Towards FP7

Preparations for the launch of the longest, most ambitious European Research Framework Programme are under way. Framework Programme 7 (FP7) is the European Union's main instrument for funding research and development.

The University must start gearing up to prepare sound proposals to gain as much as possible and participate in as many programmes as possible. Ours is a lonely university and the first basic component of FP7 is the one that will benefit small states like ours immensely, namely that of co-operation.

FP7 is intended to support co-operation not only between universities but also between universities and industries, research centres and public authorities.

One problem usually met in Malta both to satisfy EU directives and to carry out our laboratory work commitment is the availability of accredited techniques, which could contribute to both the day-to-day controls and to serious research.

Equipment must be in working condition. When one considers just one instrument, the HPLC, a common analytical tool found in a number of laboratories all over the university and government entities, one immediately grasps the problem: some machines are under utilised while others are not in a properly functioning condition.

The result is that a lot of analytical work is exported outside Malta, while many other research projects just cannot be carried out here. There is a need for consolidation of laboratory testing facilities across government departments and parastatal companies in a national laboratory.

The University may also join in the better use of equipment. Malta is small and analytical equipment requires continuous care and maintenance running into millions of Maltese liri. It also needs a significant amount of well trained human resources, which if fragmented will simply not be available.

If we want to participate fully in FP7 projects, which entail advanced analytical techniques, then the way forward is immediate consolidation. This is the age of teamwork. Gone are the days when each department and ministry gained prestige by having its own little empire and fortress.

The FP7 has listed nine collaborative research areas as priorities. These are: 1. Health; 2. Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology; 3. Information and Communication Technologies; 4. Nano Technologies; 5. Energy; 6. Environment and Climate Change; 7. Transport and Aeronautics; 8. Socio-economic Sciences; and 9. Space and Security.

The University should take an active interest in most of the subjects. Priority number one, therefore, is the consolidation of laboratory facilities into a state-of-the-art national laboratory. Then, priority number two should be the assigning of duties preferably on a full-time basis to a number of research assistants who should immediately receive training to prepare the voluminous applications for the grants.

Although the Commission is proposing to simplify administrative and financial procedures for FP7 by introducing flexibility, rationalisation and consistency, a large number of administrative procedures, communication needs, preparation of documents and the strict following of the many rules and regulations associated with the EU will still need to be meticulously followed.

The following of the proper procedures in preparing the documentation of an application is the key to obtaining a grant. This is why a research assistant with these specific duties is required in each department to support the already highly overburdened academic staff.

It may be necessary that some of these research assistants will need to be recruited from other European countries. However, it may be possible that one can find young graduates in Malta and employ them provided that they commit themselves to assist those who have long experience in the field before endeavouring to build their own new independent areas in the first instance.

FP7 will also establish a European Research Council (ERC) to fund basic research at which it is hoped that Malta will again participate actively.

To encourage us to participate, the latest issue of Ricerka, the newsletter published by the Malta Council for Science and Technology, gives a lot of details on FP7.

It also describes a number of success stories of those who have participated in FP6.

The University, MCAST and the Malta National Laboratory should work jointly with SMEs to make the best joint effort to gain as much support as possible from this largest and most ambitious European Research Framework Programme.