Candidate country National Contact Points 'need more support'
Candidate country National Contact Points (NCPs) need more support, resources and training, according to a report compiled by TRAIN-NET, an NCP training network funded under the Quality of life programme of the Fifth Framework programme for research (FP5). The report says that NCPs, which give advice to researchers and institutions who wish to participate in EU Framework programmes, have limited resources in candidate countries. It highlights the need to make effective use of available resources, work with partners and find ways of mobilising additional resources. It calls for EU funding for activities to promote further synergies between existing NCPs, including transnational cooperation, twinning and partner searches. The report also recommends financial support for activities such as TRAIN-NET, which promote the exchange of knowledge and best practice. In addition, it highlights key areas where co-financing by the EU would be useful, including the translation of EU documents into national languages and visits by experienced lecturers. It adds that while the TRAIN-NET consortium recognises that these activities fall within national responsibilities, 'candidate countries just do not have the resources to perform and finance these activities by themselves.' The report also calls for the introduction of advanced training courses for NCPs in areas such as finance, contractual issues and intellectual property rights (IPR), international project management and strategy development for the improvement of researcher competitiveness. It also recommends the introduction of general guidelines on EC documents and information on policy papers issued by the EU. The EU's plans for the 'mapping of excellence' within the EU under the Sixth Framework programme (FP6) should be extended to the candidate countries as well as EU Member States, says the report, as the establishment of 'expertise is an important prerequisite for initiating collaboration with transnational research projects and [becoming] accepted and included in established consortia.' It adds that the 'mobility centres' foreseen by the EC in FP6, which will assist researchers in issues related to mobility, could have an important role to play in encouraging networking through fellowships. The document also highlights two surveys currently being prepared, which it says will further aid the process of collaboration between potential partners and with the European Commission - a national survey of the research landscape in each country participating in the NCP network and a description of the NCP structure of each participating country.