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Language: en
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15.3.2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 74/9

Call for proposals for indirect RTD actions under the specific programme for research, technological development and demonstration �Confirming the international role of Community
research�(1998 to 2002)

INCO DEV

(Shared cost actions, concerted actions, thematic networks)

Call identifier: ICFP500A4PR02

(2000/C 74/07)

1. In accordance with the Decision of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 22 December 1998, concerning the
fifth framework programme of the European Community
for research, technological development and demonstration
(RTD) activities for the period 1998 to 2002 ( [1] ) (hereinafter
referred to as the fifth framework programme), and with the
Council Decision of 25 January 1999, adopting the specific
programme for research, technological development and
demonstration �Confirming the international role of
Community research�( [2] ) (hereinafter referred to as the
specific programme), the European Commission hereby
invites proposals for indirect RTD actions under the
specific programme.

In conformity with Article 5 of the specific programme, a
work programme ( [3] ), speciying detailed objectives and RTD
priorities and an indicative timetable for their implementation, was drawn up by the European Commission to
serve as the basis for implementing the specific programme.
The objectives, priorities, indicative budget and types of
indirect actions referred to in this call correspond to those
set out in the work programme.

2. This call relates to proposals, specified under point 4 of this
call, called by a fixed deadline, following which evaluation
will take place, and following which no other proposal will
be considered under this call.

Proposals are submitted in one step.

3. The specific programme is implemented notably through
indirect RTD actions as provided for in Annexes II and IV
to the fifth framework programme and in Annex III to the
specific programme.

Evaluation and selection criteria and modalities relevant to
this call are given in the fifth framework programme, the
specific programme, the Council Decision of 22 December
1998, concerning the rules for the participation of undertakings, research centres and universities and for the
dissemination of research results for the implementation
of the fifth framework programme ( [4] ) (hereinafter referred
to as the rules for participation and dissemination), and the
work programme.

( [1] ) OJ L 26, 1.2.1999, p. 1.
( [2] ) OJ L 64, 12.3.1999, p. 78.
( [3] ) European Commission Decision C(2000) 595.
( [4] ) JO L 26, 1.2.1999, p. 46.

Information on these rules and on how to prepare and
submit proposals is given in the Guide for Proposers,
which can be obtained, along with the work programme
and other information relating to this call, from the
European Commission at the following address:

European Commission
DG RDT-E-4
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200
B-1049 Brussels
E-mail: inco@cec.eu.int
Web: http://www.cordis.lu/fp5

4. Those eligible to participate in indirect RTD actions under
the specific programme, according to the rules for participation and dissemination, are hereby invited to submit
proposals that address the following parts of the work

programme.

INCO DEV

(shared cost actions, concerted actions, thematic networks)

RESEARCH FOR DEVELOPMENT

ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific), ALA (Asia, Latin America)
and Mediterranean countries (including Mediterranean
partner countries

deadline: 15.9.2000

budget: EUR 85,5 million

call identifier: ICFP500A4PR02

Objectives and approach

The objectives of the programme are to undertake research
to tackle the challenges posed to developing countries; to
mobilise the strengths, expertise and ressources of the
European scientific community jointly with developing
country research teams; and, to use RDT cooperation to
support Community development cooperation policy in
line with current strategy.

For research on these issues to be successful, the nature of
the research intervention needs to be correctly matched to
the nature of the problem to be tackled. Therefore, the
programme favours inter- and multidisciplinary approaches
in research proposals. In order to achieve this, the

C 74/10 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 15.3.2000

programme envisages an integrated scheme consisting of
three levels of research: (a) policy research to determine
the conditions for sustainable development, including
gender issues, involving the State, market forces and civil
society; (b) systems research on complex issues invloving
many interacting components, such as, rehabilitation and
management of renewable natural resources or health
care; (c) ressearch on specific scientific and technological
problems to generate tools for sustainable development,
which can be used in a particular context of system
management or policy development.

This three-level scheme creates unity in the programme
since it can be applied to research independently of
thematic area and also to cross-sectoral subjects. In the
design of the programme, due importance is given to
research on individual scientific or technological problems
on a sectoral basis. However, it is recognised that the policy
and systems backgrounds to these problems, need to be
examined on a broader front. The approach thus also
includes a process of thematic concentration, with policy
research covering strategic sectors and representing the
broadest thematic range, systems research narrowing to
natural capital and the human environment, including
health, and tools research focusing on specific key items.

