Latest research and knowledge exchange news at Bournemouth University
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!
The Maritime Transport and Innovation Brokerage Event, MIBE2012, will take place in Santiago de Compostela, Spain on 20-21 June 2012.
From the Atlantic Area, a Pan-European conference on the latest innovation and development within the European Maritime Industry, showcasing a selection of leading EU projects.
This is a unique opportunity to network and find out how to participate in FP7 funded projects, in particular the latest Transport Call for Tenders, with a total budget over €20M.
I have just been made aware that the European Commission has launched a call for expressions of interest for a new initiative, the “Voice of the Researchers”. The aim is to appoint 20 researchers to advise the Commission on a range of issues. This is a key opportunity to get your views heard in Europe and help shape EU policy which will then influence funding calls for proposals.The call for expressions of interest is targeted at researchers of all ages, nationalities and disciplines and it is hoped that 20 candidates will be appointed to advise on policy issues such as:
Selected candidates will be invited to a brainstorming session on 23 April 2012. This is an excellent opportunity for researchers to provide input into future policy. To apply you have to answer 4 questions with no more than a 150 word answer for each in an online expression of interest , but the deadline is Thursday (15th March) so be quick!
A number of you have expressed an interest in seeing a Marie Curie application to get a feel for the form. I have placed a blank version on our I drive so any BU member of staff thinking of submitting can take a look I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\Marie Curie Form Template . The forms for all the Marie Curie schemes are similar and therefore only one is provided. The form is strictly for internal BU circulation only.
Fit for Health and Health-NCP-Net are organising a partnering event in Brussels on 30.05.12 for the next FP7 Health Call for Proposals, due to be published in July 2012.
The main aim of the event is to facilitate consortium building for future bids to the FP7 Health Theme. The day will mainly consist of bilateral meetings which will be arranged between groups interested in the same topics of the forthcoming FP7 Health Call for Proposals.
The European Commission will also hold an infoday on the Call the day before the brokerage event on 29.05.12 which is essential for finding out more about the Call and meeting potential partners.
SMEs can sometimes be nervous of getting involved in FP7 projects because of the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The European Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Helpdesk has published new guidance intended to give SMEs an overview of how IP should be managed within FP7. The guide addresses issues faced by participants at the proposal stage, during negotiation and implementation, and upon completion of the project. It also contains a glossary and a list of links to useful resources. The guide can be used in conjunction with the three more detailed guides addressing IP issues at different stages of FP7 projects which were published at the end of 2011.
The EU Energy Focus team have a wide range of fantastic free services that can help with your submission for May.
Pre-proposal check service – The Commission pre-proposal check service is open until 30th March. This allows you to submit a summary of your proposal to check that your proposal idea is in principle eligible for Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) funding. Information on how to access the service can be found at the following website. You are encouraged you to submit your proposal ideas to the EU Energy Focus team for initial review so that they can be refined as much as possible to make the most of the Commission service.
Online support – Online support sessions will take place as and when required before the deadline. The online support sessions will provide you with a comprehensive and interactive presentation on key aspects of the proposal preparation and submission process. The feedback from those that have taken part in the sessions previously has been very positive and it only takes a small amount of time away from your proposal preparation work and it should save you time in the long run. The team will be referring to the material from these sessions when they undertake the proposal review process so it is recommended that you take part in the sessions in order to understand the messages fully. They will notify us of dates soon.
Proposal clinics – The team will be holding proposal clinics (one to one meetings of 1 hour with a member of the EU Energy Focus team to discuss your proposal) on the following dates:
Please register your interest in attending a clinic session by sending a proposal summary to energie@enviros.com and indicating which date you would be available to attend a clinic. IEE will then allocate the sessions and inform you of the time for your meeting. Please let them know if you would like to attend a clinic session but are unable to attend on these dates in these locations as they will try to accommodate you on alternative dates or at other locations if this can be arranged.
Proposal review – they will be offering a proposal review service between Monday 16th April and the proposal deadline. Please email the team to let them know if you anticipate that you would like them to review your proposal so that they can keep a note of how many proposals to expect.
The 5th call for proposals is currently open for the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Technology Initiative (FCH JTI). The call, which is worth EUR 150 million, closes on 24th May 2012. The slides and recordings are now available from information events related to this call.
A European information event was held in Brussels on 9 February 2012. The slides are now available. Slides 26 to 58 include some useful tips on things to do and things to avoid, based on previous calls. Slide 59 provides a contact email at the FCH Joint Undertaking (JU), which runs the FCH JTI calls on behalf of the European Commission. The FCH JU emphasises that applicants should not hesitate to ask them for help or further information.
