Work programme
Please klick on a work package to receive more information.
WP1: Compilation of existing resources for SB
Objectives
- To make best use of the existing knowledge base in SB in Europe by compiling and assessing relevant information including EU as well as nationally funded and private initiatives
- To update and complement existing definitions of SB and inventories of funding programmes, projects, databases, research institutes and companies active in the field, as well as of other relevant stakeholders
- To select participants for the roadmapping and dissemination workshops
- To integrate all actually EU-funded projects directly into the roadmapping process
Task 1.1 Integration of existing projects and national funding agencies
In order to exploit synergies between TESSY and completed and ongoing European initiatives/projects in SB and in order to avoid any duplication of work, the first task aims at establishing an interface with these initiatives (e. g. projects SynBiology – An Analysis of Synthetic Biology Research in Europe and North America (NEST–15357), and SynBioComm – Towards a European Synthetic Biology Community (NEST–028809), the High Level Expert Group, as well as other international Projects).
A meeting (Workshop 1 (WS1)) with approximately 15 participants will be organised by ATG. Representatives of completed and ongoing SB projects will be invited to present their results and discuss their conclusions, e. g. with respect to the definition of SB and funding schemes (cf. SynBiology project) and to data on the SB research community(cf. SynBioComm). Moreover, 4 of the TESSY staff (ATG, ESF, 2 from Fraunhofer) will participate.
National funding agencies will be contacted straight from the start of the project and representatives invited to the first workshop; in addition, representatives will asked to be members of the "core group" and participate in the roadmapping workshops as well as in the dissemination event.
Gaps will be identified in the existing knowledge base that will be closed during task 1.2.
The TESSY project will establish contacts with existing SB internet platforms in order to be presented preferably within the framework of existing internet platforms. Should this turn out to be not feasible, alternatively a new internet site will be developed to present the project and its results and to communicate with other projects particularly within the roadmapping process (WP2).
Task 1.2 Closing of knowledge gaps by collecting and integration of additional information
The thematic gaps that are identified in Task 1.1 will be closed by desk research and about 20 telephone interviews with experts in the EU Member States and USA to broaden the existing knowledge base by issues which have not yet been analysed in depth. A focus will be laid on databases for (synthetic) biological parts and other supporting infrastructure, as well as additional issues that had been identified during Task 1.1.
Task 1.3 Actualisation of inventories
Information on research institutes, companies, key experts and funding schemes which has been made available from completed SB projects in Task 1.1 for TESSY, will be updated and supplemented. Additional information on important stakeholder groups (industry, policy initiatives, NGOs etc.) will be collected as basis for the development of the roadmap. Moreover, an inventory of other resources like internet sites for SB in Europe will be compiled. The list of experts and workshop participants for the next WPs will be reviewed and complemented if necessary.
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WP2: Roadmap
Objectives
- To develop a European strategy and roadmap for the further development of SB in Europe including broadly agreed goals, milestones and measures in an expert-based, interactive and participatory process
- To strengthen the common understanding of SB within the scientific community, industry and policy-makers
- To support networking and interaction between European key players
Task 2.1 Workshop 2: Draft roadmap
From the information compiled in WP1, appr. 10 experts for the core group of the roadmapping process will be chosen by the TESSY team, and invited to the first workshop.
The core group will be composed in a way that all relevant stakeholders are represented, and that a diversity of national and institutional backgrounds as well as complementary expertise is achieved. National funding agencies will be particularly invited to participate in the core group of experts. It is planned to hold this workshop as a satellite symposium of the 1st European Conference on SB that is planned by the SynBioComm SSA in order to ensure the participation of key experts of the SB world community. The satellite symposium will be organised by Fraunhofer with participation of the other partners. The results from WP1 (deliverables D1.1 and D1.2 will be presented by the TESSY team and invited experts and discussed by the core group. A draft roadmap will be developed by the core group in a moderated interactive process including
- Goals
- Milestones
- Barriers
- Strategies and measures for implementation
Through the common definition of the problem, sharing of knowledge and a joint perspective on solutions, the roadmapping process induces and increases consensus. The resulting roadmap yields information and decision aids for the stakeholders. Successful roadmaps bring hazy visions and scenarios on the ground of reality. They concentrate on relatively few success factors and address the concrete needs of decision makers.
The technology roadmap will be developed in the form of a goal-oriented roadmap which aims at the generation of a common information base for middle- to long-term R&D decisions. The process is expert-based and includes the following steps: (1) definition of the research area, (2) analysis and prognosis of needs („scenario“), (3) analysis and prognosis of potentials, (4) generation of roadmap, and (5) analysis of completeness and consistency.
Moreover, knowledge gaps which must be closed before the roadmap can be finalised will be identified by the core group. They form the input to Task 2.2.
Task 2.2 Fact-finding
Open questions that emerge during Task 2.1 and suggestions by the core group to further elaborate the knowledge base will be addressed by desk research and about 20 to 30 telephone interviews with international SB experts where necessary. Interview partners will be selected to represent the European regions as well as different disciplines and fields of application.
Concepts will be developed to approach the goals of the roadmap e.g. for infrastructural measures, database solutions etc.
Task 2.3 Participatory process for obtaining feedback from the broader SB community
The TESSY internet platform will be used to allow a broader community than the core group to comment on the draft roadmap. Inventories compiled in Task 1.3 will be used to personally invite the relevant stakeholders to give their comments via an internet-based questionnaire. The feed-back will be analysed quantitatively and qualitatively by the TESSY team/Fraunhofer.
Task 2.4 Workshop 3: Finalisation of roadmap
In a third workshop with the core project group as participants the roadmap will be finalised on the basis of the draft roadmap, the results from the fact finding (task 2.2) and the participatory process for obtaining feedback from the broader SB community (task 2.3) Fraunhofer will integrate all comments into a final version of the roadmap which will be endorsed by the core group.
