A European competence centre for science communication
HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-60
- Programme
- European Research Area
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- January 19, 2022
- Deadline
- April 20, 2022
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €5,500,000
- Keywords
- Societal EngagementSocial sciences and humanitiesPublic engagementScience CommunicationCommunity of praticeR&I servicesTrainingCompetence centreScience communication
Description
Projects are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
- Consolidation of knowledge and development of guidelines, tools, innovative strategies, and recommendations to improve science communication for all research and innovation actors;
- Establishment of a European competence centre for science communication, sustained beyond the lifetime of funding;
- Increased networking and mutual learning, higher quality, more trustworthy, and more rapidly mobilised science communication by national authorities, businesses, civil society organisations, other stakeholders and projects.
Science communication is a scientific discipline, an activity conducted by career scientists and science outreach organisations, and a specific career pathway followed by journalists. It has the potential to improve science-society relations by increasing the transparency of science, building trust in the processes and outcomes of science, and raising scientific literacy. It can also improve the uptake of science by society and support evidence-based policy making.
Science and science communication have been undergoing radical changes over recent years, creating opportunities that may, in turn, pose new challenges. For instance, traditional media are increasingly being superseded by social media with more user-edited content; rapid diffusion of open access or pre-peer review papers gives the general public access to research that was previously locked behind paywalls; and open data enable a wider set of actors to interact with, analyse and interpret research results than in the past.
The covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of communicating scientific knowledge and recommendations to respond to a fast-moving and critical threat. It is important to learn from this and other experiences when science communication has been essential to conveying scientific knowledge and recommendations on critical issues, to explaining how hypotheses, experiments and uncertainties are also part of the scientific method, to build capacities and strengthen networks, and to ensure greater ability in the future to react rapidly and effectively to critical situations.
This action has two parts, both of which must be addressed:
The first part consists of consolidating the evidence base on science communication from on-going and past projects and initiatives[1], covering a wide range of existing and potential critical areas for research and innovation for society. Particular attention should be paid to contextual issues (geography, gender, age, socio-economic status, etc.) that affect the uptake or effectiveness of science communication. Policy reports and recommendations, guidelines, and innovative strategies should be developed for all research and innovation actor types; potential targets should include government agencies and public authorities, research funding and performing organisations, and civil society organisations. An important outcome should be the publication of one or more user-friendly handbook(s) for effective science communication, backed by an interactive and pedagogical online toolkit, for use by Horizon Europe projects. This part should involve all parts of the quadruple helix[2] in co-creation activities, to ensure that the outcomes are usable in different contexts, for different purposes, and by different research and innovation actors; considerable efforts to disseminate the findings across the European Research Area should be undertaken.
The second part will consist of establishing a centre of knowledge, expertise, advice, resources, and tools on science communication in the European Research Area. It should link to - and support - existing communities of knowledge and practice, with the goal of improving co-ordination and mutual learning between them. It should support potential user groups including R&I projects, public authorities, government agencies, the private sector, and civil society organisations, to improve and initiate trusted and impactful science communication. An important element will be preparing the European Research Area to react quickly to situations requiring science communication, and the ability to provide rapid advice and support, as required. The centre should work towards the sustainability of its activities beyond the lifetime of funding, including through the provision of a basket of services and other activities that have market value; a business plan should therefore be elaborated from the very earliest stages of the project.
The action should build on the knowledge, networks and capacities developed by Horizon 2020[3] and by national and regional initiatives and work closely with relevant projects. A minimum project duration of 4 years should be envisaged.
Cross-cutting Priorities:Artificial Intelligence
Digital Agenda
Societal Engagement
Social sciences and humanities
[1]In particular, but not limited to, projects supported by Horizon 2020’s SwafS-19-2018-2019-2020 topic, but other relevant projects and initiatives within and outside the Framework Programmes should also be considered.
[2]A model of cooperation between industry, academia, civil society and public authorities, with a strong emphasis on citizens and their needs.
[3]Including topic SwafS-19-2018-2019-2020.
Destination & Scope
Introduction
Horizon Europe has a new level of ambition – to maximise the impact of EU research and innovation funding for European science, economy and the wider society. It marks a paradigm change in the design of the EU R&I Framework Programmes (FP) from an activity-driven to an impact-driven programme. Coupled to this ambition is the relaunching of the European Research Area (ERA) as described in the recently published Commission Communication entitled A new ERA for Research and Innovation (COM/2020/628 final of 30.09.2020).
