Category / EU

Welcome to the EU section of the blog! Emily Cieciura (BU’s Research Facilitator – EU and International), Jo Garrad (Funding Development Manager) and Dianne Goodman (Funding Development Co-ordinator) together try to take the pain out of finding and applying for EU funding by horizon scanning many sources and placing the most important information on this page.

We blog as often as possible on everything from calls for proposals and partner searches, to networking event opportunities, all the latest on Horizon 2020 and international funding. We also use the blog to disseminate information on EUADS (BU’s EU academic training initiative), how to write brilliant proposals, how to find partners and other top tips!

New publication on EU innovation which may help you shape your EU proposal impact section

Innovation Landscapes explores the approaches to innovation in the UK, Germany and Finland. The document collects, describes, analyses and compares the national innovation schemes and policies of these countries in order to detect similarities, links or divergences between national and European innovation policies, measures and instruments. 

The document will be used to  inform future initiatives at the EU level but is really relevant for any of you developing the impact section of your EU proposals.

Have your say about funding areas in Horizon 2020

So you want a say in how Horizon 2020 will be but not sure how? Well, there are a number of consultations open for you to have your say – participate and start to shape EC funding for the future.

Opening up Education through New Technologies: The objective of the consultation is to explore the need for EU action to promote the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) and of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education. The consultation is carried out in the context of a Commission Communication on “Rethinking Skills” planned for the end of 2012 which will announce a new EU initiative on exploiting the potential contribution of ICTs and OERs to education and skills development. A further Commission Communication on this is expected in mid-2013.

Marine Knowledge 2020: From Seabed Mapping to Ocean Forecasting: The European Commission is proposing to create a digital seabed map of European waters by 2020 by collecting all existing data into one coherent database accessible to everyone. The consultation closes on 15 December 2012.

Fuel Cells and Hydrogen JTI under Horizon 2020: The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU), a Public Private Partnership (PPP) set up between the European Commission and industry, was established in 2008. The research community also later joined the initiative. Its objective was to significantly accelerate the market introduction of the fuel cell and hydrogen technologies, in order to realise their potential as way to achieve a lower carbon energy system. The consultation aims at collecting the views of the wider public on the fuel cells and hydrogen sector, on research and innovation in this field in Europe, and in particular on the possible continuation of the FCH JU for the implementation of FCH research in Horizon 2020.

Cake, Lunch and EU Funding… What better way to spend a work day?

We all know the importance of getting involved in EU funding as national funds dwindle, greater importance is placed on international collaborations and of BUs strategic focus on internationalisation. The EU Showcase Event will celebrate our successful EU award holders who will share their tips for engaging in EU funding.

We have presentations on schemes to help you start your EU career (Christos Gatzidis on the Leonardo scheme of the Lifelong Learning Programme and Bogdan Gabrys and Rob Britton on Marie Curie schemes) and schemes for those already engaged (Anthea Innes on applying for an FP7 grant and Adrian Newton on being a Partner in an FP7 consortium). We also have top tips on how to network effectively to become involved in EU funding (from the very experienced Dimitrios Buhalis and Cornelius Ncube). Finally I will be launching 3 very exciting internal EU focused funding competitions at this event to help you engage in EU funding and we have presentations from those who won funding through 2 of these schemes last year.

The informal and informative event will be opened by Matthew Bennett in Kimmeridge House  on 14th November. Plenty of coffee, tea, lunch and cake provided and due to the restriction of room size, registration is essential. This takes only 10 seconds on the Staff Development website.

The event will be finished in plenty of time for you to drive/ catch the uni bus to the Executive Business Centre (EBC) to hear the Inaugural Lecture Dementia: personal journey to policy priority by HSC’s Prof. Anthea Innes.

EC asks ICT firms why they don’t participate in funding programmes

Regular readers of the EU section of this blog will know that I harp on all the time about the importance of company engagement as partners in Horizon 2020. Well, this is becoming more and more apparent as time draws near to the first set of drafts for the new Horizon 2020 programme.

It was announced this month that the EC is funding a survey as part of a drive to increase the participation of companies from the information and communications technologies in future research programmes.

The survey aims to identify and characterise highly innovative ICT companies that do not participate in Framework projects, and assess why. The knowledge gained will be used to improve firms’ participation in Horizon 2020.

Now is the time to start making links with industry as much as you can!

EC trial ‘scientist friendly’ selection process

The European Commission is trailing a scientist-friendly selection process for its Future and Emerging Technologies Open scheme until January 2013. The pilot study involves a two-stage evaluation of proposals that are at most 10 pages long; this two-stage process means less time is spent by researchers completing a full application that may not be funded by the EC. If successful, the process will be implemented in the FET-Open calls under Horizon 2020.

