ERA-NET: Sustained collaboration of national and regional programmes in research on brain-related diseases and disorders of the nervous system

Topic description

Specific Challenge:

Cooperation at transnational level in the area of brain-related diseases has successfully been established but can be further enhanced and sustained through synergies between projects coming out from individual ERA-Net calls as well as pertinent partners beyond the ERA-Network itself.

Specific challenges include providing the necessary critical mass and resources to address commonly identified clinical needs. In particular, data sharing across funded projects should be enhanced. The overall aim is to nurture further collaboration amongst research funders as well as the projects in this field while extending its activities towards the intensification of cross projects collaborations within and beyond the ERANET projects.

Proposals should demonstrate the potential to coordinate in a sustained manner national and regional research programmes in the area of brain-related diseases, excluding neurodegenerative diseases, by implementing transnational calls with EU co-funding resulting in grants to third parties.

Proposed activities should promote wider collaboration between funded ERA-Net projects stemming from the same transnational call but also with relevant projects from other ERA-Net calls and pertinent H2020-funded projects and international partners active in this field of research.

More comprehensive and wider data sharing and early consideration of translational pathways should be inherent requirements for the translational calls to be launched by the ERA-Net.

Proposals should pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national (or regional) research programmes as well, where appropriate, leverage resources from pertinent foundations, charities and transnational initiatives, with a view to implementing a joint call for proposals resulting in grants to third parties with EU co-funding in this area..

Proposal are requested to implement other joint activities including additional joint calls without EU co-funding. The proposal should demonstrate that these co-funded other activities exclude any overlaps with related on-going actions co-funded by the EU under Horizon 2020 SC1.Proposals should engage with key stakeholders, including complementary ERA-Nets, competence partners on regulatory and guidelines issues. Collaboration with the EU funded European Brain Research Area Coordination and Support Action should be foreseen and integrated into the joint programming concept pursued by the funded ERA-Net project.

Participation of legal entities from third countries, and/or regions including those not automatically eligible for funding in accordance with General Annex A, is encouraged in the joint call as well as in other joint activities including additional joint calls without EU co-funding. Participants from countries not listed in General Annex A are eligible for EU funding under this topic and may request a Union contribution (on the basis of the ERA-NET unit cost) only for the coordination costs of additional activities. The proposal should demonstrate that these co-funded other activities exclude any overlaps with related on-going actions co-funded by the EU under Horizon 2020

The ERA-Net should envisage a duration which is appropriate to the ambition and complexity of the proposed topic. The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU a minimum of EUR 5 million would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

• Joint investment of national and regional programmes in the area of brain-related neurological diseases;
• Increased common activities of national research programmes and projects;
• Leveraging synergies with other pertinent key players in Europe;
• Contribution to the establishment of Brain research ERA by addressing issues related for example to administrative hurdles, IPR management and different practices regarding resource sharing.

Open Science
ERA-NET
International cooperation