The ICT Theme in FP7 How to participate to ICT in FP 7

1
The ICT Theme in FP7 How to participate to ICT
in FP 7

• 1. The Rules of the Programme
• ICT Conference
• Moscow, 21 October, 2008

2
FP7 basic principles

• Proposals can only be submitted in response to
  publicly-announced calls for proposals
  http//cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict
• All proposals are presented by multinational
  consortia of organisations/individuals
• Proposals are evaluated by independent experts
• All proposal coordinators receive an Evaluation
  Summary Report
• Funding follows successful evaluation, selection
  and negotiation of grant agreement
• except certain Support actions

3
Overview

• Content
• Minimum conditions for participation
• Consortia
• Grant agreement
• Community financial contribution
• Forms of grants
• Reimbursement of eligible costs
• Indirect costs
• Maximum funding rates
• Guarantee mechanism
• Risk-sharing Finance Facility European
  Investment Bank (EIB)
• Intellectual Property Rights

4
Minimum consortia

• Three independent legal entities from three
  different EU Member States or Associated
  countries (presently Albania (AL), Croatia (HR),
  Iceland (IC), Israel (IL), Liechtenstein (LI),
  FYR of Macedonia (MK), Montenegro (ME), Norway
  (NO), Serbia (SR), Switzerland (CH), Turkey (TR)
  Bosnia-Herzegovina (BA), Faeroe Islands (FO)
  under negotiation
• EEIGs composed of members that meet the criteria
  above can participate
• International (intergovernmental) organisations
  can participate
• Participants from third countries if in addition
  to minima
• Collaborative projects for specific cooperation
  actions (SICA) dedicated to international
  cooperation partner countries (ICPC) minimum 4
  participants of which 2 in different MS or AC and
  2 in different ICPC countries unless otherwise
  specified
• Support actions no restrictions

5
Community funding

• Eligibility for Funding
• Legal entities from MS and AC or created under
  Community law (and the JRC)
• International European interest organisations
• Legal entities established in international
  cooperation partner countries (ICPC-INCO)
• Russia is an ICPC country so organisations from
  Russia get funding from the EU
• and
• Legal entities established in 3rd countries other
  than ICPC-INCO, if provided for in SP or WP or
  if essential for carrying out action or if
  provision for funding is provided for in a
  bilateral agreement between Community and that
  country

6
Reimbursement of eligible costs

• Cost reporting models eliminated all
  participants report direct and indirect
  (overhead) eligible costs
• Eligible costs
• Actual
• Incurred during the project
• Determined according to usual accounting and
  management principles/practices
• Used solely to achieve project objectives
• Consistent with principles of economy, efficiency
  and effectiveness
• Recorded in accounts (or the accounts of third
  parties)
• Exclusive of non-eligible costs
• Average personnel costs may be used if consistent
  with above and do not differ significantly from
  actual - but only if a certificate on the way to
  calculate the average costs is submitted

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Direct costs IP, STREP, NoE

• Research and technological development
  activities 50 funding of eligible costs
  except for
• Public bodies (non-profit) 75
• Secondary and higher education establishments
  75
• Research organisations (non-profit) 75
• Small and Medium sized Enterprises - SMEs 75
• Demonstration activities 50 of eligible costs
  
• Other activities 100 including e.g.
  consortium management, dissemination,
  certification costs
• Direct costs CA, SA
• Coordination and support actions 100

8
Indirect costs IP, STREP, NoE

• Any participant
• Actual indirect costs (participants may use a
  simplified method of calculation)
• or
• Flat-rate of direct eligible costs excluding
  subcontracts (to be established by the Commission
  currently 20)
• Non-profit public bodies, secondary and higher
  education establishments, research organisations
  and SMEs unable to identify real indirect costs
• Flat-rate of 60 of total direct eligible costs
  (for calls closing before the end of 2009, i. e.
  ICT calls 4 and 5)
• Flat rate of minimum 40, to be established by
  the Commission (as of calls closing after the 1/1
  2010, i. e. ICT call 6)
• Indirect costs CA, SA
• Flat rate of indirect costs 7

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Lump sum option for ICPC in FP7

