FAQ National Editions

Last updated: 4/03/24

ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (SO-CALLED FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS) FAQ) WITH REGARD TO NATIONAL EDITIONS GOVERNED BY LAW NO. 420 OF 1 DECEMBER 1997 AND BY CIRCULAR DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND CULTURAL INSTITUTES NO. 5 OF 10 FEBRUARY 2023

The circular in force is no. 5 of 10 February 2023.

The following are eligible to apply for the establishment of National Editions, for the purposes of evaluation for admission to the relevant contributions (Law no. 420 of 1 December 1997):

  • public administrations, central or local, including those with an autonomous system;
  • cultural institutions or individual scholars. (art. 2 of Law 420/1997 and art. 1 of Circ. 5/2023).

Applications are submitted from 1 to 31 March of each year (art. 8 clause 1 Circ. 5/2023) exclusively on the platform of the Ministry of Culture, Directorate General for Education, Research and Cultural Institutes – Service II, at the address https://istitutidgeric.beniculturali.it.

Any other form of submission will not be considered.

The applications for the establishment of national Editions must contain the following information (art. 2 clause 3 Circular 5/2023):

a) general plan:

  • title of the national Edition;
  • names of the members of the Scientific Commission, including the proposer, with related documentation (declaration of absence of situations of conflict of interest and causes of incompatibility and non-transferability and pending charges, valid identification document, curriculum vitae);
  • proposal for the designation of the President, the Secretary-Treasurer and the registered office.

b) general and editorial plan of the national Edition with the description:

  • of the internal structure of the Edition and with an indication of the overall number of volumes expected for each year of the five-year period;
  • the type of publication (paper and/or digital);
  • the scientific justification of the proposal in relation to the state of existing studies and editorial achievements.

c) list of institutions and scholars involved;

d) scholarships and/or research having an object directly connected with the purposes of the national Edition;

e) budget estimate: financial resources necessary to create and complete the five-year editorial project, documenting the request with at least three technical-economic offers for each publication scheduled for the first year.

The omission, even partial, of the requested data excludes the evaluation of the application (art. 2 clause 2 of Circular 5/2023).

Pursuant to art. 2 clause 3.1 of the Circular. 5/2023 the national Edition activities must conclude within five years.  

At the end of the five-year period, the Consultation of national Committees and national Editions, referred to in the following art. 4, may grant financing and/or extension for up to a maximum of three years in cases of exceptional complexity of the editorial activity, as regulated by the following art. 3, clause 2.

The settlement takes place with the first meeting of the national Edition, in person or by videoconference. On this occasion the members will have to elect by absolute majority (at least half plus one) the President and the Secretary-Treasurer, chosen from within their own area, and establishing the legal headquarters of the national edition.

The minutes, n.1, signed by the President and Secretary (and thus all the subsequent minutes of each meeting to be held during the life of the Edition) will be sent to Service II of the General Directorate for Education, Research and Cultural Institutes (dg-eric.servizio2@cultura.gov.it) who will verify it by acknowledging it with a formal Certificate.

The certificate will be produced by the President and the Secretary-Treasurer at the Revenue Agency of the city where the Edizione is headquartered together with the request for the tax code registered in the name of the national Edizione. The certificate will be presented to the chosen banking agency for the activation of a current account in the name of the National Edition with joint signature of the two bodies (President and Secretary-Treasurer). Tax code and IBAN will be communicated to Service II of the Directorate General for Education, Research and Cultural Institutes (email: dg-eric. ufficio2@cultura.gov.it) who will credit the assigned contribution to the current account of the National Edition.

Sì. I componenti delle Edizioni nazionali indicati dai proponenti in fase di istituzione, possono essere integrati da ulteriori personalità di alto profilo nominati dal Ministero della Cultura, tenuto conto della rilevanza e dell’interesse dell’Edizione stessa.

Yes, at any time. The edition decides by majority the integration of the new member. For the ministerial decree integrating the national Edition into Service II, the following must be sent via email:

  • formal request for integration signed by the President;
  • the minutes of the meeting in which the name of the new member(s) was approved;
  • new curriculum vitae/new member/members;
  • declaration of absence of situations of conflict of interest and causes of incompatibility and non-transferability and pending charges together with a valid identification document.

Yes. A member of the national Edition can submit formal resignations in writing to the President of the Edition who, in the meeting, communicates them to the assembly of members and draws up minutes to be sent to Service II

If the resigning member is a governing body, president or secretary-treasurer, the reunited Edition will have to elect the incoming body, by majority and within the Edition, and communicate it to Service II of this General Directorate with transmission of the relevant minutes. If you decide to elect a member who is not within the Edition, you must follow the instructions prescribed in the previous FAQ n. 8.

The new elected president/secretary-treasurer will have to deposit his signature at the Banking Agency where the Edizione current account is opened.

Yes. To fulfill the obligations of transparency and publicity, it is mandatory for the Edition to activate a dedicated website on which to publish the founding documents, the minutes of the meetings with the resolutions adopted, the administrative documents, all the news relating to the celebratory activities, events and demonstrations. For communication purposes, digital publicity materials or streaming events will also be published. Any expense for the creation of the web page is included among operating expenses. The website can also be hosted by the pre-existing site of one of the promoting institutions.

