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The incubator process within the Network Development Work Package (WP6) of the GN5-1 project provides a mechanism to include new areas of work throughout the duration of the project in an agile way. The process aims to be simple and transparent, and to ensure that the proposed work will be of clear value to the community.

Guidelines:

• A proposal can be submitted at any time during the project by any member of the community.
• Proposed topics should be within the scope of the GN5-1 WP6 objectives.
• A proposal must be supported by at least three GÉANT project partners. By providing support, organisations confirm that they are willing to use the project results.
• A proposed project needs to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Resource- and Time-bound).

Proposal are reviewed on a first-come-first-served basis.

NETDEV Incubator is run in three phases: Project Proposal, Focus Groups, Incubator Project.

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Phase 1: Project Proposal

Proposal submission:

• Before proposing a topic, proposers are advised to look at already submitted proposals. Supporting existing topics should be preferred over submitting a similar proposal.
• Proposals for incubator projects should be submitted to netdev-incubator@lists.geant.org, using Template 1 in a maximum of three A4 pages.
• The

### This is the draft incubator process. This is still work in progress which will be completed by the end of March 2023 ###

This document provides an overview of the WP6 Incubator Process.

General view 

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Phase 1: Proposal Submission and Evaluation

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Phase1, Stage 1: Proposal Submission

• Objectives: This proposal should demonstrate that the planned output will be achievable within the given period of time and with the requested resources.
• Input: Description of why this work is important, which problem it solves and organisations supporting the proposal (Template 1).
• Criteria: in accordance with the WP6 Description of Work (DoW) and support of at least 5 organisations that are GÉANT project partners is needed.
• Output: The proposal is sent to netdev-incubator@lists.geant.org including the following information detailed in Template 1.

Phase1, Stage 2: Proposal Support

• Objectives: To collect from support organisations why they support this proposal, whether they will implement it and whether they will work on it.
• Input: Model questionnaire to be sent to support organisations (Template 2).
• Criteria: At least 3 supporting organisations from GÉANT project partners are needed to proceed to the next step - phase 1 stage 3.
• Output: the questionnaires filled in by support organisations.

Phase1, Stage 3:  Proposal Evaluation

• The proposal should provide evidence of support from at least three (3) GÉANT partnering organisations that are willing to use the project results.

IPR and GDPR:

• By submitting a proposal, the proposer is considered to confirm that their submission is not infringing any Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of others.
• The proposal and proposers should comply with the GÉANT Project IPR Policy [IPR_Policy].
• Any personal data collected via the proposal will be used only for processing and promoting the proposal.
• Consent to such use of this personal data is considered to be provided when the proposal is submitted.

Proposal review:

• A submitted proposal will be reviewed in a shortest possible period on a first-come-first-served basis by the WP6 leadership team. Accepted proposals proceed to the next phase.
• If not accepted, the reasoning for the decision will be sent to proposers.
• In case the WP6 incubator budget is not available, persons proposing and supporting the project Objectives: Proposal Evaluation to go to the second phase (creating a focus group) taking into account the budget availability and enough support from the GÉANT community and the project feasibility within the period. The support organisations are welcome to work on the proposal without being paid by the WP6 GÉANT project. It could can still be coordinated and supported by the WP6 team.
• Input: the documents provided in stages 1 and 2 (Template 1, Template 2).
• Criteria: If sufficient support (at least 3 organisations that are GÉANT project partners) is not received 6 months after the proposal is announced, the proposal will be treated as a retired proposal.
• Output: In case the project does not go on, a  Proposal Closure Report will be written, using Template 3.
• Duration: Approximately 2 weeks (depending on wp6 team availability).

Phase 2: Focus Group

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Retired proposals:

• If a proposal is retired (e.g. if withdraw, or without sufficient support), the WP6 team will create a short closure report, containing the information outlined in Template 2
• Retired proposal will not be deleted so could be reactivated and proposed again under the same conditions.
  

Phase 2: Focus Group

A Focus Group is formed out of organisations that have submitted and supported the proposal, with the goal to review, define and refine the project proposal in more detail from the technical and project management perspective, to prepare it for execution as a part of an incubator project.

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If not done already, market research will need to be undertaken as a part of the focus group work, resulting in a description of how the proposal relates to other solutions

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on the market or in the community. By the end of the focus group activity it must meet the following requirements:

• The expected output is well-defined – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Resource- and Time-bound (SMART) – with clear value for the community.
• The project is structured, with clear tasks and timelines.
• The project is supported by three or more organisations from the community.
• There is sufficient budget within WP6 to cover the needed project budget.
• The expected project duration fits the project timeline so that the project results will be delivered and visible during the ongoing generation of the GÉANT project.
• Any new inputs have been taken into account.
• More detailed information about the people that will participate in the incubator project has been added.

The duration of a focus group should not be more than 3 months in total:

• 2 months to refine and submit the proposal to netdev-incubator@lists.geant.org.
• Finalise the project proposal, refining the same, initially submitted Template 1
• Define the team in more detail:
  • Specify exact names, organisations, and allocated manpower (clearly stating what should/not be funded by the WP6 in the GÉANT project).
  • Proposed participation for each of the team members should be agreed upon with these individuals, as well as their organisations.
• Define the project manager for the project.
• Input:
  • Template 1
  • The supporting organisations provide additional requirements or information which might influence the initial proposal.
• Criteria: The proposal should ensure that the project is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Resource- and Time-bound (SMART), realistic and relevant to the community and target user groups.
• Output:
  • Project promotion: Infoshare
  •  Focus Group Proposal for the Incubator Project (Template 5) or a Focus Group Closure Report (Template 4) in case there will be no incubator project proposal.
• Duration: 3 months2 months to refine the proposal
• 1 month for proposal evaluation and final decision.

The outcome of the focus group work can be:

• Closure report (using Template 2) if there will be no incubator project proposal.
• Proposal for an incubator project - updated proposal using Template 3.

Phase 3: Incubator Project Execution

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• Dissemination is extremely important: at least a report or a white paper, a GÉANT infoshare could be done.
• Result report
• Assessment of the incubator project

Main elements, such as the title, objectives, project (subtask) leader, team members, final outputs and outcomes are taken from the document produced by the focus group.

The incubator project will be executed within WP6 as a separate subtask within one of the existing WP6 tasks where the objectives and goals of the incubator project fit the best.

• The incubator project (subtask) leader is accountable for delivering the incubator project results, within the specified timeline and resources.

• The incubator project leader also has to make sure that the project work results are publicly reported (in a white paper, infoshare, training material, etc.).

• The Task leader of the Task where the incubator project is assigned (hosting Task) is responsible for ensuring that project outputs and objectives are delivered and met, and that they are in accordance with WP6 Description of Work.

• The NETDEV incubator coordinator in Task 4 is responsible for supervising the timeline and budget consumption, and if needed will escalate towards the incubator project leader, leaders of Task 4 and the hosting Task, and Work Package leaders.

An incubator project can last a maximum of six months. Wrapping up should start at the end of month 4, including summarising the work in a report or white paper and an infoshare.

Depending on the results, interest from the community and available budget, the work might continue, funded or not funded by the GN5-1 project, or can be closed.

The NETDEV Incubator is described also in this document.

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 Templates