N°7, 29 June 2009
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Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7)
Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP)
Tenders Electronic Daily (TED)
If you are currently experiencing an ex-post audit of your FP6 projects by the European Commission, or have been informed that you will be audited shortly, you may wish to contact the EARTO Secretariat for advice.
EARTO continues to monitor with the greatest attention the issue of ex-post FP6 audits, which threaten serious financial harm to many RTOs (see previous issues of EARTO News).
A high-level Task Force of senior legal and financial officers from affected RTOs is monitoring this issue with support from the EARTO Secretariat.
Contacts are being established with industry and other affected parties in order to share information and to coordinate responses towards the Commission. Additionally, information is being provided to Member State governments in order to gain their support.
For further information, please contact Christopher John Hull.
In 2008, a consortium of consultants conducted a study to assess and propose appropriate means for the support of co-ordination and co-operation of non-university Research Performing Organisations (RPOs). A workshop was held on 28 April where a selected group of people was invited to discuss the findings of the study.
Following this workshop, EARTO and a number of EARTO members were invited to comment on the study and submit proposals for future seminars and workshops. EARTO organised a Task Force meeting on 22 June to coordinate feedback from the RTO community and gather potential ideas for future workshops.
During this meeting, it was agreed that EARTO would welcome the study as recognition of the important role of RPOs in the European Research Area, but would express some serious doubts about definitions used, the representativeness of the study and some of the recommendations. A list of comments and a number of potential topics for future workshops were submitted to the European Commission following the meeting of the EARTO Task Force.
The list of comments on the study is available here.
The list of proposed topics for future workshops is available here.
The Secretariat has learnt recently that staff members of some RTOs are no longer being invited to participate in project evaluations or that their invitation has been cancelled shortly before an evaluation "due to potential conflict of interest".
The Secretariat would like to hear from members who might have experienced something similar. This could have negative consequences for the sector by consistently reducing the number of evaluators from RTOs. Please contact Christopher John Hull if you have been affected by this change of policy.
This service gives EARTO members a simple-to-use tool for comparing how well they are doing in FP7 compared with other RTOs. It is a benchmarking database in which you record the numbers of proposals you have submitted (or in which you are a participant), how many have passed the evaluation threshold, and how many have been accepted for funding. You can make comparisons with other RTOs according to size category and in different FP7 thematic priority areas. Submitted data are treated confidentially and are presented anonymously.
Access to the service is via the members' area of the EARTO website.
For further information, please contact Pauline Bastidon.
The Commission has decided to maintain the flat rate for indirect costs at 60% for grants to non-profit public bodies, secondary and higher education establishments, research organisations and small and medium enterprises for the remainder of FP7.
Please note that this information is available on Cordis, in the highlights section.
As part of the European Economic Recovery Plan, the Commission is launching three Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in close cooperation with industry on "Factories of the Future", "Energy-efficient Buildings" and "Green Cars" to provide EUR 3.2 billion of support for long-term "smart" research investment in the manufacturing, construction and automotive sectors.
To meet the need for a rapid start-up, the initiatives will be implemented in the first instance through a series of cross-thematic Coordinated Calls under the 2010 Work Programmes of the relevant FP7 themes. The total European Commission budget in 2010 for these calls is €268 million. The Calls are planned to be published in July 2009, with the first research projects expected to start in the spring of 2010.
In order to support the preparation of proposals, the Directorates General for Research, Information Society and Energy and Transport are holding a Joint Information Day on Research PPPs on 13 July 2009 in Brussels, in the Charlemagne building, rue de la Loi 170.
For registration to this event, please visit the European Commission's website.
A preliminary agenda of the event and more information about this networking/brokerage opportunity can be found here.
On 16 June, the “Clean Sky” initiative launched a call for proposals for aeronautical R&D for a total value of €25 million.
“Clean Sky” is one of Europe’s largest research programmes, with a budget of €1.6 billion. It represents a joint commitment from the European Union and aeronautics industry to make air travel more sustainable, by encouraging the aeronautics manufacturers to develop and produce greener products. Its current membership includes 120 organisations from 16 countries, 86 companies, including 20 SMEs, 15 research centres and 17 universities.
“Clean Sky”’s first Call for Proposals covers 72 individual research Topics in 5 major areas: Green Regional Aircraft, Green Rotorcraft, Sustainable and Green Engines, SMART Fixed Wing Air, Systems for Green Operations, with the key objective of enlisting technical capabilities of additional partners. An Information Day on the first call for proposals will take place in Brussels on 10 July 2009.
More information on the first call for proposals and the Information Day is available here.
The 3rd call is expected to have a budget of about €200m, of which €50m will probably go to GMES, €50m for Strengthening Space Foundations and €100m to ESA for GMES under the EC/ESA Framework Agreement. The call for proposals is likely to be published on 31 July, with a deadline of 30 November.
The GMES element is expected to touch upon a number of themes with a mixture of small to medium Collaborative Projects (CP) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), while the Strengthening Space Foundations element is likely to cover four themes through collaborative projects up to €2M in value: Exploitation of space science and exploration data, Space transportation for space exploration, Critical Space Technologies and Reducing the Vulnerability of Space Assets.
The Swedish Government has published its Work Programme for the forthcoming Swedish Presidency of the EU (1 July to 31 December).
The following priorities feature high on the competitiveness and research agenda:
• Preparatory work for a renewed strategy for growth and jobs beyond 2010, with a strong focus on the transition towards an eco-efficient economy;
• Implementation of the Economic Recovery Plan;
• Progress on the Community Patent and patent litigation system dossiers;
• Measures to improve access to funding and participation in public procurement processes for SMEs;
• Early discussions on the future of the EU Framework Programme for Research and how European research can best meet future challenges in areas such as health, energy and climate;
• Governance mechanism for the European Research Area, with a focus on effective use of resources and a greater level of cooperation between policy areas.