Moreover, the concept for the dissemination event (WS4) will be discussed by the core group, as regards the presentation of the roadmap and other results as well as additional speakers etc. Workshop 3 will be organised by and held at the ESF.
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WP3: Dissemination
Objectives
- To inform all stakeholders about the European roadmap for SB
- To develop information material targeted for different groups of stakeholders
- To encourage stakeholders to implement the SB strategy within their field of responsibility and to mobilise resources
- To support the stakeholders in the development of implementation measures for the SB strategy and roadmap to achieve their goals
Task 3.1 Targeted information
On the basis of the results elaborated during WP2, Fraunhofer will develop specific information packages for the relevant stakeholder groups, particularly for
- researchers in public and private institutes,
- companies that are or might be interested in commercialising SB approaches,
- policy-makers at the EU and Member States level,
- NGOs, and
- the general public.
The information will be pre-tested with a small sample from all target groups and will be modified according to their feedback.
The information packages will be distributed via e-mail to the actors in the field contained in the inventories, via the SB internet platform and distribution lists of the other EU projects and initiatives in SB. Moreover, they will be made available during the Dissemination event (Task 3.2).
An electronic newsletter for all interested actors will be sent out at least twice a year as well as at occasions of specific interest; the addressees will be drawn from ATG’s comprehensive database of funding agencies, researchers and companies active in the field of SB.
ESF will use all relevant contacts and existing other programmes for networking (e.g. identification of experts for TESSY workshops, presentation of TESSY in other networks, e.g. EuroBioForum events, dissemination)
Task 3.2 Workshop 4: Dissemination event: Opportunities for stakeholders
A workshop will be organised by ESF, its main target group are EU-level and national policy-makers, as well as researchers and enterprises. About 50-80 participants are expected; ESF’s infrastructure will be used to activate the relevant expert networks.
Invited speakers (about two from the Commission, from ESF, two keynote speakers from SB research) will give an introduction into the field and focus on the European perspective. The results obtained so far and the roadmap will be presented and discussed. Existing best practice (in terms of research funding, networking etc.) from the MS will build another input.
On this basis, opportunities for the different stakeholder groups and in different fields of application will be developed. Next steps in approaching the goals of the roadmap will be discussed while considering the different starting conditions and regulatory frameworks within the Member States. The specific goals will be formulated in an operational and measurable way for later evaluation. The presentations and discussions of the dissemination event will be documented and the documentation will be broadly disseminated via the routes outlined in Task 3.1.
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WP4: Sustainable implementation of the SB strategy at Member State and institutional level
Objectives
- To ensure sustainable continuation of the SB strategy process after the dissemination event on the EU and Member State level
- To stimulate activities for the mobilisation of public and private resources for SB in Europe
- To co-ordinate and support the development of a national SB strategy in the EU Member States in accordance with the EU strategy
- To support the implementation of measures alongside the European roadmap on the Member States level in accordance with the EU roadmap
- To review the achievements obtained so far in the EU and Member States and identify and overcome hindrances and barriers
Task 4.1 Tool to support the development of a SB strategy at national of institutional level
In order to implement longer-term strategies aiming at the roadmap’s objectives with sustainable results it is not sufficient to disseminate the roadmap, but practical support has to be given to the stakeholders which are tailored to the Member States’ specific conditions.
Therefore, a self-assessment tool will be developed by Fraunhofer which allows Member States decision makers to identify their organisation’s or country’s position relative to the roadmap. Thus, the tool will support the development and follow-up of national or institutional SB strategies. The self-assessment tool is based on a database that contains the relevant, regionally organised information on projects and activities, research institutes and other stakeholders, framework conditions for marketing approval etc. which has been collected in WP1, as well as on goals and milestones of the roadmap. It allows to enter own data and compare the national situation with assessment criteria which are derived from the roadmap. The tool allows Member States policy-makers to identify their organisation’s or country’s position relative to the roadmap. Thus, the tool will support the development and follow-up of national or individual SB strategies.
Task 4.2 Workshop 5: Implementation: International co-ordination of efforts and review of national achievements
A workshop will be organised by Fraunhofer together with the ESF to which EU and national policy-makers are invited. ESF will use its networks to activate representatives from national funding agencies for participation. Its aim is to follow-up the plans and opportunities developed in the dissemination event (WS4). The self-assessment tool will be presented and participants will be educated to use it. Examples of best practice from the Member States will be presented and their transfer to other countries or organisations will be evaluated. Potential barriers will be identified that might or actually have hampered the implementation of long-term activities. Co-ordination of national activities will be encouraged and supported. Future follow-up measures will be identified to assess the progress that the Member States have made relative to the roadmap, e.g. in the framework of the European conference on synthetic biology or other events.
The results of the workshop will be documented and disseminated via the routes described in Task 3.1.
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WP5: Project management
Objectives
- To promote ensure the quality of the research on the overall as well as on the workpackage and task level
- To ensure the quality and timely submission of all deliverables
Description of work
The general quality management for the consortium is described in section B.5. It is based on the rigorous following of the project plan laid down in its milestones and deliverables. The WP leaders as well as the coordinator have the responsibility to control, and a clear share of responsibilities for the quality of the deliverables checked by the WP leaders as well as by the co-ordinator.
All meetings and workshops are used to review the progress and discuss the next steps. The Commission is invited to each meeting, that the agenda and invitations are sent well ahead. Minutes are prepared of all meetings and sent to the partners as well as to the Commission. The ESF standing committee acts as an external supervisory body. The Commission is kept up-to-date on all steps by frequent informal contacts with the coordinator.
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