FP7

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) recently issued a special report entitled “Has the Commission ensured efficient implementation of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research?”. The ECA assessed whether the Commission has ensured efficient implementation of FP7. The audit covered the rules for participation, the Commission’s processes and the setting-up of two new instruments, and its results are likely to be useful not only for the remaining period of FP7, but also for the operational setup of the next research Framework Programme - Horizon 2020.

The report found that although the European Commission has taken a number of steps to bolster its management of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7), researchers seeking FP7 funding are however faced with unnecessary inconsistencies.

Accordingly the ECA recommended:

a)      Regarding rules for participation, the Commission should make further efforts to ensure that  beneficiaries’ practices can be used in Horizon 2020 and manage FP7 in a more consistent  manner;

b)      To strengthen process management, the Commission should deploy IT tools which will integrate all functionalities and it should examine the imbalances in staff workload;

c)       To reduce processing times, the Commission should make sure that the processes are automated and implemented consistently across its services;

d)      The Commission should make its control activities before and after payment more risk-driven, so as to better focus its control effort; and

e)      The EU Council, European Parliament and the Commission should bring the legal framework of the Joint Technology Initiatives more into line with their staff complement. To maximise the impact of the Risk Sharing Finance Facility, the Commission should demonstrate that it targets those beneficiaries which have limited access to finance.

For further information and to read the special report in full, please click here.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

Participants in FP7 projects are encouraged to deal with Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) since the beginning of the preparation of their proposals. As collaborative research and development projects, the Intellectual Property (IP) brought by each participant to the project is one important issue to tackle.

The FP7 rules establish obligations concerning these assets, defined under the Rules for Participation and the models of grant agreements as background. The purpose of this fact sheet is to give an overview of the rules concerning background in FP7 projects in the different stages of a project. Potential scenarios and practical hints are also provided to help you in the daily management of your projects.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

The European Union (EU) promotes research activities with the purpose of strengthening the scientific and technological bases of the EU. In this way, the Union ensures sustainable growth, more and better jobs, as well as industry competitiveness. A cornerstone objective of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) is therefore to ensure a wide use and dissemination of the knowledge generated, thereby promoting further scientific developments, maximising the impact of the funding granted in the market and demonstrating the added value of projects.

In most FP7 projects there are therefore several rules concerning the use and dissemination of foreground, including the need to submit to the European Commission (EC) at the end of the project a plan for the use and dissemination of foreground (PUDF). A careful plan of the dissemination activities and the use to be made of the project’s foreground should however be seen as more than a simple obligation, but instead an essential step to pave the way for the research from the labs to the market.

The purpose of the present fact sheet is to outline the purpose and scope of the PUDF. Practical hints and best practices will be provided whenever possible, but keep in mind that there are no two similar PUDFs in FP7 - each PUDF must be tailored to each project.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

The need to set an appropriate management structure to properly deal with the different issues related to intellectual property (IP) is considered to be fundamental in any collaborative research programme.

This case study presents a well-thought IP management structure in a FP7 consortium, which has the function of ensuring smooth implementation of the project and optimal exploitation of the resulting intangible assets.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

The present case study brings to your attention the importance of having a sound IP management during FP7 projects, able also to foresee actions aimed at avoiding and resolving potential IPR conflicts arising during and after the project implementation.

This would indeed lead to a successful research project and to an enhanced marketability of the project results.

Just click on the below document to read more about this important issue!

Comment this article on our Linkedin group

We are pleased to announce that the European IPR Helpdesk has published a new fact sheet on IP management in Marie Curie Actions.

The scope of this document is to outline the main IP-related issues that participants in Marie Curie Actions should consider in the different stages of their projects. The specific rules of the grant agreement related to IP are explained, as well as the content of other agreements commonly used in Marie Curie Actions. Yet, potential participants in these projects should be aware that Marie Curie Actions follow, with a few exceptions, the main FP7 IP-related rules. Thus, we strongly encourage reading our fact sheets on IP management in FP7 projects before this new one.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

This case on the Hydrocoat FP7 project focuses on the importance of having the results generated during a research project well protected, mainly when they have a huge commercial impact, in order to reap the full benefits from the R&D activity and to avoid those results be unduly exploited by others.

To have a grasp on how intangibles could be protected have a look to the case in point!

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group

We are pleased to inform that the European IPR Helpdesk has published a new fact sheet dedicated to foreground.

There are many reasons why SMEs, universities, research centres and other entities participate in the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). The results that might be created within R&D projects (i.e. foreground) is certainly one of them, since they might help these organisations in growing their business, going international or performing further research.

The purpose of this fact sheet is to give an overview of the rules concerning foreground in FP7 projects. Potential scenarios and practical hints are also provided to help you in the daily management of your projects.

Comment this article on our LinkedIn group