The ERA.Net RUS Pilot Joint Call on Collaborative S&T projects

The ERA.Net RUS Pilot Joint Call on Collaborative S&T projects Dr Martine Bonin Russian Academy of Sciences, Ekaterinburg 1 March 2011

Topics Background Information Main features of the PJC/STP Thematic focus for the PJC/STP Eligible institutions and duration of S&T projects Eligibility of proposals Funding rules Allowable Project costs Submission of proposals Evaluation and Selection of Proposals Decision making by the Group of Funding Parties Project contracts and project monitoring The National Contact Points (NCPs) Tentative time schedule

1. Background Information (I) Programme owners from Russian Federation, EU Member States and Associated Countries agreed to implement coordinated Pilot Joint Calls in the frame of the ERA.Net RUS project:for Innovation projects and for S&T collaborative projects. For each Call, different Programme Owners expressed their interest and became members of the respective Groups of Funding Parties (GFP) The GFPs agreed to be provided with operational services by the ERA.Net RUS project. In particular, a Joint Call Secretariat (JCS) is entrusted the operational management of the Joint Calls. The International Bureau of the German federal Ministry of Education and Research is the hosting institution of the JCS. A mirror Russian Secretary has been established for implementing the Call on S&T projects in Russia in close communication and cooperation with the JCS. Each Funding Party will nominated a National Contact Point for communicating and disseminating information on the PJC at national level. They will help applicants finding partners and checking eligibility.

1. Background Information (II) Detailed rules and procedures for the Calls implementation are described in a set of reference documents: An Implementation Agreement The Terms of Reference for the Joint Call Secretariat The Terms of Reference for each of the Joint Calls (Innovation and S&T projects) Having agreed upon the ToRs, the interested Funding Parties will sign the Implementation Agreement confirming their participation in the call and readiness to contribute funding. For Innovation projects, participating countries are: Germany, Greece, Israel, Russia, Switzerland and Turkey For S&T projects, participating countries are: Estonia, Finland, France (2FP), Germany, Israel, Norway, Poland, Russia (6FPs), Spain, Switzerland and Turkey.

1. Background information (III)The GFP for S&T collaborative projects Russia Russian Academy of sciences (Centre + 3 regional branches) Russian Foundation for Basic Research Russian Foundation for Humanities European Research Area Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany) CNRS and Ministry of Higher Education and Research (France) Academy of Finland Research Council of Norway General Secretariat for Research and Technology (Greece) Scientific and Technological Research Council (Turkey) Swiss Secretariat for Education and Research (Switzerland) Estonian Science Foundation The National Centre for R&D (Poland) Ministry of Science and Innovation (Spain)

1. Background information (IV) Having agreed upon the ToRs, the interested Funding Parties will sign an Implementation Agreement confirming their participation in the call and readiness to contribute funding. The Pilot Joint Call for Collaborative S&T Projects (PJC/STP) is foreseen to be launched on 15th March 2011 and to be closed on 31 May 2011. It will be implemented through a coordinated funding scheme whereby each funding party will fund its own teams within a multilateral project (“Virtual Common Pot”). The total indicative financial contribution will be of € 5.500.000. The financial contributions of each Member of the GFP/STP will be topped-up by a share of INTAS’ funds on a pro-rata basis.

2. Main features of the PJC/STP By Collaborative S&T projects is meant a joint undertaking by a partnership of institutions designed to produce new knowledge through experimental and/or theoretical scientific research. Main goal is to create long-term, high-standard, research collaboration between EU MS:AC and Russia Collaborative S&T projects will address research themes in the thematic scope They may include dedicated measures to en,hance mobility, exchanges and access to medium/large scale infrastructures Applicants may be higher education and research entities and companies

3. Thematic Focus for the PJC/STP (I) 1. Innovative materials and cutting edge technological processes- ultrahigh-power laser sources- intelligent materials and nanomaterials- quantum optics 2. Environmental research and climatic change-biodiversity and ecophysiology of natural ecosystems- climate change in the arctic and subarctic regions- material sciences connected with energy convergion and storage

3. Thematic Focus for the PJC/STP (II) 3. Research on serious human health problems - viral infections: HIV and Hepatitis - auto-immune diseases neurodegenerative diseases 4. Contemporary socio-economic studies - Social security systems and welfare state (in the context of globalization) - Labour, labour market, and employment - Transformation of the educational system

4. Eligible institutions and Duration of S&T projects Eligible institutions and consortia: Applicants must be eligible for funding by their respective national Funding Party. They can be higher education and research entities and companies. Eligible consortia must comprise project partners from at least three different countries, of which at least one from Russia. These project partners must be eligible for funding by their respective national Party which are members of the Group of Funding Parties Duration: The duration of a project must be up to 24 months.

5. Eligibility of Proposals (I) Proposals must: Be in the scope of the call Meet the consortium composition requirements Be submitted by at least 3 applicants from 3 different countries which are eligible to receive funding from their national members of the GFP Comply with the allowed duration Comply with the funding requirements Comply with the terms of the submission procedure Be complete according to the rules described in the Terms of Reference Be submitted in the English language Meet the submission deadline

5. Eligibility of proposals (II) The Joint Call Secretariat in consultation with the Funding Parties checks that Proposals meet the eligibility, according to their national regulations. Only Proposals meeting all eligibility criteria will be processed by the Joint Call Secretariat. Non eligible proposals will be rejected. Applicants are advised to contact their National Contact Points before submission, to check their national eligibility.

