With the new calls for proposals expected at the end of July 2009, and deadlines from November, the European Commission will be looking to identify new evaluators. Evaluators in NZ have the advantage that we are independent from the European system and, given the relatively small number of projects involving NZ, we are generally independent from the Framework Programme itself. As such, researchers who can illustrate strong skills and knowledge have an excellent chance to be selected as evaluators.

As with many such opportunities, getting selected means registering your interest, and showcasing your talents. Thus, in order that the EC may select you for the evaluation of proposals, you must first be registered in the EC’s expert database.

It is possible both for organisations to register their key staff, and for researchers to register individually. The text below aims to guide you through the process.

You will normally fall into one of the following categories:

• you may have already registered for FP7
• you may have registered as an expert for FP6
• this process is completely new to you

The process for each category is described below.

However, in all cases, the URL that you will require is https://cordis.europa.eu/emmfp7/.

Please remember that being registered as an expert in no way prevents you from being involved with any proposal or project in the Framework Programme. At each opportunity to evaluate, you will be asked to declare any conflict of interest with the proposals that you might evaluate. Should you declare such conflict, this may result in the withdrawal of the opportunity to evaluate in that call, or may just exclude you from evaluating for the specific topic with which you are involved.

Also, please be assured that although the EC does provide details on the evaluators used in each theme and in each year, the data provided is at a very general level (name, gender, nationality, organisation, and organisation type). It should not be possible for any researcher to link you, with any certainty, to the evaluation of their proposal.

Already Registered for FP7

You need not do anything further, although you may choose to update your information. This should take less than 15 minutes. Please ensure that you have the correct password and username as entering a wrong password three times will block your account.

If you click on the ‘View the CV’ option (button 10), this will give you an overview of the information currently held in your profile to help you identify those areas that you might choose to update.

Registered for FP6

Whilst your details will have been carried over from FP6 to FP7, it is likely that it will be somewhat out of date and, in any event, will need to be restructured to provide a better fit with the FP7 themes. Your FP6 password and username will still be valid, but please ensure that you have the correct password and username as entering a wrong password three times will block your account.

At a minimum, you will have to revise your content in sections 2 (Type of expert) and 5 (Activities and Keywords). However, it is recommended that you should update all other fields. It is likely that this update will take from 15-30 minutes, depending on the time that has passed since you last updated your profile (which could be anything from 2 to 6 years!).

If you click on the ‘View the CV’ option (button 10), this will give you an overview of the information currently held in your profile to help you identify those areas that you might choose to update.

New registration

At the CORDIS page, you should select the link for new expert in the Register box. This will take you to a brief registration form to provide your contact details and establish your username and password. Once you have these, you will be able to access the Expert Management Module (EMM) proper.

The system is split into 9 sections:

• 1. Username and password
• 2. Type of Expert
• 3. Personal Details
• 4. Linguistic Skills
• 5. Activities and Keywords
• 6. Educational background
• 7. Experience
• 8. Employment History
• 9. Interests

Each section has its own page which must be completed and saved separately. To get back to the overview, you may either press the ‘save and return’ button, or else ‘save’ and then ‘cancel’.

At this point, you will need to complete all sections in order that an overview CV can be developed that fits the EC template. i.e., information from each of the sections is extracted by the system to deliver to the EC a standard CV of interests and experience in the Framework Programme for all registrants. There is the opportunity to link to your own CV through an external URL. However, this will not be sufficient to complete registration. I’m afraid that the info in your CV needs to be cut and pasted into the various sections of the EC form instead.

Experience of this process suggests that the full registration can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on how compatible your CV is with the EC template. It doesn’t have to be completed in one go – please remember to save each page as you input the information – but the registration is not valid until all mandatory fields are completed. Unfortunately, most of the fields are mandatory.

If you are fortunate enough to have some administrative assistance, my suggestion would be to have someone else input the basics, and then go through personally to ensure that all fields are adequately completed. If you are not so fortunate, please look on the time spent here as an investment since there is the possibility that you will be invited to evaluate at some point between now and 2013, and this can involve a trip to Brussels that will allow you to rekindle friendships and forge new relationships that may underpin future collaborative actions.

If you click on the ‘View the CV’ option (button 10), this will give you an overview of the information in your profile to help you identify which areas require any further changes.

Should you require any further information or assistance in this, or any other, aspect of engaging with the Framework Programme, please do not hesitate to contact the FRENZ Director.

What does ‘being an expert’ entail?

Once you are registered in the pool of experts, the EC can select you as an evaluator for FP7 proposals, as an expert advisor on a new or current project, or for the monitoring and evaluation of the Framework Programme. Normally, though, the focus is on proposal evaluation.

In general, proposals are evaluated remotely in the first instance. Typically, this would be followed by a consensus meeting of the evaluators in Europe: either Brussels or Luxembourg. Although it is possible to be used as an evaluator to be selected for 2-3 trip (up to a maximum of 10 days), it is unusual to be selected more than 1 time in any year. The number of proposals to be evaluated will depend on the type and complexity of the activity, since this normally has a bearing on the number of proposals submitted.

