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30/03/2009
108 Milion Euro for Research in Lazio
Filas will manage – on behalf of the Lazio Region – research investement financing for the period 2009-2011 for a total of over 107 million euro. Moreover, a significant new support measure for young researchers in Lazio will provide nearly 23 million euro for projects run in the five public universities of the Lazio Region.
“Research is a key activity to overcome the crisis,” President Marazzo declared. “We have allotted 108 million euro for the next three years. It’s a bet that we have wagered to balance our actions and budget in order to overcome the present situation by coordinating the Region, workers and the system: banks, enterprises, universities.”
Investments are based on the “Scientific Research Fund” (22 million and 875 thousand euro for the three-year period) and the “Fund for Economic Development, Research and Innovation” (85 million euro over the same period) including the 24 million euro earmarked for the five public universities in the Lazio Region for the acquisition of laboratory equipment, 21 million euro for scientific parks and 40 million euro for research centres.
In particular, the “Scientific Research Fund” introduces a new operation sector that will allow funding to address not only projects run by research centres collaborating with SMEs, but also those implemented by researchers in public universities in the strategic sectors identified in the Regional Operative Programme and Budget: aerospace, bioscience, applied research for the cultural heritage sector, alternative energy and multimedia.
Researchers will benefit from projects defined by the Lazio Region through a specific agreement with the Committee of Deans of Lazio Region Universities (CRUL) that will be implemented individually with each university.
"This is a new initiative that will be implemented in our region that has not been widely used at the national level,” Councillor Mancini explained. “We will co-finance projects with universities and sign a memorandum of agreement with each one. We hope to finalise these agreements within June so that all the projects may be kicked off at the beginning of the next academic year. The funding will be used to provide researchers with contracts and extend research doctorates to 2 and 3 year contracts."
The the “Fund for Economic Development, Research and Innovation” will be streamlined to improve resource management for funding aimed at modernizing research laboratories and projects implemented by public universities, scientific parks and select regional research organisms, including: Asi (Italian Space Agency), CNR (National Research Council), INFN (National Nculear Physics Institute), ISS (Istituto Superiore di Sanità), ENEA (Agency for New Technology, Energy and the Environment), INAF (National Astrophysics Institute), INDAM (National “Francesco Severi” Institute for Mathematics), INGV (National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanos), INSEAN (National Institute for Naval Architecture), ISCOM (ICT Institute) and ISPRA (Institute for Environmental Research and Protection).
The commitment of the Lazio Region for the period 2008-2011 builds on the operations that were already financed for 2006-2008. In particular, these include:
• 24 million euro allocated for the 5 public universities in Lazio for the acquisition of scientific devices and research laboratories;
• 21 million euro earmarked for Technological Districts and Scientific Parks in Lazio for technology transferal and innovation actions;
• 15 million euro reserved for the Free Electron Laser, in collaboration with Cnr, Infn, Enea and the University of Rome Tor Vergata;
• 3 million euro to be used for research scholarships and industrial research projects run in collaboration with research centres and enterprises;
• 10 million euro for the Bioscience Technology District for research and development projects;
• 32.5 million euro for medical research;
• 4.5 million euro for the EBRI Foundation of Rita Levi Montalcini and the Neuroscience District for research projects and scientific equipment.
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