VALSTYBINE VARTOTOJU TEISIU APSAUGOS TARNYBA VI

Market Surveillance Action for Tyres 2015

MSTyr15 (Market Surveillance Action TYRes 2015) will help deliver the economic and environmental benefits of Regulation (EC) No. 1222/2009 on the labelling of tyres with respect to fuel efficiency. It will achieve this by: • Coordinating the monitoring, verification and enforcement activities of 13 Market Surveillance Authorities (MSAs) across the Single Market  and Turkey; • Improving the effectiveness of the MSAs through skills-building training, the provision of guidelines and the promotion of Best Practices. MSTyr15 will enhance the functioning of the European Single Market by ensuring that the tyres regulatory measures are effectively enforced across MS. It will deliver energy savings >105 GWh/year through removing incorrectly labelled tyres from the market. Experience and resources for enforcement have been very limited in many MS since the tyres regulations were introduced in 2009. MSTyr15 includes mechanisms for assisting the skills development of less experienced staff and their authorities, supporting the adoption of common best practices and providing budgets to cover the high costs of testing tyres to the required standards. It will coordinate market surveillance actions involving checks on in excess of 15,000 tyres. It will deliver a higher level of surveillance activities that go beyond testing. The consortium will work closely with other non-participating MSAs across the EEA though its liaison with the Tyres ADCO. Additionally, the MSTyr15 consortium will work together with an Advisory Board comprising of supply-side business, consumer organisations and environmental NGOs.  The expected results are:  - Adoption of best practices; - Market surveillance being undertaken in a more cost effective and consistent manner; - Increased awareness of and respect for market surveillance by tyres suppliers and users;  - Effective enforcement of EC Regulation on the labelling of tyres resulting in substantial energy savings expected to be better than 105 GWh/year.


PROMOTING ACTIVE AGEING: FUNCTIONAL NANOSTRUCTURES FOR ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE AT ULTRA-EARLY STAGES.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia and loss of autonomy in the elderly, implying a progressive cognitive decline and limitation of social activities. Progressive aging of EU population will increase the magnitude of this problem in the next decades. Currently, there is not an effective method for the early diagnosis of AD. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new effective early diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to help in delaying the appearance of the most adverse symptoms of this disease. To defeat this challenge, PANA project bases its approach on the importance of tau oligomers in the early pathophysiological processes of AD. The effective strategy will be based on two fundamental pillars;  on one hand, efforts will be focused on multimodal PET/MRI imaging which is gaining relevance as the best solution for diagnostic purposes due to the complementary advantages of both technologies, combining the high structural characterization of tissue provided by MRI with the enhanced sensitivity of PET imaging. On the other hand, the challenging development of a theragnostic nanostructures will be focused on tau oligomers detection,   which would have to deliver theragnostic agents into the brain to provide in situ diagnostic and therapeutic effects. Therefore, PANA project focuses on developing theranostic nanostructures that specifically recognize very-early molecular markers of AD, and can be detected by means of non-invasive imaging methodologies (MRI and/or PET, which are already common techniques accessible in most hospitals) and eventually provide a therapeutic action if needed. To achieve this goal, we propose a unique consortium which combines neuroscientists, nanotechnologists, molecular imaging experts, clinicians and Small/Medium/Large Enterprises in an effort to use smart nanoparticles engineered with multifunctional biomaterial to provide new very-early diagnostic tools for AD, a vital medical/social problem in EU.

Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies (LEIT)


Enabling Chemical Propulsion System for the Growing Small Satellite Market

NanoAvionics is developing novel small satellite (below 150 kg) market oriented product – green chemical propulsion system which is innovative, as it makes use of an environmentally friendly propellant, and is a low cost integral plug and play design offering great economic advantages to the growing small satellite market, which presently suffers from the availability of a low cost high performance propulsion solution.   High performance propulsion systems are one of the technologies required by small satellites in order to allow them to fulfill their full market potential enabling small satellites to be as capable as those well above 150 kg. This feasibility study will help to determine and set the targets for the final shape of the product according to the requirements of the target customer groups as TRL-6 (current maturity level of the product) is a crucial point at which extensive product design decisions must be undertaken and finalized. This feasibility study will perform the following tasks:  1. Identify the market potential of the proposed propulsion system; 2. Determine the level of customer demand and market interest in the product;  3. Develop a technology IPR strategy, and develop a solid business model for development of the product within the company.  The business model will include a sales strategy and a plan for productionizzation of the design and subsequent manufacturing.  This project will result detailed feasibility report, including a business plan which will summarize small satellite propulsion system market research, IPR strategy, business model including sales strategy, and consideration of strategic partnerships for production and manufacturing operations. NanoAvionics plans to carry out this feasibility study and prepare an elaborated business plan during the 6 months period.


Spin Transport in Interacting Spin-Orbit Coupled Systems

The physics of charge and spin transport is the basis of current consumer devices. Recent discoveries in solid-state physics have highlighted the importance of the coupling of the electron’s motion to its spin for transport phenomena. However, our understanding of transport with this so-called spin-orbit coupling has been largely limited to non-interacting systems, even though the first experimental systems with well-controlled spin-orbit coupling and interactions are already available.  Here, we aim to provide a theoretical description of these novel interacting spin-orbit coupled systems. More concretely, we will derive equations describing the motion of spin and mass, and solve these equations. We will investigate spin transport in the uncharted regime where the inter-particle interactions compete with spin-orbit coupling. In particular, we will quantify the robustness of the familiar transport phenomena (e.g., the spin Hall effect) in the presence of interactions.  The group of Prof. Juzeliunas is at the forefront of spin-orbit coupling physics. The group of Prof. Stringari is one of the leading groups in the world when it comes to collective excitations of the many-body system. Combining their expertise with my quantum transport proficiency will allow to obtain, for the first time, a transport theory of interacting quantum gases with spin-orbit coupling, and provide its predictions as a collective excitation spectrum, which is directly accessible by ultracold-atom experiments. A successful accomplishment of this aim will open up the possibility to push spin-dependent transport phenomena to new regimes.


IGNALINOS ATOMINES ELEKTRINES REGIONO PLETROS AGENTURA

Partnership for New Energy Leadership 2050

The aim of PANEL 2050 project is to create durable and replicable sustainable energy networks at local (municipality/community) level, where relevant local stakeholders collaborate for the creation of a local energy visions, strategies and action plans for the transition towards low carbon communities in 2050. The PANEL 2050 project will focus on the creation of these sustainable local energy networks in CEE countries, where this type of networks at local level is almost completely absent and therefore additional support is needed for the creation of the first successful local energy networks that have the potential to set an example and a new standard for local energy road mapping in other local communities in the CEE region. Furthermore, the PANEL 2050 project will not choose a specific focus on a certain type of stakeholder, but will try to work at the local level and assemble all relevant and available stakeholders related to sustainable energy. The number and type of stakeholders will vary very much in different local settings and the ambition of this project is to create sustainable energy networks at local level that will connect and involve all relevant stakeholders that are present at local level into the local policy development and implementation. At present, the involvement of local shareholders in local policy development in any field in CEE countries is very limited and the aim of this project is to create durable sustainable energy networks in a number of local communities in different CEE countries that will also be a replicable example that can be spread to other communities in CEE countries. Introducing stakeholder concept to energy planning will help generate sustainable energy policies and create more sustainable future for Europe.


LIETUVOS AGRARINIU IR MISKU MOKSLU CENTRAS

The European Fruit Network (EUFRUIT) includes 12 countries focussed on 4 thematic areas of critical for the competiveness and innovation potential of the European Fruit sector: i) new cultivar development and evaluation; ii) minimise residues on fruit and the environment; iii) optimising storage and fruit quality; iv) sustainable production systems. EUFRUIT will coordinate and support innovation through developing a framework for relevant stakeholders and it will establish a systematic approach for knowledge gathering and dissemination. The systematic approach includes: i) scanning & synthesis via 4 expert groups who scan state-of-art knowledge, practises and technologies and synthesise the material to identify key areas of learning and best practise approaches at a European level. ii) showing & sharing will deliver outreach/dialogue at a national level through establishment of local ‘operational groups’. An online Knowledge Platform will hold all outreach material, outreach activities include; 100 industry publications, 90 technical bulletins, 25 flyers/newsletters, 60 seminars, 160 field based meetings, 25 conference plus 12 events aimed at the general public. iii) sustaining the network will occur through long-term integration of the assembled EUFRUIT network in future actions. The overall outcome of EUFRUIT will be establishment of a framework and a systematic approach that together builds a bridge across the ‘valley of death’. This bridge will secure a direct path for new knowledge in the future and reduce the likelihood of repetition of research at a national level. The European fruit sector will have ready access to up-to-date information to implement and value will be created both for the industry with respect to competitiveness, sustainability and efficiency and society through ensuring the security and safety of fruit; underpinning human health and wellbeing.

Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research


LIETUVOS RESPUBLIKOS ZEMES UKIO MINISTERIJA

European Research Area on Sustainable Animal Production Systems

This proposal seeks funding under the Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2014-2015 to establish an ERA-NET for joint European research coordination on Sustainable Animal Production (SusAn). The scope for this ERA-NET has been developed under the SCAR Collaborative Working Group on Sustainable Animal Production (CWG-SAP).  Funding organisations from 22 European countries initially seek to support one co-funded call followed by other joint activities including the development of a Common Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda on Sustainable Animal Production.  The animal production sector forms an important part of Europe’s (agricultural) economy and plays an essential role in the provision of Europe`s citizens with high quality animal products. Like other agriculture sectors, animal production faces many challenges from projected increases in global demand for food, climate change, competition for natural resources and economic volatility. The European animal production landscape is very complex, consisting of different species farmed within a wide range of different extensive, semi-intensive and intensive production systems using multiple resources to produce a diverse range of animal products and other services. Partners in this ERA-NET believe, however, that these challenges and complexities can be effectively addressed through joint European research within a framework which supports the three pillars of sustainability - economy, environment and society - and targets opportunities for innovative research spanning all areas of animal production such as health and welfare, feeding and nutrition, reproduction, breeding and genetics, housing, nutrient management and economics. Partners in ERA-NET SusAn endorse scientific excellence and recommend an integrated, interdisciplinary, cross-cutting and multi-actor approach to research and knowledge exchange which reflects the complexity of the research requirements for sustainable European animal production.


Demonstration of soft stimulation treatments of geothermal reservoirs

DESTRESS is aimed at creating EGS (Enhanced geothermal systems) reservoirs with sufficient permeability, fracture orientation and spacing for economic use of underground heat. The concepts are based on experience in previous projects, on scientific progress and developments in other fields, mainly the oil & gas sector. Recently developed stimulation methods will be adapted to geothermal needs, applied to new geothermal sites and prepared for the market uptake. Understanding of risks in each area (whether technological, in business processes, for particular business cases, or otherwise), risk ownership, and possible risk mitigation will be the scope of specific work packages.  The DESTRESS concept takes into account the common and specific issues of different sites, representative for large parts of Europe, and will provide a generally applicable workflow for productivity enhancement measures. The main focus will be on stimulation treatments with minimized environmental hazard (“soft stimulation”), to enhance the reservoir in several geological settings covering granites, sandstones, and other rock types. The business cases will be shown with cost and benefit estimations based on the proven changes of the system performance, and the environmental footprint of treatments and operation of the site will be controlled. In particular, the public debate related to “fracking” will be addressed by applying specific concepts for the mitigation of damaging seismic effects while constructing a productive reservoir and operating a long-term sustainable system. Industrial participation is particularly pronounced in DESTRESS, including large energy suppliers as well as SMEs in the process of developing their sites. The composition of the consortium involving major knowledge institutes as well as key industry will guarantee the increase in technology performance of EGS as well as an accelerated time to market.


Within the project SURE (Novel Productivity Enhancement Concept for a Sustainable Utilization of a Geothermal Resource) the radial water jet drilling (RJD) technology will be investigated and tested as a method to increase inflow into insufficiently producing geothermal wells. Radial water jet drilling uses the power of a focused jet of fluids, applied to a rock through a coil inserted in an existing well. This technology is likely to provide much better control of the enhanced flow paths around a geothermal well and does not involve the amount of fluid as conventional hydraulic fracturing, reducing the risk of induced seismicity considerably. RJD shall be applied to access and connect high permeable zones within geothermal reservoirs to the main well with a higher degree of control compared to conventional stimulation technologies. A characterization of the parameters controlling the jet-ability of different rock formations, however, has not been performed for the equipment applied so far. SURE will investigate the technology for deep geothermal reservoir rocks at different geological settings such as deep sedimentary basins or magmatic regions at the micro-, meso- and macro-scale. Laboratory tests will include the determination of parameters such as elastic constants, permeability and cohesion of the rocks as well as jetting experiments into large samples in. Samples will be investigated in 3D with micro CT scanners and with standard microscopy approaches. In addition, advanced modelling will help understand the actual mechanism leading to the rock destruction at the tip of the water jet. Last but not least, experimental and modelling results will be validated by controlled experiments in a quarry (mesoscale) which allows precise monitoring of the process, and in two different geothermal wells. The consortium includes the only company in Europe offering the radial drilling service.


Cultural Opposition: Understanding the Cultural Heritage of Dissent in the Former Socialist Countries

The project proposes both to create an electronic registry of representative online and offline, private and public collections of cultural opposition in all former socialist countries in Europe and to study the origins, uses and changing roles of these collections in their social, political and cultural contexts. We seek to further an understanding of how these (private and public, alternative and mainstream) collections work, what functions they serve in their respective societies, and how they represent their holdings to the public. The project will examine the legal and political circumstances that determined the collections before 1989 and the conditions that shape them in the post-socialist period. The analyses of the collections will identify various types of cultural opposition.  Objectives include: 1. an online registry and a transnational database of collections in the original languages and English that will be accessible to European archival platforms and networks; 2. descriptions of and guides to the collections to enhance the quality of research and provide guidance on the role of the EU in this respect; 3. country reports on the collections and proposals concerning methods of preserving cultural heritage, and a handbook on various types of cultural opposition represented by the collections; 4. online curriculum development and digital content for educational purposes; 5. a documentary film festival, traveling and online exhibitions and local media events based on selected collections; 6. a set of recommendations concerning how to exhibit the cultural opposition movements of former socialist countries for the House of European History.  This project will highlight the positive aspects of the former cultural opposition movements, such as democratic participation, autonomy and cultural plurality, and will remind us of an important pan-European truth: that civic courage can produce genuine cultural values even under authoritarian rule.

Europe in a changing world - inclusive, innovative and reflective Societies


Role of technologies in an energy efficient economy – model-based analysis of policy measures and transformation pathways to a sustainable energy system

REEEM aims to gain a clear and comprehensive understanding of the system-wide implications of energy strategies in support of transitions to a competitive low-carbon EU society. Comprehensive technology impact assessments will target the full integration from demand to supply and from the individual to the entire system. It will further address its trade-offs across society, environment and economy along the whole transition pathway. The strong integration of stakeholder involvement will be a key aspect of the proposal. The assessments performed within REEEM will focus on integrated pathways, which will be clustered and categorised around two focal points: the four integrated challenges of the Integrated Roadmap of the Strategic Energy Technology (SET)-Plan and the five dimensions of the Energy Union. Case studies will further serve to investigate details and highlight issues that cannot be resolved at a European level. A range of outputs will target the specific needs of various stakeholder groups and serve to broaden the knowledge base. These include, among others, Policy Briefs, Integrated Impact Reports, Case Study reports and Focus Reports on economy, society and environment. A focus on technology research, development and innovation will be included through the development of Technology Roadmaps with assessments of the Innovation Readiness Level of technologies. Further, a set of enabling tools will help to disseminate and actively engage stakeholders, including a Stakeholder Interaction Portal, a Pathways Diagnostic Tool and an Energy System Learning Simulation. Access to all work developed and transparency in the process will be guiding principles within this project exhibited by, for example, providing open access to a Pathways Database.


Sonic Drilling coupled with Automated Mineralogy and chemistry  On-Line-On-Mine-Real-Time

SOLSA is the first automated expert system for on-site cores analysis. With access to data on-line, great savings are expected on the number of drill holes, the accuracy of geo-models and economic evaluation of ore reserves. SOLSA responds perfectly to the need for "New sustainable exploration technologies and geo-models" of SC5-11d-2015. The objective is to “develop new or improved highly efficient and cost-effective, sustainable exploration technologies”. It includes (1) integrated drilling optimized to operate in the difficult lateritic environment with the challenge of a mixture of hard and soft rocks, extensible also to other ore types, (2) fully automated scanner and phase identification analyser and software, usable as well in other sectors.  SOLSA combines for the first time the non-destructive sensors X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, vibrational spectroscopies, 3D and hyperspectral imaging along the drill core. For that purpose, SOLSA will develop innovative, user-friendly and intelligent software, at the TRL 4-6 levels. To minimize the risk and capitalize on the newest technologies, the subsystems for the hardware, will be selected on the market of miniaturized sensors. To align SOLSA to the industrial needs and to guarantee market uptake at the end of the project, the SOLSA multidisciplinary consortium includes an end-user (ERAMET) with mining and commercial activities in laterite ores, the case study selected for the project. Industrially driven, the consortium is composed of LE, SMEs and academic experts (ERAMET (PI), F; SSD, NL; BRGM, F; INEL, F; Univ. Vilnius, Lt; CNRS-CRISMAT, F; Univ. Trento, I; Univ. Verona, I; TU Delft, NL) covering exploration, database management, instrumentation and software development, drilling rigs, analytical prototypes and marketing strategies. SOLSA is expected to revolutionize exploration and push Europe in front, by reducing the exploration time at ≈ 50%, the analysis time from 3 - 6 months to real-time and thus the environmental footprint.

Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials


ODYSSEE-MURE, a decision support tool for energy efficiency policy evaluation.

The 2012 Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) establishes a set of binding measures to help the EU reach its 20% energy efficiency target by 2020. Countries have also set their own indicative national energy efficiency targets. To reach these targets, EU countries have to implement energy efficiency policies and monitor their impact. The Commission has also the task of monitoring the impacts of the measures to check that the EU is on track with its 2020 target.   The objective of the ODYSSEE MURE 2015 proposal is to contribute to this monitoring:  •	By updating two comprehensive databases covering each EU MS; ODYSSEE on energy consumption and energy efficiency indicators, and MURE on energy efficiency measures; •	By providing new and innovative trainings and didactical documents to national, regional and local administrations in EU MS to raise their capacity and expertise in the field of energy efficiency monitoring and impact evaluation. •	By extending the evaluation of the impact of energy efficiency from energy and CO2 savings, as already done in ODYSSEE, to the multiple other benefits.  The updating of two databases ODYSSEE and MURE will play a key role to provide updated and centralized information required by each MS and the Commission to assess, monitor and evaluate energy efficiency progress and the state of implementation of measures and their impact.  The project will provide innovative training tools and documents in a very user friendly way to public administrations to help them in implementing the monitoring of the progress achieved with indicators, in designing new policy measures and assessing the impacts of these measures, not only in terms of energy savings, but also in terms of the other benefits linked to energy efficiency improvements.  Finally, the project will try to provide an assessment of the multiple benefits of energy efficiency policies for all MS combing existing evaluation and new calculations.