6. Funding rules The funding will depend on each funding party. The funding of a Collaborative S&T Project will depend on the nature and duration of the proposed activities and must be justified in terms of the resources needed to achieve the objectives of the project. In case an institution/partner cannot receive its funding from its national funding organisation in a selected project, this specific project will not be retained for funding, unless this partner agrees to fund its total share on its own budget.

7. Allowable Project costs Allowable project costs might differ for individual partners in a project depending on national regulations of their respective Funding Party. National regulations of the Funding Parties will be made available in an Annex of National Eligibility and Funding Rules. Funding might cover: Labour costs of the research staff and other personnel; Personnel exchange (travel expenses) Costs related to organising seminars and workshops within the project Acquisition of material and small-scale equipment Overhead costs Other relevant costs

8. Submission of Proposals (I) Proposals will be submitted, evaluated and decided upon by the Group of Funding Parties according to the procedures described in the ToRs. Only submissions through the on-line submission system “PT-Outline” will be accepted. Practical information will be made available in the Guidelines for applicants. In case additional help is needed, applicants may contact the JCS or the mirror Russian secretariat, or their National Contact Points.

8. Submission of Proposals (II) Structure of the Proposal: General Information (Proposal details, summary, background and R&D objectives, project description etc.) Team information (project coordinator, members etc.) Project management (overall coordination, distribution of work etc.) Breakdown of costs (for each team) Impact of project results

9. Evaluation and selection of proposals (I) The selection of the proposals for funding is based on an international, independent peer-review procedure. A dedicated pool of evaluators appointed by the GFP/STP, consisting of external independent experts, assesses anonymously the merits of the submitted proposals (three evaluators per proposal). The JCS will establish a preliminary ranking list based on the scores obtained by each proposal. The Scientific and Innovation Council, consisting of high level scientific experts appointed by the GFPs, will prepare a revised ranking list, including a reserve list with a funding recommendation to the GFP/STP. The final funding decision rests with the Group of Funding Parties.

9. Evaluation and selection of proposals (II) Rating criteria: (I) Scientific Merit of the project (40%) (II) Expected Impact of the Results (25%) (III) Quality of the consortium (15%) (IV) Quality of the project management (15%) (V) Quality of the presentation of the Proposal (5%)

9. Evaluation and selection of proposals (III) Each criterion may be awarded a maximum of 5 points according to the following scale: 5: Excellent 4: Good 3: Fair 2: Poor 1: Very poor 0: Not relevant Maximum score is 5 The threshold is 3 points out of 5 for criteria (I)  (IV)

9. Evaluation and selection of proposals (IV) The Scientific and Innovation Council will: consolidate the results of the evaluation make recommendations to the GFP/STP in terms of a short list of Proposals proposed for funding. The Council will in particular consider proposals that have received an abnormally broad span of scores from the evaluators and will also prioritize between proposals having received the same score. report to the GFP/STP which makes the decision on the final list of projects to be funded and on a reserve list of projects eligible for funding. The final funding decision rests with the Group of Funding Parties.

10. Decision making by the Group of Funding Parties The members of the GFP/STP will take the final decision on the Proposals on a consensus basis. A concluding meeting of the GFP/IP will be convened and supported by the JCS. The Funding Parties will check the eligibility of requested funds against national funding rules and return an estimated national budget for each project based on their own national regulations. The minutes of the meeting will be prepared by the JCS and finally adopted by the GFP/STP. The results are binding for the members of the GFP/STP. The JCS will inform the applicants about the results of the evaluation process and successful applicants about the next steps.

11. Project contract and project monitoring (I) For each Collaborative S&T Project approved for funding, two contracts will be executed in parallel: an Umbrella Project Contract to be signed on the one hand by the Joint Call Secretariat on behalf of the GFP/STP and on the other hand by the Coordinating institution on behalf of the project consortium. a National Contract/Grant Agreement to be signed between each participating institution in a consortium and its corresponding Funding Party in case these organisations are two separate legal entities.

11. Project contract and project monitoring (II) The Umbrella Contract: will regulate horizontal issues of relevance for the whole project consortium It will set forth general terms and conditions of cooperation in the project including the signing of a Consortium Agreement and an agreement on the fair management of Intellectual Property Rights The Umbrella project Contract will set out the reporting duties of the Coordinating institution on behalf of the consortium as a whole. The National Contract: will regulate the transfer of funds to national beneficiaries based on national regulations. will establish the legal ground for project funding at national level according to the rules and regulations of the respective Funding Party.

12. National Contact Points (NCPs) National Contact Points (NCPs) are constituted by representatives of the funding parties. They are in charge of: Implementing the ERA.Net-RUS Pilot Joint Call Giving applicants detailed information on the Call (eligibility, submission rules, PT-Outline, evaluation criteria, etc.) Helping them with partner search Communicating and disseminating information on the Call at national level To contact your National Contact Point:: http://www.eranet-rus.eu/en/175.php

13. Tentative Timeschedule

Thank you for your attention! Dr Martine Bonin CNRS - Europe of Research and International Cooperation Office Phone : +33 1 44 96 51 53 martine.bonin@cnrs-dir.fr http://www.cnrs.fr/dri-dae

The ERA.Net RUS Pilot Joint Call on Collaborative S&T projects