8. Procedure for the work and the search for funds

Premise: The European Union Commission is in principle the main institution to which requests for funding should be addressed by the Turin Workgroup. This does not exclude the possibility of contacting other public or private bodies but the procedures for requesting funds from the Commission involves documents that can also be used to make requests from other institutions.

What has been done so far: The seminar-based meeting in Turin on 24th September 2009 was funded by the European Commission Representation in Italy and by the Prix Italia - Rai, which provided the necessary location for it at the RAI Production Centre in Turin.

Under the same conditions the Prix Italia - Rai and the European Commission Representation in Italy have assured us that they will provide the premises and the funding for the seminar on 21st September 2010. With a complementary contribution coming from Ugo Bordoni Foundation of Rome. The Prix Italia has declared its willingness to accommodate further seminar meetings in 2011 at the same locations. As regards the meeting scheduled for winter 2011 negotiations are at present underway with the Hans Bredow Institute of Hamburg University and with COM-PA, the European Exhibition of Public Communication and Services to the Citizen and to Businesses in Bologna.

The meeting in September 2009 was broadcast live via Internet on Infocivica’s website and on the official website of the Prix Italia. This experiment will be repeated on 21st September 2010, with the transmission in video-streaming now also reaching the sites of the research centres of the ten European universities associated with the activities of the Turin Workgroup.

Forthcoming Events: Some standard procedures are proposed for the elaboration and administration of applications for funding, in order to achieve the objectives of the Turin Workgroup and adequately deal with the events on the agenda.

1. The Turin Workgroup will draw the general outlines of the draft Green Paper and will approve them at the conclusion of the meeting in Turin.

2. The Infocivica Association (also using suggestions from the members of the Workgroup) will determine what opportunities for funding by the Commission are available and this will be communicated, in addition to the preconditions for funding, to all the members of the Turin WorkGroup.

3. Once the possible source of funding has been identified, the coordinator of the Workgroup and Infocivica will prepare an informative report, which will be submitted to all members of the Turin Workgroup. It will give details of the technical and organizational requirements for the funding request. This may also include the possible creation of a temporary business association, in which the universities of reference of all the members of the Turin Workgroup will be invited to participate.

4. After ensuring the membership of these universities a joint agreement will be reached regarding the subdivision of the work to be carried out between them, together with the relative cost estimates and the necessary documents to be drawn up according to the bureaucratic procedure.

5. A joint agreement will be reached as regards which of the universities, or Infocivica will have the task of administrative and managerial coordination of the project.

6. The planning of the scientific contents will proceed according to what has already been agreed within the Turin Workgroup and the deadlines will correspond to those specified in the procedures of the funding application made.

7. This procedure is based on the procedures adopted by the European Union for participation in tenders and funding applications. An exact definition of the procedures can only be established after the specific funding application has been decided upon.

8. This whole procedure can be simplified in the case of a request for a simple
contribution, without making a funding application.