Final Report Summary - CASCADE (Collaborative Action towards Societal Challenges through Awareness, Development, and Education) Executive Summary:The EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme recognises the importance of internationalisation. Over the past few decades, new key players have emerged within the international landscape shifting the dominant position held by the EU towards emerging economies such as China, Brazil, India and South Africa. There has been growing recognition of a need to enhance international cooperation activities focused on ‘engaging with partners outside of Europe on equal terms and in programmes and activities of high mutual interest’. The need for linkages with Asian countries has been emphasised given the region’s rapidly growing research and innovation capacities and the urgency to address global challenges.The 18 month CASCADE project was set up to: 1) compile a regional position paper that identifies global challenges and research priorities for seven South Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as well as opportunities for EU-South Asia cooperation in research and innovation; 2) map and develop an inventory of national and regional stakeholders in South Asia related to global challenges; and 3) raise awareness on research & innovation priorities for fostering cooperation and towards building mutual understanding on how to address common global societal challenges. The project was undertaken by a consortium of eighteen partners across five European and eight Asian countries. A combination of methodologies was adopted for the CASCADE study. The first was a content analysis approach on available policies in each country pertaining to the seven thematic societal challenges identified under the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. This was followed by 348 semi-structured interviews and a series of focus groups conducted with 135 experts representing a diverse range of disciplines and sectors in the seven target countries. Analysis of this data was used to develop seven national position papers (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and one South Asian regional position paper. Ten priorities for EU-South Asia cooperation in research and innovation have been identified: 1) Addressing demographic changes – (ageing population, youth), increasing support, demography and innovation, design, environmental changes; 2) Exploiting the ocean - promoting bio-economy, economically viable ecosystems and services, and community based entrepreneurship; 3) Harnessing hydro, wind, solar, biomass and other renewables (knowledge exchange of renewable technologies); 4) Reducing disaster risk, including related information systems – big data; 5) Integrating of climate change adaptation within national policies and planning; 6) Early warning, monitoring of chronic climate change, preparedness and mitigation towards increased resilience; 7) Greater inclusivity (including participation of women & youth and consideration of the vulnerable, internationalisation, employment); 8) Improving social harmonisation among diverse populations; 9) Developing low cost, carbon neutral, green transport; 10) Tackling border security (trafficking, crime, surveillance) and cyber crime. The project has also developed a South Asian stakeholder inventory under six categories: National and local government; International organisations; Community; Civic society; Private and corporate sector; and Academia and professional associations. The identified stakeholders are those who can offer a broad range of science, technology and innovation input linking to the Horizon 2020 societal challenges, and that can influence the global challenges and research priorities relevant to the South Asian region.The project has also conducted approximately 41 dissemination events in South Asia and Europe aimed at raising awareness on research & innovation priorities for fostering cooperation and towards building mutual understanding on how to address common global societal challenges. All deliverables and materials can be downloaded from www.cascade-inconet.eu.Project Context and Objectives:Project contextThe European Union (EU), whilst representing only 7% of the world’s population, is responsible for 24% of world expenditure on research, 32% of high impact publications and 32% of patent applications, making it a world leader in research and innovation (European Commission, 2012a). However, over the past few decades, new key players have emerged within the international landscape shifting the previously dominant position held by the EU towards emerging economies such as China, Brazil, India and South Africa. This increasingly multi-polar international landscape has resulted in higher competition for attracting foreign R&D and talent. The issue is further exacerbated by the current economic crisis within the European region, which has resulted in a slow-down of public spending on research and innovation within the region. It has also compromised the region’s attractiveness in terms of drawing global Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) investments and talent. The shifting international landscape indicates an increased likelihood that the ‘world in 2025 will be less ‘western’ with some believing that we are already moving into the Asian Century’(Annerberg et al., 2010).Within this context, there was an increased need for Europe to strengthen internationalisation through strategic policy action. This was important not just in order to develop stronger linkages with emerging research and innovation hubs in Asia, Latin America and Africa, but also to benefit from new opportunities presented through international cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation in a proactive manner. The need for linkages with Asian countries was particularly highlighted given the region’s rapidly growing research and innovation capacities and the urgency to address global challenges. South Asia in particular is home to more than 40% of the world’s absolute poor, but will contribute nearly 40% of the growth in the world’s working-age population in the coming decades (Nayar et al., 2012). Further, it has been observed that the region experiences critical societal challenges covering all seven societal challenges of Horizon 2020 including: Health, demographic change and well-being; Food security, sustainable agriculture, marine and maritime research and the bio-economy; Secure, clean and efficient energy; Smart, green and integrated transport; Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials; Inclusive, innovative and reflective societies and Protecting freedom and security of the region and its society. As highlighted by the European Commission report on ‘Enhancing and focusing EU international cooperation in research and innovation’, global challenges are important drivers for research and innovation (European Commission, 2012b). Thus, the EU needed to strengthen its dialogues with international partners to build critical mass for tackling these challenges.Project ObjectivesTherefore, CASCADE (Collaborative Action towards Societal Challenges through Awareness, Development, and Education) was initiated with the aim of providing the foundation for a future INCONET programme targeting South Asian Countries. It attempted to promote bi-regional coordination of Science and Technology (S&T) cooperation, including priority setting and definition of S&T cooperation policies. The objectives of CASCADE, as an 18-month supporting action which ended in March 2015, were to: • Compile a regional position paper that identifies global challenges and research priorities; • Map and develop an inventory of national and regional stakeholders related to global challenges; and• Raise awareness on research & innovation priorities for fostering cooperation and towards building mutual understanding on how to address common global societal challenges. CASCADE targeted and had the participation of all South Asian countries specified in the Call: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The project comprised five work packages (WP) as follows.• WP1- coordinated the delivery of project outputs, ensured achievement of anticipated outcomes, and developed and managed project infrastructure. • WP2- produced national (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and regional (Southern Asia) position papers providing a consensus on the key societal challenges in the region linked to Horizon 2020. • WP3- identified and mapped key national and regional stakeholders that can influence and address these societal challenges.• WP4- engaged the key stakeholders, raised awareness of the potential for EU-Southern Asia cooperation, and stimulated their participation in Horizon 2020. • WP5- promoted the project, disseminated its results and used the position papers from WP2 and stakeholder maps from WP3 to compile a policy brief with recommendations to the European Commission on how to promote bi-lateral cooperation with Southern Asia with a view to tackling key societal challenges of mutual interest. The work plan of the project is presented in Figure 1. Methodology followedWP2 and WP3 of CASCADE were the two main work packages which were linked to the research outcomes of the project. The methodology followed in WP2 and WP3 is as follows. The aim of WP2 was to produce national (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and regional (Southern Asia) position papers providing a consensus on the key societal challenges in the region linked to Horizon 2020. The work carried out as part of WP2 was divided into four main phases. During phase 1, a content analysis approach was carried out to analyse available policies in the seven South Asian countries targeted by the CASCADE project. The focus was specifically on each of the seven societal challenges targeted under Horizon 2020. This phase set out the current statistics and trends, assessed the policy availability in each area, carried out a situational analysis, and finally, identified key informants that have knowledge or are responsible for developing policies in those areas. These key informants provided the basis for identifying interview and focus group respondents in phase 2.Phase 2 of WP2 was carried out using semi-structured interviews and focus groups. During this phase, semi-structured interviews were used to gather information on each of the Horizon 2020 challenges and to gain an understanding of each challenge and its impact to the society and country. The experts represented academia, industry and public organisations. 348 interviews were conducted across the seven South Asian partner countries. Following analysis of the interview data, a series of focus groups were conducted to get an overall perspective and consensus on all seven Horizon 2020 challenges, and to get an understanding of the key challenges and their impact to the society and country. There were 135 focus group participants across the seven countries. The experts represented academia, industry and public organisations.Phase 3 of the study was the development of the National Position Papers (NPPs). Although each national paper was developed and written by a local, in-country team, data collection and analysis were coordinated to ensure consistency. This was achieved through a series of briefing and training events, as well as the issuing of standard protocols and templates. A detailed presentation of the data collection and analysis carried out for each country can be found in the respective national position papers. Phase 4 of WP2 was the development of a Regional Position Paper (RPP). The RPP draws upon the findings of seven national position papers developed for Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In doing so, it provides a regional perspective on global societal challenges of mutual interest to the EU and South Asian region. The draft versions of the NPPs and the RPP were presented at the partner meetings and the steering committee meetings at various occasions and the development of the NPPs and RPP was subjected to a series of feedback and re-writing.The aim of WP3 was to identify and map key national and regional stakeholders who can influence and address the societal challenges in the region linked to Horizon 2020. The development of the inventories and the mapping of stakeholders were a collaborative process of research, debate, and discussion that drew from multiple perspectives to determine a key list of stakeholders at the national and regional level and their extent of stake in the seven societal challenges in terms of power and interest. Identification of stakeholders was conducted simultaneously with the Phase 1 (Policy and trend analysis of societal challenges in South Asia partner countries) and Phase 2 (Interviews and Focus groups with experts who have the knowledge and experiences in one/ several areas of social challenges in South Asia partner countries) of WP2 of the project. Guidance on identifying key stakeholders was provided for the South Asia partners during the second partner meeting held in Sri Lanka in January 2014. The identified stakeholders were those who could offer a broad range of STI input linking to the Horizon 2020 societal challenges and that can influence the global challenges and