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Call for Research Proposals Under HORIZON 2020 – A Govt of India & Europe Initiative
Research & Innovation Cooperation between DBT and the EU under HORIZON 2020
The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the European Commission (EC) will jointly fund certain India – EU collaborative projects under Horizon 2020 (H2020).
H2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme ever with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020)
It is widely open to foreign participation, in particular of Indian teams, for which DBT co-funding is available in respect of specific calls for proposals (see below). Indian researchers, enterprises (MSMEs), research institutions and universities will be able to team up with their European partners to participate in projects under H2020 and make best use of Europe’s excellent opportunities in research and innovation. Through participation in H2020, beneficiaries can gain great benefits from access to excellent knowledge, access to research data and access and connection to world-leading scientific networks and research teams.
EU-INDIA CO-FUNDING MECHANISM FOR RESEARCH AND INNOVATION COOPERATION
- While Indian participants (teams1 ) are no longer automatically funded by the EC under H2020, the DBT and the EC have agreed to set up a co-funding mechanism to support joint projects between European and Indian universities, research institutions and companies.
- Under this co-funding mechanism (CFM), a maximum of three crore rupees (₹ 30,000,000) per project will be made available by DBT to successful Indian participants in joint collaborative projects with European partners under Horizon 2020.
- The CFM will be used for certain pre-identified Horizon 2020 calls for proposals (see list below). Several priority areas will be supported: agriculture (including food), biotechnologies, bio-energy, health, water resources, new materials and nanotechnology.
- In addition to the topics eligible for DBT funding under the CFM, Indian participation is welcomed in all Calls for Proposals of Horizon 2020, where Indian partners can participate on their own funds, or by using other sources of funding.
CALLS FOR PROPOSALS CONCERNED
DBT has agreed – subject to their positive evaluation – to fund Indian participants in a number of calls for proposals of mutual interest, identified in the table below.
Click to view details ( Goto page no 2)
HOW DOES IT WORK?
- For a given call for proposals identified above, the co-funding mechanism/procedure would work as follows:
- The EU publishes its call for proposals under Horizon 2020 (on the “Participant Portal” – to which clickable links are included in the table above).
- Proposals are submitted within the applicable deadline; each proposal is submitted simultaneously both (1) to DBT by the Indian participant(s) only, and (2) to the EC on behalf of all participants.
The proposal submitted to the EC is a classical, complete Horizon 2020 proposal, fulfilling all H2020 requirements2 (it is thus extremely important that Indian participants as well are fully aware of all related administrative, legal and other aspects3 ). The H2020 proposal has to be submitted on-line by the project coordinator – usually this role is played by one of the EU participants, what considerably reduces the administrative burden for Indian participants – on behalf of all participants, including Indian ones.
The proposal submitted to DBT must include (1) ‘Part B’ of the H2020 proposal4 and (2) a ‘financial plan’, i.e. an Excel table (attached) identifying the planned.
The proposals are evaluated by DBT and by the EC. For proposals positively evaluated by both sides, DBT provides research grants to the Indian researchers, while the EU funds the EU participants (under a “grant agreement” signed by all participants, including the Indian ones), enabling the project to start. In some cases, project participants can be required to sign an additional Consortium Agreement before the start of the project.
DBT’S FINANCIAL MODALITIES
DBT funding is granted for a maximum of three years, up to ₹ 30,000,000 per project. Indian applicants must refer and adhere to national/regional regulations and scientific remits as detailed by DBT. They may contact DBT (see contact details below) to check their compliance with the national rules. Eligible costs depend on national regulations. In general, the following items can be applied for:
- Mobility: exchange research visits between Europe and India. Travel costs, living expenses and visa costs are eligible for funding. Eligibility is subject to national regulations. Accommodation and living costs of Indian participants travelling to Europe need to be borne by their European counterpart and vice-versa. The costs need to be foreseen and planned in the project proposal. This needs to be taken into account in the budgets of both the H2020 proposal and the DBT proposal.
- Workshops: organisation costs, including rents for the event location, catering, communication materials and the invitation of external experts. Eligibility is subject to national regulations.
- Research costs: small equipment and consumables, project related miscellaneous expenses and project related larger equipment; the extent to which equipment costs are eligible for funding depends on national regulations.
- Personnel costs: extent of eligibility is according to respective national regulations
FURTHER INFORMATION
INDIA : Dr. Shailja GUPTA, Director International Cooperation Department of Biotechnology, Room No. 605, Block-2 CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 3 Tel: 91-11-24363748 Email: [email protected]
Dr. Sanjay KALIA, Scientist-D Room No. 814, Block-2 Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 3 Email: [email protected]
EUROPE
European Commission’s “Research Enquiry Service”: http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=enquiries
EU Delegation to India: [email protected]
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