IETU in the 6^th EU Framework Programme

INTEGRATION4WATER

Initiative 4 Facilitating Integration of Research Potential from the New Member States, Accession Candidate Countries and Old Member States in the Area of Water Cycle including Soil Related Issues of the Sub-priority 1.1.6.3 and a relevant priority of FP7

Project duration

01.05.2005 - 31.12.2006

Main objective

The key objective of Integration4Water is to effectively support participation of the NMS/ACC organisations in FP7 as partners in project consortia through:

an effective and topic-oriented promotion of their research potential and expertise,
supporting their early involvement in the formulation of the FP7 specific work programme in the area of water and soil research,
ensuring that the research priorities and needs of the NMS/ACC countries emerging from the up-to-date conducted FP5 and FP6 RTD projects are covered in the FP7 research agenda.

Project in brief

Integration4Water is a Specific Support Action under the 6 Framework Programme for Research and Technology Development of the European Commission (EU FP6). The project aims at contributing to the creation of the European Research Area through stimulating the participation of research teams from the New Member States (NMS) and Accession Candidate Countries (ACC) in project consortia of EU FP7 in the area of water and soil research.
The project was dedicated to:
Research teams and organisations including SMEs from the New Member States and Associated Candidate Countries interested in:

gaining skills in the development of integrated multidisciplinary approaches to research topics related to water cycle including soil related issues,
getting into contact with researchers from the enlarged European Union interested in performing research on water and soil,
contributing to the development and implementation of the 7. Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7) in the area of water and soil research,
getting support for establishing or becoming members of project consortia in the FP7.

The target group of NMS/ACC countries comprises the present New Member States: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus, Malta, and the Associated Candidate Countries: Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria. Research teams and organisations from the Old Member States interested in:

joint formulation of research topics concerning water and soil issues as contribution to FP7 development, finding NMS/ACC research partners with specific expertise in water and soil research,
establishing working relationships for the FP7 project needs,
promoting their activities in water research among NMS/ACC researchers,
getting updates on water research initiatives carried out by or with the involvement of NMS/ACC.

Both researchers from the enlarged European Union as well as Associated Candidate Countries have a stake in formulating contributions to the FP7 work programme. Participation in the Workshops Event and later in the established Topical Expert Groups is an opportunity to work together now on how we could co-operate in the nearest future.
Project partners from the third countries interested in:

finding NMS/ACC partners for building networking relationships under the research cooperation schemes available for them in European research programmes, specially FP7,
presenting their scientific initiatives and accomplishments to other organizations with a view to utilize them as contribution in building collaboration in the area of water and soil research.

Main effects

Database of NMS/ACC organisations and research teams including SMEs active in the area of water and soil research:

project proposal development needs structured for the FP7,
providing specific information on the expertise of research teams in the priority issues of FP7 including contribution to research topics, experience in relevant FP as well as other projects, infrastructure etc.,
ensuring a direct contact with research teams within organisations,
a dedicated partner search engine accessible through the web page service.

Multifunctional, internet-based service available via the project web page for promotion and dissemination of information on water and soil related research including:

I4W Instant Messenger facility for a quick dissemination and exchange of information on water related research conducted by research organisations and teams from the New Member States, Accession Candidate Countries and the Old Member States especially for the FP7 needs.
I4W Forum as an Internet-based communication platform to be used for the project realisation and - after its completion - for maintaining and promoting the contacts among researchers - members of the Topical Expert Groups (see I4W workshops) towards a successful establishing of FP7 consortia.
Topical Expert Groups sub -pages to be established for the promotion of each individual Topical Expert Group as potential FP7 consortium linked with the presentation of their research potential included in the database.

Workshops' event for NMS/ACC researchers with the objectives to :

help identifying new areas of joint research as a starting point for co-operation in FP7 (contribution to the development of FP7 specific topics),
train the NMS/ACC researchers in building integrated, interactive and multidisciplinary approaches as a strategy for proposal development,
serve as a forum to disseminate and exchange information on water-related research activities conducted in national, regional and European scale by NMS/ACC organisations and the EU 15 States to be incorporated into the above mentioned approaches,
support integration of NMS/ACC and researchers from the Old Member States in joint European Topical Expert Groups as potential subconsortia to respond in particular to the FP7 specific topics,
establish the Topical Expert Groups - international research teams, potential FP7 consortia,
provide feedback for the development of a Report on the FP7 contributions containing descriptions of specific topics to be proposed for inclusion in the FP7 specific work programme.

IETU's role in the implementation of the project

IETU was the Coordinating Unit of the project and project partner responsible for development of the I4W internet service and the database of NMS/ACC organisations.

Co-ordinator of the project

Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas
Project Coordinator: Izabela Ratman-Kłosińska
ul Kossutha 6, 40-844 Katowice, Poland
phone + 48 32 254 60 31 ext. 243, fax + 48 32 254 1717
e-mail: rat@ietu.katowice.pl

Project consortium

IPPT/NCP
Institute of Fundamental Technological Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, FP National Contact Point, Warsaw, Poland
Contact person: Dr. Danuta Maria Antosiewicz, dantosi@ippt.gov.pl

UFZ
Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig - Halle, Germany
Contact person: Dr. Ursula Schmitz, ursula.schmitz@ufz.de

Fraunhofer UMSICHT
Fraunhofer-Institut für Umwelt-, Sicherheits- und Energietechnik, Oberhausen, Germany
Contact person: Dr. Achim Loewen, Achim.Loewen@umsicht.fraunhofer.de

ICE-PAS
International Centre for Ecology Polish Academy of Sciences, Łódź, Poland
Contact person: Prof. Maciej Zalewski, mcepan@mcepan.lodz.pl

Project website:

http://www.integration4water.org

Contact person at IETU:

Institute for Ecology of Industrial Areas
Izabela Ratman-Kłosińska
ul. Kossutha 6
40-833 Katowice
tel.: +48-32-254 60-31 ext. 243
fax: +48-32-254 17-17
e-mail: rat@ietu.katowice.pl

Additional materials:

Leaflet, pdf file

Polish Thematic Network for Environmental Technologies

Polish Thematic Network for Problems of Air Pollution and Climate Change