Research Newsletter – Issue 60: Information and Updates

Please see below some updates to SFI Research Policy which will be relevant to both current and prospective awardees:  

1. Open Access

SFI has recently published a webinar on its Open Access policy and an FAQ, which will be reviewed and updated on a regular basis. These can both be accessed via the SFI website here .

Researchers are asked to pay particular attention to the ‘Rights Retention Strategy’ described therein and referred to in SFI’s Open Access Policy.  As per the updated Open Access FAQ's:

cOAlition S has recently published the Rights Retention Strategy, which supports authors in retaining ownership of their work via a Creative Commons or ‘CC-BY’ licensing. All funder members (including SFI) have included the Rights Retention Strategy in all relevant legislative and policy documents mandating that any research outputs arising from SFI-funded research must have a CCBY licence attributed to the work from 01/01/2021.  

SFI propose to include the ‘Rights Retention Strategy’ in their Letter of Offer template from January 2021.

2. Reporting Compliance 

The SFI Executive has recently approved the re-instatement of the Reporting Compliance policy (this had been paused since April 2020). This policy supports the timely reporting of research outputs arising from SFI funded Grants.

With effect from January 2021, there has been a downward adjustment to the points that are accrued as a result of the late submission of a Scientific Report. This will shortly be reflected in the revised policy, which will be available on the SFI website in early 2021. 

SFI recognises the challenges experienced by the research community during 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they strongly encourage Grant holders to report on time, regardless of how little has been undertaken during 2020. Telling SFI what you have done during 2020 will help them to gauge the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on research activities and adjust their expectations accordingly (e.g. planning Site Visits and NCEs). It will also form part of a broader assessment of the impact of the pandemic on the research community and inform further policy changes/ development. 

3. State aid

SFI has developed some relevant guidance on State aid compliance and this will shortly be made available at the following link, along with some useful resources.

SFI have also introduced an Industry Collaboration Form (ICF) which will support Grant recipients and their respective Research Performing Organisations in being compliant with State aid legislation.  From January 2021, SFI will require that this form is completed and returned to SFI on or before the date that the Collaborative Research (or Intellectual Property Rights) Agreement has been ‘agreed’ with the relevant industry partner. The form can be accessed at the above link.

 Note that the SFI website is under development at present and that SFI will be advising of further policy updates early in 2021.

The fifth edition of this report shows that substantial quantitative progress has been made in many areas since the start of the programme. Various dimensions are examined, such as the budget going to SSH partners (overall and in each part of the programme), qualitative aspects, performance of disciplines and sectors involved, as well as which countries are represented as participants and coordinators. The scope of this monitoring report on the integration of SSH across Horizon 2020 has gradually been extended to cover the European Research Council, Future Emerging Technologies, Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions and Research Infrastructures. The Science with and for Society (SwafS) part of the programme is also included in this report.

The recorded webinar provides expert insights into EU Horizon Europe including the structure of Horizon Europe, what is most likely to be funded, what are the major changes in the proposal templates, as well as the main definitions and differences in evaluation, reporting, and finance. The webinar is delivered by a well-known consultancy company specialising in EU R&D and financing – Europa Media Trainings. Link to the webinar and presentation slides can be accessed here. 

This paper (published in November 2020) presents the EC Staff Working Document accompanying the Communication “A new ERA for Research and Innovation”.

In order to address today’s multiple challenges, the European Research Area (ERA) needs to accelerate the transitions and strengthen resilience to future crises, while sustaining competitiveness. ERA needs to adapt continuously to changing social, ecological, and economic circumstances as it otherwise loses attention, commitment, and purpose, and, most importantly, it also needs to deal with priority setting in R&I policies. In order to prioritise investments and reforms in research and innovation, improve access to excellence for researchers across the EU and enable research results to reach the market and the real economy, the Commission sets out new strategic objectives and actions for the ERA in its Communication “A new ERA for Research and Innovation”.

A must-read working paper on R&I priorities in Europe, especially useful for anyone planning to apply for Horizon Europe calls. The paper can be accessed here .

Following the recent introduction of new initiatives, developed by DCU Research Ethics Committee, we would like to remind staff of resources available to assist them. Given the current situation with COVID-19, the REC has collaborated with key support units to explore how researchers could be supported to conduct their research online, in particular aspects that would normally take place using face-to-face methods (e.g. obtaining consent/assent for online surveys, interviews, focus groups; duty of care to participants during interviews and focus groups, how to manage child protection issues in a virtual space etc.). A number of guidance documents are available to support researchers in this regard:

• Guidelines for researchers for using Zoom for interviews developed by the DPU in conjunction with ISS and the TEU.
  • Short guide to Security settings on Zoom especially if eliciting sensitive information.
  • Managing focus groups online via Zoom breakout rooms.
  • Managing participants under 18 to ensure child protection via Zoom alternative host functionality.
  • Controlling chat access so that bullying and sharing of inappropriate links between participants doesn’t occur.
  • Developing a video to use as a Plain language Statement - the easiest options to use are either Unicam (web-based video capture system) or Zoom (record the meeting with you being the only person in the room).
  • Resources for moving research online, which includes further information regarding Zoom, obtaining consent online and online surveys/questionnaires.
  • A new closed caption feature allows the meeting host to activate live transcription for their Zoom sessions through the "closed captions" button which is next to the "share screen" button on the Zoom toolbar.  The meeting host is then presented with three options - use the built in Zoom live transcription (recommended), use a paid third party tool or nominate a person within the room to type the transcriptions. This transcription option may prove useful for anyone conducting online interviews/focus groups. The guide on the Loop Staff Support Page will take you through the steps for using this feature.
• The Research Ethics Application Portal on Loop is live and should be used to upload and submit initial ethics application forms to REC.
• Any changes to existing research projects, which have been approved by the REC, should be submitted to the REC inbox (rec@dcu.ie) via an amendment form.
• The REC chair continues to offer ethics support clinics. For specific enquiries, please email geraldine.scanlon@dcu.ie 

As part of the agreement reached between the EU and UK at the end of 2020, the UK has announced that it will associate to the EU Horizon Europe Programme, meaning that UK researchers and businesses will have access to Horizon Europe funding on the same terms as organisations in the EU.

For more information and further updates visit the UKRO web site here. 

A factsheet on the UK's participation in EU programmes was updated on the 5^th Jan 2021 and is available here .