Facilitating macro-regional scope and link up to socio-economic actors of Research Infrastructures in the Danube Region

WeLcome to the ResInfra@DR Project! Dear Readers...

we are delighted to present our first newsletter! This issue will provide a first glance at ResInfra@DR and its progress since the project started in March 2017 in Vienna with a well visible kick-off conference. Furthermore, we like to highlight our upcoming Dialogue Workshop in Vienna on 21st of November and invite experts to take part in the discussion: Learn more about topic and (preliminary) agenda in this issue!

We are convinced that the ResInfra@DR project – aiming at further enhancement of research infrastructure in the Danube-macro region – will increase research and innovation capacities and link current projects and efforts in Europe. Therefore, we take the chance to share further high-level events, news and publications on research infrastructure and STI in the Danube region and beyond.

Register & spread the word!  

We invite you to share our newsletter! Interested readers can subscribe for the next edition via email: office@resinfradr.eu or online: dtp.interreg-danube.eu/approved-projects/resinfra-dr (please scroll down!)

If you want to get inspired on a more frequent basis, join our growing expert community on our social media platforms Twitter and Facebook (find us @ResInfraDR) or LinkedIn and be the first to read breaking news! To contribute to the online discourse please use for example #ResInfra, #DanubeRegion, #STI or #RTDI.

Sincerely,

Martin Felix Gajdusek (project coordinator, ZSI – Centre for Social Innovation in Vienna), Ines Marinkovic (thematic Pole 2 coordinator and communication manager, ZSI) and Pamela Bartar (communication manager, ZSI) on behalf of the ResInfra@DR project partners

Some facts and figures on ResInfra@DR

ResInfra@DR seeks to improve the current RI policy practices, as well as the scientific and socio-economic impacts of RIs by developing strategic guidance and recommendations derived from an intensive dialogue process involving key actors in the Danube macro-region. Therefore, ResInfra@DR facilitates mutual learning for the robust footing of RIs, the link up with long-term needs, interests and the engagement of relevant users. The targeted dialogue is going to result in guidelines for policy steering and implementing bodies, as well as RI operators to assist them in ex-ante assessments of RI investments and RI impact analysis.

• Duration: January 2017 – June 2019
• Budget in Euro overall: 2,154,989.34 € 
• ERDF contribution: 1,645,857.99 €
• IPA Contribution: 185,882.89 €
• Danube Transnational Cooperation Programme (DTP call 1)
• Priority: Innovative and socially responsible Danube region
• Specific objective: 1.1

Find all Resinfra@DR partners at a glance

Registration open: ResInfra@DR 3rd Dialogue Workshop on 21st of November in Vienna

A consultation forum for business users of Research Infrastructures in the Danube Region: The third ResInfra@DR Dialogue Workshop will take place on 21st of November 2017 at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna. The meeting will gather national and international experts to discuss important issues concerning topics like “Business users of Research Infrastructures”, “Research Infrastructures offering their services to external users” and “Policy initiatives to facilitate the effective use of Research Infrastructures”.

The ResInfra@DR partnership also would like to welcome the relevant experts from the Danube Region, together with partners also experts are invited to participate. In case you are interested in the topic please contact Ms Doris Gangl, email: doris.gangl@boku.ac.at for further information!

The workshop follows two workshops held in Budapest and Sofia in August and September 2017: Learn more

Good Practice: spotlight on HCEMM-MOLMEDEX – Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine

The HCEMM-MOLMEDEX consortium, composed by the University of Szeged, the Biological Research Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the University of Debrecen, Semmelweis University, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, has been awarded EUR 15 million by the Teaming Programme of Horizon 2020 to set up the Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine with a focus on translational medicine and clinical application of basic research results. The research teams participating in the project have already made significant progress in understanding the molecular disorder causing morbid obesity, diabetes, heart failure, genomic instability and carcinogenesis, coeliac disease and macula degeneration, in identifying therapeutic targets. The project partners have jointly designed the long-term scientific, strategic and sustainability plan of MOLMEDEX.

The research programmes of the new centre of excellence will be implemented in Szeged, Budapest, and Debrecen.

The total budget of the project for 7 years is nearly EUR 52 million, financed by Hungarian funds, as well as the Economic Development and Innovation Operational Programme, co-funded by the EU Structural Funds.

Péter Horváth gave a presentation on MOLMEDEX at the first Dialogue WS of the ResInfra@DR project on 31st of August in Budapest, with an emphasis on the so-called Core Facility which is the RI element of MOLMEDEX.

Read further details

Training Needs Assessment - first findings by Resinfra@DR

During the summer months, ResInfra@DR partners conducted a fieldwork to obtain valuable information needed for planning and implementing the trainings that will strengthen the regional capacity to plan, monitor and evaluate research infrastructures. 87 stakeholders from three main target groups (policy-makers, RI operators and RI reviewers) were interviewed, and 66 participated in focus group discussions.

The fieldwork showed that there is a considerable need for organisation of a training, aimed at capacity building for ex-ante evaluation, planning and monitoring of research infrastructures, and for assessment of socio-economic and other impacts of RIs, as only 20% of respondents have previously participated in similar trainings.

Interviewees and focus group participants shared which topics and areas are in their opinion most useful and important for their colleagues from the three target groups. Most frequent answers (41.3%) were related to different aspects of planning, evaluation and monitoring of research infrastructures. The second in terms of importance (36.2%) were questions dealing with management and operation of RIs. RI funding and sustainability were named as very important topics by 30.4% of respondents. A good quarter (26.8%) of interviewees and focus group participants said that an important training topic would be regional and international networking and cooperation. Smaller share (below 10%) of respondents listed topics such as access of users to RIs; intellectual property rights; open data and open science; socio-economic impact; and scientific and technological excellence of RIs.

For further details please feel free to contact ResInfra@DR project partner Mr Marko Hajdinjak, email: marko.hajdinjak@online.bg ARC Fund in Sofia (BG).

Join us! Thematic Pole 2 RDI Framework support – exploring capitalisation possibilities

As defined by DTP, the capitalisation strategy aims to strengthen the links between projects working on similar topics (Thematic poles), to enable projects to exploit and consolidate one another’s achievements, and create a higher leverage effect. It is assumed that this will enhance the visibility and impact of both projects and programme. Furthermore, as envisaged by the DTP capitalisation strategy, aligning the Thematic Poles with the EUSDR and making close working contacts with the EUSDR Priority Area Coordinators (PACs) ensures translation of the EU policies in the ground actions. On the other hand, the EUSDR may benefit of newly formed networks and collect information and valuable inputs from the ground.

So far, 11 thematic poles have been identified, thematic pole 2 being the one with the focus on RDI framework support. It involves so far three projects with specific objective to improve the framework conditions for innovation: ResInfra@DR, RI2INTEGRATE and D-STIR.

Are you working on thematic fields which are related to Research infrastructures (RI) and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI)? Let us know and explore the cooperation possibilities!

Pole leader contact: ResInfra@DR, Ms Ines Marinkovic, email: marinkovic@zsi.at, Center for Social Innovation (AT)

Learn more

Review on activities of ResInfra@DR

Editor’s choice: Shortnews