The BIG Science Sweden Guide 2020, is all about big science and is BIG! With a total of 356 pages of information on over 200 companies that have the capacity and knowledge to solve whatever issues the leading research facilities have, and on top of that, there’s information about 69 Swedish academic (i.e., SCIENCE) contributions.

The BIG guide also presents the work of Big Science Sweden, including its role as the official Swedish Industry Liaison Organisation (ILO) that provides support for Swedish companies cooperating with research facilities.

Even more, it lists all the events they have arranged for participants from 10 countries. Read online or download by visiting the Big Science Sweden website here.

Knowledge Transfer Metrics – Towards an EU-wide set of harmonised indicators

An Expert Group was assembled by the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) to examine how best to advance towards an EU-wide set of harmonised metrics for knowledge transfer (KT) in publicly funded research organisations (PROs), including universities. The Expert Group was established in partnership with the ENRIITC Associate, the European Association of KT professionals (ASTP), with the purpose of making use of ASTP’s experience of managing a pan-European data survey.

The tasks identified were to:

• Explore with those active in knowledge transfer across EU Member States the appetite for harmonised metrics and the factors that would influence their adoption;
• Review the 2009 seven core and seven supplementary performance indicators for PROs and test their validity in 2019;
• Recommend a set of harmonised core indicators and a methodology for their adoption.

When developing the recommendations for this “third mission,” that also includes teaching and research, the Expert Group considered the wide-range and diversity of the internationally adopted KT indicators that are in practice today, and pointed out that in many counties the indicators cross over different channels of industry engagement. With that, they determined 10 recommendations for the development of common and consistent European indicators for KT.

The core indicators are:

1. Scope of KT Indicators
2. Set Core Indicators
3. Used Evidence-based Case Studies
4. Track KT’s development
5. Set Common Definitions
6. Implementation Expert Group to Gain Consensus
7. EU-wide collection and reporting
8. Create an integrated database
9. Involve Governmental Bodies
10. EC cross programme consistency

The group established that the EU-wide data should be collected by a credible, neutral organisation, and that KT’s success is the responsibility of PRO leadership. For this reason, they should be a big part of the ongoing conversation.

For more information about the Group’s results, download the full report here.

Expert Graber-Soudry Discusses “Winning Big Science Contracts”

On Tuesday 26 May, 2020, Big Science Sweden hosted the virtual training session, “Winning Big Science Contracts.” Trainer, Public Procurement Expert, and EU Attorney Ohad Graber-Soudry presented: the main stages of the tendering process, how to more effectively submit to tenders, and explained tenderers’ rights for 20+ participants. As former Head of the Legal Division at ESS, he participated in and developed ESS’s procurement rules. This was a great opportunity to find out what we really need to do to win more contracts!

 

Agenda for the day

More specifically, the presentation discussed the importance of the legal framework; why procurement procedures matter; everything we need to know about technical specs; and he also spoke about exclusion, selection, and award criteria. The presentation through line explored how to maximise our chances of success when we’re drafting tenders.

 

Graber-Soudry’s key points and questions:

1. Read and know all procurement documents carefully;
2. Identify the required information and seek professional help from organisations like Big Science Sweden;
3. It is crucial to understand the regulations at different types of plants. Is the facility a national or international organisation, or an ERIC (European Research Infrastructures)?
4. This also applies to various legal frameworks.

The event was co-ordinated by Big Science Sweden’s Anna Hall and Frida Tibblin-Citron.

“It went well and we were 24 participants. One main takeaways from the training was the importance of creating close business contacts with key persons at the facilities, and to register in the different databases. And don’t hesitate to use your country’s ILO for further support,” reported Tibblin-Citron.

Anna Hall also added, “Do not hesitate to contact us. Also, do not hesitate to talk to any technical manager at the plant, and discuss various technical solutions.”

 

This virtual conference presented new knowledge, a chance to network, and good dialogue on procurement education. This also provided added value to increase our chances of winning contracts for the research facilities in the future. To read more about this training and stay up do date on future Big Science Sweden events, please visit their page here.

Today we celebrated World Metrology Day with a webinar hosted by Big Science Sweden and RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden).

The World Metrology Day is celebrated on May 20 every year to celebrate the signing of the meter convention. When the Convention was signed in Paris in 1775 by 17 states, the aim was for a uniform measurement system to be used throughout the world, which in turn led to the introduction of the international measurement system, SI. SI has a fundamental role in our modern society and is a prerequisite for research, technology development and production.

The theme of World Metrology Day 2020 is “Measurements for global trade.” The theme was chosen to create awareness of the important role that measurement plays in facilitating fair global trade, ensuring that products meet standards and regulations, and customers’ expectations of quality.”

According to the Swedish constitution, RISE is responsible for maintaining quality-assured international track gauge technology for 32 different physical sizes, which are currently distributed across 14 different National Measurement sites. The national survey sites contribute and work for academic collaboration with universities and colleges, contribute to international research facilities through, for example, Big Science Sweden and collaborate with Swedish industry

To view the agenda and the speakers, please click here.

To view upcoming Big Science Sweden events, please check our events page or see the Big Science Sweden website.