Calls Fechadas

Description

The main aim of this topic is to allow SMEs to take up health research outcomes resulting from earlier FP funding under FP7 Theme Health and FP6 “Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health”, to prove the viability of methodologies, processes, prototypes, models, technologies, clinical trials, etc. developed under these projects, with a potential for application. However, the consortium does not need to be the same as in the previously funded project, but include participants as appropriate to exploit those particular results in the most logic and efficacious manner. Research activities under this topic will focus on testing and validation of results in order to reach the final development stage before products or processes enter into production, reach the market and/or patients. Proposals will fit into the overall business and innovation needs of the partners involved and will demonstrate clear exploitation potential and socioeconomic
benefits for the patients, for them and the society at large. Applicants should have the freedom to exploit the results for commercial use. Applicants will describe clearly and convincingly how the results, knowledge and/or technology will be brought forward enough to reach the stage of application.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project)

Expected Impact

Translation of high level scientific knowledge into applications and innovative products and services. Considering the specificities of the economic sectors falling under this activity of Theme Health, projects funded under this topic are expected to pave the way from the development of scientific knowledge and technologies to the market by stimulating the development of new products, tools, technologies, patents, dedicated business path and innovative marketable applications.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. Requested EU contribution: depends on the needs of the project indicated in the proposal but shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000
2. Proposed project duration: up to 3 years
3. Financial viability of all partners in projects shall fulfil the Commission applicable rules
4. Number of participants: minimum 3 established in at least three different EU Member States or Associated Countries with the specific condition for SMEs under point 6 below. The maximum number of participants is 5.
5. The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be 50% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole. The SME status and the financial viability will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement.
6. Participation of SMEs or SME joint ventures is restricted to entities established in EU Member States and Associated Countries. In addition, SMEs shall fulfil any of the following conditions: 1) be at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of one of the EU Member States or Associated Countries or permanent residents in one of those countries, or 2) be at least 51% owned and controlled by another business that is itself at least 51% owned and controlled by individuals who are citizens of, or permanent residents in those countries.

Description

Projects should aim to develop novel, safe and efficacious antimicrobials, vaccines or alternative medical approaches to treat infections that have developed or are at the risk of developing significant anti-microbial resistance. Projects may include different components of the development pipeline from discovery phase to clinical trials.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

The research is expected to stimulate a better integration of research and development activities between different players and boost the development of novel antimicrobials or vaccines against pathogens for which there is limited treatment options due to drug resistance. Research projects funded here are expected to be complementary to any possible upcoming activities undertaken in the context of IMI in relation to antimicrobial resistance.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. Requested EU contribution: depends on the needs of the project indicated in the proposal but shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000
2. Proposed project duration: up to 3 years
3. Financial viability of all partners in projects shall fulfil the Commission applicable rules
4. Number of participants: minimum 3 established in at least three different EU Member States or Associated Countries with the specific condition for SMEs under point 6 below. The maximum number of participants is 5.
5. The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be 50% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole. The SME status and the financial viability will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement.
6. Participation of SMEs or SME joint ventures is restricted to entities established in EU Member States and Associated Countries. In addition, SMEs shall fulfil any of the following conditions: 1) be at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of one of the EU Member States or Associated Countries or permanent residents in one of those countries, or 2) be at least 51% owned and controlled by another business that is itself at least 51% owned and controlled by individuals who are citizens of, or permanent residents in those countries.

Description

This action shall further improve the linking, efficient integration and coordination of national/regional programmes for infectious diseases research, building on previous activities in this field. The proposed new ERA-NET could build upon the previous ERA-NET PathoGenoMics and capitalise on its achievements. It should aim to develop new technologies and employ modern genomic approaches to advance our understanding of pathogenic organisms and interactions with their hosts as well as support the development of new tools to combat or prevent infectious diseases. The action should include a strategy for mutual opening of national/regional programmes to the participants and for the implementation of a series of joint transnational calls, as well as activities aimed at fostering the development of infectious diseases research programmes beyond the participating Member States and Associated Countries. Due consideration should be given to increase the number of participants from Member States and Associated Countries. The ERA-NET should complement the potential implementation of Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs), such as the JPI on antimicrobial resistance.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action)
Only up to one proposal can be selected.

Expected Impact

This action should deepen and extend the coordination of European research in infectious diseases and be complementary to other European activities in this area. It should provide knowledge of pathogenic organisms and develop tools to combat or prevent infectious diseases.

More Details

The EU contribution available for this topic is limited to a maximum of EUR 2 000 000
Additional eligibility and specific evaluation criteria for an ERA-NET: Please refer to Annex 4 to the Cooperation work programme.

Description

The aim is to support development and/or proof of principle of new or improved combined imaging technologies for therapeutic interventions in rare diseases. Two or more techniques, of which at least one should be molecular imaging, should be integrated into a complete simultaneous system for application in one or more rare diseases in the frame of personalised medicine, i.e. tailored medical interventions which are more effective and/or have fewer undesirable adverse
effects in specific patients. The technologies should be of use as biomarkers during the therapeutic interventions. Clinicians should actively be included in the project.

Funding Schemes

SME-targeted Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project)

Expected Impact

The development of new and improved technologies for therapeutic interventions in groups or categories of rare diseases, facilitating the uptake of personalised medicine into clinical practice and support the competitiveness of Europe in this area. The applications are expected to advance research in personalised medicine and have an impact in the relevant industry (in particular for SMEs). The projects will contribute to the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC)28.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Specific requirements to be considered under the evaluation:
• SME-targeted research is designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation.
• Leading role of research intensive SMEs.
• Leading role of SMEs with R&D capacities, but the coordinator does not need to be an SME.
• Expected outcomes being of clear interest and potential benefit to SMEs.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

The main objective of this topic is to exploit in case studies recent advances in computational chemistry and systems biology in order to provide the basis for innovative approaches to predictive human safety assessments. Integrated research should be undertaken that:
- Considers modelling transport and interactions from molecular to cellular/organelle levels;
- Integrates with in vitro experimentation designed specifically to inform this modelling activity;
- Couples directly to systems modelling from cellular to organ level;
- Takes account of mechanistic understandings of toxic responses in specific organs; and - Uses existing and appropriate infrastructure for computation data basing and sharing.
Besides the development of a comprehensive strategy and research concept, the following issues should be addressed either at the theoretical or at the experimental level:
- Identifications of metabolites (and metabolites of metabolites) and their reactivity, through a combination of computational chemistry, in vitro experimentation and enzyme expression profiling.
- Identification of the proteins and potentially other intracellular targets, affected by each metabolite, through computational chemistry and in vitro work.
- Identification of the pathways affected by these proteins, through in vitro cell assays and systems biology.
- Identification of cell functions affected by these pathways, by defining the boundaries of normal function, and understanding of the physiology and systems biology.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project)

Expected Impact

It is expected that a truly integrated approach where modellers, chemists and biologists will define and engage jointly on integrated research with shared goals and will provide a platform for exploring innovative approaches to a better human safety assessment. It should be built on current attempts around the world that model specific organs. It should go beyond these to deliver an approach which is fit-for-purpose for predictive toxicology.

More Details

Only up to one proposal may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 12 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to industry including SMEs shall be 15% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

Administration of biomedical devices, implants or tissue transplants can cause severe and often chronic, adverse reactions of the human immune system. Projects will aim to identify adverse immune reactions caused by such devices or tissues using systems immunological studies and other innovative approaches, and develop remedial strategies.
Research consortia will be multidisciplinary, bringing together basic immunology, epidemiological and clinical expertise, with systems and cellular biology know-how and a thorough understanding of product development and regulatory issues. A strong participation of key players from industry and the clinical field is essential.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

A better holistic understanding of adverse immune reactions should allow the better design of medical devices and materials for implants, and improve outcome of tissue transplantation. Development of novel therapeutic or preventive strategies to combat adverse immune reactions.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

The aim is to advance promising new therapeutic vaccines into clinical safety and efficacy testing. Chronic infectious diseases (including infections in immunocompromised patients), inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, allergies, degenerative, and metabolic diseases as well as vaccines against drug addictions, may be addressed. Excluded are cancer vaccines addressed in area 2.4.1-1. The suggested therapy should be based on an active vaccination effect triggering a human immune response hence bearing particular innovation potential. Projects should focus on therapeutic vaccines for which efficacy has been demonstrated in preclinical work, e.g. in appropriate animal models. Projects will demonstrate that a therapeutic vaccine in the envisaged area is superior to
existing or competing therapies under development, and that the expected cost-medical benefits ratio meets public health needs. Consortia should be strongly product-focused and should comprise only an essential number of contributing partners. Consortia will include industry, especially from the SME sector from EU Member States and/or Associated Countries.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

Promising therapeutic vaccine candidates should be further advanced in the development phase with a clear proof of concept for safety and efficiency, thus widely and profoundly boosting the field of vaccine R&D in Europe.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

Novel technological approaches are needed to ensure faster and more reliable testing of vaccine products. While upholding full compliance with the regulatory
requirements that govern the development and production of vaccine products, research activities will be directed at exploring to which extent animal-based safety and potency testing of experimental or licensed vaccines can be replaced (in totality or partially) by alternative in vitro, analytical, immunochemical or other (e.g. molecular) tests or processes.
Support is therefore given to studies aiming to develop and validate novel, rapid and reliable safety and potency assays that demonstrate correlation of safety of vaccine products with animal-tested batches. Research consortia should be led by regulatory bodies or industry, including SME participants, familiar with all aspects of the development and the production of vaccines for use in humans. To fully exploit potentially synergistic expertise from the field of animal vaccines, key players from the field of veterinary vaccines can be useful partners in research consortia to be formed. Preference will be given to projects not exceeding three years project duration.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

An EU-supported research effort for the development of in vitro potency tests for vaccines closely coordinated with industry and regulatory bodies will complement existing efforts, and should prove the potential of new tests to reduce, refine and replace animals in vaccine research.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to industry including SMEs shall be 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

The aim of this topic is to develop the application of stem cells and reprogrammed cells towards new therapies. Projects should be developed around a concept based on the use of human stem cells, reprogrammed cells and/or differentiated cells derived from them to address an identified and justified therapeutic objective. Specifically, projects should focus on control of self-renewal, differentiation and proliferation, in vitro and/or in vivo, and assessment of the biological activity/potency of the therapeutic effect. Proposals should not make cancer a target since this is covered in another part of the work programme. Applications using haematopoietic stem cells and their lineages are excluded. Projects may include pre-clinical and clinical testing as appropriate. Preference will be given to projects involving the use of advanced research tools and in vivo investigations. Consortia will include industry, especially from the SME sector from EU Member States and/or Associated Countries.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project)

Expected Impact

Creation of new knowledge or development of new techniques controlling differentiation and proliferation of human stem cells and reprogrammed cells for therapeutic purpose that can progress the translation of this research to the clinic.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be 15% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

The project should use various animal and cellular models to discover and ascribe functions of genes known to be associated to human diseases and/or ageing processes. It will aim at better understanding of the disease and ageing processes in view of creating a portfolio of new and validated therapeutic targets. This project should include large-scale metabolic and molecular phenotyping in model organisms and in vitro model systems (including human embryonic (hES) or induced pluripotent (iPS) stem cells) with priority given to the genes shown to be associated to human disease and/or involved in ageing. It could include work
with human hES or iPS cells developed from patients where applicable. It should envisage generating models with the intention to investigate diseases variations in relation with different mutated human alleles. It should develop efficient, standardised and reliable tools, common ontology, standardised operating procedures and technologies for phenotyping. Data will be integrated and maintained in publically accessible web portals.

Funding Schemes

SME-targeted Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating research project).

Expected Impact

Validated animal and cellular models that can be used in the development of predictive measures, or in the development of preventive measures, or for new therapies for the selected diseases. Validated tools with the potential for clinical translation.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Specific requirements to be considered under the evaluation:
• SME-targeted research is designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation.
• Leading role of research intensive SMEs.
• Leading role of SMEs with R&D capacities, but the coordinator does not need to be an SME.
• Expected outcomes being of clear interest and potential benefit to SMEs.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 12 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

This project will build on recent very promising research results on the composition of the human microbiome that highlighted the diagnostic potential and possible stratification of patients. The project should accelerate and promote research on the role of the human microbiome in health, diseases and ageing. Through metagenome profiling in large patient cohorts, the project should study the link between the micro flora composition and diseases. This multicomponent project should be highly effective also through the involvement of a wider range of partners. It should contribute to the International Human Microbiome Consortium (IHMC) and should include:
• Metagenome profiling in health, diseases and ageing. This component should investigate the composition of the human microbiome in different population cohorts with the intention to generate knowledge of functional composition of microbiomes within the human population. Profiling should also be done to find associations between microbiome and health or diseases in particular host/microbe interactions and immune system responses. The relevance of the frequency and stability of identified microbiomes should be determined. The potential role of the human microbiome in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases should be investigated as well as the correlation between microbial symbiotic states and the immune system in health and in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Based on comparative metagenomics profiling the new interventions for improved disease management should be developed.
• Investigations of the potential role of the metagenome on drug response (drug absorption and metabolism). This component should investigate the correlation between microbial symbiotic states and responses to medicinal products. Based on comparative metagenomics profiling the project should also develop new interventions that would modify the microbiome to improve response to drug treatment. This should also include interventions aiming to restore the microbiome following e.g. long antibiotic treatment, disruptive conditions, etc.
• Development of new metagenome-based diagnostic and prognostic tools for personalised treatments. This component will explore the potential of using human microbiome characteristics as predictive, diagnostic or preventive tools for disease.
• Bioinformatics tools. The project should establish means to collect, organise and annotate information and to deliver results in conformity with IHMC policies.
• Cross boundary training and exchange programmes. The project should facilitate the transfer of technologies and knowledge between the disciplines from basic research to the clinic, through cross boundary training and exchange programmes. It should allow for synergies between the different research disciplines in a better way than if these disciplines would be funded as separate projects.
The project will aim at developing metagenomics by further generating the technology, knowledge and know-how in this research area. It should increase Europe's competitive position in exploiting the vast amount of metagenomic data and related information. The project should encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation. Priority will be given to proposals demonstrating that industry is playing an important role. The expected project results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to SMEs.
The funded project should enhance the EU contribution to the International Human Microbiome Consortium. A complimentary topic (KBBE.2013.2.2-02: Factors influencing the human gut microbiome and its effect on the development of diet related diseases and brain development) is being published in the FP7 Food, Agriculture, Fisheries and Biotechnology (KBBE) work programme 2013. During the negotiations, if collaboration between the selected projects can be demonstrated to offer added value, the interconnections and interfaces between these projects but also with other projects in the field will be discussed in order to optimise the cooperation between the projects selected and to ensure maximum synergies.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project).

Expected Impact

Better knowledge of the human microbiome and its potential roles in health and disease. This identification of person-specific microbiomes and microbial markers should allow stratification and attribution of patients to different individual health situations or physical conditions. The project will address health care challenges by facilitating better prediction, prevention, treatment and cure of diseases on the basis of microbial characteristics of individual patients. It aims to foster innovation and strengthening the competitive position of the European health care industry (from EU Member States and Associated Countries). It
should create a high impact also through the involvement of a wide range of partners.

More Details

Only up to one proposal may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 30 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to industry including SMEs shall be 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

The present topic asks for a prospective, longitudinal, non-randomised clinical study on a cohort of minimum 5 000 TBI patients over 5 years or longer, with a view to better characterise TBI in Europe and identify the most effective clinical interventions (both acute and post-acute) to treat TBI. Applicants are asked to collect a set of TBI Common Data Elements (TBI-CDEs), the data standards endorsed by the International Initiative for Traumatic Brain Injury Research (InTBIR). Applicants will collect all relevant core TBICDEs.
Compliance with this requirement will be taken into consideration during evaluation.
The collection of supplemental/emerging CDEs and/or other clinical data in addition to the core CDEs is encouraged. Additional project components will focus on:
− Establishing an open-source database for easy storage and analysis of the collected data.
The database should be compatible with the US FITBIR database33. Where applicable, the integration with other existing databases and biobanks should be achieved.
− Applying CER analysis to the collected data to identify the most effective treatment according to patient history and type of injury.
− Development and dissemination of treatment recommendations based on the results of the CER analysis to provide evidence for future international clinical guidelines.
− Communication and networking activities (conferences, website, brochures, InTBIR meetings, etc.) to exchange information, data and best practices with other InTBIR projects funded by other agencies (NIH and CIHR) and the scientific community at large.
The management structure and provisions need to be adequate to the size and scope of the project.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project).

Expected Impact

The funded project is expected to contribute towards the goals of the International Initiative for Traumatic Brain Injury Research (InTBIR). In particular, the
project is expected to identify the most effective clinical interventions taking into consideration the type of brain injury and the history of the patient, and to contribute to the development of improved and harmonised clinical guidelines for the treatment of TBI.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
The requested contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 30 000 000.

Description

This topic invites researchers, industry and SMEs to develop new or optimise existing imaging technologies, and validate their application to mental disorders by integrating imaging data with complementary knowledge resulting from e.g. genomics, biomarkers, bioinformatics and clinical data. The goal is to allow the diagnosis of mental disorders at the pre-symptomatic stage or early during development, more accurate patient stratification and better measurement of disease progression.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

This topic is expected to develop new or optimise existing imaging technology for the benefit of patients with psychiatric disorders. It will also encourage SME
participation and foster innovation in Europe in line with the Europe2020 agenda. In addition, it will support the goals of the European Pact for Mental Health.

More Details

One or more proposals.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to industry including SMEs shall be 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

This topic aims at gaining new insights into the mechanisms underlying pathological aggression as well as developing preventative and therapeutic strategies for paediatric (0-18 years) conduct disorders characterised by aggressive and impulsive traits and/or social impairment. Applicants should apply a multidisciplinary approach to translate pre-clinical findings to therapies for the benefit of patients. Research proposed may address key issues such as genomics and genes/environment interactions, neurobiology of aggression and violence, identification of predictors of persistence and/or remission of symptoms in adulthood, development of strategies to prevent and treat these disorders and/or enhance remission.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

To improve the understanding of the neurobiology of paediatric conduct disorders characterised by aggressive traits and/or social impairment and the development of new psychological and pharmacological interventions for prevention and treatment of these disorders.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be 15% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

Applicants are expected to use multidisciplinary strategies in support of basic, preclinical and/or clinical research on epilepsy and epileptiform disorders. The goal is to better understand the complex patho-physiology of epilepsy in order to develop novel preventative strategies in at-risk patients, improve diagnostic methods, achieve better patient stratification and develop more effective therapeutics. Research proposed may address key issues such as genomics of epilepsy and epileptiform disorders, mechanisms of ictiogenesis and epileptogenesis, prevention of the development of epilepsy after potentially epileptogenic brain insults, mechanisms and/or epidemiology of refractory epilepsy, identification of age- and aetiology-specific drug targets for input in drug discovery process.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project).

Expected Impact

This theme is expected to improve our understanding of the aetiology and mechanisms of epilepsy and epileptiform disorders. It will also help preventing the
development of the disease after potentially epileptogenic brain insults. The presence of SMEs will help translating the molecular and cellular targets identified in basic and clinical research into a rational drug discovery process.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 12 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be 15% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

This topic targets pain syndromes whose treatments are inexistent or inadequate, such as headache and migraine, neurogenic and neuropathic pain. Further studies are needed to gain knowledge on the mechanisms of different pain syndromes as well as the significant inter-individual variation in the response to painful stimuli and analgesic drugs. The goal is to identify and develop biomarkers for pain to enable better patient stratification, mechanism-based treatment selection and targeted prevention strategies for high-risk individuals. Research proposed may address bottlenecks such as: pain predisposing genetic polymorphisms, circuitries and processes modulating nociception and endogenous analgesia, understanding the cognitive, emotional and behavioural components of pain, and new druggable molecular targets.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

Successful projects are expected to deepen our knowledge of how pain is generated, propagated and quenched, work towards the identification of more effective diagnostic and/or treatment approaches, and help translate pre-clinical and clinical results into solutions for the benefit of the patients.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
The requested contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.

Description

This topic supports the pre-clinical and clinical development of new, innovative, safe and effective vaccines. Proposals will focus on:
1) Towards "universal" influenza vaccines, providing longer-lasting and broader protection against multiple strains of influenza virus, with the ultimate aim of efficiently protecting the general population from seasonal and pandemic influenza, or
2) Prophylactic vaccines for any of the neglected infectious diseases. Research will be sufficiently advanced to initiate human clinical testing during early phases of the project. For the purpose of this call topic, neglected infectious diseases include kinetoplastid diseases (sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease); neglected bacterial diseases (trachoma); viral (rabies) or helminth diseases [lymphatic filariasis, cysticercosis, or soil-transmitted nematodes (Ascariasis, Trichuriasis, Hookworm)].

Funding Schemes

SME-targeted Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

The project is expected to engage research intensive SMEs into the development of new, safe and efficacious vaccines with a real potential to contribute
significantly to human health.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Specific requirements to be considered under the evaluation:
• SME-targeted research is designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation.
• Leading role of research intensive SMEs.
• Leading role of SMEs with R&D capacities, but the coordinator does not need to be an SME.
• Expected outcomes being of clear interest and potential benefit to SMEs.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

In order to improve the use of antibacterials and antifungals (dosage, duration, indication and combinations) with regard to treatment effectiveness, reduction of adverse effects as well as emergence of drug resistance, antimicrobial administration needs to be better tailored to the actual needs of individual patients. Projects should aim to gain a better understanding of both pathogen and host factors, as well as their interaction, with the objective to allow for more stratified treatment options and improved antimicrobial administration. Where relevant, consideration should be given to
gender aspects and ageing.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

Enabling the prescription of antimicrobials specifically tailored to the needs of individual patients will decrease the use of unnecessary or ineffective antimicrobials, which ultimately in turn is expected to slow down the emergence of antimicrobial resistance.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
The requested contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.

Description

The objective is to set up a multidisciplinary consortium able to provide a rapid, harmonised and optimised approach to clinical management of patients in relation to any severe infectious outbreak with a pandemic potential or significant risk of major damage to health and socio-economics in the EU. The consortium will address severe acute respiratory infections, as well as other acute infections (e.g. hemorrhagic fevers, encephalopathy, severe diarrhoeas, etc.). It should build a standardised methodological approach (pre-approval of protocols and ethical issues, common definitions and databases, mechanisms to rapidly exchange high quality data and samples, etc.) that would ensure the readiness to immediately perform large-scale clinical studies in response to an emerging
threat with the view of delivering harmonised and optimal clinical treatments to the affected patients in any location and helping controlling the outbreak. It also needs to have a solid "inter-epidemic" research plan, addressing issues such as, but not restricted to, multi-centre clinical trials, studies on pathogenesis, immunity and determinants of severity. It may also explore the feasibility of developing novel, rapid, reliable, sensitive, user-friendly, and affordable approaches for the detection and characterisation of pathogens in order to support patient treatment and outbreak control. Training activities should be elaborated to spread to clinical centres the new insights that should translate into optimal clinical management of patients in the context of severe epidemics. Special attention should be given to EU Member States and Associated Countries with limited capacity to respond to such epidemics. The consortium is expected to collaborate with other EU funded research projects where relevant and consult and collaborate with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in order to improve the European preparedness and response to any emerging threat. The project should structure the European contribution towards international initiatives already existing or under development in this field.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project).

Expected Impact

The research should provide technical and scientific support as well as standardised protocols/definitions/strategies for the optimal clinical management of patients in any severe infectious outbreak with pandemic potential or significant risk of major damage to health and socio-economics in the EU. It is expected to help designing a coherent, adequate and rapid public health response to emerging threats. The consortium should establish and foster links with national and international public health agencies to ensure the quick implementation of its findings into optimised clinical practices in the EU member states and
other countries in the world.

More Details

Only up to one proposal may be selected.
The requested contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 24 000 000.

Description

This action will support innovative, collaborative biomedical research proposals that address neglected infectious diseases, which disproportionately affect Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Research will focus on one or more of the following viral (tick-borne encephalitis, Congo-Crimean haemorrhagic fever,
rabies), bacterial (borreliosis and other tick-borne bacterial diseases), protozoan (babesiosis, giardiasis), and/or helminthic (trichinellosis, taeniasis and human echinococcosis) human diseases. Proposals will provide an integrated, multidisciplinary approach with significant participation of partners from disease-endemic areas and, where relevant, industry partners.
Proposals should include plans for translating research results into innovation in the health systems or through product development activities.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

Projects are expected to deliver new knowledge about the biological mechanisms and pathology of neglected infectious diseases, which are disproportionately affecting CEE. This knowledge should be obtained and analysed in such a way that it can contribute to the future prevention, treatment or diagnosis of the disease(s) in question.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
The requested contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000.

Description

Projects will bring together promising European and global attempts to discover and develop drugs for neglected parasitic diseases. For the
purpose of this call topic, neglected parasitic diseases include the kinetoplastid diseases (sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease) and helminth diseases [lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis or soil-transmitted nematodes (Ascariasis, Trichuriasis,
Hookworm)]. Proposals should focus either on:
1) Establishing a common drug discovery platform by joining experts in the field from industry and the public sector in Europe and disease-endemic countries. The resulting platform should have the capacity to undertake screening of compound libraries, lead development, testing in relevant animal models as well as toxicology and safety testing of new drug candidates. The drug discovery platform should address a minimum of three parasitic, with a balanced distribution of resources between them. In addition to the parasitic diseases mentioned above, the platform may also, if a clear synergy can be demonstrated, include malaria drug discovery activities, or:
2) Undertaking advanced clinical testing of new or improved drug candidates, including new formulations or combinations of already approved drugs. The drug candidate(s) to be addressed will already have undergone first-in-man testing.

Funding Schemes

SME-targeted Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

In recent years, European and global studies have been on-going to discover new drug leads or screen approved drugs for activity against neglected parasitic
infections. This action is expected to gather a comprehensive portfolio of drug leads, and develop the most promising of these into drug candidates that can be tested in early clinical trials.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Specific requirements to be considered under the evaluation:
• SME-targeted research is designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation.
• Leading role of research intensive SMEs.
• Leading role of SMEs with R&D capacities, but the coordinator does not need to be an SME.
• Expected outcomes being of clear interest and potential benefit to SMEs.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be 15% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

The successful consortia will perform multicentre clinical trials assessing therapeutic strategies for localised or systemic metastases in patients with solid cancers or for preventing their development in patients with solid cancers. Consortia will use state-of-the-art technologies to ensure proper patient staging and assessment of treatment efficacy. The following requirements and exclusions apply: endpoints, inclusion and exclusion criteria will be clearly
described. The primary endpoint should be overall survival. The outcome of this research will be relevant for patients and have a potential to lead to changes in clinical practice. Applicants will have to demonstrate that clinical trials are appropriately powered to produce statistically significant evidence. Gender aspects and differences related to age groups will be appropriately considered. The clinical trials to be supported will have to be registered in a publicly accessible clinical trials registry and their results published in peer-reviewed journals. The applications will consider the relevant governance issues for clinical trials such as good clinical practice and respect of the appropriate international, European and national legislation and guidelines. Patient advocacy groups which can contribute to the quality, feasibility and impact of clinical trials, may be involved where appropriate.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

The expected results of research in this area should improve survival for a number of metastatic cancer subtypes with dismal survival rates, by providing stratified therapies with a higher therapeutic index.

More Details

Only up to one proposal may be selected.
The requested contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.

Description

The successful consortia will advance pre-clinical and/or clinical research concerning cancer immunotherapy towards improved treatment efficacy of future immunotherapeutic strategies. It may address one or more of the following areas:
(1) cell, antibody or molecule-based immunotherapy;
(2) therapeutic cancer vaccines directed against clinically relevant tumour and/or host antigens;
(3) immune evasion impacting on clinically relevant tumour-host microenvironment interactions in localised or systemic disease.
Where appropriate tumour response criteria must be considered. Assays must be harmonised to validate cancer immunotherapeutic regimens in models or first-in-human trials. Involvement of industry, in particular SMEs, is strongly recommended.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

The expected results of research in this area will contribute to improving the efficacy of cancer immunotherapeutic regimens and clearly be of interest and potential benefit to SMEs.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to Industry including SMEs shall be 15% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

The successful consortia will perform multicentre clinical trials and/or observational studies aiming at improving quality-of-life of cancer patients or cancer survivors. The clinical studies may address symptoms caused by cancer, by cancer treatment, by long-term side-effects in cancer survivors or address symptoms that occur at the end of life. The following requirements and exclusions apply: endpoints, inclusion and exclusion criteria will be clearly described. The
outcome of this research will have to be relevant for patients or survivors and have a potential to lead to changes in clinical practice. Applicants will have to demonstrate that clinical trials and/or observational studies are appropriately powered to produce statistically significant evidence. Gender aspects and differences related to age groups should be appropriately considered. The clinical trials to be supported need to be registered in a publicly accessible clinical trials registry and their results published in peer-reviewed journals. The applications need to consider the relevant governance issues for clinical trials such as good clinical practice and respect of the appropriate international, European and national legislation and guidelines. Patient advocacy groups, which can contribute to the quality, feasibility and impact of clinical trials, may be involved where appropriate.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

The results of research in this area will ultimately lead to improved comfort and quality-of-life of cancer patients and cancer survivors.

More Details

Only up to one proposal may be selected.
The requested contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.

Description

The cutting edge research projects should explore further available and emerging molecular, genomic and other omics data from large-scale population studies and lead to the identification, characterisation and validation of in vitro and in vivo models of novel therapeutically relevant targets. Achieving this aim will have to be ensured by multidisciplinary research consortia with advanced biotechnological tools available.

Funding Schemes

SME-targeted Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

The purpose of this research is to provide new targets for further drug discovery and development in the CVD area.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Specific requirements to be considered under the evaluation:
• SME-targeted research is designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation.
• Leading role of research intensive SMEs.
• Leading role of SMEs with R&D capacities, but the coordinator does not need to be an SME.
• Expected outcomes being of clear interest and potential benefit to SMEs.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

Cardiovascular technologies used in clinical practice including those used for imaging and therapeutic procedures may vary widely in different countries and even amongst centres. In addition, systematic evidence regarding how approaches to prediction, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring and prognosis compare with one another is lacking. The project will compare the use of currently available technical procedures and/or devices in selected broad populations. A comprehensive array of clinical and safety parameters, as well as socio-economic outcomes (e.g. quality of life, patient mortality, morbidity, costs, and
performance of the health system) for chosen populations will be assessed. Randomised controlled trials, observational studies and meta-analyses may be considered for this topic. The study population should well address gender balance. Data sources to be used and methods to assess comparative effectiveness and cost effectiveness will be clearly defined. The project may include prospective data collection, development of clinical data networks, databases or patient registries. Dissemination activities aimed at raising awareness on the outcome of the study to the health care workforce may also be included, where appropriate.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

The purpose of this research is to inform patients, health care providers, and decision-makers, about which technologies are most effective in dealing with CVD.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.

Description

Projects should examine the effects of primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases using lifestyle intervention strategies. Research may include understanding and optimising the dose-response relationship between physical activity and cardiovascular health, as well as the interaction(s) between physical activity, other lifestyle factors and pharmacotherapy. Projects should also combine in vivo and in vitro studies to advance our current understanding of the fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms underpinning physical activity-dependent changes in cardiovascular health.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

The purpose of this research is to provide solid evidence-based research to guide the prevention/treatment of cardiovascular diseases at primary/secondary levels. It might also lead to improved cohort stratification in existing clinical trial models. Successful application of lifestyle intervention strategies can be expected to yield substantial savings within existing unsustainable health care costs in the medium-to-long-term.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000.

Description

Projects will evaluate the impact of two or more alternative health system and health services interventions in terms of their health benefit, patient needs, patient safety, effectiveness and quality of care. Research should also address the structural and policy components as well as cost effectiveness. It should use a multidisciplinary approach and take into account some of the different organisation of care models within Europe. A broad array of interventions and approaches may be studied under this topic, ranging from comparing effects of different models of integrated care on patient experiences, outcomes, and efficiency or comparing integrated care with more traditional models of care; analysing the uptake of new approaches such as stratified, individualised or personalised medicine; comparing the effectiveness of different quality improvement strategies in disease prevention; to assessing interventions such as promoting prudent use of antibiotics or smoking cessation. Different population groups will have to be taken into account where relevant.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

Results should assist policy makers and decision makers to make informed decisions regarding the implementation or improvement of health system and health services interventions in view of improving patient outcomes, quality of life and increase the costeffectiveness of interventions, ultimately improving health status at individual and population levels.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.

Description

EU research should aim to identify, develop and better understand innovative approaches to reduce sedentary behaviour and enhance the level of physical activity in the population. Research should include the evaluation of innovative on-going initiatives that reduce sedentary behaviour, enhance the level of physical activity combined with dietary or other interventions. In this context, research should include the identification of "good practices", as well as the analysis of their economic and social benefits and impact. Correlates will have to be detected (such as cultural, environmental, economic, psychological
and others) that inhibit or promote the individuals capacity to increase physical activity, reduce sedentary behaviour and self-regulate their dietary or other relevant behaviour. Research may cover various areas affecting lifestyle (e.g. sports, health, education, transport, urban planning, working environment, leisure) as well as different intervention levels (local, national, European). As a social innovation it should address the role of diverse public and private entities, such as business, including social enterprises, civil society organisations and public authorities, as well as their interaction. The views of potential end-users should be integrated in the design of the project as well as the methodology for assessing impact and outcomes throughout the project. The project should have a strong communication strategy.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

The relevant research should provide the necessary basis for empowering society to reduce sedentary behaviour, increase physical activity in everyday life, thus
preventing major lifestyle related diseases. This includes identifying more effective and efficient evidence-based strategies for reducing sedentary behaviour and increasing physical activity together with supportive (multi-disciplinary) policy environments. This will result in a greater uptake of innovative approaches by policy makers and making it more appealing to citizens to choose a healthy lifestyle.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be 15% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

This four year coordination action will support participants of running FP7 Health projects (as well as IMI and EDCTP projects), with focus on industry, especially European research performing SMEs. Specific objectives include at least the following activities: (i) to promote project participation of
SMEs. The promotional activity should include participation in relevant events and organisation of workshops; (ii) to assist project participants through training activities, personalised tools and using new media; (iii) to provide support for consortium building and matchmaking for industry and academia preparing EU project proposals with the help of a matchmaking database; (iv) to provide tools (including an up-to-date database of healthrelated SMEs in Europe) to encourage cooperation between industry and academia and increase the participation rate of high-technology research-performing SMEs. (v) To provide support on IPR issues that may rise during funded projects' lifetime; (vi) to assist project participants with training activities and tools; (vii) to provide advice/information/training on valorisation of project results, knowledge transfer in view of future commercialisation covering for example business management, innovation financing sources, organisation of partnering events. The project will collaborate, complement and develop synergies with existing support structures such as National Contact Points, Enterprise Europe Network, knowledge-transfer networks, like the IPR helpdesk, EMA SME Office etc.

Funding Schemes

Coordination Action or Support Action (coordinating action).

Expected Impact

The promotional activity is expected to support the increase of industry, especially high-tech SMEs participation in EU-funded health research, enhancing Innovation Union and Lisbon objectives for contributing to technological evolution, innovation, competitiveness of European industry, economic growth and employment. Participation of industry, and high-technology research-intensive SMEs in particular, in health research projects will enhance innovation through the dissemination and exploitation of research results generated in EU funded health research activities with the political objective of giving to SMEs 15% or more of the EU contribution. The project is expected to help innovative SMEs in successfully participating into framework projects.

More Details

Only up to one proposal may be selected.
The requested contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 2 500 000.

Description

The action aims to analyse and evaluate the interactions between relevant EU legislation with related guidelines and health research and/or innovation, including but not limited to: the specific application and implementation of this legislation at national level in this field; developments in the application and implementation. Each action is expected to address a specific issue relating to one EU legislation of major importance for the research and outcome performed within the health area.

Funding Schemes

Coordination Action or Support Action (supporting action).

Expected Impact

to better assess the effects of and interactions between the relevant EU legislation and research activities and related developments supported within this area using scientific analysis based on facts and figures. In particular, such projects are expected to constitute the evidence base that will help the Commission to identify ways to optimise the innovative potential, the efficacy in the drafting and application of current or future EU legislation.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 500 000.

Description

An integral part of the Health theme's activity is to organise, together with successive EU presidencies, events of a strategic nature. The proposed support action(s) will contribute to conferences or other appropriate events to be held in a MS which will hold a forthcoming Presidency of the European Union, specifically from mid-2013 to end 2014 Presidencies, in any area of the Health Theme. In order to ensure high political and strategic relevance, the active involvement of the relevant national authorities will be evaluated under criteria 'quality' and 'impact'. The proposed support action(s) should address topics that are of high relevance at the date of its taking place. An appropriate equilibrium should be present in the proposed action(s), with balanced presentation of various research, societal and industrial elements and points of view. Participation of non-EU stakeholders is possible. Outreach activities may be included such as e.g. a press programme and/or an event dedicated to raising awareness on a specific topic in schools or other specific audiences.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (supporting action).

Expected Impact

(i) review of research, industrial and/or societal developments linked to the areas of the Health Theme on specific programme level as appropriate; (ii) sharing of information and comparison of points of views; (iii) support to the activity of various stakeholders: ethicists, researchers, industrialists, investors, museums and/or schools.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 100 000.

Description

Proposals for coordination actions are sought in important and/or emerging areas of health research, where there is a need to step up coordination efforts between European key players. Academia, industry, national programmes and other relevant organisations, should come together to develop a strategy plan for the further development of the targeted health research area with high impact on competitiveness, healthcare systems and benefit for European citizens' health. For all proposed activities European added value will have to clearly be discernible. Under this topic activities will be supported with the aim of assessing profoundly the research and/or innovation resources, gaps and needs of the thematic target area, and to evaluate its potential as a focal area for a future European innovation partnership. The expected work excludes research activities. Expert advice may be sought, and industry interest may be probed, such that in case of positive outcomes detailed roadmaps may be developed. Existing activities, such as project(s) aiming at the development of strategic research agendas or roadmap-oriented activities will be taken into account and - where relevant - coordination with these will allow for synergies and
exclude competition or duplication. In addition, the proposal will have to demonstrate how it intends to ensure maximum transparency and openness to all relevant stakeholders. Where health issues are at stake that go beyond the confines of Europe, consideration may be given to integration of European coordination efforts with pertinent other international initiatives such that Europe may play an active and leading role in the respective thematic area of health
research. Relevant target institutions and channels for diffusion of the deliverables (reports, recommendations, roadmaps, etc.) will be clearly identified. The timeframe considered for implementation will also be duly justified.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (supporting action).

Expected Impact

Projects will contribute to preparing strong partnerships in key areas of health research, where important societal and/or economic return is expected. Where health issues go beyond Europe, projects may be used to coordinate the European participation in pertinent international activities.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 500 000.

Description

This action should support the coordination of research activities in the field of population research into diabetes and obesity that are currently funded by the European Commission, Members States and Associated Countries, together with other national funding agencies, notably in Mexico, New Zealand, Canada, the USA and Australia, as well as charities. It aims at aligning programmes and policies across Europe and the world, and contributing to increase sharing of
best practice and best use of research and public health resources, including in associations with international initiatives such as the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases46. . It should address the fragmentation of research activities develop synergies, and possible common strategic research agendas. It should integrate on-going and planned international projects, both EU funded and other, that address research on diabetes and obesity in specific populations. Part of the work to be undertaken is to convene international meetings as appropriate to follow up on the February 2012 Brussels conference "Diabesity – a world-wide
challenge".

Funding Schemes

Coordination Action or Support Action (coordinating action).

Expected Impact

This action should improve the linking and efficient integration and coordination of relevant and complementary EU funded and international/national/regional between the projects involved and the funding bodies, helping to create a transparent, dynamic and effective governing mechanism. Funding agencies will retain the governance of their action. The inclusion of existing and future international projects on the subject is expected to leverage on resources and avoid duplication. The structure should be kept open to allow for extended involvement of other funding bodies' projects. Ultimately, this action should lead to a self-sustainable network of funders in the area of diabetes/obesity research in specific populations, and its prevention, enabling the translation of information gained from innovative research and experiences into policy, social and economic benefits.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 2 000 000.

Description

This action should identify and analyse current EU-funded, as well as national and regional research programmes and initiatives in the field of chronic non-communicable diseases, their implementation modalities, funding sources and overall investments and output. The objective will be to map the scale and scope
of research activities in this area, including the research fields addressed, with a view to identify potential overlaps, synergies, gaps and opportunities for collaboration. Adequate comparison of data and results should be ensured through the use of common definition criteria and methodology(ies).

Funding Schemes

Coordination Action or Support Action (coordinating action).

Expected Impact

This action should contribute to the development of evidence-based policies towards supporting coordinated approaches in chronic non-communicable diseases research.

More Details

Only up to one proposal may be selected.
The requested contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 2 000 000.

Description

Proposals will address one of the options below:
A) for use in children (Regulation (EC) No1901/200647): Projects are expected to contribute to expanding the availability of medicines for children. Particular attention will be paid to age-appropriate formulations and of specific delivery systems for children. Projects will conduct appropriate clinical trials in children, respecting the current legislation and considering the ethical aspects and the particular needs of children and their families. Patient advocacy groups should be involved where possible and appropriate. The aim is to conduct clinical trials with the view of obtaining a PUMA (Paediatric Use Marketing Authorisation). Priority will be given to following areas, as mentioned in the EMA list of priorities for paediatric medicines:
www.ema.europa.eu/ema/index.jsp?curl=pages/regulation/document_listing/document_listing _000092.jsp&murl=menus/regulations/regulations.jsp&mid=WC0b01ac05800260a4&jsenabled=true
Or
B) for use in the elderly: Projects are expected to contribute to expanding the availability of better suited medicines for the elderly by conducting clinical trials validating new drug formulations adapted to the needs of the elderly. Specificities such as potentially different drug absorption rates, metabolism particularities and co-morbidities should be taken into account where appropriate.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

Increased availability of medicines adapted to the specific needs of children or the elderly.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to industry including SMEs shall be 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

Experiences with medicines that have been on the market for many years have shown that potentially serious adverse events may only become apparent long after their marketing authorisation. Projects to be funded in this topic will generate new knowledge on severe drug reactions and provide scientific evidence for post-authorisation risk assessment of medicinal products. Proposals will be based on pharmaco-epidemiological approaches focusing on adverse drug reaction research in one of the areas indicated below.
• Long term safety of antipsychotic medication in patients with dementia
• Genetic causes of adverse drug reactions: angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angioedema, and statin-induced myopathy
• Long-term adverse skeletal effects of bisphosphonates
Further details of the research objectives and expected deliverables are available on the website:
http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/index.jsp?curl=pages/regulation/document_listing/document_ listing_000322.jsp&mid=

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

Research should generate new knowledge on severe drug adverse events with potential implications in public health, i.e. those impacting on the balance of benefits and risks of medicinal products. This should be directed towards regulatory decisions on marketing authorisations for medicinal products including the warnings in product information for doctors and patients. A safer and more effective use of medicines should result with positive implications for public health.

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
Additional eligibility criteria:
1. The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000.
2. The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be 15% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole.

Description

The objective is to develop new or improved statistical design methodologies for clinical trials aiming at the efficient assessment of the safety and/or efficacy of a treatment for small population groups in particular for rare diseases or personalised (stratified or individualised) medicine. Research should be multidisciplinary and should involve all relevant stakeholders including industry and patient advocacy groups as appropriate. Ideally, results would lead to improvement of clinical trial guidelines. Clinical trials as such are excluded from this topic. Collaboration with relevant organisations outside Europe is welcomed.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

Cost efficient clinical trials deriving reliable results from trials in small population groups

More Details

One or more proposals may be selected.
The requested contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000.

Description

Work on transplantation may involve the use of cells, tissues or organs. Work on bioartificial organs should take into account the fact that these are composed of both biological and artificial components.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative project (small or medium-scale focused research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

Results should lead to development of new tools, technologies or devices for use in transplantation and for replacing essential organ function by bioartificial organs.

More Details

Specific feature:
• Specific SME innovation initiative designed to encourage stronger SME efforts
towards research and innovation.
• SMEs will need to have a leading role in the project.
• Applicants invited to present a full proposal for stage 2 are requested to submit a
detailed exploitation plan clearly describing the valorisation of the technology to be
developed.
Expected project results should be of clear interest and potential benefit to SME(s).
Please consult also the text for clinical trials provided in the introduction to activity 2. Translating research for
human health in this work programme on pages 9/10

Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project should depend on the needs of the project and
shall not exceed a maximum of EUR 6 000 000.
The proposed project duration indicated in the proposal should be up to 3 years.
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution
to SME(s) is 50% or more of the total estimated EU contribution to the whole project. This
will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement.
Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.
The financial viability of all partners in projects needs to fulfil the Commission
requirements. This will be checked at the stage 2 evaluation.
Number of participants: minimum 3 up to maximum 5, established in at least three different
EU Member States or Associated Countries.
Participation is restricted to entities established in EU Member States and Associated
Countries. Any project activity must be performed by an entity in the EU Member States or
Associated Countries (see also section III). SME(s) need to be 1) at least 51% owned and
controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of one of the EU Member States or
Associated Countries or permanent residents in one of those countries, or 2) at least 51%
owned and controlled by another business concern that is itself at least 51% owned and
controlled by individuals who are citizens of, or permanent residents in those countries.

Description

This topic covers the development and/or validation of diagnostic tests for infectious diseases with the aim of meeting real clinical and public health needs.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative project (small or medium-scale focused research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

Projects should deliver new or improved diagnostic tools which will lead to more appropriate patient management in the clinical setting and/or help reducing the spread of infections of global importance.

More Details

Specific feature:
• Specific SME innovation initiative designed to encourage stronger SME efforts towards research and innovation.
• SMEs will need to have a leading role in the project.
• Applicants invited to present a full proposal for stage 2 are requested to submit a detailed exploitation plan clearly describing the valorisation of the technology to be developed.
• Expected project results should be of clear interest and potential benefit to SME(s).

Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project should depend on the needs of the project and shall not exceed a maximum of EUR 6 000 000.
The proposed project duration indicated in the proposal should be up to 3 years.
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution to SME(s) is 50% or more of the total estimated EU contribution to the whole project. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.
The financial viability of all partners in projects needs to fulfil the Commission requirements. This will be checked at the stage 2 evaluation.
Number of participants: minimum 3 up to maximum 5, established in at least three different EU Member States or Associated Countries.
Participation is restricted to entities established in EU Member States and Associated Countries. Any project activity must be performed by an entity in the EU Member States or Associated Countries (see also section III). SME(s) need to be 1) at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of one of the EU Member States or Associated Countries or permanent residents in one of those countries, or 2) at least 51% owned and controlled by another business concern that is itself at least 51% owned and controlled by individuals who are citizens of, or permanent residents in those countries.

Description

Examples of possible areas to be considered: strategies aiming at prevention of damage and rejuvenation of sensory cells and systems, treatment of sensory diseases, implantable devices, cell based approaches, including stem cells, and development of artificial organs or their parts. Full attention needs to be paid to safety, bio-compatibility, interoperability and regulatory aspects as appropriate. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

Projects should lead to refined tools, technologies and procedures aimed at helping patients with sensory impairments to improve their quality of life by providing useful accessories or developing procedures to regeneration/rejuvenation or recreation of the affected organs or their parts.

More Details

Specific feature:
• Specific SME innovation initiative designed to encourage stronger SME efforts towards research and innovation.
• SMEs will need to have a leading role in the project.
• Applicants invited to present a full proposal for stage 2 are requested to submit a detailed exploitation plan clearly describing the valorisation of the technology to be developed.
• Expected project results should be of clear interest and potential benefit to SME(s).

dditional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project should depend on the needs of the project and shall not exceed a maximum of EUR 6 000 000.
The proposed project duration indicated in the proposal should be up to 3 years.
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution to SME(s) is 50% or more of the total estimated EU contribution to the whole project. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.
The financial viability of all partners in projects needs to fulfil the Commission requirements. This will be checked at the stage 2 evaluation.
Number of participants: minimum 3 up to maximum 5, established in at least three different EU Member States or Associated Countries.
Participation is restricted to entities established in EU Member States and Associated Countries. Any project activity must be performed by an entity in the EU Member States or Associated Countries (see also section III). SME(s) need to be 1) at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of one of the EU Member States or Associated Countries or permanent residents in one of those countries, or 2) at least 51% owned and controlled by another business concern that is itself at least 51% owned and controlled by individuals who are citizens of, or permanent residents in those countries.

