Start using the Funding & Tender Portal for Horizon2020

In case you missed it, the European Commission has recently launched a new corporate Funding & Tender Opportunities Portal. The new Funding & Tenders Portal will become the entry point (the Single Electronic Data Interchange Area) for participants and experts in funding programmes and tenders managed by the European Commission and other EU bodies including Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe.

The new corporate Funding & Tender Opportunities Portal replaces the previous Participant Portal for Horizon 2020 and will become the single entry point for finding and managing EU grants and procurement contracts. It will cover all centrally managed programmes by the start of the next EU multi-annual programme period in 2021.

The new portal includes all functions currently available on the Participant Portal, as well as a new layout and graphic design, and an improved keyword search function with new features and search behaviour. The new portal reflects its multi-programme coverage and integrates the calls for tenders.

What is on the portal?
Using the new portal, you can:

• Search and apply for funding opportunities in calls for proposals
• Search a call for tender and submit a tender 
• Manage your grants
• Register as an expert, manage contracts and payments online.

Start using it now!

Registration for SusChem Brokerage 2018 is now open!

The SusChem Brokerage Event 2018 which will take place on Tuesday 23 October 2018 at Hotel Le Plaza, Bld Adolphe Max 118-126 in central Brussels, Belgium. Registration is now open and participation in the event is free of charge!

SusChem’s vision is for a competitive and innovative Europe where Sustainable Chemistry, Biotechnology and enabling Digital technologies respond to Societal challenges by providing Sustainable solutions. 

The SusChem Brokerage event is a unique opportunity for large industry, academic institutions, research organizations (RTOs), SMEs and startups to form consortia and submit project proposals targeting the 2019 and 2020 calls of Horizon 2020. Project ideas can cover topics such as Nanotechnology, Advanced Materials, Biotechnology and Advanced Manufacturing and Processing (NMBP).

Details of the 2018-2020 Work Programme for Horizon 2020 can be found here.

What can you expect?

The event aims to open up a dialogue on how bright Sustainable Chemistry ideas can enhance Europe’s competitiveness, and drive the development of beneficial partnerships between early-stage innovators, Industry and Academia.

During the brokerage event, participants can:

• Be informed directly by European Commission representatives presenting open Horizon 2020 calls on SusChem-related topics (e.g., Materials, Process Technology, Eco Innovation),
• Interact with the SusChem National Platforms (NTPs), representing a number of project ideas,
• Connect with BBI JU and SPIRE and receive information on their project portfolio and open calls,
• Pitch project ideas live to the SusChem Stakeholder community,
• Reach out to other stakeholders via ‘speed-dating’ and networking sessions to form consortia.

The draft agenda for the event is available to download here and you can register for the event here.

The event kicks off on 23 October at 08h30 with presentations starting from 09h30. In the morning the Commission will present on call topics for Materials, Processes. And Eco Innovation calls followed by a project pitching session. After a coffee break the Commission will present its calls on ICT topics and Energy followed by a second project pitching session.

After lunch a presentation on ‘Disruptive Innovation in Europe’ will be made followed by a third project pitching session, an introduction to the speed-dating session and the session itself. The event will wrap up with a networking cocktail

Pitch those ideas!

To submit project ideas for the pitching sessions on the Horizon 2020-2019 calls, SusChem invites you to go to our GRANT-IT portal and select "Propose a Project" from the top  menu.

More details on how to submit your project proposal can be found here.

Register now for the SusChem Brokerage Event

More details are now available for the recently announced SusChem 2016 Brokerage event which will take place on Tuesday, 13 September 2016, in Seville, Spain. And registration is now open! The SusChem Brokerage event will take place at the FIBES - Seville Conference Centre during the Sixth European Chemistry Congress organised by EuCheMS and the Asociación Nacional de Químicos de España, ANQUE. The Congress itself runs from 11 to 15 September. The SusChem Brokerage event is a unique opportunity for industry, academia, SMEs and other sustainable chemistry research and innovation actors to get ready to develop consortia and submit funding proposals targeting the more than 70 SusChem-relevant Horizon 2020-2017 call topics with deadlines falling in the period Q4 2016 and Q1 2017.  The identified call topics include potential projects in research areas such as Raw Materials, Energy Sources, Process Technologies, Material Technologies and Horizontal Issues. A dedicated registration website has been established for the SusChem Brokerage event and registration is open now. Participation in the event is free to all stakeholders.  During the SusChem Brokerage event participants will be able to:

