Tagged / horizon 2020

EC and Research Data Open Access Consultation – see one of the responses

EU

Earlier this month, the EC held a public consultation on open access to research data in Brussels inviting statements from a range of stakeholders, who will play some role in revising the ECs policy and will help shape Horizon 2020. Five questions formed the basis of the discussion:

  1. How we can define research data and what types of research data should be open?
  2. When and how does openness need to be limited?
  3. How should the issue of data re-use be addressed?
  4. Where should research data be stored and made accessible?
  5. How can we enhance “data awareness” and a “culture of sharing”?

These are key questions every researcher should have an interest in. You can see the responses of the Open Knowledge Foundation here and learn more about the EC debates around research data open access mandates.

Erasmus, Lifelong Learning Programme, Leonardo… – will they exist in Horizon 2020?

EU

The short answer is ‘Yes’! BU holds a number of these awards and I am delighted they will be staying in Horizon 2020 with a huge budget of €19bn. To make things simpler, the EC has streamlined several programmes into one ‘Erasmus for All’ which contains three action strands.

1. Learning mobility of individuals: This is focused on Staff mobility (in particular teachers and trainers); mobility for higher education students; a Master degree scheme and volunteering and youth exchanges.  This is where Erasmus Mundus and Erasmus Staff Mobility as you know it will sit.

2. Cooperation for innovation and best practices: This focuses on strategic partnerships between youth organisations and other relevant actors; Large-scale partnerships between education and  training establishments  and business; IT-Platforms; and cooperation with third countries. Also included in here are the existing Sector Skills Alliances and Knowledge Alliances (the latter is a structured partnership between a  university and enterprise to promote an active 2 way knowledge exchange  with a focus in partnership, innovation and long term impact; an example is here).

3. Support for policy reform: This includes an open method of Coordination; valorisation and implementation of EU tools; and policy dialogue with stakeholders, third countries and international organisations.

More details on Erasmus for All will be posted as I get them and you may wish to read this leaflet produced by the EC in the meantime.

Marie Curie 2014-2020: The new structure

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I know many of you are preparing your Marie Curie applications for August and can’t bear to think about 2014! For those of you who are interested in making an application to the Marie Curie scheme in 2014 and beyond, an insight into how these will look will be helpful.

So far Britain has had the most success with the scheme so far receiving  almost €800m in funding covering almost 3, 000 successful applications in a range of subjects.  BU is amongst this number and we hold more than 10 Marie Curie grants.  We have seen the benefits of Marie Curie Fellowships, just as other successful award holders have; with a recent study finding that 95% of Marie Curie fellows stay in touch with their international hosts actively after 5+ years.  86% confirmed that participating in Marie Curie projects had strengthen existing collaborations with the international partner organisation, so this scheme really is a great one to be involved in.

The  good news is that the strands will pretty much exist as they are, although the overarching labels and title are changing slightly which may leave you confused! The Marie Curie Scheme will be called Marie Skłodowska- Curie Actions in 2014 and will fall under the ‘Excellent Science’ pillar of Horizon 2020; this represents a new increased focus on the excellence of the host and candidate in Marie Curie actions moving forward. The aims of the scheme will remain the same and the budget is a healthy €5.75b (2014-2020).

The COFUND and ITN schemes will remain unchanged and the other schemes will be condensed into two – Individual Fellowships and RISE.

  • The ITN scheme is dedicated to early-stage researchers and involves a wide partnership of institutions from academic and non-academic sectors. It addresses the triple ‘I’ dimension of mobility – international, innovative, interdisciplinary – and combines scientific excellence with an innovation orientated approach. It focuses on developing entrepreneurship and skills matching research and innovation labour market needs and aims to enhance the employability of researchers in their chosen career.
  • Individual Fellowships will provide opportunities’ for international and intersector mobility of researchers to facilitate career moves. It encompasses intra-European, incoming, outgoing mobility as well as re-intergration and under Horizon 2020 there will the opportunity to undertake inter-sector secondments.
  •  The Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) scheme is a new type of exchange action to stimulate knowledge transfer. The scheme will be flexible allowing European and international exchanges of highly skilled research and innovation staff based on a common research project.
  • COFUND has regional, national and international programmes designed to foster excellence by spreading best practices of Marie Curie actions in terms of international mobility, research training and career development. It will be extended to doctoral training and will build on the experience of FP7 COFUND.

When I receive more information on this scheme, I will share it but in the meantime if you have any questions on the Marie Curie scheme, do get in touch.

