VIBRANT

Organisational Structure

The project coordinator (CO), CAN GmbH, is an innovative R&D SME which was founded with a view to fostering cooperation in the area of chemical and life science nanotechnology and nanoanalysis between academic and industrial R&D stakeholders on an international level. As such its staff has extensive experience not only with the implementation and management of national and international R&D grants and projects but also with the handling and management of IP issues and the transfer of research results into commercial and industrial applications. In particular, this application-orientation of CAN is an invaluable asset for the successful coordination of this project and will contribute to focussing the project on an effective consolidation and use of the project’s results.

Dr. Theo Schotten, the Scientific Coordinator of VIBRANT, is senior researcher and business developer at CAN GmbH. As a Medicinal Chemist with a track record of more than twenty years experience in industrial drug research, he is a proficient leader of cross-functional, multinational teams. Theo Schotten conducted preclinical drug development in diabetes/obesity, inflammation, cancer and cardiovascular. He is the inventor of advanced clinical candidates. Theo Schotten also has a strong background in competitive IP intelligence, database and patent searching as well as patent writing, and extensive skills and know how in the fields of enabling technologies. Besides his (co)inventorship in numerous patent applications, his scientific publications cover natural product synthesis and new synthetic methods.

Dr. Frank Schröder-Oeynhausen, COO and CFO of CAN GmbH, will act as Administrative Manager for the project. He will be responsible for the strategic monitoring of the project and all administrative, legal and financial management issues. With his background in Physics and Economics, he has initiated the nano-competence-centers for the German Government from his earlier position at VDI-Technology Centre (1997-1999). After his employment as CEO of the Technology-Center and the Center for Nanotechnology CeNTech in Münster (1999-2006) he joined the Center for Applied Nanotechnology (CAN) GmbH early 2006 as chief operation officer and vice executive president driving its focus on the commercialization of nanotechnology business ideas. He has a strong expertise in the coordination of interdisciplinary research projects in the area of nanotechnology including experience with multinational European projects like the networks of excellence Nano2Life and Frontiers.

The Scientific Coordinator and the Administrative Manager will be supported by a Deputy Manager who will implement the day-to-day administrative and financial management issues. Together these three people will form the Coordination Team for the project.

To allow for a focused follow-up of the project work and comprehensive quality control the consortium will set up a Steering Committee (SC) to support overall coordination. The SC will consist of one representative each of the four strategic components of the workplan (see section 1.3.1) and the coordinator himself.
The four representatives will be appointed from among the Workpackage Leaders of the WPs grouped in corresponding component who will agree on this at the time of the project kick-off. A deputy for each of the representatives will be named to ensure that the SC will be functional at any time.
The SC will also be responsible for monitoring communication with the advisory board and for preparing decisions for the PCC.

The Project Coordination Committee (PCC) will be the ultimate decision-making body of the consortium. It is composed of one representative of each partner who is responsible for the utilization of the contractor’s resources allocated to the project and for the attainment of the assigned objectives. It will be of high importance that each representative names an authorized deputy so that the PCC will be quorate and capable of taking decisions at any time in the project. The PCC will be chaired by the CO and will serve as the forum for taking all fundamental decisions for the project implementation such as:

• Changes in the overall project plan, technical objectives and project management, including the re-allocation of tasks and budget,
• Resolving conflicts which could not be settled by the Steering Committee,
• Actions with regard to a defaulting party,
• Any changes to the consortium agreement

The detailed rights and obligations of the PCC will be laid down in the consortium agreement.

The Work Package leaders (WPL) will be responsible for the scientific coordination of their WP and its subtasks, including also the coordination of the workflow between their WP and others. They shall arrange for the timely execution and submission of deliverables to assure the attainment of the project objectives and will keep the coordinator informed of the development and status of the project work on a regular basis (see reporting mechanisms).

An Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) consisting mainly of representatives from pharmaceutical companies interested in the project’s objectives will be set up at the beginning of the project to accompany its progress and give advice and feedback on the validity and applicability of the project’s outcomes.