Organisation

The organisation of the GeoERA programme is shown in the figure below:

The programme is run in a way similar to many Horizon 2020 projects with the work divided up into individual Work Packages (WPs). The organisation takes care of the GeoERA programme for the whole 5 year duration of the programme.

The organisation comprises the following bodies:

The General Assembly (GA)

The main decision making body is the General Assembly in which all partners are represented.

The GA takes decisions based on majority voting, where each country has 1 vote. The GA is supported by the Executive Board. The GA is responsible for:

  • Approval of all procedures and supporting documentation for the calls
  • Carrying out the Stage 1 eligibility and evaluation (Project Ideas) and the preparation of the Stage 2 call text based on the received Ideas
  • Selecting projects to be funded based on the ranking list;
  • Overseeing the monitoring and evaluation of the funded projects
  • Appointment of the Stakeholder Committee, Expert Panel and Independent Observer
  • Decisions related to management of the programme, including:
    • Proposals for changes to Annex I of the EC-Grant Agreement to be agreed by the European Commission;
    • Changes to the Consortium Agreement;
    • Decisions related to Intellectual Property;
    • Decisions on any changes to the composition of the consortium or the re-arrangement of roles of tasks;
    • Approving the progress, management and financial reports to the EU;
    • Approving the annually updated Dissemination Plan;

The Executive Board (EB)

The Executive Board is the main coordinating body of GeoERA. The EB initially consists of the WP leaders. After the end of the Call Phase, Theme Coordinators will also become members of the EB. The Coordinator chairs all meetings of the EB, unless decided otherwise by the EB. The role of the EB is to ensure the efficient and timely implementation of the whole work plan from the start of the project (M1) to the final payment (M60). The EB will implement the decisions taken by the GA. Tasks of the EB include:

  • Monitoring of the project progress, quality and output, on the basis of regular progress reports provided by the WP leaders;
  • Monitoring and assuring adequate exchange of information between different WP’s;
  • Formulation of new points of interest during the project;
  • Adapting the planning where necessary and appropriate;
  • Monitoring the overall progress of, and coordination between, the transnational projects funded through the call.

The Coordinator

The Coordinator of GeoERA is Party 1 (TNO), represented by Dr. Paul Bogaard. The primary role of the coordinator is to represent the consortium towards the EC as well as to be the promoter and controller of the overall progress of GeoERA. The Coordinator is responsible for tasks defined by the EC Grant Agreement and the Consortium Agreement (in preparation), such as:

  • Chairing the EB and taking all actions to enable proper decision making by the EB and the GA;
  • Ensuring smooth operation of the project: work plan maintenance, monitoring project progress, analysing results, identification of problems and potential risks and finding appropriate solutions;
  • Writing periodic reports on progress of the project and partner activity for the GA;
  • Submitting all required reports, deliverables and financial statements to the EC;
  • Communicating all appropriate information in connection with the project to the EC;
  • Transferring the payments to the participants;

TNO makes available a Project Assistant, a Legal Officer and a Financial Officer, who supports the Project Coordinator with executive management tasks. The Project Assistants supports the preparation of meetings, reports, etc. Accounting, ensuring compliance of all budgets and cash flow is the responsibility of the Financial Officer. All legal issues concerning among others contracts and agreements is the responsibility of the Legal Officer.

The Call Secretariat (CS)

The Call Sercretariat is a virtual secretariat, composed of a core group of staff from the WPs. Head of the CS will be the Coordinator. The members are:

Work Packages (WP)

Each Work Package is led by a WP leader. They are responsible for day-to-day management and coordination of their respective WP. Their tasks include:

  • Assuring the quality of the work within the respective work package;
  • Managing and reaching the respective deliverables and milestones of the WP;
  • Solving problems and managing the time schedule;
  • Ensuring the flow of communication both inside and outside their respective WPs, including dissemination of the results generated within their WP;

The WPs are

  • WP1: Management. Leader: Joop Hasselman, TNO.
  • WP2: Preparation and launch of the co-funded call: Leader: Jörg-Uwe Dam, BGR.
  • WP3: Evaluation and proposal selection for the co-funded call: Leader: Lisbeth Flindt Jørgensen, GEUS.
  • WP4: Follow-up and monitoring of project results from the co-funded call. Leader: Jasna Šinigoj, GeoZS.
  • WP5: Communication, Exploitation and Dissemination of the results. Leader: Jørgen Tulstrup*, GEUS.

All WP Leaders have a seat in the Executive Board to ensure direct communication lines between the WP’s.

*) Jørgen Tulstrup does not take part in any Executive Board decision concerning the evaluation and selection of the Information Platform project ideas and proposals.

Theme Coordinators (TC)

The GA has elected a Theme Coordinator for each of the scientific themes Geo-energy, Groundwater, Raw Materials and Information Platform. They are:

Read more about the TCs here.

Stakeholder Council (SC)

A Stakeholder Council has been established representing main stakeholder of GeoERA. The SC will review and give advice on the Stage 2 call for proposals. In addition, it will advise the EB on the following issues:

  • External developments relevant to achieving progress towards the impacts of the call;
  • Maximizing GeoERA exploitation benefits;
  • Dissemination of GeoERA findings beyond the consortium.

The SC members may also be member of the Expert Panel.

The members are:

  • Massimo Cocco, representing EPOS,
  • Charlotte Griffith, representing UNECE,
  • Andrée Bolduc, representing NR Canada,
  • Dominique Darmendrail, representing Water JPI.
  • Glen Burridge, representing EFG.
  • Thomas Crafford, representing USGS.

Expert Panel (EP)

The Expert Panel is the pool of external reviewers that will review the Stage 2 proposals. Expert Panel members will be proposed by the EB. Final approval of the EP membership is done by the GA. The composition of the Expert Panel should reflect the diversity of Stakeholders of GeoERA and include representatives from EU research organisations, international peer organisations and science, industry and policy sectors. It should also cover the expertise of all four topics addressed by GeoERA. In selecting the Expert Panel members, care will be taken to avoid any conflicts of interest.

Independent Observer (IO)

The GeoERA consortium has appointed an independent observer who is tasked with monitoring the efficiency and quality of the call process, as well as its compliance with EU-co-funding rules. Specific tasks of the independent observer includes:

  • Review of all publications associated with the call
  • Review of the selection process for independent evaluators and briefing materials
  • Participation in the central evaluation (Stage 1 and Stage 2) as an observer
  • Preparation of the independent observers’ report ((part of) Deliverable 3.5).

The Independent Observer is Duncan Jarvis of EMPIR.