International Multidisciplinary Neuroscience Research Center

The Organising Committee Meeting

Direct EU funding for this first Organising Committee Meeting through the EU 7FP National Contact Points may be possible.

Since the potential of the Congress shall outlive the present EU Framework Programmes, this first OCM shall be based on the overall IMIRC Framework Structure.

The OCM can then be partly used to consider how the global presentation of the different IMIRC Workshops (please refer to the Network Programmes in Part I of the IMIRC) can be adapted when/if required/needed in order to be eligible for Commission funds: as you know, some SSAs/CAs require Workpackages (WPs), some not and in some cases WPs have to be adapted and are just not appropriate.

Former EU project Coordinators who have had some experience in dealing with EU projects in the past would also be welcome. Ideally, a PC/NC could be (have been) at the same time a present/former EU project coordinator.

The Organising Committee Meeting shall discuss:

	the overall Congress Framework Organisation and Structure : how shall the different Network Programmes and Workshops be inter-articulated
	Workshop Application: the basic idea is two workshop themes per applicant: 1) a focussed conventional horizontal proposal; 2) a more experimental vertical avant-garde proposal.
	Workshop Participation. Two categories: 1) Workshop Coordinator (WSC). - 2) Workshop Group Member (non-WSC).
	Workshop Sessions
	Workshop Themes
	The Transition: PART I ---> PART II ---> PART III of the IMIRC
	IMIRC
	Coordination

Note: if there are too many specialised Workshop Themes and not enough workshop participants per Workshop Theme (= workshop session), then Workshop Coordinators may have to be regrouped under more general Workshop Themes. This shall have to be discussed.

	Registration
	Funding for the IMIRC: EU (SSAs, CAs, ...), sponsors, donations, other sources of financial support (through concerts, shows, mass media coverage (e.g. telethon), ...), private investments, ...
	How to best present a proposal for IMIRC funding to the Commission (or elsewhere): i.e. how can the global presentation of the different IMIRC Workshops (please refer to the Network Programmes in Part i of the Congress) be so adapted that the IMIRC EU (or Other) Proposal shall be eligible for Commission (Other...) funds: as you may know, some SSAs/CAs require Workpackages (WPs), some not and in some cases WPs have to be adapted.
	How shall customised administrative EU Proposal Submission assistance be offered to the participants during the Congress so that he/she not only submits his/her material CORRECTLY to the Commission but with the best chances of success?
	Workshops with SMEs are a bit more problematical for obvious reasons: intellectual property, patents(?) and other business considerations. How are we going to integrate SMEs in the discussions? This has still to be discussed.
	Catering
	Budget for the Congress
	Place of Congress: China
	Date of the Congress: 2008
	Duration of Congress: at least two/three weeks ---> time-table
	Interface issues (academic-business, public-academic, intellectual property/patents-academia/business, ...) - ...

N.B. Should the Congress prove too successful with the General Public, the Congress Organisation may have to be adapted. For example there may be Network Programme Sessions exclusively reserved for those who are on the Academic List and other "open sessions" that shall enable an interactive participation with the General Public. NPCs shall not be able to cope with hundreds (thousands??) of workshop proposals: this issue shall also have to be discussed.

	Accommodation and travel expenses
	Public relations: press, media, publicity, advertising, press conference, ...
	Security issues
	A choice shall also have to be made as regards the management of the whole consortium
	Other ... ?
	Publish its conclusions: these shall be sent to all of the IMIRC participants after the Meeting

Place of the Meeting. The OCM shall be held in Brussels or Tervuren (Belgium).

Date of the Meeting: as soon as the Organising Committee is complete.

Applicants can perfectly well send their Workshop Proposal to her/his NPC if their NPC is already known. If a NPC can come over at the first meeting with some Workshop Proposals, so much the better. Two meetings may be necessary to start with: one, to get acquainted (at last!) and discuss issues directly in a friendly atmosphere; the other, to see how things are shaping up. This second meeting may also be virtual.

Actually, the modus operandi for the Congress is really quite simple and already nearly laid out. One of the main difficulties shall however be to convert the proposals into "EU" 7^th FP eligible format! This is where the real "fun" begins!

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