Work
Package 10

This task will ensure the timely and effective management and coordination of the project by BIOPOLIS. Until the creation of BIOPOLIS Association, and the recruitment of the BoD and the transference from ICETA and/or recruitment of key supporting Administrative and Financial Staff (WP1), management will be made by the Installation Committee described in T1.1, with the assistance of ICETA-CIBIO staff. The IC will be responsible for implementing all tasks during the initial period, including the creation of the BIOPOLIS Association and the transference of competences from ICETA to the Association. It will also organise the kick-off meeting, which will be attended by representatives of consortium partners, and where key decisions for the practical implementation of the project will be taken. After the legal creation and operationalisation of BIOPOLIS, the IC will step down and hand over the coordination and management responsibilities to the BoD. The responsibility of project coordination will be assumed by one of the members of the BoD, who will manage the project with the contribution of the Head of A&DU, a dedicated Project Manager, and the responsible for each WP. This task will develop all activities related to project management, including organization and coordination of project meetings; planning and re-planning of activity programmes; the provision of resources (financial, personnel and related tasks) and monitoring of their use; curating and updating the records of results and deliverables; preparation and submission of periodic reports to the EC, including the cost statements and final report; organise the external evaluations; and identification of the project tolerances and contingency plans. The BoD will interact directly with UM to assure an efficient implementation of the project. Briefly, management of the project on the UM side will be coordinated by an executive board, including the local project leader, and representatives of the Joint Research Units involved in the project and of the two LabExes, CeMEB and AGRO. This board will plan and supervise the tasks and actions allocated to UM, and the alignment of UM with BIOPOLIS CoE Business Plan.

This task is aimed at implementing a plan for the project’s internal communication, which should assure the effective and streamlined communication among the consortium partners. This will involve yearly face-to-face and/or online meetings, which will take place either in the Campus de Vairão or at UM, and will be attended by the BoD, representatives of the consortium partners, and other key personal of BIOPOLIS. Informal communication between participants will be encouraged with a responsibility to report, via the WP-leaders, to the coordinator on significant actions or conclusions and/or, report an issue/problem as soon as it is experienced. For urgent problem-solving, special conference calls meetings will be organised. Internal communication will also involve the set up and use of secure collaborative spaces: all minutes, deliverables and reports will be made available and stored throughout the project’s duration and beyond on a secure-access virtual platform, either internal or cloud-based, thereby reducing the circulation of document via email and other messaging platforms. A tutorial will be organised for the project’s partners to become rapidly familiar with the use of the virtual platform. The progress reports from each WP leader and any deliverables and milestones, defined in the project, will be collected and compiled by the Project Coordinator. All reports will be prepared according to the provisions of the European Commission on reporting in Horizon 2020. The internal communication plan of the project will be reviewed at the middle of the project, or earlier if significant problems are detected. Revisions will be included in the Implementation Reports.

This task aims to guarantee that the project is developed “on track” and “on schedule”, and that it attained the expected results. To achieve this, a Quality Plan (QP) will be produced at the outset of the project to be used by all partners. The QP will detail the protocols to be followed regarding the procedure, process and indicators set up to guarantee the quality of the project results. The protocol’ application will be enforced through all major project activities and it will set out communication procedures for the project. It will include a model for the Risk Issue Log to be used by the coordinator – the latter should list any identified risks; and the relevant contingency plan. Finally, the QP will include the relevant indicators to evaluate project results and progress, which will be measured from a baseline date to the end of the project in key phases or periods, to be determined. The Quality Plan will be updated according to project’s development, while a major revision will be produced in M48 in the Implementation Report.

This task aims to set the procedures and implement a mid-term and a final evaluation of the full range of outcomes of the project by an external panel of experts. The panel will be given a complete report of all activities and will have the opportunity to make a site visit to BIOPOLIS, where it will meet with researchers, UM mentors, consortium partners and, the Affiliates and other stakeholders. The recommendations made by the panel will also be used to help ensure the sustainability of BIOPOLIS during and beyond the end of the project.