Support and Coordination of the Partnering Environment for FET Flagships

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SCOPE (Support and Coordination of the Partnering Environment for FET Flagships)

Okres sprawozdawczy: 2018-01-01 do 2020-03-31

SCOPE addressed one of the initial aims of Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Flagships: “a new partnering model for long-term European co-operative research in the European Research Area (ERA), demonstrating the potential for common research efforts. This model is based on the combination of a large Core Project playing a leading role for the whole duration of the initiative and a set of Partnering Projects”. The partnering environment is composed of Partnering Projects (PPs) and Associated Members (AMs) that are supported through national (Member States) or European initiatives, private (industrial), or any other funding sources. The team of SCOPE, composed of key partners from the two Flagships, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) for Human Brain Project (HBP), the European Science Foundation (ESF) for Graphene Flagship (GF), and coordinated by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) has become an asset for an enhanced overall coordination of the Flagships by fostering stronger relationships between the Core Projects (CPs) and the partnering ecosystem.

SCOPE put in place several activities on supporting an efficient integration of the PPs and AMs in both Flagships, so they could engage in collaborations with the CPs: by granting travel support to the PPs and AMs to attend HBP and GF Core events; by organizing workshops and networking sessions for PPs/AMs; and, by communicating PPs/AMs research results through the existing communication channels of both Flagships. A total of 121 grants were awarded along the duration of SCOPE.

SCOPE contributed to the overall FET objective to create dynamic multi-disciplinary collaborations, interdisciplinary collaborations and deep synergies between the broadest range of advanced sciences and cutting-edge engineering disciplines. As a summary, the main results achieved were the following: Dedicated personnel to help PPs and AMs navigate in the Flagships world; Internal communication channels (such as newsletters, conference calls, guidance to connect with Core partners, etc.), PPs Representation in the governance meetings; External communication and dissemination through news articles and interviews about research results; and finally specific funds primarily in form of travel grants mainly to attend the annual events (Graphene Week and HBP Summit).

SCOPE/EPFL partner provided support to the PPs by having facilitated the communication with the HBP Core Project. Linkages were facilitated via conference calls where PPs were introduced to suitable HBP Subprojects and their HBP members that performed as mentors. As a result of the on-boarding and integration activities SCOPE/EPFL created synergies between 107 organisations from 40 PPs and the HBP consortium. SCOPE grants such as the travel grants, the short visit grants and the grant for joint-workshops were promoted and managed. A total of 51 grants were awarded to HBP PPs. Two joint-workshops were organised jointly by PPs and HBP members that successfully facilitated scientific collaborations. The HBP Summits were the most attended internal HBP meeting by the PPs. In the edition of 2020, SCOPE supported 31 PPs researchers and the PP Representative. The opportunity to present PPs and their collaborations with HBP were given to three PPs at a plenary session, 10 PPs at a parallel session, and 11 PPs at the poster session. Newest HBP Research Infrastructure developments were also introduced to PPs while offering opportunities to attend trainings to utilize those HBP services, such as the FENIX Infrastructure or the Knowledge Graph.

The GF Partnering Division, which it was composed of 94 Associated Members and 28 Partnering Projects by the end of SCOPE, is an integral part of the Graphene Flagship initiative. SCOPE/ESF provided direct support to PPs and AMs to engage in collaborations with the Core Project (CP). As a result, 12 AM organisations have integrated the CP. Over 15 AMs participated in CP roadmap and standardisation workshops. ESF organized three Partnering Division meetings at the Graphene Week 2017, 2018 and 2019. Over 100 participants attended the Partnering Division meetings. Success stories sessions dedicated to present highlights of three AMs in 2018 and five AMs in 2019 were organised by ESF and the GF during the Graphene Week conferences. Also 10 different AMs exhibited at the Mobile World Congress since 2017. PPs and AMs are represented in the governance of Core project through the Partnering Division. Over 40 AMs attended the GF General Assembly meetings. SCOPE/ESF supported with the collection of 24 AMs and PPs scientific highlights from the Partnering Division that were included in the Graphene Flagship annual reports since 2017. This has highly increased the visibility of the research performed by the AMs and PPs, and of their contribution to the final goal of the Flagship. A total of 70 grants were awarded to GF PPs/AMs in the whole project (travel support, student and short visit grants).
Three surveys were launched. According to the 2019 survey results, the involvement of AMs and PPs in GF activities and events included 13 joint publications (mostly PPs research articles and conference proceedings), 9 signed NDAs (by individual AMs) and several sample exchanges. PPs are more interested in integration, scientific collaborations, networking and involvement in GF activities. Individual AMs are more focused on the output (graphene products and graphene technology), collaborations and networking.

SCOPE/FECYT produced 42 news articles and project news to actively communicate the research results and interactions with the Flagships Core of the HBP PPs and GF PPs/AMs during the lifetime of the project. All the news articles were created with the final goal of being published in the communication channels of both Flagships and increase the visibility of PPs and AMs as members of the Flagships community.

SCOPE has played an important role in growing the involvement of new Partnering Projects (PPs) and Associated Members (AMs) in working with the Flagships. ESF and EPFL partners worked closely with the Flagships management and governance structures and with the PPs representatives of both Flagships to ensure complementarity with ongoing activities and add value beyond the actions already planned. Based on the PPs and AMs researchers’ perspectives, the common interests were: to share scientific samples with the workpackages members of the Core Projects; networking, presentation of findings and discussion of scientific progress for further concrete scientific collaborations and long-term strategies; to help in finding solutions to common research obstacles.

SCOPE had coordinated mechanisms by working closely with the Partnering Projects and Core Projects, firstly to understand their respective needs and, secondly, to devise a partnering environment that have allowed results-oriented interactions and collaborations. Both parties have benefited from the know-how and new perspectives in common research areas. A wide spectrum of target groups has been reached: GF and HBP PPs/AMs senior and young researchers; academics, science community and research centers; national research funding agencies; policy makers; industrial experts; general public; and media.

SCOPE Roll-up

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SCOPE (Support and Coordination of the Partnering Environment for FET Flagships)

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