No. The role of member of the Edition is free, as required by the institutional ministerial decrees of the national Editionsin art. 3 clause 3 “For members ofthe Scientific Commission there is no provision for the attribution of fees, tokens attendance, allowance or emoluments however denominated" . 

Expenses for the supply of goods or services, such as the contract with the publishing house, are admissible.

For the possible purchase of durable goods (e.g. printers, computers, books), it is necessary to previously establish, at the time of the establishment of the national Edition, criteria and methods of evolution of any residual goods.

Employment contracts cannot be stipulated. Consultancy assignments are not recommended, as it is assumed that members of the National Edition have the appropriate qualifications and skills to implement the program.

They must be considered admissible for scholarships.

Functioning expenses, pursuant to art. 6, clause 1 of the Circular. No. 5/2023, must not exceed, overall, 15% of the annual financing and are:

  • stationery expences;
  • rental of IT equipment;
  • reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses for the members of the scientific commission away from home who participate in the meetings (travel by documented means of public transport, any hotel, meals, with the exclusion of any mission allowance).

These expenses must also be approved or at least authorized in advance by the majority of the Scientific Commission

Any contract with a publishing house must be stipulated following a simplified public notice procedure, consisting of a market survey by inviting proposals from at least three publishing houses to determine the most advantageous technical-economic offer. It is possible to include a clause stating that a part of the print is reserved, non-commercially, for the National Publication, and the remainder is reserved for the publishing house for sale and distribution, to ensure the widest possible dissemination for the works created through the ministerial grant.

Pursuant to art. 6 clause 2 et seq. of the Circular 5/2023 the reporting of the expenses incurred by the national Editions takes place exclusively on the Ministry's platform: it is semi-annual and is presented by the President of the Scientific Commission at the deadlines of 30 June and 31 December of each year. This documentation will be forwarded to the Consultation of national Committees and national Editions. The reporting gives an account of the activity carried out in the previous semester, of the publications created or in the process of being created, of every expense incurred, with attached supporting documentation of the contracts stipulated for the purchase of goods and/or services compliant with the market survey carried out . The transmission of at least two samples of the volumes already published forms an integral part of the report. The delay in submitting the statement constitutes a negative evaluation condition for admission to refinancing for the following year.

Pursuant to art. 3 clause 2 of the Circular. 5/2023, requests for refinancing and/or extension of the national Editions must be presented from year to year, are submitted to the consultation of the national Committees and national Editions and must be forwarded exclusively using the specific platform of the Ministry of Culture, General Directorate of Education, Research and Cultural institutes – Service II, at the address https://istitutidgeric.beniculturali.it. Any other form of submission will not be considered. The omission, even partial, of the requested data excludes the evaluation of the application. Refinancing applications must contain the following information:

a) general plan:

  • title of the national Edition;
  • establishing decree and any supplementary decrees;
  • indication of the President, Secretary-treasurer and members of the Scientific Commission;
  • registered office;
  • website;
  • tax code;
  • Iban code;
  • total contributions granted starting from the date of establishment of the Edition with an indication of the contributions granted for each year starting from the date of establishment;
  • bank statement;
  • report on the editorial activity carried out in previous years;
  • list of published volumes;
  • report on the editorial activity to be carried out.

b) editorial program for the year for which refinancing is requested;

c) scholarships and/or research;

d) other subjects involved;

e) budget estimate.

Pursuant to art. 3 clause 2.1 of the Circular. 5/2023 “On the basis of the information and documents received, if the activity has not been carried out according to the approved program, the Council of National Committees and National Editions may decide not to refinance the Edition, ensuring its extinction , without prejudice to the possible recovery of any sums possibly paid”
 

 

Similarly to the Committees within three months of the end of the Edition, must submit the latest report with the attached document issued by the bank certifying the closure of the current account and the last bank statement with a zero balance. Any savings will be returned to the Ministry of Culture by bank transfer to the Bank of Italy, Central State Treasury, using the IBAN code IT98N 01000 03245 350 1 29 3680 03 and indicating the reason for payment "Return of contribution".

Donations made to National Editions cannot benefit from the tax credit pursuant to art. 1, d.l. 31 May 2014, n. 83 (so-called Art bonus). Their field of action - described in the law of 1 December 1997, n. 420 containing "Establishment of the Consulta of National Committees and National Editions" - differs from that contained in the art. 1, d.l. n. 83/2014 which exclusively concerns donations received "for maintenance, protection and restoration of public cultural heritage, for the support of institutions and places of culture belonging to the public, of opera-symphonic foundations and traditional theatres, of concert-orchestral institutions, national theatres, theaters of significant cultural interest, festivals, theater and dance production companies and centres, as well as distribution circuits for instrumental ensembles, concert and choral societies, circuses and traveling shows and for the construction of new structures, the restoration and strengthening of existing ones of public bodies or institutions which, on a non-profit basis, exclusively carry out entertainment activities". Similarly, does not recur for National Committees and Editions, the case referred to in the art. 2, d.l. No. 83/2014 which concerns exclusively "the concessionaires or entrustees" of the public cultural heritage subject to maintenance, protection and restoration interventions.

Ultimo aggiornamento: 19 ottobre 2023