Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology NEST Roadshow 2004 New and Emerging Science and Technology NEST

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Focusing and Integrating Community research Strengthening the foundations of the ERA Structuring the ERA GenomicsIST Citizens Nanotechnologies. Aeronautics Food Sustainable dev. Thematic priorities FP6 - Where does NEST fit in? “Wider field of Research” SMEs International co-operation JRC c NEST Support to policies

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology NEST objectives Stimulate visionary and pioneering long term research at the frontiers of knowledge and at the interface between disciplines Give researchers freedom to develop and prove their ideas within the broadest possible limits Respond rapidly to new problems and opportunities

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology What may NEST achieve? Enhance the creative potential and capabilities in European science and technology New science, new principles, new techniques and new basic technologies An increased responsiveness to possible problems and risks arising from new discoveries New communities of knowledge in emerging areas Strategic inputs for the development of future European research initiatives

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Key characteristics of NEST funded activities May fall in “any” area of research Research not falling within the Thematic Priorities Novel, possibly multi-disciplinary, possibly unconventional Well focused objectives, which are ambitious but clear, possibly risky, and consistent with the scale of the project

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Two modes Open domain: Focused actions: 235 M € Overall Budget ADVENTURE INSIGHT NEST SUPPORT PATHFINDER

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Implementation Through standard FP6 instruments Specific Targeted Research Project, STREP: To provide funding for research activities. Co-ordination Action, CA: To provide funding for networking and co- ordination. Specific Support Action, SSA: To provide funding for activities in direct support of NEST

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Second Call Call reference: FP NEST-B Call date: 17 December 2003 Budget: 30M€ (ADVENTURE, INSIGHT, NEST SUPPORT) Closure dates: 14 April, 15 September 2004 OPEN DOMAIN

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Second Call Call reference: FP NEST-PATH Call date: 17 December 2003 Budget: 35M€ Actions: “Synthetic biology”; “Tackling complexity in science”; “What it means to be human” Closure date: 14 April 2004 PATHFINDER

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Outline of Presentation The OPEN mode ADVENTURE, INSIGHT, NEST SUPPORT Evaluation STREP, CA, SSA Feedback from first call The FOCUSED mode PATHFINDER Topics 2004:  Tackling complexity in science  Synthetic biology  “What it means to be human”

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology NEST ADVENTURE Reference document: download from

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology ADVENTURE: The mandate “support research in emerging areas of knowledge and on future technologies, in particular in trans-disciplinary fields, which is highly innovative and involves correspondingly high (technical) risks.”

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology ADVENTURE „ If only...“ Neural networks had been the result of an ADVENTURE project The Scanning Tunnel Microscop (STM) or atomic force microscope (AFM) had been developed in an ADVENTURE project The first in-vitro demonstration of motor-proteins had been made in an ADVENTURE project PCR had been developed in an ADVENTURE project etc, etc,...

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology The “Spirit of ADVENTURE” Exciting, pioneering research with the aim of opening up new avenues for progress in science and technology Freedom for researchers to define new challenges and pursue new ideas Across a wide scope of science and technology, but lying outside or cutting across the FP6 Thematic Priorities With a special interest in novel multi-disciplinarity High risk / high gain, with challenging and tangible objectives

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology What ADVENTURE projects are NOT! Research that falls within the scope of the thematic priorities Research without clearly identifiable novel aspects Open-ended research without tangible and challenging objectives Technology demonstrations Combinations of existing technologies Research of interest to a particular industrial sector without broader applicability Research related to implausible and hypothetical phenomena

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology ADVENTURE Implementation Specific Targeted Research Projects, STREPs Coordination Actions, CAs Project budget: indicative funding range from to Euro Funding period: up to 3 years Consortium: At least three independent partners from three member states or associated states - of which at least two member states or associated candidate states

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology ADVENTURE STREPs Evaluation criteria Relevance to NEST objectives [  4/5] Scientific and Technological Excellence [  4/5] Potential impact [  3/5] Quality of the consortium (FULL proposal only) [  3/5] Quality of management (FULL proposal only) [  3/5] Mobilisation of resources (FULL proposal only) [  3/5]

