-Philippe CURY (IRD, Sète, France; coordinator of EOC, member of the coordination team of the EuroMarine project) Coordination, part-time (20%)

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1 Joint CNRS IRD bid to coordinate EuroMarine+ and host the EuroMarine+ headquarter, located in Centre de Recherche Halieutique (CRH), Sète, and Station Biologique de Roscoff, France Please describe your motivation, expectations and ambition for coordinating EuroMarine+ (in maximum 500 words): France possesses 8% of the world's marine Exclusive Economic Zone (second in area only to the US). In this context, two of its main national research organizations propose to jointly coordinate the European network of the marine scientists EuroMarine+. CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) represented by the Institute of Ecology and Environment (INEE) and Institute of Biological Sciences (INSB) and IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement) offer to jointly launch and ensure the initial coordination of EuroMarine+, with headquarters based at CRH, a joint Ifremer IRD research centre located in Sète, on the Mediterranean coast, and the Scientific joint coordination of the Consortium located both at Station Biologique Roscoff and CRH in Sète (see figure). This of course, implies that (according to the Consortium Agreement and provided that a formal approval of the Governing Board is obtained) the consortium for the two first year will be co chaired with one representative from CNRS and one representative from IRD. CNRS has been a partner in the three Networks of Excellence (Es) that merged in EuroMarine+: Marine Genomics Europe (MGE), MarBEF and EUR OCEANS. It has coordinated two of them (MGE and EUR OCEANS). The CNRS (INEE+INSB) component of EuroMarine + will be located in one of its marine station, namely the Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR Roscoff) jointly owned with UPMC, but all marine sciences laboratories operated by CNRS are considered to be involved (and more specifically the 2 other EMBRC France Marine Stations, in Villefranche and Banyuls). IRD has been a partner of the EUR OCEANS E and has subsequently ensured the launch and coordination of its follow up structure, i.e., the EUR OCEANS Consortium (EOC). This joint coordination with a dual geographical base aims to ensure a balanced representation of all three former Es and a strong complementarity of their respective disciplines. Both organizations (and people listed below in the staff section) have actively participated in the EuroMarine project whose aim was to define and launch EuroMarine+. This project has produced a comprehensive business plan and a research strategy for EuroMarine+. The implementation of this plan and strategy represents the key motivation and ambition for the present bid. As a first step, we propose to use the comments gathered by the EuroMarine Coordinator on the draft Consortium Agreement (CA) that was sent to potential EuroMarine+ members to reach final decisions on the issues for which options have been left open (e.g. membership and contribution rules). With the experience of EOC, IRD has a strong record in establishing and managing a dynamic and flexible European programme of activities. Its experience will help finalizing and implementing the legal framework for EuroMarine+ according to the deliverables and decisions taken within the EuroMarine project. The first steps will consist in resuming the negotiation of the CA, gather the signatures of member organisations and establishing the support unit in the form of a legal entity. The implementation of the research strategy and business plan could then start at some point in The ultimate objective is that EuroMarine+ becomes the voice of marine scientists at European level, as a bottom up structure able to: identify and promote new key scientific fields requiring a coordinated and integrated approach at European level; 1

2 organise and fund seed activities upstream of larger projects; contribute to the design of new academic curricula, outreach materials and to capacity building; contribute to the Blue Growth as expected by H2020; offer services to the whole community as deemed appropriate; serve as a focal point in the marine domain for the IPBES (International Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) This would foster the development of EuroMarine+ as a hub for the production of integrated, multidisciplinary analyses and ensure the appropriate communication of results to stakeholders, in order to contribute to a sound science governance interface and the sustainable use of marine resources. Head quarter with 2 staff (for the management and administrative support): Support Unit (Management and Administrative support) at CRH Sète - Pierre-François BAISNÉE (IRD, Sète, France; former executive director of EOC) Executive direction, full time (100%) - Pierre LOPEZ (IRD, Sète) Graphic design, part-time (10%) for web and printed products Scientific coordination support both at CNRS-SBR and CRH-Sète - Catherine BOYEN (CNRS, Roscoff, France; former coordinator or MGE; member of the coordination team of the EuroMarine project) Coordination, part-time (20%) -Philippe CURY (IRD, Sète, France; coordinator of EOC, member of the coordination team of the EuroMarine project) Coordination, part-time (20%) -Frédérique VIARD (CNRS-Roscoff) Actively involved in Marine Genomics Europe and Marbef and Euromarine WP3 (15%) -Fabrice NOT (CNRS-Roscoff) Actively involved in Marine Genomics Europe and Marbef and Euromarine WP3 (15%) - Assistant Engineer (CNRS, Roscoff), part-time (50%) -Yunne JAI-SHIN (IRD, Sète) Actively involved in EUR-OCEANS Consortium (15%) Office costs/year The office should provide the following For the persons listed above: Computers, Stationery, IT support, Telephone conference system, Video conference system For all participants in EuroMarine+ governance or scientific meetings (workshops, conferences): Meeting rooms and video conference or online meeting systems, available in Sète, Roscoff. Wifi acess in all buildings. Occasional access to facilities in Brussels (CLORA offices) and Paris Total t valued at this point. This contribution could evolve as needed for the coordination and management of EM+ Covered by the HQ hosting country Yes Partly: All initial equipment will be provided; but future renewal of the computer equipment strictly and solely linked to the HQ should be budgeted eventually on the future EuroMarine+ budget 2

