Gunnar Buckau, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany Topical information meeting on: Management of radioactive waste and other activities in the field of nuclear technologies and safety 11 July 2005, Brussels Gunnar Buckau, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Germany - My background (for the present purpose) - IP FUNMIG (fundamental processes of radionuclide migration) - Preparation of the proposal - Management of the IP Basic approach, Assuming that you are interested in taking a leading role in project preparation. Even if you are not, you will benefit from understanding the behavior of the ones who do. Personal views on some topics.

My background Involvement in EC project activities (Euratom): MIRAGE (MIgration of RAdionuclides in the GEosphere) (from mid-eighties) .. HUMICS, FP4 (Coordinator) HUPA, FP5 (Coordinator) (just finished) IP FUNMIG, FP6 (Scientific-Technical Coordinator)

IP FUNMIG - Started January 2005 Presently 67 partners in the form of contractors and associated groups. From 17 European countries, including 6 new member states, and Korea, National Waste Management Organizations (8), Research organizations (18), Universities (27), Small and medium sized enterprises (5), and National Regulatory Bodies (9). Consider different form/levels of participation, anchored in the Consortium Agreement

The partners You and the Commission IP FUNMIG (cont.) Structure of work program Six experiment and modeling oriented RTD Components. - One Component on training, knowledge management and dissemination of knowledge. The partners You and the Commission

Preparation of the proposal Potential conflicts between different interests: Scientific-Technical output versus Communication, Dissemination and Training S+T: Partners, vs. Comm., Diss., Training: Coordinator and EC Technical implementation and national interests (autonomous national legal frameworks) Provide knowledge, don’t prescribe implementation Conflicts within countries Between organizations, change in political situation, … Different national situations and objectives of EC funding Advanced implementation programs, generic discussion, long-term storage, … : Volatile Scientific-Technical excellence versus European Dimension/ERA i) Support leading national programs in order to generate “example” ii) Large advanced national programs do not need EC financial support Solution ??

Do not try to replace activity by meetings! Preparation of the proposal (2) Time needed to prepare the proposal: Parkinson (1957): The time used for a task is given by the time available S+T content, background, ….. Document as extensive as possible from the very begining Negotiate on resource distribution (most critical task) Delegate negotiations on specific topics and consult key partners for resource distribution Do not try to replace activity by meetings!

Preparation of the proposal (3) Time needed to prepare the proposal (cont.): Summary: Begin in time, document and communicate progress in project development, Nevertheless, Agreement comes only when there is no time left for discussions (FUNMIG: Final agreement two weeks before submission deadline) No illusions!

Preparation of the proposal (4) Dealing with CPF: I don’t know, assistance from Coordination Secretariat

Managing an integrated project

Managing an integrated project (2) The “Coordinator”: From the Commissions point of view the ORGANIZATION that has the overall project responsibility and that the Commission signs the Contract and communicates with. The actual coordination requires a team, if possible by more than one organization: Legal Officer Financial Officer Scientific-Technical coordinator (or project manager) (Coordination secretariat, fully involved in coordination, in FUNMIG an SME) Coordination requires a team Delegate as much as possible, including the scientific-technical implementation to RTDC leaders

Frequent meetings and discussions does not replace coordination Managing an integrated project (3) Consortium agreement and roles of different bodies Ensure that as much as possible is governed by the Consortium Agreement and the Contract. The role of the Executive Committee is to implement what has been agreed upon The role of the Governing Board is to monitor compliance with what has been agreed upon The role of General Assembly is to ensure that key interests of partners are not affected by the implementation and contract amendments. Frequent meetings and discussions does not replace coordination

Managing an integrated project (4) Involvement of groups with different competence levels and different interests It may be a conflict in the desire to involve groups that may have a limited competence level, especially but not exclusively from New Member States. There may be groups that are interested in participation without “compromising their integrity” (for example national regulatory bodies). Cooperation with groups outside the EU may need a separate cooperation form. The solution in FUNMIG: “Associated Groups” AG’s participate at their own costs AG’s have no formal reporting requirements Separate agreement to be signed ensuring confidentiality (anchored in the CA) - May be used for partners to “enter the system” - Very useful also for training, communication and dissemination of knowledge

Managing an integrated project (5) Financial issues Clear guidance by the Commission Clearly defined in the contract (no additional comments) Trust your Financial Officer, and the expertise at the Commission

Managing an integrated project (6) Reporting The only thing that will have a life-time beyond the project are S+T proceedings, public reports and publications Make clear distinction between management and scientific-technical reporting Management reporting: - “KISS” (Keep It Short and Simple) - Provide partners with templates - Do not request more information than you can process and that anyone will read In FUNMIG: Distinction between “Deliverables” (to be submitted to and accepted by the Commission), and “Project Internal Deliverables” (project internal reporting documents) Scientific-Technical reporting: - Annual project workshop proceedings, with scientific-technical contributions. - The contributions are subject to scientific-technical review. - No partner is required to provide such contributions at a specified point in time, quality is the key parameter

Managing an integrated project (7) Annual review Not yet taken place

Managing an integrated project (8) Intellectual property rights and exploitation of results Not a key issue in FUNMIG, because: End-users are Waste Management Organizations and National Regulatory Bodies, both partners in the projects, and End-users are interested in open information process (publish (almost) everything) Exploitation of results is done via end-users (Disposal safety case)

Managing an integrated project (9) Communication and Dissemination of results Milton Friedman (1976 Nobel Prize, Economy): “You can bring a horse to a well but you can’t make it drink” - Annual workshop proceedings - Publications in scientific and technical journals - Training workshops, addressing a broad spectrum of organizations Present the project at conferences Distribute project presentation Create and use “generic poster”/flyers Public Homepage (www.funmig.com) Keep as many documents as possible “public” Use the public homepage to display all public documents

General conclusion Project preparation takes time and nerves, keep key partners strongly involved Final agreement will come when there is no more time for discussions Ensure that the Consortium Agreement and the Contract (Annex I, description of work) are clear The role of different bodies is to ensure that the agreed upon process is implemented Delegate as much as possible, also in view of involvement in management Consider involvement of more than one organization in the coordination team Frequent meetings are nice, but do not ensure effective project implementation Keep S+T and management reporting clearly separated Keep management reporting clear, short and simple Define reports as “public” wherever possible Make extensive use of the public webpage

And, finally .. The Commission is slow, but Very competent, and Very helpful. Accept that some things take their time.

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