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology ADVENTURE First STREPs selected BIODEFENCE - “ Rapid induction of passive immunity against weapons of bioterrorism using transformed GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) organisms” THE OPTICAL NOSE - “ An on-line, non-invasive and total-profiling” instrument for trace gas sensing applications in medical sciences INA - “Imaging with neutral atoms” ATOM3D - “ Advanced techniques for optical manipulation using novel 3D light field synthesis” CHIRALTEM - “ Chiral dichroism in the transmission electron microscope” EA-BIOFILMS - “ Electrochemical control of biofilm-forming micro-organisms” ELCAT - “Electrocatalytic Gas-Phase Conversion of CO2 in Confined Catalysts” BIOPLASMA - Bio-engineering by atmospheric plasma treatment

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology NEST INSIGHT Reference document: download from

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology INSIGHT: The mandate “support research to assess rapidly new discoveries or newly-observed phenomena, which may indicate emerging risks or problems of high importance to European society, and identify appropriate responses to them.”

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology INSIGHT „ If only...“ The hormonal activity of certain chemicals had been proven by an INSIGHT project (Endocrine Disruptors) The discovery of prions, or the link between Creutzfeldt- Jakob and BSE had been proven by an INSIGHT project The Ozone depletion in the Atmosphere by Perfluorated Compounds had been shown by an INSIGHT project The impact of a new technology, e.g. ICTs, on societal behavior (e.g. life style, communication, work, consumption, criminality) had been anticipated by an INSIGHT project

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology INSIGHT projects Should have an anticipatory function Should address possible risks associated with new phenomena; high potential risk; significant scientific uncertainties Project outputs should be aimed at decision making. Analysis of the uncertainty should allow the concerned actors to frame strategic choices about future action May need to challenge orthodoxy and/or address complex or inter-disciplinary questions

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology What INSIGHT projects are NOT! Policy evaluation studies Technology foresight studies or technology assessment studies Research that legitimately falls within the scope of the thematic priorities Research addressing topics in on-going “risk debates”, which are “open-ended” or projects without plausible or convincing evidence to their real or potential existence

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology INSIGHT STREPs Evaluation criteria Relevance to NEST objectives [  4/5] Scientific and technological excellence [  4/5] Potential impact [  3/5] Quality of the consortium (FULL proposal only) [  3/5] Quality of management (FULL proposal only) [  3/5] Mobilisation of resources (FULL proposal only) [  3/5]

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology INSIGHT: Implementation STREPs for the support of research CAs for networking, e.g. of national organisations or responsible regulatory bodies Budget: up to Euro Commission funding Funding period: years Consortium: At least three independent partners from three member states or associated states - of which at least two member states or associated candidate states

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology INSIGHT First STREPs selected PERFORCE: Perfluorinated organic compounds in the European environment PORGROW: Policy options for responding to the growing challenge from obesity

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology NEST SUPPORT Reference document: download from

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology NEST SUPPORT: The mandate attracting good proposals shaping and refining modalities establishing future actions … to assist in the development and exploitation of NEST activities

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology NEST Support: The specific areas 1. Promotion of interaction with the research community 2. Engagement of the research community in the process of identifying future research opportunities 3. Analysis of methodological and technical issues associated with the NEST research domain

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology NEST Support Implementation To support the implementation of NEST May cover information and communication, conferences, seminars, expert groups, operational support…. Typical duration up to 2 years Grant to the budget up 100% Scale ~ k Euro Minimum of one partner from a Member State or Associated State (but generally more)

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology NEST SUPPORT First SSAs selected NEST-IDEA: NEST Information on Development of Emerging Activities ATBEST: Assessment tools for Breakthrough and Emerging S&T NETIAM: New and Emerging Teams in Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology INSTRUMENTS AND EVALUATION Reference document: download from

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Instruments Overview

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology NEST Evaluation Key Elements (1) Peer review, following EC Guidelines on quality and fairness 2-stage process for STREP 1-stage for SSA and CA Pool of Evaluators covering all areas of S/T A panel of high-level scientists with a broad perspective and a good appreciation of multi- disciplinary issues with inputs from specialized remote referees