In order to guarantee quality, the programme will employ
the same practical methods of operation as adopted by the
FP5 thematic programmes; developping country partnerships will be constructed on a regional basis. The
programme will thus extend the scope of Community
RTD to other geographical regions. Moreover, the
programme will strengthen and add value to ongoing
research, reduce isolation of developing country scientists,
enable them to work at an international level while based in
their own institutions, and provide training opportunities.
The programme will complement Community development
cooperation policy and therefore will not include technical
assistance or other methods of operation characteristic of
development aid.

The priorities are continouously focused, on a regional
basis, following dialogue with developing countries.

Deliverables

�identification of policy options for RTD, for meeting
basic needs and for use of renewable natural resources,

�improved systems of renewable natural resources use in
rurual and urban areas and improved health systems,

�cost-effective tools for improved health, agricultural and
agro-industrial production and water management,

�enhanced Europe-developing country and international
policy dialogue,

�strengthened Europe-developing country links, especially
working partnerships among scientists and increased
appreciation of commercial and other opportunities,

�strengthened research base in Europe and developing
countries, including trtaining and institutional development.

Priorities for the year 2000 call

(a) Policy research on the conditions for sustainable development

(All regions except Mediterranean partner countries.
Priority to concerted actions and thematic networks)

Research will aim to identify the socioeconomic and
policy conditions and the corresponding implementation
mesures that facvour progress in sustainable development. It will apply to public policy issues, and will
invlove the State, market forces and civil society. Some
issues will be of broad application while others will be
specific to a particular geographical region, ecosystem or
technology application. The direct outcome will be
policy options, which may be used by decision-makers
to direct and influence policies. This will be achieved by
looking at past policies, at the prevailing situation, and
particularly at scenarios for the future.

Research proposals should lead to a set of options which,
without being prescriptive, will provide clear indications
for decision-makers about the likely consequences of
pursuing different courses of action in terms of societal
objectives such as economic growth, equitability,
environmental sustainability, etc. It is highly desirable
that proposals should integrate partnerships of
researchers with decision-makers in order to capitalise
on each other’s competence and viewpoint, as well as
to facilitate the adoption of research results. Priorities
for the year 2000 call are:

(a.i) Making the most of research: RTD in the global

knowledge society

The aim of this theme is to determine how to
ensure effective use of the resources invested in
RTD in developing countries. This means
considering demand for research from users as
well as supply factors, such as the often dispersed
and uncoordinated sources of support to research or
the relative isolation of researchers. The theme
focuses on the contribution of research to:

15.3.2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 74/11

�efficient and cost-effective RTD policies in
developing countries, considering aspects such
as public and private investment, regional and
international cooperation, institution-building,
links to education and training, universityindustry cooperation, use of mass media and
telecommunications, intellectual property rights,
and methodologies for impact assessment and
priority-setting,

�policies for the use of innovative information
society technologies in teaching and learning
processes, including lifelong learning, and
distance learning in the specific context of
developing countries and new, existing or traditional knowledge, and information systems
supporting sustainable development.

(a.ii) Natural resource use and economic production: adaptation

to globalisation and ensuring harmony with the
environment

Economic development processes are placing
increasing pressure on natural resources and the
environment. Developing economies must be
progressively integrated in the global market. The
challenge is to design policies, which harness these
processes for the benefit of developing countries in
such a way that people’s living conditions are
improved or at least maintained. Natural resources
and long-term productive capacity are also to be
conserved or rehabilitated where required. As key
facilitating sectors, water energy, communication
and transport need particular attention. The
research in this part of the programme should
contribute at least to one of the following focal

areas:

�design of policies to promote alternative income
generation from natural resources, quality and
value-added goods and services from natural or
modified ecosystems, with a concern for biodiversity conservation, which can mitigate the
negative environmental impacts of market
systems,

�improved decision of policies that promote
economically efficient and environment-friendly
water, energy, communication and transport
systems suited to end-user requirements,

�development of policies to exploit ecological
and/or economic comparative advantage in agri

cultural and fisheries production while maintaining natural and social capital, bearing in
mind issues of biosafety,

�understanding of interactions between international money flow, investment and trade in
environmentally sustainable activities. This
includes regional and global impacts of
national economic and environmental policies,
with emphasis on industrialised/developing
country interactions.

(b) Systems research on natural capital and the human
environment, including health

(All regions except Mediterranean partner countries.
Priority to shared cost actions and concerted actions)

Following on from the broader analysis of policy options,
this activity deals with a practical approach to systems,
emphasising the relationship between human activity and
the environment.

