FERRERO HAZELNUT AWARD

Ferrero Trading Lux S.A. Hazelnut Award (“the Ferrero Award”) is aimed at supporting and improving the Research and Innovation in the Hazelnut world, from the field to the industrial use, in all its agricultural, technical, quality, etc., aspects. The Grant will be awarded to the Research Entity that will propose the best Project Idea on one of the four themes indicated, with a precise “Research or Development Plan”, potentially applicable.
. The Grant global amount is € 160.000,00 paid as follow
– € 150.000,00 to the winner, that will be aided in developing the Research Plan by specified financial support, paid in three annual steps, after approval by Ferrero of the previous annual plan of the activities:
. € 50.000,00 at the signature of the Funding Research protocol, before the end of January 2016;
. € 50.000,00 after 12 months after the signature;
. € 50.000,00 after 24 months after the signature.
– € 5.000,00 at the Ferrero Award Ceremony, to the 2nd classified Project Idea;
– € 5.000,00 at the Ferrero Award Ceremony, to the 3rd classified Project Idea.
. Furthermore, a four-day “Special Award package” will be offered to the three best Project Ideas. Every package is for two persons and includes
. 1 day at EXPO2015 for the Ferrero Award Ceremony
. 1 more day at EXPO 2015
. 2 days to visit the Ferrero factory in Alba (CN) and the Piedmont hazelnut orchards.
. The evaluation of the Project Ideas submitted will be made, with full and at its sole discretion, by an external, international and fully independent Scientific Commission, established at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Piacenza (Italy), and coordinated by the Professor Lorenzo MORELLI (Dean Faculty of Agriculture, Food & Environmental Science).
. The evaluation of the Project Ideas will be made in accordance with the following Ferrero Evaluation Grid
. 25 % Innovativeness
. 25 % Transferability & Timeframe applicability
. 20 % Environmental impact & Social impact
. 15 % Specialization on hazelnut
. 15 % Cost effectiveness
. As an essential condition for the validity of the Project Idea applications, the Research Entities and/or any of the members of the relevant teams developing the Project Ideas, warrant -and keep FerreroTrading Lux S.A. and any of its affiliates (hereafter individually and collectively referred to as “Ferrero”) harmless- that the Project Ideas and/or any of their parts thereof are original and do not conflict in any manner whatsoever with third parties’ rights, including but not limited to intellectual property rights. In case Ferrero discovers or is informed – at any time – that any of the three best Project Ideas (or any parts thereof) interferes with third parties’ rights (including but not limited to intellectual property rights), Ferrero –without prejudice to any other remedies available under the applicable laws- will be entitled to i) withdraw the monetary awards provided under this section, ii) require the full return of all amounts already paid and iii) discontinue its support to the implementation or development of the concerned Project Idea.
– The Project Idea applications will be sent only to the external and fully independent Scientific Commission, established at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore di Piacenza (Italy), that will manage them under a complete privacy and secrecy process.
– At the end of the evaluation, the Scientific Commission will inform every applicant, singly, on the result of their application for the Project Idea;
– Before receiving the three Project Ideas, Ferrero and the relevant applicants will sign a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) covering the content of the Project Ideas that shall be given to the Scientific Commission.
As soon as the three best Project Ideas have been selected by the Scientific Commission, the relevant applicants shall transfer (without any additional consideration is due) to Ferrero Trading Lux S.A. or to any of its affiliates designated for this purpose, all intellectual property rights (which can include inventions, designs, new varieties of plants, copyright, know-how) in the Project Ideas being the fulfillment of the above a prerequisite for the awards to be granted. The winning applicants (e.g. the Research Entities and any inventors or creators) will agree to execute whatever documents or instruments attesting such transfer and/or necessary to permit Ferrero Trading Lux S.A. or the designated affiliate, to apply and/or register in its name and/or protect in accordance with the applicable laws such intellectual property rights. The costs for the preparation and completion of these documents or instruments and any subsequent step will be carried out by Ferrero Trading Lux S.A. or by the designated affiliate. Similarly, Ferrero Trading Lux S.A. or any of its affiliates designated for this purpose shall have the right to obtain the transfer of all intellectual property rights deriving from the implementation of such Project Ideas and/or the Research Plan. All transfers shall take place without prejudice to the authors and/or designers and/or inventors of the selected three best Project Ideas to be acknowledged as such in accordance with the local applicable laws.
Research Area Topics
a. Corylus development, how genetic improvement and propagation practices can help to further develop the cultivation of hazelnut. Professional hazelnut farming is in need for a new range of cultivars to better withstand pests and diseases, to increase per hectare production while maintaining the quality of the produce. In order to maintain and increase its competitiveness as a crop, hazelnut needs to be made more responsive to modern agricultural techniques.