Fostering Innovation and Creativity in Europe through Public Administration Modernization towards Supplying and Exploiting Linked Open Statistical Data

The OpenGovIntelligence project aims at stimulating sustainable economic growth in Europe through fostering innovation in society and enterprises. Towards this end, OpenGovIntelligence suggests a holistic approach for the modernization of Public Administration (PA) by exploiting Linked Open Statistical Data (LOSD) technologies. This includes new business processes, policies, and tools that will enable the active participation of the society and enterprises in data sharing and in the co-production of innovative data-driven public services. The objectives of the OpenGovIntelligence project include: • The identification of challenges in opening up and exploiting LOSD for the co-production of innovative data-driven public services. • The creation of a framework comprising business processes, policies, and data infrastructure architectures. This framework specifies a user-centric LOSD Innovation Ecosystem that orchestrates the collaboration of society and PA for opening up and exploiting LOSD to address relevant challenges and facilitate the co-production of innovative data-driven public services. • The delivery of the OpenGovIntelligece ICT toolkit comprising easy-to-use and user-centric tools to facilitate realizing the LOSD Innovation Ecosystem.  • The OpenGovIntelligence pilots in six countries to validate and prove the usability and effectiveness of the LOSD Innovation Ecosystem. The pilots will develop services at both national and local level to tackle societal and PA challenges in various problem areas such as internal decision-making in PAs, enhancing e-services provided by Points of Single Contact in Europe, and improving policy-making in the areas of environment protection, economic growth, and unemployment.


VIESOJI ISTAIGA FIZIKOS INSTITUTO MOKSLO IR TECHNOLOGIJU PARKAS

Regional, National and European Support for Photonics Innovation Clusters enhancing SMEs Innovative Potential

RespiceSME will reinforce the innovative capacity of Europe’s photonics SMEs, clusters and national platforms by stimulating increased collaborations in and beyond photonics. RespiceSME proposes new approaches for stronger innovative effectiveness using a 3-dimensional approach, led by an experienced, representative, interdisciplinary team. In the 1st dimension, the project will develop a measure of the innovative potential for Photonics SMEs; the index will be integrated with a methodology for auditing innovative SMEs. Coaching on these tools will lead to their diverse application; enhancing the innovative capacity of 30+ photonics SMEs is targeted in the project. In the 2nd dimension, RespiceSME will develop new approaches for analysing value chains in close collaboration with clusters and national platforms. Empowering photonics SMEs and cluster managers to undertake early stage analyses of value chains, in the 3 separate domains of commercial intensity, technology readiness and innovative potential, will lead to more effective penetration by European photonics SMEs in global non-photonics sectors. Approaches will be demonstrated by new business collaborations in photonics, and using photonics, in manufacturing, energy and transport sectors. Harnessing the full innovative capacity of the European photonics infrastructure is the objective of the 3rd RespiceSME dimension. Best practices for enabling photonics SMEs access European and regional infrastructures, harness educational and training programmes aligned with their specific needs, determine next generation regional innovative smart specialisation strategies, and be better resourced by efficient public and private financial supports, can be transformative. RespiceSME will disseminate results using face to face and multimedia tools. 6 events, spanning cluster/national platform, inter-sectoral meetings, and B2B brokerage events and multimedia tools will lead to an intensification of research collaborations.


VIESOJI ISTAIGA SVIETIMO IR KULTUROS MOBILIUJU TECHNOLOGIJU INSTITUTAS

Managing Affective-learning THrough Intelligent atoms and Smart InteractionS

The MaTHiSiS learning vision is to provide a product-system for vocational training and mainstream education for both individuals with an intellectual disablity and non-diagnosed ones. This product-system consists of an integrated platform, along with a set of re-usable learning components (educational material, digital educational artefacts etc.), which will respond to the needs of a future educational framework, as drawn by the call, and provide capabilities for:  i) adaptive learning, ii) automatic feedback, iii) automatic assessment of learner’s progress and behavioural state, iv) affective learning and v) game-based learning. To achieve these educational innovative goals, the MaTHiSiS project will introduce a novel methodology in the education process. The so-called learning graphs which, acting as a novel educational structural tool and associated with specific learning goals, will foster novel ways to guide how the different learning material and artefacts can be deployed throughout a prespecified learning scenario. The building materials of these graphs are drawn from a set of Smart Learning Atoms (SLAs) which will constitute the vertices of the graphs. SLAs are learning elements that carry stand-alone pieces of learning materials, targeting certain problems. More than one SLAs, working together on the same graph, will be able to help individuals reach their learning/training goals. The learning goals as well as the SLAs involved will be decided and pre-agreed based on common practices, goals derived from formal and non-formal education (general education, vocational training, lifelong training or specific skills learning) as well as learner’s own goals (so as to equally serve in-formal education contexts).


vilniaus universiteto medicinos fakultetas

INnovative Life sCIence Phd Programme in South ITaly

INCIPIT is a novel international PhD programme, which aims at providing innovative multidisciplinary and intersectoral training in Life and Biomaterial Sciences. Currently, there are several nodes of excellence in the South of Italy, capable of providing competitive scientific training. However, comprehensive training programmes addressing multidisciplinarity, transferable skills and internationalization are lacking. INCIPIT addresses this gap by pooling the different and complementary expertise of 8 research institutes (from biology and genetics to statistics, engineering, computer science, chemistry and medicine) of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), as well as the competencies of 3 Doctoral Schools and several academic, non-profit and industrial Partner Organizations. INCIPIT will apply transparent and equitable selection procedures, based on merit and on equal opportunities to recruit 35 Early Stage Researchers. INCIPIT will guarantee 1) a supportive, stimulating and multidisciplinary research environment to carry out the research projects; 2) theoretical and practical courses on developmental/stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, structural biology and biocatalysis, human disease mechanisms, cancer development and treatment, metabolism and inflammation, drug design, discovery and delivery, and computational biology; 3) a comprehensive training on transferable skills on several topics, from communication, project management, clinical trials, the principle of the 3 Rs for the use of animals, to intellectual properties and entrepreneurship; and 3) exposure to the industry sector. The ultimate goal is to train the next generation of researchers to become a very attractive source of employment in both the Italian and European labour markets. INCIPIT will be a pilot project, paving the way to the consolidation in the South of Italy of an international PhD programme, with close collaboration among the CNR, the Universities and the industrial sector.


Support to the implementation of the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) of the Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage and Global Change (JPI CH)

Joint Programming is a process combining a strategic framework, a bottom-up approach and high-level commitment from the Member States (MS). It builds on the experience gained from existing schemes, coordinating national programmes by contributing to the reduction in fragmentation of research efforts of MS, stepping up the mobilisation of skills, knowledge and resources, advancing research and innovation in the specific field. The JPI in "Cultural Heritage and Global Change: a new Challenge for Europe" - JPICH - was approved by the Council was launched in January 2010. The JPICH has defined the Vision Document, the Terms of Reference, the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA), an Action Programme and a monitoring and evaluation procedure. The experience gained over the past 4 years in JPICH development and implementation has been achieved through the active participation of 17 EU MS and AC and 8 Countries participating with the role of Observers. The present CSA JHEP2 Proposal intends to support the implementation of the Strategic Research Agenda following the recommendations emerging from the High level Group for joint programming (GPC) in the Biennial Report 2014 and in the Report on "Alignment in the context of Joint Programming", which specifically address the recommendation to develop alignment of national research and innovation programmes and activities and application of qualitative and quantitative Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).The main objectives addressed within the present proposal are: - Develop effective and efficient governance of the alignment of the national research and innovation programmes. - Reinforce common activities on cultural heritage. - Apply quantitative and qualitative KPIs for monitoring an assessing the JPICH alignment process. The support to the JPICH with the present JHEP2 Proposal will be essential for achieving the above-mentioned objectives and proceed with the integration of the research area on Cultural Heritage.


A Reconfigurable robot workCell for fast set-up of automated assembly processes in SMEs

ReconCell develops a new type of robot workcell, its required process infrastructures and the economic framework for automated robot assembly, especially designed for the needs of SMEs. SMEs would benefit from robotic automation, but often cannot use it due to set-up & maintenance complexity. This requires expert knowledge and time for configuration and programming, which is too costly for them. Robotic automation is, thus, normally economically infeasible for SMEs, especially for small batch sizes. ReconCell develops an easy to (re-)configure and (re-)program workcell, making robot solutions commercially viable even for small batch sizes (~1000 units) by reducing set-up & maintenance effort substantially.  Specifically, the ReconCell System is based on a layered concept where we start together with the customer with business modelling the planned product assembly based on the ReconCell System to assess its economic viability and provide decisive Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). On approval, the next layer of the ReconCell System implements assembly with automated testing in simulation. Here we use reconfigurable hardware elements to design the required workcell layout and assembly processes. After verification, product assembly takes place in the real workcell under machine vision-based monitoring and novel force-based control of execution to assure product quality using the KPIs. We demonstrate the capabilities of the layered ReconCell System on three real use cases provided by the SMEs of our consortium and two more use cases, established through an open call. In addition, the consortium has started to establish a network of potential ReconCell users to disseminate information about ReconCell technologies to all actors in the value chain, and to raise awareness about the possibilities of automated robot assembly in SMEs. The final aim is to establish a company that commercializes the workcell and associated technologies developed in the ReconCell project.