research priorities relevant to the South Asian region. Thereafter, stakeholder identification and mapping protocols were discussed in detail with the South Asia partners during a workshop conducted in conjunction with the third partner meeting held in Maldives in July 2014. At the end of the workshop, it was suggested to compile the stakeholder inventories under six categories of stakeholders. The categories were, National and local government (Public and semi-public entities that have interest in global societal challenges and research priorities); international organisations (Non-profit making organisations which possess membership of more than one country and set up as intergovernmental organisations or international non-governmental organisations); Community (Individuals and groups that has direct interest in global societal challenges); Civic society (Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that participate in research related Global Challenges, including not-for-profit and voluntary groups that are organised on a local, national or international level); Private and corporate sector (Privately owned profit-orientated business and industrial groups); and Academia and professional associations (Universities, research organisations, and professional associations engaged in research, and training and development of individuals and organisations involved in global societal challenges). A template was also introduced to the South Asia partners at the Maldives workshop to present the stakeholder inventory under the aforementioned six stakeholder categories. The template was significant to maintain the consistency of the inventories among partners. A section for stakeholder mapping was also integrated into the template. A power vs interest analysis was conducted in relation to each identified stakeholder in mapping their stake in global societal challenges. Each stakeholder’s power to influence the societal challenges and their interest in the respective societal challenge in a country were mapped based on the informed judgement of the project partners of each South Asia country against four different power vs interest criteria using the template. The criteria was, High Power- High Interest (Hp,Hi), High Power- Low Interest (Lp,Hi), Low Power- High Interest (Lp,Hi) and Low Power- Low Interest (Lp,Li). As a result, stakeholder inventories and maps were produced for each individual South Asia Country identifying a list of stakeholders for all seven societal challenges. References • Annerberg, R., Begg, I., Acheson, H., Borrás , S., Hallén, A., Maimets, T., Mustonen, R., Raffler, H., Swings, J. and Ylihonko, K. (2010) Interim Evaluation of the Seventh Framework Programme- Report of the Expert Group, European Commission.• European Commission (2012a) Commission focuses on international science co-operation to meet global challenges. [online] Available from: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-967_en.htm?locale=en [Accessed: 12 May 2015] • European Commission (2012b) Enhancing and focusing EU international cooperation in research and innovation: A strategic approach. [online] Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/research/iscp/pdf/policy/com_2012_497_communication_from_commission_to_inst_en.pdf [Accessed: 12 May 2015] • Nayar, R., Gottret, P., Mitra, P., Betcherman, G., Lee, Y.M. Santos, I., Dahal, M. and Shrestha, M. (2012) More and Better Jobs in South Asia, World Bank, Washington.Project Results:Compile a regional position paper that identifies global challenges and research priorities The project developed a regional position paper that summarised the South Asian region’s status and interests concerning the seven thematic societal challenges identified under the EU’s Horizon 2020 research programme: Health, demographic change and wellbeing; Food security, sustainable agricultures, marine and maritime research and the bio-based economy; Clean and efficient energy; Smart, green and integrated transport; Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials; A changing world - inclusive, innovative and reflective societies; and, Secure societies - protecting freedom and security of the country and its citizens. The regional paper draws upon the findings of seven national positions developed for Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The following summarises some of the key issues are priorities emerging in the paper. Further details and full references can be found in the accompanying regional and national position papers, details of which are provided in the reference list at the end.There is great diversity among the seven countries (Table 1). There are several countries covering a large land area (Afghanistan, Pakistan), while there are also very small countries by land area (Bhutan), including a small island state (Maldives). Several are land locked (Afghanistan, Bhutan and Nepal), while others are islands (Maldives, Sri Lanka) or have substantial coastal regions (Bangladesh, Pakistan). Similarly, populations range from the very small (Maldives, Bhutan) to some of the largest in the world (Bangladesh is 8th, Pakistan is 6th). All seven countries are experiencing population growth, but the rate of growth varies greatly, from 0.8% per annum (Maldives), to 2.4% (Afghanistan).The region has three low income countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal) but also an upper middle income country (Maldives). The others (Bhutan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) are all lower middle. Health and education also vary greatly. Conflict affected Afghanistan has very poor indicators in health and education, while Sri Lanka for example, has a comparatively high adult literacy rate.Despite these diverse profiles, the region faces many common concerns that link to the Horizon 2020 societal challenges. Health, demographic change and wellbeingSouth Asia faces wide-ranging public health challenges. Low life expectancy and high rates of malnutrition, infant mortality, and incidence of tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS are second only to those of sub-Saharan Africa. The region also faces challenges such as poor sanitation, poor maternal health, and poor access to healthcare services, as well as widespread malaria. While there have been some improvements in the health sector, it has been unevenly distributed between and within countries. For example, rural areas do worse than urban areas in life expectancy, immunization rates, maternal health, malaria incidence, and access to almost all health services.Many of the South Asian countries face severe challenges from a range of diseases. However, incidence rates vary greatly from country to country, in part due to demographic and geographic concentration.Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh all feature prominently in the WHO’s list of 22 high TB burden countries (Table 2). HIV/AIDS is also a challenge in parts of South Asia. Pakistan’s adult prevalence of HIV/AIDS is 0.1% but increasing. The problem is strongly linked to drug users, the prevalence of which roughly doubled from 10.8 percent in 2005 to 21 percent in 2008. According to Nepalese government estimates, 0.5% of its population lives with HIV, representing a sharp increase, a near tripling, from 1997 to 2005. The HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Asia has contributed to a resurgence of tuberculosis (TB) morbidity and mortality. TB co-infection is the region’s leading killer of HIV-positive people, who have accounted for a growing share of TB infections over the last decade. Directly observed treatment strategy (DOTS), the most effective known response to TB is now available in all South Asian countries, but the region has seen cases of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB).The region’s anti-malaria programs have shown considerable progress and have reduced the reported incidence of the disease by approximately 25 percent in 10 years. However, Malaria remains a problem in some countries. For example Pakistan faces an intransigent malaria epidemic during monsoon periods due to the presence of vast irrigation networks, and weak governance. Poor health systems, insufficient trained staff, low levels of sanitation, and inadequate coordination at every level of government make political and financial leadership paramount. Nepal’s malaria cases been more successfully controlled since 2000 but 80% of the population are still vulnerable to the infection. Insufficient health systems at every level starting from funding, staff, infrastructure, diagnostic and treatment capacity facilitate a continuation of endemic malaria in the vulnerable areas along Nepal’s border with India . Similarly, the disease is highly prevalent in the hilly areas of Bangladesh. Environmental changes due to worsening climate change also have the potential to undo the region’s malaria progress. Shortfalls in health services, compounded by systemic poverty and malnutrition, result in one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. Again, the problem is not distributed evenly. While Sri Lanka sees 58 maternal deaths for every 100,000 births, Nepal sees 830. Nepal and Pakistan have skilled professionals at only 19% and 29% of births respectively. In order to reduce this gap, a major expansion of health workers is required to provide services before, during, and after childbirth.The probability of dying from the four main non-communicable diseases (NCDs - cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes) is high in the region – see Table 3. This is in part due to the lack of a well-functioning civil/vital registration system for monitoring, weak health system infrastructure and inadequate funding for prevention and control of NCDs. In spite of the many health related challenges, South Asian countries on average spend less than 3.2% of their gross domestic products on health, which compares unfavourably to a global average of 8.2% (Table 4). Using these limited funds efficiently is also a major challenge.South Asia will also experience a dramatic increase in its elderly population by nearly nine times between 2010 and 2025 when life expectancy will increase to 75 years for men and 82 years for women (Table 5). Bangladesh’s 65-and-older population is projected to rise 5 percent in 2025 and 11 percent in 2050. This is the result of falling fertility rates and increasing life expectancy. While this is a problem for countries all over the world, South Asia faces some unique issues. Governments in the region don't devote many resources to the elderly. Bangladesh spends less than 0.5% of their GDPs on social pensions that benefit less than 20% of people over the age of 6024. 76% of elderly Bangladeshis are excluded from government support and social protection. Similarly, Pakistan has no social safety net. This void of social safety nets for the elderly can be attributed to the fact that until the last 30 years, the lifespan for an average Pakistani was less than 60 years.The significant rural-to-urban migration also means that the shape of the multigenerational family is shifting towards a more nuclear structure. Where previous generations could fully rely on living with their children or grandchildren to look after them in their old age, that is not necessarily the case today.The following are priorities and opportunities for EU-South Asia collaboration in research and innovation on health, demographic change and wellbeing:Poor health indicators: Low life expectancy and high rates of malnutrition, infant mortality, and incidence of tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS, as well as widespread malaria are some of the major health challenges facing the region. Exchange of science and technology in the health sector is considered a key area of mutual collaboration. The transfer of knowledge will help south Asian countries to adopt new technologies, used for diagnosis, which can help in the early mitigation of diseases and by taking early steps through preventive measures. Priority areas for mutual collaboration with the EU in the health sector include devising integrated health policies, developing physical and technological infrastructure for health care services and delivery, designing and practicing state-of-the-art surveillance systems to detect outbreaks of diseases treat early in time (e.g. cango virus, dengue fever, bird flue), and designing cost-effective and efficient vaccines for prevention of diseases (e.g. Hepatitis, TB, malaria, polio, rabies, measles).Reducing the burden of NCDs: Lower-income countries generally have lower capacity for the prevention and control of NCDs. To lessen the impact of NCDs on individuals and society, a comprehensive approach is needed that requires all sectors, including health, finance, foreign affairs, education, agriculture, planning and others, to work together to reduce the risks associated with NCDs, as well as promote the interventions to prevent and control them. There is an urgent need to lessen the risk factors associated with these diseases. Low-cost solutions exist to reduce the common modifiable risk factors (mainly tobacco use, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity, and the harmful use of alcohol) and map the epidemic of NCDs and their risk factors. Other ways to reduce NCDs are high