Description

The aim of this topic is to support research and development and/or proof of principle of technologies for application in the area of personalised medicine, i.e. tailored medical interventions which are more effective and have fewer undesirable adverse effects in specifically defined patient groups. These technologies should be of use for research, screening, diagnostics and/or guidance of therapeutic interventions. The projects must include quality control aspects for data generated and where appropriate use statistical tools. Potential end-users should actively be included in the project, at least for proof of principle projects.
Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

SME-targeted Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project) One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

The development of new and improved tools and technologies should
contribute to enabling the uptake of personalised medicine into clinical practice and support
the competitiveness of Europe in this area. The projects are expected to advance research in
personalised medicine and have an impact in the relevant industry (in particular for SMEs).

More Details

Specific feature: SME-targeted research is designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation. Priority will be given to proposals emonstrating that research intensive SMEs play a leading role. The projects will be led by SMEs with R&D capacities but the coordinator does not need to be an SME. The expected project results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to SME(s).
Additional eligibility criteria: The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution going to SME(s) is 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

The aim of this topic is the practical exploitation of recent research findings to improve the outcome, increase efficiency or widen the scope of solid organ transplantation. Projects are required to include clinical work and the necessary regulatory work as appropriate. Full attention needs to be paid to safety and immunological aspects of the work. Research should be translational, and may include improvement of understanding of mode of action if needed. For projects on xenotransplantation, if the work is not yet ready for clinical application, proposals should include a reasoned plan indicating the main development and regulatory steps needed to move the technology to the clinic. Research should involve European industry, in particular the SME sector. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focussed research project). One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

Results should lead to improved treatment outcome for transplantation patients, better understanding of mode of action of treatments or potential treatments and be of use to the industrial, especially SME, sector.

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Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution
going to SME(s) is 15% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a
whole. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant
agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

Projects should aim to develop innovative strategies to stem cellbased therapies based on allogeneic and/or autologous sources, with an emphasis on understanding the mechanisms of action, nature of the donor cells, and the host response. Proposals should include thorough characterisation, quality control of the product(s), efficacy and safety in relevant pre-clinical models and, if possible, early assessment in humans or relevant bridging studies. The selected project should capitalise on the strong expertise and synergistic opportunities available in Australia and Europe in the fields of stem cell biology, cell-host interactions, and bioengineering, bio-processing and clinical trial management. Therapeutic products and clinical protocols should be developed through collaboration with
industry partners and in consultation with appropriate regulatory bodies and health economic advisors. Part of the research project will be conducted by Australian researchers in Australia while the other part would be conducted by collaborative partners in the EU. The work carried out in Australia would be funded through the NHMRC European Union Collaborative Research Grants scheme. With regard to the EU funded part of the project, it should follow
a two-phase process, including a mid-term review at 3 years. For the second phase of the project, success must be proven as defined by approval of a regulatory filing of an Investigational Medicinal Product Dossier (IMPD) with the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Industrial participation is required. Note:

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).
Only up to one proposal can be selected.

Expected Impact

The main impact of this research should be the extent to which new,
innovative therapeutic approaches for a given disease can be tested in relevant preclinical
models or humans. The project is expected to lead to closer cooperation between the EU and
Australia in the stem cell research field.

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Specific feature: Programme Level Cooperation between the EU and Australia: Although
each proposal shall be submitted as single, common application, the National Health and
Medical Research Council will only support the Australian partners, if approved, on grants.
Other partners can request funding from the EU. The proposal shall though be complete and
detail the activities of all partners, including the full financing requirements but not requesting
EU funding for the Australian partners. Details of submission dates for Australian researchers
will be provided through the NHMRC website.
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution
going to SME(s) is 15% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a
whole. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the EU grant
agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

The aim of this research is to exploit technology for nucleic acid delivery through testing in clinical trials carried out within the lifetime of the project. Recent innovative developments in DNA and/or RNA vaccination, immunotherapy, gene therapy or RNA interference are very encouraging but remain challenging and more proof-of-principle is needed. Any justified disease or disorder may be targeted. Detailed safety, immunogenicity, toxicity and feasibility studies in a preclinical setup (animal models) should preferably be already available. The necessary regulatory work should be included as appropriate. Proposals should develop multidisciplinary and translational research with potential for exploitation by the clinical and/or industrial sectors. Active participation by industry (minimum 30% of the EU contribution to the budget) is required and this will be considered in the evaluation of the proposal. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative project (small or medium-scale focused research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

Building on recent results the projects should link promising emerging
technologies with clinical application in the area of nucleic acid delivery for prophylactic or
therapeutic purposes. This would enhance European expertise and competitiveness in na important emerging market. Research will also support the European biotechnology industry,
especially the SME sector.

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Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution
going to industry including SME(s) is 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

The support action should: • provide the organisational support to the implementation of the international rare disease research consortium (IRDiRC), in close collaboration with the European Commission, research funding agencies from Member States and from other third countries involved.
• assist the IRDiRC executive committee, notably for the organisation of and reporting
on meetings (e.g. ad hoc meetings of working groups),
• support information exchange among members of the participating organisations in
projects funded under HEALTH.2012.2.1.1-1-B and HEALTH.2012.2.1.1-1-C, as
well as with other IRDiRC members and research initiatives,
• communicate progress of IRDiRC research, notably results stemming from projects funded under HEALTH.2012.2.1.1-1-B and HEALTH.2012.2.1.1-1-C, and activities with relevant stakeholders groups and with the public at large (e.g. development of website, communication materials, etc.).
Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (supporting action). Only up to one proposal can be selected.

Expected Impact

Reinforced international cooperation in research on rare diseases, through the development of policies and guidelines aimed at accelerating such research. The project
should contribute to the International Rare Disease Research Consortium (IRDiRC) goals.

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per action shall not exceed EUR 2 000 000

Description

The projects will in a systematic way apply -omics approaches and technologies for the molecular characterisation of a large group or category of rare diseases in view of development of new diagnostics and treatments. Applying -omics approaches in the chosen group of rare diseases should help understanding the clinical heterogeneity of certain individual rare diseases, as well as help revealing pathophysiological commonalities between clinically disparate rare diseases. Collaboration between clinicians and -omics scientists will hence be vital for improving the interpretation of clinical data and in particular the definition of harmonised ontologies. In addition, appropriate in silico, in vitro and/or in vivo models should be used with the aim to support future clinical trials. The project should include:
• deep phenotyping of patients, including use of -omics technologies for better understanding of disease allowing the development of novel diagnostic tools and treatments;
• development of the relevant technologies for utilisation in a clinical setting for diagnostic or screening purposes; appropriate quality control, standardisation and statistical treatment of data must be addressed; reference -omics profiles of diseases should be established, to set or confirm a diagnosis;
• development of appropriate in silico, in vitro and/or in vivo models for development of appropriate preventive or therapeutic personalised interventions.
The establishment and/or harmonisation of databases and bio-resources (including standardisation and quality control aspects) must be done through collaboration with the project funded by topic HEALTH.2012.2.1.1-1-C. The project is expected to have appropriate plans to engage with relevant stakeholders, such as patient organisations and regulatory bodies, and a clear plan for the project-long inter-relation with the other topics under this sub¬area. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating research project).
Up to two proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

These projects are expected to provide better and faster means for the correct diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases for which there is no or unsatisfactory diagnosis and/or treatment available. The projects should contribute to the International Rare Disease Research Consortium (IRDiRC) goals.

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 12 000 000.
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution going to industry including SME(s) is 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

Information from the different ¬omics platforms needs to be integrated with clinical data in order to support the development of reference omics profiles for rare diseases. This project aims at developing an integrated platform supporting the collection and storage of -omics and clinical data, and samples collected through projects funded under HEALTH.2012.2.1.1-1-B and from other relevant projects supporting IRDiRC objectives. The platform will provide a user-friendly access to reference profiles and their corresponding biological resources, of high value for timely and accurate diagnosis. Focus must be put on the harmonisation, standardisation and quality control aspects of collected data and samples (i.e. development of standard operating procedures, etc.). Wherever feasible, activities should build on already existing databases and biobanks; their integration needs to be part of this project. The project will contribute to IRDiRC policies and guidelines and ensure their implementation in European projects contributing to IRDiRC. The project is expected to have appropriate plans to engage with relevant stakeholders, such as patient organisations and regulatory bodies, and a clear plan for the project-long inter-relation with projects selected under the other topics under this sub¬area. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating research project)
Only up to one proposal can be selected.

Expected Impact

A centralised access to reference -omics profiles of diseases, based on standardised and validated data and sample collection, and on the integration of databases and bio-banks.

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 12 000 000.

Description

This topic as a whole contributes to the EIP “active and healthy ageing”. The projects should aim at clinical validation of already identified -omics-based potential biomarkers for age-related diseases or disorders affecting the elderly. The biomarkers should be potentially usable indicators for at least one of the following: prediction, diagnosis, prognosis or response to therapy. The validity should be demonstrated with existing or new studies involving human subjects. The clinical validation should show the extent to which the biomarker correlates with the disease and should be measured by sensitivity, specificity, and predictive power. The projects must take into account the use of appropriate statistical models and well as include quality control aspects for data generated. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

SME-targeted Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

The research should lead to validated biomarkers in clinical settings allowing diagnosis, prognosis, patient stratification or treatment monitoring of diseases with relevance to the ageing population. The projects should bring benefits to patients and support the competitiveness of the European industry (in particular SMEs).

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Specific feature: SME-targeted research is designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation. Priority will be given to proposals demonstrating that research intensive SMEs play a leading role. The projects will be led by SMEs with R&D capacities but the coordinator does not need to be an SME. The expected project results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to SME(s).
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 12 000 000.
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution going to SME(s) is 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

The objective is to improve or develop new statistical methods and tools for an appropriate and accurate analysis of -omics data to better understand the results and use them more efficiently. The project may focus on a specific data type, such as genomics or proteomics, or target a particular class of analyses. Planning of experiments (e.g. through -omics-specific optimal statistical testing approaches), data gathering (including how to deal with missing or 'dirty data') and the problem of meta¬analyses (to exploit limited availability and individually insufficiently powered studies) should also be considered. Clinical trials per se are explicitly excluded. The project should also include appropriate training and dissemination activities to increase awareness of current best practices and facilitate the rapid uptake by the scientific community and the industry. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria

Funding Schemes

SME-targeted Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

New and improved statistical tools allowing better use, analysis and interpretation of large scale, multivariate and/or small-sample -omics data and better experimental design. The new methods should meet the scientific needs and have the potential for rapid uptake in practice.

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Specific feature: SME-targeted research is designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation. Priority will be given to proposals demonstrating that research intensive SMEs play a leading role. The projects will be led by SMEs with R&D capacities but the coordinator does not need to be an SME. The expected project results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to SME(s).
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution going to SME(s) is 15% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

Research should focus on the development, improvement and application of systems biology approaches to medical/clinical questions; a non-exhaustive list of examples would be:
• Re-design of clinical trials by shortening times and costs
• Re-definition of clinical phenotypes based on molecular and dynamic parameters
• Development of tools for in vivo dynamic and quantitative clinically-relevant measurements at the cellular/tissue/organ level
• Development of combinatorial therapies and/or chronotherapies for complex diseases
• Development of combinatorial biomarkers
• Development of new and/or improvement of existing computational models to meet the needs of bio-medical or clinical research.

Consortia should aim to demonstrate the medical and clinical utility of systems biology approaches as well as the usefulness of their results for exploitation. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

SME-targeted Collaborative Project (small-scale focused research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

These SME-driven projects are specifically designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation. These projects should be centred on the reinforcement of SME’s scientific and technological knowledge and on the development of innovative solutions in the area of systems biology for medical and clinical applications.

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Specific feature: SME-targeted research is designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation. Priority will be given to proposals demonstrating that research intensive SMEs play a leading role. The projects will be led by SMEs with R&D capacities but the coordinator does not need to be an SME. The expected project results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to SME(s). In particular, this specific SME-driven topic, aims to encourage small or minimum consortia size, maximum project duration up to 2 years, and a simplified approach to future negotiation and reporting. This type of SME-driven topic is designed to enable significant progress towards proof-of-concept and exploitation of results in the short-medium term.
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000
The proposed project duration indicated in the proposal should be up to 2 years

Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution going to SME(s) is 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

Multidisciplinary research that crosses the borders of different disciplines including basic, pre-clinical and clinical research, network analysis and computational modelling, should focus on improving understanding of the patho¬physiological mechanisms, prognosis, and diagnosis of multifactorial human diseases and their co-morbidities. The research should be driven by clearly defined clinical need and provide new avenues for disease diagnosis and/or treatment. Active participation of SMEs and patient organisations could lead to an increased impact of the research proposed and this will be considered in the evaluation of the proposal. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

Recent advances in systems biology and network analysis have opened new ways of understanding the patho-physiology of multifactorial diseases. It is of equal importance to address also the clinical needs in cases where several diseases co-occur (co¬morbid) in the same patient, and hence the pathology and subsequently the potential treatments become even more complex. Projects are expected to demonstrate the impact of systems biology approaches for delivering new insights into multifactorial human diseases and their co-morbidities.

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 12 000 000

Description

The project should aim to promote and support the networking and coordination of European research activities for systems biology applications to medicine. The focus should be on bringing together different national and European efforts with the aim: (i) to develop a road-map and set-up of research priorities for developing and structuring systems medicine in Europe; (ii) to establish a plan for addressing the educational needs and multidisciplinary training in systems approaches for the next generation of scientists and medical doctors; (iii) to share best practices, information/resources on successful methodological approaches by developing and implementing standardised operational procedures; (iv) to strengthen the innovation activities such as technology transfer and exploitation; (v) to integrate national efforts in systems medicine. The partnership should include the appropriate stakeholders, such as systems biology scientists, clinicians, programme managers, industry, SMEs, media, in order to have a major impact in the area. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action)
Only up to one proposal can be selected.

Expected Impact

Building a strategy at the European level and setting out a coordinated approach to promote and integrate research in systems medicine in Europe.

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per action shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000

Description

This topic as a whole contributes to the EIP “Active and Healthy Ageing”.
This topic will address the basis of human ageing by studying genes, gene regulation and pathways involved in the process and defining the interactions through which the ageing phenotype develops in normal and/or disease conditions. Research will encompass computational approaches and comparative genomics building on existing data and the use of appropriate models when needed. Depending on the nature of research, tools for diagnostic and prognostic procedures as well as for the monitoring of therapies can also be included. The role of known drug combinations, nutrients, lifestyle and environmental determinants on the whole body over a long period of time will also be considered. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

SME-targeted Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

Projects are expected to translate knowledge to humans and contribute directly to bio-gerontology. By studying the interactions between genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors, and how these give rise to the ageing phenotype in health and disease, the project(s) should improve the lives of older people.

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Specific feature: SME-targeted research is designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation. Priority will be given to proposals demonstrating that research intensive SMEs play a leading role. The project will be led by SMEs with R&D capacities but the coordinator does not need to be an SME. The expected project results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to SME(s).
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution going to SME(s) is at least 30% of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

This topic as a whole contributes to the EIP “Active and Healthy Ageing”. The aim of the projects should be the comparison of outcomes of various treatment regimens for those diseases that are most common in elderly populations. Research will focus on drug therapy and other interventions for patients affected by and treated for multiple diseases. Studies should include the evaluation of efficacy and adverse events. Applicants must demonstrate that clinical trials are appropriately powered to produce statistically significant evidence. Gender aspects and differences related to age groups, ethnicity and socio-economic status should be appropriately considered. The clinical trials to be supported must be registered in a publicly accessible clinical trials registry. The applications must consider the relevant governance issues for clinical trials such as good clinical practice and respect of the appropriate international, European and national legislation and guidelines. Patient advocacy groups, which can contribute to the quality, feasibility and impact of clinical trials, should be involved where appropriate. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

SME-targeted Collaborative project (small or medium-scale focused research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

Three main impacts are expected: treatments better suited to the needs of older people, lowering healthcare costs and engaging in the pre-normative setting of geriatric medicines.

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Specific feature: SME-targeted research is designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation. Priority will be given to proposals demonstrating that research intensive SMEs play a leading role. The projects will be led by SMEs with R&D capacities but the coordinator does not need to be an SME. The expected project results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to SME(s).
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution going to SME(s) is at least 15% of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

The objective of this topic is to support basic, translational and/or clinical research with the aim of improving basic knowledge, disease prevention, therapeutic management and prognosis of patients that are co-infected with two or more of the infectious agents causing AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis or hepatitis. The proposals are expected to address key research questions, such as immunological mechanisms and responses to co-infection, and may include investigator driven clinical trials on prevention, treatment or treatment combinations for co-infected individuals as well as clinical and epidemiological consequences. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focussed research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

The successful projects should increase knowledge of co-infection between two or more of the major infectious diseases (AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and hepatitis) and contribute to better prevention, treatment and patient management. The expected impact includes optimised treatment, reduced mortality and ameliorated quality of life of patients

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000

Description

The supported projects should aim at developing innovative strategies for the prevention and/or treatment of poverty-related diseases (HIV/AIDS, malaria or tuberculosis). Priority will be given to projects addressing current gaps in prevention and/or treatment and key research areas such as novel and combinatorial strategies for prevention, novel therapeutic and/or curative approaches, development of models for disease progression and host-pathogen interaction in humans. Projects may contain elements of both basic and translational research. A detailed plan for development and exploitation of the end results will be an important aspect. The intention is to provide individual members of the consortium with sufficient resources to deliver results in the short term. Therefore, applications from small consortia (typically 3-5 partners) as well as short duration (typically 1-3 years) with up to the expected EU contribution are welcome. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

SME-targeted Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

Projects are expected to deliver results with a clear impact on future disease management. The projects should contribute significantly to prevention and treatment of poverty related diseases by addressing gaps and providing innovative strategies for integrating the inputs of individual research teams. Progress should be translated into improving the lives of patients with poverty related diseases, and reducing future disease incidence. In addition, where relevant, projects are expected to develop links and explore synergies with relevant ongoing EU-funded initiatives, such as the EDCTP.

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Specific feature: SME-targeted research is designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation. Priority will be given to proposals demonstrating that research intensive SMEs play a leading role. The projects will be led by SMEs with R&D capacities but the coordinator does not need to be an SME. The expected project results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to SME(s).
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution going to SME(s) is 15% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

The supported projects should aim at developing innovative strategies for the prevention and/or treatment of poverty-related diseases (HIV/AIDS, malaria or tuberculosis). Priority will be given to projects addressing current gaps in prevention and/or treatment and key research areas such as novel and combinatorial strategies for prevention, novel therapeutic and/or curative approaches, development of models for disease progression and host-pathogen interaction in humans. Projects may contain elements of both basic and translational research. A detailed plan for development and exploitation of the end results will be an important aspect. The intention is to provide individual members of the consortium with sufficient resources to deliver results in the short term. Therefore, applications from small consortia (typically 3-5 partners) as well as short duration (typically 1-3 years) with up to the expected EU contribution are welcome. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

SME-targeted Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

Projects are expected to deliver results with a clear impact on future disease management. The projects should contribute significantly to prevention and treatment of poverty related diseases by addressing gaps and providing innovative strategies for integrating the inputs of individual research teams. Progress should be translated into improving the lives of patients with poverty related diseases, and reducing future disease incidence. In addition, where relevant, projects are expected to develop links and explore synergies with relevant ongoing EU-funded initiatives, such as the EDCTP.

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Specific feature: SME-targeted research is designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation. Priority will be given to proposals demonstrating that research intensive SMEs play a leading role. The projects will be led by SMEs with R&D capacities but the coordinator does not need to be an SME. The expected project results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to SME(s).
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution going to SME(s) is 15% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

Projects should focus on innovative ways to confront and control malaria and/or neglected infectious diseases45 in resource-poor settings. Projects should focus on novel applications of current tools and combining dispersed and fragmented knowledge to provide new and cost-effective solutions. Projects may address and combine knowledge from areas such as combination therapy, treatment strategies, epidemiology, access to diagnostics and drugs, operational- and implementation research, including quality control. Projects are expected to deliver low cost medical solutions that can be implemented within the project period. The involvement of partners from disease-endemic countries is expected, and potential links and synergies with existing multilateral initiatives could be an added value. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small-scale focussed research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

The supported projects are expected to develop low-cost interventions that can be implemented during the project period and thereby have an immediate impact on the control of malaria and/or neglected infectious diseases in resource poor countries. Where relevant, projects are expected to develop links and explore synergies with other existing multilateral initiatives.

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000

Description

Taking into account state-of-the-art innovative research and technologies, the aim of this topic is to validate, in the preclinical and/or clinical setting, the performance and applicability of therapeutic devices or biological therapies aimed at improving diabetes management. This could include for instance glucose sensors, insulin delivery systems, devices that respond on low glucose levels to release glucagon or other insulin-counteracting therapies and could build on surgical, immunological, integrated physiology, cellular and bio¬artificial therapy approaches. Full attention needs to be paid to safety, bio-compatibility, interoperability and regulatory aspects as appropriate. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

SME-targeted Collaborative project (small or medium-scale focused research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

Expected impact: Large prospective clinical trials have established the long-term benefits of restoring blood glucose to near-normal levels in people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes and its key role in reducing microvascular and macrovascular complications. However, glycemic control remains suboptimal in many patients with diabetes, even with widespread use of self-monitoring of blood glucose, insulin pumps, and the introduction of insulin analogs. Results should lead to the development of more accurate detection, delivery and monitoring methods as well as strategies for the improved management of glycemia or contribute to solving current bottlenecks of restorative and regenerative approaches.
Specific feature: SME-targeted research is designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation. Priority will be given to proposals demonstrating that research intensive SMEs play a leading role. The projects will be led by SMEs with R&D capacities but the coordinator does not need to be an SME. The expected project results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to SME(s).
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution going to SME(s) is at least 30 % of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

The main aim is to launch major clinical trials in type 1 diabetes patients with a particular focus on children and adolescents, who are predominantly and severely affected. These trials should be designed to improve glycaemic control and management of the disease. The results of such trials should deliver measurable improvements to clinical management. The outcomes must be relevant for patients and change clinical practice. Research to identify optimal diet and exercise protocols could be included if appropriate. Pilot studies and systematic reviews will not be funded. Applicants must demonstrate that clinical trials are appropriately powered to produce statistically significant evidence. Gender aspects and differences related to age subgroups should be appropriately considered. The clinical trials to be supported must be registered in a publicly accessible clinical trials registry. The applications must consider the relevant governance issues for clinical trials such as good clinical practice and respect of the appropriate international, European and national legislation and guidelines. Patient advocacy groups, which can contribute to the quality, feasibility and impact of clinical trials, should be involved where appropriate. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focussed research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

New types of insulin, along with improved management and monitoring technologies, have the potential to improve outcomes. However, diabetes management requires complex balancing of medication dosing, diet and exercise in order to achieve good glucose control while avoiding hypoglycemia. It is expected that these clinical trials will inform clinical management of type 1 diabetes across the lifespan.

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Specific feature: For investigator-driven clinical trials, it is considered that the use of the definition of the typical phases of clinical trials in the context of the development of new drugs (phase I to phase III – approval – post-marketing or phase IV trials) is only of limited utility. For example, clinical trials on life-style interventions do not fit into the phase definitions. It is expected that most studies to be funded will be phase II trials, if the intervention to be tested is used outside its approved indication, or phase IV trials if the intervention is used within its marketing authorisation. In particular, it is foreseen that comparative effectiveness trials (phase IV) will be funded in several topics. If evidence warranting advanced clinical testing is already available, phase III trials can also be supported.
Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000

Description

Support will be provided to preclinical studies (pharmacological, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and toxicological) in models and/or clinical studies (including phase III clinical trials) of EU designated orphan medicinal products. Clinical studies should focus on biopharmaceutical studies (including bioavailability, bioequivalence, in vitro-in vivo correlation), human pharmacokin-.etic and pharmacodynamic studies, human efficacy and safety studies. Clinical trials must be appropriately powered to produce statistically significant evidence. Involvement of industry, in particular SMEs, is strongly recommended. Diagnostics and therapies for cancer and nervous system diseases will not be considered. The orphan medicinal product will need to be granted the EU orphan designation at the latest on the date of the call closure 48. It is expected that the project will have appropriate plans to engage with relevant stakeholders such as patient organisations and the European Medicines Agency. Projects funded under this topic should contribute towards the goals of the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) that include the development of 200 new therapies for rare diseases by 2020 49. The partners in all projects selected for funding should adhere to IRDiRC policies 50. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focussed research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

Projects should deliver appropriate information to i) start clinical development of orphan drugs (if the project includes preclinical development) and/or ii) improve care of rare diseases patients (if the project includes clinical development). Collected data should be of sufficient quality to be further exploited in marketing authorisation requests. The projects should contribute to the International Rare Disease Research Consortium (IRDiRC) goals.

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Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution going to industry including SME(s) is 30% or more of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

The aim is to improve clinical practice in the management of rare diseases patients, and research should include the comparison of outcome of various prevention or treatment/intervention regimens for those rare diseases for which no orphan drug is available and that are being treated off-label. Studies should include the evaluation of effectiveness and adverse events. Particular attention should be given to the definition of appropriate outcome measures. Studies on cancer, infectious diseases and nervous system diseases will not be considered. Project should include appropriate plans to engage with relevant stakeholders such as patient organisations and dissemination plans to ensure the wide and rapid uptake of developed guidelines. Child health aspects should be taken into consideration whenever appropriate. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small-scale focussed research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

Projects should lead to accepted evidence-based clinical guidelines for a better care of patients afflicted by rare disease(s) for which no dedicated treatment is currently available.

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000

Description

This action is dedicated to the development of a networking platform supporting the collection of standardised and validated data and the exchange of information providing evidence for best clinical management of rare diseases. It should also help identifying additional research needs to further improve clinical practice. The platform should not be restricted to particular (groups of) rare diseases and the platform sustainability after the EU financing period must be established during the project. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action)
Only up to one proposal can be selected.

Expected Impact

A recognised, sustainable networking platform facilitating the exchange of information, identifying and spreading best clinical practice for the management of rare diseases should be delivered.

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per action shall not exceed EUR 2 000 000

Description

Early diagnosis of chronic inflammatory diseases, establishment of the mechanisms of initiation, identification of genes involved and relevant gene regulation mechanisms, biomarkers (e.g. biochemical, immunologic, epigenetic) of diagnostic value, as well as identification of targets for therapeutic action of pharmaceutical agents and other treatments. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

SME-targeted Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

Projects should deliver improved/novel methodology to enable early diagnosis of chronic inflammatory diseases, to identify genes and their regulation pathways, as well as molecular and cellular pathways involved in initiation of the diseases, which will allow for prediction of potential development of the disease in yet healthy population. A list of biomarkers indicating onset of inflammation should be established and potential strategies for therapeutic intervention developed including identification of cellular and molecular targets for treatment of the disease.

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Specific feature: SME-targeted research is designed to encourage SME efforts towards research and innovation. Priority will be given to proposals demonstrating that research intensive SMEs play a leading role. The projects will be led by SMEs with R&D capacities but the coordinator does not need to be an SME. The expected project results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to SME(s).
Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the estimated EU contribution going to SME(s) is at least 15 % of the total estimated EU contribution for the project as a whole. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

The objective of this topic is to benchmark best practices regarding the structure, care processes, cost containment issues, reimbursement systems and performance of health care organisations in Europe. Applicants would be expected to address the issues of the organisational, management, financial (including costs) and regulatory aspects of health systems, including where appropriate the context of cross-border settings. The expected outputs would be an enhanced performance of Member States' health services based on proposals that address one ore more elements given below:
• The integration of care across organisations and how collaboration between different health care providers can integrate primary and secondary care in pathways. Such research for example could focus on the effect of integration on patient experiences, outcomes, and efficiency; could examine the best forms of integration and under what conditions/context and for which patients groups is the integration of care suitable; and investigate the evaluation of new organisational approaches to integration.
• Quality of cost information for patient care. Research for example could focus on the assessment of health costing systems and practices for patient services (including the identification of best practice costing models); the analysis of the cost information quality, the impact and relevance upon decision making; the improvement of comparability of health cost data among EU countries with a view to advancing the economic efficiency of services.
• Patient-centred care and patient involvement and how organisations and patients, including self-help groups, can be empowered in this direction. Such research for example could focus on the evaluation of strategies, interventions, and incentives; under which conditions would new health technologies lead to more patient-centred care; investigate interventions and guideline adherence. Different health care settings should be taken into account.
• Skill mix and management of human resources. Such research for example could focus on the impact of changing skill mix of health professionals across Europe on quality of care and future health needs; the organisation of care processes and professional roles and competencies; the identification and comparison of successful health workforce planning strategies addressing the ageing health workforce and increasing mobility of health professionals across Europe57.
• The transfer of knowledge into practice using results and outcomes of relevant EU FP projects with regards to health systems and health services research58. Best practices and the factors that determine the transferability of these mechanisms59 should be considered, applying relevant tools and brokerage skills, to ensure that research findings and results are indeed applicable and used for a better organisation of health service delivery in Europe.

Proposals that include participation from Member States engaged in reforming their health systems and candidate countries will be considered. Projects should generally be of 4 years' duration; however a proposal addressing the issue of knowledge into practice should span 5 years. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small-scale focused research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

This research should contribute to the scientific evidence base that supports Member States to better organise their health systems within the relevant policy context. Projects should address the varieties in health care practice across Europe's health care landscape including critically an understanding of the relationship between organisations and how patients move through them. Projects should advance the state of the art in the field of health services research, stimulate social innovation and enhance cooperation between researchers in Europe and other regions to promote integration and excellence of European research and social innovation in this field.

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000

Description

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is intended to provide a bridge between the world of research and the world of decision-making by providing relevant information about the medical, social, economic, legal and ethical issues related to the use of health technology. This should be achieved in a systematic, transparent, unbiased and robust manner, also highlighted by the European network for Health Technology Assessment61. Research under this call should develop new and /or improved methodologies for HTA that address the present challenges affecting the current methodological framework regarding complexity, efficacy and effectiveness. Proposals should address one or more elements of the following areas:
• HTA methodologies should be broadened to expand further the spectrum and complexity of technologies assessed. For example complex interventions consisting of a wide spectrum of technologies and multidisciplinary delivery modes should be addressed, such as personalised medicines, public health interventions, organisational interventions and information and communication technologies related to health. Other challenges to be addressed could include the need for the continuous assessment of health technologies throughout their life cycles, the integration of social, organisational, ethical and legal aspects, assessment of relative effectiveness and to evaluate their implementation into health service provision.
• Research for example could address the real need to complement those efforts already undertaken by the Member States' network of HTA organisations (EUnetHTA JA) as regards the development of HTA methodologies to assess, for example, the efficacy and effectiveness of technologies. The applicability of these technologies into broader clinical contexts requires a better understanding of their use. In addition, there is a need to strengthen HTAs so that they may be used in very specific and particular circumstances, such as in hospital settings - mini-HTAs, where very local contextual organisational considerations have to be taken into account. Non-exhaustive examples would include: advanced therapies62, diagnostics, medical devices, personalised medicines, transfusion and transplantation, health-related information and communication technologies.
Collaboration between the selected projects should be foreseen in the proposals in view of exchanging information and promoting the development of best practice. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small-scale focused research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

This research should improve the scope, validity and applicability of HTA as a tool to determine the potential impact of innovative technologies on individual and population health gains. It should complement work undertaken by the European Network for Health Technology Assessment and broaden the HTA methodological framework to develop it into a truly meaningful tool that provides structured, evidence-based input into health policies that are patient-focused and promoting good quality care, equity in access and best value for money.

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000

Description

This topic as a whole contributes to the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) pilot initiative on “Active and Healthy Ageing”. Social innovation for active and healthy ageing should aim to develop innovative approaches to promote better quality of life and improved well-being for the elderly. Proposals should develop new ideas (products, services and/or models) that simultaneously meet social needs and create new social relationships. Such research, with a holistic approach to well-being and with open participation of a variety of stakeholders, should take into account the broad spectrum of social, economic and health needs of Europe's elderly citizens, and contribute to implement the factors enabling an improved quality of life of older people. Relevant stakeholders at the appropriate level(s) (e.g. local, regional) are expected to define how the new ideas developed in the framework of the project can be implemented. Non-exhaustive examples would include: innovative products and services aimed at promoting healthy lifestyle, nutrition and/or healthy environment, disease prevention, supporting independent and active older citizens; or reform of the health care system and services to adequately meet the needs of independent living of an ageing population. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small-scale focused research project)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

Innovation needs to be reflected not only in research, science and business but also in all areas of society including the health sector in order to make life better for European citizens. Social innovation in the public sector, the private and non-for-profit sectors must be harnessed to improve the quality of life of older citizens and society as a whole. The projects are expected to develop a new paradigm in this area based on the principles underlying the Innovation Union and subsequent reflections emerging from the EIP pilot initiative on "Active and Healthy Ageing".

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000

Description

The weakness of health systems is an obstacle to effective health care in many low-and middle-income countries. Projects should allow national and regional decision makers to better translate knowledge, empirical data and operational experience into policies and planning for more effective, efficient and equitable health systems and services. Research should combine inter- and intra-country comparisons, quantitative and qualitative approaches with experience about best practices with a view to increase and sustain universal health coverage. Research could also develop plans for improved management of the health workforce in low-resource settings such as rural areas and urban slums. Collaboration between selected projects as well as with relevant ongoing EU funded projects is welcome in order to develop synergies and increase impact. Proposals should allocate at least one third of the requested EU contribution to capacity building on the basis of a thorough assessment of local training needs in collaboration with key stakeholders. Particular attention should be given to the next generation of researchers and health care professionals. Measures to strengthen the scientific capacity for health systems/health policy research through South-South cooperation could also be included. A single geographical ICPC region or sub-region can be addressed. Projects should generally be 5 years in duration. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Specific International Cooperation Action (SICA), Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project) target regions: All international cooperation countries (ICPC).
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

This research should empower national or regional decision-makers in low- and middle-income countries in the planning, management and organisation of health systems through the contribution of a robust evidence base building on best practice knowledge transfer mechanisms, to support the theory and practice of strengthening health systems. With reference to the health workforce, research could contribute to the development of innovative, effective and sustainable policies that motivate health workers to remain in their workplaces, support education and training for health workers, strengthen governance capacities, and subsequently improve overall access and quality of health care. Projects are expected to promote capacity building as a key to creating a sustainable and attractive research landscape for health systems/services research in the target countries.

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Additional eligibility criteria:
The requested EU contribution per project shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000
Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that consortia include a minimum of 6 different ICPC partners and a minimum of 2 EU/AC partners from different countries.

Description

The objective of this three years coordination action is to further strengthen knowledge transfer offices in universities, public research organisations, hospitals and to promote industry-academia trans-national collaboration, with focus on the health sectors and its specificities, promoting the exploitation of innovative ideas, promoting contacts with investors and their associations. It will have to cover as many as possible of the following objectives: 1) It will create platforms for shared learning and networking for scientists, hospitals, program managers and policy makers in a continuous manner. 2) It will establish a mechanism for identifying and promoting good knowledge management and knowledge transfer practices in the EU Member States and Associated Countries, providing evidence on best practice on the transfer of knowledge, including standardisation. 3) It will give visibility to the best achievements at the European level, including impact of legislation and tax incentives on technology transfer and innovative SMEs. 4) It will create an on-line repository of best practices for further reference and actively promote them. 5) It will promote interaction between the universities, industry, investors and the individual researchers with the organisation of workshops, partnering events and staff exchanges. 6) The consortium shall coordinate the tasks related to the organisation of national activities. 7) It will have to organise one conference during the project lifetime. It shall clearly promote collaboration and exchanges with Industry (SMEs in particular) and SME associations. It shall complement and not overlap with organisations like Enterprise Europe Network or existing technology transfer associations, working in synergy with them and with other EU funded supports. The proposal shall provide a detailed action plan with quantitative and measurable objectives. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action)
Only up to one proposal can be selected.

Expected Impact

The network activity should promote exploitation of innovative ideas, promoting knowledge transfer between business and academia, addressing European fragmentation through trans-national activities. It should promote interaction among all relevant actors, involving stakeholders, fostering synergies and enhancing the capacity for knowledge transfer with the ultimate objective of valorisation of EU funded research results, in view of the commitments presented in the Innovation Union communication. It should promote best practice and success stories in Member States and Associated Countries.

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per action shall not exceed EUR 2 000 000

Description

This three years coordination action shall address in particular participants in EU funded projects in health. The programme shall involved experienced practitioners with consolidated experience in the life-science sector and its specificities, who shall provide concrete case studies (on the MBA model) to be discussed and analysed by participants and, as appropriate, provide coaching and advise on specific situations, whenever appropriate will provide evidence on best practice on the transfer of knowledge, including standardisation. Hands-on training should be given in innovation management and economic exploitation of research results in health/life sciences including (i) intellectual property rights and asset management (ii) preparation of viable business/exploitation plans (iii) launching successful new companies,
(iv) ad-hoc knowledge transfer for academia. The proposed action should strive to include most of the EU Member States and Associated Countries. It shall complement activities provided by organisations like Enterprise Europe Network or Fit for Health and National Contact Point activities, working in synergy with them and with other EU funded supports. Applications shall provide a detailed action plan with quantitative and measurable objectives. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action)
Only up to one proposal can be selected.

Expected Impact

This initiative is targeting in particular participants of EU funded projects in health, where a large percent are academics, with a programme tailored for the Healthcare sector and its specificities. It is promoting innovation in healthcare and supporting the Innovation Union Flagship Initiative, it should help researchers to lean towards inter¬disciplinarity, entrepreneurship and stronger business partnerships. It should contribute creating an innovation culture in all Member States.

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per action shall not exceed EUR 2 000 000

Description

An integral part of the Health theme's activity is to organise, together with successive EU presidencies, events of a strategic nature. The proposed Support Action(s) should contribute to conferences or other appropriate events to be held in a Member State which will hold a forthcoming Presidency of the European Union, specifically 2012 and 2013 Presidencies, in any area of the Health Theme. In order to ensure high political and strategic relevance, the active involvement of the relevant national authority(ies) will be evaluated under criteria 'quality' and 'impact'. The proposed Support Action(s) should address topics that are of high relevance at the date of its taking place. An appropriate equilibrium should be present in the proposed action(s), with balanced presentation of various research, societal and industrial elements and points of view. Participation of non-EU stakeholders is possible. Outreach activities may be included such as e.g. a press programme and/or an event dedicated to raising awareness on a specific topic in schools. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (supporting action)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

(i) Review of research, industrial and/or societal developments linked to the areas of the Health Theme on specific programme level as appropriate; (ii) sharing of information and comparison of points of views; (iii) support to the activity of various stakeholders: ethicists, researchers, industrialists, investors, museums and/or schools.

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per action shall not exceed EUR 100 000

Description

The objective is to support coordination actions that communicate the effects of health related scientific research to the general public. Actions would include information on the positive effects of Europe-wide collaborative research and technology development, and the benefits of cross cultural collaborations (industry-academia). Proposals should include media professionals (filmmakers, journalists) and scientists from academic organisations and industry, and possibly information distributors. Efforts should be made to ensure the multilingual potential of the project results and may be aimed at the European public in general or a specific group. Projects should be led by SMEs with proven capacities in creating high quality public productions, but the coordinator does not need to be an SME. It is expected that a team of professionals from both media and science will participate in the project. Examples of activities could include the production of a film or series of films portraying the impact of European science and research on one or more specific health issues or diseases, focused newsletters etc. Use of internet to communicate the production is encouraged. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action)
One or more proposals can be selected.

Expected Impact

These actions should target to improve the visibility of EU-funded health research not only towards scientific community but also for the larger public. Successful projects should result in a tangible production, activity, event or product aimed at a high impact promotion of European science to the general public.

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Additional eligibility criterion:
The requested EU contribution per action shall not exceed EUR 1 000 000

Description

This action should provide the follow up of the current Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and propose options for a set of new, health-related development goals for the period beyond 2015. The new development goals should capture the core health challenges of the current ones, but propose a better balance between horizontal and vertical approaches to healthcare. They should also pave the way towards an improved system for global health innovation, including aspects such as capacity building and technology transfer through partnership between private and public stakeholders from developing countries, emerging economies and industrialised countries. The proposed goals should be measurable, achievable and sustainable, and should consider the constraints of developing countries for improving health outcomes themselves. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action).
Only up to one proposal can be selected.

Expected Impact

This action should ensure that the health-related development objectives for the period after 2015 are based on the best scientific evidence available and address the main shortcomings of the current MDGs. Effective engagement in the global process for setting new development goals is expected, and the consortium should therefore ensure broad geographic and multidisciplinary coverage.

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Additional eligibility criteria: The requested EU contribution per action shall not exceed EUR 2 000 000

Description

This action should provide the follow up of the current Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and propose options for a set of new, health-related development goals for the period beyond 2015. The new development goals should capture the core health challenges of the current ones, but propose a better balance between horizontal and vertical approaches to healthcare. They should also pave the way towards an improved system for global health innovation, including aspects such as capacity building and technology transfer through partnership between private and public stakeholders from developing countries, emerging economies and industrialised countries. The proposed goals should be measurable, achievable and sustainable, and should consider the constraints of developing countries for improving health outcomes themselves. Note: Limits on the EU financial contribution apply. These are implemented strictly as formal eligibility criteria.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action).
Only up to one proposal can be selected.

Expected Impact

This action should ensure that the health-related development objectives for the period after 2015 are based on the best scientific evidence available and address the main shortcomings of the current MDGs. Effective engagement in the global process for setting new development goals is expected, and the consortium should therefore ensure broad geographic and multidisciplinary coverage.

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Additional eligibility criteria: The requested EU contribution per action shall not exceed EUR 2 000 000

Description

Seeds are the largest source for human and animal nutrition and provide the basis for improving agricultural practices and managing genetic resources. High-quality seeds are required for the performance of crop production, propagation and breeding. Seed quality is modulated by changing environmental factors and in particular early stages of seed development are sensitive to environmental stresses such as drought and elevated temperatures. There is a need to further understand the processes determining seed development and key agronomic traits such as dormancy, after-ripening and germination, taking into account the influence of abiotic (including oxidative) stress conditions and resilience to perturbation.
The project will provide a dynamic understanding of the molecular mechanisms and regulatory switchboards controlling seed development and selected quality traits in response to environmental cues. Emphasis shall be placed on the transfer of molecular information from model species to crop plants. In addition, the project shall undertake comparative studies across model, wild and crop plants to explore the existing ecological and natural genetic variation.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The project will substantially advance knowledge on the molecular mechanisms determining seed phenotype and key quality traits, in both in-situ and ex-situ environment under varying levels of abiotic stress. It will also enhance our understanding of plant adaptation to the environment, in particular in the context of predicted effects of climate change. Overall, the project will develop innovative tools and methods to improve crop breeding, crop management and conservation activities.

Description

The increasing world-wide demand for animal products of good quality and the increasing societal concerns over animal welfare and health while heavily reducing environmental load and energy use is putting livestock farming under pressure. Previous research has shown that modern technology developed by innovative SMEs has a high potential to address these concerns by using sensors and sensing systems to automatically capture quantitative information directly from the animal and its environment and enable precise husbandry management; this is referred to as Precision Livestock Farming (PLF). However, there remain important issues to be solved: (i) lack of cooperation between animal scientists, veterinarians, bio- and other engineers and economists, (ii) lack of implementable systems which relate sensors, parameter analysis to key indicators on farms, (iii) lack of understanding how PLF creates value for the different stakeholders and end-users and (iv) suitable business models to further adoption of PLF.
The proposed project should through extensive field tests implement, materialise and evaluate an animal and farm-centric approach to innovative terrestrial livestock farming in Europe to improve production efficiency and address concerns about sustainability of terrestrial livestock production and animal health and welfare. It is essential that in the project, industry works together with innovative SMEs and researchers from animal and veterinary science and from engineering with PLF focus and farmers. The project should define, implement and validate through research the following points for at least one terrestrial animal production
system:
1. A set of key indicators, in agreement with experts from animal welfare, animal health and productivity and their “golden standards”
2. A set of practical technologies to measure such key indicators
3. Integrated solutions (e.g. software) that, by using relevant key indicators, deliver information for better management and adaptive control of effectors for animal
husbandry
4. The social and economic value creation potential of exchanging collected data along the supply chain feed – animal – food
5. Business models for “PLF as a service” in cooperation with farmers associations and other multipliers
6. The role of innovative, hi-tech SMEs in the implementation of PLF as a driving force for innovation in the livestock sector
The project should study how the animal and farm-centric approach creates value for relevant stakeholders in the food chain. The deliverable of the project is a validated blueprint proven through extensive field studies for an animal and farm-centric approach to innovative terrestrial livestock farming in Europe. The blueprint should consider the generic approach of PLF to allow transformation to plant and soil systems and aquaculture.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per proposal
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

This project should contribute to the understanding of the usefulness of the new technologies in economic and social terms and should provide farmers with clear financial and social incentives to move towards their adoption. The creation of new business models should give rise to a PLF service industry which will assist terrestrial livestock farmers to meet the challenge of producing in a more efficient way and addressing the societal concerns about livestock production. The exchange of data along the feed – animal – food chain should unlock unused economic potential. The blueprint will help global industry players to transform livestock industry into an innovative sector by collaborating with hightech SMEs that in turn will be helped to gain access to the world market.

Description

Availability of fresh water is one of the elementary conditions for life on earth. But water is a limited resource, which is now put under unprecedented pressure by global population growth and climate change. A wiser use of fresh water becomes now imperative. Irrigated agriculture is one of the major water-consuming sectors and as such, it provides good opportunities for substantial water savings.
The project's aim will be the optimisation of irrigation water use by improving the management of farm scale irrigation equipment - and water release scheduling – taking into account real time soil-water availability, local weather dynamics and crop specific physiological status and water needs. The successful proposal will exploit state-of-the-art techniques and technologies, such as plant and soil water sensor technologies, weather forecast tools, ICT control systems, remote sensing, satellite and GIS technologies, web potentialities and other innovative relevant technologies, for developing and testing integrated and automated precision irrigation supporting tools, models and devices to optimise irrigation water use at farm level. Considering the different research sectors involved in the project –ICT, agronomy, agriculture engineering, climatology, plant science, soil science, etc. – a very broad and interdisciplinary approach, as well as a real and effective integration between the different technologies, will be required, including technology assessment.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per proposal
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The developed integrated and automated precision irrigation management and decision supporting tools, models and devices, will allow substantial reduction in fresh water use in irrigated agriculture. The project will also contribute to the sustainable use of natural resources and adaptation of agriculture to climate change. A more rational use of water tailored to specific and real time crop needs will also contribute to better quality yields.

Description

The topic aims at the development of new or improved logistics for harvesting, transport and storage for each of the following main raw material types: (1) agricultural residues (e.g. cereal straws, harvested weeds…), (2) forestry residues (e.g. low value forestry wastes) and (3) biomass from energy crops. Each raw material type shall be investigated separately i.e. through an individual project. The projects should include the adaptation of agricultural practices (including sustainable soil management), the development of harvesting machineries adapted to the raw material used (combined harvesting equipment when appropriate), possible on-site pre-treatment of the biomass, storage and transport. The process operations for all the steps from harvesting to transport and storage should be defined and demonstrated at an industrial pilot-scale under real operational conditions. Environmental (e.g. effect on soil organic content), economic (e.g. potential market for lignocellulosic biomass, economic viability and added value for farmers / forest owners) and social sustainability for the developed logistics shall be assessed, including scenarios for transport distances. The projects shall also investigate the social, economic, regulatory and other barriers to innovation in this area. Proposals will have to include a clear plan for exploitation of the scientific and technical results.

