RESEARCH PROGRAMME OF THE RESEARCH FUND FOR COAL AND STEEL. Václav Dolhof

Transcription

1 RESEARCH PROGRAMME OF THE RESEARCH FUND FOR COAL AND STEEL Václav Dolhof PRIVATE CONSULTANT, Smíchovská 307, Zruc-Senec, CR, Abstract The purpose of this contribution is to help to programme participants to understand the procedures proposal preparation and submission, project monitoring and project reporting. The Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) Programme is managed by the European Commission, DG Research, Directorate G Industrial Technologies, Unit 6. The main objectives of the programme are to increase the competitiveness of the European Coal and Steel industry and to contribute to their sustainable development. The programme consists of two main RTD actions research, pilot and demonstration projects and accompanying measures related to the promotion of the use of the knowledge gained under this programme. 1. From ECSC to RFCS RTD Programme The Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) came into force in Article 55 of the Treaty stated that the High Authority had to organize contacts among existing research organizations and promote common research projects relating to the production and use of coal and steel. The first ECSC projects began in For all 50 years, ECSC research has complemented the research carried out by individual companies, becoming increasingly important in qualitative and quantitative terms. The projects funded were of high scientific and technical quality, and generated significant industrial, economic and social benefits. According to current estimates, the total ECSC funds administrated were amounted to some EUR 1.6 billion on expiry of the ECSC Treaty (including some EUR 500 million of provisions for outstanding commitments), generating an annual income of around EUR 45 million. The ECSC Treaty expired on 23 July 2002, but in view of the results achieved and the future prospects, it was proposed to maintain the sectorial research in the form of a dedicated post-ecsc research programme the RFCS research programme. 2. Principles of Participation Any undertaking, research institute or natural person established in any of the Member States is entitled to participate in the programme and to submit proposals. The proposer does not need necessarily to be directly connected with the coal, the iron and steel industry but the RTD proposals, for which financial support is requested, have to be within the scope of the programme. Participants from third countries are entitled to participate on the basis of individual projects. Their participation is subject to discussion during the evaluation procedure. They are not entitled to receive any financial contribution under the programme. 3. Management structure of the programme The European Commission is responsible for managing the programme. Three different types of groups have been established to assist the European Commission in this task: the Coal and Steel Committee (COSCO), the Coal or Steel Advisory Group (CAG or SAG) and the Technical Groups (TGs) for Coal and Steel. The European Commission nominates members of the CAG, SAG and TGs, whereas members of the COSCO are nominated by the Member States. All the RFCS programme related documents and the Information Package are available on CORDIS: 1

2 Research Program me of the Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS) METAL Ostrava, 18 May 2004 Václav Dolhof Former ECSC Programme Launch of the ECSC 23 July Signed by six countries Belgium, Germany,, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands (18 April 1951) 31 March 1955 Start of the first 3 projects 1973: Denmark, Ireland and UK joined the Community 1981: Greece 1986: Portugal and Spain 1995: Austria, Finland and Sweden METAL Ostrava 1 METAL Ostrava 2 FUNDING / M Euro Years ECSC STEEL RTD Funding Research Projects Pilot/Demonstration Projects Former ECSC Programme The ECSC Treaty expired on 23 July 2002 The total ECSC Funds EUR 1.6 billion, generating an annual income EUR 45 million Post-ECSC Research Programme: the RFCS is financed by income from the assets of the ECSC in liquidation New MS joined the RFCS in May 2004 METAL Ostrava 3 METAL Ostrava 4 The RFCS Programme Legal Framework: multiannual technical guidelines (OJ L79 / 42) Funding allocation Coal : 27,2% Steel : 72,8% METAL Ostrava 5 Introduction Information package available on the Cordis server cordis..lu lu/coal-steel steel-rtd/home.html html The contractual obligations of former ECSC projects go on Mailing of reports to experts should be continued unless otherwise informed by the Commission After July amendments to former ECSC contracts are only be granted under exceptional cases METAL Ostrava 6 2

