Extending the potential of science and technology
The 'Regional network for support of scientific and technological co-operation between European union and Russian regions' (Regionera) project was established to step up the potential for participation of Russian scientists in the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and other research schemes. To achieve the EU-funded project's goals, team members worked to create a network, beyond Moscow and St Petersburg, of Regional Information Points (RIPs) for Russian-EU cooperation. In particular, this approach aimed at raising the awareness of Russian institutions of the European Research Area (ERA), FP7 and other European research and technological development (RTD) programmes. Creating infrastructure to support information and consultancy related to science and technology (S&T) cooperation, and training professional consulting managers for international cooperation with a view to building skills for FP7 proposal writing were also objectives. Regionera drew up a catalogue of Russian regional participants with potential for EU cooperation in S&T. The 'Russian potential partners for joint participation in FP7 and other European programmes' database is available at http://www.ric.vsu.ru/en/partner_search_form online. The project's information system, in the form of an Internet portal, was designed to offer information support for Russian-EU cooperation in S&T, and includes the database of potential partners for joint participation in research initiatives. The RIP for S&T cooperation with the EU, Russia's Voronezh State University, published a guide in Russian for FP7 participation. Efforts to raise awareness within regional universities and scientific organisations of opportunities for participation in calls for proposals included the production and distribution of a monthly newsletter. A network of RIPs and some 30 local multipliers acting as intermediaries shared information on FP7 and other European programmes with specific target groups mainly active in higher education institutions. The Central Black Soil (CBS) RIP for S&T cooperation also offered advice services to the Russian research community on issues related to Russian-EU S&T cooperation. Among others, Regionera recommended various actions to be taken at both federal and regional levels to build on its work. These include extending the network of National Contact Points (NCPs) beyond the 12 located in Moscow, and more proactively involving Russian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in FP7. Furthermore, the flow of information among Russian and European NCPs and RIPs should be more proactively targeted in order to highlight Russian research potential to the European scientific community. Regionera activities advanced European efforts to further integrate the Russian regional research community into FP7 and the ERA. By opening up access to Russian regional scientific potential for European scientists and businesses, S&T cooperation can be extended between the two regions. This will foster integration into the ERA and reinforce positive aspects of cooperation in the scientific, economic and social spheres for Russian regions.