b. From backyard growing to hazelnut plantation, improvements and innovations in the cultivation of hazelnut. Which farming techniques including mechanization, crop protection, fertilization and irrigation will benefit most of the hazelnut growers? Techniques need to keep up with the pace of renovation and progress that all the agricultural sectors are going through. For this reason, with the perspective of increasing the growing area without competing with staple crops, hazelnut should be farmed in the most efficient way, maximizing the income for the farmers while reducing the running costs and the impact on the environment.
c. Living on the hazelnuts, which are the factors to consider for predicting and evaluating the effectiveness of the orchard/plantation for both smallholders and plantation farmers? In a context of rural people migrating to urban areas, hazelnut can be a source of income to foster rural development. Hazelnut cultivation needs to become a sustainable alternative for professional farmers that want to invest in the crop.
d. Hazelnut: a very good ingredient for a daily & healthy nutrition. The challenge for the upcoming years is to deliver enough food while respecting the planet and the people living on it. The consumption of hazelnuts in general is increasing worldwide; therefore, the demand will be strong and will need to be supported by a boost in production: how can hazelnut contribute to a sustainable agriculture reducing the impact on the environment and increasing the resilience of communities involved? Considering the most recent projections for climate change it will be important to develop mitigation and adaptation strategies for hazelnut cultivation, especially in the growing areas where the climate is predicted to change the most and to have the most relevant impact on agricultural practices.
Eligible Institutions
Eligible institutions, identified above also as Research Entities, are Universities and other Non Profit Institutions of higher education.
The capacity building component represents a core issue for all applications to the Ferrero Grant.
How to apply
Interested applicants should submit the Project Idea in the format described on the Application Procedure point and available on Ferrero website at www.hazelnutcompany.ferrero.com .
The guidelines for the submission of the Project Ideas are also available on the same website. A different format will not be accepted.
If the suggested project is compatible with the Ferrero Award funding policy, applicants will receive the acceptance confirmation within 15 days.
Timeline
– The Grant Application will be available and downloadable from the 1st of May, 2015 on our website www.hazelnutcompany.ferrero.com .
– The Deadline for submission is 24.00 p.m. (Italian time) of June 30th, 2015.
– The Announcement of the three best Project Ideas will be posted on our website on July 31st, 2015.
– The ranking of the three best Project Ideas will be disclosed at the Ferrero Award Ceremony, that will be scheduled in Milan, at EXPO 2015, in mid September, 2015 (the day will be defined as soon as possible and posted on our website). The representative of the three best Project Ideas will be invited and awarded, as our guests, at the Ceremony.
– The Grant for the development of the best Project Idea will be provided in three annual steps:
. € 50.000,00 at the signature of the funding research protocol, before the end of January 2016;
. € 50.000,00 after 12 months after the signature;
. € 50.000,00 after 24 months after the signature.
Application Procedures
Applicants may apply in one of the areas mentioned in the section Research Area Topics above, following the instructions described under How to Apply and using only the downloadable form.
The full grant application should not exceed 16 pages A4 format.
Applications should be
. concise and consistent in style, spelling, and use of abbreviations.
. written in 12 pt., Times New Roman, double spaced on A4 pages.
Applications must be submitted as .doc (or .docx) files.
The required sections for the application are already defined on the downloadable form and are here disclosed:
. Introduction to the Research Entity (max 1 page)
Concise but complete description of the Research Entity and its main activities and scientific results.
. Introduction to the Project Idea (max 2 pages)
Concise but complete review of the state of the art with key references.
Background and significance of the addressed research question.
. Project Idea plan (max 8 pages)
Specific Aims, Hypothesis of the study, Statistical issues, Critical points, Needs of verifying. The use of GANTT and PERT diagrams is strongly suggested.
. Curriculum Vitae (max 2 pages)
Short CV including date of birth of all applicants.
. Budget (max 2 pages)
A provisional budget to estimate the cost effectiveness.
. Other (max 1 page)
We will examine and review your project not only from the point of view of the present scientific knowledge but also from the likelihood of feasibility.
Address to send the proposal
The proposal should be sent to
Prof. Lorenzo Morelli
Università Cattolica del Scaro Cuore
Via Emilia Parmense 84,
29122 Piacenza
Italy
or by e-mail to lorenzo.morelli@unicatt.it
The submission of the application for the Ferrero Award shall constitute full and unconditional acceptance of the contents of the present document by the Research Entities and by all its team members.

Info Autori

Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri (IRET), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Sesto Fiorentino, FI | Altri Posts

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