IL PROCESSO DI VALUTAZIONE IN HORIZON 2020 Roma 24 marzo 2015 - CNR Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions experiences and indications Dr M. Lucia Curri Istituto per i Processi Chimico Fisici Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche IPCF CNR
Outlook Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) MSC Individual Fellowships (IF) MSC IF Evaluation process
Horizon 2020 Horizon 2020 is the EU s funding instrument for research and innovation from 2014 2020 Overarching priority: exiting economic crisis through sustainable growth. Three pillar structure. Excellent Science European Research Council Frontier research by the best individual teams Future and Emerging Technologies Collaborative research to open new fields of innovation Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions Opportunities for training and career development Research Infrastructures (Including e-infrastructures) Ensuring access to world class facilities Industrial Technologies Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies ICT, nanotechnologies, materials, biotechnology, manufacturing, space Access to risk finance Leveraging private finance and venture capital for research and innovation Innovation in SME Fostering all forms of innovation in all types of SME Societal Challenges Health Health, demographic change and wellbeing Food security, sustainable agriculture, marine and maritime research and bioeconomy Secure Secure, clean and efficient energy Smart, green and integrated transports Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials Inclusive, innovative and reflective societies Security society
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions The goal of the MSCA is to support the career development and training of researchers through international and inter-sector mobility Open to all domains of research and innovation from basic research up to market take-up Entirely bottom-up Partecipation of non-academic sector strongly encouraged, especially industry and SMEs Mobility as a key requirement Promotion of attractive working and employment conditions Particular attention to gender balance Public engagement of supported researchers Attract and retain research talent Develop state-of-the-art, innovative training scheme, consistent with the highly competitive and increasingly inter-disciplinary requirements of research and innovation Promote sustainable career development in research and innovation Focus on delivering new knowledge and skills Contribute to a strong partnership with MS via the co-funding mechanism
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Support to researchers in all stages of their career, from PhD candidates to experienced researchers, via different schemes: Innovative Training Networks (ITN) Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) Individual Fellowships (IF) Co-funding of national etc PhD and post-doctoral programmes (COFUND) Co-funding of regional, national and international programmes funding doctoral and post-doctoral researchers
ITN SCHEME Innovative Training Networks (ITN) aim to train a new generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative early-stage researchers (PhD and Masters Degree students) Raise excellence and structure research and doctoral training, extending the traditional academic research training setting, and equipping researchers with the right combination of research-related and transferable competences Provide enhanced career perspectives in both the academic and non-academic sectors through international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral mobility combined with an innovation-oriented mind-set ITN consortium formed of host organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors, including organisations based in MS and AC, but can also include participants from organizations outside Europe
RISE SCHEME The scheme aims at promoting international and inter-sector collaboration through research and innovation staff exchanges. It also encourages knowledge sharing and bringing ideas from research to market Scope International and inter-sector transfer of knowledge and sharing shared culture of research and innovation, supports creativity and entrepreneurship, and helps to turn creative ideas into innovative products, services or processes RISE involves organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors (in particular SMEs), based both within and without Europe Participating organisations contribute directly to the implementation of the joint research and innovation activities by seconding and/or hosting eligible staff members (no secondments between institutions located outside Europe or within the same MS/AC Expected impact Build new or enhance existing networks of international and inter-sectoral cooperation Strengthen the interaction between organisations in the academic and non-academic sectors, as well as between Europe and third countries Align different cultures and expectations with a view to ensuring a more effective contribution of research and innovation to Europe's knowledge-based economy and society
MSC Individual Fellowships MSC IF Expected Impact Development of the best and most promising researchers active in Europe, in order to enhance and maximise their contribution to the knowledge-based economy and society For researchers with a PhD degree (or have at least 4 years of research experience; there are no restrictions on age) who wish to acquire new knowledge and skills, open to all fields and disciplines Strengthen the contact network of both the researcher and the host organisation Realising the full potential of researchers and catalysing significant development in their careers in both the academic and non-academic sectors Resuming a research career in Europe after a break, or reintegrating within Europe after living abroad
MSC Individual Fellowships The IF proposals may take one of the following forms: European Fellowships (EFs) Global Fellowships (GFs) European Fellowships (EFs EFs) For European Fellowships proposals are allocated for evaluation either to one of the 8 main scientific panels or to one of the 2 multidisciplinary panels Career Restart Panel (CAR) and Reintegration Panel (RI). Career Restart Panel (CAR) multidisciplinary panel of the EFs which provides financial support to individual researchers who want to resume research in Europe after a career break (e.g. after parental leave, working outside research etc.). Reintegration Panel (RI) multidisciplinary panel of the European Fellowships dedicated to researchers who want to return and reintegrate in a longer term research position in Europe. 1. The researcher must be an Experienced Researcher; 2. The researcher must be a national or long-term resident of the MS or AC. 3. The researcher must move or have moved (transnational mobility) from a TC to the MS or AC where the beneficiary is located.
