29 October 2004 Working Document on THE RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES IN FP7 Introduction In the Commission s communication on the financial perspectives of the European Union for the period 2007-2013 1, the support to research infrastructures of E uropean dimension and interest is mentioned as a key element for the European effort in research and technological development. In line with this, developing research infrastructures of European interest appears as one of the six major objectives in the recent Commission s communication on the future EU policy for research 2. The purpose of the present working document is to describe how the Research Infrastructure action will be implemented in the Seventh Framework Programme. I Background 1 - What are Research Infrastructures? In the scope of the Community action, the term research infrastructures refers to facilities that provide essential services to the scientific community for basic or applied research. Only research infrastructures which have a clear European dimension or interest are being considered. They may concern the whole range of scientific and technological fields, from social sciences to astronomy, going through genomics or nanotechnologies. Examples include libraries, databases, biological archives, clean rooms, communication networks, synchrotrons, accelerators, telescopes. They may be single-sited, distributed, or virtual. Research infrastructures are essential tools for the development of leading-edge research in Europe in scientific and technological fields. By attracting users from various countries and through networking, they integrate and structure the scientific community in Europe and play a major role in the construction of the European Research Area. In many domains, they have a significant economical, social or environmental impact. 2 - Research Infrastructures in FP6 a The current Research Infrastructure action Five major schemes are available in FP6 to support research infrastructures. One of them is a new scheme, integrating activities, which has been introduced to structure better, on a European scale, the way research infrastructures operate in a given field. It combines, within 1 COM(2004) 101 10 February 2004 2 COM(2004) 353 16 June 2004 1
the single I3 contract (Integrated Infrastructure Initiatives), access, networking and research activities that were supported through individual contracts in previous Framework Programmes. Two other new schemes, design studies and construction, have been introduced to promote the creation of new research infrastructures. The five schemes are outlined below: 1. Transnational Access: to support new opportunities for research teams to obtain access to the best research infrastructures in Europe; 2. Integrating Activities: to support the integrated provision of infrastructure-related services ( networking access and joint research activities ) to the research community at a European level, for a group of infrastructures in the same field; 3. Communication Network Development: to help establish the GEANT communication network and support Grid type activities; 4. Design Studies: to support feasibility studies or technical preparatory work for new infrastructures; 5. Construction of New Infrastructures: to partly support (10% maximum) the development costs of new research infrastructures. b Lessons learnt from FP6 For all the above schemes, the calls for proposals published so far under FP6 have attracted a large number of high quality proposals, in a wide range of fields. The overall financial request was much above the financial resources available. These results clearly show that the existing schemes for the Research Infrastructures action should be continued and better supported. It appears however, that the newly introduced construction scheme should be given a more strategic approach. II - Research Infrastructures in FP7: Proposed lines of action It is proposed to continue and improve the current line of action, aiming at optimising the utilisation of existing research infrastructures and improving their performance. This will be implemented through calls for proposals covering all fields of science and technology, in a bottom-up approach. In addition, it is proposed to reinforce the Research Infrastructure action by adding a new line of action for the development of new research infrastructures (new facilities or major upgrades to existing ones) of pan-european interest. This strategic approach will concern unique infrastructures with a crucial impact for the development of the relevant field in Europe (their size and cost will depend on the field). In line with the conclusions of the informal Competitiveness Council of 1-3 July 2004, this approach will require the development of a vision and roadmap for research infrastructures in Europe in the next 10 to 20 years and the development of a new operational mechanism. 2
