On Thursday 16 July BNSC is holding a UK FP7 Space Information Day at 1 Victoria Street, Conference Centre.
The aim of the event is to provide information regarding the 2010 work programme for the Space theme and to offer the opportunity to network with other potential framework programme participants. The outline agenda for the day is:
The Information Day will start at 10.00am and is expected to conclude by 2.00pm at the latest. The event will include lunch, during which there will be further opportunities to network. A full programme for the day will be circulated shortly. If you would like to register for the day, please contact Gill Richards, the UK National Space Contact
We hope to hold a further Information day in early September, once the work programme has been published. The intention is to invite European Commission and ESA officials who can speak about the detail of the work programme and clarify any queries regarding its content.
Our outline of what we expect the 2010 work programme to look like is detailed below.
2010 work programme for the 3rd FP7 Space Call
Indications are that the 3rd call will have a budget in the region of 200m, the main elements of which are expected to be:
The Commission intend to publish the call for proposals on 31 July, with a deadline of 30 November. The content of the forthcoming Call is expected to cover a wide range of areas, for the most part inviting small to medium sized proposals.
The GMES element is expected to touch upon a number of themes with a mixture of small to medium Collaborative Projects (CP) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), for example:
Downstream services which are close to market
This element would aim to stimulate the development of downstream services with a clear focus on users, and in particular users which are likely to finance these services at the end of the projects. Proposals might focus on a very specific application field, or address a multi-thematic application for either a specific user or a wider group of users, and serve a local, regional or pan European area.
Downstream services with focus on specific thematic areas
This would be expected to be aimed at developing additional new capabilities suitable for services which support European policy objectives, their pre-operational validation in a service environment, and the broadening of applications to areas outside Europe. The expected thematic areas include Water Management/Hydrological Cycle/Water Scarcity, Biodiversity, Forest Monitoring, Agriculture and Agri-Environment.
GMES Security: Maritime Surveillance
This area would be expected to focus on the development of maritime surveillance services which ensure sea transport safety (e.g. hazardous goods) and security (e.g. trafficking).
GMES land monitoring
The Call is also likely to include opportunities for the coordination of national activities for land monitoring and for the exploration of issues of importance to regional actors/users.
International cooperation
Proposals in this section will relate to small-sized Specific International Cooperation Actions (SICA) which require a minimum participation of at least four independent entities. Of these, two must be established in different Member or Associated States, and the other two must be established in different geographical regions. Additionally, participation from these two regions must be from at least two independent institutions. Finally, a balanced distribution of effort is between countries is expected.
Some proposals are likely to need to be aligned with areas of existing EU co-operation (e.g. Russia, South Africa), while other may need to address specific topical policy issues.
The Strengthening Space Foundations element is expected to cover four themes through collaborative projects up to 2M in value.
1. Exploitation of space science and exploration data
In this area, the goal will be to support proposals to improve the exploitation of existing or planned space science, human spaceflight or Earth observation data sets, for example for users not involved in the original mission. Efforts to increase the impact and public awareness will be welcomed. BNSC would encourage proposals to the Commission that leverage UK investments in ESA space science and Earth observation missions where the UK is or is already planning to be strongly involved.
2. Space transportation for space exploration
This theme is likely to address two distinct areas. The first is in-space propulsion supporting future exploration, encompassing conventional and novel propulsion but also including system analysis tools. The second is robotic transportation, in the sense of advanced robotic systems (e.g. rovers), in situ operations (e.g. sample acquisition) and in-orbit servicing and assembly for complex missions. BNSC would encourage proposals to the Commission that leverage existing UK investments (national and through ESA) and target missions of agreed UK interest.
3. Critical Space Technologies
In this theme, projects are expected to reduce the dependence on non-European supplied critical technologies as identified in the 2009 list of technologies for urgent actions from the Joint Task Force on Critical Technologies for European non-dependence. In addition, projects should enhance the technical capabilities and overall competitiveness of European space industry on the world wide market. As such, BNSC encourages proposals to the Commission that will help the UK meet the goal of maintaining and growing the UK share of the global space market.
4. Reducing the Vulnerability of Space Assets
This is a new theme and it is well aligned with UK interests. Complementarity with the ESA Space Situational Awareness (SSA) programme will have to be demonstrated by proposals. The theme will address both space weather and its effects on spacecraft, including forecasting, mitigation and modelling work; and also approaches to reducing the threat from and effect of orbital debris, including technical analysis and architectural approaches.
Further information on FP7 can be found on the FP7 website.
The FP7UK team can provide telephone support, send you information, direct you to a large number of web-based information sources and advise you of Calls, events, news and best practice. This specialist team can guide you to the most relevant information for your particular situation, saving you time and money. The team includes the UK National Contact Points (NCPs) who specialise in individual areas of FP7 and can offer dedicated expert advice and support throughout the life of an FP7 project.
Contact:
Useful information can also be found at the European Commission’s web site. The web site has information on eligibility for funding under FP7, participation in FP7, calls for funding, finding project partners and submitting an application. Click on the link below to reach the Commission’s CORDIS site.
The FP7 Space team in BNSC facilitates co-ordination and development of the UK approach to space activities within FP7. This includes consultation with BNSC partners and with the UK space community more generally. We represent the UK in international fora including the FP7 Space Programme Management Committee. We also undertake FP7 promotional activity, of which this newsletter is part.
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