MSC Individual Fellowships Global Fellowships (GFs GFs) Global Fellowships are composed of an outgoing phase during which the researcher undertakes a secondment to a partner organisation in a Third Country, and a mandatory 12-month return period to a host organisation (the beneficiary) located in a Member State or Associated Country. All GF proposals are allocated to one of the 8 scientific panels, the same as for the standard European Fellowships. Each panel has a separate ranked list Eligibility: 1. The researcher must be an Experienced Researcher 2. The researcher must be national or long-term (at least 5 consecutive (without breaks in research years) resident of a MS or AC 3. The researcher must move or have moved (transnational mobility) from any country to the partner organisation located in the TC The mandatory return phase for the researcher (future fellow) in the European host organisation is essential for the successful achievement of the objectives of this action
MSC fellowships Research Executive Agency (REA) The Research Executive Agency (REA) is a funding body created by the European Commission to maximise the efficiency and impact of EU research and innovation programmes The Agency has no political mandate and instead focuses on managing the research proposals and funded projects The core parts of REA mission are: to deliver efficient and effective support to applicants, beneficiaries and independent experts; and, to establish close contact with final beneficiaries. Fully operational since mid-2009, the Agency was set up in 2008 in Brussels to manage large parts of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities, which runs until the end of 2013. As from 2014, the Agency manages a large share of Horizon 2020
MSC Fellowships Evaluation Proposals are evaluated in 8 panels: Chemistry (CHE) Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC) Economic Sciences (ECO) Information Science and Engineering (ENG) Environmental and Geosciences (ENV) Life Sciences (LIF) Mathematics (MAT) Physics (PHY) Every researcher selects the panel by themselves For the CAR and Reintegration panels, one multidisciplinary ranking list each will be made The budget of the call will be distributed proportionally according to the number of applications submitted to each panel Each application will be evaluated by at least 3 experts
MSC fellowships New in H2020 1. Name change 2. Operational capacity check: capacity of each beneficiary to be carefully demonstrated in the proposal 3. No negotiation: only grant preparation, proposal evaluated to be transferred without changes 4. Criteria reduced in number (5 3) and simplified (to avoid repetition as much as possible) 5. Resubmission is allowed, but it is evaluated as a new proposal (H2020 versus FP7: different criteria) 6. It is possible more work will be done remotely (hard work for evaluators to reach consensus remotely) 7. Level of funding may change (increase?) from one year to the next
MSC fellowships Secondments Experienced Researcher may be seconded to another institution in Europe Secondments must significantly contribute to the impact of the fellowship (in certain research fields expected in the non-academic sector) The organisation where the secondment takes place is a partner organisation and must be located in a MS or an AC If the partner organisation where the secondment takes place is not identified at the proposal stage, it is essential that Part B of the proposal contains information on the sector to which this entity would belong, in addition to the timing and duration of the secondment and its overall purpose Partner organisations do not sign the Grant Agreement The secondment phase can be a single period or divided into shorter mobility periods Secondments needs to be mentioned in the proposal, otherwise will not be taken into account for costs claiming
Candidates submit proposals to a specific panel among 8: CHE, ECO, ENG, ENV, LIF, MAT, PHY, SOC Evaluators are asked to declare any conflict of interest, select proposals (ca. 100) to evaluate based on the abstract and rank them according to degree of matching with the expert s field of expertise "1" denotes that the proposal is exactly in the expert's field of expertise; "2" denotes that the proposal is in the expert's broader field of expertise; "3" denotes that the proposal is not exactly in the expert's field of expertise s/he could evaluate it if necessary; "No" "No expertise" (by default this option is selected in all proposals). Project officer/s Panel Chair Vice-chairs (normally 1 to 8-15 evaluators) Expert evaluators (several and from all fields within the panel topic) Evaluator can be asked to evaluate a proposal which is non exactly in his/her expertise field
Remote Evaluation Phase Depending on range of expertise, evaluators are selected and assigned up to ca. 20 proposals to evaluate in a relatively short period (3-4 weeks) Individual Evaluation Report Each proposal has 3 evaluators They do not have contact with each others They are not allowed to contact the applicant/s Proposals are evaluated tightly against the evaluation criteria Anything over the page count will NOT be read and/or evaluated
Remote Evaluation Phase Scoring
The proposals have a maximum of 10 pages, excluding the CV of the researcher and the annexes. Experts will be instructed to disregard any excess pages. Please note that the following supporting documents will be required in order to determine the operational capacity: A curriculum vitae of the researcher; A description of any significant infrastructure or any major items of technical equipment, relevant to the proposed work; A description of any partner organisations which will be contributing to the work
The minimum font size allowed is 11 points. The page size is A4, and all margins (top, bottom, left, right) should be at least 15 mm (not including any footers or headers). Ensure that the font chosen is clearly readable (e.g. Arial or Times New Roman) Literature references should be listed in footnotes, font size 8 or 9 Scientific misconduct very seriously. In line with the Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation, appropriate action will be taken against any applicants found to have misrepresented, fabricated or plagiarised any part of their proposal. Regardless of the format used, all footnotes will count towards the page limit. Please make sure that the Part B of your proposal carries as a header to each page the proposal acronym and the implementation mode to which you are applying (i.e. Standard EF, CAR, RI, GF) All pages should be numbered in a single series on the footer of the page to prevent errors during handling. (Part B - Page X of Y) Letters of of Commitment For the GF the partner organisations in TC must include a letter of commitment in the proposal to demonstrate their real and active participation. The experts will be instructed to disregard the contribution of any partner organisations for which no such evidence of commitment is submitted
Consensus Report and Ranking The rapporteur is one of the 3 evaluators of a proposal. He/she has the responsibility to: Collate a draft CR taking into account all of the 3 evaluators comments Lead the consensus meeting (normally in Brussels) Write up the final CR and get it approved by other evaluators and proof-read by his/her vice-chair before final submission Remotely or in Brussels, consensus meeting among 3 evaluators takes place. The 3 evaluators discuss the contents of the 3 IERs and draft CR Comments in agreement are normally included in CR Conflicting evaluations are discussed in more detail until (if) agreement among evaluators is reached; Marks for each criterion are then decided on the basis of the evaluations All proposals in panel are ranked Those with an overall mark below threshold are out Those with any mark below the threshold for specific criteria are out Funding is allocated from highest scoring proposal going down, depending on funds (this changes from one year to the next)
1- Excellence 1.1 Quality, innovative aspects and credibility of the research (including inter/ multidisciplinary aspects) Introduction, state-of-the-art, objectives and overview of the action Research methodology and approach Originality and innovative aspects of the research programme Methodology clearly and simple explained Approach should be realistic and not too ambitious Originality neatly described against the state of art in the field (recommended a significant and relevant reference list) Useful to refer to European recommendations and roadmaps related to the specific topic Describe the proposed activity in the frame of European, international initiatives
1.2 Clarity and quality of transfer of knowledge/training for the development of the researcher in light of the research objectives The text must show how the Experienced Researcher will gain new knowledge from the hosting organisation(s) during the fellowship through training. These organisations may also benefit from the previous experience of the researcher. Outline the capacity for transferring the knowledge previously acquired by the researcher to the host organisation(s). For Global Fellowships explain how the new acquired skills and knowledge in the TC will be transferred back to the host institution in Europe. The Career Development Plan must be produced by the Experienced Researcher and the supervisor prior to the start of the fellowship Illustrate and clearly define the mechanisms and tools that will be used for formation and/or transfer of knowledge Typical training activities may include: training-through-research under the direct supervision of the supervisor via individual personalised action Hands-on training activities for developing scientific and transferable skills Communication, outreach activities and horizontal skills; Training dedicated to gender issues. For the Transfer of Knowledge teaching could be an effective tool, therefore a pedagogical background helps
1.3 Quality of the supervision and the hosting arrangements Qualifications and experience of the supervisor(s) the level of experience on the research topic proposed and document its track record of work, including the main international collaborations. Information provided should include participation in projects, publications, patents and any other relevant results. The text must show that the Experienced Researcher should be well integrated within the hosting organisation(s) in order that all parties gain the maximum knowledge and skills from the fellowship. Provide a list of post-doc that have been supervised by the Supervisor and their current position Experienced supervisor better than young one?
1.4 Capacity of the researcher to reach and re-enforce enforce a position of professional maturity in research Please keep in mind that the fellowships will be awarded to the most talented researchers as shown by their ideas and their track record, where it is a fair indicator given their level of experience. The evaluation is made on the basis of the CV of the candidate: has he/she already proven his/her attitude to autonomy and initiative? which is his/her role in the publications no disadvantage for young researcher: CV evaluated against the stage of the career
2. Impact 2.1 Enhancing research- and innovation-related human resources, skills, and working conditions to realise the potential of individuals and to provide new career perspectives In this section, please explain the impact of the research and training on the Experienced Researcher s career. The fellowship, including any secondments in Europe should maximise the impact on the researcher s activity on European society, including the science base and/or the economy, in a manner appropriate to the research field. In this section the competences that the fellow is going to acquire should be clearly defined, along with their scheduling along the fellowship duration It is useful to comment how such competences will be used for progressing in academic or industrial career
2.2 Effectiveness of the proposed measures for communication and results dissemination Required sub-headings: Communication and public engagement strategy of the action Dissemination of the research results Exploitation of results and intellectual property Do not overlook this section Communication and public engagement strategy: Dissemination of the results: try to provide details on the type of journal and conferences Exploitation of results and IP issues: try to anticipate to some extent the background and foreground knowledge
3.1 Overall coherence and effectiveness of the work plan, including appropriateness of the allocation of tasks and resources The proposal should be designed in the optimal way to achieve the desired impact. A Gantt Chart should be included in the text where the following should be listed: Work Packages description List of major deliverables List of major milestones Secondments if applicable Workplan should be reasonable and realistic, not overambitious Sound scheduling (balanced over the different activities, not too tight) Include a Gannt diagram
3.2 Appropriateness of the management structure and procedures, including quality management and risk management Develop your proposal according to the following lines: Project organisation and management structure, including the financial management strategy, as well as the progress monitoring mechanisms put in place; Risks that might endanger reaching project objectives and the contingency plans to be put in place should risk occur The following could be also included in the Gantt Chart: Progress monitoring Risk management Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Take care in writing this part: it is not so obvious Make a careful risk analysis and provide a consistent contingency plan Provide a concise but effective description of the administrative and scientific management IPR: describe how IPR will be handled in the project and point out that a consortium agreement will acknowledge rights according the rule of H2020 programme
3.3 Appropriateness of the institutional environment (infrastructure) Give a description of the legal entity/ies and its main tasks (per participant). Explain why the fellowship has the maximum chance of a successful outcome. NB: Each participant is described in Section 6. This specific information should not be repeated Do not provide too much redundant details Common sense in not duplicate information
3.4 Competences, experience and complementarity of the participating organisations and institutional commitment Here describe how the fellowship will be beneficial for both the Experienced Researcher and host organisation(s). Commitment of beneficiary and partner organisations to the programme (for partner organisations, please see also section 6 and 8) Partner organisations: The role of partner organisations in Third Countries for GF and their active contribution to the research and training activities should be described. A letter of commitment shall also be provided in Section 7 (included within the PDF file of part B, but outside the page limit). Clearly point out complementarity of expertise and competences Attach a Letter of Commitment (not legally binding) in the case of a GF
Follow the Guide for Applicants and the Work Programme (relevant section) Follow all award criteria (and stick tightly to those) All sub-criteria are equally important Ensure consistency within the different sections in the proposal Page limit Clear and structured information -less is sometime more - Impartial view (e.g. to request a view or check from a colleague and/or evaluators)
Thank you