Final Report Summary - EU-MEX INNOVA (EUROPEAN UNION - MEXICO BILATERAL INNOVATION INITIATIVE) Executive Summary:The Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation between Mexico and the EU comes from the Economic Partnership Agreement, Political Coordination and Cooperation between the European Commission and its Member States and the United Mexican States from 1997, which identifies in article 29, Science and technology as an area of cooperation of particular interest, establishing in due course the possibility of formalizing an agreement on the subject.The Mexican government with the European Union signed the Scientific and Technologic Cooperation Agreement though CONACYT and the European Commission. In force since 2005 and renewed in 2010, the agreement owns 5 years validity. The main objective of this Cooperation Agreement is to foster, develop and facilitate cooperation activities between Europe and Mexico in thematic areas of common interest to accomplish research activities and scientific and technological development.The agreement is based on mutual benefit principles, reciprocal opportunities for research and technological development activities, information exchange, protection and equal distribution of intellectual property. EU-MEX Innova, as well as the previous bilateral projects are the executive tool that has allowed the scientific and technologic cooperation to operate. Starting with the organization of the Joint Steering Committee Meeting as well as the dissemination and promotion of opportunities for cooperation through other events, such as info sessions, capacity building events, brokerage events and workshops.The wider objectives of this proposal are to deepening previous efforts and contribute to reinforcing ST&I cooperation between the EU and Mexico in order to increase the impact in terms of innovation, networking between stakeholders, to strengthen capacities in Mexico, to address specific societal challenges and industrial technologies, consolidate the ST&I bilateral cooperation in the framework of the upcoming Horizon2020 programme and contribute to identify areas of mutual interest and benefit.The project successfully achieved the main goals, providing inputs for the political dialogue, as well as events that promoted the participation of both, Mexican and European members of the triple helix in the many opportunities for bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Through a solid NCP network in Mexico, and collaboration with other organizations, the acknowledgement of Horizon 2020 and the matching Fund for Mexico grew considerably. The expectations beyond the end of the project are to remain as a symbol of the bilateral relation, continuing the synergies created from past and current projects for collaboration under the parameters of the Agreement of STI between Mexico and the European Commission.Project Context and Objectives:During the years 2005-2012 there have been remarkable advances in scientific, technological and innovation (ST&I) cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Mexico. The Agreement for Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the EU and Mexico (2005-2010) frames the collaborative work that’s been encouraged by the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) and the European Commission (EC), since the Agreement came into effect in June 2005. The Agreement was renewed in 2010 for a second period of 5 years, based on a positive evaluation of the specific activities developed and their value added to the EU-Mexico Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) cooperation. The actions developed during these 7 years include the use of different type of instruments to support research, technological development and innovation, several thematic areas encouraged, the commitment of financial resources from the EU and Mexico and promising outcomes of the ST&I collaborative work developed by higher education institutions, research and technological centres, enterprises and individual experts.The agreement was seen to have contributed to fruitful cooperation between the parties, it promoted an environment for political dialogue regarding science and technology, and knowledge diplomacy resources were created to foster the collaboration of Mexico in the Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development and Demonstration of the European Union (FPs), as one of the main activities to encourage ST&I collaborations. Simultaneously, the International Cooperation Programme on Science and Technology between Mexico and the EU (FONCICYT) has demonstrated the potential of this relationship and has established the foundation for further and enhanced collaborations. Therefore, the participation of Mexico in the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) has not only increased, but the success rate and allocation of European and Mexican funding as well. Examples of Mexican participation in projects within the FPs demonstrate both the results of Mexican research and technological development, and the benefits of working in collaborative networks.CONACYT as the main actor at the national level in Mexico is responsible for coordinating the research, technological development and innovation activities in the country, is fully aware of the benefits of the ST&I cooperation with the EU, and is committed with the continuity of the support for this initiative. The estimated amount of the EU-Mexico ST&I cooperation activities for the 2007-2011 period represents an aggregate estimated value of more than 224 million euros, including resources from Europe as well as Mexico. This amount considers as stated in the previous lines instruments that finance R&I projects from the EC such as the FP7, FONCICYT and current bilateral programmes with EU Member States (France and Spain). CONACYT’s participation in the National Innovation System aims to increase the national productivity, to foster economic growth and to enhance the welfare of society. As stated in the Special Program for Science, Technology and Innovation 2008-2012 (PECiTI) policies in these areas are oriented toward a more balanced national economic development based on the competitive advantages of each region and federative entity, encouraging the involvement of all stakeholders to achieve beneficial social impact; CONACYT seeks to establish International cooperation as key element to support the achievement of such objectives, leveraging technical and financial resources in Europe and in Mexico, and promoting a reciprocal relationship going forward. Due to its strategic nature, Mexico has allocated substantial financial and human resources to this initiative, and will continue to do so going forward. The support and promotion of the 3rd phase of the bilateral project in the frame of the INCO Work Programme 2013, represents an important milestone for the objectives pursued in the Agreement.The main legacy of the previous cooperation in the FPs includes the following:- It represented an opportunity for networking with European researchers and a first experience to ensure future collaborations within the Framework Programme.