NWO Sciences Call for proposals Green II Towards a ground-breaking and future-oriented system change in agriculture and horticulture 2017 The Hague, January 2017 Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research
Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Available budget 1 1.3 Validity of the call for proposals 1 2 Aim 3 3 Guidelines for applicants 6 3.1 Who can apply 6 3.2 Projectconsortium, private and public partners 6 3.3 What can be applied for 7 3.4 Conditions for matching 8 3.5 When can applications be submitted 9 3.6 Preparing an application 9 3.7 Specific granting conditions 9 3.6 Submitting an application 11 4 Assessment procedure 12 4.1 Procedure 12 4.2 Criteria 14 5 Contact details and other information 15 6 Annexe(s) 16
1 Chapter 1: Introduction / 1 Introduction 1.1 Background The Dutch government has designated Agri&Food and Horticulture & Propagation Materials as top sectors. Within the top sectors, industry, knowledge institutions and government bodies contribute finances and expertise to jointly produce new knowledge and realise innovations. The agreements on this subject are recorded in innovation contracts; for Agri&Food and Horticulture & Propagation Materials, refer to: http://www.tki-agrifood.nl and http://topsectortu.nl. The NWO Work Programme 2016-2017 for the top sectors Agri&Food and Horticulture & Propagation Materials provides an overview of the activities that NWO realises in collaboration with these top sectors. This Call focuses on research that provides the basis for a ground-breaking system change aimed at realising resilient and integrally sustainable plant and animal production systems, higher food security, and the conservation of nature and ecosystem services in the Netherlands. The Call states several specific subjects that are not yet addressed within the Call Closed Cycles - Transition to a circular economy. For these subjects, NWO wants to encourage and organise fundamental scientific, precompetitive research together with public and private parties. This Call meets the knowledge requirements from industry and society. In view of the publicprivate partnership character of the Call, matching is required from at least one private party and, if desired, this can be supplemented by contributions from several private and/or public parties. Proposals will be selected based on two criteria: scientific excellence, and economic and societal impact. With this approach, NWO is contributing to the realisation of the top sector policy. The programme 'Green II - Towards a ground-breaking and future-oriented system change in agriculture and horticulture' connects with the following routes in the Dutch National Research Agenda: Sustainable production of healthy and safe food, Circular economy and raw materials efficiency: sustainable circular impact, Quality of the environment: the values of nature, landscape, soil an environment, and the 'blue route' Water as a route to innovative and sustainable growth. The necessary consultation and coordination with the top sectors Agri&Food and Horticultural & Propagation Materials has already taken place. 1.2 Available budget The maximum NWO funding budget available for this programme is 4M. It is expected that this amount will be disbursed in a single call. Green II is aimed at interdisciplinary projects with 2-3 PhDs and/or postdocs. The projects have a duration of 2 to 5 years and must be realised by knowledge institutions in collaboration with private and/or public partners. These partners must contribute at least 11% of the required project budget. The matching can consist of a cash contribution or a combination of a cash and an in-kind contribution (see Section 3.4). 1.3 Validity of the call for proposals This call for proposals is valid until the closing date April 4, 2017, 14:00 hours CE(S)T.
2 Chapter 1: Introduction /
3 Chapter 2: Aim / 2 Aim With the Green II programme, NWO is encouraging new fundamental and precompetitive scientific research projects. By doing so, NWO wants to strengthen the knowledge base and encourage interdisciplinary research that leads to the application of knowledge within and between the top sectors Agri&Food and Horticulture & Propagation Materials. The significant scaling up of agriculture and horticulture with a strong focus on production efficiency has resulted in an increased vulnerability and instability of production systems and their interaction with the natural environment. This is increasingly leading to calamities and the need for corrective interventions from the outside. Examples include: loss of effectiveness, for example of pesticides, natural pollination, fertilisation or antibiotic resistance; the need for statutory prohibitions, for example of certain pesticides, beak trimming or tail docking; the development of undesirable negative side effects such as residues in products and in the environment, as well as an increased risk of diseases in plants, humans and animals or of production losses. Furthermore, due consideration needs to be given to public issues such as consumers' loss of confidence in food producers, due to inadequate advice or misleading information about GMOs or intensive livestock farming, for example. The economic viability of the sector is also under constant pressure and it is increasingly difficult to find the manpower to carry out the work. In many areas, an incremental innovation and optimisation of the existing production ecosystems will not suffice to deal with the current challenges. A groundbreaking, future-oriented system change is therefore needed that is aimed at realising resilient and integrally sustainable plant and animal production ecosystems, higher food security, and the conservation of nature and ecosystem services in the Netherlands. Green II therefore focuses on excellent scientific research that is broader than the individual disciplines. Project proposals are interdisciplinary, provide building blocks for an integrated approach to problems and show a long-term vision to realise an innovative and sustainable integral system for primary production. They deliver a broad knowledge base and clarify how the outcomes of the research can contribute to the development of that system in its entirety. In this context, projects can also focus on chain issues concerning phytosanitary quality and food security. Public support and acceptance is vital for the eventual implementation of innovation, new technology or a future system change that the fundamental research at the heart of the Green II programme could lead to. Applicants are invited to think about this and, where necessary, scientific research into this can form part of the project proposal. Within Green II, the decision has been taken to focus on two strongly related themes: (1) Resilience and recovery and (2) Smart technology. With this choice, NWO is seeking to make the programme complimentary to the Call Closed cycles - Transition to a circular economy in which the focus is on recycling and the closing of cycles at various scales. The themes in that Call are therefore emphatically not part of the Green II programme. 1) Resilience and recovery. Projects within this theme provide the building blocks that are needed to make future production ecosystems healthier and more resilient to changes such as new plagues and diseases and further climate change. Enhanced resilience and a stronger ability to recover will contribute to a sustainable production ecosystem that may have a higher yield and better quality and for which less use will be made of corrective measures, such as