1 - The bottom-up approach This will include the continuation of the following schemes: Access to research infrastructures: to support access to individual research infrastructure; Integrating Activities: to support networking of research infrastructures in a given field, coordinated access to these infrastructures, and research activities to improve their performance; Communication Network Development: to support interconnection and improvement of communication networks, and development of new architectures; Design Studies: to explore possibilities for the creation of new infrastructures. 2 The strategic approach This will consist of two components: the first one being the development of a vision and roadmap for the preparation of a number of priority projects, the second one being an operational mechanism for the concrete implementation of the priority projects. The experience drawn from the trans-european Networks (TENs) will be useful for the development of this mechanism. a - The vision, roadmap and priority projects 1 Vision and European roadmap for research infrastructures The targeted approach for the development of new infrastructures should be based on a clear and global vision of the needs for research infrastructures in Europe in the medium-long term. This implies the establishment of a European roadmap for the next ten to twenty years, under a continuous process involving periodic updates and revisions. In this context, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures will play a major role. ESFRI has decided at its last meeting (3 September 2004) to prepare such a European roadmap. The aim of ESFRI is not to prioritise and not to decide on funding, but to provide an overview of the facilities needed. First results should be available by the end of 2005, with new results following as different areas mature. To reach these objectives, ESFRI is currently setting up three Steering Groups chaired by ESFRI delegates, covering the following domains: Physical Sciences and Engineering; Biological and Medical Sciences; Social Sciences and Humanities. A fourth group, focussed on e-infrastructures, already exists since the end of 2002 (eirg, a group of Minister representatives to discuss GEANT and Grid issues). For the preparation of the roadmap, ESFRI will closely liaise with EIROforum 3, an essential stakeholder for research infrastructures in Europe. It will also collect information from national roadmaps and other relevant analysis (e.g. from Community research contracts, EURAB, ESF, NREN Policy Committee), and from existing formal groups of the scientific community (e.g. NuPECC) as well as of the industrial community (e.g. UNICE). 3 EIROforum is a collaboration between the major European Intergovernmental Research Organisations: CERN, EFDA, EMBL, ESA, ESO, ESRF, ILL. 3
ESFRI will also have the ability to create dedicated expert groups, as appropriate, for example for domains where the scientific community is not yet structured, for cross-cutting domains at the frontier of the steering groups, or for interdisciplinary or emerging fields. The overall process to establish the roadmap should provide all guaranties for transparency and impartiality and should be recognized by all stakeholders. The criteria for the roadmap will be essentially of scientific and strategic character. These will include, for example: European dimension, real needs of the concerned scientific community, potential impact on the development of the field, technical feasibility, relation to other existing European and international facilities. 2 - List of priority projects for new infrastructures On the basis of the roadmap prepared by ESFRI, the Commission will establish a list of priority projects, with the help, for example, of an independent expert panel or even a High Level Advisory Board. This list should be periodically updated. It should consolidate in a balanced way the needs expressed by the scientific community and the European dimension. For each project, it will provide the scientific and technological justifications and will give indications on the timing, the required resources and the management method. The criteria for the priority projects will include: pan-european interest, in particular in liaison with the Lisbon and Barcelona objectives, potential impact on the European Research Area, European partnership, maturity of project and timeliness, existence of a multi-annual and long-term budgetary planning, quality of management. 3 - Decision process A Commission s proposal to Council and Parliament will present a first list of priority projects and their characteristics. It will also include some orientations for future lists. This will be the subject of a formal decision by Council. b - The operational (TEN-like) mechanism The decision by Council on the Commission s proposal for a first list of priority projects will be a clear sign of the commitment of the Member States and should stimulate the mobilisation of other stakeholders towards the realisation of the projects. Within the Framework Programme, the strategic part of the Research Infrastructure action will be implemented in a two-stage process: The first stage will involve a restricted call for construction of new infrastructures, targeted to the list of priority projects, to support a preparatory phase including the detailed construction plans, the legal organisation, the management of the consortium and the multi-annual planning of the project. Selected projects will get an EC support of up to 50% of the total cost. The second stage will deal with the main implementation phase of the project, and will only be developed following the satisfactory implementation of the first stage. The EC support should be sufficient to ensure leveraging and catalysing effects. It may take 4
different forms (grant, membership fee, full partnership) on basis of the existing legal frameworks. It is to be noted that the European Commission will act as a facilitator at all stages of the implementation of the priority projects. It will be active in coordinating financial engineering mechanisms, including the various Community instruments (Framework Programme, Structural Funds, European Investment Bank). 5