Specific programme 'People' implementing the 'Seventh framework programme'

Programme or Service Acronym: FP7-PEOPLE

Description Acronym: Specific FP7 Programme 'People'

Programme Type: 7th FWP (Seventh Framework Programme)

Short Title: Specific FP7 programme 'People'

Subject Index Codes: Policies; Coordination, Cooperation; Scientific Research

Objectives: Strengthening, quantitatively and qualitatively, the human potential in R&D in Europe, by:
- stimulating people to enter into the researcher's profession;
- encouraging European researchers to stay in Europe; - attracting researchers from the entire world to Europe;
- making Europe more attractive to the best researchers.

Increasing participation of women researchers, by:
- encouraging equal opportunities;
- ensuring achievement of an appropriate work/life balance;
- facilitating the resumption of a research career after a break.

A coherent set of 'Marie Curie actions' will address researchers, from initial training to life-long learning and career development in the public and private sectors.

Subdivisions of Programme: The following information was based on the official information available at the time of writing. Priorities and activities may change.
For the very latest information please consult the work programmes available with the appropriate call at:
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm


a) Initial training of researchers to improve their career perspectives, in both public and private sectors, inter alia through the broadening of their scientific and generic skills, including those relating to technology transfer and entrepreneurship, and attracting more young people to scientific careers. This will be implemented through 'Marie Curie networks' with the main objective being to overcome fragmentation of and to strengthen at European level the initial training and career development of researchers. Support is foreseen for the best early-stage researchers to join established research teams. Members of the trans-national networks must exploit their complementary competencies through integrated training programmes. Support will comprise recruitment of early stage researchers, organisation of training events also open to researchers outside the network and senior chairs and/or industry positions for knowledge transfer and supervision.
b) Life-long training and career development to support the career development of experienced researchers. With a view to complementing or acquiring new skills and competencies or to enhance inter/multidisciplinarity and/or inter-sectoral mobility, support is foreseen for researchers with particular needs for additional/complementary competences and skills, for researchers to resume a research career after a break and for (re-)integrating researchers into a longer term research position in Europe, including in their country of origin, after a trans-national/international mobility experience. This action line will be implemented through both individual fellowships awarded directly at Community level and through the co-financing of regional, national or international programmes where this fulfils the criteria of European added value, transparency and openness.
Initially the co-financing mode will be implemented on a controlled scale allowing for the necessary experience to be gained.
c) Industry-academia pathways and partnerships to support for longer term cooperation programmes between organisations from academia and industry, in particular SMEs and including traditional manufacturing industries, will aim at stimulating intersectoral mobility and increasing knowledge sharing through joint research partnerships, supported by the recruitment of experienced researchers to the partnership, by staff secondments between both sectors, and by the organisation of events.
d) The international dimension to increase the quality of European research by attracting research talent from outside Europe and fostering mutually beneficial research collaboration with researchers from outside Europe. This will be addressed through:

- international outgoing fellowships (with an in-built mandatory return phase);
- international incoming fellowships;
- partnerships to support the exchange of researchers.

Common initiatives between European organisations and organisations from countries neighbouring the EU and countries with which the Community has a Science and Technology agreement will also be supported. The activity will include measures to counter the risk of 'brain drain' from developing countries and emerging economies and measures to create networks of European researchers working abroad. These actions will be implemented in line with the international activities under the 'Cooperation' and 'Capacities' programmes.

e) Specific actions to support the creation of a genuine European labour market for researchers, by removing obstacles to mobility and enhancing the career perspectives of researchers in Europe. Incentive measures for public institutions that promote the mobility, quality and profile of their researchers will also be supported. Furthermore, awards to improve the public awareness of 'Marie Curie actions' and their objectives will be provided.

Programme Relationship(s)
Framework programme(s):	FP7

Implementation: The supported activities will be funded through a range of 'Funding schemes', which will be used, either alone or in combination, to fund actions implemented throughout the FP7. The decisions for specific programmes, work programmes and calls for proposals will specify, as and when appropriate:
- the type(s) of scheme(s) used to fund different actions;
- the categories of participants which can benefit from them;
- the types of activities which can be funded through each of them.

Where different funding schemes can be used, the work programmes may specify the funding scheme to be used for the topic on which proposals are invited. The funding schemes are:

a) To support actions which are primarily implemented on the basis of calls for proposals:

1 Collaborative projects
Support for research projects carried out by consortia with participants from different countries, aiming to develop new knowledge, new technology, products, demonstration activities or common resources for research. The size, scope and internal organisation of projects can vary from field to field and from topic to topic. Projects can range from small or medium-scale- focused research actions to large-scale integrating projects for achieving a defined objective. Projects will also be targeted towards special groups (SMEs).

