Support for dissemination events in the field of Transport Research

An integral aspect of the Transport part of Horizon 2020 is to organise event(s) of a major strategic nature. The Transport Research Arena (TRA) Conferences and Aerodays are the examples of events organised in different Member States, with a high European dimension. The proposed actions should help promoting and disseminating Transport Research activities in Europe.

Scope

In 2018, proposals should address only one of the following sub-topics:

1) Innovation awards for students and researchers in the context of the Transport Research Arena conference - TRA 2020

The action should focus on organising two competitions for transport research and innovation awards to be assigned at the TRA conference in 2020:

• A competition for students and young researchers with the goal of stimulating the interest among young researchers/students in the field of transport.
• A competition for senior researchers in the field of innovative transport concepts based on results from EU-funded projects only.

Both competitions should cover all transport modes and cross-cutting issues (technological, socio-economic and behavioural aspects) in line with the EU policy objectives for smart, green and integrated transport. The organisation of these awards should ensure high-quality competition and very good media coverage before, during and after the TRA conference. The action should give particular attention to gender issues.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 0.4 and 0.7 million each would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

2) Support for event(s) in the field of aviation under the Presidency of the European Union

The objective of the action is the preparation and the support of an event(s) to gather the aviation stakeholders for discussing political, industrial and research issues on a European and global level. The event(s) should address the technological and industrial developments of the aviation sector providing a high-level, future oriented perspective coming from politics, the industry and the research community, in response to European citizen's needs and expectations. The event(s) should also offer a forum for government officials, decision makers, managers, researchers, engineers and journalists to discuss and reflect on a research and innovation roadmap for aeronautics in line with Europe's Vision for Aviation 'Flightpath 2050'.

In collaboration with the different European Commission services and the Advisory Council for Aviation Research and Innovation in Europe (ACARE), the action will define the overall planning of the event(s), structure the technical and political sessions of the event(s), contribute to select the appropriate location for the venue and offer operational IT tools for the registration of participants, the handling of speakers’ contributions, etc.

Specific attention should be put on a broad and balanced participation i.e. students, young researchers, women, a large number of countries' representatives, etc.

Proposals must demonstrate the commitment of the national authorities' support. Applicants are invited to read the eligibility and admissibility conditions for this sub-topic.

In order to ensure high political and strategic relevance, the Member States holding a Presidency of the European Union in the same year are invited to liaise in order to avoid overlaps, and to ensure that each event has clearly identified objectives, messages and target groups.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting an EU contribution up to a maximum of EUR 0.7 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

In 2019, proposals should address the following sub-topic:

Support for the organisation of the Transport Research Arena 2022 conference

The action will prepare and provide support to the Transport Research Arena Conference (TRA) to be organised in 2022. TRA is the European Transport Research conference which brings together representatives of transport stakeholders from all over Europe and beyond around research and innovation results and policy.

The objective of the conference is to provide a platform for discussion of political, industrial, research and policy issues on a European and global scene, which pursues a smart combination of top-down and bottom-up approaches. In line with previous TRA conferences, the event should address the technological and industrial developments of the transport sector (road, rail, waterborne and aviation sectors and also cross-modal aspects) providing a high-level, future oriented perspective coming from politics, the industry and the research community, in response to Europe’s social needs and expectations.

In collaboration with the relevant actors, such as the European Commission services, the different European Technology Platforms (ERTRAC for road, ERRAC for rail, WATERBORNE TP for waterborne, ALICE for logistics and ACARE for aeronautics) and also the previous TRA conference organisers in order to maintain continuity, the action will define the overall planning of the conference, structure the technical and political sessions of the event, contribute to select the appropriate location for the venue and offer operational IT tools for the registration of participants, the handling of speakers’ contributions, contribute to the organisation of logistics, etc. Support to the organisation of demonstration activities should also be foreseen.

Proposals must demonstrate the commitment of the national authorities' support. Applicants are invited to read the eligibility and admissibility conditions for this sub-topic. A financial plan to organise the event is also necessary.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of between EUR 0.5 and 0.7 million each would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected Impact

The actions will contribute to a wide dissemination of the results of European transport research and to raise the visibility and weight of the EU policy in the field.

These actions are expected to increase the attractiveness of transport related studies and reinforce the pursuit of excellence in European transport research and innovation, by giving recognition and visibility to the best achievements.

It will allow creating links and exchanges between research and innovation stakeholders and policy makers, thus improving the development and deployment of innovative solutions for transport in Europe.

Delegation Exception Footnote:

This activity is directly aimed at supporting the development and implementation of evidence base for R&I policies and supporting various groups of stakeholders is excluded from the delegation to the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) and will be implemented by the Commission services.

Cross-cutting Priorities

• Gender
• Socio-economic science and humanities