An online design platform for intelligent manufacturing

The Manutelligence project is creating an online platform for manufacturing companies that aims to boost efficiency when designing a new service or product. The platform will also enable the reuse and optimisation of designs and close the gap between design, manufacturing and testing.

© vege - fotolia.com

Focusing on four use cases – automotive, ships, smart houses and the ‘FABLab’ (a digital manufacturing workplace that can be used by anyone), the project team is building a secure space in which designers and engineers can access information from IT and Internet of Things (IoT) systems.

The process starts with initial design as a simple computer-aided design drawing and simulation, for which design tools and simulation suites will be integrated. Designers will then create a digital mock-up of the product, containing all relevant data, and the product or service will then be simulated and tested in a virtual environment.

Information from the digital mock-up will feed into the process design and the manufacturing phases. Process design and manufacturing execution tools will enable engineers to design and manage these phases, turning the digital mock-up into a physical product.

From then on, information from the IoT will enable traceability and sensoring of physical products during the testing, usage, maintenance and after sales services.

Project details

• Project acronym:Manutelligence
• Participants:Italy (Coordinator), Germany, Finland, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden
• Project Reference N° 636951
• Total cost: €4 816 510
• EU contribution: €4 267 735
• Duration:February 2015 - January 2018

HORIZON 2020 FAST TRACK TO INNOVATION - Projects selected for funding in 2015

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/doc/call/h2020/h2020-ftipilot-2015-1/1665133-fti-projects-2015_beneficiaries_en.pdf

Commission speeds up access to market of 16 innovative projects with €36 million

The European Commission is awarding €36 million to bring innovative ideas to market quicker. 16 innovative projects, involving partners from 19 countries, will receive up to €3 million each under the first round of the Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) scheme, run under the EU's research and innovation programme Horizon 2020.

/easme/en/files/fti-graphjpgFTI graph.jpg

The projects include launching an airborne wind energy system, protecting people from disease-carrying mosquitoes, making sustainable, renewable and cheaper plastics from wood, and developing intelligent needle tracking for anaesthetics.

Carlos Moedas, European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: "Across Europe, we need to nurture innovative ideas and make more of them become a reality. Today we are giving top innovative businesses a head start in the race to market by providing faster access to €36 million in EU funding."

The FTI scheme was launched in January 2015. The scheme proved popular from the beginning, receiving 269 proposals by the first ever cut-off date for applications on 29 April. Among the consortia, 82% of all partners were from industry and almost half were SMEs. Independent experts have selected 16 proposals for funding. Germany leads with 13 project partners, followed by France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom with nine each.

Background

The FTI is a fully bottom up measure promoting innovation activities at the close-to market stage. It supports mature innovative concepts that have already been tested. Supported activities include systems validation in real working conditions, testing, piloting, validation of business models and standard setting and pre-normative research.

The scheme runs during 2015-2016 as a pilot initiative under Horizon 2020, with a budget of €200 million to support any topic under the “Societal Challenges” and the specific objective “Leadership in Enabling and Industrial Technologies (LEITs)”. This thematic openness – combined with openness to all kinds of innovation entities, will nurture trans-disciplinary and cross-sector cooperation for growth through innovation.

The pilot is implemented through one common and continuously open call. Proposals can be submitted at any time. The next cut-off dates for applications in 2015 are 1 September and 1 December. Continuation of the Fast Track to Innovation beyond 2016 will depend on the results of an in-depth evaluation of the scheme.

Media contact:

EC Spokesperson for Research, Science and Innovation

Sagatavots atbalsta programmas projekts iesācējuzņēmumu atbalstam

Ekonomikas ministrija ir sagatavojusi un saskaņošanai nodevusi atbalsta programmas projektus, kas paredz akselerācijas fondu izveidi iesācējuzņēmumu (start-up) atbalstam. Programma izstrādāta ar mērķi veicināt uz eksportu orientētu produktu un pakalpojumu attīstīšanu ar augtāku pievienoto vērtību un radīt jaunas, labi atalgotas darba vietas.