(b.i) Strategies for rural productivity: ecosystem management
for sustainable

Growing population, economic growth, and
demands from commercial systems of production
and export are placing increased pressures on
natural and managed ecosystems. This leads to
the twin questions: what are the limits to
ecosystem productivity and what management
strategies need to be implemented in order to
maintain production without compromising the
resource-base, such as soil, water and biodiversity.
Ecosystems considered range from the pristine to
those converted in varying degrees to agricultural
use, the terrestrial and teh aquatic. Priorities for
the year 2000 call are:

�study of the processes involved in obtaining
from natural ecosystems products and
services, such as forest products, fish and
shellfish, medicinal plants or recreation, or in
rehabilitating lost productivity including
through protected areas,

�analysis of socioeconomic factors, such as land
and water tenure and distribution, labour
availability, gender issues, population trends
or local knowledge and practice, determining
productivity of the most important managed
ecosystems,

C 74/12 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 15.3.2000

�systems analysis of type and intensity of
exploitation of agro-ecosystems and fishing,
to identify limits to sustainable production
and to enhance harvest outputs,

�research on new or improved systems for agricultural production or ecological function for
marginal conditions, with emphasis on water
harvesting, conservation farming and agroforestry,

�establishment and validation of criteria,
creation of indicators of sustainability and
rehabilitation, and design of adequate tools,
including related information systems, for
practical use in ecosystem management.

(b.ii) Managing the human environment and the rural-urban
interface: health systems, water management and land

use

Population movement from countryside to towns,
the ensuing links between these two areas and
urban spread into rural areas contribute to a
growing importance of the rural-urban interface.
Human welfare and the environment are often
casualties of the urban growth that is proceeding
rapidly in all parts of the developing world. The
objective of this theme is the design of systems to
reduce the negative impact, to contribute to
human welfare and provide employment.
Priorities for the year 2000 call are limited to:

(b.ii-1) H e a l t h s y s t e m s

�improving health systems form central to
peripheral level, focusing on equitable and
accessible health-care delivery, quality of
care, health service and uptake, use of
human resources and improvement of health
information systems including monitoring and
evaluation. In the context of health systems,
attention should be given to the coverage of
vulnerable groups and reproductive health.

(c) Tools for sustainable development

(Mediterranean partner countries only eligible for part
(c.ii). Priority to shared cost actions and concerted
actions)

Research activities at this level focus on individual technological steps, which might be of direct application or
which need combining into more complex technological
packages for their explitation. In either case research
should be targeted directly at significant problems,
which have been identified in the context of policy or
of potential application in a particular system. Proposals,
which involve a multidisciplinary approach, are strongly
encouraged.

(c.i) Tools for helath improvement: attacking major health
problems

The spread of drug resistance and shortcomings in
treatments demand a search for alternatives.
Control strategies are frequently limited by lack
of knowledge of the biology of pathogens and
disease mechanism. Testing and use of new
control strategies demand better diagnosis. In all
cases research needs to bear in mind the socioeconomic context of the target population.
Priorities for the year 2000 call are:

�design, early stage testing and delivery of
drugs, including bioactive natural compounds
of regional importance for predominant
endemic diseases, with particular attention to
drug resistance,

�design and early stage application of simple
and robust diagnostic tools for routine health
care and for research purposes.

(c.ii) Technologies for sustainable crop and animal
production: building blocks for improvement

Growing population, demand for increased quality
in the diet and rising expectations resulting from
economic progress pose a challenge to agriculture.
Additional problems arising from the transition
from subsistence to commercial patterns of
production require the continuous search for technological solutions. Research will focus on technologies suited to small-scale production systems
or to production systems under environmental
constraint without eroding natural resources and
without over-dependence on inputs. Priorities for
the year 2000 call are:

15.3.2000 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 74/13

(c.ii-1) c a s h c r o p s a n d f o r e s t r y :

(For cash crops, only the crops listed under
regional priorities will be considered)

�breeding, and tools for breeding (including the
use of modern technologies) for desirable
traits: quality, resistance to biotic or abiotic
stress and improved storage characteristics,

�cost-effective and environment-friendly pest
and disease management, particularly using
integrated approaches,

�agricultural practices for improved production,
such as fertilisation and irrigation techniques,
intercropping and crop rotation, agro-forestry,
bilological nitrogen fixation and the use of
mycorrhiza,

�afforestation techniques for restoration of
woodland and enrichment of degraded stands,

�environment-friendly and more efficient
processing technologies for storage, quality,
use and marketing of products;

(c.ii-2) a n i m a l p r o d u c t i o n

�economic utilisation of non-domesticated
terrestrial animal species, which could have a
market interest: reproduction, feeding and
husbandry under full captivity, partially
restricted or quasi-natural conditions;

(c.ii-3) a q u a c u l t u r e a n d f i s h e r i e s

�identification of suitable source populations
with profitable traits, integration of associated
analytical tools and populations to selective
breeding programmes,

�influence of nutition, environment and
husbandry on the health of farmed species,
including utilisation of local resources for
feeding, disease prevention and cure,

�extensive and semi-intensive culture techniques using natural productivity of existing
water bodies,

�cost-effective measures to reduce by-catch and
discards with the aim of adding value and
ensuring total quality.

