About Coordination of Research Activities

The objectives of Community action in this field is to contribute to the creation of the European Research Area by stimulating and supporting programme coordination and joint activities conducted at national or regional level, as well as among European organisations, and thus help to develop the common knowledge base necessary for the coherent development of policies. These activities may be in any scientific and technological area, including in the thematic priority areas.

Objectives, Structure, and Overall Approach

Coordination of national activities

The objectives are to encourage and support initiatives undertaken by several countries, in areas of common strategic interest, to develop synergy between their existing activities through coordination of their implementation, mutual opening and mutual access to research results, as well as to define and implement joint activities.

• the ERA-NET Scheme: the objective of the ERA-NET scheme is to step up the cooperation and coordination of research activities carried out at national or regional level in the Member States and Associated States through:



• the networking of research activities conducted at national or regional level, and



• the mutual opening of national and regional research programmes.
The scheme will contribute to making a reality of the European Research Area by improving the coherence and coordination across Europe of such research programmes. The scheme will also enable national systems to take on tasks collectively that they would not have been able to tackle independently. Both networking and mutual opening require a progressive approach. The ERA-NET scheme therefore has a long-term perspective that must also allow for the different way that research is organised in different Member States and Associated States.


• schemes developed in European cooperation frameworks: in particular the EUROCORES collaborative scheme of the European Science Foundation (ESF).
  
  
• the development of an integrated information system: the Commission intends to support the development of an integrated information system that will facilitate the provision and exchange of information on national or regional research policies, programmes and activities.

Coordination at European level

The objective is to enhance the complementarity and synergy between Community actions undertaken under the Framework Programme and those of other European scientific cooperation organisations, such as COST, EUREKA and thematic international organisations, as well as among these organisations themselves. Through increased coordination and collaboration the various European cooperation frameworks will contribute more effectively to the overall coherence of European research efforts and the establishment of a European Research Area. Community participation in international activities can be supported in duly justified cases.