- It allowed a more equitable participation in the decision making process than in the Framework Programme projects, headed necessarily by Europeans.- It showed the high potential for cooperation between Europe and Mexico. - It energized and legitimized cooperation as a valid and strategic actor in the science and technology fields in Mexico. Table 1 is a comparison of the number of approved participants in both Framework Programmes, the total cost of their participation, the resources contributed by the EC and the participating Mexican institutions and, lastly, the percentage of the total cost of participation this contribution represents. As observed in the FP7, the cost of Mexican participation almost doubled since FP6. Resources approved by the EC for the Mexican participation increased by 61% across, with contributions from various institutions involved increasing sixfold, from €481,974 to €3,071,723. For the 3rd phase of the bilateral project, this contribution is expected to increase at the same rate. Table 1. Financial Mexican participation in the EU Framework Programmes FP6 FP7 GrowthNumber of approved participants 59 105 77.96%Total cost of the Mexican participations 6,110,397 12,150,160.84 98.84%Resources invested by the EC 5,628,423 9,078,200 61.29%Contribution 481,974 3,071,723 537.32%Resources contributed by the Mexican institutions as percentage of their cost of participation. 7.88% 25.28% Source: CE, QUERY 2007 and CORDA 2010 (August).The 1st stage of the bilateral cooperation with the EU (UEMEXCYT) established the Bureau for International Cooperation with the European Union, which enhanced the efficiency and effectiveness of resource use on issues of common interest, improved the knowledge on existing policies and instruments for the development of ST&I between Europe and Mexico. The 2nd stage (UEMEXCYT2), created a website with information about the cooperation opportunities in the FP7; developed a Mexican researchers database, and organized a series of events to promote the programme, to help build networks of researchers, and to direct them in the preparation of their proposals. UEMEXCYT2 included the following objectives: - Support the achievement of the objectives of the Sectoral Agreement;- Coordinate the cooperation activities and propose and promote new collaboration schemes (financial mechanisms, guidelines, instruments, development of policies);- Offer the necessary information to researchers, technologists and project managers in order to encourage their participation in consortia and European projects; - Provide greater exposure of the research and technological development of Mexican institutions in Europe; - Assume a key role in Europe, in coordination with other Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil and Chile). One of the main achievements of the EU – Mexico cooperation has been the negotiation and launching of the coordinated call for the area of Nanosciences, Nanotechnology, Materials and New Production Processes (NMP) within the FP7; which has established a precedent of cooperation, in terms of greater equality for Mexico. At the same time, this call has contributed to foster the link between academia and the private sector, by promoting an important participation of Mexican companies in applied research and innovation (R&I) projects. The projects supported should serve as a reliable demonstration of successful R&I collaborative projects covering the whole value chain; transferring knowledge and technology to the market.The wider objectives of this proposal are to deepening previous efforts and contribute to reinforcing ST&I cooperation between the EU and Mexico in order to increase the impact in terms of innovation, networking between stakeholders, to strengthen capacities in Mexico, to address specific societal challenges and industrial technologies, consolidate the ST&I bilateral cooperation in the framework of the upcoming Horizon2020 programme and contribute to identify areas of mutual interest and benefit.Mexico has a long trajectory building bilateral relationships with France, Germany, Italy and Spain therefore has prioritized institutions in those countries for building the consortium to strengthen the ST&I collaboration with the EU Member States. The collaboration developed between these countries and Mexico has included reciprocal access to the activities of the R&I programmes, participation and funding in research, exchange of information, coordinated actions, dissemination and use of results and information, implementing arrangements for coordinated calls to action, among others. The advantages of this proposal is that it takes into account the lessons learned from previous cooperation in the FPs, such as UEMEXCYT 1 & 2, FONCICYT and ACCESS2MEXCYT, and enhanced use of ongoing and past project results will be encouraged.In short, EU-MEX INNOVA has the following objectives:- Rapidly develop and deploy effective solutions to global and societal challenges by optimizing the use and capacity of research infrastructure;- Provide inputs for the update of the roadmap for the EU-Mexico policy dialogue, as well as inform stakeholders and decision makers;- Ramp up the innovation dimension by working with research institutions and small and medium sized enterprises to establish a clear framework and level playing field for innovation development, with a strong focus on close-to-market conditions and the entire research-to-innovation value chain;- Promote networking of entities and innovation actors, participating in projects funded by the EU and Mexico to facilitate the effective exchange of knowledge across countries, sectors and stakeholders, mutual access to infrastructure and the development of strategic alliances between the government, business and academia (the triple helix); - Exchange of information, knowledge, and best practices, as well as coordination of R&I policies and programme, in order to bridge the gap between public and private R&I actors; grow over time the scientific co-publications and the exchange of researchers between both regions; - Synergies among initiatives at the international and regional levels (EU-CELAC) within the framework of the EU-Mexico cooperation; - Monitor and analysis of the ST&I cooperation activities and diagnostic of the conditions to enhance the collaborative work going forward.In achieving the aforementioned objectives, Mexico will be poised to become a stronger global presence in the arena of ST&I. While the previous phase of the programme worked to forge political ties and raise awareness of European cooperation at the policy level, it did not extend to enterprise development. This is a critical component of the next