Regional priorities:

(applying only to (c.ii-1) cash crops

Africa, Caribbean and Pacific:

Oilseed crops: peanut (Arachis hypogea), soya bean
(Glycine max), oil palm (Elaeidis), coconut palm
(Cocos nucifera), shea trees (karite, Butyrospermum,
Vittellaria), jatropha (Jatrohpa curcas)

Fruits and vegetables

Coffee (Coffea spp), cacao (Theobroma cacao), tea
(Thea sinensis)

Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis)

Cotton (Gossypium spp)

Asia:

Oilseed crops: oilseed rape (Brassica napus), peanut
(Arachis hypogea), soya bean (Glycine max), oil
palms (Elaeidis), coconut palm (Cocos nucifera)

Fruits and vegetables

Tea (Thea sinensis)

Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis)

Cotton (Gossypium spp)

Jute (Corchorus)

Mediterranean:

(excluding breeding for abiotic stress resistance):

Oilseed crops: peanut (Arachis hypogea), olive (Olea
europea)

Fruits and vegetables

Cotton (Gossypium spp)

Latin America:

Oil seed crops: peanut (Arachis hypogea), oil palm
(Elaeidis)

Coffee (Coffea spp), cacao (Theobroma cacao)

Fruits and vegetables

Rubber (Hevea brasiliensis)

Cotton (Gossypium spp)

When submitting a proposal for an RTD project or a concerted
action, proposers may include an application for a bursary for
young researcher from developing countries. Further
information on this scheme is given in the Guide for

proposers.

C 74/14 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 15.3.2000

5. Proposals must be sent before or on the deadline applicable
to that type of indirect action:

�by Post, preferably registered, (confirmed by the
postmark) to:

European Commission
ORBN 8
Call �INCO-DEV�
(call identifier)
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200
B-1049 Brussels

�or, by courier ( [1] ) or hand-delivered, before or on 5 p.m.
(Brussels local time), as confirmed by acknowledgement
of receipt, to:

European Commission
ORBN 8
Call �INCO-DEV�
(call identifier)
Square FrŁre Orban/FrŁre Orbanplein 8
B-1000 Brussels

or

to a European Commission delegation office in a
developing country by a proposer based in that country,

�or, by electronic submission, the details of which are
given in the Guide for proposers. When packaging a
proposal for electronic submission, two files are
created. The first is a small validation file which
provides basic information on the proposal and a
unique identification code. This validation file must be
received by the European Commission before or on the
deadline specified above. The second file contains the
proposal and must be received unmodified, as verifiable
from the unique identification code, not later than 48
hours after this deadline.

( [1] ) For courier services that require a telephone number for the
recipient, please use (32-2) 296 02 45.

Proposals sent by post must be posted before or on the
applicable deadline. Proposals received by the European
Commission up to 10 working days after this deadline
will be accepted if both sent by post and clearly postmarked
before or on the deadline. Proposals sent by courier service
or hand-delivered must be received before or on the
deadline.

Proposers are requested to use only one of the methods
described above, by which to submit proposals, and to
only submit one version of any given proposal. In the
case of an eligible proposal being received in both paper
and electronic formats, only the electronic version will be
retained.

6. In all correspondence relating to this call (e.g. when
requesting information, or submitting a proposal) please
quote the relevant call identifier.

In submitting a proposal, either on paper or electronically,
proposers accept the procedures and conditions as described
in this call and in the documents to which it refers.

According to the rules for participation and dissemination
and the European Commission regulation for implementing
them, Member States and Associated States may have
access, on presentation of a reasoned request, to useful
knowledge which is relevant to policy-making. This
knowledge must have been generated by those RTD
actions supported as a result of this call and which
addressed a part of the work programme specified as
eligible for such access.

All proposals received by the European Commission will be
treated in strict confidence.

The European Community pursues an equal opportunities
policy and, in this context, women are particularly
encouraged to either submit proposals or to be involved
in their submission.