EU FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT TIPS

Call H2020 The Young Generation in an Innovative, Inclusive and Sustainable Europe

Topic: The young as a driver of social change

Specific challenge: Meeting the challenges of the ageing population and a transformation into a more sustainable social and economic model, characterised by growing scarcity of resources, greater consideration for the natural environment, living under a shifting climate with uncertain consequences, and more gender equality, necessitates profound changes in the European society concerning our lifestyles, consumption patterns, the way we do business, develop our cities and design our homes, but also the way we build and govern our societies, forge intra- and intergenerational relations and organise our daily lives. These challenges cannot be met without willingness and personal commitment of the individuals who will be forming the core of our future society. The current generations of young people are at the heart of it, as they grow up and get educated in the society of new paradigms where, contrary to the situation their parents and grandparents faced, rapid population ageing is a reality and sustainability is at the top of the agenda, especially with rapid development of emerging economies.

Scope: Research should analyse the norms, values and attitudes of young people in Europe, as well as their expectations and attitudes regarding public policy and organisation of economic, social and private life, including the organisation of cities and space more generally, as well as the types of business ethos and their different roots. This should include young adults of different ages and sexes, and coming from different geographical, socio-economic, ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds, taking into account both individuals and young families that in particular experience new challenges.

Research should also investigate their attitudes towards a more sustainable socio-economic model and its various features in comparison with older generations, including the evolution of gender relationships. This should take into account the different determinants of youth´s active engagement in developing such model, in order to assess the potential and readiness of young people to be a driver of change as well as their propensity to creative solutions and practices. It should also explore the understanding of young people as a community and identify the opportunities and obstacles that young people see as catalysts and inhibitors of the socio-ecological transition and how they could be addressed by policy in order to foster a sustainable and innovative society in Europe, including through formal and informal education as well as digital and traditional media. Research should examine how change in cultural values could contribute to achieving an inclusive and sustainable society.

Deadline:25/05/2014

Call topics 

SCC-01-2015: Smart Cities and Communities solutions integrating energy, transport, ICT sectors through lighthouse (large scale demonstration - first of the kind) projects   

Scope: To identify, develop and deploy replicable, balanced and integrated solutions in the energy, transport, and ICT actions through partnerships between municipalities and industries.

Expected Impact:

The proposals are expected to have the impacts described below:

• deploy wide-scale, innovative replicable and integrated solutions in the energy, transport, and ICT;
• trigger large scale economic investments with the repayment of implementation costs in acceptable time lines (to facilitate the bankability of the projects);
• increase the  energy efficiency of districts and of cities and foster the use of renewables and their integration energy system and enable active participation of consumers;
• increase mobility efficiency with lower emissions of pollutants and CO2;
• reduce the energy costs;
• decarbonise the energy system while making it more secure and stable;
• create stronger links between cities in Member States with various geographical and economical positions through active cooperation.

It is envisaged that the proposals will also bring societal benefits:

• reduction of energy bills for all actors and especially for citizens and public authorities;
• Increase quality of life by creating  local jobs (that cannot be delocalised) in cities;
• Increase air quality.

SCC-03-2015: Development of system standards for smart cities and communities solutions

Scope: Today the standards are developed for specific components or areas such as smart meters, smart grids, ICT etc. With the development of integrated solutions of Smart Cities and Communities a system approach is needed. Furthermore through standardisation the solutions identified by smart cities and communities can envisage costs reductions. It is expected that this work is carried out by the industries cities and communities contributing to the Smart Cities and Communities European Innovation Partnership in cooperation with the European Standardisation Organisations (CEN, CENELEC, ETSI) as well as other Standard Developing Organisations (SDOs) responsible for technical specifications in the area of Smart Cities.  Social acceptance of developed solutions might be considered.

This action aims at supporting SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs wishing to operate light RPAS in Europe by facilitating their access to relevant regulations, requirements and procedures through the development of a web portal offering free access to information, guidance and training tools.

