EC Information Days - Workshop Information Now Available

The Commission recently organised a series of information and brokerage workshops to promote the upcoming calls. Information from some of these events is now available, including web-streams, presentation slides, attendee lists and project catalogues.

To access the KBBE information workshop, please click here.

To access the Environment and Africa information workshops, please click here.

2011 Work Programme for KBBE

The 2010 KBBE call doesn't close until January, but the Commission has already started the process for developing the 2011 work programme. It is expected to follow the same calendar as the 2010 call, with a publication date at the end of July 2010 and a deadline in January 2011. As soon as any further details are announced, they will be posted on the BetaEurope website and in the eBulletin.

Register to Become an Evaluator 

The Commission have once again renewed their request for scientific experts willing to act as evaluators for FP7 proposals. If you are interested (you do get paid up to €450 per day and it is an excellent learning experience for writing proposals) you can register by clicking here.

If you are interested in knowing who has already been an evaluator, the Commission have named the experts that participated in the 2007 and 2008 evaluations. You can download lists for each area of FP7 by clicking here.

Research for Infrastructures 2010 Call  

Research Infrastructures is part of the Capacities Programme and covers all fields of science and technology. It aims to fully exploit the use and development of existing research infrastructures and help create new ones of pan-European interest.

The 2010 call, which closes on the 30th November, includes several topics with areas of interest to the Bio and Environment research community. These are:

Life Sciences

• INFRA-2010-1.1.7: Plant Genetic Resources Centres
• INFRA-2010-1.1.8: Bio-NMR Facilities
• INFRA-2010-1.1.9: Non-Human Primate Centres
• INFRA-2010-1.1.10: Animal Genetic Resources Centres
• INFRA-2010-1.1.11: Aquaculture Research Facilities
• INFRA-2010-1.1.12: Large-Scale Bio-Banks for Clinical and Epidemiological Studies
• INFRA-2010-1.1.13: Facilities for High Throughput DNA Sequencing and Human Genotyping
• INFRA-2010-1.1.14: High Throughput Facilities for Proteome Analysis
• INFRA-2010-1.1.15: Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Facilities for Advanced Gene and Cell Therapy Research

Environmental Sciences

• INFRA-2010-1.1.16: Research Infrastructures for Atmospheric Research
• INFRA-2010-1.1.17: Sites and Experimental Platforms for Long Term Ecosystem Research
• INFRA-2010-1.1.18: Research Infrastructures for Native Seed Conservation
• INFRA-2010-1.1.19: Research Infrastructures for Polar Research
• INFRA-2010-1.1.20: Research Infrastructures for Coastal Research, Including for Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Planning
• INFRA-2010-1.1.21: Research Infrastructures for Water Resource Observation, Water Resource Management, Hydrological Observation

Energy

• INFRA-2010-1.1.24: Infrastructures for Research on Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery

Engineering

• INFRA-2010-1.1.27: Research Infrastructures for Earthquake Hazard

If you would like to know more about this call, please click here. Alternatively, for help and assistance you can contact the National Contact Point, Sonal Rathod on 01793 411541 or email ncpinfrastructures@nerc.ac.uk.

KBBE and Environment Project Databases

Defra has complied two databases of FP7 projects from the Environment and Bio themes. Each project entry includes, where available, a hyperlink to the summary page on CORDIS and the project’s own website.

The databases currently cover the 2007-09 calls for the Environment theme and 2007-08 for the Bio theme but will be updated on a quarterly basis when new information is released.

FP7 Bio Project Database: 2007-2008

FP7 Environment Project Database: 2007-2009

Environment Directorate Expert Workshop, 13th November, Brussels

The Environment Directorate of DG Research is organising a one day expert workshop to discuss what kind of research should be funded in the future to help promote eco-innovation and eco-efficiency in Europe.

The workshop called 'Strengthening the role of R&D in boosting eco-innovation and eco-efficiency' is divided in two sessions.

The morning session will be dedicated to the identification of research priorities in the broad eco-innovation area. The selected speakers and the invited participants in the panel discussion will represent the views of the different stakeholders (academia, business, research institutes and NGOs) on research needs.

The afternoon session will be dedicated to the discussion on metrics and indicators for eco-innovation. The speakers contributing to this session come from a number of institutions actively involved in this area (including Eurostat, OECD, EEA and DG Environment).

Participation is by invitation only so if you are interested in attending, please contact Serena Pontoglio or click here to download the agenda.

Consortium Agreements for FP7, 10th November, Cambridge

The workshop will explain the main features and options for consortium agreements for collaborative projects in FP7. It will compare the DESCA, EICTA, EUCAR and IMG4 model consortium agreements and will cover the major terms of the EC grant agreement, which provides the context.

To find out more please visit the workshop's website.

The Power of Programming 2010: International Conference on Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, 6th-8th May 2010 Munich

Nutrition during pregnancy and infancy can exert important long-term effects on development and health.  Programming effects of early nutrition are important with regards to biomedical research, nutritional and health care practice, and policy decisions. 

This international conference is supported by the European Commission as part of the scientific activities of the European Early Nutrition Programming Project (EARNEST FOOD-CT-2005-007036).  Recent findings, state of the art knowledge and future perspectives on the relationship between maternal and infant diet and the various biochemical, physiological and health outcomes at later ages will be presented.  In a multidisciplinary approach, scientists, clinicians, representatives of advisory and regulatory bodies as well as food manufacturers are brought together to produce synergistic approaches for further advances in this field.  Renowned leaders in their fields will provide state of the art overviews, ably supported by new investigators presenting their latest exciting findings.

