The project lifespan accounts for a period of 12 to 24 months. For more information, please find attached the invitation for applications and see also on: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/mariecurieactions/ief_en.html

Deadline for application to the European Commission: August 16th, 2012. 

Individuals interested in applying for an IEF-fellowship hosted by the Jean-Monnet-Chair/University of Cologne are encouraged to send a CV together with a brief outline of the proposed project/activities to Cyril Gläser (cyril.glaeser@uni-koeln.de ) by June 1st, 2012.

Active Ageing – the Potential for Society, Conference and Brokerage Event, 9-11 July 2012, Dublin Castle, Ireland.
NET4SOCIETY, the network of National Contact Points, supporting and promoting Socio-Economic Sciences and Humanities (SSH) researchers’ engagement in FP7, will host a transnational research and brokerage event, which is an official satellite event of the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF). The event will be themed around the 2012 European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations and will focus on the human and social aspects and implications of active ageing.
The event, targeted to approximately 350 researchers, policymakers and stakeholders from the international SSH community, will showcase a positive approach to ageing and its potential for society, presenting international SSH research in this field and identifying future research needs. In addition, it will promote and encourage engagement with FP7 SSH research programmes through a brokerage event that will form part of the conference programme. The event is sponsored by the European Commission.

Key note speakers include Anne-Sophie Parent, Director of the AGE network and Lenia Samuel from the European Commission’s Year for Active Ageing initiative.

Thematic sessions will be based on the following four key topics:
• Employment
• Social participation
• Intergenerational solidarity
• Economy and innovation

The third day of the conference will be dedicated to a structured brokerage event that will provide researchers and stakeholders with the opportunity to engage with the FP7 SSH research programme with special focus on the topics of the conference, with a view to finding potential partners for research projects in the FP7 call SSH-2013.

For further information, please visit http://www.net4society-activeageing2012.eu/
For information regarding the conference content and management, please contact mobrien@irchss.ie.
For information regarding practical issues such as travel, accommodation, venue and logistics, please contact net4society2012@abbey.ie

4 May - write draft reports and dissemination
15 May - finalise draft reports
30 May - first discussion on reports in ITRE
6 June - deadline for amendments (prolonged mid-June)
Summer – translation of reports
October - vote in ITRE
November - vote in Plenary

Deadline for submission: June 1st, 2012. Notification of acceptance: July 15th, 2012.

The contributed paper should not exceed four A4 pages, structured and printed according to the IEEE format (4 pages, including a 50 words summary, figures and references; text edited in two columns, on A4 size, with 3.5cm bottom and 2.5cm top, left and right margins). A “CAS Guidelines for papers” is available on the conference site http://www.imt.ro/cas/.

The contributed and invited papers will be published in the CAS 2012 Proceedings (an IEEE publication), which will be delivered to the participants at the beginning of the conference. The authors of the accepted papers must sign (for printing the paper in the Proceedings) an IEEE Copyright Form. The papers submitted to CAS must be original and previously unpublished. By the IEEE Copyright form, the authors will transfer the copyright to IEEE.

Paper upload address: http://www.imt.ro/cas/2012/upload_papers/
First announcement (CAS 2012 Call for Papers) also on http://www.imt.ro/CAS

Programme Day One
The programme for 2012 opens with a special focus on the unique collaborative approach that is driving success in the Bioeconomy. Exciting joint ventures from DSM & Roquette, BioAmber & Lanxess and Avantium & Coca Cola will be framed in the context of the European strategy for the Bioeconomy addressed by senior policy makers. We are also proud to include a presentation from Michele Rubino, COO from Beta Renewables on one of Europe’s most high profile commercial biobased production facilities starting up this summer.
» The Policy session features case studies from around the world including new announcements from Malaysia and Russia.
» The Finance session will provide insight from banks, VC and corporate finance on funding.
» The Innovation Track is reserved exclusively for cutting edge bio-based products coming through the development pipeline.

Programme Day Two
» Advanced Biofuels continues to grow in potential and this year’s dedicated programme track will explain the key issues and anticipate the future trends.
» Marine Biotechnology will cover latest developments from start ups, end users on the vibrant range of collaborations, networks and partnerships in this fast growing sector.
Our closing plenary will be stronger than ever this year, we are delighted to include a prestigious list of the industry’s leadership for what promises to be a lively CEO debate on the globalising bio-based economy and the role Europe is playing.
The closing keynote address will be delivered by CEO of POET who will share with us his vision on the Biorefinery of the Future.

Being the largest platform for sharing resources and exploring new opportunities, UIIN is an optimal networking possibility for academics and industry active in innovation. Currently listing more than 3.500 resources in 18 categories, the network allows members and visitors to look for new partners, find new jobs and stay up-to-date on the latest developments (e.g. events, research projects, products & vendors, publications and calls).

A unique feature of the platform is that all members and visitors can upload new resources, resulting in a continuously updated and relevant information base. Members and visitors can subscribe easily and free of charge to the various resource categories so that new information are delivered in a convenient way.

Having been developed in close interaction with professionals worldwide, UIIN’s member base already spans close to a 100 members. Besides an online platform, we also offer workshops and conferences for a more personal exchange of knowledge and information.

Membership fee for Academics: 200€

The event will feature:
•             presentations on IMI project successes
•             an overview of recently-launched IMI projects
•             an update on IMI’s efforts to simplify procedures
•             a debate on IMI’s impact on the pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) landscape
•             workshops on the following indicative topics from current and future IMI Calls for proposals
•             Antimicrobial resistance
•             Vaccines
•             Research effectiveness
The event therefore represents an excellent opportunity to learn more about these topics and discuss them in person with the EFPIA topic coordinators.

IMI warmly encourages policy makers, small and medium-sized enterprises, patient organisations, regulatory authorities, academic teams, industry, hospitals and other organisations with an interest in IMI projects to take part in the Stakeholder Forum.