Exciting new ‘BU in Brussels’ fund launching soon!

 

For the last year, many of the events I have attended have emphasised the value of face to face meetings with those in Europe to getting ahead in EU funding. And many BU staff I have met with, have said how they would love to find out more from policy makers and key industry leaders in their field in Brussels.

Over the summer I designed a funding scheme which would help achieve just that and I am delighted to announce that the BU in Brussels fund will be officially launched on October 1st.

More details will be available on the blog on the 1st but to whet your appetite, this fund offers a group of BU academics an invaluable experience. The prearranged trip to Brussels will include meeting relevant MEPs at the European Parliament and key groups such as the UK Representation to the EU will help you get an insight into relevant EU policy to your research area.

You will also have a personal meeting the relevant Programme officers at the European Commission which will help give you the insight in to what funding you can bid for.  

Finally, you can select 2 key industry/ organisations you want to work with who have offices in Brussels and you will have a private, facilitated meeting with them to discuss potential collaborative areas.

EC proposes to clamp down on funding to Brazil, China and India in Horizon 2020

The EC has proposed to restrict the number of non-EU countries which will be automatically eligible for funding under Horizon 2020. They published a strategy document yesterday, which said that like FP7, Horizon 2020 will have similar general conditions with regards to eligibility however the list of countries eligible for automatic funding will be restricted by introducing a new threshold on total GDP. This has been proposed in order to exclude large, emerging economies including, perhaps, China, India and Brazil. Funding for participants from these countries will still be possible in some cases. such as those where a reciprocal agreement is in place.

Forthcoming event on Older People and one on Bioeconomy in the EU

Older People in an Inclusive Europe Event: Coventry University is organising an event entitled ‘Older People in an Inclusive Europe’, which will take place in Brussels on 8 October 2012.The event will include presentations and debates within the broad context of research related to the ageing society, including a presentation from the European Commission on ‘Horizon 2020: Delivering a Better Society for Older People in Europe’. The event will also launch Coventry University’s Age Research Centre and its Ageing Society initiative.
Conference on Partnering for the Bioeconomy in European Regions: The EC is hosting a conference on the role of EU regions in implementing the EU’s Bioeconomy Strategy (published in February 2012). This will take place in Brussels on 12 October 2012. The event is intended to provide information and highlight the opportunities for regional stakeholders on the local initiatives and investment possibilities in the EU bioeconomy research and innovation areas.

Book your place on the BU EU Showcase Event

I am really looking forward to the forthcoming EU Showcase Event; last year’s event was a tremendous success and this year’s will be even bigger and better!

We all know the importance of getting involved in EU funding as national funds dwindle, greater importance is placed on international collaborations and of BUs strategic focus on internationalisation. This event will celebrate our successful EU award holders who will share their tips for engaging in EU funding.

We have presentations on schemes to help you start your EU career (Christos Gatzidis on the Leonardo scheme of the Lifelong Learning Programme and Bogdan Gabrys and Rob Britton on Marie Curie schemes) and schemes for those already engaged (Anthea Innes on applying for an FP7 grant and Adrian Newton on being a Partner in an FP7 consortium). We also have top tips on how to network effectively to become involved in EU funding (from the very experienced Dimitrios Buhalis and Cornelius Ncube). Finally I will be launching 3 very exciting internal EU focused funding competitions at this event to help you engage in EU funding and we have presentations from those who won funding through 2 of these schemes last year.

The informal and informative event will be opened by Matthew Bennett in Kimmeridge House  on 14th November. Plenty of coffee, tea, lunch and cake provided and due to the restriction of room size, registration is essential. This takes only 10 seconds on the Staff Development website.

The event will be finished in plenty of time for you to drive/ catch the uni bus to the Executive Business Centre (EBC) to hear the Inaugural Lecture Dementia: personal journey to policy priority by HSC’s Prof. Anthea Innes.

European universities need improved mobility strategies

The European University Association (EUA) has announced that EU universities need a better strategy for mobility. The EUA assessed current practice as part of a 2 year project and released their findings in Mobility: Closing the gap between policy and practice. Key findings were that:

  • academic staff are unaware of mobility strategies in their institution
  • mobility is especially important for doctoral students
  • mobility of administrative staff is not highly prioritised
  • mobility programmes for staff, students, and researchers tend to be fragmented within each institution

The report recommends that universities collect comprehensive data on the different types of mobility going on in their institution and use that data to develop mobility strategies. It also recommends that data collection should be coordinated on European and national levels.

