2nd REINFORCING Open Call (Incubators Call) on Balkans

Description

Expected outcomes This funding call is aimed at supporting applicants who are newcomers to the ORRI approach, meaning that they do not have any substantial ORRI experience. Therefore, accepted proposals are expected to conduct activities that should generally introduce ORRI approach to the beneficiaries’ organisations, leading to better understanding and adoption of ORRI within the organisation. This incubator call will encourage joint efforts between institutions to advance ORRI principles through collaborative projects, initiatives, and partnerships. The performed activities should, by the end of the project, result in an evident institutional change towards ORRI. Specific challenges of the 2nd REINFORCING Open Call (Incubators Call) on Balkans Three specific challenges have been identified for this 2nd REINFORCING Open Call: Supporting a better ORRI understanding as well as supporting researchers with envisaging ORRI components they could implement / strengthen within their activities (Bottom-up approach). Projects interested in this challenge may propose specific activities that will result in empowering the institutions’ research staff in comprehending and implementing the meaning and importance of ORRI, in order for the staff to conduct research endeavours which are aligned with societal needs (impact-driven). Developing enabling conditions at institutional level which could motivate / support researchers to practise more ORRI (Supportive top-down approach). This challenge could include proposals that enable applying organisations to effectively incentivize and streamline open and responsible research and innovation activities within themselves, which will result in institutional support for in-house activities that have societal impact. Thus, the organisations at the institutional and managerial levels will be empowered to actively inspire and support their research staff in conducting research that is aligned with societal needs. Strengthening relationship within R&I ecosystems, building bridges between researchers and other actors (e.g., private sector, civil society, policy makers, etc.). Proposals that aim to open the applying institution towards other societal actors in the local ecosystem, thus making the organisational boundaries permeable, are related to this challenge. These projects should result in means of enabling or strengthening collaboration and co-creation with external partners such as companies, other research organisations, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, and policy makers during the research and innovation processes. Applicants may apply for one or more of the listed challenges or address other specific topics for which they have identified a gap in introducing ORRI and justify the selection in the application process. Some examples of specific activities that can be addressed are included below. Please note that the list is non-exhaustive and should serve as a possible inspiration rather than a task list. Also, please note that the applicants are expected to perform different complementary activities within the year-long period of the supported project, not just one particular activity. Introductory workshops for research staff on ORRI-related topics. Mentoring programs for junior research staff on ORRI-related topics. Workshops with seasoned ORRI institutions in order to share experiences, good practices and lessons learned. Establishing an ORRI help desk within applying institutions for the researchers who need assistance in ORRI aspects such as research ethics, gender and diversity, or citizen engagement. Identifying ORRI gaps within institutions and developing new internal regulation or settings to address them. Organizing workshops or networking events to foster collaboration between researchers and other actors from the local ecosystem. As this is an action-oriented call, it shall not provide support for actions such as: Research activities as such, regardless of the topic, i.e., any kind of research-related costs in the broadest term such as field work, laboratory work, or article processing charges. Research activities on ORRI theory in the Balkans area. Design of any kind of hardware or software tools or systems, or any other technical solution in the broadest term.

Beneficiary & submission

Submission All proposals will be submitted electronically via the REINFORCING project website (https://www.reinforcing.eu/open-calls/open-calls). Proposals must be received by the Call closing date and time. Late proposals, or proposals submitted by any means other than those indicated in the Guide for applicants, will not be considered. The application form will consist of three parts: An online form requiring general information on the project to be completed on the REINFORCING website for each applicant; Technical proposal with the description of the project, using the mandatory template, including the detailed description on how the grant will be used. The completed template must be uploaded on the online form; A Declaration of Honour that must be signed by all project partners. Only complete applications will be considered for selection/evaluation. Evaluation process The evaluation process will consist in three steps: Eligibility Check and Formal Requirements; Preliminary Assessment by REINFORCING Consortium to evaluate the alignment with call objectives; Final Evaluation carried out by external experts that will be selected through an open call. The evaluation process will be fair and impartial. All applicants will be informed on the outcomes of the evaluation at the end of the selection process. All applicants from the final evaluation receive an Evaluation Summary Report with ranking and outcomes. For more details on the submission and evaluation process, please download the Guide for Applicants from the project website.

Further information

Introduction REINFORCING supports organizations and institutions in Europe to transition to a new paradigm where responsibility and openness drive research and innovation processes. In order to make the green and digital transitions fair and inclusive, institutions and territories need to shift to more open and transparent R&I practices in which all actors share responsibility to develop services and products that are acceptable, sustainable and bring social satisfaction. The Open and Responsible Research and Innovation (ORRI) approach promotes collaborative efforts. From sharing research outputs as early as possible to engaging citizens in co-creation processes, R&I should be open to the whole society. Implementing ORRI can seem a daunting task. Over the past decade, many resources and tools have been created, but an effort to systematize, curate and create a single-entry point was still missing. REINFORCING is this much-needed European central hub for Open and Responsible R&I. The project’s platform is the entry point to knowledge, training, ORRI skills match-making and capacity building for organizations interested in starting or continuing their journey to creating an inclusive R&I ecosystem. Furthermore, the project brokers unique networking opportunities for organizations, institutions and territories interested in becoming part of the European ecosystem that is transforming the R&I system by bringing it closer to society and societal needs. To support this change, REINFORCING has ring-fenced funding for 96 grants - between 20,000 and 60,000 euros- to invite institutions from around Europe to develop projects aiming at implementing new modes of doing R&I that drive more just transitions. This call is the second of 7 that the project is launching for cascading grants, and it supports territories and organisations experimenting with ORRI for the first time (ORRI Incubators Open Calls). The goal of this Incubators Call is to strengthen ORRI within the Balkan area (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo1, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia), engaging institutions to commit to understanding and implementing ORRI principles and practices. In this call, projects proposed by small consortia of at least two participating organisations will be funded. Call requirements and details The consortium should include at least 2 entities based in EU countries (Member State or associated country), including their outermost regions or associated countries eligible to receive HEU grants, provided that the applicants are not covered by the Council sanctions in force. At least one of the entities should be based or operating in the Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia) and should be the main beneficiary with most of the activities conducted at its premises. Projects are expected to consider and implement specific Gender3 activities (ideally enlarging them toward Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness) and comply with Horizon Europe Open Science4 requirements since the proposal stage. Funded projects are expected to release at least one ORRI resource (or tool) to be included in the REINFORCING online platform. The resource should be included in the proposal text as one of the results to be delivered. For this Incubator call, no more than 8 consortia implementing projects lasting 12 months will be supported with grants of up to 60,000 euros for each consortium. Please note that different duration of the projects (less or more than 1 year) is not possible and will be considered not eligible. Please also note all the funded projects will start all together on 1st September 2024 and end up on 31st August 2025. No change in these dates can be negotiated. Documents On the project website, it is possible to access more detailed project documents including: Guide for applicants with detailed information on the calls (type of calls, how to apply, how the project will be evaluated, what is eligible) Templates for the submission FAQs