The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is launching a call for individuals to join a database of prospective independent experts.

Experts will be selected from this database to assist the EIT with tasks in connection with the evaluation and implementation of EIT Knowledge and innovation Communities (KICs). Candidates must have good English skills, both written and spoken, and are also expected to have a high level of professional expertise in one of the following fields: sustainable energy; climate change mitigation and adaptation; future information and communication society; business creation and venture capital; innovation in existing business; entrepreneurial education; research and product development.

A high level of competence is also required in other areas, from sustainable development to knowledge transfer, a complete list of which is available on the EIT website. Those interested do need to register to be an EIT expert as those already registered for FP7 will not be considered.

The KICs are partnerships between universities, research organisations, companies and others. They will promote the production, dissemination and exploitation of new knowledge products and best practices in the innovation sector; transforming the results of higher education and research activities into that which is commercially exploitable.

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Janez Potočnik, the EU Commissioner Research, recently addressed the ‘Researchers in Europe without barriers’ conference, which took place in Prague 28 April 2009 as part of the Czech Presidency of the EU. Commissioner Potočnik was speaking on the subject of the European Partnership for Researchers, which is the EC initiative to help set the conditions to attract and retain the best researchers in Europe. He highlighted one of the fundamental problems faced by the EU in respect to researchers. The EU still produces more science and engineering graduates than the US and Japan combined. However, this excellent human potential is not being fully used as researchers make up a much lower share of the workforce in the EU than in those countries.

Commissioner Potočnik went on to state, ‘Researchers are key to the realisation of the Fifth freedom. We cannot build the European Research Area and create excellent European research without excellent researchers! And those excellent researchers need to be able to move to the right place and the right research opportunities – where their talents can be best used – to be able to make their full contribution to European Science. Researchers are the “human face” of the European Research Area’.

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The EC has responded to the ex-post evaluation of FP6. The EC responds to each of the ten recommendations made by the original evaluation and also provides some insights into the preparations for FP8. The EC states what action is already being undertaken and what action will be undertaken for each of the ten points. The EC also notes where it does not agree with the evaluation recommendation. For example the Expert Group called for the term 'Third Country' to be abandoned. This is not supported by the EC, which believes FP7 developments in terms of Joint Calls, the establishment of the new Strategic Forum for International S&T Co-operation, and the mutual opening of programmes in the area of 'health' between the US and Europe as steps in the right direction.

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“COST has a tradition of being open to the participation of institutions from non-COST countries following the bottom-up principle and mutual benefit,” commented Professor Fedi. “COST continues to raise interest far beyond the borders of its Member States. Currently more than 250 institutions from more than 30 non-COST countries participate in COST Actions.”

In its latest meeting on 26 and 27 May 2009, the COST CSO welcomed 48 new participants in COST Actions from institutions in Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, India, Japan, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and USA.

The COST CSO also agreed to continue the reciprocal arrangements with New Zealand and Australia and approved a new reciprocal agreement with South Africa with a view to facilitate cooperation with researchers from these countries.

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The European Research Area (ERA) - what is it? This project to unite Europe's many and varied research systems is the cornerstone of Europe's economic development. Yet the ERA is often seen as an obscure European initiative, both by researchers and the general public. We offer an attempt at clarification.

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A new website has put together a collection of 40 successful projects from the Sixth Framework Programme. It is the online version of a printed brochure which is available in four languages - English, French, German and Spanish.

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A new EC website for social sciences and humanities aims to highlight the policy impact of projects funded under the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) Co-operation theme of FP6 and FP7. It will publish policy briefs written by researchers funded under the two framework programmes detailing the key policy implications of their research and any suggested new policy directions which arise from it.

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Research Connection 2009 Conference videos are now available online.

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Clean Sky Joint Undertaking

Deadline: 31 August 2009 at 5 pm Brussels time

Clean Sky has launched its first Call for proposals. The Call includes 72 individual work topics, in which five of the Integrated Technology Demonstrators seek the technical capabilities of additional partners.

Companies and research bodies interested in working with Clean Sky can consult the detailed description of work topics, to see which suit their technical capabilities. Interested parties can bid to be the chosen partner for a given work topic by submitting an on-line proposal via an electronic proposal submission system.

The combined value of all work topics in this call is 35,4 million euros, with funding provided up to a level of 26.5 million euros. Third country institutions are eligible for funding under certain circumstances

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2009 LIFE+ call for proposals

LIFE+ is the financial instrument for the Environment. The call consists of the following three components: Nature and Biodiversity; Environment Policy and Governance; and Information and Communication. The objective sought under LIFE+ Nature and Biodiversity is to protect, conserve, restore, monitor and facilitate the functioning of natural systems, natural habitats, wild flora and fauna, with the aim of halting the loss of biodiversity, including diversity of genetic resources, within the EU by 2010.

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New ICT Call

Deadline: 31 December 2010, at 17.00.00, Brussels, local time

This work programme (WP) defines the priorities for the calls for proposals to be launched in the period 2008-09. Projects resulting from these calls will start having an impact on markets in the 2015-20 timeframe. By then, the global ICT/knowledge infrastructure – networks, devices, services – as well as the market structures, value chains and business models are likely to have changed considerably from today's situation. The research challenges in this WP are expressed with this in mind. They focus on high risk ICT collaborative research forming part of a medium to long-term agenda.

New breakthroughs in ICT will continue over the next decades to bring ever-more wide ranging applications that will continue to drive growth and innovation and ensure sustainability in our economies and societies. In the context of defining priorities for this WP, three future technology and socio- economic transformations stand out: the 'Future Internet', the 'alternative paths to ICT components and systems' and 'ICT for sustainable development': 

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