New and Emerging Science and Technology

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

New and Emerging Science and Technology

NESTNEST

European CommissionRTD.B.1

Anticipating Scientific and Technological Needs (NEST activity); Basic Research


1.1. Cornerstones of this CallCornerstones of this Call

2.2. Pathfinder Topics 2005/2006Pathfinder Topics 2005/2006

3.3. Practical Aspects of SubmissionPractical Aspects of Submission

Outline of presentation


PATHFINDER: Mandate

“support research on specific topics that are identified during the course of implementation of FP6 on the basis of their urgency and potential for future societal, industrial or economic relevance.”


PATHFINDER: Implementation

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

• Annual calls for proposals; several topics per call

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

• Up to 10 Mio. EUR or more per topic(for several STREPs + one or more CAs + SSAs)

STREP = Specific Targeted Research Projects, CA = Coordination Action, SSA = Specific Support Action


• Each PATHFINDER topic will be composed of several STREP projects submitted individually (not as clusters)

• Proposals have to be submitted as FULL proposals(one stage selection process)

• Proposers need to choose clearly ONE PATHFINDER topic they are addressing

• Proposals evaluated/selected on their individual merits

• Projects funded within a PATHFINDER topic will be expected to develop a degree of interaction, exchange and cooperation

• STREP size expected: up to € 2.0 Mio. EC funding, up to 3 years, 4-6 partners

STREP projects


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

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

• Developing a wider European Community of Knowledge on a specific PATHFINDER topic, e.g. by cross-disciplinary networking of European activities in relevant fields (including the NEST-funded projects on a topic), by exchange and training, by providing access to data, tools and unique infrastructure, etc.

• Role of co-ordination depends on topic

• An added task will be to provide a means and venue of interaction for the NEST-funded projects in the corresponding topic

• CA size expected: in the range of 1.0-1.5 Mio. EC funding, 15-25 partners, up to 3 years duration

CoordinationActions (CAs)


• Possibility of Support Actions open for each topic

• Support actions will be evaluated and selected at the same time as the STREP proposals

• Focusing on conceptual and practical questions of a specific PATHFINDER topic, e.g. science mapping and the definition of the field in question, future development prospects and trends (foresight), conference or large workshops (dissemination, networking)

• Role of support depends on topic

• Do not propose “general” support actions on “general” topics

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

• SSA size expected: funding up to € ~250’000, 1-2 years duration, at least 1 partner

Support Actions


Key Dataon this Call

• Call budget: 50 Mio. €

• 3rd NEST PATHFINDER Call: published on 27 October 2005, closing on 15 February 2006

• The pre-proposal check service is open up to three weeks before deadline, i.e. until 25.01.2006

• This is the last Call for NEST in FP6; there is no further call for NEST ADVENTURE and INSIGHT


PATHFINDER Topics open in this Call

1. Tackling Complexity in Science

2. Synthetic Biology

3. Measuring the Impossible

4. Cultural Dynamics (New topic)(New topic)

5. What it means to be human(only CAs and SSAs)


PATHFINDER initiative on

Synthetic BiologySynthetic BiologyApplying Engineering

Approaches to Biology

Christian KRASSNIG2005

www.cordis.lu/nest


Key Idea

Systems Biology Science-based discipline that studies and analysis biological systems as systems of interacting units (from sub-cellular, cellular, cell networks, tissues, organs to complete organisms)

Synthetic Biology Engineering/Technological counterpart to Systems Biology Hierarchical module-based approach (unit, part, system, system-of-systems): modifying or recombining sub-cellular biological building blocks to systems (devices) with new tailor-made functionalities not present in nature


• Systems biology provides knowledge how parts of the cell operate together - Synthetic Biology provides a true engineering approach to tailor sub-cellular biology as a system of interacting modules

• New tools available such as computer models and bio-informatics, rapid synthesis, better experimental techniques to explore gene interactions

• Foster a novel breakthrough in the ongoing biology revolution

• Ensure that European industry is benefiting from its tremendous potential and impact (materials synthesis, energy production, sensing, …)

Why this topic?


Main feature

The DESIGN and ENGINEERING of biology-based (or inspired) PARTS or SYSTEMS with:

– New standardised functionalities NOT present in NATURE

– High level of internal complexity

– Logical or complex dynamical behaviour

Synthetic Biology is primarily not concerned with investigating how nature works, but is ultimately about a new way of making things.


