1. ESS Cooperation: New Financial supporting frameworks?
Susanne Taillemite
Eurostat Finance management Unit
3rd Meeting of the ESS Resource Directors Group
Luxembourg, 17th June 2015

2. Purpose
Provide further information on some cooperation models offered by the EU legal framework in force, but not currently in use for the ESP
Models need to be confronted with concrete cooperation needs
Review includes indicative examples and potential limitations

3. Overview of tools European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC)
Indirect Management by National Agencies
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)
Operating Grants: Reminder

4. 1. European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC)
The main goal is to "establish and operate a large research infrastructure"
Setting up:
Members can be Member States, other countries, international organisations
The initiative has to come from Member States
An ERIC is established by a Commission decision based on a proposal to establish the European Consortium
A European consortium could qualify for grants funding
Limitation: The existing legal framework (Council Regulation 723/2009) is set up to facilitate research infrastructure

5. 1. European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC)
Example of an ERIC: the European Social Survey (ESS):
Academically driven cross-national survey conducted every two years across Europe since 2001.
Status of ERIC since the end 2013.
Main aims of the ESS:
Promote higher standards of rigour in cross-national research in social sciences
Introduce soundly-based indicators of national progress
Facilitate training
Improve visibility and outreach
Funding:
Via Member and Observer contributions to central costs and to national participation costs.

6. 2. Indirect management by National Agencies
The Commission may delegate budget execution tasks (such as the organisation of procurement and grants procedures) to National agencies.
The system is typically used to manage large-scale programmes (ex: ERASMUS)
Indirect management is foreseen by the Financial Regulation, but not currently by the ESP Regulation.
Limitations: National agencies could not be recipients of the money, they act as "distributors" under supervisory control by the Commission.

7. 3. Public-private partnerships (PPP)
A PPP is a form of collaboration between the public and the private sector, with the financial participation of both.
A PPP can take many different forms. Common element: co-participation of public and private entities to create infrastructures or provide services.
Main advantages:
Facilitating projects in the public interest
Sharing financial risk and reducing costs
Supporting innovation, research and development through competition and commitments from private enterprises

8. 3. Public-private partnerships (PPP)
Many PPPs currently in place in the research sector (Horizon 2020)
In 2016, a "Big Data" PPP will be launched
Partnership between the Commission and the Big Data Value Association linking up European industry, researchers and academia.
Investments are expected to reach around €2.5 billion over
Setting-up requires among others:
Considerable financial resources and complex financial arrangements
Existence of private partners willing to participate and invest time and resources in the partnership

9. 4. Operating grants: Reminder
Grants to support an organisation and its activities in general
Foreseen by ESP (to cover up to 50% of the costs), not yet applied.
Possible applications of operating grants:
Co-financing a collaborative network developed on a more permanent structure having the appropriate legal capacity and aiming the modernisation of statisticalproduction
Co-financing an organization whose annual work programme is related to the implementation of the European Code of Practice
They cannot be assured for an unlimited/indeterminate duration