ETNAplus Newsletter

In this Issue:

Horizon 2020: Simplification – the new main word Page 1

Partnering Events Page 3

Strategy for European Technology platforms: ETP 2020 Page 4

Infravation Page 4

CIVITAS Page 5

NAIADES II Page 6

Urban mobility Page 6

Issue 2, November 2013 i-Capital award Page 7

Trainings and Publications Page 8

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ETNAplus Newsletter, Issue 2, November 2013

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Horizon 2020 Rules for participation:

Simplification – the new main word

Thought as the financial instrument implementing the Innovation Union, the EU’s new programme

for research and innovation Horizon 2020 (H2020) runs from 2014 to 2020 mobilizing over €70

billion with the aim of securing Europe's global competitiveness creating new growth and jobs in

Europe.

Horizon 2020 tackles societal challenges by helping to bridge the gap between research and market. This market-

driven approach will include the creation of partnerships with the private sector and Member States in order to

bring together the resources needed. Horizon 2020 will be complemented by further measures to complete and

further develop the European Research Area by 2014. These measures will aim at breaking down barriers to create a

genuine single market for knowledge, research and innovation.

Horizon 2020 provides major simplification from many points of view. First of all, it gathers all research and

innovation funding provided through the Framework Programmes for Research and Technical Development, the

innovation related activities of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) and the European

Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) (as well as other initiatives and funding bodies ex art. 185 and art. 187),

under the same set of rules. At the same time, the latter are made flexible enough to accommodate specificities

where needed (through delegated acts). H2020 also foresees a set of new Rules for Participation and Dissemination,

which have been updated in particular with the aim to ensure simplification for the benefit of all the participants.

H2020 participants will only have to work with a single main set of rules, including those on intellectual property

rights, which apply to all components of Horizon 2020. Jointly, the whole H2020 regulation has been conceived to be

coherent with the rules contained in the EU Financial Regulation (FR).

As for the conditions for participation in H2020 actions, the minimum conditions are:

For standard collaborative actions (eg. Research & innovation actions), at least three legal entities

independent of each other and each established in a different Member State or an Associated Country.

For ERC, SME instrument, programme co-fund, training and mobility actions, one legal entity established in a

Member State or in an Associated Country.

For coordination and support actions and for training and mobility actions, one legal entity.

Moreover, additional conditions are to be set out in the work programmes or work plans (e.g. number of

participants, type of participants etc.).

Regarding the eligibility for funding, legal entities established in the Member States and Associated Countries,

International European Interest Organisations, and legal entities identified in the work programmes are

automatically eligible. Instead, other legal entities established in a Third Country (different than ICPC ones) and

International Organizations are eligible if their participation is considered essential for carrying out the action by the

Horizon 2020

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Commission or the relevant funding body, it is provided for in an international agreement between the Union and a

third country or international organization.

From the simplification perspective, H2020 also foresees a single funding rate following the principle “one project

one rate”. This means that there will be the same rate for all beneficiaries and all activities in the grant. The

applicable rate will be defined in the Work Programme:

Up to 100 % of the eligible costs;

Up to 70 % for innovation actions (exception for non-profit organisations - maximum of 100%).

The new cost reimbursement procedures are characterized by a wider acceptance of average personnel costs (now

under unit costs), broadening the basic conditions for acceptance of average personnel cost accounting practices.

Supplementary payments for non-profit organisations of up to 8000 Euro/year/person are also accepted. A unit cost

system for SME owners and physical persons without a salary. Additionally, the Grant Agreement will add further

elements of simplification regarding personnel costs like simplified provisions on productive hours and minimum

rules on time-recording.

As for the calculation of the indirect costs, a single 25% flat-rate has been established, aiming at simplifying project

management and reducing recurrent errors. Moreover, no time records for researchers working exclusively on the

project are required.

Ultimately, time to grant will be reduced in H2020:

5 months for informing all applicants on outcome of scientific evaluation;

3 months for signature of GA;

With the exceptions of ERC, justified cases (complex actions) or where requested by applicants.

International cooperation will be an important cross-cutting priority of Horizon 2020. In addition to Horizon 2020

being fully open to international participation, targeted actions with key partner countries and regions will focus on

the EU’s strategic priorities. Through a new strategy, a strategic and coherent approach to international cooperation

will be ensured across Horizon 2020.

To know more about Horizon 2020, please click:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/horizon2020/index_en.cfm?pg=h2020.

Partnering Events

3

ETNAplus 1st “Horizon 2020” Transport call brokerage

event

ETNAplus project team is pleased to announce the brokerage event for the first round of calls of the

Smart, Green and Integrated Transport Challenge of Horizon 2020 programme, on the 18th of

December 2013 in Brussels.

The brokerage event will be organized in conjunction with European Commission's info-day.