In the UK there was also a webinar, which was organised by the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Group of the UK Energy Generation and Supply Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN). This was held on 28 February 2012 and included a presentation from the Head of Unit for the FCH JU. The slides and a recording of the presentation are in the ‘Focus Working Group on the FCH JU 2012 Call’ website of the KTN. To access these documents, you will need be a member of this Group. The group is also intended to facilitate discussion on: preparing a successful bid to the FCH JU Call; exchanging experiences; gaining insights into the 2012 topics; and searching for collaboration partners.
The infoday was organised on the IMI Call for Proposals on the topic “European Lead Factory: Joint European compound library and screening centre”.
Presentations included an update on the revised IMI Strategic Research Agenda and IMI rules and procedures. Among the changes in the rules are:
•the new option for using real indirect costs in addition to the option of the 20% indirect cost flat rate;
•average or actual personnel costs can be used;
•Certificates on the Financial Statements (CFS) are now only due once a threshold of EUR 375,000 is reached;
•and periodic reports are now either due in July or December each year.
A presentation was also given on how to write a successful IMI proposal. This included general advice and participants were taken through the most common mistakes made in previous rounds.
I am delighted to know that my application to EUNF is successful. The award will partially support my academic visit to University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France.
As the France’s 4th university, Lyon 1 attains excellence in the fields of higher education and research. The University is committed to more than 80 European Union projects and participates actively in FP7. Apart from academic activities in Computer Science Department, during the visit, I will focus my networking activities in the Laboratory of Informatics and Image System (LIRIS), a well-known research center with members from Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Université Lumière Lyon 2, École Centrale de Lyon, etc. Research in LIRIS cover image processing, 3D modelling, animation, mobile application, data mining, information retrieval, etc., which matches my research area.
The main objective of the networking is to target two potential FP7 calls. One is Marie Curie Career Integration Grants. Under LIRIS are there a number of research teams, including Simulation, Analysis and Animation for Augmented Reality (SAAAR), Multiresolution, Discrete and Combinatorial Models, Feature Extraction and Identification, Realistic Rendering for Mobile Augmented Reality, etc. Each team has around 10 PhD students. I will identify and meet a few most promising students for potential Marie Curie fellowship.
The other call interesting to me is FP7-ICT-2011-9, Collaborative Projects – small or medium scale focused research projects (STREPs). Particular project directions I’d like to investigate are mobile augmented reality and its application in game and animation. The research teams above mentioned have a number of professors and associate professors, whom I intend to meet and discuss with them about potential collaborative projects.
Another activity I’d like to get involved is the World Conference of Web 2012 (http://www2012.org) which is going to be held in Lyon. It’s the most selective International Conference of the Web. I would like to take the opportunity to attend the part of the conference during the period of my visit, particularly on the presentation of European projects, expecting more networking with European partners.
The EU and China have agreed to step up their science cooperation at their 14th bilateral summit, held in Beijing on 14 February. Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation under their Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement, and to enhance the exchange of young researchers, leaders wrote in statement. In addition, the EU and China said they will boost their cooperation in energy research, and will continue their collaboration on the satellite navigation system Galileo and space technology.
I have summarised the draft FP7 Transport work programme and placed this on the I drive. As with the other work programmes, this is highly confidential and not to be circulated outside of BU. The final work programme will be released in July. I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\Draft Work Programmes for 2012-13
The 2012 edition of the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) will take place from 18 to 22 June 2012. Every year, hundreds of organisations and individuals participate in the EUSEW by hosting Energy Day events and activities that promote energy efficiency and renewable energy sources. Further information is available on the ESEW website.
Yep, I have summarised the draft FP7 Security Work Programme to save you having to read the mammoth work programme and try to find the info you need (and I am proud to say we are the only uni who does this!). I have placed the summary document on our I drive as it is highly confidential and absolutely not for dissemination outside of BU. You will find hyperlinks taking you to each of the themes, and the calls expected to be released within this. The final work programme will be released in July, so this gives you a great headstart. Find the Security and other draft work programmes at I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\Draft Work Programmes for 2012-13
DG Enterprise and Industry third party liability studies: The Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry invites proposals for a study evaluating the status quo and the legal implications of third party liability for the European security industry. The tenderer will collect, analyse and assess data from various legal sources and actual best practices in this field, provide a comprehensive overview of related implications for the security industry, as well as feasible policy options to address these implications, and present the results in an accessible and comprehensible way. Funding is worth up to €800,000 over 12 months.
Eureka EUMINAfab user access call: Eureka invites proposals, through the EUMINAfab initiative, for user access. Investigators from research and industry alike may apply to gain fee-free access to one or more of 37 micro- and nanotechnology fabrication and characterisation installations
across Europe. Each researcher must be based in an EU member or associated state.