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology NEST evaluation Key Elements (2) Remote individual assessment with specialist referees (~150), followed by high-level inter-disciplinary panel (~30-40 members) to decide on final assessment High level of transparency to proposers: Evaluation Summary Report (ESR) with all evaluators comments send to proposal coordinator In addition, the panel provides a few paragraphs reflecting its opinion

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Evaluation of OUTLINE STREPs ADVENTURE and INSIGHT OUTLINE proposals Remote referees, individual assessments Stage A panel Prepare full proposal in ~ 2 months NO Anonymous

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Evaluation of FULL STREPs ADVENTURE and INSIGHT FULL proposals Remote referees, individual assessments Stage B panel Negotiation and contract NO Non anonymous

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Evaluation of CAs and SSAs ADVENTURE, INSIGHT, NEST SUPPORT Proposals Remote referees, individual assessments Panel Negotiation and contract NO Non anonymous

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology NEST needs evaluators The success of NEST will depend on the success of its projects - the selection is crucial Specialists for remote refereeing - in all relevant fields Generalist scientists, with a broad overview and an open eye for high risk, multi-disciplinary research Potential beneficiaries: from industry, regulatory agencies, policy makers,... Please Register, or nominate experts, through!

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology FEEDBACK FROM FIRST CALL See also

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Call: FP NEST-A Following closure date May 14, proposals were received 14 were not evaluated (late or non-eligible) 28 proposals retained (3 SSAs selected for Negotiation, 25 STREPs invited for Full Proposal Submission) Outline/Full Proposal Stage

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Call: FP NEST-A Following deadline Sep 24, proposals were received 25 proposals were evaluated 1 proposal, although evaluated, is incomplete 10 proposals selected for negotiation Full Proposal Stage (STREPs only)

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology STREPs CAs - nil SSAs - 7 proposals, 3 negotiation/contract Proposal numbers 166 Outline proposals Retained for stage 2 Negotiation

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Call: FP NEST-A Following closure date Oct 22, proposals were received 11 were not evaluated (late or non-eligible) 33 proposals retained (1 SSAs selected for Negotiation, 32 STREPs invited for Full Proposal Submission) Outline Proposal Stage

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology STREPs CAs – 5 proposals, 0 Negotiation SSAs - 9 proposals, 1 Negotiation Proposal numbers 251 Outline proposals 32 ? Retained for stage 2 Negotiation

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Feedback from the first call The “5-page OUTLINE proposal” concept has been well-received The transparency of the feedback to proposers (ESRs) appears to have been well-received No need for major changes to the evaluation methodology; remote individual assessment plus a strategic panel

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Messages for Proposers (I) NEST proposals should “lie outside or cut across” the Thematic Priorities Many proposers appears insufficiently aware of the basic principles behind NEST: –ADVENTURE: novelty, ambition, risk, impact –INSIGHT: risks arising from novel phenomena –Support actions must help in implementation of NEST INSIGHT and ADVENTURE are different things. A project must be designed for the one or the other

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology 5-page OUTLINE proposals are not about describing an idea for an area of work. They should contain a concise description: –What exactly is the novelty of the proposal –What are you planning to do and how? –What may one expect as a result of the project? –What would be the impact on science and technology A degree of quantification might be useful Messages for Proposers (II)

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Innovations in social sciences and economics are valid for NEST as long as they conform to the requirements set in the reference documents Proposals on mathematics are also welcome providing that the new techniques are coupled with the development of knowledge in other scientific and technological spheres Messages for Proposers (III)

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Final advice Please read the NEST reference documents Please specify one single Activity Code: ADVENTURE, INSIGHT, NEST SUPPORT, PATHFINDER Please use the Electronic Proposal Submission System, EPSS PLEASE DON’T SUBMIT LAST MINUTE “A deadline is what it is!” Your NEST NCP (National Contact Point) will help you the NEST NCP informs, advices and supports potential applicants in the preparation, submission and follow-up of NEST project proposals

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Outline Full Outline Full 30% 80% ?% NEST first call: electronic submission via EPSS 50%

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology Information Sources NEST Web-site: NEST documents: Info on contracts: NEST helpdesk: Evaluators: CORDIS: