Deadline: 9-Mar-23
The European Commission (EC) is seeking applications for Experimentation and Exchange of Good Practices for Value Creation.
Challenges
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Proposals should address at least one of the following challenges:
- Innovative ways to strengthen channels of valorising knowledge and research results, in particular targeting activities in the field of academia–society collaboration. Within the scope of the topic are schemes and incentives for researchers to engage with society that promote the uptake of research results. This can include means to incentivise researchers to engage with society, contributing to a stronger translation of research results to the economy and society through better adaptation to citizens’ needs and collaboration with industry. The experimentation will highlight what works well and under what conditions and what are the barriers and opportunities in the academia-society interaction;
- Transfer of best practices in knowledge valorisation, in the area of ‘academia-industry/SME linkages’ or ‘quadruple helix-based innovation’, i.e., involving academia/research; industry/SMEs; public administration/policy-makers and society/citizens in an ecosystem approach. Consortia are expected to involve partners that implement one or several best practices and partners that plan to introduce a new practice or reform an existing one. The action will lead to tangible change in some or all participating entities, be it at strategic and/or investment level and/or through the implementation of new or adapted instruments, tools, guidelines, trainings etc. The action can also help develop and prepare knowledge valorisation projects and investments that receive support from the European cohesion policy or the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
Scope
- To emerge stronger from the pandemic and address the challenges they are facing, such as climate change, and enable the twin transition, Europe needs to translate available scientific knowledge and research results to innovative solutions, including technological as well as non-technological and social innovations, in the market, in society and for better policy making. To bring existing good practices in knowledge valorisation to support value creation across Europe, they need more experimentation, peer learning and testing of new models as well as trying out good practices in different environments.
- Replication and adaptation of best practices is a powerful way to support the design, implementation and evaluation of knowledge valorisation investments and measures that enhance the quality and extent of knowledge uptake at all levels. It involves identifying and taking inspiration from best practices developed across Europe, engaging in an exchange of experiences with peers and connecting to new partners, as well as driving and supporting the set-up of new measures or the reform of existing ones.
- Cross-border transfer of best practices in knowledge valorisation is challenging because the corresponding strategies, initiatives or tools need to be adapted to a different context and legal and financial framework and take into account skills and competences.
- Researchers can play an important role in engaging citizens and communities through creative interactions. This can contribute to making research results more adapted to the needs of citizens and communities, and strengthen the uptake of research by society benefitting both the research communities and the citizens as users and co-creators.
Funding Information
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The check will normally be done for the coordinator if the requested grant amount is equal to or greater than EUR 500 000, except for:
- Public bodies (entities established as a public body under national law, including local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations; and
- Cases where the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000 (lowvalue grant)
Eligible Activities
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Eligible activities are the ones described in the call conditions. Applications will only be considered eligible if their content corresponds, wholly or in part, to the topic description for which it is submitted. Projects must focus exclusively on civil applications and must not:
- Aim at human cloning for reproductive purposes;
- Intend to modify the genetic heritage of human beings which could make such changes heritable (except for research relating to cancer treatment of the gonads, which may be financed);
- Intend to create human embryos solely for the purpose of research, or for the purpose of stem cell procurement, including by means of somatic cell nuclear transfer. Projects must, moreover, comply with EU policy interests and priorities (environment, social, security, industrial policy, etc.).
Expected Outcomes
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Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
- Value creation and transfer to the economy and society by increased interlinkages and cooperation between knowledge valorisation actors (academia/research; industry/SMEs; public administration/policy-makers and society/citizens) in line with ERA Policy Agenda action;
- New solutions to societal and economic challenges by stronger uptake and deployment of research results, including through the involvement of citizens and civil society;
- Improvements of structures, strategies, practices and skills for knowledge valorisation through sustainable reforms and new initiatives.
Eligibility Criteria
- Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from nonassociated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation5 have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call topic.
- A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality.
- Beneficiaries and affiliated entities must register in the Participant Register before submitting their application, in order to get a participant identification code (PIC) and be validated by the Central Validation Service before signing the grant agreement. For the validation, they will be asked to upload the necessary documents showing their legal status and origin during the grant preparation stage. A validated PIC is not a prerequisite for submitting an application.
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Specific cases:
- Affiliated entities — Affiliated entities (i.e. entities with a legal or capital link to a beneficiary 7 which participate in the action with similar rights and obligations to the beneficiaries, but which do not sign the grant agreement and therefore do not become beneficiaries themselves) are allowed, if they are eligible for participation and funding.
- Associated partners — Associated partners (i.e. entities which participate in the action without signing the grant agreement, and without the right to charge costs or claim contributions) are allowed, subject to any conditions regarding associated partners set out in the specific call conditions.
- Entities without legal personality — Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees to protect the EU’s financial interests equivalent to those offered by legal persons.
- EU bodies — Legal entities created under EU law including decentralised agencies may be part of the consortium, unless provided for otherwise in their basic act.
For more information, visit European Commission.