ERA-SPOT Strengthening Photonics and Optical Technologies for Europe www.era-spot.eu Call Announcement 2009 Dates & Deadlines: Call opens: 15 January, 2009 Deadline for pre-proposal submission: 11 March 2009, 12:00 noon Deadline for full proposal submission: 15 April 2009, 12:00 noon Selection of proposals for funding: August 2009 The ERA-SPOT Call 2009 is a joint call for proposals by: ERA-SPOT is a joint initiative by national funding organisations and ministries of Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia and Sweden. ERA-SPOT is funded by the European Commission (DG Research) under the FP6 ERA-Net scheme. Page 1 of 8
1.1 Introduction Within the EU funded Coordination Action ERA-SPOT large scale funding organisations and ministries from Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia and Sweden work together in the EC 6 th Framework Programme ERA-NET to consolidate the research funding activities in Photonics and Optical Technologies throughout Europe. This shall be realised by pan-european co-ordination by means of developing and implementing joint strategies and actions. While research and innovation in Photonics and Optical Technologies play increasingly important roles in several Member States, funding activities at national level are still fragmented. A joint effort of all Member States engaged in the promotion of Photonics and Optical Technologies is an indispensable precondition for the exploitation of Europe s high potential in this field. The critical mass required to compete on the world stage can only be achieved by combining the specific competencies, strengths and resources throughout Europe. As part of the EC Framework Programme 6 the Coordination Action ERA-SPOT www.era-spot.eu is devoted to «Strengthening Photonics and Optical Technologies for Europe». Calls for proposals have already been conducted in 2006 and 2007 and projects involving partners from Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, and Sweden, were supported. Funding agencies in 3 European countries have now agreed to fund joint projects between research and industry partners in their respective countries in the call 2009. A new call for proposals is therefore now being announced for proposers from France, Germany and Ireland. IMPORTANT NOTE: Austria, Slovenia & Sweden continue as members of the consortium but will not be participating in this call. This document describes the procedure for submitting a project under the call. 1.2 Scope The present call is informed by the Strategic Research Agenda developed by Photonics21 www.photonics21.org and by a number of expressions of interest elicited in some member states. This call will not have an exclusive thematic focus but will invite projects dealing with photonics and optical technologies. Due to national funding rules some thematic and commercialisation potential restrictions may apply. It is important that these national priorities are understood by applicants. Details can be found by referring to section 1.4 (Rules for national submission). The added value of the ERA-SPOT procedure will be to fund projects that could not be performed at a national scale; therefore the genuine complimentarity of the partners will be an important criterion. Projects of up to three years duration will be considered. As a minimum requirement, the ERA-SPOT procedure will require partners from at least two of the eligible countries (France, Germany and Ireland; see section 1.4). 1.3 Submission procedure It should be noted that ERA-SPOT project partners are funded by their respective national government so it is necessary to have a full proposal submission procedure comprising the following steps: The submission procedure consists of the following steps: Pre-Proposal Submission to the ERA-SPOT overall assessment procedure (section 1.3.1) Full-Proposal Submission to the ERA-SPOT overall assessment procedure (section 1.3.2) Submission to the appropriate national funding organisation (section 1.3.3) Page 2 of 8
1.3.1 Pre-Proposal Submission The pre-proposal submission facilitates the identification of expert evaluators and ensures that potential project applications are eligible under ERA-SPOT and national funding rules. Please download the ERA-SPOT pre-proposal submission form from the ERA-SPOT website www.eraspot.eu and complete the form. One of the partners should act as the project co-ordinator and should take responsibility for completing the pre-proposal submission on behalf of the project partners. The completed pre-proposal submission form should be uploaded onto the ERA-SPOT site www.era-spot.eu before the deadline: 11 March 2009, 12:00 noon All pre-proposals received before the advertised closing date will be assessed for eligibility by the ERA- SPOT consortium. A decision on eligibility for full proposal submission will be made and issued by 20 March 2009. IMPORTANT NOTE: Please be aware that after submission of the pre-proposal the content of the abstract, the indicated coordinator and all partners listed in the proposal must be identically quoted in the full proposal and are not allowed to be changed. Any changes could lead to ineligibility. See also section 1.3.2. Pre-Proposals that are deemed ineligible cannot proceed to the full proposal submission stage. Therefore it is highly recommended that proposers consult their national contact (Appendix 1) before completing their pre-proposal submission. 