UPCOMING CALL FOR TRANSNATIONAL ACCESS TO ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH FACILITIES

ATMO-ACCESS supports Trans-National Access to services offered by selected, first-class European atmospheric research facilities.

TNA is provided in two types:

in person (physical access), with users physically visiting the facility/installation and receiving the service “hands-on”
remotely (remote access), with resources and services offered without users physically visiting the facility/installation

The access is free of charge and includes the logistical, technological and scientific support and the specific training that is needed to use the services provided by the facility.

Eligibility

Proposals for access any of the services of the ATMO-ACCESS facilities are eligible if they meet the following criteria established by H2020 regulations:

TransNationality: the user group leader (project PI) and the majority of the users must work in a country other than the country where the installation providing access is located (except for international organisations, an ERIC, the EC Joint Research Centre, or in case of remote access to a set of facilities in different countries offering the same type of service).
Affiliation: Users must be affiliated to an organisation in Europe. Applications from user groups with a majority of users working outside EU are eligible though limits may be applied (max 20% of the total access available).
Dissemination: User groups shall be entitled to and willing to disseminate the knowledge they will generate under the project, unless coming from the private sector.

Users are warmly encouraged to interact directly with the PIs of the facilities/installations during the preparation of TNA proposals and before their submission to verify details of access, address practicalities and explore.

The evaluation process

Eligible proposals are selected by an independent selection panel considering:

Scientific excellence, considering the scientific and technical value, the originality and novelty, the relevance and impact of the project, the dissemination plan, the quality of the proposing user group etc.
Technical need-driven criteria for increasing instrument performance (maintenance, calibration, QA) and operator training.
Innovation and Market-driven aspects, especially when access involves users from the private sector. In this case, the innovation potential of TNA proposals, possible technological developments as well as market developments and impacts on the economy are principally considered.

The evaluation and selection of the TNA requests shall be completed within about 4-6 weeks of submission provided that:

users and the facilities have already discussed the details of the project before submission
the suitable reviewers are available at the request
no complex integrations or clarifications are requested to users by reviewers

Once the evaluation is completed, the TNA Team will inform applicants of the final decision and of the amount of financial support.

How to apply

To benefit of free of charge access to one or more facilities or installations, users (team of one or more users) need to submit a request in response to one of the calls published in the project.

Application form and guidelines for submission will be available here (in progress).

Young scientists, scientists who have never used atmospheric facilities in their research before, and companies are particularly welcome. ATMO-ACCESS promotes gender equality in scientific research and specifically encourages applications from women.