FP7 Cooperation

Information and Communication Technologies

________________________________________________________________________

Last update: 8^th October, 2008

________________________________________________________________________

Call title: ICT call 6

·      Call identifier: FP7-ICT-2009-6

·      Date of publication: 24 November 2009

·      Deadline: 13 April 2010

·      Indicative budget for all Call 6: EUR 286 million

________________________________________________________________________

All topics and funding schemes are subject to changes pending the outcome of the European Commission’s internal consultation of the Member States.  To be confirmed in call text published on CORDIS in November 2008.

________________________________________________________________________

Author: Joanna Pullicino, MIRA project partner

              joanna.pullicino@gov.mt

Disclaimer: Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that this document is accurate, MIRA cannot be held responsible for errors that may be found in it.

________________________________________________________________________

In addition to international cooperation activities addressed in the relevant objectives within the 7 Challenges and the Future and Emerging Trends sections of the ICT work programme, horizontal international cooperation actions will be supported specifically for Mediterranean Partner Countries. By providing support to information society policy dialogues, this will contribute to increasing the participation of third country organisations in the Programme and will facilitate the widest diffusion and local exploitation of ICT research results.  Details can be found below.

Challenge 7: within Horizontal support actions.

ICT 2009.9.1 International Cooperation

Funding scheme: STREP / SICA; indicative budget is EUR 5 million.

Support to the uptake of European ICT research results in developing economies

The objective is to facilitate the widest diffusion and local exploitation of European ICT research results, through the piloting and testing of solutions adapted to local infrastructures, service needs, users, culture, and business and social structures. This could include the provisioning of public services (e.g. e-government, e-health, e-education, water supply) as well as business-related applications (e.g. e-commerce, mobile banking) or solutions supporting sustainable development objectives, notably for the environment. Activities will:

·        analyse and test the application of relevant technology as well as business models with a particular focus on socio-economic impacts and aspects such as affordability, deployment and local exploitation opportunities, facilitate transformation of research results into local innovation, through the networking of relevant technology developers with local academia, incubators, SMEs, representatives from civil society as well as local authorities, notably for the provision of public services,

·        promote transfer of know-how, best practices and technology through the establishment of self-sustainable partnerships and collaborative initiatives.

Activities should contribute, if applicable, to the implementation of established European research and innovation roadmaps.

Target countries/regions:

ACP and Mediterranean Partner Countries; other Developing Countries.

Activities covered under all the above objective should be covered in balanced partnership with well recognised third country organisations.  In addition to leading technology developers, consortia are strongly encouraged to include experienced market research organisations, relevant industry representation and third country organisations/multipliers (e.g. national research authorities/agencies), recognised scientific experts in the field as well as communication specialists.

Expected impact

·              Reinforced international dimension of the EU ICT research programme and higher level of international cooperation in ICT research and development with a focus on areas where the EU has a comparative advantage and where there are new leadership opportunities for Europe.

·              Significant contribution to a reinforced competitiveness of EU industry in developing and emerging economies through a better adaptation of EU technology solutions to local markets and through the establishment of new strategic partnerships.

·              Contribution to a higher level of digital inclusion and to the provision of innovative e-services of high socio-economic impact in developing economies.

SICAs

STREPs may also be used to support a special form of international co-operation projects, the so-called Specific International Cooperation Actions (SICAs) with ICPC countries in areas of mutual interest and dedicated to cooperation on topics selected on the basis of their scientific and technological competences and needs.

These SICAs have specific rules for participation. For the SICA projects there must be at least four independent legal entities of which at least two must be established in different Member States or Associated countries and at least two must be established in different ICPC countries in the target regions defined in the objective for the project.

A higher number of participants may be specified on a call-by-call basis: check the call fiche.

Glossary:

ACP – African, Caribbean, Pacific countries;

STREP – Small or medium scale focused research action;

SICA - Specific International Cooperation Actions.