Registration for the IMI Stakeholder Forum will be open shortly and a link to the registration form will soon be available via the IMI website at http://www.imi.europa.eu/events/2012/04/24/stakeholder-forum-2012. Participation in the Stakeholder Forum is free.

The IMI Stakeholder Forum has been scheduled to take place after the European Commission’s FP7-Health Open Information Day to help interested parties make the most of their trip to Brussels

This will allow that an operation or project may receive support from one or more CSF fund and from other EU instruments, including from Horizon 2020, meaning that participants involved in a project funded under Horizon 2020 could, provided they are eligible for cohesion funds, apply for funding for parts of the project (for example infrastructure-related funding) from the CSF. The Commission is inviting stakeholders to send comments on the paper by email.

300 researchers and companies from Turkey and all across Europe are invited and will have the opportunity to take part in one-to-one meetings with other event participants to discuss collaboration opportunities. In addition, top level researchers will showcase their current FP7 R&D proposals at dedicated workshops.

Please could you also circulate this information to your networks who may be interested to know that travel support is granted to selected participants. In addition, promotional text, and an event logo and banner is attached which we would be grateful if you could include in your mailings, newsletters, websites etc...

To register, please click here. Once your participation has been validated, you will be able to view the organisations that have already registered to attend and arrange face-to-face meetings with selected participants that you wish to meet up with.

The increasing political demand for useful research and the imperatives for evaluation of policy mean that research funders, both at national and European levels, are under increasing pressure to account for their impact. This is true for research funders with the remit to support, maintain and develop the science base, as well as for funding organisations and schemes focusing more on supporting technology and development. Today, most funding organisations collect, use and assess information regarding the impact that they have had, are having, or even are expected to have. This information is used in two main contexts: 1) during processes of negotiating budgets, positions and influence; and 2) by the organisations
themselves for purposes of reflexivity.

In line with this, the body of literature on the study of ‘impact’ and ‘impact assessment’ has been growing rapidly. Approaches to the study of impact vary greatly according to their assumptions, data collection, data analysis, outcomes and timing. However, most existing approaches are geared towards the study of collaboration networks, of applied research and development, and of impact on the broader society, especially the economy. Whilst there is an expectation that research and funding organisations that aim to develop the science base, and hence to change science itself, ought to account for their impact, studies of the relationship between funding/policy and the science system are still scarce.

This workshop focused on the relationship between research funding/policy and the science system. It is inspired by the methodological innovations developed and tested by the work of EURECIA: an international research project funded by the ERC as a coordination and support action1 that developed and applied a novel approach to measuring and attributing the impact of the ERC on different aspects of the science system.
The overall aim of the workshop, apart from the dissemination of EURECIA’s approach and empirical results, was to inspire a debate between academics, representatives of research funding organisations and other interested parties on the different rationales for and practices
of measuring, attributing and assessing impact. Furthermore, the workshop was meant to provide a platform for the initiation of a continued and mutually beneficial interaction between representatives of different interested parties and organisations.

ERC StG (starters) 17/10/2012
ERC AdG: 22/11/2012
ERC SyG: 10/01/2013
ERC CoS (consolidators): 21/02/2013

Indicative budget (see p.55 of draft WP and ppt presentation)
ERC-2013-StG    395 EUR million
ERC-2013-CoG  515 EUR million (Consolidator)
ERC-2013-AdG  660 EUR million
ERC-2013-SyG   150 EUR million (Pilot)
ERC-2013-PoC   10 EUR million

As announced in the 2009 KIC Call, the EIT will now make its annual financial allocation decision based on the assessment of each KIC's individual performance and competitive review between the KICs. “Rewarding excellence based upon concrete results and impact whilst encouraging and seeding sustainable growth amongst its innovation factories is at the heart of the EIT concept and I am very pleased with these developments” says Alexander von Gabain, Chairman of the EIT Governing Board on the occasion of the March EIT Governing Board meeting.

This agreement on competitive funding aims to provide a long-term framework for the allocation of EIT funding to the KICs and for introduction of the competitive review to be successful and accepted by all parties involved several elements must be taken into account by the EIT, in particular: level playing field between the KICs, timely information, consistency, KICs strategic objectives and performance indicators, appropriate reporting and monitoring mechanisms, comparability and competition.

Moreover, given the multi-annual* nature of the partnership between the EIT and the KICs, the EIT’s annual financial contribution to the KICs should be allocated in a manner that balances the requirement to support the KICs’ long-term strategy of establishment and consolidation, while rewarding on a competitive basis a KIC for its performance and ambitions in the short-term against objective criteria. The annual EIT financial contribution will therefore be defined based on the two-pronged approach: EIT Support Funding and EIT Competitive Funding.

In order to facilitate the business plan preparations, the EIT in consultation with KICs has elaborated and finalised a substantive package of planning documents. This will ensure a smooth process for the allocation of the 2013 grants and provides comprehensive ex-ante planning.

In addition to the promising developments for the EIT competitive funding, the beginning of 2012 has also seen the finalisation of the 2012 annual Grant Agreements (GA) between the EIT and the three KICs. The EIT Director, José Manuel Leceta and Climate-KIC CEO, Mary Ritter, today signed the agreement between the EIT and Climate-KIC and the GA will be signed with EIT ICT Labs and KIC InnoEnergy during the beginning of April.

The EIT and each of the KICs work together on the basis of a seven year Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA). As outlined in the FPA’s, the allocation of EIT funding is defined in a yearly grant agreement (GA’s) between the EIT and each of the KICs.

Source: EIT website

Following last year's call for proposals (EAC/19/2011) and building on its success, the European Parliament (EP) has decided to allocate also for 2012 one Million Euros to the further development of this pilot action. This action will also allow preparing the implementation of the Knowledge Alliances proposed in the upcoming Erasmus for All programme 2014-2020.
 
The Knowledge Alliances are part of the Innovation Union flagship initiative of the Europe 2020 strategy; they are structured partnerships between education institutions and innovation players, aiming at developing Europe's innovation potential.