Funding Schemes

Up to one project will be funded in each of the three raw material types (agricultural residues, forestry residues and energy crops).
The total budget of the topic is limited to EUR 10 000 000.
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 500 000 per proposal
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The development of improved logistics to harvest, store and transport lignocellulosic biomass for the production of bio-energy and bio-materials is expected to create a market for agriculture and forestry residues, and for energy crops; and to foster the bio-energy market in Europe. The creation of a market for biomass residues is also expected to improve economic conditions at the farm and forestry level.
Projects will deliver practical solutions, implementable in the rural communities across Europe, to the supply of lignocellulosic biomass for bioenergy and bio-materials in an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable manner. The projects will contribute to the implementation of EU policies, notably with respect to the SET-Plan and the bio-based economy.

Description

In agricultural landscapes, semi-natural habitats such as hedgerows, field margin vegetation, wild flower strips, cover crops, or fallows provide important benefits and services to farmers and society at large e.g. through prevention of nutrient leaching, water regulation, control of soil erosion, landscape features and enhanced in-situ biodiversity. The latter one is considered to be a particularly important ecosystems service for agriculture due to its relevance for the enhancement of pollination and pest control. Despite the above named benefits, there is a continuous loss of semi-natural habitats and levels of functional biodiversity in European landscapes resulting from agricultural intensification, land abandonment and degradation of the landscape infrastructures.
The project will increase knowledge and awareness on the agronomic and ecological importance of semi-natural habitats as well as on farm management practices to increase functional biodiversity and improve farm productivity by:
- Identifying farming systems and landscape patterns likely to enhance biodiversity and other ecological services, where possible taking into account climate change
scenarios;
- Describing spatial and temporal interactions between production and semi-natural habitats in relation to farming system intensity (e.g. conventional, integrated, organic);
- Providing management and policy recommendations on appropriate rates and quality of semi-natural habitats, linking the biodiversity to specific functional services (e.g. pollination, pest control, nutrient cycling, soil fertility);
- Designing and demonstrating on-site measures to enhance and use ecological services based on the novel concept of eco-functional intensification. These shall take into account both, the level of diversity in the farming design (productive/non-productive areas) as well as in cropping and grassland systems (intercropping, crop rotations and companion plants). These measures at farm level shall go beyond cross-compliance and contribute to the greening of the Common Agricultural Policy (e.g. permanent pasture, green cover, and ecological set-aside).
Overall, the project shall produce scientific evidence of the different benefits that appropriate management of semi-natural habitats can bring to various types of agricultural production systems (organic, low-input, conventional) taking into account representative landscapes across Europe. Tasks will require a highly interdisciplinary approach including expertise from the areas of (landscape) ecology, modelling experimental crop sciences, farming systems and rural sociology.

Funding Schemes

Up to 2 projects may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The project will provide further evidence on the beneficial services provided by semi-natural habitats to support farmers and local/regional authorities in the appropriate agronomic management of these areas. It will also help demonstrate the potential of different farming systems to substantially enhance the local biodiversity in combination with semi-natural habitats. Through the design of diversified cropping systems it will further help to unlock the potential of eco-functional intensification to achieve more stable yields, reduce pesticide use while also meeting wider environmental objectives at landscape level. Selected sites in different European locations will provide important opportunities for awareness raising, demonstration and dissemination of results to the relevant target groups (farmers, policy makers, extension services, authorities, NGOs).

Description

Soil is one of the most important ecosystems and a non-renewable natural resource. A vital soil provides numerous services to the welfare of society, and it is of fundamental importance for the production of food and feed. The need to increase agricultural production over the past sixty years resulted in the massive use of mineral fertilisers by farmers. Considering the current World population trend, the expected increase in feed and food demand, the limited availability of productive agricultural land, and with a view to reduce the farmers dependence on mineral fertilisers, alternative and viable plant nutrition strategies for the supply of essential macro and micronutrients need to be found. By improving knowledge on plants and bio-effectors interactions and related physiological and chemical mechanisms, the project should enhance the field efficacy of most promising bio-effectors and develop more environmentally friendly practices for alternative plant nutrition strategies. Bio-effectors might contain living microorganisms and active natural compounds, such as soil - and nonsoil - bacteria and fungi, microbial residues, plant extracts and exudates, compost extracts, products of biological turnover processes and others, as single ingredient or in mixed formulations. The project should include an adequate plan for field demonstration trials to test the efficacy of the new products in real production conditions and in different geographical situations. The economic viability and sustainability of the proposed alternative plant nutrition strategies should also be assessed, including comparative cost benefit analysis between the new and the conventional approaches.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per proposal
- 15 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The successful project will contribute to the ecological intensification of agriculture, by developing a viable alternative to mineral fertilisers, thus contributing to the reduction of the negative environmental impact of agricultural production. The project will also improve our understanding on the mechanisms underlying the observed positive effects of beneficial microorganisms and bio-effectors, and will facilitate their practical application by improving their efficacy at field level.

Description

Despite the economic importance of vineyards in Europe (first world producer of wine with 65% of the total production - representing 20% of European farms and around 3 Million employees) the wine sector is facing severe challenges from increased global competition. The quality of the grape at harvest has a strong direct impact on wine processing final quality, and its marketability. While high quality wines still represent most of the net balance of wine exports, there is still a lack of quality / market adequacy for a number of vineyards which face severe competition from new producing countries. The overall objective of the topic is to increase the competitiveness of European viticulture through the following actions: (1) improve vineyard agronomic management to ensure better grape quality (grape berry development, ripening, optimisation of time of harvest to retain organoleptic/aroma compounds…) in line with evolving consumer demands; this can lead to optimised production systems for specific grapevine varieties; 2) reinforce agronomic management of plant health issues to improve the sanitary quality of the grape and decrease pesticide application in vineyard and residues in wine; 3) study the adaptation of agronomic practices needed in certain producing areas due to climate change effects; 4) secure technology transfer and best agronomic practices (including guidelines on precision viticulture practices), and their dissemination to farmers and wine making SME's/cooperatives; 5) capitalise on European and international breeding and genomics initiatives to identify new potential for improvement in existing grapevine varieties, and, in a longer term perspective, to contribute to the definition of ideotypes for European grapevine breeding.
The project should take into account the different European agro-ecological and climatic conditions, and must acknowledge the pan-European nature (and cultural heritage) of vineyards.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scaleintegrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per proposal
- 35 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The project must lead to a better understanding of the links between improved agronomic management, production systems, grapevine varieties and quality of grape (aroma, flavour, pesticide residues…), leading to better grape and thus wine quality. The project will also deliver agronomic models to secure grape production under climate change conditions and enhance the link with breeding and genomics initiatives to capitalise on evolving tools. On a longer term, the impact of the project is to introduce innovations in the European viticulture sector to improve its competitiveness at the global level and secure jobs. An important role should be played in the project by vineyard cultivators and wine making SME's for whom improvement of raw grape quality will allow for higher grape prices and better wine processing.

Description

Several plant diseases are spread or suspected to be spread by seeds. The extent of these diseases is variable within a bulk of seeds, therefore making it difficult to define a detection threshold that can be used for testing seed lots. Validated seed testing methods have already been developed within the framework of ISTA (International Seed Testing Association) and ISHI (International Seed Health Initiative on vegetable crops, herbage and field crops). These methods though are developed for specific seed-borne fungi, viruses and bacteria affecting crop quality. There is a need for development and validation of more global, rapid, efficient and effective seed testing methods, to focus on seed-borne pests and pathogens of plant health concern (both quarantine and non-quarantine pests and pathogens). The project should address optimization of sampling aiming at increasing the likelihood of detecting pests in large seed lots in an economical practicable way; establish the seed transmission rate, where not known; develop proper detection and diagnostic methods in dry seeds; develop proper disinfection methods that do not affect germination rate and are realistic also for industrial processing. The project should tackle a wide range of pests and pathogens. The generated methodology should be built, when appropriate, on the pre-existing knowledge avoiding duplication with previous work, and delivering innovative and efficient tools.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The project will generate knowledge and tools that can be used by National Plant Protection Services and Inspection Laboratories and by the seed industry, enabling detection of quarantine and other organisms of plant health concern. In addition it will provide disinfection methods that can be used to treat the infected batches of seeds. This project will provide scientific backing on the prevention of introduction and spreading of quarantine and harmful organisms within European Union and it is supporting the European Union Plant Health Policy.

Description

Forests provide multiple goods (wood and non-wood) and services to rural communities. In this context, forest landowners, managers and policy-makers need new sylvicultural approaches, forest management models and tools and policies to create or consolidate the shift in forest management from the traditional wood production function towards more multistakeholders and multi-functional goals. Both the optimal management of multipurpose trees and the promotion of non-wood forest products could help achieve this shift and in general enhance the competitiveness of rural areas.
The project will follow a twofold approach:
On the one hand, research on multipurpose trees will generate new knowledge and tools (e.g. new silvicultural approaches, forest management practices, decision support systems, guidelines, etc.) to optimise the provision of multiple goods and services from these trees in rural areas. An integrated approach will be taken to address priority issues concerning the selected multipurpose tree(s), such as the sustainable management of forests/orchards, adaptation to climate change, protection from pests and pathogens, etc. The project will also explore and enhance the socio-economic contribution of these trees to rural areas. On the other hand, the project will focus on new management practices needed to maximise the profitability of non-wood forest products (such as fruits, nuts, berries, mushrooms, cork, plants and herbs, etc.) and on the approaches required to ensure their commoditization and marketability from the perspective of consumers' behaviour and patterns, taking into account European as well as other markets. In addition, innovation approaches for creating new products and services in order to target emerging markets and new potential consumers and final users will be analysed, together with the crucial roles that various actors (e.g. land owners, potential users, local and sectoral public authorities, regional development agencies, innovation support structures, etc.) play in supporting the development and implementation of new market offers.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per proposal
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

Through research on both multipurpose trees and non-wood forest products, the project will in the long-term diversify the traditional wood-producing forestry and foster competitiveness and innovative socio-economic activities in rural communities. It will: i) generate new knowledge and tools to optimise the provision of goods and services from multipurpose trees and develop strategies for their conservation and sustainable management.ii) provide wider understanding on the potentials of markets for non-wood forest products, including the role of public and private actors in supporting the innovation processes for new products and services based on consumers' behaviour and patterns. SMEs will gain solutions for improving the management and profitability as well as the commoditization and marketing of non-wood products. Public and private actors in the innovation systems will receive an understanding of their important role in the innovation processes as well as guidelines and tools for systemic innovation support.

Description

Forests play a key role in climate change mitigation. They store big amounts of carbon in their biomass and soil counteracting rising greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. On the other hand, when cleared, overused or degraded, they contribute significantly to global carbon emissions.
The project will develop optimal carbon sequestration measures and forest management strategies for climate change mitigation in different regions of Europe and will assess how they influence the carbon cycle and their mitigation potential. It will also analyse the impacts of these strategies and measures on other forest goods and services (e.g. biodiversity, water quality, flood prevention, soil protection, and recreation) as well as other socio-economic impacts. This will help balance climate change mitigation with other forest values. Expected results will propose, among others, innovative measures, silvicultural techniques and forest management systems, including selection of tree species and tree species mixtures, to enhance carbon sequestration; analysis of the trade-offs with other forest functions; multicriteria analysis and/or related decision-support systems.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative project (small or mediumscale focused research project)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The project will develop mitigation strategies in forest management adapted to different European forests and taking into account side effects and trade-offs with other forests services. Results should support decision-makers and foresters. In the long term, the mitigation capacity of forests, including forest soil, will increase without harming other environmental, economic or social functions.

Description

The project will address the ecological significance of different types of marine benthic ecosystems, including essential and sensitive habitats, in European marine waters on a regional basis, and assess the impact of the fisheries on the status, structure, function and productivity of these ecosystems. The project will assess the degradation and loss of habitats caused by different bottom trawling fleets and the effects of bottom trawling on the marine benthic ecosystems and their habitats in terms of abundance of species and biodiversity (from fish to marine benthos macro-fauna and flora), on the nutrient recycling and on the benthicpelagic coupling. The project will also support the development of monitoring process towards Good Environmental Status (GES) under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) for relevant descriptors The project will have where relevant to build on knowledge and advice gathered under the Regional Sea Conventions and by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).
In addition to that, specific focus will have to be given on developing and testing innovative technologies and management tools, and on proposing and testing innovative and sustainable fisheries management plans for EU benthic and demersal fisheries in close cooperation with SME's (fishing industry). In this regard joint programming activities such as demonstration and trials at sea and the development of innovative technologies will have to be planned between the scientists and the fishing sector. Among other measures these innovative management tools and plans will have to consider discard-ban, total or partial fishing gear substitution (e.g. using long lines and/or, traps instead of bottom trawls; traps instead of dredges; - this list is not limitative) and avoidance or minimization of gears impact on marine benthic ecosystems. The effect of these management plans and mitigation measures will have to be assessed and in this regard specific focus will have to be given on the impacts of discard-ban and fishing gear substitution (in case of trawls coupled with changes in selectivity) on cost and earnings in the fishing industry (including related activities such as shipyards, gear manufactures, fish processing and marketing), on the fisheries and the fish stocks exploited. The effects of measures on marine ecosystems will have also to be assessed.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per proposal
- 15 % of EU contribution to SMEs
- The duration of the proposals submitted under this topic shall be at least 4 years
- With respect to the regional approach, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Western Waters also called Western Approaches, the Mediterranean and Black Seas will have to be covered by specific case studies, each one addressing all the objectives of the topic. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Expected Impact

The project will further increase scientific knowledge on the role and functioning of marine benthic ecosystems, contribute to develop "green" technology (e.g. new selective fishing gears preserving seafloor integrity and mitigating discards) and provide new tools and models to assess and manage the impacts of fishing on the marine benthic ecosystems. This project, in particular its regional dimension and multi-disciplinary (biology, ecology, economy, fish and fisheries technologies) approach, will require critical mass and will need to be carried out at EU level. It will support the Reform of the CFP (Common Fisheries Policy) and the implementation of the MSFD (Marine Strategy Framework Directive). Given the shared interest and the scale on which these policies arise, such research activities will be more effectively carried out at EU level.

Description

Fish diseases, notably those due to viral or bacterial infections, constitute one of the major obstacles in the sustainable development of European aquaculture mainly because of lack of sufficient knowledge base and of veterinary medicinal products authorised for use for the different fish species cultured in Europe.
It will be one of the main priorities of this project to contribute in developing and/or improving vaccines, vaccination methods and strategies for some of the main European farmed fish species. To achieve this objective it will be necessary to rely on existing and/or new knowledge on fish immunology. The project will implement a multidisciplinary approach ranging from the study of host-pathogen interactions at a molecular level for understanding the mechanisms involved in protective immunity, to the development and improvement of vaccination strategies for use under aquaculture conditions. To this end, the project by implementing cutting edge technologies will focus on the improvement of existing (but not sufficient) vaccines, as well as on the development of new prototype vaccines, with particular focus on antigen components, adjuvants and optimal delivery strategies. Based on existing knowledge and (when possible) in synergy with relevant on-going national and international (public and private) research initiatives, the project will focus on the determination of the essential elements of the fish immune system to be activated by the vaccine. It will identify new vaccine antigen candidates along with designing of efficient adjuvants, in order to develop vaccines against pathogens, for which existing vaccines might have failed. The project will also explore optimal activation of immune mechanisms (including mucosal) in order to promote technically easy routes of administration, such as vaccine delivery by immersion and through the oral dosage. The project will also develop assays for monitoring and validating the response to vaccination for estimating the level of protection and designing/optimising vaccination/booster strategies under farming conditions. It will also consider potential side effects of vaccines on the fish, as well as, on final product's quality and safety. The project will implement a balanced effort on the following species: Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), sea bream (Sparus aurata) and turbot (Scophthalmus maximus). Consultation with competent authorities (in particular those in charge of authorisation of veterinary medicines), will be required for determining the relevance of the diseases (and vaccines) to be considered. The relevance of the diseases addressed in the proposals will be thoroughly assessed and evaluated on the basis of their demonstrated or potential socioeconomic importance for the fish farming sector considered, of the absence of availability of satisfying alternative prevention/mitigation solutions, and of the existing national and EU legal frameworks.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per proposal
- 15 % of EU contribution to SMEs
- The duration of the proposals submitted under this topic shall be at least 4 years

Expected Impact

The results of this project will boost the development of new and efficient vaccines for the species listed. New and improved vaccines/vaccination strategies will reduce production losses and improve animal health, while increasing the competitiveness of the production sector concerned. The outcomes of the project should also contribute in reducing environmental impact of veterinary treatments in terms of reduced release of antibiotics and other compromising components generally used in therapy and disinfection. The project should stimulate the involvement of the private sector and pharmaceutical companies in particular in engaging into the development and marketing authorisation of new vaccines for European farmed fish. It should also contribute in building research capacity in this field throughout the EU.

Description

The European shellfish production sector has been facing several important technical and production challenges during the last years. In particular, the oyster production segment is facing large scale mortalities that affect spat and juvenile Pacific cupped oysters. Other shellfish species like mussels and clams face similar or specific challenges. Science and innovation can play a significant role not only in finding solutions in current critical problems but also in anticipating future challenges and support the sustainable development of the production sector.
The project will review relevant ongoing research projects and existing scientific knowledge, including grey literature and empirical knowledge, related to the main challenges faced by the shellfish sector, with the aim to make this information and knowledge accessible to the shellfish farmers and enhance its integration into the production cycle of the main farmed species in Europe (oysters, mussels, clams etc). It will also stimulate the efficient dissemination of relevant results from on-going national and international research projects in the field of molluscs' research towards the production sector and other potential end users. The project will also address the structural difficulties of the shellfish farming industry to be actively involved in regional, national and EU funded research projects and will stimulate long term and efficient dialogue between scientists, producers and other stakeholders having an interest in shellfish farming. Ultimately, the project will contribute in identifying and prioritising gaps and needs for research in support to the mollusc production sector, while assessing the opportunity for the "shellfish community" to liaise/integrate the European Aquaculture and Innovation Platform (EATIP).

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 650 000 per proposal
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs
- The duration of the proposals submitted under this topic shall be up to 1 year

Expected Impact

The project should contribute in increasing exchanges between the scientific community and the shellfish production sector, as well as, in increasing participation of the European shellfish production sector in the determination of research priorities. It will contribute in ensuring that results from national and EU funded research projects are appropriately disseminated and actually used by potential end users. It will strengthen the link between the scientific community and the production sector and should facilitate the participation of the shellfish industry (and relevant SMEs in particular) in research activities and projects.

Description

The ongoing domestication process of cultured aquatic species introduces a potential risk of genetic impacts from aquaculture (including in the context of restocking practices) on wild populations. Interaction between farmed and wild aquatic animals may induce effects that depend on several factors including genetic diversity, local adaptation, behaviour and relative abundance of farmed and wild counterparts. Although, up to date experimental evidence of effects of interbreeding between wild and farmed individuals on genetic structure, fitness and productivity of wild populations is limited, based on the precautionary approach potential risks and adequate assessment tools need to be anticipated.
One of the main objectives of the project will be to draw the baseline demographic and genetic information (including through collection and analysis of historical samples) on relevant life-history traits and structuring of wild populations (connectivity, local adaptive variation etc) and farmed stocks (broodstock origin, inbreeding levels etc) of some European farmed fish species, to assess and monitor the potential genetic interaction between farmed and wild fish in relation to potential risk and current practices. The project will develop reliable and cost effective molecular tools for the identification of the genetic origin of farmed fish (assignment and genetic traceability), as well as for the detection of interbreeding and assessment of potential genetic introgression of farmed into wild stocks. This work will be carried out on sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), sea bream (Sparus aurata) and possibly also on turbot (Scophthalmus maximus).
The project will also explore the link between genetic differences among wild and farmed stocks and phenotypic differences in key life history traits and examine differences in functional adaptations between wild and cultured conditions. It will implement common garden studies with appropriate material from wild and farmed origin to evaluate potential effects of introgression on fitness (nutritional state, reproductive capability etc) of wild populations. This work will be carried out on Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (Salmo trutta), including in a restocking context.
The project will liaise with relevant ongoing research initiatives (national, EU and international), exploit existing databases, genomic resources and tools and perform the necessary standardisation to allow comparative studies. Collaboration with the fisheries and aquaculture production sectors (hatcheries and companies/institutions involved in breeding programmes in particular) may be required to obtain significant representation of genetic variation within wild and farmed stocks. A balanced effort between the species listed is required.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal
- 15 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

Sound knowledge on the biological importance and ecological consequences of potential genetic introgression and on the plasticity of the genetic diversity of wild populations will contribute to the assessment of the potential genetic impact of farmed on wild fish. The tools developed by the project will ensure the monitoring and mitigation of potential genetic impact of farmed fish on wild populations. They might also contribute in the monitoring of progress towards Good Environmental Status (GES) for descriptors 1 and 2 which will be needed for the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). These tools might also contribute in ensuring better traceability of seafood products over the production chain. Project's results might be relevant in the frame of on-going and future breeding programmes. They might also be appropriate for assessing consequences of restocking practices.

Description

Changes which are rapidly occurring at global level are favouring the emergence and reemergence of diseases some of which are zoonotic: increasing demand for animal protein is putting pressure on the expansion of livestock production in particular in Asia, Africa and South America; changes in the international markets for animal and animal products; increased international trade and movement of people; climate change resulting in different agricultural production patterns and in the spread of vector-borne diseases; closer contact of livestock with wildlife in new production areas and as a consequence of deforestation etc. All these changes increase the risk of emergence, introduction and spread of diseases in the EU. In this rapidly evolving and challenging context, surveillance systems are key elements for early pathogen detection and accurate risk estimation to underpin the development of response policies. Recent scientific advances in the development of qualitative and quantitative epidemiological methods and laboratory diagnostic tools need to be integrated as part of cost-effective and state-of-the-art surveillance systems. The objective of this research is to develop and evaluate scientific methodologies that will assist relevant authorities in designing evidence-based and cost-effective risk-based surveillance programmes using stateof-the art qualitative and quantitative epidemiological methods. Different surveillance objectives associated with major epidemic and endemic infectious diseases will be considered including methodologies aiming at providing evidence of freedom of disease or infection. The cost-effectiveness of the newly developed and the traditional surveillance methodologies will be compared and their advantages and disadvantages considered.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal
- 15 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

Support of the Community Animal Health Policy (CAHP) and international policies. Support European Food Security Authority (EFSA) activities and relevant authorities in the decision making process. Cost-effective risk-based surveillance programmes. Earlier detection of diseases will allow taking rapid response and hence reducing losses in production and market access for farmers and compensation funds for public bodies. Inform appropriate biosecurity measures for different production systems. Contribute to assess potential changes in the production systems. Methodologies can be applicable to other areas of the world.

Description

African swine fever is a devastating disease of pigs which is currently spreading throughout Africa, the Caucasian region and Russia. The EU is at high risk of introduction of the disease by legal or illegal movements of animals and animal products, particularly through its Eastern borders. Research efforts at European level should continue to provide the science for preparedness programmes in this evolving situation. Different aspects should be targeted to generate knowledge a) for the design of different prevention, control and eradication models according to the different epidemiological scenarios (with and without ticks, unaffected wildlife, tolerant wildlife, backyard production systems etc..) ; b) on the interaction between domestic pig and wild boar -with and without presence of ticks-and on the role of European wild boar in transmission and its risk factors ; c) for the development of protection tools compatible with environment and food safety. In addition the project should contain a portfolio of training and technology transfer activities.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 5 000 000 per proposal
- 15 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

Advancement of knowledge with contribution to improving the quality of EU research. Generation of tools and strategies for the prevention and control of African Swine Fever. Training of EU and third countries researchers. Contribute to the competiveness of European pig production and international trade. Support for Community Animal Health Policy, contribution to international policies, MDGs and food security. European added value in different aspects e.g. critical mass of researchers and activities internationally recognised and addressing a pan-European challenge.

Description

There is pressure to improve the efficiency and welfare in animal production while reducing the environmental footprint of the sector and against a backdrop of increasing global demand for animal products. A key element of Europe 2020 is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and phosphorus pollution is a serious concern. The gut is responsible for the efficient digestion and absorption of feed and nutrients, however the biochemical and microbial processes in the gut and the excreta also result in the production of greenhouse gases, or excretion of phosphates and nitrates. Both the microbial flora of the gut and feeding regime exert a profound influence on digestive efficiency and greenhouse gas production. Increased understanding of the biology of the monogastric gut and excreta in terrestrial animals will offer new approaches to improve nutrient utilization, feed efficiency whilst simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emission. The proposed project will bring together systems biology, microbiology and genetics of both host and microflora, and where appropriate metagenomics to better understand the network of interactions between gut microflora, feed regime, and the host genome. The project will determine how these interactions influence nutrient utilization, feed efficiency, greenhouse gas production, and product quality. The project will target at least pigs and poultry. The interactions with animal behaviour, health and welfare should also be taken into consideration.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per proposal
- 15 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The expected outcomes of this research are improved understanding of the variation in the monogastric digestive system, new systems models and tools applicable to selective breeding and nutrition for improved gut health and functionality, reduced greenhouse gas emission and improved product quality. This is a multi-disciplinary project which will improve collaboration between different disciplines of animal production.

Description

Achieving good reproductive performance is an essential component of any efficient system of farm animal breeding. Decreased fertility and longevity is an increasing problem in certain systems of terrestrial animal production. Fertility is the principal factor determining lifetime productive efficiency and survival of individuals, and also the health and welfare status of farm animals. Good fertility and optimal reproductive performance are key elements in improving resource efficiency and reducing overall environmental impacts. This multidisciplinary topic focuses on developing systems, processes and/or technologies to improve reproductive efficiency in terrestrial farm animals in a balanced and sustainable manner. The approach may target production systems ranging from intensive to extensive, including organic farming. Domains for investigation could include genetics, physiological or management aspects of reproduction, including novel trait measurements and trait ontology, as well as advanced techniques.

Funding Schemes

Up to 2 projects may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal
- 15 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

Better understanding of the mechanisms in the animal that influence reproduction characteristics. Use of reproductive strategies for the sake of efficient, well balanced and sustainable livestock production. Innovative systems and technologies. Sustainable and efficient production and management of biological resources.

Description

The relationships between the bio-economy sectors and with the rest of the economy within the European Union, the definition of the European strategy and the evaluation of its future impacts and long term evolution as well as its monitoring need the development of a systems analysis tools framework ; such a system would include data basis, indicators, models which would be used to proceed to forward looking analysis addressing forecast, foresight, impact assessment, evaluation of technologies; both quantitative and qualitative analysis would be considered. This supporting action is limited to an exploratory / operational phase providing first results, and aiming at the elaboration of the concept and the design of such a systems analysis framework; it will identify (i) the data basis and indicators to be part of the framework, mainly related to the social, economic, environment and technology aspects (ii) the models to be considered, both macro-meso-economic and sectoral (agriculture, energy-environment…) models. These tools, preferably existing at this stage (or tools already under development) will be specified, as well as their accessibility; the necessary softwares for the access to these tools will be designed whereas new informatic developments for the interfaces between these tools will be specified. The scope of the framework will cover EU countries with possibility of regional representation; land use, ecosystems and geographical dimensions should be also part of the framework if their size is relevant for the type of analysis to be done and compatible with the whole size of the framework. Large regions and countries of the world will have to be taken into account. The introduction of the tools under development within Framework Programmes (e.g. from Theme Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnologies – the bio-based economy) into the framework analysis would have to be envisaged when appropriate.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Coordination and Support Action (supporting action)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 500 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The proposed framework analysis would make possible during the next EU framework programme strategic analysis in terms of forward looking, impact assessment of policies and measures, monitoring research and innovation activities to support policies. It would help to start already in 2013 the development or adaptation of models and indicators, as well as data collection and elaboration of scenarios relative to the bio-based economy.

Description

The main aim of this topic is to allow building on results from projects funded under EU Framework Programmes (FP5, FP6, FP7) in the field of agriculture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, to prove the technical and economic viability of methodologies, processes, prototypes, models, technologies etc. -developed under these projects- that offer a potential economic interest but which cannot be commercialised directly. Eligible RTD and demonstration activities under this topic will focus on specifications, testing and validation of existing results of FP programmes for reaching the last development stage before products or processes enter the production and/or the market. Proposals must fit into the overall business and innovation needs of the SMEs involved and must demonstrate clear exploitation potential and economic benefits for them. Applicants must be owners of the IPR of the results and knowledge to be used in their application and the proposals must clearly and convincingly describe how this knowledge/technology will be brought forward enough to reach the stage of innovative application.

Funding Schemes

Up to 3 projects may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 1 000 000 per proposal
- 75 % of EU contribution to SMEs
- The duration of the proposals submitted under this topic shall be up to 2 years

Expected Impact

This topic is expected to contribute in tackling the paradox of EU research, i.e. being world leader in producing high level scientific knowledge but underperforming in terms of translation into applications and innovative products and services. Considering the specificities of the economic sectors falling under this activity of the KBBE, this topic is expected to contribute in paving the way from the development of scientific knowledge and technologies to the market by stimulating the development of new patents, dedicated business plans and innovative marketable applications.

Description

Neglected zoonotic diseases (NZD) are endemic in most developing countries affecting livelihood of the poorest populations. Addressing the socio-economic, cultural and anthropological aspects are crucial in the fight against these diseases. In this regard the change in behaviour patterns of populations affected which contribute to the maintenance of these diseases needs to be tackled. Communities led initiatives have proven very fruitful in tackling diseases. In addition decision makers involved in animal and public health issues need to be involved for the support and sustainability of the initiatives and to transplant them to other areas. The project will generate educational material targeted to livestock owners, decision makers and media. It will involve a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach including sociology, economics, anthropology, gender science and traditional knowledge and environmental sciences. It will foresee the organization of an international conference.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Coordination and Support Action (supporting action)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 500 000 per proposal
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

Reduce prevalence of NZDs in a structural and sustainable way. Improve livelihood of affected populations by raising animal production and improving public health. MDGs. Continue commitment of the EU in NZDs. In line with “One health”. Development of models applicable to other parts of the world including in some European areas, Asia and Latin America.

Description

Livestock is an important part of organic farming systems, and it is an explicit goal of organic farming to ensure high levels of animal health through proactive management of breeding, feeding, housing, adequate care, and treatment of diseases. However, many herds/flocks face multi-factorial syndromes, which present major challenges to organic livestock management but also regarding the expectations of consumers and the credibility of organic production. Thus, strategies for handling diseases appropriately and successfully are urgently needed and could be developed by a combination of learning from existing diversity of organic livestock production systems and testing new innovative forms of prevention and control that support the animal's natural ability to cope with diseases.
In addition, there is still a considerable need to reduce the input of chemical allopathic treatments in European organic livestock production systems. Neither chemical allopathic nor alternative medicinal treatments have shown a high effectiveness to resolve multi-factorial syndromes. In contrast, an integrated system approach, using adapted protocols and well monitored strategies to prevent and control the prevalence of multi-factorial syndromes is expected to be more appropriate to react on the farm specific health environment. The aim of this topic is to develop innovative approaches to enhance animal health in different organic livestock farming systems across Europe by determining the most effective strategies to prevent and control multi-factorial syndromes at an early (sub-clinical) stage. Such strategies will be integrated at farm level into health planning programmes and will serve to validate on site the identified risk factors. The ultimate goal will be to allow farmers to implement these strategies to achieve an optimal animal health status on their own farm. The project will explore the disease patterns and health situation in one or several livestock species with major economical impact. The project will address at least multi-factorial syndromes in dairy cattle. It will:
− Combine a number of methodological approaches including the development of appropriate tools for characterising the health status profile of farms
− Identify and validate related variables and specific risk factors in order to implement appropriate measures to achieve an optimal health status,
− Test new farming techniques associated or not with the use of alternative medicinal treatments in well defined and managed organic farming systems
In addition a cost-benefit assessment of the developed practices should be performed.
The involvement of stakeholder groups such as farmers' organisation and farm advisory systems in dissemination activities is essential to successful uptake the project results.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The project will contribute to advance the knowledge and develop innovative approaches towards animal health in organic livestock systems. It is expected to have economic benefits in reducing sanitary problems at farm level and help to increase productivity. It will help also to reduce the use of chemical allopathic treatments of diseases and potential impacts of residues on human health and the environment. It will support policy development of the organic farming regulation. It is expected that the impact of the project goes beyond organic farming systems and be relevant to other livestock production systems (low-input, conventional farming systems).

Description

Price volatility remains on the international agenda. Volatility of agricultural and food prices and its implications for producers, consumers and food security continue to be discussed following price changes of 2007 – 2008, and more recently in 2011. Commodity price volatility has been analysed using rather simple statistical and econometric tests. Additional tools are needed to deepen the analysis, especially on the linkages between financial and physical markets. A variety of methods can also be borrowed from financial economics. Moreover, new, multidisciplinary theories (possible going past perfect competition and broadening to new areas) and approaches are needed. This includes better linkages between financial, economic and geo-physical models (e.g. impact of climate change on production and yields).
The project calls for state-of-the art literature review of methods and results of price volatility, advancing methods to study price volatility including an in-depth study of price volatility on various markets in various stages along the food chain using advanced statistical and econometrical methods for different agricultural commodities as well as quantitative assessment of volatility on agricultural and food markets, its causes (including yields) and its impacts. Price volatility will be studied for both financial and physical markets, including their linkages. Different agricultural commodities some agricultural inputs and relevant nonagricultural commodities should be covered with different data frequences and with a preference for more frequent (daily). Both international benchmark prices as well as more local markets, including the EU and selected developing country markets should be covered.
The project should study (and quantify when possible) the causes of changes in agricultural commodity price volatility, such as on the supply and demand sides seeking reasons for changes in supply and demand going beyond seasonal factors, and exploring the share of price changes explainable by changes in fundamentals. This implies incorporating linkages between economic models and geo-physical models (e.g. impact of climate change on yields). Linkages with and transmission from other commodities with have a connection with agriculture, macroeconomic linkages: e.g., impact of exchange rates, interface between financial and physical markets and the role of policies should be considered. Food, feed and non-food uses should be considered. The impact of volatility on farmers and users along the food chain, including a focus on the most vulnerable in Europe and in developing countries should also be considered.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative project (small or mediumscale focused research project)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 1 500 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The project would contribute to a better understanding of market dynamics and discussion of risk management policy tools in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) post 2020 debate. It will also contribute to informing discussions and policy recommendation in international forums dealing with price volatility and development of new policy tools. It will have implications for different EU policies in agriculture, common market, enterprise, development and trade.

Description

The rapid urban growth no longer supports the traditional divide between 'urban' and 'rural'. In Europe, a significant share of agricultural activities take place in highly urbanised settings, producing food and public goods (such as recreation, landscape management) and confronted with particular pressures on land resources as well as opportunities. There is a growing trend in the urban population to consume fresh and local products, demand short chain food delivery and to request more transparency on the origin of the products. Citizens are increasingly calling for the creation of a regional urban-focused food system and for support to small farmers in rural peri-urban areas, in order to increase availability and accessibility to food. Moreover, both technological and social innovation in urban peri-urban agriculture can play an important role in mitigating climate change, closing nutrient cycles and prepare effective tools for adaptation and building more resilient urban areas.
In developing countries, there has been a growing recognition of the significance of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) for poor people's livelihood, contributing to food security and poverty alleviation. However, negative impacts of UPA include the potential over-use of pesticides and human exposure to contaminants and pathogens associated with UPA conflict in use of natural resources, land and water, between agriculture, industry and urban development.
The project will provide technical and institutional insights for sustainable development pathways of peri-urban food supply chains in different EU countries, and, if relevant, also in developing countries. Special attention shall be paid to identifying sustainable solutions for water management and nutrient recycling while keeping the local food supply chains safe for the consumer. For this purpose, innovative concepts in different farming systems (conventional, low-input, organic production) shall be studied. The role of social innovation and institutional interaction is an important issue to consider in terms of governance processes towards sustainable decision making of land-use in peri-urban areas. The role of the CAP and rural development as an instrument to reach sustainability objectives has also to be assessed for EU countries. Similarly, the relation between peri-urban pressures and the participation of farmers and other stakeholders in rural development measures shall be considered. Technical, economic, and social aspects, including logistical aspects, of the establishment of short chain delivery in peri-urban areas should be studied with the help of a range of case-studies, and best practices. The involvement of SMEs in the process is essential.

Funding Schemes

Up to 2 projects may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 1 500 000 per proposal
- 15 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The topic is expected to generate new knowledge on the development of peri-urban areas and to provide safe and healthy food to the benefit of consumers together with more transparency in the delivery process. It is expected to generate innovative approaches involving SMEs to short chain food supply together with multi-functional approach to peri-urban agriculture in EU countries and possibly in developing countries. It is expected to contribute to the development of rural-urban policy.

Description

Extension services have been reformed in recent years in a number of EU Member States (partly under the pressure of decreasing public resources and changes in the thinking about the roles of the various players) but the needs for this kind of services are still very high (e.g. increasing regulatory constraints such as environment, safety, standards etc). In some of the countries of the European Union, there is also a large layer of semi-subsistence farms and small commercial farms, which are not sufficiently involved in knowledge exchanges. A complete picture of the EU-27 is needed on the research – extension – farmers knowledge flows in both directions. The basis of this picture should be a comprehensive inventory of the actors in the field: basic and applied agricultural research institutes and universities, advisory and extension services, and other actors influencing research priorities and practical decision making on farms, e.g. co-operations, supply services, farmers` organisations and groups, etc. The formal and informal interactions between all these actors in the different Member States should be described. A typology of knowledge flow systems should be elaborated. Surveys will support the description of knowledge flows and will help to reveal how research and farming practice are linked, how the scientific community is informed about research needs and how the spread of technological and social innovation can be promoted.
Which systems are part of the official Farm Advisory System of the Common Agricultural Policy and which other public and private advisory services are operational in the field? Information is needed on farmers access to these services, including possible constraints for uptake of advice (e.g. price, trust etc.) and whether what is delivered meets their challenges. Is there a need for knowledge outside classical agricultural disciplines and how is it mobilised? Which forums could improve coordination, which could be good incentives to reconnect farm practice and research, to encourage uptake of advice, to valorise flows from advisors to research and vice versa, and to push application of innovative practices and techniques?
The project would extend and deepen the work undertaken in the framework of the Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) collaborative working group in the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR). It would be complementary to ongoing projects like SOLINSA and build on previous projects like EU-AgriMapping or Insight.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Coordination and Support Action (supporting action)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 1 500 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The project will contribute to build a European agricultural innovation system and lead to better informed policy decisions on how to improve the functioning of the different components on European, national and regional level.

Description

Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) provides the legal framework for the preparation and implementation of rural development programmes in the Member States for the period 2007-2013. The regulation establishes the overall objectives, strategic approach and specific priorities for the EU rural development policy for the period 2007-2013.
The regulation acknowledges the importance of evaluating the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the rural development programmes to ensure accountability and to allow for improvements to be made in terms of the design and targeting of the support. The Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (CMEF) for rural development policy provides a solid foundation in this respect and progress has been achieved over the last years in developing appropriate evaluation methodologies and tools. However, the evaluation of environmental impacts is especially challenging and Member States have reported difficulties in identifying the impacts attributable to specific rural development measures in the context of multiple intervening factors. Moreover, environmental impacts are strongly influenced by site-specific circumstances, and they may take a long time to emerge. In this context, the objective of the research project should be the development of new and improved evaluation methodologies and tools in order to:
− Assess the environmental impacts of rural development programmes against their counterfactual (i.e. calculating the changes that would have occurred without the specific programme intervention).
− Measure the micro and the macro level environmental effects of the programmes and to meaningfully integrate the results.
− Estimate the net environmental effects of rural development programmes by netting out deadweight, substitution and multiplier effects.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative project (small or mediumscale focused research project)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 2 000 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The project will contribute to a better delivery of public goods through the Common Agricultural Policy. A better targeting of the measures will increase their costeffective contribution to environmental objectives, like those linked to climate change mitigation, biodiversity and others.

Description

The EU international trade in agri-food products plays a major role. In particular, the EU is a significant exporter of processed products with final products representing 68% it its exports in value in 2007-2009, intermediary products representing 23% and commodities only 9%. The significance of these final products has regularly increased in the past years. At the same time the EU is a significant importer of agri-food products from third markets. Assessments of the competitiveness on international markets are often limited to some segments of the product chains, e.g. comparison of competitiveness at the farm level, whereas the determinants of competitiveness of the agri-food industry go well beyond production cost comparisons: they include other elements of prices and costs (e.g. logistics, losses along the product supply chains, etc.) but also non-price competitiveness elements (strategies of firms, product differentiations, innovations, etc.). Given the important role of the EU and international markets for EU product chains, in particular for processed products, it is important to gain a more comprehensive view on the different elements which contribute to their competitiveness.
The project should cover the measurement of the components of the competitiveness of product chains on both the EU market and international markets for a selection of major products and relevant countries. It should provide and analysis of costs (including at agricultural level) along the product chains, including logistics and assessment of the significance of losses along the product supply chain. The analysis at farm level would include the evolutions of total factor productivity. Price/cost transmission along the product chain should be covered as well as other elements of the competitiveness (product differentiation, economies of scale, sourcing, etc.).

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative project (small or mediumscale focused research project)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 2 500 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

An assessment of competitiveness of the European agro-food industry will allow better targeted and evidence based policies. A better assessment of the various costs along the food supply chain will provide a the information needed to develop better regulation further in line with the citizens expectations while keeping the competitiveness of the agrofood chain.

Description

The labelling of food products is intended to help consumers make an informed choice when buying food. The project will provide scientific evidence on how consumers understand health claims and health-related symbols, and how those claims and symbols contribute to healthier food choices at the point of purchase. Behavioural and cognitive science research should address the health-related information that the consumer wants, needs and understands on food labels, how best to present this information, and what behavioural consequences and changes health claims and health-related symbols may induce in purchasing and consumption patterns. Health-related information on labels should be considered, together with other labelling information on the food product itself, as well as other information made available to the consumer. The wording of health claims should be addressed with a view to avoiding possible misinterpretation on the part of the consumer, and to optimise the impact of such claims on healthier choices, taking into account country specificity.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative project (small or mediumscale focused research project)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

Generation of knowledge of how to guide the consumers’ behaviour towards healthy choices. Contribution to the EU policy related to food information and health claims leading to social innovation.

Description

The aim of this topic is to gain a better understanding of the role and mechanisms of bioactive compounds from dietary sources that may have a beneficial effect on human health. The availability and activity of bioactive compounds should be measured, together with their effect on physiologically relevant end-points. The research aims to increase scientific knowledge through the use of biomarkers that are relevant to humans. Therefore, appropriate dietary intervention studies are needed to clearly demonstrate the effects of bioactive compounds. Where appropriate, gender issues should be considered.

Funding Schemes

Up to 2 projects may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per proposal
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

Better understanding of the potential benefits of bioactive compounds will lead to improved formulation of foods and better dietary recommendations for consumers. The expected project results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to the European food industry and SMEs, and will increase their innovation potential and competitiveness. Involving SMEs in the project itself should help contribute to achieving that benefit. The project will contribute to underpinning health claims with appropriate scientific evidence, where relevant. It will support the implementation of European legislation on health and nutrition claims, and will enhance cooperation between scientific disciplines and stakeholders in Europe. Projects supported under this topic should lead to a greater integration of research actors and activities from across the European Union, and the candidate countries.

Description

Health and nutrition research infrastructures are needed to strengthen high-quality research and to provide sound knowledge for public health nutrition strategies across Europe. The aim of the study is to identify existing infrastructures for food and health research, and to assess the need to integrate these and/or to create new infrastructures. Activities under the umbrella of such infrastructures should include experimentation, observation and monitoring, data processing and modelling, conservation and distribution, and finally, knowledge transfer. High-quality infrastructures should encompass disciplines that contribute to the understanding of mechanisms underlying the development of diet-related diseases, and contribute to improving public health preventive strategies in the longer term. Improving, standardising and harmonising research methods and data collection as well as developing new technology would be at the core of research activities in such infrastructures. The project should address all aspects related to the technical and financial sources and feasibility of integrating existing infrastructures and/or establishing new ones, as well as frameworks for data access and ownership. Ways to enhance integration and/or cooperation with industry should be addressed. The need for international cooperation and linkages to existing relevant infrastructures in third countries should be considered.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Coordination and Support Action (supporting action)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 2 000 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The study will provide recommendations as regard the implementation of infrastructures development in the future. It will inform the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) Roadmap and future European funding programmes. Such infrastructure(s) will contribute to improving scientific performance and to enhancing technological development capacity in the field of food and health research. The infrastructure(s) will contribute to the development of more effective nutritional interventions, cohort studies, and dietary recommendations, and to the development of more rigorous approaches and methodologies in the field. The European added value of the research infrastructure(s) lies in fostering innovation and the cost-effective use of scientific resources in food and health research. The infrastructure(s) would be able to support the Commission Recommendation on the Joint Programming Initiative addressing ‘A healthy diet for a healthy life’, and to better exploitation of sound scientific data and knowledge by the food industry.

Description

The objective is to improve understanding of the effects of lifestyle factors on human health and their relative importance, so as to contribute to developing new ways for the prevention of diet-related diseases, and for maintaining and promoting optimal health and well-being across lifespan and ultimately towards healthy ageing. The effects of lifestyle factors, diet and physical activity and their interaction with other lifestyle factors, such as sleep and stress, should be considered, as well as links with behavioural, environmental, cultural and socioeconomic components. The research will aim at augmenting scientific understanding as it applies to humans based on epidemiological and/or intervention studies. The lifestyle factors influencing health should be representative of those currently pertaining at European level, with a view to contributing to better strategy in public health. The EU’s ageing population is a major challenge, with significant social and economic implications, so research should address all age groups and include elderly subjects. Where appropriate, gender issues should be considered.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The project will provide more knowledge on the relationship between lifestyle factors, health and well-being, and evidence of the importance of lifestyle in helping to prevent diet-related diseases and contribute to healthy ageing of the population in Europe. The European added value lies in the fact that the expected project results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to European citizens, in particular elderly population, as they will help to inform new strategies in public health. Projects supported under this topic should integrate relevant partners from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and/or the USA. The participation of partners from those countries is essential to achieve the expected impact of the research to be undertaken.

Description

Food waste represents a large proportion of bio-waste produced in the EU. It is generated by production, manufacturing, distribution and households, and is usually disposed of in land fill or is incinerated. In line with the objectives of EU2020, which aims to deliver a sustainable economy based on resource-efficient and greener strategies, research is needed to develop innovative concepts and practical approaches that would add value to and find markets for food waste of plant and dairy origin. The objective is to develop feeds and/or feed ingredients from food waste that are in line with standard nutritional requirements for animals, contribute to the quality of resulting food products, and do not have adverse effects on human health. The feed and/or feed ingredients should be developed while taking into consideration low production costs, convenience, shelf-life, safety, and animal needs. If applicable, an environmental, social and economic life-cycle assessment in line with the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook should be carried out. Dissemination and demonstration activities will be required to fill the gap between the developed concepts and their practical implementation.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal
- 35 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The European added value lies in enhanced innovation capacity and competitiveness in the field of feed processing, thanks to the development of new products and processes. Efficient use of food waste resources and energy will have a positive environmental outcome and contribute to a decrease in production costs for feeds. The expected projects results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to SMEs. Projects supported under this topic should lead to a greater integration of research actors and activities from across the European Union, and the candidate countries.

Description

The aim of this topic is to allow SMEs to take up research outcomes resulting from earlier FP funding in food processing. The follow-up project should turn available scientific and technological knowledge into innovative processes or products, thereby clearly going beyond the earlier project(s) and involving a demonstration phase, an environmental, social and economic life-cycle assessment in line with the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook (if applicable), and a business plan. The application must show that the knowledge has been generated earlier, and that the results have already been achieved and are available for further research and development — mere ‘expected results’ are not acceptable as a basis for project selection. Although the principal research must have been carried out in earlier project(s), further research and development must remain central to the project and will allow SMEs to get nearer to actual application.