As always, participants are required to register for the Information Day organized by the European Commission. For

security reasons, registration for participation in the Horizon 2020 Transport Information Day is a pre-requisite for

participation in the networking and brokerage event, otherwise participants won’t be given access to the venue.

Please, have in mind that the room capacity is limited and registration (on "first come, first served" basis) will be

closed as soon as the latter is reached.

As a second step, participants need to register to the brokerage event. This year, ETNAplus team provides an

opportunity and tools for project presentations and pre-booked bilateral meetings.

For more information on how to register and participate please visit this website: http://transport-

ncps.net/events/event/1-etna-plus-1st-horizon-2020-transport-call-brokerage-event.html

EVS27 exhibition and brokerage event

EVS27 exhibition and brokerage event is taking place on the 19th and 20th of November.

EVS27 is widely recognized as the industry's largest and most important forum showcasing every technology in the

market place and on the drawing boards. Barcelona is hosting this symposium that gathers every leading player in

the international Electrical Vehicle stage, from academic and industry leaders to government representatives keen to

explore the challenges towards a transportation paradigm shift and ready to develop and implement the

technologies and policies to boost electric transportation.

EVS27 brokerage event is organized by ACCIÓ and Europe Enterprise Network. ETNAplus network is participating as a

co-organizer while a network representative will be present to inform participants and provide information on

transport research and innovation.

For more information please visit http://www.b2match.eu/brokerageevs27

Funding Opportunities

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Strategy for European Technology platforms: ETP 2020

European Technology Platforms (ETPs) (established in 2003 after the European Council called for a

strengthening of the European Research Area) are industry led stakeholder fora that develop short

to long-term research and innovation agendas and roadmaps for action at EU and national level to

be supported by both private and public funding.

Building on the strategies for Europe 2020 and for an Innovation Union, the Commission's Horizon 2020 proposal for

an integrated research and innovation framework programme recognizes the role of ETPs as part of the external

advice and societal engagement needed to implement Horizon 2020. Consequently, on July 12th, the European

Commission adopted a paper on the "Strategy for European Technology Platforms: ETP 2020". The strategy

highlights the mission, vision, as well as main functions of the European Technology Platforms (ETPs) until 2020. It

also presents their activities and criteria of recognition. To this date, there are 40 recognized ETPs, according to the

paper.

ETPs will therefore be a key element in the European innovation ecosystem and will help turn Europe into an

Innovation Union, by taking a holistic view and:

developing strategies and provide a coherent business-focused analysis of research and innovation

bottlenecks and opportunities related to societal challenges and industrial leadership actions

mobilising industry and other stakeholders within the EU to work in partnership and deliver on agreed

priorities

sharing information and enabling knowledge transfer to a wide range of stakeholders across the EU.

The Commission's proposal for Horizon 2020 specifies the channels of external advice for its programming and

implementation: next to taking into account the advice and input from advisory groups, dialogue structures, forward

looking activities, targeted public consultations and interactive responsible research and innovation processes, the

Commission plans to take full account of relevant aspects of the research and innovation agendas established by

ETPs. Other relevant structures providing advice will include Joint Programming Initiatives and European Innovation

Partnerships.

Infravation

New ERA-Net Plus Initiative Plans Call for Proposals on Road Infrastructure Innovation in early 2014

Transport ministries across Europe are facing ever tougher challenges to cope with the need to accommodate

increased traffic growth, minimise congestion, maintain services in face of increasing climate change effects, and

contribute to the achievement of environmental and societal objectives. Now is the time when innovation for road

infrastructure is an absolute imperative, to reduce costs without compromising on quality.

Funding Opportunities

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To deliver this objective on a transnational basis, the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, supported by FEHRL and

TUV, have been working hard to set up an exciting new initiative for developing innovative infrastructure concepts

called Infravation 2014. This new ERA-NET Plus action is expected to be supported through the European

Commission’s (EC) Framework Programme 7 (FP7) 2013 Work Programme. This call will address the needs of

Member States for joint research on road infrastructure and will enable national and regional bodies to take on tasks

collectively that otherwise could not be taken forward, bringing together the efforts of Member States, the EC and

industry.

Infravation comprises a blend of 11 European countries and the EC – and marks the first time that the USA will

participate to an ERA-NET Plus initiative through FEHRL.

The initiative will launch a call for proposals in early 2014 under the topic of ‘Advanced Systems, Materials and

Techniques’ for next generation infrastructure. For this call, the available budget for co-financing is €9 million. The

call is for the development of innovative technologies for road operations, either on the European, national, regional

or urban network. The topics covered will be drawn from:

Advanced predictive infrastructure performance processes

Enhanced durability and life-time extension

Rapid and non-destructive methods for routine quality and performance checks of materials and

construction

Keeping freight routes open through zero-intrusive maintenance

Ensuring infrastructure performance under all weather conditions

Resource and energy efficiency in road construction and maintenance (Eco-design)

Virgin material reduction by substitution or recycling

Infravation is a challenge driven programme. All projects will be expected to deliver tangible, demonstrable benefits.