2 Networks of excellence
Support for a 'Joint programme of activities' implemented by a number of research organisations integrating their activities in a given field, carried out by research teams in the framework of longer term cooperation.

3 Coordination and support actions
Support for activities aimed at coordinating or supporting research activities and policies. These actions may also be implemented by means other than calls for proposals.

4 Support for 'frontier' research
Support for projects carried out by individual national or transnational research teams. This scheme will be used to support investigator-driven 'frontier' research projects funded in the framework of the ERC.

5 Support for training and career development of researchers
Support for training and career development of researchers, mainly to be used for the implementation of the Marie Curie actions.

6 Research for the benefit of specific groups
Support for research projects where the bulk of the research and technological development is carried out by universities, research centres or other legal entities, for the benefit of specific groups, in particular SMEs or associations of SMEs. Efforts will be undertaken to mobilise additional financing from the 'European Investment Bank' (EIB) and other financial organisations.

b) To support actions implemented on the basis of decisions by the Council and the European Parliament based on a proposal from the Commission, the Community will provide financial support to multi-financed large-scale initiatives:

- A financial contribution to the joint implementation of well-identified national research programmes. This joint implementation will require the establishment or existence of a dedicated implementation structure. Community financial support will be provided subject to the definition of a financing plan based on formal commitments from competent national authorities.

- A financial contribution to the implementation of 'Joint technology initiatives' to realise objectives that cannot be achieved through the above-mentioned funding schemes. 'Joint technology initiatives' will mobilise a combination of funding of different kinds and from different sources; private and public, European and national. This funding may take different forms and may be allocated or mobilised though a range of mechanisms: support from the framework programme, loans from the EIB and risk capital support. Community support will be provided subject to the definition of an overall blueprint of financial engineering, based on formal commitments from all parties concerned.

- A financial contribution to the development of new infrastructures of European interest. The development of new infrastructures will mobilise a combination of funding of a different nature and origin: national funding, framework programme, structural funds, loans from the EIB and others. Community support will be provided subject to the definition of an overall financial plan based on a commitment from all parties concerned.

The Community will implement the funding schemes in compliance with the provisions of the relevant regulation and State aid instruments, as well as international rules in this area. In compliance with this international framework, it will be necessary to be able to adjust the scale and form of financial participation on a case-by-case basis, in particular if funding from other public sector sources is available, including other sources of Community financing such as the EIB.

In addition, the Community will improve their access to debt finance through the 'Risk-sharing finance facility' by providing a contribution to the EIB. The Community contribution must be used by the EIB, which will be a risk- sharing partner, to contribute to the provision and capital allocation for loan and guarantee financing from its own resources. Subject to, and in accordance with arrangements to be established, this mechanism will enable the EIB to increase the amount of financing of European RTD actions to help overcome market deficiencies.

In the case of participants in an indirect action established in a region lagging in terms of development (convergence and outermost regions), complementary funding from the structural funds will be mobilised wherever possible and appropriate. In the case of participation of entities from the candidate countries, an additional contribution from the pre-accession financial instruments may be granted under similar conditions. As regards actions in the 'Research infrastructures', the detailed funding arrangements for these will be defined with a view to ensuring that there is effective complementarity between community research funding and other Community and national instruments, notably the structural funds.

URL: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/people/home_en.html

General Information: Abundant and highly trained qualified researchers are a necessary condition to advance science and to underpin innovation, but also an important factor to attract and sustain investments in research by public and private entities. Against the background of growing competition at world level, the development of an open European labour market for researchers free from all forms of discrimination and the diversification of skills and career paths of researchers are crucial to support a beneficial circulation of researchers and their knowledge, both within Europe and in a global setting. Special measures to encourage early-stage researchers and support early stages of scientific career, as well as measures to reduce the 'brain drain', such as reintegration grants, will be introduced.

Building on the experiences with the 'Marie Curie actions' under previous framework programmes, this will be done by putting into place a coherent set of 'Marie Curie actions', particularly taking into account the European added value in terms of their impact on the 'European research area'.These actions will address researchers at all stages of their careers, from initial research training specifically intended for young people to life-long learning and career development in the public and private sectors.