impact, essential NCD interventions that can be delivered through a primary health-care approach to strengthen early detection and timely treatment. The creation of healthy public policies that promote NCD prevention and control, and reorienting health systems to address the needs of people with such diseases, are also priorities.Financing healthcare and affordability: Most countries in South Asia need to give more people access to affordable, quality health care. Too many people, especially women, cannot get the medical treatment they need due to high costs, difficulties in getting permission to see a doctor or a lack of health care providers in rural areas. There is a need for capacity building for health personnel, disease awareness and prevention. Addressing the care and well being of the ageing population: South Asia faces significant challenges in dealing with how future economic growth rates respond to the aging of the work force and the ultimate slowing in its growth. The region will need to ensure their social insurance systems are well adapted to confront the issues posed by an ageing population, and that the medical systems and social insurance are able to cope with the requirements of rising longevity, including the associated costs.Food security, sustainable agricultures, marine and maritime research and the bio-based economyAgriculture continues to be a very important livelihood option for the vast majority of South Asia’s rural population, even though the sector’s contribution to their economy is shrinking (Table 6). Much of South Asia has a large agriculture sector, with high usage of land area (Table 7). Agriculture is also a major employer (Table 8). South Asian countries have moderate agricultural growth rates (Table 9) but an increased level of food consumption, primarily due to high population growth. Despite this growth, livelihood opportunities in agriculture are perceived to be poor, leading to a steady stream of migration to urban areas. Since the 1980s, the growth of rural populations has been steadily declining in South Asia (Table 10). This will lead to more land available per person, but also a tightening of rural labour markets. A negative growth rate is expected to set in by 2030-35. This has been identified as not being migration through choice but because other sectors are unable to offer low-skilled employment, and offers concerns for future food security. The region is ranked as the most undernourished, malnourished and food insecure region in the world. Globally, the highest burden of hunger in absolute terms is to be found in Southern Asia. Estimates for 2014–16 suggest that about 281 million people are undernourished in the region, marking only a slight reduction from the number in 1990–92, despite there being progress in relative terms. Although most countries in Southern Asia have made progress towards the international hunger targets, the pace has been too slow for them to reach either the World Food Security or the Millennium Development Targets, including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Prevalence of malnutrition is 33.6% in Bhutan, 40.5% in Nepal and 45% in Pakistan. Southern Asia (including India) has the highest proportion of children under age five who are underweight (46% in 2008), much greater than found in Sub-Saharan Africa (27% in 2008) or South Eastern Asia (25% in 2008).A notable exception in terms of performance is Bangladesh, which has made faster progress and has already reached the MDG 1c hunger target, thanks also to the comprehensive National Food Policy framework adopted in the mid-2000s. Nepal, also, has not only reached the MDG 1c hunger target, but has almost reached the 5% threshold.While several of the South Asian countries are landlocked (Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal), fisheries and aquaculture production are an important contributor to the South Asian economy. The Indian Ocean represents one of the world’s major fishing areas (Table 11), while Bangladesh is one of the World’s top 25 major producer countries for both marine capture and inland waters. Pakistan is also a major producer for inland waters capture (19th globally).Capture fisheries make a significant contribution to GDP in the Maldives (26.6%), Bangladesh (2.0%) and Sri Lanka (1.3%), some of the highest figures globally. Aquaculture is also a notable contributor in Bangladesh (1.9%), Nepal (0.5%) and Sri Lanka (0.2%). Sri Lanka (43) and Maldives (18) are both home to a large number of species classified by the IUCN as endangered, vulnerable, rare, indeterminate, out of danger, or insufficiently known.Climate change is a long-term challenge to South Asia and the agriculture sector, affecting all four dimensions of food security: crop yields, food prices, food utilization and vulnerability of households. Evidence suggests that yields of rice could decline by 14 per cent, wheat by 44 to 49 per cent and maize by between 9 and 19 per cent. Climate change multiplies the risks of natural hazards, through altered rainfall and temperature patterns as well as increased frequency and intensity of extreme events such as drought and flooding. Severe flooding in 2007 along the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers affected over 13 million people in Bangladesh; flooding in Pakistan in 2010 severely affected 20 million people. The economic cost of the 2007 floods in Bangladesh was over US$1 billion; in Pakistan it was nearly US$10 billion. The Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released in 2014, noted that climate change is already having a negative impact on agriculture, affecting major crops, livestock production and fisheries. These tropical areas of high exposure to climate change are also characterized by high food insecurity.The following are priorities and opportunities for EU-South Asia collaboration in research and innovation on food security, sustainable agricultures, marine and maritime research and the bio-based economy:New and climate resistant crops and varieties (e.g. high yield varieties) and technologies to increase productivity and sustainability: The health and well-being of the world’s growing population are largely dependent on the ability of the agricultural industry to raise high yielding and climate resistant food crops. Inclusive growth provides opportunities for those with meagre assets and skills, and improves the livelihoods and incomes of the poor, especially in agriculture. It is therefore among the most effective tools for fighting hunger and food insecurity, and for attaining sustainable progress. Enhancing the productivity of resources held by smallholder family farmers, fishing and forest communities, and promoting their rural economic integration through well-functioning markets, are also essential elements of inclusive growth. Technology and knowledge transfers can also help in achieving increased productivity and quality standards (particularly in relation to packaging and transportation) of agricultural and fish produce. This would, in turn, aid in the creation of new international markets for local produce. Protecting agricultural lands: A large proportion of South Asian land area is in agricultural use. How this important natural resource is used is vital to sustainable development. This includes taking the right decisions about protecting it from inappropriate development.Improve farmers’ quality of life and livelihood security: Improving the quality of life of farmers and fishermen will be important to sustain agriculture and redress the rural to urban migration. Improving the productivity of resources held by family farmers and smallholders is, in most cases, an essential element of inclusive growth and has broad implications for the livelihoods of the rural poor and for the rural economy in general. Well- functioning markets for food, inputs and labour can help to integrate family farmers and smallholders in the rural economy and enable the rural poor to diversify their livelihoods, which is critical for managing risk, and reducing hunger and malnutrition.Use of bio-technology in marine and fisheries to exploit sea based resources: Marine biotechnology is essential to satisfy the growing demand for healthy products from fisheries and aquaculture in a sustainable way. The growing demand for marine food will need to be increasingly delivered through intensive aquaculture. Marine biotechnology has the potential to contribute significantly to increasing production efficiency and product quality, to the introduction of new species for intensive cultivation and to the development of sustainable practices in South Asia. Clean and efficient energySouth Asia’s energy system is characterised by energy that is imported, expensive, environmentally unsustainable, and dependent on coal, oil, wood and natural gas. Regular power outages, inadequate and unreliable distribution networks and high energy costs are common to the energy sector across the region.Economic and population growth in South Asia has resulted in rapid increases in energy consumption in recent years, well above rates seen in developed countries. South Asia has three low income countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal) but also an upper middle income country (Maldives). The others (Bhutan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) are all lower middle. Similarly, populations range from the very small (Maldives, Bhutan) to some of the largest in the world (Bangladesh is 8th, Pakistan is 6th). All seven countries are experiencing population growth, but the rate of growth varies greatly, from 0.8% per annum (Maldives), to 2.4% (Afghanistan). Despite growing in energy demand, South Asia continues to average among the lowest levels of per capita energy consumption in the world. Afghanistan is the lowest, Bangladesh 3rd lowest and Nepal 9th lowest (total energy consumption per capita per annum kgoe/a). Several of the target countries in the region already have a high percentage of their population with access to electricity, including the Maldives (99.9%), Pakistan (91.4%) and Sri Lanka (85.1%), while others have very low rates of access, including Afghanistan (41%) and Bangladesh (55%). Rural electrification rates are very low in some countries (Table 12).EIA's International Energy Outlook 2013 (IEO2013) projects that growth in world energy use largely comes from countries outside of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Energy use patterns for countries inside the OECD are relatively stable between 2010 and 2040 as primary energy use is projected to grow by 0.5% per year, roughly the same rate as population growth in those countries. In non-OECD countries, faster growing economies and changing habits in highly concentrated populations drive significant increases in energy use. Energy use in non-OECD countries is projected to grow by 2.2% per year, and the share of non-OECD energy use is expected to rise from 54% of total world energy use in 2010 to 65% in 2040. Energy consumption per person is predicted to rise in developing countries as they grow richer and their citizens covet energy consuming products. In the EIA forecasts, energy use per capita remains flat in OCED countries over the next 30 years but jumps 46 percent in the developing world.Economic and population growth places significant pressures on each country’s respective energy sectors and South Asia is likely to contribute to a major share to the incremental demand for hydrocarbons during the first half of this century. All the South Asian countries are highly dependent on import of fuels, particularly hydrocarbons, and this dependence has been increasing over the decades. Bangladesh meets 94% of its oil and 45% of its coal demand through imports, while Pakistan imported 25% of its energy. More than half of the total energy consumption in South Asia is still contributed by non-commercial energy sources like animal waste, wood, or other biomass, although the spread of electricity and the penetration of fuel products for lighting and cooking, has led to a gradual reduction in the share of biomass in most of these countries. Biomass accounts for 68% of primary energy consumption in Bangladesh, and over 90% of household energy. Domestic natural gas accounted for 68% of the country’s commercial energy consumption in 2010; imported oil and coal for another 26% and local hydropower for 5.4%. About 88% of the country’s power was generated from gas and about half the commercial energy consumption was for power generation. Commercial energy consumption in Pakistan is met from a mix of gas (49%), oil (31%), electricity (13%) and coal (7%) – all of which cumulatively account for almost half of national GHG emissions. Almost two-thirds of the population depends on biomass fuel to meet domestic needs. Of the total energy consumption in Nepal in 2008/9, traditional sources accounted for 87% and commercial sources for 12%, with new renewable sources accounting for just 1%. Of commercial fuels, 60% are petroleum, with coal and grid electricity (mainly hydropower) each being 13%.Fuel resource endowments of these countries have certain complementarities, which suggest that intra-regional energy cooperation would greatly help mitigate individual country energy security risks. Pakistan and Bangladesh account for