Insight into what will be funded under ‘Health’ in Horizon 2020

EU

Focus of Funding – what’s different? : Europe 2020 marks out the goal to increase the number of healthy life years by 24 months by 2020 and Horizon 29020 funding will be geared towards this, focusing on health and quality of European citizens, the growth and expansion of EU industry in this area and long-term sustainability and efficiency in health and social care systems. The health focus   of Horizon 2020 will therefore be the challenge of an ageing population across Europe and in particular the health inequalities within this. Horizon 2020 will seek to transform the challenges into opportunities, focusing on active ageing, integrated care, large efficiency gains of new care modules and looks at the financial aspect that the health care market is worth €3000bn and has 85 million consumers which is ever increasing. Horizon 2020 marks a paradigm shift of ageing from a societal challenge to a major opportunity; from a burden to an asset; from acute reactive care to preventative, proactive care; and from a focus on curing diseases to improving functioning. There will be an increased focus on dissemination; not just discovering new ways to help people live longer, but getting this to ordinary EU citizens so they can begin to change their lifestyle. Involving end users will be key.

 

Types of funding: The main areas of funding are addressing major age-prevalent chronic diseases; innovation in integrated care delivery systems and innovation in independent living and social inclusion. The approach to health care will be focused on combining demand and supply sides of innovation; building on existing instruments and new ones where necessary; ownership of key stakeholder willing to invest; large-scale deployment and awareness and best-practice sharing across Europe.   It looks as though calls will be issued under 6 themes:

  • Better adherence to medical treatment
  • Prevention of falls
  • Prevention of functional decline and frailty
  • Integrated care models
  • Independent living and active ageing
  • Age-friendly buildings, cities and environments

 

How can I prepare – finding Partners: The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing is the first attempt to bring together interested parties from public and private sectors to deliver innovative solutions for an ageing society. The EIP website is currently being revamped, but this is a key time to sell your research expertise to others through this virtual marketplace. Advertising your areas of knowledge and skills can help you gain partners to submit for calls under Horizon 2020.

 

A clue as to what Environment funding will be in Horizon 2020

EU

The EC have published their proposal for the Environment Action Programme ‘Living well, within the limits of our planet’ which is likely to be the base of calls issued under Horizon 2020. It features budget info as well as the outcome of the various consultations to shape this document.  Most importantly, this paper outlines a programme of action for 2020… reading this will give you the key clues as to what will be funded under Horizon 2020.

UK Research Office (UKRO) visit to BU on 27th November 2012

BU research, EU, Funding opportunities, Guidance, R & KE Operations, Research news, Research themes

BU welcomed Jo Frost, BU’s named contact for the UK Research Office (UKRO). Jo’s presentation was wide-ranging and hugely informative, outlining the current FP7 scheme and the forthcoming Horizon 2020 scheme, which is still going through the consultation process. It is expected that Horizon 2020 will focus on three priorities: ‘Excellent Science’, ‘Industrial Leadership’ and ‘Societal Challenges’. Jo also introduced the new Erasmus for All scheme.

All the slides from the day are available to BU staff only. These slides include many links to useful sources of information, if you would like to take part in the Horizon 2020 consultation or are planning ahead and want to prepare a submission to the many funding streams within this framework. Jo stressed the need to build networks and many suggestions are included in her presentation. These slides also give detailed information on the proposed budget allocations and themes within the three priority areas.

If you would like to enhance your knowledge of changes to EU funding, please refer to Jo’s slides. You can also contact Corrina Dickson, Paul Lynch, Sarah Katon or Emily Cieciura, who can help you develop your EU submissions.

BU staff can view the slides at: I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\European Related\UKRO 2012 Presentation.

Marie Curie in Horizon 2020 – what will it look like?

EU

As regular EU blog readers will know, I think Marie Curie Fellowships are the perfect way to start your EU career. You can bring a shining talent over from anywhere in the world, from academia or industry to undertake research and you can visit an organisation/ university anywhere in the world to undertake research. Needing only one other partner to be involved, it allows for the establishment of a great contact who can help branch out to networks and also enables you to have some research you are interested in, done.

The final calls for Marie Curie under FP7 are in January 2013 and the scheme is definitely here to stay for Horizon 2020, albeit with  a slightly amended name Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.

 

The programme will contain similar schemes, but these will be banded together and made more simple.

*Innovative Training Networks (ITN) will be aimed at training early stage researchers

*Individual Fellowships (IF) will be aimed at experienced researchers

*Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) will be aimed at the exchange of staff and knowledge transfer

*COFUND will be aimed at stimulating excellence in regional, national and international programmes.

There may also be a pilot strand under the first set of calls released in 2014 within the IF scheme; the Dual Careers Strand. This would enable an applicant with a spouse working in research to apply for funding for their spouse to hold a fellowship either in the host institution or an institution in the host country. This is still in development but is an exciting possible development.

 

Have your say about funding areas in Horizon 2020

EU

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.

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

EU

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

EU

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.

ICT SMEs in Horizon 2020

EU

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 🙂

 

How does the UK influence Horizon 2020?