• If lump sum option is chosen maximum EC
  contribution is a function of
• The economy of the ICPC
• The number of persons-years requested for the
  project by the legal entity
• The funding scheme of the project
• The legal status and activity type of the legal
  entity established in the ICPC

10
Lump sum contribution per ICPC country income
group
11
Lump sum examples for ICPCs in Upper Middle
Income group
12
Guarantee mechanism and RSFF

• Commission will establish and operate a
  Participant guarantee fund
• Contribution to guarantee fund of 5 of the EC
  contribution by each participant, to be returned
  at the end of the project
• Guarantee fund replaces all other forms of
  financial guarantees
• Risk Sharing Finance Facility. The Community
  award a grant to the European Investment Bank to
  cover risk of loans or guarantees in support of
  research objectives set out under FP7
• The EIB shall provide these loans or guarantees
  in a fair, transparent, impartial and equal way

13
Intellectual Property Provisions
Ownership each participant owns the foreground
it generates Joint ownership in absence of a
specific agreement, a default regime applies any
joint owner is entitled to grant non-exclusive
licenses to third parties, without any right to
sub-licence, subject to prior notification and
fair and reasonable compensation to the other
owner(s) Transfer of ownership of
foregroundPrior notification in principle only
to the other participants who may waive their
rights to be notified in advance regarding
specific third parties (requirement to notify
Commission may be in grant agreement, Commission
may object to transfers or exclusive licenses to
third parties established in non-associated
countries for ethical, competitiveness or
security reasons)
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Intellectual Property Provisions

• Protection, use, dissemination (publication)
• Foreground capable of industrial or commercial
  application must be protected taking into account
  legitimate interests
• Owner of foreground who does not wish to protect
  may transfer the foreground to another
  participant or an (affiliate) entity established
  in a Member State or associated country or to the
  Commission
• Foreground must be used and disseminated
• Notice of dissemination (including publication)
  to be given to other participants (not to
  Commission unless no protection)
• Publications and patent applications must
  indicate the Community financial assistance

15
Intellectual PropertyProvisions
Unless otherwise foreseen, an affiliate
entity established in a MS or AC will also enjoy
such access rights
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Proposals and projects in FP7

• 2. The Funding schemes

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3 Funding Schemes 5 project types

• Collaborative Projects (CP) (gt90 of the budget
  in ICT)
• Large-scale integrating projects (IP)
• Ambitious objective-driven research via
  Programme Approach
• Addressing multiple issues
• Generally multi-component and multi-disciplinary
• 10-20 participants, 3-5 years, 4-25 M funding
• Small or medium scale focused research actions
  (STREP)
• Well defined on single focused issue
• Project approach
• Mainly mono-disciplinary
• Single component
• 5-10 participants, 2-3 years, 1-4 M funding
• Networks of Excellence (NoE) (5 of the budget
  in ICT)
• Coordination and Support Actions (CSA) (lt5 of
  budget)
• Coordinating or networking actions (CA)
• Support actions (SA)

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Integrating Projects (IPs)

• Activities in an Integrating Project may cover
• research and technology development activities
• demonstration activities
• technology transfer or take-up activities
• training activities
• dissemination activities
• knowledge management and exploitation
• consortium management activities
• other activities
• An Integrating Project comprises
• a coherent set of activities
• and an appropriate management structure

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Focused projects (STREPs)

• Targeting a specific objective in a clearly
  defined project approach
• Fixed overall work plan with stable deliverables
  that do not change over the life-time of the
  project
• Contain two types of activity or combination of
  the two
• A research and technological development activity
  designed to generate new knowledge to improve
  competitiveness and/or address major societal
  needs /or
• A demonstration activity designed to prove the
  viability of new technologies offering potential
  economic advantages but which can not be
  commercialised directly (e. g. testing of product
  like prototypes)
• as well as
• Consortium management activities (including
  innovation related activities like protection of
  knowledge dissemination and exploitation

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Networks of excellence

• NoEs are an instrument to overcome the
  fragmentation of the European research landscape
  in a given area and remove the barriers to
  integration
• Their purpose is to reach a durable restructuring
  and integration of efforts and institutions or
  parts of institutions
• The success of an NoE is not measured in terms of
  scientific results
• ..but by the extent to which the social fabric
  for researchers and research institutions in a
  field has changed due to the project,
• .and the extent to which the existing capacities
  become more competitive as a result of this change