significant natural gas and coal resources, while Bhutan and Nepal have large hydropower resources. Pakistan also has nuclear power generation capabilities. Sri Lanka has good hydro power generation potential. There is an emerging presence of private sector in power generation in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan, and this presence is likely to grow in other countries as well. Many of the countries have substantial renewable energy potential. The sharing of these resources offers potential for more optimal energy supply solutions for the entire region. The following are priorities and opportunities for EU-South Asia collaboration in research and innovation on clean and efficient energy:Harness hydro, wind, solar, biomass and other renewables: Achieving ambitious deep cuts in emissions and accelerating green growth will require the development and diffusion of carbon-efficient technologies. South Asia has great potential for energy efficiency and renewable energy, including hydro, geothermal, wind, solar and tidal energy.Conservation and efficiency improvements through smart national power grid, including transmission and distribution: Innovative finance mechanisms and policies are needed to reduce the risks perceived by mainstream lending institutions in cleaner technology investments and to enhance their capacity to finance low-carbon technologies and resource options. Extensive research activities on energy consumption and the efficient use of energy is required, including exchange of science knowledge on the use of smart technologies used in the energy sector for improving efficiency and security, and introducing environmentally friendly technologies for producing energy.Regional cooperation in knowledge sharing, energy development and trade: There is a need to understand the national energy policies and resource endowments of these countries in order to identify common features and complementarities necessary for a viable regional energy security framework. South Asian countries need enhanced regional energy transfer to leverage economies of scale through a more vibrant intra and inter regional energy trade structure. Key issues faced in energy sector cooperation are centered on the need to develop a regional power market, energy supply availability, energy trade infrastructure, and harmonized legal and regulatory frameworks.Smart, green and integrated transport The quality of transport infrastructure is a key determinant of performance in the transport sector and development of transport infrastructure supports economic growth. Transport infrastructure is a critical ingredient in economic development at all levels of income. It supports personal well being and economic growth, but transport is also a major source of air and noise pollution. Countries spend considerable amounts of money each year to build, maintain and improve their transport infrastructure in response to the growing passenger and freight mobility needs, and the need to renew aging infrastructure.South Asia ranks poorly in global quality of trade and transport infrastructure (Table 13). Only Pakistan (69) and the Maldives (82) appear in the top 100 of 160 ranked in the 2014 LPI Global Survey. Bangladesh (138) and Afghanistan (158) have some of the poorest transport infrastructure globally. Weak transport integration is also a problem across South Asia. An integrated and efficient transport network is an essential element of the enabling environment for a globalised economy. Transport cost is a significant determinant of competitiveness. Due to lack of integration of the transport system in South Asia, the logistic costs are very high and ranges between 13–14 percent of GDP, compared to 8 percent in the USA. Integration of the transport network of South Asia is especially crucial to countries such as Nepal and Bhutan. Such integration could serve to end their landlocked or semi-isolated status and provide shorter transport and transit links to their desired destinations including access to the sea.The surface transport networks in South Asia still continue to remain fragmented due to various historical, political, and economic reasons as well as lack of cooperation among the member countries. Railway also has potential as a mode of surface transport for long distance freight traffic, but its use is constrained by different gauges, track structures and signalling, and incompatible rolling stocks. Several countries, including Afghanistan (75km), Nepal (59km) have very small railway networks. Maritime transport is a major mode of transport in South Asia. A number of maritime gateways have developed and have been contributing in the socio-economic development of South Asia. Even though air transport has also seen large growth over several decades, South Asia lags behind many other regions in terms of its usage of air travel. Connectivity between the regional centres, especially the capital cities in terms of direct flights is still very low and many capitals are not directly connected. Improving regional transport infrastructure has been identified as a critical medium-term driver of peace and economic cooperation for South Asia, in particular investment within South Asia through joint venture projects:• Facilitate joint private sector projects to build a network of motorways and railways to international quality standards throughout South Asia. These modern road and rail networks would connect all the major commercial centres, towns, and cities of SAARC countries with each other and with the economies of Central Asia, West Asia, and East Asia.• Facilitate regional and global joint venture projects to develop new ports along both the western and eastern seaboard of South Asia, and at the same time upgrade existing ports to the highest international standards.• Facilitate regional investment projects to build a network of airports, together with cold storage facilities and warehouses, which could stimulate not only tourism but also the export of perishable commodities such as milk, meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables.At a national level, the scale of transport related challenges are also evident, in particular due to rapidly increasing motorisation and private vehicle ownership, and simultaneously, reducing use of public transport and weak public investment. Transport infrastructure has been failing to match vehicle growth, while inefficient, highly polluting vehicles remain widespread. Road safety is also poor, with South Asia experiencing very high levels of road fatalities.In Pakistan, in 1991-92 the total number of vehicles on roads was 2,095,500 and by 2006-07 the number had reached 8,063,6000, a 285% increase. During the same time period there was 52% increase in the road length. In 1992, Pakistan's National Conservation Strategy Report identified that the average vehicle in Pakistan emits 20 times more hydrocarbons, 25 times as much carbon monoxide and 3.6 times as much nitrous oxide as a vehicle in the United States, which account for 90% of pollutants.Sri Lanka has also experienced a rapid increase in the total vehicle ownership, as shown in Table 14. Between 2003 and 2013, the total number of vehicles in Sri Lanka increased from under 2.1 million to over 5 million. This increase corresponds with a population change in that period running at a 0.8% annual change. Three of the countries also have over half of their total roads unpaved. These include Afghanistan (70.7%), Bangladesh (90.5%) and Bhutan (59.6%).Road safety is also a major concern (Table 15). According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), road traffic accidents kill more people around the world than malaria, and are the leading cause of death for young people aged five to 29 – especially in developing countries. While low and middle-income countries are home to less than 50% of the world's registered vehicles, 90% of the world's road traffic deaths occur in developing countries. When looking at recorded road deaths proportional to a country's population, the Cook Islands comes out on top (45.0 road deaths per 100,000 people), followed by Libya (34.7) South Africa (33.2) and Iran (32.2). However, much of South Asia also suffers from very high levels of road deaths proportional to the population.The following are priorities and opportunities for EU-South Asia collaboration in research and innovation on smart, green and integrated transport:Environmentally friendly, green transport: given the rapid rise in vehicular traffic, a trend that is likely to continue due to population and economic growth, affordable, green private and public transport will be essential to control emissions. Introduce / improve ‘smart’ traffic management: with limited financial capacity to expand transport infrastructure, intelligent use of existing capacity will be vital to support growth. Integrated transport: An integrated and efficient transport network is an essential element of the enabling environment for a globalised economy. Effective integration of the transport system in South Asia could also contribute greatly in enhancing access to remote areas, thereby extending economic development.Improved safety standards for all transport infrastructure and services: Establish missing safety regulations, supported by strict enforcement and policing. Create awareness among people about road safety and also help developing countries to attract investment from multilateral institutions to improve their accident-prone highways. Priorities also include awareness programmes to influence the behaviour of road users, and improving care and rehabilitation following accidents.Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materialsWith a population of 1.43 billion people (including India), one-third of whom live in poverty, South Asia faces the significant challenge of achieving and sustaining rapid economic growth to reduce poverty and attain other Millennium Development Goals while also tackling the threats posed by global climate change. Economic losses in key sectors, such as agriculture, energy, transport, health, water, coastal and marine, and tourism, are expected to be significant, rendering growth targets harder to achieve.The effects of climate change have already been felt across much of the region. Germanwatch identifies both Bangladesh and Pakistan as two of the top ten countries most affected from 1994 to 2013 (Table 16).A recent report by the Asian Development Bank, Assessing the Costs of Climate Change and Adaptation in South Asia (2014), warns that the total climate change cost in South Asia will increase over time and will be prohibitively high in the long term. The report indicates that South Asia could lose an equivalent 1.8% of its annual gross domestic product (GDP) by 2050, which will progressively increase to 8.8% by 2100. The model suggests that the Maldives will be hardest hit in GDP loss, while Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka are projected to face 2.0%, 1.4%, 2.2%, and 1.2%, respectively, loss of annual GDP by 2050.The Maldives and Bangladesh are low-lying and are therefore highly exposed to rising sea levels and uneven precipitation, which will take a heavy toll on coastlines and the industries, like fishery or coastal farming that depend on the coasts or are located there like ports. Elsewhere, the losses in Nepal could rise to 9.9 percent - largely because of melting glaciers – while they could total 6.6 percent in Bhutan, and 6.5 percent in Sri Lanka.Similarly, Maplecroft’s Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) rates 32 countries as having ‘extreme risk’ to the impacts of climate change over the next 30 years. Among them, Bangladesh is identified at greatest risk, while Nepal, Maldives, Afghanistan and Pakistan also feature in the highest risk category. According to Maplecroft, the countries with the most risk are characterised by high levels of poverty, dense populations, exposure to climate-related events; and their reliance on flood and drought prone agricultural land. Climate change can affect many aspects of South Asia’s production. Energy generation – especially hydropower and thermal – are susceptible. Cyclones and floods can be extremely damaging to infrastructure. The coastal fisheries, forests, salt, minerals, export processing, harbours and airports on the coastal zones are also at risk. Climate change will also increase the costs of production such as water, electricity and land for domestic goods or exports, so no industry or sector is immune. Livelihoods will become more vulnerable, especially in coastal areas and for industries like farming. Water, energy, and food supplies will become more uncertain and more costly. Changing weather patterns may also bring health impacts. Deaths from dengue and malaria and other water-borne diseases are likely to rise particularly during the monsoon months and extreme weather force migration as people move to safer, more secure areas of their country.The source of human contributions to climate change and the risks associated with climate change are not evenly distributed. Developed nations typically have high carbon dioxide emissions per capita, while some developing countries lead in the growth rate of carbon dioxide emissions. These uneven contributions to the climate problem are frequently cited at the core of the challenges the world community faces in finding effective and equitable solutions. Although many South Asian countries are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, as low and lower-middle income countries, they tend to have comparatively low CO2 emissions (Table 17). Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal’s, for example, are very low on a per capita basis and on an overall basis. China, the USA and the EU remain the top-3 emitters of CO2, accounting for respectively 29%, 15% and 11% of the world’s total. After years of a steady decline, the CO2 emissions of the United States grew by 2.5% in 2013, whereas in the EU emissions continued to decrease, by 1.4% in 2013. Per capita CO2 emissions of China and EU are currently both at a similar level, which is 50% above the global average but still about half the per capita CO2 of the United States.However, there are concerns that the world's richest countries are increasingly outsourcing their carbon pollution to China and other rising economies. Outsourcing of emissions comes in the form of cheap clothes and other goods manufactured in China and other rising economies but consumed in the US and Europe. Such concerns, albeit on a smaller scale, are also relevant to much of South Asia, and will become greater as they seek to grow their economies.The following are priorities and opportunities for EU-South Asia collaboration in research and innovation on climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials:Integration of climate change adaptation within national policies and planning: This may include appropriate land-use planning, conservation and biodiversity, community empowerment, and investing in innovative, adaptive and absorptive capacity building activities.Early warning, preparedness and mitigation towards increased resilience: Shift development towards a mindset of resilience and innovation. Much of South Asia is economically poor, socially and politically marginalised and otherwise vulnerable. Resilience building measures must be inclusive. Research activities are needed on the rapid increase of global warming and air pollution in the southern Asian region, encouraging low carbon growth through the use of new technologies, introducing cost-effective and innovative climate change adaptation methodologies, developing disaster management systems through early warning systems, the efficient use of material, waste management and recycling, and encouraging environmentally friendly innovations in the new private sector.Promote the green and blue economy, develop climate resistant crops and promote economically viable ecosystems and services: Economic diversification is not the key response needed. What is needed is for all sectors of the economy to be prepared to withstand climate change. In agriculture, for example, new technologies such as rice cultivation systems with more efficient water and nutrient use should be promoted. Altering planting times, using resistant varieties, and diversifying crops can help.Management of resources and development of pollution standards and compliance: Countries need to look at better management of resources and services. Better coastal zone management, efforts to protect riverbanks from erosion and building climate-proofed roads, bridges and other infrastructure is needed. In the water sector, groundwater should be protected. A changing world: inclusive, innovative and reflective societiesThere is great diversity among the seven South Asian countries considered within this paper, and this extends to culture and ethnicity. South Asia is ethnically diverse, with more than 2,000 ethnic entities, with populations ranging from hundreds of millions to small tribal groups. South Asia has been invaded and settled by many ethnic groups over the centuries - including various Dravidian, Indo-Iranian, Tibeto-Burman, and Austroasiatic groups. The amalgamation of these various groups has produced composite cultures with many common traditions and beliefs, but the traditions of different ethnic groups in South Asia have diverged throughout earlier times, sometimes giving rise to strong local traditions such as the distinct South Indian and Bengali cultures.Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, four major world religions founded in the region that is today's India, are spread throughout the region. Islam, Judaism, and Christianity also have significant region-specific histories. While 80% of Indians are Hindus and Nepal is a Hindu-majority State, Sri Lanka and Bhutan have a majority of Buddhists. Islam is the predominant religion of Pakistan and some of Bangladesh. It also is the majority religion in Afghanistan, with a very small minority nowadays left to be professing Sikhism and Hinduism.Conflict has featured prominently in the region. Afghanistan has been in a protracted state of conflict, with partial destruction of core institutions. The Soviet–Afghan War lasted over nine years from December 1979 to February 1989. More recently, the United States invaded the country after the September 11 attacks, supported initially by close allies, and eventually by the wider North Atlantic Treaty Organization, beginning in 2003. Pakistan's governance is one of the most conflicted in the region. The military rule and the unstable government in Pakistan has become a concern for the South Asian region. In Nepal, the governance has struggled to come in the side of democracy and it only showed signs in the recent past to support the democratic system. The political situation in Sri Lanka has been dominated by an increasingly assertive Sinhalese nationalism, and the emergence of a Tamil separatist movement under LTTE, which was suppressed in May 2009. The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) suggest that South Asia significant shortcomings in governance (Figure 2). The WGI show the quality of governance provided by a large number of enterprise, citizen and expert survey respondents. These data are gathered from a number of survey institutes, think tanks, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and private sector firms.Similarly, the Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. A country or territory’s score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). A country or territory's rank indicates its position relative to the other countries and territories in the index. The 2014 index includes 175 countries and territories. Nepal and Pakistan (joint 126th), Bangladesh (145th) and Afghanistan (172nd) all score badly and are among the lowest ranked in the World.Employment and labour markets are also a concern. In South Asia, many enterprises are created and operate in the unorganised sector, forcing people into an economic space that isn’t taxed, regulated or monitored. This sector is also associated with high poverty rates, poor job security, and gender discrimination. Unemployment is also a problem (Table 18), in particular Afghanistan and Nepal, which both also suffer from very poor job security.South Asia as a region is home to the largest proportion of unemployed and inactive youth in the developing world: 31%. Many attribute this to social norms, as many South Asian women do not work for cultural reasons. But with a growing middle class, gender norms are rapidly evolving. Employment laws are often viewed as too restrictive, compliance too complicated, and enforcement too weak. For example, large businesses often need prior government approval for dismissals, and severance pay is very high in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan. Despite this, regulation often fails to protect workers as formal employment regulation covers less than 10% of the labour force in most countries, and less than a third even in Sri Lanka, which has the most formalised labour market in South Asia. The economic and social costs of prolonged unemployment can remain for decades. Individuals who begin their careers without work are more likely to earn lower wages over the course of their lifetimes. The loss in human capital from lost training and experience accumulation can stunt the productivity of an entire generation.Within South Asia, gender inequality remains a major barrier to human development. Girls and women have made major strides in several countries, but they have not yet gained gender equity. The disadvantages facing women and girls are a major source of inequality. All too often, women and girls are discriminated against in health, education, political representation, and labour market — with negative repercussions for development of their capabilities and their freedom of choice. The Gender Inequality Index is a composite measure reflecting inequality in achievement between women and men in three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market. As shown in Table 19, only Sri Lanka (73rd) is ranked in the top 100 globally.Literacy rates also remain a concern in several countries. While Sri Lanka has a literacy rate of 91% for people aged 15 and above, Afghanistan (55%), Bangladesh (59%), Nepal (57%) and Pakistan (55%) all have large portions of the population that remains illiterate. Those who cannot read and write are “destined to be on the social and economic margins of our world,” UNESCO reminds us. Being able to read and write has profound benefits not only on a person’s educational opportunities but also for their health, economic prospects and their children.The following are priorities and opportunities for EU-South Asia collaboration in research and innovation on a changing world: inclusive, innovative and reflective societies:Improve transparency and accountability towards good governance: Good governance depends on an ability to exercise power, and to make good decisions over time, across a spectrum of economic, social, environmental and other areas. This is linked with the government’s capacity for knowledge, mediation, resource allocation, implementation and maintenance of key relationships. Key factors for the development of better governance and transparency in South Asia include: technical and managerial competence: organisational capacity, reliability, predictability and the rule of law; accountability; transparency and open information systems; participation.Greater inclusivity and improved social harmonisation among diverse populations: This includes participation of women and youth, and consideration of the vulnerable, internationalisation, and employment. Labour market policies are also in need of reform. There is a need to move from protecting “jobs” to protecting “workers”. Public works in countries like Bangladesh have been around for decades, but have lacked an explicit youth component. Employment programmes can directly produce jobs, in addition to spreading good labour practices and growing markets. Social protection for first-time job seekers, including unemployment assistance and employment guarantee schemes are also needed to protect the most vulnerable.Cooperation in education system reform: This may include introducing modern teaching technologies, updating curricula and education system management, and strengthening relationships with foreign universities to exchange lecturers and students. It may also involve conducting studies on how to strengthen commercial connections to regional and global economies, and research activities to gather accurate data on the labour market to provide research- and evidence-based policies, and strengthen the governance system.Secure societies: protecting freedom and security of the country and its citizensPopulations throughout South Asia face a range of natural hazards, including earthquakes, cyclones, floods, landslides, droughts, and tsunamis.Demographic changes, rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, and climate change have increased exposure to natural hazards, often resulting in more natural disasters and compounding the impact of civil conflicts and other complex emergencies. In addition, declining socio-economic conditions of some populations are increasing vulnerability to hazards in the region. As described earlier, and emphasised in the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change reports that have emerged over recent years, the frequency and intensity of regular hazards such as tropical storms, floods and droughts have already significantly increased as a result of climate change. The impacts of such climatic variability are being felt most in developing countries, including those in South Asia. Climate and weather-related disasters already affect croplands, livestock, homes and assets, food security and access to services, transport. Rapid sea level rise could overwhelm the Maldives and submerge coastal areas in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) in the Himalayan region caused by melt- water breaching glacial barriers that protect highland lakes and retreating glaciers pose further far-reaching challenges. South Asian countries feature prominently in the 2014 ranking of countries most at risk by natural disaster, as measured in the World Risk Index, calculated by the United Nations University. Risk is at its highest where a high level of exposure to natural hazards coincides with very vulnerable societies. Bangladesh ranks 168th, Afghanistan 134th Sri Lanka 113th, and Pakistan 