- Access provision
User groups will benefit of ‘free of charge’ access to one or more infrastructures, or a part of them (i.e. installation), offered in the JERICO-NEXT TNA program during three Calls, planned once per year from 2016 to 2018, if their proposals pass the evaluation and selection phases.
- Eligibility of user groups
In compliance with Article 16.1 (Rules for providing trans-national access to research infrastructure) of the Grant Agreement (European Commission, 2015), a user group is eligible when the following conditions are satisfied:
- The access must be transnational, i.e. the user group leader and the majority of the users in the group must work in a country other than the country(ies) where the installation is located.
- Only user groups that are allowed to disseminate the results they have generated under the action may benefit from the access, unless the users are working for SMEs.
- Access for user groups with a majority of users not working in an EU or associated country is limited to 20 % of the total amount of units of access provided under the grant.
- Modality of Access
Unless otherwise specified, access to a specific infrastructure (or a specific installation that is part of an infrastructure) by a user group is to be intended as a concession granted to use the infrastructure to collect specific data following the implementation of a specific automated measuring system. A written contract or agreement between the “Access Provider“ and the “End User” will delineate the actions to be undertaken, the resources that will need to be allocated, the length of planned user stays (if any), and the period of use. It will also define the rights and obligations of all the Parties involved, including eventual provisions for early termination of the conferred access.
Unless otherwise stated (e.g. for the use of gliders), the measuring system shall be provided by the user group.
Whenever possible, the start and end of an access interval will be set by the access provider to coincide with times scheduled for the ordinary maintenance of the installation in the interests of financial economy (e.g. limiting the costs of vessel-time needed to access the infrastructure, etc.).
It is mandatory that user groups interact directly with the managers of the infrastructures/installations they wish to use during the preparation of proposals
- to verify the particulars of access to the infrastructure/installation they wish to use, and
- to verify the feasibilities of the proposed projects and address practical concerns.
- Support to user groups
Besides the access conceded free-of charge, the user groups will receive logistical, technical and scientific support by the access provider, and any special training required to use the assigned infrastructure.
Users will receive a financial contribution for travel and subsistence costs for visiting infrastructures, if justified. Funds for shipping users’ equipment are also available, and the amount conceded will be evaluated case-by- case. A comprehensive nominal reference amount of 3000-6000 € is available to each project. The effective grant assigned to a project will be considered case- by-case depending on the type of access, the types and number of facilities requested, the length of stay, and the costs in the visited country.
- Post-access requirements
- At the stipulated end of the access project, the user group leader must submit a report describing the resulting technical and preliminary scientific outputs within 30 days (see Annex 3). The report will be published on the JERICO-NEXT web site, and will be made available to the European Commission if requested.
The receipt and approval of this report will be required to finalize any and all financial support received by the user group, as indicated in the relevant TNA End-user Agreement.
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Any publications or patents resulting from the JERICO-NEXT TNA project must be reported to the host institute and the JERICO-NEXT TNA office. Furthermore, all such publications or patents shall acknowledge the support of the European Commission’s H2020 Framework Programme under grant agreement No. 654410, JERICO-NEXT Trans National Access program, and the host institute.
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Access beneficiaries undertake to reply promptly to all the requests of the JERICO-NEXT coordinator and the TNA office relating to their access activities.
- At the stipulated end of the access project, the user group leader must submit a report describing the resulting technical and preliminary scientific outputs within 30 days (see Annex 3). The report will be published on the JERICO-NEXT web site, and will be made available to the European Commission if requested.