4 Chapter 2: Aim / undesirable additives in feed/nutrition, veterinary and other medicines and pesticides. This improvement will contribute to the integrity of the natural environment rather than to its detriment. Research within the theme Resilience and recovery can be done at various scales (from molecule to ecosystem). It can make connections between these various scales or compare effects at different scales. The research can focus on both plant and animal production systems as well as on the interaction of these systems with the natural environment. The projects will provide new knowledge, possible solutions and methods to improve and safeguard plant and animal health and animal welfare, with undesirable side effects on other aspects of the natural system being prevented. The characteristics and genetic diversity of plants, animals and microorganisms on and in the soil can contribute to an improved resilience of plants and animals. This requires further insight into the functions of, balance in and interactions between the microbiome and microflora, as well as the impact of these on the entire system. The use of diversity in cultivation and livestock systems can also benefit the resilience and recovery of production ecosystems. Examples include multicropping, precision agriculture, mixed farming and other alternative production systems, or the diversification of the soil or of the terrestrial insect community. 2) The use of smart technology for resilient production ecosystems. Smart technology can provide sustainable solutions for bottlenecks in existing production ecosystems and facilitate breakthroughs in the transition towards a more sustainable approach by contributing to higher, cleaner and more efficient production. Furthermore, smart technology can play a key role in safeguarding the food security and phytosanitary quality, and have a positive effect on climate and biodiversity. Projects within this theme can focus on the question as to how the innovative use of data and the availability of (building blocks for) technological innovation can contribute to increasing the sustainability of production systems, food security and phytosanitary quality in the chain. ICT solutions, the collection, analysis and innovative combination of big data or the use of new methods or techniques can be of importance. One example is how the increasing speed of data production (such as multi-omics) and new data analysis technologies make it possible to disclose knowledge. Technology such as smart sensors, image-processing cameras and integrated data systems makes additional and more accurate measurements possible in or close to the production ecosystem. Such technology can facilitate rapid identification and diagnosis of pathogens in the soil, plants and animals. It can also be used to establish early signals, indicators and/or biomarkers for diseases, stress and problems at various scales in the production ecosystem. Projects can also focus on chain issues related to phytosanitary aspects and food security, for example with respect to the detection and control of pathogenic microorganisms in the chain or in following products in the chain. Beside its technical aspect, research within the smart technology theme also has a societal aspect. It is important for the top sectors to maintain public confidence in the agricultural and horticultural sectors in the longer term. Research into the public acceptance of and consumer confidence in new technology and products can therefore form part of the project. Projects do not have to be limited to one of the two themes stated above, as there are many examples where the themes touch upon and strengthen each other. For example, the use of smart (small-scale) precision technology can limit the need to ride across and process the production soil and make mixed cultivation possible, which in turn can strengthen the resilience of the system. The monitoring of bio-indicators and early detection of problems can be instrumental for (decision taking in) pest management or control to benefit resilience in the production ecosystem, but also for phytosanitary and food security issues in the chain. Technological solutions that lead to a reduction in emissions or the loss and accumulation of substances can strengthen the sector and at the same time improve biodiversity, sustainability and resilience. Increased biodiversity of plants in meadows can positively influence the forage quality of livestock feed and consequently contribute to animal health and productivity.
5 Chapter 2: Aim /
6 Chapter 3: Guidelines for applicants / 3 Guidelines for applicants 3.1 Who can apply Each project proposal has one main applicant to who the conditions for submission and granting apply. In addition there can be a maximum of two co-applicants to whom these conditions equally apply. The main applicant submits the application on behalf of the project consortium and is responsible for the scientific coherency, the results and the financial accountability. The NWO budget applied for (including cash contribution for the NWO component) is awarded to the institute of the main applicant, who is responsible for allocating the funding to the partners in accordance with the budget awarded funding. Researchers who are appointed at one of the research institutions stated below can act as the main applicant: Dutch universities; NWO and KNAW institutes; the Netherlands Cancer Institute; Biodiversity Center Naturalis; the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen; researchers at the DUBBLE Beamline at the ESRF in Grenoble; Advanced Research Centre for NanoLithography (ARCNL). Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute 1 ; UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education 1. Main applicants should: - Hold a doctorate and/or be a professor; - Have a salaried position for at least the duration of the application process and the research for which funding is being applied for. In this round a researcher cannot submit more than two applications, of which only one of these as the main applicant. This means that he/she can act as the main applicant for one application and as the co-applicant for the other application or as a co-applicant for two different applications. 3.2 Projectconsortium, private and public partners The project consortium must consist of at least one researcher (with an appointment at a Dutch University or a research institute recognised by NWO, see Section 3.1) and one private partner. The consortium must have an interdisciplinary composition in which the main applicant and co-applicants are from different scientific disciplines. At least one private partner is obliged to co-fund the project (NWO component) in addition to the NWO funding for the proposed project. Several private and public 1 Researchers from these knowledge institutions can submit an application if they are collaborating with a university within the project, which is clear from a personnel or material contribution to the project from this university.
