UNITA Thematic Research hubs

 Notice: The following sections are missing information: Task Description Link.

Task number	2
Name	UNITA Thematic Research hubs
Strategic Axes	Education and Pedagogical Innovation, Research and Innovation
Workpackage	Knowledge-based growth in rural, mountain and cross-border territories

Objectives

Strategic knowledge sharing through territorial and inter-territorial communities of stakeholders in research, working on existing and emerging alliance thematic hubs, originating in complementary competences, alliance strategies, SDGs and territorial smart specialisation strategies.

Inputs & Resources

Source documentation:

• UNITA Tasks_Team_List_20231120
• UNITA Budget documents

Resources

• Human Resources: List of staff on the task, roles and position: 32 members (all universities involved).Profiles: Vice-Rector for Research, Vice-Dean, Head of research.

First Name	Last Name	Partner Acronym	Function / Role
Evelina	Breschi	HES-SO	Head of Research support unit
Amalric	Ortlieb	HES-SO	Innovation manager
Ana	Ventura Lopes	IPG	Teacher and Researcher on Cultural Heritage
Helder	Sequeira	IPG	Head of Communication office
Silvia	Socorro	UBI	VR for research
Francisco	do Adro	UBI	UO Coordinator
Elisabetta	Ceretti	UNIBS	Associate professor
Sabrina	De Nardi	UNIBS	Research office staff
Brunella	Guatta	UNIBS	Research office staff
Carmen	Buzea	UNITBV	Vice-Rector for Research & IT
Dorin	Radu	UNITBV	Associate professor
Ilario	Meandri	UNITO	Associate Professor
Giuseppina	Cerrato	UNITO	Associate Professor
Giuseppe	Bianco	UNITO	Research Division
Rosa	Bolea Bailo	UNIZAR	Vice Rector for Scientific Policy
Natalia	Arias Llera	UNIZAR	Student
Inés	Domínguez López	UNIZAR	Admin staff
Ruth	Esteban Marín	UNIZAR	Professor
Juan Ignacio	Garcés	UNIZAR	Director of the Secretariat of International Research Projects
Antonio	López Martín	UPNA	Head of Research
Ambrosio	Liceaga Elizalde	UPNA	Research Service Technician
Frédéric	Marias	UPPA	Full Professor, WP4 Co-leader
Clement	Bardoux	UPPA	Re-UNITA Project Manager
Benoit	Stutz	USMB	Directeur adjoint à la recherche de Polytech Annecy Chambéry
Caroline	Girerd-Potin	USMB	UO member in charge of partnerships
Andra Mirona	Stan-Dragotesc	UVT	Director of International Relations, UNITA Institutional coordinator
Mădălin Octavian	Bunoiu	UVT	Vice Rector responsible for R&D strategy, sustainability, technological transfer and the relationship with the diaspora
Raluca	Bercea	UVT	Professor of Law, UNITA UVT local coordinator for WP2 UNITA Communities
Ștefana	Dima	UVT	Senior researcher, co-coordinator of the UNITA R&I hub on Circular Economy and Environment

• Financial: Budget allocated to the task: 961.496€, for the Advanced Grants: it is considered that the AG will be roughly destined for 60 % (600 935 €) for travel and subsistence & for 40 % (360 561 €) for other costs (publications fees, event organization...).
• Materials: Type of materials required (computers, software, scientific tools): Not foreseen at the moment – a reflection should be made on communication tools / website and sharing it among the universities (in connection with tasks 4.3 and 5.1).
• Intangible: Type of intangible materials (communication tools, data bases,…): There should be a “research technician” in every hub, but it has not been formalized nor there is any budget in the project.