Funding Schemes

Up to 5 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 1 000 000 per proposal
- 75 % of EU contribution to SMEs
- The duration of the proposals submitted under this topic shall be up to 2 years

Expected Impact

This approach gives more attention to the innovation phase and could lead to demonstrators, prototypes, technology transfer, filing for patents, and other outcomes. As well as improving the impact of an earlier project, it will improve the S&T capabilities, the innovation potential and the competitiveness of the SMEs taking part. The European added value lies mainly in a leverage effect on private investment, the cooperation of private companies with foreign partners on a scale not possible at national level, and the reduction of commercial risk by making existing research results applicable across Europe and beyond.

Description

The high number of food product varieties and units, as well as packaging types dictated by customer requirements, means the food packaging industry is geared towards short runs and small batch production. The aim of this topic is to develop automated packaging systems to reach standardised operational flexibility in the packaging industry for both fresh and processed food, also ensuring convenience. Effectiveness, efficiency and reliability of the processes must be considered, as well as hygiene – equipment must be easy to clean. If applicable, an environmental, social and economic life-cycle assessment in line with the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook should be carried out. Integration of advanced technologies within robotics, automation of hygienic food handling operations, sensors, in-line quality control as well as information and communication technologies for intelligent management, ensuring traceability, will have to be achieved. Demonstration activities involving packaging and food companies will be required to fill the gap between developed concepts and their practical implementation.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The topic will increase excellence in the field of ICT and automation applications for packaging processes, and support the competitiveness of European robotics, packaging and food industries, for example, via the development of new processes or an increased number of patents. In the agri-food business, it will contribute to reducing food wastage, lowering production costs, improving food quality and safety, and convenience. The results of research in this topic should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to SMEs, both in the equipment and the food industry. Involving SMEs in the project itself should help contribute to achieving that benefit. The European added value lies in the need to find critical mass for multilateral efforts on the part of all players mentioned above.

Description

The aim is to further develop processing, packaging and distribution aspects of convenient, personalised food products attractive to the consumer. Personalisation can take many forms, and might refer to individual health or lifestyle aspects and/or address personal preferences regarding quality, portion size or cost, convenience, packaging, taste or pleasure, or it might concern specific target groups. The project will provide integrated approaches applicable to SMEs that include innovative technological and organisational solutions for production and processing of personalised foods, their delivery to consumers at the point of purchase, and their preparation at the point of consumption. The project should involve scientists, industry (especially SMEs), catering services and/or retailers. It should be emphasised that this topic definitely goes beyond the following issues: nutrigenomics, genotyping and phenotyping; specific nutrients; dietary advice. The conceptual models should be applied to developing prototype foods for a limited segment of the market, preferably in a demonstration unit. Dissemination and demonstration of the technological and organisational solutions developed will be required. If applicable, an environmental, social and economic life-cycle assessment in line with the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook should be carried out.

Funding Schemes

Up to 2 projects may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal
- 35 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The European added value lies in strengthening European research capacity to provide sound scientific support to a technology that might be an important breakthrough in food distribution. Processing and distribution technologies will be integrated into innovative applications with direct impact on the consumer leading to social innovation. In the long run, a strong contribution to diversifying the food industry’s range of products for consumers is expected.

Description

The objective is to exploit the potential of insects as alternative sources of protein. Several ways of processing the proteins are to be explored in view of their potential incorporation into feed and/or food products. Aspects of insect breeding and processing such as energy use, efficiency and how residual flows develop and can best be dealt with will also be looked into. Issues related to quality, animal health and human safety have to be addressed, for instance, through examining amino acid composition and allergenicity; and quality and safety criteria of the derived proteins should be developed at a European level. Regulatory and consumer aspects should also be looked into. If applicable, an environmental, social and economic lifecycle assessment in line with the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook should be carried out. Dissemination activities and demonstration activities will be required.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project) for Specific Cooperation Actions dedicated to International Cooperation partner countries
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal
- Minimum number of participants: 3 from different Member States or Associated countries and 3 from different ICPC

Expected Impact

The European and ICPC added value lies in increasing the innovation capacity of the industry, and in enhancing international cooperation. The expected results will enable the sustainable production of innovative protein sources successful in the market. The result of research into this topic should be of interest and potential benefit to SMEs. The research will support EU agricultural, nutrition, health, environment and development policies.

Description

Pollution of the oceans and climate change are giving rise to concerns not just about the status of the marine environment, but also about their impact on seafood safety and public health. In addition, there is rarely a well-defined established simple quantitative link between levels of contaminants in the marine environment and levels in seafood, clearly demonstrating a general need for research on transfer of contaminants from the marine environment to seafood. The main objective of the topic is to assess food safety issues related to priority contaminants present in seafood as a result of environmental contamination (including those originating from harmful algae blooms and those associated with marine litter). Further understanding of the public health impacts of these chemical hazards should be developed, together with tools for risk analysis and methods of monitoring, detection and mitigation. To reduce public health risks, clear and practical information should be disseminated to policy makers, food producers and the general public.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 4 000 000 per proposal
- 10 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The European added value lies in offering safe, high-quality seafood to consumers, as well as in strengthening the competitiveness of European food producers. The expected project results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to food-producing SMEs, and involving those SMEs in the project itself should help contribute to achieving this. Scientific evidence will be provided to serve as a basis for further development of common food safety, public health and environmental policies and measures. The project will contribute to descriptors 9 and 10 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) by seeking to establish a quantitative link between the contamination of the marine environment and that of seafood.

Description

Demographic changes and globalisation of the food supply chain have led to an expansion of the population at risk of seafood-borne parasitic disease and consequently increased the recognition of its public health significance. Therefore, the objective of this topic is to further develop the understanding of food safety and quality aspects related to parasites of public health importance in seafood. Further understanding of the public health impacts of these biological hazards should be developed, together with tools for risk analysis and methods of monitoring, detection and mitigation. To reduce the risks of human seafood-borne diseases, clear and practical information should be disseminated to policy makers, food producers and the general public.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 4 000 000 per proposal
- 30 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The European added value lies in offering safe, high-quality seafood to consumers, as well as in strengthening the competitiveness of European food producers. The expected project results should clearly be of interest and potential benefit to food-producing SMEs, and involving those SMEs in the project itself should help contribute to achieving this. Scientific evidence will be provided to serve as a basis for further development of common food safety and public health policies. The project will contribute to food safety policy by addressing the research needs identified in the EFSA scientific opinion on risk assessment of parasites in fishery products. Given that a large percentage of the seafood consumed in the EU is imported from Asia, the project should integrate relevant partners from Asian countries. The participation of partners from those countries is important to achieve the expected impact of the research to be undertaken.

Description

The aim of this coordinating action is to connect research and policy actors in the European Union with their third-country counterparts to achieve deeper cooperation and fill transitional gaps concerning food safety. The coordination action will consist of a set of activities focussing on coordination of research, innovation and training activities and policies in the area of food safety.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 1 000 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The European added value of this topic lies in its potential contribution to structuring and enhancing the global dimension of the European Research Area in the field of food safety in a sustainable way. Broad cooperation will lead to more efficient use of research funds, sharing of best practices and a durable partnership with the EU’s major food trading partners. Projects supported under this topic should integrate relevant partners world-wide. Bringing in the appropriate European and global dimension in a complimentary and balanced way will improve the effectiveness and long-term sustainability of the consortium.

Description

A consistent approach to risk assessment and management of allergens across the food chain is needed. Clinically validated risk models for the risk assessment should be proposed and allergen management tools and algorithms for the food industry should be developed. Individual thresholds and population dose-distributions need to be investigated, taking into account how extrinsic factors, the food matrix and processing impact on the stability of threshold doses and clinical reactivity. Validated, evidence-based risk management strategies for allergenic foods should be proposed. Risk models will be made publicly available and associated with databases and other web-based platforms to support Europe-wide dissemination to the food industry. Exploiting results of previous studies, new data are required on the influence of maternal diet and weaning practices on the patterns and prevalence of allergies. Biomarkers to predict severe allergic reactions to food and the risk to develop such reactions should be assessed. Differences in populations across Europe should be investigated. Dietary strategies for food allergy prevention should be investigated. Analytical methodology to determine multiple allergens in foods should be further developed and their efficacy to allow measuring allergens in a wide range of foods from raw materials to commercially available products demonstrated.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per proposal
- 15 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The European added value lies in providing a framework to consistently apply risk assessment and management of food allergens across the EU and beyond, which should contribute to the updating of the EU list of allergen in accordance with the procedure laid down in the EU legislation. The provision of evidence-based action levels for allergens in foods and the resulting management tools will enable the food industry to become more competitive and sustainable and promote innovation by reducing costs and helping drive harmonisation across the food chain. Consumer protection will be improved through more accurate, risk-based controls and labelling. It will contribute to further strengthening of national and EU dietary advice and public health by providing new scientific knowledge on the effect of infant feeding to prevent the development of allergies later in life.

Description

Genetically modified (GM) feed is widely used in the EU and may, in some circumstances, constitute an essential part of the diet of farm animals. While it is possible to monitor the growth of farm animals and collect precise information on their diet and general health status, information on epidemiological studies to assess the impact of the consumption of GM Feed on animals is limited. Moreover, there is a lack of agreed scientific methodologies for performing such studies. The project should investigate the feasibility of carrying out epidemiological studies on the safety and nutritional impacts of the consumption of GM feed placed on the EU market. The selected project will: (a) identify relevant, existing epidemiological studies on GM feed or non-GM feed in Europe and/or in third countries; (b) identify and collect readily available information in a database enabling epidemiological studies to be performed; (c) establish a robust epidemiological model (which should include data collection, a monitoring plan, a monitoring methodology, statistical analysis and reporting). The model should, as far as possible, make use of already available data. Should additional data need to be collected, it should be carefully evaluated to ensure it meets the specific needs of the project. Data collection should be developed in a way that is realistic, feasible and which will ensure the efficient use of resources. (d) The model should be assessed and validated for the main situations encountered in Europe, considering in particular maize and soy, feeding on pigs, chickens and bovines. The project should consider, in particular but not exclusively, the type of GM feed, the animal species, the related time period of feeding, the number and age of animals, the specific living conditions (husbandry conditions, geographical regions, etc.).

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 1 000 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The development of an epidemiological model to investigate the safety and nutritional impact of the consumption of GM Feed will enable epidemiological studies to be carried out in support the preparation of monitoring plans that may be required under EU legislation.

Description

New research approaches are needed to enable rapid determination of the pathogen load of European drinking water sources and supply systems used for food processing and preparation, human consumption and drinking. The new approaches should be based on molecular methods and complement the current time-consuming microbiological techniques, which are based on the cultivation of indicator bacteria. Highly standardised methods are essential, validated with certified molecular reference material. The approaches will need to address the issue of inhibition of molecular methods and assess the significance of any positive detection. The combination of molecular techniques with electronic sensors will also be investigated. The new techniques will result in detailed insight into the pathogen load, the hygienic quality and the specific microbial strains (viruses, bacteria, protozoa) responsible for outbreaks of waterborne infections. They will lead to better understanding of the sources, infectivity and virulence of these strains. The efficacy of the new techniques has to be demonstrated.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per proposal
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The European added value of this topic will be the development of a new, uniform, Europe-wide approach regarding drinking water safety management plans. The topic will give support to the Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC)20 and the EU Innovation Union. It will also contribute to public health and to climate change preparedness, as the latter is a driver responsible for the emergence of new microbial strains that could potentially introduce new infectious diseases. More comprehensive, faster assessment of human health risks from surface and ground water will be beneficial to the industry (commercialisation of technologies, new markets), water companies and laboratories dealing with water quality control. Integrated sensor-molecular techniques have applications potential for early warning systems, source tracking and rapid retrospective outbreak analysis for water-borne and foodborne infections. In addition, the topic will strengthen relations between researchers and industry, and further disseminate results of advanced research towards practical applications in water quality analysis. Projects supported under this topic should lead to a greater integration of research actors and activities from across the European Union, and the candidate countries.

Description

Numerous families in Europe have been pushed to the edge of poverty by the current economic crisis and are facing difficulties in purchasing quality foods. At the same time, a large amount of food in Europe is wasted in the retail and catering sector, in restaurants and households. The current lack of unambiguous data regarding food waste, however, makes it impossible to define policy and other measures to appropriately deal with this issue and reduce the social and environmental impacts of food wastage. The widely differing sources of information at Member State level hinder the availability of relevant, high-quality and comparable data, resulting in a fragmented, partially redundant and often incomplete picture on food waste, which impedes the analysis of long-term trends in food waste management. This topic aims (1) at obtaining reliable data and information sources to improve understanding of the patterns and causes of food waste, at giving possible solutions for improved food use, and at making recommendations to policy makers for social innovation. The project should also aim (2) at setting up European and national multi-stakeholder platforms (comprising, among others, consumer organisations, food services, retailers, NGOs, regulators, food industry, food scientists, and socio-economic experts) to look at options to prevent or reduce food wastage at household, food service and retail level. The platforms (3)
should produce recommendations to be used for policy makers and regulators at European and national level addressing socially innovative solutions for optimised food use including also socio-economic incentives and improved legislation. In addition, the platforms (4) should test some best practices for reducing food wastage (for example regarding logistics) via feasibility studies with all stakeholders involved.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Coordination and Support Action (supporting action)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 4 000 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

This topic will improve the coordination of the monitoring activities by the Member States on food wastage and its social and environmental impacts. The data collected through standardised methodologies will, in turn, allow EUROSTAT and the Member States to report correctly on the issue of food waste and ultimately facilitate the shaping of better food waste management strategies. Improving the food waste reporting requirements at EU and Member State level is seen as an essential step for the prevention of food wastage. It will also enable policy initiatives aiming at coherent food safety and hygiene regulation, labelling (best-before date), food distribution, and awareness and educations campaigns to all players involved. In the context of social innovation, the feasibility studies carried out should show best-practice examples to be applied by others. The project supported under this topic should lead to a greater integration of research actors and activities from across the European Union, and the candidate countries.

Description

The EU consumer has been used to purchasing quality food at affordable prices. The food crisis of 2007-2009 and current food price spikes have marked an end to this certainty. Buying local food is advocated as more sustainable by some professional groups and a justified alternative to buying from global food supply chains, though the benefits of this are not substantiated by scientific evidence. There is currently no comprehensive EU-wide database on the advantages, drawbacks and total cost of local versus global food production and supply systems. The objective of this topic is to analyse the benefits and disadvantages of both systems in terms of value and sustainability. A full understanding of the real cost of food is needed. This includes the examination of external costs, which may refer to environmental degradation, food safety surveillance systems, public health, fair income distribution, and animal welfare or any other cost which is still ignored, minimised or moved to another economic sector of society.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative project (small or mediumscale focused research project)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The EU added value of this topic lies in its potential to create a common scientific basis for supporting food-related EU policies with an impact on social innovation. A better understanding of external costs would facilitate comparison between global and local food systems and enable evidence-based decision-making concerning which food systems to support. Enhanced knowledge of the real cost of food could harness demand towards sustainably-produced food as a consumer segment that is likely to continue growing. Equally, it could help to identify situations in which moves to increase sustainability could have an impact on the poorest people, who will require support. Projects supported under this topic should lead to a greater integration of research actors and activities from across the European Union, and the candidate countries.

Description

Change in global climate is predicted to increase dramatically the variability of water supply, both in spatially and in time, and will, thus affect growth of crops. Several European regions are already under severe risk of drought, extreme temperatures, and of other types of abiotic stress linked to water (e.g. as a result of periodic flooding or salt stress). The project will address water stress affecting crop plants (including trees and shrubs) and will develop agricultural plant varieties better equipped to withstand water stress, useful for production of biomass and bioproducts. The project will target commercially important crops using state-of-the-art knowledge on physiological, molecular and genetic processes obtained e.g. on model plants, involved in plant tolerance and adaptation to water stress for developing robust crops with improved traits for biomass yield, productivity and quality under adverse and/or erratic environmental conditions. The project will contribute to understanding the complex interactions between the molecular pathways of signalling related to abiotic stress with those controlling cell and organ growth. It will put this knowledge into practice through innovative, integrative approaches of molecular breeding and/or genetic optimisation. As an integral part, the project will include the environmental assessment of the cultivation of the developed plants. The dissemination activities will form an essential part of the project. It shall consider appropriate training opportunities (e.g. short staff exchanges, training workshops). The proposal should take account of related on-going FP7 funded research (e.g. projects DROPS, SWEETFUEL) in order to avoid overlaps and duplications.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per proposal
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The project will improve agricultural production to better adapt it to the erratic, unpredictable conditions under the climate change. Its European added value will come from creating a critical mass necessary to contribute to better exploitation and socioeconomic development of marginal lands and regions in Europe, particularly those already affected by adverse water stress conditions. The project will involve active participation of European SMEs and industry, increasing its competitiveness

Description

The projects on 'multipurpose crops' developed under this topic will advance the innovative research needed to bring to market sustainable and biodegradable biomaterials originating from terrestrial crop plants. They will advance the concept of the plant based production system by improving the exploitability of the biomass, and developing specific bioproducts from plants in a modern biorefinery. This will be achieved by applying modern molecular tools of plant breeding, combined with improvements in metabolic and/or genetic engineering and by incorporating appropriate technical advances in agronomic practices (e.g. field trials) in order to develop commercial terrestrial plant varieties. The bioproducts to be targeted will include bio-based polymers (including bio-based plastics), fibres (including bio-composites), and non-food oils. The project will also analyse the economic potential of the residual biomass (e.g. for bioenergy applications) and will assess environmental sustainability. The project will be industry-driven and will include demonstration activities to prove the technical feasibility and effectiveness of the production and extraction systems developed. Dissemination and training activities will form an essential part of the project.

Funding Schemes

Up to 2 projects may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per proposal
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The use of the biodegradable, eco-friendly biomaterials and biomass resulting from the crops developed in the project will lead to significant environmental and economic benefits. The project will engage European industry and improve its competitiveness, as well as increase competition in research and innovation. Participation of SMEs and industries is critical for the objectives and for achievement of impact. An additional impact of the project will also come from EU - scale of dissemination of results, leading to a better exploitation of research.

Description

There is a renewed interest in fibre crops as a sustainable source of biobased material for industrial products. The scope of this co-ordination action is to link the research activities carried out on the one side by the EU research programmes (EU Framework Programmes and EU Member States’ national programmes) and, on the other, by related research programmes coordinated by China national institutions, e.g. Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). The area targeted concerns development of a resource efficient system via optimisation of raw material from fibre crops for multiple uses. This product chain implies the biorefinery concept. The project will ensure a wide-range networking of the relevant scientific communities and stakeholders and the systematic establishment of linkages between the ongoing research and innovation projects from the EU and China. Co-ordination of on-going activities from both sides could include a combination of: i) broad networking of the respective scientific communities (via meetings, workshops, etc); ii) twinning of large sets of research projects/consortia from the counterparts’ programmes, with meetings and exchanges of information, data, materials and methods; iii) short-term exchanges/visits of researchers, training opportunities. Furthermore this co-ordination action should also lead to a coordinated planning of relevant future research initiatives.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 1 000 000 per proposal
- Minimum number of participants: 3 from different Member States or Associated Countries and 1 from China.

Expected Impact

A wide co-ordination of research activities in this area from the EU and China, which are both major players in these fields, will scale-up EU-China collaboration, in line with the EU-China S&T co-operation agreement. This will lead to a wider industrial participation and will provide a long term vision on future common research activities, contributing to the international policies of the EU. The project will improve training opportunities of researchers.

Description

Marine organisms represent an almost inexhaustible source of bioactive compounds and of novel molecules and materials for industrial applications (e.g. chemicals, pharmaceuticals, biomaterials, cosmetics, etc.). In order to unveil novel products and processes, comprehensive and integrated efforts are needed that focus on industry’s requirements. The projects under this topic are to be industry-driven. They will aim to innovative approaches to tackle bottlenecks in the biodiscovery pipeline. The projects will include demonstration activities of the biodiscovery pipeline (either in its entirety or in part). While the projects may include biomass production, this will not be their prime focus. Key challenges to be considered are (i) the quality of marine resources: identification of organisms of interest and their variability. Special emphasis in this point is needed in the case organisms from unusual and extreme environments; (ii) improvement in technical aspects of the biodiscovery pipeline. This may include separation, structure elucidation and identification of the active profile of bioactive molecules, dereplication strategies, etc; (iii) sustainable modes of supply of raw materials, which may include providing analogues of active compounds (iv) legal aspects: securing access to marine resources, their sustainable use, analyses of the different legal aspects that impede access to marine bioresources and ways forward and (v) access to marine biotechnology data: through marine research infrastructures and biobanks. Dissemination of the results and activities to users, industries, firms (SMEs in particular) and citizens leading to a better exploitation of research and raising awareness of its potential should be taken on board within the project.

Funding Schemes

Several projects may be funded, within the EUR 23 000 000 budget of this topic
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The projects will strengthen the competitiveness of the European marine biotechnology industry. By reducing the technical bottlenecks in the marine biodiscovery pipelines, improving access to marine resources data and streamlining the legal aspects towards a clear access, the projects will have a structuring impact on the European Research area in this field and will give support to EU policy, finally, making the whole sector more attractive to investment by the biotechnology industry.

Description

Many of the bioactive compounds of interest for the marine biotechnology industry are produced by microorganisms that cannot currently be cultured in an efficient way. This presents a major bottleneck for industries in this sector, which require a reliable supply of compounds with sufficiently high volumetric productivities and purity specifications. To address this challenge a significant, integrated effort is needed to improve the culture efficiency of marine microorganisms. This effort should include issues such as: radical changes in isolation rate; innovative high throughput culture mimicking nature; improving understanding of the cell-to-cell communication in the microbial world; and development of innovative procedures that enable the combination of these optimised methods with specific devices and robotics. The project will embrace these research priorities and integrate them within the context of specific industrial applications. Dissemination of the results and activities to users, industries, firms (SMEs in particular) and citizens leading to a better exploitation of research and raising awareness of its potential should be taken on board within the project.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per proposal
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

The project will strengthen the competitiveness of European industry, by providing a science and technology base for the development products for the rapidly increasing world market for biotech products. Close collaboration in research between European biotechnology industries and leading research institutions will reinforce the scientific and technological excellence and also the industrial and economic potential of the research.

Description

Several hurdles hamper the full exploitation of Industrial Biotechnology's (IB) potential today:
• Lack of awareness of potential benefits that IB can offer to a number of established and often conservative sectors;
• Unfavourable framework conditions for innovation in IB due to regulatory uncertainty, e.g. on intellectual property rights, standards and labelling rules;
• Limited access to pilot plants and financing of demonstration plants for up-scaling;
• Limited available data on the use of biomass for the development of a wide range of bioproducts.
The objective of the project is to: i) identify relevant stakeholders and end-users at regional, national and European level; ii) create platforms enhancing the interaction between these groups with IB -related stakeholders (e.g. large industries and SMEs, industry associations, academia) with the aim to obtain a comprehensive overview of the market potential of IB, setting R&D priorities and identifying needs for pilot and demonstration plant activities.; iii) identify regulatory hurdles that may inhibit these collaborations and prepare a study for policy makers on key market entry barriers; iv) identify reliable data sources and establish a data collection that can be used for annual analyses and prospective studies (for 2020 and beyond) on the use of biomass for the production of bioproducts in the EU in general and by sector; v) establish robust communication and dissemination tools (e.g. a website, conferences, training, reports, brokerage events) that facilitate the transfer of knowledge and technology between all the stakeholders and will ensure a long lasting impact of the project.
The project will strengthen the IB sector as a provider of technological solutions for many industrial sectors (e.g. energy, chemicals, materials, consumer products and mining) and improve the balance between technology push and market pull. The data collection on the use of biomass for the production of bioproducts in the EU will constitute a basis for developing of an institutional frame for annual reporting, (e.g. like the EurObserv'ER on Renewable Energy), and will complement the reports on biomass use for energy under Directive 2009/28/EC. The project will provide clear indicators to measure the socio-economic and environmental impact of IB and the use of biomass for bioproducts in the EU (e.g. on employment, GDP, climate change mitigation potential).
The project will liaise with industry associations, European Technology Platforms (ETPs) and other relevant organisations and networks. Interaction with policy-makers, policy support bodies (e.g. JRC, EuroStat) and other relevant stakeholders (e.g. NGOs) at national and European level must be explored.
The activities of the project will take into account existing initiatives supporting innovation in IB under FP7 and the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 2 000 000 per proposal
- Minimum number of participants: 3 from different Member States or Associated countries.

Expected Impact

The project will support the creation of a more favourable environment for innovation in IB, thus enhancing European industrial competitiveness in this sector. In particular, it will contribute to establishing a healthy balance between technology push and market pull in the area of IB and thus reduce regulatory uncertainty and commercial risk, as well as leverage more private investment into IB solutions. The project's annual reports on the use of biomass for bioproducts will help establishing an efficient strategy for the biomass use in the EU.

Description

A lack of standards hinders market uptake of bio-based products, both in consumer markets and in public procurement. Standards are needed for, among others, the determination of biobased content (carbon and biomass), product functionalities and biodegradability. The objective of the topic is to support research leading to the following outcomes:
• Development of a standard test method and test data for completion into a generally applicable European Standard for bio-based carbon content measurement in different bioproducts, that will be, as a minimum, applicable to all of the following groups: biopolymers, -lubricants, -surfactants, and –solvents.
• Development of a standard test method and testing scheme for determination of biomass content that is not solely dependent on C14 analysis. This methodology should be applicable in different bio-based products, including as a minimum, bio-polymers, - lubricants, -surfactants, and –solvents.
• Identification and resolution of functionality related bottlenecks with the view to adjusting, developing, harmonising and validating test methodologies considering the use of priority bio-based products, i.e. bio-polymers, -lubricants, -surfactants, and –solvents.
• Development of standard test methods, including all validation data, for completion into a generally applicable European Standard for the testing of the biodegradability of biolubricants and bio-solvents.
Proposals must ensure a link with the activities of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) concerning bio-based products and take into consideration related standardisation mandates (already issued and in process). Projects should explore possibilities for harmonising standards and normative measures in the EU, US, Japan, China, Brazil, and other major trading partners. The mobilisation and networking of stakeholders concerned such as industrial organisations, public bodies, research organisations, will ensure the effective dissemination and implementation of the developed standards.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative project (small or mediumscale focused research project)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal
- The duration of the proposals submitted under this topic shall be up to 3 years

Expected Impact

Reducing barriers to trade in bio-based products and expanding the market potential and the competitiveness of European bio-based industry. In view of maximising the impact of the project, it is expected that the first two of the mentioned outcomes will be accomplished during the first half of the project. The project will contribute to realising the objectives of different relevant European policy initiatives, including at least the Lead Market Initiative in Bio-based Products, the Industrial Policy, the Environmental Technology Action Plan and the EU Strategy for Key Enabling Technologies.

Description

The expansion and integration of biotechnology-based processes in chemical and chemicalusing sectors (e.g. pharma, pulp and paper, energy, textile, etc) requires the development of a new generation of competitive and efficient bioprocesses. Important industrial challenges in this endeavour are (i) development of strategies for process intensification (e.g. low-cost fermenters, novel reactor concepts, continuous processes, in situ product recovery, modular and multiphase bioreactors, cascade biocatalysis); (ii) improvement of process development and optimisation (e.g. by means of micro-bioreactors); (iii) development of technologies for better analytical continuous monitoring and control in bioreactors (iv) development of downstream processing (design and scale-up of economic separation and purification processes for complex biochemical mixtures); (v) improvement of process efficiency, this includes low water use, water recycling and treatment. The aim of this topic is to tackle one or several of these challenges described with a view to leveraging bioprocesses in order to make a selected industrial production chain economically viable and/or with reduced environmental impact. The bioprocesses developed are expected to replace conventional technologies in the chosen production chain and could pave the way for the commercial development of new bio-products. Proposed concepts will be demonstrated at least to pilot scale as part of an integrated approach. Economic viability and eco-efficiency will be evaluated and assessed on a quantitative basis. A dissemination and exploitation plan will include a sound strategy for the effective transfer of the knowledge produced to the public and end users. The project will also include training activities such as the organisation of short courses, exchanges of staff, etc.

Funding Schemes

Up to 2 projects may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per proposal
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

Enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of European industries through advancing bioprocess technology. It is expected that the projects will result in accelerated process design and reduced time-to-market. Close research collaboration between relevant European industries, process development firms, end users and leading research institutions will both reinforce the scientific and/or technological excellence and the industrial relevance and economic, social and environmental potential of the research. The project will contribute to realising the objectives of environmental and industrial European policy initiatives, such as the Lead Market in Bio-based Products, the Environmental Technology Action Plan and the EU Strategy for Key Enabling Technologies.

Description

Agricultural, industrial and municipal biowastes are often insufficiently exploited in developing countries despite being a potential feedstock for value-added products with local applications. At the same time these biowastes can cause problems for human and animal health and the environment.
The objective of the project is to develop biotechnological processes for converting three types of biodegradable wastes, i.e. municipal, agricultural and industrial biowastes into useful bioproducts for different applications, e.g. animal feed, fertilisers and biofuels. Numerous methods exist for this type of conversion processes. Some of these available methods are quite sophisticated but others are simple and could be adapted to the local conditions found in different developing countries.
The project will therefore: 1) assess biotechnological methods adapted to the socio-economic and environmental conditions of developing countries for the conversion of biowastes (cost benefit analysis of the techniques); 2) document best practices including traditional knowledge and management strategies and opportunities offered by innovative technologies; and 3) develop novel schemes and methodologies for knowledge transfer and application, for education and training (e.g. short exchanges of staff or training workshops) and for raising awareness of options for the conversion of biowaste.
In order to ensure that the proposed processes are in line with the needs in developing countries, the project should involve local communities, international organisations and NGOs. A robust dissemination strategy involving these stakeholders will be key to maximising the long-term impact of the project.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative project (small or mediumscale focused research project) for Specific Cooperation Actions dedicated to International Cooperation partner countries
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal
- Minimum number of participants: 3 from different Member States or Associated countries and 3 from different ICPC from African ACP and Mediterranean Partner Countries

Expected Impact

The project will contribute to the Millennium Development Goals by improving the management of biowastes in developing countries and thus reducing their potential adverse impacts on human and animal health, the environment and the economy. A well balanced participation of European and African partners is required to address the issues properly and produce the expected impact. It is considered that the involvement of partners from other ICPC countries should add to the expected impact of the research to be undertaken. Solutions developed in partnership between the European, African and international partners will be well adapted to local conditions.

Description

The growing market of biopolymers is evidenced by the increasing range of their applications, such as packaging, electronics, automotive, medical, and textile. The main drivers for their development are, firstly, their innovation potential for delivering similar or completely new functionalities; the reduction of dependency on fossil resources, and environmental benefits (e.g. biodegradation). Examples of biopolymers under development are polyurethanes, polyesters, polyolefins, polyamides, polysaccharides, etc. The aim of the topic is to develop microbial and/or enzymatic pathways for the production of biopolymers. Research will cover the entire value chain from feedstock, biosynthesis of the polymer or polymer precursor, through to the optimisation of product recovery, purification and further conversion towards the final product. Projects will have a strong industry drive and include demonstration activities to prove the techno-economic viability of the proposed value chain. Product specifications of the developed biopolymer will be optimised to match the proposed application. Research efforts will also take into account optimising the final product's "end of life" through, for example, biodegradation or recycling. A life cycle assessment of the entire value chain should be developed.
A dissemination and exploitation plan will include a sound strategy for the effective transfer of the knowledge produced to the public and end users. The proposal will consider standardisation related activities expected to facilitate the market uptake of the developed biopolymers.

Funding Schemes

Several projects may be funded, within the EUR 22 000 000 budget of this topic
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

Enhance the competitiveness and innovation potential of European industries by exploiting industrial biotechnology for designing biopolymers, matching an increasing number of end-user applications. Close research collaboration between the relevant European industries, end-users and leading research institutions will facilitate the transfer of the knowledge towards industrial implementation. The project will contribute to realising the objectives of environmental and industrial European policy initiatives, such as the Lead Market Initiative in Bio-based Products, the Environmental Technology Action Plan and the EU Strategy for Key Enabling Technologies.

Description

Accidental oil spills into the environment pose global problems and generate massive manpower and logistical demand for limiting the damage and cleaning-up terrestrial and aquatic environments. The Exxon Valdez and Gulf of Mexico accidents in 1989 and 2010 respectively have not only revealed limitations of current approaches to response management but have underpinned the urgent demand for advances in cost effective and environmentally acceptable mitigation technologies for accidental oil spills. Environmental biotechnology can provide a basis for such remediation of oil spills occurring at the source and during maritime transport.
The aim of the project is to develop improved responses to oil spills (in the ocean and coastal areas) able to tackle oil spills at the source and during transportation, based on new and innovative approaches with an emphasis on biotechnological approaches. The objectives of the topic are to a) review and analyse in depth the current knowledge in the field and to b) develop, propose and test novel, integrated approaches. In order to maximise the benefits and minimise response times in the field, multidisciplinary approaches, involving various disciplines such as engineering, chemistry, biology, marine and terrestrial ecology, marine biotechnology and the relevant industrial sectors must be considered. It is likewise necessary to consider the application of physico-chemical methods as pre-treatment technologies. The proposed technologies must be tested for effectiveness - including in field trials - and, therefore, monitoring tools and strategies will need to be developed. In situ monitoring, assessment of the treatments and their potential effects on the environment will form essential parts of the proposals. Finally, guidelines and dissemination strategies for end users are considered an integral part of the project.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per proposal
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

It is expected that the proposed research significantly contributes to developing economically and environmentally viable solutions, validated on the basis of field trials, for the clean-up of oil spills caused by maritime transport and oil exploration and related processes. The relevant goals of the EU Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources will have to be addressed.

Description

In 2008, 245 million tons of polymeric materials (mainly polyethylenes, polystyrols, polypropylenes, polyethers and polyvinylchloride) and consumer products were produced at a global level, more than 99% of which based on fossil resources. The EU alone accounts for 25% (60 million tons) of these products. More than 25 million tons of plastics are disposed of annually in EU landfills or directly into the environment, posing a huge environmental burden due to their recalcitrance towards degradation. The discovery of the Great Pacific and North Atlantic Garbage Patches and the known causal link between micro-particles of plastics and the growing number of organisms adversely affected by them, indicate the need for urgent action.
The topic aims to take stock of the current scientific know-how on the capacity of naturally occurring microorganisms for biodegrading polymeric materials, and will develop new and innovative biotechnological approaches for reducing the growing amount of such wastes in the environment. The applicability of the new approaches will be considered and tested for relevance for reducing plastic waste in landfills and/or in terrestrial and/or aquatic environments. Selected approaches will include an assessment of the costs and potential environmental risks and benefits involved and should demonstrate their technical feasibility on the basis of field trials. Dissemination, exploitation and knowledge transfer plans will address efficient and targeted information and knowledge transfer to stakeholders and industry and also be directed to communication with the general public.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (small or mediumscale focused research project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per proposal
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs

Expected Impact

It is expected that research proposes solutions for achieving the good environmental status of the aquatic environment with regard to marine litter under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The knowledge generated should also benefit the environmental management of terrestrial solid waste disposal.

Description

Improving water use efficiency in face of the increased water deficit in agriculture requires a coordinated international approach with a strong commitment of all stakeholders (e.g. farmers, plant breeding industry, technology developers, etc.). The multiple issues related to water and agriculture are too often hampered by the lack of coordination and exchange of information. The treatment of water and elimination of pollutants is crucial for human health and environmental welfare. While there are a number of water cleaning methods available, the potential of biotechnology (based on plants, micro-organisms or biochemical processes) has not been yet fully exploited.
The objectives of this project are: a) to develop innovative biotechnological wastewater treatments for improved water recycling for agriculture; b) to improve water use efficiency atfield level through agronomics, plant breeding and locally adapted irrigation technologies and techniques.
The European Commission and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of the Government of India have agreed to enhance opportunities for integrating research activities in Agriculture and Biotechnology between European and Indian teams. On-going research activities in EU Member States and India should be taken into account with the aim of strengthening cooperation e.g. through twinning of projects in this field, training and exchange of researchers, and planning and operating of leading/cutting edge research. This cooperation is expected to boost innovation both in Europe and in India.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per proposal
- 25 % of EU contribution to SMEs
- Minimum number of participants: 3 from different Member States or Associated Countries

Expected Impact

The project will develop applications for waste water treatments and leading to a greater integration of research actors and activities from across the European Union and the candidate countries. The project will provide a clear environmental and economic benefit optimising the use of water in agriculture and water saving. Participation of industry, including SMEs, will contribute to bring a market oriented innovation in this field in order to address the social dimension of the project. A wide co-ordination of research activities in the topic area between the EU and India, which are both major players in these fields, will contribute to step up the EU-India collaboration in scope and scale.

Description

Specific questions about the environmental and health effects of GMOs and GM food and feed remain to be answered on a perceived lack of readily available information on environmental and health effects of already commercialised GMOs (GM crops/plants in general, GM food/feed) and on the design, execution and interpretation of results of animal feeding trials for assessing the safety of GM food and feed. Environmental, health and socio-economic effects of the aforementioned GMOs have been the subject of scientific analysis, however a comprehensive review of national, EU and international research activities in this regard and in view of any potential benefits of GMOs is missing. Collection and review of information must take account of scientific quality and could be based on an open-access database. Linking up with already ongoing/existing activities will be considered (e.g. Scientific Committee for Agricultural Research Collaborative working group GMO, Cooperation in Science and Technology action 0905, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, International Society for Biosafety Research, GM crop database of the Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment, etc.). Mechanisms to maintain the operation of the database beyond the lifetime of the project will be explored and implemented where possible.
With regard to toxicological studies based on animal feeding trials, proposals will aim to gather further knowledge on the need and design of such studies and the interpretation of the results obtained and associated uncertainties. In particular the: a) need for 90-day feeding trials in all cases (single event GMOs/stacked GMOs); b) design of 90-day feeding trials on the basis of whole GM food/feed; c) added-value of extending the duration of 90-day feeding trials will be investigated. Proposals will also aim to provide scientific guidance on the biological relevance of observations made during GMO feeding trials. These animal feeding studies should cover several GMOs and should be performed in accordance with the relevant European Food Safety Authority guidance and of guidance available through other national or international bodies (e.g. Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l'alimentation, de l'environnement et du travail, OECD, Codex Alimentarius). Furthermore, account will be taken of the "three R's" principle, as anchored within the revision of EU Directive 86/609/EEC. The suitability of in-vitro tests to replace in-vivo tests must be considered and tested. Studies should be carried out according to relevant quality assurance standards. Dedicated communication programmes, targeting specific groups (scientists, policy makers, general public) will be developed. These could include e.g. a series of citizens' conferences in EU Member States, handbooks, websites, educational 'bio-kits' or other appropriate solutions. Interaction and networking with local, regional or national authorities, science organisations, NGOs and other stakeholders should be considered.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project)
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per proposal

Expected Impact

The selected project is expected to support EU risk assessors and EU policy makers by providing scientific evidence and scientific recommendations regarding the EU risk assessment process and generally on the outcome of research on the biosafety of GMOs. This is expected to increase the awareness of the evidence available regarding benefits and risks of GMOs and reduce relevant knowledge gaps, but even more importantly increase overall confidence across the Member States in the EU risk assessment and management principles of GMOs.

Description

The genetic selection of farmed animals is a highly efficient and cost-effective method for
modifying animal performance. Up to now most of the emphasis has been on the private
benefits it produces for breeders, farmers, retailers and consumers (feed efficiency, milk or
meat production, etc.). However the method is expected to be highly efficient for addressing
other issues of major public concern, including living with environmental changes, and
improving animal health and welfare by harnessing now the benefits of advances in animal
genetics and genomics.
The objectives are to exploit and to further implement whole genome sequence data and
genomics tools for hunting the genetic components responsible for biological traits variation.
The genetic structures of farm animal populations offer unique possibilities for the dissection
of complex genetic traits. The aim is the development of innovative methodologies for
analyzing the whole animal phenotype association and basic-biology phenotype association
within the light of protein networks and biological pathways with the ultimate aim to better
understand animal health, production traits and welfare mechanisms. All genotype and
phenotype data developed during the project should be stored in an appropriate international
infrastructure (repository). The active participation of relevant partners from outside Europe,
in particular from the United States should add to the scientific excellence of the project and
lead to an increased impact of the research; this will be considered by the evaluators.
The project should also pave the way for settling an improved programme for the education
and the training of bio-informatician in animal science and the improvement of bioinformatics
skills of biologists.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs)

Expected Impact

Tools able to link accurately genomics data from farm animals to
production, welfare and health traits will help getting the full benefits from the growing
amount of these genomics data extensively generated recently. This will promote animal
robustness by translating genomic information to:
1- predictive biology of animal health related traits
2- test these new concepts in genomic selection.
3- innovative tools for environmental impact), welfare and product quality.
This will be fruitful to support agricultural/veterinary research but it will also extend our
knowledge pertaining to human biomedical research as accurate primary annotation
information from farmed animals can be used to ‘reverse the flow’ of data to illuminate the
human genome.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union (EU) contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 15 % of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

Agro-forestry (AF) systems (including agro-silvo-pastoral systems) are recognised as systems
delivering high economic returns to producers while at the same time providing important
ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration, attractive landscape for recreational
activities, water, soil and biodiversity conservation. However, these systems are complex to
establish and manage, they are knowledge intensive and need to be adapted and fine-tuned to
local environmental and socioeconomic conditions. The project develops and tests
combinations of diversified arable farming systems integrating trees, shrubs and livestock
production to: a) better understand how AF systems function in regions where they are
present; b) demonstrate their benefits and viability; and c) promote their adoption in Europe.
Attention is paid to impact on the natural environment and to the balanced and efficient use of
in-farm and external inputs and resources, such as soil, water, energy and nutrients, with the
aim of improving the production of high quality products and the delivery of ecosystems
services. The project addresses diverse pedo-climatic situations in Europe, covering as a
minimum northern and southern regions. The proposed workplan is requested to show a
strong participatory approach component by involving key stakeholders and end-users, such
as extension services, farmers, forest owners and relevant organisations and associations,
local/regional rural development programme managers and policy-makers, and by exploiting
existing pilot farms for demonstration. Where relevant, work shall take into account
experiences from countries where AF systems traditionally exist (such as Mediterranean
Partner Countries) or have been recently adopted.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project).

Expected Impact

The project will provide better knowledge of existing and new intensive
and extensive Agro-forestry systems and will help develop agro-ecological intensified mixed
agricultural systems adapted to different European pedo-climatic conditions and more
resilient to pronounced stress conditions. It will demonstrate the viability and the economic
sustainability of the developed systems. It will support rural development and farm
diversification while mitigating CO2 emissions.

More Details

One project may be funded.
The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

Legumes are of major importance for European agriculture. While they used to be highly
grown in agricultural rotations for their effect on nitrogen fixation in the soil and for the
production of proteins for human food and feed, their cultivation has significantly decreased
since the 60's, amongst others due to increased use of chemical fertilizers in crop production
and to price competition from feedstock proteins produced in North and South America. This
reduced use of legumes in European agriculture has created a strong disequilibrium for soils,
biodiversity, sustainability and mitigation of environmental impacts of agriculture but also in
terms of commercial balance and protein dependence, the European feed sector importing
more than 70% of the proteins from outside Europe.
The overall objective of the topic is to increase the competitiveness and cultivation of grain
legume crops for food and feed in European agriculture through the following actions:
(1) Innovative breeding of a set of grain legume crops to allow for flexible and wider use in
agriculture. The project will identify and prioritise targets for varietal improvement, such as
yield stability, precocity and maturity date, resistance to biotic and abiotic stress, pollinator
related traits, quality of the proteins for food and feed. Genetic resources that address these
targets should be exploited. Advanced breeding tools including -omics technologies, genetic
markers and phenotyping tools should be applied to help develop fast breeding approaches
and support modernization of the legume breeding sector.
(2) Development and testing of legume supported cropping systems, e.g. rotations,
intercropping and varietal associations.
(3) Selection of appropriate rhizobial strains to support nitrogen fixation and the development
of inoculants.
(4) Exploration of novel uses of legumes for human consumption taking into account
consumer-focussed criteria for sustainability.
The project should take into account different European agro-ecological and climatic
conditions. It will focus on European grain legume crops and exclude work on soya.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

The project will generate breeding and management tools to reinforce the
cultivation of legumes in European agriculture. It will thereby increase the availability of
legumes in Europe and diversify protein supply for food and feed purposes. At farming level, results will help to take advantage of the positive effects of legumes e.g. on soil fertility, Nfixation
and fertilizer substitution.

More Details

Up to two projects may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 5 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 15 % of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.

Funding Schemes

Small grain cereals are widely produced crops in Europe with main ones such as wheat and
barley accounting for a substantial share of the agricultural utilised area. Research under this
topic aims at improving and diversifying European production of small grain cereals to
increase their productivity, robustness, quality for various uses along with an improved
adaptation to more variable environmental conditions, including resistance/tolerance to biotic
and abiotic stresses.
Work proposed should follow a comprehensive approach addressing various aspects which
could include:
- the characterisation, evaluation and use of genetic diversity (including crop wild
relative and land race genetic resources) in breeding activities
- the development of genetic and genomic (pre-) breeding tools
- new breeding approaches including the creation of new population types
- crop management practices, e.g. for cultivation, pest and weed control, also in the
context of mixtures and associations with other crops
- development of criteria and methods for grain quality testing
As regards 'minor' cereals – for which there is currently a minor European seed market – work
should also explore the economic potential including possibilities for new food products from
these crops, propose solutions to support their cultivation and broader introduction into the
market taking into account regional characteristics.
Individual projects are requested to undertake the majority of their work either on 'major' OR
'minor' small grain cereals and within these categories outline the rational for the choice of
crops (one or several) and for the proposed scope of work in relation to the specific needs of
the sector.

Expected Impact

Project results will support both the breeding and farming sectors through
the development of breeding tools, new varieties with increased genetic variation and
improved agronomic, processing and nutritional characteristics. Farmers will particularly
benefit from a wider range of available, adapted cereal genotypes, from improved and/or
novel management practices to support crop performance as well as from additional venues
for income through new products. Overall, the project will contribute to food security through
more productive, diversified and resilient European cereal production while at the same time supporting new (regional) markets for food, feed and non-food products and meeting demands
of consumers for cereals with increased nutritional and health benefits.