7 Chapter 3: Guidelines for applicants / partners can, however, be part of the project consortium as a combination of cofunding parties. Businesses are considered to be private partners. NWO understands a business to be an organisational unit or person focussed on on-going participation in economic activities with the aid of work and capital and with a profit motive. Public partners are institutions that are not one of the research institutions recognised by NWO: i.e. institutions that may not independently submit proposals to NWO and do not fall under the category of private parties. 3.3 What can be applied for Within this call, applicants can request funding for PhD students and postdocs. The appointment to the project is 2 to 3 years for postdocs and four years for PhD students with full-time employment. Postdocs must be appointed to the project for at least 0.5 fte over a period of two years. Total duration of the entire project is at least two years and at most five years. Each project must consist of at least two and at most three PhD students and/or postdocs. The projects align with the thematic focus described in Chapter 2 and integrate multiple disciplines. Only in applications for three staff members (PhD students and / or postdocs) one of the staff members can be fully engaged in research into public support and acceptance. For smaller projects research into public support and acceptance can be part of a work package. The NWO funding that can be applied for is a maximum of k 750. Due to the matching requirement, the NWO funding is at most 89% of the total project costs. Each proposal must contain a complete description (research and financial) of the project for both the part that NWO funds and the part funded by matching. The project funding (NWO component + cash contribution by partners), can only be used for: Temporary, scientific personnel (PhDs and postdocs) employed by a university or research institution recognised by NWO, which are part of the consortium applying for funding. Personnel costs are funded in accordance with the most recent version of the Agreement for Funding Scientific Research. For every PhD and/or postdoc a personal bench fee of 5000 is available to partly cover the costs such as travel costs, visiting congresses and the costs of printing a thesis. Temporary non-scientific personnel. The 'Agreement for Funding Scientific Research' also applies here. Material costs related to expenses that are necessary for the realisation of the research. Costs for knowledge transfer, valorisation and instruments for the research can to a limited extent be budgeted to the NWO grant. The total expenditure for material costs may not amount to more than 40% of the NWO funding applied for. The duration of the appointments may not exceed the duration of the funding that is awarded for the research proposal submitted. Not eligible for funding from NWO are permanent staff, student assistants, overhead, maintenance and insurance costs, cost for visiting congresses and publication costs. Costs for standard facilities of research institutions or research departments of the partners (such as laboratory equipment, computers, and
8 Chapter 3: Guidelines for applicants / software) are also excluded from funding, as are costs for management, supervision, coordination and consultancy. 3.4 Conditions for matching In each project consortium matching from at least one private party is required. In addition, several private and/or public parties can be part of the consortium. Matching of these parties can be both cash and in-kind and must meet the following requirements: The matching is at least 11% of the total project costs (total project costs = NWO funding + cash + in-kind) The cash matching is at least 5.6% of the NWO funding The NWO funding is at least 50%. As a consequence the total project costs can never be higher than 1.5 M More matching than the required 11% is allowed, in these cases the minimal cash matching remains at least 5.6% of the NWO funding. You can make use of the calculation tool that will be made available online (at the bottom of the funding page of the funding instrument concerned). Several private and public partners may be involved in a project consortium. Matching from the different partners may be combined. There are no prior established rules concerning which type and which part of the matching each partner must contribute, as long as the total matching meets the requirements mentioned above. NWO will invoice the cash matching. In-kind matching should be accounted for by the applicants in retrospect. As in-kind matching, NWO accepts personnel hours or material contributions such as the use of specific infrastructure, software and access to facilities. However a condition is that these must be expressed in monetary value and form an integral part of the project plan. For further information about this see Annex 6.1 (Regulation in-kind contributions). The matching of the private and public partners must be apparent from the description of the project, the planning, and the budget of the proposal. Project management, supervision, coordination and consultancy do not fall under the matching. In case public partners, such as universities of applied sciences, DLO or TNO want to contribute own private funding and associated activities, these can only be attributed to the project as in-kind contributions. Contributions in the form of matching by co-funding partners must be confirmed in a letter from the partner concerned. This letter must be in English and consist of an explicit statement of the agreed-upon financial or capitalised personnel and/or material contribution. The contributions stated in the letter must correspond to the amounts stated in the budget of the application. The letter must be signed by an authorised person and be printed on the partner's letter paper. For each partner a letter should be added to the application as an annex. A condition for funding being awarded is that the partners have made a consortium agreement concerning issues such as confidentiality and intellectual property. This consortium agreement should be drawn up in accordance with the NWO Framework for PPPs (see Annex 6.2). A project awarded funding can only start after NWO has approved the consortium agreement.