• Contribution to the European Innovation Plan expected to be released in late 2009 or early 2010.
A full version of the Work Programme can be found here.
Following our last article on Joint Programming Initiatives, EARTO has learnt that preparations for the Neurodegenerative Diseases Initiative are well on the way; the management structure of this initiative is about to be set up and a proposal for a Council Recommendation on the Alzheimer initiative is expected to be adopted by the Commission on 22 July 2009. In addition to this, a Communication on Alzheimer and dementia is expected to be released on 22 July, altogether with a call for support measures for the Alzheimer initiative, worth 2 M€, which will close in November. The call will be open to all interested parties in principle, but designed mostly for the funding agencies involved in the Neurodegenerative initiative.
Meanwhile, there seems to be political agreement that there will be no new funding from the European Commission or the member states for future Joint Programming initiatives (i.e. it is likely that there will be a reallocation of national research funds to support future initiatives).
Consultation processes on the themes for future initiatives are ongoing in all participating member states, at various speeds. Proposals will have to be finalised in time for the December meeting of the Competitiveness Council.
EARTO has become a member of "Knowledge4Innovation" (K4I), a Belgian non-profit association for organisations wishing to promote innovation and innovation policy dialogue in Europe. This will help EARTO build a stronger relationship with the European Parliament, which is becoming increasingly influential, through active participation in the ‘Lisbon Forum’, K4I’s main activity.
The Lisbon Forum was launched in December 2008 in the European Parliament as a policy dialogue platform for policy makers in the business and science communities to effectively introduce their respective agendas and to address the most pressing issues concerning the knowledge and innovation community. The Lisbon Forum Governance Board is composed of Members of the European Parliament and advisors from the K4I Board of Management. Within the Forum, dinner meetings, conferences and round table discussions are held on issues pertinent to K4I and the political members of the Lisbon Forum.
The next major event organised as part of this activity is the "European Innovation Summit", which will take place in the European Parliament on 12-16 October. This event is targeted at new MEPs and will aim to promote innovation in the newly elected European Parliament. A full programme is available here.
This new activity will increase the visibility of EARTO and EARTO members in the European Parliament.
Europe-wide collaborative research projects between businesses, research institutions and higher education have made the protection of IP crucial. A soundly developed set of contracts for research co-operations is essential for facilitating the management and protection of IP.
The European conference on IP Management in European Research Co-operations on 7th - 8th September 2009, Berlin, Germany will provide essential information on:
• how to secure IP, its exploitation and management,
• how to face international challenges for European research co-operations,
• how to secure IP when working with model agreements for research co-
operations (such as Lambert, DESCA, etc.),
• how to commercialise research and make use of IP,
• how to find alternative ways for dispute resolution,
• how to handle IP in M&A transactions,
• how to deal with in-licensing opportunities.
Special focus will be given to practical questions regarding the management of IP, dispute resolution and due diligence.
Please click on the following link for detailed information: PDF brochure "IP Management in European Research Co-operations".
The World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center, the Centre for Intellectual Property Rights (CIR) in Leuven, Belgium, EARTO, EIRMA and ProTon Europe are co-organising a symposium on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Research and Development collaborations, which will be held in Leuven on 13 November 2009.
R&D collaborations often involve complex questions related to Intellectual Property (IP) rights which may result in disputes. Thinking carefully about the options available to resolve disputes forms an important part of IP management since IPR disputes can affect the way research projects are conducted, the relationship between the collaborators and the exploitation of results after a project. In many cases, the way disputes are resolved is central to the success or failure of research collaborations. In this respect, ADR mechanisms, such as (expedited) arbitration, mediation and expert determination may be timely and cost-effective alternatives to court procedures.
The purpose of this symposium is to bring together leading professionals from companies, research organisations, law firms and universities active in research collaborations in different sectors to discuss trends, evaluate the kinds of disputes that are arising and are likely to arise in the future, and assess the merits of the various options available for resolving them. The programme includes several panels with speakers, who will describe their experience with disputes and dispute resolution in R&D collaborations.
A copy of the programme is available here.
Registration forms are now available here.
For more information, please contact Mrs. Linda Mees by phone (+32 16 32 37 32) or by email.
At the recent conference on “Contribution of RTD to Developing Sustainable Knowledge-Based Economies in Central and South East Europe” organised by the three research institutes in the region, together with the Austrian Science and Research Liaison Office in Ljubljana and the University of Dubrovnik, participants adopted the Dubrovnik Initiative.
This initiative is intended to develop the role of RTOs in the development of sustainable knowledge–based economies in Central and South East Europe by promoting a wide range of measures, including supportive initiatives by the European Commission.
Conclusions from the conference are available here.
EARTO gives space in this newsletter to members who would like to publish their job vacancies. Please contact Pauline Bastidon.
November 8 - 9, 2010
ESWIRP first workshop, Cologne, Germany
October 27, 2010
EARTO Innovation Prize - ceremony
October 11 - 15, 2010
2nd European Innovation Summit
September 23, 2010
DESCA Consultation Group Meeting
September 22, 2010
DESCA Core Meeting
September 16, 2010
EARTO Communication Task Force, Brussels
September 15, 2010
EARTO Innovation Prize Jury Meeting, Brussels
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The EARTO meeting room is available to members for meetings of up to 12 participants, including light refreshments (coffee, tea, etc.) and the use of a projector, at €250 per day. Lunch arrangements are extra.
Members needing a larger meeting room are welcome to contact the Secretariat for assistance.
For further information, please contact Sylvia Lopomo at the EARTO Secretariat: +32-2-5028698.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter, please send an e-mail to Pauline Bastidon.