More Details

Up to two projects may be funded, one targeting in particular 'major' small grain cereal crops
(Triticum aestivum, Hordeum vulgare) and one in particular 'minor' small grain cereal crops
(all others except rice; pseudo cereals are equally excluded). Attribution of proposals to either
category ('minor cereals' or 'major cereals') must be clearly highlighted by the applicants at
the time of submission, either in the title or abstract of the proposal. Therefore, in the ranking
list, the highest ranked proposal for each category will have precedence over the following
proposals from the other category even if it obtains a lower score.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 5 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 15 % of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

Pests and pathogens are a central concern for fruit crops and causing significant losses. Trade
globalization and movement have facilitated the introduction and spread of plant harmful
organisms. In the past years Drosophila suzukii, the spotted wing Drosophila, originally
native in Asia has been described in Europe. Although the pest was recently introduced,
serious damages have been reported in a number of fruits (cherries, berries, apricots, currants,
figs and grapes). In addition, there is a number of other pests or pathogens of Plant Health
concern (quarantine) affecting fruit production, some of which are already locally present in
some EU Member States.
The project will look for effective and innovative solutions to control at least two
pests/pathogens that cause big fruit losses and where management is a challenge. One of the
studied pests/pathogens should be Drosophila suzukii and the other(s) should be quarantine
pest(s)/pathogen(s). In the case of the latter, the quarantine pest(s) or pathogen(s) could be
either present within EU territory or present(s) an increased threat for EU Member States.
Work will provide insight into the biology of the pests/pathogens. The knowledge needs to be
translated into the development of practical solutions for controlling the pests/pathogens and
limiting damages to fruit production. In addition, the pathways that allowed the introduction
and dissemination of the proposed pests/pathogens (i.e. Drosophila suzukii and other
quarantine pest(s)/pathogen(s) if present) into the EU should be investigated, aiming at the
development of preventive strategies/recommendations against the introduction of other
dangerous fruit pests/pathogens and diseases. The need for international cooperation and
linkages to third countries affected by the studied pests/pathogens is encouraged. The
economic viability of the proposed alternatives to fruit crop protection should also be
assessed. Budget distribution for the work on the various pests/pathogens needs to be well
justified.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

Activities will result in increased knowledge and development of
innovative solutions for pest and pathogen management, reduction of yield losses, and novel
phytosanitary measures or products. The presence of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
and industry will facilitate the translation of knowledge to practical solutions. This research is
in support of EU Plant Health Policy

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 15 % of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

Climate change will probably influence more and more the occurrence, prevalence and
severity of plant diseases. Moreover, the risk of biological invasions of new pest and pathogen
populations and species to Europe is increased by the globalization of trade and transport. In
addition to these, the availability of chemical agents to combat pests and pathogens is limited,
since pesticides have proven to be often hazardous for both environment and human health
and their use should be reduced or avoided whenever possible. Thus the need for the creation
of new sustainable alternatives is significantly increased. Biological control of pests and
pathogens can be an effective, sustainable and environmentally-friendly method for crop and
forest protection as part of integrated pest management practices.
The project should focus on exploring new biological control agents against a range of
important pests and pathogens that cause high economic losses to agriculture and forestry.
Solutions should be sought for various cropping systems (protected and non-protected) and
various types of forests. The environmental and economic sustainability of the proposed
solutions should also be considered. The project is expected to cover also the development of
production systems of these biological control agents so as to ensure rapid introduction into
the market. Overlap with the research undertaken by the FP7 funded project 'PURE' or with
the research proposed by the topic KBBE.2013.1.2-04: "Control of pests and pathogens
affecting fruit crops" has to be avoided. Both sectors, agriculture and forestry, should be
adequately addressed and subsequent budget distribution duly justified. Dissemination to
stakeholders should be properly defined to ensure that results will reach, among others,
advisory systems operating at national level, farmers and foresters.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

Research will aim at the generation of knowledge and innovative solutions
for pest and pathogen management. It will also support policy (i.e. Directive 2009/128/EC)
laying down that all farmers will have to apply the general principles of integrated pest
management by January 2014. The research should be targeted to products that can be
sustainably and readily introduced into the market. The required percentage of SMEs will
facilitate the translation of knowledge into commercial products. On the choice of biological
agents, the demands to be met for registration under EU and national legislation, including
risk assessment, should be taken into account.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 35% of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

The rate of entry and establishment of new, economically or environmentally damaging plant
pests and pathogens and diseases has increased steadily over the last century as a result of
expanding globalisation of trade in plants and plant products. This is potentially exacerbated
by climate change, EU enlargement, and a decrease in the resources supporting plant health
activities in the Member States.
One of the prerequisites for supporting statutory plant health is a reliable and up to date
infrastructure of reference collections of regulated and emerging plant pests and pathogens,
accessible to researchers and diagnostic laboratories, and the related scientific and technical expertise. At present in the EU, reference collections of plant pests and pathogens vary in
their quality and scope, accessibility, and quality of their management regimes.
The project aims at developing a network of national reference collections relevant to national
and EU phytosanitary policy. In addition, it aims at creating guidelines for restoring,
improving and updating of national reference collections (specimens, tissue and DNA).
Furthermore, it should provide unhindered access to reference collections to National Plant
Protection Organisations (NPPOs) and mandated diagnostic laboratories. It should include the
definition of rules for provision and acquisition of reference material. It should provide
harmonised quality assurance systems for reference collections, and good collection practice –
including protocols for preparation, conservation, shipment and use of reference material.
Additionally, links between the various databases of diagnostic tools will be sought, giving a
good overview of the state of art. The project should include staff training in skills for
handling, conservation, multiplication and use of reference material, including the correct use
of DNA reference material.
The project is expected to seek synergies with other relevant FP7 projects (e.g. Q-Detect,
QBOL, SharCo, ERA-NET EUPHRESCO etc.) and other ongoing national and EU
initiatives.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action).

Expected Impact

The project will lead to the creation of a model for sustainable
collaboration, coordination and maintenance of trans-national reference collections and
databases of diagnostic tools. Consequently, it will help prepare the way to establish EU
Reference Laboratories for plant health diagnostics, in line with Regulation (EC) 882/2004. It
will provide approved and validated methods and protocols as well as trained staff. It will also
be in line with the Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure (MIRRI), which was recently
launched by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI).

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 500 000 per
proposal.

Description

The increased utilisation of wood as raw material and for energy generation offers – along
with other renewable energy sources – opportunities for Europe to contribute to a more
renewable energy future and thus to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, to secure its energy
supply and to maintain competitiveness, inter alia through enhancing sustainable regional and
rural development.
In this context, and in order to provide increased amounts of wood of sufficient quality for its
different uses while ensuring sustainable forest management, the project will develop
innovative silvicultural and management practices and sustainable harvesting techniques and
technologies adapted to different regions and different forest types in Europe. It will take into
account their economic viability as well as their long-term impacts on, and the conflicts with,
other forest functions, ensuring the vitality and health of forests and minimizing risks of
harvesting damage (e.g. soil erosion and compaction, impacts on biodiversity and native
species, etc).
Development of innovative services, co-operations and organizational structures could also
contribute to overcome bottlenecks in resource mobilisation. In this context, it is important to
understand the motivations and decision-making among forest owners, which are at the same
time related to the uptake of new innovations and the design of policies affecting wood supply decisions. The project will come up with innovative policy approaches taking into account the
diversity of forest owners and forest ownership structures in Europe. It will provide
recommendations, proposals for organisational designs and concrete actions that may enhance
effective provision of wood and other public and private forest goods and services.
The project will include demonstration activities as well as dissemination of results to the
operational level and decision-makers to ensure the uptake of the findings. The research will
provide forest owners, forest managers, forestry extension services and policy-makers across
Europe with practical recommendations and guidance.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

The project will result in increased availability and supply of wood to
satisfy the growing demand of the forest-based industries and other operators, including
renewable energy generation, thus contributing to the competitiveness of the sector and of rural
areas. At the same time, it will minimise conflicts with or damage to other forest functions. In
addition, the project will greatly improve our knowledge on how to best address segments of
forest owners to ensure a more successful uptake of new innovations and a better design of
policies.
The project will be well-suited to the involvement of SME’s, fostering innovation in the
sector.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 25 % of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

The challenge of implementing the ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management
requires development and best use of innovative scientific methods, new tools and
technologies as well as new statistical, modelling tools and assessment methods that go
beyond the single-species approaches which used to be, to a large extent, the main sources of
scientific advice. It will also require adaptation of current management objectives and
practises.
The first objective of the project is to make the best use of new tools and technologies such as
genetics, microchemistry, and isotope analyses to develop new knowledge on population
distribution, spatial patterns of spawning components, stocks structure and definition, habitat
preferences, species interactions (including food-web and predator-preys interactions),
migration patterns, and some biological parameters such as growth and fecundity, for species
targeted in fisheries carried out in EU waters as well as for other species caught incidentally
or are affected by fisheries because of related impacts on their habitats or food sources.
The second objective is to develop innovative assessment methods that address multispecies
concerns resulting from biological interactions between species. This includes consideration
of biodiversity, food-web structures and habitat impacts including indicators of these. A new
range of approaches supporting the development of new assessment tools, including
ecosystems models such as size-based models and indicators of ecosystem function (e.g. size
based metrics, stable isotopes, etc), among other options, should be considered and developed.
These approaches and the ecosystem models should be tested on data rich marine ecosystems
with a long history of fisheries exploitation, as well as on data poor systems using simulations. The performance of these ecosystems models should be compared and evaluated
with respect to their suitability for fisheries and environmental management purposes, and to
their ability to predict responses of a multispecies community of fish to changes in fishing
mortality. Future data requirements for correct implementation of these models should be also
investigated.
The third objective is to develop an innovative decision support framework that serves to
provide an evidence basis for policy makers about the trade-off between various management
options on a multispecies basis. The project shall utilise the assessment methods developed
under the second objective as a basis to develop interactive and integrated tools for decision
support and include a series of case studies of possible approaches, involving iterative
management plan development with stakeholder involvement and considering the socioeconomic
effects.
Modelling development and management aspects should be based on close cooperation with
the fishing industry in order to integrate fishers' knowledge. In addition, training actions will
have to be planned between scientists and stakeholders (including fishing sector, international
scientific organisations providing scientific advice on fisheries management and competent
authorities for decision-making).
The project should use available information (including historical data sets) from the EU Data
Collection Framework36. It should also liaise with other relevant national and international
research initiatives (e.g. on-going FP7 research activities such as FP7 ECOKNOWS,
MYFISH and BENTHIS projects).
The project should address the regional dimension of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and
at least one case study should be developed in each of the following regional seas: Baltic Sea,
North Sea, Northern and Western Waters, and Mediterranean and Black Seas.
Participation of relevant partners from Australia, Canada and New Zealand will add to the
scientific and/or technological excellence of the project and ensure effective uptake of ongoing
international efforts for the implementation of the ecosystem-based approach to
fisheries management.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

The project will provide new knowledge, methods, models and tools to
support the integration of an ecosystem-based approach in fisheries advice and to support
decision-making for ecosystem based fisheries and environmental management. It will be of
high relevance to the future management of marine living resources and will support proper
implementation of the new CFP, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the
Habitat Directive.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 15% total requested EU
contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the
Grant Agreement.
- The duration of the proposed project shall be maximum 4 years.

Description

Finfish aquaculture in Europe is largely dominated by few species that provide most of the
current production both in terms of volume and value. However, despite the progress made so far in controlling the biological processes it seems that the capacity of the European and
global markets to absorb theses products has now become an important limiting factor.
Therefore, potential for growth might also depend henceforth on the capacity of the sector to
exploit sustainably the aquatic biodiversity through species diversification.
The aim of the project will be to explore the biological and socio-economic potential of
new/emerging candidate fish species and subsequently support the diversification of the
activity in terms of species, aquaculture products and markets. This will require a particular
effort of research and innovation in understanding new biological models, while developing
adequate husbandry practices and technologies.
Considering that throughout Europe work on several "new species" is already ongoing
covering different aspects and with different levels of advance and intensity, the project,
instead of implementing a "whole lifecycle" approach, will build (without overlapping) on
recent and ongoing initiatives and will focus only on targeted issues (i.e., related to
reproduction and/or larval rearing and/or nutrition and/or fish health and/or husbandry
technology, etc) that constitute to date the main bottlenecks in an aquaculture production
context for the fish species that will be considered. Therefore the project will aim at providing
specific solutions (e.g., protocols, adequate husbandry methods and technology, (cost-)
efficient feeds and veterinary treatments/solutions, preventive veterinary medicines, etc) to
specific, species-related documented problems. The species considered by the proposals will
be selected based on their documented biological (e.g., availability of broodstock, short time
to market size, fillet yield, flesh quality, etc) and economical (e.g., production costs, markets'
availability, consumers' acceptability, suitability for product diversification and added value
etc) potential for allowing growth of the European aquaculture sector.
The proposals will include a strong socio-economic component with particular emphasis on
the potential of each species considered for adding value to aquaculture products along the
seafood chain from the farm to the consumer and boosting competitiveness of the sector.
Social, economical, market, cultural and legal aspects will be considered. In particular, the
project will focus on new products development (as well as on adding value to raw products),
will address European and global markets dynamics, marketing and quality standards,
certification schemes, competition from local and imported commodities and will provide
solid elements for establishing efficient price strategies. It will also consider consumers’ and
retailers’ preferences for new farmed species as well as, for new added value aquaculture
products.
Work on the following species will be considered out of the scope of the topic: Atlantic
salmon (Salmo salar), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiis), carp (Cyprinus carpio), sea bass
(Dicentrarchus labrax), sea bream (Sparus aurata), turbot (Scophthalmus maximus),
European eel (Anguilla anguilla), bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) and Atlantic cod (Gadus
morhua).

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

The project will anticipate future success story(ies) in European
aquaculture. It will contribute in identifying the most appropriate candidates for fuelling the
future growth of the European aquaculture sector. It will remove bottlenecks in science, markets and consumers' perception/preferences. It will contribute in providing solutions to
specific obstacles hampering the mastering of the biological cycle of new species in a
production context. It will identify the most adequate options for developing new and
competitive aquatic food products in the markets and will pave the way to the development of
new markets for new products through the concomitant development of new species
biological production and adequate market prospects.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 15 % of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.
- The duration of the proposed project shall be minimum 5 years.

Description

Research and technological development have been essential in mastering the biological cycle
of the main European aquatic farmed species and making possible the establishment of
relatively stable aquaculture productions. Henceforth, targeted selective breeding will be
critical for consolidating the biological pillar of the European aquaculture sector by enhancing
predictability of the production and introducing productivity gains and subsequently result in
improving the competitiveness of these European seafood products.
The main objective of this project will be to stimulate the development of breeding
programmes and/or underpin the existing ones in the following fish species: Atlantic salmon
(Salmo salar), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiis), carp (Cyprinus carpio), sea bass
(Dicentrarchus labrax), sea bream (Sparus aurata) and turbot (Scophthalmus maximus). The
effort will be equally distributed among these species.
The project will focus on the improvement of specific traits (individual or combined selection
strategies), according to their biological and economical potential, according to the biological
challenges and needs of the species concerned, as well as, to the needs of the producers and
the European seafood sector in terms of final product quality and potential for product
diversification.
In particular, the project will investigate the possibilities for measurable/quantifiable genetic
improvement by focusing in priority on some of the following traits: 1) resistance to
pathogens and diseases that hamper the production and for which no efficient vaccine or no
cost/efficient prevention/treatment method exist, 2) growth and filleting yield, 3) adaptability
to alternative feeds (and changing diets which satisfy species' specific needs) and flesh
quality. Other specific, clearly defined and measurable traits maybe considered, assuming that
their interest and potential for the species concerned is demonstrated in the proposal.
The project will develop (and/or adapt existing) adequate tools and methods (ideally nonlethal)
for the measurement of the selected traits and general fitness in an aquaculture context.
Phenotypic, molecular and genetic correlations between the traits considered (and eventually
other relevant traits) will be addressed, in particular to avoid unfavourable selection for
correlated traits. Protocols and appropriate assessment tools for the monitoring of the
selection process and related breeding programmes will also be developed.
The proposal will also include a horizontal component aiming at assessing the economic
impact of the project. The analysis should include an economic assessment traits considered
for selection, as well as, an overall cost-benefit analysis of selective breeding. An economic
review of existing breeding programmes should be conducted to evaluate the potential
productivity gains and economic effects to the sector. Furthermore, producers' and consumer's
perception of aquaculture selective breeding methods, technologies and products should be
considered. A training component will ensure efficient transfer of knowledge and technology
towards relevant end-users (scientists, breeders and producers).

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

The project will provide knowledge and tools for boosting the
development of breeding programmes in the European finfish farming sector. It will
contribute in the production of fish with traits of interest (according to the biological,
physiological and environmental challenges faced by each species concerned and in particular
those related to disease prevention). It will make possible gain in productivity and/or
reduction of production costs through selection. It will contribute to the optimization of
selection strategies/programmes for the species concerned and will provide measurable
estimates of biological and economical benefits from the methods/tools/selection strategies
implemented.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 25 % of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.
- The duration of the proposed project shall be minimum 4 years.

Description

Organic aquaculture is a relatively young market segment, which as of 2009 is regulated at
the EU level (EC Regulation 710/2009). An assessment of existing research is needed
together with few targeted studies on specific issues related to the implementation of the
aforementioned regulation. The aim of this project is to enhance the economic development of
organic aquaculture and strengthen the science base of the existing regulatory framework to
support a possible future revision of this regulation (currently planned for 2013). Proposals
should identify the issues that need to be addressed and be based on the review of new and
existing knowledge from previous and on-going EU, regional and national projects. The
relevance of their outputs in relation to the implementation of the organic aquaculture
regulation will be assessed. Among others, particular emphasis will be given to issues related
to farmed species health and veterinary treatments, fish welfare, optimal slaughtering
procedures, as well as, to issues related to nutrition and sustainable feeds for aquatic animals
farmed under organic production conditions. Furthermore, issues such as stocking density and
sourcing organic juveniles need attention. Production - environment interactions need to be
analysed to uncover thresholds for an eco-functional intensity of organic production in line
with organic farming principles. Closed recirculation systems as discussed in the context of
the Codex Alimentarius Guidelines on organic production should be also looked at, while at
the same time ensuring fish a good living environment that satisfies their needs. Socioeconomic
investigations of the relationship between organic certification and competitiveness
as well as studies on consumer perceptions and sentiments are necessary to guide farmers,
regulators, policy makers as well as market actors towards the acceptance of this innovative
new sector and to promote its further development. The project will explore the relationship
between organic certification (and other certification schemes) and competitiveness of the
European aquaculture sector, as well as, the potential for further development of European
organic aquaculture in the context of the global seafood market.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support action (supporting action).

Expected Impact

Providing scientific advice on the relevant regulatory framework, the
project will contribute to the further economic growth of this aquaculture segment. The results
will create a scientific basis for a possible future revision of the EU rules for organic
aquaculture taking into account different fish species and production systems. The outputs of
the project should contribute in reassessing the relevance, measurability and applicability of
the technical provisions of the regulation and will contribute in providing science based
recommendations for potential updates. Consumer confidence for aquaculture products will
improve based on the broad dissemination of the obtained scientific knowledge and good
communication from stakeholders.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 1 500 000 per
proposal.
- The duration of the proposed project shall be minimum 3 years.

Description

Profound environmental modifications such as climate change and pan-societal globalisation
are increasing the risk of food animal diseases emerging in new locations with greater
frequency, in particular vector borne diseases. These diseases have a major impact not only on
animal health but also on global food production, and trade. Some of these emerging diseases
may also threaten human health. Reactive approaches are economical in the short term but
may be far more expensive in the long run and may lead to irreparable consequences, such as
enzootic establishment of previously exotic diseases. In consequence we need to get further
knowledge on these emerging diseases and their potential spread all over Europe.
The project should develop knowledge on the emerging diseases and analyse surveillance
systems in order to improve epidemiological surveillance strategies in domestic and wild
species. It will also focus on disease detection and control tools. The role of vectors' ecology
in virus transmission should be studied. The project should address diseases like Rift Valley
Fever (RVF) and other newly revealed diseases, such as Schmallenberg virus. Participation of
relevant third countries, in particular those where disease represents a major threat to the EU,
as well as those more active in research, and international organisations should be sought. The
project should build on results and experience from existing networks in this field.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project
targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

Prevention and minimising, mitigating the impacts of these diseases.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 20 % of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

The aim of this topic is to support innovative research on a) the underlying resistance
mechanisms to infectious and parasitic diseases in honey bees and b) maintaining the diversity
of endemic honeybee races in Europe. Taking into account the prevailing role of the
ectoparasite mite Varroa destructor and the associated viruses, the research should focus on
the comprehensive understanding of natural resistance mechanisms of honeybees against the
mite both as genuine parasite and in its role as virus vector. The research should range from
molecular processes to population wide epidemiology and develop strategies for sustainable
control and integrated management of Varroa based on the disruption of the mite behaviour
and/or physiology with the aim, on the long-term, of a therapy free approach.
The research will combine expertise in molecular genomics and transcriptomics, molecular
physiology, behavioural sciences, parasitology and virology, as well as apicultural and
developmental extension. The role of environmental effects on bee populations may also be
considered. At the same time the research will explore how genetic diversity of honeybees
could be protected by integrating biological, economical and social components and how it
can be utilised to enable sustainable apiculture production and preserve the pollinator role of
bees in agriculture.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

Although V. destructor is not the sole cause of each and every colony loss,
it has been repeatedly shown to be a key factor in colony death. Removing the mite from the
complex equation of honeybee health removes the pressure on the honeybee's extensive
natural defence against other health challenges. Using sustainable control/management
strategies of Varroa should ease beekeepers' concerns and could help to re-establish wild and
feral bee populations, thus protecting pollination-dependent agriculture, ensuring both food
security and pollination services in natural ecosystems. Combining this research together with
honey bee genomic diversity should allow the identification of future threats and emerging
diseases like what happened with the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and to enable
agriculture to deal with future environmental changes. It will help to integrate beekeepers into
stock improvement programmes instead of relying on a few sources of queen bees.
Economically this approach will provide potential for new income through pollination
services and selected bee stock marketing.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 15 % of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

The aim of this topic is to contribute to our understanding of the multi-factorial dimension
(infectious agents, genetics, nutrition, and management factors) of animal pathologies linked
to the intensification of production, so-called 'production diseases' and to help to provide
effective control strategies to reduce the impact on animal welfare, including health. The research will target at least pig and poultry pathologies like for example neo-natal
mortality, gut and respiratory disorders, leg disorders(s), metabolic disorders etc. It will
consider the various aspects of the production system: breeding-genomics, feeding, animal
health parameters, animal-based welfare indicators, bio-security and hygiene, and husbandry
practices. Socio-economic aspects should be carefully analysed with the impact on the costs
and efficiency of production and in particular, those related to welfare improvement and
reduced use of antibiotics. The approach should target intensive farming systems where
'production diseases' are likely to be more prevalent. The project should include training and
dissemination activities.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

Better understanding of the various factors involved in 'production
diseases' in pigs and poultry will help to propose adequate and effective multi-factorial
control strategies. Economic analysis of the strategies proposed will help to increase
competitiveness of the livestock industry. In addition, a sustainable management of livestock
production will contribute to the production of better quality products in a welfare friendly
approach that will match consumers' expectations. Therefore the project will provide insights
into the resilience of livestock farming systems, taking into account health, welfare and
economics.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 20 % of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

There is common concern that globalisation of food production, including meat, milk and
eggs, animal infectious diseases have the potential for very rapid spread irrespective of
national borders, causing serious socio-economic and possibly public health consequences.
International trade of animal product is constantly increasing. China is a major player in
livestock with half of the world swine industry together with an intensive poultry production
and a growing cattle industry.
An intensive co-ordination of research activities from the EU and China in the field of animal
disease will improve scientific collaborations for the benefit of food safety and food security.
The scope of this co-ordinated action is to link the research activities carried out on the one
side by the European research programmes (EU Framework Programmes and EU Member
States’ national programmes including those involving international partners) and, on the
other, by related research programmes coordinated by China national institutions, e.g. Chinese
Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). The areas targeted would focus on major
infectious diseases, including zoonoses, affecting poultry, pigs and cattle.
The project will ensure a wide-range networking of the relevant scientific communities and
stakeholders and the systematic establishment of linkages between the ongoing research and
innovation projects from the EU and China. Co-ordination of activities from both sides could
include a combination of i) broad networking of the respective scientific communities (via
meetings, workshops on diagnosis methods and epidemiological control tools, etc); ii)
twinning of large sets of research projects/consortia from the counterparts’ programmes, with
meetings and exchanges of information, data, materials and methods; iii) short-term exchanges/visits and training of scientists and researchers (in particular young scientists and
researchers), iv) dissemination of results (meetings, exchanges of information by webconference,
etc).
This action will provide a long term vision on future common research activities and will
contribute to the international policies of the EU. Furthermore, it should also lead to a
coordinated planning of relevant future research initiatives.
The China Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) intends to support or carry out
mirroring and complementary actions. The systematic cooperation with these complementary
activities should be reflected in the proposal. This will be considered in the evaluation of the
proposal.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support action (coordinating action).

Expected Impact

A wide co-ordination of research activities in this area from the EU and
China, which are both major players in these fields, will scale-up EU-China collaboration, in
line with the EU-China Science and Technology (S&T) co-operation agreement. The project
will ensure a wide-range networking of the relevant scientific communities and stakeholders
and the systematic establishment of linkages between on-going animal health research,
training programmes and innovation projects in the veterinary field from the EU and China.
The project will also improve training opportunities for EU researchers, especially young
generation of both sides.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 1 000 000 per
proposal.
- Minimum number of participants: 3 independent legal entities from different Member
States or Associated Countries and 1 from China.

Description

The increasing resistance to antimicrobial drugs has become a major threat to human and
animal health worldwide. Inappropriate use of antimicrobial substances has favoured the
emergence and spread of resistant micro-organisms. This has limited the therapeutic value of
these drugs, resulting in difficult to treat infections, extra suffering, mortality and cost.
Antimicrobial resistance can spread to humans and animals (terrestrial and aquatic) via direct
or indirect contact, consumed food/feed and through the environment. Transferable resistance
determinants are of particular concern in this respect. Therefore, there is a need to analyse the
epidemiology and mechanisms of emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Whilst
the project should mainly focus on the role of the total food chain as reservoir and
disseminator of antimicrobial resistance, it should also consider other relevant transmission
pathways (e.g. environment, wildlife, companion animals, humans). Research should include
surveillance of resistant bacteria in animals, foodstuffs and the environment. In addition, it
should identify risk factors and propose key actions to reduce emergence and spread of
antimicrobial resistance throughout the food chain. Usage of antimicrobial substances will be
correlated with occurrence of bacteria with antimicrobial resistance in the food chain.
Research should assess the animal health, animal welfare, food safety and economic impacts
of antimicrobial resistance in the food chain. The project should evaluate the contribution of
the food chain to the spread of antimicrobial resistance in humans. It should also address as
far as possible the environmental impact.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

The generated knowledge would allow evaluating animal health, animal
welfare, food safety and economic impacts of antimicrobial resistance in the total food chain,
and minimising the transfer and spread of antimicrobial resistance. The European added value
lies in contributing to the EU policies on combating antimicrobial resistance, strengthening
the competitiveness of European food producers, improving food safety and enhancing
consumer trust.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 15 % of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

The main aim of this topic is to allow building on results from projects funded under EU
Framework Programmes (FP5, FP6, FP7) and ERA-Nets in the field of agriculture, forestry,
fisheries and aquaculture, to prove the technical and economic viability of methodologies,
processes, prototypes, models, technologies etc. – developed under these projects – that offer
a potential economic interest but which cannot be commercialised directly. Eligible activities (mainly demonstration, although some limited applied RTD activities might be eligible if
properly justified) under this topic will focus on specifications, testing and validation of
existing results of FP projects for reaching the last development stage before products or
processes enter the production and/or the market. Proposals should fit into the overall
business and innovation needs of the SMEs involved and should demonstrate clear
exploitation potential and economic benefits for them. Applicants should hold the necessary
rights to exploit the results and knowledge to be used in their application and the proposals
should clearly and convincingly describe how this knowledge/technology will be brought
forward enough to reach the stage of innovative application within the duration of the project.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project
targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

This topic is expected to contribute in tackling the paradox of EU research,
i.e. being world leader in producing high level scientific knowledge but underperforming in
terms of translation into applications and innovative products and services in Europe.
Considering the specificities of the European economic sectors falling under this Activity of
the KBBE, this topic is expected to contribute in paving the way from the development of
scientific knowledge and technologies to the market by stimulating the development of new
patents, dedicated business plans and innovative marketable applications, while contributing
in creating economic growth in Europe.

More Details

Up to six projects may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 1 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 50 % of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.
- The duration of the proposed project shall be maximum 2 years.

Description

The aim of this topic is to valorise research results from projects funded under EU Framework
programmes (e.g. FP5, FP6, FP7, ERA-Nets) and other European trans-national and national
projects in the field of agriculture and forestry for integration into farming practices. Many
research projects provided excellent results of a general nature but the translation of these
results into farming practices needs wrapping up, digesting, developing and dissemination
with a sound understanding of regional and local specificities, in particular for enhancing
innovation.
The project will comprehensively review relevant research results and existing scientific
knowledge from national, international and EU research projects and studies. It should also
pay attention to empirical knowledge, make information and knowledge accessible to
intermediate and end-users (advisors, farmers, enterprises). The project should summarize and
refine results of research projects, with a special interest for innovative and applicable
approaches and translate them into ready-to-use information. Proposals should mobilize
regional and local agricultural research stations and extension services in a joint effort to
screen and translate results and integrate them into agricultural knowledge systems, including
demonstration where appropriate (for example private farms with performance data). The
project will also stimulate a long term dialogue between scientists, producers and other
interested stakeholders. Eventually, the project will contribute to identifying gaps and prioritising needs for research in support to the agricultural production sector by revealing
elements limiting the translation to and take-up by end-users.
The themes for the project would include a wide range of issues relevant for sustainable
farming. These could include the areas for innovative action as mentioned in the Commission
Communication on the agricultural European Innovation Partnership40.
Themes to be covered:
• Crop rotation including soil cover management and integrated pest management
• Eco-system and social services in agriculture and forestry
• Soil management as an integrated agro-ecological system
• Water management in agriculture
• Sustainable integrated supply chain services and tools, innovative farm management
• Recycling and smart use of biomass and food waste, in particular waste generated during
primary production
Activities to be carried out in the project:
• Inventory of research results and existing knowledge
• Interaction between end-users and other actors (farmers, advisors, researchers, etc.)
• Translation of the research results into end-user information,
• Integration of feedback on the potential for innovation from practitioners and drawing
conclusions for further research
• Where applications of research results are within reach: refining and testing in view of
proving technical and economical viability of the innovative solutions
The participation of regional or local agricultural research stations, extension services,
farmers or other relevant SMEs will be positively evaluated. The proposal should build strong
links with relevant R&D projects at EU, national or regional level and will link to the
Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR). A preliminary exploration of possible
tools to communicate this information to end-users should be added (wikis, organic e-prints
etc.), based on the analysis of the characteristics of prominent examples in the EU and other
leading agricultural nations.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project)

Expected Impact

This topic is expected to contribute to turn the role of EU research as a
world leader in producing high level scientific knowledge into impact in terms of stimulating
application and innovation. This topic will contribute to close the innovation gap between
research and farming practice and prepare for the activities of the European Innovation
Partnership. New approaches will arrive faster on the ground, and the specificities of practical
farming and forest management will be integrated into scientific activities. The topic is
expected to contribute to enhancing sustainable agricultural production, while managing
natural resources efficiently in line with environmental requirements. Relevant innovations
will be implemented at the necessary scale, and relevant research fields will receive the
attention they require. The topic should pave the way for new concepts to mobilise science to
increase public goods provision by agriculture. It should provide the user perspective to assess
research results.
KBBE.2013.1.4-09:

More Details

Up to one project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

The aim of this topic is to improve food security by improving the modelling of extreme
weather events. In the framework of discussions related to food security and to the
functioning of markets, whether at EU or world level, the capacity to produce short-term
production forecasts is becoming increasingly important. In the EU a capacity to produce
yield forecasts on the basis of agro-meteorological models has been developed in the last 20
years. These short-term forecasts are utilised, among others, by the Directorate General for
Agriculture and Rural Development as part of its monitoring of agricultural markets. At the
world level, agro-meteorological models are important tools to monitor food security and are
at the root of early warning systems.
For addressing climate change impacts on global food production, food security and food
prices there is a need to better integrate effects of changes in climatic variability and
extremes, including heat waves, droughts and floods, into crop model assessments. Previous
assessments have failed to account sufficiently for such effects which, given current
projections of increases in some extreme weather phenomena under climate change, may lead
to a severe underestimation of yield losses and yield variability under increase of extreme
climatic events projected within climate change scenarios.
The project will aim at improving the capacity of agro-meteorological models to project the
impact of extreme weather events, both in the short term and the long term. Extreme events
are expected to increase under climate change. The research should aim to assess the capacity
and the ability of the existing modelling approaches, both based on deterministic and on
stochastic or probabilistic approaches, to address the increase in frequency and impact of
climatic shocks or extreme events on crop yield forecasts and crop biomass formation. The
project should look at the assessment taking into account crop system diversity by geographic
area.
Given the variety of types of extreme events also in other parts of the world, international
research cooperation is encouraged. The dissemination of research results and in particular
their integration into the yield forecasting system developed by the Joint Research Centre
Monitoring Agricultural Resources (MARS)41 will be positively evaluated.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

Project results are expected to lead in an improvement of the capacity of
agro-meteorological models to better deal with extreme events. At the EU level, this is
expected to lead to better short-term and medium term forecasts. At world level, project
results should contribute to improve food security monitoring and early warning systems.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 2 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

The aim of this topic is to gain a better understanding of the agricultural production potential
and the role it could play for Europe and internationally.
Several countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have sizeable
agricultural sectors. This does not apply only to Ukraine and Russia which are major players
in the arable crop sector on world markets but also other countries such as Moldova which is
an important fruit and vegetable and wine producer and exporter. In a world where long-term food security is an issue –feeding the world population by 2050 –
it is important to look at untapped potential for food, feed and biomass. The sheer weight of
the agricultural sector in Russia and in Ukraine and the implication for international and EU
trade call for a better knowledge and monitoring of current and potential development of their
sector. The need for an appropriate knowledge applies obviously to the grain sector, for which
Russia and Ukraine are strong competitors on world markets, but extends, for example, to
their potential to produce biomass for material and energy use, to the market for certified
organic production, to the restructuring of the processing industry and the implications for the
future competitiveness of these countries and potential foreign direct investment.
The development of international trade in agriculture of these countries depends upon the
dynamics of the sectors but also on their participation in trade agreements. This concerns the
EU with which so-called Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (DCFTA) are
being negotiated and also intra-regional trade with the customs union between Russia, Belarus
and Kazakhstan.
The research project will aim at investigating the development of the agriculture, food and
non-food sectors and of the policies implemented in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia,
Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. The investigation will cover in full
details the major sectors in these countries. More specifically, it will address biomass
availability and possible trade opportunities for the European bioeconomy. All policies with a
bearing on the development of the sector will be analysed (the various elements of
agricultural policy, trade policy, industrial policy, macro-economic policy, etc.). In addition,
the policy analysis will extend to all areas which are important for trade and business
development, such as: Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards, tax policy, Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI), Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), contract enforcement, business
development service providers etc. The findings of the policy analysis relevant for
ERAWATCH will be made available in a form suitable for integration. etc. In order to
provide insights on medium-term possible development, modelling of the sector in the major
countries (in particular Ukraine and Russia) on the basis of partial equilibrium model will be
explored.
Regarding trade in agriculture and food products, the potential/actual impact of the DCFTAs
with the EU will be analysed through economic modelling. The impact of the Customs Union
between Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan on the investment climate as well as bilateral trade
relations with the EU will be analysed also.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

The project will provide useful insights in sectoral and policy
developments in the concerned countries. It will also deliver simulations / impacts of bilateral
trade agreements. This will entail better informed bilateral trade relations between these
countries and the EU.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 2 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

With the recent proposals of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Horizon 2020 a
renewed emphasis will be put on agricultural research and innovation. Few studies exist and
suggest a high return on investment on European, national and regional level. Systematic
research and data are needed to accompany this new policy approach. The aim of this topic is to better target public agricultural research spending in the EU. It is
estimated that public research dedicated to the agricultural sector amounts to above EUR
3 billion per year in the EU (Eurostat, Government budget appropriations or outlays on R&D
(GBAORD) data). In addition, the private sector invests sizeable amounts, although there are
no statistical data dealing with private investments in research.
The assessment of the impact of research in the development of the sector is arduous. The
major works (done in particular by Alston and Pardey) focus on productivity growth. Apart
from the difficulty of attribution of productivity growth to research, another difficulty of
measuring the impact in terms of productivity is that a large body of research is meant to
achieve other objectives than increasing productivity (increase sustainability, etc).
Investigate the public and private effort in research in the agriculture and related sectors and
develop tools to measure the impact of agriculture research: impact on productivity but on
other research objectives.
Methodology:
- Analysis of current research expenses both public and private (trends, sources, objectives) in
agriculture;
- Economic modelling to measure impact on productivity and other indicators, time lags, etc.
Use of different statistical sources should be explored, including, EU farm surveys (structural
survey, Farm Accountancy Data Network).
- Case studies or other methods for the measurement of impacts taking into account such
aspects as: process (programming, stability of funding, structures, public-private partnership,
and coordination), distinction between fundamental research and applied research, factors of
success of results implementation on the ground level.
The project will provide recommendations regarding the improvement of the delivery of
research.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

The project will deliver a thorough picture of agricultural research in the
EU. It will deliver tools enabling to better evaluate short-term and long-term impacts of
research and recommendations. These elements will allow policy makers and other
stakeholders at Member State and EU levels to better design and implement research
programmes in agriculture.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 2 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

The aim of this topic is to contribute to the development of indicators for the monitoring and
evaluation of the CAP in order to achieve better targeting of policy measures. Since its
inception, the CAP has had to cater for an ever increasing range of objectives. The original
market stabilisation and income support goals have been augmented by including
environmental sustainability and the contribution of agriculture to climate change adaptation
and mitigation. With the CAP post-2013, the aim will be to better align the policy to the
objectives and targets of the Europe 2020 Framework such as innovation or resource
efficiency.
It will therefore be important to obtain an in-depth picture of the impact of the CAP at farm
level. The scope of issues to be covered imply to work on the basis of data collected with a representative sample of farms across the EU and Member States. Therefore, there is a need
for the establishment of a data infrastructure of the CAP on the basis of farm-level indicators.
For reasons of coherence and synergies, this initiative will have strong links with Farm
Accountancy Data Network (FADN) and include the testing of farm level indicators.
Research questions will be the following:
• Indicators, data and proxies: address methodological questions on relevant indicators and
data (including administrative data, farm structure survey, census data), including
methodologies for determination of net impacts and establishment of counterfactuals for
measuring the impact of the CAP at farm level across a large array of fields, including
farm economics, environmental sustainability (including impact of agri-environmental
measures, greening of direct payments, Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions
(GAEC), Natura 2000, High Nature Value areas, etc.), knowledge transfer and innovation
and other societal needs and in relation to the range of CAP instruments (e.g. rural
development measures, direct payments, market measures, etc.). The methodology should
allow analysing the jointness between the different objectives of the CAP at farm level
(e.g. economic impact of environmental objectives of the CAP). The scheme will monitor
at least the following variables at farm level: economics (income, productivity,
input/output terms of trade), environment (biodiversity, soil, emissions and water), and
social (employment).
• Develop an approach suited to contribute to the monitoring and evaluation of the relevant
policies taking into account existing relevant initiatives and methodologies (e.g. agrienvironmental
indicators, the new Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework for
the CAP, reporting and evaluations for rural development, Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD) indicators, EU biodiversity strategy indicators,
"Indicators of Success" of UK stewardship scheme, etc.);
• Establish a pilot network of farms (representative of farm diversity at EU level), well
suited for the gathering of data on the basis of farm-level indicators with a view to test
indicators and methodologies.
• Prepare the ground for follow-up activities to be implemented by the European
Commission (feasibility of different options, stratification of sample, etc.) within a
reasonable timeframe.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

The project will contribute in supporting the implementation of the CAP.
The project will (a) deliver a thorough picture of agricultural research in the EU. It will
deliver tools enabling to better evaluate short-term and long-term impacts of research and
recommendations. These elements will allow policy makers and other stakeholders at
Member State and EU levels to better design and implement research programmes in
agriculture. The project (b) will also provide significant contribution to the field of policy
assessment relevant to the CAP but also to other EU and national policies (e.g. environmental
policies) in order to achieve better targeting of policy measures. Lessons learned and
recommendations to be utilised for the establishment of an operational EU-wide system at the
European Commission.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

Depression is one of the most prevalent, severe and disabling disorders in the EU and places a
heavy burden on individuals and families. It is creating growing challenges for health and
social welfare systems and causes high productivity losses for the EU-economy. This project
should look into the multi-faceted links between nutrition and depression. It should analyse
the two-way relationship between depression and food intake, food composition, nutritional
behaviour, and conditions such as anorexia or obesity. The project should build on recent
preclinical and clinical findings on food choice respectively nutritional behaviour as response
to chronic or psychosocial stress, and also consider relevant epidemiological and cohort
studies regarding long-term health effects of different socio-economic environments. It should
discuss the findings against the background of industrial, societal and demographic changes
and trends including sustainability issues. This should also include the analysis of factors such
as the increasing share of consumption of industrially prepared meals (including fast food),
the implications for nutritional behaviour of smaller family sizes and increasing number of
single households, alongside the increasing social and health inequalities and the ageing of the
EU-population. The project should analyse the role of food, nutritional behaviour, bodyimage
perception and anorexia or obesity as risk factors for depression, along with the
protective role of certain food composites such as omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish and in
certain plants, vitamin D, actives or ingredients to control the glycemic index of the food
formula and other nutritional elements. Possible actions in food safety, health and other
relevant policy areas should be analysed. Research in this area requires a holistic and
innovative approach in close collaboration with many different players and sectors, and
participation from emerging economies is encouraged. This call topic is targeted on unipolar
depression only. Research on clinical treatment is not included in this call topic.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project).

Expected Impact

1) The European added value of this topic lies in filling existing gaps in
the understanding of the link between nutritional aspects like food intake, food composition,
nutritional behaviour, conditions such as anorexia or obesity and unipolar depression against
the background of changes and trends in food production, lifestyle factors, and wider social
determinants. 2) A list of proposed remedial actions and support to guiding policy at EU- and
Member State levels, relevant stakeholders and practitioners as well as citizens in dealing
with depression and taking preventative measures.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

Information and guidelines directed towards consumers have not achieved the targeted goal of
making consumer choices healthier and more sustainable. It is still unclear what makes
consumers decide to choose one food over another. Scientific evidence is lacking on the
relationship between the life-long learning process, physiological changes and eating habits
on the one hand and food selection and valuation on the other. The way the brain translates
perceptions, emotions and knowledge into food choices and the role played by memory,
vision, sensory and reward systems and also by the sense of mental well-being are far from
clear. An understanding of the underlying brain mechanisms that control food selection and
valuation is needed in order to be able to counteract them and give the correct advice to
consumers, thereby also preventing the onset of diet-related diseases. This area has been
difficult to address due to the fragmentation of specialist expertise, the cost of powerful
techniques and lack of harmonisation in the interpretation of the results. Critical mass needs to
be reached in order to provide scientists and public health professionals with insights into how
to prevent clinical obesity and overweight, eating and malnutrition disorders in an effective
and acceptable fashion.
The aim of this topic is to develop, adapt, optimise and validate new or existing tools and
technologies, such as brain imaging, for their specific application in consumer and nutrition
research, which would help to connect the data on eating behaviour with the ‘softer’
knowledge on reasons for individual consumer choices. Where appropriate, gender issues
should be considered. These technologies should contribute to studying obesity and weight
management, eating and malnutrition disorders from a completely different perspective. It
should offer unique potential for identifying objective measures of stimuli for food intake,
satiety and even restraint in eating. Sharing knowledge, best practice, capacity and databases
should help identify synergies and create the breakthroughs and innovations needed to
develop more effective measures on nutrition and lifestyle. Participation of relevant partners
from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and/or the USA will add to the scientific and/or
technological excellence of the project and ensure uptake of on-going international efforts in
this area.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project).

Expected Impact

Development and validation of new research methods, model systems and
techniques, such as advanced imaging techniques, will contribute to providing the objective
measures and science-based evidence needed to develop a strategy for prevention of dietrelated
diseases with the ultimate goal of promoting a healthy and active population and a
high quality of life. The results are expected to contribute to better dietary guidelines and
advice to consumers, not least by improving communication and education on eating habits
both within and outside Europe, thereby leading to social innovation. The project will support
the European public health policy, such as the White Paper on Nutrition, Overweight and
Obesity-related Health Issues

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

The species and composition of the human gut microbiome have recently been discovered to
be potential key factors in the development of innate and adaptive immune function, in
development of metabolic syndrome and obesity and in brain development and behaviour.
There is therefore a need to define a ‘healthy’ gut microbiome and to understand better its
ability to absorb and metabolise food components and to influence energy expenditure and its
role in diet-related diseases and brain development. The effects of diet (including food
production methods), age, physical activity and other lifestyle factors on the human gut
microbiome and its effects on the development of metabolic syndrome and obesity and/or on
brain development and behaviour should be studied. The specific species of the human gut
microbiome predicting metabolic syndrome, obesity and other co-morbidities and influencing
the regulation of developmental programming of the brain should be identified. A multidisciplinary
approach combining genetic, epigenetic, metagenomic, metabolomic, microbiological,
physiological, nutritional, immunological, brain research, experimental and computational
modelling expertise is necessary to gain insights into factors influencing the effects of human
gut microbiota on metabolism. Appropriate epidemiological studies and preclinical trials are
needed in order clearly to demonstrate the role of the human gut microbiome and the effects
of the different factors. Use of existing data/studies on the human gut microbiome is
encouraged. Where appropriate, gender issues should be considered. The project further
contributes to the International Human Microbiome Consortium50 and is encouraged to
comply with its principles. Participation of relevant partners from Australia, Canada, New
Zealand and/or the USA will add to the scientific and/or technological excellence of the
project and ensure uptake of on-going international efforts in this area.
A complementary topic is presented in the work programme of Theme 1 Health on a "high
impact research initiative on metagenomics for personalised medicine approaches". During
the negotiations, if collaboration between the selected projects can be demonstrated to offer
added value, the interconnections and interfaces between these projects but also with other
projects in the field will be discussed in order to optimise the cooperation between the
projects selected and to ensure maximum synergies.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project).

Expected Impact

The project is expected to increase the knowledge of the human gut
microbiome. This will contribute to development of new approaches for prevention of
metabolic syndrome, obesity and metabolic impairment of the brain and other organs by
reshaping the gut microbiome through lifestyle changes, replacement therapies, development
of pro- and prebiotics and innovative personalised products. This topic will have an impact on
prevention of diet-related diseases with the ultimate goal of promoting a healthy and active
population and a high quality of life, both keys to delivering on the EU2020 priority of a
socially inclusive and healthy Europe. The European added value lies in the fact that the
expected results would be of benefit to European citizens, as they will help to inform new
strategies on public health and contribute to the development of new scientific data to support
the legislation on health and nutrition claims. This will increase the competitiveness of the
European food industry.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

Vitamin D deficiency affects a large proportion of the world's population. Scientific evidence
indicates that vitamin D plays a key role in bone health. The current evidence, however, does
not support other benefits of vitamin D intake. Higher levels of intake have not been shown to
confer greater benefits, but in fact have been linked to other health problems. The aim of this
topic is to explore food-based strategies to bridge the gap between current intakes of vitamin
D in European populations and dietary targets. Data are provided to determine vitamin D
requirements in specific population life-stage subgroups, particularly pregnancy, lactation,
infancy, childhood and adolescence. In addition, human intervention studies are carried out to
explore further the existing epidemiological observations linking vitamin D and non-skeletal
health outcomes. Technological solutions in the food sector will be explored to underpin
appropriate and sustainable food-based strategies to prevent vitamin D deficiency. The
advantages and limitations of such technological solutions will be compared to those offered
by promoting better lifestyles and healthier diets. The ongoing work carried out by the
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) regarding the safety of vitamin D and the possible
revision of tolerable upper intake levels are taken into account. Where appropriate, gender
issues should be considered.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project).