• Limited number of STREP proposals:30 proposals received (7 STREPs + 1 SSA funded)

• A lot of proposals not regarded as within the scope of the Call

• Lack of ambition in terms of the « technology vision »• No particular interest in safety issues linked to the

topic• No Coordination Action(s)• High-level Expert Group Report ftp://ftp.cordis.lu

/pub/nest/docs/syntheticbiology_b5_eur21796_en.pdf

Previous Calls1st Call – 2003, 2nd Call - 2004


What research will NOT be pursued ?

• Research whose main focus is computational, combinatorial or biomimetic chemistry.

• Research on functional genomics and proteomics.

• Single-component genetic engineering and classical biotechnology, including classical metabolic engineering.

• Research on structural biology and systems biology mainly aimed at the generation of basic knowledge.

• Protein engineering or chemistry in its classical sense.

• Research on tissue engineering.

• Research on artificial organs and bionics implants, and other research on classical biomedical engineering.

• Research related to Artificial Life (as the term is used by the ICT community e.g. life-like machines or computers).


• Demonstration of mastering control over key biological processes.

• Development and application of robust modules amenable to standardisation.

• Combination of rigorous engineering methods and high-quality science, involving adequate expertise in core engineering disciplines.

• Demonstration of real capacity to drive new discoveries and theories

and/or

• Proof of concrete applicability to model areas

What researchwill be pursued ?


E.g.

• Engineered functional building blocks, components or interfaces: e.g. sub-cellular modules, biosynthetic pathways, molecular machinery, molecular motors, transport modules, etc. Hierarchical interactions between different sub-cellular building blocks could be included.

• Control, regulatory, and communication systems: e.g. robust genetic regulatory circuits, feedback mechanisms within components and modules to regulate their behaviour or communication, etc. Amenability to standardisation is an important feature.



• Co-ordination of existing and future research projects. • Networking of European activities in relevant fields• Intellectual and material infrastructure requirements of

synthetic biology• Perspectives and strategies for innovation and industrial

translation, including intellectual property • Societal acceptance, including ethical, safety and

regulatory aspects

Co-ordination Action (CA)



MeasuringMeasuring the Impossible the Impossible

Measuring phenomena which areintrinsically multidisciplinary

andmediated by human perception and interpretation

Carlos SARAIVA MARTINS2005


“Measure what is measurable, and make Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what isn’tmeasurable what isn’t”

Descartes (1596-1650)

If you can not measure it and/or what it means => how can you improve it ?


…becomes a general concern for science, business and public authorities …

Science & Technology - strong cross-over between physical, biological and social sciences

Business - products and services appeal to consumers according to parameters of quality, beauty, comfort which are mediated by human perception

Public Domain - provide citizens with support and services whose performance is measured according to parameters of life quality, security or well being

Why this initiative?


Interdisciplinary research

Novel investigative methods

Significant advance in the scientific basis for rigorous measurements of phenomena

Intrinsically multidimensional and mediated by

human interpretation and/or perception

Objectives


• Measurement the perceived quality (quality of services, as perceived by subscribers, is no less important than the service itself)

• Measurement of attributes like comfort, feel of fabric or its texture

• Measurement of the individual disease probability (policy, legal and ethical issues associated)

• Happiness economics – the application of econometric techniques to the arena of human emotion

Possible Examples (?)


e.g. food consumption and addiction

Chemical and physical analysis combined with empirical psychometric studies moves to ….

… a more systemic understanding of the ways in which the physical world is mediated via the senses and the internal

processing of signs in the human brain

is it possible to measure and predict …… the role of memory in the appreciation of food?

… the food-addictive behaviour?… food selection?

... how to make “healthy choice the easy choice” ?


Mouth feel measurement

Food simulator

Molecular gastronomy

(New Scientist July 2005)

(Nature Materials, Jan 2005)


Measuring attraction (Biology Letters 03/2005)

Filtering use two different mechanisms:

- Facial likeness

- Smell avoids inbreeding

(both humans and mice prefer mates with different MHC genes)


• Fundamental scientific advances supported by interdisciplinary research and novel investigative methods for the measurement of intrinsically multidimensional phenomena, and which are mediated by human interpretation and/or perception.

• Concrete and tangible objectives

• Well-posed specific problems and measurement challenges

• Linking measurements of physical attributes and quantities with issues of human interpretation and perception (e.g. human senses), including where appropriate cultural and other contextual issues

• Long-term impact in terms of advancing science, e.g. transferable methodological output



• It is simply impossible to find out what a test measures, without knowing how it works

• Tables of correlations are unable to fill this gap, because what is lacking is not data, but theory

• A radical shift in orientation is needed in our thinking about measurements and validity

• Take full account of the contextual aspects (cultural, social, institutional, economic, political, etc.)