VIESOJI ISTAIGA LIETUVOS INOVACIJU CENTRAS

Peer learning in business innovation tools for SMEs

The Peer-BIT project will increase the quality of innovation support services provided for SMEs in area of innovation management. In line with the trend of individualization of SME support services, the project will explore tools that are easy to use, yet flexible and ready to be customized to the specific needs of an SME. The Peer-BIT builds on smE-MPOWER methodology that represents state-of-the art approach and consists of number of tools that are used in the process of coaching SMEs towards business innovation. Although smE-MPOWER was validated and enhanced internationally in EU FP7 funded project, only few innovation support programmes using the methodology are in place throughout the EU.   The main objective of the project is therefore to increase efficiency of smE-MPOWER implementation through peer learning. Two of the partners (JIC and LIC) have to various degrees implemented smE-MPOWER into their programmes, whereas the third partner (TMG) has no previous smE-MPOWER experience, but has a long track record of providing innovation support services. Peer-BIT will develop activities aimed at accelerating learning process among the project partners, their coaches and experts in smE-MPOWER. In particular, two peer review workshops will be organized with real-case coaching elements that will provide partner agencies with an authentic experience of service delivery on real case examples of SMEs. As a result Peer-BIT will increase quality of existing services based on smE-MPOWER and will facilitate uptake of the methodology by TMG and other agencies. The know-how in implementing smE-MPOWER tools that will be built up in course of the project will be then codified in the Design Option Paper, a step by step guidance on designing smE-MPOWER-based innovation support programme. Peer-BIT will contribute to the effort of improving, or setting up of new SME innovation management support services in EU.


SUSPLACE will train 15 ESRs in sustainable place-shaping by 1) its cutting edge scientific knowledge and methodologies 2) enhancing transferable skills 3) supporting a career development plan and 4) expose ESRs to science, public administration and governance, private businesses, NGOs and citizens initiatives. This will create career prospects for ESRs as an academic, policy-maker or policy-advisor, private business consultant or intermediate between various stakeholders in collaborative sustainable place-shaping projects. SUSPLACE consists of 6 academic beneficiaries and 7 non-academic partners. Training will include training-through research, joint training and events, optional courses, and 'on the job' training during secondments. SUSPLACE supports ESRs to complete a PhD-thesis. SUSPLACE will raise capacities to implement place-specific, integrative solutions via 15 individual research projects, divided along five interconnected research themes: inclusive, resilient and connected places, greening economies, and pathways to sustainability. SUSPLACE will share its outcomes with non-participants via a range of training, communication and dissemination activities. The integrative place-based approach of SUSPLACE will take up the societal challenges formulated in the EU Territorial Agenda 2020, and contribute to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and social innovation, to enhance social cohesion. SUSPLACE will provide insights and means how to fully utilize the potential of places and communities via interdisciplinary research in places and Living Labs. Sustainable place-shaping will strengthen the participation, collaboration, collective agency and leadership of people engaged in these places. Sustainable place-shaping entails a well-balanced: 1) socio-cultural re-appreciation of respective places; 2) ecological re-grounding of practices in place-specific assets and resources; 3) political-economic re-positioning towards markets, technology and policies.


Eco-Solar Factory - 40%plus eco-efficiency gains in the photovoltaic value chain with minimised resource and energy consumption by closed loop systems

EcoSolar envisions an integrated value chain to manufacture and implement solar panels in the most ecologic way by maximising resource efficiency, taking into account reuse of materials during production and repurposing solar panel components at end of life stage. EcoSolar will demonstrate that during the lifetime of a solar electricity producing field, individual panels can be monitored, allowing to identify defaulting panels at an early stage, replacing or repairing them and thus to increase the overall energy yield.  In WP1, SINTEF&Norsun will work on recovery & reuse during silicon ingot crystallisation, addressing recovery of argon purge gas and work with Steuler on reusable crucibles. In WP2 Garbo will recover Si-kerf-loss during wafering, and with SINTEF work on potential reuse applications, like as Si-feedstock in crystallisation processes, or as resource in crucible manufacturing or lithium ion battery production. In WP3, ISC&SoliTek will look into potential for re-using process water; reducing material resources, like chemicals and silver, by smarter solar cell design, more efficient processes and recovery and reuse of chemicals; AIMEN will develop solar cell monitoring and repair for inline processing in an industrial plant, to enable remanufacturing. In WP4 Apollon will use a module design that results in reduced bill of materials, enables remanufacturing and reuse of components from modules that showed failures after assembly or have been identified as malfunctioning in operating PV installations, based on integrated diagnosis techniques for the detection of failure modes. bifa will collect data from all previous WPs to assess environmental impact of the intended innovations (WP5). Bifa will identify waste streams that are costly and hard to recycle and find opportunities to repurpose those waste products. BCC will disseminate the results and will support the partners with the exploitation and replication potential of the results (WP6).


STATYBOS PRODUKCIJOS SERTIFIKAVIMO CENTRAS

The 'Concerted Action EPBD IV', supporting transposition and implementation of Directive 2010/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings, is an activity which aims to foster exchange of information and experience among Member States and participating countries with regards to the implementation of the specific Community legislation and policy on the energy performance of buildings. It involves the national authorities implementing the Directive, or those bodies appointed and entrusted by them to do so. It is carried out under the coordination of Danish Energy Agency, DEA. The CA consortium is composed of organisations designated by all 28 Member States plus Norway. The CA is financed by the EU's Horizon 2020 Programme.   The CA is the continuation of the first Concerted Action, CA EPBD, which ran from January 2005 to June 2007, then continued as the CA EPBD II from December 2007 until November 2010 and then CA EPBD III from March 2011 to October 2015. The CA IV will organise 4 CA Plenary meetings and some supporting activities over a period 30 months or approximately one meeting every 7-8 months, similar to the CA III.   The work will be organised in Central Teams, which includes: a) 3 Core Teams on 'New Buildings', 'Existing Buildings' and 'Certification & Quality of Inspection';  b) 3 Cross-Cutting teams on 'Technical Elements', 'Policy & Implementation' and 'Compliance, Capacity & Impact'; c) 2 central functions on 'Collaboration with other actors' and 'Internal & External Communication'; and some additional functions and supporting measures.   For each Central Team, issues are addressed on which the Directive does not require harmonised national implementation but where coordinated implementation would increase the impact of the Directive and reduce the implementing costs.


Advanced Plug-in Hybrid Electric Drive System for Commercial Fleet Trucks

Economic, environmental and energy security factors provide a rational basis for switching to more efficient and less polluting vehicle technologies. Another even more important reason for the development of such technologies is the need to improve the air quality in the cities. Fleet users keep looking for cost-cutting solutions in order to remain competitive; they need to adapt to their customers' requirements for more sustainable transport solutions and to prepare for the future market demand and regulations. We have a multiple value proposal for commercial fleet managers – a cutting-edge iPHEV system that can be installed in new LCVs to save fuel costs per work cycle, reduce emissions and noise, improve capacity, and cut operation and maintenance costs. The system can be installed in different OEMs models with a retarder. iPHEV can be used in 3.5t LCV: utility work trucks, delivery vans, and minibuses. Furthermore, we are planning to develop and implement the system in MCV. The iPHEV proved to be an efficient part of the vehicle and the tests confirmed the compliance to the specification of the overall system and proper operation under real on-road conditions. The performance indicators show the viability of the prototypes in Iveco Daily models. Development of high-impact Plug-in Hybrid technologies that may lead to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and fuel efficiency is an urgent need in many global areas, including Europe. iPHEV demonstrations have already received a lot of attention from potential customers and government representatives in Norway, Sweden, Denmark. For the purpose of the iPHEV project justification, we are going to prepare a technical/practical and economic feasibility study, including business plan. Subject to positive recommendations of the feasibility study, we are going to submit a proposal under H2020 SME Instrument Phase 2.


VIESOJI ISTAIGA EUROPOS HUMANITARINIS UNIVERSITETAS

HoNESt (History of Nuclear Energy and Society) involves an interdisciplinary team with many experienced researchers and 24 high profile research institutions. HoNESt’s goal is to conduct a three-year interdisciplinary analysis of the experience of nuclear developments and its relationship to contemporary society with the aim of improving the understanding of the dynamics over the last 60 years. HoNESt’s results will assist the current debate on future energy sources and the transition to affordable, secure, and clean energy production. Civil society's interaction with nuclear developments changes over time, and it is locally, nationally and transnationally specific. HoNESt will embrace the complexity of political, technological and economic challenges; safety; risk perception and communication, public engagement, media framing, social movements, etc. Research on these interactions has thus far been mostly fragmented. We will develop a pioneering integrated interdisciplinary approach, which is conceptually informed by Large Technological Systems (LTS) and Integrated Socio-technical System (IST), based on a close and innovative collaboration of historians and social scientists in this field. HoNESt will first collect extensive historical data from over 20 countries. These data will be jointly analyzed by historians and social scientists, through the lens of an innovative integrated approach, in order to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying decision making and associated citizen engagement with nuclear power. Through an innovative application of backcasting techniques, HoNESt will bring novel content to the debate on nuclear sustainable engagement futures. Looking backwards to the present, HoNESt will strategize and plan how these suitable engagement futures could be achieved. HoNESt will engage key stakeholders from industry, policy makers and civil society in a structured dialogue to insert the results into the public debate on nuclear energy.