Expected Impact

Together with dietary recommendations, the project will inform on
appropriate and sustainable food-based strategies that could contribute to reducing vitamin D
deficiency, to preventing diet-related diseases, and to improving health and quality of life of
citizens. It will also inform on new strategies on public health. Besides, this project will
increase competitiveness of the European food industry through the development of new food
products. It will also complement the activities of EFSA and national food policy and
regulatory bodies and support European public health policy in general.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

The aim of this topic is to develop versatile and affordable sensors to be applied for the
quantitative, real-time, on-line or in-line control of critical quality and performance attributes
for raw and in-process materials during food processing in the context of Process Analytical
Technology (PAT). The sensors can also be part of a software sensor for statistical data analysis and interpretation, and can be used as a tool predicting the features of the final
product. The rapid, sensitive and easily cleanable sensors developed ensure both food quality
and safety and therefore reduce the amount of non-conforming products to be wasted, thereby
leading to higher bio-resource efficiency and production sustainability. The sensors are
integrable in systematic preventive approaches such as the Hazard Analysis and Critical
Control Point (HACCP) method, and serve as building-blocks for practical decision-making
tools and early warning systems. They are auto-adaptive, quickly operative for any product or
condition and robust to the variability of raw materials and line operators. Dissemination to
equipment producers and the food industry and demonstration activities in the food industry
are required to fill the gap between development of the concepts and practical implementation.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project
targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

This topic boosts the competitiveness of the European processing
industries and increases the number of patents in this area. It also contributes to reducing food
waste and to production sustainability, through more efficient control of processes. The
results of research on this topic are of interest and potential benefit to SMEs in the IT,
equipment and food industries. Strong participation by SMEs in the project itself will
contribute to reaping that benefit. The European added value lies in the need to build up
critical mass for multilateral efforts by all the players mentioned above.

More Details

Up to three projects may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 20 % of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

The objectives are: (1) transfer knowledge and apply research results in traditional foods in
SMEs; (2) develop a strategic research and innovation agenda for traditional foods; and (3)
foster entrepreneurship. SMEs producing traditional food products, in particular craft
producers, usually have little capability of their own for research and innovation and seldom
possess the financial and human resources needed to participate in collaborative projects with
universities or research centres. Ethnic foods may be considered in this topic as well.
The first aim of this topic is to establish or support a network that transfers innovative
knowledge to SMEs or among existing SME programmes, clusters or associations. The
network initiates and facilitates collaboration to develop or improve sustainable and
innovative processes and technologies with the objective of improving the quality, safety and
environmental performance of traditional food products made by SMEs. At the same time,
production protocols for traditional products are stabilised. The network helps SMEs to deal
with legal issues in food innovation such as intellectual property rights and the European food
law – also making the best possible use of labels for geographical indications and traditional
specialities –, and supports their product development strategies and competitiveness.
A second task for the network is, where necessary, to come up with a strategic research
agenda for traditional foods that is based on specific food groups and responds to the needs of
all stakeholders.
As a third task, the topic stimulates innovation and entrepreneurship among food researchers,
commercial take-up of food R&D results, and entrepreneurial networking. Training modules implemented.
In close collaboration with the European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on 'Agricultural
Productivity and Sustainability', the network makes use of existing or emerging innovative
activities and entrepreneurship training programmes at local, regional or national level, e.g.
those funded by the rural development programmes of the Common Agricultural Policy or by
local, regional or national initiatives. The funds for the network are used mainly to fund action
at cross-regional, cross-border or EU level. The network makes the tools developed available
to other stakeholders.
The network is made up of several sub-networks, each having a limited focus – for example a
region, a language, a food or a food group, a specifically defined production system or
innovative and fair distribution concepts – in order to address directly the SMEs targeted. The
network can also connect ongoing national or regional initiatives such as the national
platforms of the European Technology Platform (ETP) 'Food for Life' or projects supported
by other EU schemes. A leading role in the governance of the proposed project should be
given to SMEs, clusters or associations.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (supporting action).

Expected Impact

The results of the project are expected to be of interest and potential
benefit to the SMEs and other market players that are members of the network or collaborate
with it. The actions facilitate effective transfer of innovations to and between stakeholders in
the traditional agri-food business in order to maintain and increase the competitiveness of the
agri-food sector, in particular of SMEs, on an increasingly global European market. Other
kinds of impact are consumer satisfaction and a contribution to a transparent and sustainable
supply chain with higher bio-resource efficiency. Europe-wide, the entrepreneurship training
part has a marked impact on entrepreneurship, by addressing innovation skills gaps, and on
capacity-building, by generating motivated and knowledgeable entrepreneurs in the food
sector. The high European added value of this action lies in the support it will give to the EU
Innovation Union in the form of upgrading and sharing knowledge, contributing to a socially
inclusive and healthy Europe, and developing sustainable collective governance approaches at
local, regional, and national levels. Achievement of the three tasks on a regional basis also
supports Member States and regions in developing their smart specialisation strategies by
focusing, where appropriate, on the traditional food sector, with a view to strengthening
regional competitiveness and the regional economy. The challenge is pan-European and
clearly goes beyond national interests. Projects supported under this topic lead to greater
integration of research players and activities from across the European Union, and from the
candidate countries.

More Details

Up to two projects may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 4 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

Globalisation and the growing complexity of the food chain, combined with recent food
scares, have raised consumer awareness regarding the quality and authenticity of the food
they consume. ‘Food authenticity’ means the assurance that food purchased by consumers
matches its description, e.g. the declaration of specific quality attributes in high-value
products, origin (e.g. geographical such as products with protected designation of origin
(PDO) or protected geographical indication (PGI), botanical, species), production method
(e.g. organic farming, traditional production methods, sustainable production with high bioresource
efficiency), processing technologies (e.g. irradiation heating, freezing),
environmental footprint, social impact, quality control procedures (e.g. pesticide residues
analysis), certification and compliance with set food standards. European consumers are
prepared to pay extra for added-value foods and are increasingly demanding understandable
and reliable information on food labels. These trends have added to the need to harmonise
food standards and develop accurate tools to verify that foods match their description and to
detect fraud. Priority should be given to products which are the most exposed to fraud (e.g.
olive oil). In addition, there is a need to coordinate and harness transnational capacity and
resources, especially databases, reference materials, training and research capabilities and
priorities. The main objective of this topic is to determine the current state of the art, to
centralise, share and harmonise existing data and know-how, to identify gaps, to prioritise
research needs and, subsequently, to coordinate research activities in the area of food quality
and authenticity assurance by launching competitive calls in accordance with the provisions
of Article 26(3) of the FP7 Rules for Participation51;52. These research activities may include
providing reference materials and databases, conducting feasibility studies, identifying
markers to confirm the quality and/or authenticity of foods (or potential adulterants),
developing, validating and standardising verification methods, understanding consumer
concerns, attitudes and perceptions relating to food authenticity and promoting dissemination
of results and technology transfer.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project).

Expected Impact

The European added value lies in offering authentic, high-quality food
from sustainable production to consumers and in strengthening the competitiveness of
European food producers by enabling them to add value to their products. The results of the
project are expected to help food producers to communicate better the qualities,
characteristics and attributes of the different food commodities. In addition, determining the
authenticity of foods can reduce trading blocks and prevent fraud in the form of false
descriptions, substitution of cheaper ingredients and adulteration, along with incorrect origin
labelling. This will allow consumers to make informed choices and restore consumer
confidence. The research activities launched within this project should clearly support EU
policies on food quality, marketing standards and food information to consumers.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

The aim of this topic is to obtain a comprehensive picture of the effects of the global drivers
of change (climate, economic concentration and market structure, financial power, resource
competition, marginalisation, property rules, geo-political shifts, consumer preferences,
consumption patterns and nutritional transition, etc.) on European and global food demand
and raw material production and, consequently, food flows. The research focuses on the
vulnerability and resilience of European food systems in a context of socio-economic,
behavioural, technological, institutional and agro-ecological change and look into the new
challenges and opportunities that the food sector will face in future. Vulnerability assessment
methodologies and dynamic modelling tools are reviewed, upgraded or developed for
assessing the resilience of Europe's agri-food sector and food security situation as well as for
determining the sustainability frontiers of different food production systems under newly
prevailing conditions are reviewed. Following the analysis, scenarios are designed for the
desired developments in the food supply chain and guidance given as to support the transition
process. Research activities address the major societal risks associated with globalisation as a
means of predicting change, provide insight into conflict prevention and resolution and guide
policy-making. Recommendations to underpin Europe’s medium- and long-term food security
situation are formulated for EU policy-makers with a view to promoting social innovation and
stability in Europe and its partner regions.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project).

Expected Impact

The European added value of this topic lies in its potential for an
integrated approach encompassing, in a single conceptual framework, the total food system
from consumers to ecosystems while addressing all involved in the system, either in their
individual dimension and/or in their interactions. This innovative approach has the capacity to
identify policy responses to address the currently dysfunctional food system – characterised
by relatively high numbers of malnourished, micronutrient-deficient and overweight people –
thanks to a better understanding of the interdependence of production, trade and stocks, of the
unpreparedness to meet the vagaries of the weather and dependency on external inputs and of
the incentives needed to create a food system that is more resilient, equitable, healthy and
sustainable. Research draws attention to the direction in which social and technological
innovation has to be channelled in order to arrive at the desired innovation in food
consumption patterns and behaviour, in business models and legal frameworks and in the role
and management of real grain stock reserves and ways to mobilise these in times of need or
any other management tool for crisis prevention.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 4 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

The aim of this topic is to provide engineering offering a means for significant and
simultaneous saving of water and energy53 along the entire length of the post-harvest chain at
all scales of business: from supplying raw ingredients to processing (operations and cleaning),
packaging, warehousing, distributing, retailing and household handling of food commodities.
A sufficiently representative sector of the food industry has to be targeted; the selection has to
be well justified in terms of technological and policy relevance. Optimised, emerging and
novel food production and storage technologies, equipment and/or logistics are developed for
sustainable, environmentally-benign, water- and energy-efficient and consumer-friendly food
manufacturing and handling, whilst improving or at least maintaining food quality and safety.
For that purpose, a diagnosis has to be performed of the water and energy consumption of the
food processing and the whole food chain in the sector targeted. This also involves
considering the rebound effect, process modelling and simulation, and an environmental,
social and economic life-cycle assessment of processes in line with the International
Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) handbook54. Dissemination of research results to
equipment producers and the food industry and demonstration activities in the food industry
are required to fill the gap between development of the concepts and practical
implementation.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

The European added value lies in an innovation-driven increase in the
competitiveness of food producers and food equipment manufacturers, in particular SMEs,
while reconciling sustainability imperatives. Involving SMEs in the project itself contributes
to achieving these societal objectives. The research leads to notable reductions in water and
energy consumption, while at the same time ensuring sustainable economic growth. The
research contributes to reaching the objective of a resilient, sustainable and productive food
chain, in line with the European Commission Strategy "Innovating for Sustainable Growth: A
Bioeconomy for Europe". Besides that, it also contributes to achieving the specific resourceefficiency
objectives for 2020 and beyond, as planned in the "Roadmap to a resource-efficient
Europe", which is a key part of "A resource-efficient Europe", one of the flagship initiatives of
the Europe 2020 Strategy. Both aim to help transform Europe into a knowledge-based,
resource-efficient economy.

More Details

Up to three projects may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 20 % of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

The aim of this topic is to allow SMEs to take up research results from earlier FP funding in
food, health and well-being. This follow-up project turns the scientific and technological
knowledge available into sustainable and innovative processes, products or services, thereby
clearly going beyond the earlier project(s). It involves a demonstration phase or proof of
concept, a business plan and an environmental, social and economic life-cycle assessment in
line with the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) handbook55 (if
applicable). The proposal has to show that the knowledge was generated earlier and that the
results have already been achieved and are available for further research and development –
mere ‘expected results’ are not acceptable as a basis for project selection. Supporting
documents describing the related former research results may be provided in an annex to Part
B of the proposal, which will be taken into consideration during evaluations. Although the
principal research has been carried out in earlier project(s), further research and development
remains central to the project and allows SMEs to get nearer to actual application.
The Commission will positively evaluate projects having a maximum duration of two years.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project
targeted to SMEs)

Expected Impact

This approach pays more attention to the innovation phase. Beyond adding
to the impact of an earlier project, it also improves the S&T capabilities, the innovation
potential and the competitiveness of the SMEs taking part. The European added value lies
mainly in the leverage effect on private investment, the cooperation of private companies with
foreign partners on a scale not possible at national level and the reduction of the commercial
risk by actually applying existing and ready-to-use research results actually applicable across
Europe and beyond, through effective dissemination and take-up activities.

More Details

Up to five projects may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 2 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 75 % of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

The terrestrial plant biodiversity remains an untapped source of natural bioactive molecules of
importance for various industrial applications, such as high value agro-chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, biomaterials, cosmetics, flavours, food additives, food supplements etc. Their
efficient utilization requires an integrated and comprehensive effort from the stage of biodiscovery, including plant bioprospecting, through identification of suitable bioactive
compounds, then to optimised domestication and cultivation strategies for selected plant
species or ecotypes, metabolic engineering of the selected biochemical pathways to improving
the productivity and finally to product development and commercialisation.
The projects will engage in a full chain of research and innovation needed to bring to market
new or improved products aiming at innovative methodologies in order to tackle the existing
bottlenecks and addressing the needs of the bio-industry. The focus is on the efficient
exploitation of the novel bioactivities, especially in case of unusual and/or underutilised plant
species/ecotypes. This includes sustainable access to raw material, particularly in case of
plants that are endangered, protected or difficult to collect and cultivate, and improvements in
technical aspects of the metabolic engineering pipeline (e.g. metabolomics, new gene mining
concepts, isolation of biomolecules, their purification and sustainable production either in
planta, or in alternative biological systems). The projects can explore interactions of plants
and other natural organisms (e.g. fungi, microorganisms) to achieve the objectives.
The targeted plants can originate from a broad range of European and/or non-European
species (e.g. medicinal or aromatic), either cultivated (e.g. industrial crops) or collected from
the wild. The full use of the residual plant biomass should be explored in a cascade
biorefinery approach. The projects are to be industry-driven and will include demonstration
activities to prove the techno-economic feasibility and effectiveness of production and
extraction systems. Downstream processing and separation aspects will form an integral part
of the projects. Economic and regulatory issues should also be taken into account both in
respect of conditions found in Europe and outside of Europe. SMEs may use advisory and
support services to treat such issues and other aspects regarding market introduction. The
project must adhere to relevant international rules on access to, the sustainable use of and the
fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of biological resources in line
with the applicable domestic frameworks of source countries and the Convention on
Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol. Dissemination and training activities (e.g.
summer schools, press releases, open days) will form an essential part of the projects.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

The projects will advance the sustainable use of terrestrial plant
biodiversity for diverse germplasm to enable a better assessment of species potential, and
development of sustainable methods for obtaining the required feedstock, and then converting
them to high value products. The European Added Value will lay in the development of novel
plant-based 'eco-friendly' products with bioactive properties, especially in pharmaceutical,
cosmetic or agrochemical sectors, leading to significant environmental and economic benefits
for the society at large. The products developed will be advantageous to the consumers by
being cheaper, more readily accessible and more environmentally friendly compared to the
existing alternatives. The projects will strengthen the competitiveness58 of European plant
biotechnology industry, as well as increase competition in research and innovation. This topic is particularly well suited for an active engagement of International Cooperation Partner
Countries. Their involvement should strengthen the expected impact of the research to be
undertaken. This will be assessed at the evaluation. The projects funded should be
complementary and reinforce related on-going FP7 KBBE projects on the plant
biotechnology. It is expected that the projects will anticipate future trends and consumer
demands with a strong focus towards the market and product commercialisation.

More Details

The topic aims at financing a limited number of large collaborative projects within an overall
maximum budget of EUR 20 000 000.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 25% of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
the signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

The biodiversity preservation in agricultural systems is vital not only for the environmental
protection but also for the sustainable development of the European and global bioeconomy.
The project developed under this topic will contribute to identifying promising underutilized /
novel crops, their conservation/domestication, and to exploring opportunities for the
sustainable commercial use of the natural biological resources in agriculture, especially for
the benefit of the local communities and family farmers. The project will have a dual aim:
first identifying and linking existing agricultural resource collections (e.g. plant germplasm
banks, botanical gardens, agro-microbial strain collections), as a network to facilitate transfer
of knowledge and technology between the stakeholders, in order to lessen environmental
pressure on endangered or protected plant species, and second, identifying among them
suitable resources, which could be subsequently used for sustainable commercial use. The
second aim should target in particular novel or underutilised agricultural plants. The
participation of the International Cooperation Partner Countries, especially from Latin
America is seen as critical in the project and is especially encouraged. The project will
develop efficient communication and dissemination tools (e.g. a website, conferences,
activities aimed at general public, summer schools etc), engaging in dialogue with relevant
stakeholders (international policy makers, NGOs, etc), to contribute to the dual aims, and will
ensure a long lasting impact of the project. The project must adhere to relevant international
rules on access to, the sustainable use of and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising
from the utilisation of biological resources in line with the applicable domestic frameworks of
source countries and the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol. The
project should take stock of the related past and on-going projects and to complement them in
an integrative approach.
Participants from Latin American countries in a Science and Technology agreement with the
European Union59 will support their participants to the project. Participants from other Latin
American ICPC countries could be funded by the EU. The cooperation with complementary
actions should be reflected in the proposal. This will be considered in the evaluation.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action).

Expected Impact

The topic addresses two issues with high societal relevance and of public
concern: improved global efforts for biodiversity protection in agriculture, and the sustainable
use of the natural biological resources, especially for the benefit of the local communities and
family farmers. The project will raise public awareness on plant biodiversity preservation in
agriculture and will support a structured global environment for cooperation between relevant
stakeholders in this area. The effectiveness and long-term impact of the project will be
ensured by including complementary European and global participation.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 1 000 000 per
proposal.
- Minimum number of participants: 3 independent legal entities from different Member
States or Associated countries and 3 from different ICPC countries from Latin
America.

Description

Algae represent a promising alternative to convert CO2 (e.g. from the atmosphere of capture
in industrial processes) into high added-value products and biofuels. Algae biorefineries can
thus alleviate food versus fuel conflicts and may become particularly advantageous for
regions with limited biomass availability and land unusable for agriculture.
The topic aims at developing innovative approaches to tackle the major challenges intrinsic to
the development of the algae biorefineries. The proposals under this topic should focus on the
production of high value-added products such as polymers, pharmaceuticals, high value oils
and chemicals, bioactive compounds, colorants, etc. The potential integration with other
processes (such as the production of biofuels, water treatment or carbon sequestration) and the
valorisation of all products should be considered to assure the economic, environmental and
social viability of the whole concept.
Strong weight will be put on industrial leadership of the projects. They should include the
development of suitable algal strains and cultivation parameters. Boundaries to this aim
include algal biodiversity exploration (bioprospecting, natural growing conditions),
improvement of photosynthetic efficiency, customising and maximising added value products'
yields and development of algae cultivation methods adapted to mass production. Design and
development of different cultivation systems with innovative and efficient configurations
should also be included together with sustainable downstream processes such as harvesting,
dewatering, product extraction, purification, formulation as well as its integrated conversion.
Projects should include demonstration activities to prove the techno-economic viability of the
proposed concept. The overall economic, social and environmental sustainability approach
(e.g. water and energy saving) as well as its Life Cycle Assessment should be critical
elements of the project.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

Delivering a robust scientific and technological basis for substantiating
strategic decisions for the industrial development of algae for high added-value products. The
integrated production of biofuels and other bulk products such as food and feed proteins and
fertilisers together with the targeted high value added products can increase the cost
competitiveness of the biorefinery concept. The projects will as well strengthen the
competitiveness of the European marine biotechnology industry and by reducing technical
bottlenecks in this area making the whole sector more attractive to investment by the
biotechnology industry.

More Details

The topic aims at financing a limited number of large collaborative projects within an overall
maximum budget of EUR 20 000 000.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 25% of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
the signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

Europe stands strong in producing world-class research but lags behind its main competitors
in innovation and commercial exploitation. Enhancing the patent system in Europe,
facilitating technology transfer and improving access to finance could facilitate bringing
scientific breakthroughs to the market place. This demonstration action will address some of
these issues by providing support for bringing research results closer to market, thus
enhancing the economic impact of the Biotechnology programme.
The demonstration action will introduce a real innovation focus by promoting the exploitation
of results and offering seamless support to the industry and in particular SMEs. The
demonstration activities will address technical and economic feasibility issues that will
accelerate market introduction of the innovative bio-based goods and services.
The demonstration action is bottom up, with the specific scope of the proposal defined by the
participants. Proposals should nevertheless fit within the "Life sciences, bio-technology and
bio-chemistry for sustainable non-food products and processes"-Activity described in the
Specific Cooperation Programme62. The action is primarily aimed at industrial participants who should take the lead in the demonstration phase with research, academic or other
organisations providing advisory and support services in a possible supporting role. The
projects need to have a clear link with the preceding research phase and should help to
commercialise research results. Activities can include testing of product-like prototypes,
scale-up studies, performance verification and implementation of new technical and nontechnical
solutions. However, the EU contribution to the project is restricted to demonstration
activities, other activities and management. Projects can rely on existing demonstration plants
or infrastructure but should not include the construction of new ones. Proposals should also
include detailed economic viability check, market studies/business plans or market strategies.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project)

Expected Impact

Projects under the scheme for demonstration aim at bridging the gap
between research and market, while keeping a pre-competitive nature. The concept is to prove
the techno-economic viability of a new solution (itself an outcome of a successful research
project) that offers a potential economic advantage, but which cannot be directly
commercialised. The expected impact should be clearly described both at qualitative and
quantitative level, providing an indication of the expected economic impact, e.g. on turnover,
employment or target markets as well as expected patent applications or licence agreements,
creation of spin-off companies, etc. Through this demonstration action, commercial
companies, especially SMEs, will be able to receive seamless support for the further
development of successful research results. This should help prepare and facilitate market
introduction of scientific breakthroughs. This is particularly relevant in the field of
biotechnology where the timelines for technology maturation can be extended. Projects ensure
to respect basic ethical principles and include provisions for communication and
dissemination of results.

More Details

The topic aims at financing a limited number of large collaborative projects within an overall
maximum budget of EUR 20 000 000.
- The requested EU contribution shall be restricted to demonstration activities, other
activities and management

Description

The bioeconomy can significantly contribute to the future development of rural, coastal and
industrialised regions by improving the sustainable exploitation of their natural and industrial
resources, for example by creating supply chains for residues and waste as feedstock for biobased
industries, or the setting up of networks of biorefineries.
The objective of this topic is to develop region-specific bioeconomy strategies based on a
socio-economic, environmental and technological assessment of the bioeconomy potential of
the different regions in Europe (at sub-and supranational level in Europe). To achieve this, the
project will 1) develop criteria to describe the regions in terms of their bioeconomy potential
(e.g. based on geographical location, climate, predominance of bioeconomy sectors,
bioclusters, job situation, existing skills, resources and technologies, etc); 2) compile a
catalogue of instruments and measures (ranging from education, research and innovation to
infrastructure, including advisory and support services to SMEs) that can be correlated against
the criteria and will foster the development of regional bioeconomies; 3) create a catalogue of
good practices and case-studies on bioeconomy that can be used as inspiration for the
development of regional smart specialisation strategies; and 4) prepare regional profiles based on the developed criteria that will describe the state-of-play of the bioeconomy in the selected
regions and propose instruments and measures to improve the exploitation of this potential.
The project will liaise with local, regional and national authorities and relevant stakeholders
(e.g. bioclusters) to establish the regional profiles. It will create a network structure that will
encourage the exchange of best practices and the creation of synergies between regions. As
such, it will also contribute to the development of smart specialisation strategies of regions in
accordance with the new European cohesion policy, notably by making data available in a
form suitable for insertion in existing catalogues such as the European Cluster Observatory,
the Regional Innovation Monitor or the Smart Specialisation Platform.
The activities of the project will take into account existing FP7 and CIP projects and other
initiatives supporting the bioeconomy at regional and national level.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (supporting action).

Expected Impact

The project will allow regions to recognise their bioeconomy potential and
assist them in formulating clear targets to promote their local bioeconomy and in creating a
favourable environment to attract public and private investment. The project will contribute to
implementing the objectives of several European policy initiatives, such as the Bioeconomy
Strategy, rural and coastal development and regional policies.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 1 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

Bio-based products create entirely new markets or enter markets dominated by wellestablished
petro-chemical products. Regulatory instruments like standards and labels can
significantly contribute to the uptake of bio-based products in consumer markets and in public
procurement. The objective of this topic is to:
• Develop standard test methods and test data for generally applicable European standards
on functionalities of and standard sustainability criteria for bio-based products that are
compatible with previous work on standardisation, e.g. on the determination of bio-based
content (carbon and biomass), product functionalities and biodegradability. As a
minimum, these standards need to be developed for biopolymers, -lubricants, -surfactants
and -solvents.
• Assess the suitability of the Ecolabel criteria for bio-based products, in view of possibly
creating a dedicated product group and further developing and improving the Ecolabel
criteria for bio-based products in accordance with the developed standards on
functionality and sustainability criteria.
• Create an initial European product information list for bio-based products that will
contribute to enabling public procurement for bio-based products and promote their
uptake in consumer markets
The proposal should ensure a link with the activities of the European Committee for
Standardisation (CEN) concerning bio-based products and take into consideration related
standardisation mandates (already issued and in process) and existing national and EU-funded
projects. The proposal should explore possibilities for harmonising standards and normative
measures in the EU, US, Japan, China, Brazil, and other major trading partners. The
mobilisation and networking of relevant stakeholders, such as industrial organisations, public bodies, research organisations, ensures the effective dissemination and implementation of the
developed standards. The usability of the product information list should be tested with target
user groups, for which existing projects from the EU 7th Framework Programme and
Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) may be taken into account.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project).

Expected Impact

Standards will reduce barriers to trade in bio-based products and expand
the market potential and the competitiveness of European bio-based industry. Labels and an
information list on bio-based products provide consumers and public procurers with clear
information on these products' environmental performance, encouraging sustainable choices.
Furthermore, the project will contribute to realising the objectives of different relevant
European policy initiatives, including the Lead Market Initiative in Bio-based Products, the
Industrial Policy, the Environmental Technology Action Plan and the EU Strategy for Key
Enabling Technologies and the Bioeconomy Strategy.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

Biocatalysis offers tangible benefits over conventional processes such as cost-efficiency,
reduced use of solvents and lower energy requirement. The number of biocatalytic chemical
transformations carried out at industrial scale has increased rapidly in the last decades. The
full potential is far from being realised and there are high prospects to expand the range of
reactions catalyzed by enzymes.
The aim of the topic is to expand the number/type of chemical transformations carried out by
enzymes (isolated enzymes or whole cells) at industrial scale. The approach involves
optimising enzymatic performance for a targeted reaction and in the industrial context in
which it is to be applied.
Proposals should address the development of specific biocatalyst(s) that seamlessly meet the
requirements of one or a limited number of targeted industrial processes. The approach could
involve the recovery of novel biocatalysts (e.g. from available genomes and environmental
metagenomes) and will address the development and implementation of technologies to
produce biocatalysts that are suited to the rigours of the industrial environment (e.g. by use of
directed evolution, computational technologies, in silico enzymes design, protein or cofactor
engineering, etc). Downstream processes and methods for enzyme formulation and
immobilisation are also to be developed, considering innovative reactor design and
configuration.
Proposals will have a strong industry drive and include demonstration activities of the
proposed concept to bridge the gap between lab and industrial scale and to prove the technoeconomic
viability of the targeted biotransformation. Proposals will aim to generate novel and
competitive solutions, preferably with a potential application to other targeted enzymes and
processes.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

To move closer to industrial application those enzymatic
biotransformations which are currently in a laboratory research phase. Enhancing the
competitiveness and sustainability of the European biotech and chemical-using industry by
the development of sustainable enzymatic biotransformation (e.g. with fewer steps, lower use
of toxic reactants and solvents and efficient use of reagents). The project should contribute to
the objectives of industrial and innovation policy, such as the EU Strategy for Key Enabling
Technologies and the Lead Market Initiative on Bio-based products.

More Details

The topic aims at financing a limited number of large collaborative projects within an overall
maximum budget of EUR 20 000 000.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 25% of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

The envisaged broad implementation of the biorefinery concept for the production of
biochemicals, biomaterials and bioenergy will generate vast streams of by-products such as
hemicelluloses, lignin, tall-oil, glycerol, etc. These fractions are currently widely
underexploited as the focus has been placed on primary feedstock components more
accessible for conversion. The sustainability and economic viability of the biorefinery concept
call for the exploitation of by-products streams and the development of closed loop systems.
The objective of this topic is to develop biotechnology approaches for the conversion of
biorefinery by-products into added value bio-based products, such as chemicals and chemical
building blocks, biopolymers, materials, bioactive compounds. Research could also target the
development of physico-chemical technologies which are concomitant to the
enzymatic/microbial processes as well as sustainable downstream steps for product separation
and purification. The feasibility of integrating the approach into a selected biorefinery value
chain should be assessed.
Projects will have a strong industry drive and include demonstration activities aimed at
proving the techno-economic viability of the developed technologies, including a quantitative
technological/economic viability analysis for up-scaling to industrial production. A life-cycle
assessment should be carried out in order to evaluate the environmental, economic and social performance of the developed technologies building upon existing and on-going LCA
activities in the field of bio-based products and processes

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to
SMEs).

Expected Impact

The economic efficiency and environmental performance of existing and
future biorefineries will be enhanced. The projects will create a beneficial economic impact to
the bio-based products sector and underpin partnerships and synergies across biorefinery
related industrial sectors. The European added value lies in increasing the effectiveness and
efficiency of the value chain of bio-based products by reducing losses and generating higher
value products or services. The projects will contribute to implementing the objectives of
several European policy initiatives, such as the Roadmap to a Resource-Efficient Europe, the
Bioeconomy strategy, the Eco-innovation initiatives of the Environmental Technologies
Action Plan and the Lead Market Initiative on Bio-based products.

More Details

The topic aims at financing a limited number of large collaborative projects within an overall
maximum budget of EUR 12 000 000.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 25% of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signatures of the Grant Agreement.

Description

A number of issues require advancing the development of molecular detection methodologies
for various applications, in particular related to: a) human pathogen presence and
characterisation in foodstuffs, exemplified by the recent EHEC (Enterohaemorraghic
Escherichia Coli) crisis; b) compliance with EU legislation on GM food/feed (e.g. novel or
marker-free GMOs); and c) customs and excise duty purposes, as specified by the Group of
European Customs Laboratory (tobacco and other applicable groups of products). Up to now,
molecular analytical techniques have become routine diagnostic tools in a broad range of
sectors, like human and animal medicine, plant protection, food/feed traceability and remain
relevant, especially PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) diagnostics or related Next Generation
Sequencing approaches. In addition, optimal development and application of cost-efficient DNA tools require maximal integration of methods supported through uniform minimal
method performance parameters (MPP).
Proposals should aim at two major developments: firstly, to develop at least one new
molecular detection method, including method validation for each of the applications
mentioned under a-c) above; and secondly, to provide a scientific basis for the establishment
of MPP for key molecular technologies: real-time PCR (including digital PCR, High
resolution melting PCR) and Next Generation Sequencing (e.g. whole-genome sequencing,
exon-sequencing, meta-genomics). Method development should be clearly justified on the
basis of socio-economic and other applicable impact criteria. Proposals address in particular
the demonstration of fitness of the methods for on-site application, equivalence to existing
conventional standards, and potential benefits (e.g. to the food industry in terms of improved
efficiency of food analysis). The MPP should be documented by benchmarking technological
examples from diverse and representative sectors or be experimentally produced within the
project. Particular attention should be paid to the inclusion of methodology support to
decision making and to statistically documented uncertainties in the evaluation of the
nature/presence of targets under suboptimal conditions (low target quality and/or quantity,
stressed or non-culturable cell populations). Training for stakeholders and dedicated
communication activities are considered essential.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project
targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

The development of at least 3 new highly sensitive detection tools in total,
should significantly contribute to improving quality, safety, identity and traceability of
bioeconomy products. It is expected that the selected project will not only address
shortcomings of current methodologies used in the areas of consumer protection, customs
procedures and excise duties, but will even more contribute to accelerate the use of fast and
reliable detection tools in the most cost-effective manner. The development of urgently
needed guidance, applicable across a number of areas, is expected to improve overall
technological competence, and facilitate development of diagnostic tools and services in the
future. It should support flexibility at the analytical, at quality assurance, quality control and
at enforcement levels and improve communication between and across sectors.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 3 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 25% of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

This topic will facilitate cooperation between European research funding bodies and the
scientific community in the area of health, environmental and techno-economic effects of
genetically modified organisms. It aims to provide the basis for an exchange of information
and future collaboration in relation to a) facilitating stock taking and analysis of recent or
ongoing research projects addressing a better understanding of the above mentioned effects of
GMOs, with an emphasis on national projects in Member States; b) identification of future
research priorities in this field and complementarities between activities at MS and
international level; and c) creating a basis for developing possible future joint, transnational calls. Activities proposed in response to this topic should not interfere with GMO risk
assessment activities as carried out by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). A formal
consultation mechanism with the EFSA in this regard should be set-up. Formal consultation
should also be set-up with the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission where
relevant, e.g. with regard to socio-economic effects of GMOs.
The consortium should take into account complementarities with established and developing,
relevant European initiatives (e.g. Standing Committee on Agricultural Research, European
Technology Platform "Plants for the Future").

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action).

Expected Impact

It is expected that this proposal will consolidate the basis for further
coordination efforts between Member States; seek complementarities between national
activities, and start pooling resources for funding and implementing future research activities
in a synergistic manner.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 1 000 000 per
proposal.

Description

The recent convergence of nanoscience and biotechnology has led to the development of
entirely new class of materials, devices and technologies often nature-inspired and thus
referred to as ‘bioinspired’ or ‘biomimetic’. Nanobiotechnology is an emerging field with
potential applications ranging from material, chemical and pharmaceutical industry to
environmental technologies, and it has only recently entered the commercial exploration
period.
The proposals under this topic should exploit the progress in nanobiotechnology in order to
develop innovative bioinspired materials, devices and technologies. The approaches could
entail both the biomimetic materials constituted of biological building blocks, as well as those
based on innovative biotechnology processing. Research undertaken should give due
consideration to the tailoring of the bioinspired materials/technology functionalities for given
applications as well as to the industrial need of up-scaling the production. The proposals
should include under the same umbrella at least two different approaches among which
biomineralization, biologically produced nanometals and bioinspired polymers could be
considered. Due consideration should also be given to potential environmental and health
risks from a life-cycle perspective.
Dissemination of the results and activities to users, industries, firms (SMEs in particular) and
citizens leading to a better exploitation of research and raising awareness of its potential
should be taken on board within the proposals. Due consideration should also be given to
potential environmental and health risks from a life-cycle perspective.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

Research undertaken under this topic should contribute through step
changes and solutions in nanobiotechnology. It is expected that they pave the way for future
applications and markets thus strengthening competitiveness of European industry and SMEs.
The projects should target one or several sectors (e.g. chemicals, pharmaceutical,
environment, sensor technology) directly related to this high value added and fast growing
field.

More Details

One project may be funded.
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 9 000 000 per
proposal.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 25% of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
the signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

The combination of engineering and biology that typifies the synthetic biology, makes it a
multidisciplinary field of endeavour. Due its nature and multidisciplinary feature synthetic
biology, in synergy with systems biology and metabolic engineering, has significant potential
to influence, and transform a range of areas of our economy and society. Lately, its techniques
matured and started to move from the bench to commercial applications. Thus, the projects
under this topic should be industry driven, aiming on innovative approaches for different
applications - industrial, health, environmental, energy, etc. Key challenges to be considered
are the engineering of minimal cells, de novo design of robust and sustainable biomolecular
circuits, orthogonal modules, synthetic pathways, new microorganisms and more robust
metabolisms.
The development of synthetic biology brings with it a number of intellectual property issues,
safety, ethical, societal and environmental implications. These are crucially important aspects
that need to be identified and addressed by any proposal. Applicants should adhere to the
Opinion No 25 of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies to the
European Commission "Ethics of Synthetic Biology"

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Project (large-scale integrating project targeted to SMEs).

Expected Impact

The projects are expected to advance the research in the filed of synthetic
biology and to generate innovative tools and methods for biotechnology applications. The use
of synthetic biology (also in combination with systems biology and metabolic engineering)
for the development of engineered biological systems for a given application is expected to
result in accelerated process design and reduced time-to-market. Furthermore, it is expected to
result in scientific breakthroughs, which would increase the industrial competitiveness and
would create new economic opportunities. The project results should be of interest and benefit
to SMEs. A strong participation of SMEs and other representatives of the industry in the
project itself should help contribute to the realisation of that benefit.

More Details

The topic aims at financing a limited number of large collaborative projects within an overall
maximum budget of EUR 20 000 000.
- The estimated EU contribution going to SMEs shall be at least 15% of the total
requested EU contribution. This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before
the signature of the Grant Agreement.

Description

The aim of this ERA-NET+ is to pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national (or regional) research programmes and the EU, to launch a joint transnational call for proposals for research, development and innovation in the forest sector. The objective is to support the transformation of European forest-based industry and sustainable forest management for increasing resource efficiency and adapting to and mitigating climate change effects. This will be achieved by integrating knowledge and technologies of large-scale industrial products and processes, as well as primary production. One possible strategic approach could be the substitution of non-renewable resources (e.g. materials and chemicals, in construction or as an energy source), by renewable forest-based solutions to reduce carbon emissions and waste. Strategic renewal in forest industry value chains also needs to consider change in raw material availability and composition due to anticipated impacts of environmental and climate change on forest resources. The joint transnational call will address the whole forest-based value chain, from the sustainable management of forest resources through their efficient utilisation in industrial processes to value added products and competitive customer solutions.
Thematic focusing of this joint transnational call should be commensurate with the funds available, so as to ensure a reasonable rate of success in the call. Details on the topics covered by the call will be decided by the participants in due time but shall be selected upon consultation with the Commission services concerned.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action)
− The topic is implemented jointly with Theme NMP (under topic identifier NMP.2012.4.0-3). It is identical to both themes. Hence each proposal must be submitted only once, either for topic KBBE.2012.1.2-08 or topic NMP.2012.4.0-3, but not both. Only one of the activity codes above should be used to submit application

Expected Impact

(i) Improve coordination and reduce overlapping in key fields of research; (ii) achieve critical mass and ensure better use of limited resources in fields of mutual interests; (iii) share good practices in implementing research programmes; (iv) promote transnational collaborations and new knowledge generation and innovation; v) mobilise SMEs in the transnational projects to enhance innovation, in particular by allocating a significant share of total EU contribution to SMEs (20%, as indicative target).

Description

The overall objective of this topic is to further strengthen cooperation and synergy between major European national funders that support research on sustainable exploitation of marine resources in the seafood chain. The project should build on results achieved by the fisheries MARIFISH FP6 ERANET. It should address sustainability in the entire seafood chain from catches and production to end products including fisheries, aquaculture, seafood processing and distribution to the consumer. The project will also consider research which is necessary to provide advice on how ocean and seashore space might be shared without detriment between the different users.
The project will facilitate better cooperation, synergy and efficiency between research funders in Member States and Associated Countries through the launching of joint research initiatives e.g. joint calls, shared research programmes, foresight studies. It will develop a public, "realtime" database on national and regional research programmes and projects in the relevant fields and will stimulate complementarities and synergies between national and EU funded projects and programmes, including international cooperation, through concrete actions including data sharing, twinning activities, common workshops, shared training activities etc. It will also link with relevant European and national Technology Platforms and with stakeholders groups including Advisory Committees, NGOs to ensure complementarities between national and private research initiatives while ensuring that socio-economic aspects are well taken into account.
Strong links will be created with the existing FP7 overarching SEASERA ERANET which aims at embracing the whole spectrum of marine and maritime research. This new ERANET should also support any envisaged Commission Recommendation on the Joint Programming Initiative that would address the 'Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans', which mirrors the objectives of the EU Strategy for Marine and Maritime Research (COM(2008) 534) with the ambition to bring the marine ERA to a higher level of integration.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action)

Expected Impact

The project will address EU grand challenges on seafood security, safety and sustainable use of marine resources in the seafood chains in a more coherent and coordinated way. It is expected that the project will contribute in meeting the increasing EU demand for fish and seafood while moving towards an ecosystem based approach.

Description

Systems biology interconnects various disciplines e.g. mathematics, chemistry, physics, engineering and biology with the overarching efforts of computational modelling to better understand complex biological processes. The challenge in systems biology is to integrate research of biological systems at the sub-cellular, cellular, organ, organism and population levels, using multi-scale modelling, to allow the simulation of all physiological processes for the studied organism or population. The aim of this ERA-NET is the concertation of multidimensional and complementary European projects and programmes on closely related topics, to help tackle complex processes of interest in microorganism, plants and animals which are of interest in the wider area of life sciences and industrial biotechnologies e.g. pharmaceuticals, chemical, biofuels, food safety, agriculture, primary production and ecology. Building on the existing ERA-NET, ERASysBio, this project should increase the level of coordination between European funding bodies, to continue to process and identify complementary features and synergies between the various national and European research funding instruments as well as set up the basis for future joint transnational calls and activities. Important aspects that promise to have an immediate structuring impact on the consolidation of the ERA on systems biology such as: the establishment of transnational systems biology networks; the adoption of data standards and data management best practices; the optimisation of education and training; as well as co-operation with programmes outside Europe, should be taken on board within this project.

Funding Schemes

Up to 1 project may be funded
- Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action)

Expected Impact

This ERA-NET will increase the level of coordination between European funding bodies; seeking complementarities between national activities and pooling resources for funding and implementing research activities in a synergistic manner. This project should strengthen the position of European research on Systems Biology. The co-operation with other programmes on a global scale will help to create worldwide networks - a contribution to global communication in the field of systems biology.

Description

Due to growing concerns about the health of the oceans and their capacity to continue to provide resources, goods and services as well as associated risks to the human health, there is an increasing demand for real-time monitoring of the environmental status of marine water quality and the provision of early warning systems. Real-time in situ monitoring of marine chemical contaminants (including emerging pollutants, biohazards e.g. algal toxins) is of utmost importance for the sustainable management and exploitation of the seas and their resources.

Technology wise, marine biosensors have the potential to offer unique features for highly specific and precise measurements, including under multi-stressor conditions, by combining technological elements (including nanotechnologies) and bio-receptors in a single measurement device. Thus they could open new avenues to respond to the growing need for accurate real time monitoring of the quality of sea water and marine ecosystems to support relevant EU legislations such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)46. Based on most recent knowledge on genomics and physiology as well as on materials,

nanotechnology, information technologies and relevant existing detection/monitoring technologies, the research under this topic should aim at developing innovative real-time, in situ biosensors, taking advantage of nanotechnology when applicable. These sensors should target the detection and monitoring of high impact and presently difficult to measure emerging pollutants and other substances, such as algal toxins and their producers, synthetic organics, herbicides/pesticides and persistent organic pollutants (POP), including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and should enable early diagnosis of deterioration of the environmental status of the marine waters in multi-stressor conditions.

The proposals should include a test phase to demonstrate the potential of these biosensor(s) for in situ environmental and/or aquaculture related applications. Measurement devices should show ability to compete with/complement non real time alternatives and provide faster, less expensive, and less time-consuming measurements than the currently available instrumental analytical methods. A proof of concept in terms of product and/or process should be delivered within the project demonstrating industrial manufacturability.

The multi-disciplinary approach of the research undertaken is essential to address the topic. It will be considered during the evaluation under the criterion Scientific and/or technological excellence.

The multi-sectoral composition of the partnership and the participation of industrial partners and relevant end-users, in particular SMEs, are essential for the implementation of the project. It will be considered during the evaluation under the criterion Implementation.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative project

Expected Impact

New biosensors in the field of marine environmental monitoring will:

• Enable early detection and more effective monitoring of the marine environment and its status and implementation of appropriate management actions in line with the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD);

• Improve sustainable management and exploitation of marine resources (such as fisheries and aquaculture) in particular the monitoring of quality of shellfish waters and minimise risks to human health;

• Provide competitive advantage and leadership to European industry, for example within the fields of biotechnology, sensor development, diagnostic technologies and

nanotechnology.

More Details

Several projects may be funded within the total budget of the topic (EUR 15 000 000).

- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per proposal.

- Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the requested EU contribution going to SME(s) is 25% or more of the total requested EU contribution.

This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

There is an urgent need to improve the in-situ component of the ocean observing systems to
achieve an appropriate and comprehensive understanding of the functioning of the marine
environment at different geographic, temporal scales and the monitoring of marine and
maritime activities to ensure their sustainable development. As commercially available
sensors tend to be too large, expensive, and power-hungry for widespread use, reducing the
cost for acquisition of data is a key priority in order to implement EU legislations such as the
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), the Common Fisheries Policy CFP), support
international initiatives such as the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and the Global
Earth Observation System of System (GEOSS).
In this context the topic seeks to develop robust, easily usable across multiples platforms, cost
effective multifunctional sensors and their packages that provide reliable in-situ
measurements of key parameters. Research and demonstration activities under this topic shall
address in a comprehensive manner all the following aspects:
1/ Developing cost-effective sensors suitable for large-scale production, taking advantage of
"new generation" technologies such as within the fields of miniaturisation, communication,
positioning systems, disposable technologies, and IT tools, software, energy storage and
usage.
2/ Sensors should be compact, autonomous multifunctional integrated packages that could be
deployed using free floating devices or, buoys, platforms, or ships of opportunities including
fishing vessels. The sensors must be developed as precompetitive prototypes and field tested
in close cooperation with stakeholders such as sensor designers, SME's, managers of
monitoring/observing systems, marine industry e.g fishermen and end-users. An essential part
of this topic will be to ensure technology transfer through an integrated approach, bridging
between laboratory testing and commercially viable product.
3/ Addressing data flow issues, including data acquisition, access and retrieval, storage,
transmission, standardisation, and pre-processing. The projects should take advantage of the
latest web enablement technology for setting up sensors' networks suitable for open access
and data sharing.
4/ Making the sensors fully interoperable with existing observing systems and compatible
with standard requirement such as the EU Fisheries Data Collection Framework, the Marine
Strategy Framework Directive, the INSPIRE directive47, the GMES and GOOS/GEOSS
initiatives. The multi-disciplinary approach of the research undertaken is essential to address the topic. It
will be considered during the evaluation under the criterion Scientific and/or technological
excellence.
The multi-sectoral composition of the partnership and the participation of industrial partners
and relevant end-users, in particular SMEs, are essential for the implementation of the project.
It will be considered during the evaluation under the criterion Implementation.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative project

Expected Impact

The projects will:
• Provide a large increase in the temporal and geographic coverage from in-situ marine
sensors to enhance the European contribution to Global Monitoring of the Oceans;
• Increase availability of standardised in-situ data that is suitable for integration within key
marine observation, modelling and monitoring systems and reduce ocean modelling
uncertainty;
• Reduce cost of data collection system in support of fisheries management;
• Advance competitiveness for European Industry's & particularly SME's within the Marine
sensing sector;
• Enable better cooperation between key sectors (Manufacturing Industry, ICT, Maritime
Industry, Marine Science, Fisheries etc.);
• Support implementation of European Maritime Policies (MSFD, CFP, IMP, etc.);
• Promote new discoveries leading to better understanding of the seas.

