In 2021 EuroMarine is organising a slate of distinct, parallel calls:
- A call for proposals of Foresight Workshops
- A call for application for individual fellowships (targeting EuroMarine PhD students and scholars within five years of their doctoral degree)
- A call for proposals to organise a EuroMarine Summer School on Ocean Transformation (targeting summer 2022) (this call)
- A call for nominations for the PEARL Working Group (nominees should be recently retired marine researchers)
- A call for topics for EuroMarine Podcasts (this is a non-competitive, volunteer-driven trial)
The general terms of these calls have been preannounced on 18 May 2021.
1. EuroMarine and its Objectives
EuroMarine is a member-based network of European marine organisations and research institutes.
EuroMarine’s mission is to support the identification and initial development of important emerging scientific topics or issues and associated methodologies in marine sciences, as well as to foster new services relevant to the marine scientific community.
As an interdisciplinary, international, collaborative network, EuroMarine plays a crucial role in creating and facilitating funding, training, networking and other opportunities for researchers and organisations working in marine research. In addition to supporting research, the EuroMarine consortium acts as an advocacy organisation for marine science through providing expert advice to support and influence European marine policy and governance.
In August 2021, the EuroMarine Consortium launched this call for proposals to host the inaugural EuroMarine Summer School on Ocean Transformation.
2. Call Scope
The EuroMarine Summer School Call is an opportunity to host a training workshop that will equip attendees with new knowledge to address ocean challenges.
The Summer School should address one or more of the key priorities and challenges in marine science. In particular, as part of the UN’s Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water identifies the most urgent questions still in need of answering and highlights the pathways that will lead us towards a sustainable ocean. Specific SDG14 targets include reducing marine pollution, managing coastal ecosystems, addressing overfishing, developing sustainable approaches to managing ocean resources and developing both marine technology and research capacity.
Furthermore, the European Commission’s Mission Starfish 2030 initiative outlines five key objectives for restoring and enhancing our oceans: (i) Filling the knowledge and emotional gap, (ii) regenerating marine and freshwater ecosystems, (iii) zero pollution, (iv) decarbonising our ocean, and waters (v) revamping governance.
EuroMarine’s Ocean Frontiers Manifesto responds to these global policies through identifying four key focus areas for the network: (i) Manage ocean complexity, (ii) secure coastal areas, (iii) target ocean and human health, and (iv) protect ocean commons.
The topics addressed in the EuroMarine Summer School should be broad, interdisciplinary and should respond to the context of one or more key policy initiatives and specific EuroMarine objectives outlined above. Content and activities should be inspirational, innovative and in-keeping with the EuroMarine ethos of focusing on emerging and neglected areas of marine research.
Attendance at the Summer School is open to any type or number of participants, both of which must be specified in the application form. Attendees can be from both within and outside of the existing EuroMarine network, although attendance by EuroMarine members should be prioritised. Summer School hosts should engage with the EuroMarine community to ensure that the topics addressed meet the needs and interests of the network.
Only one successful application will be funded. The maximum budget available is €25,000.
3. Admissibility Conditions
- Applications must be submitted in PDF using the application form provided below. The structure and presentation must correspond to the instructions given in the form.
- All sections of the application form must be completed, including the budget table.
- The limit for a full application is 14 pages (instructions on the number of pages per section are provided in the application form). Applications that exceed the number of pages per section will not be considered.
- Applications must be readable, accessible and printable.
- Applications must be submitted electronically to the following email: secretariat
euromarinenetwork [dot] eu. Paper submissions will not be accepted. - Applications must be submitted before the specified deadline: 29/10/2021 at 23.59 CEST. Applications received after this date and time will not be considered.
4. Eligibility Criteria
4.1: Beneficiaries
- Proposals should involve at least three 2021 Full (paying) Member Organisations of EuroMarine, from at least two different countries (please refer to the latest 2021 membership and General Assembly representatives lists provided on the call webpage and do not hesitate to contact secretariateuromarinenetwork [dot] eu for any further information). Beyond this minimal, mandatory networking requirement, EuroMarine particularly welcomes proposals involving organisations that have not (or seldom) co-submitted proposals in the past (which can be checked at the bottom of each organisation’s webpage in the EuroMarine online directory). Applicants are also encouraged to use the Secretariat to advertise their topic and/or seek new potential co-applicants among the EuroMarine membership.
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Applicants are welcome to involve any relevant EuroMarine Invited Member Organisations from developing countries. Proposals can also involve organisations outside the EuroMarine network.
4.2: Eligible Activities
- The EuroMarine Summer School should preferably be conducted in the summer of 2022; any desired exemption should be requested and justified in the proposal. Applicants are invited to specify the duration of the summer school.
- Activities may include (but are not limited to) lectures, workshops, on-site visits, field trips and lab-based research.
- The topics addressed in the EuroMarine Summer School should be broad, interdisciplinary and should respond to the context and challenges outlined in one or more of the key policy initiatives and specific EuroMarine objectives detailed in the Call Scope above.
- EuroMarine particularly welcomes Summer School proposals that address the Ocean Transformation Challenges in a cross-disciplinary way, including cross-links in socio-ecological challenges such as overfishing; marine automation and technologies for ocean observation; science diplomacy; management of the ocean commons and other related topics.
- Note: Physical (in-person) activities are preferred, and applicants should plan for in-person to be the primary mode of delivering the activities. Activities may also include a hybrid option for some participants who cannot attend in person. Activities may be converted to online-first delivery if required by current Covid19 public health guidance at the time of the Summer School.
5. Award Criteria
EuroMarine Summer School applications will be evaluated by members of the EuroMarine Steering Committee. Each application will be allocated a total score out of 15, with a maximum of 5 marks available for each of the following three criteria:
- Excellence: Merit and innovative nature of the proposed Summer School; ability to address cross-disciplinarity; ability to identify solutions for Ocean challenges.
- Impact: added-value to EuroMarine (i.e., to what degree a proposal addresses EuroMarine priorities and favours the integration of the EuroMarine community, including the number of member organisations involved; enhancing the EuroMarine network visibility at EU and international scale).
- Implementation: Capacity and role of each applicant, and the extent to which the application team as a whole brings together the necessary expertise. Quality and effectiveness of the Summer School organisation and use of resources. Measures to reach and support participants from both the EuroMarine network and other organisations.
6. Eligible Costs
All direct costs incurred in connection with the organisation of the Summer School, and necessary for its implementation, are eligible if they are reasonable and justified. This includes (among others):
- Travel, accommodation and subsistence for trainers
- Scholarships/fellowships for participants
- Room renting (including equipment)
- Communication and dissemination material
- Catering
For hybrid events with participants attending remotely, additional costs for necessary equipment (e.g., web camera) or platform subscriptions (e.g., Zoom licence) may also be included. However, as outlined above, please note that physical (in-person) activities are preferred where possible. Please contact the EuroMarine Secretariat if you have any queries about physical vs., online activities.
Staff costs (i.e., fees for trainers or salary costs for organisational staff) and indirect costs /administrative fees are not eligible.
Applicants must include a detailed budget description as part of their application. The maximum budget available is €25,000.
Please refer to the terms and conditions of funding for further details on eligibility criteria, eligible costs and constraints linked to funding.