7 December 2007CERN-EU Office1 Svet Stavrev Office of EU Relations, CERN First FP7 Call for Integrating Activity projects*  IA as support to existing research infrastructures in FP7  Purpose and elements of IA projects  Structure of IA projects  Evaluation criteria for this Call  Some elements for consideration for a successful proposal * Main sources of information: the 2008 RI Work programme, the Guide for IA Applicants, presentations from the EC

7 December 2007CERN-EU Office2 Support to research infrastructures in FP7  EC definition for “research infrastructures”: “facilities”, “resources” and related “services” that are needed by the research community to conduct research in all scientific and technological fields.  In FP7 ( ), funding at the level of 1.7 B€ has been reserved for Research Infrastructures in the “Capacities” Programme. Managed by DG Research and DG INFSO.  e-infrastructures (GEANT, Grid) part of this programme (managed by DG INFSO).  As in FP6, the will be support for existing and for new research infrastructures, based on successful FP6 instruments and some novel elements.

7 December 2007CERN-EU Office3 Support to existing Research Infrastructures  Implemented through Integrating Activities for promoting the coherent use and development of Research Infrastructures in a given field, with:  A bottom-up approach for proposals open to all fields of science (particle physics is here)  A targeted approach* with topics defined in synergy with the thematic areas from the Cooperation Programme (heath, nanoscience, energy, transport, etc.) * FP7 novelty, way of introducing “privileged” topics?!  A budget of 580 M€ for the Integrating Activity Calls, closing in 2008, 2010, and 2012.

7 December 2007CERN-EU Office4 FP7-INFRASTRUCTURES  The first FP7 Call for IA projects was published on 30 November:  deadline for submission is 29 Feb 2008 (12-2=10 weeks left!)  budget of ~ 280 MEUR (90 MEUR from the 2008 budget)  29 “targeted” topics identified in the Work Programme  2 ranking lists for the “targeted” and “bottom-up” proposals without predefined budget envelopes  For the EC, the accelerator and detector communities belong to the same field of particle physics.  Very difficult to get two large PP projects funded. The accelerator IA will ask for the maximum EC funding of 15 M€.  How much EC funding to ask for the detector IA project is a key question that needs very careful consideration.

7 December 2007CERN-EU Office5 Integrating Activity projects in FP7  A collaboration of existing Research Infrastructures in a given field of science  Normally all major RI in Europe in the field (to avoid fragmentation)  Research facilities, laboratories, universities, industry, SMEs,...  Based on the successful FP6 instrument “I3” = Integrated Infrastructure Initiatives (such as EUDET)  Objectives:  To provide a wider and more efficient access to, and use of the existing research infrastructures in Europe  Better integration of the way RI operate, and fostering joint development in terms of capacity and performance  Three types of activities obligatory for each project:  Networking activities  Trans-national Access and/or Service activities  Joint Research activities

7 December 2007CERN-EU Office6 Joint Research Activities  Collaborative R&D activities in fields of common interest to (some of) the participating RIs  Should be innovative and explore new technologies and/or techniques for the efficient and joint use of the participating RIs  Should aim to improve the services provided by the infrastructures (in quality and/or quantity)  Examples (non-exhaustive list):  Prototype development  Development and testing of new components, subsystems, materials, and techniques  Development of higher performance instrumentation  Development of software, middleware, algorithms and protocols  Creation and upgrade of databases

7 December 2007CERN-EU Office7 Networking Activities  Activities aiming to foster co-operation and networking between the participants and the scientific communities benefiting from the research infrastructures  Forms of activities (non-exhaustive list):  Towards the users: training, studies, feedback, coordination…  Towards good practice: exchange of personnel and visits, common standards, protocols, …  Towards virtual infrastructures: web-sites, common software, databases, data management…  Towards communication and dissemination: technical workshops, conferences, forums, working groups…  Towards coordination: contacts and coordination with related national or international initiatives and approaches

7 December 2007CERN-EU Office8 Trans-national Access  Opening of the RIs and providing (additional) trans-national access of researchers or research teams to one or more infrastructures among those operated by the participants  "Hands on“ access and on-site experiments (e.g. test beams)  Remote access (e.g. sending of samples, sample analysis, etc.)  EC contribution based on the estimated cost of units of access which may include the operational costs of the RI, but not capital investments. Example: a unit cost of 20 k€ for 2 day access to a test beam  EC contribution may not exceed 20% of annual operating cost of each infrastructure (not to make it dependent on the IA)  Travel and subsistence for the users are not included in the unit cost and may be reimbursed separately.  TNA should be advertised and subject to peer review.