More Details

Several projects may be funded within the total budget of the topic (EUR 15 000 000).
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 6 000 000 per
proposal.
- Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the requested EU
contribution going to SME(s) is 30% or more of the total requested EU contribution.
This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant
agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

Biofouling is a major concern for mobile (e.g. ships) and stationary (e.g. aquaculture cages or
offshore power generation systems) maritime structures, sensors and equipments. It
negatively affects marine and maritime activities by creating a need for regular maintenance,
which is costly, might disrupt operations and is potentially polluting. With the purpose of
avoiding toxic biocides and heavy metals used in antifouling coatings, novel alternative costefficient
and environmentally friendly approaches are needed.
The proposals under this topic should focus on developing new, well beyond the state of the
art, antifouling materials and should address in an integrative way mobile and stationary
maritime applications.
On the basis of a thorough analysis of the state of the art, research could draw on the whole
range of antifouling materials e.g. foul release approach, biomimetics, marine biotechnology
based coatings, polymers etc. The proposals should include benchmarking of existing
materials, technologies and on-going research. In this sense environmental and economic
factors, as well as performance, must be duly considered.
Improvement in the understanding of marine biofouling processes, including their relation
with biocorrosion, with respect of the developed materials should be an integral part of the
proposals. For the resolution of the technological bottlenecks impeding the achievement of
well performing final materials and products, applicants are welcome to investigate and exploit the potential offered by converging technologies such as e.g. materials science and
engineering, maritime technology, nanotechnology and biotechnology.
The proposals should include relevant field testing for all the selected applications.
Development, improvement and/or standardisation of relevant protocols should be included.
Proof of concept in terms of product and/or process should be delivered within the project,
excluding commercially usable prototypes (in compliance with European Commission
Communication 2006/C323/01), but convincingly proving scalability towards industrial
needs.
In the case of marine biotechnology based approaches the issues of supply and the need for
the biobased active antifouling compounds to be produced in bulk, as required for final
commercial production should be given due consideration.
The proposals should follow a life cycle approach for the new materials and their selected
applications also taking into account issues of cost efficiency, effective life span, production,
handling, maintenance, environmental impact, ecotoxicological profile and end of life. The
proposals should include assessment of the environmental, health and toxicological effects
according to REACH48, OECD Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals and/or relevant
international standards.
The multi-disciplinary approach of the research undertaken is essential to address the topic. It
will be considered during the evaluation under the criterion Scientific and/or technological
excellence.
The multi-sectoral composition of the partnership and the participation of industrial partners
and relevant end-users, in particular SMEs, are essential for the implementation of the project.
It will be considered during the evaluation under the criterion Implementation.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative project

Expected Impact

The projects will:
• Increase efficiency and competitiveness of maritime activities based on mobile and/or
stationary maritime structures (transport, aquaculture, fisheries, marine energy) by
reducing operation and life-cycle-costs, negative impacts on the marine environment and,
in particular for the transport sector, CO2 emissions;
• Enhance competitiveness and sustainability of the European biotechnology, and/or
materials related industry;
• Better understanding/assessment the scope of existing antifouling materials and
technologies;
• Contribute to the implementation of EU policies, Environment policy (e.g. the Marine
Strategy Framework Directive, REACH), Transport policy (Roadmap to a Single
European transport Area – Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system) as well as industrial and innovation policy, such as the EU Strategy for Key Enabling
Technologies and the Lead Market Initiative on Bio-based products.

More Details

Several projects may be funded within the total budget of the topic (EUR 15 000 000).
- The requested European Union contribution shall not exceed EUR 8 000 000 per
proposal.
- Projects will only be selected for funding on the condition that the requested EU
contribution going to SME(s) is 25% or more of the total requested EU contribution.
This will be assessed at the end of the negotiation, before signature of the grant
agreement. Proposals not fulfilling this criterion will not be funded.

Description

Sustainable forest management (SFM) and multifunctional forestry are vital to maintain the
environmental, social, cultural and economic functions of forests. However, European
research in these fields is still fragmented and it is therefore needed to strengthen co-operation
and coordination of research activities carried out at regional or national level.
The ERA-NET will aim at establishing joint research efforts between the involved countries.
This should include creation of mutual understanding on SFM and multifunctional forestry,
providing a solid basis for policy decisions. The ERA-NET will help addressing the
challenges of the Europe 2020 Strategy and of the new EU Forestry Strategy. Research will
be innovative and integrated, addressing forestry in a broader intersectoral way.
The ERA-NET will seek synergies with other relevant initiatives such as the newly
established FORESTERRA ERA-NET and activities of the future ERA-NET+ (topic
KBBE.2012.1.2-08: Innovation in the forest-based sector for increasing resource efficiency
and tackling climate change with competitive customer solutions).

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action).

Expected Impact

The ERA-NET should: (i) provide mapping of ongoing research activities,
(ii) Improve coordination and reduce overlapping between national and EU funding in
relevant fields of research; (iii) achieve critical mass and ensure better use of limited
resources in fields of mutual interests; (iv) share good practices in implementing research
programmes; (v) promote transnational collaborations and new knowledge generation and
innovation; vi) mobilise SMEs in the transnational projects to enhance innovation; vii) establish a network of research activities carried out at national and regional level, including a
mutual opening of national and regional research programmes, and vii) prepare and
implement transnational joint calls.

Description

European Union Member States are currently in the process of developing research
programmes designed to support the National Action Plans and implement Integrated Pest
Management practices required by Directive 2009/128/EC. The demanding legislative
framework (Sustainable Use Directive, Regulation on Placing of Plant Protection Products on
the market, Water Framework Directive) increases the need for further research and
coordination for the development and mainstream application of IPM. It also reduces the
availability of Plant Protection Products, thereby impacting in particular on the 'minor uses'
sector mainly in fruits and vegetables, seeds, flowers and other plants which depend heavily
on tailor made pesticides for protection.
The proposed ERA-NET will address the above mentioned issues and also deal with pesticide
risk assessment for 'minor uses' along with IPM-type solutions to reduce dependency on
pesticides for speciality or 'minor use' crops. It should aim at ensuring better communication
between the various actors in this area, coordination with other initiatives and establishment
of interactions. It should create synergies and economies of scale and ensure a higher level of
implementation of Integrated Pest Management among European farmers.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action).

Expected Impact

The ERA-NET should: (i) provide mapping of ongoing research activities,
(ii) Improve coordination and reduce overlapping between national and EU funding in
relevant fields of research; (iii) achieve critical mass and ensure better use of limited
resources in fields of mutual interests; (iv) share good practices in implementing research
programmes; (v) promote transnational collaborations and new knowledge generation and
innovation; vi) mobilise SMEs in the transnational projects to enhance innovation; vii)
establish a network of research activities carried out at national and regional level, including a
mutual opening of national and regional research programmes, and vii) prepare and
implement transnational joint calls.

Description

Co-operation between European research funding bodies in the Mediterranean area started
with a dedicated collaborative working group set up by the Standing Committee on
Agricultural Research (SCAR). The ARIMNet ERA-NET on coordination of Agricultural
Research in the Mediterranean stemmed from this working group and will finish by end 2012.
In that context, the countries of the Mediterranean basin identified common issues in relation
to agriculture, mainly as regards the use and management of natural resources, such as soil
and water, crop protection and threats to the security and sustainability of agricultural
production resulting from climate change.
A stronger scientific cooperation between EU members and Mediterranean Partner Countries
(MPC) has been triggered and deserves to be continued, deepened and enlarged (in terms of
topics –e.g. food security- and partnership). The link between research and innovation should be enhanced and an articulation with the Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) (e.g. FACCE)
should be considered.
This project is expected to deepen the coordination of national research activities through a
scientific research agenda shared among the countries of the Mediterranean area.
During the negotiation and implementation phase, complementarities with actions that will be
selected under the ERA-NET call targeting the Mediterranean Partner Countries to be
launched in the Work Programme 2013 of the INCO Capacities Programme should be
ensured.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action).

Expected Impact

The ERA-NET should: (i) provide mapping of ongoing research activities,
(ii) Improve coordination and reduce overlapping between national and EU funding in
relevant fields of research; (iii) achieve critical mass and ensure better use of limited
resources in fields of mutual interests; (iv) share good practices in implementing research
programmes; (v) promote transnational collaborations and new knowledge generation and
innovation; vi) mobilise SMEs in the transnational projects to enhance innovation; vii)
establish a network of research activities carried out at national and regional level, including a
mutual opening of national and regional research programmes, and vii) prepare and
implement transnational joint calls.

Description

There is a growing worldwide need to integrate modern agricultural engineering tools for
enabling agriculture to meet the global demand for food, feed and bio-based products, to
reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture, to respond to customers demand for healthy
food and to combine precision livestock farming with high animal welfare standards.
The aim of this ERA-NET is to link-up efficiently national research programmes in ICT and
robotics for sustainable agriculture. In consultation with relevant Technology Platforms (TP),
like Manufacture-Agricultural Engineering Technologies, TP Organics and others, a common
European research agenda based on shared priorities will be established and updated. The
ERA-NET will build on previous mapping to enhance the coordination of European Research
capacity.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action).

Expected Impact

The ERA-NET should: (i) provide mapping of ongoing research activities,
(ii) Improve coordination and reduce overlapping between national and EU funding in
relevant fields of research; (iii) achieve critical mass and ensure better use of limited
resources in fields of mutual interests; (iv) share good practices in implementing research
programmes; (v) promote transnational collaborations and new knowledge generation and
innovation; vi) mobilise SMEs in the transnational projects to enhance innovation; vii)
establish a network of research activities carried out at national and regional level, including a
mutual opening of national and regional research programmes, and vii) prepare and
implement transnational joint calls.

Description

The overall aim of the action is to allow proposing Member States to successfully implement
Joint Calls thus further increasing the level of coordination between European research
funding bodies in the area of Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change. The action
would seek complementarities between national activities and pooling resources to undertake
joint funding of transnational research projects. In setting priorities for the action's activities, -
implementing the priorities defined by , the current Joint Programming Initiative on
Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (JPI FACCE) – JPI activities strategy should
be sought, as well as, coordination and synergy with existing ERA-NETs active in this area.
The emphasis of this ERA-NET+ will be on adaptation of agricultural systems in Europe to
climate change.
Climate smart agriculture has been defined as agriculture that sustainably increases
productivity and resilience (adaptation), reduces greenhouse gases (mitigation), and enhances
food security and development (FAO, 2010). In order to stabilize outputs and income,
production systems should become more resilient, i.e. more capable of performing well in the
face of disruptive climatic events. Enhancing the capacity to manage climate risk is also a
core adaptation strategy. There are many region- or situation-specific climate risk
management options (e.g., crop and livestock diversification) that may also have adaptation
value.
Under more severe climate changes planned adaptation is needed. Planned adaptation in
agriculture will require a large coordinated international research effort to develop seeds and
breeds adapted to the unchartered climatic conditions of the end of this century and to design
resilient and eco-efficient crop and livestock systems, while ensuring the dynamic
conservation of soil, water and genetic resources and taking into account socio-economic
aspects of adaptation to climate change. More productive and resilient systems may also lead
to beneficial side effects in terms of carbon sequestration and reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions per unit product and area. In this respect, adaptive interventions will also have
mitigating effects, meeting the true challenge of climate smart agriculture. In addition, as
shown in a recent study37, the differential effects of climate change through the North-South
gradient in Europe should lead to the implementation of specific policies at the regional level.
Agro-ecological engineering through the increased use of genetic and species diversity at field
and landscape scales and eco-technologies to adapt water management by improved water
harvesting, increased water use efficiency and efficient fertilization practices, to monitor and
reduce greenhouse gas, to increase and verify soil and biomass carbon stocks will play a key
role. A critical research question would be the balance and interactions between genotype,
environment and management to achieve climate smart agriculture.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action).

Expected Impact

The ERA-NET+ will enhance operational coordination of RTD public
funding in Europe by implementing transnational joint calls in relevant thematic areas. In
addition it will: (i) provide mapping of ongoing research activities, (ii) Improve coordination
and reduce overlapping between national and EU funding in relevant fields of research; (iii)
achieve critical mass and ensure better use of limited resources in fields of mutual interests;
(iv) share good practices in implementing research programmes; (v) promote transnational
collaborations and new knowledge generation and innovation; and vi) mobilise SMEs in the
transnational projects to enhance innovation; vii) establish a network of research activities
carried out at national and regional level, including a mutual opening of national and regional
research programmes.

Description

The aim of this ERA-NET+ is to pool the necessary financial resources from the participating
national (or regional) research programmes and the EU, to launch joint international calls for
research, development and innovation in the area of organic agriculture and food.
The main objective of this ERA-NET+ is to support the integration of the knowledge basis
and innovation capacity in organic food and farming as a tool to tackle great societal
challenges in Europe’s agriculture and food systems highlighted in the third Standing
Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) foresight38 and the Budapest Declaration39. This
will be achieved by integrating the research and innovation capacity of the most important
stakeholders from research and industry.
The joint transnational calls will allow for a focused and coordinated research and innovation
effort covering some of the most important challenges along the organic value chains.
Thematic focusing of this joint transnational calls should be commensurate with the funds
available, so as to ensure a reasonable rate of success in the call. Possible areas for testing
integrated programme planning and implementation could include for instance the closing of
the protein gap in order to secure a healthy diet for the still growing global population or other
aspects of high priority. Details on the topics covered by the call will be decided by the
participants in due time but should be selected upon consultation with the Commission
services concerned.
The selection of thematic areas and call topics should reflect experiences from the on-going
research collaboration in Core Organic I & II as well as the Technology Platform (TP)
Organics and complement the policy oriented topics in the FAFB work programme.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action).

Expected Impact

The ERA-NET+ will enhance operational coordination of RTD public
funding in Europe by implementing transnational joint calls in relevant thematic areas. In
addition it will: (i) provide mapping of ongoing research activities, (ii) Improve coordination
and reduce overlapping between national and EU funding in relevant fields of research; (iii)
achieve critical mass and ensure better use of limited resources in fields of mutual interests;
(iv) share good practices in implementing research programmes; (v) promote transnational
collaborations and new knowledge generation and innovation; and vi) mobilise SMEs in the
transnational projects to enhance innovation; vii) establish a network of research activities
carried out at national and regional level, including a mutual opening of national and regional
research programmes.

Description

Cooperation between European research funding bodies in the area of Marine Biotechnology
started in FP7 under the umbrella of the KBBE-NET high-level group and continues within
the ERA-NET Preparatory Action which is providing a successful forum for the exchange of
information, and has initiated the process of identifying complementarities between the
research funding bodies, thus creating a basis for developing future joint, transnational calls.
The proposed network of European research funding bodies in the area of Marine
biotechnology will thus build upon these previous initiatives and will capitalise on its
achievement, such us, the analysis of the current landscape in Europe and beyond, the
mobilisation of key stakeholders as well as the set up of initial cooperation tools to develop
joint programmes and pool resources for collaborative research at European scale.
The overall aim of this ERA-NET is to further increase the level of coordination between
European research funding bodies in the area of Marine Biotechnology, seeking
complementarities between national activities and pooling resources to undertake joint
funding of transnational projects.
Research collaborations should serve to tackle scientific and industrial challenges to establish
Europe as a world leader in strategically-important areas of marine biotechnology and to
better integrate and rationalise existing infrastructures and databases. These collaborations
will address the important role of marine biotechnology for the development of related
industries.
The network should seek to expand the previous ERA-NET preparatory action membership to
include new funding bodies from other Member States and Associated Countries. In setting
priorities for the network's activities it is important that complementarity with other FP7
initiatives is sought and that interactions are established with related ERA-NETs and ETPs
across the marine and relevant sectors. It is expected that the opportunity for future global
initiatives in the area of marine biotechnology will also be analysed.

Funding Schemes

Coordination and Support Action (coordinating action).

Expected Impact

The project supported under this topic should lead to a greater integration
of research actors and activities from across the enlarged European Union, and the candidate
countries. It is expected that the proposal will consolidate the basis for further coordination
efforts in the area of Marine Biotechnology; seek for complementarities between national
activities, and start pooling resources for funding and implementing future research activities
in a synergistic manner. Ultimately, the cooperation should lead to a self-sustainable and long
lasting network of programme managers in the area of marine biotechnology, enabling the
translation of information gained from innovative fundamental research into social,
environmental, geographical and economic benefits. The European added value lies in
supporting and enhancing the ERA in the field of marine biotechnology.

The EU legal framework on GMOs ensures that genetically modified (GM) food and feed are when placed on the market safe as regards human and animal health and the environment. The European Commission has very recently adopted a Regulation concerning applications for the authorisation of GM food and feed, requesting applicants to carry out an obligatory 90-day feeding study with whole food/feed for each submitted GMO dossier. Depending on the outcome of previous studies, a two-year carcinogenicity study with rats may also be requested by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on a case-by-case basis.
EFSA has been requested to assist the Commission to provide supplementary guidance on key elements to consider for a 2 year carcinogenicity trial in rats with whole food/feed. In this context, and to address possible concerns, including those raised recently by a study on "Long-term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize"69 the following issues related to two-year feeding trials need to be addressed in a
stepwise approach:

1. Execution of at least one rat feeding trial(s) with GM maize NK 603 (and additional GMOs where scientifically justified) applying the EFSA protocol. Participating institutions should strictly comply with all applicable international standards and norms concerning feeding trials in close collaboration with EFSA.
2. Analysing, reporting and providing recommendations, in particular as to the scientific justification and added value of such long-term feeding trials with regard to GMO risk assessment.
The proposals under this topic shall strictly adhere to the principles of scientific excellence, independence and transparency. Feeding stuff used in the trials should be produced following the principles of good agricultural practice. Dedicated communication programmes, targeting scientists, policy makers and the general public will be developed as part of the project. These programmes should also consider taking into account the concerns and opinions of the wider stakeholder community, e.g. relevant risk assessment and regulatory bodies.

Funding scheme: Collaborative Project (small or medium-scale focused research project)

Expected_impact: It is expected that the results of the project will enable risk managers drawing conclusions with regard to framework of the currently applicable GM food/feed risk assessment requirements and procedures in the EU.

One project may be funded

Description

Projects supported under this objective shall contribute to the European Energy-Efficient Buildings Initiative by developing management and control systems, and decision-support systems addressing the dynamics of energy supply and demand in neighbourhoods and extended urban/rural communities. These systems shall optimise the use of energy beyond the buildings (considering for instance street lighting, urban heat production, electrical vehicles), and they shall include the integration of renewable energy sources and the connection to the electricity distribution grid in order to take advantage of variable tariffs and diversity of supply.
In addition to technical developments, projects shall consider appropriate business models, how to split incentives, and engage end users and public authorities to deploying such systems.
Interoperation of these systems with other ICT-based systems (e.g. traffic management systems, Geographical Information Systems) that may be deployed in the area will be considered an asset.
In addition to systems integration, proposals shall include a substantial validation phase. During this phase, projects shall record evidence of the benefits and total cost of operation, as well as the potential for scaling up solutions, for potential users.
Consortia must be compact with partners each making substantial contributions.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Projects (STREP)

Expected Impact

• Contribution to the opening of a market for ICT-based district/community energy management systems.
• Establishment of a collaboration framework between the ICT sector, the buildings and construction sector, and the energy sector.
• Quantifiable and significant reduction of energy consumption and CO2 emissions achieved through ICT.

Description

The capability to produce large varieties of sophisticated products requires manufacturing sites to be flexible, fast and reactive. Lean and easy-to-implement ICT enables those sites to be resource efficient, safe and cost effective.
Target outcomes:
a) Demonstration and benchmarking of novel process automation and control (for discrete, continuous or batch industries): Systems, strategies and tools for an
integrated control and dynamic optimisation of factory assets. The challenge is to develop ICT driven approaches and scalable architectures (e.g. service-oriented
architectures or other appropriate architectures) for next-generation production automation and control solutions with flexibility, autonomy, robustness and energy efficiency. Projects should address efficient aggregation of information across existing legacy systems at all production levels, factory level optimisation of production processes, and include demonstrations in real industrial environments. The aim is to show the operational and economic benefits of new ICT-driven approaches in factories against today’s process automation and control solutions.
b) Large-scale validation of advanced industrial robotics systems through user-friendly methods of interaction with, and tasking of, intelligent cooperative robotic systems (including new programming paradigms and direct physical interaction) and through robotics-enabled production processes. Research shall focus on methods that allow workers to productively and safely deploy robots without specialised training. Cooperation between human-robot and between robot-robot should aim to provide easyto-access and personalised support for skilled or heavy duty tasks on the shop floor. Real-world validation of R&D shall demonstrate its large-scale applicability to flexible, small batch and craft manufacturing. Results should contribute to future benchmarking standards.
c) Applications based on factory-wide networks of intelligent sensors and new metrology tools and methods, demonstrating management of manufacturing
information in real time and under harsh conditions, including planning, scheduling and dispatching. R&D should in particular address modularity, reliability/accuracy, safety and energy efficiency aspects of quality control systems and automation/handling equipment supporting discrete manufacturing down to lot sizes of 1. Results should support international standardisation.
d) Lasers and laser systems for manufacturing and materials processing with the following focus: i) High-brilliance active fibre and diode lasers (laser arrays) with nearly diffraction limited beam quality: simultaneous targets are multi kW continuous wave output power, efficiency of 40% or more, coupling into small diameter fibres (100μm or less for fibre lasers and 300μm or less for diode lasers); ii) New wavelengths and on-line adaptation of beam properties: novel lasers and laser systems opening-up new process windows and/or contributing to optimised process efficiencies. This includes widely tuneable lasers, ultra-short pulse lasers, versatile frequency conversion systems and photonic components enabling the on-line adaptation of essential beam parameters in order to produce stable beams of sufficient power and quality for the intended process. Projects are expected to be industry-driven and to contain a strong validation element with quantifiable targets.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Projects (IP and STREP)

Expected Impact

• Strengthened global position of European manufacturing industry through the introduction of advanced automation into mainstream manufacturing and contributions to international standardisation
• Larger European market for advanced technologies such as electronic devices, control systems, new assistive automation and robots.
• Intelligent management of manufacturing information for customisation and environmental friendliness.
• Reinforced European leadership and industrial competitiveness of laser component and system producers and users and substantial improvement of manufacturing processes.

Description

Organic Large Area Electronics (OLAE)35 is based on a combination of new materials and uses large area production processes to provide completely new applications and products that are generally thin, cheap, lightweight and flexible. Key to realising the potential is developing low cost, high volume and high throughput manufacturing technologies of electrical, electronic and photonic components. This objective aims at a "from lab to fab" approach i.e. bridging the gap between research prototypes and low-cost mass production methods. Applications range from OLED lighting, organic photovoltaics and printed batteries, to signage and displays, organic and large area sensor arrays, organic and printed electronics as well as flex/foil-based integrated smart systems.
Targeted outcomes
Feasibility demonstrators for industrial, low cost, high volume and high throughput manufacturing processes and production of organic and large area electronics and photonics products. Solutions should in particular make use of roll-to roll wet deposition, but could also address evaporation, hot-embossing, laser processing and other low-temperature processes. R&D will focus on addressing the main roadblocks such as patterning processes, resolution and registration accuracy, process stability, multilayer lamination, encapsulation, automation, in-line quality control, and architectures to cut production costs. Standardisation and end-oflife/disposal/recyclability issues should be addressed as appropriate. Projects are expected to be industry-driven and the proposed work should include strong quality control, testing and validation elements in order to demonstrate the feasibility of the manufacturing at an industrial scale.

Funding Schemes

Collaborative Projects (IP)

Expected Impact

• New market opportunities for European manufacturing industry in new low cost, high volume and high throughput manufacturing processes for OLAE products tailored to meet key societal and economic needs; and, extending the range of applications of "conventional" industries (e.g. printing and plastic), into the OLAE field.
• Availability of European-produced OLAE products tailored to meet key societal and economic needs.

Description

The target is the development of energy-efficient future network infrastructures that support the convergence and interoperability of heterogeneous mobile, wired and wireless broadband network technologies as enablers of the future Internet. This includes ubiquitous fast broadband access and ultra high speed end-to-end connectivity, with optimised protocols, addressing and routing capabilities, supporting open generic services and applications. "Clean-slate" and evolutionary approaches to network architecture are equally valid. Userdriven research is a priority.
a) Wireless and mobile broadband systems
– LTE-Advanced and post-LTE systems; with focus on medium term evolution of LTE systems towards higher rate LTE-Advanced with support to standardisation; in the longerterm, R&D targeting new radio transmission paradigms and system designs taking into account the need for radical cost and energy per bit reduction and lower electromagnetic field exposure.
– Enabling technologies for flexible spectrum usage for mobile broadband, including new ambitious approaches to cognitive radio as well as proof-of-concept reference implementations, taking into account commercial and regulatory constraints and opportunities.
– Novel radio network topologies, taking into account the need for autonomy, energy efficiency, high capacity backhaul, low EMF radio exposure, and smaller low power base stations, mixed analogue-digital RF design, and novel signal processing methods.
– Integration of radio technologies with optical fibre networks, for consolidation of mobile and wireless networks into integrated communication systems (using e.g. femtocells) which can deliver ultra high speed wireless access in the home, the street or in the enterprise.
b) High capacity end-to-end infrastructure technologies
– Ubiquitous fast broadband access: convergence and interoperability of dynamic heterogeneous broadband and mobile network technologies; robust and reliable broadband networks with optimised interconnection of heterogeneous core, metro and edge networks, wired and wireless, including hybrid optical-coaxial and radio/copper/fibre access, in multiple operator and service provider domains; seamless transparent end-to-end connectivity using optimised protocols and routing for energy efficiency and cost reduction.
– Ultra high capacity all-optical networks supporting ever-increasing service bandwidth demands: including network virtualisation; reducing the need for electronic-optical conversion, to solve the problem of the unsustainable growth of power consumption of electronic routers; targeting WDM technologies enabling transportation of 160 wavelengths at 40-100 Gb/s and higher, in combination with enabling technologies such as coherent transmission, complex formats, OFDM; solutions beyond 100G Ethernet.
– An efficient functional split between optics and electronics and between circuit, flow and packet switching as well as integration with packet transport in the data, control and management planes should be addressed.
– The work on optical core and access networks provides the system perspective to the development of the necessary photonic components and sub-systems undertaken in Objective 3.5
c) Novel Internet architectures, management and operation frameworks
– Future Internet architectures that are resilient, trustworthy and energy-efficient and designed to support open access, increasing heterogeneity of end-points (multimode devices, people, things) and networks (ad-hoc networks, opportunistic networks, networks of networks), with the need of a seamless and generalised handover, in support of the complete range of services and applications. Networks should sustain a large number of devices, many orders of magnitude higher than the current Internet, handle the large irregular information flows, and be compatible with ultra high capacity end-to-end connectivity.
– Visionary and "clean-slate" multi-disciplinary research on new architectures is encouraged, consisting of iterative cycles of research, design and large-scale experimentation of innovative architectures for the Future Internet from an overall system perspective.
– Network management and operation frameworks to support generic service platforms, information exchange, addressing and naming, personal networks, scalability issues, agile connectivity, and the explosion of traffic and endpoints. Work should also address Internet mobility, virtualization, and backward compatibility strategies with the current Internet. Self- or distributed management approaches should lead to a better control of new heterogeneous networks. Optimisation of control and management may also address tighter integration between network functionalities and overlay service functionalities and optimise integration of services provided by data centres and server farms with the network capabilities.
d) Flexible, resilient, broadband and integrated satellite communication
– Innovative system architectures and technologies making possible the advent of ultra high capacity satellite communication systems, radically lowered transmission cost, broadband end-to-end connectivity one order of magnitude higher than that of current operational systems, seamless integration capabilities with Future Internet terrestrial based networks, mobile and fixed, notably through capability of dynamic joint reconfiguration of satellite-terrestrial protocols and integrated network management.
– Novel technologies and architectures for resilient and flexible networks enabling global, multi service, secure and dependable communication (including mobility), for institutional missions. It requires network availability and efficiency, fast information processing and reaction, and interoperability with terrestrial public safety networks, and integration with navigation systems and sensor networks.
e) Coordination and Support Actions and Networks of Excellence
– Coordination and support for European network/service requirement definition, exploitation of results and (pre)standardisation.
– Definition of a joint policy framework fostering the development and integration of terrestrial mobile, fixed and satellite communications to achieve broadband for all and serve the institutional/public service demand.
– Support to concrete initiatives/projects for international cooperation, notably with USA and Japan, in identified priority topics such as cognitive radio.
– Networks of Excellence should be tightly focussed on a critical mass of researchers and actors in new and emerging key topics for the Future Network development, in particular acting as a bridge between academic research and industrial exploitation.

Funding Schemes

IP/STREP, NOE, CSA

Expected Impact

• Strengthened positioning of European industry in the fields of Future Internet technologies, mobile and wireless broadband systems, optical networks, and network management technologies.
• Developing the technology for the future generations of the European high-speed broadband and mobile network infrastructure.
• Increased economic and energy efficiency of access/transport infrastructures (cost/bit).
• Contributions to standards and regulation as well as the related IPRs, with a predominant role for Europe in standardization bodies and fora.
• Industry adoption of integrated all optical networks and of spectral-efficient broadband wireless systems, novel Internet architectures and technologies

Description

The objective focuses on technologies specific to the networked, distributed dimension of software and access to services and data. It will support long-term research on new principles, methods, tools and techniques enabling software developers in the EU to easily create interoperable services based on open standards, with sufficient flexibility and at a reasonable cost.
Target outcomes
a) Cloud Computing
- Intelligent and autonomic management of cloud resources, ensuring agile elastic scalability. Scalable data management strategies, addressing the issues of heterogeneity, consistency, availability, privacy and supporting security.
- Technologies for infrastructure virtualisation, cross platforms execution as needed for service composition across multiple, heterogeneous environments, autonomous management of hardware and software resources.
- Interoperability amongst different clouds, portability, protection of data in cloud environments, control of data distribution and latency.
- Seamless support of mobile, context-aware applications.
- Energy efficiency and sustainability for software and services on the cloud.
- Architectures and technologies supporting integration of computing and networking environments; implications of Cloud Computing paradigm on networks
- Open Source implementations of a software stack for Clouds
b) Internet of Services
- Service engineering principles, methods and tools supporting development for the Internet of Services, including languages and tools to model parallelism.
- Services enabled by technologies for seamless integration of real and virtual worlds, through the convergence with Internet of Things and Internet of Contents.
- Massive scalability, self-management, verification, validation and fault localisation for software-based services.
- Methods and tools to manage life cycle of secure and resilient Internet-scale applications from requirements to run-time and their adaptive evolution over time.
c) Advanced software engineering
- Advanced engineering for software, architectures and front ends spanning across all abstraction levels.
- Quality measure and assurance techniques which adapt to changing requirements and contexts, to flexibly deal with the complexity and openness of the Future Internet.
- Management of non-functional requirements typical of Internet-scale applications, like concurrency levels which will be orders of magnitude larger than in today's applications, huge data stores and guaranteed performance over time.
- Tools and methods for community-based and open source software development, composition and life cycle management.
d) Coordination and support actions
- Support for standardization and collaboration in software and services technologies.
- Support for the uptake of open source development models in Europe and beyond.
- Collaboration with Japanese entities on: cloud computing, particularly on common standards for data portability and on interoperability; services having more efficient energy usage.

Funding Schemes

IP/STREP, CSA

Expected Impact

• Emergence of European interoperable clouds contributing to an internal market of services in the EU whilst providing very significant business opportunities to SME's; improved trust in cloud-based applications and storage for citizens and business.
• Availability of platforms for easy and controlled development and deployment of valueadded services through innovative service front-ends.
• Lower barriers for service providers and users to develop, select, combine and use valueadded services through significant advances in cloud computing technologies and standardised and open interfaces.
• Efficient implementation of mainstream software applications on massively parallel architectures.
• Easier evolution of legacy software over time, thanks to innovative methods and tools managing the complete lifecycle of software from requirements to run-time.
• Fast innovation cycles in service industry, e.g. through the use of Open Source development model.
• A strengthened industry in Europe for software-based services offering a large choice of services satisfying key societal and economical needs, with reinforced capabilities to engineer and produce software solutions and on-line services.

Description

The objective is a trustworthy Information Society based on an ecosystem of digital communication, data processing and service provisioning infrastructures, with trustworthiness in its design, as well as respect for human and societal values and cultures. Projects must ensure strong interplay with legal, social and economic research in view of development of a techno-legal system that is usable, socially accepted and economically viable.
a) Heterogeneous networked, service and computing environments.
- Trustworthy (meta) architectures and protocols for scalability and interoperability, taking account of heterogeneity of domains, partitions, compartments, capabilities and environments in ecosystems and underlying infrastructures; architectural standards, including meta-level specifications, for conformity, emergency and security policy management.
- A trustworthy polymorphic future internet with strong physical security in balance with privacy; federated, seamless, transparent and user-friendly security of the edge networks in smart ecosystems, ensuring interoperability throughout the heterogeneous landscape of access networks.
- Virtualisation and other techniques to provide protection, assurance and integrity in complex, high-demand critical services; and security in the presence of scarce resources, and in legal domains with different priorities. Trustworthy global computing with contextual security and secure smart services in the cloud.
- Metrics and tools for quantitative security assessment and predictive security in complex environments and for composition and evaluation of large scale systems.
- Enabling technologies, such as declarative languages, biometry, technology for certification and accreditation or cryptography for Trustworthy ICT.
b) Trust, eIdentity and Privacy management infrastructures.
- Development of trust architectures, protocols and models for trust assurance, including measures and rating models, and services and devices to enable trust assessment (e.g. by claims on identity, reputation, recommendation, frequentation, voting), to delegate trust and partial trust; and for trust instrumentation and high-level tools at the end-user stage (cognitive and learning instrumentation for trust, profiling services and communities).
- Protocols for privacy infrastructures enabling multi-identity and tools to check privacy assurance and enable un-observability and un-linkability through search engines or social networks. Advancement of privacy at the hardware level.
- Interoperable or federated management of identity claims integrating flexible user-centric privacy, accountability, non-repudiation, traceability as well as the right to oblivion at the design level. Technologies and standardisation for use of multiple authentication devices, applicable to a diversity of services and ecosystems, and providing auditing, reporting and access control.
c) Data policy, governance and socio-economic ecosystems.
- Management and governance frameworks for consistent expression and interpretation of security and trust policies in data governance and means for implementation, including in the ubiquitous scale-less Web or Cloud. Technology supported socio-economics frameworks for risk analysis, liability assignment, insurance and certification to improve security and trust economics in the EU single market.
- Multi-polar governance and security policies between a large number of participating and competitive stakeholders, including mutual recognition security frameworks for competing operators; transparent security for re-balancing the unfair, unequal face-to-face relationship of the end-user in front of the network; tools for trust measurement, based on cost-benefit analysis.
d) Networking and Coordination activities
Support for networking, road-mapping, coordination and awareness raising of research and its results in Trustworthy ICT.
Priority will be given to (i) stimulating and organising the interplay between technology development and legal, social and economic research through multi-disciplinary research communities; (ii) promoting standards, certification and best practices; (iii) coordination of
national RTD activities.

Funding Schemes

IP/STREP, NoE, CSA

Expected Impact

• Improved European industrial competitiveness in markets of trustworthy ICT, by: facilitating economic conditions for wide take-up of results; offering clear business opportunities and consumer choice in usable innovative technologies; and increased awareness of the potential and relevance of trustworthy ICT.
• Adequate support to users to make informed decisions on the trustworthiness of ICT. Increased confidence in the use of ICT by EU citizens and businesses. Increased usability and societal acceptance of ICT through understanding of legal and societal consequences.
• Demonstrable improvement (i) of the trustworthiness of increasingly large scale heterogeneous networks and systems and (ii) in protecting against and handling of network threats and attacks and the reduction of security incidents.
• Significant contribution to the development of trustworthy European infrastructures and frameworks for network services; improved interoperability and support to standardisation. Demonstrable usability and societal acceptance of proposed handling of information and privacy.
• Improved coordination and integration of research activities in Europe or internationally.

Description

b) FIRE Federation: implementing a demand-driven high level federation framework for all FIRE prototype facilities and beyond making the facility self-sustainable towards 2015 based on credible business models assuming a significant decrease of EU funding; including the development of a joint FIRE portal, operated until the end of 2015 and a set of common tools addressing issues such as brokering, user access management, one-stopshopping, measurement and performance analysis. Provisions shall be made for openness towards additional testbeds and facilities, for building as far as possible on proven existing federation models, for the use of open standards, for standardisation and certification policies, for using existing research infrastructures such as GÉANT and the NRENs, and for cooperation with EU national and international initiatives on experimental facilities.
c) FIRE Experimentation: Experimentally-driven research in the broad field of the Future Internet using one or more of the existing FIRE facility prototypes. Projects should be challenging both in terms of visionary R&D to be undertaken, e.g. on holistic network and service architectures, on applications with high social value, on low energy and cost solutions, etc.; and in terms of innovative usage of the facility, e.g. large scale & diversity of experiments, broad and systematic involvement of large groups of end-users, complex system-level testing, assessment of socio, economic, or environmental impact, and methodology and tools used for measurements and benchmarking. Proposers must demonstrate a clear commitment of the FIRE facilities they intend to use. Where appropriate, participation from international cooperation countries at use level is encouraged.
e) Coordination and Support Actions: EU-wide co-operation with related EU-level and Member States and associated countries activities such as the Public Private Partnership on the Future Internet, or national experimentation facilities; international co-operation with initiatives in industrial countries and emerging economies; co-operation on standardization in order to exploit synergies; socio-economic requirements gathering, impact analysis, and awareness creation.

Funding Schemes

IP, STREP, CSA

Expected Impact

• Research projects saving costs on experimentation activities, while at the same time being able to do more diverse and larger scale testing with broad end-user involvement and closer to reality, leading to a better and faster exploitation of research results in infrastructures, products and services.
• Improved European competitiveness in Future Internet research by providing European researchers, in industry and academia, with a unique operational, sustainable, dynamic, and integrated large scale Experimental Facility.
• Broad and innovative use of the Experimental Facility by a significant number of Future Internet research projects in European and national programmes and beyond.
• Better understanding by European industry and academia of the complex nature of the Internet as a system of systems, and enabling them to take this knowledge into account when considering changes, when providing services, and when seeking to take advantage of new market opportunities, including at international level.
• Strategic capability to assess a priori the evolution of Internet networks, services and applications in terms of broad implications at societal, economic and environmental levels, taking into account aspects such as sustainability, privacy, openness, neutrality, and market evolution.

Description

This objective covers the combination and convergence of advanced More-than-Moore elements with Beyond-CMOS devices and their integration and interfacing with existing technology. It addresses research from a "System Perspective", i.e. linking new advanced component technologies with advanced system design to support miniaturised electronic systems for 2020 and beyond. Developed components and technologies need to fulfil the criteria of "systemability", "integratability" and "manufacturability" where appropriate. The interaction of circuit, device and technology research communities will be stimulated. Research for disruptive approaches and holistic research solutions to address new levels of miniaturisation at component and system level are targeted as well as related novel manufacturing solutions and access to manufacturing and integration platforms for European equipment and material suppliers.
The activities under this objective are complementary to the activities in the ENIAC JTI14.
Target outcomes
a) Beyond CMOS technology:
- New switches and interconnects which offer scalability, performance and energy efficiency gains, operational reliability and room temperature operation with preferably CMOS process and architectural compatibility.
- Advanced system integration technology and new methods for computation.
- Emerging memories targeting the concept of non-volatile universal memory.
- Nano-photonic devices & interconnects integrated with nano- and Beyond–CMOS.
- Carbon based electronic devices.
- Novel materials for interconnects, nano-packaging, Beyond-CMOS (logic and memory).
- Understanding fundamental artefacts and limits: nano-scale thermal processes; computational material and device science.
b) Circuit-technology solutions, addressing in a combined manner:
- Architectures including energy efficiency, spin devices; silicon with molecular switches; ferromagnetic logic; heterogeneous and morphic system architectures.
- Circuit design, methodology and tools addressing e.g. power dissipation constraints; SRAM stability; digital-analogue convergence; device variability, model accuracy; reliability and novel functionality.
- Technology addressing e.g. device leakage current, power dissipation, process variability; monolithic as well as 3D integration of Beyond-CMOS and advanced More-than-Moore; co-integration of photon and electron based devices.
- Modelling and simulation: e.g. quantum and atomic scale effects; electro-thermo-mechanical effects; band-to-band tunnelling; drift diffusion effects; variability; modelling for new materials, processes and devices, and higher abstraction level models for cross technology cross IP level simulation.
- Design-technology solutions for energy efficiency, high reliability and robustness including ultra low power techniques and zero-power concepts; thermal aware design, solutions for complex single or multi-technology systems; reuse and standardisation with respect to IPs , design for self-testing, self-healing and self-configuring.
c) Nano-manufacturing and Joint Equipment Assessment, comprising the complete manufacturing supply chain for flexible and customised manufacturing of integrated nanoand Beyond-CMOS components:
- Manufacturing approaches to Beyond-CMOS and advanced More-than-Moore', and to their integration with nanoCMOS including 3D integration.
- Enhanced variability control; integrated metrology/inspection/analysis concepts and tools to support 3D approaches; functionalised assembly and packaging (also at wafer level).
- Joint Assessments of (combined) equipment/metrology/process solutions ranging from proof of concept for 'disruptive' approaches and for 450 mm to prototype testing with suppliers and users;
- 200/300 mm wafer integration platforms and short user-supplier feedback loops.
d) Coordination and Support Actions
- Broker services to offer European researchers and SMEs access to training, to CAD tools and to advanced technologies, design kits and IP blocks for education, prototyping and small volume production.
- Roadmaps; benchmarks; strategy papers; studies of limits of Beyond-CMOS and advanced More-than-Moore processes, devices and architectures w.r.t systemability, integratability, energy efficiency, scalability and manufacturability.
- Stimulation of young people towards electronics careers; training and education for high school students; access for students and PhDs to production lines and research labs.
- International cooperation, in particular with the USA, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.
- Support, coordination and standardisation actions including preparatory work for 450 mm wafer processing targeting material and equipment companies.

Funding Schemes

IP/STREP, CSA

Expected Impact

• Increased European knowledge, resources and skills at the frontier of nanoelectronics technology and miniaturised electronic systems, enabling further European partnerships in world-wide collaborations. European research organisations in leading positions.
• A more integrated nano-electronics technology, device and design research community, better targeted to the business strategy of the European industry.
• Increased attractiveness for investments in components miniaturisation, functionalisation and manufacturing in Europe; increased business opportunities and market share.
• New electronic applications of high economic and socio-economic relevance.
• Strengthened competitiveness of the European foodchain for the nanoelectronics industry (materials, equipment and component suppliers, academia and institutes).

Description

Smart (miniaturized) systems have the ability to sense, describe, and qualify a given situation, as well as to mutually address and identify each other. They are able to predict, decide or help to decide, and to interact with their environment by using highly sophisticated interfaces between systems and users. They can be standalone, networked, or embedded into larger systems, they comprise heterogeneous devices providing different functionality (e.g., sensing, actuating, information processing, energy scavenging, communication, etc.) and excel in selfreliance and adaptability. Their development thus requires the integration of inter-disciplinary knowledge.
Smart components demonstrate enhanced performance and functionality enabled by the re-use of nano-electronics processes and building blocks in combination with longer term research to address very advanced performance, high voltage and high power operation or operating under special conditions. Research is needed on specific devices, processes, technologies and design platforms to support applications in 2017 and beyond. The activities in this area are expected to be complementary to the activities in the ENIAC JTI15 and to the activities of the 'Green Car' initiative16 (cf. Objective 6.8). Micro-Nano Bio Systems (MNBS) are smart systems combining microsensing and microactuation, microelectronics, nano-materials, molecular biology, biochemistry, measurement technology and ICT.
Within this objective, a high level of industry participation is expected and demonstration aspects are encouraged.
b) Micro-Nano Bio Systems (MNBS)
- Increased intelligence of devices (computation/decision power, sensing capabilities)
- Enhanced miniaturisation and integration of devices and systems
- Increased integration of bioactive components (molecular and cellular components, bio/nanochemistry) as well as processes.
The novel generation of MNBS shall be smaller, perform better, and be faster and cheaper, while still delivering highly reproducible results, exhibiting increased sensitivity and being extremely, and proven, reliable.
Research actions should be driven by application requirements from application sectors such as health, medical and pharmaceuticals, transport and mobility, security and safety, environment and food quality assurance, etc.. and address whenever relevant, biochemical calibration and bio-molecule stability aspects.
For those actions addressing in particular the health area, emphasis is on:
– highly integrated, safe, active and autonomous “smart” implants which provide real-time performance feedback and are able to tolerate interfering body signals;
– integrated systems for rapid, sensitive, specific and multi-parametric in vitro molecular analysis/detection and cellular manipulation based on biodegradable materials. Cost, manufacturing and real scenarios validation should be considered;
– autonomous body sensor and actuator based systems for non- or minimally invasive targeted early detection, diagnosis and therapy.
The focus of projects targeting environment protection and food/beverage safety and quality control should be on:
– integrated multisensing micro-nano systems able to analyse environment, food and beverage samples for the simultaneous and rapid identification of potentially
dangerous species e.g. pathogens, allergens, chemicals, etc. Of paramount importance are selectivity, sensitivity, modularity and detection that is capable to identify several species;
– integrated sensor and actuator systems for safety and security that are able to support the individuals operating in harsh environments through contextual monitoring, feedback and networking capabilities.

Funding Schemes

IP/STREP

Expected Impact

• Closer business relationships between materials, equipment and component suppliers, integrators, manufacturing plants and institutes. Strong involvement of industry participants interacting closely with R&D organisations and users.
• Increased European knowledge and skills at the frontier of smart component and smart systems integration, increased efficiency and effectiveness of smart components and smart systems engineering contributing to the competitiveness of the European industry involved, increased attractiveness to investments and putting European research organisations in leading positions.
• Substantial market shares gained in high end markets requiring very high performance smart products and new electronic applications.
• Contributing to environment protection through smart solutions for energy management and distribution, smart control of electrical drives, smart logistics or energy-efficient facility management.

Description

a) Core photonic technologies
Extending the state-of-the art for application fields where Europe is strong, including notably application-specific photonic components and sub-systems (such as laser and other light sources, modulators, transmitters and receivers, multiplexers, cross-connects, detectors and sensors, fibre components) for a given set of application fields. The aim is to provide new opportunities for advanced products, with a view to industrialisation. Priority is given to innovative or 'breakthrough' approaches rather than incremental developments. The interrelated materials, processing and device integration issues including electronics/photonics integration may also be dealt with. Cross-cutting technology actions further address device integration in a more systematic way. Research actions should be driven by user requirements, should include validation of results for the targeted applications, and should cover the supply chain as appropriate (in particular in Integrated Projects).
Application-specific photonic components and subsystems should cover one of the following application fields:
1. Optical data communications:
(i): Communication networks that are more transparent, dynamic, energy efficient and faster17. For core networks, the goal is scalable technology for truly cost-effective transport at 100 Gb/s single-channel rate and beyond, scalable towards 100 Tb/s systems (node-throughput). For access networks, the goal is affordable technology enabling 1-10 Gb/s data-rate per client over more than 100 km.
(ii): Optical interconnects aiming at cost- and energy-effective technology for Tb/s optical data links in short range communication. Applications range from on-board and board-to-board links at the smaller scale, to links in data centres and local area networks at the larger scale.
Further to "digital" optical transmission, "radio-over-fibre" techniques may also be addressed, in particular for local area networks and access networks. Research actions should bring together researchers, component manufacturers and suppliers of communication equipment.
2. Biophotonics for early, fast and reliable medical diagnosis of diseases, such as cancer, infectious and eye-related diseases. The applications vary from point-of-care diagnosis to functional imaging. Typical issues are high sensitivity, selectivity, resolution, and depth of penetration, according to the targeted technique and disease. Particular emphasis is on a strongly multidisciplinary approach involving also medical/biomedical end-users. Technical results should undergo preclinical validation, with clinical trials being excluded.
3. Imaging and sensing for safety and security:
(i) CMOS integrated, compact, affordable, high-performance mega-pixel image sensors (with CMOS-compatible detection layer) operating at ambient temperature and low power. Focus is on single-photon detection at video-rate read-out speed and very high dynamic range, and/or functional integration based on smart pixels with subpicosecond temporal resolution, pixel-level hyperspectral or multispectral resolution, and polarisation sensitivity.
(ii) Compact, cost effective, widely tuneable, high-performance photonic sources enabling a highly sensitive, selective and reliable detection of hazardous organic and inorganic substances. Emphasis is on advanced technology such as novel quantum cascade lasers and terahertz sources. Technical results should be validated for safety and security applications. Research actions should bring together researchers, component manufacturers and suppliers of safety & security imaging/sensing equipment.
4. Lighting and displays:
High brightness LEDs and 'light engines' (i.e. LED with driver electronics, optics and thermal management for lighting applications; or LED backlighting modules for displays). Focus is on:
− Improved efficacy at high brightness at LED and light engine level (in particular light engines for warm white light with efficacy above 130 lm/W, CRI at least 90, and
consistent colour over 25000 hours);
− High brightness, high efficiency green components with intensity peak around 540 nm;
− Novel approaches to white components (e.g. new phosphors, monolithic sources, hybrid approaches).
The relevant system integration issues may also be addressed to some extent. Research actions should demonstrate a potential for significant system and operating cost reduction.
LED suppliers and/or manufacturers should be involved.
Cross-cutting technology covers:
5. Photonics integration platforms that enable the cost-effective, automated volume manufacturing of a large variety of complex, compact, high-performance photonic integrated circuits ("PICs") combining active and passive components. Platforms should address a range of different application fields. The technology must be scalable for new technology generations, in particular for higher integration complexities at reduced cost per function. The platforms should address also the relevant design, modelling and simulation tools and generic manufacturing and packaging technology. Research actions should present a credible route to industrial manufacturing in Europe.
c) ERANET-Plus action
A joint call for proposals on a photonics topic of strategic interest, to be funded through an ERANET-Plus action between national and regional grant programmes.
d) Development of innovative solutions through Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) action
To achieve a significant quality and/or efficiency improvements to public sector challenges through innovative photonics-based solutions. These solutions should be defined and developed by public sector organisations using a PCP approach. PCP shall be implemented according to the conditions outlined in Objective 11.1 and Appendix 6.