Role of RTOs in the Innovation System - Jan Mengelers (Pdt EARTO)
Public-Public Partnerships - the Road Ahead - Jörg Niehoff (DG R&I)
Overview of AERTOs - Jens Neugebauer (AERTOs Project Coordinator)
Joint Programming in AERTOs: Pilot Programme on Value from Waste - Mats Carlin (SINTEF)
Concepts and Strategies for Waste Management  - Mats Carlin (SINTEF)
Strategic Cooperation in AERTOs: Development of Strategic Research Agendas - Freek Heidekamp (TNO)
A Member State's View on Joint Programming and Research-Performing Organisations - Dan Andree (Vinnova)
The Future of RTO Cooperation - Jens Neugebauer (AERTOs Project Coordinator)

Partnering Event, Brussels (Centre Borschette), 30 May 2012
Learn how to build a good project consortium
Present your project idea (optional 5-minute presentations)
Attend pre-arranged one-to-one meetings to find suitable project partners
Get advice from European Commission and other experts.
Further information and registration: http://www.b2match.eu/fp7health2012

Finally, a number of changes have been made compared to the earlier (January) draft which may have leaked...

Here are the main changes:
1) The 2 "SBIR-like" topics are now in a special call with specific submission dates. This is to ensure the fast-track submission and evaluation as in WP 2012 and to enable other specific conditions for those topics.

2) Two topics were added under area 4.1 'Coordination and Support Actions across the theme" as a result of discussions at the last PC meeting and other input:
   • 4.1-5: Global initiative on gene-environment interactions in diabetes/obesity in specific populations.
   • 4.1-6: Mapping chronic non-communicable diseases research activities.
3)  Modifications to the titles of some topics (new titles below).
•       2.2.1-4: Patho-physiology and therapy of epilepsy and epileptiform disorders.
•       2.2.1-5: Understanding and controlling pain
•       2.4.1-1: Investigator-driven treatment trials to combat or prevent metastases in patients with solid cancer.
•       2.4.1-3: Investigator-driven supportive and palliative care clinical trials and observational studies.
•       4.1-2: Interactions between EU legislation and health research and/or innovation and the effects of its application and implementation on health research and/or innovation.
4)  Other noteworthy changes:
           4.1-3: Support for Presidency events: Organisation of supporting actions and events associated to the Presidency of the European Union.
           In this topic we have had to limit the period covered from mid-2013 to end-2014. This is because we can probably not commit 2013 budget to actions only starting in 2015. Nevertheless, Horizon2020 should take over in time for the 2015 presidencies.

5)  There is also a reference to AMR topics in other themes on page 26.

This event is dedicated to networking , building public-private partnerships  and exchanging ideas  for collaborative R&D and innovation projects .

This annual event has become an important meeting point for companies and public research organisations from Luxembourg, the Greater Region and beyond, which showcases results, capabilities and innovative solutions  stemming from public and private research.

Business meets Research 2012 offers you:
High-level internationally renowned keynote speakers 
Thematic Workshops 
A dedicated half-day Networking Session  including the Innovation Matchmaking 
A privileged partnership with the Saarland  region

Business meets Research is aligned with the fields covered by the Luxembourg Cluster Initiative :
Luxembourg BioHealth Cluster
Luxembourg EcoInnovation Cluster
Luxembourg ICT Cluster
Luxembourg Materials Cluster
Luxembourg Space Cluster

The CY Presidency will focus on the following 4 priorities:
1. HORIZON 2020 RoP and Specific Programme
The CY Presidency will run first the discussions on the RoP in order to reach the General Approach at the Competitiveness Council on 10 October 2012. This is due to the fact that the co-decision procedure applies on the RoP and they want to have the General Approach before the EP forms its position in October.
On the Specific Programme applies the Consultation with the EP procedure and the CY Presidency’s ambition is to have the Partial General Approach in December’s Competitiveness Council.

2.            EIT
A General Approach on the EIT is probably not achievable under the Danish Presidency, and the CY Presidency’s ambition is to reach the General Approach on the EIT during the Competitiveness Council in October 2012.
The CY Presidency will hold a Conference on EIT on 8-9 November 2012 in Cyprus (for +- 150 people).

3.            ERA
The European Commission will publish the ERA Framework Communication in June 2012.
There will be a presentation of the EC proposal and an orientation debate in October’s Competitiveness Council: advancing discussions in Council (possibly via Council Conclusions for December’s Competitiveness Council).
The CY Presidency will hold a Conference on ERA Framework on 14 November 2012 in Nicosia, Cyprus (for +- 200 people).

4.            COM on enhancing and focusing international cooperation in R&I
The European Commission’s COM on enhancing and focusing international cooperation in R&I is expected to be published on September 2012 (but there is a possibility to be published later).
There will be a presentation of the EC proposal in October’s Competitiveness Council if there will be enough time under AOBs and an orientation debate in December’s Competitiveness Council.

Dans la lignée des commentaires prononcés sur le programme-cadre, il convient de signaler que les Etats membres de l'Union européenne depuis 2004 et 2007 ont soumis une série de revendications, portant notamment sur l'élargissement de la participation et la réduction du fossé de l’innovation, sur une meilleure répartition géographique des évaluateurs de projets, sur la prise en compte renforcée de projets de petite taille, …

Source : Délégation Wallonie-Bruxelles auprès de l'Union européenne

New €18.5 million HERA Joint Research  Programme “Cultural Encounters” Call for Proposals is now open
Deadline for submission of Outline Proposals: Friday 4 May, 14:00

Overall success rate 6%

SSH-2011-1 – Challenges: 13%
SSH-2011-2 - Medium size: 6%
SSH-2011-3 – CSAs : 15%

Success rate per topic is very diverse, ranging from 2.5% (anthropology of European Integration) to 50% (Forward Vision)
 

ESF Exploratory Workshops awards are intended for small, interactive and output-oriented discussion meetings of minimum 15, maximum 30 participants and up to a maximum value of 15000 EUR. Awards are for workshops to be held in the calendar year 2013 (1 February - 31 December). Deadline for receipt of proposals: 3 May 2012 (16:00 CET). Full details at http://www.esf.org/workshops.

and output-oriented discussion meetings of minimum 15, maximum 30 participants and up to a maximum value of 15000 EUR. Awards are for workshops to be held in the calendar year 2013 (1 February - 31 December). Deadline for receipt of proposals: 3 May 2012 (16:00 CET). Full details at http://www.esf.org/workshops.

