OPE – madri+d – IMDEA European Projects Bureau

February 9, 2015

The madrimasd Foundation for Knowledge and the network of IMDEA institutes launch a joint initiative: the Madri+d – IMDEA European Projects Bureau.

Under the coordination of madrimasd, the Madri+d – IMDEA European Projects Bureau will support the participation of its members in European programmes, especially on Horizon 2020.

The members of the new Bureau are the madrimasd Foundation for Knowledge and the seven IMDEA institutes: IMDEA Water, IMDEA Food, IMDEA Energy, IMDEA Materials, IMDEA Nanoscience, IMDEA Networks and IMDEA Software. They will contribute with their broad experience in participating in European projects, and they will all benefit of the contribution of other members of the network. This new partnership will allow them to meet the objectives for which they were created more efficiently: building a research network and higher education of excellence in the Madrid regional Government.

Sharing some of the goals they pursue, sharing the objectives of Horizon 2020, the close cooperation between the members of the Bureau and everyone’s daily work, allow foreseeing the initiative’s success.

Since its creation in 2002, the madrimasd Foundation for Knowledge has made an effective contribution to making science, technology and innovation key elements of the competitiveness of the region and the welfare of the citizens.

The network of IMDEA institutes was created on 2006 by the Madrid Regional Government with the purpose of reaching scientific excellence. Thanks to it, the IMDEA institutes can achieve their ultimate goal: developing science that is useful for the society, fulfilling its needs and improving its welfare.

The Bureau aims to exploit the existing potential of the critical mass of top international scientists working in IMDEA institutes to strengthen their presence in the European framework and to make their participation in Horizon 2020 highly significant. To achieve this, the Bureau will launch training and mobility for researchers at IMDEA institutes in order to increase their participation in European projects, cooperation with enterprises and interdisciplinary cooperation among the institutes themselves. This will improve their already high levels of research quality, internationalization and cooperation.

The specific objectives of this initiative, which seeks to maximize the potential benefits of Horizon 2020 among its members, in addition to those already mentioned, are:

Increasing the number of European projects led by IMDEA researchers (especially young researchers and ERC grants).
To improve the success rate of proposals presented to the EU.
To increase the revenue from presented proposals, thanks to the improved success rate and the mean funding obtained for them.
To facilitate mobility and exchange of researchers (especially through Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions).
To encourage research in collaboration with companies, contributing to the creation of a scientifically and technologically advanced business network.
To improve the skills of IMDEA’s scientific and managing personnel in all that relates to the application and project management of the Horizon 2020 programme.
To be present at international forums related to the many areas within Horizon 2020 of interest to Madri+d and IMDEA, and to increase the capacity to detect participation opportunities and identifying partners.
To promote interdisciplinary collaboration in European projects among the IMDEA institutes.