2nd stage proposal writing session for Marie Curie ITNs Cecilie Hansen and Nicholas Harrap UK Nation

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2nd stage proposal writing session for Marie
Curie ITNs Cecilie Hansen and Nicholas
HarrapUK National Contact Point for MCAs
mariecurie-uk_at_bbsrc.ac.uk
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Arts and Humanities Research Council
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research
Council
Economic and Social Research Council
UK Research Office
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Medical Research Council
Natural Environment Research Council
Science and Technology Facilities Council
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UKROs Aim
promotes effective UK participation in
EU-funded research programmes, higher education
programmes, and other related activities
UK Research Office

• Based in Brussels, UKRO
• Provides early insight and briefing
• Disseminates EU funding opportunities
• Provides high quality guidance and training
• Exchanges information between the UK and EU

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UKRO Services include

• Website with information on programmes, FAQs
  and Guidance http//www.ukro.ac.uk-
  Information services email updates (
  searchable database) http//ims.ukro.ac.uk
• Enquiry service - Annual visit from an UKRO
  European Advisor- Specialist training courses
  and information events- Annual conference for
  European officers
• Meeting room in Brussels
• National Contact Point (Marie Curie and ERC)
• - Monthly publication - British Council RTD
  Insight

UK Research Office
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Marie Curie NCP - helpdesk

• Web, email, telephone, visits
• Advice on applying for MC actions
• Eligibility
• Application help
• Results
• Contractual issues
• Advice to those with MC contracts
• Social security and tax
• Model agreements between host and fellow
• Contractual issues

UK Research Office MC NCP
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Outline of the session

• General Introduction
• Understanding the submission process
• Writing your proposal
• - S T Quality
• - Training/Transfer of Knowledge
• - Implementation
• - Impact

FP7 Policy Background
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Understanding the submission process Cecilie
Hansen and Nicholas HarrapUK National Contact
Point for MCAs mariecurie-uk_at_bbsrc.ac.uk
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Key documents
FP7 Marie Curie How to apply
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Technicalities of proposal submission

• Part A and Part B
• Electronic submission same password and
  username
• EPSS up and running from early August onwards
• Deadline is 1700 Brussels time on Tuesday 25th
  September 2007

FP7 Marie Curie How to apply
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Approaching your proposal writing

• Note the different weightings (impact on overall
  score)
• 60 to be rejected (40 accepted)
• At least one of the evaluators will be the same
  as in the first round
• Talk to the Project Officer if unclear comments

FP7 Marie Curie How to apply
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Approaching your proposal writing

• The first two criteria already assessed at stage
  1 will be re-evaluated taking into account the
  more elaborated text of the full proposal
• Keep Guide for Applicants, ESR and evaluation
  criteria incl explanatory notes in front of you
• Consider and address issues in the letter to
  proposers
• Ask a colleague to read it through do they
  understand it?

FP7 Marie Curie How to apply
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General points on a good proposal

• Meet the deadline
• Characteristics of success/failure
• 90 well detailed, excellent and clear training
  programme and great science of clear EU wide
  benefit and potential in a new area
• 80-90 good project, lacking some detail on
  training, evaluating output
• 70-80 Some obvious omissions, consortium design
  needs adjusting, some science issues not
  addressed, concerns over transfer of knowledge
• 60-70 Serious omissions, lack of detail, poor
  management plans, no milestones, consortium
  partners too similar

FP7 Marie Curie How to apply
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ITNs A reminder

• Marie Curie ITNs are aimed at improving the
  career perspectives of researchers who are in the
  first five years of their career by offering
  structured training in well defined scientific
  and /or technological areas as well as providing
  complementary skills and exposing researchers to
  other sectors including private companies.

FP7 Marie Curie How to apply
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ITNs A reminder

• An ITN aims to
• Strengthen Early Stage Training at EU
  levelAttract people to scientific careers
• Improve career perspectives by development of
  broad skills (including needs of industry)
• By
• Offering a series of fellowships to ESR and EXR
  through a Joint Training Programme including
  complementary skills modules
• As an option, hold short training events open to
  researchers outside the network
• As an option, recruit visiting scientists
• Defined scientific fields as well as
  inter-disciplinary, new and emerging
  supra-disciplinary fields

FP7 Marie Curie - ITN
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Who participates in an ITN?

• An ITN has both industrial and academic partners.
  Industry must be in involved at one of three
  levels
• As a full partner
• Provider of specific training or secondment
  opportunities
• On the Advisory Board
• An ITN must have
• Coherent quality standards and mutual recognition
  of training/ diplomas

FP7 Marie Curie - ITN
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Who can you recruit to an ITN?