The Maunimo project provided a self-assessment tool for universities with the aim of improving mobility programmes. Among the issues examined are mobility strategies, collection of data on mobility, the influence of external factors on mobility, and how mobility is perceived across the institution.

As part of the International Task Force at BU I will be recommending this is undertaken.

Germany’s launches donation site for research funding!

Stifterverband is an association of German research funders who will soon launch Germany’s first crowd-funding site for science in order to connect the research world with the public. It is already available on Facebook and Twitter, and will go live independently in November.

The site allows researchers to post a call for funding for small expenditures (a research trip, a computer, or money to hire an assistant for a few months) and visitors to the site can donate directly to the calls they want to support!

FP7 Social Sciences & Humanities ‘Global Europe 2050’ Report Published

Research Professional gave a great summary of the FP7 Social Sciences and Humanities ”Global Europe 2050′  foresight report. This report is the output of an EC expert group; it presents and qualifies three scenarios that identify the main pathways Europe could follow over the next few decades:

1. The ‘Nobody Cares’ scenario, where Europe is in a ‘muddling through’ process;

2. ‘Europe under threat’, where Europe is faced by an economic decline and protectionist reactions; and

3. The ‘European Renaissance’ where the EU continues to enlarge and become stronger with more efficient innovation systems.

Any bets on which way we go…?!

Pilot project for archive digitalisation gets under way which will ease access to info for researchers

German organisation DFG is to finance a pilot project that will digitalise archives across Germany in an attempt to save data and make it easily available for researchers which is great news if you have German collaborators. The pilot project will distribute just under €200,000 to each participating archive to test different ways of data digitalisation and access. The projects vary in length depending on each archive’s needs, but should last for over a year. The archives are supplying about a third of the costs from their own resources, and are in turn setting their own areas of interest. The state archive of Saxony, for example, will focus on the digitalisation of microfiches and microfilms. Hopefully this will pave the way for the UK archiving system too!

EU acknowleges need for single framework for professional development of researchers

A study part-funded by the European Science Foundation (ESF) and tested the professional development framework developed by the UK’s Vitae in different European settings has released some very interesting findings. The study into the feasibility of implementing a professional development framework for researchers across Europe has found that there is demand for such a framework, although nations vary in their readiness to participate in it.  Now that this recognition has been gained, expect a framework to follow!

 

BU EU Showcase Event date announced!

I am very excited to announce the date for this year’s EU Showcase Event! Last year’s event was a tremendous success and this year’s looks like it will be even bigger and better!

We all know the importance of getting involved in EU funding as national funds dwindle, greater importance is placed on international collaborations and of BUs strategic focus on internationalisation. This event will celebrate our successful EU award holders who will share their tips for engaging in EU funding.

We have presentations on schemes to help you start your EU career (Christos Gatzidis on the Leonardo scheme of the Lifelong Learning Programme and Bogdan Gabrys and Rob Britton on Marie Curie schemes) and schemes for those already engaged (Anthea Innes on applying for an FP7 grant and Adrian Newton on being a Partner in an FP7 consortium). We also have top tips on how to network effectively to become involved in EU funding (from the very experienced Dimitrios Buhalis and Cornelius Ncube). Finally I will be launching 3 very exciting internal EU focused funding competitions at this event to help you engage in EU funding and we have presentations from those who won funding through 2 of these schemes last year.

The informal and informative event will be opened by Matthew Bennett in Kimmeridge House  on 14th November. Plenty of coffee, tea, lunch and cake provided and due to the restriction of room size, registration is essential. This takes only 10 seconds on the Staff Development website.

The event will be finished in plenty of time for you to drive/ catch the uni bus to the Executive Business Centre (EBC) to hear the Inaugural Lecture Dementia: personal journey to policy priority by HSC’s Prof. Anthea Innes.

ICT SMEs in Horizon 2020

As many of you will know from my previous blogposts, I am always emphasising the importance of enagaging SMEs for Horizon 2020. Last week the EC has funded a survey aimed at increasing the participation of innovative companies from the information and communications technologies (ICT) in future research programmes. The survey aims to identify and characterise highly innovative ICT companies that do not participate in Framework projects, and assess their reasons for non-involvement. This is expected to feed into recommendations to improve the participation of SMEs in Horizon 2020, in a final report due in February 2013.

This is further evidence that enagaging SMEs in your Horizon 2020 proposals will be essential, so start networking now 🙂