Science with and for Society National Contact Points (NCPs) in H2020

Type of action: Coordination and support action (CSA) Scope:Scope: This action focuses on identifying and sharing good practices and raising the general standard of support to programme applicants, taking into account the diversity of stakeholders of 'Science with and for Society' (Support will be given to a network of NCPs in the area of Science with and for Society. Various activities will be developed, such as benchmarking, joint workshops, enhanced cross-border brokerage events, specific training linked to Science with and for Society and twinning schemes, not duplicating actions foreseen in the NCP network for quality standards and horizontal issues under ‘Science with and for Society’. Special attention will be given to enhance the competence of NCPs, including helping less experienced NCPs rapidly acquire the know-how accumulated in other countries. Only NCPs from EU Member States, Associated Countries, neighbourhood policy countries, which have been officially appointed by the relevant national authorities are eligible to participate in and receive funding for this action. The consortium should have a good representation of experienced and less experienced NCPs. Submission of a single proposal is encouraged. The Commission will only fund one proposal under this heading. NCPs from EU Member States or Associated Countries choosing not to participate as a member of the consortium should be identified and the reason explained in the proposal. These NCPs are nevertheless invited and encouraged to participate in the project activities (e.g. workshops), and the costs incurred by the consortium for such participation (e.g. travel costs paid by the consortium) may be included in the estimated budget and be eligible for funding by the Commission The Commission will only fund one proposal under this topic; with a duration to cover the first period of Horizon 2020. Expected impact: A more consistent, improved and professionalised level of NCPs support services across Europe helps simplify access to Science and for Society Horizon 2020 calls, lowers the entry barriers for newcomers and raises the average quality of proposals submitted. In the short term, this contributes to greater participation by SMEs and CSOs. In the medium terms, it contributes to spreading excellence and widening participation targets. Also, it contributes towards reaching the European Research Area objective of more integrated European research, via better coordination of Member States' own effort. Type of action: Co-ordination and Support Actions.   This activity directly aimed supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from the delegation to REA and  will be managed by the Commission services. Cross-cutting Priorities:Gender Please read carefully all provisions below before the preparation of your application. The budget breakdown for this call is given in the call conditions section of the work programme: http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/wp/2014_2015/main/h2020-wp1415-swfs_en.pdf. List of countries and applicable rules for funding: described in part A of the General Annexes of the General Work Programme.   Eligibility and admissibility conditions: described in part B and C of the General Annexes of the General Work Programme, with the following exceptions: Up to one project per topic shall be funded.   Evaluation 3.1  Evaluation criteria and procedure, scoring and threshold: described in part H of the General Annexes of the General Work Programme. 3.2 Guide to the submission and evaluation process   Proposal page limits and layout: Please refer to Part B of the standard proposal template.   Indicative timetable for evaluation and grant agreement: Information on the outcome of one-stage evaluation: maximum 5 months from the final date for submission. Signature of grant agreements: maximum 3 months from the date of informing successful applicants.   Provisions, proposal templates and evaluation forms for the type(s) of action(s) under this topic: Coordination and Support Action: Specific provisions and funding rates Standard proposal template (administrative forms and structure of technical annex) Standard evaluation form Annotated Model Grant Agreement   Additional provisions: Horizon 2020 budget flexibility Classified information Technology readiness levels (TRL) – where a topic description refers to TRL, these definitions apply. Financial support to Third Parties – where a topic description foresees financial support to Third Parties, these provisions apply.   Open access must be granted to all scientific publications resulting from Horizon 2020 actions, and proposals must refer to measures envisaged. Where relevant, proposals should also provide information on how the participants will manage the research data generated and/or collected during the project, such as details on what types of data the project will generate, whether and how this data will be exploited or made accessible for verification and re-use, and how it will be curated and preserved.