Máire Geoghegan-Quinn Named New Research and Innovation Commissioner

Former Irish minister Máire Geoghegan-Quinn has been named the new EU Commissioner responsible for research and innovation and her responsibilities include FP7. Janez Potocnik, the current Commissioner has been given the Environment portfolio. He said  “Promoting sustainable development in a world that is more and more interconnected and fragile has been at the heart of my work as a Science and Research Commissioner. It will be a pleasure to build on this experience in research, and to extend this work through environment policy.” Mr Potocnik added that until the European Parliament approves his appointment as Environment Commissioner, he would remain 'fully devoted' to his responsibilities as Commissioner for Science and Research.

To read the full article please click here.

Public Consultation on the Review of the Financial Regulation

The European Commission has launched a public consultation to improve funding for the next generation of EU-programmes from 2014 onwards. Contributions are particularly sought from beneficiaries of EU funds, NGOs and private entities & public authorities at local, regional, national and/or European level. The consultation is open until 18 December 2009.

For more information please click here.

Sustainable Development: EU Research Rises to the Challenge

On the 26th-28th May 2009, over 900 scientists, R&D policy-makers and representatives of industry and civil society came together to discuss the many ways in which European research contributes to global sustainable development. Recognising sustainability as a powerful driver for designing the future research agenda, rethinking the dynamics of knowledge production and valorisation, and the need to think outside the box were just a few of the main conference conclusions.

To read the full article please click here.

European Research Framework Programme - Research on Climate Change

The Commission has published the abstracts of recently completed or ongoing FP6 and FP7 climate change projects. The publication aims to provide a relevant overview of research activities on climate change funded by the EU to participants at the UNFCCC 15th Conference of the Parties meeting in Copenhagen in December.

To view a copy please click here

Gearing European Research Towards Sustainability: RD4SD Exercise

Published by the Commission, this report explores what it means to harness European research to sustainable development and how this could be achieved and measured. Three aspects are covered, addressing changes in: execution of research; elaboration of research policies and developing indicators of the contribution of research to sustainable development.

To download the report please click here.

Join the EU Research Evaluation System

The evaluation and selection of proposals submitted to FP7 calls relies on a database of experts which is continuously updated and upgraded to take into account the specific needs of evaluations. The Commission is now looking for scientists and other experts active in the field of food, agriculture and fisheries and biotechnology research.

If you are interested and would like to register  please click here.

Success Stories Wanted of FP6 & FP7 KBBE Projects

The EU funded project BIONET is looking for UK success stories from FP6 and FP7 projects in the KBBE area. The stories will be published in a promotional booklet with five chosen from across Europe to be made into a film.

For more details please contact Catherine Holt.

8th International Fresenius Conference 'Food Safety and Dietary Risk Assessment' 22nd and 23rd February 2010 in Mainz (near Frankfurt), Germany

The event in Germany targets plant protection product producers, food producers, food safety experts, analysts and toxicologists with the following subjects being covered in the conference agenda:

• Status of Regulatory reforms
• Risk and exposure assessment
• Experience in obtaining and evaluating food consumption data in Europe
• Cumulative risk assessment
• Cause and results of secondary standards

For further information please contact Diana Grbic.

BetaEurope Partner Profiles

The BetaEurope partner search page has NEW European and UK profiles to download in the areas of:

• ENV.2010.2.1.1-1: Integrated management of water and other natural resources in Africa
• ENV.2010.2.1.1-2: Integrated resource management based on land and land use management
• ENV.2010.2.1.2-2: ERA-net on water management
• ENV.2010.4.2.3.1:  Foresight to enhance behavioural and societal changes enabling the transition towards sustainable paths in Europe
• ENV.2010.3.1.5-2: Environmental technologies for brown field regeneration
• ENV.2010.4.1.1.1: Supporting the integration of European and international R&D programmes in GEO
• ENV.2010.4.1.2.2: Integrating new data visualisation approaches of earth systems into GEOSS development
• ENV.2010.4.2.1.1: Enhancing model integration for the assessment of global environmental change
• KBBE.2010.1.2-03: Sustainable water resources management and soil fertility conservation for food production in Africa - SICA (Africa)
• KBBE.2010.3.1-01: Promoting global cooperation to facilitate and accelerate knowledge transfer on abiotic stress tolerance of plants
• KBBE.2010.3.3.02: Biotechnology for 'greening' the chemical industry - industrial bioprocesses for fine and speciality chemicals and intermediates
• KBBE.2010.3.5.01: Biotechnology for the environment - soil and water treatment and bioremediation
• KBBE.2010.3.5.02: Coping with water scarcity in developing countries: Role of biotechnology in water treatment – Mandatory ICPC (Africa)

To access these and other partner search profiles, please click on the following link:

www.betaeurope.co.uk/partnersearch.htm.

2009 Call Update

For those of you who have submitted a LIFE+ proposal for this year's call, you should now have received an acknowledgement of receipt from the Commission. The evaluation and selection process is expected to run until around June 2010. The Commission will inform applicants in the next couple of months if their proposals do not pass the initial 'admissibility and eligibility' phase. Therefore, if the Commission contacts you about your proposal, particularly at the 'revision' phase, please be alert to any deadlines to reply.

If you have any queries regarding the evaluation process or would like to discuss a project idea for the 2010 call, please contact Jemma Ferguson.

Leading European Cartoon Channel Signs Up to LIFE+ Supported Animation Series for 10 Countries