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Networks of excellence

• The JPA contains a range of additional to normal
  business activities
• Integrating activities
• coordinated programming of the partners
  activities
• sharing of research platforms/tools/facilities
• joint management of the knowledge portfolio
• staff mobility and exchanges
• relocation of staff, teams, equipment
• reinforced electronic communication systems
• Activities to support the networks goals
• Development of new research tools and platforms
  for common use
• Generating new knowledge to fill gaps in or
  extend the collective knowledge portfolio
• Activities to spread excellence
• training researchers and other key staff
• dissemination and communication activities
• networking activities to help transfer knowledge
  to outside of the network
• where appropriate, promoting the exploitation of
  the results generated
• where appropriate, innovation-related activities
• Consortium management activities

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Funding schemes in ICT

• The Commission never changes instruments. A
  proposal submitted to us as an IP is evaluated
  using the IP evaluation criteria, and is ranked
  against the other IP proposals submitted in the
  call
• So be sure you are using the right instrument for
  your project idea !

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Proposals and projects in FP7

• 3. Submission and selection

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Information for proposers

• Workprogramme 2009-2010
• Guides for Applicants
• now including the Guidance notes for evaluators
  and the Background note on the funding scheme
• Evaluation forms with notes
• EPSS manual
• Model grant agreement

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Pre-proposal checks

• Pre-Proposal Check available for some objectives
  (see Annex 1 to Guides of applicants)
• Pre-proposal check gives feed back from
  Commission on eligibility of consortium, whether
  the idea is in scope or not
• Use annex 6 in Guides for Applicants
• Deadline for asking for pre-proposal check
  normally 3 weeks before deadline for call

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Electronic Submission

• EPSS - Electronic Proposal Submission System
• Online preparation only
• Improved validation checks before submission is
  accepted
• FP6 Submission failure rate 1
• Main reason for failure waiting till the last
  minute
• Technical problems
• Panic-induced errors
• Too late starting upload, run out of time
• Submit early, submit often!
• If in trouble, call the helpdesk !

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Proposal Part A (online)

• A1
• Title, acronym, objective etc.
• free keywords
• 2000 character proposal abstract
• previous/current submission (in FP7)
• A2
• Legal address/administrator address/RD address
• Clear identification as SME/Public body/Research
  centre/ Educational establishment
• Proposer identification code PIC
• A3
• More cost detail (direct/indirect costs
  distinguished)

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Unique Registration Facility - URF
Use the URF to get a Participant Identification
Code PIC For your organisation
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Proposal Part B (pdf format only)

• Part B format directly linked to evaluation
  criteria
• Summary
• ST quality (bullet points sections)
• Implementation (idem)
• Impact (idem)
• Ethics
• Section lengths recommended
• Part B templates are also available from your
  National Contact Point (NCP) !

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Eligibility checks

• Date and time of receipt of proposal on or before
  deadline
• Firm deadlines - except for Continuously open
  calls
• Minimum number of eligible, independent partners
• As set out in work programme/call
• Completeness of proposal
• Presence of all requested administrative forms
  (Part A) and the content description (Part B)
• In scope of the call

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Evaluation process

• On-site evaluation
• Independent experts
• One step evaluation
• Remote Individual reading in ICT calls call 4, 5
  and 6

Eligibility Check?
yes
Panel (with Hearings)
Consensus
Individual reading
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Evaluation Criteria
IMPLEME-NTATION 3/5
IMPACT 3/5
SCIENTIFIC TECHNICAL QUALITY 3/5

• Soundness of concept and quality of objectives
• Acknowledgement of, and development beyond, the
  state-of-the-art
• Methodology and Work Plan
• Quality of co-ordination
• Innovative character
• Quality and effectiveness of methodology and plan
• Quality and effectiveness of the support action
  mechanisms and work plan

• Management structure and procedures
• Quality, complementa-rity and balance of the
  consortium
• Matching between consortium and proposal
  objectives
• Appropriateness of allocation of
• Budget
• Staff resources
• Equipment

• Expected impacts listed in Work Programme per
  topic
• Measures for
• Dissemination
• Exploitation of project results
• IPR management
• Spreading excellence
• Disseminating knowledge through stakeholder and
  public engagement

