In response to a set of partnership requests and in order to enlarge the scope of the project in terms of both

• the number of pilot sites participating in the evaluation of the socio-economic impact of the universAAL platform, and
• the variety of applications and services available for piloting on top of the unniversAAL platform,

the steering board of the ReAAL project agreed on a set of terms for partnership in compliance with the project objectives during its meeting on April 26, 2013.
 

The following types of partnership are possible:

Associated Pilot

A non-member existing piloting initiative(represented by its lead partner) can become an associated pilot if it is considering to perform real-life experiments with the universAAL platform.

Associated Vendor

An associated vendor is a vendor who wants to adapt one or more of its products to the universAAL platform, e.g. in order to have the chance that its products are used by member or associated pilots.

Associated Project

An R&D Project that has decided to use the universAAL platform as the integration framework for their R&D can ensure technical Support through a partnership with ReAAL even if they are not a piloting project.

 

Software can hardly be bug-free and fulfil all wishes; additionally, universAAL introduces a shift of paradigm in programming due to support for semantic interoperability so that often programmers feel to need help beyond the provided documentation. Therefore, technical support is of utmost importance for more confidence in using universAAL and ensuring problem resolution as well as alignment with the latest developments.

Since ReAAL has the original key developers of universAAL on board, its support system is de facto the most competent reference for organizations that plan to start to use universAAL. Having the mission to foster the creation of an ecosystem around universAAL as the common open platform for active and independent living, ReAAL makes this offer despite the risk of higher overhead, in order to speed up the maturing process and achieve a greater impact by a larger ecosystem.

With ensured technical support, associated partners will eventually be among the early adopters of universAAL and can therefore influence the related emerging interoperability standards effectively.

Additionally, associated partners will have an early access to the ReAAL Knowledge Portal as it is being built and fed with content, this way becoming a forerunner in future-proof and sustainable rollouts.
 

• Associated partners are not members of the consortium, and hence do not sign the ReAAL Grant Agreement with the European Commission. Normally, they do not receive any funding either (there is a temporary exception for associated pilots, as indicated in the corresponding open call).
• The partnership will be established formally by signing an agreement with ReAAL's coordinator (contact data to be found under Project Description). A formal request for partnership is necessary that specifies the type of requested partnership (associated pilot / vendor / project). A technical attachment to the request must provide further information about the motivation, context and extent of using universAAL. In particular, associated pilots should provide a good summary of their piloting concept.
• The ReAAL coordinator signs the agreement in the name of ReAAL’s whole consortium after ReAAL’s steering board confirms the partnership.
• Associated partners will then be able to formulate their requirements from universAAL as well as their issues and questions related to the usage of universAAL and submit them to work package 2 of the ReAAL project (short, WP2) using WP2’s internal communication channels as if they were consortium members; ReAAL’s WP2 will try to consider them in its planning as far as possible.
• Associated partners will also be able to use ReAAL's knowledge portal equally like consortium members, when they also commit to share own experiences in it.
• Associated partners can ask the coordinator or their WP2 contacts to connect them to experts in the ReAAL consortium who have experience in a specific field in order to get advice with regard to resolving their specific problems; this request will then be forwarded internally to the ReAAL consortium and if volunteers are found who can help, the direct connection will be created.
• Upon request by an associated partner, face-to-face or virtual meetings can be organized. Associated pilots may also attend project meetings; upon such request, ReAAL consortium will decide how to organize the participation.
• Associated partners must commit to using the evaluation framework of ReAAL for collecting data from their experiences and provide the ReAAL project with a report summarizing the results of the evaluations.
• Both sides of an established partnership create public Web links to the Homepages of each other by also including the other partner's logo, if appropriate.
• Being no member of the ReAAL consortium, associated partners will not be involved in the internal decision making processes of the ReAAL project; however, possible feedback and comments by associated partners will be communicated with the related project organs.
• If a member or associated pilot asks for access to products readily adapted to universAAL, the related investors and vendors negotiate for their sales conditions. Such negotiation will take place in good faith to agree on Fair and Reasonable conditions, especially if the adaptation to universAAL was done by EC funding.
   

The Open Call has been closed by the end of 2014. Four piloting concepts have been accepted for funding (see the list of joined partners on the right side).