The preparation of the OG project counts as a separate operation and can be paid as soon as it is finished and a project proposal is ready for selection. The implementation of the OG project (after selecting it) is another operation. So it is possible to pay for the preparation operation only, and before the project itself is finished.
There is always a one-to-one relationship between an EIP OG and its innovative project. An EIP OG can run one project only: the objectives and activities of the OG project are distinctive for that OG. Thus, two different projects are always run by two different EIP OGs, no matter the OG’s composition. Note that a group who did/is doing an OG project is allowed to do further OG projects, without a need to change partners.