Example 1: a large scale integrated project in one of the Cooperation themes would aim to bring together the main groups around Europe that are engaged in that topic. This means that there will be only a small number of groupings, and so a small number of proposals. In addition, the complex nature of these projects mean that they are time consuming to evaluate. Therefore, it would be normal to expect only a small number of such proposals for evaluation.

Example 2: Marie Curie Fellowship proposals are grouped into quite broad sub-themes at evaluation. These proposals are limited to 25 pages, are fairly standard in their layout, and tend to be reasonably simple to evaluate. As a consequence, evaluators may be given 10 to evaluate.

An agreement is made between the researcher (at an individual level) and the European Commission for that specific evaluation. Reimbursement is made as an ex gratia payment or honorarium, and would normally cover the travel costs plus  450 euros per day.

Although this cost may not cover your salary ‘day rate’, the cost reimbursed should be seen in the context of the opportunity that arises from participation. As an evaluator:

• you are in the room with other excellent researchers broadly connected to your field of research;
• you are looking through proposals involving excellent research from top groups around Europe;
• you get to see, from the inside, what makes an excellent proposal;
• and you potentially have direct contact with the EC project officer who writes the calls for proposals in your field.

This could clearly be seen as the EC paying you to meet with and review the activities of potential collaborators, to come to Europe an – if time permits – connect with new or existing contact in Europe to build new project ideas!

Register as an evaluator: you need to be in to win!

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On 23 March 2009, the European Commission adopted a decision providing for the use of flat rates (often classed as per diems) to cover subsistence costs of travel made in FP7 Grant Agreements.  The decision complies with other FP7 regulations (such as the Rules for Participation), and is part of a move toward greater use of flat rates and lump sums to simplify FP7 financial management.

Essentially, the flat rates that may be used by FP7 participants are those used by EC staff when they, themselves, are on mission (business travel).  Rates are specified for the maximum costs that can be reimbursed for food, accommodation, travel, and other items (such as internet access) in most countries, and should – at a minimum – be used as a guide for NZ participants in FP7 projects.

A list of the current rates is available here.

In order that potential beneficiaries may (optionally) make use of these rates, the opportunity to use flat rates must be specifically mentioned in the 2010 Work Programmes, expected to be launched with the 2010 calls for proposals in July 2009.

For further information see the reference of the decision is C(2009)1942 (written procedure PE/2009/1650), and the list of rates in C(2008)6215 (annex attached).

At the end of April the European Commission presented a progress report covering the first two years of the 7th EU framework programme for R&D (FP7), which will last until 2013. With a budget of €54 billion over 7 years, this is the largest EU R&D funding programme to date. The report targets critical areas such as environment, energy, and nanotechnologies to contribute in constructing a sustainable, low carbon economy. Among the FP7 priorities is also a focus on international cooperation.

FP7 has shown to be a strong asset in the EU's fight against the current economic crisis with its budget growing every year by 13% until 2013. EU Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potočnik reports: "The economic crisis is a good reality check for our programmes. I'm happy to see that FP7 is passing the test: it injects fresh money to support research, with almost a doubling of the annual budget between 2007 and 2013, and acts as an incentive for Member States and the industry to do likewise. FP7 is one of the EU's key instruments to prepare for recovery from the crisis and to come out of it greener and smarter.”

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NZ Minister of Research, Science and Technology, Hon Dr Wayne Mapp, issued a media statement on 6 May to announce the success of NZ researchers in the 2008 call for the EC’s International Research Science Exchange Scheme (IRSES). The IRSES scheme will allow the successful New Zealand researchers to work in European research organisations for extended periods. In return, the New Zealand organisations will host European scientists on reciprocal visits.

With six projects involving New Zealand research organisations, among the 59 put forward for funding, Dr Mapp said that the success of proposals highlights NZ’s international research standing.

Two projects involve the University of Canterbury, one involves both the University of Canterbury and the University of Otago, and Crown Research Institutes, Plant and Food Research, Scion and NIWA are each involved in one successful project.

The areas of research covered by the proposals include climate change, collaborative relationships from forestry, development of aquaculture, and the genomics involved in growing red-coloured apples.

The successful New Zealand proposals were made in partnership with researchers from a number of other countries including the United Kingdom, Greece, Norway, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Finland, Spain, France, Portugal, and Israel (all from European Commission funding); and, Japan, China, and the United States, and Australia (normally with their own funds). Participation of the NZ groups is supported by the NZ Government, through the IRSES Counterpart fund.

The announcement of the successful projects was delayed until negotiation of all project contracts was completed.

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The European Commission has relaunched their Marie Curie mobility website (Are you Marie Curious?) to encourage more researchers to take up these excellent career development opportunities.  The new site – which includes the Marie Curie YouTube video – is complemented by an updated version of the online pocket guide to European Research Careers through Marie Curie Actions.

The calls for the Incoming and Outgoing International Fellowships are open now, with a deadline of 18 August 2009.

Online and downloadable versions of the pocket guide

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