3 through CNRS, IRD, or regional/national representations would be possible. Salary costs (excluding OH) Only salaries of human resources dedicated to the HQ are indicated here (excluding scientific coordination): IRD: 70 k /year Yes Partly: IRD offers to cover 50% of the total salary cost of P F Baisnée, which represents 35 k, and suggest that the other 50% should be covered by the EM+ budget to secure a full time on executive direction for EM+ Overhead costs (%) IRD: 10% Yes Partly: Office space, complete with ergonomic furniture (m² and number of rooms) IRD CRH Sète: 1 room for the HQ, 1 adjacent room for possible temporary hosts. Total: 30 m2 representing an in kind contribution of The CRH building allows for future possible extensions as EM+ evolves. Services etc. covered by the overhead costs Administrative support Yes Financial support Yes Comments: According to the 'mixed model' decided upon for the legal framework of EM+ and its business plan, some costs will bear directly on the support unit established as a legal entity and its budget; IRD services would however offer support to the Headquarters (HQ). EuroMarine+ scientific coordination secretariat will be also able to rely on the technical support services of the SBR and on the backoffice of the Europe and International Department of CNRS INEE ( environment.html) Comments: Here are indicated the incash minimum contribution of CNRS and IRD for the 1 st year of EuroMarine CNRS SBR: CNRS INEE will allocate 15k in cash contribution per year to support the EuroMarine+ HQ activities and 5k to the scientific coordination secretariat. In addition EuroMarine+ HQ will benefit from the support of the CRH Sete financial offices. IRD has contributed to the Eur Oceans consortium with annual in cash contributions between 30 and 40 K. In 3

4 the future IRD will try to continue at approximately that level. However final and firm level of commitment will be fixed once future IRD budget constraints and final Euromarine+ membership scheme will be known. Grant office support Yes IT support Yes Printing services Yes Postal/courier post Yes Comments: The EuroMarine+ HQ will also benefit from the support of the partnership and knowledge transfer department at IRD for matter related to grant management. Comments: EuroMarine+ HQ will also benefit from the support of the local IT division at CRH Sète. Comments: EuroMarine + HQ will have access to the CRH Sète printing services. Comments: CRH postal Services will handle the HQ's ordinary and special mail. Working conditions incl. salaries, working hours, vacation, HR support, social security and insurances Other in-kind contributions Legal working conditions in France will apply: 38.5h per week, 54 days off a year. As an indication we provide here the in kind contribution of human resources (including overheads) for the Scientific Coordination: CNRS SBR: 134,000 /year CRH IRD: 50,000 /year The local context Describe the location (maximum 200 words) The city/harbour of Sète is located on the Mediterranean coast, 35 km away from Montpellier. Scientific meetings can be organised in Sète or in Montpellier. Montpellier and its region host important scientific centres and academic communities (more than 1000 terrestrial and marine scientists, the biggest ecologist community in France, working in ecology / biodiversity, genetics, population dynamics, etc.). CRH is hosted in a building owned by Ifremer. It was built in 2001 and is 5000m 2 and has an access for boats to the étang de Thau and the Sea. It has one conference room of medium size (60) and two of small size (15 25 people). The Centre has an easy access to a large conference room (150 people) located closely (5 Minutes walk). The Centre is going to expand with an ambitious project linked to the new CPER project in the coming years (with a large 4

