What is HSbooster.eu?
HSbooster.eu is a Coordination and Support Action supported by the European Research Area HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ERA-01 Call, managed by the European Research Executive Agency (REA). It is funded by the European Commission under Grant Agreement No. 101058391. The project runs for 24 months from the 1st of April 2022. The Standardisation Booster will map, match train and support upwards of 1,000 Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe projects that have a standardisation outcome in their workplan to navigate the channels towards standardisation in Europe and beyond, ultimately fostering their participation in the EU Standardisation Strategy.
Who are the Experts?
Standardisation Experts are all those professionals who have experience in contributing to National Standards Bodies or European and international Standards Development Organisations and are qualified to advise EU projects on how to contribute to standardisation in their field
Why do we require external Experts?
Part of the services to be offered to the R&I projects who successfully apply to a series of 5 HSbooster.eu open calls, will be strategic, one-on-one, consultancy lasting two days from a standards expert in the project domain, to guide the project in their path towards standardisation. HSbooster.eu will avail itself of the paid contribution of standardisation experts to deliver this service, who come together as the External Pool of Experts.
What type of services will be provided by members of the External Pool of Experts?
Our External Pool of Experts will provide professional support to the successful projects that have applied to the open calls to help them in their standardisation efforts in the specialist’s domain of expertise. This would comprise activities that would vary on a case-to-case basis but would usually involve the following:
• Coaching activities in standardisation practices and procedures;
• Consultancy services for orientation in the specific state-of-the-art of standards in the domain of the beneficiary Project;
• Identify specific areas worth of new standards / revised standards;
• Advise on possible paths for open standards;
• Strategic support for identification of the optimal standardisation path and workflows
What standardisation priorities will the experts provide guidance on?
As experts, you will help projects assess the standardisation readiness of their results and guide them on how these results can feed into standardisation working groups or technical committees. Experts will provide consultancy services to projects on a set of standardisation priorities.
The priorities have been selected based on the standardisation urgencies highlighted in the EU’s Strategy on Standardisation, call priorities in the EC’s funding programmes, active standardisation committees and relevant EU regulation, standardisation mandates, and standardisation requests from the Commission (SREQs). As HSbooster.eu evolves, we will be engaging with standardisation organisations and experts in these fields to validate and further refine or add to these priorities.
How are standardisation experts recruited?
The EPE (External Pool of Experts), hereafter also referred to as the “Experts”, will be recruited via a continuous EPE call, which will remain open throughout the project lifetime. Applications are now open. You can submit your application here.
What happens after experts submit their application to the EPE call?
After submitting the application, it will be evaluated by the HSbooster.eu consortium to check the applicant's eligibility for the role. A feedback will be given by mid-June with confirmation on the eligibility or with a request for further information. The first Open Call for projects applying for the HSbooster.eu services will open late June 2022. We then expect the first services to commence in July. Selection of experts is based on the Open Call topics and the expert's experience in the field. If an eligible expert is selected to deliver a service then we will notify the expert directly via email.
What are the eligibility criteria for standardisation experts to join the EPE?
Applicants should have a proven track record of standardisation expertise in any of the relevant categories connected to the open calls. They should also accept the Terms of Reference, including the Confidentiality Agreement that will be provided once the application is complete and approved. Experts must not be members of the HSbooster.eu Consortium.
Are EPE members contractualised?
Once the expert passes the eligibility check and enters the EPE they are eligible to be called to provide consultancy to a project. If they accept they are contractualised with a standard contract to deliver their consultancy
What if I am unable to sign the contract directly?
The contract would normally be drawn up with you, the expert, as signatory, as the activities are undertaken in a personal capacity. However, should you be unable to directly enter into a contract due to restrictions imposed by your employer, it is still possible to draw up the contract through your employer. Subject to EU-rules for Financial Support to Third Parties, this is would be contingent on you performing the activities as a named specialist and that the full amount of the contribution is devolved to you without applying any overhead or other general expenses.
How many experts will be part of the EPE?
HSbooster.eu, by means of a continuous EPE call, has the goal of contractualising at least 250 Experts.
Do EPE members receive financial support?
Each Expert will benefit from financial support. The financial support for each consultancy delivered is fixed at €800 (eight hundred Euros) and it remunerates the selected Expert for 2 days of work, at the rate of 400€/day. The financial support to each expert shall be capped in any way at € 8,000 (eight thousand Euros), i.e., intervention in a maximum of 10 consultancies.