3 What is the Research Fund for Coal and Steel The RFCS is a Programme of the European Union, managed by the DG Research of the European Commission The objective of the programme is to support the competitiveness and to contribute to sustainable development of the Community sectors related to the coal and steel industry The programme provides financial assistance for allowable projects, accompanying measures and other actions by promoting co-operation between undertakings, research centres and universities Member States Participation Any undertaking, research institute or natural person established in any of the Member States (including new ones) Third countries yes, but on the basis of individual projects without receiving a financial contribution in the interest of the European Community Estimated budget for 2004: 60 M METAL Ostrava 7 METAL Ostrava 8 Research projects RTD projects funding up to 60 % investigative or experimental work Pilot projects characterized by the construction, operation and development of an installation or significant part of it Demonstration projects characterized by the construction and/or operation of an industrial scale installation or significant par of it Accompanying Measures (AM) funding up to 100 % AM Type 1 Supporting the dissemination of results and the promotion of the use of knowledge gained under the programme (Conference, Seminars) AM Type 2 Support of activities aiming at the promotion of the use of the knowledge gained METAL Ostrava 9 METAL Ostrava 10 AM Type 3 - Training and mobility of researchers (duration : 3-12 months) Linked to an on-going RTD project funded by the programme Fellow s applying institution not necessarily member of the project consortium Fellow s nationality of one of the EU Member states Commission contribution: monthly mobility allowance (1900 Euros) single payment for travel costs (flat rate) METAL Ostrava 11 Management structure The new management groups The Coal and Steel Committee representatives of Member States assisting COM in the overall program management The Coal and Steel Advisory Groups technical advisers assisting COM in the programme management (e.g. evaluation) Technical Groups technical Experts assisting COM in the monitoring of RTD project ( restructuring of TGs planned in 2004) METAL Ostrava 12 3

4 RFCS Management Call for proposals The Commission COSCO SAG Technical Groups Open and continuous call launched with the publication of the multi-annual technical guidelines (OJ L79 /42) submission deadline: 15th September of each year possibility to publish invitations for the submission of proposals on limited numbers of research topics METAL Ostrava 13 METAL Ostrava 14 Definition of Coal Hard coal, hard coal briquettes, coke, semi-coke derived from hard coal, lignite, lignite briquettes, coke and semi-coke derived from lignite Hard coal includes high and medium-ranking A coals Lignite includes low-ranking C and B coals and to be used for electricity production, combined head / electricity production, manufacture of briquettes and semi-coke METAL Ostrava 15 Coal RDT Priorities Improving the competitive position of the Community Health and safety in mines Efficient of the environment and improvement of the use of coal as a clean energy source Management of external dependence on energy supply METAL Ostrava 16 Definition of steel Raw materials for iron and steel production (iron ore, sponge iron, ferrous scrap) Pig iron incl. hot metal and ferro-alloys Crude, semi-finished and hot finished products of iron, ordinary steel or special steel coated or uncoated (continuous casting, blooms, billets, bars, slabs, strips, sheets, long products) METAL Ostrava 17 Definition of steel End products - coated or un-coated (cold rolled strips, sheets, electrical steels) Products of the first stage processing of steel that can enhance the competitive position of above mentioned products (tubular products, drawn and polished products, cold rolled and cold formed products) Castings, forgings and powder metallurgy products do not fall under that definition METAL Ostrava 18 4

5 Steel RTD Priorities New and Improved Steelmaking and Finishing Techniques RTD and the Utilisation of Steel Conservation of Resources and Improvement of Working Conditions Proposal preparation no change of participation rules no priority areas for the call 2004 preference to larger coherent research projects, rather than a multitude of small projects addressing same RTD objectives in a specific field synergies for larger projects should already be sought at proposal preparation stage METAL Ostrava 19 METAL Ostrava 20 How to prepare a RTD proposal Contribution to program objectives consistency of proposal objectives with programme objectives Scientific / technological objectives description of the state-of-the-art and technical limitations contribution of the scientific objectives to the expected technical achievements explanation and justification of the selected scientific approach main innovations claimed How to prepare a RTD proposal Industrial interest and scientific/technical prospect project deliverables in terms of industrial interest, scientific / technical prospect, strategic relevance transferability of results to other applications validation of modelling work within the project estimated gains / benefits of project results Information on resources and budget how the partners complement each other s activities explanation and justification of proposed costs per partner METAL Ostrava 21 METAL Ostrava 22 How to prepare a RTD proposal Community added value and contribution to EU Policies to be carried out at European level strategic relevance to the related sector contribution to the preservation of natural sources, energy and environment contribution to working conditions, safety in and around the working place How to prepare a RTD proposal Workprogramme and distribution of tasks (Annex II B.0- B.1) use of work packages (WPs) each WP with clearly defined objectives, partners involved, WP leader description of each WP including expected results and indicating the number of man months needed logical interaction between WPs, scheduling and partners role METAL Ostrava 23 METAL Ostrava 24 5