Speakers include Craig Venter, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Lisa Randall, Rolf Dieter Heuer, Mary Robinson, Marcus Du Sautoy, Eric Karsenti, Helga Nowotny, Huanming Yang, Jean-Jacques Dordain, Kári Stefánsson, Marie Geoghegan Quinn,  Pearse Lyons, Peter Doherty to name a few.

Further information: http://esof2012.org/
Registration: http://esof2012.org/programme/esof-2012-registration/
Programme: http://esof2012.org/programme/
Contact : info@esof2012.org

The cultural heritage research community has initiated an online petition addressed to the European Parliament and the European Council in order to plead strongly for the inclusion of cultural heritage research in HORIZON 2020.

In signing this petition, you support that the EU fully acknowledges its responsibilities to put cultural heritage research back on its agenda and to include it in the next Framework Programme.

More than 4.000 people have already supported the petition but more signatures are needed to ensure further promotion of cultural heritage research. The call will be online until the 26th of March, therefore we kindly ask those of you who have not signed yet to do so and also alert other people by forwarding the link below to your network: 

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cultural-heritage-research_8th-framework-programme/

This questionnaire will be available until 17th of March 2012.

Among the candidates coming to Brussels, 10-12 fellows will be offered the opportunity to provide a lively presentation, in the format of TED-style conferences.

Your e-mail and the other data you provide will be processed in accordance with Regulation (EC) n° 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data.

Further information and registration: http://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/events.cfm

Timeframe ERC-2012-Adg
List of the Panel Chairs of the ERC Advanced Grant Panel 2012
Panel members Advanced Grants 2011 (final list)
Fact sheets on ERC projects of grantees attending the 5the Anniversary Event (incl. Marco Dorigo, ULB) + ESwarm Video
Speeches and videos of keynote speakers at ERC 5th anniversary (idem)

Associated Countries in FP7: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Faroe Islands, FYROM, Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey.

All the other countries are Third Countries, even if they have signed a S&T Agreement with the EC.

International Cooperation Partner Countries (ICPC) are countries that can participate in International Cooperation Specific Actions, and some of them have signed S&T Agreements with the EC, such as Brazil, China, India and  Russia, Argentina, Egypt, Morrocco, Tunisia, and are eligible to participate in the IRSES action.

High income countries, are countries such as the  US, Japan, Australia, Canada, etc., and that also have a S&T Agreement with the EC.

European Neighbour Policy countries are: Armenia, Azerbaijan,  Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestinian-administered areas, Syrian Arab Rep., Tunisia

The public consultation process is based on a prospective analysis that aims to identify future policy options for the SiS-Programme. This survey is open to experts and the interested public alike. We hope that both groups will participate as we want to obtain as complete a picture as possible of the interests and opinions in the various communities. The survey can be accessed through this link: http://ww4.efs-survey.com/uc/fraunhofer_isi_cc_p/1063/

We kindly ask you to pass on the link to the survey via your respective networks, newsgroups or personal contacts. Please feel free to post the link in thematically relevant social networks. We would also like you to consider distributing it via your mailing list and newsletters. It is vital that a diverse and geographically widespread audience participates in the survey to help draft the future policy options in the SiS-Programme.

The survey consists of seven thematic areas (e.g. gender, ethics, science communication), each of which contains max. 9 statements which the participants are asked to assess as an interested individual and / or based on their professional background. It is up to the respondents which topic(s) they want to select. Providing answers to each thematic area should not take more than approximately 10-15 minutes.

If you have any enquiries or comments please do not hesitate to contact us at Eval_SiS@isi.fraunhofer.de

StG    October 2012
AdG    November 2012
CoG    February 2013

The timing of the 2014 calls will depend on when the Horizon 2020 legislation is agreed.

There will be single call deadlines for all these 2013 calls (i.e. no different deadlines by domain).

To help applicants with any questions they may have about the Call, IMI is holding a webinar on Tuesday 20 March at 10:30 CET.

During the webinar, the topic coordinator will deliver the presentation given during the Open Info Day in Brussels and there will be time for questions and answers.

Participation in the webinar is free but registration is required - http://www.imi.europa.eu/events/2012/03/07/imi-topic-webinar-european-lead-factory-repeat

The varying degree of success of the partnership schemes tested in recent years demonstrate that numerous questions still need to be raised about what the right instruments for European partnerships are and whether they will facilitate the investment in research and innovation that will help Europe remain competitive.

Presentations:
Kim Brinckmann, Center for Globalisation at the DK Agency for Science, Techno and Inno
Liselotte Højgaard, Pdt of Copenhagen Research Forum
Flemming Besenbacher, Chair of the Carlsberg’s Foundation

Panel members:
Herbert von Bose, Dir, DG R&I
Nickie Spile, VP, Novozymes A/S
Britta Thomsen, MEP
Dan Andrée, ERAC/VINNOVA

Participation in the conference is free, but participants are expected to cover their own travel and accommodation expenses.

This is an event launching a communication campaign which aims to reduce financial errors in research expenditure.

The communication campaign reflects the Commission's efforts to share with stakeholders information and knowledge about the most common financial errors in FP7, and how to avoid making them.

The purpose of this event is to raise awareness within the research community of the importance of submitting error free cost claims as a way to speed up payments, avoid the reimbursement of ineligible amounts and liquidated damages and ultimately to achieve more reliable and error free financial reporting.
The Commission will present the ten most common financial errors in cost claims for research grants and it will outline its plans to reach out to stakeholders and assist them in their efforts to provide error free cost claims.

The Manifesto was presented to the EC Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Maire Geoghegan-Quinn on December 16th.