phase of the current proposal, EU-MEX INNOVA, as it will drive ST&I at the implementation level. At the same time, the proposed programme will continue to strengthen the policy dialogue around European cooperation. Given that future funding is uncertain for Mexican partipants, the proposed programme is critical for establishing a strong foundation for collaboration between the public, research, and private sectors to promote innovation beyond the life of the EU-MEX INNOVA programme and regardless of the availability of additional resources.Project Results:As the main objectives of EU-MEX Innova are presented, the main results in terms of Cooperation are generally described as the strengthening of the bilateral and multilateral relationship between Mexico and Europe.1. Contribution to the EU-Mexico Policy Dialogue for Scientific and Technological Cooperation In order to perform the Agreement an administrative body is considered, the Joint Steering Committee (JSC) which normally held once a year. The participants are the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) from the Mexican side, and from the EU side, Directorate General for Research and Innovation. The roles of the JSC include, among others:• Promoting and following-up the cooperation activities; • Identifies priority sector of mutual interest;• Preparing recommendations;• Improving and highlighting the cooperation and communicating the results;• Monitoring and reviewing that the sectoral agreement is implemented and is working efficiently;• Providing an annual report to the parties on the status, the level reached and the effectiveness of cooperation undertaken under the STA. In the period of 2006 to 2016, the JSC has met eight times. During the last decade, one of the most relevant indicators of the bilateral relation is the content of the discussed and approved agenda of the JSCM. The first Committee Meetings were focused on the definition of strategies for the promotion and participation of Mexico in the 7° Framework Programme, based on the results of the previous Program, being eligible for funding from the European Commission.Starting on the fourth Committee Meeting, the relation EU-Mexico focused on the construction of a common vision on 3 aspects: first, the EU presented the 2020 strategy through a strategic plan for cooperation in STI in thematic areas such as climate change, energy, food security and health. The second aspect was the Mexican presentation of the Special Program for STI (PECITI 2008-2012) which had common basis with the European plan. Finally, the third aspect was the presentation of the Plan for a Strategic Association Mexico-EU (2010) that includes the following topics:• Strengthening the sectoral agreement;• Holding annual meetings to follow-up the cooperation;• Promoting the participation of stakeholders of the Mexican Innovation System in European programmes, such as the FP for Research and the FP for Competitiveness and Innovation;• Encouraging and effective way to promote calls and joints actions for the execution of collaboration projects in selected areas of the FP;• Institutionalize the Mesoamerican-EU dialogue on ST&I During the following years from the signature of the Agreement of STI and until the kick off of Horizon 2020 in 2014, the Committee Meetings updated the Road Map that allowed the evaluation of the bilateral relation on many topics:• International cooperation Projects• Nanoscience, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies – NMP• Energy (non-nuclear)• Environment (including Climate Change)• Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)• Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Biotechnology• Health• Social Science and Humanities • Transport (including Aeronautics)• Mobility of ResearchersThe last 2 JSCM were organized under the EU-Mex Innova project by CONACYT and the European Commission, in Mexico City and Brussels agreeing on the actions to be taken and the political direction of the bilateral relation in STI. Both, the agenda and results can be found in the Deliverables of WP1 of this project.2. Coordination with Multilateral and Regional ForaThe coordination with bilateral, international and multilateral fora was proven successful with the entry of CONACYT in the Belmont Forum and GLOPID-R. A contribution was made to the Belmont Forum, after attending to the Annual meeting in Qatar in 2016; CONACYT contributed with Staff availability to the Secretariat of the Forum. Additionally, the participation of CONACYT into a Research Action is pending, but in progressAnother important network that CONACYT entered during the last 3 years was the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases, which has lead to 3 calls that has had Mexican participation on the topics of: Diabetes, Lung diseases and Mental Illness. The calls have resulted in 5 projects funded and the results of the last call will be announced in a few weeks.As well, Mexico remains as participant of Regional projects in Latin America such as ALCUENET and ERANET and as leaders of the Energy work program.3. Feasibility StudyWith no doubt, one of the main achievements of the project, was the Feasibility study; In order to enhance the visibility of European and Mexican organisations, FRAUNHOFER coordinated and presented a study to evaluate the feasibility to establish joint R&I European organisations in Mexico and Mexican organisations in Europe, with the view to establish joint liaison offices. The analysis describes the need for such structure and includes an analysis of the resources required, cost efficiency, structure and impacts. The document is presented as a deliverable of WP1.4. Involvement of the Private sector into Dialogue, R&DOne of the main objectives of the project was to pull the Private sector into the research and development field, and we believe that, even when there is still plenty of work to fully achieve the objective, there was a substantial step towards it. In 2015, the ICT and Energy thematic groups of the Mexican Technologic Platform tried to include a diverse representation of public and private sectors, as well as the Academic main actors. The main task for CONACYT participation was directed towards enhancing the links between Mexico and international key players to promote and generate collaboration, mainly with Europe. The MTP participated in the 8th JSCM as the voice of the interested parties into the coordination of technology Platforms in Europe, being the representatives of the MTP, members of Chambers and Entrepreneurs. The work of the platform has been presented to the European Commission, to create an alliance and help the coordination between the parties, particularly in the ICT sector.The participation of the private sector in the events of EU-MEX INNOVA was mostly the result of the collaboration with institutions such as IMS Mexico and the MTP network.5. Innovation profile and mapping of actors