Marie Curie – Funding Opportunities not to be missed!! Dr Conor O’Carroll

Marie Curie – Funding Opportunities not to be missed!! Dr Conor O’Carroll Central Universities Research Office Conference of Heads of Irish Universities

Ireland’s Current Record – FP6 • Marie Curie accounted for ~€12m in 2003 out of total Irish FP6 income of ~€48m • This compare to a total €25m in FP5 (25% of national total) • In 2004 one scheme alone has brought over €8m - Transfer of Knowledge Scheme

Lifelong research training Bottom Up programme All of the Sciences, Economic Human & Social Sciences (+Research Management & Ethics for Host Driven Schemes) Marie Curie label generalised Opening of schemes to 3rd country nationals No age limit, but experience criterion Marie Curie - Major Features

The Marie Curies Schemes –some basic features • Mobility – they recognise that researchers are inherently international – you will be hiring researchers from outside Ireland • Fund the “human” element of research – covering full salaries and associated costs • Take account of family and career development of mobile researchers • Cover researchers at all stages of their careers – experience NOT qualifications matter

EU Member States Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia EEA Countries Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein Association Agreement Countries Israel, Switzerland Candidate Countries Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey Third Countries all other countries, almost! FP6 – the competition!

SIXTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME 2002-2006 Participation in Marie Curie International Fellowships - Structuring the European Research Area - Data valid: 1.11.2002 European Union/ Associated States (1)/ Overseas Countries & Territories Industrialised Countries and Territories (2) Developing Countries (2) Emerging Economies (2) Transition Economies (2) Currently no cooperation (1) Some agreements are not yet in force (2) Cooperation The European Commission does not guarantee the accuracy of data included in this map and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequence of agreements with certain its use. The boundaries shown do not imply on the part of the European countries have to be European Commission, Commission any judgment on the legal status of any territory or the renewed endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. DG RTD-06 & RTD-D5

Marie Curie Actions Eligible Researchers Level of Experience: Early-stage Researchers • at the beginning of their career • < 4 years of active research experience (e.g. researchers undertaking a doctoral degree); • Experienced Researchers • at least 4 years of active research experience • or • have obtained a doctoral degree. (For some Actions, researchers with more than 10 years of experience will not be eligible)

Marie Curie Actions Mobility & Nationality Requirements • not a national of the State in which they plan to be appointed and carry out their research; Exceptions: • European researchers working outside the EU for 4 years in the last 5 years. • Return and Reintegration Mechanisms. • Multiple nationalities (if not resided in the last 5 years) • International Organisations • has not been resident or worked/studied in that country for more than 12 months out of the 3 years immediately prior to either the time of application (individual Actions), or the start of their work (host Actions).

Host Driven Actions Host institutions/network applies for a number of fellows/researchers Host’s proposal is evaluated Selected host/network advertises fellowship position and selects fellows/researchers Contract duration with host, usually 4 years Fellows’ stay depending on Action (up to 3 years) Individual Driven Actions Researcher applies jointly with host Fellows’ stay depending on Action Fellows withdrawing cannot be replaced Marie Curie Actions

Profile ofFellows Chairs Teams Awards Advanced Lifelong Training and Excellence Intra-EuropeanFellowships InternationalFellowships  4 yearsexperience or Ph.D. Host Fellowships for Transfer of Knowledge Industry-Academia Partnership Development Action Return and Reintegration Research Training Networks < 4 yearsexperience Conferences and Training Courses Early-Stage Training Host Fellowships for Early-Stage Human Resources and Mobility (Marie Curie Actions) Transfer of Knowledge

Human Resources and Mobility in FP6

Two Different Schemes under ToK Development Scheme “The reinforcement of the research potential of host entities, with priorities to those in Less Favoured Regions of the EU and in the Associated Candidate Countries, in need of new areas of competence” Industry-academia Strategic Partnership Scheme “The creation and development of real strategic and durable partnerships between the academia and enterprise, in particular SMEs, aiming at the establishment of lasting collaborations of mutual interest” Deadline 19th May 2008 MarieCurie Actions Marie Curie Transfer of Knowledge Actions

To develop or reinforce research potential of institutes in need of new competencies Applications by research groups in need of developing new competencies All countries, with priority to Community LFRs/Associated Candidate Countries Host selects and recruits experienced researchers (2-24 months) Possibility to send own staff (2-12 months) to pre-determined institutions + return Overall EU success rate in 1st Call: 40%, 2nd Call 23% Irish Success rate 6/7 in 2003 and 14/54 in 2005!! MarieCurie Actions Development Scheme