5 conference room, new laboratories, etc). CNRS Roscoff Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR) () is located on the Brittany coast of the English Channel in a Natura 2000 site, 60 km aways from Brest and 30km away from the old city of Morlaix. The SBR was founded in 1872 by Henri de Lacaze Duthiers, Professor at the Sorbonne University, who was attracted by the exceptional variety of biotopes in the area. Today the Station Biologique de Roscoff is a renowned research and training centre in marine biology and oceanography, jointly operated by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Pierre & Marie Curie University (UPMC). Distance to nearest airport IRD CRH Sète: 40 km (Montpellier airport) CNRS Roscoff: 55 km (Brest Bretagne Airport) List all means of transportation from airport to HQ incl. travel time IRD CRH Sète: car or taxi: 45 minutes Bus/train: 70 minutes CNRS Roscoff: Car or taxi: 45 minutes Distance to nearest railway station IRD CRH Sète: 5 km CNRS Roscoff: 1 km List all means of transportation from railway station to HQ incl. travel time IRD CRH Sète: Taxi or CRH car (10 ) Bus (20 ) CNRS Roscoff: by foot 15, by taxi 5 Nearby accommodation Yes Capacity: IRD CRH Sète High (hundreds of beds; Sète is a touristic destination) CNRS Roscoff: SBR is a CNRS Conference Centre ( roscoff.fr/conference centre.html ) with two hotels (80 rooms + 6 studios), 2 Breakfast rooms and one Restaurant (lunch / dinner / banquets). Accommodation costs (euro/night and person) range or examples IRD CRH Sète: 45 to 130 CNRS Roscoff: Describe local expertise and support systems Bioinformatics IRD CRH Sète: Multiple centres in Montpellier for example through modelling plateforms developed in the LabEx CeMEB. IRD has an international leading experience in building generic ecosystem models. High speed computers are available through Ifremer and the University. CNRS Roscoff: Analysis and Bioinformatics for Marine Science (ABiMS) Core Facility ( is a bioinformatics platform devoted to the study and the analysis of data on marine organisms (algae, fish, cyanobacteria, picoplankton, etc.). It provides an infrastructure dedicated to scientific computing (clusters, storage facilities, data and tools), a bio analysis service that aims to meet the new challenges in the field of biology (nextgeneration sequencing, metagenome annotation, 5

6 etc.) and strong expertise in developing information systems (databases, interoperability, etc). The ABiMS Core Facility is an integral part of the Roscoff Station and is affiliated with the Computer Services and Genomics Department. It is also part of the national bioinformatics network ReNaBi (Réseau national de bioinformatique) and the bioinformatics technology sector of Biogenouest. Outreach CNRS SBR is involved in many outreach activities at local, national and European level. For instance SBR is coordinating Marinexus a European Project which main objective is to create a network of research and outreach structures, based in Plymouth and Roscoff, in order to give the public information about marine ecosystems in the Western Channel, and to make them aware of the ability of these ecosystems to cope with the effects of human activity. Experience gained and tools/actions developed through Marinexus will be used in Euromarine+. IRD CRH has strong Connection with the Monaco Institute of Oceanography and with aquarium networks that were previously developed in E Eur Oceans. Training CNRS Roscoff: The marine station in Roscoff (as well as in Banyuls and Villefranche) is jointly operated by Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC part of the Sorbonne Universities conglomerate) which makes it a major hub in France and in Europe for higher education in marine sciences, including marine biology and ecology as well as marine geosciences and oceanography. These institutions also have a long tradition of organizing training courses, such as those recently performed in the frameworks of ASSEMBLE, EUROMARINE or MG4U. SBR hosts higher education courses offered by French and foreign universities all year round. Teaching laboratories are available for students and their instructors. IRD, Ifremer and University Montpellier 2 are developing together training activities on the ecosystem approach to fisheries (through initiatives such as AERME, MARES) and Sète is going to expand several of its activities through the coming CPER (see below) User Access CNRS SBR: The Marine Station in Roscoff has a long tradition of hosting national and international scientists and can provide access to a variety of users from France and abroad. Many visiting scientists come to the Roscoff Station to take advantage of its research infrastructure as part of their research project and/or the European programme ASSEMBLE. Roscoff coordinates the French node for the ESFRI European research infrastructure European Marine Biological Resource Center (EMBRC). CRH is accessible through the International Montpellier Airport, close to the Sea the place is pleasant and accessible Risk management 6