1.3.2 Full Proposal Submission To be considered for evaluation, full proposal submissions must maintain the following pre-proposal content: Abstract (full proposal work programme must reflect the abstract from the pre-proposal stage) Co-ordinator (must be the same as identified from the pre-proposal stage) Partner List (project partners must be the same as in the pre-proposal list) Project co-ordinators of projects judged eligible for Full Proposal submission should download the ERA- SPOT Full Proposal submission form from the ERA-SPOT website www.era-spot.eu and complete the form. The project co-ordinator, should upload the completed ERA-SPOT Full-proposal form on the ERA- SPOT site www.era-spot.eu before the deadline: 15 April 2009, 12:00 noon 1.3.3 National Proposal Submission In addition to the ERA-SPOT full proposal, each project partner must submit a national proposal to their national funding body. This national proposal must follow the national rules listed in section 1.4 below. In summary, ERA-SPOT provides a coordinated evaluation procedure. The ultimate decision on whether to fund or not remains with each national funding organisation. More information on ERA-SPOT contacts is available in Appendix 1. Since each partner in a successful project will be funded by their respective national funding body all national submissions must satisfy the criteria of the funding scheme relevant to that partner. It is imperative that each partner checks the project eligibility with the relevant national representatives before submission. A summary of the funding schemes relevant to each participating country is given below. The information provided in section 1.4 does not claim to be complete in all details. Making contact with the responsible national body is therefore of high importance. A submission summary flowchart is provided in Appendix 3. Page 3 of 8
1.4 Rules for national submission French consortia partners, if any, have to contact their regional OSEO Innovation unit before the submission of the pre proposal and to inform OSEO that a pre proposal will be submitted under ERA SPOT. The OSEO national contact to be informed is Nathalie Trannois, (nathalie.trannois@oseo.fr). The French partners have to submit a request for Aide à l Innovation using OSEO applications forms, while they submit a proposal under ERA SPOT. The submission to OSEO will have to include the ERA SPOT full proposal in attachment. The project will be evaluated according the national criteria. German consortia partners, if any, should only submit their national proposal after consultation with VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH, (see Appendix 1) funding agency on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). BMBF funding will be available only for well-balanced, industry-led projects involving at least one industrial partner based in Germany. The results should be exploitable in Germany. The national regulations AnBest-P (and NKBF98, if so) apply. Further details: www.optischetechnologien.de; www.bmbf.de; Irish consortia partners, if any, should submit their proposal to Enterprise Ireland s International Research Fund: http://www.enterprise-ireland.com/researchinnovate/international+r+and+d/international+research+fund.htm All proposals should be exploitable in Ireland. All submissions should include the ERA-SPOT full proposal as an attachment. 1.5 Review and selection procedure Funding under ERA-SPOT label will be granted only if funding is approved by all relevant national funding agencies. Project review of full proposals will take place at national level according to the national criteria of the relevant countries followed by a final evaluation, ranking and selection at international level. To this end each ERA-SPOT funding agency will perform an evaluation on submissions according to their own national guidelines - the result of which is a decision to support or not support each eligible project. All evaluators will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement and a declaration stating that they have not conflict of interest. Proposals supported in the national reviews will then be forwarded to a representative international expert panel and ranked according to