Teaming Phase 2

Teaming involves in principle, two (2) parties:

(1) The main applicant organisation (the coordinator) established in a ""Widening"" country that must be either a national/regional authority or a research funding agency or a university or a research organisation.

(2) A university or research organisation with an international reputation in research and innovation excellence.

The proposal for Teaming Phase 2 must:

- Illustrate the scientific and innovation potential of the future Centre of Excellence

- Demonstrate the growth potential and expected socio-economic outreach of the Centre of Excellence for the benefit of the country or region

- Elaborate on the structure of the partnership and on the strong engagement of the partners

- Demonstrate how the newly established/upgraded Centre will have full autonomy in decision making. In particular, the Centre of Excellence should have the maximum degree of autonomy in terms of taking its own decisions, being in legal, admini

Despite efforts to reduce disparities in country research and innovation performance in the EU, sharp differences among Member States still remain. These disparities are due to, among other reasons, the insufficient critical mass of science and lack of centres of excellence having sufficient competence to engage countries and regions strategically in a path of innovative growth, building on newly developed capabilities. Exploiting the potential of Europe's talent pool by maximising and spreading the benefits of research and innovation across the Union is vital for Europe's competitiveness and its ability to address societal challenges in the future. This could help countries and regions that are lagging behind in terms of research and innovation performance to attain a competitive position in the global value chains.

Teaming will support the creation of new centres of excellence or upgrading the existing ones in low R&I performing countries, building on partnerships between leading scientific ins

The creation of new (or significant upgrades of existing) Centres of Excellence in ""Widening"" Countries through the Teaming partnerships is expected to:

- increase the scientific capabilities of these countries and enable them to engage in a strategic growth path pointing to long-term opportunities for economic development.

- through improved scientific capabilities allow these countries to improve their chances to seek competitive funding in international fora (including the EU Framework Programmes).

- over the medium to long term achieve a measurable and significant improvement in terms of research and innovation culture (as shown through indicators such as research intensity, innovation performance, values and attitudes towards research and innovation) of those countries.

- reinforce the potential impact of the new/upgraded Centre of Excellence in terms of sustained excellence through projected measurable key performance and output related indicators.

It should be