9 Chapter 3: Guidelines for applicants / 3.5 When can applications be submitted The deadline for the submission of proposals is April 4, 2017, 14:00 hours CE(S)T. When you submit your application to ISAAC you will also need to enter additional details online. You should therefore start submitting your application at least one day before the deadline of this call for proposals. Applications submitted after the deadline will not be taken into consideration. 3.6 Preparing an application - Download the application form from the online application system ISAAC or from the website of NWO (at the bottom of the funding page of the funding instrument concerned). - Complete the application form. - Save the form as a PDF file and upload it in ISAAC. - Save the letters (in English) from the consortium partners in which they explicitly confirm the nature and value of their contributions to the project as a PDF file and upload them in ISAAC. The application should be written in English in a standard font (at least 11 points with the exception of the references which may be in a 9 point font). References to external documents (with the exception of references to literature) should be avoided. Do not place any bookmarks in the PDF as these will hinder the processing of your application. To ensure a good processing of your application, the PDF documents may not in any way be protected. When writing your proposal please bear in mind that it will be read by expert referees as well as a more broadly composed international assessment panel. 3.7 Specific granting conditions General guidelines and conditions The NWO Regulation on Granting and the Agreement on Payment of Costs for Scientific Research apply to applications. Rules for public private partnership At the request of the Dutch government NWO, KNAW, TO2, VSNU, Vereniging Hogescholen, VNO-NCW and MKB Nederland have formulated rules for public-private partnerships in the programming and carrying out fundamental and applied research and for intellectual property. This programme is PPP variant 2 (specific form). NWO Framework for Public-Private Partnerships (see Annex 6.2) NWO has adopted a framework for public-private partnerships that describes the minimum requirements for consortium agreements. These relate to recording arrangements on the consortium s governance, finances, publications, intellectual property and liability as well as disputes. The starting points used by NWO with regard to intellectual property (IP) and the transfer of knowledge are described in this PPP Framework. With regards to IP, Model 1 will be applied in this call for proposals, which means that NWO does not claim joint ownership of IP. Within Model 1, Option 1 (appropriate reflection) as well as Option 2 (parties right to their own results) may be applied in this call.
10 Chapter 3: Guidelines for applicants / When a researcher submits a proposal, the consortium partners need to confirm that they have read the framework document, including NWO s rules concerning IP and the transfer of knowledge as described in that document. An approved project cannot be started until the consortium partners have concluded a consortium agreement in accordance with the framework document. Start project If the proposal is awarded funding, the consortium partners must satisfy several conditions before the project can start, namely: The consortium partners should confirm their cash contribution and payment frequency in writing by means of a letter to NWO; The partners in the project that provide a cash contribution to the NWO component, should transfer the first part of the cash contribution to NWO; The consortium partners must draw up a consortium agreement in accordance with the NWO Framework for Public-Private Partnership (see Annex 6.2); The project leader fills in the details of the project employee to be appointed to the project in ISAAC and uploads the appointment form. Within six months of the project being awarded funding, the consortium partners must have fulfilled these conditions and the project must have been started with the appointment of the first employee to the project. If this cannot be realised on time then the funding awarded can be withdrawn. Project management The call Green II alligns with the knowledge and innovation agendas of the top sectors Agri&Food and Horticulture. Therefore during the course of the project, NWO will monitor the progress on behalf of these top sectors. Within NWO, the NWO-Sciences domain is the lead party of the call Green II and will manage the projects awarded funding. NWO will supervise the progress and results of the research funded and for this it will make use of the planning and the expected results as described in the proposal. Open Access All scientific publications resulting from research that is funded by grants derived from this call for proposals are to be immediately (at the time of publication) freely accessible worldwide (Open Access). There are several ways for researchers to publish Open Access. A detailed explanation regarding Open Access can be found on www.nwo.nl/openscience-en. Data management Responsible data management is part of good research. NWO wants research data that emerge from publicly funded research to become freely and sustainably available, as much as possible, for reuse by other researchers. Furthermore NWO wants to raise awareness among researchers about the importance of responsible data management. Proposals should therefore satisfy the data management protocol of NWO. This protocol consists of two steps: 1. Data management section The data management section is part of the research proposal. Researchers should answer four questions about data management within their intended research project. Therefore before the research starts the researcher will be asked to think about how the data collected must be ordered and categorised so that it can be made freely available. Measures will often need to be taken during the production and analysis of the data to make their later storage and dissemination possible. Researchers can state which research data they consider to be relevant for storage and reuse.
11 Chapter 3: Guidelines for applicants / 2. Data management plan After a proposal has been awarded funding the researcher should elaborate the data management section into a data management plan. The data management plan is a concrete elaboration of the data management section. In the plan the researcher describes whether use will be made of existing data or a new data collection and how the data collection will be made FAIR: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable. The plan should be submitted to NWO via ISAAC within a maximum of 4 months after the proposal has been awarded funding. NWO will approve the plan as quickly as possible. Approval of the data management plan by NWO is a condition for disbursement of the funding. The plan can be adjusted during the research. Further information about the data management protocol of NWO can be found at www.nwo.nl/datamanagement. Nagoya Protocol The Nagoya Protocol became effective on 12 October 2014 and ensures an honest and reasonable distribution of benefits emerging from the use of genetic resources (Access and Benefit Sharing; ABS). Researchers who make use of genetic sources from the Netherlands or abroad for their research should familiarise themselves with the Nagoya Protocol (www.absfocalpoint.nl). NWO assumes that researchers will take all necessary actions with respect to the Nagoya Protocol. 3.8 Submitting an application An application can only be submitted to NWO via the online application system ISAAC. Applications not submitted via ISAAC will not be taken into consideration. A principal applicant must submit his/her application via his/her own ISAAC account. If the principal applicant does not have an ISAAC account yet, then this should be created at least one day before the application is submitted to ensure that any registration problems can be resolved on time. If the principal applicant already has an NWO-account, then he/she does not need to create a new account to submit an application. When you submit your application in ISAAC you will need to enter several additional details online. Make sure you allow sufficient time for this. In ISAAC you can only use ASCII symbols ( plain text ), the use of (structural) formulas, illustrations, italics, et cetera is therefore not possible. These can of course be used in the actual proposal. For technical questions please contact the ISAAC helpdesk, see Section 5.2. You can state a maximum of three names of people who may not act as an external referee for your proposal (also referred to as non-referees ). These can be researchers as well as representatives from private and public parties. You may state the names of any non-referees in ISAAC.