6 Proposal submission One paper version duly signed (at least original signature of the co-ordinator, proof by other partners by fax-copy) + 2 unbound versions + electronic version Cut-off date for submission: 15th September of each year (post, courier or hand-delivered before 17h00 Brussels local time) if the 15th September is a non-working day, the deadline will be the following working day METAL Ostrava 25 Proposal submission Submission of an electronic version of the proposal is recommended (either posted or by ) Mailing addresses: Steel research proposals Coal research proposals European Commission European Commission DG RTD MO 75 2/62 DG TREN C/3 DM24 B Brussels B-1049 Brussels steel-rtd@cec.eu.int coal-rtd@cec.eu.int METAL Ostrava 26 Evaluation of RTD proposals - The Evaluation Questionnaire Scientific and technical approach Innovative content Industrial interest and scientific / technical prospects Community added value and contribution to EU Policies Consistency of resources and quality of partnership Evaluation of RTD proposals - Scoring and Threshold (new) Each category equally weighted Marks from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) Threshold: 15 out of 25 (average over all evaluators scores for a particular proposal) METAL Ostrava 27 METAL Ostrava 28 Evaluation Procedure The evaluation is carried out through Six steps 1) Organisation 2) Individual proposal evaluation 3) Plenary meeting with AG 4) Negotiation 5) Commission decision 6) Contracts Commission External AG COSCO Experts members Project Management Financial aspects (new) Transfer of costs between costs categories for a single partner if < 20% of total costs no Commission authorisation if > 20% of total costs written approval by the Commission Transfer of costs between partners : written approval by the Commission METAL Ostrava 29 METAL Ostrava 30 6

7 Reporting Project Management Six-monthly report (by 30 September) Annual report - (by 31 March) Draft final report - (three months after completion date) Publishable report - (requested by the Commission - published on CD-ROM) Project Management Extension of projects motivated request by the Co-ordinator ordinator to the Commission Commission may ask advice from relevant TG Last possible date for any contract amendment : six months prior to the end of the project (new ( new) METAL Ostrava 31 METAL Ostrava 32 Six-Monthly Report Structure Cover page Distribution list of relevant TG Table of contents Summary (half a page) Project overview (new) Assessment of scientific and technical progress Annual Report Structure Cover page Distribution list Table of contents Summary (one page) Annual summary (new) Part 1 - Management and co-ordination ordination aspects Part 2 - Scientific and technical progress Publications and patents METAL Ostrava 33 METAL Ostrava 34 Draft Final Report Structure Cover page Distribution list of relevant TG Table of contents Short summary Synthesis report (20 to 25 pages) (new ( new) Assessment of exploitation and impact of the research results (new new) Appendices: Scientific and technical description of research results(on task per task, or partner per partner basis) METAL Ostrava 35 Publishable report In general, if no changes have been requested, the content and structure are the same of a draft final report Publication on CD-ROM (new) METAL Ostrava 36 7

8 Contractual Issues related to RTD Model Contract Basic principles : Adapt the existing ECSC model contract - do not replace it Take account of: Experience gained in the management of ECSC projects Relevant provisions of the Multi-annual Technical Guidelines st pre-financing 40 %, 2 nd pre-financing until at least 70 % to the co-ordinatorordinator 1 st Auditing Audit certificates by any external auditor METAL Ostrava 37 Contractual Issues related to RTD Model Contract Main Modifications Annex II - General provisions Cost breakdown by cost categories (new) Eligible expenditure Cost for drawing up the final reports eligible up to three months from the completion of the project (new) Labor costs are actual employment costs Equipment costs: 5 years amortization rate starting from the delivery date of the equipment and considering the % of use (special conditions for P/D projects negotiable) METAL Ostrava 38 Commission How it works Contractual Issues related to Mobility Scheme Model Contract The contract signature Contractual Issues related to Mobility Scheme Model Contract Financial contribution Host organization Report / Cost Statement Money Fellow Commission Contract signature 5% of contribution for the host Move to Host organization Written Agreement Fellow METAL Ostrava 39 METAL Ostrava 40 Main points Contractual Issues related to Mobility Scheme Model Contract Mobility scheme linked to an on-going RTD project funded by the program me Fellow s applying institution not necessarily member of the project consortium Fellow s nationality of one of the EU Member states Commission contribution: monthly mobility allowance (1900 Euros) single payment for travel costs (flat rate) Main points Contractual Issues related to Mobility Scheme Model Contract Payment by the Commission in two steps: 75 % advance payment upon contract signature final payment upon acceptance of the scientific and financial reports no intermediary report/payment Written agreement between fellow and host institution METAL Ostrava 41 METAL Ostrava 42 8