in MexicoA mapping of innovation actors is never finished, and requires improvements and updates. One of the best results for the project consists in a deep analysis on the main actors in Mexico, which also includes the creation of a National profile. The analysis included an identification of major Research centers, but also some of the main private actors interested on the collaboration with Europe. The main tools for collaboration, aligned with the National Development Plan and the Special Program for Science and Technology, as well as the National Plan for Innovation, to promote R&D activities were presented, both to scientific and technological innovation, mainly from the CONACYT and the Ministry of Economy of Mexico. The results of the analysis are included in the deliverables of WP2.6. Matching Fund Horizon 2020Horizon 2020 started in 2014 with new rules for operation, amongst which Mexico was categorized as a Middle-Income country, not eligible for funding. CONACYT, given the response that the previous Framework Programmes had in the past, decided to provide a special funding for Mexican wishing to participate in consortia in Horizon 2020.Starting 2014, CONACYT launched the first Matching fund for H2020 in the world, providing financial support for Mexican participants from public and private sector. The main challenge at the beginning was to make sure both, the European and Mexican actors are aware of the existing of this matching fund, so the collaboration could be possible. The first call had almost 25 proposals, that unfortunately were not approved by the EC. The second call had 2 projects co-funded, and by the third, the number of proposals increased considerably. ICT-38 was a Horizon2020 call directed to collaboration with Mexico, after many months of a close dialogue with the DG Connect and Mexican actors. The result was the co-funding of 2 major projects on Internet of the Future and the FIWARE node, that aim to increase the exploitation of the Mexican infrastructure.7. Bilateral call on Geothermal Energy in H2020The interest of collaboration on Geothermal Energy was raised a couple of years ago, derived from results on the workshop for the regional project of Latin America. The Geothermal sector in Mexico is developed and with the collaboration of the EC, the largest call in the bilateral relation was launched to co fund one project under the H2020 framework. The awarded project is called GEMEX and it started working by the end of 2016. It will receive close to 20 million euros, provided by both, CONACYT and the European Commission and the consortium is formed by institutions from Mexico and Europe. The call is also a precedent towards future cooperation on renewable energy, given that it is an area that both parties have in their R&D agenda.8. European Research Council – CONACYT CONACYT has underlined its interest in deepening cooperation with the ERC since 2013. In fact, during the last EU-CELAC Senior Officials Meeting, in Brussels March 2016, Mexico was pointed out, with Argentina and Brazil, as one of the major CELAC countries that presented more proposals to be evaluated under the tree ERC’s principal modalities (Starting, Consolidated and Advanced Grants). Even though that Mexicans researcher register only few success stories on the ERC calls , in 2015 the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV) confirmed their designation to have an ERC National Contact Point in order to increase the number of Mexican researchers to team up with successful ERC grantees.An Implementing Arrangement between the European Research Council (ERC) and CONACYT was signed on the occasion of the visit of Commissioner Moedas to Mexico in November 2015 and it represents an important stepping stone in the S&T relations with Mexico. This agreement will stimulate collaboration in frontier research by facilitating excellence-based and bottom-up research cooperation among high-calibre Mexican and European scientists. Through this new initiative selected Mexican researchers will be offered the possibility to undertake single (6-12 months) long-term or multiple short term research visits (e.g. for joint experiments), becoming part of teams led by ERC grant holders in Europe. The first call for interest and ERC visits will take place in 2017, once the new matching fund for Horizon 2020 includes the format for the grants to be provided by CONACYT for visiting researchers. 9. Catalogue with opportunities in R&I for Mexico and EuropeThe EU-MEX Innova team gathered information concerning the bilateral and multilateral calls and other instruments for Cooperation. The resulting catalogue is being published in the project website and it is included as a deliverable in WP3.The opportunities are divided by country and type of instrument for cooperation, either as an agreement or MOU or a published call. The full catalogue can be found in: http://www.conacyt.mx/pci/index.php/cooperation-oportunities/instruments-for-cooperation 10. Newsletters and social mediaDuring the development of the project, 4 editions of the newsletter were issued in both, English and Spanish. It was sent to all the contacts for key stakeholders that CONACYT identified in Mexico and each partner sent it to their colleagues and European partnersSTATE OF PLAY OF THE COOPERATIONThe following key areas have been identified as priority areas for cooperation during the last two Joint Steering Committee Meetings (October 2014 and May 2016) under H2020 and can be considered as strategic fields for the present roadmap. 1. EnergyIn the energy sector, specifically in the field of renewables energies, the recent Energy Reform seeks to boost the country's capabilities. In that sense, Mexico ranks 6th in potential for its gas reserves and therefore, the government is committed to a competitive industry. Example, a program for the training of highly qualified human capital in energy issues is a joint strategy between the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Energy and CONACYT was launched.EU-MEX INNOVA organized the Energy Workshop in Brussels under the framework of the Energy week, where experts from Europe and Mexico got together to discuss the possibilities to collaborate in other renewable energies, such as solar, wind and bioenergy. The resulting papers are annexes to the deliverable 2.3.In Geothermal Energy Research field Mexico (6th producer in the world) and UE confirmed the strategic importance of cooperating and their commitment to move forward. In 2015 they launch a coordinated call on geothermal energy, included in the Horizon 2020, on the Work Programme for 2016-17 "Secure, Clean and Efficient" challenge. The areas of EGS (Enhanced Geothermal Systems) and superhot systems are addressed in the call and €10 Million Euro has been earmarked for the call on both sides for a total of €20 Million. This is the second coordinated call launched, after one on nanotechnology in 2011, but certainly the most important considering the amount.2. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)In the field of ICT CONACYT and the DG CNECT UE have been working together since 2005 . This long time collaboration shows the ICT as priority in Mexico not only for cooperation in S&I within Europe but also as an strategic vector for sectoral development. As a result of these efforts, promising collaboration is taking shape in the context of Future Internet Public Private Partnership (PPP). One of the objectives of this exercise is to establish strong links between Mexico and the European Union on Future Internet services and to make available the technology, the support for the roll-out, and the necessary training for the further evolution of the Mexican FIWARE Lab nodes.Since June 2014, INFOTEC operate in Mexico the first Latin American node of a FI-WARE instance (FI-Lab), making the technology available to Mexican developers and entrepreneurs that wish to experiment with it. This collaboration between Europe and Mexico means a first step beyond European borders towards making FI-WARE a truly global open platform. CONACYT has promoted the concept of National Labs of Public Research in different research areas, geo-energy for example. INFOTEC has been selected as the National Lab for Future Internet (LaNIF Laboratorio Nacional de Internet del Futuro). This Lab incorporates the FIWARE activities in INFOTEC. The LaNIF, building upon FIWARE, will encourage collaboration amongst entrepreneurs, Smart Cities and Smart Campus initiatives and the promotion of entrepreneurship amongst youngsters. INFOTEC intends to broaden the FIWARE network, to make projects sustainable and to commercialise the platform and to provide FIWARE services on a commercial base. As part of the Open Data National Strategy, INFOTEC is supporting the public sector and companies to open their data and put it in the FIWARE platform. The interest in opening data was also highlighted by the Director General for Digital Innovation of the Federal Presidency.Mexico was targeted in the 2016-2017 LEIT ICT Work Programme of Horizon 2020 under the Objective ICT-38-2017. It focuses on the development, implementation and replication of FIWARE-based services in the EU and Mexico, and it explores topics for future collaboration in ICT, in the application of FIWARE for smart cities, the diffusion of FIWARE in Mexico and the exchange of good practices, among others. Both CONACYT and EC will support two projects from the recently evaluated ICT-38-2016 topic in reaching their envisaged stakeholders (including startups and industry) in Mexico and the EU, including in the organization of events and meetings.The EC will continue to encourage FIWARE-related projects to make available the technology, support, and training for the take-up of FIWARE technology in Mexico. It will encourage European industry to take a pro-active role in use of FIWARE in Mexico, especially in smart cities, health, and security. The Mexican Technology Platform will play a leading role to promote the participation of other Latin American countries.CONACYT, in coordination with the Ministry of Economy, will coordinate the efforts towards the establishment of a network of Mexican FIWARE accelerators through the existing funding mechanisms of both institutions. CONACYT will support the dissemination of the FIWARE node across all relevant actors in Mexico. CONACYT and the EC will use the road mapping results of the projects FIWARE Mexico and SmartSDK, in order to include priority topics for the EU-Mexico collaboration in the forthcoming work programmes. 3. HealthIn Health research, Mexico is fully committed in the activities of the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD), which is the first collaboration of major research funding agencies in the world to specifically address chronic non-communicable diseases. Also, the GACD community successfully held its 4th Annual Scientific Network Meeting (formerly called the Joint Technical Steering Committee – JTSC) and its 2nd Annual Implementation Science Workshop in Mexico City, with the Mexican National Institutes of Health and CONACYT serving as outstanding hosts.In 2014 CONACYT launched its 1st call with special interest on Diabetes type 2, in 2015 its 2nd call with emphasis in Prevention and Treatment of Respiratory Diseases, and CONACYT is preparing the coordinated launch of the 3rd call on mental diseases. During the last JSCM in 2016, both sides pointed out the importance of the Global research Collaboration for Infectious Diseases Preparedness (GLOPID-R) as another collaborate mechanism for joining their action in this field. For CONACYT, being part of the network GLOPID-R implies regular exchanges among the agencies and coordinated actions in case of outbreaks, which will allow quick exchange of information, avoiding duplication of research efforts in singles countries. 4. Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS)IMS is an industry-led, international business innovation and research and development (R&D) program established to develop the next generation of manufacturing and processing technologies through multi-lateral collaboration. IMS offers international consortium building and coaching services provided at no charge to researchers from member countries, a listing of projects seeking partners, and a project database with valuable research information. CONACYT has been supporting the IMS Mexico program by funding IMS Mexico memberships. IMS Mexico is a strong liaison association to strength relations with Europe stakeholders on different manufacturing topics. Some examples of IMS Projects with Mexican participation in 2015 show the scope of this collaboration:- ACMN: Automation Competency Model Network. Generated from USA, it aims to prepare the next generation of automation workers with the 21st century skills needed by industry - Participants: Automation Federation AIAG (USA), Hass Technical Education Centre Network (EU), PROMEXICO (MX), ITESM (MX), Scuola universitaria professionale della Svizzera italiana - SUPSI (EU).- CSGPN: Consumer Services for Global Production Networks. This is generated from the FP7 NMP project "FLEXINET" and aims to provide services that support the design and provision of flexible interoperable networks of production systems that can rapidly and accurately be re-configured. Participants: Loughborough University (EU), Coventry University (EU), Instituto Tecnologico de Informatica (EU), Fraunhofer (EU), Txt e-Solutions s.p.a. (EU), AINIA (EU), Control 2K Limited (EU), Indesit, KSB AG (EU), Customdrinks S.L.U. (EU), Univ. of St. Gallen (CH), HIGHFLEET inc (USA), UNAM (MX). - Factory ECO-Friendly and energy efficient technologies and adaptive automation solutions. From the FP7, this project "Factory-Ecomation" aims to develop a comprehensive sensing, monitoring and data evaluation system which could grant access to an organic view of all the materials, energy, wastes and emissions flows within the factory. Participants: SUPSI (CH), SCM Group (EU), ITESM (MX), ACT Solution (USA), Synesis (EU), Swedwood Intl AB (EU), Chemish Thermische Prozesstech (EU), CNR (EU), Simon Process Eng (EU), Spirax Sarco Ltd (EU), Bermbo Poland SP Zoo (EU), NXT Control (EU).