Programmas ietvaros izveidotajos akseleratoros iesācējuzņēmumiem vairāku mēnešu garumā būs iespējams saņemt mentoringa atbalstu, kā arī atbalstu klientu un partneru piesaistei, finansējuma piesaistei, pieeju nozares ekspertiem un apmācības, kas ļaus jaunā uzņēmuma komandai veltīt pilnu laiku sava produkta vai tehnoloģijas attīstībai.

Tāpat paredzēts atbalsts pirms-sēklas (līdz 50 tūkst. euro) un sēklas investīciju (līdz 250 tūkst. euro) veikšanai, lai nodrošinātu finansējumu inovatīviem uzņēmumiem ar straujas izaugsmes potenciālu to darbības sākuma posmā – biznesa darbības modeļa izstrādei, produkta izpētei, izstrādei un attīstīšanai.  

Programmas ieviešanu nodrošinās akciju sabiedrība "Attīstības finanšu institūcija Altum", kas veiks finanšu starpnieku atlasi. Plānots, ka atbalsta programmas darbība tiks sākta 2016. gadā.

Jaunajā Eiropas Savienības fondu plānošanas periodā Ekonomikas ministrijas programmu ietvaros plānotais investīciju apjoms inovācijas un uzņēmējdarbības sekmēšanai  ir 463 miljoni EUR, tai skaitā iesācējuzņēmumiem kopumā būs pieejams atbalsts 75 miljonu EUR apmērā.

Detalizētāk atbalsta programmas nosacījumi aprakstīti MK noteikumu projektā “Noteikumi par akselerācijas fondiem saimnieciskās darbības veicēju izveides, attīstības un konkurētspējas veicināšanai”.

Evita Urpena

Ekonomikas ministrijas

Sabiedrisko attiecību nodaļas vadītāja

invests in highly innovative SMEs via @H2020SME. Contributions from €0.5 to €2.5 million

Open Call H2020-SMEINST-1-2015: Horizon 2020 Dedicated SME Instrument Phase 1 and 2

The dedicated SME instrument's supports close-to-market activities, with the aim to give a strong boost to breakthrough innovation. Highly innovative SMEs with a clear commercial ambition and a potential for high growth and internationalisation are the prime target.

The SME Instrument offers small and medium-sized businesses the following:

• Business innovation grants for feasibility assessment purposes (optional phase I): EUR 50,000 (lump sum) per project (70% of total cost of the project);
• Business innovation grants for innovation development & demonstration purposes (possible phase II): an amount in the indicative range of EUR 500,000 and 2,5 million (70% of total cost of the project as a general rule);
• Free-of-charge business coaching (optional in phases I and II), in order to support and enhance the firm's innovation capacity and help align the project to strategic business needs;
• Access to a wide range of innovation support services and facilitated access to risk finance (mostly in optional phase III), to facilitate the commercial exploitation of the innovation.

Topics, further information, documents and submission service:

• BG-12-2015-1: Supporting SMEs efforts for the development - deployment and market replication of innovative solutions for blue growth
• BIOTEC-5b-2015-1: SME boosting biotechnology-based industrial processes driving competitiveness and sustainability
• DRS-17-2015-1: Critical infrastructure protection topic 7: SME instrument topic: Protection of Urban soft targets and critical infrastructures
• ICT-37-2015-1: Open Disruptive Innovation Scheme (implemented through the SME instrument)
• INSO-10-2015-1: SME business model innovation
• INSO-9-2015-1: Innovative mobile e-government applications by SMEs
• IT-1-2015-1: Small business innovation research for Transport
• NMP-25-2015-1: Accelerating the uptake of nanotechnologies, advanced materials or advanced manufacturing and processing technologies by SMEs
• PHC-12-2015-1: Clinical research for the validation of biomarkers and/or diagnostic medical devices
• SC5-20-2015-1: Boosting the potential of small businesses for eco-innovation and a sustainable supply of raw materials
• SFS-08-2015-1: Resource-efficient eco-innovative food production and processing
• SIE-01-2015-1: Stimulating the innovation potential of SMEs for a low carbon energy system
• Space-SME-2015-1: SME Instrument

Deadline Date: 25-11-2015 17:00:00 (Brussels local time)
Cut-off date(s):

