Category Archives: Guidance

New Horizon 2020 Work Programme Launched

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​Commissioner Moedas launched the 2016/17 Horizon 2020 Work Programme today at a press conference in Brussels. The two-year programme has a budget of almost €16 billion and has been designed to respond to the wider policy objectives of the European Commission, including the Jobs, Growth and Investment Package, the Digital Single Market, the Energy Union, Climate Change policy and making Europe a stronger global actor.

The Commissioner said that while these were the overarching priorities, on a horizontal level the Work Programme also responds to the priorities defined by him on research and innovation policy, namely the three O’s (Open Science, Open Innovation and Open to the World).

The second Horizon 2020 Work Programme includes 16 work programmes, 63 calls and around 600 topics in 2016 and 2017. The Commission is planning to award approximately 1000 European Research Council grants and 10,000 fellows are to benefit from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions in 2016 itself.

The Work Programme is available on the Participant Portal (under the ‘Reference Documents’ section) and the Commission has produced a useful factsheet which summarises the main features and provides an overview table on funding calls in 2016 and 2017. UKRO factsheets on the Portal have been updated and provide information on each part of Horizon 2020.

 

Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2016/17

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Horizon20201The Horizon 2020 work programme for 2016/17 will be published in the autumn (exact date as yet unknown). However early versions of the individual elements of the work programme have been released, giving an indication of call topics to expect in 2016 and  2017. It is important to stress that topics can change in the final versions, however here are the current drafts to consider for potential application:

1) Excellent Science

2) Industrial Leadership

3) Societal Challenges

In order to prepare for this, the EC have organised various “Information Days” for potential applicants. More dates will be released for different calls, however the currently arranged events are as follows:

— Health Challenge Day – 18th September 2015 – Brussels – Focus on ‘Health, demographic change and wellbeing’ – More Info

— Environment and Resource Efficiency – 21st September 2015 – Brussels – Focus on “Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials” as well as related call topics such as “Smart and Sustainable Cities” focus areas. – More Info

— Smart, Green and Integrated Transport – 5th November 2015 – Brussels – Focus on, as the name suggests, the “Smart, Green and Integrated Transport” topic. – More Info

 

ERC Starting Grant Workshop – Reminder

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erc_logo_longThis is just a reminder that the ERC Starting Grant workshop, organised by the European Team at Research Services, will be running over the next consecutive Wednesdays. This will be in preparation for the November 2015 deadline.

To be eligible for an ERC Starting Grant you must have 2-7 years post-PhD experience and a promising track record, with these aiming to support up-and-coming research leaders who are about to establish a proper research team and to start conducting independent research in Europe.

This workshop offers a thorough and detailed insight in ERC grants from experienced members of the European team, and will be invaluable for your Starting Grant application. Details below:

Date 1: Wednesday 8th July 2015 – 9:30am-12pm – Old Road Campus, Headington >>Book
Date 2: Wednesday 15th July 2015 – 9:30am-12pm – Sherrington Lecture Theatre, Physiology >>Book

ERC Grant Deadlines 2015-16

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erc_logo_longThe 2016 ERC Work Programme is about to be published, and the European Team are now able to confirm some key details and dates for your diary for those interested in applying to the ERC.

ERC Starting Grant – 2-7 years post-PhD experience, promising track record, designed to support up-and-coming research leaders who are about to establish a proper research team and to start conducting independent research in Europe
 >>More Info

Opening Date: 23rd July 2015
Closing Date: 17th November 2015

ERC Consolidator Grant – 7-12 years post-PhD experience, promising track record, designed to support researchers at the stage at which they are consolidating their own independent research team or programme
 >>More Info

Opening Date: 15th October 2015
Closing Date: 2nd February 2016

ERC Advanced Grant – 12 Years + post-PhD experience, established track record identifying applicant as leader in current field, targets researchers who have already established themselves as independent research leaders in their own right.
 >>More Info

Opening Date: 24th May 2016
Closing Date: 1st September 2016

As you can see the ERC Starting Grant call will be opening shortly. In order to help prepare for this, the European Research Services team at Oxford will be running two identical workshops in order to give further details and give an opportunity to have questions answered.

Date 1: Wednesday 8th July 2015 – 9:30am-12pm – Old Road Campus, Headington >>Book
Date 2: Wednesday 15th July 2015 – 9:30am-12pm – Sherrington Lecture Theatre, Physiology >>Book

New EPSRC Data Policy and ORA Data – Information

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oramainlogoThe EPSRC announced at the start of May changes to their policy framework on research data. This policy framework sets out EPSRC’s expectations concerning the management and provision of access to EPSRC-funded research data. Although EPSRC recognises that a range of institutional policies and practices can satisfy these expectations, it encourages research organisations to develop specific approaches which, while aligned with EPSRC’s expectations, are appropriate to their own structures and culture

This is where ORA Data comes in. The Bodleian Libraries have developed the ORA Data service for Oxford researchers wanting to deposit their research datasets in Oxford’s own data archive. Datasets are issued with a permanent DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and have a catalogue record to DataCite standards to ensure proper citation and acknowledgement.

To view the new EPSRC Policy Framework – Click Here
To find out more about ORA-Data – Click Here
To view the ORA-Data preservation policy –  Click Here