In particular the action will:

• Raise general awareness about the regulatory context of light RPAS operations and facilitate understanding of the regulatory framework (safety, privacy and data protection, etc.). With this respect, attractive online tools shall be developed in order to present national regulations in a clear and accessible way.
• Facilitate access of businesses to light RPAS regulations and related obligations across Europe. Specifically, the action will provide, for those countries where commercial operations of light RPAS are possible, the necessary information to operate RPAS legally.

Deadline: 18 February 2015, 17.00h Brussels time

This call for expressions of interest addresses leading business and innovation support organisations located in third countries other than those participating in the Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (COSME).

The objective is to establish 'Business Cooperation Centres' for the Enterprise Europe Network in international markets in order to form a unique international network of excellence facilitating business cooperation, technology transfer and research collaboration.

Deadline for the submission of applications: 15 March 2015 18:00 (Brussels time).

The global objective of this Call for Proposals is to contribute to the achievement of Objective No. 2 of the EIDHR Strategy 2011-2013, "Strengthening the role of civil society in promoting human rights and democratic reform, in supporting the peaceful conciliation of group interests and in consolidating political participation and representation" and Objective No. 2 of Regulation (EU) No 235/2014 establishing a financing instrument for democracy and human rights.

The specific objectives of this Call for Proposals are:
1. Capacity-building for human rights CSOs with the aim to enable them to actively contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights through monitoring, reporting, networking and coordination; joint advocacy and legal reform initiatives;
2. Enhancing human rights culture, human rights education, civic and voter education and democratic rights and citizenship;
3.  Supporting and protecting those who are victims or are most at risk of human rights violations, including victims of armed conflict and violence, torture and other forms of ill-treatment, sexual and gender-based violence, arbitrary arrest and detention etc., as well as human rights defenders, through the provision of legal, medical, psycho-social and other types of support services, in order to restore the right to remedy and rehabilitation of victims;
4.  Enhancement of political, civil, economic, social and / or cultural rights and support the realization of the rights of women, children, youth and people with disabilities etc.

Budget

The overall indicative amount made available under this Call for Proposals is € 1,000,000.

Any grant requested under this Call for Proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
• Minimum amount: EUR 60.000
• Maximum amount: EUR 120.000
Any grant requested under this Call for Proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum percentages of total eligible costs of the action:
• Minimum percentage: 50 % of the total eligible costs of the action.
• Maximum percentage: 95 % of the total eligible costs of the action

The deadline for the submission of Concept Notes is 15/01/2014 

The 2014 CEF Transport Multi-annual Call's Funding Objective 2 has a budget of €250 million.

Funding Objective 2 aims at ensuring sustainable and efficient transport systems in the long run, with a view to preparing for expected future transport flows, as well as enabling all modes of transport to be decarbonised through transition to innovative low-carbon and energy-efficient transport technologies, while optimising safety. It addresses the following priorities:

• Deployment of new technologies and innovation in all transport modes, with a focus on decarbonisation, safety and innovative technologies for the promotion of sustainability, operation, management, accessibility, multimodality and efficiency of the network
• Safe and secure infrastructure - including safe and secure parking on the road Core Network

Deadline for submission: 26 February 2015

The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is a new financing instrument with an earmarked budget of €33 billion for infrastructure projects in the energy, transport and telecom sectors. The objective of the CEF programme is to provide financial support to projects which can help fill the missing links in Europe's infrastructure networks. Most of the support from CEF is expected to take the form of grants, which are direct financial contributions from the EU's budget intended to co-finance actions helping to achieve specific EU policy objectives.

INEA invites independent experts in the respective fields to support the evaluation of proposals for grants submitted in response to CEF calls for proposals as well as other activities, for exampling monitoring of funded projects including those of CEF’s predecessor programme.

The ERC wishes to support an ambitious series of communication actions to promote and raise awareness of ERC-funded projects and results across Europe to as wide an audience as possible, including: scientists, students, media, policy-makers, the business community and the general public.

