Both ATTRACT Phase-1 and Phase-2 were implemented with a bottom-up philosophy with respect to the identification of breakthrough D&I technologies. The ATTRACT Consortium never specified or pre-determined topics because the expectation was that D&I researchers would not consider participation if they felt their basic research was somehow constricted or ringfenced to a point that it could even be perceived as either applied or even contract research. In light of the many global societal challenges that Europe faces, the ATTRACT Consortium feels compelled to explore whether this assumption – and therefore the perception within the research community - is valid, or whether ATTRACT as an instrument that can work equally well when an element of pre-determination is introduced. Our ambition is, therefore, to investigate whether the basic science community responds similarly if a thematic focus is introduced from the very start and whether this still leads to the kind of high-class scientific concepts, supported by initial business cases, that will excite politicians, investors, and the general public alike. This
starting point makes ATTRACT Phase-1(B) conceptually different from the previous Phases. We will test our hypothesis by funding 30 new concepts with a Third Party grant of €100.000 each to investigate their scientific merits, technical feasibility, and potential game-changing applicability potential toward improving the local, regional, national and/or global environment5. The ATTRACT-Phase-1(B) Project serves to test ATTRACT, as an instrument, under this new boundary condition. In doing so, it responds constructively to pressure exerted by policymakers on big science organizations to extend their impact also beyond basic research. Considering that the new project targets key-enabling technologies to create the conditions for a fast uptake to meet environmental challenges, the end-TRL is set at 3-5.