12 Chapter 4: Assessment procedure / 4 Assessment procedure 4.1 Procedure No use will be made of pre-proposals. NWO will appoint an independent assessment committee that will consider all proposals. The assessment committee will consist of independent researchers from the relevant scientific disciplines and representatives from the public and private sectors. The assessment committee will issue an advice to the accredited board within NWO 2 about the assessment and ranking of the project proposals. During the realisation of this advice, policy considerations can play a role, such as realising a balance on the content of the programme or a reasonable spread of the projects across the research field covered by the programme, in the case of project proposals that have the same high level of quality. The accredited board within NWO will decide about the allocation of funding. The NWO Code of Conduct on Conflicts of Interest applies to all persons and NWO staff involved in the assessment and/or decision-making process. NWO gives all full proposals a qualification. The applicant is informed of this qualification when the decision about whether or not to award funding is announced. For further information about the qualifications see http://www.nwo.nl/en/funding/funding+process+explained/nwo+q ualification+system. 4.1.1 Admissibility of the applications The first step in the assessment procedure is to determine the admissibility of the application. This is done using the conditions stated in Chapter 3 of this call for proposals. NWO will not consider any applications to which at least one of the following aspects applies: the application has not been completed or has been completed incorrectly and the applicant has not or has not on time satisfied the request to submit a corrected application; the application is not in English; the main applicant does not satisfy the description provided in Section 3.1; the consortium does not satisfy the description provided in Section 3.2; wat is requested does not satisfy the description provided in Section 3.3 the matching does not satisfy the conditions stated in Section 3.4; the proposal does not concur with the aim and themes of this call; the application has not been submitted via ISAAC; the application was submitted after the deadline; the project cannot start within six months of the grant being awarded. 2 In 2017, NWO will have a new governance structure with a central Executive Board and four domain boards (http://www.nwo.nl/en/news-and-events/news/2015/contours-new-nwoannounced.html). More details as to what the accredited board for this funding instrument is will be published in due course on the NWO Funding page for this call.
13 Chapter 4: Assessment procedure / If it is still possible to correct the application then the applicant will be given the opportunity to adjust his/her application within 48 hours. If the application is not corrected within the time set then the application will not be considered further. If the application is corrected on time then this will still be taken into consideration. 4.1.2 Assessment of the project proposals The assessment consists of two phases. Phase 1: Advice from referees and rebuttal. For each proposal at least two international referees will issue an advice abased on the applicable criteria. The applicant will be given the opportunity to respond to the advice from the referees in writing. Phase 2: Assessment by the assessment committee. The assessment committee will use the proposals, the comments from the referees and the rebuttal to reach an independent assessment of the proposals. The role of the assessment committee differs from that of the referees because unlike the referees they can see all of the proposals, referees comments and rebuttals. The assessment committee can therefore reach a different assessment from that of the referees. The members of the assessment committee discuss all of the proposals on the basis of the applicable criteria (see Section 4.2) during a meeting. This results in an assessment advice for every proposal and a ranking advice for all proposals. 4.1.3 Decision The accredited board within NWO will decide which proposals will be awarded funding based on the advice of the assessment committee. The accredited board within NWO reserves the right not to use all of the available budget dependent on the number and quality of the proposals received. To be eligible for funding, both the scientific quality of the proposal (criterion A) as well as the potential economic and societal impact (criterion B) must have a minimum score of very good. The data management section in the application is not evaluated and hence not included in the decision about whether or not to award funding. However both the referees and the committee can issue advice with respect to the data management section. After a proposal has been awarded funding the applicant should elaborate the data management section into a data management plan. Applicants can make use of the advice from the referees and committee when they write the data management plan. The project can start as soon as the data management plan has been approved by NWO. January 2017 Call is published 4 April 2017 Deadline for submitting applications April - Augustus 2017 Consulting referees Augustus 2017 Applicants can issue a rebuttal September 2017 Assessment committee assesses and ranks the project proposals Oktober 2017 Decision by the accredited board within NWO
14 Chapter 4: Assessment procedure / Okotober 2017 about awarding/rejecting proposal NWO informs the applicants about the decision 4.2 Criteria The applications will be assessed according to the following criteria: A. Originality and scientific quality; B. Potential for societal and economic application. These two criteria carry equal weighting in the assessment and ranking. NWO uses scores on the scale of 1 (excellent) to 9 (unsatisfactory). A single score will be given for each criterion. To be eligible for funding, both the scientific quality of the proposal (criterion A) as well as the potential economic and societal impact (criterion B) must have a minimum score of very good. A. Originality and scientific quality Originality and innovative character, potential for excellent, precompetitive and possible interdisciplinary scientific contributions; possible contribution to system innovation; development of new knowledge and/or concepts, or ground-breaking methods; Scientific quality of proposal: goals, approach and methods, effectiveness and feasibility; Scientific quality of the consortium: multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary collaboration within and between subprojects in the research; national and international embedding, publications, expertise, access to the required equipment and facilities. B. Potential for societal and economic application Potential for societal and economic added value. In this Call, with an 11% public/private contribution, the emphasis is on the societal importance as described in the aim of this Call and the underlying themes. There is also an economic interest for the private consortium partners; Prospect of practical applicability of the intended research results. This emphatically concerns the potential for application in both the short term and the long term. In the case of long-term application (years after the project period), the perspective should be clearly described; Added value of the public-private partnership: interaction and collaboration between researchers and private and public partners in the consortium; Degree to which the application fits the aim and themes of this Call (see Chapter 2), including the degree of connection between disciplines. Degree to which application is in line with the required long-term vision, system approach as described in the aim of the Call, as well as the objectives of the top sectors; Urgency of the proposed research in view of the aim of the research as described in this Call.
