new and emerging science and technologyrxb/research/nestintro.pdf · specific activities covering a...

Specific Activities Covering a Wider Field of Research New and Emerging Science and Technology

Naomi Webber – UK NEST National Contact [email protected]

www.rcuk.ac.uk/nestTel 01793 444438Fax 01793 444005

New and EmergingScience and Technology

NEST

www.cordis.lu/nest


Focusing and Integrating Community research

Strengthening the foundations of the ERA

Structuring the ERA

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Thematic priorities

FP6 - Where does NEST fit in?

“Wider field of Research”

SMEsInternational co-operation

JRCc

NESTSupport to policies


NEST objectives

• Stimulate visionary long term research at the frontiers of knowledge and at the interface between disciplines

• Give researchers freedom to develop and prove their ideas within the broadest possible limits

• Respond rapidly to new problems and opportunities


Key characteristics of NEST actions

• May fall in “any” area of research• Research not falling within the Thematic

Priorities• Novel, possibly multi-disciplinary,

possibly unconventional• Well focused objectives, which are

ambitious but clear, possibly risky, and consistent with the scale of the project


Two modes

Open domain:

Focused actions:

235 M €

Overall

Budget

• ADVENTURE

• INSIGHT

• NEST SUPPORT

PATHFINDER


Implementation

Through standard FP6 instruments• Specific Targeted Research Project, STREP:

To provide funding for research activities.

• Co-ordination Action, CA:To provide funding for networking and co-ordination.

• Specific Support Action, SSA:To provide funding for activities in direct support of NEST


Second Call

• Call reference: FP6-2003-NEST-B

• Call date: 17 December 2003

• Budget: 30M€ (ADVENTURE, INSIGHT, NEST SUPPORT)

• No major changes w.r.t. 2003, (except: enable CA for ADVENTURE, NEST SUPPORT)

• Closure dates: 14 April, 15 September 2004

OPEN DOMAIN


Second Call

• Call reference: FP6-2003-NEST-PATH

• Call date: 17 December 2003

• Budget: 35M€

• Actions: “Synthetic biology”; “Tackling complexity in science”; “What it means to be human”

• Closure date: 14 April 2004

PATHFINDER


NEST ADVENTURE

www.cordis.lu/nest

Reference document: download from www.cordis.lu/nest


ADVENTURE:The mandate

“research in emerging areas of knowledge and on future technologies, in particular in trans-disciplinary fields, which is highly innovative and involvescorrespondingly high (technical) risks.”


The “Spirit of ADVENTURE”

• Exciting, pioneering research with the aim of opening up new avenues for progress in science and technology

• Freedom for researchers to define new challenges and pursue new ideas

• Across a wide scope of science and technology, but lying outside or cutting across the Thematic Priorities

• With a special interest in novel multi-disciplinarity

• High risk / high gain, with challenging and tangible objectives


ADVENTURE„If only ...“

• Neural networks had been the result of an ADVENTURE project

• The atomic force microscope had been developed in an ADVENTURE project

• The first in vitro demonstration of motor-proteins had been made in an ADVENTURE project

• PCR had been developed in an ADVENTURE project

• etc, etc, ...


ADVENTURE Implementation

• Specific Targeted Research Projects, STREPs

• Coordination Actions, CAs

• Project budget: indicative funding range from 800.000 to 2.000.000 Euro

• Funding period: up to 3 years

• Consortium: At least three independent partners from three member states or associated states - of which at least two member states or associated candidate states


ADVENTURE STREPsEvaluation criteria

• Relevance to NEST objectives [≥4/5]

• Scientific and technological excellence [≥4/5]

• Potential impact [≥3/5]

• Quality of the consortium (FULL proposal only) [≥3/5]

• Quality of management (FULL proposal only) [≥3/5]

• Mobilisation of resources (FULL proposal only) [≥3/5]


ADVENTUREFirst STREPs selected

BIODEFENCE - “Rapid induction of passive immunity against weapons of bioterrorism using transformed GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe) organisms”

THE OPTICAL NOSE - “An on-line, non-invasive and total-profiling” instrument for trace gas sensing applications in medical sciences

