About

NUCL-EU 2020 is a European project funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme that is aimed at aligning and enhancing the services that National Contact Points (NCPs) for EURATOM programme provide to applicants of European funding across Europe and worldwide.

EURATOM NCPs are individuals nominated by their governments with the mandate to spread awareness, provide specialist advice and on-the ground guidance on nuclear energy research funding opportunities within Horizon 2020 and ensuring that the programme is readily accessible to all potential applicants. EURATOM NCPs can guide anyone interested in applying for European funding to identify the right call, guide and support you through the different stages of an application.

NUCL-EU 2020 will run for four years (2015 – 2018) .The consortium is built of 7 NCP institutions that are beneficiaries to the European Commission, under the coordination of The Agency for the Promotion of the European Research (APRE, Italy).

Download the NUCL-EU 2020 Flyer

What is the NCPs aim?

National Contact Points (NCPs) play a crucial role in the Framework Programmes as providers of information and assistance to potential participants (applicants) of new projects and beneficiaries in on-going projects.

They reach out to the European research community in order to inform and raise awareness about the funding opportunities of the Framework Programmes, to advise and assist potential applicants in the preparation, submission and follow-up of grant applications and to offer support during the execution of projects – especially with respect to the management and administrative aspects of projects.

What can NUCL-EU 2020 offer?

NUCL-EU 2020 organises:

  • Training session and twinnings for the NCPs for enhancing their service level for the researchers in the field of nuclear fission and radiation protection and fusion research aiming at developing magnetic confinement fusion as an energy source.
  • Transnational workshops for researchers for giving them information and advise about Euratom Programme.

Impact of NUCL-EU 2020: Opportunities for Euratom NCPs and applicants

The activities performed during the life-cycle of NUCL-EU 2020 will improve the quality of NCP support services across Europe in the field of nuclear fission and radiation protection. Therefore, not only the NCPs will benefit of the positive effect of the project, but also the research community will benefit of a higher level of services and information, that will foster a higher quality of proposals.

The outputs of the project correspond to the expected impact listed in the work programme, that are:

  • Uniform and improved Euratom NCPs services across Europe and simple access to Horizon 2020 calls, lower entry barriers for newcomers and increased quality of submitted proposals.
  • More effective participation of organisations from Third Countries.

The impact at NCP level will have, at the same time, an impact for Horizon2020 applicants:

  1. The NCP role of being the key to access information on Horizon 2020 and opportunities for participation in the programme will be reinforced and consolidated thanks to the dissemination strategy.
  2. NCPs’ knowledge and expertise will be increased thanks to the training programme which will be designed carefully in order to eliminate gaps of knowledge amongst them.
  3. NCPs’ capacity will be enhanced as they have to work jointly as a network: less experienced NCPs can benefit from more experienced NCPs know-how through the twinning and the virtual mentoring.
  4. Common standards and benchmarking will be established for the Euratom NCPs Network so that NCPs’ clients will receive the same information.