• 18-03-2015 17:00:00 (Brussels local time)
• 17-06-2015 17:00:00 (Brussels local time)
• 17-09-2015 17:00:00 (Brussels local time)
• 25-11-2015 17:00:00 (Brussels local time)

106 млн € выделено организацией BBI JU для развития инновационных методов использования возобновляемых ресурсов

25 августа 2015 года Совместным Предприятием Био Индустрии (BBI JU)опубликован призыв подачи проектных предложений с целью преобразования возобновляемых ресурсов в полезные биопродукты

Призыв будет поддерживать исследования и инновационные действия, в том числе демонстрационные, способствующие наилучшему использованию биомассы.

Призыв к предложениям направлен на ускорение развития новых биохимических технологий. Кроме того, он ориентирован на использование синергии между секторами, то есть на создание новых бизнес-моделей, интегрирующих участников рынка по всей цепочке создания стоимости, что будет способствовать улучшению стратегического сотрудничества между различными секторами экономики:

связывая субъектов, участвующих в поставках биомассы (выращивание растительной продукции, лесного хозяйства, сельского хозяйства) к биохимическим производствам и потребителям био- продукции. Такая интеграция производителей, заводов и потребителей будут помогать малым и средним предприятиям с их технологиями, оборудованием и приборами быть необходимыми для помощи крупным предприятиям, а также в автономных проектах.

Бюджет, выделенный для второго вызова предложений будет структурирован следующим образом:

28 млн € будет выделено на Исследования и Инновационные действия и будет охватывать следующие темы:

1. Преобразование потоков лигнина (сложные органические полимеры, которые делают клетки древесины жесткими) в биохимические соединения, затем они могут использоваться в таких секторах, как химическая, транспортная, аэрокосмическая, текстильная, энергетическая, строительная отрасли;

2. Предварительная обработка лигноцеллюлозы (растительные сухое вещество), с одновременным удалением загрязнений и разделением лигниновых и целлюлозных фракций;

3. Разработка на основе био-молекул для покрытия и обработки поверхностей, для растущего рынка предприятий, которые стремятся увеличить срок годности продукции;

4. Технологии разделения и извлечения, с целью использования добавленной стоимости таких остатков лесоразработок, как кора и ветви деревьев ;

5. Содействие практике, повышающей эффективность лесопользования, для обеспечения широкого доступа к лесным ресурсам с щадящим воздействием на окружающую среду;

6. Развитие передовых материалов на основе целлюлозы для обеспечения рыночных перспектив в качестве текстиля, пленок и термо- пластов, с удовлетворением жестких экологических требований;

7. Воспроизводство сортов деревьев, пригодных для производства древесины, предназначенной для промышленных и биохимических процессов. Это означает, инжениринг и генерацию исходного древесного сырья с химической структурой, предназначенной для более поздних стадий обработки;

8. Повышение производительности промышленных многоцелевых сельскохозяйственных культур: с учетом ограниченных природных ресурсов, это означает развитие более эффективного поглощения питательных веществ, использования воды и регенерации земли;

9. Максимальное использование водной биомассы: водные растения, водоросли и микро- водоросли обладают высокой добавочной стоимостью применений, таких как пищевые ингредиенты, полимеры, кормовые белки, косметика, фармацевтика и т. д., затраты на добычу и переработку должны быть снижены.

Дополнительно 12 миллионов € предназначены для инновационных и эффективных биотехнологий. Целью является улучшение технологий, передовых, по сравнению с существующими, чтобы они стали экономически конкурентоспособными по отношению к ископаемым

Основная часть гранта, 64 млн €, будет выделено для Демонстрационных Действий которые подразумевают следующее:

1. Показать, как лигноцеллюлозное сырье может быть превращено в химические строительные блоки и продукты с высокой добавленной стоимостью, по сравнению с продуктами и процессами на основе ископаемых альтернатив;

2. Разработать инновационные композитные упаковочные решения на основе целлюлозы, главным образом для улучшения их механических свойств и адресным контролем загрязнений (пыль, бактерии и другие примеси);

3. Произвести био-эластомеры на основе сырья Европейского происхождения;

4. Разработка на биологической основе промежуточного сырья и конечных продуктов высокой чистоты из растительных масел и жиров;

5. Использовать большинство сельскохозяйственных отходов и побочных потоков из аграрно-пищевой промышленности;

6. Экстракты органических кислот из твердых бытовых отходов;

7. Преодоление низкого уровня выхода продукции в процессах брожения в производстве промышленных продуктов, таких как спирты, кислоты, белки, аминокислоты, углеводы и специальные карбогидраты.

