Building a virtual European Info Platform on Contemporary China
HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions
Basic Information
- Identifier
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-06
- Programme
- Enhancing the European R&I system
- Programme Period
- 2021 - 2027
- Status
- Closed (31094503)
- Opening Date
- December 5, 2022
- Deadline
- March 8, 2023
- Deadline Model
- single-stage
- Budget
- €5,000,000
- Min Grant Amount
- €5,000,000
- Max Grant Amount
- €5,000,000
- Expected Number of Grants
- 1
- Keywords
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-06HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01Global and transnational governance, international law, human rightsPolitical science
Description
The action funded under this topic will have the objective of networking excellent knowledge nodes supporting the advancement of independent knowledge on contemporary China from across the European Union to build a virtual European Info Platform on contemporary China that will become sustainable beyond the end of the project. The goal of the platform would be to collect, connect, produce, select, disseminate, and give visibility to excellent knowledge on Contemporary China produced in the European Union (e.g., by universities, think tanks, research centres, NGOs, private companies, public organisations etc.) so as to foster the development of a network of independent knowledge on contemporary China at European level, raise awareness, and mainstream information on China also within the wider remit of civil society. The virtual European Info Platform will aim to become a key go-to source for independent knowledge on contemporary China at European level across all major relevant research areas (foreign policy, domestic politics, contemporary society and culture, science, technology, and innovation policy, economics, law, etc.). This action supports ERA Policy Agenda action 9 on promoting international cooperation.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
- Bring together knowledge nodes on contemporary China from across Europe to build and manage a virtual European Info Platform on contemporary China that would become a European key go-to source of independent knowledge on contemporary China;
- Coordinate with other initiatives and stakeholders where relevant for the action. Synergies with the two projects that were selected for funding under the previous call ‘HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-07: Upgrading Independent Knowledge on Contemporary China in Europe’ are strongly encouraged. The work they bring forth should contribute to the development of the European Info Platform on Contemporary China;
- Regularly upload and disseminate knowledge on contemporary China, (including analyses, reports, articles, policy briefs, scoping studies, interviews, podcasts, etc.), not only produced by the successful consortium, but also filtered/selected from the work of external prominent and emerging knowledge nodes on contemporary China from across Europe, so as to give visibility to all relevant European centres of excellence (including the smaller ones);
- Successful proposals would be expected to build into the website a section dedicated to the translation into English of key Chinese policy-documents and to create related policy briefs that would be openly accessible;
- Organise the material to be uploaded on the platform into thematic sections taking into account the priorities identified through the interactions with the relevant experts. A section of the platform should be specifically dedicated to understanding China’s STI (science, technology, and innovation) system/policy and its implications for the European Union;
- Organise virtual and physical events (conferences, workshops, networking activities, trainings, staff exchanges, etc.), and manage their related communication activities, to foster pan-European connections among the different EU knowledge nodes on contemporary China. The organisation of China-focused thematic courses, ad-hoc seminars, and trainings, is encouraged in order to raise awareness on key China-related subjects, also involving the wider civil society/public/private institutions beyond China experts;
- Provide the Commission with regular policy recommendations and updates on the activities of the project;
- Reach out and encourage the participation of excellent knowledge centres from Eastern European Member States producing independent knowledge on contemporary China to enhance the visibility and impact of their work and foster the cross-fertilisation of knowledge;
- Prepare and put in place a sustainability plan for the platform to ensure the continuation of the work after the end of the action.
This topic contributes to the priority areas of action number 9 on promoting a positive environment and level playing field for international cooperation based on reciprocity listed in the Council Conclusions on the Future Governance of the European Research Area[1] (ERA). More specifically it aims to satisfy the objective of launching a pilot initiative on the Team Europe approach for a specific world region and/or topic.
This action seeks to bolster a stronger European understanding of contemporary China and to strengthen European’s capacity to sustain the production of such knowledge that is key to develop excellent EU-China policy-making based on facts, independent and unbiased analyses, and foresight. In accordance with the EU-China – A Strategic Outlook Communication of 2019[2] and the Global Approach to Research and Innovation Communication of May 2021[3], the action aims to empower the European Union to act coherently and proactively on the international stage preserving an open research and innovation ecosystem while safeguarding European interests and values.
Today China is a key global actor and a leading scientific and technological power. China’s increasing relevance in the geopolitical system has exposed the weakness the European Union faces in its capacity to better understand contemporary China in its various specificities, complexities, and goals and respond to its rapid evolution and new policy directions. The European Union needs to get to know and understand it on its own terms: not through the lens of other external sources but from its own European perspective. The underlined priority for the EU to develop its own knowledge capacity to navigate China’s continuous transformations is embedded in the concept of independent European knowledge, which should guide the work of successful applicants.