MarieCurie Actions Development Scheme • Total 4 year contract • Commission fully covers salary costs plus contribution to research/admin costs • e.g. postdoc in NUI-M would receive €50-55k salary plus annual travel costs home. • Senior researcher would receive €70-75k • University gets about €18k for research/admin/overheads

MarieCurie Actions Development Scheme • Number of postdoc/senior researchers will depend on the size of the research group • Average size of a ToK in the first round was 65-72 researchers months; 3 postdocs over 4 years • The Commission will not fund a proposal with a single postdoc; there are individual fellowship schemes for this purpose

MarieCurie Actions Development Scheme • Budget 2003 = €40m, Budget 2004 = €45m • Priority funding for Objective 1 / LFR regions + new EU members 1st May 2004 • LFR in Ireland = Borders, Midland, Western (BMW) • Very low numbers from the new countries in 2003 & 2004 so expect same in 2005 • Big countries have not applied

ToK – First Round Results

ToK – Irish Funded Proposals 2003

To create or develop true strategic and durable partnerships Application by consortium of Industry+Academia and academia or industry partners from at least 2 different countries Co-ordinating host from industry or academia, with one or more partners from the other sector Funding of exchange of experienced researchers amongst staff members, in both directions (2-24 months) Can include industry/academic transfer within same country! Includes SMEs, spin-offs, start-ups Only 30 proposals in 1st and 2nd round! MarieCurie Actions Industry-Academia Strategic Partnership Scheme

To promote excellence in European research Marie Curie Excellence Grants (Teams) To set up or extend teams of the highest level Up to 4 years duration Leading edge or interdisciplinary research Team Leader profile is key to success Deadline 16th February 2005 Success rate 1/10 in 1st and 2nd calls Similar to SFI schemes MarieCurie Actions Excellence Promotion and Recognition

To promote excellence in European research Marie Curie Excellence Grants (Teams) Grant in range of €800k to €1.6m Covers usual project costs (PhD/postdoc salary, equipment, consumables, travel, Can cover salary cost of Team Leader 20% overhead MarieCurie Actions Excellence Promotion and Recognition

To promote excellence in European research Marie Curie Excellence Grants (Teams) Exception to all other schemes on mobility of Team Leader Team Leader can be Irish, Could be already in host (<1 year prior to deadline) Move from other Irish institution Team members subject to usual mobility rules MarieCurie Actions Excellence Promotion and Recognition

Results from 1st & 2nd Rounds • 18 out of 195 proposals funded (9%) 2003 – no Irish • 20 out of 292 (7%) in 2004 – 2 Irish proposals

Excellence Grants – the Team Leader “…a researcher who has early in her/his careerthepotential to reach a high level of excellence so as to enable her/him to attain more rapidlyindependence in research”.

To support integration of a stable research career following a period of mobility Following a 2-year Marie Curie fellowship EU and Associate Country fellows Reintegration of country of origin or elsewhere Obligation for host to offer minimum 2-year work contract and research project Following a stay outside Europe European researchers who have been outside Europe for 5 years Success rate > 90% MarieCurie Actions Reintegration Grants (continuous call)

Marie Curie Proposal Writing… Science is not the whole story

Do’s and Don’ts Read the Guide for Proposers (application form!) http://fp6.cordis.lu/fp6/calls.cfm Note that there have been updates! Follow the instructions to the letter! Use common sense! Electronic submission – get your password in time! Marie Curie

MarieCurie Actions Preparing a proposal • Infopack: http://fp6.cordis.lu/fp6 • The Call Text • The Guide for Proposers (containing the proposal submission forms) • The Work Programme of the HRM Activity • Also: • The ‘Handbook’ for the corresponding action • The brochure ‘a rough guide to the Marie Curie Actions’ • http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/fp6/mariecurie-actions/indexhtm_en.html

http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/fp6/mariecurie-actions/home_en.html

MarieCurie Actions Proposal Submission Forms • A proposal has two parts: • Part A • Set of forms on administrative information about the proposal and the proposers (pre-prepared form). • Part B • Free-text description of the research project. • Series of headings and explanatory notes based on the evaluations criteria.

Part A – easy! • Basic details – abstract, name, address etc • “Head counts” not budget estimates • Slightly different forms for different schemes – use the right ones

Part B – the who, what, why and how? • Scientific content for TOK is only 15%! • B2 Transfer and embedding of knowledge details most important…….. • Practical details – how is the project going to be managed and implemented? • Is it relevant to the European Research Area and the needs of researchers?