Более миллиона € 2 будет отведено для Действий Координации и Поддержки. Одна часть будет сфокусирована на содействии приспособления био-продуктов к удовлетворению стандартов и правил, необходимых для торговли на всей территории ЕС и расширению их потенциала на рынке. Другая часть Действия будет направлена на повышение осведомленности о биопродуктах и их преимуществах, таким образом получить общественное признание и достичь успеха в сфере биоэкономики.

Интенсивность поддержки, размер гранта:

Размеры грантов для каждого проекта EUR 1 000 000- 5 000 000

Интенсивность поддержки от 70 до 100% .

Срок подачи проектов- до 03.12.2015

http://www.bbi-europe.eu/

http://nkb-projekts.lv/

From local authorities to venture capital organisations

how #SMEs can access EU finance: http://europa.eu/!Xj98pu 

New €106 million released by BBI JU to research innovative ways of using renewable resources

Second call for proposals for the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU) published today New €106 million for research and development are unveiled today for bio-based initiatives to turn renewable resources into useful bio-based products. The announcement comes in the form of a second call for proposals for the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU), and will support research and innovation actions, including demonstration actions for making the best use of biomass. The call for proposals is aimed at speeding up the development of new biorefineries. Moreover, it is focused on exploiting synergies across sectors. This means new business models that integrate economic actors all along the entire value chain. It also means improving the strategic cooperation between the different economic sectors: linking actors involved in biomass supply (breeding and plant production, forestry, farming) to biorefineries and consumers of bio-based products. This integration of producers, refineries and consumers will help SMEs as their technologies, equipment and instruments will be needed to assist large enterprises as well as stand-alone projects. Budget allocated for the second call for proposals The budget for the proposals will be split as follows: €28 million will be allocated for Research and Innovation Actions, and will cover the following topics: 1. Converting the streams of lignin (the complex organic polymers that make wood cells rigid) in biorefineries so they can be eventually used in sectors like chemical, transport, aerospace, textile, energy, and construction industries; 2. Pre-treating lignocellulose (plant dry matter) while simultaneously removing contaminants and separating lignin and cellulosic fractions. Solving this challenge will remove a major hurdle to processing biomass into feedstock; 3. Developing bio-based molecules for coating and surface treatment, a growing market as businesses aim to increase the shelf life of products; 4. Separating and extracting technologies to pull added value compounds such as bark and branches from wood and forest-based residues; 5. Promoting practices to improve effective forest management, so there is more access to wood resources with less of an environmental impact; 6. Developing sustainable cellulose based materials to ensure their strong market prospects as textiles, films and thermoplastics meet tight environmental demands; 7. Tailoring tree species to produce wood designed for industrial processes and biorefining purposes. This means engineering and generating wood feedstock with a chemical structure designed for later processing steps; 8. Increasing productivity of industrial multi-purpose agricultural crops: with limited natural resources, this means developing more efficient nutrient uptake, water use and land regeneration; 9. Making the most of the aquatic biomass: water plants like algae and microalgae have high value applications such as food ingredients, polymers, feed proteins, cosmetics, pharma, etc but the costs of the extraction and conversion need to come down. An additional €12 million is assigned for Innovative and efficient biorefinery technologies. The aim is to improve the technologies pioneered by existing biorefineries so they become cost-competitive with respect to fossil counterparts. Most biorefineries today are designed to process only one kind of feedstock, which means most of the important value chains are not exploited. The bulk of the grant, €64 million, will be allocated for Demonstration Actions that address the following: 1. Show how lignocellulosic feedstocks can be turned into chemical building blocks and high added value products, with products and processes benchmarked against fossil based alternatives; 2. Develop innovative cellulose-based composite packaging solutions, mainly to improve their mechanical properties and address contaminant control (dust, bacteria and other impurities); 3. Produce bio-based elastomers from Europe-grown feedstock; 4. Develop high purity bio-based intermediates and end products from vegetable oils and fats; 5. Make the most of agricultural residues and side streams from the agro-food industry; 6. Extract organic acids from municipal solid waste; 7. Overcome low product yields from fermentation processes in the production of industrial products like alcohols, acids, proteins, amino acids, and specialty carbohydrates. €2 more million will cover Coordination and Support Actions. Part of this is focused on helping bio-based products meet the standards and regulations needed to trade across the EU and expand their market potential. Other actions are aimed at enhancing awareness of biobased products and their benefits in order to get public acceptance and reach the success of a bioeconomy. The call for proposals follows the July 2014 launch of the BBI JU, a €3.7 billion public-private partnership aimed at supporting the development of Europe’s emerging bioeconomy. About BBI JU The BBI JU is a public-private partnership (PPP), part of the EU’s plan to move its economy to a post-petroleum era. It is expected to help make the EU’s economy more resource-efficient and sustainable, while supporting growth and employment. €3.7 billion will fund the BBI JU between 2014 and 2024, with €975 million coming from the European Commission and €2.7 billion from its private partner, the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC). The BBI is responsible for the implementation of open call for proposals for research and innovation actions, as well as coordination and support actions, in line with the Horizon 2020 rules for participation. The Submission Service will be available later today. For more information on the calls, please click he

