EU Projects
1. ALCUENET
The Caribbean Science Foundation is a participant in the ALCUENET project. ALCUENET is a collaboration between 17 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union. The ALCUENET Website is at http://alcuenet.eu/.
ALCUENET partners participate in conferences and workshops to develop policy and prioritize topics for research, development and innovation within key areas that are of interest to the three regions: Energy, Information and Communications Technology, Bioeconomy, Biodiversity and Climate Change.
On May 25-27, 2015,the CSF hosted the annual ALCUENET Latin America and the Caribbean National Contact Points meeting in Barbados at the Divi South Winds Hotel. CARICOM representatives, Ministers of government, Country representatives, researchers, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and other stakeholders gathered to discuss ALCUENET’s key areas of interest.
The main objectives of this workshop were to:
a) to inform and update all participants about the opportunities for third countries in European Union’s New Innovation and Research Framework Programme – Horizon 2020
b) to develop and strengthen the capacities of existing LAC NCP and also expand the LAC NCP network.
The achievement of both objectives allowed the generation of the necessary synergies to enhance the science and technology cooperation between both regions (EU & LAC).
More details will be available here.
2. ERANET-LAC
The CSF is a partner, along with 15 EU and Latin American countries, in the ERANET-LAC project. The ERANET-LAC project is a network of the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on Joint Innovation and Research Activities. It strengthens the bi-regional partnership in Science, Technology and Innovation by planning and implementing concrete joint activities, and by creating a sustainable framework for future bi-regional joint activities.
As a partner in ERANET-LAC, the CSF participates in workshops and conferences to discuss coordination of existing and new projects in ICT, Bio-Economy, Bio-Diversity/Climate, Energy and Health, to promote synergy. ERANET-LAC has conducted two joint calls to fund proposals in the above topic areas, and several joint projects have now been selected for funding. More detailed information about ERANET-LAC can be found at http://eranet-lac.eu/.
ITCity Project
Under the second joint call, the CSF is now participating in one of the selected projects in the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) thematic area. The project has been given the short title of ITCity, and it concerns the applications of ICT to Energy for Smart Cities. The consortium is led by Latvia, and other participating countries in the project are Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Romania and Turkey. Because of the origin of the CSF funds for this project, only Barbados companies were eligible to participate under the CSF banner. AES Energy Systems has been awarded a grant from the CSF to participate in the consortium. Thus, Barbados has become the 7th consortium member.
Project Summary
“ITCity is aimed at responding to the citizens’ needs for new information technology applications of various energy technologies usage, integrated in an intelligent way at the City level. The general expected results are based on the design of an intelligent ICT platform that will promote energy efficiency initiatives in cities and municipalities, will contribute to urban planning and environmental lifestyle, will take part in active power management of energy consumption, and will support energy end users who become active market players. The creation of a platform for the direct communication with the consumer may also play an important role in the development and consolidation of smart cities, thus supporting the development of innovative services for the electricity market. Project results will also provide system users with solutions related to smart services and will ensure transparency for efficient use of the available resources related to the multi-energy vectors. The newly elaborated intelligent ICT platform will contribute to city energy ecosystem, and will improve city services and quality of life at the transnational level.”
Below is the solicitation for this opportunity. The solicitation is now closed. It was posted in the Nation News in Barbados on Sunday 9 October 2016, and on the CSF Website.
Grant Funding Available for Barbados ICT Companies under Second Call of ERANET-LAC Project
This serves as a solicitation for proposals from suitable and interested Barbados companies to participate in the ITCity project (summarized below) with our Latin American and European partners. Start-up and small companies (less than 25 employees) only are eligible to apply for this grant. Overhead costs and equipment are not reimbursable under the grant. Period of performance is 2 years. The total amount of funding available from the CSF for this project is €20,000, and one grant award will be made. The proposal page count is limited to 4 pages with fonts no smaller than 10 pt. The-4 page limit does not include the resumes which must be submitted along with the proposal. The application deadline is 11:59 pm November 6, 2016.
The simplified application process consists of filling out the proposal template below and returning it by e-mail to the CSF along with the resumes of the key researchers in the company. It is envisioned that the successful SME ICT Company will benefit from collaboration with our European and Latin American partners, and that the project will further strengthen the ICT capacity of the Region, and Barbados in particular. The successful applicant will be given full access to the entire proposal submitted by the other partners, before being introduced to the partners. Your proposal must be prepared using the template provided in the link below:
Proposal Template for CSF ERANET ICT for Smart Cities
The proposal form above, along with resumes of the key research personnel must be submitted by e-mail to csfhdq@gmail.com with the subject line “Proposal: ICT for Smart Cities-Barbados” by 11:59 pm November 6, 2016.
More general information about the ERANET-LAC project can be found at http://eranet-lac.eu/.