ERA‐NETs for Impact and Global Cooperation

10‐11 September 2015. Berlin. The theme of the PLATFORM Annual Event 2015 was ‘ERA-NETs for Impact and Global Cooperation’. The Berlin event increased alignment of ERA-Nets and interaction with initiatives such as Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) and JPI FACCE.

The presentations included an outreach to other geographical regions (Download the Programme: pdf)

• ERAfrica ‐ success, experiences, lessons learned (Jean ALBERGEL ‐ IRD) 
• ARD and ARCH ‐ success, experiences, lessons learned (Patricia WAGENMAKERS, MinEA) 
• ProIntenseAfrica – aim and plans of the initiative (Pieter WINDMEIJER ‐ WUR) 
• ARIMNet ‐ success, experiences, lessons learned (Marie OLLAGNON ‐ INRA) 
• INNO INDIGO ‐ success, experiences, lessons learned (Hans WESTPHAL ‐ DLR) 
• ERASynBio ‐ success, experiences, lessons learned (Annette KREMSER ‐ JUELICH) 
• ERANet LAC ‐ success, experiences, lessons learned (Marianne VASKE ‐ DLR)
• The ERA-NET managers also sharpened during this event their communication skills in the professional 'Crash Course on Communication for Impact'.

Back ground:

• PLATFORM brings together the coordination initiatives in the area of food, agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, forestry, climate, biodiversity, and biotechnologies, with the aim to improve exchange and cooperation

  

  This publication contains (20 MB)

  factual information on all ERA-NET 

  and ERA-NET+ projects 

  supported by the KBBE theme 

  of FP7 as well as related 

  ERA-NET predecessors 

  funded under FP6

  and to strengthen their impact on the ERA and the European bioeconomy. 
• PLATFORM is funded under the EU Seventh Framework Programme and Horizon2020.
• The FP7 project ran for a period of 3 years, from the start of 2012 until the end of 2014. More information about the PLATFORM1 project in this pdf
• PLATFORM2 started in March 2015 and continues the work of the FP7 PLATFORM project. 
• PLATFORM2 will build on the activities to further strengthen mutual learning, maximise synergies and increase coordination. It aims to expand the network to new ERA-NET actions (Co-fund), to more Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) and will also seek stronger interaction with the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR).
• Coordinator: Christine Bunthof, Wageningen UR (University & Research centre), The Netherlands.

Related:

9 September 2015. Berlin. ARCH: European Agricultural Research towards greater impact on global CHallenges Joint EIARD-SCAR Strategic Working Group.

• The suitability of European Innovation Partnerships (EIP) for Africa and vice versa.
  A programme of European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs) was established by the Commission in 2010 as part of the Innovation Union flagship initiative with the twin aims of: 1. improving conditions and access to finance for research and innovation in Europe 2. ensuring that innovative ideas are turned into products and services that create growth and jobs European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs) were launched for policy areas where the Commission identified that the combined strength of public and private efforts at regional, national and EU level in innovation and research and development (R&D), as well as demand-side measures, were needed to achieve key targets faster and more efficiently.
  Issues: (a) In some Horizon 2020 proposals researchers follow a 'multi-actor approach' or, in terms of Africa, a participatory approach ; (b) Methodology of research driven by stakeholders: what about research impact if farmers, entrepreneurs are in the driver seat and researchers are service providers. 
• Development Impact and Research Excellence or the way impact and excellent can be brought into play for mutual benefits.
  Issues: (a) Researchers, policy-makers and research funders operate with different values and time-frames and further they also practice different reward systems. This is also the case for AR and ARD; (b) Communication is a documented factor for achieving impact, however, it is an anomaly that communication, other than scientific publication, is not generally included as part of the assessment ; (c) Closer relationships between researchers and research users should be given a higher priority. Researchers should be rewarded for making the knowledge they generate more readily available for a broader group of users including policy makers. On the other hand policy makers and funders should be more involved in knowledge transfer processes.
• Towards an effective “orchestration” of global Agricultural Research (AR + ARD) investments Governance.
  Issue: The dominant scientific communities motivated by excellence and competition for funds and scientific leadership, producing knowledge supposed to be of universal validity, cohabit with other communities made up of more diverse actors involved in research and innovation and more bound to local contexts and local knowledge. Reconciling both approaches in a unified strategy is, to say the least, a challenge, not even attempted by some funding mechanisms as is the case of Horizon 2020 with its three different “pillars”.

Other presentations:

• ERA Net CoFund
• High Level Policy Dialogue
• Update ProIntensAfrica project

Forthcoming meetings

• 8 October 2015. Brussels. 4th SCAR Foresight Study – Consultation on the Role of Research in Global Food and Nutrition Security 
• 23 – 24 November 2015. Brussels. EFARD Annual Technical and Business meeting 
• 26 – 28 January 2016. Brussels. Agricultural research and innovation conference - “Towards a long-term strategy for European agricultural research and innovation by 2020 and beyond”