- SO-PC-PRO: Subject-Orientation for People-Centred Production. This is generated from the FP7 NMP project "SO-PC-PRO" and aims to develop methods and tools for holistic design and management of workplaces in production companies, thereby aligning business goals and human needs. Participants: Universitaet Linz (EU), BIMBO (MX), Axiss (MX), ByElement (CH), JKU (EU), Metasonic (EU), ByElement (CH), MAS (EU), FBK (EU), Cesaro & Associati (EU), Fimap (EU), Centire (EU), TC Contact (EU).- SUPLIGHT: Sustainable and Efficient Production of Lightweight Solutions. This is generated from the FP7 NMP project "SuPLIGHT" and aims to develop lightweight component and solutions. Participants: EPFL (CH), NEMAK (MX), SINTEF (EU), KITECH (EU), CUPRUM (MX), ITESM (MX).Mexico and UE are joining efforts in advanced manufacturing with a special focus on production technologies and processes, ICT for manufacturing and the nano-manufacturing. CONACYT will support in that sense, Mexican participants in in the IMS initiative. Since 1st July 2015 the Chair of IMS has moved to Mexico from the US and will run until the end of 2017. It is foreseen to hold the World Manufacturing Forum in Mexico (near the end of 2017).5. Social sciences and humanities (SSH)In the area of social sciences and humanities, Mexico have a strong involvement is the Trans-Atlantic Platform (T-AP). This platform is a strong collaboration between key humanities and social science funders from South America, North America, and Europe. It underpins a truly trans-Atlantic network of programme managers, and social sciences and humanities research councils and facilitators, with involvement across the Americas from Canada to the Southern Cone. Funded through the European Union’s PF7, the Platform was formed in October 2013 and currently comprises ten partners from Europe and eight from the Americas. It intends to expand its membership to further develop international research cooperation in the social sciences and humanities. Derived from the T-AP for SSH project, the participants joined the Digging into Data Challenge, where a call was launched with many awarded projects including from Mexico. The official announcement will take place in March, 2017 and the topics vary into the management of Big Data for Humanities and Social Sciences (law, economics, politics, sociology, anthropology, etc.)The potential of Mexican SSH institutions to participate in this kind of activities and project is large. In October 2014, as part of the BILAT Project EU-MEX INNOVA, CONACYT organized an infoday at The UNAM in order to highlight the significance of social challenges as a main transverse axis to the rest of the scientific and technological areas. Representatives of Mexican institutions (FLACSO, ITESM, COLEF, CIDE, COLMEX, CIESAS, UNAM, Instituto Mora and ITAM) specializing in SSH in several areas within Mexico were present and several national institutions have participated in projects including EULAKS, NET4SOCIETY, ENGOV, NOPOOR, T-AP and ERANID, which have been in place at various dates from 2008 to the present.EU-MEX INNOVA, in coordination with the NCP of Social Sciences and Humanities in Mexico, and the Coordination of Humanities of the UNAM has organized two Info days (2014 and 2016) directed specifically to SSH specialists who have experience on international collaboration. Potential Impact:A) Potential impact of the projectI. Strategic fields of knowledgeEnergyAn important task for the working group on renewable energy is to update of the non-paper drafted jointly by the EERA and the CEMIE-GEO in order to develop a roadmap on the priority areas identified by stakeholders and experts including concrete actions and implementation timeline, especially after the positive results of the coordinated call in geothermal energy in 2016. The Commission, CONACYT and the Ministry of Energy should conduct discussions building on the propositions of the roadmap to define the necessary follow-up actions, including financing instruments for renewables energies.ICTThe EU and CONACYT should encourage the exchange of results and experiences between the selected Mexican organisations and the FI-PPP. Two Mexican organisations will join the FI-CORE project. The Mexican part would appreciate to explore possible options for further formalization of this specific set of collaboration actions. Another important field to be explored is the possible collaboration in High-Performance Computing (HPC) research and development activities. HPC is one of the pillars of the "Open Data" and has strategic global dimension as highlighted in the recent communication on European Cloud Initiative (COM(2016) 178 final) with the objective of unlocking the value of big data by providing world-class supercomputing capability, high-speed connectivity and leading-edge data and software services for science, industry and the public sector. In order to reinforce this interest, the UE will explore the possibility to earmark funds aimed at supporting collaboration with Mexico in the area of High-Performance Computing in the Work Programme 2018-2020. Both parties also agree to explore other modalities for enhanced cooperation in the future, especially in High-Performance Computing applications, such as High-Performance Computing for energy (including various sub-fields like oil, renewables, wind, etc.), life sciences, earth sciences, air pollution and natural disasters.HealthMexico is already participating in Global initiative and during the last Steering Committee, the EC extended an invitation to join the International Rare Disease Research Consortium (IRDiRC) in order to maximize the output of rare diseases research at a global level.The idea to establish IRDiRC came in 2009 and the main objective was to accelerate medical breakthroughs for people affected by rare diseases by establishing a network of research funders . So far, there is no CELAC Countries as member of the IRDiRC. The possible participation of Mexico can be seen as an opportunity to open this consortium to a regional level, leaded by Mexican researchers on health. SSHThe positive feedback of the T-AP project (FP7) for both parties is a key element to have a clear dimension of the potential of the SSH researchers in Mexico and UE. In that sense, other networks should be activated and be more present in this transatlantic platform, in order to increase the topics and to tackle new social challenges. But also, enlarging the Mexican researcher’s participation can reinforce their participation on H2020 project and ERC Calls.On SSH it seems to be