Donor-Acceptor light emitting exciplexes as materials for easily to tailor ultra-efficient OLED lighting

Artificial lighting is a global and growing industry. New forms of efficient solid state lighting (SSL) in particular are rapidly gaining a market share. New OLED technologies (Organic Light Emitting Diode) can revolutionise this industry as they have done in displays because of their potential flexible structure, infinite tailoring of their properties, efficiency and high colour quality. Industrial forecasts predict that the OLED lighting market will grow from $200 million in 2015 to $1.7 billion by 2020. In order to fully benefit from this huge market potential, Europe`s academia and industry are eager to develop new technologies and recruit highly qualified staff.   The high demand for OLED SSL lighting however will place drastic demands on the use of very expensive and rare iridium. EXCILIGHT aims to explore exciplex emitters and thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) in OLEDs that will enable us to replace Ir complexes whilst retaining ultrahigh efficiency and giving many new possibilities to simplify OLED design, helping to reduce costs and increase yields of production.  Our network will train 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) in the development and application of exciplex and TADF emitters, who can apply their expertise directly in future positions. EXCILIGHT is characterised by an innovative multidisciplinary approach, based on i) a combination of synthesis, physical characterisation and development of devices with the lighting industry, ii) an appropriate balance between research and transferable skills training, and iii) a strong contribution from the private sector, including leading industry and SMEs, through mentoring, courses and secondments.  EXCILIGHT will positively impact the employability of its ESRs in the OLED industry through scientific and industrial training at the local and network level. With this approach we aim to train a new generation of scientists at the same time as integrating this exciting new technology into industry.


VILNIAUS TECHNOLOGIJU IR DIZAINO KOLEGIJA

The Enhancing Responsible Research and Innovation through Curricula in Higher Education (EnRRICH) project will build the capacity of staff in higher education to facilitate their students’ development of knowledge, skills and attitudes and competencies in responsible research and innovation, and respond to the research needs of society, particularly underserved civil society organisations (CSOs).  It will do this by identifying, developing, testing, and disseminating resources, based on existing good practice and trials of new initiatives, to embed the five RRI keys in academic curricula across Europe, with specific reference to science and engineering. It will develop case studies which showcase examples for students, teachers, professional trainers and academic staff of HEIs. Through ongoing dialogue with academics, policymakers, and CSOs, EnRRICH will kick start debates at institutional, national and international levels to create awareness of, and enhance the policy context for, RRI in curricula and thereby produce more responsible and responsive graduates and researchers.  These objectives will be achieved building on the Public Engagement with Research and Research Engagement with Society (PERARES) and RRI Tools projects. It will involve new partners as well as a core of established partners drawn from HEIs and CSOs, including from RRI tools. It will establish an advisory board drawn from relevant organisations to ensure the widest possible engagement and dissemination.  Work packages will deal with project management, state of the art of good practices in introducing RRI into curriculum development, exchange and trialling of good practices at national, international and transdisciplinary levels, policy development, evaluation, dissemination and a conference. Deliverables will include case studies and policy papers, and materials and resources for academic staff to involve students in experiential learning about RRI, including projects in partnership with CSOs

Make scientific and technological careers attractive for young people


INcreasing Safety in NPPs by Covering gaps in Environmental Fatigue Assessment

INCEFA-PLUS delivers new experimental data and new guidelines for assessment of environmental fatigue damage to ensure safe operation of European nuclear power plants.  Austenitic stainless steels will be tested for the effects of mean strain, hold time and material roughness on fatigue endurance. Testing will be in nuclear Light Water Reactor environments. The three experimental parameters were selected in the framework of an in-kind project during which the current state of the art for this technical area was developed. The data obtained will be collected and standardised in an online fatigue database with the objective of organising a CEN workshop on this aspect.  The gaps in available fatigue data lead to uncertainty in current assessments. The gaps, will be targeted so that fatigue assessment procedures can address behaviour under conditions closer to normal plant operation than is currently possible. Increased safety can thus be assured.  INCEFA-PLUS also develops and disseminates a modified procedure for estimating environmental fatigue degradation. This will take better account of the effects of mean strain, hold time and surface finish. This will enable better management of nuclear components, making possible the long term operation (LTO) of NPPs under safer conditions.   INCEFA-PLUS is relevant to the NFRP1-2014 programme because:  • Present guidance originates from NRC.  In Europe various national programmes aim to develop counter proposals allowing greater operational efficiency with at least comparable safety assurance.  INCEFA-PLUS brings these programmes together through which a strong EU response to the NRC methodology will be obtained with improved safety assurance through increased lifetime assessment reliability. • INCEFA-PLUS improves comparability of data from EU programmes because partner laboratories will do some tests on a common material under common conditions.  Reduced assessment uncertainty will enable easier maintenance of safety


Baltic Region Initiative for Long Lasting InnovAtive Nuclear Technologies

The region of the European Union around the Baltic sea especially the countries Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are not adequately integrated to the European electricity grid. At the end of 2009 Ignalina NPP (Lithuania), which generated ~70-75 % of electricity in Lithuania and supplied electricity to Latvia and Estonia was permanently shutdown leaving the region without nuclear power generation. Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia are discussing building new NPP of ABWR type in Visaginas (Lithuania). Poland employed its own program for nuclear energy and is a potential partner for Visaginas NPP as well.   New electricity grid interconnections Lithuania - Sweden and Lithuania - Poland are under construction and should start operation at the end of 2015 provide possibilities for synchronization of the electricity grid of the Baltic region with the continental Europe. Building new NPP affects the whole region not only in technological but in macroeconomic field as well.   Different level of nuclear safety and radiation safety knowledge as well as R&D infrastructure exists in countries of the Baltic region. BRILLIANT is developed to find an optimal regional solution by creation of cooperation platform for modern electrical power solutions. This will be achieved by identifying the barriers for nuclear power development in Baltic region and preparing a ground for overcoming them. The project will support the exchange of knowledge, competences and infrastructure among the countries of Baltic region - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden. The company VAE SPB (Lithuania) is established for implementation of preparatory works of new Visaginas NPP. VAE SPB is an industrial partner in the project providing valuable insights and information.  Cooperation among project partners would give better synergies with on-going and future Euratom projects in particular those offering access to research infrastructures in conjunction with education and training.


VALSTYBINIS MOKSLINIU TYRIMU INSTITUTAS FIZINIU IR TECHNOLOGIJOS MOKSLU CENTRAS


VIESOJI ISTAIGA SOCIALINIU INOVACIJU INSTITUTAS

SPARKS is an awareness-raising and engagement project to promote Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) across 29 European countries (EU members plus Switzerland). It gathers 33 organisations as partners and linked Third Parties.  SPARKS will organise an interactive touring exhibition and 232 innovative participatory activities on RRI  (science cafés, pop-up Science Shops, incubation activities and scenario workshops) across Europe. The European dimension of the project is paired with a strong emphasis on local implementation through 29 experienced science communicators (one per country) that will adapt the exhibition and activities to their contexts and establish local multi-stakeholder collaborative partnerships. SPARKS will deploy complementary dissemination tools and actions to maximise its outreach and impact. It will collect and analyse important data on RRI throughout Europe and build on its learning to:  - Further build the capacity of science actors and policy makers to promote RRI;  - Better understand society’s vision, interests and readiness concerning RRI in health;  - Provide policy recommendations to feed R&I policies with societal inputs and facilitate RRI; - Develop the capacity of a group of European stakeholders to participate in RRI. SPARKS will use the appealing topic “technology shifts in health and medicine” to reach out to a wider public, make the RRI concept meaningful to it and establish a direct link with one of the priority societal challenges of Horizon 2020. Creative disruptions —in the form of artistic inputs and questioning— will help it to engage more stakeholders. SPARKS builds upon  a number of relevant EU projects —from RRI Tools to PERARES, from PLACES to VOICES or Twist— and powerful European/ international networks —the European Network of Science Centres and Museums (Ecsite), the international network of Science Shops (Living Knowledge) and the European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN).

Integrate society in science and innovation


Combined Ultrasonic and Enzyme treatment of Lignocellulosic Feedstock as Substrate for Sugar Based Biotechnological Applications

US4GREENCHEM aims to design a biorefinery concept for the complete valorization of lignocellulosic biomass that is energy- and cost- efficient and based solely on green technologies. The concept combines mechanical pretreatment of the substrate with the aid of ultrasound to overcome its recalcitrance and disrupt inhibitors with mild CO2 hemicellulose degradation and with the enzymatic recovery of sugars and technologies for the valorization of the byproducts released in the process.  Aim of the Project -  Develop ultrasound (US) pretreatment that effectively disrupts the lignocellulosic matrix. - Further degrade lignocellulose with CO2 technologies to maximize release of sugars as main target products of the process. -  Develop purification and conversion strategies for lignin-based products, in order to maximize the material valorization of the biomass components. -  Valorize the solid residues of the product for energy. -  Optimize the yield and reduce by 50% the cost of enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose fibers. -  Test for fermentability of the sugar fraction -  Propose effective integration and upscaling to strategies pilot scale through the experienced industrial partners involved in the project. -  Perform a thorough analysis of the outcomes of the proposed combination of technologies to evaluate the potential economic and environmental impacts and compare the proposed concept to existing technologies on the market and being currently developed.