101st of the 172 countries measured.Between 1980 and 2014, South Asia experienced 1,391 natural disasters that met the criteria of EMDAT. The number of occurrences grew from 265 in the first decade of that period (1980 – 1989) to 470 over the last 10 years (2005 – 2014). These events have cumulatively affected over 2 billion people and have caused over 580,000 deaths. Direct economic losses recorded over this time period amount to over US$149 billion, a figure that does not account for substantial indirect losses. In particular, high-impact single events have caused massive damage. The increase in reported disasters is driven, in large part, by a greater number of hydro- meteorological events. While the number of seismic events has remained relatively steady over the past 40 years, flood and storm events have become increasingly common despite relatively consistent rainfall patterns. The growth in the number of hydro-meteorological events is driven by the region’s limited capacity to manage high rainfall and storm events and an increased concentration of assets in high risk areas. Combined, this results in a greater number of disasters and higher economic losses. South Asia is the most exposed region in the world to flooding and highly exposed to cyclones.Several cities in South Asia have been highlighted as very high risk. Every year, settlements in Kathmandu valley experience floods and landslides but Kathmandu itself is at greatest risk due to high exposure to being in an area of high seismicity, but also poor building standards. The devastating earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015 had been widely predicted. Almost 30% of the 14 million people in Dhaka live in slums along the water's edge, exposing them to flooding. The Stanford-based earthquake disaster risk index also lists Dhaka as one of the 20 most vulnerable cities in the world to earthquakes.Cities in Pakistan (2005 Kashmir earthquake) and Sri Lanka (2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami) have also been severely affected by major disasters in recent years. South Asia also features prominently in the 2014 Global Terrorism Index (GTI), an attempt to systematically rank the nations of the world according to terrorist activity. The index combines a number of factors associated with terrorist attacks to build an explicit picture of the impact of terrorism over a 10-year period, illustrating trends, and providing a data series for analysis by researchers and policymakers. Afghanistan is ranked 2nd (9.39) and Pakistan 3rd (9.37). Only Iraq is ranked above (1st, 12.0). Bangladesh is 24th (5.25) Nepal is 25th (5.23) and Sri Lanka is 37th (4.01).Alongside natural hazards and terrorism, digital security has also been highlighted as a major concern within many South Asian countries. Specific concerns were raised by respondents concerning security-by-design, privacy, access control, and risk management and assurance models.The following are priorities and opportunities for EU-South Asia collaboration in research and innovation on secure societies: protecting freedom and security of the country and its citizens:Disaster risk reduction, including related information systems: In accordance with the new Sendai Framework (2015-2030), there is a need for South Asia to ‘prevent new and reduce existing disaster risk through the implementation of integrated and inclusive economic, structural, legal, social, health, cultural, educational, environmental, technological, political and institutional measures that prevent and reduce hazard exposure and vulnerability to disaster, increase preparedness for response and recovery, and thus strengthen resilience’. Priorities include a shift from disaster loss to disaster risk, and from disaster management to disaster risk management. A focus on a people-centred preventive approach to risk reduction will be vital, as will defining the primary responsibility of States for risk reduction, but also shared responsibility with stakeholders. The scope of such measures must include slow-onset, man-made and biohazards. Border security, crime, and surveillance: Fighting crime and terrorism will require new technologies and capabilities for fighting and preventing crime (including cyber-crime), illegal trafficking and terrorism (including cyber-terrorism), including understanding and tackling terrorist ideas and beliefs to also avoid aviation-related threats. The EU’s external security policies in civilian tasks, ranging from civil protection to humanitarian relief, border management or peace-keeping and post-crisis stabilisation, including conflict prevention, peace-building and mediation, will also be invaluable in the region. Other priorities include collaboration in the field of smart technologies for civil registration, to strengthen border management with high-tech protection tools and introducing e-governance.Cross cutting themesIn addition to the priorities identified under each thematic challenge, there were several recurring, cross cutting priorities. These are summarised below:Development and financing of infrastructure: Adequate physical infrastructure is a key element of economic growth. However, the developing world needs far more financing for infrastructure than can be provided through overseas development aid and domestic public finances alone. The cost of maintaining existing infrastructure and undertaking necessary extensions of its coverage is estimated at 7 per cent of developing country GDP, equivalent to about 600 billion US dollars (USD) per year. Public spending on infrastructure in developing countries is presently around 3 per cent. Given the shortage of public funds in most developing countries, one solution is to invite greater private sector participation and expand the use of public-private partnerships (PPP).Adopt an evidence-based approach to policy: The national position papers identified that most of the seven countries under consideration had developed policies aimed towards the thematic areas in Horizon 2020. However, the quality of the policymaking, as well as policy implementation and evaluation, was frequently questioned. Evidence based policy can have an even more significant impact in developing countries. Evidence based policy is a discourse or set of methods which informs the policy process, rather than aiming to directly affect the eventual goals of the policy. It advocates a more rational, rigorous and systematic approach. The pursuit of evidence based policy is based on the premise that policy decisions should be better informed by available evidence and should include rational analysis. This is because policy which is based on systematic evidence is seen to produce better outcomes. The approach has also come to incorporate evidence-based practices. Evidence based policy tends to be less well established in developing countries than in developed ones, and therefore the potential for change is greater. Better utilisation of evidence in policy and practice can help save lives, reduce poverty and improve development performance in developing countries. Capacity building and sustainable development: International cooperation and collaborations will be essential to address and tackle common global societal challenges, and the need for cooperation towards capacity development was frequently identified at the national level within South Asia.The concept of capacity building or capacity development appeared in the late 1980s and became deeply entrenched within the development agenda in the 1990s. Rather than representing a new idea, it reflected growing criticism of many development assistance programmes. In contrast to this extraneous approach, it emphasised the need to build development on indigenous resources, ownership and leadership and by bringing human resources development to the fore. The concept of capacity development was therefore a move away from ‘aid’ or ‘assistance’ towards a ‘help yourself’ approach that was designed to prevent a dependency on aid emerging. Capacity development is based on learning and acquisition of skills and resources among individuals and organisations. While this process may rely on some imported resources, external capacity is seen as a knowledge-sharing device, which allows the strengthening and developing of the local capacity. As such, it relates closely to some definitions of resilience, which stress the objective is to build resilience by maximising the capacity to adapt to complex situations, and whereby resilience describes an active process of self-righting, learned resourcefulness and growth. Capacity development is committed to sustainable development, to a long rather than short term perspective, and attempts to overcome the shortcomings of traditional donor- led projects that have been prevalent in many development projects — typically criticised for being too short term rather than sustainable, and not always addressing the needs of the recipients. Development within a capacity building context allows communities and countries to identify their own needs, and design and implement the best strategy within the local context. As a process, it builds on monitoring and evaluation in order to identify existing capacities, deficiencies and the progress and achievements of development.ReferencesAsian Disaster Preparedness Center and Patuakhali Science and Technology University (2014) Bangladesh national position paper on Horizon 2020 societal challenges. CASCADE project.Goonasekera, H., Gunatiliake, S., Hettiarchchi, S., Weeresinghe, S. (2014) Sri Lanka national position paper on Horizon 2020 societal challenges. CASCADE project.Haigh, R., Amaratunga, D., Liyanage, C., Ginige, K., Arambepola, N., Dutta, R. (2015) South Asian regional position paper on Horizon 2020 societal challenges. CASCADE project.Hussain, A., Umar, M., Ahmad, N (2014) Pakistan national position paper on Horizon 2020 societal challenges. CASCADE project.Khalid, H. (2014) Maldives national position paper on Horizon 2020 societal challenges. CASCADE project.Sherzaman, S., Sarwary, N., Noor, N., Darmal, B., Adil, A. (2014) Afghanistan national position paper on Horizon 2020 societal challenges. CASCADE project.Sitoula, N. and Parajuli, B. (2014) Nepal national position paper on Horizon 2020 societal challenges. CASCADE project.Tshering, J. (2014) Bhutan national position paper on Horizon 2020 societal challenges. CASCADE project.Map and develop an inventory of national and regional stakeholders related to global challengesThe second key objective of the CASCADE project was to identify and develop an inventory of the national and regional stakeholders that can influence the societal challenges and research priorities relevant to the South Asian region. Accordingly, South Asia country partners prepared stakeholder inventories for their countries for each challenge using a standard template. The identified stakeholders were mapped against their power to influence the societal challenges and their interest in the challenges.Stakeholder identification and mapping protocols were discussed in detail with the South Asia partners during a workshop conducted in conjunction with the third partner meeting held in Maldives in July 2014. At the end of the workshop, the team compiled a stakeholder inventory template using six categories of stakeholders. The stakeholder categories and their definitions are presented in Table 20.The template was significant to maintain the consistency of the inventories among partners. A section for stakeholder mapping was also integrated into the template. A power vs interest analysis was conducted in relation to each identified stakeholder in mapping their stake in societal challenges. Each stakeholder’s power to influence the societal challenges and their interest in the respective societal challenge in a country were mapped based on the informed judgement of the project partners of each South Asia country against the following criteria using the template.