CEITEC – Central European Institute of

Technology

4th InRoad Regional Workshop

Ondřej Hradil, CEITEC core facility coordinator,

ondrej.hradil@ceitec.cz

Aveiro, 13th April 2018

Brno / Czech Republic / Europe

CEITEC overview

CEITEC is a research center in the field of life sciences, advanced materials and nanotechnologies with significant research infrastructures component

• 6 partners = consortium

• 557 researchers (2015)

• 7 research programmes

• 61 research groups

• 25,000 m2 of new laboratories

• 12 core facilities

• Budget (eligible cost): EUR 208/ USD 275 mil.

• Start of research activities: Q1 2011

Funding of initial investment and operations

CEITEC budget EUR / USD (mil)

Buildings (including parcels) 61 / 81

Equipment (core facilities and other laboratories) 105 / 138

Start-up grant 42 / 56

Total 208 / 275

• Structural funds – European Regional Development Fund 2007-2013

• OP Research and Development for Innovations (Ministry of Education)

CEITEC and research infrastructures

European level - ESFRI

• Instruct – structural biology

• EuroBioImaging – biological and medical imaging

• ELIXIR - bioinformatics

• EATRIS – translational medicine

• (EuroNanoLab) – nanotechnologies / nanofabrication

CEITEC and research infrastructures

National level

• CIISB - structural biology

• CzechBioImaging

• ELIXIR CZ

• EATRIS-CZ

• NCMG – genomics

• CEITEC Nano

CEITEC and research infrastructures – institute level

CF overview tables

2015 2016

Total FTE 43,8 52,3

Total headcount 77 86

CF overview tables

2015 - real 2016 - real 2017 - plan

Total budget (mil. CZK) 53,6 74,8 89,2

Infrastructure facts

• Most facilities based on existing experience before CEITEC

• RI establishment:

– First infrastructures finished in 2012

– End of structural funding 2015 – end of major inv.

– New facilities established in 2016 and 2017

• Always part of a distributed research infrastructure!!!

• Huge importance of proper corporate governance!!!

CEITEC and research infrastructures

National level consortia – number of partners

• CIISB – 2 partners

• CzechBioImaging – 9 partners

• ELIXIR CZ – 14 partners

• EATRIS-CZ – 8 partners

• NCMG – 4 partners

• CEITEC Nano – 2 partners

Funding sources

1. National funding = long term stability:

• Operational costs = state budget

• Re/investments + upgrades = structural funds

2. Complementary funding sources = new activities,

networking, intl. users:

• H2020-RI – Integrating Activities, INFRADE-3

• Interreg (Czech-Austria)

• User fees (both academic and commercial users)

Funding scenarios

Scenario 1

2011-2015

• 1 major project

Scenario 2

?Optimal?

• 1 major project per infrastructure

Scenario 2

Current status

• 2+ major projects per infrastructure

Scenario 2

?Optimal?

• 1 major project per infrastructure

Challenges and solutions to complexity of funding

schemes

1. Suitability of conditions of H2020 for distributed

infrastructures

• Huge and changing consortia, ELIXIR-Excelerate = cca 50 partners

2. State aid rules

• Harming the commercial potential of infrastructures

3. Multiples evaluations of same infrastructures

• For each funding project separate evaluation (ESFRI, national

roadmap, funding projects, …

• One evaluation recognised, like Seal of Excellence

Challenges and solutions to complexity of funding

schemes

4. Showing the importance of reserach infrastructures

• Constant education of politicians, funding agencies and

researchers

5. Complex and ever changing rules

• Interdependency between projects (e.g. Indicator of int. funding)

• Everyday need for training of grant office and researchers

• Strong internal grant office to cope with preaward and postaward

• Regular meeting regional grant office managers (universities,

research institutesm, industry)

Access policy

Users are key to long term sustainability

No users = no funding

Call 2016 - overview of submitted applications

CIISB in total: 163 successful applications [CEITEC – 92, BIOCEV – 71] [internal - 123, external – 40 of which 5 were from abroad]

6

9

13

14

12

21

11

7

15

15

5

1

2

2

3

6

6

5

5

1

3

1

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

CEITEC - Nanobiotechnology

CEITEC - Josef Dadok National NMR Centre

CEITEC - Biomolecular Interactions and Crystallization

CEITEC - X-ray Diffraction and Bio-SAXS

CEITEC - Cryo-electron Microscopy and Tomography

CEITEC - Proteomics

BIOCEV - Structural mass spectrometry

BIOCEV - Biophysical techniques

BIOCEV - Crystallization of proteins and nucleic acids

BIOCEV - Diffraction techniques

Internal users External users Foreign users

Relevance of the National roadmap process

• All CEITEC facilities aiming to serve external users are

on the national roadmap

• Main reason = sustainable funding

Thank you