Activities & Sub-Tasks

Source documentation: In each WP folder, document entitled “WPx_full_description)

• Task Description – T4.2 description
• GANTT – WP4 GANTT

List of activities	Actions to implement	Deadline
A4.2.1 Evolve and update the researcher’s cartography	Organize a feedback seminar on strategic R&I plans to develop the links between current hubs on new perspectives Analyze the publications of all the partners to suggest enrichment of the cartography Continuously update this cartography along the UNITA life (possibly including GEMINAE partners)	June 2024
A4.2.2 Design, implement and deploy the new hubs and reinforce the existing ones	Organize joint actions to create new thematic hubs to strengthen the impact of the alliance on its territories and beyond Involve researchers of all partners, according to a process of co-creation between partners and their stakeholders Analyze the publications of all the partners to identify scientific themes to which the alliance can contribute significantly in terms of critical size and excellence Organize matching events to define within the academic communities the new joint research projects, and to strengthen exchanges with the partners of the UNITA ecosystem Accompany the development of the Hubs by a common organizational design based on previous best practices. Each Hub will organize workshops during the project, both online and face-to-face, open to socio-economic partners	October 2026
A4.2.3 Develop common principles, rules, and procedures informing UNITA Open Science research policy	Organize a forum to share good practices to promote FAIR data development and to incite researchers to open science in line with the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (COARA) Develop new actions aiming at disseminating research results by mobilizing original tools (videos, comics, STEAM approach, etc.)	October 2027
A4.2.4 Evolve this common basic organization into more institutionalized international research centres	Embed inter-territorial interfaces (T4.1), shared infrastructures (T4.3) and graduate schools (T4.4) into these emerging centres Operate “outdoor” or/and with physical location Give rise to European and national labels of excellence, such as the IRL label of the CNRS in France	October 2027

Indicators

These indicators have been gathered from the different source (list below) and have been gathered from interviews driven by Task 5.4 UNITA impact observatory.

Outputs

Source documentation: In each WP folder, document entitled “WPx_full_description)

• Task Description – T4.2 description
• GANTT – WP4 GANTT
• List of Indicators – UNITA indicators

Primary indicators

Indicators gathered from the proposal

• IND 4.2.a – Number of research Hubs.
  Baseline 2022: 3
  Target 2027: 6
  Level: Alliance
• IND 4.2.b – Number of researchers in the cartography.
  Baseline 2022: 600
  Target 2027: 3000
  Level: Alliance

Secondary indicators

To be defined by T5.4 members previously to interviews and to be proposed to task co leader

• Number of actors involved in joint initiatives.
• Community of researchers:
  • Percentage of projects elected for starting grant calls that apply for advanced grant calls.
• Research ideas (min. 2 UNITA partners):
  • Number of submitted proposals for European calls per hub.
  • Number of joint publications in each hub.
• Visibility and Reputation within the academic community and beyond:
  • Number of international research projects involving at least 2 UNITA partners.
• Students and Teaching:
  • Number of summer-winter schools / BIPs organized by the research hubs.
• Number of projects in the cartography for each hub.
• Number of accesses to the cartography.

Milestone/Deliverable	Description	Date
MS6	Establishment of thematic research hubs	10/31/2026
D4.2	UNITA thematic research hubs implemented	10/31/2026

Outcomes

Source documentation:

• Task Description – T4.2 description
• GANTT – WP4 GANTT

Actions – Tasks – (Deliverables)

Achieved Outcomes

Report on UNITA thematic research hubs Describing the actions undertaken to develop the existing hubs and create new ones, defining their structure, functioning, and impact on the different stakeholders. (Electronic format. In English with summary in each partner's national language. ± 50 pages).

Identification of strategic hub for the alliance: Bringing together scientific communities of each partner Publication potential Connection to Master & PhD programs Sharing infrastructures Ability to mobilize the scientific community: Summer schools for PhD and Master students Workshops Communication tools Ability to develop international research projects: PhD co-tutelles Horizon Europe National projects Connection to citizens and territories: Actions aiming at disseminating research results Actions connected to socio-economic partners

1) How have the actions contributed to achieve UNITA’s goals? The task has a very strong interplay with other tasks, in particular those of the WP4 (territorial interfaces, sharing of infrastructures, graduate schools) and T5.2 (financial sustainability and project engine). Moreover, the cooperation with task 2.3 on the matching events and the ideal chain linking matching events, starting grants and advanced grants is necessary to create a community among researchers.

2) What are the benefits of the actions for the alliance partners? How does UNITA transform the partners? The contamination born from sharing knowledge will allow to develop new knowledge and new research ideas, allowing each partner to become stronger in the research field. The creation of research hubs at a European level will also allow the partners to get a better acknowledgement of their research activities and success.