In-Vessel Melt Retention Severe Accident Management Strategy for Existing and Future NPPs

The stabilization of molten corium is recognised as essential if a safe and stable state is to be reached following a severe accident. Among the possible options, In-Vessel Melt Retention (IVMR) appears as an attractive solution that would minimize the risks of containment failure (less Hydrogen produced, no corium-concrete interaction), if it can be proved to be feasible. The strategy is already adopted for the VVER 440 type 213 based on thorough research work for the Finnish Loviisa NPP and Hungarian Paks NPP. It is also included in the design of some new Gen.III reactors like AP-1000, APR 1400 and Chinese CPR-1000. It has also been studied in the past for other reactor concepts like KERENA (BWR) or VVER-640. Current approaches for reactors with relatively small power, such as VVER 440 or AP600, use conservative assumptions. However, for higher power reactors (around 1000 MWe), it is necessary to evaluate the IVMR strategy with best-estimate methods in order to address the uncertainties  associated with the involved phenomena. Additional R&D is needed to ensure and demonstrate adequate safety margins, including identification of efficient technical solutions for the external cooling of the vessel and performing best-estimate evaluation of relevant scenarios. Among other provisions, the possibility of cooling the corium inside the vessel by direct injection of water into the degraded core, may be considered because it is likely to remove a significant part of the residual power. The goal of the project is an analysis of the applicability and technical feasibility of the IVMR strategy to high power reactors, both for existing ones (e.g. VVER 1000 type 320 units) as well as for future reactors of different types (PWR or BWR). The main outcomes of the project will be elevant assumptions and scenarios to estimate the maximum heat load on the vessel wall, improved numerical tools for the analysis of IVMR issues and a harmonized methodology on the IVMR.


ECOPOTENTIAL: IMPROVING FUTURE ECOSYSTEM BENEFITS THROUGH EARTH OBSERVATIONS

Terrestrial and marine ecosystems provide essential services to human societies. Anthropogenic pressures, however, cause serious threat to ecosystems, leading to habitat degradation, increased risk of collapse and loss of ecosystem services. Knowledge-based conservation, management and restoration policies are needed to improve ecosystem benefits in face of increasing pressures. ECOPOTENTIAL makes significant progress beyond the state-of-the-art and creates a unified framework for ecosystem studies and management of protected areas (PA). ECOPOTENTIAL focuses on internationally recognized PAs in Europe and beyond in a wide range of biogeographic regions, and it includes UNESCO, Natura2000 and LTER sites and Large Marine Ecosystems. Best use of Earth Observation (EO) and monitoring data is enabled by new EO open-access ecosystem data services (ECOPERNICUS). Modelling approaches including information from EO data are devised, ecosystem services in current and future conditions are assessed and the requirements of future protected areas are defined. Conceptual approaches based on Essential Variables, Macrosystem Ecology and cross-scale interactions allow for a deeper understanding of the Earth's Critical Zone. Open and interoperable access to data and knowledge is assured by a GEO Ecosystem Virtual Laboratory Platform, fully integrated in GEOSS. Support to transparent and knowledge-based conservation and management policies, able to include information from EO data, is developed. Knowledge gained in the PAs is upscaled to pan-European conditions and used for planning and management of future PAs. A permanent stakeholder consultancy group (GEO Ecosystem Community of Practice) will be created. Capacity building is pursued at all levels. SMEs are involved to create expertise leading to new job opportunities, ensuring long-term continuation of services. In summary, ECOPOTENTIAL uses the most advanced technologies to improve future ecosystem benefits for humankind.


Centre of Excellence in Science and Technology for Healthy Ageing

In order to both solve the medical needs of ageing-populations in Europe, and develop an innovative ecosystem beneficial for the economy of Lithuania, it is proposed to foster the whole innovation chain in the area of healthy ageing – from fundamental research through to the introduction of new products and services to the market - by creating in Lithuania a world-class Centre of Excellence (CoE) in science and technology for healthy ageing, named HEALTH-TECH.  The long-term vision for HEALTH-TECH is to: - Become the leading provider of innovative medical solutions for the improvement of the health of ageing-populations in Europe, - Consolidate research and development, education and training, and networking and promotion resources activities in the area of healthy ageing,  - Coordinate, integrate and support research excellence and innovation development in Lithuania, the Baltic Sea region, and Europe, - Support researchers, physicians, and entrepreneurs in the field of healthy ageing science, technology and biotechnology to produce innovations beneficial for the society and economy of Lithuania and beyond.  To achieve this long-term vision, the CoE will leverage the knowledge, experience and resources of three Lithuanian universities – KTU, LSMU, and VU - with the support of two advanced partners of the Baltic Sea region – LUND in Sweden, and VTT in Finland - in four strategic research and innovation topics:   1. Mechanisms of age-related diseases 2. Biomarkers for age-related diseases 3. Diagnostics and monitoring technologies for age-related diseases 4. Regenerative technologies for age-related diseases  This project has the full support of the Lithuanian Government because it fits perfectly with the Lithuanian SMART Specialisation Strategy approved by the Government, and will allow an enhanced usage of the recently upgraded and newly built infrastructure for medical research in Lithuania.

Teaming of excellent research institutions and low performing RDI regions


VILNIAUS GEDIMINO TECHNIKOS UNIVERSITETAS

The proposal lies within priority research & innovation topics in EU-Mediterranean cooperation, as highlighted in several past projects and policies reccomendations, i.e. within the MOCO - Monitoring Committee for Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation in RTD. International Cluster Cooperation offers opportunities to scal up research and technological potential, enhance competitiveness, support the regional socio-economic development and reinforce the market placement of new, innovative products. These cooperation approaches often fail due to constraints on resources, capabilities, instruments and funding. On the other hand, over 2.000 Clusters only in the European Union covering all sectors and able to realize an intersectorial framework, as well as related clusters and networks in the southern Mediterranean countries, form a great potential for transnational clustering.   The EU’s framework for state aid defines innovative clusters as follows: “Innovation clusters mean grouping of indipendent and innovative start-ups, small, medium and large undertakings as well as research organizations operating in a particular sector and region, and designed to stimulate innovative activity by promoting intensive interactions, sharing of facilities and exchange of knowledge and expertise, and by contributing effectively to technology transfer, networking and information dissemination among the undertakings in the cluster”. Taking into account the current socio-economic situations ClusDevMed priority topics are, in particular: - Agribusiness, agro food, food security – Energy - Water    Core research areas is: Green Tech in the field of Clustering Activities


Sustainable network for Independent Technical EXpertise of radioactive waste disposal - Interactions and Implementation

The coordination action SITEX-II aims at implementing in practice the activities along with the interaction modes issued by the FP7 program SITEX project (2012-2013), in view of developing an Expertise function network. This network is expected to ensure a sustainable capability of developing and coordinating joint and harmonized activities related to the independent technical expertise in the field of safety of deep geological disposal of radioactive waste. SITEX-II tasks include: – the definition of the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) based on the common R&D orientations defined by SITEX (2012-2013), the definition of the ToR for the implementation of specific topics from the SRA, and the interaction with IGD-TP and other external entities mandated to implement research on radioactive waste disposal regarding the potential setting up of an European Joint Programming on radioactive waste disposal; – the production of a guidance on the technical review of the safety case at its different phases of development, fostering a common understanding on the interpretation and proper implementation of safety requirements for developing, operating and closing a geological repository and on the verification of compliance with these requirements; – the development of a training module for generalist experts involved in the safety case review process, including the implementation a pilot training session; – the commitment of CS in the definition of the SRA mentioned above, considering the expectations and technical questions to be considered when developing R&D for the purpose of Expertise function. Close interactions between experts conducting the review work will allow enhancing the safety culture of CS and more globally, proposing governance patterns with CS in the framework of geological disposal;  – the preparation of the “administrative” framework for a sustainable network, by addressing the legal, organisational and management aspects.


Recycling waste tyres into devulcanized rubber

Gumos Technologijos (GT) has developed a full-cycle waste rubber production line, based on a patented mechano-chemical technology for rubber devulcanization that ensures a high quality of the product and improved performance as raw material. By combining an existing technology for rubber recycling (i.e. devulcanization with ozone treatment) with a unique mechano-chemical method (using a patented chemical agent), waste tyres will be converted into higher value products than those obtained with current solutions on an industrial scale.  The market for waste tyres is tightly connected with the production of new tyre as eventually all the produced tyres need to be reclaimed. The tyre industry uses by 70% of all the natural rubber and estimates for the next 30 years predict that the consumption will double. This could mean that the availability of raw materials such as natural and synthetic rubbers may become problematic. Despite being Europe the second largest virgin rubber consumer in the world (with a tyre production estimated at 20% of the world production), EU has not established its own alternative for rubber materials recycling and production, being dependent on supply from South East Asia. RETYRE will increase the value of End-of-Life Tyres (ELTs) by improving the recycling efficiency and producing as output a high-value devulcanized rubber. This recycling option will increase EU´s global competitiveness and innovativeness by improving European recyclers’ market position and decreasing EU´s dependency on raw rubber materials. The unique selling points of RETYRE will be: (1) Lower equipment costs and operational costs, with 50% less energy consumption and equipment maintenance; (2) Full-cycle production units, recycling ELTs from tyres to crumbs, metals, fibre and devulcanized rubber on a single production line; and (3) High quality secondary raw rubber material, replacing 3.5 times more virgin materials in several applications.


