European Partnership for research in radiation protection and detection of ionising radiation

The Commission invites proposals for establishment of the European Partnership for research in radiation protection and detection of ionising radiation. Proposed Partnerships should fulfil requirements set out in this topic as well as meet criteria for the selection and implementation of European Partnerships, their monitoring, evaluation, phase-out or renewal as set in Horizon Europe Regulation[[ Annex III on European Partnerships]].

Radiation protection research funded under this Partnership should provide solutions and recommendations for protecting people and the environment from the potentially harmful effects of ionising radiation, as required by the Basic Safety Standards Directive. A reinforced multidisciplinary approach to research, innovation and citizen involvement is needed to further develop the knowledge base and enable implementation of innovation regarding risks from different exposures to radiation, enabling the implementation of that knowledge into direct gains in Radiation Protection culture and practice. The influence of individual’s characteristics, such as sex and age, and the interaction with other risk factors will have to be addressed as part of research on individual sensitivity, susceptibility and degenerative fragility. This is of a major concern in medical application, which are to be justified and optimised, based on sound evidence and scientific outcomes.

Implementation of this Partnership would require a cooperation of the entire European research community concerned in order to exploit synergies between different scientific disciplines. This implies the possible involvement of all research institutions and universities, from fundamental and applied research to human and social sciences. The Partnership would need to take account of present state of knowledge and priorities identified in the Strategic Research Agenda of MELODI (low dose radiation), ALLIANCE (radioecology), EURADOS (dosimetry), NERIS (nuclear emergency preparedness) and EURAMED (medical exposures), SHARE (social sciences and humanities) and SNETP (sustainable nuclear energy technology platform).

Furthermore, citizens should continue to be involved by supporting open and participatory approaches to research and innovation in the field of radiation protection. Good decisions call for consideration of societal issues and of citizen involvement in the options and assessment of risks associated with radiation exposure.

In order to deliver expected outcomes, the Partnership would build on and further develop the research priorities identified by the European Joint Programme for the integration of radiation protection research (EJP CONCERT) in the Joint Roadmap. The Partnership would also need to take into account the Euratom Scientific and Technical Committee’s opinion on the research roadmap, the SAMIRA initiative[[ https://ec.europa.eu/energy/topics/nuclear-energy/radiation-protection/radiation-medical-use_en]] and the outcomes of other relevant, forward-looking analyses like the EURAMED research roadmap for medical applications, and of societal priorities, individual dosimetry and artificial intelligence deciding the exposure optimisation and of societal priorities

The Partnership will address the identified research and innovation priorities topics through the launching of several open calls. Call priorities will be identified in close connection with stakeholders. Governance structure within the Partnership should ensure independent open calls issuing, project proposal evaluation and selection.

Links with other partnerships and international cooperation beyond Euratom, particularly with international organisations is encouraged. Other synergies across programmes such as Horizon Europe Health cluster and the proposed mission cancer will continue to be explored, through dedicated working groups. Collaboration with industry for technological developments and bringing scientific and technological breakthroughs a step closer to the market for the benefit of citizens and society is also recommended.

The Partnership will ensure the availability of and facilitate access to state of-the-art research infrastructures required to implement the research roadmap. This will be done coherently with action 12 (European Facility in Nuclear Research).

Finally, the Partnership will develop competences in radiological protection with a special focus on radiological protection culture. Solutions should be proposed for addressing the challenge of communicating results in radiological protection to, and engaging with, non-specialist audiences such as policy decision-makers and the wider public.

Financial commitments and in-kind contributions are expected to be provided by the partners of the consortium for the governance structure, the joint calls and other dedicated implementation actions and efforts for national coordination.

Proposals could pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national (or regional) research programmes with a view to implementing joint calls for transnational proposals resulting in grants to third parties.

The Commission also invites consortia to propose innovative solutions and research approaches other than those listed above in order to deliver the expected outcomes.

Where appropriate, the Commission recommends that consortia make use of the services of the JRC. The JRC may participate in the preparation and submission of the proposal. The JRC would bear the operational costs for its own staff and research infrastructure operational costs. The JRC facilities and expertise are listed in General Annex H of this Work Programme.

Total indicative budget for the duration of the Partnership and rate of co-financing: the table below provides an overview of the 2021-2025 appropriations that will be committed for the co-fund grant to support the European Partnership. EUR 30 million will be committed in instalments over the 5 years (2021-2025).