7 Innovation Knowledge transfer CNRS SBR is an active member in the Competitiveness Clusters "Pôle Mer Bretagne" that provide strong links with companies, including SMEs, which are very helpful for targeting relevant users and multipliers for knowledge transfer activities. [ mer bretagne.com/innovate to prosper.php]. In addition, CNRS provides support through its regional and national partnership and technology transfer offices for matters related to IP, sub contracting and collaborating projects with the private sector. The experience gained through the FP7 CSA project MG4U (Marine genomics for User) coordinated by SBR will be a real asset for the knowledge transfer activities of Euromarine + IRD CRH intends to develop through the future CPER a scenario laboratory to communicate marine scenarios to various stakeholders (this will constitute a European prototype) Website provision Yes Database management CNRS SBR: The bioinformatics platform at Roscoff, ABiMS (see Bioinformatic section) provides expertise in data integration and the sharing of these databases through web applications CRH is developing an ECOSCOPE (integrated database assembling all the knowledge on marine environment) in close connection to national (through FRB) and International initiatives (GBIFF) IRD has several experts in Sète working on database management. Marketing CNRS SBR will be able to provide Euromarine + HQ with support in the promotion of all activities via the local Communication, outreach and editing service the Communication department of INEE at CNRS Headquarters in Paris Describe the scientific environment CNRS Roscoff Station Biologique de Roscoff (SBR) is a research and training center in marine biology and oceanography, jointly operated by CNRS and UPMC, founded in 1872 hosts ~ 300 scientists including ~40 PhD students. Its missions are: 1) to promote research and education on the biology of marine organisms and ecosystems; 2) to provide access, both for staff and non resident researchers, to the ecological and biological resources of the site; and 3) to carry out long term observations of the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the coastal environment in the vicinity of Roscoff. As a sea front laboratory equipped with marine facilities and integrative biology platforms with dedicated staff, the SBR provides a unique scientific and technical environment for researchers, both permanent and non resident, who wish to apply modern approaches to the study of marine organisms, notably micro and macroalgae, 7

8 Describe the industrial environment Describe the support from Senior management of bidding organisation Describe the political support invertebrates, and fish. It is also a very active marine biological resource centre, providing access to marine biological models both on site and remotely through the shipping throughout Europe of live or fixed organisms. IRD CRH through the unit of research EME212 tends to improve the knowledge of global change's impacts (climate change, growth of the sea products demand and globalization of markets, anthropic pressures of various kinds) on marine ecosystems. The main theme is the study of resistance and resilience of exploited marine ecosystems regarding this change. The goal is to come up to the IPBES expectations (Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), by working out diagnosis on the health state and on the good and services of marine ecosystems, and to suggest scenarios regarding their development. CRH EME has 65 permanent employees and 120 personnel working on various topics related to the ecosystem approach to fisheries. They work at the international level (i.e. in the Mediterranean Sea, Benguela Current, Humboldt Current, Indian Ocean). Fisheries in Sete are the most important in the Mediterranean Sea and Languedoc Roussillon is keen on developing Blue initiatives that will contribute to the economic development (see below) The bid is fully supported by the representatives of CNRS (via its institute of ecology and environment and institute of biological science). Strong political support for marine activities in the Languedoc Roussillon will be provided with a contrat de projets État région CPER), supported by Europe, starting in 2014 to develop a Centre dedicated to the marine environment, to create a network for research, training and Blue Growth. This is a long term and financed project that will definitively contribute to the visibility of EuroMarine+ with strong local and international synergies. The Regional Council of Brittany has always been very supportive of Marine Sciences Research and has recently reported the blue growth topic as a priority on its innovation strategies for smart specialisation (S3) agenda. Describe the country commitment to HQ > 10 years Describe the European added value (maximum 300 words) France is strongly committed to IPBES, a long term strategy on marine biodiversity, to EMBRC ESFRI and to the JPI Oceans, all are major initiatives related to Marine Sciences in Europe, including EM+ HQ which is a key component of this national commitment, now and in the long run Both IRD and CNRS have a high European visibility in Marine Sciences and have demonstrate their commitment to coordinate research activities in this field at the European level through their involvement 8

9 in the coordination of FP6 Marine Networks of Excellence and EOC consortium. The added value of having EuroMarine+ Headquarter in Sète and the Scientific coordination secretariat located both in Sète and in Roscoff will be the opportunity to build on this experience in a complementary way in order to shape a coherent and durable consortium. Based on its vivid maritime economy and its large science community in marine biology and ecology, France is at the heart of all of the main recent European initiatives in this field, either for research coordination (Marine Board, EMBRC, JPI Oceans), higher education (EMBC, MIRES), innovation (MG4U,Marine Biotech, ShareBiotech) or research support. This will warrant an efficient and smooth embedding of EuroMarine + in the ERA in marine sciences. 9

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