Identifying partners for Cooperative Research projects - Last call This month will be the last opportunity for SMEs to find partners for Cooperative Research (CRAFT) projects. The last closing date for these projects under the Fourth Framework Programme is 8 April 1998 (see below for further details). SMEs are invited to use the CORDIS Partne... This month will be the last opportunity for SMEs to find partners for Cooperative Research (CRAFT) projects. The last closing date for these projects under the Fourth Framework Programme is 8 April 1998 (see below for further details). SMEs are invited to use the CORDIS Partners Service either to locate suitable research partners for their own projects - or to team up as partners in other projects. Over 400 project proposals for Cooperative Research projects are currently available in the CORDIS Partners database. These project proposals, which were approved under the Technology Stimulation Measures for SMEs, are the so called "Exploratory Awards". Often the Exploratory Award projects are still looking for partners in this last month to complete a full proposal. CORDIS also contains more than 380 Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for participation in the JOULE programme. These EOIs were submitted by the national focal points of the JOULE programme. The CORDIS Partners Service provides a valuable, user-friendly tool for SMEs, offering the following facilities: - Searching for partners on the CORDIS Partners Service: More than 13,000 partners from all over Europe are available on the CORDIS Partners Service, accessible through the CORDIS WWW site (http://cordis.europa.eu). You can select your research Partner either by using 'free text' or by using the predefined search lists of, for example, EU R&D programmes, countries or types of organization. - Searching for Exploratory Awards and Expressions of Interest (EOIs): Exploratory Awards can be easily located by simply typing "Exploratory Awards" in the 'all text' field of the Partners database. Search results can be refined by preselecting certain countries or collaboration programmes. The Expressions of Interest for participating in EU R&D programmes, can be found by either typing the research programme of your choice in the 'all text' field or by using the predefined programme list. The JOULE partners, as submitted by the JOULE Focal Points, can be found by typing "JOULE Focal Point EOI" in the 'all text' field. The forthcoming deadlines for CRAFT are as follows: - 1 April 1998: Cooperative Research projects in the following areas (final deadline for this type of project): . Environment and Climate; - 8 April 1998: Cooperative Research projects in the following areas (final deadline for this type of project): . Industrial and Materials Technologies (BRITE/EURAM); . Standards, Measurements and Testing (SMT); . Biomedicine and Health Research (BIOMED); . Agriculture and Fisheries (FAIR); . Marine Science and Technology (MAST); . Non-Nuclear Energy (JOULE).