7 December 2007CERN-EU Office9 Service Activities  Aiming to provide research infrastructures related services to the scientific community.  Examples (non-exhaustive list):  Remote access to distributed infrastructures  Services provided through electronic means  Data and resources management  Essential component of the e-infrastructure I3 projects (managed by DG INFSO and under the old FP6 name)  Not necessary for each IA project

7 December 2007CERN-EU Office10 Structure of IA projects 1/2  Several Work Packages, which belong to one of the following categories of activities (a kind of label attached to each WP): Management (consortium management, contractual and financial follow-up, audit certificates, etc.).  EC contribution up to 100% of the eligible costs. RTD (Joints Research Activities)  EC contribution up to 75% of the eligible costs (50% for industrial partners). Coordination ( Networking Activities)  EC contribution up to 100% of the eligible costs. Support (Trans-national access and/or Service activities)  EC contribution up to 100% of the eligible costs.

7 December 2007CERN-EU Office11 Structure of IA projects 2/2 WP1. Project Management (MGT) WP2. Networking Activity 1 (COORD) WPx. Trans. Access / Service Activity 1 (SUPP)   WPy. Joint Research Activity 1 (RTD)   Usually 8 to 12 WPs in total

7 December 2007CERN-EU Office12  Duration: 4 years max  Number of contractors: 20 (FP6 average)  FP6 Experience shows that projects with more than 20 contractors are difficult to manage  Not all partners need to be contractors  EC contribution:  Most of the projects expected to be funded well below 10 M€  In justified cases (e.g. facilities serving exceptionally broad user communities) up to 15 M€  Total budget:  Usually 2-3 times the EC contribution (indicative) Expected size of FP7 IA projects

7 December 2007CERN-EU Office13 Evaluation criteria for IA projects 1/3 Three evaluation criteria, marked with 0 to 5 points each.  S&T quality -soundness of concept and quality of objectives -progress beyond the state of the art -quality and effectiveness of the Networking Activities and associated work plan -quality and effectiveness of the Trans-national access and/or Services, and the associated work plan -quality and effectiveness of the Joint Research Activities, and the associated work plan

7 December 2007CERN-EU Office14 Evaluation criteria for IA projects 2/3  Implementation -Management structure and procedures -Quality and relevent experience of the individual participants -Complementarity, balance and critical mass of the Consortium -Appropriate allocation and justification of resources (budget, staff, equipment)

7 December 2007CERN-EU Office15 Evaluation criteria for IA projects 3/3  Impact -Contribution towards structuring the ERA and use and development of the best research infrastructures in Europe -Measures for dissemination and/or exploitation of project results and knowledge, and IPR management  All sub-criteria need to be adequately addressed.  Thresholds: 3/5 for each criterion. 10/15 for the total score.  Funding threshold: in competitive Calls may be 12.5/15 or even higher!

7 December 2007CERN-EU Office16 Keys for a successful proposal Some key elements for a successful proposal:  Focus on the objectives of the Call  Try to propose activities that match well the objectives for IA projects, specified in the Work Programme and the Guide for Applicants.  Efficient proposal preparation team (2-3 editors + the WP Leaders)  Consult previous successful proposal as sources of inspiration, not for “copy & paste” only.  There are differences between FP6 and FP7!  Address well all evaluation criteria (they have equal weight!)  Follow closely the instructions from the Guide for Applicants (usually written to match the evaluation criteria)  Choice of Coordinator and Coordinating Institution  Previous experience in EU projects is a must, as well as good support units/services from the coordinating institution.