For more information, visit www.infravation.net.

CIVITAS

The first day of September was the inauguration day of the CIVITAS CAPITAL project, aiming at contributing to the

goals of the European Union’s Transport White Paper by systematically capitalising on the CIVITAS results and

creating an effective ‘value chain’ for urban mobility innovation. CAPITAL will help to mainstream CIVITAS into other

transport policy fields and create a more structured link with large-scale deployment of sustainable transport

measures at local, national and European levels. CAPITAL will pool existing knowledge and issue recommendations

for EU research and development priorities in urban mobility. An Activity Fund will support cities to take up

successful measures, while at national level the project will strengthen and expand the national and regional CIVITAS

networks.

Funding Opportunities

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The existing five CIVINET networks have recently been augmented with five more language-driven groups to exploit

the results and knowledge capital of the extensive CIVITAS initiative. The Brest CIVITAS Forum was the occasion to

kick-off the new era in which are entering the CIVINET networks and set up their cooperation framework.

Additionally, the ten CIVITAS Thematic groups will be set up into a set of training session for around 400

professionals. Reflecting the ever increasing use of online collaboration, a digital exchange mechanism will be put in

place to enable the flow of information between experts and practitioners and increase the CIVITAS knowledge base.

For more information please visit the website: http://www.civitas.eu

NAIADES II

Good news for Europe’s inland waterway transport. The European Commission has adopted on 10 September 2013

the NAIADES II package "Towards quality inland waterway transport". This second European action plan is aimed at

moving more freight transport onto Europe’s waterways and represents the continuation of the previous NAIADES

2006-2013 programme.

The NAIADES II framework seeks to create the conditions for inland navigation transport to become a quality mode

of transport and sets out the programme for policy action for the period 2014-2020. Actions are taken in the

following key areas of intervention:

Quality infrastructure

Quality through innovation

Smooth functioning of the market

Environmental quality through low emissions

Skilled workforce and quality jobs

Integration of inland navigation into the multimodal logistics chain

To aid the implementation of NAIADES 2006-2013, the inland navigation sector together with the Commission have

created PLATINA, an FP7 project consisting of 23 partners from 9 different countries. This multi-disciplinary

knowledge network allowed PLATINA to create the momentum necessary to achieve the NAIADES objectives. Since

the main objective of PLATINA was to support the European Commission, Member States and third countries in the

implementation of the NAIADES action programme, the project brought together all the relevant actors in the inland

waterway sector in a multi-disciplinary knowledge network.

For more information please visit the website: http://www.naiades.info/

Funding Opportunities

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New calls for tender in “Urban mobility”

Support to public policies and transfer of expertise towards third countries

The EC has launched a call for tender which aim is to give better support to public authorities in Europe. Those tools

will allow them to identify and implement the most profitable public policies to reach the objectives of the Urban

Transport European policy. http://tinyurl.com/otuv5xy

Another call has been launch to share UE’s experience and expertise in the field of Urban Mobility, specifically with regards to energy efficiency. http://tinyurl.com/qgrashs

i-Capital award

On 3 September 2013, the European Commission launched the European Capital of Innovation -

'iCapital' Award, to reward the city which is building the best "innovation ecosystem", connecting

citizens, public organisations, academia, and business. The winning city will receive €500 000 to

scale up its achievements.

The contest is open to cities in any EU Member State or country associated to the EU's research framework

programme. The award is for cities with over 100 000 inhabitants and for initiatives which have not started before 1

January 2010. In countries where there is no city with more than 100 000 inhabitants, the largest city is eligible to

apply. The deadline for applications is on the 3rd of December, 5pm. More information can be found here:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm?section=icapital

Trainings and Publications

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ETNAplus 2nd Training event

ETNAplus is organising a training event for NCPs on the subject “Getting ready for H2020 first calls

for proposal” in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, on the 4th of December.

As the European Commission is about to launch the first call for proposals of the new framework programme, this

will be an opportunity for NCPs to receive the latest updates on “Horizon 2020” and more specifically on “Smart,

Green and Integrated Transport” challenge. The training will also focus on rules for participation and submission

procedures. Hands on practical sessions will assist participants to make a contribution for their clients straight away.

To register, please visit ETNAplus website: http://transport-ncps.net/events/event/19

New publications

Transport systems

TRIP (Transport Research and Innovation Portal) has published a brochure on innovative technologies in all transport

modes. The document can be found at: http://www.transport-research.info/web/publications/thematic.cfm

Multi-modality

ERTRAC-ERRAC-Waterborne-ACARE-ECTP’s common task force has published the final version of its roadmap for

innovation of multi-modal infrastructures of transport. This document complete the documents issued by each of

those platforms and focus on infrastructures covering more than one mode of transport.

http://www.transport-research.info/web/publications/thematic.cfm