The EC Network of European national and regional funding authorities for RD&D in the field of H&FC

The HYCO Action Groups: The HYCO Action Groups: a tool to arrive at Trans-National a tool to arrive at Trans-National

cooperationcooperation

WP 4.1 Floris Mulder / SenterNovem

Prague June 19th-20th 2006

The EC Network of European national and regional funding authorities for RD&D in the field of H&FC

AG‘s and the TWS1AG‘s and the TWS1

• The main objective of TWS1 is the formation of Action Groups• The main objective of an Action group is to produce a proposal (or

common call) for T-N cooperation around a specific research theme• Which themes? Inventory done beforehand through the Expression of

Interest form• EoI forms show a first commitment of budget owners to specific Action

Groups • General picture:

– For a couple of research areas there seems to be a great interest– Some MS/regions have proposed new Research themes

• Three main questions remain: – What exactly is an AG?– How will the AG‘s work towards T-N cooperation? – How can we select viable AG‘s?

The EC Network of European national and regional funding authorities for RD&D in the field of H&FC

What is an AG? What is an AG?

• An AG is a group of MS/regions that have committed themselves to come up with either a proposal for T-N cooperation, or with a common call around a specific research theme

• The T-N cooperation can have different forms:– Cooperation in a specific project (joint project)– Cooperation based on the opening up of existing programmes (common call)– Cooperation in designing a new programme together (joint programme)

• The work in the AG can be performed at different speeds:– Fast speed AG‘s will be guided intensively by CEA (France) to come up with a common call

in 2007– Medium speed more strategic AG‘s will determine their own speed, but will need to have a

proposal for T-N cooperation by the end of 2008– Both type of AG‘s will be guided by WP 5, and assisted by WP 4 of HYCO.

• An Action group consists of:– A research topic– 1 or 2 leaders that take responsibility for writing a position paper– Partners for participation

The EC Network of European national and regional funding authorities for RD&D in the field of H&FC

How will the AG’s work towards T-N cooperation?How will the AG’s work towards T-N cooperation?• Description of work in the AG’s

– establishing the state of the art in the EU with regard to the specific theme

– identifying the key actors, their visions and interests– bringing together the relevant budget owners – Designing a proposal for T-N cooperation that’s supported by the

budget owners, or coming up with a concrete common call

• Position paper: – Each AG needs to come up with a position paper that describes

how to arrive at a proposal for T-N cooperation, or at a common call – The responsibility for the position paper lies with with the AG leader – The position papers will be assessed by the HYCO Executive

Group during the TWS2 (based on level of commitment partners and quality of the papers)

The EC Network of European national and regional funding authorities for RD&D in the field of H&FC

The position paper, its elements:The position paper, its elements:

• State of the art: description of ongoing activities in this field• Background: a brief description why it’s relevant to cooperate on this specific theme• Content: outline of the technical content of the activity• Context and scope: what’s the context, and what are the limitations of this specific

cooperation activity• Purpose and added value of the AG: added value of cooperation• Description of process to involve both budget owners and key actors• Description of the project phases to arrive at a proposal for T-N cooperation and/or a

common call• Level of cooperation: is the objective to arrive at a joint project, joint programme, or a

common call• Time schedule: time table for the work in the AG• The estimated needed budget for the activities of each partner in the project (this

budget has to come from National/regional funds)• List of participants

The EC Network of European national and regional funding authorities for RD&D in the field of H&FC

How can we select viable AG’s?How can we select viable AG’s?

• Criteria: – a well motivated leadership– at least 2 participants– a clear added value for the development of the ERA– a well structured and convincing Position Paper

• Two step process:– Formation of preliminary AG’s (max 12 / Prague)– Selection of final AG’s (max 8 / Executive group/ panel of experts

TWS2)

The EC Network of European national and regional funding authorities for RD&D in the field of H&FC

Step 1, part 1: discussions in preliminary AG’s Step 1, part 1: discussions in preliminary AG’s • Themes:

– The new themes presented by MS/regions in Prague, minimal 2 participants

– Themes that have attracted most interest in the EoI

• Output needed:– Clear idea about final objective– Added value of this cooperation– Preliminary workplan with different phases– Basic methodology for identification Key Actors, Visions and Interests– Speed of development: fast speed (common call in 2007), or medium

speed (proposal in 2008)– Number of committed participants– Willingness per participant to allocate resources for this AG work– Interregional cooperation (yes/no)– Specify type of research (BR, AR, PE)

The EC Network of European national and regional funding authorities for RD&D in the field of H&FC

Step 1, part 2: establishment of the final Step 1, part 2: establishment of the final commitment for the preliminary AG’scommitment for the preliminary AG’s

• Each preliminary AG presents its output at the end of Day1 on big Flap overs in the plenary room

• All output categories should be filled in• At Day2 each preliminary AG will present its results in

the morning• Based on these results, the final commitment of

MS/regions per AG will be established • After this the AG leaders will be nominated (max 2 /

AG)

The EC Network of European national and regional funding authorities for RD&D in the field of H&FC

StepStep 2: selection of final AG’s 2: selection of final AG’s• Methodology:

– Each AG leader writes a draft Position Paper that’s send to the partners (September 28th)

– Final PP’s are handed in October 12th

– PP’s should be assessed with the aid of a panel of experts – Final selection by Executive Group HYCO during TWS2

• Number of final AG’s:– Max 8

• Output needed:– Max 8 final AG’s – with a basic workplan– clear leadership established

The EC Network of European national and regional funding authorities for RD&D in the field of H&FC

Let’s start !!!Let’s start !!!