Following interactions with Member States, China experts, and stakeholders in the framework of the EU R&I Knowledge Network on China (EUKNOC) and following the publication of the SFIC recommendations on China in November 2021[4] it has emerged that at the European level expertise on contemporary China is often fragmented and difficult to access. Networking existing prominent and emerging knowledge nodes, gathering, categorising, and mainstreaming their work on an easily accessible public information platform would be therefore pivotal to break siloes and provide policy-makers, researchers, businesses, and civil society with the tools needed to develop a deeper understanding of the different dimensions that characterise contemporary China. Doing so would also increase the circulation of information and foster the creation of new knowledge, in line with the Commission’s efforts to upgrade independent knowledge on contemporary China in Europe started in the 2021-2022 Horizon Europe work programme[5]. Building synergies with granted projects from topic HORIZON-CL2-2021-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-07, would be therefore strongly encouraged.
This action should bring forth the creation of a virtual European Info Platform on Contemporary China through networking relevant knowledge nodes from across the European Union that pursue the advancement of independent knowledge on contemporary China. The platform would collect, connect, produce, select, disseminate, and give visibility to excellent research material and provide translations from Chinese into English of relevant Chinese policy documents (and produce subsequent policy briefs on such documents). The successful consortium will be in charge of setting up the platform, organising/curating the material on the new virtual tool, setting up relevant events, thematic courses and trainings, communication activities, and developing a sustainability plan to ensure the successful continuation and growth of the platform after the end of the action.
The involvement of excellent knowledge centres from Eastern European Member States producing independent knowledge on contemporary China is strongly encouraged to foster the cross-fertilisation of knowledge on contemporary China across the European Union and enhance the visibility of their work.
[1] https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-14126-2021-INIT/en/pdf
[2] https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/communication-eu-china-a-strategic-outlook.pdf
[3] https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/default/files/research_and_innovation/strategy_on_research_and_innovation/documents/ec_rtd_com2021-252.pdf
[4] https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-1204-2021-INIT/en/pdf
NB - Such recommendations call, among others, for the EU to build a permanent EU Info Centre for policy, academic, media and business based on existing networks and expertise available on China and to establish links between stakeholders from academia, public and private sector to create a network of China related actors and work on China in a concerted way.
Destination & Scope
Introduction
Horizon Europe has a new level of ambition – to maximise the impact of the European Union's research and innovation funding for European science, the economy and the wider society. It marks a paradigm change in the design of the European R&I framework programmes (FP) from an activity-driven to an impact-driven programme. Coupled to this ambition is the relaunch of the European Research Area (ERA) as described in the Commission Communication “A new ERA for Research and Innovation” (COM/2020/628 final of 30.09.2020).
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of R&I cooperation to provide solutions to society’s most demanding needs. With the priority on delivering Europe’s recovery as well as on the green and digital twin transitions, a new level of ambition, linking R&I better with the economy, and with education and training, is needed to match these challenges and put scientific knowledge to work.
The new ERA calls for deepening existing priorities and creating new initiatives by strengthening the mobility of researchers and the free flow of knowledge and technology, to improve access to excellence, boost market uptake and prioritise investment and reform. Working together has been the philosophy of the ERA since its launch; however, the green and digital transitions and the COVID recovery call for more and closer cooperation between the Commission, the Member States and stakeholders. They require the setting of new priorities, launching ambitious joint initiatives and developing common approaches between policies.
To address these requirements, Destination 3 of part 11 of the Horizon Europe work programme will support efforts to reform and enhance the European R&I system. Destination 3 is built around four strands corresponding to the four objectives set out in the ERA Communication:
- Prioritising investments and reforms in research and innovation;
- Improving access to excellence, progressing towards excellence across the whole EU and striving for stronger research and innovation systems;
- Translating R&I results into the economy to meet the digital and green transition objectives, and boost the resilience and competitiveness of our economies and societies;
- Deepening the ERA, to further progress the free circulation of knowledge and to ensure an upgraded, efficient and effective R&I system.
The principle of excellence, meaning that the best researchers with the best ideas that offer the best solutions 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 focuses on 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 benefitting from knowledge creation, circulation and use. This empowers higher education institutions and research organisations to embrace a transformative process; where a highly skilled workforce can circulate freely; and 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, focussing on those that are most relevant to the respective topic:
- Reform and enhance of the European R&I system;
- Prioritisation of investments and reforms, accomplish the recovery and the twin transitions;
- Improved access to excellence;
- High quality 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, adressing higher education, research, and innovation;
- Increased number of interconnected knowledge ecosystems, strong in knowledge creation, circulation and use;
- Researchers benefitting 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 societal needs, expectations and values;
- Identify 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.
Eligibility & Conditions
General conditions
2. Eligible countries: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
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
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Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes
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Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual
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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 2023–2024 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2023–2024 – 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.
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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.
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Latest Updates
Call HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01 has closed on the 09th of March 2023.
45 proposals have been submitted.
The breakdown per topic is:
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-01: 3 proposals
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-02: 2 proposals
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-03: 6 proposals
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-04: 1 proposal
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-05: 1 proposal
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-06: 6 proposals
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-07: 2 proposals
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-08: 10 proposals
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-09: 4 proposals
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-10: 5 proposals
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-11: 1 proposal
- HORIZON-WIDERA-2023-ERA-01-12: 4 proposals
Evaluation results are expected to be communicated in July 2023.