Survey on the introduction of robotic services in healthcare facilities

The European project Robot-Era is an ambitious integrated project. Its objective is to develop and implement the general feasibility, scientific/technical effectiveness and social/legal plausibility and acceptability by end-users of a plurality of complete advanced robotic services, integrated in intelligent environments, which will actively cooperate with older people to provide independent living. The project has set up a short survey to collect the point of view of secondary, tertiary and quaternary stakeholders on the introduction of robotic services in healthcare facilities. You are invited to participate in the survey until 25th September, it should take about 10 minutes to complete.

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Date: 

From 21/08/2015 to 25/09/2015

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Innovative Medicines Initiative says its research matches the best

Science|Business Reporting

An analysis of journal papers indicates IMI’s research has a high impact, but the partnership’s former head Michel Goldman says bibliometrics do not properly reflect the interests of participants. New metrics are needed to assess interdisciplinary projects

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Michel Goldman

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The quality of the science funded by the European Union’s Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is demonstrated by a detailed analysis of the journal papers it has generated, according to research commissioned by the €3.3 billion public/private partnership.

The bibliometric analysis shows that IMI-funded research stands shoulder to shoulder with research backed by other high-profile funding organisations like the Wellcome Trust, the UK Medical Research Council and the Foundation for the US National Institutes of Health, IMI claims.

By the end of 2014, IMI projects had resulted in 1,134 scientific papers. This IMI research has a citation impact of 2.19, which more than twice the world average of 1.0, and almost twice the EU average of 1.10.

Amongst IMI papers, 24 per cent are categorised as highly cited, which means they are in the top 10 per cent of papers for the journal category and year in which they appeared, in terms of the number of citations received.

The analysis also points to the collaborative nature of IMI research, with almost 60 per cent of all papers featuring authors from different sectors, including universities, pharmaceutical companies, small companies and patient organisations.

Just over half of papers published are by authors from more than one country.

The cross-sector and international roster is significant because papers with authors from multiple sectors or international co-authors have a higher citation impact than papers with authors from a single sector or country.

IMI projects with particularly high citation impacts include those addressing serious diseases, such as Newmeds, which is doing research in schizophrenia and depression; Proactive, which is working on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; U-Bipored, an asthma research programme; and the diabetes project, Direct.

Other projects with a high impact according to the bibliometric analysis are addressing cross-cutting issues in drug development, for example, Biovacsafe, eTox and Safe-T, which are all looking into safety aspects; the drug delivery project Orbito; and the data management project Open Phacts.