• An ITN supports researchers
• With up to 5 years FTE
• From all over the world
• For periods of 3 - 36 months (ESRs)
• For periods of 3 24 months (EXRs)
• As well as visiting scientists (optional)
• To carry out teaching and supervisory work
• For a period of at least 1 month

FP7 Marie Curie - ITN
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The size of an ITN

• The size of the network should reflect your needs
  and the aim of the project, but
• Indicative number of partners (Guide for
  Applicants) 6 10
• FP6 indicative number of researcher monthsEST
  72 999 (average 300) (last call)
• 80/20 EST / ER split

FP7 Marie Curie - ITN
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ITNs key issues

• Ratio ESR/ER
• - The total amount of ESRs and ERs should be
  reasonable and in line with what is recommended
  in the Guide for Applicants (80/20)
• Visiting Scientists
• - Exceptional and duly justified in the context
  of the training programme
• Conferences
• should be proportionate to the proposed research
  training programme
• is an opportunity for the recruiter researchers
  to exchange knowledge with more experienced
  researchers from outside the network.

FP7 Marie Curie - ITN
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ITNs key issues

• Role of the Visiting Scientists
• Addressed under training impact
• Industrial participation
• Addressed under all four criteria
• Conferences and events
• Addressed under training, implementation, impact
• Aspects that are assessed under more than one
  evaluation criteria will count under each of
  these criteria

FP7 Marie Curie - ITN
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ITNs the evaluation processmariecurie-uk_at_b
bsrc.ac.uk
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Planning your proposal writing

• In planning, have an understanding of
• Overall objective of an ITN
• All 4 criterion science, training,
  implementation and impact
• Financial issues
• Role of participants

FP7 Marie Curie Your Proposal
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Weightings and thresholds for ITNs
FP7 Marie Curie ITNs
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S T Quality criteria

• Weighting 30 (stage 2), threshold 3/5
• ST objectives of the research programme,
  including in terms of inter/multi-disciplinary,
  intersectoral and/ or newly emerging
  supra-disciplinary fields
• Scientific quality of the research programme
• Appropriateness of research methodology
• Originality and innovative aspect of the research
  programme
• Knowledge of the state-of-the-art

FP7 - Marie Curie ITN criteria
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S T Quality tips

• Science is well specified and relevant
• Cutting edge research setting it apart from the
  competition and clear
• Each specific aim is well supported
• Innovative element is clear
• Clear potential of the research
• Size of network
• References
• Unclear research methodologies

FP7 - Marie Curie ITN criteria
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Training criteria

• Weighing 30, threshold 4/5
• Quality of the training programme
• Consistency with the research programme
• Complementary skills offered Management,
  Communication, IPR, Ethics, Grant writing,
  Commercial exploitation of results, Research
  Policy, entrepreneurship, managing projects, etc.
  .
• Importance and timeliness of the training needs
  (e.g. multidisciplinary, intersectoral , and
  newly emerging supra-disciplinary fields)

FP7 - Marie Curie ITN criteria
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Training criteria

• a) For multi-site proposals Adequate
  combination of local specialist training with
  network-wide training activities
• b) For mono-site proposals Adequate
  exploitation of the international network of the
  participants for the training programme
• Appropriateness of the size of the requested
  training programme with respect to the capacity
  of the host

FP7 - Marie Curie ITN criteria
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Quality of training - tips

• Impact of training is clear, including for both
  short and long term fellowships
• Training programme is clear and well described
• Profile of researchers well described
• Several methods of training
• Detailed and exhaustive (credible activities)
• Detail on collaborations between ESR and ER
• Flexible, adaptable and well monitored
• Balance of training across partners
• Conferences and training courses part of training
  package

FP7 - Marie Curie ITN criteria
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Quality of training - tips

• Training in research methods and techniques
• Personal Development Plan
• Complementary skills training ethics, research
  management
• Transferable skills training cf Roberts
• Graduate School Provision including RC
  courses
• Conferences, seminars, public fora etc
• Any other suggestions?

FP7 - Marie Curie ITN criteria
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Implementation criteria

• Weighting 20, threshold 3/5
• Capacities (expertise / human resources /
  facilities /infrastructure) to achieve the
  research and adequate task distribution and
  schedule
• Appropriateness of industry involvement
• Adequate exploitation of complementarities and
  synergies among partners in terms of research and
  training
• Non-ICPC participation essential to the
  objectives of the research training programme?

FP7 - Marie Curie ITN criteria
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Implementation criteria

• Appropriateness of the overall management of the
  training programme (responsibilities, rules for
  decision-making)
• Networking and dissemination of best practice
  among partners. Clarity of the plan for
  organising training events (workshops,
  conferences, training courses)
• Clarity of recruitment strategy (incl timetable)
• Competitive international recruitment
• Equal opportunities
• Coherence with Code of conduct for recruitment
  of researchers

FP7 - Marie Curie ITN criteria
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Implementation tips (1)

• Describe capacities of each host research
  expertise, human resources, facilities and
  infrastructure
• Have you justified the number of researcher
  months applied for, and demonstrated that you
  have the capacity (research expertise, human
  resources, facilities and infrastructure) to
  implement the project?
• Work Plan task distribution, milestones,
  deliverables, schedule
• Industry involvement
• Letter of support, industry at highest possible
  level?

