WP6 ERA-PG Joint Calls

The aim of this workpackage is to develop a large common research programme. This activity will be carried out in the period 2006-2009, supplementing and deepening the activities as defined in Workpackages 3 and 4.

Objectives

• Deepening the ERA-PG activities by organizing joint calls
• Developing and implementing joint application and evaluation procedures
• Establishing a centralised call management
• Establishing a joint programme management
• Providing a real test case for the foreseen ERA-NET Plus scheme under FP7

Tasks

Establishing a central Call Secretariat and a Call Coordinators Team
For the execution of the common research programme and the joint calls the following organisation will be set up:

1. A Call Coordinators Team, consisting of representatives of the funding organisations that contribute to the common programme. The Team is responsible for the preparations of the calls and is supported by a central Call Secretariat which is hosted by the ERA-PG Coordinator (NGI). The call coordinators are contact point for their own country.
2. The Call Secretariat will be responsible for the overall programme administration and will be the administrative support to the Call Coordinators Team, a Programme Board and a Scientific Advisory Board. The Call Secretariat will support the execution of the joint calls and the organisation and management of the proposal evaluation processes. Furthermore the Secretariat will closely monitor the execution of the programme as well as all related process in order to identify room for improvement. Registration, documentation, communication and dissemination, all by electronic means, will also be important tasks of the Secretariat.
3. The Programme Board, composed of scientific experts, is responsible for the evaluation and selection of the proposals and the monitoring of the programme's progress.
4. A Scientific Review Panel, composed of external scientific experts from outside the ERA-PG countries, will review the programme at mid-term and at the end.

Implementation of an electronic proposal submission system
This task will be implemented by the Call Secretariat, based on an existing system at NWO. For this purpose the existing IRIS system will be adapted to an international environment.

Management of Call 1: launch, evaluation, selection and monitoring
The first call will be split into two Sub Calls, A (only public) and B (public-privat). The topics for the call are broad and inclusive and address common issues. Headline topics have been identified according to the findings of Workpackages 1 and 2. The topics are clearly in alignment with the objectives of other strategic groups in the plant science currently active in Europe. Scientific approaches should be genomic and/or post-genomic in nature. Applications addressing the elucidation of the function of single genes will not be considered. For each application a minimum of three partners from contributing countries will be required. There will be a two-stage procedure for joint applications (pre-proposals and full proposals) and accordingly a two-stage review procedure. This will be the responsibility of the Call Secretariat.

Management of Call 2: launch, evaluation, selection and monitoring
Based on the experiences of the first calls the procedures will be revised and improved where applicable for execution of the second call.

Events and Reports

Events
In 2006 the following meetings will be organised: meeting of the Call Coordination team and Call Secretariat, meeting of the Programme Board to assess pre-proposals, meeting of the Programme Board to assess full-proposals and a meeting of the representatives of funding organisations for final selection agreement on funding the applicants of selected projects.
In 2007 the first Grant holders meeting will be held and a meeting of national contact persons to develop the second call.
In 2008 meetings of the CCT and Call Secretariat will be organised as well as meetings of the Program board to assess the proposals.
In 2009 a second Grant holders meeting is planned.

Reports
Development and implementation of the first ERA-PG call (process report and analysis including a survey among applicants)
Research Programme Reports 2007
Research Programme Reports 2009

Contact information

Netherlands Genomics Initiative (NGI), part of Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research
P.O. Box 93035, 2509 AA The Hague, The Netherlands
Fax +31 (0)70 344 06 32. Web site: http://www.genomics.nl

Dr. Diederik Zijderveld/ Prof. Dr. Ir. Colja Laane (director NGI)

Dr. Bernard de Geus/ Dr. Wilma van Donselaar (chair of Network Steering Committee ERA-PG)

Dr. Frans Martens (ALW)

Dr. Ir. Christine Bunthof (Executive coordinator ERA-PG)

Dr. Okker van Batenburg (Executive coordinator ERA-PG)

Paul Beckers (MSc) (Contact person Call Secretariat)

Brenda van der Zee (MSc) (Assistant coordinator ERA-PG)