Research Agenda

All this will be music to the ears of Pierre Meulein, who next month steps into the position of executive director of IMI, nine months after the previous incumbent Michel Goldman resigned.

During the inter-regnum IMI has been subject to some of the fiercest criticism it has faced since it got off  the ground in 2008, with accusations that the research agenda lacks transparency, is skewed by the requirements of pharmaceutical companies and that the whole programme amounts to a public subsidy to the industry.

In advance of taking up his post Meulein has been careful not to get involved in this criticism, which was sparked by an article in the German news magazine Der Spiegel and taken up by MEPs in debates in the European Parliament.

Speaking to Science|Business soon after his appointment was announced, Meulein refused to be drawn, saying only, “Every initiative has its critics. We should listen. Improvements can always be made.”

Incentivising collaborations

From the perspective of the Der Spiegel accusation of industry bias, a commentary by Michel Goldman on the impact of IMI’s research which appears in this month’s issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology, is not very helpful. In the article Goldman says the bibliometric analysis, “provides evidence of the positive impact of an industry agenda on the output of collaborative non-competitive research.”

The bibliometric study published this month is the sixth such review of IMI’s research. However, in the Nature Biotechnology commentary, Goldman and his co-authors say this type of analysis is not a satisfactory tool for assessing public/private partnerships. “Classic bibliometrics is not suited to measure and incentivise collaborations, which is a key aspect that consortia are leveraging,” they write.

New metrics are needed that reflect the expectations and interests of all the stakeholders, from big pharma to biotechs, basic researchers, clinicians, patients’ groups and funders, Goldman says. Assessment of the impact of large-scale research consortia should be based on a framework that encompasses criteria that matter to both public and corporate funders. 

Such a framework is needed, “to compare and improve the performance of ongoing consortia and establish new ones that are fit for purpose”. In addition, a ‘robust demonstration of the efficiency” of organisations like IMI is required, “to support the assumption that they represent the way forward to boost innovation in the healthcare sector,” Goldman says.

Energy-efficient rubber pyrolysis and sulphur removal

Close to 6 million tonnes of used tyres have been illegally dumped or landfilled. An innovative and cost-effective recycling process that yields high-end products will increase the competitiveness of the tyre reclamation industry and encourage recycling.

© Thinkstock

Current end-of-life tyre (ELT) recycling and recovery programmes, while recovering most of the mass, yield products of low value. This severely limits the competitiveness of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) active in the field.

Scientists are developing a complete process to convert waste rubber crumb into valuable materials and chemicals with EU support of the project SULFREE (Tyre recycling pyrolysis for producing oil with less than 0.2% sulphur content, low cost sulphur impregnated carbon for reducing mercury air emissions, with simultaneous elemental). The increased competitiveness of the global tyre recycling industry will encourage recycling and reduce illegal disposal.

The process begins with microwave pyrolysis. There are currently no ELT microwave pyrolysis plants in operation, so this is already a major innovation. The innovative internal mixing system of discs and rods thoroughly mixes the rubber crumb to achieve full pyrolysis. An optimal operating temperature lower than originally planned will have major benefits, including reduced energy consumption, faster processing times and higher throughput.

Carbon black and hot gas, the products of the pyrolysis process, are both high in sulphur content. The carbon black is activated with steam in a simple procedure to increase its commercial value. The hot vapour is cooled, compressed and injected under pressure into a hydrodesulphurisation unit (a fixed-bed reactor) to yield ultralow-sulphur oil, ultralow-sulphur gas and sulphur. A condensing system that produces condensed sulphur-rich oils instead of vapour significantly reduces the cost and complexity of the system.

The shell-and-tube-type heat exchanger of the condenser facilitates heat and steam recovery to satisfy the system's energy requirements and to activate the carbon black. Scientists have already demonstrated the cost effectiveness of the system. Recovery rates will be comparable to current programmes (over 90 %), with the important difference that the products will be high-value pyrolysis oil, sulphur-impregnated activated carbon, elemental sulphur and combustion gases.