Overall Threshold 10 gt (3) (3) (3)
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Evaluation criteria 1. Scientific and technical
quality

• Soundness of concept, and quality of objectives
  (ALL)
• Progress beyond the state-of-the-art (CP)
• Contribution to long term integration of high
  quality S/T research (NoE)
• Contribution to the coordination of high quality
  research (CSA)
• Quality and effectiveness of the S T
  methodology and associated workplan (CP)
• Quality and effectiveness of the joint programme
  of activities and associated workplan (NoE)
• Quality and effectiveness of the
  coordination/support action mechanisms and
  associated workplan (CSA)

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Evaluation criteria 2. Implementation

• Appropriateness of the management structures and
  procedures (ALL)
• Quality and relevant experience of the individual
  participants (ALL)
• Quality of the consortium as a whole
• (including complementarity, balance) (CP)
• (including ability to tackle fragmentation of the
  research field and commitment towards a deep and
  durable institutional integration) (NoE)
• Appropriate allocation and justification of the
  resources to be committed (budget, staff,
  equipment) (CP and CSA)
• Adequacy of resources for successfully carrying
  out the joint programme of activities (NoE)
• for Support actions, only if relevant

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Evaluation criteria 3. Impact

• Contribution at the European or international
  level to the expected impacts listed in the
  workprogramme under the relevant activity (ALL)
• Appropriateness of measures for the dissemination
  and/or exploitation of project results, and
  management of intellectual property (CP)
• Appropriateness of measures for spreading
  excellence, exploiting results and disseminating
  knowledge through engagement with stakeholders
  and the public at large (NoE and CSA)

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Ethical issues

• Annex ICT-Ethics in the Guide for Applicants.
• Post-evaluation review for any selected proposals
  which have ethical issues, based on the contents
  of the original proposal
• Does your proposal show?
• that you fully understand the ethical issues
  involved in your planned action
• that you have adequate plans to deal with them
• that there are clear lines of responsibility
• that you will review and report on these issues
  on a regular basis

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Why get involved?

• Prestige
• International nature of research
• Funding opportunities which dont exist
  nationally
• Sharing expertise / facilities
• Networking
• Meeting staff/student expectations
• New IP and curriculum development
• Staff training and development broaden skill
  and competence base
• Career development

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But first ask yourself

• Do you clearly understand the pros and cons of
  involvement in FP7?
• Are you willing to co-operate internationally?
• Do your capabilities match the Call requirements?
• Do you have resources to invest in time and
  money?
• Do you have a supportive team and organisation?
• Are there any favourable external research
  conditions to exploit?

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and get
ready!

• Read the Commission Work Programme (ICT WP)
• Identify topic preferred funding scheme - Check
  deadline in WP and Call Text
• Read through the lines of the WP and Identify
  possible activities based on
• Understand the partner search dynamics
• Keep your profile ready gtgt so as to react with
  no delays
• Be ready to customize it gtgt it must fit into
  profiles described by projects
• Show your excellence gtgt your extra mark to
  be chosen
• Show you are reliable gtgt be informed show you
  know the rules of the game
• Show you are able to communicate in English and
  learn the language of Brussels
• Establish contacts
• Face-to-Face info-days, thematic conferences,
  thematic workshops, etc.
• Approach the speakers - Giving your business card
  is not enough! Present your institution and
  yourself have flyers, brochures with you!
• Show you have ideas and visions, ask whether you
  can send additional information per e-mail
• From a distance - Searchable project databases
  (IDEAL-IST, CORDIS), NCP and IRC, etc
• Find out about the projects and their consortia,
  google the researchers.

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Two Case scenario for Participation
Project idea
Co-ordinator
Research offer
Partner
Technological offer
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Proposal Idea Screening

• To make sure the project is good
• Are the objectives clearly expressed?
• Is there a market vision beyond research
  activities?
• Are you sure about ist fitting the EC
  work-programme?
• Is it linked with running FP6/7 projects?
• Is the co-ordinator experienced?
• Has the idea been pre-screened with the EC?