FP7 ITN Implementation
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Implementation tips (2)

• Information on key scientific staff, three most
  significant recent publications
• Outline the financial management strategy,
  relevant project management experience
• Management structure coordination, communication
  and monitoring progress
• Role of supervisory board, consortium agreement,
  communication and decision-making mechanisms
• IPR protection

FP7 ITN Implementation
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Impact criteria

• Weighting 20, no threshold
• Contribution of the proposed training programme
  to the career prospects of the fellows
• Provision to establish longer term collaborations
  and/or lasting structured training programme
  between the partners organisations, including
  between private and academic partners
• Where appropriate, justification of the training
  events open to external participants and their
  integration in the training programme

FP7 - Marie Curie ITN criteria
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Impact criteria

• Where appropriate, mutual recognition of the
  training acquired by multi-partner hosts
• Where applicable, relevance of the role of the
  visiting scientist with respect to the training
  programme

FP7 - Marie Curie ITN criteria
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Impact tips (1)

• Benefits of the training project
• At the level of the individual researcher
• Enhance researchers capacity to progress in
  research, communicate across disciplines
  sectors
• At the level of the participating institutions
• Foster existing / create new collaborations
• At the level of European research
• Cutting edge research, interdisciplinary, e.g.
  European Competitiveness, the European Research
  Area

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European Charter and Code

• European Charter for Researchers addresses
• Roles and responsibilities
• Entitlements
• of researchers and their employers or funding
  organisations.
• Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of
  Researchers aims to
• improve recruitment and make selection procedures
  fairer and more transparent
• proposes different means of judging merit

MCA Submission Evaluations
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European Charter and Code

• The RCUK/UUK provided a UK HE sector analysis of
  the European Charter and Code against current UK
  guidelines and employment law
• The analysis indicates there are no major
  barriers to UK HEIs wishing to adopt the Charter
  and Code in a more formal way,
• Advise acknowledging adherence to the Charter and
  Code in all applications

MCA Submission Evaluations
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Links

• UK National Contact Point for Marie Curie
• http//www.ukro.ac.uk/mariecurie
• CORDIS
• http//cordis.europa.eu/mariecurie-actions/
• The Charter and the Code
• http//europa.eu.int/eracareers/europeancharter/
• UK HE Sector analysis http//www.rcuk.ac.uk/news/
  gapanalysis.htm
• European Researchers Mobility Portal
• http//ec.europa.eu/eracareers/index_en.cfm
• Marie Curie Vacancies
• http//mc-opportunities.cordis.lu/
• Queries
• mariecurie-uk_at_bbsrc.ac.uk

FP7 People Marie Curie
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ITNs- additional information Cecilie Hansen
and Nicholas HarrapUK National Contact Point for
MCAs mariecurie-uk_at_bbsrc.ac.uk
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Definition of Fellows Allowances

• These are all flat rates
• Living
• Basic salary
• Varies according to research experience
• Mobility
• Relocation costs
• Varies according to family situation
• Travel
• Every 12 months travel from location of origin to
  fellowship location
• Career exploratory
• Fellowships at least one year to spend on career
  development activities

FP7 Marie Curie - Allowances
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Community Contribution - ITNs

• Includes
• Salary costs (living, mobility, travel and career
  exploratory allowance)
• Contribution to research costs, networking and
  organisation of conferences
• Contribution to management costs
• An overhead

FP7 Marie Curie - Money
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Researcher Salaries for ITNs
FP7 Marie Curie - Rates
Salaries are inclusive of all compulsory
deductionsCorrection factor applied for cost of
living (UK Coefficient 109.2)
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Allowance rates

• Travel costs depending on distance
• 250 - 2500
• Mobility allowance
• Without family 500 per month
• With family 800 per month
• Correction factor applied for cost of living
• Career Exploratory allowance
• 2000 for stays of more than one year
• Training / research costs of eligible researchers
  
• Lab-based research 600 per month
• Non-lab-based research 300 per month

FP7 Marie Curie - Rates
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Benefits for the institution - ITN

• Research Training
• 600 (ITN) per month
• Organisation of international conferences etc
• 300 per researcher per day for those outside ITN
• Management Activities
• Multi-site 7 of the total EC contribution
• Mono-site / twinning 3 of the total EC
  contribution
• Contribution to overheads
• 10 of direct costs except for subcontractors
• Other types of eligible expenses
• N/A

FP7 Marie Curie - Rates