INA - “Imaging with neutral atoms”

ATOM3D - “Advanced techniques for optical manipulation using novel 3D light field synthesis”

CHIRALTEM - “Chiral dichroism in the transmission electron microscope”

EA-BIOFILMS - “Electrochemical control of biofilm-forming micro-organisms”

ELCAT - “Electrocatalytic Gas-Phase Conversion of CO2 in Confined Catalysts”

http://www.cordis.lu/nest/projects.htm


NEST INSIGHT

www.cordis.lu/nest



INSIGHT: The mandate

“research to assess rapidly new discoveries or newly-observed phenomena, which may indicate emerging risks or problems of high importance to European society, and identify appropriate responses to them.”


INSIGHT projects

• Should have an anticipatory function

• Should address possible risks associated with new phenomena; high potential risk; significant scientific uncertainties

• Project outputs should be aimed at decision making. Analysis of the uncertainty should allow the concerned actors to frame strategic choices about future action

• May need to challenge orthodoxy and/or address complex or inter-disciplinary questions


INSIGHT„If only ...“

• The hormonal activity of certain chemicals had been proven by an INSIGHT project (Endocrine Disruptors)

• The link between Creutzfeldt-Jakob and BSE had been proven by an INSIGHT project

• The Ozone depletion in the Atmosphere by Perfluorated Compounds had been shown by an INSIGHT project

• The impact of a new technology, e.g. ICTs, on societal behavior (e.g. life style, communication, work , consumption, criminality) had been anticipated by an INSIGHT project


INSIGHT STREPsEvaluation criteria

• Relevance to NEST objectives [≥4/5]

• Scientific and technological excellence [≥4/5]

• Potential impact [≥3/5]

• Quality of the consortium (FULL proposal only) [≥3/5]

• Quality of management (FULL proposal only) [≥3/5]

• Mobilisation of resources (FULL proposal only) [≥3/5]


INSIGHT: Implementation

• STREPs for the support of research

• CAs for networking, e.g. of national organisations or responsible regulatory bodies

• Budget: up to 800.000 Euro Commission funding

• Funding period: 1 - 2 years

• Consortium: At least three independent partners from three member states or associated states -of which at least two member states or associated candidate states


INSIGHTFirst STREPs selected

PERFORCE: Perfluorinated organic compounds in the European environment

PORGROW: Policy options for responding to the growing challenge from obesity



NEST SUPPORT

www.cordis.lu/nest



NEST SUPPORT: The mandate

• attracting good proposals

• shaping and refining modalities

• establishing future actions

… to assist in the development and exploitation of NEST activities


NEST Support: The specific areas

1. Promotion of interaction with the research community

2. Engagement of the research community in the process of identifying future research opportunities

3. Analysis of methodological and technical issues associated with the NEST research domain


NEST SUPPORTFirst SSAs selected

NEST-IDEA: NEST Information on Development of Emerging Activities

ATBEST: Assessment tools for Breakthrough and Emerging S&T

NETIAM: New and Emerging Teams in Industrial and Applied Mathematics



INSTRUMENTS AND

EVALUATION

www.cordis.lu/nest



Instruments Overview

ADVENTURE INSIGHT ADVENTURE

INSIGHT NEST SUPPORT

NEST SUPPORT

STREP

STREP CA SSA

2-stage evaluation

2-stage evaluation

1-stage evaluation 1-stage evaluation

OUTLINE proposals

anonymous

OUTLINE proposals

anonymous FULL proposals not anonymous

FULL proposals not anonymous

FULL proposals not anonymous

FULL

proposals not anonymous


FOCUSSED ACTIONSPATHFINDER

www.cordis.lu/nest



PATHFINDER

• First PATHFINDER call launched– topics “Tackling complexity in science”;

“Synthetic biology”; “What it means to be human”

– indicative budget €35m–call deadline 14 April 2004


PATHFINDER: The mandate

• Build and consolidate European capabilities in promising emerging (interdisciplinary) areas with high future potential for Europe in the long term.

