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!

Policies recommended to boost green growth and innovation in the EU

EU

The OECD report Towards Green Growth provides advice for governments to boost growth and protect the environment at the same time. It recommends tax and competition measures aimed at conserving natural capital and states governments should add innovation policies that encourage an efficient and sparing use of natural resources. Suggested policies include “temporary support measures” to promote the uptake of efficient technologies against the dominance of existing ones. The report also suggests policy measures to make pollution more expensive, such as taxes or permit systems.

More, more, more! MEPs back rise in EU research money

EU

MEPs in charge of defining EU budget priorities after 2013 have called for a 5% increase in the overall 2014-2020 budget, which will include an increase in research funding in a statement this week. National governments had asked for a budget freeze, but MEPs say this would affect the agreed boost for research and innovation funding. They suggest spending more money on research and energy infrastructure, but freezing the budget for regional policy and agriculture. Parliament will vote on this proposal on 9 June.

EC Strategy Launched to Improve Biodiversity

EU

The European Commission has launched a new strategy to protect and improve the state of Europe’s biodiversity over the next decade. Six priority targets have been set which address the main drivers of biodiversity loss. They are:

  • Full implementation of existing nature protection legislation and network of natural reserves, to ensure major improvements to the conservation status of habitats and species
  • Improving and restoring ecosystems and ecosystem services wherever possible, notably by the increased use of green infrastructure
  • Ensuring the sustainability of agriculture and forestry activities
  • Safeguarding and protecting EU fish stocks
  • Controlling invasive species, a growing cause of biodiversity loss in the EU
  • Stepping up the EU’s contribution to concerted global action to avert biodiversity loss.

The strategy is in line with two major commitments made by EU leaders in March 2010 – halting the loss of biodiversity in the EU by 2020, and protecting, valuing and restoring EU biodiversity and ecosystem services by 2050. It is also in line with global commitments made in Nagoya in October 2010, in the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity, where world leaders adopted a package of measures to address biodiversity loss world wide over the coming decade.

As an integral part of the Europe 2020 Strategy, the biodiversity strategy will contribute to the EU’s resource efficiency objectives by ensuring that Europe’s natural capital is managed sustainably, as well as to climate change mitigation and adaptation goals by improving the resilience of ecosystems and the services they provide.

Full details of the strategy and its launch can be found here.

Partner Search: Crowberry Consulting

EU

Crowberry Consulting is a female run company based in the North West of England with over 11 years industry experience of delivering sustainability projects. We have previously bid for IEE projects, and have extensive contacts in UK based universities and Turkish Research Institutes. Our academic qualifications include: MBA Environmental Management, MSC Environmental Impact Assessment, BSC Ecology, MA Environmental Consulting, and BSC Biology.

Crowberry Energy is a not for profit social enterprise working with SMEs and large listed companies, to implement carbon management and carbon foot-printing, sustainable development policies, and specific standards such as ISO14001, BS EN 16001, BS8901, and the Carbon Action Standard for UK CRC compliance. We also provide specialist training in the areas of:

  • Carbon Foot printing and Carbon Management
  • How Green is Your Office
  • CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility

For more details about this SME, please click here.

Basic Research needs EU Funding Boost says Microsoft

EU

The UK arm of Microsoft has backed UK universities in urging the EC to increase its support for basic research. As part of its submission to the Commission’s consultation Microsoft says that the private sector already funds its fair share of basic research and that the EU now need to take a lead. The submission states: “Universities and public research institutions are uniquely positioned to take on basic or pure research with no immediate commercial product in research that most companies would be unlikely to tackle but that has the potential to be transformative…Without greater investment in basic research, there is a danger that these fundamental game changing and important advances will happen outside Europe.” The consultation closed on 20 May and the Commission will announce its next move in November, based on its findings.

Forthcoming FP7 environment focused conferences

EU

Enterprise Europe Network South West European Funding for Environmental Projects: to promote the opportunities for European funding in the environmental sector.

EC FP7 Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy Info Day: an info day for anyone interested in the 2012 call, and the EC will present on the three work programme activities.

FP7 Environmental Brokerage Event & Conference: will focus on the work programme challenge ‘improving resource efficiency’ and coinciding with the Environmental (Bio) Technologies conference on 5th – 8th September.

1st European Gender Summit: will address issues related to new perspectives on research and innovation and has already attracted 45 high-level speakers.

FP7 Ocean of Tomorrow 2012 Information Day – relevant for food, agri, biotch, energy, enviro & transport

EU

The European Commission is organising an Information Day for the 2012 Ocean of Tomorrow co-ordinated topics, which will be included in the 2012 Work Programmes of the FP7 Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnologies (FAFB), Energy, Environment and Transport themes. The event will take place in Brussels but will also be webstreamed live.

Official UK position paper on the next Framework Programme released!

EU

Funding for EU Research and Innovation from 2014: a UK Perspective is the official response to the EU consultation on the Common Strategic Framework for Research and Innovation funding. It takes the form of a 16 page statement setting out the UK’s views, key points are:

  • green growth should continue to receive a high, and ideally increased, proportion of an albeit smaller overall EU budget;
  • focus on impact, dissemination and knowledge transfer should be increased;
  • social sciences and arts and humanities research should be embedded in all aspects of the future programme and increasing its share of funding;
  • a small number of thematic challenges should be agreed and these should include climate change, energy, water and food security, the protection of natural resources and the ageing population;
  • maintaining excellence should be at the heart of the programmes, but also provide support to the aspirations of EU12 countries to increase their participation;
  • as well as providing research and innovation funding, the programme should also support the provision of finance for businesses and follow-on activities; and
  • a step change in simplification is needed with time to grant periods being reduced and the number of audits being kept to the minimum necessary.

Fuel Cells and Hydrogen JTI: Summary of European Information Day for 2011 Call

EU

On 12 May, the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking held an information day on the 2011 Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) Call for Proposals. The event gave an overview of the FCH JTI, statistics from past calls and details of the current 2011 Call (including the topics, evaluation schedule and funding rates as well as hints and tips). There was also an explanation of the ‘project fee’ and some news on the planned changes to the rules on the ‘correction’ factor currently applied to the European Commission’s funding to the projects. A copy of the presentations can be found on this website.