European Joint Programme for the Integration of Radiation Protection Research

The proposed European Concerted Programme on Radiation Protection Research (acronym: CONCERT) aims to contribute to the sustainable integration of European and national research programmes in radiation protection. It will do so by focusing resources and efforts in five key directions: • Bring together the elements of the European scientific communities in the fields of radiation effects and risks, radioecology, nuclear emergency preparedness, dosimetry and medical radiation protection, whose joint expertise is essential to continue the development of radiation protection knowledge in a multidisciplinary mode to reduce further the uncertainties in radiation protection. • Strengthen integrative activities between the various areas of expertise, in particular biology, biophysics, epidemiology, dosimetry and modelling as well as fostering the use of existing infrastructures and education and training activities in radiation protection. • Stimulate and foster scientific excellence, by setting up and co-funding advanced research programmes with the potential to enhance current knowledge and the scientific evidence base for radiation protection. • Exchange and communicate with all stakeholders, including the professional organizations concerned with radiation protection, the regulatory organizations across Europe, the public and media where necessary, and the international community of scientific, technical, legal and other professional experts in radiation protection. • Foster the harmonious application of available scientific basis for radiation protection practices across Europe, by bringing together scientific and technical expertise in radiation protection issues, standard setting know how, particularly with respect to the implementation of the Euratom Basic Safety Standards (BSS) at the legal, administrative and operational level. To reach its goals, CONCERT will have seven Work Packages each of which will focus on each of the key directions.


Supercomputing Expertise for SmAll and Medium Enterprise Network

Network of HPC Competence Centres for SMEs


ISM VADYBOS IR EKONOMIKOS UNIVERSITETAS UAB

Social Protection Innovative Investment in Long Term Care

SPRINT project intends to give meaning to the concept of social investment as applied to long-term care provision.  Its objective is to articulate in more detail the aspirations of the Social Investment Programme, to provide a means for assessing the social costs and benefits of various ways of providing long-term care for the frail elderly, and to present examples of approaches that do indeed, facilitate provision in a way that social benefits are achieved. More specifically, SPRINT will: identify the current landscape of organisation and resourcing of LTC in Europe in order to understand the place in the discussion that social investment currently has and how the principles of social investment used to improve provision in a fashion that is welfare enhancing; investigate how the different resourcing and delivery forms of LTC create social and economic returns, outcomes and social impact and to determine their success factors; evaluate the fiscal and social costs and benefits of various national approaches to LTC delivery; establish a common vocabulary for social investing and for the financing mechanisms of long-term care; identify the most appropriate frameworks for the definition and analysis of social impact of LTC programmes; define the principles for incorporating social considerations in funding decisions of LTC policies and to analyse their relationship with the social innovations addressing the challenges of demographic ageing and of inequities in access to care; develop appropriate instruments, such as the Feasibility Framework Tool, the assessment scales, thresholds and the Impact Map, which will ensure successful implementation of investment in LTC by public authorities, social insurance funds and private investors; create a model of investment in the care sector, emphasizing in social innovations that will be correlated with the broad economic policies;  and propose reforms at policy levels.


Integrated Components for Complexity Control in affordable electrified cars

The 3Ccar project will provide highly integrated ECS Components for Complexity Control in thereby affordable electrified cars. The new semiconductors for Complexity management (Control, reduction) will offer the next level of energy efficiency in transportation systems. 3Ccar’s impact is maximizing pragmatic strategy: Use semiconductor technology innovations to manage functionality & complexity increase. This leads also to cheaper, efficient, robust, comfortable, reliable and usable automotive systems. This strengthens Europe as a whole (OEM, Tier1, Semiconductor) generating economic growth and new jobs in Europe. The impact of 3Ccar is driven vertically by innovations and horizontally enabling growth and deployment in the industry based on what we see as European Values. We recognized that European engineers develop for highest efficiency, convergence and manageable complexity. Our society appreciates long life products to avoid waste. 50 partners and 55 Mio€ budget give the mass for innovative products such as functional integrated powertrains, smart battery cells with unique selling features allowing Europe to advance to global leadership. An important feature of the project has been the recognition and exploitation of synergies with other EV projects, enabling fast innovation cycles between such aligned projects. With 55 Mio€ budget and 10 b€ impact the R&D expenditure ratio is 200 which is 10x higher than the semiconductor average and corresponds to very strong innovation potential which will be translated into automotive and semiconductor industry. The technologies developed in 3Ccar will be commercialized all over the world while giving advantages to Europe’s OEMs willing to manufacture in Europe. 3Ccar will be involved in standardization needed to ensure that large vertical supply chains can be established. The 3Ccar project shows that collaboration between industry, research institutes, governments and customers is pivotal for excellence in Europe.


CITIZEN AND MULTI-ACTOR CONSULTATION ON HORIZON2020

CIMULACT has as a main objective to add to the relevance and accountability of European research and innovation – Horizon 2020 as well as national - by engaging citizens and stakeholders in co-creation of research agendas based on real and validated societal visions, needs and demands. The project will expand the outlook and debate on STI issues, increase scientific literacy in a broad sense, which includes the understanding of the societal role of Science, Technology and innovation (STI), and create shared understanding between scientific stakeholders, policy-makers and citizens. This multi-actor approach will embrace EU28 plus Norway and Switzerland.  The CIMULTACT builds on the principle/conviction that the collective intelligence of society gives Europe a competitive advantage, which may be activated to strengthen the relevance of the European science and technology system. By establishing genuine dialogue between citizens, stakeholders, scientists, and policymakers visions and scenarios for the desirable futures will be developed and debated, and transformed into recommendations and suggestions for research and innovation policies and topics.   In short, CIMULACT will ● Create vision and scenarios that connect societal needs with future expected advances in Science and their impact on technology, society, environment etc. in connection to the grand challenges ● Provide concrete input to Horizon 2020 through recommendations and policy options for R&I and simulated calls for the Horizon2020 Work Programmes. ● Engage citizens and stakeholders in a highly participatory debate/consultation/process on scenarios for desirable sustainable futures and research ● Build capacities in citizen and multi-actor engagement in R&I through development, experimentation, training and assessment of methods for engagement ● Facilitate dialogue and shared understanding between policymakers, citizens, and stakeholders ● Reveal  the relative merits of the citizen focussed consultations


Implementation of a CirculAr economy Based on Recycled, reused and recovered Indium, Silicon and Silver materials for photovoltaic and other applications

The main vision of CABRISS project is to develop a circular economy mainly for the photovoltaic, but also for electronic and glass industry. It will consist in the implementation of: (i) recycling technologies to recover In, Ag and Si for the sustainable PV technology and other applications; (ii) a solar cell processing roadmap, which will use Si waste for the high throughput, cost-effective manufacturing of hybrid Si based solar cells and will demonstrate the possibility for the re-usability and recyclability at the end of life of key PV materials. The developed Si solar cells will have the specificity to have a low environmental impact by the implementation of low carbon footprint technologies and as a consequence, the technology will present a low energy payback (about 1 year). The originality of the project relates to the cross-sectorial approach associating together different sectors like the Powder Metallurgy (fabrication of Si powder based low cost substrate), the PV industry (innovative PV Cells) and the industry of recycling (hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy) with a common aim : make use of recycled waste materials (Si, In and Ag). CABRISS focuses mainly on a photovoltaic production value chain, thus demonstrating the cross-sectorial industrial symbiosis with closed-loop processes.


The European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI) project seeks to transform archival research on the Holocaust. The vision of EHRI is to integrate the data, services and expertise of existing Holocaust infrastructures on an unprecedented scale. It will allow researchers from across the globe transnational and virtual access to the integrated infrastructure, and provide them with innovative digital tools and methods to (collaboratively) explore and analyse Holocaust sources. EHRI will thereby become an indispensable tool for the  study of the Holocaust from a pan-European perspective.  EHRI is based on an advanced community that has already achieved a significant co-ordination of its efforts, not least thanks to the activities undertaken during EHRI's first phase. The aim of the second phase is to further expand this community. The EHRI consortium includes 22 partners, spread across Europe and beyond. This consortium, as well as a network of regional contact points, enables EHRI to reach those regions where much valuable Holocaust source material is located, but where access has hitherto been problematic, especially in South-Eastern and Eastern Europe. EHRI includes  measures to build capacity in such regions, thereby ensuring that institutions and people across Europe can contribute to, and make use of, the EHRI infrastructure. EHRI will continue to serve as a 'best practice' model for other humanities projects, and its innovative approach to data integration, management and retrieval will have impact in the wider cultural and IT industries. Although EHRI is geared towards scholarly communities, open online availability of reliable Holocaust material is important for the larger public, as the Holocaust is deeply rooted in the development of European societies. European support for the study of this most traumatic historical event is essential to achieve a comprehensive approach to the history of the Holocaust as a shared European phenomenon.