• Provide “early stage funding”: as ideas mature they should be translated into more conventional funding modes

• Actions of up to 10 Mio. EUR or more (for several STREPS + one or more CAs)

• Annual calls for proposals; several topics per call

• First call 17 December 2003, closure 14 April 2004


PATHFINDER initiative on:

Tackling complexity in science


Background / motivation

• Complexity is a critical challenge towards progress in many areas of Science (e.g. biology, cognitive science)

• Increasing need to understand behaviour of ever more complicated man made systems (e.g. electrical grid)

• Same is true of natural phenomena such as weather, geology, etc

• Also true of understanding human networks (social, political, enterprise, etc)

• Common approach and techniques emerging to dealing with complex problems in science


Objectives of initiative

• Bring together high level groups in Complex Systems Science and others in specific disciplines to tackle important problems where complexity is a key issue

• Extend and generalise techniques used in one area to other areas of science

• Help structure and co-ordinate the complexity field in Europe

• Problems should take a practical problem solving approach, grounded in data


Some examples topics

• Biology– Bio-complexity– Cellular signalling and regulation processes

• Social Sciences– Emergence and robustness of social institutions

• Environmental Sciences– Predictability and distribution of extreme events in

natures (earthquakes, floods, weather)

• Particularly interested in projects that help bridge gap between physical sciences, and social and other natural sciences


NESTPATHFINDER initiative on

Synthetic biology


The “vision” – technologiesbased on biological principles throughout the economy

• Engineering systems made from biological “building blocks” (functional proteins, sub-cellular machinery, organisms)

• highly efficient, and low waste, operating in living cells or on non-living substrates

• Pervasive throughout industry (materials synthesis, energy production, bio-remediation, lubrication, monitoring and sensing, drug delivery…)

• Versatile and “intelligent” - combining different functions, changing parameters according to local conditions

• Industrial fabrication of systems “to order”, based on standard components and interfaces, using programmable

“bio-fab” plants.


The (main) elements

• Components and interfaces (genes, proteins, molecular machines, signalling pathways, carrier organisms…)

• Design tools (computational analysis, methods for functional protein design, systems modelling…)

• Control systems (genetic circuits, communication methods)

• Production methods (programmable high throughput DNA/protein production)


Overall objective of the PATHFINDER initiative

• Stimulate forward-looking, cross disciplinary research to demonstrate key principles and generate tools, building blocks and generic “platform technologies” for synthetic biology

• It should:– Build on existing work (FP6 and elsewhere) – Work towards a “community of knowledge” in Europe– Finance radical, application-focused research which have

both strategic interest and will create “project-by-project” payoffs, feeding back into the science base.


Requirements for projects

• Projects should focus on design and engineering of new biology-based systems with substantially different characteristics from natural systems

• They can address different biological processes (genetic circuits, metabolic pathways, signal transduction) and components

• They should have clear applications in mind• They should aim for tangible outcomes,

demonstrating engineering control over biological processes, or “platform technologies”.


Possible application areas

• Energy production (photosynthesis, hydrogen production)

• Production of materials (natural polymers)• Communication systems• Sensing processes (eg “biological sentinels”)• Intelligent therapeutic agents

These areas are not exhaustive! Proposers should aim for ambitious but achievable goals that move the “synthetic biology” agenda forward


NESTPATHFINDER initiative on

What it means to be human


Rationale - why should we fund this?

• An integrated understanding of the human mind can now be envisaged, at the cross-roads of new developments in neuroscience, genetics, brain imaging, linguistics and associated fields.

• This will have big payoffs for science, technology, and society

• Europe has strengths in key areas at national level• This PATHFINDER initiative will help to build cross-

national and cross-disciplinary research groups


Overall objectives

• This initiative aims to investigate why humans are different: – what features make our cognitive abilities unique?

– what are the origins of these features?

• Why this question? Because:– a better understanding of the specific features of the

human mind and its evolution will help build a more integrated picture of the mind

– it provides a way to bring together different disciplinary areas that can all contribute to the development of cognitive science


Scientific objectives

• Projects may have different individual objectives. However, they must:

• address “what features make human cognitive abilities unique, and what are the origins of these features?”

• focus on higher cognitive faculties, (thinking, reasoning, using language) and individual cognitive development (in the context of social and cultural factors)

• take a comparative and evolutionary perspective

• be highly interdisciplinary

• In all cases however, the research must address the key question: why are humans different?