Mobility, both transnational and intersectoral, including the stimulation of industrial participation and the opening of research careers and academic positions at European scale, is a key component of the 'European research area' and indispensable to increasing European capacities and performance in research. International competition between researchers will remain central in order to ensure the highest quality of research under this activity. Increasing the mobility of researchers and strengthening the resources of those institutions which attract researchers internationally will encourage centres of excellence around the European Union.

To ensure training and mobility within new research and technology areas, appropriate coordination with other parts of the 'Seventh framework programme' will be ensured and synergies will be sought with other Community policies, e.g. on education, cohesion and employment. Actions on linking science education to careers, and research and coordination actions on new methods in science education are foreseen under the 'Science in society' part of the 'Capacities' programme.

Research activities carried out within this framework should respect fundamental ethical principles, including those which are reflected in the 'Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union'.


Please visit the CORDIS site to check the latest calls for proposals under the 'Seventh framework programme' http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm


Please visit the CORDIS site (http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/find-doc_en.html) to download the following legal documents:
- DECISION No 1982/2006/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 18 December 2006 concerning the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007-2013).
- COUNCIL DECISION no 2006/973/EC of 19 December 2006 concerning the Specific Programme 'People' implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

Number of Projects: 8815 projects described in the CORDIS Projects database

Start Date: 2007-01-01

End Date: 2013-12-31

Duration: 84 months

Programme Status: Execution

Programme Funding: 4750

Contract Types: International Re-integration Grants (IRG); Intra-European Fellowships (IEF); Coordination (or networking) actions; Support actions; Networks for Initial Training (ITN); Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways (IAPP); Co-funding of Regional, National and International Programmes (COFUND); Intra-European Fellowships (IEF); International Outgoing Fellowships (IOF); International Incoming Fellowships (IIF); International Re-integration Grants (IRG); European Re-integration Grants (ERG); International incoming fellowships (Return phase); International research staff exchange scheme (IRSES); Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG)

Commission Service: Research DG

Contact Persons

Name: KOPKAS, Peter (Mr.) Commission Service: BIC Bratislava, s.r.o. Telephone: +421-2-54417515 E-mail: Contact

Name: LINDAHL, Therese (Ms.) Commission Service: FFG-Austrian Research Promotion Agency Telephone: +435-77554604 E-mail: Contact

Name: WISNIEWSKA, Anna (Ms) Commission Service: The Institute of Fundamental Technological Research PAS Telephone: +48-22-8287483 Fax: +48-22-8285370 E-mail: Contact

Name: MOERENHOUT, Ann (Ms.) Commission Service: Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen Telephone: +32-2-5501570 Fax: +32-2-5125890 E-mail: Contact

Name: SAVAIDIS, Alexander (Dr.) Commission Service: Institute of Seismology Telephone: +30-6974-482593 Fax: +30-2310-476085 E-mail: Contact

Name: SAITAKIS, Artemis (Mr) Commission Service: Science & Technology Park of Crete Telephone: +30-2810391908 Fax: +30-2810391906 E-mail: Contact

Name: SANOPOULOS, Dimitrios (Mr) Commission Service: Centre for Research & Tecnology Telephone: +30-2310-498155 Fax: +30-2310-498280 E-mail: Contact

Name: PAPAZOGLOU, Pierantonios (Mr.) Commission Service: Research Promotion Foundation Telephone: +357-22205047 Fax: +357-22205001 E-mail: Contact

Name: MAFALDA DOURADO, Ana (Ms.) Commission Service: Universidade de Évora - OTIC Évora Telephone: +351-912-600797 Fax: +351-266-740806 E-mail: Contact

Name: SAIDANI, Arezki (Mr.) Commission Service: Ministère de l' Enseignement Supérieur et la recherche Scientifique Telephone: +213-21-912907 E-mail: Contact

Name: HASSAN SABRY, Yasmine M. (Ms.) Commission Service: Egyptian National Scientific & Technical Information Network (ENSTINET) Telephone: +202-27920126 Fax: +202-27947807 E-mail: Contact

Name: GLYNN, Carole (Mrs.) Commission Service: FRENZ - Facilitating Research Co-operation between Europe and New Zealand Telephone: +64-73-437123 E-mail: Contact

Legislative Date: 2006-12-18

Official Journal Reference: L 54/91

Official Journal Date: 2006-12-30

RCN: 848
Update Date: 2013-05-24

CORDIS RTD-PROGRAMMES / © European Communities.