• Uncertainties of measurement and requirements for decision-making



• Development of improved measuring instrumentation, calibration of devices, inter-comparisons, primary measurements standards

• Development of new infrastructures, major equipment or facilities

• Research of pure philosophical/theoretical nature or tackling this issue in isolation of possible real-life problems and applications

• Research associated with marketing or other areas that could be used to manipulate the customers

• Research resulting in incremental development

• Research intended to be kept confidential

• Research of limited interdisciplinarity

What researchwill NOT be pursued ?


BioEmergences – towards the measurement of the individual susceptibility to diseases or responses to treatments

BrainTuning – to resolve the neural determinants of music emotions. What are the biological determinants of music appreciation?

Closed – Objective measurement of functional-aesthetic sound qualities of artefacts

Fuga - Measuring the human experience of media enjoyment – the fun of gaming

MONAT – Measurement of Naturalness

SysPAQ – Measurement of perceived air quality

Examples of selected projects (following 1st call)


e.g.

BioEmergences (6 academic + 1 industrial partner) biology, toxicology, computational vision, applied mathematics, cognitive science, computer science, optics/physics)

BrainTuning (6 academic partners) cognitive neuroscience, computational modelling, music acoustics, neuroimaging, psychology, music perception

FUGA (6 academic partners) applied psychology, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, psychotherapy, experimental psychobiology, media technology

MONAT (6 academic + 1 industrial partners) cognitive neurosciences, psychology, metrology, mathematical modelling, sensor technology, neuroimaging

Examples of scientific areas involved


PATHFINDER initiative on:

Tackling complexityTackling complexityin sciencein science

Understand complex real world problems by generalisation or transfer of complexity tools and

techniques between disciplines and fields

www.cordis.lu/nest

Alejandro MARTIN HOBDEY2005



• 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) – Technological Systems

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

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

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


• 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




• Use of tools and techniques of complex systems science such as:

– Representing complex systems as networks, and networks of networks, etc

– “Emergence”: key characteristic of complex systems

– Predictability and extreme events

• Transfer or extension of successful techniques from one area of science to another

• Projects should take a practical problem solving approach, grounded in real observation and experimental data


What researchwill NOT be pursued ?

• Research of a purely theoretical nature

• ICT – IT related research (FET initiative)

• Purely industrial or engineering nature

• Research of limited interdisciplinary nature

• Financial research not related to social sciences (eg. Stock market analysis)

• Proposals whose primary focus lies in one of the other Pathfinder Initiatives

• Research in Thematic Priorities


• Biology, Health, MedicineBio-complexity, Cellular signalling and regulation processes, animal biology (BIOPHOT, STARFLAG, EMBIO, BRACCIA, etc)

• Social SciencesEmergence and robustness of social institutions, financial markets, etc (COMPLEXMARKETS, COL-PLEXITY, CAVES

• Environmental SciencesPredictability and distribution of extreme events in natures, such as earthquakes, floods, weather, ecology (E2C2)

• Particularly encouraged: Projects that help to bridge the gap between physical sciences, and social and other natural sciences

Examples of scientific areas involved


Possible Co-ordination Actions

• There is a “General Coordination Action” linking together the already funded PATHFINDER projects in the initiative: “GIACS”

• Expected that new funded projects will have some link to GIACS in some formal or informal way

• Expected that newly proposed CAs focus on particular scientific areas or approaches to complexity


Important take home message to proposers!

• Not sufficient for a problem to be “complex”, “very complex” or “complicated”

• As “all simple problems have been solved”….

• That would leave everything in Science, practically…!

• Need to read and address WP and Ref Doc!



Cultural DynamicsCultural Dynamicsfrom transmission and change to

innovation

Shamila NAIR-BEDOUELLE

2005

www.cordis.lu/nest


Why this initiative ?

• Culture impacts all sectors of human lifee.g. poverty, global change, education, epidemiology, policy, business, criminality, innovation, management

• Increasingly strong Interactions between culture and technologye.g. global communication networks, media, information divide

• Understanding culture, its continuities and discontinuities should be a major concern of scientific analysis.


The research supported by this initiative through Specific Targeted Research Projects will be aimed at bringing together concepts, data and analytical methods and tools from different fields of science, technology, the social sciences and humanities, to promote a better understanding and predictive capacity relating to transmission, change and innovation in human culture.