2500 scientists and others working in R&D from across Europe and beyond have already added their names since the Manifesto was launched on-line on 19 December, and I very much hope that you will join them.  The timing is important because right now  policy makers at national and EU level are debating future research directions and the R&D spending within HORIZON 2020 and the proposed European Research Area.   Included in both framework proposals are explicit requirements for addressing gender issues in research content, cultures and participation.  Through the Manifesto we can persuade policy makers that scientists support these objectives and the necessary operational measures needed to achieve them.

The Manifesto is the product of the 1st European Gender Summit, which took place on 8-9 November 2011 in Brussels, under the patronage of the Polish EU Presidency, the EC, and the European Parliament.  The event attracted 410 participants and 70 speakers.  It distills 25 years of solid gender research evidence; extensive, recent dialogue between the scientists, gender research scholars and policy makers; and several public consultation and feedback efforts. It is envisaged as a work in progress, driven by a vision that it will be eventually made redundant through the efforts made to address each of its recommended actions.  The end goal is to stop gender being an ‘issue’ and turn it into a stimulus for scientific curiosity and new markets for scientific knowledge.

Further information on genSet: http://www.genderinscience.org
1st European Gender Summit : http://www.gender-summit.eu
Read and sign the Manifesto: http://bit.ly/rLS7cn

The final audience amounted to 90 representatives from different European Institutions and organizations

Following the words of the chair and host of the event, Mr. Malcolm Harbour MEP, please find below the links to the materials used during its second part to provide a flavor of the broad range of activities currently delivered by Climate-KIC.

·         The Mission of Climate-KIC - Prof. Jean Jouzel, Member of the Climate-KIC Governing Board, CEA.

·         Overview of Climate-KIC Activity - Prof Mary Ritter, Climate-KIC CEO, Imperial College London. Followed by examples:

§     Education –  Video & Charlotte Van De Water, President of the Climate-KIC Alumni Association.

§     Entrepreneurship –  Hero Prins, Pillar Director & Jonas Stekelenburg, Schiphol Airport

§     Innovation & Pathfinder - Aled Thomas, RIC Director

The event “5 Years of Excellent IDEAS” charted the ERC's achievements to date; it allowed participants to share their thoughts on excellence and "brain circulation" in the global scientific landscape and deemed how crucial frontier research is for Europe's growth and competitiveness.

After five years of existence, the ERC has funded more than 2,500 excellent researchers of 53 different nationalities working in some 480 different institutions across Europe. The total funding allocated to date, € 4.2 billion, has given them a chance to conduct their projects in Europe, of which many will spark new and sometimes unpredictable scientific and technological discoveries. The ERC is one of the instruments that addresses the current "brain drain": it has also allowed researchers to remain in or come to Europe, to gain scientific independence, and to hire and train a new generation of young researchers recruited as team members in their laboratories. In total, the ERC has therefore contributed to supporting over 12,000 researchers, thereby helping to fuel Europe's long-term economic prosperity.

In a video message, President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso said: "The ERC has become a remarkable story for Europe in such a short time. Five years dedicated to supporting 2,500 of the very best and brilliant minds – not least the younger talents – play a key role in stimulating competitiveness and growth, in the challenging times we are going through".

The ERC funds basic research across the entire spectrum of disciplines; ranging from studying the epidemiology of diseases like malaria or the causes of Parkinson, to improving critical infrastructures such as telecoms networks or water systems, creating new prototypes of chemical robots or discovering archaeological treasures in Africa.

EU Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science MGQ said: "I am always impressed by the creativity and curiosity of the many ERC grantees I meet. The ERC is now recognized within and outside Europe as a model for frontier research funding. That is why the Commission has proposed a substantial increase of the ERC's budget under the EU's next research and innovation programme, Horizon 2020".

In only five years, the ERC has become a label of excellence recognised by the scientific community; its peer review evaluation system, the amount and the duration of ERC grants, but also their flexibility which includes the possibility to move host institution while keeping the grant, have become key features for individual researchers to boost their careers. To date, the ERC counts four Nobel Prize winners and three Field Medallists amongst its grantees, as well as the winners of 30 more internationally recognised prizes.

Ahead of this five year milestone, ERC President Professor Helga Nowotny commented: “The ERC's fifth anniversary is the right moment to demonstrate the experience the ERC has gained in funding frontier research. It is not too much to say that the ERC has changed the scientific landscape in Europe and induced the emergence of a genuine European culture of scientific excellence". She also declared: "With hard work, vigorous support from many sides and a bit of luck, we were able to create a well functioning, first-rate funding agency which has left its indelible mark within a very short period of time. It fills us with joy to see ERC grantees flourishing in universities and research institutions across Europe. I am convinced that they will continue to make significant contributions to frontier research, spawn further benefits and stimulate competition for excellence across Europe and worldwide".

The anniversary was also an occasion for high-level profiles to debate on "Excellence and brain circulation in the global scientific landscape", which is one of the ERC's main priorities, at a round-table with guest speakers from Brazil, India, South Africa and the US. On 29 February, five outstanding grantees presented the results of their research in a very original way and demonstrate the added value of EU funding.

One of the 5 grantees was Marco Dorigo (ULB) – Advanced Grant 2010 - who gave  a presentation of his work entitled ‘ E Swarm Engineering Swarm Intelligence Systems’ and introduced his video - that won the AAAI Best AI Video Award - "Swarmanoid, the Movie”. Last but not least, Marco is interviewed in the short film “ERC 5 years of excellent ideas”. Congrats !

On March 1, nine more grantees gave talks in three scientific sessions, one in each ERC domain (PE, LS and SSH).