Within the first reporting period, a lab-scale version of the entire process has been implemented, and data currently being collected is aiding in optimisation of operating conditions. SULFREE technology is expected to have important economic benefits for the end-user SMEs, increasing their business opportunities and profitability. Encouraging tyre recycling will also minimise the illegal disposal of ELTs, providing welcome relief to an already overburdened planet.

Data Management in Citizen Science Projects: share your experience

The ‘Citizen Science and Smart City Summit’, organised by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in 2014, highlighted issues regarding the sustainability and interoperability of data collected by citizens, which hindered the re-usability and integration of these data across borders. The JRC is following up on these findings with a detailed study of interoperability arrangements, hosting and data management practices of Citizen Science projects, with a particular emphasis on environmental topics such as air quality, noise and biodiversity. These activities include a survey designed to capture the state of play with regard to data management practices on the local, national and continental scales.

Beyond the aims of pure stocktaking and awareness raising, this survey should establish a baseline for prioritising subsequent actions and for measuring progress. The results will also inform the discussion on the potential roles of the European Commission – and especially the JRC – in Citizen Science.

In agreement with the European Environment Agency (EEA), the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) and the international Citizen Science Association (CSA), it was decided to open the scope of the survey to the international community, so that non-EU and globally acting organisations could also benefit from the results.

The survey will be open until 31 August 2015, and the results of the subsequent analysis will be available by the end of September.  We invite all those involved in Citizen Science projects to take the survey in order to provide us with invaluable information and insight into Citizen Science projects and best practice.

Take the survey!

Fast Track to Innovation (FTI) Pilot

The FTI pilot is the only fully-bottom-up measure in Horizon 2020 promoting close-to-the-market innovation activities that is open to all types of participants.  FTI aims to reduce the time from idea to market and to increase the participation in Horizon 2020 of industry, SMEs and first-time industry applicants.

FTI also aims to nurture trans-disciplinary and cross-sector approaches. All kinds of innovation actors can work together to develop sustainable innovations addressing societal needs or areas under 'Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies' and, at the same time, create viable business opportunities. This is why FTI projects must be business-driven and clearly demonstrate a realistic potential for quick deployment and market take-up of innovations.

On offer is a maximum EU contribution of €3M per proposal with time-to-grant of around 6 months. 

Proposals for funding must be submitted by consortia comprising between three and five legal entities established in at least three different EU Member States or countries associated to Horizon 2020.  Within each consortium there must either be an allocation of at least 60% of the budget to industry participants or the consortium must include a minimum of two industry participants in a consortium of three or four partners, or three industry participants in a consortium of five partners.

Launched on 6th January 2015, proposals can be submitted at any time during the two-year pilot with ranking following three cut-off dates in 2015: April 29, September 1 and December 1.The three cut-off dates for 2016 will be made public at a later time.

SMEs and first-time industry applicants are particularly invited to submit proposals.

More information about the FTI pilot can be found on the Horizon 2020 website

Horizon 2020 energy calls for 2016-2017 proposals

07/08/2015

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The 2016-17 Calls for Proposals from Horizon 2020 (H2020) Energy are expected to be launched in late September/early October 2015.

The exact content of the Calls has yet to be finalised but it is expected that the calls will cover the following technology areas:

• Energy efficiency including heating and cooling, engaging consumers, buildings, industry, products, innovative financing: Indicative budget of €93M
• Low carbon energy including smart grids, PV, wind, ocean, geothermal, biofuels and CCS: indicative budget of €350M
• Smart cities and communities: indicative budget of €60M

Two Info days will be held in Brussels on 14-15th September and will be broadcast online and recorded. More information is available here. 

There will also be a brokerage event, where you can pre-arrange bi-lateral meetings with organisations from across Europe, to discuss potential R&D collaboration. For more information, visit our events page.

For more information about the application process and timeline for applying to a H2020 Energy call, click here.

Finding EU partners to join your project application:

 

The majority of Horizon 2020 projects require collaboration with organisations from different Member States or Associated Countries.

 

Enterprise Europe Network's profile search and alert service allows you to share your profile with organisations across Europe and to receive weekly email updates of European-wide partner search requests that can be tailored to your interest areas. Click here for more information or contact us on 0845 641 9955 (option 2), email enterprise.europe@eeneast.org.uk