1. Introduction to the Marie Curie Industry- Academia Partnerships and Pathways (IAPP) Dr Dagmar Meyer Marie Curie National Contact Point University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008 www.iua.ie

2. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation2 Basic features of IAPP What are Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways (IAPP)? –simple funding mechanism for partnerships between public and private research organisations –based on a common research project designed to exploit complementary expertise and create synergies –bottom-up approach (no predefined priority areas) –project duration typically 4 years with the aim to develop long-term collaborations

3. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation3 What does the funding cover? Funding is provided for –exchange of know-how and experience through inter- sector secondments of research staff –research and networking activities Optionally: –recruitment of experienced researchers from outside the partnership, for transfer of knowledge and/or training of researchers –workshops and conferences involving external researchers –for SMEs: research equipment (up to 10% of the EC contribution for each SME participant) in duly justified cases

4. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation4 Success rates and funding level Experiences from first call (budget €38.5m): –only 102 proposals from across Europe, 2 with Irish coordinators –41 projects invited to negotiations, 5 on reserve list (success rate: 40% !!) –requested funding: ~ €0.25m to ~ €2m Budget for second call: €45m Deadline: 25 March 2008

5. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation5 Who can apply? Consortium composition – basic rules –at least two partners from two different Member States or Associated Countries –of these: one private sector / industry partner, one from the public sector –more partners can be added, from either sector, from any country (including Third Countries) –most common size 2-3 partners, rarely more than 6-7 partners (first call: 1 successful proposal with 13, one with 15 partners)

6. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation6 Definition of “industry partner” What counts as “private sector organisation / industrial partner”? –commercial enterprises (big or small companies; SMEs, spin-offs, start-ups etc. particularly encouraged) –national organisations (if operating on a commercial basis) Basic requirement (cf. Work Programme): –“Within this scheme, the industrial partners must be organisations operating on a commercial basis, i.e. companies gaining the majority of their revenue through competitive means with exposure to commercial markets.”

7. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation7 Definition of “public sector organisation” What counts as “public sector organisation”? –national organisations (e.g. universities & IoT’s, public non-commercial research centres etc.) –non-profit / charitable organisations (NGOs, trusts, etc.) –International European Interest Organisations (e.g. CERN, EMBL) –Joint Research Centre of the European Commission –International Organisations (e.g. WHO, UNESCO, etc.; funding subject to certain conditions) Any organisation that does not count as industry partner –if in doubt, contact us for clarification!

8. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation8 Location of participating organisations Where can the organisations be located? –Member States (MS) there are now 27 EU member states –Associated Countries (AC) Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Israel, Switzerland, Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey from January 2008: Montenegro and Albania –Third Countries (TC) more than 140 International Cooperation Partner Countries (ICPC), e.g. South Africa, India, China, Russia, … (can be fully funded) other Third Countries (OTC), e.g. USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, … (normally self-funded)

9. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation9 Staff secondments (I) Staff secondments between partners from different sectors –main focus of the scheme –researchers of any level of experience are eligible (including post-graduate students, e.g. for summer placements) –technical and managerial staff in well justified cases –no nationality restrictions, but in general the usual mobility condition applies –secondments must in general be trans-national, but up to 30% of person months in the consortium can be used for intra-national secondments

10. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation10 Staff secondments (II) Duration of secondments: –between 2 months and 2 years (cumulative over the lifetime of the project, can be split into shorter periods) Previous activity in the seconding organisation and reintegration –participating staff must have been active in seconding organisation for at least one year prior to the secondment –mandatory reintegration of at least one year after the final secondment period (not funded by the project)

11. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation11 Staff secondments (III) Balance between partners –ideally, secondments should be reasonably balanced between partners, but no expectation that they must be symmetrical as in one-for-one exchange One-way secondments not excluded if well justified (cf. Guide for Applicants): –“A consortium could make a good case for having more secondment months from one sector (a large university department for example) to the other sector (a small company, where researchers are relatively few). Moreover, projects with secondments in only one direction are not excluded where there is a clear mutual benefit for both sectors, and where the consortium duly justifies this one-way exchange.”

12. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation12 Recruitment of researchers Recruitment of researchers from outside the consortium –optional and must be justified –at the level of the consortium not more person months for recruitment than for secondments! –only experienced researchers are eligible (e.g. post- docs or senior researchers) –technical or managerial staff not eligible –duration 12 – 24 months (split stays possible in exceptional cases, e.g. for family reasons) –nationality and mobility conditions apply

13. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation13 Nationality and mobility conditions Nationality condition –recruited researchers cannot have the nationality of the host institution (no nationality condition for seconded researchers) –special rules in case of dual nationality or return to Europe after long stay in a Third Country Mobility condition –researchers/staff members must not have spent more than 12 months within the last 3 years prior to the secondment/recruitment in the host country International Organisations: –no nationality or mobility condition applies

14. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation14 Allowances to the researchers Living allowance (including all mandatory deductions) – basic rate submitted to country-specific correction coefficient (Ireland: 113.3) Experience levelEmployment contract (€/year) Stipend (€/year) Early Stage Researchers (e.g. post-graduate students)34,50017,250 Experienced Researchers with up to 10 years exp.53,00026,500 Experienced Researchers with >10 years experience79,50039,750 Mobility allowance (basic rate €500/€800 monthly, depending on family situation) Travel allowance (€250 - €2500 for every 12 months period or fraction thereof, depending on distance) Career exploratory allowance (€2,000 once, only for newly recruited researchers)

15. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation15 Contributions to the consortium members (I) Contribution for the execution of the partnership project/programme –€800 per person month, covering: –costs associated to the publication of vacancies –internal training actions –participation in research and transfer of knowledge activities (research costs, participation meeting and conference attendance, etc) –contribution to the expenses related to the co-ordination between participants (partnership meetings, detachment of staff, etc)

16. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation16 Contributions to the consortium members (II) Contribution to the organisation of international conferences, workshops and events open to participants outside the partnership –€300 per researcher day (from outside the partnership), covering: –organisational expenses (invitation of keynote speakers, publications, rental of premises, web casting) –participation fees of researchers from outside the partnership

17. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation17 Contributions to the consortium members (III) Management activities –max. 3% of total Community contribution Overheads –10% of direct costs except subcontracting for SMEs: –research equipment (up to 10% of the EC contribution for each SME participant) in duly justified cases

18. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation18 Indicative timetable for IAPP scheme Publication of call 30 November 2007 Deadline for submission of proposals 25 March 2008, at 17:00:00 Brussels time (i.e. 16:00:00 Irish time!!) Evaluation of proposalsMay 2008 Evaluation Summary Reports sent to proposal coordinators July 2008 Invitation for contract negotiationsJuly 2008 Letter to unsuccessful candidatesfrom July 2008 Signature of first contractsfrom October 2008

19. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation19 Submission procedure Only electronic submission using EPSS (Electronic Proposal Submission Service) Proposal has two parts: –Part A: administrative information about proposal, coordinator and partner institutions (prepared forms) –Part B: free text covering a number of predefined aspects of the project, limited number of pages (prescribed font size and margins), limited size of pdf-file Deadline is STRICTLY enforced

20. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation20 Evaluation criteria – basic principles Evaluation according to criteria provided in the Guide for Applicants Different criteria carry different weights Thresholds for some evaluation criteria Overall threshold is 70% All issues need to be addressed! Don’t waste your chances. Always keep in mind the objectives of the activity!

21. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation21 Evaluation process All proposals undergo initial eligibility check Evaluation by at least three experts from an international pool (not all experts are exactly from your field of speciality!!) Proposals that miss a threshold are rejected Remaining proposals are ranked within each panel All applicants receive evaluation summary report (very useful for re-submission!!) Distribution of funding to different panels in proportion to proposals submitted Reserve lists in case of late withdrawal etc.

22. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation22 Evaluation criteria CriterionThreshold (out of 5)Weighting (%) S&T Quality325 Transfer of Knowledge320 Implementation325 Impact-30 Overview:

23. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation23 IAPP – S&T Quality S&T objectives of the research programme, including in terms of intersectoral issues. Scientific quality of the joint collaborative research programme. Appropriateness of the research methodology. Originality and innovative aspects of the research programme; knowledge of the state-of- the-art. Weight: 25%, Threshold: 3/5

24. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation24 IAPP – Transfer of Knowledge Quality of the transfer of knowledge programme; consistency with the research programme. Importance of the transfer of knowledge in terms of intersectoriality. Adequacy of the role of researchers exchanged and recruited from outside the partnership with respect to the transfer of knowledge programme. Weight: 20%, Threshold: 3/5

25. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation25 IAPP – Implementation Capacities (expertise / human resources / facilities / infrastructure) to achieve the research and exchange of know-how and experience. Fit between capacity of host and size of support requested. Adequate exploitation of complementarities and synergies among partners in terms of transfer of knowledge. Appropriateness of management plans (recruitment strategy, IPR strategy, demarcation of responsibilities, rules for decision making etc…). How essential is non-ICPC Third Country participation, if any, to the objectives of the knowledge transfer programme. Weight: 25%, Threshold: 3/5

26. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation26 IAPP – Impact Provision to develop new intersectoral and lasting collaboration. Strategy for the dissemination and facilitation of sharing of knowledge and culture between the participants and external researchers (including international workshops, training events). Extent to which SMEs contribute to the project. In case of SME participation: Adequacy of the available infrastructure for the performance of the project. In case extra equipment is requested, necessity and justification in the context of the partnership. Weight: 30%, Threshold: none

27. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation27 Experiences from first call Out of 102 proposals evaluated, 36 (35%) failed to achieve one or more of the required thresholds: –13 failed the “S&T” criterion –19 failed the “Transfer of Knowledge” criterion –16 failed the “Implementation” criterion –34 failed the overall threshold of 70% applied to the total score

28. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation28 More information Official website of the FP7 “People” (Marie Curie) programme on CORDIS: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/people/ Follow the link to “Find calls for this activity” to download the Work Programme 2008 and the Guide for Applicants 2008 Deadline: 25 March 2008

29. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation29 EI support for FP7 applicants: travel grants Enterprise Ireland travel support: –for researchers in higher education / publicly funded institutions –for visits by Irish researchers abroad to meet potential partners or attendance at EU information days/workshops relating to FP7 –covers least-cost travel plus subsistence rates up to € 150 per day (typical length of visits: three days) –during the period of FP7, any one researcher can receive up to € 3,000 to facilitate multiple visits to research partners (open to discussion!)

30. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation30 EI support for FP7 applicants: coordination grants Enterprise Ireland coordinator support: –for researchers in higher education / publicly funded institutions –to facilitate preparatory work leading to a proposal for the coordination of any research project under FP7 –grants up to a maximum of € 25,000 –for coordinator (or internal approved staff) least cost travel and subsistence expenses, costs of hosting meetings, communication costs with consortium members, employment of researcher for short-term analysis, professional services in preparation of application, strategy development and planning –replacement teaching costs in well justified cases

31. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation31 EI support for FP7 applicants: feasibility studies Enterprise Ireland financial support for companies: –covers company negotiations with research partners and/or preparation of joint R&D proposal for FP7 –covers all areas (incl. Social Sciences etc.) –grants to SMEs and High Potential Start-ups up to a maximum of € 25,000 (with equal investment by the company) –under review – support for multinationals?

32. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation32 EI support for FP7 applicants: more details More details on Enterprise Ireland FP7 support schemes and application form: http://www.enterprise- ireland.com/FP7/Financial+Support.htm

33. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation33 Meeting room facilities in Brussels Irish Liaison Office for EU RTD meeting room bookings: Catriona Ward EU R&D Liaison Office Park Leopold Rue Wiertz 50 Wiertzstraat Bruxelles 1050 Brussel Tel. +32 (0)2 673 9866 catriona.ward@enterprise-ireland.com

34. University of Limerick, January 17 th 2008An Irish Universities Association Presentation34 Marie Curie key contacts in Ireland IUA Marie Curie Office – National Contact Point/National Delegate Dr. Dagmar Meyer - dagmar.meyer@iua.iedagmar.meyer@iua.ie Dr. Conor O’Carroll - conor.ocarroll@iua.ieconor.ocarroll@iua.ie mariecurie@iua.ie +353-(0)1-6764948 Enterprise Ireland – National Contact Point Bill Kee - Focus on Industry bill.kee@enterprise-ireland.com +353-(0)1-8082277