FEAST email news — March 2009

Marie Curie International Fellowships

FP7 logo

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research has published three calls for proposals under the ‘People’ programme of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/?fuseaction=UserSite.FP7DetailsCallPage&call_id=200

Intended to provide support for training and career development of researchers, the calls include:

  • Intra-European Fellowships (IEF)
  • International Outgoing Fellowships (IOF)
  • International Incoming Fellowships (IIF)

The Intra-European Fellowship scheme targets experienced researchers seeking to enhance their individual competence and acquire new skills at an interdisciplinary level. Under certain conditions, European nationals established in Australia are eligible to conduct the project in a host European institution.

International Outgoing Fellowships aim to reinforce the international dimension of European researchers by giving them the opportunity to work in a high-level research organisation in a third country. The Marie Curie IOF provides financial support to a European fellow completing a research and training project for 1 or 2 years (typically 18 months) in an Australian institution then returning to the European host institution for 12 months. The fellowship covers a stipend for the duration of the project, overheads for the project administration, travel and limited funding for other research activities.

The International Incoming Fellowship scheme is addressed at top-class researchers active in third countries, who would like to work on research projects and share their knowledge with colleagues in Europe. Ultimately, the goal is to develop mutually beneficial research cooperation between Europe and third countries. The Marie Curie IIF provides financial support to an Australian fellow taking a research and training project to an host institution in Europe for 1 to 2 years. The fellowship covers a stipend for the duration of the project, overheads for the project administration, travel and limited funding for other research activities.

Important to consider:

  • All disciplines of research are covered by the scheme.
  • Success rates for MCIOF was of 25% during last round, and for MCIIF was 21% during the 2008 round (26% for fellows going to Australia) but varies across disciplinary panel.
  • The schemes are open to researchers at all career stages. The candidate needs to justify of 4 years of research experience or a doctorate degree at the time of submission.
  • The new Marie Curie website is a good source of information about the scheme: cordis.europa.eu/fp7/mariecurieactions.

ISL update

The Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR) has announced that there will be no Competitive Grants round for ISL in 2009. We appreciated that this may affect the strategic decisions by a number of you embarking on new projects with your European counterparts. We will be sure to keep you posted with any further developments regarding this scheme.
grants.innovation.gov.au/ISL

Australian Academy of Science Scientific Visits to Europe

The Australian Academy of Science invites applications from Australian professional scientists, including early career researchers, to visit Europe between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2010 to collaborate with European researchers. Proposals in any field of natural science, basic and applied, including mathematics and engineering science, will be considered.
www.science.org.au/internat/europe.htm

VESKI Innovation Fellowships

Applications for Victorian Endowment for Science, Knowledge and Innovation (VESKI) Innovation Fellowships for projects starting in financial year 2009/10 are now open.
www.veski.org.au/VESKIBulletin.aspx?id=28

The VESKI Innovation Fellowships are open to individuals in the fields of science, technology and design specifically relating to: innovative technology, biotechnology, design, advanced manufacturing, environmental technologies, or the enabling sciences and technologies. 2009/2010 Call priorities are in: Clinical Research focusing on Health Outcomes, and Renewable Energy Generation & Demand Management.

Successful individuals can receive up to $50,000 per annum for a maximum of up to five years. These funds must be matched with financial funding and in-kind contributions from a host organisation such as an academic/research institution.

FP7 National Contact Points

FEAST is now the official Australian National Contact Point (NCP) for FP7. For the past several years the FEAST team has been providing Australian researchers with invaluable information and advice about the Framework Programmes and how to engage with this. The new NCP status will enhance FEAST’s capability in this area by allowing us greater access to timely information about FP7 and to the European Commission. For help and advice about engaging with FP7, contact FEAST on info@feast.org.

First European Forum on Research and Development Impact Assessment

EU2009 logo

The first European Forum on Research and Development Impact Assessment (EUFORDIA) was held under the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union in Prague on 24–25 February, 2009. EUFORDIA was the first European conference dedicated to the evaluation and impact assessment of the EU Framework Programme (FP) for Research. It focused on:

  • the recent Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) ex-post evaluation by an Expert Group appointed by the European Commission (EC)
  • examples of national FP6 impact assessment studies from Sweden, Spain and the Czech Republic
  • methodological issues concerning impact assessment and evaluation of R&D programmes
  • world-wide experiences with R&D program evaluation.

For all of the details see: www.feast.org/articles?ID=1115.

BioCircle

The BIO CIRCLE project brings together research communities from all over the world, with the aim to stimulate international cooperation under the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) in the theme “Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and Biotechnology”, also referred to as the “bio-economy” theme. To this end, the network of Third Country BIO-National Contact Points (NCPs) will be further extended and reinforced, building on the previous activities including the Food-N-Co project and other supporting actions.

Australia is a partner country in the project with the participation of FEAST. FEAST will work closely with the Italian Coordinator of the project (Agenzia per la promozione della ricerca europea, APRE) and with the Hungarian partner (Hungarian Science and Technology Foundation, TETALAP) to twin activities and for training. The role of FEAST also includes the NCP for the Cooperation programme in FP7 to support Australian partners engaged in FP7 projects or proposals, particularly in the domains linked to the bio-economy.

Further information: www.feast.org/articles/?ID=1108, www.biocircle-project.eu.

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