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Tyndall climate centre moves into China

The University of East Anglia says the new Tyndall Centre Fudan will help China shift to a low-carbon economy.  The institution is an expansion of the university’s Tyndall research centre in the UK, in cooperation Fudan University in China.  It has received a 15-year funding commitment from the Chinese central government and the Shanghai City government.

“It is our intention to combine the interdisciplinary strengths of all the UK universities in the Tyndall Centre and the excellence of Fudan University in order to better address some of the challenging problems which climate change is throwing at us,” said Trevor Davies, co-director of Fudan Tyndall, in a statement.  “It is an exciting opportunity for both countries.”

The UK Tyndall Centre is led by the University of East Anglia, in collaboration with the Universities of Cambridge, Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle, Oxford, Southampton and Sussex.

For St Andrews, the answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind

St Andrews University is seeking permission to build a windfarm to generate all its power.  The institution’s energy bills have tripled since 2005 to £5.4 million a year, and doing nothing is “not an option”, it said in a statement on 2 June.  The University has submitted a proposal to Fife Council to develop a six-turbine, 12-megawatt windfarm at the university-owned Kenly Farm, Boarhills.

The Scottish National Party has previously pledged to generate 100 per cent of the country’s electricity needs from renewables by 2020.

EPSRC goes for open access

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council has announced that it is implementing a new policy to increase research data availability and accessibility.

Under the policy, from 1 September all EPSRC-funded research papers submitted for publication must be made available on an open access basis.  The council said in a statement on 3 June that the rules are not set in stone: it is up to each researcher to choose what approach or forum to use.

FP7 Galileo: Presentation on EGNOS and Galileo

A presentation shown at a recent event by the Global Navigation Satellite Systems Supervisory Authority is now available.  The Executive Director gave an update on the state of play within the Galileo and EGNOS programmes.  Also available is a copy of the GNSS market report which sets out the opportunities for the exploitation of GNSS technologies and applications.

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Study on: ICT Concepts for Optimisation of Mobility in Smart Cities

The European Commission, Information Society and Media DG, has published a call for tenders regarding ICT concepts for optimisation of mobility in smart cities.

The study will assess the impact of urban policy objectives on the need for research and innovation in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the area of transport. ICT-based mobility services for goods in urban and inter-urban environments should also be taken into account.

Duration must not exceed 6 months
The total price quoted cannot exceed €200,000
Deadlines: Request for Information 21 July 2011 and Submission 29 July 2011

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Land as an environmental resource

The tenderer will assess current land use, its functions and its potential for improvement, as well as the risks of excess demand for biotic production in relation to environmental policy and recommendations for ecosystem damage reduction and more efficient use of land resources. Funding is worth approximately €220,000 over 12 months.  Further information can be found here.

Closing date: 4 July 2011

Study on “Pressures and Measures in the major river basin management plans in the EU”

The European Commission has published a call for tenders for a comparative study of pressures and measures in the major river basin management plans in the EU.

The study will gather, in a structured way, information on pressures and measures in the river basin management plans, and on the following topics related to river basin management: governance, agriculture, hydromorphology, intercalibration, specific pollutants, typologies, drinking water protected areas, costs and benefits, enforcement and control systems, and innovation. It will also compare the information in order to provide a Europe-wide overview on the aforementioned topics.

The publication will contribute to the development of the 2012 Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Waters.

Funding is worth between €1.45 million and €1.5 million over 12 months

Deadline: 4 July 2011

Find an Expert: Further Comments

A while back I posted looking for comments on which research ontology to use in order to drive our ‘find an expert’ search engine both for external and crucially for internal users.  How can we increase collaboration in BU if we can’t find each other and seek out the expertise we need?  The find an expert function will help with this.  To help the search engine we need to classify our expertise against some form of research taxonomy or ontology; basically a list of subjects and expertise.  In the original post I favoured the Science Metrix subject list as a simple solution.  The alternative is the Library of Congress list which is much more exhaustive and Holger Schutkowski (Applied Sciences) has made a strong plea via his blog posts for this with the idea that we could edit this list down to something more managable, essentially removing those subject areas that we simply do not have at BU.  I am keen to take a decision on this soon so any further views would be very much appreciated.  May be there is an alternative ontology that we should consider for example.

Study on “Towards an overall measurement methodology of the carbon and energy footprints of the ICT sector”

The objective of this study is to identify and carry out critical analyses of the existing methodologies and initiatives aiming at measuring the GHG emissions and energy consumption applicable to the ICT sector (ICT products, services and companies).
The expected result is to get a clear picture and critical comparison of the methodologies and initiatives that exist or are in preparation, in the EU and globally.

Duration must not exceed 7 months.  
The total price quoted cannot exceed €180.000.

Deadlines: Request for information 23 June 2011; Submission 30 June 2011

Further docs: Invitation to Tender; Tender Specifications; Annex to Tender Specifications; Model Service Contract

Research Themes: A Gentle Reminder

A little while back I put out a call for ‘champions’ to help define the emerging BU Research Themes.  The call was heard by some and posts against some of the themes followed, and in a few cases alternative takes on the same theme have been posted which is excellent.  The idea was/is to get different academics to define the themes using a simple template which you can find on the original post [http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2011/05/24/champions-answer-the-call/].  Debate is essential if we are to understand the scope of these themes and help define them further and I am keen for there to be as many different views as possible.  Don’t just leave it to the usual suspects but have your say and help define the theme most relevant to you.  If someone else has posted then post your own views and perspective; be brave and enter the debtate!  We will be closing the debate soon in order to take stock of where we are with each theme.  I still hanker after reducing the number of themes further and one way to do this is by culling those that haven’t attracted much interest.  Towards the end of next week I will try to pull together the different views and provide a briefing document on all the themes.  So please engage and have your say before its to late!

Top Tips for writing LIFE+ Proposals

The EC has highlighted to National Contact Points a number of issues and common problems that have caused LIFE+ proposals to be rejected in previous calls. Below is a generic top tip list for all LIFE+ strands. Specific tips for Nature and Biodiversity, Environment Policy & Governance and Information and Communication can be found in our I Drive folder: I:\CRKT\Public\LIFE Proposal Rejections

  • Ensure proposals provide sufficient detail to enable a proper evaluation to be undertaken.  Explain fully what is proposed.  Many proposals fall down on the lack of detail in Forms B2, which set out the project description and problem to be targeted.
  • Ensure you fully explain the relevance of the proposal to EU policy and why the problem targeted is a concern at EU level.  Proposals are evaluated for European added value, with this criterion scoring up to 30 points at the Award Phase of the evaluation. 
  • Provide more detail on the demonstration/ innovative elements of the proposal, such as explaining why the innovative aspect is innovative in the project’s area; and that the innovation has not already been applied elsewhere.
  • Ensure that agreements on any co-funding are in place before proposal submission, to avoid possible disappointment at a later stage, should the proposal have to be pulled through withdrawal of co-funding.
  • Know your stakeholders before submitting the proposal e.g. get them on board at an early stage; know who you need to work with to deliver project actions.  

Youth in Action Programme – Call for Proposals

Youth in Action is the Programme the European Union has set up for young people. It aims to inspire a sense of active European citizenship, solidarity and tolerance among young Europeans and to involve them in shaping the Union’s future.

It promotes mobility within and beyond the EU’s borders, non-formal learning and intercultural dialogue, and encourages the inclusion of all young people, regardless of their educational, social and cultural background.

The total level of funding available for 2011 is over €122 million and the prioritise are European Year of Volunteering; Youth Unemployment; Inclusive Growth; Global environmental challenges and climate change; Creativity and entrepreneurship; and EU-China Year of Youth.

The call is open to non-profit or non-governmental organisations, local, regional public bodies, informal groups of young people, bodies active at European level in the youth field, international non-profit organisations, and profit-making organisations organising an event in the area of youth, sport or culture. 

The next closing date for applications under its Youth in Action Programme is the 1st September 2011.

Funding available to enhance youth work in Europe

Youth in Action is the EU Programme for young people aged 15-28 (in some cases 13-30). It aims to inspire a sense of active citizenship, solidarity and tolerance among young Europeans and to involve them in shaping the Union’s future. The European Commission has announced a new call for proposals to support the professional development of youth workers.  Grants of up to €25,000 are available to those active in the field of youth to develop transnational partnerships and preference will be given to projects that address the issue of youth unemployment.

Projects should involve a partnership between two partners from two different programme countries of which at least one is from an EU Member State, acting respectively as sending and host organisation of the youth worker involved in the project.  Projects will have a maximum duration of 12 months and must start between 1 January 2012 and 1 June 2012. 

The closing date for applications is the 1st September 2011

Funding for ‘risky research’ foreseen at the ESRC

The Economic and Social Research Council is set to announce changes to its funding schemes, according to the blog Research Fundermentals.  Reporting on an ESRC event in London on 2 June, Phil Ward, research funding manager at the University of Kent, said the council would introduce a mechanism for funding innovative or risky research.  This would involve a pilot stage, which, if successful, would be followed by a second stage of funding, said Ward.

According the blog, the council announced that its Centres and Large Grants schemes would have a strong steer towards areas of priority, such as analysing economic performance, influencing behaviour and social mobility.  According to Ward, full details of the changes will be made available on the council’s website in the next few weeks.

Research missing in NHS reform?

The Association of Medical Research Charities has joined a coalition of charities and organisations calling for research to be better embedded and supported within the NHS.  In a response to the government’s “listening exercise” on the future of the healthcare system, submitted on 31 May, the group propose that the duty to promote research be included throughout the NHS.  The health secretary should take on a duty to promote research within his remit, and incentives to carry out research should be developed, it adds.  The exercise is a response to criticisms of the coalition government’s plans to shake up the NHS.

Parliamentary group flags natural resources crisis

The Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology has published briefing notes on Evidence Based Conservation and Landscapes of the Future, which looks at tackling limited resources in the future.  The reports, intended to guide MPs, look at policy structures that might help the UK meet future challenges and how evidence can be used to support decisions within conservation.