Present project ideas to large chemical companies and  the SusChem stakeholder community Meet consortias looking for partners Interact with other stakeholders during the speed dating session

The draft agenda for the event is available here. Get involved! Project ideas for the Horizon 2020-2017 can be submitted on the GRANT-IT portal. All submitted project ideas will be made available to the SusChem community and will allow interested partners to contact you for meeting requests when the SusChem Brokerage event 'speed dating' tool is open. For additional information on the event and for questions related to accommodation or how to access the venue, please visit the SusChem 2016 Brokerage event registration portal at suschembrokerage.com. The SusChem 2016 Brokerage event is jointly organized with SusChem Spain.

Grant-it: your portal to EU funding schemes

Launched on 17 December, the Grant-it portal was an early Christmas present from SusChem to the European sustainable chemistry community. Grant-it is your ‘one-stop’ shop for information and project building tools for Horizon 2020 and a range of other financing initiatives for collaborative research and innovation projects in Europe.

“During FP7, SusChem initiated and inspired sustainable chemistry projects with a total funding in excess of € 1 billion,” says Jacques Komornicki, SusChem coordinator and Innovation Manager at Cefic. “We have used this experience and expertise to shape the new Grant-it portal to enable SusChem stakeholders to successfully engage with the new opportunities presented by Horizon 2020.”

“The Grant-it website is your ‘one-stop’ access to funding opportunities from the European Commission and from selected national and regional governments in the field of sustainable chemistry,” agrees Pádraig Naughton, Innovation Manager at Cefic, who was heavily involved with the development of the site. “Using Grant-it you can search for funding opportunities, search for and identify project opportunities, propose project ideas, and search for potential project partners. The system also allows searches of past funded EU projects including FP5 to FP7 and other initiatives.”

Grant-it is a password protected free service offered by Cefic to its members and SusChem stakeholders to further boost industry participation in collaborative research and innovation activities.

“SusChem members can log-in with their SusChem username and password,” says Jacques. “While Cefic members can log-in with their click-in username and password.”

Cloud concept
Grant-it is based on the cloud-concept of sharing innovation knowledge, projects and funding between stakeholders in Europe and has been specially developed by Cefic for the SusChem community working with PNO Consultants and its software partner Innovation Engineering.

Grant-it includes a number of dedicated features, such as specially selected Horizon 2020 funding topics that are particularly relevant for the SusChem community.

Experts from CEFIC and PNO screen all relevant project calls that come in and provide support to consortia to further promote participation in EU programmes through partner search and project feedback on request.

“In addition, there are some unique search features that enable users to search on key words across European programmes,” says Ron Weerdmeester of PNO. “This not only covers Horizon 2020, but also covers programmes such as LIFE+, COSME etc, as well as national programmes in a number of LIFE+ countries.”

“Searches will return comprehensive summaries of the relevant grant programmes,” explains Ron. “Alternatively the system allows the user to directly do a free text search in the EU funding programme documents (i.e. the work programmes), quickly read the texts in these work programmes, and download the document of interest.”

“We will continue to improve the system,” says Ron. “And we invite the SusChem community to actively use the system for searching information and partners. The more it is used the better it will get!”

Since its launch the site has received some 17 new potential project ideas and Grant-it is growing in popularity as the web resource for EU funding information amongst SusChem stakeholders.

Prepare for Brokerage!
The SusChem Brokerage and Project Submission Workshop will take place on 31 January, but the deadline for registration is fast approaching: 20 January. Already more than one hundred participants have registered.

This important event takes place at the Sheraton Brussels Hotel, Place Rogier 3, Brussels and the draft agenda for the event is available here.

“The Brokerage event is the best occasion for SusChem stakeholders to present their Horizon 2020 project proposals,” says Pádraig. “And the ideal way to prepare for the event is to input your project proposal through the Grant-it website.”