Funding Schemes

IP, STREP, ERANET Plus, CP-CSA

Expected Impact

• Actions under Application-specific photonic components and subsystems should reinforce European industrial leadership, competitiveness and market share in the concerned technologies and application fields; and/or provide significant societal impact with regard to health, safety, or security.
• Actions under Cross-cutting technology should secure a European manufacturing basis for components in the concerned application fields, contributing thus also to secure European industrial leadership and market share in those application fields.
• Actions under Disruptive photonic technologies should provide clear evidence for a longer-term potential of European industrial leadership or relevant societal benefits in the concerned application fields, or provide significant opportunities for new applications.
• The ERANET and ERANET-Plus actions should foster closer cooperation and greater alignment between the participating national/regional/EU-wide research programmes in topics of strategic interest.
• The PCP action should accelerate the introduction of advanced photonic technologies and applications on the European market.
• Coordination and support actions in high power / high energy lasers should lead to increased knowledge exchange and cooperation and help opening new market
opportunities; Cooperation and coordination between regional clusters and national technology platforms should increase their overall effectiveness in promoting research and innovation; Targeted international cooperation activities should lead to greater cooperation between European players and their counterparts elsewhere on common goals for mutual benefit which will further European interests; Supporting the coordination of the European photonics research constituency should facilitate the European consensus building on research priorities and strategies; Access of SMEs and researchers to advanced technologies should foster the broader uptake of advanced photonics technologies; And, education and training actions should foster stronger and more durable collaboration between industry and academia leading to a competitive advantage of European photonics industry at large.

Description

a) Reactive algorithms, infrastructures and methodologies (parallelisation, approximation, online processing, compression) for scaling data intensive techniques (including but not limited to machine learning, inference, statistical analysis) up to extremely large data volumes and real time performance. Implementations must be rigorously tested on extremely large and realistically complex data sets coming from diverse resources contributed by organisations with a clear stake in the solution and a clear path to deploying it if effective.
b) Intelligent integrated systems that directly support decision making and situation awareness by dynamically integrating, correlating, fusing and analysing extremely large volumes of disparate data resources and streams. This includes (but is not restricted to) recognising complex events and patterns that are today difficult or impossible to detect, aggregating and mediating opinions or predictions, offering alternative conceptualisations, guaranteeing timeliness, completeness and correctness, integrating categorical and statistical analyses. Visual Analytics should equally integrate data analysis and visualization. The effectiveness of such solutions will be evaluated against the concrete requirements of relevant professionals and communities and tested on appropriately- sized user groups and extremely large data resources from the respective domains (including, but not limited to, finance, engineering, government, geospace, transport, urban
management).
c) Framework and tools for benchmarking and exploring information management diversity and comparing and optimising the performance of non mainstream data management architectures and computing paradigms, novel data structures and algorithms on extremely large volumes of data. While methodological rigour and scientific quality and novelty are the main criteria for success, preference will be given to proposals that address a clearly identified industrial, scientific or societal concern or opportunity and/or bring together hitherto unrelated scientific or software engineering communities.
d) Targeted competition framework speeding up progress towards large scale information management systems of global relevance. The framework will be required to: identify a well justified industrial, scientific or societal objective that cannot be attained with the best performing current information management solutions; define detailed experimental conditions under which quantitative progress towards the objective can be reliably observed; implement a fair testing framework inclusive of data resources realistic in size and nature and capable of supporting large numbers of entrants; broadly advertise the competition; administer several testing rounds and publish the outcome of the competition with an appropriate analysis of performance issues and trends.
e) Community building networks and other initiatives designed to link technology suppliers, integrators and leading user organisations. These actions will disseminate results and best practices and address barriers hindering a wider deployment of research results, work towards establishing or advancing widely recognised standards and benchmarks and increase awareness of the potential of the technologies within broader audiences.

Funding Schemes

IP/STREP, CSA

Expected Impact

• Reinforced ability for a wide range of innovators to tap data infrastructures and to add value beyond the original purpose of the data through data analysis.
• Reinforced ability to find, reuse and exploit data resources (collections, software components) created in one environment in very different, distant and unforeseen contexts.
• Value creation through extensive data collection and analysis.
• Increased economic value of data resources or data analysis services through standards for validation, provenance, accountability, access and privacy control.
• New scientific investigations enabled by large, interconnected data resources and attending infrastructure.
• Increased efficiency of organisations and better management of societal challenges (emergencies, planning, ..) through more timely and better decision making.

Description

Following the Communication 'Towards Joint Programming in Research: working together to tackle common challenges more effectively', the Commission has been encouraging Member States to pursue common visions and strategic research agendas in the domains identified by the High Level Group for Joint Programming (GPC) as suitable for Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs). In its conclusions of 26 May 2010, the Competitiveness Council welcomed the identification and substantiation of six "second wave" themes for JPIs, including one in the area of 'Active and Healthy Ageing, challenges and Opportunities of Demographic Change' In its conclusions of 12 October 2010, the Competitiveness Council invited the Commission to offer support in the implementation of these expected JPIs by "Act(ing) as a facilitator by suggesting complementary measures to support the Joint Programming initiatives."
Target Outcomes
The Commission foresees to sustain the overall coordination and capacity-building process for each of the selected JPIs by means of dedicated actions. These will aim initially at facilitating and shortening the time required to reach the implementation phase. Subsequently, they should allow the adoption of effective and efficient methods of collaboration, such as those proposed in the context of the 2010 version of the European-level voluntary guidelines on Framework Conditions adopted by the GPC on 11 November 2010.
Specific activities foreseen:
• facilitation of the establishment of the management structure,
• development of the Strategic Research Agenda based on a mapping and analysis of the state of the art in this field at European and international level,
• dissemination and awareness actions,
• and possibly preliminary implementation actions, including the organisations of joint calls for proposals.
The proposal should include statements of endorsement from relevant National organisations involved in the envisaged JPI to be supported.

Funding Schemes

CSA

Expected Impact

• Establishment and implementation of effective governing structures for the JPI ‘More Years – Better Lives, the Challenges and opportunities of Demographic Change’;
• Development of a coherent strategic research agenda for the JPI "More Years – Better Lives, the Challenges and opportunities of Demographic Change";
• Improved coherence of EU multi-disciplinary ageing research in support of the evidence based policy making and generation of new knowledge related to ageing .

Description

The integration of local renewable energy sources represents a key technical challenge. The successful combination of smart processes (e.g. demand side/response management, real-time consumption management) and smart technologies (e.g. smart meters, intelligent home energy management devices) will enable energy efficiency and savings to be achieved.
Targeted Outcome:
Intelligent systems and integrated communication infrastructure that can assist in the management of the electricity distribution grids in an optimized, controlled and secure manner.
Key research challenges to be addressed:
a) Strengthening the distribution grid by providing control systems, management and decision support tools that enable the integration of renewable energy sources, both large scale production (e.g. wind and solar farms) and massively distributed production (e.g. residential and tertiary buildings).
b) Advancing security and reliability, as well as protection of equipment, fault detection and alert, and self-healing through development of the necessary high power electronics.
c) Data management infrastructures to allow electricity production and consumption to be measured, reported and controlled (and eventually credited or billed).
d) Home energy controlling hubs that will collect real-time or near real-time data on energy consumption data from smart household appliances and enable intelligent automation.
e) Building consensus on industry-driven open standards to ensure the interoperability of smart grids control and management systems.
Projects should focus on one or a combination of the previous points.
Consortia must be compact with partners each making substantial contributions.
In all cases, projects shall include an appropriate validation phase to draw conclusions for future deployment.

Funding Schemes

STREP, CSA

Expected Impact

• Connection and operation of distributed and intermittent generators of diverse technologies enabled by ICT.
• Demand side and demand response management enabled by innovative decision support systems.
• Producers and consumers allowed to play a novel role in the management of their energy consumption.
• Quantifiable and significant reductions of energy consumption in the electricity distribution grid, leading to reduction of the overall environmental impact of electricity grids.
• Enhanced levels of reliability and security of electricity supply.
• For e), reinforced collaboration between the European electricity suppliers and distributors, energy equipment manufacturers of all sizes, and the ICT sector.

Description

Water management enabled by ICT is a new and promising area with the objective to integrate real-time knowledge on demand and supply across water distribution networks and water sources. The work to be done calls for partnerships between ICT equipment providers, software companies and water authorities.
Targeted outcomes:
ICT-enabled solutions for integrated water resources management (IWRM), involving as key building blocks: innovative demand management systems, decision support systems and data management technologies.
The proposed ICT solutions shall involve robust and proven technologies permitting a holistic approach towards IWRM, and possibly include new data management technologies with realtime predictive capability demand forecasting, advanced metering, real-time communication of consumption patterns, adaptive pricing, and/or combined energy and water management schemes.
Projects should cover (i) research and innovative integration of solutions, (ii) substantial validation of these in at least two real-life operational environments in collaboration with responsible water authorities and utilities, and (iii) evaluation of their anticipated cost and benefits and market prospects.
Consortia must be compact with partners each making substantial contributions.

Funding Schemes

STREP

Expected Impact

• New partnerships between European water distributors, water management equipment suppliers and the ICT sector.
• Enhanced supervision of water networks leading to better management of supply and flows, and quantifiable water consumption reduction.

Description

a) Cooperative Systems for low-carbon multi-modal mobility covering cooperative applications and services for energy efficiency and eco-friendly mobility based on the harmonised European Communications Architecture33 and bidirectional vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), road-to-vehicle (R2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication technologies:
- Design, development and testing of new cooperative and pro-active traffic and travel management and control strategies based on the availability of reliable real-time systemwide data, including handling of special events and recovery after incidents.
- Addressing the interaction between the driver, the vehicle and the infrastructure, user acceptance and deployment of cooperative energy efficiency services, taking into account the needs of Fully Electric Vehicles such as integration with charging networks. Liability, privacy, reliability, security and Human Machine Interaction should be addressed as well. The focus should be on road transport, as this sector presents the largest challenges. Projects could also address all transport modes according to the principle of comodality, and include smart urban mobility.
b) European Wide Service Platform (EWSP) for cooperative system enabled services, aiming at providing to the drivers and other users a large variety of energy efficiency, mobility, comfort and safety related services:
- Intelligent combination of wireless communication technologies, development of network and transport communication protocols and security and control mechanisms, and support to their standardisation.
- Development of the necessary EWSP subsystems for service development, discovery, provision and administrative operations
- Development of interoperable innovative services for the EWSP, based on Future Internet technologies and in coordination with activities under the Future Internet PPP of Challenge 1.
c) Coordination and support actions
- Dissemination of results, user awareness campaigns, assessments of socio-economic impact and training.
- In accordance with the specific cooperation agreements with Japan and the USA: active exchange of information and results, and international standardisation and harmonisation. The coordination and support actions should include relevant stakeholders in the domain.

Funding Schemes

IP/STREP, CSA

Expected Impact

• Decarbonisation of transport. Significant improvements in energy efficiency and environmental friendliness of transport and mobility in Europe
• Improving the competitiveness of the European transport industry as a whole, and enabling them to continue to address global markets successfully. World leadership of Europe's automotive industry in the area of Cooperative Systems.
• Opening new markets for mobility, safety, energy efficiency and comfort services in Europe. Ensuring market leadership by Europe's industry in green products and services.

Description

a) Technology Enhanced Learning systems endowed with the capabilities of human tutors. Research should advance systems’ capabilities to react to learners’ abilities and difficulties, and provide systematic feedback based on innovative ways of interpreting the user's responses - particularly in relation to deep/shallow reasoning and thinking. Research should advance systems’ understanding and use of the appropriate triggers (praise, constructive comments, etc.) influencing learning. The systems shall improve learners’ metacognitive skills, understand and exploit the underlying drivers of their learning behaviours. Solutions should exploit advances in natural language interaction techniques (dialogues), in rich and effective user interfaces and should have a pedagogically sound, smart and personalised instructional design (STREP).
b) Educational technologies for science, technology and maths: (b1) Supporting students to understand and construct their personal conceptual knowledge and meaning of scientific, technological and/or mathematical subjects. Technological solutions should take the learners through the complexity of a subject, activating and feeding curiosity and reasoning, and support the creative applications of the theory. (STREP; NoE) (b2) Supporting Europeanwide federation and use of remote laboratories and virtual experimentations for learning and teaching purposes. The service shall enable online interactive experimentations by accessing and controlling real instruments, or using simulated solutions. Open interfacing components for easy plug-and-play of remote and virtual labs should be made available to stimulate the growth of the network of labs. Research shall include work on the user interfaces that mediate the complexities of creation and usability of experiments, for specific pedagogical contexts in primary and secondary schools and higher education, including at university level. This part of the target outcome should be pursued by IPs that include large scale pilots.
c) Advanced solutions for fast and flexible deployment of learning opportunities at the workplace (targeting, in particular, SMEs): enable faster, situated, just-in-time up-/reskilling, and lower the costs/efforts of developing and maintaining quality instructional material to be used in continuing education and training processes. Solutions should aim at creating a networking environment that fosters cross-organisational learning and that will help SMEs to adopt and sustain effective learning attitudes. Proposals must include research on novel business training models, and on how to overcome organisational, inter-organisational
and individual barriers to widespread adoption of the developed technologies. This target outcome focuses specifically on the needs of SMEs in sectors without an established tradition in the adoption of learning solutions and facing innovation and competitiveness challenges deriving from efficiency needs or new processes/products development. Proposals should include SMEs and relevant professional associations. SMEs shall also be the final users of the solutions, and be actively involved in clearly justified, representative and sizeable pilots. (IP)
d) Computational tools fostering creativity in learning processes: innovative tools encouraging nonlinear, non-standard thinking and problem-solving, as well as the exploration and generation of new knowledge, ideas and concepts, or new associations between existing ideas or concepts. The aim is to support people’s learning as well as the formation and evolution of creative teams by developing technological solutions that facilitate questioning and challenging, foster imaginative thinking, widen the perspectives and make purposeful connections with people and their ideas. (STREP)
e) Exploratory activities for fundamentally new forms of learning through ICT; establishment of a pan-European network of living schools for validations, demonstrations and showcases. (CSA)
For all target outcomes, projects should include a scientifically sound evaluation component.

Funding Schemes

IP/STREP, NoE, CSA

Expected Impact

• Unlock the potential of the individual by a stronger and smarter adaptation and personalization of educational technologies.
• Significantly higher level of effective, personalised, ICT-based tutoring, leading to its wide-spread penetration in schools and at home.
• Higher level of engagement of youngsters in science, technology and maths, through novel educational software and opening up opportunities to access and use of laboratory equipments and virtual experiments.
• Faster, more timely and more cost-effective up/re-skilling through learning technologies and their sustained adoption by SMEs.
• Emergence of new learning models, including models invoking creativity

Description

Nature (e.g. living cells), and our physical environment in general, show many unconventional ways of information processing, such as those based on (bio-)chemical, natural, wetware, DNA, molecular, amorphous, reversible, analogue computing, etc. These are generally very sophisticated, ingenious and highly effective for specific purposes, but sufficient knowledge (either from a theoretical or an engineering perspective) to properly exploit, mimic, or adapt these systems, is lacking. The objective is to develop alternative approaches for situations or problems that are challenging or impossible to solve with conventional methods and models of computation (i.e. von Neumann, Turing). Typical examples include computing in vivo, and performing massively parallel computation.
The focus of this objective is beyond existing initiatives (e.g. Quantum ICT, Neuro-IT and Brain-Inspired ICT).
Target outcomes
Foundations for a radically new kind of information processing technology based on unconventional paradigms. The proposed concept should be developed within the framework of a broader, long-term vision on its potential implementation and impact.
Projects should:
- pursue information processing, respecting the link between computation and the physicochemical properties of its embodiment.
- strengthen the theoretical foundations in the area, keeping a strong focus on their potential application in (future) systems and devices.
- demonstrate key steps towards physical information processing systems, including appropriate construction, organisation, adaptation and operation methodologies.
- develop an appropriate interface to conventional IT systems and devices, wherever relevant.

Funding Schemes

STREP

Expected Impact

• Foundations, approaches and proofs of concept for radically new kinds of computation.
• Possible contributions beyond the area of ICT (e.g. health, environment or security).
• Global international research cooperation in this area, in particular with participants from the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Japan.

Description

Many artificial and natural systems are characterized by a high level of differentiation in structure and organization; they exist in areas as diverse as the Internet, energy management, climate, financial markets, infrastructures (including ICT), biology, transport, epidemics, meteorology, urban planning, social simulation and policy impact assessment. In order to describe and control these systems there is a need to observe and reconstruct their dynamics and make sense of large amounts of heterogeneous data gathered on various scales. Most of these areas would benefit from an international effort in collecting and sharing data, models and from looking for a general, common theoretical approach. The science of complex systems (CSS) offers a framework for this theoretical approach. The objective of this Initiative is to make steps towards a general theory on complex systems through contributions in the area of dynamics of multi-level systems.
Target outcomes:
a) New mathematical and computational formalisms on dynamics of multi-level systems developed and validated on real-world applications involving large and heterogeneous data sets. This could involve, for example, addressing emergence of and interactions between scales, combining the concepts of ‘programmability’ and ‘self-organisation’, or addressing 'out of equilibrium’ considerations. Priority application areas should present clearly defined challenges to ICT and/or have a relevant user/social/economic component. Through these areas, CSS should be able to provide solutions for current ICT systems or lay the foundations for new ICT paradigms. For the validation, appropriate organizational structures should be chosen, e.g. large socio-technological systems, complex biological organisms or large organizations. The latter can be validation partners, testing the theory on themselves.
b) World-class international research cooperation, global alliances in this research area, and links with similar actions outside Europe, in particular with participants from USA, Japan and China.

Funding Schemes

IP/STREP, CSA

Expected Impact

Target outcome a):
- Progress towards a general theory on complex systems
- New ICT-based methods and principles for the management of large scale systems, including ICT systems themselves.
- Better understanding of structural patterns (e.g. resilience, sensitivity to failure) of complex systems in socio-economic and technological areas.
Target outcome b):
- New EU and global collaborations between researchers in the disciplines involved in CSS.

Description

The energy consumption of computing technologies becomes more and more an obstacle to realizing new functionalities in, for instance, mobile or distributed applications, and limits performance. It also has an increasing impact on energy supply and environment. Since energy efficiency of today's technologies is orders of magnitude above the theoretical limits, disruptive solutions and radically new approaches are needed to close this gap.
Target outcomes:
Proposals should lay the foundations for radically new technologies for computation that strive for the theoretical limits in energy consumption while maintaining or even enhancing functionality and performance. At least one of the following outcomes should be addressed:
a) New elementary devices and inter-device-communication mechanisms operating at the limits of minimum energy consumption.
b) Novel computing paradigms with radically improved energy efficiency. Examples include approaches inspired by biology, post-Boolean logics and computing under uncertainty, randomness and unreliability as a result of low-energy device properties.
c) Software models and programming methodologies supporting the strive for the energetic limit (e. g. energy cost awareness or exploiting the trade-off between energy and performance/precision).
Proposals should aim for a proof of concept and investigate the viability of the approach. The expected energy gain should be indicated, and the proposal should foresee appropriate energy metrics or benchmarks for verification.

Funding Schemes

STREP

Expected Impact

• Understanding of theoretical limits of energy efficiency in computation (e.g. energy dissipation, thermodynamic and quantum physics limits)
• Foundations of computing technologies with negligible energy consumption
• Reduction of the environmental impact caused by the energy consumption of ICT.

Description

a) Actions supporting the coordination and cooperation of the targeted research communities, assessing the impact and proposing measures to increase the visibility of the initiative to the scientific community, to targeted industries and to the public at large. These actions should also foster the consolidation of research agendas.
b) Actions supporting and promoting cooperation with non-EU52 research teams in foundational research on FET topics, with a balanced participation from partners in the EU and from target countries.
c) Short duration actions (typically 6-12 Months) to organise consultations of multidisciplinary communities to formulate novel FET research topics, focussing on new
emerging research areas. The main objective should be to identify and motivate one or more new research avenues from a global perspective, the associated fundamental challenges, and to analyse the expected impact on science, technology and society.
d) Actions to organise conferences and workshops which should foster dialogue between science, policy and society on the role and challenges of interdisciplinary ICT related long-term research, increasing Europe's creativity and innovation base and bridging diverse European research communities and disciplines.
Proposals should focus exclusively on one of the target outcomes.

Funding Schemes

CSA

Expected Impact

• Reinforced coordination of research projects in FET Proactive Initiatives in current or previous calls, strengthening research excellence and co-operation with partners from outside Europe.
• Early identification and increased awareness of new trends emerging on a global scale in support of future proactive initiatives
• Novel widely supported and well motivated research topics to be considered as inputs for future ICT work programmes.
• Increased visibility of the FET community and links between European research communities
• Structuring and integrating effects through ERA-NET actions

Description

Progress in global systems dynamics is required to better understand the interactions between ecological and socio-economic systems and to better respond to global environmental change. Global coordination requires new developments in science based on global system models that span the whole range from local regional to global multi-national decision making. A science of global systems must pay special attention to the interface with policy and society to better ground the scientific tools. It will support the massive needs in computing and data handling and help establish new links between science, policy and society.
Target outcomes:
- Improve use of data and knowledge from the past to choose between options for the future: Tools to represent uncertainty and to construct chains of causality (narratives) from models and data to outcomes for use in socio-political decision processes.
- ICT tools for better use- and user centred modelling techniques, data collection and usermodel interaction. Methods to address use of system models in a policy decision context.
- Understanding of distributed multilevel policy decision processes. Identify system patterns relevant for properties like resilience, vulnerability, and regime shift tendencies.
- Use and develop formal languages, constructive type theory and domain specific languages to make policy interfaces of models more adaptable to changing contexts.

Funding Schemes

STREP

Expected Impact

• Better links between modellers and stakeholders facilitated by new policy-relevant concepts in modelling of global systems;
• Overcome fragmentation in research in various policy-relevant models resulting in a better uptake of modelling results for global coordination of policies;
• Policy uptake in targeted areas: socio-ecological system and climate change impacts, innovation as a global system, dynamics of the financial system and new models for economy.

Description

The public sector in the EU is faced with important societal challenges. These include ensuring sustainable economic growth, high quality affordable health care to cope with the impacts of an ageing population, the fight against climate change with enhanced energy efficiency, and more effective dealing with security threats. Addressing these challenges will often require public sector transformations that are so technologically demanding that no commercially stable solutions exist yet on the market, and new forward looking public procurement strategies are needed that include the procurement of R&D. This Objective complements the support to the development and validation of innovative solutions through Pre-Commercial Procurement54 (PCP) under the Objectives 5.3, 5.4 and 3.5 and is open to all areas that correspond to public sector challenges: for example for new ICT solutions in healthcare, inclusion, e-government, transport, energy, environment, security. This action encourages public bodies around Europe to work together on new ICT based solutions that can respond to concrete public sector needs. The aim of the action is to bring radical improvements to the quality and efficiency of public services with breakthrough solutions. Especially where interoperability and coherence of solutions across borders is required, cross-border cooperation can help better address issues of common European interest.
To achieve the above targets, the action will support networking and cooperation between public bodies to define together the mid-to-long term solution requirements and to explore through PCP various alternative solution paths that respond to their needs. The minimum number of participants is three independent legal entities which are public bodies preparing for or already experienced in the implementation of PCP. Each of these must be established in a different Member or Associated State.
Eligible public bodies are:
• Public purchasers, i.e. contracting authorities in the meaning of the public procurement Directives at all levels (local, regional, national and supra-national) that plan to establish implementation plans for improving the quality and efficiency of their public service offering by incorporating PCP in their public procurement programmes.
• Public authorities (e.g. those managing research and innovation programmes) that have plans to co-organise and/or co-finance with, or to provide financial incentives to, public purchasers to undertake PCP.
Other stakeholders in the development of strategies for the innovation of public services through the implementation of PCP may participate in addition, if their participation is well justified and adds value to the action.
Consortia shall demonstrate that they contain a critical mass of public purchasers necessary to trigger wide implementation of the public service innovation strategies and solutions that will be specified and/or developed during the PCP with clear financial commitments. Actions shall cover the full PCP life cycle of solution design, prototyping, and original development of a limited volume of products/services in the form of a test series. In order to have a lasting impact, the co-operation developed during the actions should also provide reliable indications that it could continue beyond the EU funding.
Target outcome
Actions shall cover one or more of the following levels of cooperation:
(1) Networking and coordination activities - This includes activities for public bodies in Europe to cooperate in the innovation of public services through a strategy that includes PCP, such as:
- Awareness raising and exchange of experiences on PCP
- Definition of mid-to-long term public sector innovation plans through the identification of elements thereof requiring new R&D that could be procured in cooperation through PCP
- Definition of an action plan, which sets out common strategic issues related to introducing the required innovations in public service provisioning and prepares for concrete implementation of joint PCP activities
- Allocation and training of additional resources in public bodies to develop a PCP implementation strategy
- Building cooperation with other stakeholders (e.g. other public purchasers, bodies responsible for R&D and innovation programmes etc)
Actions are encouraged to try to develop and implement, from an early stage, common, joint, strategic PCP activities – even if in a pilot form - such as:
- Defining together the mid-to-long term solutions requirements for the innovation of public services, and resulting specifications for a joint PCP call for tender
- Dissemination of results and contribution to standardisation bodies (based on jointly defined requirements for the innovation of public services)
- Establishing and implementing good practice procedures for multinational PCP evaluation and monitoring (common evaluation criteria and implementation methods)
- Development of personnel exchange and joint training activities on PCP to help support a wider cooperation between public purchasers on introducing innovative solutions in public services across Europe
- Specific cooperation agreements or arrangements between participants to prepare the ground for further trans-national PCP projects or programmes and ensure that potential legal obstacles are removed
(2) Exploration of alternative solution paths through a joint PCP - Validating the PCP strategy jointly defined by the public bodies participating in the action. This includes the exploration, through a joint PCP, of possible solutions for the targeted improvements in public sector services, and the testing of these solutions against a set of jointly defined performance criteria.
Different constellations for joint procurement are allowed, such as for example common procurement entity58, lead authority and piggy-backing constellations. A common mechanism, including a common set of selection/award criteria, for evaluating the offers submitted to the joint PCP call for tender shall be foreseen. Detailed rules for companies to participate in the financed projects shall be defined by the public purchasers. The call organisers shall organise the PCP while respecting the Treaty principles and the specific requirements in Appendix 6. Actions that include a joint trans-national PCP involve the award of PCP contracts to tenderers selected through a joint PCP call for tender organised during the PCP. For these cases, the EU contribution shall take the form of a grant that will combine the reimbursement of eligible costs for the activities linked to the preparation, management and coordination of the joint PCP call for tender (activities under target outcome (1)) plus a reimbursement of maximum 50% of costs for the development of the new ICT solutions procured through PCP (for activities under target outcome (2)).

Funding Schemes

CSA, CP-CSA

Expected Impact

• More forward-looking, concerted, public sector approach to societal challenges
• Cooperation between stakeholders across public sector departmental boundaries to develop common answers to societal challenges faced by the public sector across a number of EU Member or Associated States
• Reduced fragmentation of public sector demand by enabling public bodies to collectively implement PCP strategies in areas, which due to their nature are better addressed jointly, or which they would not have been able to tackle independently.
• Increased opportunities for wide market uptake and economies of scale for the supply side by forming critical mass on the public demand side, wide publication of results of cross border PCP activities and contribution to standardisation of jointly defined public sector PCP solution requirements specifications.

Description

a) Robotic systems operating in real-world environments: Expanding and improving the functionalities of robotic systems and further developing relevant features, such as autonomy, safety, robustness, efficiency, and ease of use. As appropriate, work will include exploring ways of integrating, in robotic systems, new materials and advanced sensor, actuator, effector and leading edge memory and control technologies.
b) Cognition and control in complex systems: Enabling technologies based on the acquisition and application of cognitive capabilities (e.g., establishing patterns in sensor data, classification, conceptualisation, reasoning, planning) for enhancing the performance and manageability of complex multi-component and multi-degree-of-freedom artificial systems, also building on synergies between cognitive systems and systems control engineering. This outcome complements Objective 3.3 / target outcome (d). Realistic, highly demanding, scalable real-world scenarios will motivate and guide research related to targets a) & b), and serve to validate its results. Specific Targeted Research Projects (STREP) are particularly suited to high-risk endeavours, breaking new grounds, with high potential rewards. They are also appropriate for component-level research for particular domains. Integrated Projects (IP) are preferred for system-oriented efforts; they are expected to encompass all stages of the research and development lifecycle and, where appropriate, cutting across research topics.
c) Gearing up and accelerating cross-fertilisation between academic and industrial robotics research to strengthen synergies between their respective research agendas through joint industrially-relevant scenarios, shared research infrastructures; joint small- to mediumscale experimentation with industrial platforms and implementation of comparative performance evaluation methodologies and tools.
d) Fostering communication and co-operation between robotics and cognitive systems research communities through: identification of common interests and areas of co-operation; knowledge sharing between EU, national, and international initiatives; supporting opensource hardware and software developments; updating R&D roadmaps taking account of work under relevant past and ongoing European programmes; addressing issues such as market potential, user acceptance, standardisation, continuing education, ethics, and socioeconomic impacts; outreach to relevant professional and general audiences. e) Speeding up progress towards smarter robots through targeted competitions based on suitably evolving reference scenarios focused on capabilities at issue under this Objective, and involving relevant stakeholders. This includes soliciting private sponsorships, organising and managing pertinent events as well as accompanying dissemination measures and public relations activities.

Funding Schemes

a)-b): STREP, IP; c) IP; d-e) CSA (CA only)

Expected Impact

For a), b) and c):
-Integrated and consolidated scientific foundations for engineering cognitive systems under a variety of physical instantiations.
- Significant increase in the quality of service of such systems and of their sustainability in terms of, for instance, energy consumption, usability and serviceability, through the integration of cognitive capabilities.
- Innovation capacity in a wide range of application domains through the integration of cognitive capabilities.
- Improved competitive position of the robotics industry in existing and emerging markets for instance in the following sectors: manufacturing; professional and domestic services; assistance and co-working, production, logistics and transport, construction, maintenance and repair, search and rescue, exploration and inspection, systems monitoring and control, consumer robotics, education and entertainment.
- Consensus by industry on the need (or not) for particular standards. More widely accepted benchmarks. Strengthened links between industry and academia.
For d):
- Stronger cohesion between relevant industrial and academic R&D communities; and a higher level of awareness among wider (including non-professional) audiences of the potential of the technologies at issue.
For e):
- Greater innovation through competitions which allow to measure and compare progress
towards the ambitious goals set under this Challenge.

Description

Digital preservation research focuses on developing technologies, systems and tools for safeguarding digital content. The objective is to preserve digital content in a more effective and cost-efficient manner while protecting its authenticity and integrity, significantly reducing the loss of irreplaceable information, and ensuring it may be reused in the future.
Target outcomes
a) More reliable and secure preservation technologies and methods. Research should cover techniques and tools for recovering loss and for repairing damaged digital objects as well as solutions guaranteeing the long term availability of newly created resources including 3D objects and models, and conceptual frameworks for quality assurance. Research should also analyse which currently available or emerging methods and technologies are most efficient and in which use context or for which kind of resources. Solutions proposed can go beyond digital objects, and target as well the long-term functionality of system for creation, management and storage of digital resources. This work should be underpinned by research aiming at a deeper understanding of how loss and damage occur and which degree of integrity is required for keeping resources useable.
b) Technologies and systems for intelligent management of preservation. Technologies to support the long term usability of digital resources (including high volume, heterogeneous and volatile content) through a life cycle approach to its preservation. Research should help to support human appraisal and selection processes through innovative technologies that embed reasoning and intelligence in the content itself. Keeping resources usable, i.e. meaningful and understandable overtime, includes taking account of and developing a conceptual understanding of evolving semantics, use contexts, and interpretations. Activities may cover solutions to identify and erase obsolete information.c) Interdisciplinary research networks bridging technological domains and scientific disciplines concerned with information, and expertise in end-user needs.
d) Promotion schemes for the uptake of digital preservation research outcomes including outreach to new stakeholders and road mapping activities.

Funding Schemes

a) STREP; b) IP; c) NoE d) CSA

Expected Impact

Reduced information loss through better recovery and repair techniques and through deeper understanding of the reasons and implications of digital decay and other forms of data loss.
Sustainable access to information: keeping resources not only available but also meaningful and usable.
More efficient and effective selection of resources to be preserved and of appropriate preservation processes, methods and technologies.
Wider adoption of research results by supply-industry and by end-users.

Description

a) Patient-specific predictive computer-based models and simulation of major diseases integrating medical, biological and environmental data. Preference will be given to proposals that manage to explore the interaction and integration of environmental factors with medical and biological factors enabling the development of predictive models and simulation for understanding the evolution and progression of major diseases. These predictive models will allow bio-medical researchers to investigate the influence of environmental factors on major diseases and their interactions with other health factors. The use and benefits of the resulting models must be demonstrated for a specific clinical need covering the onset and the evolution of the disease. All major diseases could be targeted as clinical application.
b) Development of ICT tools, services and infrastructure to obtain more elaborate and reusable multi-scale models (e.g. models of diseases, organs) and larger repositories to show benefits of having both the data and models readily available. Projects should address at least one of the following activities: i) the robustness and reproducibility which are essential to allow models to be re-used when a model representing a physiological function is incorporated into a more comprehensive model. Standards for models and data, tools and repositories should be developed to achieve a high level of robustness and reproducibility of models for re-use; ii) the development of VPH Infostructure including a sustainable VPH model and data repositories. Appropriate tools (e.g. version control, archiving, upgrades…) and attributes such as usability and accessibility should be particularly addressed to ensure VPH community acceptance. The use of open environments and open-source software is expected to improve the accessibly and evolution of the repositories.
c) One Coordination and Support Action to develop an RTD roadmap preparing the ground for a future grand challenge on a "Digital Patient". The "Digital Patient" is a digital representation of the integration of the different patients-specific models for better prediction and treatment of diseases in order to provide patients with an affordable, personalised and predictive care. A road-map should be developed i) to consolidate the research so far, ii) to capture and quantify the needs and iii) to develop a vision and a sound ICT research agenda around the "Digital Patient
d) Early demonstrators and proof of concept of digital representations of health status of patients integrating different patient-specific data and models of organs into a more coherent representation of a "Digital Patient". Innovative digital representations of the health status of patients based on relevant data and models (medical, anatomical, physiological and genetic, etc) , are visualised and represented in 4D models and usable for care, personalized prevention and research.

Funding Schemes

a-b): IP/STREP; c) CSA d): STREP

Expected Impact

More predictive, individualised, effective and safer healthcare.
Reinforced leadership of European industry and strengthened multidisciplinary research excellence in supporting innovative medical care.
For a)
Accelerated developments of medical knowledge discovery and management in particular through the exploration of environmental factors in predictive models of diseases.
For b)
Improved interoperability of biomedical information and knowledge.  Increased acceptance and use of realistic and validated models that allow researchers from different disciplines to exploit, share resources and develop new knowledge.
Accessibility to existing knowledge by bio-medical researchers through the VPH repositories linking data with models will prove the large scale benefits of having both the data and models readily available.
For c)
Availability of a common strategic research agenda on the "Digital Patient" between all relevant stakeholders.
For d)
Proven concepts of digital representations of patient health status.

Description

a) Technologies for creating personalised and engaging digital cultural experiences: research should address adaptability of systems for personalised interaction with users. Research should investigate technologies that add value and new meaning to cultural digital artefacts and improve user engagement with cultural resources, for example through smart, context-aware artefacts and enhanced interfaces with the support of features like story-telling, gaming and learning.
b) Open and extendable platforms for building services that support use of cultural resources for research and education: research should explore seamless and universal, but also customisable access to digital cultural resources across a wide range of technical formats (sound, image, 3D, text), including cultural resources/objects with diverse characteristics (e.g. languages, temporal, spatial). Usability should be demonstrated through large scale pilots and specific contextual use cases (e.g. functionalities that support active research, creation of new knowledge, meaning extraction...).
c) Improved and affordable technologies for the digitisation of specialised forms of cultural resources, including tools for virtual reconstructions: the focus is on innovative approaches for capturing, imaging, 3D (including movement) modelling, resulting in enriched virtual surrogates which convey and embed knowledge beyond the original object.
d) Awareness raising of research results through road mapping and support to validation and take up of such results in practical settings.

Funding Schemes

a) STREP/IP b) IP c) STREP d) CSAs

Expected Impact

Affordability and widespread availability of tools and services for releasing the economic potential of cultural heritage in digital form and for adding value to cultural content in educational, scientific and leisure contexts;
Wider range of users of cultural resources in diverse real and virtual contexts and considerably altered ways to experience culture in more personalised and adaptive interactive settings;

Description

The objective is to conceive theoretically and develop experimentally novel and powerful technological applications of quantum coherence and entanglement. In particular, projects should develop a conceptual platform for potentially disruptive technologies, advance their scope and breadth and speed up the process of bringing them from the lab to the real world. Target outcomes The results obtained should push forward the boundaries of our knowledge and ensure a constant progress in the quantum ICT area, in particular by
a) Demonstration of quantum simulators capable to operate on quantum many-particle systems and to simulate technologically relevant systems (e.g., coupled systems in condensed matter, new materials and chemical compounds).
b) Demonstration of hybrid systems linking different quantum bit realizations (e.g., by bridging atomic/molecular and optical systems with condensed matter systems). Possible devices include those that interconnect different qubit memories and quantum information carriers, and quantum repeaters.
c) Novel quantum devices exploiting entanglement and quantum coherence as a resource, such as quantum sensing, imaging, measurement and communication.
d) Enabling methods and technologies to support aforementioned outcomes (e.g., the control of coherent operations with many quantum bits in the experimental domain, or the search for new algorithms and protocols in the theoretical domain).
e) A joint call for proposals on QICT, to be funded through an ERA-NET-Plus action between national and/or regional grant programmes. STREPs should address at least one of the research foci a)-d), IPs should address two or more.

Funding Schemes

a)-d): STREP, IP; e): ERA-NET-Plus

Expected Impact

Significant technological achievements with higher performance and superior energy efficiency such as entanglement assisted sensors and metrology
Better understanding of the dynamics of complex systems and phenomena and design of novel artificial materials with tailored properties through quantum simulators and computers
Extending the distance of secure quantum links through quantum repeaters
Closer cooperation and greater alignment between the participating national/regional research programmes through an ERA-NET-Plus action

Description

The socio-technical fabric of our society more and more depends on systems that are constructed as a collective of heterogeneous components and that are tightly entangled with humans and social structures. Their components increasingly need to be able to evolve, collaborate and function as a part of an artificial society. A key feature of Collective Adaptive Systems (CASs) is that they comprise many units/nodes, which have their own individual properties, objectives and actions. Decision-making is distributed and possibly highly dispersed, and interaction between the units may lead to the emergence of unexpected phenomena. They are open, in that nodes may enter or leave the collective at any time, and boundaries between CASs are fluid. The units can be highly
heterogeneous (computers, robots, agents, devices, biological entities, etc), each operating at different temporal and spatial scales, and having different (potentially conflicting) objectives and goals. The objective is to establish a foundational framework for CASs.
Target outcomes
a) Operating Principles: principles by which CASs can operate. These should go beyond existing control and optimisation theories, taking into account the diversity of objectives within the system, conflicts resolution, long term stability, and the need to reason in the presence of partial, noisy, out-of-date and inaccurate information
b) Design Principles: principles necessary to build and manage CASs, such as enabling the emergence of behaviour and facilitating prediction and control of those behaviours. These principles should exploit the inherent concurrency and include methods for system validation.
c) Evolutionary Properties: properties concerning the evolutionary nature of CASs, e.g. open-ended (unbounded) evolutionary systems, the trade-off and interaction between learning and evolution, and the effect of evolution on operating and design principles. IPs should address all three target outcomes. STREPs should have a main focus.

Funding Schemes

IP, STREP

Expected Impact

New functionalities for adaptive ICT systems enabled through novel principles, methods and technologies for designing and operating collective adaptive systems.
New insights into the general properties of large scale distributed systems.

Description

Brains are remarkable computing systems which clearly outperform conventional architectures in many real-world tasks. Computational neuroscience has made tremendous progress in uncovering the key principles by which neural systems process information, and ICT has advanced to a point where it is possible to integrate a comparable number of transistors in a VLSI system as neurons in a mammalian brain. Yet we are still unable to build artificial systems with basic "thinking" abilities comparable with even simple insect brains. In particular, this objective addresses the need to:
- learn more about the relationship between structure, dynamics and function in neuronal circuits and assemblies, and how information is represented or “coded” in a brain.
- develop deeper and more comprehensive theories of neural processing, possibly building on results obtained in the domains of dynamic and complex systems.
- close the gap between neuroscience and engineering by motivating interdisciplinary work that ties data with theories, novel computing paradigms, models and implementations.
Target outcome
a) Developing and applying radically new neural recording, imaging or interfacing concepts and designs for a deeper understanding of neural information processing.
b) New multi-scale dynamical theories of neural representation for the development of neuro-bio-ICT systems that can perform high-level tasks (e.g. robust object recognition, or classification), going beyond purely sensory-driven information processing.
c) Development and prototyping of modular brain-like computing architectures that combine neural processing primitives to give a better understanding of brain function and facilitate the design of more complex processing systems for real-time and optimized performance.
d) World-class global research cooperation and alliances in this area, and links with similar actions outside Europe, in particular with participants from USA and Japan.
IP/STREP proposals should address at least 2 of a), b) or c). CSA proposal should address d).

Funding Schemes

a-c): IP, STREP
d): CSA

Expected Impact

Target outcome a-c):
- New computing paradigms leading to advanced bio-inspired sensing and processing systems, which are naturally able to learn and adapt
- New concepts leading to new brain-computer interface technologies
Target outcome d):
- New EU and global collaborations between researchers in multiple disciplines spanning engineering, physical and life science domains.

Description

a) Actions supporting the coordination and cooperation of the targeted research communities, assessing the impact and proposing measures to increase the visibility of the initiative to the scientific community, to targeted industries and to the public at large. These actions should also foster the consolidation of research agendas.
b) Actions supporting and promoting cooperation with non-EU52 research teams in foundational research on FET topics, with a balanced participation from partners in the EU and from target countries.
c) Short duration actions (typically 6-12 Months) to organise consultations of multidisciplinary communities to formulate novel FET research topics, focussing on new emerging research areas. The main objective should be to identify and motivate one or more new research avenues from a global perspective, the associated fundamental challenges, and to analyse the expected impact on science, technology and society.
d) Actions to organise conferences and workshops which should foster dialogue between science, policy and society on the role and challenges of interdisciplinary ICT related long-term research, increasing Europe's creativity and innovation base and bridging diverse European research communities and disciplines.
e) ERA-NET actions fostering the networking of future and emerging research activities conducted at national or regional level, facilitating the mutual opening of national and regional research programmes where appropriate. These actions should involve national and/or regional research programme owners.
Proposals should focus exclusively on one of the target outcomes.

Funding Schemes

CSA

Expected Impact

Reinforced coordination of research projects in FET Proactive Initiatives in current or previous calls, strengthening research excellence and co-operation with partners from outside Europe.
Early identification and increased awareness of new trends emerging on a global scale in support of future proactive initiatives
Novel widely supported and well motivated research topics to be considered as inputs for future ICT work programmes.
Increased visibility of the FET community and links between European research communities
Structuring and integrating effects through ERA-NET actions

Description

a) Support to dialogues and cooperation with strategic partner countries and regions, to create cooperative research links between European organisations and partners in third countries. The aim is to support dialogues between the European Commission and strategic partner countries and regions, and to increase cooperation with strategic third countries and third country organisations in collaborative ICT R&D both within FP7 and under third country programmes. This could include in particular:
- the identification and analysis of ICT research priorities in third countries, and the provision of recommendations for future co-operation initiatives, including e.g. coordinated calls, and the facilitation of access of European organisations to third country programmes,
- the organisation of events synchronised with dialogue meetings, providing input and follow-up for example on common R&D priorities, opportunities and challenges, - the strengthening of cooperative research links between European organisations and relevant organisations in third countries, with the aim of establishing strategic partnerships,
Targeted countries/regions: ACP, Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, High Income Countries, Latin America, Mediterranean Partner Countries and West Balkan Countries. b) Enable Partnership building in low and middle income countries. The aim is to leapfrog from traditional promotion support action projects and launch a set of targeted research projects (STREP/SICAs) addressing at the same time technology and business model innovations. Specific technological targets could include for example lowcost technologies, technologies promoting or enabling use of ICT, intuitive user interfaces and local content provisioning.
Targeted countries: Low and middle income countries53 including Africa

Funding Schemes

a): CSA (Support Actions)
b): STREP/SICA

Expected Impact

Reinforcement of strategic partnerships with selected countries and regions in areas of mutual interest and added value in jointly addressing important issues.
Reinforced international dimension of the EU ICT research programme and higher level of international cooperation with low and middle income countries in ICT R&D with a focus on areas where the EU has a comparative advantage and where there are new leadership opportunities for Europe.
Activities under this objective should be covered in balanced partnership with relevant third country organisations. Consortia are strongly encouraged to include, as appropriate, leading research centres/universities, relevant industry representation, third country multipliers (e.g. national research authorities/agencies), communication specialists and/or experienced market research organisations.

Description

This objective supports the exploration of new and alternative ideas that, because of their risky or non-conventional nature, would not be supported elsewhere in the ICT Work Programme. It seeks:
- foundational breakthroughs as crucial steps towards radically new forms and uses of information and information technologies within a clear long-term vision that is far beyond the state of the art;
- ambitious proof-of-concept and its supporting scientific foundation, where novelty comes from new, high-risk ideas rather than from the refinement of current ICT approaches;
- new inter-disciplinary collaborations, possibly with prominent and internationally recognized non-EU research teams where these can provide a significant added value.
This objective also supports Coordination and Support Actions for creating the best conditions within which FET research can flourish and achieve the transformative impacts that it aspires to. These activities may be, for example:
- actions, including networking and dissemination activities, aiming at the emergence of new research communities or collaborations involving a broad diversity of disciplines and actors into FET research;
- actions towards the increased active involvement of high-tech research intensive SMEs in exploratory research directions relevant to future ICT markets;
- actions that stimulate excellence and future leadership of pioneering teams of young researchers along new, exploratory research directions relevant to future ICT;
- actions aiming to strengthen the international dimension of FET.

Funding Schemes

STREP, CSA

Expected Impact

For STREP projects:
• Opening new avenues of research towards future ICT that may be radically different from present day ICT;
• Strengthening the future potential for high-risk / high-impact research and innovation;
• New research alliances in transformative research, exploiting synergies in the global science and technology scene for increased impact and excellence.
For CSA actions:
• Catalyse transformative effects on the communities and practices for high-risk and highimpact research and on the mechanisms to support the global nature of such research;
• New, engaged and risk-taking research communities prepared to develop new and nonconventional approaches for addressing future challenges in science and society.