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Consortium creation

• Partners are found through contacts established
• FP7 consortia MUST be characterised by a range of
  complementarity in terms of
• Expertise
• Disciplines
• Backgrounds
• Organisation types (e.g. academia, SMEs, etc)
• Human resources
• Number of partners depends on
• Subject, tasks, project type - minimum three
  partners from three Member States or Associated
  Countries
• An experienced co-ordinator is an important plus

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When writing your proposal.

• Divide your effort over the evaluation criteria
• Many proposers concentrate on the scientific
  element, but lose marks on project planning or
  impact description
• Think of the finishing touches which signal
  quality work
• clear language
• well-organised contents, following the Part B
  structure
• useful and understandable diagrams
• no typos, no inconsistencies and obvious
  paste-ins, no numbers which dont add up, no
  missing pages

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Success factors

• preserve your credibility select one proposal
  make it win
• ensure that the proposal brings out both
  innovation exploitation potential
• full depth of participation rather than long list
  of organisations with limited involvement
• key individuals, expertise achievements rather
  than long list of previous projects
• make the proposal compelling for a busy reader
  (the first 5-10 pages are key!)

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Reasons for failure

• RTD content
• narrow scope, little or no EU dimension
• lack of focus, aims too general
• lack of innovation, current state of art missing
• planning
• links missing between objectives work plan
• milestones missing or too general
• risk factors not addressed, no contingency plans
• no monitorable indicators, no metrics
• management
• consortium not balanced, gaps in the skills mix
• lack of integration between partners
• vague management structure
• weak or narrow dissemination plans
• ill-defined exploitation prospects

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Beyond SubmissionKey Steps before starting the
project

• Authorisation and CFP forms, delivery of
  Technical Annex
• Grant Agreement and Consortium Agreement
• Grant Agreement concluded between the Commission
  and the Co-ordinator
• Consortium Agreement concluded between partners
  prior to the signature of the Grant Agreement
• Project account and staff recruitment (if
  necessary)

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FP7 Participation Summary of Key Phase
Characteristics

• Feasibility

4. Contract Negotiation
5. Roll-Out Implementation
3. Proposal Development
2. Consortium Formation

• Technical Work

• Proposal idea proposal summary

• Negotiation re-costing

• Partner search

• EC templates submission forms

• Establish contacts agreements

• Admin. Legal Mgt

• Consortium Agreement

• Allocation of proposal parts among partners

• Role in proposal target budget

• Payments Financ. Mgt

• Final contract signature effective start of
  project

• Explore initial contacts

• IPR Mgt.

• Final proposal submission

• Auditing

• Action Plan for proposal development

• Reporting

• Agree on overall budget partner shares

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Where can I get more information and help? 1/2

• See the list of National Contact Points addresses
  at http//cordis.europa.eu/fp7/get-support_en.html
  
• FP7 ICT web site on CORDIS at
  http//cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/ This sites
  contain a great deal of information about FP7 and
  ICT, including the latest information updates,
  the calendar of Calls for proposals, the text of
  the Calls, frequently-asked questions (FAQs), and
  more. For particular Calls, first check the
  detailed Guide for Applicants, which is included
  in the Call documentation
• On Participation Rules in FP7 http//cordis.europa
  .eu/fp7/participate_en.html
• Contact the dedicated Research Enquiry Service,
  which will assist those new to participation in
  EU FP, at http//ec.europa.eu/research/enquiries

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Where can I get more information and help? 2/2

• ICT information desk
• AddressEuropean CommissionThe ICT Information
  DeskInformation Society and Media
  Directorate-GeneralOffice BU31 01/19B-1049
  Brussels, Belgium
• Fax [phone]
• Contact Form at http//cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/co
  ntacts_en.html
• Partner search facilities
• Cordis database http//cordis.europa.eu/ist/partn
  ers/partner.htm
• IDEALIST http//www.ideal-ist.net/
• IS2WeB, SEE-INNOVATION and other SSA databases
  www.is2web.org, www.see-innovation.org ,

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Networking opportunities

• The ICT theme supports
• Networking sessions for all objectives in the
  2009-10 Work Programme at the Conference
• ICT 2008 Conference,
• Lyon, France
• 25-27 November, 2008
• Consortium forming, networking and information on
  all objectives in the ICT 2009-10 Work programme
  at the
• ICT Proposers Information Day,
• Budapest, Hungary,
• 22 January, 2009

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Thank you for your attention Questi
ons?