Objectives


• More than collecting data on social behaviour, research should provide meanings to facilitate understanding: i.e. the search for understanding the meaning and/or impact of culturally perceived values and practices on individual and group decisions

• Inter-individual (social/institutional) and intra-individual (cognitive, biological, environmental)

• Who gets what from whom, how, when and why?

Characteristics


What research will be pursued ?

• Research including the cognitive correlates of cultural phenomena: culture control vs. resistance; effects of cultural variables on behaviour ;

• Interactions between cultural markets: public policies, trade integration, culture and power

• Interactions between culture and technology: Cultural changes brought about by modern technologies (influence and resistance to these)

• Research on new predictive models linking and understanding diverse phenomena: health epidemics, consumer behaviour, economic markets, social networks



• Cross disciplinary understanding of cultural dynamics: science, technology, humanities, concepts, data and analytical methods

• Conceptual and analytical advances - potential for generalisation

• New mechanisms and assessment methodologies to predict cultural dynamics: multi-lateral / cross cultural research

• Cross-disciplinary networking, in relation to particular areas of cultural dynamics, or particular research methods or analytical approaches, and of European activities in relevant fields


What research will NOT be pursued ?

• Pure empirical research

• Single component data collections e.g. social behaviour

• Classical research on cognitive systems in general

• Research which could be carried out under the TPs

• Research which is mono-disciplinary



““What it meansWhat it means to be human” to be human”

Why are humans so different?Why are humans so different?

Shamila NAIR-BEDOUELLE

2005

www.cordis.lu/nest


What features make human cognitive

abilities unique?

What are the origins of these features?

Why are humans so different?

Key Questions


– Today, a more integrated understanding of the human mind/brain and its specific features should allow to open up new scientific opportunities (by linking genetic and biological dimensions to the behavioural and ultimately social and cultural)

– It provides a way to bring together cognitive sciences and related disciplinary areas that can all contribute to explore the opportunities at the interface



• focus on higher cognitive faculties, (thinking,

reasoning, using language, decision-making) and individual cognitive development (in the context of social and cultural factors)

• take a comparative and evolutionary perspective (how we have become what we are)

• be highly interdisciplinary

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

Project Characteristics


After 2 Calls

• Complete portfolio of 15 research projects (STREPs)

• Missing: Coordination Action(s) coordinate and bring together people in areas of ongoing research

• This call: only open for CA and SSA proposals !

• Commission set up an Expert Group to examine new scientific opportunities and to assess the potential for a concerted research program in this area(see ftp://ftp.cordis.lu/pub/nest/docs/whatitmeanstobehuman_b5_eur21795_en.pdf)


e.g.

NEUROCOMPsychologists, linguists, ethnologists, cognitive scientists and neuroscientists will compare the neural basis of language and communication abilities in adult humans, babies and monkeys by using brain imaging techniques

REFCOMBehaviourists, psychologists, cognitive scientists investigate the diverse mechanisms that result in referential communication by comparing communicative skills of humans, primates, monkeys, dolphins, parrots and dogs

PKB140404Neuroscientists and geneticists will identify and characterise “human cognition” genes and pinpoint genes associated with higher cognitive functions in humans

Examples of projects and scientific areas involved


Examples of projects and scientific areas involved

ABSTRACTExplaining the formation and use of abstract concepts by humans. Research will focus on how abstract concepts in different languages and cultures are represented in the mind/brain and how they are learnt during childhood.

ChLaScWhat makes us smart? Focusing on structural complexity in language acquisition and other cognitive systems e.g. natural numbers.

Paul Broca IINeural and genetic features that distinguish Homo sapiens; human brain asymmetry : link to language and genes


PATHFINDER

Practical Aspectsof Proposal Submission


• Research well within what has been defined in the reference documents

• Research not falling within the Thematic Priorities

• Multidisciplinarity; Novel and unconventional

• Well focused objectives, which are ambitious but tangible

Key characteristics of NEST PATHFINDER

projects


Recommendations to proposers

• Problems should not be “open ended”• Significant steps can be taken within 3 years• Clearly identifiable elements of novelty• Scientifically sound ….• … (global warming)


PATHFINDERReference Documents

• Reference documents available on NEST Web Site for each topic: http://www.cordis.lu/nest

• Generated following iterative consultations with experts

• Provide further practical guidance to proposers in terms of the scope, objectives, partnerships, etc

• Proposers are strongly encouraged to consult and read over the documents prior to preparing proposals


Pre-proposal check service

• Pre-proposal check service available up to 3 weeks prior to the deadline (that is: 25 January 2006)

• Pre-proposal Forms: Guide for Proposers + NEST website

• Requested: project idea + partnership

• NEST will give guidance regarding suitability of scope and eligibility, based on information submitted

• Not a discussion forum! Not a pre-evaluation !