• High Power- High Interest (Hp,Hi)• High Power- Low Interest (Lp,Hi)• Low Power- High Interest (Lp,Hi)• Low Power- Low Interest (Lp,Li)The inventory of national and regional stakeholders and final seven stakeholder maps are have been submitted under deliverables.Raise awareness on research & innovation priorities for fostering cooperation and towards building mutual understanding on how to address common global societal challengesThe project developed a detailed plan to identify relevant stakeholders and raise awareness on research & innovation priorities for fostering cooperation and towards building mutual understanding on how to address common global societal challenges. Section 4 provides a detailed overview of the dissemination activities and how they were used for exploitation of the results and to raise awareness. Potential Impact:The potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far) CASCADE is aimed directly at creating Bi-regional coordination of S&T cooperation including priority-setting of S&T cooperation policies. In this context, CASCADE project has made an impact as follows: • Provide up to date analytical evidence on key players and competences in the targeted countries; • Identify the societal challenges on which to focus the cooperation and justify them in terms of common interest and mutual benefit; and • Support, where relevant, the training and extension of the network of FP contacts in the region, in particular with the view of increasing awareness about cooperation opportunities offered by Horizon 2020.There is a broad consensus that successful communication between researchers and research-users is crucial for the effective utilisation and implementation of research in decision-making in policy and practice. There is also evidence that effective dissemination and demand driven research correlate because communication channels transport messages in both ways for communicating results and for communicating demand for new research. Accordingly, CASCADE presented an engagement and collaboration framework with appropriate processes and means that promotes genuine collaboration with a variety of stakeholders, throughout the lifetime of the project, thereby ensuring maximum impact of the action. Within this context, CASCADE presented a credible, feasible and appropriate impact plan which has real potential for impact as a preparatory action to prepare ground for a future international collaborative programmes that targets South Asian Countries whilst promoting bi-regional coordination of Science &Technology (S&T) cooperation, including priority setting and definition of S&T cooperation policies.Accordingly, CASCADE presented: • A set of clear, well-funded activities for genuine collaboration with a variety of stakeholders throughout the life of the project; • The most appropriate analysis of who the stakeholders/potential end users of project outputs are; • Processes and means for engaging with them that are appropriate at all stages of the support actions; and• Clear plans to make findings available to target audiences and to maximise results uptake. A high coverage of the region was considered essential to guarantee the success of these actions. Further, the impact that was created was also dependent on the number of participating third countries of the region concerned and their engagement in the action and the involvement of all of the third countries of the region targeted by this particular action (i.e. Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) was seen as a real benefit. Some of the key impact CASCADE created can be summarised as follows:• Specific problems that third countries faced and that have a global character, on the basis of mutual interest and mutual benefit were assessed and identified. Further, global challenges that South Asian countries face were identified and mapped with related stakeholders. This support the bi-regional S&T policy dialogue in providing a general overview of the needs of the existing cooperation between the European Union and the targeted South Asian region. This further support development policy and help build scientific competences by focusing on specific economic and societal challenges that the identified countries face. Input towards the national agenda for the global challenges was provided via the identification of national level societal challenges. Focus was the theme- problem-oriented prioritisation within the international dimension. 348 semi-structured interviews across seven countries were carried out with experts in each area of social challenges. In addition to that, 135 focus groups were conducted with experts from all 7 areas of societal challenges. All the interviews and focus group were recorded and analysed to come up with the overall findings of the project. The experts chosen for the interviews and focus groups were either from academia, industry or from public organisations (e.g. policy maker or from local authority). To maintain consistency with the approaches adopted, guidelines and templates were developed for all these approaches and then issued to the national partners for use in-country. • Key stakeholders were mapped based on each target country which will result in Long-term research exchange programmes; joint research infrastructure, training and other programmes at the regional level. Idea of research as a shared 'parallel' competence is promoted with coordination helping focus resources, reduce duplication, improve impact. This helps supporting European competitiveness through strategic partnerships with third countries in selected fields of science and by engaging the best third country scientists to work in and with Europe. With the stakeholder mapping and via several meetings that were organised at each target country, there was access to excellence in third countries via facilitated access to markets. For example, The Local Councils Association of the Punjab held several CASCADE workshops with key stakeholders in Pakistan: A workshop for 32 participants on “Local governance in Pakistan” at Lahore on September 15, 2014 at the LCAP office in Lahore.; A seminar on “Health and wellbeing of citizens and local governments” for 123 participants was held on August 21, 2014 by LCAP at Lahore. A seminar on Growing Food Insecurity in Pakistan was held under by LCAP for 43 participants on October 14, 2014 in Lahore. • There were several training events to train national partners at each target country in addition to national technical meetings with key stakeholders in south Asia. This provided access to knowledge produced outside Europe and to new and rapidly growing markets and will help to promote Europe as an attractive research location and partner for cooperation promoting sustainable bi-regional relationships. For example, The CASCADE project was a partner in the 4th International Conference on Building Resilience. The conference examined the concept of resilience as a useful framework of analysis for how society can cope with the threat of natural and human induced hazards. The four-day event attracted more than 350 academics, researchers, practitioners and policy makers. There were four keynote addresses, which provided a global perspective and vision for resilience research. The event was held at MediaCity in Salford, UK. The conference included a CASCADE workshop aimed at sharing the emerging project findings and gaining feedback that could help shape the planned regional paper. Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the Secretary- General of the United Nations for Disaster Risk Reduction commented: “The 4th International Conference on Building Resilience came at an exciting time in global efforts to build resilient communities and a resilient planet. In the UK, dynamic public/private sector partnerships and a vibrant academia have contributed significantly to this international process.” • There was support for bilateral, multilateral and bi-regional policy dialogue promoting networking and activities between the EU and target South Asian countries facilitating partnering and competence building. CASCADE also helped to strengthen a European presence in international partner countries. In supporting this, The CASCADE project team organised several events aimed at raising awareness of Horizon 2020. These included: The Horizon 2020: Teaming up with the EU for Research Excellence - A workshop for Sri Lankan Scientists; organized by the National Science Foundation, Sri Lanka in Collaboration with the European Union , 2 May 2014, At the Auditorium, National Science Foundation, Sri Lanka.; Pathways for Sri Lankan Scientists via Horizon 2020: Opportunities for South Asian Institutions – a Workshop for University of Moratuwa Academic staff, 2nd May 2014, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.• CASCADE provided a new approach that is needed to engage more actively and strategically in international cooperation with the identification of target country based societal challenges with key stakeholders being mapped to those challenges. This helps the EU to revise its objectives and principles based on geographic differentiation with more targeted actions being incorporated in their calls within Horizon 2020 and covering the region covered by CASCADE. This further helps to enhance the impact of EU funding and its international cooperation through improving scale and scope based on common interest and mutual benefit by making Horizon 2020 truly open and attractive to the best and brightest in the world.• The policy dialogue and the mapping of the key stakeholders, which include research organisations, helped to advance the state of scientific and technological cooperation between Europe and the targeted South Asian region, thereby contributing to the transfer of knowledge as well as contributing to foster dialogue between European and South Asian policy makers . CASCADE was structured around achieving promotion and exchange of ideas between the EU and the South Asian region, and facilitated stakeholder engagement at various levels via activities that were planned and delivered including series of meetings /workshops and training events that were organised. • One of the key objectives of CASCADE is to promote further cooperation within Horizon 2020 by target countries. Training national partners and hosting of national events encouraged the participation of key stakeholders in each country. This will further promote collaboration to increase the effectiveness of the STI political dialogue between the regions. It is anticipated this increased capacity and awareness in the regions of Horizon 2020 will increase participation of regions in Horizon 2020. The European Union in collaboration with CASCADE and University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, organised the launch of the ‘Horizon 2020’ programme for the South Asian Region. The event took place on 24th January 2014 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The programme that was launched in December 2013 in Brussels and now in South Asia aims at further boosting the participation of key researchers, academics and industries from the South Asia region. EU Ambassador David Daly, who spoke at the event, reiterated that: “Many countries had accelerated their economic growth, development and industry competitiveness by paying close attention to research and innovation. With the Horizon 2020 funding, the goal is first and foremost to contribute to growth, jobs and a better quality of life. It has the potential to make a substantial contribution to reaching Mahinda Chintana’s goal of making Sri Lanka a Knowledge Hub in the region. Investment in this field is an investment in our shared future and over the last few years numerous European and Sri Lankan academics have been increasingly working together through such programmes. With a simplified and more accessible Horizon 2020, I encourage researchers, universities, business including SMEs to sign up!” As detailed above, it takes many forms that become manifest at different stages in the CASCADE support action lifecycle and beyond, and was promoted in different ways. CASCADE’s primary use is one of a supporting function for policymakers, including Governments. Accordingly, this support action influences the context within which policy is developed by illuminating new trends, offering different paradigms, improving the understanding of a problem or coining new and improved terms. Outputs were also used in an instrumental / engineering way, informing decisions and actions that would not have been taken without this input.CASCADE is very rich in supporting diversity. Analytical skills, networking, expertise in one or more of the Horizon 2020 societal challenges, capabilities to organize national meetings, prior experience in working with the countries in the targeted region, dialog workshops among multiple stakeholders and end user engagement were merged and aimed at partners from targeted countries on: • Identification of EU thematic global challenges & Horizon 2020;• Analysis of national policies and research priorities related to Horizon 2020 global challenges; • Stakeholder identification and mapping protocols within targeted countries; • Training national partners in Southern Asia to increase their basic knowledge of Horizon 2020 and instruments to support cooperation with the region; • National position papers on global challenges for all the seven countries ; • An inventory of national and regional stakeholders related to global challenges; and • Raised awareness on research & innovation priorities for fostering cooperation and towards building mutual understanding on how to address common global challenges Further details associated with all above activities are provided within the Template A2.The project partners are characterised as robust and established authorities, who are able to support the continuation of developed good practices over the long term and deliver consistent and predictable services. It is predicted that the partnership is established and consolidated to last over time with the hope that the partnership will be able to contribute to a future international research collaborations under H2002 an also under other programmes such as Erasmus + targeting the Southern Asian region. In this context, the CASCADE sustainability plan considered the long term sustainability of the project by exploring opportunities to extend its life beyond the initial funding. The plan also considered links with other projects and publications, and long term operation of the CASCADE’s infrastructure, including its administrative hub and the website, which has made many of the project