Cooperation, synergies and networking between research infrastructures and technology infrastructures
HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-INFRA-2022-DEV-01-02
- Programme
- Developing the European research infrastructures landscape, maintaining global leadership (2022)
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- January 19, 2022
- Deadline
- April 20, 2022
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €1,500,000
Description
Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
- strengthened collaboration between research infrastructures and technology infrastructures, leading to better identification and integration of services available to industrial users;
- enhanced visibility and accessibility of research infrastructures and technology infrastructures for industry and SMEs;
- better structured and strengthened European technology infrastructure landscape and its governance;
- alignment and connection of research and technology infrastructure actions with other relevant actions in the European Research Area, in industrial policies, and other policies;
- stronger synergies between public and private investment plans for technology infrastructures and for research infrastructures;
- reinforced global competitiveness of the European Research Area.
Research infrastructures and technology infrastructures are among the key elements in the successful establishment of innovation ecosystems. Ranging from exploratory research facilities to testing, validation, and upscaling platforms, they enable technology development and innovation, providing SMEs and industry with the essential services that are needed to accelerate the entry into the market of innovative solutions supporting the twin green and digital transition and other socio-economic challenges. Research infrastructures and technology infrastructures provide important complementary activities in this respect. However, they are often developing services in isolation from each other, not fully taking into account the needs of industrial users along the entire innovation cycle.
Prior to the formulation of a specific European Research Area action[1] and the Council conclusion[2] mentioning the development of a European strategy on technology infrastructures, a Commission staff working document[3] took stock of existing, though un-coordinated, initiatives at regional, national and European level and identified key challenges that need to be addressed to create a well functioning technology infrastructures landscape.
The development of the research infrastructure landscape as well as access to research infrastructure services is significantly more advanced due to both the strategic priority setting process, through the Roadmap of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, and the significant effort at the EU level to open up national facilities and laboratories to international users. It is important to draw relevant lessons from these processes in order to further develop and implement the governance of technology infrastructures at European level.
In this respect, activities proposed should support policy development in the following main areas:
Mapping and prioritisation
- Consolidation and integration of existing technology infrastructure mappings to increase visibility of technology infrastructures and facilitate gap analyses.
- Gap analysis and prioritisation at EU and Member States' level towards high priority areas in synergy with the common industrial technology roadmaps, industrial alliances, partnerships, and industrial ecosystems under the EU industrial strategy.
- Identification of good practices (with focus on services) to improve linkages and complementarity between research infrastructures and technology infrastructures in specific priority areas and ecosystems.
Operations and guidelines
- Preparation of pilot strategic action plans for technology infrastructures in selected priority areas, for instance linked with the green and digital transition, in partnership with relevant actors and including options for their long-term sustainability, taking into account private and public investments and networking with relevant pan-European research infrastructures.
- Development of an investment agenda for technology infrastructures taking into account private and public investments, as well as investments in relevant research infrastructures.
- Development of guidelines and recommendations to help networks of technology infrastructures connecting with other existing research infrastructures and technology infrastructures to facilitate access and to integrate services for specific technology areas or industrial ecosystems.
Governance
- Identification of best practices of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, in order to further develop and implement the governance of technology infrastructures at European level, adapted to their specificities (i.e. ecosystem and value chain approach, different stakeholders involved including industry, SMEs and research performing organisations).
- Networking of relevant actors and infrastructures including for the identified priority areas.
- Analysis of how technology infrastructures and research infrastructures could be better integrated in relevant existing frameworks and instruments, such as industrial technology roadmaps, Partnerships, Industrial Alliances, or IPCEIs.
Outreach and communication
- Identification and liaising with relevant stakeholders related to research infrastructures and technology infrastructures in general, as well as to specific priority areas, and collecting stakeholder input through targeted surveys and workshops.
- Development and execution of communication and outreach activities, including organisation of workshops and outreach events.
Artificial Intelligence
Digital Agenda
[1]COM(2020) 628 final,
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2020%3A628%3AFIN
[2]Council conclusions on the New European Research Area from 1 December 2020,
https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-13567-2020-INIT/en/pdf
[3]SWD(2019) 158 final,
https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-register/detail?ref=SWD(2019)158&lang=en
Destination & Scope
Over recent years, the European Commission, Member States (MS) and Associated Countries (AC) have been closely collaborating, in particular within the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), to develop an integrated and efficient ecosystem of research infrastructures (RIs) in Europe, which encompasses single-sited facilities, distributed facilities integrating resources across the European Research Area, as well as networks of national facilities and which serves researchers and engineers in all S&T fields, from basic to applied research. To facilitate integration and pooling of resources for the development of new capacities, a legal instrument has also been developed at European level, the European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) that provides favourable conditions for the establishment and operation of large European infrastructures supported jointly by several MSs and ACs as well as by third countries. While Member States remain central in the development and financing of public RIs, the Union and ESFRI play a catalysing and leveraging role in driving the integration between national efforts.
The challenges for the near future are to consolidate and optimise the European Research Infrastructure landscape and enhance its capacity to support frontier research and address the emerging and new scientific and societal objectives associated with the transition towards a sustainable and resilient Europe. In addition, there is the need to define and implement an effective and sound RI strategy in Europe, in close cooperation with ESFRI, MSs and ACs, which is complemented by and interlocks with the long-term ambition of creating an integrated Technology Infrastructure (TI) landscape, the latter is supported in Pillar II of Horizon Europe Programme (HE). Such a strategy would also help in exploiting synergies between RI and TI financed from Horizon and massive investments in infrastructures from ERDF.
This destination aims to create a world-leading coherent, agile and attractive RI landscape in Europe, by reducing its fragmentation at European, national and regional level, ensuring coordination of efforts and fostering alignment of priorities among MSs and ACs, connecting RIs to the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), and which is able to support national and regional R&I ecosystems. The support to a European strategy for Research Infrastructures as well as activities to enhance the role of RIs for international cooperation and science diplomacy will also be covered under this destination.
Expected impact
Proposals for topics under this destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to one or several of the following impacts:
- Disruptive research and breakthrough science and innovation through cutting-edge, interconnected and sustainable Research Infrastructures;
- Strengthened scientific excellence and performance and efficiency of the European Research Area, increasing its attractiveness to researchers from all over the world;
- Coordinated research infrastructure capacity among countries and regions, also by exploiting possibilities given by the smart specialisation processes;
- Reinforced R&I capacities enabling systemic changes needed for a truly transformative societal and economic recovery and a strengthened resilience of critical sectors, as outlined in the Recovery Plan;
- Improved European response, in cooperation with international players, to emerging socio-economic and related scientific and technological challenges at global level.
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
1. Admissibility conditions: described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System.
2. Eligible countries: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
3. Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
4. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
5. Evaluation and award:
- Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes
- Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual
The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
- Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes
6. Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes
Specific conditions
7. Specific conditions: described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Documents
Call documents:
Standard application form — call-specific application form is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE CSA)
Standard evaluation form — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE CSA)
MGA
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 3. Research Infrastructures
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 13. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
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