PATHFINERPre-proposal check service

• Pre-proposal check service available until 24 March • Forms: at the end of the Guide for proposers• Requested: brief summary of the project and

partnership• Partnership should be pretty clear and stable• NEST will give guidance regarding suitability of

scope and eligibility, based on information submitted

• Responses from the EC are simply for guidance and do not commit the Commission either way

• Final decision on proposals made by external expert evaluators

• Not a discussion forum!


STREP projects

• Pathfinder initiatives will be composed of groups of STREP projects individually submitted (not as clusters)

• Full proposals have to be submitted in ONE STAGE (not in two step as in NEST-OPEN)

• Proposers need to make very clear which Pathfinder imitative they are addressing

• Proposals will be evaluated and selected on their individual merits

• Projects will be expected to develop a degree of interaction and cooperation after their funding

• Project size expected to be in the 1- 1.5 MEuro range; 4 - 6 partners


Coordination Actions

• Expect to fund one (exceptionally more) co-ordination action for each topic

• Co-ordination actions will be evaluated and selected at the same time as the STREP proposals

• Role of co-ordination depends on topic, as already mentioned

• An added task will be to provide a means and venue of interaction for the chosen projects

• Funding expected to be in the 0.5 to 1 MEuro range; 15 –25 partners


FEEDBACK FROM FIRST CALL

www.cordis.lu/nest

See also www.cordis.lu/nest


• STREPs

• CAs - nil• SSAs - 7 proposals, 3 negotiation/contract

Proposal numbers

166 Outline proposals

25

10

Retained for stage 2

Negotiation


EC requested contribution

INSIGHT ~ 0.8 M€ADVENTURE ~ 1.4 M€

Support ~ 0.2 M€


• STREPs

• CAs – 5 proposals, 0 Negotiation• SSAs - 9 proposals, 1 Negotiation

Proposal numbers

251 Outline proposals

32

?

Retained for stage 2

Negotiation


Messages forProposers (I)

• NEST proposals should “lie outside or cut across” the Thematic Priorities

• Many proposers appears insufficiently aware of the basic principles behind NEST:– ADVENTURE: novelty, ambition, risk, impact– INSIGHT: risks arising from novel phenomena– Support actions must help in implementation of NEST

• INSIGHT and ADVENTURE are different things. A project must be designed for the one or the other


• 5-page OUTLINE proposals are not about describing an idea for an area of work.

• They should contain a concise description:– What exactly is the novelty of the proposal

– What are you planning to do and how?

– What may one expect as a result of the project?

– What would be the impact on science and technology

• A degree of quantification might be useful

Messages forProposers (II)


• Innovations in social sciences and economics are valid for NEST as long as they conform to the requirements set in the reference documents

• Proposals on mathematics are also welcome providing that the new techniques are coupled with the development of knowledge in other scientific and technological spheres

Messages forProposers (III)


NEST needs evaluators

The success of NEST will depend on the success of its projects - the selection is crucial

• Specialists for remote refereeing - in all relevant fields• Generalist scientists, with a broad overview and an open

eye for high risk, multi-disciplinary research• Potential beneficiaries: from industry, regulatory agencies,

policy makers, ...

Please Register, or nominate experts, through:www.cordis.lu/experts/fp6_candidature.htm


Final advice

• Please read the NEST reference documentsfrom www.cordis.lu/nest; then download.

• Please specify one single Activity Code:ADVENTURE, INSIGHT, NEST SUPPORT, PATHFINDER

• Please use the Electronic Proposal Submission System, EPSS

• PLEASE DON’T SUBMIT LAST MINUTE“A deadline is what it is!”

• NEST National Contact Point (NCP) can provide information and advice


Information Sources

• Info on contracts: www.cordis.lu/fp6/instruments.htm

• NEST Web-site: www.cordis.lu/nest

• CORDIS: www.cordis.lu

• NEST helpdesk: [email protected]

• Evaluators: www.cordis.lu/experts/fp6_candidature.htm

• UK NEST NCP www.rcuk.ac.uk/nest

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