The full programme is available on: http://erc.europa.eu/erc-5th-anniversary/home
http://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/press_release/files/erc_pr_5_Anniversary.pdf

ERC Press Release on results from the ERC-2011-AdG call:
http://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/press_release/files/press_release_adg2011_results.pdf

ERC Press Release on the ERC-2012-SyG call:
http://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/NewsUpdate_SyG_submissions.pdf

One way of getting involved is to host Brazilian undergraduates and postgraduates. There are opportunities to apply for a research grant to work in Brazil: young postdoctoral researchers can apply under the ‘Attraction of Talented Youth’ programme for a two to three year long research project in Brazil, while science leaders can apply under the ‘Special Visiting Researcher’ grants that will fund joint projects with research groups in Brazil and fund work in Brazil
for up to three months every year.

Further information is available from the ‘Science without Borders’ website at:
http://www.cienciasemfronteiras.gov.br/web/csf-eng/home

Note that the FNRS has an agreement with the CNPq in Brazil (see attachment) but there is no bilateral agreement between FNRS and Brazil.

a) EIP Raw Materials
Sectors such as construction, chemicals, automotive, aerospace, machinery and equipment sectors, which provide a total value added of €1 324 billion and employment for some 30 million people, all depend on access to raw materials

b) EIP Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability
The EIP will contribute to enhancing the position of EU agriculture as a competitive sector, able to assume its role in global food security, and as a provider of feed, biomass, and biomaterial. This development is economically significant: EU agriculture has today a share of 18% in world food exports, worth € 76 billion.

Beyond the economic interest, this EIP will provide benefits in terms of preserving soil functionality, water and ecosystem protection and resilience, carbon sequestration, reduction of GHG emissions, reducing energy needs, and preserving eco-system services. An assessment of advantages and disadvantages of an EIP option have been analyzed in the context of the CAP 2020 impact assessment.

Background on EIPs
EIPs will tackle the whole research-development-innovation chain, bringing together public and private stakeholders across borders and sectors in order to achieve real and measurable goals. EIPs are expected to make initial proposals within 1-3 years, and deliver on concrete targets within 5-8 years.

A unique strength is that they will address the weaknesses in the European research and innovation system, which hamper the discovery or exploitation of knowledge and, in many cases, ultimately prevent the entry of innovations into the market place.

In addition, the partnership will also considerably reduce time-to-market of research and innovation breakthroughs. This should be achieved by promoting better co-ordination of public and private actions, by anticipating regulatory and other needs for the different stages of the innovation cycle and by ensuring the involvement of those representing the demand side along the whole innovation chain.

It is important to understand that the Partnership is neither a new programme nor a funding scheme/instrument.

The EIP can help to focus current financial tools, stimulate the active use of innovative procurement, develop innovative incentive mechanisms at the appropriate levels, and explore venture capital support.

The Steering Group of EIPs will put forward specific Strategic Implementation Plans (SIP) and invite Member States, the European Parliament and the European Commission to facilitate implementing bodies’ (including regions, private operators) access to funding instruments.

Further information :
- Raw Materials: New strategy (COM(2011)25 final.
- EIP Agricultural Sustainability
Communication : see doc attached
Roadmap : http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/planned_ia/docs/2011_agri_042_european_innovation_partnership_en.pdf
- EIP Active and Healthy Ageing:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm?section=active-healthy-ageing&pg=implementation-plan

Le contexte
Le partenariat d'innovation européen est un concept nouveau qui a été présenté dans "l’Union de l’innovation" - initiative phare de la stratégie Europe 2020 qui a pour l'objectif de lever les obstacles dans la recherche et de l'innovation afin de faciliter le développement et la commercialisation de bonnes idées.

Les sources
Innovation Union website: http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm?pg=home
Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn's website: http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/geoghegan-quinn/index_en.htm

The conference aimed at profoundly discussing the significance of social innovation as a highly relevant topic in research and research policy contexts. Addressing a wide range of research communities as well as specialists from different social fields and from policy related institutions, researchers and experts from the social sciences and the humanities actively participated in discussing different aspects and implications of social innovation, both in the plenary and the 14 parallel sessions of the conference. At the matchmaking event, organised by NET4SOCIETY on the third day, more than 150 conference participants met through pre-arranged bilateral meetings, networking towards potential future research proposals to be funded in FP7.  

The most immediate outcome of the conference is the ʽVienna declaration: the most needed social innovations and related research topicsʼ, addressing researchers, social innovators, and key organisations involved in innovation research and policy. The declaration consists of 14 research topics or questions that were voted on by the plenary of the conference participants such as e.g. ʽLifelong learning, work and intergenerational solidarity as components of societally engaged ageingʼ. The research topics identified and prioritised, were also chosen according to their contribution to a desirable development in the globalised knowledge society, allowing for social sciences to feed strongly into the preparation of the EUʽs next framework programme for Research and Innovation, H2020.

The Vienna Declaration was formally presented to Commissioner MGQ during an academic event in London, on 10th Nov. 2011.  

This conference addressed this extremely timely question for Europe and the European Commission, especially in the current context of financial, economic and social crises. It was centered around EU-funded research projects in the field of European identity/identities and will bring together those currently active in European identity/identities research and those involved in policy-making at the European level. NGOs and citizens were also welcome to join in and to voice their opinions on the suggested topics.

The conference addressed two main issues:

¡ö Whether there is a common European identity or several diverging European identities emerging, and what shape(s) it/they take(s)?
¡ö What (policy and research) implications the development of a European identity/European identities have for the European Union?

The event was co-organised by the European Commission and Prof. Robert Miller from Queens University, Belfast.

Programme : http://ec.europa.eu/research/social-sciences/events-194_en.html
The Development of a European Identity -European Identities: Insights from European Research ¨C Working Document:
http://www.mela-project.eu/upl/cms/attach/20120202/201234644_4658.pdf

The final recommendations of these experts have just been published in the report “Visions for Horizon 2020 – from Copenhagen Research Forum” and presented at the Ministerial Conference of the Council of Ministers on 1 February 2012.

More information about the project and the conference programme can be found here.

To register please send an email to secretariat@earto.eu before March 2nd at the latest.

