Final Report Summary - JPI2013 (Joint Programming: Agenda for the Future and Achievements to Date) The aim of this project was to organise a conference on Joint Programming, which took place in Ireland on 28 February and 1 March 2013 under the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and in collaboration with the European Commission. The Joint Programming Conference was hosted by Science Foundation Ireland. The aim of the Joint Programming Conference 2013 was to facilitate strategic discussions among the key stakeholders involved in Joint Programming in Europe with a view to mapping out the future progress of Joint Programming in order to more effectively address grand challenges facing European citizens and maximise the efficient use of national research investment undertaken by Member States and associated countries. The conference was expected to play a crucial role in the integration of the results and experience coming from Joint Programming activities to date. These inputs will strengthen the integration of the European Research Area.Project context and objectives:The aim of this project was the organisation of a conference on Joint Programming which took place in Ireland on 28 February 1 March 12013 under the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and in collaboration with the European Commission. The development and launch of 10 Joint Programming Initiatives following from the Commission's Communication of 15 July 2008 'Towards Joint Programming in research: Working together to tackle common challenges more effectively' and the Competitiveness Council Conclusions of 2 December 2008 on Joint Programming, represents a significant development in European research cooperation, involving voluntary partnerships among Member States and countries associated to the Framework Programme to bring about effective coordination of national research programmes to tackle specified grand challenges, with support and facilitation by the European Commission, based on clear principles and transparent high-level governance.At a time when public budgets are under pressure the importance of effective public investment in research, development and innovation is critical. Addressing fragmentation and reducing duplication of efforts by Member States and Associated Countries is an important means to advance this objective. Participation in Joint Programming activities by Member States and Associated Countries ensures highly-coordinated public investment across Europe in the areas of focus of the specific Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs).While the individual JPIs are pursuing distinct strategic research agendas and are at varying stages of development, there are a number of issues to be addressed in ensuring the effectiveness and efficiency of JPIs which are common to all. Sharing information and discussing optimum approaches to addressing these issues will enable effective and efficient implementation of JPIs.By the end of 2012, progress in the development and implementation of the Joint Programming Initiatives enabled a view to be taken on the experience to date, knowledge gained, lessons learned and potential impacts of Joint Programming in tackling the grand challenges selected. The Joint Programming Committee, the GPC, produced the Second Biennial Report on Joint Programming in December 2012, in accordance with the Competitiveness Council Conclusions of 2 December 2008.This report provides significant information on the issues arising and form the basis for consideration of the further development and implementation of Joint Programming. Also during the course of 2012 the launch of the strategic research agendas of a number of the JPIs took place. In addition, during summer 2012 the Commission issued a Communication on the ERA Framework which was of relevance to the JPIs. It was important that policy makers, national research funders, joint programming participants, researchers, industry and other stakeholders come together to discuss experiences in relation to Joint Programming, assess the progress and impact to date and consider future actions, taking into account the Second GPC Biennial Report. The Joint Programming Conference in February / March 2013 during the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union successfully brought together the stakeholders to debate these questions, featuring distinguished speakers as well as in depth discussions among participants with a view to drawing conclusions on the key issues. The conference attracted approximately 360 participants from across Europe and beyond.The Joint Programming Conference engaged a critical mass of actors in a multi-stakeholder dialogue. Representatives of top European research and higher education institutes, large industrial actors and innovative SMEs from a wide array of application sectors, as well as EU and national policy makers were invited to engage in stimulating discussions on future challenges and priorities. Participants in the various Joint Programming Initiatives had the opportunity to learn from the experience of the other JPIs and to engage in discussions with other participants on key issues affecting the future of Joint Programming.To reap the economic and societal benefits of public and private investments in research and reinforce Europe's leading edge in an ever competitive global environment, the industrial take-up of research results delivered through Joint Programming needs to be promoted and a dialogue between research, industry and society should be facilitated to examine how best to achieve this. The Joint Programming Conference was hosted by Science Foundation Ireland, as coordinator, together with the active involvement in the programme committee of the Irish Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, the Ministry responsible for coordinating national research and development policy and which provides the Irish delegation to the GPC, as well as the other key stakeholders engaged in joint programming.ObjectivesThis project's aim was to achieve more effective coordination of national research programmes in order to enable Europe elaborate stronger, better coordinated, more coherent and global responses to the challenges it is facing, by contributing to the updating and expansion of systems in place, involving the full participation of stakeholders. It therefore fulfils the requirements of Activity A4.2.2.3 'Support for programme coordination and cooperation in the context of the European Research Area (Horizontal Support Action)', support action (a) 'Organisation of events aimed at debating Joint Programming in Research'.The Conference was anticipated to play crucial role in the integration of the results and experience coming from joint programming activities to date. These inputs will strengthen the integration of the European Research Area. The following are the main questions addressed by the conference:The context, rationale and positioning of Joint Programming in the wider policy framework:- the role of JPIs in meeting the needs of citizens and society;- the place of JPIs within the innovation cycle and the involvement of industry;- the capacities of countries and regions to participate in JPIs;- the place of JPIs in the global context.Learning from the experience of Joint Programming to date and ensuring success:- how to ensure effective alignment between Joint Programming Initiatives and Horizon 2020;- SRA development and joint activities: how can we build on success to date?- how can the applications of the guidelines for framework conditions be made more relevant?- how can JPIs be monitored and benchmarked?Expected final results and potential impacts:The purpose of the conference was to communicate its discussions and conclusions to R&D policy makers, national research funders, joint programming participants, researchers, industry and other stakeholders. The conference played an important role in identifying the main bottlenecks in the Joint Programming process and discussing possible solutions or best practices to address these. The discussions and conclusions of the conference were actively spread to participants in JPIs, ERA-NETs and Article 185 initiatives, helping to improve practices of coordinated and joint research in Europe (e.g. by spreading best practices on guidelines for framework conditions).The conference proceedings (speech material, presentations, and session summaries) were collected and distributed by email to participants and also posted on the conference website, which will be available for a considerable period after the conference. The conference report recorded the deliberations and conclusions of the conference, contributing to evaluation by stakeholders of next steps in the development of joint programming. The conference report also formed the basis of a discussion document, which was presented by the Irish Presidency, at the May 2013 meeting of the European Competitiveness Council on Joint Programming.The dissemination to the wider stakeholder communities and the public of information regarding the conference was achieved through the production of 'media friendly' information about joint programming and the event, during and after the conference, highlighting the societal impact. Examples of this include:- the conference website http://www.jpc2013.com/ and Twitter account https://twitter.com/JPC_2013 which were developed and kept up to date before, during and after the conference;- a press briefing with Commissioner Marie Geoghegan Quinn, Minister Seán Sherlock T.D. and Professor Mark Ferguson took place on 28 February 2013.In addition, various outreach events were coordinated in association with the conference to ensure public awareness and engagement in the themes relating to Joint Programming. These included:- a lecture by Professor Rik Leemans, 'A time for giant steps: A science perspective' as part of the EPA's Climate Change series;- a tour of the Chester Beatty library by the library conservationist;- a joint health research board / Irish evaluation network seminar on 'Public service evaluation' which considered evaluating the impact of STI policy and publicly-funded research in Ireland through learning from international practices.Project website:http://www.jpc2013.com Documents connexes Final Report - JPI2013 (Joint Programming: Agenda for the Future and Achievements to Date)