The actions will go beyond traditional scientific conferences and take a novel and creative approach with the following characteristics:

-         spreading new ideas in science;

-         reaching a very wide public of specialists and non-specialists and new audiences at both European and local levels;

-         holding frequent, regular events throughout the duration of the campaign;

-         being based on carefully selected ERC projects and grantees, from a range of countries and disciplines;

-         ensuring visibility across Europe, covering different countries and languages;

-         ensuring further dissemination and strong follow-up beyond events through audio-visual, web and social media activities.

The overall challenge is to deliver an Internet of Things (IoT) extended into a web of platforms for connected devices and objects. They support smart environments, businesses,
services and persons with dynamic and adaptive configuration capabilities.
The biggest challenge will be to overcome the fragmentation of vertically-oriented closed systems, architectures and application areas and move towards open systems and platforms  that support multiple applications. The challenge for Europe is to capture the benefits from  developing consumer-oriented platforms that require a strong cooperation between the
telecom, hardware, software and service industries, to create and master innovative Internet  Ecosystems.

Scope: The scope is to create ecosystems of "Platforms for Connected Smart Objects",  integrating the future generations of devices, embedded systems and network technologies and other evolving ICT advances.

Types of action:
a. Research & Innovation Actions – Proposals requesting a Large contribution are  expected
b. Coordination and Support Actions

The total budget earmarked for this call for proposals is estimated at EUR 1 736,4 million.

This call for proposals covers the following actions of the Erasmus+ Programme:

Key Action 1 (KA1) — Learning mobility of individuals

Mobility of individuals in the field of education, training and youth

Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees

Large Scale European Voluntary Service Events

Key Action 2 (KA2) — Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Strategic partnerships in the field of education, training and youth

Knowledge Alliances

Sector Skills Alliances

Capacity building in the field of higher education

Capacity building in the field of youth

Key Action 3 (KA3) — Support for policy reform

Structured Dialogue: Meetings between young people and decision-makers in the field of youth

Jean Monnet activities

Jean Monnet Chairs

Jean Monnet Modules

Jean Monnet Centres of Excellence

Jean Monnet Support to Institutions and Associations

Jean Monnet Networks

Jean Monnet Projects

Sport

Collaborative partnerships in the sport field

Not-for-profit European sport events

Specific challenge: It is obvious that investing appropriately in lifelong learning will contribute to overcoming the economic and social crisis and meeting the Europe 2020 targets on employment, poverty reduction, education, sustainability, innovation. The need and markets for adult education (after initial education and training) are thus likely to rise in the coming years. However, despite sustained attention over the years, adult education in Europe remains inadequate. Firstly, it is now well documented that those who are more in need of adult education, such as young, unemployed, low skilled, disabled and vulnerable workers, actually benefit less from adult education opportunities than other more advantaged groups. Secondly, the costs of adult education are footed largely by enterprises and individuals/families while the public resources invested are largely less than the private ones: this fragmentation actually shows the persistent weakness and ineffectiveness of adult education policies.

In this context, it is important to review thoroughly the situation of adult education in Europe and look for ways to take the most out of the numerous initiatives taken by a large number of often isolated actors. Such policy and programme learning should as a priority address young people, in particular those with low levels of basic and functional literacy, those not in education or training or those in situations of near social exclusion, who could be helped much more effectively if adequate adult education policies were designed.

Scope: The research will address adult education in general (for all ages), with a specific focus on young adults and vulnerable groups (from an indicative age of 18 and after leaving initial education and training)after entry into working life.. It will consider the complementarity between public policies and dynamics of private markets in the EU market and will analyse actors, dynamics, trends, mismatches and overlaps. A historical perspective on lifelong learning (e.g. in the 19th century urban areas) will add to a comprehensive analysis.