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates the importance of R&I cooperation to deliver solutions to society’s most demanding needs. Delivering Europe’s recovery is a priority as are the green and digital twin transitions. To match these challenges, a new level of ambition that links better R&I with the economy, as well as with education and training, is necessary to put the EU’s scientific knowledge to work.
The new ERA calls for deepening existing priorities and initiatives through new and stronger approaches. The green and digital transitions and the recovery call for cooperation between the Commission and the Member States. They require the setting of new priorities, launching ambitious joint initiatives and developing common approaches between policies.
To address these requirements, Destination 3 of Annex 11 of the Horizon Europe Work Programme, will support efforts to reform and enhance the EU R&I system. Destination 3 is built around four strands corresponding to the four objectives set out in the ERA Communication: 1. Prioritise investments and reforms; 2. Improve access to excellence; 3. Translate R&I results into the economy and 4. Deepen the ERA. The principle of excellence, meaning that the best researchers with the best ideas that respond best to the societal challenges obtain funding, remains the cornerstone for all investments under the ERA.
Strand 1 recognises the importance of prioritising investments and reforms to accelerate the green and digital transformation and to increase competitiveness as well as the speed and depth of the recovery. It offers support for policy makers and addresses the need for better analysis and evidence, including simplifying and facilitating the inter-play between national and European R&I systems.
Strand 2 addresses the need to improve access to excellence and to increase the performance of R&I systems, building on dedicated Horizon Europe measures as well as complementarities with smart specialisation strategies under the Cohesion Policy.
Strand 3 addresses the importance of translating R&I results into the economy. R&I policies should aim to boost the resilience and competitiveness of our economies and societies.
Strand 4 addresses the challenge of deepening the ERA and includes Open Science, Higher Education and Researchers, Citizen Science, Science Education, Gender and Ethics. It aims at underpinning a new ERA benefiting from knowledge creation, circulation and use. This empowers higher education institutions and research organisations to embrace a transformative process; where a highly skilled workforce circulate freely; where research outputs are shared; where gender equality is assured; where the outcomes of R&I are understood, trusted and increasingly used, by educated informed scientists and citizens to the benefit of society.
Expected impact:
Proposals for topics under this Destination should set out a credible pathway to contributing to the following expected impacts:
- Reform and Enhance the EU R&I system
- Prioritisation of investments and reforms, realisation of the recovery and the twin transitions
- Improved access to excellence
- Greater quality of the scientific production and stronger translation of R&I results into the economy
- Deepen the ERA
- Coordinated national and regional R&I programmes by pooling national resources and contributing to the alignment of national research and innovation policies
- Improved knowledge for policy making about the networking patterns of research support staff and research management
- Synergies between research & innovation and higher education policies and programmes
- Modernised higher education sector, benefitting from targeted transformations in higher education, research, and innovation
- Increased number of interconnected knowledge ecosystems, strong in knowledge creation, circulation and use
- Researchers benefit from attractive careers
- Inclusive gender equality is promoted in the European research and innovation system
- A more open and inclusive research and innovation system
- Increased capacity in the EU R&I system to conduct open science and to set it as a modus operandi of modern science
- Increased engagement of citizens with research and innovation
- Increased alignment of strategic research with society needs, expectations and values
- Identified synergies between second and third level education, and between education and business;
- Increased trust in science and R&I outcomes, and greater two-way communication between science and society
- Knowledge and a highly skilled workforce circulate freely
- Improved capacities within the EU R&I system to conduct open science
- A more open and inclusive research and innovation system
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
- 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
MGA
Call-specific instructions
Essential Information for Clinical Studies
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2021–2022 – 12. Missions
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
Support & Resources
Online Manual is your guide on the procedures from proposal submission to managing your grant.
Horizon Europe Programme Guide contains the detailed guidance to the structure, budget and political priorities of Horizon Europe.
Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ – find the answers to most frequently asked questions on submission of proposals, evaluation and grant management.
Research Enquiry Service – ask questions about any aspect of European research in general and the EU Research Framework Programmes in particular.
Enterprise Europe Network – contact your EEN national contact for advice to businesses with special focus on SMEs. The support includes guidance on the EU research funding.
IT Helpdesk – contact the Funding & Tenders Portal IT helpdesk for questions such as forgotten passwords, access rights and roles, technical aspects of submission of proposals, etc.
European IPR Helpdesk assists you on intellectual property issues.
CEN-CENELEC Research Helpdesk and ETSI Research Helpdesk – the European Standards Organisations advise you how to tackle standardisation in your project proposal.
The European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment – consult the general principles and requirements specifying the roles, responsibilities and entitlements of researchers, employers and funders of researchers.
Partner Search Services help you find a partner organisation for your proposal.
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