EU

I heard a very interesting presentation by Scott Hudson from the UK Representation to the EU Brussels (UKREP)  last week who discussed how decisions on funding are made in Brussels.  UKREP exists to present the UK government views to the EU in order to try and influence legislation to make it more beneficial to the UK. They also get involved with UK representative groups in Brussels such as UKRO and  in lobbying etc.

UKREP get involved with the 80 or so Council Working Groups. These groups have representatives fro  all 27 Member States and meet twice a  week to discuss legislation.  One of these councils is responsible for Horizon 2020 and UKREP attend these discussions to present the UK view in order to to stop/ push certain legislation. UKREP work closely with the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to represent the UK view. A rather terrfiyingly complex diagran was shown demonstrating the process in creating legislation.

But back to Horizon 2020. The UK have agreed with most of the proposals for this in particular the 3 pillars  and the greater initiatives to include SMEs as well as the focus on excellence.  They also agree with simplification. But want to be clear on who is benefitting from this,  and ensuring it’s us who is benefiting and not the European Commission.

UKREP also broadly support flat rates of reimbursement but on the back of David Willetts push, have  called for a reintroduction of an option for the recovery of actual indirect costs occurred.

Finally UKREP are continuing to push for a clear role of social sciences and humanities within Horizon 2020. They call for social sciences and humanities throughout all major themes such as green cars etc and not for it to be just seen as something distinct.

Given that UKREP have such great links with BIS it’s important to ensure we have good communication with them too. A key contact within BU for liaising with BIS is Mark Painter so do get in touch with him if you want to learn more about how you can influence BIS.

The EU Pod is launched!

BU research, EU, Guidance, Post-award

In response to feedback from across schools, the R & KE Operations team has been restructured to include a dedicated EU Pod headed up by Paul Lynch.

The pod will assume the post-award management of all current EU projects together with the pre-award management of  future EU applications across all schools and professional services.

 

So, if you’re interested in EU funding but don’t know how to get started with your application contact a member of the EU Pod:

Paul Lynch – Senior R & KE Officer (EU)

Alexandra Peirce – R & KE Officer (EU)

 

 

Social Sciences and Security in Horizon 2020

EU

Horizon 2020 will replace FP7 and is currently under development. Several stakeholder groups have been meeting with EC officials to help influence and shape the Programme.

Feedback is available on UKRO from the informal Security Theme meeting and also the Societal Challenges Theme meeting. I really urge you to read these if you have an interest in either of these areas!

UK Research Councils respond to Horizon 2020 proposal

EU

This month the RCUK released their response to the proposals for Horizon 2020. The RCUK response represents the collective views of the seven UK Research Councils in response to the proposed structure and scope of Horizon 2020 as set out in the Commission’s proposals.

You can read the full document here but highlights include praise for emphasis on excellence and capacity, praise for tackling Societal Challenges and a recognition of praise for the retaining of schemes such as Marie Curie. It raises concerns over  proposals for  ‘Inclusive Innovative and Secure Societies’ challenge as this seems to bring together a large number of disparate activities in a way that may not be the most coherent or effective and calls for the contribution of social sciences and humanities to each of the Societal Challenges to be better articulated.

 

Horizon 2020: The latest update

EU

On May 14th I was lucky enough to attend the International Network of Research Management Societies (INORMS) conference in Copenhagen, thanks to free tickets off the back of our team winning last year’s poster competition at ARMA. There were 444 delegates from around the world (including many from Australia) which reflected the need for Higher Education Institutions to really engage in international collaboration.

I heard some really interesting presentations, and wanted to report some of the highlights over the next few days. Firstly Peter Härtwich, Head of Sector: from the EC’s Directorate-General for Research & Innovation gave a plenary presentation on developments related to FP7s successor entitled ‘ Horizon2020: The big picture, the road ahead and simplification’. The presentation gave insight into 3 key points related to the funding areas, the proposals for simplification and the role of SMEs.

Horizon 2020: Funding Areas

European Commission funding will be divided up into 5 areas. The one most relevant for you will be ‘Smart and Inclusive Growth’ (budget €491bn) as this includes Horizon 2020, Education Youth and Sport, Connecting Europe, Cohesion and Competitive Business SMEs. The presentation revealed that the formation of Horizon 2020 has involved a huge amount of consultation including EU Presidencies, EU Parliament, a public consultation (with more than 2,000 responses), a survey on costs and 25 workshops.