15 Chapter 5: Contact details and other information / 5 Contact details and other information 5.1 Contact 5.1.1 Specific questions For specific questions about and this call for proposals please contact: Dr. Jelte Wouda T: +31 (0)70-3440687 Email: alwgroen@nwo.nl 5.1.2 Technical questions about the electronic application system ISAAC For technical questions about the use of ISAAC please contact the ISAAC helpdesk. Please read the manual first before consulting the helpdesk. The ISAAC helpdesk can be contacted from Monday to Friday between 10:00 and 17:00 hours CE(S)T on +31 (0)20 346 71 79. However, you can also submit your question by e-mail to isaac.helpdesk@nwo.nl. You will then receive an answer within two working days. 5.2 Other information Annexes: 6.1 Rules on in-kind contributions by private and (semi-)public parties 6.2 NWO Framework for Public Private Partnership
16 Chapter 6 Annexe(s) / 6 Annexe(s) 6.1 Regulations governing contributions in kind Definitions Private sector parties Enterprises are considered to be private sector partners. NWO defines an enterprise as follows: an activity carried out by an organisation or a person that is geared towards participating in the economy, using labour and capital, on a permanent basis, for the purpose of making a profit. SMEs fall under this category. International private sector parties may also participate, however all financial and material contributions must be named and satisfied in euros. Public and semipublic sector parties Public and semipublic sector partners are institutions that are not research institutions recognised by NWO (i.e. institutions that are not permitted to submit applications to NWO, such as TNO and DLO) and are not classified as a private sector parties. Rules 1. Possibility for private, public and semipublic sector parties to participate with contributions in kind An external partner (i.e. a private, public and semipublic sector party) usually participates in NWO research programmes by means of a financial contribution to the budget for the programme or project. In the NWO projects it is possible for private, public and semipublic sector parties to participate with contributions that are made fully or partially in kind, subject to the following conditions: The private and public sector partners in the project consortium are to make a joint contribution of at least 11% to project costs in this call. Contributions from private and public sector parties may be cash and in kind. Cash contributions are to be paid to NWO, NWO will allot the cash contribution to the principal applicant. Contributions/efforts in kind must be: Essential for the project, Included in the budget for research costs, as approved by NWO, contained in the application for the project in which the private, public and/or semipublic sector party is to participate (see clause 3 for contributions to be made in kind), Come under one of the cost categories referred to in clause 3. 2. Commitment If an external partner is to participate in the research project with a contribution to be made fully or partially in kind, as described above, the private sector party (and, where applicable, the public sector party) is to commit said contribution in kind, plus any financial contribution (cash or otherwise), to the NWO project. 3. Contributions to be made in kind In a research project, private sector parties (and, where applicable, public sector parties) may make contributions in kind in the form of the following costs, as incurred by the private sector party, if they are directly attributable to the research project (see also clause 1):
17 Chapter 6: Annexe(s) / conditions: Wage costs, on the understanding that the starting point is to be an hourly wage, calculated on the basis of the annual wage for a full time contract as stated in the payslip in the column headed wages for wage tax purposes, plus mark-ups for social insurance charges payable by law or on the basis of individual or collective employment contracts, and based on the assumption of 1650 productive hours per year. This wage may be increased by a mark-up for other general costs, subject to a maximum of 50% of the aforementioned wage costs. The resulting hourly rate to be attributed to the project, including the aforementioned 50% mark-up for general costs, may not exceed 100. Project management, supervision, coordination and consulting services do not count towards the matching contribution. Costs of materials to be consumed, resources and software (including licences) that are directly related to the project, based on the original purchase prices. Use of equipment and machinery: Costs of purchasing and using machinery and equipment, on the understanding that this is to be based on the depreciation charges to be allocated to the project, calculated on the basis of the original purchase prices and a depreciation period of at least five years; costs of consumables and maintenance during the period of use. Costs of purchasing and using machinery and equipment not purchased exclusively for the project are only considered contributions to the project, based on the proportion of their use attributable to the project, if there is a completed time sheet available for each piece of machinery or equipment. Contributions in kind made in the form of discounts on the normal purchase price in the market (list price) for machinery and equipment. The discount must amount to at least 25% of the list price. In this case, the amount to be charged to the project s budget for equipment is the list price less the discount. Contributions in kind in the form of making software available. 4. Accounting for contributions in kind Private and public sector parties must account for their contributions in kind by presenting NWO with a statement of the contributed costs no later than three months after the end of the research project to which the contribution in kind relates. The request for the determination of the value of a contribution in kind must be submitted at the same time as the application for the determination of the grant amount by the university partner or partners, and be accompanied by a joint final report. If the contribution in kind to be accounted for is more than 125,000, an auditor's report must be supplied; in other cases a written statement to the effect that the efforts contributed in kind are actually attributable to the project shall suffice. If the private or public sector party that has committed itself to a research project with a contribution in kind ultimately fails to make, or is unable to account for, all or part of this contribution in kind, NWO shall invoice this party for that part of the contribution in kind which has not yet been made in order that the total contribution commitment is fulfilled.
