Archives: April 2006

The Vaasa Polytechnic in West Finland is currently seeking partners for a proposal under the 2005 call for proposals for the Leonardo da Vinci programme.

The project involves the provision of educational, consultancy and research services to small and medium-sized enterprises by students and graduates of third level institutions. The aim of the project is, firstly, to improve the education of students by offering the opportunity to participate in real life case-studies, and, secondly, to support the development of small businesses in the participating regions and to establish a stronger connection between students and entrepreneurs.

For further information, contact: Camilla Stenbäck, Project coordinator, Vaasa Polytechnic, Research and Services, Raastuvankatu 29, 65100 Vaasa, Finland. Tel. +358 (0)6 326 3582, Fax. +358 (0)6 326 3065, e-mail: camilla.stenback@puv.fi

The London Borough of Greenwich is currently looking for partners for a project proposals under the 2005 call for action to promote the Integration of Third country Nationals (INI).

The project, provisionally named ‘Building Bridges’, aims to share best practice on the integration of non-EU citizens, promote dialogue across communities to create an inclusive and tolerant community, and increase knowledge of integration issues. The following activities are foreseen: education (especially with schools); support for multi-faith communities’ co-operation; a training programme for professionals working with ‘migrant’ peoples; encouraging a culture of reporting racially motivated incidents; and participatory workshops. See the attached document for more details.

For further information and/or to register your interest in the project, please contact as soon as possible: Lara Rufus, London Borough of Greenwich, E-mail: lara.rufus@greenwich.gov.uk, Tel: 0044 20 8921 5426.

The European Commission has published a call for proposals for indirect RDT actions aimed at promoting new forms of cooperation between different sub-national or national innovation players, in order to further promote the development and implementation of good practice in support of entrepreneurial innovation.

Possible thematic areas for cooperation under this call (FP6-2006-INNOV-10, Strands 2,3.4) include, innovation policy actions at sub-national or national level in support of the preparation of strategic innovation plans, collaboration between research organisations and enterprises, innovation networking and clusters, innovative start-ups, promotion and protection of Intellectual Property Rights, technology transfer and technology absorption, innovation financing, innovation management and the evaluation of innovation programmes.

The deadline for applications is 28 June 2006. Further details at: http://fp6.cordis.europa.eu.int/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite.FP6CallsPage

The European Commission has published the 2006 call for proposals for funding under the eLearning Programme.

The call covers the four areas of intervention under the programme: promoting digital literacy, eTwinning of schools in Europe and promotion of teachers' training, European virtual campuses; and transversal actions. It focuses in particular on the promotion, dissemination and exploitation of results, best practices and achievements emerging from the use of ICT for education, training and lifelong learning in Europe. The total available budget for the call is EUR 5.5 million and funding is available to cover up to 80% of total project costs.

The deadline for the submission of applications is 19 May 2006 and 11 May 2006 for eTwinning actions. Further details at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/programmes/elearning/calls_en.html

The aim of this call for proposals is to identify actions, which might be eligible for financial support from the European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment

The fields concerned, and the nature and content of the actions (as well as the conditions for granting assistance and application forms) are set out in the documentation relating to the call for proposals. Eligible measures include: environmental communications and awareness raising on climate change and biodiversity; raising awareness among actors in Europes tourism sector of the Natura 2000 network; promoting sustainable forest management for bio-energy; support for peer review of national sustainable development strategies; preparation of CIP funding networks. and actions concerning the role of the individual in environmental protection. The total budget is approximately EUR 2,360,000. Deadline for applications: 19 May 2006. Further details at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/funding/intro_en.htm

The European Commission has published a call for proposals for financial support for initiatives to promote public participation in debates on the Future of Europe.

In particular, this should include topics of European interest as provided for by the Commission’s Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate. The objective of the call is to stimulate debate on citizens future expectations of the EU and also to inform the public about the role played by the EU, with concrete examples of its projects and achievements. The debate could include the following themes: Europe’s economic and social development; feelings towards Europe and the Union’s tasks; and Europe’s borders and its role in the world.

The budget initially available for part-financing projects is estimated at EUR2 millon. The grant awarded may not exceed 70% of the total eligible project costs. The amount of the grant will be between EUR250,000 for projects involving a minimum of five partner organizations from different Member States, and EUR600,000 for projects involving a minimum of eight partners. These must each be established in a different EU Member State. Deadline for applications: 24 April 2006. Further details at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/communication/pdf/proposals-plan-d_en.pdf

The European Commission has published the 2006 programme for grants in the field of trans-European energy networks (TENs).

Funding in 2006 will focus on projects which contribute to: promoting the diversification of energy sources; reducing bottlenecks, congestion and missing links; encouraging the development and connection of renewable energy sources; increasing the underground storage capacity of natural gas; and encouraging the construction of high pressure gas pipelines for diversification of natural gas towards Community regions. The total budget available is EUR 21.55 million. As a rule, proposed actions must be for a substantial amount, with the Community financial aid not being less than EUR500,000 per selected action. In addition, the duration should not exceed three years. The closing date for submission of proposals is 26 April 2006. For further details click here

On April 4 the European Parliament and the Austrian EU Presidency reached a compromise on the EU’s budget for the period 2007-2013.

The final agreement is for a budget of € 866.4bn, which is €4bn more than the Summit deal of December 2005. The Parliament had threatened to block the agreement reached by EU heads of state and government in December 2005 unless their demand for an increase in the budget was met.

The additional funding is to be divided between a number of measures, including an extra €300m for the interregional and transnational strands of the new Territorial Cooperation Objective, €400m for the new Competitiveness & Innovation Programme (CIP), €300m for the new Research Programme and an extra €800m for Lifelong Learning. A range of programmes on health and consumer protection, youth and culture will also received an additional €500m. The presidency and the Parliament also agreed to increase European Investment Bank funds by €2.5bn to provide loans for research and development and small- and medium-sized enterprises.

National governments are expected to approve the agreement with the Parliament in the next few weeks while MEPs should endorse the package at the May plenary session in Strasbourg. This will then clear the way for the final adoption of a number of EU Regulations concerning funding programmes and initiatives for 2007-2013. Further details at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/financial_perspective/next_steps/index_en.htm

The Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) European Conference and Info Day 2006, Converting Policy to Action, will take place in Brussels on 30 May 2006.

This event will provide advice on how to apply for IEE funding, present ongoing projects, outline the future perspectives of the programme, and allow participants to network with colleagues from across Europe. The draft programme is now available and online registration is open at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/intelligent/events/infodays_en.htm.

National Info Days for this year’s call for proposals are also being organised. The Info Day in Ireland is provisionally planned for 7-8 June 2006. Contact: Matthew Kennedy, e-mail: matthew.kennedy@sei.ie, tel: + 353 1 8082070

The 2006 call for proposals under the Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) programme will be published in May of this year.

The call will open a 5-month period, up to October 2006, during which time interested parties will be able to apply for financial support for European projects, one-off events, and the establishment of local/regional energy agencies. Around EUR50 million will be available for this final call under the current programme. There will be a special IEE information day and conference in Brussels on 30-31 May, as well as an information day in Ireland on 7-8 June. Further details at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/intelligent/call_for_proposals/index_en.htm. For details of the IEE programme, see: http://www.iro.ie/funding/eie.html