The highlight of the presentation was the announcement of what will be new in Horizon 2020;  the merger of FP7, CIP and EIT into a single programme, the coupling of research to innovation, a focus on societal challenges and simplified access for all companies, universities and institutes in and outside of the EU. It is proposed that Horizon 2020 will run between 2014 and 2020 and will have 3 priorities:

1. Excellent Science: this is focused on attracting and retaining research talent in the EU, creating excellent infrastructures and producing world-class science. It is proposed that the funding is as follows:

  • European Research Council (frontier research by the best individual teams –  €13,268m)
  • Future and Emerging Technologies(collaborative research to open new fields of innovation – €3, 100m)
  • Marie Curie Actions (opportunities for training and career development – €5, 572m)
  • Research Infrastructures -including e-infrastructure (ensuring access to world-class facilities – €2, 478m)

2. Industrial Leadership: this is focused on strategic investments in key technologies to underpin innovation as it is recognised that the EU needs to attract more private investment in research and innovation and also needs more innovative SMEs to create growth and jobs. It is proposed that the funding is as follows:

  • Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies (ICT, nanotechnologies, materials, biotechnology, manufacturing, space – €13, 781m)
  • Access to risk finance (Leveraging private finance and venture capital for research and innovation – €3, 538)
  • Innovation in SMEs (Fostering all forms of innovation in all types of SMEs €619m + €6, 829m from other areas)

3. Societal challenges: this is focused on the concerns of citizens and society and EU policy objectives such as climate, environment, energy and transport. It will support breakthrough solutions from multidisciplinary collaborations (good news for social sciences and humanities). It is proposed that the funding is as follows:

  • Health, demographic change and wellbeing (€8, 033m)
  • Food, security, sustainable agriculture, marine and maritime research & the bioeconomy (€4, 152m)
  • Secure, clean and efficient energy (€5,782m)
  • Smart, green and integrated transport (€6, 802m)
  • Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials (€3, 160)
  • Inclusive, innovative and secure societies (€3, 819)

 

Horizon 2020: Simplification

Many of you will have experienced the confusing rules and regulations of FP7, but Horizon 2020 will look different for the following reasons:  

  • It will have a single set of rules covering all research programmes
  • It will have one rate of funding for the whole project (max 100% of eligible costs, flat rate of 20% for direct eligible costs)
  • The  evaluation criteria will be simple (excellence, impact, implementation – but only excellence in ERC)
  • New forms of funding aimed at innovation will be in place such as pre-commercial procurement and dedicated loans
  • International participation will be facilitated  but will protect the interests of the EU much better;
  • There will be simpler rules for grants (flat rate for indirects, no timesheets for people working full time on grants)
  • There will be fewer, better targeted audits and controls (focused on risk and fraud prevention)
  • Improved rules on intellectual property (balance between security and flexibility, tailor made IPR provisions, open access publications)
  • Reduced average waiting time to grant (current average is 350 days – aim to reduce this by 100 days)

 

Horizon 2020: SMEs Participation

There is an overwhelming move to integrate SMEs into Horizon 2020 and several initiatives are planned to increase their participation:

  • Integrated approach: 15% of total budget for societal challenges will go to SMEs
  • Simplification of their participation
  • A new SME instrument
  • Dedicated activity for research intensive SMEs
  • Access to risk finance

 

So what next…?

Currently the EC are negotiating the proposals for Horizon 2020 and the budget proposed. Over the next few months the final calls under FP7 will be released. Mid-2013 will see the adoption of Horizon 2020 by the EC and the first calls will be launched 01.01.14. So to prepare, keep up to date with developments on this blog and network your socks off so you are part of a consortium who can bid in for Horizon 2020 funds!

European Technology Platforms set for a revamp

EU

The industrial partners of the European Technology Platforms (ETPs) are exploring how they can revamp ETPs to create a better fit with Horizon 2020.

There are currently 36 ETPs, which were created in 2003 as industry-led thematic groups that define research agendas for Europe in their respective fields. Joining ETPs in your research area is an important strategic move as you will meet academics and businesses leaders with complimentary research interests, allowing you to form consortiums to bid for EU research funding your ETP has recommended.

We know for Horizon 2020 that industry, academia and users will need to work closely together to speed up innovation. With this in mind t is possible that the ETPs will be broken down into more targeted clusters which address Horizon 2020’s focus on tackling problems and exploiting opportunities.

I would advise joining an ETP so you can keep up to date with how these new clusters may operate. Instructions for joining can be found on this previous blogpost.

 

Autism as a priority for Horizon 2020?

EU

The French government is to call for research into autism to be listed as a priority area in Horizon 2020, the successor to the EU’s Framework programme for research. The French minister for social cohesion, presented an outline of the plan at a recent cabinet meeting and will produce a detailed set of goals by the end of this year, following a decision to make the condition France’s ‘national cause’ for 2012.

The government intends to ‘intensify’ research in biology, physiology and the social sciences to expand knowledge of autism. This is likely to include an interdisciplinary research stream supported by the National Research Agency. The plan highlights the need to reinforce the rights of citizens with autism and to increase public awareness of the condition in order to support social inclusion. If you are interested in autism research and want to get in to EU funding, now would be a great time to start building links with French researchers in this area.