18 Chapter 6: Annexe(s) / 6.2 NWO- Framework for Public Private Partnership Version dated 25 January 2012 This Framework distinguishes between a consortium (i.e. all the parties collaborating in a programme) the legal entity (i.e. the legal form that is selected for the partnership), and the initial ownership of the intellectual property (IP) rights, which may rest with various configurations of parties participating in the consortium (see section 3, item 5). The Framework does not cover consortiums that operate with European grants or subsidies owing to the specific conditions that can be imposed by the EU. The Framework is, however, fully in line with European rules governing state support. 1. Structure of the Consortium Agreement A consortium agreement includes the following elements as a minimum: - A list of the consortium partners and their legal representatives. - Preamble providing information about the project and the reasons for entering into a consortium agreement. Also the aims that the signatories to the agreements want to achieve by working together. 1. An article providing definitions of the terms used. 2. An article referring to an appendix containing details of the project plan, the project organisation and other information about the project. 3. An article covering the governance of the consortium. 4. An article covering the finances of the consortium. 5. An article on the release of publications. 6. An article covering how to deal with confidential data and information. 7. An article covering how to deal with intellectual property, to be broken down into background knowledge, research results (foreground knowledge) and the granting of licences, plus an annex setting out the rights, duties and associated deadlines applying to parties in relation to patent applications and patent commercialisation. 8. An article on the exclusion of liability. 9. An article on resolving breaches of contract. 10. An article on amendments to the consortium agreement, including the appendix concerning the project. 11. An article on settling disputes. 12. An article setting out when the consortium agreement is to enter into force and how long it is to remain in effect. 13. An article on dealing with early termination. Note Re article 3 This article needs to include provisions covering the following as a minimum: the obligations of the consortium partners the exchanging of information and the reporting requirements (both internal and external) the resignation of existing members and the admission of new members Re article 4 One option for this article is to include arrangements on the subcontracting of work to third parties. Re article 11
19 Chapter 6: Annexe(s) / State that the agreement is governed by the law of the Netherlands. Agreement needs to be reached on which court shall be competent to handle any disputes. One option for this article is to include the possibility of mediation. Re article 12 One option for this article is to include a provision stating which articles are to remain in effect after the agreement expires, and for how long. 2. Details relating to governance The governance of a PPP depends on the PPP s size and complexity. In its simplest form, a PPP is a university project that receives funding from one public sector provider of grants and is cofinanced by one or more private sector parties. In such cases, the governance of the PPP is determined by the terms and conditions of the public sector provider of grants so long as it and the university (or universities, as appropriate) provide the majority of the funding for the project. If they do not, special arrangements need to be made. In the case of a partnership programme consisting of more than one research project, or a PPP covering several programmes, themes, flagships or similar, several layers of governance may be necessary. The top layer is referred to by terms such as General Assembly, Supervisory Board, Steering Group, Executive Board and the like. At a programme level, terms such as Programme Committee and Flagship Captains are used. The next level down relates to the projects. The duties of the various governance elements are to be laid down in the Consortium Agreement. 3. NWO Policy on Intellectual Property Version dated 27 November 2014 NWO s policy on intellectual property rights (IPRs) and the results of public-private partnerships (PPPs) encompasses two different IP models. These provide the framework for all agreements concerning intellectual property rights relating to the results of PPP research projects subsidised by NWO. The main difference between the two IP models is that NWO does not claim joint ownership in the case of model 1, but does so in the case of model 2. In both models, there is a linkage between IPRs and the percentage of private-sector funding and both models apply to situations where Dutch law bestows ownership of the results on the research organization that generated them (in its capacity as employer of the individual researcher who has made the invention). Each NWO Call for Proposals indicates which IP model is to apply in the case of PPPs. The parties concerned draw up their consortium agreements in accordance with that model. A consortium agreement signed by the parties concerned must be produced within 6 months of the award of grant. IP model 1 Where IP model 1 is designated, the Call for Proposals also indicates whether option 1 or option 2 is to apply: In option 1, the basic rule is that all the parties have a claim to IPRs. In the consortium agreement, the project partners assign the IPRs in a way that appropriately reflects their respective tasks, contributions and interests. This early assignment is expected to reduce the need for legal action to transfer IPR ownership later in the life of the project. In option 2, the basic rule is that the IP rights accrue to the employer of the individual researcher who has made the invention. If the parties agree at a later
20 Chapter 6: Annexe(s) / stage that the IPRs accruing to the research organization under this rule should be transferred in whole or in part to a private-sector party, a market-compliant payment must in principle be made for them, with the contribution made to the project by the private-sector partner being deducted from this. An IPR transfer of this kind is regarded as a legal and commercial transaction on which Dutch VAT must be paid and passed on to the tax authorities. Option 1: appropriate reflection Assignment of IPRs The starting point for negotiation is that all the parties have a claim to IPRs in relation to the results of the research. The project partners negotiate which of them can claim which rights and record this in the consortium agreement. Arrangements should at any rate be agreed as to which project partner has the right to file for patent, if it wishes to do so, on any invention resulting from the research (the right of first refusal ). When drawing up these agreements, rights can be differentiated in accordance with tasks. To comply with the rules on state support, it is important that the consortium agreement should show that the assignment of IPRs to project partners appropriately reflects their respective tasks, contributions and interests. The process of assigning IPRs can also include the negotiation of agreements on marketcompliant payments. The assignment of IPRs to the various project partners must take account of the percentage categories established by NWO. The principle underlying these categories is that private-sector parties should be allocated rights in proportion to the size of the contributions they make. For example, if it is agreed that a private-sector