• Final selection of proposals based scientific peer review

• Pre-proposals (PATHFINDER) and OUTLINE Proposals (ADVENTURE, INSIGHT) are something different


Evaluation

• First, remote evaluation will be performed by referees for detailed scientific/technical evaluation

• Following that, a senior scientific panel will meet to select the most outstanding proposals, and that form a complementary set

• Evaluation expected to take place in April 2006, and initial results available before the end of July

• Expert referees on these topics always needed / welcome (include NEST activity code) (http://www.cordis.lu/experts/fp6_candidature.htm)


Remoteexpert 5

Remoteexpert 1

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… “ConsensusReport” (CR)

IndividualAssessment

Report(IAR)

IAR

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CRk

CR1

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ESRk

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Panel


Evaluation of PATHFINDER proposals

Full proposals

Remote Referees

Panel

contracts NO


• Scientific and technological objectives and state of the art

• Relevance to the objectives of the NEST Pathfinder

• Potential Impact• The Consortium and project resources• Project management• Detailed Implementation plan• Other issues

Proposal’s structure


Evaluation criteria

• Relevance to the objectives (4) • Scientific technological excellence (4)• Potential Impact (3)• Quality of the consortium (3)• Quality of management (3) • Mobilisation of resources (3)

Other issues: ethical and gender issues engagement with other actors, synergies with education, etc.)


Relevance to the objectives

Does it fully respond to the scope? Does it cut across or lie outside the TPs? Does it open new and emerging areas of science and technology? Does it have tangible, ambitious and challenging objectives?

Abstract interesting but WP more conservative, incremental research far away from the goals

Use of the reference document text but with no relation with the workprogramme

Overlap with the Thematic priorities; re-submissions; instrument


Scientific and technological excellence

Clearly defined scientific achievements? Clear progress well beyond the current state-of-the-art? Well thought out and scientifically sound?

Not defined in terms of description of the scientific approach or technological directions

No description of the goals and deliverables

Lack of a clear and convincing description of the state-of-the-art; poor bibliography

Problems of consistency of tables and figures with the text

Important problems not reflected in the structure of the WP


Potential Impact

Large impact on Europe’s scientific or technological capability? Are the potential benefits large enough to justify the level of risk?

No need to be carried out at European level

Too narrow focussed

No societal or economic impact in the long term


Quality of the consortium

Do the participants collectively constitute a consortium of high quality? Do the key personnel have sufficiently credibility? Is all the expertise available in the consortium? Are they all well-suited for the tasks assigned to them? Are they committed? Is there a good complementarity?Too much overlap between the partners

Publication records very heterogeneous

Expertise missing in key disciplines


Quality of management

Is the project management of high quality? Are there satisfactory provisions to deal with the interdisciplinary aspects? Are there sufficient provisions to deal with important risk elements? Is there a satisfactory plan for the management of knowledge?

No Steering Committee; no risk assessment; no plan B

No plan for the exploitation of the results

No description of the mechanism for interaction between WPs

GANNT does not reflect the flow of WPs


Mobilisation of resources

Are the foreseen resources (personnel, equipment, financial, ..) necessary and sufficient for success? Are these resources convincingly integrated to form a coherent project? Is the overall financial plan adequate?

Insufficient information about the financial plan

Artificial division of the budget and of the work between partners; Major equipment costs or others not provided

Resources consumed by the WPs not reflected in the m/m

Commitment of the key personnel is not quantified nor its composition


Budget

Normally the budget is between 1.5 and 2.0 M€


Ethical Issues

Use of animals and GMOs (replacement, reduction, refinement) / research with children and infants

Informed consent procedures

Personal data protection and anonymisation

Long term storage of sensitive data

Social implications of research


Different actions require different Instruments

• Specific Target Research Projects

•Co-ordination actions

• Specific Support Actions


Your trial period is overPlease register now

OK

Proposal pre-screeningis strongly recommended

BeforeBefore

January 25, January 25, 20062006


• Documentation available via NEST web-site:

- NEST Brochures - Work programme - Reference documents

- HLEG reports - List of previously funded projects

- Guide for proposers (STREP, CA, SSA) - Guidance documents on evaluations - Guide to evaluators

NEST documentation


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]


A Deadline is a deadline !

February 15, 2006

17:00 Brussels

New and Emerging Science and Technology

Documents

Transcript of New and Emerging Science and Technology