Call for proposals
“ESASTAP 2020 Call for Twinning Activities in Marine Sciences"
Objective and description
The project on Strengthening of Technology Research and Innovation (R&I) between Europe and South Africa (ESASTAP 2020)
and its predecessors (i.e. FP6 and FP7 INCO projects SAccess, ESASTAP,
ESASTAP-2 and ESASTAP Plus) have been instrumental in enhancing the
success of the SA-European Union (EU) Research and Innovation
cooperation. Discussions at the policy level between the European
Commission and the Department of Science and Technology on areas of
cooperation between South Africa and EU led to a renewed focus on themes
of common interest with particular emphasis on Marine Science.
The
ESASTAP 2020 platform has launched a call for twinning activities in
marine sciences between EU and South African researchers.
The objectives of this Twinning Call is to provide mobility grants in order to:
1. build on /expand the existing research collaboration and relationships and
2. establish new research relationships or collaborative projects.
The overall aim
is to establish long-term, institutional cooperation between EU and
South African partners and reach a new level of partnership by
strengthening a small number of strategic alliances.
Applications for this twinning call can only be submitted within the particular theme of Marine
Sciences, including polar science, oceanography, marine ecology, marine
geology, marine biology, maritime meteorology and climatology.
The
funding for this twinning call is meant for exploration and networking
of R&D collaboration between the EU and South African research
institutions, universities and SMEs, aiming at achieving the following strategic outcomes:
· Long-term international partnerships between South African universities and research institutions and their EU counterparts.
· Awareness of the science, research, technology and innovation potential of partner countries.
· Establish new contacts with stakeholders in the partner countries.
· Active
R&D networks amongst the next generation of scientists (PhD
students/early to mid-career researchers) within partner countries.
· Joint
project ideas in key areas of the European Research Programme(s)
leading to successful joint applications for larger funding in Horizon
2020.
Eligible activities
The purpose of this call is to support the networking research activities and mobility of researchers (and their postgraduate students) between South Africa and EU MS and ACs. Research activities as such will not be supported by this call.
Therefore, the funds can only be used for:
· Networking events (i.e. joint workshops, seminars, conferences, symposia, meetings, regional conferences, etc.).
· Accommodation,
subsistence, international and local travel of researchers and their
postgraduate students, including costs for visa.
· Other networking activities as defined and motivated by the partnering researchers.
Eligible applicants
The call is open to higher
education and research institutions (i.e. universities, universities of
technology, science councils) from South Africa and Europe (MS/ACs).
The
funds will be awarded to a Consortium. One Consortium must consist of
researchers from one/more national institutions based in South Africa
and one/more national institutions based in EU MS/ACs. A Consortium can also include SMEs (from SA/EU) as partners.
International organisations are not eligible.
Each
Consortium must elect a Consortium Leader (CL) who will bear the main
responsibility for the project activities, including its technical and
administrative coordination as well as scientific and financial
reporting. The CL must be a researcher based at any of the South African public higher education institutions or research institutions.
The CL must be in a possession of a PhD. The grant will be released to
the CL; therefore, it is the responsibility of the CL to ensure that all
the other Consortium partners (i.e. researchers from EU countries and
SMEs) have access to the funds.
In
terms of human capital development, Consortia that involve young
scientists (i.e. postgraduate students) and focus on gender equality (a
balanced involvement of female and male researchers) will be positively
considered and will receive a higher rating.
Budget and duration
The maximum budget available per Consortium (to be awarded to the CL) is 7 000 EUR (approximately R105 000).
Apart
from the financial support from the ESASTAP 2020 Project, institutions
and universities are encouraged to solicit other funding resources as
needs be. These funds can be used as:
1. A top-up grant to an already existing/funded network/project on Marine Science between South Africa and EU MS and AC.
2. A
start-up grant for organising consortia meetings of partners who are
working on/or preparing proposals for application to other H2020 Calls
on Marine Science.
3. To initiate or establish a new Marine network/project between South Africa and EU MS and ACs.
Joint networking /mobility activities will be supported for a maximum period of 9 months (starting January 2018 until the end of September 2018).
Researchers
must utilise the funds within the stipulated 9-month period. No
networking/ mobility activity shall be supported after the end of
September 2018.
Deadline for proposals’ submission
Applications must be submitted through the Online Submission System https://nrfsubmission.nrf.ac.za/nrfmkii/ by 6 October 2017.
Further information
Please find attached the call text.
More information: http://www.esastap.org.za/news/index.php
Kind regards,
Rosemary
Rosemary STREVINIOTI
Head of Brussels Office
European Office of Cyprus
Rue du Luxembourg 3, 2nd floor
B-1000 Brussels
Tel./Fax: +32 (0) 2 280 22 85
E-mail: strevinioti.rozamaria@ucy.ac.cy
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE GREEK TRANSLATION IS PROVIDED AT REQUEST OF ANY INTERESTED MEMBER (based on the decision of 22.12.2016 of the EOC Administrative Council).