outputs available to relevant stakeholders and target groups, both inside and outside the project partnership. A key measure for the success of the outputs is the extent of use of outputs in the development of policy strategies. Project management arrangements, through the Steering Committee monitored performance of the project throughout the duration. User feedback was captured from beneficiary and target groups. Feedback from partner staff was also considered as a useful measurement of success.Main dissemination activities and exploitation of results The specific problems addressed by CASCADE and the perceived needs and constraints of the target groups and final beneficiaries are strategically important. The main beneficiaries of the project are policy makers in targeted south Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka; stakeholders who can influence national policy on societal challenges in the target countries; the EU Horizon 2020 policy makers; and global society as indirect beneficiaries. Public administration and government regulators, the research and scientific community, national and local government and other policy makers are all stakeholders. In this context, CASCADE has done a clear mapping of beneficiaries and target audiences, including users and beneficiaries, and their involvement will be sought throughout the project.The main target groups that benefited from the activities that were carried out and outputs that were developed as part of CASCADE include: • Policy makers in targeted south Asian countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka; • Stakeholders who can influence national policy on societal challenges in the target countries; • The EU Horizon 2020 policy makers; and global society as indirect beneficiaries;• Public administration and government regulators;• the research and scientific community;• national and local government and other policy makers; • All 18 project partners; and • Public at large The target audiences and beneficiaries form the primary exploitation route for the outputs of the project. Rapid dissemination of information was a key factor in the success of the project from a European viewpoint to ensure that a duplication of effort is minimised and this was the rationale in identifying key target audiences. Accordingly, CASCADE had a set of clearly identified activities that promote collaboration with a variety of stakeholders throughout the life of the project and make the findings available to target audiences. The partners in the CASCADE consortium placed great emphasis on the dissemination of information generated by the consortium and dissemination was actively managed and reviewed. It is vital to the success of the project that all interested stakeholders are kept well informed of developments, in order to facilitate widespread acceptance of the results. In this context, with a very large number of deliverable, outputs and various dissemination events as detailed in Template A2 , CASCADE has demonstrated how important this activity is for the project. CASCADE generated quantitative and qualitative data, as well as outputs of scholarly, economic, social and policy value. Target beneficiaries benefited in terms of identify global challenges relevant to South Asia as well as the development of our understanding on associated stakeholders. A project website was developed that details this action’s objectives, activities, and major outputs. In addition, partners’ skills and capacities were developed during the project through exposure to new thinking on the EU-South Asia international cooperation. Materials for the project information disseminations further included a CASCADE promotional flyer, a brochure, and three e-newsletters. As already mentioned, a high number of other specific dissemination strategies were also held, for example: a. Holding thematic dialog workshop on mutual EU-Southern Asian research priorities setting. For example, a workshop for Sri Lankan Scientists was held which was organized by the National Science Foundation, Sri Lanka in Collaboration with the European Union , 2 May 2014;b. Host a workshop in the EU to raise awareness on research & innovation priorities that exist in South Asia for fostering EU cooperation and towards building mutual understanding on how to address common global challenges. Accordingly, The major findings from the CASCADE project were presented at an open briefing event at the UK Research Office in Brussels. The event, held on 9th March, was attended by over 25 representatives from EU and South Asian government officers and partners working in the region. In addition, CASCADE partners held several stakeholder in-country engagement interactions. These were held with key stakeholders and set out the aims of the project, gain buy-in, and initiate dialogue and engagement early in the project, including direct interaction with the beneficiaries in their local language. Other examples include: policy briefing documents; academic papers and publications; presentations devoted to EU-South Asia collaborations. The design and manner of delivery of all activities were sensitive to local needs and employ processes and procedures that are readily acceptable and adoptable by local users. CASCADE has built and supported partnerships, and has laid a foundation for a multi-disciplinary team with a clearly defined project management structure, and identified roles and responsibilities to manage the project effectively and efficiently. The project partners are characterised as robust and established authorities, who are able to support the continuation of developed good practices over the long term and deliver consistent and predictable services. CASCADE has had a powerful communication and engagement mechanism as part of its exploitation and valorisation plan based on the premise that opportunities for making an impact may arise, and should be taken, at any stage during or after the life-course of the research. In this context, all members of the CASCADE consortium were strongly encouraged to be innovative in the kinds of engagement, communications and research uptake activities they undertaken. Accordingly, CASCADE has presented a set of clearly identified activities that promote collaboration with a variety of stakeholders throughout the life of the project and make the findings available to target audiences. Engagement activities include: • Kick off meeting;• CASCADE virtual network; • Briefing event of national partners in target South Asian countries on EU thematic global challenges, gaining stakeholder buy in, dialogue and engagement early in the project (this was held along side the formal launch of the H2002 in South Asia which was held in January 2014);• Flyer to introduce project;• Holding national expert meetings in each target country); • Hold thematic dialog workshop; • Hold national workshops with the involvement of in country key agencies in identifying key stakeholders associated with the identified global societal challenges; • Train national partners in facilitating them to acquire further knowledge on EU Horizon 2020; host national technical meetings at each target country incorporating all the key stakeholders;• Project promotional too kit ; • Project website with appropriate links;• Hosting of information days and brokerage events; • Direct interaction of the teams with the beneficiaries in their local language;• Presentations at conferences; • Publication of scientific papers;• Invited talks with policy developers and implementers to influence policy in taking opportunities for dissemination-formal and informal Detailed information of all these activities of included within the Template A2. Academic publications have also been developed and some examples include :• An investigation into societal challenges of Sri Lanka with a focus on national planning and coordination, in the proceeding of 4th International Conference on Building Resilience, 8-10 September 2014, Salford Quays, United kingdom (online open access : http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212567114010041 ) - S.S.L. Hettiarachchia, H. Goonasekerab, S. Gunathilakec, S. Weeresinghea,• Policy Analysis in Prioritising Societal Challenges- the Case of Sri Lanka, in the proceedings of 5th International Conference on Building Resilience, 15-17 July 2015, Newcastle, Australia – Liyanage, C., Ginige, K, Amaratunga, D. & Haigh, R • Water resources in South Asia- Challenges and opportunities, in the proceeding of International Perspective On Water Resources And The Environment, 4-6 January 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka – Haigh, R., Parvez, A. & Khalid, H.These actions ensured that identified target groups and beneficiaries have the opportunity to benefit from this research, thus creating an impact. The extent of contacts CASCADE’s South Asian partners have and their relative status in these target countries helped CASCADE to manage and to genuinely engage users and beneficiaries, and increase the likelihood of impacts. In arriving at plans to maximise impact, the CASCADE partnership has considered what is achievable and expected for research that is detailed through CASCADE by taking into consideration that impact can take many forms, manifest at different stages in the project activity process, and be promoted in different ways.There is evidence that engaging different audiences such as policy makers during the project and not simply disseminating project results to them at the end of the project, helps to contextualise findings and makes it more likely that the findings will be used. The high level of commitment from local partners who are working at the grass roots level helped to genuinely engage users and beneficiaries, which increases the likelihood of impacts. This also allowed different audiences, such as policy makers, to have their input during the project implementation phase, and not simply receive project results at the end. Future dissemination activitiesThere is also a detailed Valorisation and Exploitation Plan, which describes the actions to be performed by each partner and by the consortium to take advantage of the project results. As part of this plan, an overview was carried out to determine the possibilities for exploitation. Exploitation actions were taken into consideration in preparing this exploitation plan and the results of this overview provided the basis for the future roll-out plans of each partner. This Valorisation and Exploitation Plan further attempted to identify and exploit the project partners’ and other stakeholder’s relationship capital to extend CASCADE’s reach and impact, and ensure that the project’s activities and outputs are accessible to relevant target groups. As part of future activities, opportunities will be actively seek to present findings of CASCADE at international conferences and to present key facts and figures at various policy dialogues. Several options have already been identified including the 6th International conference on building resilience to be held from 15th – 18th July in Newcastle, Australia, and International Perspective On Water Resources And The Environment, 4-6 January 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka.A detailed journal paper development plan has also been devised to further disseminate the key findings amongst different audiences. Detail of these plans are included within Table 21. List of Websites:Project web site:http://www.cascade-inconet.eu Relevant contact details:Professor Dilanthi Amaratunga Scientific Coordinator of CASCADE Director, Global Disaster Resilience CentreEditor: International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built EnvironmentGlobal Disaster Resilience CentreSchool of Art, Design and Architecture University of Huddersfield Queensgate Huddersfield HD1 3DHUKe-mail: d.amaratunga@hud.ac.ukPersonal web site : www.dilanthiamaratunga.netResearch Centre web site: http://www.hud.au.uk/gdrc &Professor Richard Haigh Co-Director, Global Disaster Resilience CentreGlobal Disaster Resilience CentreSchool of Art, Design and Architecture University of Huddersfield Queensgate Huddersfield HD1 3DHUKe-mail: r.haigh@hud.ac.uk Personal web site : http://www.richardhaigh.infoResearch Centre web site: http://www.hud.au.uk/gdrc Note: Professor Dilanthi Amaratunga is the Scientific leader of the CASCADE project and she was at the University of Salford, UK until the 31st August 2014, which is the Grant holder of CASCADE. From 1st September 2014 onwards, she commenced her employment at the University of Huddersfield, UK. As this change of employment took place at the later stages of the CASCADE project, based on discussions with the EU, University of Salford continued to be the grant holder with University of Huddersfield being added as a beneficiary representing Professor Dilanthi Amaratunga’s University. Accordingly, Professor Dilanthi Amaratunga continued to be the project lead, operating from University of Huddersfield, UK. She was supported by the Project Co-lead, Professor Richard Haigh, who too left University of Salford on the 31st August 2013 and joined University of Huddersfield, UK commencing 1st September 2014. Powiązane dokumenty final1-cascade-609562-publishable-summary-tables-and-figures.pdf final1-cascade-609562-publishable-summary-appendices.pdf