Submitting a project idea is easy. Just log in with your SusChem username and password and click on ‘Propose a Project’ from the homepage. From there, you will be able to complete a submission form.

“Participants in the workshop will also have the opportunity to work with SusChem’s Innovation Managers and EU funding experts who can advise and guide them on how to further develop project consortia and proposals,” explains Jacques.

In addition the event will include a number of other unique features that will facilitate the development of projects and consortia perfectly suited to the Horizon 2020 calls:

• A poster exposition that will enable stakeholders to showcase their project proposals to potential partners. A few places are still available if you want to promote your project or competences to the SusChem community
• A ‘speed dating’ session to enable matching of potential project partners. 
• A Workshop on Writing a Proposal led by experts in the field of European-financed research and innovation projects.

More information
A link and further information on how to enrol in the ‘speed dating session will be provided to registered workshop participants. If you would like more information on any aspect of the 31 January Brokerage event, including poster display, please contact the SusChem secretariat.

SusChem looks forward to 2014

Dr Klaus Sommer (pictured below), Chairman of the SusChem Board, talked to SusChem News reflecting on another year of achievement for SusChem during 2013 and looking forward to the challenges for 2104.

SusChem News: "What have been your main highlights of the year for SusChem?"

Klaus Sommer: “Just before the holiday season, on December 11, the Commission published the Horizon 2020 calls, these were close to the drafts on which SusChem has worked since this summer and which were the subject of our pre-brokerage event on October 23. This pre-brokerage event was very successful with a great attendance and a number of interesting proposals generated.”

“Our analysis of the Horizon 2020 work programmes has shown that many of the SusChem proposals are already being considered in the ‘Industrial Technologies’ or ‘Societal Challenges’ areas. This is the result of all the hard work accomplished on many fronts following the revised SusChem strategy and based on an active participation in European Innovation Partnerships (Water, Raw Materials, Smart-Cities and Communities), strong support to Public Private Partnerships initiatives (particularly the SPIRE cPPP and the Bio-Based Industries JTI), participation in Task Forces and the High level Group on Key Enabling Technologies and the revision of our Materials Technologies agenda.”

SusChem News: “What has been the effect of this huge effort on SusChem’s profile?”

Klaus Sommer: “All this hard work has allowed us to boost SusChem’s visibility and influence, have a true dialogue with the EU and with all our stakeholders and finally play our role as a recognised ‘ETP 2020’ Technology Platform.”

“I would like to thank all the SusChem stakeholders for the support they have provided to make this happen either by direct involvement or by providing the required expert resources from their organisations. I personally would like to thank our colleagues at Cefic who support SusChem, in particular Jacques Komornicki, for their great commitment and support. Without them, it all would not work out.”


SusChem News: “Where do you see the main focus for SusChem in 2014?”

Klaus Sommer: “Looking forward, it is very important that we confirm our engagement by participating actively in the first round of calls of Horizon 2020. For this SusChem is organizing a ‘true’ brokerage event on January 31 where project ideas can be confirmed and consortia started - first deadlines for project submission are as soon as mid-March 2014. And the new Grant-it on-line facility is also available for free to all SusChem registered members. We urge you to mobilize your respective organisations to actively participate.”

SusChem News: “How else can the SusChem community contribute to the platform’s activities in 2014?”

Klaus Sommer: “Another important effort, which is part of our core strategy, is to have the SusChem National Technology Platforms play a more active role in mobilising our stakeholders at the national level; some clear progress has been made in 2013 with the publication of our new rules, the creation of a twelfth National Platform in Switzerland and an active brokerage activity by some NTPs. In the next steps we will further involve the National Platforms in our discussions and actions. I encourage SusChem members to support the SusChem platforms in their respective countries.”

“A further short-term action for 2014 is to publish a new Strategic Research Agenda based on our revised strategy; strong support from the board and stakeholders will be needed to make it a high quality document and a cornerstone of our communication activities for the future.”

“Finally, as you will know, Horizon 2020 contains many more innovation activities than previous programmes and our chances of obtaining successful project awards will depend on the quality and preparation of the evaluators of project proposals. The Commission has recently issued an appeal for such experts – and this is an opportunity for experts in your organisations can become expert evaluators.”