The research will identify successful programmes which are demonstrating to improve learning outcomes, particularly those reaching out to young adults at risk of social exclusion and other vulnerable groups, and address their transferability to other countries/regions. Diversity issues (gender, culture, ethnicity, language etc.) should be considered as well.

The research will also address the learning potential and innovation ability in workplaces (organisational models that favour innovation ability and innovative oriented training) and the effectiveness of learning actions.

Deadline: 28/05/2014

The present restricted call for proposals is addressed exclusively at the bodies nominated by the national authorities to coordinate the work of the National Working Groups to strengthen the Structured Dialogue process in each EU member state.

Objective:

The annual grant to be provided to National Working Groups is an outcome of the review of the Structured Dialogue organised by the European Commission in 2013 and takes into account conclusions adopted during the review process. Whilst
acknowledging the autonomy of National Working Groups, the annual grant provides each National Working Group with new funding, which it should use to strengthen the conduct and management of the process at national level. In particular, National Working Groups must increase the outreach of the process, enhance its visibility and promotion, and monitor the follow-up in their respective Member States to outcomes of Structured Dialogue. National Working Groups must
also report on the execution of the grant awarded in 2015 and its performance in achieving these objectives.

General tasks:
• The National Working Groups should act as an ambassador of the Structured Dialogue and represent the process in the Member State concerned.
• Produce an action plan of activities for 2015.
• Ensure a representative membership of the National Working Group that is capable of dealing with the overall thematic priority, establish links to regional/local levels and take account of the cross-sectoral dimension of EU youth policy.
• Ensure adequate preparation of all national youth delegates nominated to participate in the EU Youth Conferences to be organised in 2015 by the Council presidencies of Latvia and Luxembourg and in a Structured Dialogue event to be organised as an integral part of the 2015 European Youth Week.

Deadline: 16/12/2014 - 12:00 (CET/CEST, Brussels time)

• Learn about the energy efficiency priorities of the 2015 Horizon 2020 calls.
• Find out how to apply for funding.
• Participate in sessions dedicated to the different funding areas, meet the EASME team and get answers to your questions.
• Use the opportunity to find new project partners.

Information Day on 12 December 2014 in Brussels

Specific Challenge: The challenge is to harness the collaborative power of ICT networks  (networks of people, of knowledge, of sensors) to create collective and individual awareness
about the multiple sustainability threats which our society is facing nowadays at social,  environmental and political levels.

Scope:

a.      Collective awareness pilots for bottom-up participatory innovation paradigms

b.      Multidisciplinary research on collective awareness platforms (Internet Science)

c.       Digital Social Platforms (DSP)

d.      Coordinating pilots and research activities in CAPs

Types of action:

a.         Research & Innovation Actions – The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU between EUR 0.5 million and EUR 2 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

b.        Research & Innovation Actions – Proposals requesting a Small contribution are expected

c.         Research & Innovation Actions – Proposals requesting a Small contribution are expected

d.        Coordination and Support Actions

The purpose of this call for proposals is to support cross-border cooperation of pension and  financial service-providers as well as relevant stakeholders with a view to raising the quality  of supplementary pension schemes and their contribution to secure incomes in retirement.

This call for proposals foresees to support two strands of work.
Firstly, building on the work of the Pension Forum group on a code of good practice announced in the White Paper support could be granted to one project aimed at developing a voluntary quality label for occupational pension schemes. The voluntary quality label
should be developed and managed by stakeholder organisations or their associations.
Aiming to contribute to adequate retirement incomes through promoting quality supplementary pension provision, it could address, among other aspects of pension schemes,  such issues as coverage of employees, cost effectiveness, mitigation and sharing of risk,
portability of pension products and shock-absorption.
Secondly, support could be granted to one or two transnational pilot projects on theconversion of pension scheme and other (notably housing) assets into secure retirement  income flows. The project(s) may focus either on asset conversion products, such as equity
release, or the design of pensions-scheme based retirement income flows.

Deadline for submitting proposals: 23/12/2014