Cette nouvelle édition couvre les instruments de financement de l'UE suivants:
•             7e programme-cadre de recherche
•             Programme-cadre pour l'innovation et la compétitivité
•             Fonds structurels européens
•             Fonds européen agricole pour le développement rural 
•             Fonds européen pour la pêche
•             Programme pour l'éducation et la formation tout au long de la vie
•             LIFE + dans le domaine de l'environnement

En outre, le guide décrit les possibilités de financement pour la recherche et l'innovation offertes aux différents pays et territoires situés hors de l'Union européenne, dans le cadre de l'instrument d'aide de préadhésion et de l'instrument européen de voisinage et de partenariat.
Le guide pratique actualisé permet aux bénéficiaires potentiels d'identifier rapidement les moyens précis dont ils disposent pour accéder aux financements européens à n'importe quel stade d'un projet."

Deadline for submission of Outline Proposals:

Friday 4 May, 14:00 Central European Time/13:00 Greenwich Mean Time.

The HERA (Humanities in the European Research Area) Network is pleased to announce a new Joint Research Programme (JRP) on Cultural Encounters. Nineteen research councils from 18 countries and the European Commission are making up to €18.5 million available. The research programme will fund new and exciting humanities-centred projects on Cultural Encounters involving researchers from three or more participating countries.
 
The researchers based in the following countries can apply:
 
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden and United Kingdom.

Co-operation with ‘industrialised and emerging economies’ will aim at enhancing EU scientific,
technological and innovative (STI) performance and industrial competitiveness through co-operation
focusing on key enabling technologies and global societal challenges. Organisations from countries
in this group would not normally receive funding. Co-operation with ‘enlargement and neighbourhood
countries’ will focus on addressing regional societal and economic challenges, with Association
Agreements negotiated on a case by case basis. Organisations from countries in this group will
automatically be eligible for funding. Finally, European consortia will be encouraged to co-operate
with ‘developing countries’ where there are specific benefits and added value in order to address
specific societal challenges (e.g. poverty-related diseases, energy and food security, or biodiversity).
In addition, co-operation with these countries should be based on responding to their specific
economic and societal needs.

Press Release available at : http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/12/106&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

ERC grant holders can apply for this additional funding to establish the innovation potential of ideas arising from their ERC-funded frontier research projects.

ERC Proof of Concept in brief
- All Principal Investigators benefitting from an ERC Advanced or Starting Grant that is either ongoing, or where the project has ended less than 12 months before the publication date of an ERC Proof of Concept call. The Principal Investigator must be able to demonstrate the link between the idea and the related ERC-funded project
- Funding per grant: up to € 150.000
- Duration: 12 months
- Calls for proposals: published once a year with two deadlines

Friday 4 May, 14:00 Central European Time/13:00 Greenwich Mean Time.

The HERA (Humanities in the European Research Area) Network is pleased to announce a new Joint Research Programme (JRP) on Cultural Encounters. Nineteen research councils from 18 countries and the European Commission are making up to €18.5 million available. The research programme will fund new and exciting humanities-centred projects on Cultural Encounters involving researchers from three or more participating countries.
 
The researchers based in the following countries can apply:
 
Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden and United Kingdom.

The development and the implementation of the service were based mainly on the recommendations of the client forum and the needs expressed by the research DGs and Agencies. 

The main purpose of the Projects Service is to enhance the visibility of project-related information to users, and to ensure that all available information on CORDIS on a given project is tied together in a clear manner in one place.

The Projects service was given high visibility, featuring as a new ‘tab’ in the common header, and thus being directly accessible from any current CORDIS page.

The RCC Secretariat would like to let you know that as of 2 January 2012, the FP7 participants may contact the Committee and bring their requests to its attention. More precisely, any participant in the Research Framework Programmes facing a situation where there appears to be different interpretations/implementations of the FP7 Research Framework Programmes rules or procedures between the Commission services is encouraged to communicate this situation and contact the RCC Secretariat.

To this end, the 12th Entry "Research Clearing Committee: Non-coherent application of FP7 rules and procedures" is now available and can be selected from the dropdown list of subjects in the Research Enquiry Service available on Europa Research Website at the following address http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?lg=en&pg=enquiries. Also, a Frequently Asked Questions document will be uploaded shortly on the Europa website and on the Participant portal which will contain more information on the procedure to be followed.

The exact date of the changes will be communicated on the Portal a few days before the actual changes happen.

The workshop is held under the auspices of Mr François Biltgen, Minister of Higher Education and Research of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and organised in the framework of the ESF Member Organisation Forum European Alliance on Research Career Development.

Workshop goals
∙        bringing together leading experts from all over the world with a track record and long-term experience in following up the career paths of researchers
∙        featuring a mix of theory and practice through presenting career tracking initiatives, their purposes and methodologies as well as their major findings
∙        providing a forum of learning how to set up a tracking of researchers in a funding agency, institution, region or country
∙        offering the opportunity to present tracking studies not yet included in the programme via poster presentation

Register no later than 15 January 2012.  Please note that available places are limited.

Participation in the conference is free, but participants are expected to cover their own travel and accommodation expenses.

We hope that you will encourage others in your networks to add their name to the Manifesto as well, to help maximise its lobbying power!

Public deliverable of the ETICA and EGAIS projects:
http://ethics.ccsr.cse.dmu.ac.uk/etica
http://www.egais-project.eu/

Vous trouverez également une présentation ppt en annexe sur le Programme de Travail de la Commission pour l’ensemble de l’année 2012 (présidence danoise et chypriote).

Enfin, Mr Iskren Kirilov (DG RTD) a présenté le PT 2012 d’un point de vue plus théorique lors du dernier Iglo Open (10 janvier).  Vous trouverez sa présentation à cette adresse : http://www.polsca.eu/ppt/120110/IK.pdf

Following the positive experiences from past events the programme offered a mix of plenary sessions, including overview presentations providing a common forum for all participants, and interactive smaller sessions with working groups around key issues related to Public Public partnerships in the context of the upcoming Horizon 2020.

The event brought more than 350 new and old stakeholders to keep them abreast of the latest policy thinking, to review progress in terms of the development of the platform, and to elicit their views on future activities.