More information
More information on the requirements for expert evaluators can be found here. And the registration site for experts is available here.

SusChem News wishes all members of the SusChem community an excellent holiday break and looks forward working with you during another successful year for SusChem in 2014.

See you at the SusChem brokerage event on 31 January!

SusChem Horizon 2020 Brokerage Workshop 2014

SusChem is already off the starting blocks to help make the most of Horizon 2020 for its stakeholders and the sustainable chemistry community in Europe. With the first calls for Horizon 2020 published last week and the Cefic-SusChem Grant-It website launched earlier this week, today (19 December) the draft agenda for the SusChem Brokerage and Project Submission Workshop has been published.

The SusChem Brokerage and Project Submission Workshop will take place on 31 January and follows up on the SusChem Pre-Brokerage workshop in October.

The event will again take place at the Sheraton Brussels Hotel, Place Rogier 3 in Brussels. Registration for the event is now open and can be accessed here. The workshop itself is free to attend and if you register now you can book rooms at the Sheraton Brussels Hotel at discounted rates. The offer of discounted rooms is valid until 30 December 2013. To book a room at a special rate, please click here.

The event will kick off with an overview of Horizon 2020 calls by Soren Bowadt of the European Commission. This will be followed by presentations from project consortia looking for partners with specific skills or experience. After coffee there is the opportunity for new project ideas to be presented.

Just before lunch a session on tips for boosting the success of projects submitted to Horizon 2020 is foreseen and in the afternoon there will be "speed dating sessions" and consortia meetings. An informal project poster session and networking is also planned for the afternoon.

At this event, you will be able to finalise your projects for upcoming and future calls with the support of SusChem’s Innovation Managers and EU funding experts. They will help you add the finishing touches to your proposals, complete your consortia with appropriate partners, and advise you on how to have the best chance to get your projects accepted.

Proposals via Grant-it
The workshop will be a great occasion to present your project proposals. The best way to prepare for the event is to use the new interactive Cefic-SusChem portal GRANT-IT. The portal should also be your gateway to information on all SusChem-relevant calls under Horizon 2020 and other EU and national funding schemes such as LIFE+ and COSME.

To submit your proposal you will need to log-in to the site using your SusChem username and password. Then click on "Propose a project” from the homepage. From there, you will be able to complete the submission form.

We look forward to seeing you there! For more information, please contact the SusChem secretariat.

SusChem presents Grant-It: your fast-track access to EU funding

Today (17 December 2013) SusChem is proud to announce the launch of Grant-it: your fast-track access to EU funding information. The site offers SusChem stakeholders access to a wealth of information on Horizon 2020 call information with an emphasis on SusChem priorities.

It is vital that European chemistry-based industry and research institutions respond positively to the opportunity and challenge presented by Horizon 2020. At the launch of Horizon 2020 on 11 December Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn stated: "Today we're firing the starting gun: only the quickest out of blocks and the fittest will succeed."

And Cefic and SusChem are here to help you to accelerate out of the blocks and succeed in Horizon 2020. During FP7 SusChem initiated and inspired sustainable chemistry projects with total funding in excess of € 1 billion.

With the first Horizon 2020 calls now published, the latest SusChem tool for facilitating your participation in the programme has been launched. The Grant-it website is your one-stop access to funding opportunities from the European Commission and from selected national and regional governments in the field of sustainable chemistry.

What services does Grant-it offer?

The Grant-it service is your one-stop shop for SusChem relevant Horizon 2020 research and innovation project information.

On Grant-it you can:

• Search for funding opportunities
• Search for and identify project opportunities
• Propose project ideas, and
• Search for potential project partners

Who can access Grant-it?

Grant-it is a password protected free service offered to CEFIC and SusChem members to boost industry participation in research and innovation activities. 

SusChem members can log-in with their SusChem username and password. Cefic members can log-in with their click-in username and password.

Visit Grant-it today

If you need a reminder of your username and password or if you experience any problems using the new Grant-it website or if you have any suggestions for improvements to the site, please contact the SusChem secretariat.

And do not forget that following its very successful pre-brokerage event in October, SusChem has scheduled a further Brokerage event for 31 January in Brussels. Don’t miss out – register today!