ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE
CREEP will be coordinated by the CNRS, through a Coordination Team, and managed by a Supervisory Board. The CREEP Coordination Team (executive body) comprises the scientific coordinator (Andrea Tommasi), a project manager (Marie Deguillon), and the EU Contracts Office in the CNRS Regional Delegation Languedoc-Roussillon. The coordination team is responsible for:
– relations with the EU (communication with the REA, preparation of reports and project reviews, informing the REA of any changes in the consortium such as authorized signatures);
– ensuring clear communication between the EU-REA and the CREEP beneficiaries and partner organizations regarding the rules of functioning of an ITN and the associated legal and financial constraints. This will be done thoroughly at the Kick-off meeting at the start of the network, and thereafter by direct communication with the consortium members;
– ensuring the dissemination of “best practice” among consortium members, monitoring its application via a continuous, first-line follow up of the network activities and of the Fellows’ quarterly reports, and convening the SB in case of problems;
– general administrative tasks (coordination of the SB, organization of SB meetings, coordinating the mobility of Senior Researchers and ESR, organization of network assessments…);
– management of contracts (consortium agreement, IP contracts, follow-up of changes in the grant contract agreement…);
– financial management (EC contribution sharing, verification of beneficiaries’ financial reports)
– creation and continuous update of the CREEP website with the assistance of the Fellows.
The CREEP Supervisory Board (decision-making body) will be composed of the coordination team, a representative of each beneficiary and partner organizations, and one elected representative of the ESRs. It will be chaired by the CREEP scientific coordinator and will meet at least once a year (during the initial Kick-off meeting and then during the CREEP annual workshops).
The Supervisory Board will be responsible for the network policy, defining its modes of functioning and assessing their effectiveness, and designing alternative solutions in case of problems. Its main tasks include:
– monitoring the implementation of the research and training programs;
– supervising the hiring procedure, ensuring equal opportunities and gender balance;
– ensuring that the ESRs are given all possible opportunities to develop their career development plan and research in good conditions;
– assessing yearly (by an interview at the end of the first year of contract and later through the evaluation of the quarterly reports) the progress scientific projects and career development plans of the ESRs, ensuring that an adequate balance between the acquisition of scientific/technological and transferable skills is reached and that
the acquired skills will favor employability in both academia and industry, and proposing alternative solutions in case of problems;
– ensuring good communication and exchange of best practice between all CREEP members (beneficiaries and partners) and between senior and young researchers;
– overseeing an effective communication and dissemination of the CREEP results and actions;
– determining assessment procedures and proposing necessary changes in the network functioning;
– control and validation of scientific and financial reports.
The Fellows Board, composed of all ESRs, will formulate its views and propositions for improving the functioning of the network. The elected representative of the ESRs shall then transmit them to the Supervisory Board and ensure that the Fellows are aware of all SB decisions.
To ensure more effective monitoring of the CREEP research and training program, four work groups will be created within the SB board:
– WG1 Research and Scientific training, coordinated by N. Ribe (CNRS-FAST) & M. Kendall (UBRIS)
– WG2 Personal and career development, coordinated by H. Paulssen (UU) & A. Tommasi (CNRS-GM)
– WG3 Relations with industry, coordinated by B. Kaus (JGU) and industrial partners representatives
– WG4 Public Engagement, coordinated by F. Funiciello (UNIROMA3) and N. De Paola (UDUR).
CREEP will encourage personal contacts and networking between administrative staff from all beneficiaries. This ‘administrative’ networking, which will be coordinated by the CREEP administrative coordinator, is important because the administrative staffs play an essential role in the practical aspects governing the life of the network.
A consortium agreement signed by all CREEP participant organizations at the start of the project will define:
– the internal organisation and the management structure of the consortium;
– the financial management strategy of the CREEP network (see below);
– the employment status of the ESRs and the supervision arrangements;
– the rules on dissemination, use and access rights, and the approach to be taken regarding any intellectual property that may arise from the research projects of the network;
– the arrangements for settling internal disputes and defections;
– the liability and confidentiality arrangements between the participants.