GN4-1 Research and Education Networking - GÉANT

The overall objective is to provide a stable environment for the implementation of GÉANT as the European Communications Commons for the European Research Area, which will provide the best possible digital infrastructure to ensure that Europe remains in the forefront of research. GÉANT’s extensive and long-standing contacts with large data disciplines such as biology, radioastronomy and high-energy physics help shape the evolution of the networking facilities required. This is complemented by partner contacts with research domains that are new users of high-performance networks and services, such as: digital preservation, real-time art and humanities. The vision is to position the GÉANT partnership optimally to achieve the strategic objectives of the FPA while ensuring the continuity and improvement of the services successfully offered under the GN3plus FP7 project. The extensive experience of the GÉANT partnership in providing high-quality and innovative services has been applied to the preparation phase of this proposal.  The following GN4-1 work package objectives deserve to be highlighted: •	Maintain and enhance the production service and achieve cost reductions without negative effects on network service levels. •	Coordinate with the other European e-infrastructure efforts both individually and in the framework of the increased coordination effort. •	Prepare a new round of Open Call projects to start immediately after the end of the GN4-1 project. •	Expand the footprint and the depth of services offered to roaming users with enhanced trust and identity services through Federation as a Service and with group and attribute management added to eduGAIN.  •	Develop online real-time services to improve the ease and function of videconferencing, open learning support and general multimedia use. •	Review the existing service catalogue using the Product Lifecycle Management process to assess the cost/benefits of each carefully to define the future service strategy.


Delivering next generation Transport Management System to European transport SMEs

State-of-the-art Transport Management Systems conceived in modular approaches do not provide an all-in-one solution to answer SME business-related needs more broadly. To own a holistic TMS requires a long and expensive integration and customization process which makes TMSs not affordable by SMEs who generally lack resources for it. Additionally, none of the current solutions are able to gather real time data to support real time optimization decisions. At Ruptela we are committed to developing a new, highly competitive and integrated platform providing all the necessary information to transport SMEs and representing an affordable solution for them: INTRANSYS. INTRANSYS will use our award-winning fleet tracking and management platform TrustTrack as a foundation to integrate continuously updated traffic data, tracking services, rich communication with driver and eco-driving tools into a single cloudbased application. This real-time integration will allow transport companies to optimize operations on the go 24/7. As we will offer the system as an “all-inclusive” solution, we will drastically reduce the customization and set-up process both in terms of time and costs. We will achieve this goals by providing a SaaS based pricing model adapted to SME size and usage. INTRANSYS’ ease of use, combined with our extremely competitive pricing strategy opens the door for the widespread commercial adoption by SME transport companies who dominates the European transport market. Note that we will allow massive savings on European transport SMEs (up to 19% of all transportation processes) while contributing to the EC’s goal of forcing the reduction of CO2 emissions of the transport industry.


Advanced European Infrastructures for Detectors at Accelerators

Particle physics is at the forefront of the ERA, attracting a global community of more than 10,000 scientists. With the upgrade of the LHC and the preparation of new experiments, the community will have to overcome unprecedented challenges in order to answer fundamental questions concerning the Higgs boson, neutrinos, and physics beyond the Standard Model. Major developments in detector technology are required to ensure the success of these endeavours.   The AIDA-2020 project brings together the leading European infrastructures in detector development and a number of academic institutes, thus assembling the necessary expertise for the ambitious programme of work. In total, 19 countries and CERN are involved in this programme, which follows closely the priorities of the European Strategy for Particle Physics.   AIDA-2020 aims to advance detector technologies beyond current limits by offering well-equipped test beam and irradiation facilities for testing detector systems under its Transnational Access programme. Common software tools, micro-electronics and data acquisition systems are also provided. This shared high-quality infrastructure will ensure optimal use and coherent development, thus increasing knowledge exchange between European groups and maximising scientific progress. The project also exploits the innovation potential of detector research by engaging with European industry for large-scale production of detector systems and by developing applications outside of particle physics, e.g. for medical imaging.   AIDA-2020 will lead to enhanced coordination within the European detector community, leveraging EU and national resources. The project will explore novel detector technologies and will provide the ERA with world-class infrastructure for detector development, benefiting thousands of researchers participating in future particle physics projects, and contributing to maintaining Europe's leadership of the field.


Energy losses in nitride light-emitting diodes

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are the future of lighting for general-purpose and industrial applications because of their potentially superior efficiencies. Group-III nitrides are the principal materials used to manufacture blue and green LEDs. However, they are still rather inefficient, despite a lot of research efforts. Increasing the efficiency and reducing the cost of LEDs is currently the question of paramount importance.  Nonradiative recombination at lattice defects is one of the main causes of reduced efficiencies. Direct experiments to determine the cause of nonradiative recombination are nearly impossible. This clearly calls for accurate theoretical modelling of nonradiative recombination in group-III nitride devices. A first-principles model will not only yield new knowledge about energy losses in nitride LEDs, but will also provide new insights into ways to improve device efficiencies. This is the main goal of the current Marie Skłodowska-Curie project.  The researcher, dr. Audrius Alkauskas, will be returning to Europe after 3.5 years in the USA. He will be employed in the Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC), under the supervision of prof. Gintaras Valušis. During the project the researcher will become an independent group leader, and grow as a specialist in semiconductor physics via a close collaboration with his colleagues in Lithuania and abroad.


DIVERSITY OF LOCAL PIG BREEDS AND PRODUCTION SYSTEMS FOR HIGH QUALITY TRADITIONAL PRODUCTS AND SUSTAINABLE PORK CHAINS

Research and development activities are proposed for the benefit of sustainable pork chains based on European local pig breeds and their production systems. Workprogramme is planned to respond to consumer demands for quality and healthiness of pork products with regional identity and societal demands for environment preservation and development of local agro-economy. Description and evaluation of local pig breeds, with an emphasis on untapped ones will be performed using novel genomic tools. Performance of local pig breeds will be evaluated in contrasted agro-geo-climatic conditions and production systems (indoor, outdoor, organic). Focus will be on pig feeding and management strategies and on the use of locally available feeding resources. Intrinsic quality of traditional and new regional high quality pork products and attitudes of consumers from various market areas will be assessed; in particular the motives for the choice and willingness to pay such products. Marketing strategies will be adressed in particular short chain distribution channels. All activities will be driven from the perspective of sustainability (environmental impact, animal welfare, product quality, consumer acceptability and market potential). The activities will engage innovative approaches to answer socio-economic demands of regional pork chains involving partners from different sectors. The ambition is to enhance existing and create new networks between academia and non-academia partners, within and between regions and to tackle the value chain for regional high quality pork products, focusing on diverse and so far untapped pig breeds, their production systems and pork products. Cross-fertilising interactions between research, local agriculture, businesses and end-users will be achieved with partners from these complementary sectors in all research and development activities.


INMARE stands for “Industrial Applications of Marine Enzymes: Innovative screening and expression platforms to discover and use the functional protein diversity from the sea”. It is  a collaborative Innovation Action to streamline the pathways of discovery and industrial applications of new marine enzymes and bioactives for targeted production of fine chemicals, drugs and in environmental clean-up applications. The INMARE consortium will unify the multidisciplinary expertise and facilities of academic and industry partners. This will include integrating the following core activities: advanced technologies to access and sample unique marine biodiversity hot-spots; state-of-the art technologies for construction of metagenomic libraries; innovative enzyme screening assays and platforms; cutting-edge sequence annotation pipelines and bioinformatics resources; high-end activity screening technology; bioanalytical and bioprocess engineering facilities and expertise, nanoparticle-biocatalysts; high-quality protein crystallization and structural analysis facilities and experts in IP management for biotechnology.  The companies involved in the project are market leaders in enzyme production and biocatalysis processes designed to efficiently deliver safer (pharmaceuticals) cheaper (agriculture) and biobased (biopolymers) products. They also have impressive track record in environmental clean-up technologies and are committed to promoting  public understanding,  awareness  and  dissemination of scientific research. The main emphasis will be focused on streamlining and shortening the pipelines for enzyme and ‘bioactive compound’ discovery towards industrial applications through the establishing of marine enzyme collections with a high proportion of enzymes-“allrounders”. The project  will also prioritize the identification of novel lead products and the delivery of improved prototypes  for new biocatalytic processes.


Energy Efficiency Complaint Products 2014

The objective of EEPLIANT 2014 (Energy Efficiency Compliant Products 2014) is to help deliver the intended economic and environmental benefits of the Ecodesign Directive 2009/125/EC and the Energy Labelling Directive 2010/30/EU by strengthening market surveillance and increasing compliance with the Directives and the relevant implementing measures. EEPLIANT 2014 will achieve this by: -Implementing systems that coordinate, in the most cost-effective manner, the monitoring, verification and enforcement of ecodesign and energy labelling requirements across the European Single Market;  -Increasing the adoption of best practice amongst Market Surveillance Authorities (MSAs). The Consortium (13 MSAs and PROSAFE) will design, carry out and evaluate coordinated market surveillance actions across three different product sectors over the next two years. It will deliver a higher level of surveillance activities that go beyond testing and will target products that represent the highest energy saving potential. The consortium will work closely with other non-participating MSAs across the EEA through its liaison with the Energy Labelling and the Ecodesign ADCOs. Additionally, the Consortium will work together with a Steering Board comprising of business, consumer organisations and environmental NGOs to draw on their knowledge and experience and to communicate through them with all stakeholders about the progress and results of the project.  The expected results are: -Adoption by Member States of best practices on how to conduct market surveillance most effectively. -Greater compliance due to increased market surveillance of products in the EEA with the Implementing Measures of the Energy Labelling and Ecodesign Directives. -Increased awareness of (and respect for) market surveillance by industry and amongst users. -Market surveillance being undertaken in a more cost effective and consistent manner across the EEA with an overall greater impact in the product sectors investigated.