essential to use of Mexican-European networks, promoting CONACYT funding mechanism, identification and use of best practices, conducting interdisciplinary workshops on specific calls, using capabilities of researchers. To achieve these objectives, some keys to success as identified through the "Talent Network Mexicans Abroad".II. New paths for cooperation Marine research The EC and CONACYT have launched discussions in view of exploring possibilities for developing a strategic cooperation in Marine research involving the CONACYT's Public Research Centers System and extending it to other research entities in Mexico. The possibility that Mexico could join the Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance (AORAC-SA) opens the opportunity to jointly identify common priorities for possible future cooperation. For example:• A Marine Protected Area spanning 10,000sq km has been reopened in Mexico after being closed to fisheries for the last 30 years. Mexico is interested in carrying out an analysis of ecosystem health and for the EC this new opportunity is important as this protected area represents “a leaving natural lab” which involves different stakeholders. Mexico has also put in place funds available for foreign visiting students and researchers to visit a scientific institution for a specific research activity. Mexico can contribute by providing access to geographical locations and world class scientists in those areas. • The possibility that Mexico joins the Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance steering committee as an observer could be the first step to team up cooperation on different topics, Biodiversity & Fisheries for example, and could be then followed by more structured cooperation activities. • Mexico's interest in Aquaculture is mainly in Food from the Sea. CONACYT´s Research Center (CIBNOR) will launch a big aquaculture initiative in the next 2 years. The progressive deterioration of many marine ecosystems and stressors to marine life namely the invasion of species - the Lion Fish is evidence of the need for ocean research. The EC and Mexico should continue their dialogue to elaborate joint priorities as part of the Strategic Programming Cycle for the WP 2018-2020, so as to enable Mexican research teams to become a full member of the Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance. Joint Research Center (JRC)The European Commission’s Joint Research Center (JRC) and the Mexican National Centre for Disaster Management (CENAPRED) have discussed the interest to develop bilateral collaboration related to disaster risk management, with an initial focus on cyclones and tsunamis in 2014. Considering the high occurrence of cyclones affecting Mexico, collaboration with the JRC will aim at improving the forecasting and coastal inundation modelling of cyclones, improving in-situ data and alerting mechanisms for coastal populations at risk, and facilitating access to JRC’s facilities for real-time analysis of ongoing cyclone events. This is a topic of interest that should be part of the agenda in the next JSCM in 2017.Other fields were identified and provided an occasion to discuss potential synergies, as well as modalities of developing possible future cooperation. More oriented in JRC Center-to-Center Cooperation (CtoC) , a quick survey of the JRC and C-PRC agendas help to identify an extensive list of communalities, from which CONACYT and JRC have selected a 7+3 topics agenda to be explored during the preparatory meetings of the 8th JSCM on May 2016. Selection resulted from recognizing the capacities and the most pressing interests from each party; however, this proposal will likely change through time. Research themes at the centers-to-centers level (CtoC):• Natural disasters: Risk atlas (together with CENAPRED), exposure and sensitivity to climate change and extreme weather, related components of water management.• Food safety: Identification of health-related substances in food products, sanitary and safety processes, food processing and biotechnology.• Food security: Technological and social improvement of agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture systems, agricultural and aquaculture related diseases.• Public policy: Design and evaluation of public policy interventions, behavioral insights• Biodiversity: Data assimilation and applications of the digital observatory of protected areas• Transport and Energy: Technology innovation for transport, production and use of green technology, related innovation in new materials.• Metrology: Standards, microelectronics and instrumentation, certifications. Cross-cutting themes of interest at the system-to-system level (StoS)• Foresight & Horizon Scanning • Impact Assessment• Intellectual Property & Technology TransferBelmont ForumIn 2016 Mexico was introduced into the Belmont Forum as a “Member in waiting, and CONACYT represented and confirmed its interest in explore becoming a full member of the Belmont Forum during the participation in the Qatar annual meeting because of the strategic importance of this Forum formed by funding agencies from 21 countries interested on global environmental change research and demonstrating the power of our collaboration, which is not limited to the participation in H2020 projects.The meeting explored the Coordinated Research Actions that the members are currently involved in and some of the future CRA. Mexico confirmed the interest on becoming a full member after the meeting contributing with human resources in the secretariat and exploring the CRA where the participation would be possible.The Belmont Forum is a thematic oriented and multilateral forum whose mechanism and operation has been previously used in International Cooperation and it represents an opportunity to continue linking national agencies of STI and Environment into a common goal: reduce the impact of climate change; which is also a high priority for the PECITI of Mexico.B) Dissemination activities in Mexicoi. ICT and Health Infodays in Mexico – February, 2014In February of 2014, the EU-MEX INNOVA project organized two Infodays with the support of the National Contact Points in Health and Information and Communication Technologies. The two first Infodays were organized in coordination with the Enterprise Europe Network.The program was designed for a one day event, where after a brief presentation from representatives from CONACYT and the European Commission, an expert presented the past cooperation between Mexico and Europe in Health and ICT.There was a presentation on the funding mechanism that CONACYT had implemented for Horizon2020 and the opportunities for the Work Program 2014-2015 in Health and ICT, respectively. The Infoday also included a presentation on “Proposal writing ideas”, where some tips for new actors participating in the Cooperation Program of the European Commission were presented. It also included a presentation on the Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions, as well as the Enterprise Europe Network as a tool for networking with European partners.The attendance rate for both Infodays was over 85% of the registration list. In total, we received 37 people attending to the EU-MEX INNOVA Health Infoday on Health, mostly researchers from Public Institutes of health and universities. The ICT infoday had an attendance of 115 people, out of 132 registrations.ii. Social Sciences and Humanities Infoday in Mexico – February, 2014In the framework of the 7° Joint Steering Committee between Mexico and the European Commission on science, Technology and Innovation, and the visit of Ms. Cristina Russo, Director of International Cooperation of the EC; EU-MEX INNOVA organized an Infoday in Social Sciences and Humanities in collaboration with the National Contact Point, Dr. Gerardo Torres Salcido at UNAM.The presentations were inaugurated by the ambassador of the European Union to Mexico, Andrew Standley; Dr. Arturo Borja, Director of International Cooperation of CONACYT and Ms. Russo. There were presentations about the history of the relationship in Social sciences and Humanities, as well as the CONACYT Horizon2020 Matching fund and the Net4Society as a tool to find research partners.We had 54 attendees, all of them representatives of the Heads of Institutes of Research in Social Sciences and Humanities: Economy, Law, Sociology, Philosophy, Politics, etc. The main objective of this Infoday was to share the information with the many Departments and Institutes of the greatest university in Mexico, in order to have a “training for trainers” experience around the Horizon2020 Programme.iii. Infoday: Horizon 2020, Mexico CityIn November of 2015, Commissioner Carlos Moedas visited Mexico to attend an event of the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases and meet with the Director of CONACYT, Dr. Enrique Cabrero Mendoza. During the bilateral meeting, it was agreed that CONACYT, in collaboration with the European Union Delegation in Mexico would organize an Infoday.The infoday took place on December 14th, 2015 at CONACYT headquarters and 66 people registered, with 60 attendees from private and public sector, representatives of universities, commercial chambers and other stakeholders. The presentation introduced Horizon 2020 and included a brief presentation on the Participants Portal and the submission of a proposal process. The CONACYT-H2020 was presented as the funding mechanism that allows Mexican participation to receive funding in order to participate. Finally, a few tools on partners search was presented by the Coordination of the Enterprise Europe Network Business Center in Mexico and IMS Mexico for the Manufacture sector attendees.iv. EU-MEX Cooperation days, signature event, March 2016Hosted by the CONACYT, this event was the occasion for the EU Delegation in Mexico to highlight the importance if the cooperation between Europe and Mexico in Research and Development, especially in the energy sector and on ICT related-issues. The two day EU-MEX INNOVA event aimed at raising awareness on the European Union and Mexican funding schemes supporting International cooperation and the improvement of the collaboration in Science, Technology and Innovation between key stakeholders from public and private sector in the two areas. During 6 parallel sessions, different research actors from EU and Mexico learned about H2020 calls in the respective areas of interest and the state of the art of several research proposals.The info sessions were divided into thematic sessions on:• Food Security • Environment and Climate Change • Health • Renewable Energies • ICT • Space and Space related issuesThe participation included European partners, which allowed a better interaction with Mexican stakeholders. The distribution by session is presented, as well as the active participants, which attended the event on different sessions. The attendance rate was 84%.v. Infoday, Chihuahua 2016The representative of International Department at University of Chihuahua (northern border of Mexico) attended the EU-Cooperation Days event in Mexico City and requested to have a similar event at his state, given the raising interest of the university and other actors to increase international collaboration. The main objective was to take the information to researchers and enterprises, in order to start developing proposals for Horizon2020.The Info Day followed the format used in the previous signature event of the project and attempted to bring new actors into the H2020 Programme, creating awareness of the opportunities available outside of Mexico. The organizers of the logistics were the host University personnel, and had no registration list; however, approximately 40 people attended the Info Day.vi. May, 2016 – Tour Mexico 2020: Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara and QuerétaroAfter the 8° Joint Steering Committee Meeting in Brussels in May, 2016 and derived from previous conversations with the European Commission, CONACYT decided to include within the activities of the bilateral project a Tour around the main cities in Mexico to promote the opportunities in terms of funding and international cooperation offered by CONACYT and European countries. Based on the State Innovation Agendas for regional development of the states in Mexico that CONACYT and in coordination with the British Council and the Mexican Technologic Platform, each state had three parallel session on thematic areas relevant to the region.The tour started in Mexico City with a two-day event at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in collaboration with the Coordination of Humanities and the National Contact Point in Social Sciences and Humanities. The invitation was open to all the institutions, mainly from the academia that have interests in SSH and collaboration with Europe. During the first day, we presented the background of the collaboration and current projects, followed by technical information on Horizon2020, the T-AP Digging into data experience, tools for partner search and the CONACYT matching fund. For the event, we had 124 registrations; however the attendance was of 95 people.The sessions were presented by CONACYT as well as colleagues from the EEN and NCP, Dr. Gerardo Torres. During the second day, CONACYT offered 5 personal appointments to have specific questions on H2020.The next three destinations for the tour were selected based on the size of the cities, being Monterrey, Guadalajara and Querétaro three of the cities with major activities in STI and have grown their participation in CONACYT programs.List of Websites:EU-MEX INNOVA Website: http://conacyt.gob.mx/pci/index.php/eumexinnova EU-Mexico Cooperation Days B2Match: https://www.b2match.eu/eu-mexinnovaVideo EU-MEX INNOVA, ICT 2015 Event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--V9t7_RZx0 final1-logo-eu-mexinnova.png
