advance, at least 15 days before the project is submitted; see Dean's Measure D114. The basic rule is that the faculty should not have additional costs associated with the project.

List of possibilities of the form of co-financing to achieve an economically balanced project budget:

1. Co-financing of the project is covered by the wages of the faculty core staff
   The project manager or a technician is included in the project's co-financing if he/she is part of the research team, i.e., his/her wages are listed among the project's direct costs.
2. Co-financing of the project is covered by the wages of the faculty core staff, but it is not sufficient – the department will cover the remaining co-financing costs.
3. Co-financing of the project is covered by the wages of the faculty core staff, but it is not sufficient – the department is unable to cover the remaining co-financing costs. It is necessary to look for other ways:
   - Prove that the workload of the involved core staff cannot be higher on the project because it is already spread over other projects (i.e., faculty saves finances within another project).
   - Add an explanation from the Dean or the Head of the Department on the strategic importance of the project so that co-financing will not be further addressed.
4. For mobility projects (including MSCA, etc.), co-financing will always be covered by the project's organisational and administrative costs, thus ensuring a balanced budget. In the event additional resources are needed to implement the project, the department provides the funds, and the Head of the Department agrees by signing the D114 form.
5. If the services of an external company are used in the preparation of the project, the department participates in these costs, and part of the external company’s costs constitutes co-financing. The rules for securing finance for an external company are specified in the Dean’s Measure D114. This part of the co-financing is usually provided through contributions from the department and the faculty, if the department and faculty management support financing for project preparation through consultations by an external company.

Article II
Determination of the bonus for the project PI

Projects with a bonus for the PI

The bonus will be provided to the Principal investigator for projects where the overhead[1], after deducting any co-financing (see below), is at least 15 % of the total direct costs. To determine the entitlement to the bonus and the specific bonus amount, the following procedure will be followed:

  1) For projects without co-financing:
If the overhead in the project is quantified as at least 15 % of the total direct costs (regardless of the method of calculating the amount of the overhead), the amount of the financial bonus to the PI (formerly called reimbursement) is determined as the amount of the indirect costs minus an amount equivalent to 12% of the total direct costs.

  2) In the case of co-financing of the project by the faculty:
-   The amount needed to co-finance the project will be reduced by the funds saved through the employment of faculty core staff (including social security and health insurance), see Article I.

-   The resulting amount (real cost of co-financing) is deducted from the overhead. A project for which the amount of overhead so adjusted exceeds 15 % of direct costs (see examples in Annex 1) is eligible for a bonus, and the amount of the financial bonus to the PI is determined as the amount of the adjusted indirect costs minus an amount equivalent to 12 % of total direct costs.

  3) Bonus for pre-financed projects
The bonus is paid out each time from the paid finances/activated overheads for the following calendar year, in accordance with the above points, i.e. it is not possible to pay the bonus in the first year of the project; on the contrary, the bonus will be paid for a year after the end of the project. The total maximum amount of the project bonus is calculated at the start of the project; in the event of a change in the percentage of overhead above which the bonus is determined, the amount of the bonus will be calculated for the funds that will actually be paid out from the time of the new limit. The Project Department will prepare the supporting documentation to calculate the bonus.

    4) Project managers in the implementation team
For projects administered by the Project Department, the Principal Investigator should consider the administrative complexity of project management by including a project manager in the implementation team, provided that the project conditions allow it. For projects in which the project manager will not be included in the implementation team, including the corresponding funds allocated in the project budget, the amount of the financial bonus to the PI is determined as the amount of the adjusted indirect costs minus an amount equivalent to 15 % of total direct costs.

    5) Supplementary activities
The bonus will be provided to the Principal investigator carrying out supplementary activities on a commercial basis, provided that the overhead, after deducting any co-financing, is at least 15 % of the total direct costs. The financial bonus to the PI is determined as the amount of the indirect costs minus an amount equivalent to 12 % of the total direct costs.

The percentage of overhead from direct costs, above which the bonus amount is determined, may change depending on the state of the faculty budget in the given year and is announced annually at the beginning of the year together with the percentage level of overheads.

The bonus is usually applicable to applied and basic research projects, e.g., GAČR, TAČR, InterExcellence, ERC, EU Framework Programmes, etc. The bonus amount can be easily determined using the table in Annex 2.

Due to the administrative burden, the retroactive bonus is applied if it exceeds the amount of CZK 25,000.

In the case of large prestigious projects of the Operational Programmes and other prestigious projects that do not meet the limit of indirect costs, the bonus will be determined individually by the faculty management at the request of the PI.

Form of Bonus Awarding
The bonus for the researcher is always provided in the form of an increase in funds for the department within the departmental budget for the given year, and the head of the department should provide these funds to the PI without reduction.

Unsupported projects:
Projects with a high administrative burden and high faculty costs, low full-time equivalents (FTEs) of the faculty core staff, and low or zero indirect costs are not eligible for the bonus, such as:

• cross-border cooperation projects (particularly INTERREG programmes, given the method of calculating indirect costs, etc.)
• mobility projects – in particular, MSCA (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions) projects
• or other projects where the funding body specifies a particular method for calculating and reporting indirect costs that does not allow for a refund.

Article III
Financial support for submitting and obtaining ERC projects

Submitting and obtaining an ERC project can be financially supported by separate bonus financing. In 2025 and 2026, this financial support is provided by the USB Rector's Office’s FSP project "Support for the preparation of European Research Council Grants". Financial support for the submitted and awarded ERC projects, beyond the scope of this project, or financial support in subsequent years, will be possible if financial resources are secured. Such financial support may be decided by the Management of the FSc USB.

Within the framework of the FSP project "Support for the preparation of European Research Council Grants", it is possible to apply for financial support only in the case of ERC projects for which USB employee is the principal investigator or co-investigator of the project.

The application for the payment of financial support for submitting or obtaining an ERC project is submitted to the Rector's Office by the Dean of the Faculty of Science USB within the framework of the FSP project "Support for the Preparation of European Research Council Grants" via the Project Department of FSc USB. In the event of an application for financial support after the completion of this project, any support will be paid only if allocated financial resources are available.

In the case of financial support, it will be distributed within the faculty as follows:

• 25 % of the financial support will be paid to the principal investigator in the form of a super-gross salary (i.e. gross salary + social and health insurance) as remuneration to the principal investigator on the next payday,
• 25 % of the financial support will be used by the faculty to cover the costs associated with the preparation and implementation of project applications,
• 50 % of the financial support will be allocated directly to the principal investigator, with the possibility of drawing from a separate event. If costs associated with external services arise (e.g., services of an external company in project preparation), it is necessary to take these costs into account and cover them from this part of the financial support.

Article IV
Other provisions

1. During the transitional period, projects already implemented in 2024 will continue to receive the retroactive bonus on a continuous basis. The new payment method applies to projects starting in 2025.
2. Bonus funding for supplementary activities will be implemented starting in 2027, based on economic activity in 2026 and subsequent years.
3. In case of any divergence or contradiction between the Czech and English texts of this document, the Czech text shall take precedence and be considered the legally binding version.
4. This document supersedes the version 1.2 dated May 26^th, 2026.
5. This measure takes effect on the day of signature.

In České Budějovice

prof. RNDr. František Vácha, Ph.D.
dean                          

[1] Overhead or indirect costs (real activated overheads for projects) are used to cover the administrative and operating costs of the faculty during the project. Overhead refers to the part of the project budget called indirect costs, overheads, or additional costs.