party should have a right of first refusal even though it is making a very limited contribution, it is reasonable to establish that, if it takes up this right, it will make a market-compliant payment, minus the contribution it has made to the project. The NWO percentage categories are as follows 1 : 1. For a private-sector contribution of 10% or less, businesses are to be assigned no rights to the results obtained by the party carrying out the research. They may, however, make internal, non-commercial use of results in the course of the research project; 2. For a private-sector contribution of between 11% and 30% (inclusive), businesses may be given an option on an exclusive right to make commercial use of the results obtained by the party carrying out the research, whether or not they have been patented. If this option is taken up by a business, it must make a market-compliant payment for the commercial use right, minus the contribution it has made to the project; 3. For a private-sector contribution of between 31% and 50% (inclusive), businesses may be given in addition to the option mentioned in category 2 a non-exclusive, royaltyfree commercial use right. 1 At 0.5% and above, percentages must be rounded up to the nearest whole figure. Calculation of private-sector contribution percentages
21 Chapter 6: Annexe(s) / The calculation of the percentages is based on the marginal costs (the NWO contribution + cash/in-kind private-sector contribution(s)). NWO policy also permits private-sector contributions to be totalized, so that for example an SME that has made a relatively small contribution can still qualify for inclusion in category 2 or 3. It is important to note, however, that in category 2 the enterprise must make a market-compliant payment for any licence it wants, minus the (in this case, small) contribution it has made to the project. Transfer of ownership If a private-sector project partner wants to file a patent on an invention to which another partner owns the IPRs under the consortium agreement, it can attempt to negotiate an IPR transfer. If such a transfer takes place, a market-compliant payment must be made, minus the contribution made by the business concerned. An IPR transfer of this kind is regarded as a legal and commercial transaction on which Dutch VAT must be paid and passed on to the tax authorities. The market-compliant payment can be calculated in various ways: using a marketbased approach (comparison with similar IP transactions), an income-based approach (consideration of expected future income), a cost-based approach (based on the cost of generating the research result), or a valuation by an independent expert. The process of negotiating and fixing the amount of the market-compliant payment should be recorded by the consortium secretariat. The deduction from the market-compliant payment should be absolute rather than relative. In other words, the entire amount of the business s contribution should be deducted from the market-compliant payment. Access to research results The consortium agreement can include clauses on the protection of research results, confidentiality and publications, with due regard to 4.5 of the General Terms and Conditions of NWO Grants (Algemene subsidiebepalingen NWO). Research results that do not qualify for IP protection and are not covered by a confidentiality clause may be used by all the parties as they see fit. Copyright and databases Copyright arrangements are governed by the NWO s Open Access policy on publications. As regards databases generated within projects, the rule is that the NWO and the research organization concerned are regarded as joint data producers in terms of the Dutch Databases (Legal Protection) Act (Databankenwet) and, as such, have the right to control any further use of the database concerned. Option 2: parties right to their own results Assignment of IPRs In option 2, IPRs relating to the results of the research accrue to the party that carried out the research generating those results. Here too, the NWO percentage categories apply. These are as follows: 1. For a private-sector contribution of 10% or less, businesses are to be assigned no rights to the results obtained by the party carrying out the research. They may, however, make internal, non-commercial use of results in the course of the research project; 2. For a private-sector contribution of between 11% and 30% (inclusive), businesses may be given an option on an exclusive right to make commercial use of the results obtained by the party carrying out the research, whether
22 Chapter 6: Annexe(s) / or not they have been patented. If this option is taken up by a business, it must make a market-compliant payment for the commercial use right, minus the contribution it has made to the project; 3. For a private-sector contribution of between 31% and 50% (inclusive), businesses may be given in addition to the option mentioned in category 2 a non-exclusive, royaltyfree commercial use right. Calculation of private-sector contribution percentages The calculation of the percentages is based on the marginal costs (the NWO contribution + cash/in-kind private-sector contribution(s)). NWO policy also permits private-sector contributions to be totalized, so that for example an SME that has made a relatively small contribution can still qualify for inclusion in category 2 or 3. It is important to note, however, that in category 2 the enterprise must make a market-compliant payment for any licence it wants, minus the (in this case, small) contribution it has made to the project. Transfer of ownership If a private-sector project partner wants to claim the IPRs on the results of research conducted by another partner in the consortium by filing for a patent, it must make a market-compliant payment, reduced by the amount of its contribution to the project. An IPR transfer of this kind is regarded as a legal and commercial transaction on which Dutch VAT must be paid and passed on to the tax authorities. The market-compliant payment can be calculated in various ways: using a marketbased approach (comparison with similar IP transactions), an income-based approach (consideration of expected future income), a cost-based approach (based on the cost of generating the research result), or a valuation by an independent expert. The process of negotiating and fixing the amount of the market-compliant payment should be recorded by the consortium secretariat. The deduction from the market-compliant payment should be absolute rather than relative. In other words, the entire amount of the business s contribution should be deducted from the market-compliant payment. Access to research results The consortium agreement can include clauses on the protection of research results, confidentiality and publications, with due regard to 4.5 of the General Terms and Conditions of NWO Grants (Algemene subsidiebepalingen NWO). Research results that do not qualify for IP protection and are not covered by a confidentiality clause may be used by all the parties as they see fit. Copyright and databases Copyright arrangements are governed by the NWO s Open Access policy on publications. As regards databases generated within projects, the rule is that the NWO and the research organization concerned are regarded as joint data producers in terms of the Dutch Databases (Legal Protection) Act (Databankenwet) and, as such, control any further use of the database concerned.
Published by: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research Version: December 2016 Visiting address: Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië 300 2593 CE The Hague The Netherlands January 2017