Please visit the website for registration and more information.

Are You a Recycling or Waste Management SME?

Beta Technology is inviting SMEs in the areas of recycling and waste management to attend a two day event in Spain as part of our FP7 project EcoInno2SME.

The two day event will bring together like minded SMEs from the UK, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Estonia and Spain for presentations, bilateral meetings and a chance to visit Spanish companies in the recycling sector. There will also be an opportunity to visit the ExpoRecicla Fair. 

For more information, including information on accessing subsidised travel, please click here or contact Jemma Ferguson.

BetaEurope Partner Profiles

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

• ENV.2010.1.1.6.1 Climate change mitigation options linked to deforestation and agriculture in the context of a post-2012 international agreement on climate change
• ENV.2010.3.1.8.8 Development of technologies for long-term carbon sequestration
• ENV.2010.3.1.1.1 Technologies and systems for urban water cycle services
• ENV.2010.3.1.1.3 Innovative system solutions for municipal sludge treatment and management
• ENV.2010.4.1.1.1 Supporting the integration of European and international R&D programmes in GEO
• ENV.2010.4.1.2.1 Building observational datasets for the predictability of global atmospheric, oceanic and terrestrial processes using reanalysis techniques
• ENV.2010.4.1.2.2 Integrating new data visualisation approaches of earth systems into GEOSS development

• KBBE.2010.1.1.03 Characterisation of biodiversity resources for wild crop relatives to improve crops by breeding
• KBBE.2010.1.3.03 Development and integration of animal based welfare indicators in livestock species
• KBBE.2010.1.3.04 Improving integration in farm animal welfare research in an enlarged Europe
• KBBE.2010.2.1.01 Determinants of food choice and eating habits
• KBBE.2010.2.3.01 Development of biodegradable food packaging
• KBBE.2010.2.4.01 Improving integration in food safety research
• KBBE.2010.2.4.02 Identification of the effect of processing on food contaminants
• KBBE.2010.2.4.03 Quality and safety aspects of feed
• KBBE.2010.4.1.01 Strengthening the implementation of durable integration in FP6 Networks of Excellence

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

www.betaeurope.co.uk/partnersearch.htm

The Commission LIFE Unit Reorganised

Following an internal reorganisation, as of the 1st October 2009 there are two LIFE units responsible for the LIFE programme in DG Environment.

The first is called LIFE Nature (DG ENV E3), with Mr Angelo Salsi as Head of Unit and Mr Joaquim Capitão as Deputy. This unit is responsible for managing LIFE Nature and LIFE+ Nature & Biodiversity projects, as well as LIFE+ Information & Communication projects that deal with nature conservation.

The second is called LIFE Environment and Eco-Innovation (DG ENV E4), with Mr Hervé Martin as Head of Unit (his Deputy will shortly be appointed). This unit is responsible for managing LIFE Environment and LIFE+ Environment Policy & Governance projects, as well as LIFE+ Information & Communication projects not dealing with nature conservation. The unit will also deal with the Environmental Technologies Action Plan (ETAP), the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) and the Environmental NGO funding programme.

Both units will collaborate closely to continue the efficient management of the LIFE programme and common issues such as the selection of new projects and communication.

Ongoing LIFE projects will not be affected in any way, except that the technical desk officer in the Commission following some projects may change. Projects will be given more detailed information as necessary in the near future.

LIFE Project Launches New European Week for Waste Reduction

The first ever European Week for Waste Reduction (EWWR) is set to go ahead from 21st to 29th November, as part of an innovative three-year project supported by the LIFE+ Programme’s Information and Communication component.

Twenty two public authorities from ten different European countries are taking part in the EWWR which aims to inform large numbers of European citizens about the simple actions that they can take in everyday life to help contribute to waste reduction efforts.

A wide range of practical and awareness raising projects will take place promoting EWWR among European employees, school children and the general public from Estonia, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Belgium, Andorra, Spain and the UK.

Project actions will encourage waste minimisation throughout the production and consumption phases of EU goods and services. Opportunities for reuse, reduction and recycling will be explained during the EWWR and good practices in these areas will be profiled at a keynote International Conference on Waste Reduction being held in Girona on 24th and 25th November.

For more information about the European Week for Waste Production, please visit their website.

Sharing LIFE Experience in Water Management

More than 150 delegates attended the European Commission’s LIFE Environment water conference, 'Water for life – LIFE for Water', which took place in Brussels on the 15th October 2009, providing a successful platform for transferring experience in EU water management.

The conference specifically disseminated results of LIFE projects and illustrated how the EU LIFE programme supports the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Good practices and experiences from 12 different LIFE water-related projects targeting water scarcity, river engineering, eutrophication and the recently adopted Marine Strategy were presented and discussed.

To read more please visit the LIFE+ website or visit the conference website for more details.

Commission Provides Over €200 Million for New LIFE+ Projects

The European Commission has approved funding for 196 new projects under the second call of the LIFE+ programme (2007-2013). The projects are from across the EU and cover actions in the fields of nature conservation, environmental policy, and information and communication. Overall, they represent a total investment of €431 million, of which the EU will provide €207.5 million.

Read the full press release and a summary of the project by country.

• More details on each of the new Nature & Biodiversity projects
• More details on each of the new Environment Policy & Governance projects
• More details on each of the new Information & Communication projects