MarieCurie Actions Proposal Submission Forms • Part B • Address the issues in a clear, concise fashion. It is the basis on which the evaluators will referee the proposal! • Recommended length in numbers of pages: not mandatory, but • Think of the evaluators: avoid excessive length, being repetitive, padding out with unnecessary or irrelevant material • References to web pages will not be taken into accountas part of the proposal during evaluation.

Evaluation Criteria/ Proposals Part B 1. Content of the Proposal / Project 2. Training Activities/Transfer of Knowledge 3. Quality of Host 4. Quality of Researchers (Individual actions & Excellence) 5. Management and Feasibility 6. Added Value and Relevance to the Objectives

Evaluation by competent experts in the field Need to address all of the issues to maximise scores Total score for a proposal is 100% Some areas require a minimum score (threshold) In many cases the science scores less than 50%! You must focus on the objectives of the activity to be successful Look carefully at the score matrix Marie Curie – Evaluation of Proposals

Evaluation: Weightings & Thresholds

Transfer of Knowledge – Development Scheme Key Points to remember • Need to expand R & D activities into a new complimentary area – not just a continuation of current activities • Require highly qualified postdoc/senior researchers • Overall the research group gains – transfer in! • How to embed this new expertise and capability in the group after the 4 years of EC funding

B1 Content (FOUR A4 PAGES) • 15% ---- 3/5 • B1.1. RESEARCH TOPIC (½ A4 PAGE) • B1.2. PROJECT OBJECTIVES (½ A4 PAGE) • B1.3. IMPACT TO THE HOST ORGANISATION (ONE A4 PAGE) • B1.4. RESEARCH METHOD AND WORK PLAN (TWO A4 PAGES, PLUS TABLES AND CHARTS)

B2 TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE ACTIVITIES • 15% ----- 4/5 • B2.1. NEED FOR TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE (ONE A4 PAGE) • B2.2. CONTENT OF TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE (ONE A4 PAGE) • B2.3. EXPECTED IMPACT ON TRAINING AND TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE (ONE A4 PAGE) • B2.4. REQUIRED RECRUITMENT OF EXPERIENCED RESEARCHERS (ONE A4 PAGE PLUS TABLE)

B3 QUALITY / CAPACITY OF THE HOST ORGANISATIONS • 15% --- no threshold • B3.1. PROFILE OF THE PARTICIPANTS (TWO A4 PAGES) • B3.2. QUALITY OF INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE HOST ORGANISATION (ONE A4 PAGE)

B4 MANAGEMENT AND FEASIBILITY • 15% ---- 2/5 • B4.1. PROPOSED MANAGEMENT AND ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE (ONE A4 PAGE) • B4.2. MANAGEMENT KNOW-HOW AND EXPERIENCE OF THE MAIN CONTRACTOR (ONE A4 PAGE)

B5. ADDED VALUE AND RELEVANCE TO THE OBJECTIVES (Four A4 pages) • 40% ---- no threshold • Describe the extent to which the overall capacity and research profile of the host organisation will be increasedby the proposed transfer of knowledge. Outline the benefit that will be gained from undertaking the project atCommunity level.

B5. contd. “Outline the extent to which the project will contribute to the objectives of the European Research Area oraddress other Community policies (e.g. the target of 3% spending of GDP on research, integration of Less-Favoured Regions and Associated States) will be advanced through the project activities and present, wherepossible, co-ordination or synergy with regional, national or international activities. The ability of the project toincrease the competitiveness of Europe should also be mentioned”

N.B.B.2 “ToK” evaluation • Need • Content • Impact • Size Threshold is 4/5 for “ToK” It is the first “gate” in the evaluation

..and B5 -“Added Value and Relevance to the objectives”?? • Remember this is the ToK scheme – not “my science is the best” scheme! • What is the overall effect on the group? • Capacity • Research Profile

The EU bits… • Lisbon Objective to create a European Research Area (ERA) • Barcelona Target: EU R&D spend average should be 3% of GDP by 2010 • http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/fp6/mariecurie-actions/researchers/research_en.html • “RESEARCHERS IN THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA:ONE PROFESSION, MULTIPLE CAREERS” –http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/fp6/mariecurie-actions/pdf/careercommunication_en.pdf • “A MOBILITY STRATEGY FOR THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA” - http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/com/cnc/2001/com2001_0331en01.pdf • First Implementation Report -http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/fp6/mariecurie-actions/pdf/implement.pdf

Marie Curie – Funding Opportunities not to be missed!! Dr Conor O’Carroll