The report on the event and its outcomes will be published in early December.

While Annex 1 notes Europe’s loss of innovation competitiveness vis-à-vis China and Brazil, the AGS 2012 main document again largely fails to address the smart growth dimension and the link of science, research, technology and innovation to the EU’s growth potential.

Une invitation à participer à l’évènement matchmaking (MME) prévu le 21 février à Berlin est lancée depuis le 21 octobre.  La date de clôture pour les inscriptions est le 30 novembre 2011.

Les inscriptions au MME se font à cette adresse: http://www.b2match.eu/hera2012

Une première étape vient d’être franchie avec la plateforme de support à l’écriture de propositions qui est maintenant disponible. Le focus actuel est le FP7 mais il est prévu d’adapter la plateforme à d’autres types de projets.

Le NCP-UWE contribue au projet avec son expertise afin d’assurer une adéquation maximale par rapport aux besoins des utilisateurs (coordinateurs principalement).

C’est pourquoi une présentation de la plateforme sera organisée ce jeudi 1er décembre à 9.30 dans les locaux du NCP UWE(http://www.ncpwallonie.be/ncp/le-ncp/plan-dacces).

La réunion aura pour objectif majeur de vous présenter le projet, de recueillir vos réactions par rapport au développement et vos attentes/besoins pour les développements futurs (amélioration de la phase d’écriture du projet, phase de négociation du contrat, gestion du projet en cours de route). Nous souhaitons pouvoir compter sur un groupe d’utilisateurs actifs pour conseiller les développeurs.

Merci de confirmer votre participation à Tina Scalisi (tina.scalisi@uwe.be).

Download of the new guidelines: http://www.kowi.de/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-160/258_view-175/
More information on financial management in Marie Curie projects:
http://www.kowi.de/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-257/987_read-1064/
Information on project management issues in Marie Curie projects on CORDIS:
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/mariecurieactions/home_en.html

Open to researchers from the Belgian academia. Jointly organized by the Flemish universities and FRS-FNRS, and supported by FWO.

Venue: Research Coordination Office, Schapenstraat 34, Leuven (parking available)

Participation is free of charge, but registration is mandatory

Programme
Welcome - prof. Peter Marynen, K.U.Leuven vice-rector for research
Modalities of the ERC Advanced & Synergy call 2012 – prof. Helga Nowotny, ERC president
Overview of support services for applicants
Reflections from participant
Prof. François Maniquet, UCLouvain, ERC Advanced Grant holder
Prof. Jan Staessen, K.U.Leuven, ERC Advanced Grant holder

Contacts of the person searching for participation in the IRSES proposal:

Prof. dr. Mimoza Ristova
Department of Physics
Faculty of Natural Science and Mathematics,
University Sts Cyril and Methodiuos
1000 Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

e-mail: mristova@pmf.ukim.mk
tel:  +389 2 3249 804
fax: +389 2 3228 141

Each Chair allows the foreign scientist to be hosted during 12 full months, possibly spread over 2 years, in one or more well-known Higher Education or Research Institutions in Paris/Ile-de-France providing suitable environment, equipment and means to carry out world class research. Each project can be given up to 200 000 € which includes among other things, salaries, social charges, taxes and accompanying expenses. The candidates are required to give about ten lectures (pedagogical programme to be joined), will have to deliver an activity report and to organise a public seminar at the end of their stay.

The 2012 call is now open with a deadline for applications on 15 December 2011. A multi-disciplinary jury will select 4 applicants based on the scientific interest of the project for Ile-de-France Region, on its interdisciplinary characteristic and the quality of the application. Selected researchers may start their project in the Paris/Ile-de-France research institution from September 2012 on.

Programme, Registration

- Recommandation de la Commission du 21 octobre 2011 concernant l’initiative de programmation conjointe en matière de recherche «Connecting Climate Knowledge for Europe» (Le développement coordonné des connaissances sur le climat au bénéfice de l’Europe),  Voir OJ C310 (22 octobre 2011), p. 1-3, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2011:310:0001:0003:FR:PDF

Recommandation de la Commission du 27 octobre 2011 concernant l’initiative de programmation conjointe  «Le défi microbien -Une nouvelle menace pour la santé humaine».
Voir OJ C315 (28 octobre 2011), p. 1-3, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2011:315:0001:0003:FR:PDF

La Commission présentera les recommandations adoptées lors du prochain groupe "Recherche" (28 octobre 2011).
Un projet de conclusions (commun pour les recommandations portant sur les différentes initiatives de programmation conjointe concernées) sera présenté par la Présidence polonaise et examiné par le groupe "Recherche" au cours des réunions du mois de novembre 2011, pour adoption au Conseil de l'UE (Compétitivité, partie "Recherche") du 6 décembre 2011.

call is €150 million.
The "Synergy Grant" is intended to enable a small group of Principal Investigators and their teams to bring together complementary

skills, knowledge, and resources in new ways, in order to jointly address research problems.

Une invitation à participer à l’évènement matchmaking (MME) prévu le 21 février à Berlin est lancée depuis le 21 octobre.  La date de clôture pour les inscriptions est le 30 novembre 2011.

A more detailed timeline of the planning will be published in the ERC website

In three years of activities the EU research project INGINEUS - "Impact of Networks, Globalisation, and their Interaction with EU Strategies" has mapped the new geography of knowledge-intensive activities and has put an initiative in understanding the concept of Global Innovation Networks (GINs).

There are many references to research and innovation, low carbon technologies, raw materials, resource efficiency, renewable energies etc.
This communication is in line with the other UE initiatives and EU2020 flagships.

You may also find the FAQs on the financial guidelines for ITN and IAPP on the MCA website under How to manage my project. For example for ITNs: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/mariecurieactions/itn-manage_en.html

L’accord de collaboration conclu est basé sur des consultations des Administrations, des Universités et des Entreprises pour une meilleure répartition des tâches et des complémentarités de chacun des « National Contact Points ».