Third country participation in FP7 Place: Date

The Seventh Framework Programme Organisations or individuals from countries outside of the EU and Associated States can participate in FP7: In the Capacities programme - in international activities promoting strategic cooperation In the People programme – as beneficiaries of training and career development activities In the Ideas programme – as participants in European-led research teams In the Cooperation programme - as partners in projects

The Capacities programme A strategic planning programme focusing on three main areas Bi-regional coordination of S&T Cooperation “INCO- NET”: Establish a dialogue, promote participation in FP7 Bi-lateral S&T cooperation partnerships “BILAT” Strengthen partnership with countries which have an S&T cooperation agreement Coordination of national policies and activities “ERA-NET” Increase the cooperation and coordination of national research programmes

The People programme A human-resources programme with several actions open to third country nationals Initial training of researchers Initial Training Networks Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways The International dimension International fellowships Support to research diasporas

The Ideas programme A “frontier” research programme managed by the European Research Council Offers the possibility for the European research teams to involve third country researchers on the basis of their scientific excellence

The Cooperation programme A research programme in ten Themes Health Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology Information and Communication Technologies Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies Energy Environment (including climate change) Transport (including Aeronautics) Socio-economic sciences and Humanities Security Space

Cooperation projects - Minimum consortia Three independent legal entities from three different EU Member States or Associated countries (presently: Croatia, Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey*) Provided this minimum has been achieved, any number of additional participants from other countries can be included, For Support actions (SAs) there are no restrictions; proposals may be presented by even a single organisation from any country *list regularly updated at

Cooperation projects - Funding Third country participants on the list of International Cooperation Partner Countries (ICPCs) are funded by the Commission Normally they are funded on exactly the same basis (percentages of eligible costs) as participants from an EU Member State – nationality plays no role in the calculation of payments Alternatively - and unlike Member State participants - they may opt for a lump- sum payment

ICPCs The International Cooperation Partner Countries are defined as the countries that are classified as low or middle-income third countries. The ICPC countries are listed in Annex 1 to the Workprogramme. In short, they are: all the countries in the rest of Europe the developing countries overseas

Financing for non-ICPCs Organisations from third countries which are not on the ICPC list (i.e. the high-income countries overseas) can in exceptional circumstances be funded : if essential for carrying out the action if provided for in the Specific Programme decision or in the Workprogramme if provision for funding is provided for in a bilateral agreement between the European Union and that country

Non-ICPC countries All proposal Part Bs have a section under the “IMPLEMENTATION” evaluation criterion: Other countries: If a one or more of the participants requesting EU funding is based outside of the EU Member states, Associated countries and the list of International Cooperation Partner Countries, explain in terms of the project’s objectives why such funding would be essential

Opportunities for third country participation Some actions in a Workprogramme may specifically involve an international dimension, e.g. in ICT Coordination and Support Actions 1.4. Secure, dependable and trusted infrastructures 1.5. Networked media 1.6 New paradigms and experimental facilities 1.7. Critical infrastructure protection 3.1. Next generation nanoelectronics components and electronics integration 3.5. Photonic components and subsystems 3.7. Networked embedded and control systems 5.3. Virtual physiological human 6.2. ICT for cooperative systems 7.1. ICT and ageing 7.2. Accessible and inclusive ICT Collaborative Projects 3.3. Embedded systems design FET Open + Proactive Initiatives

Opportunities for third country participation Specific International Cooperation Actions (SICAs) These are international research actions explicitly identified in a theme’s Workprogramme, e.g. in ICT Call 1 in the objective ICT : “Advanced ICT for Risk Assessment and Patient Safety” (for cooperation with Latin America) Call 2 in the objective ICT : “ICT for Environmental Management and Energy Efficiency” They have a special minimum consortium requirement of 4 participants independent of each other, 2 in the EU or Associated states and 2 in the target region

Opportunities for third country participation International cooperation can be the subject of “horizontal” CSAs, e.g. in ICT Obj. 9.1 Identification and Promotion of cooperation opportunities, support for policy dialogues Identification of cooperation opportunities Promotion of ICT Programme Increasing visibility for EU funded projects Networking existing projects Strengthening policy dialogues with main partners Coordination with INCO actions under Capacities Support to coordination of national/international activities Development related ICT Cooperation Roadmaps Open Source Software Language and speech technologies Accessible and inclusive ICT

Electronic Submission The EPSS allows partners from anywhere in the world to participate in the writing of the proposal as easily as if they were co-located with their European partners If you are the proposal coordinator, you don’t have to stop preparation early to allow time for a courier to take your proposal to Europe Proposers who fail to submit successfully via the EPSS are those who waited till the last minute. If overseas, allow yourself even more time for the uploading and verification of your proposal Call deadlines are expressed in Brussels (Central European) time

Ethical issues The decision of the European Parliament and the Council concerning FP7 states that all research activities should respect fundamental ethical principles, including those reflected in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and take into account opinions of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) The inclusion of an overseas partner in a project cannot be used as a means to conduct research which would not be permitted within the EU

Support actions Support action proposals can be presented by a single organisation from a third country But remember: SA projects are focused activities to support the work of the EC staff in running the framework programme. They are not a third world aid programme As for all other instruments, for SAs we clearly define in the Workprogramme what actions we want. Proposals for activities not included in the Workprogramme are rejected without evaluation, as “out-of-scope” Support actions do not conduct S&T research. A research project disguised as a Support action will be recognised and rejected without evaluation

Finding European partners for Cooperation projects The EC supports: Information days and briefings in Brussels and elsewhere in Europe and worldwide Partner search facilities within the different themes e.g. for ICT And a network of National Contact Points in Europe and beyond: Your NCP will inform you of any national arrangements for funding proposal preparation or project participation