DG Home Affairs immigration policy: The Directorate-General for Home Affairs invites proposals for the monitoring of the implementation by the member states of the European refugee fund, the European fund for the integration of third-country nationals, the external border fund and the return fund. The tenderer will undertake between 36 and 72 monitoring missions over a three-year period, in order to ensure the correct implementation of funds pursuant to the basic acts and implementing rules in member states. Funding is worth between €100,000 and €200,000 per year over a maximum of three years.
DG Enterprise and Industry electric vehicle promotion:The Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry invites proposals for the promotion of electric vehicles technologies. Projects should raise social awareness about the high performance of electric vehicles and the benefits of their utilisation, while addressing specific aspects that may have created public reluctance about the purchase of vehicles based on electric powertrains. Proposals may be submitted for the following lots: complete construction of an electric car designed for competition, for which funding is worth up to €2 million; organisation of a demonstration event with the presence of the electric car built in lot one, for which funding is worth up to €300,000.
Europe for citizens networking of twinned towns: Each project must foresee at least three events, involving municipalities from at least four participating countries, of which at least one is an EU member state. Grants are worth between €10,000 and €150,000 over a period of 21 days to 24 months. Deadline 01.09.12
Continuous training: Grants support the development of the capacity of audiovisual professionals to understand and integrate a European dimension to their work, through the following measures: training in economic, financial and commercial management; training in new audiovisual technologies; training in script project development. The budget for this call is €7 million. Deadline 16.04.12
I have managed to obtain a draft of the EC FP7 Energy Work Programme. This is highly sensitive information and as the final document isn’t released until July, should give you a great head start to plan your proposal.
I’ve summarised the very dull document with easy to use hyperlinks to take you straight to areas you are interested in, and placed on the I drive along with our other summary FP7 documents. Please note that these are absolutely not to be circulated outside of BU – not even to your prospective partners! I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\Draft Work Programmes for 2012-13
I wanted to use the blog today to say how proud I am of all the exciting EU initiatives we have recently had at BU and to get your suggestions for even more!
We started this year with a fantastic EU showcase event where some of our most EU active academics presented their work with some excellent stories, videos and of course plenty of cake.
We have had 2 fantastic competitions for funding. The first was the EU Academic Development Scheme where nine brilliant BU academics were awarded a place on a scheme set to really launch their EU career. The second saw us support 6 academics in pursuing their networking endeavours through the unique EU Networking Fund.
I have tried to deliver information in a more engaging way, through writing and distributing the Simple Guide to EC Funding which many of you have provided really positive feedback on, and also by making use of this blog space.
We have held specialist sessions from an external expert grant writer on EU Funding & Grant Writing and Marie Curie Fellowships, with amazing feedback and I’ve worked with many of our academics on finding appropriate funding, identifying partners and writing proposals (and I look forward to doing this with many more of you).
I am currently pulling together a plan of what the 12 months of EU focused activities will look like, which will all be designed to help you engage more effectively in EU funding. If you have any suggestions for the kind of activities you would find helpful, or what training would be best for you, then leave a comment at the end of this post. I can’t guarantee I will be able to implement it but I will give it a good go J
Last week on the back of our Marie Curie Fellowship training, I posted the forthcoming deadlines for the Marie Curie calls. I am pleased to reveal that I have managed to obtain a draft copy of the Marie Curie Work Programme which gives a little more detail about this scheme. This document is highly confidential and contains sensitive information which is why I have placed it on our I drive … I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\Draft Work Programmes for 2012-13
It is not for circulation outside of BU at all (not even your potential partners!). The final Work Programme will be released in July so I am giving you a great 4 month head start with this. Contact your RKE Operations Team straight away to let them know you are planning to submit in order to prevent any delays and to make full use of all the resources we have at BU to help you with your submission.
MEDIA 2007: The EC has launched a call for proposals for the provision of training under the MEDIA 2007 Programme. One of the measures to be implemented under this Decision involves improving the continuous vocational training of professionals in the audiovisual sector, so as to give them the know-how and skills needed to create competitive products on the European and other markets. The call for proposals EACEA/5/12 is the last continuous training call to be launched under MEDIA 2007 and offers a two-year framework partnership agreement. The deadline is 16 April 2012.
CIP-ICT PSP: The EC has launched the 2012 CIP-ICT PSP call under the Information and Communication Technologies Policy Support Programme (ICT PSP) which is part of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (2007 to 2013). There are a number of funding opportunities available including pilot work and thematic networks. The deadline is 15.05.12 and the indicative budget is 127m Euros.
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