the following criteria: 1. Scientific and technological originality and potential 2. Market potential 3. Transnational aspect of the project 4. Adequacy of the workplan 5. Track record of the partners More Background Information on ERA-SPOT evaluation criteria is available in Appendix 2. The exclusion of experts from the review process is possible (see application form). All partners of project proposals selected for funding must sign a consortium agreement. This agreement must be provided to and accepted by the ERA-SPOT funding agencies before the project begins. Applicants are advised to proceed in due time with legal issues to get the consortium agreement signed as early as possible. Funds will be made available to successful participants according to the national procedures (see section 1.4.). Page 4 of 8
1.6 Calendar ERA-SPOT Submission Call opens: 15 January 2009 Deadline for ERA-SPOT pre-proposal submission: 11 March 2009 Notification on proposals eligible for 2 nd stage: 20 March 2009 Deadline for ERA-SPOT full proposal submissions: 15 April 2009 Selection of proposals for funding: August 2009 National Proposal Submission Each partner in a consortium must in addition submit a national proposal. Contact your national contacts about dates and deadlines (appendix 1). Page 5 of 8
Appendix 1 ERA-SPOT CONTACTS France - Ministère de l Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS - OSEO Innovation Contact: Pierre Chavel pierre.chavel@institutoptique.fr +33 6 07 59 20 87 Jean-Louis Oudar jean-louis.oudar@recherche.gouv.fr +33 1 55 55 81 59 Nathalie Trannois nathalie.trannois@oseo.fr +33 1 41 79 80 59 Germany - Federal Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF - VDI Technologiezentrum GmbH (funding agency on behalf of the BMBF) Contact: Sebastian Krug krug@vdi.de +49 211 6214 472 Ireland - Enterprise Ireland Contact: Kevin Donnelly kevin.donnelly@enterprise-ireland.com +353 1 727 2505 David Flood david.flood@enterprise-ireland.com +353 1 727 2487 Page 6 of 8
Appendix 2 ERA-SPOT Review: Evaluation Criteria The following list of criteria may serve as a guideline for the preparation of the full proposals. As the case arises, these criteria will be considered by the international expert evaluators for the judgment of the different activities. Thus, it is strongly recommended that they are addressed in the full proposals: Criterion 1: Scientific and Technological Originality and Potential 1.1. Innovation and Quality of the Proposed Activity Goals and ambition Degree of innovation (advancement, creativity and originality of the concept) 1.2. Technical Challenge Technological problems and experimental challenge Identification of risks 1.3. Excellence, Approach and Methodology (scientific, technical, strategic) Clarity, adequacy and consistency of the approach Research competence concerning the topics addressed Criterion 2: Market potential 2.1 Market Prospects, Dissemination Market potential, and market segments Competition and market entry barriers Dissemination strategy Intellectual Property Right strategy Knowledge of relevant stakeholders and target groups 2.2. Externalities and Social Impact Employment, work conditions, quality of life Regional aspects Ethical issues and social values Criterion 3: Transnational aspect of the project Added value from the work carried out at an international level Criterion 4: Adequacy of the workplan Workpackages Time plan Adequacy of costs Criterion 5: Track record of the partners 5.1. Project Partners Qualification of the proposers Added value for the partners Strategic coherence Importance for the Industrial Partner Importance for the Scientific Partner Staff and equipment for the project 5.2. Project Management and Resources Co-operation and complimentarity of partners Proper involvement and contribution of partner Page 7 of 8
Appendix 3 ERA SPOT Call For international photonics and optical technologies research projects funded by national governments Call opens 15 January 2009 National (individual partners) Check eligibility with your national ERA-SPOT Contact International (consortium /coordinator) Prepare and submit your pre-proposal ERA-SPOT pre-proposal online submission www.era-spot.eu According to the ERA-SPOT rules and the relevant national requirements and conditions Deadline 11th March 2009 National proposal submission According to instruction from your national ERA-SPOT contact Full proposal online submission Only after notification of eligibility! Deadline 15th April 2009 National review(s) By the relevant funding bodies ERA-SPOT assessment Final ranking of the nationally approved proposals by independent international expert panel Funding Decision Following national agency coordination meeting and budget discussions, proposers are notified of funding decision Indicative date August 2009 Page 8 of 8