CORDIS

Executive Summary:

BS-ERA.NET project has provided a framework to network and mutually open national and regional research, leading to concrete cooperation in the frame of a Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP), conducting to the development and implementation of joint programmes and activities in the region. The project was implemented by a Consortium formed by 17 partners from 13 countries and had a duration of 48 months (January 2009 - December 2012).

Five major objectives were defined:

• Systematic Information Exchange on National and Multilateral initiatives in the Black Sea Region
• Definition and preparation of common strategic activities between coordinated RTDI programmes in the Black Sea Region
• Defining of the Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP)
• Launching and implementation of the first Pilot Joint Call
• Communication and Dissemination Activities

During the first period of the project trough the specific activity dedicated to the "Systematic Information Exchange on National and Multilateral initiatives in the Black Sea Region", was developed in collaboration with ERA.Net RUS project, a questionnaire addressed to governmental and non-governmental S&T funding programme owners in EU member states, AC and the countries of the BSR on their S&T cooperation and funding programmes.

The collected information was used to increase transparency, to identify good cooperation practice and to prepare the ground for a discussion on a coordination of funding activities among interested programme owners. Analytical reports on S&T cooperation between the involved countries and regions were carried out. Additionally, short term exchange visits toke place in some selected countries relevant for the Black Sea research, in order to give support for the analysis of ongoing S&T cooperation programmes between MS and AC.

The Pilot Join Call (PJC) organized in 2010 and Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP) was the most important results of the BS-ERA. Net project.

The objective of the Pilot Joint Call was to promote collaborative research on ‘Climate and Environment’ and ‘Energy’, taking a proactive and innovative approach to developing solutions for a sustainable development. The thematic focus was on the following fields:

1. Climate and Environment

1.1 Exploitation and transport of mineral resources: impact on environment

1.2 Water pollution prevention options for coastal zones and tourist areas

2. Energy

2.1 Hydrogen production from H2S rich Black Sea Water

2.2 CO2 capture and storage technologies for zero emission power generation in the Black Sea region.

Within PJC, 66 projects were submitted, 56 were eligible and 11 projects were selected and funded. The group of funding countries was formed by: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Romania, Greece and Bulgaria. The 11 funded projects involving half less non-EU than EU teams, allowed researchers to network on a wider scale than bilateral relations, and to identify common areas of interest for further collaboration. The PJC achieved its objective of promoting S&T cooperation between EU MS/AC and Black Sea countries, and raised the idea of joint funding of transnational projects and actions.

The core deliverable achieved by the project’s partners is Black Sea Research Programme. BSRP represents a complex instrument which develops common strategic activities based on priority fields and the mutual complementarities identified between the national programmes of the partners. BSRP was aligned with the current BSEC Action Plan on S&T. A Joint Task Force (BSEC WG on S&T and BS-ERA.NET) was established in order to explore the possible synergies and make proposals accordingly.

The Black Sea Research Programme is addressing to the interested stakeholders in the Black Sea Region and the European Union. BSRP has been designed as a complementing instrument to existing policy documents with specific provisions on:

• Support of Joint Research Projects (based on the experience of the BS‐ERA.NET Pilot Joint Call ‐ PJC);
• Capacity Building;
• Mobility of Researchers;
• Innovation;
• Research Infrastructures;
• Monitoring, Foresight, Outreach, Dissemination.

One of the key points in establishment of a Joint Research Programme is the level of integration that the parties wish to establish. Although there are different levels of integration, the most relevant one would be the one used in the Pilot Joint Call of the BSERA.NET project which was based on national funding and international evaluation. Thus, the group of National authorities and institutions that would be ready to contribute to the implementation of the Programme should be considered as Stakeholders or Programme Owners for the BSRP. The funding mechanism for the BSRP should be based on contributions from interested countries (in EU and in the Black Sea region) and from organizations. Among such organizations we can mention the European Commission and in particular the ERANET+ and the ENP Instruments, but also others such as the World Bank, the UN, Foundations, etc. What is important is to set-up a systematic consultation process that would identify such donors for the core activities of the BSRP.

Conclusions

The overall strategy of the project toke into account the current situation existing in the BSR concerning the institutional structures, decision making lines, bureaucratic threats and access to information. Since now, the impact of the BS-ERA.NET by involving different nations and neighboring states, had major political and socio-economic benefits that can be seen from the positive reactions and participation in the organized joint activities. These provided inputs for funding programme between the EU MS/AC and the Black Sea Region in order to enhance the performance of future trans-national calls, as well as to increase the impact of the funded projects. The development of good practice concerning framework conditions was considered especially vital in this context, and BSRP could be used as an exemple of best practice in reserach field in the BS region.

There is a strong demand by the applicants and the group of funding parties for new partner countries in future calls. During the future search for new partner countries to participate in new transnational calls in the Black Sea Region, it is suggested that beyond the scientific merit, the strong economics as well as the political benefits should be displayed and reinforced. The applicants among others propose more thematic topics. The selection of the thematic focus of the future joint call should rely on existing evidence based identification of the research priorities of the Black Sea region, which should be updated to meet the new financial, scientific and technological demands. The updated procedure should be based on detailed analytical work using the relevant adequate methodologies taking into account the national RTDI priorities of the future funding parties.

It is most important to take the most advantage of the momentum of the consortium of the BS-ERA.NET. The existing funding parties have expressed their intention to participate in a future Joint Call of the Black Sea Research Programme by allocating national funds and the Joint Technical Secretariat has proven its capacity to successfully administrate the future call. It is suggested that the existing funding parties with the addition of new potential partner countries should proceed as soon as possible to launch a scale up joint call.

Project Context and Objectives:

The Black Sea is a geographic entity but at the same time it defines a region that has been developed throughout centuries as a region with specific aspects in respect of culture, politics, economy and geo-strategy. The region includes the riparian countries and is commonly considered as bridging the Caspian region with the Balkans and the Middle East with North - Eastern Europe. The region’s importance and potential was always recognized but further reasserted following the recent developments in world politics, especially after the EU’s latest enlargement and being a neighbor in the region. Having developed a cooperation pattern in an institutionalized way through the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC) for almost two decades, the countries in the extended Black Sea Region have achieved considerable progress in certain fields.

The Black Sea Region has been a traditional partner region of EU. In March 2003 the European Commission launched the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) with the objective of avoiding the emergence of new dividing lines between the enlarged EU and the neighbours and instead strengthening the prosperity, stability and security of all concerned.

In April 2007, it was launched a new document “Black Sea Synergy - A New Regional Cooperation Initiative”. The “Black Sea Synergy” has been designed to complete the “chain” of regional cooperation frameworks, adding to the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and the Northern Dimension.

The Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) is an international organization currently including 12 Member States around the Black Sea and in the Balkan Peninsula, namely: the Republic of Albania, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Bulgaria, Georgia, the Hellenic Republic, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia, the Republic of Turkey, and Ukraine. Among several initiatives of BSEC a very important one was the adoption by the Ministers responsible for Research of the BSEC member states, in September 2005, of the first “BSEC Action Plan on Cooperation in Science and Technology” (2005-2009) and the second one was formulated for 2010-2014. The adoption of the 2nd BSEC Action Plan on Cooperation in S&T (2010-2014) constitutes the major political initiative since it confirms the willingness of the countries to work together in the field of S&T and it provides several broad priorities for action. In that respect, the 2nd BSEC Action Plan in S&T should be considered as a key element in the development of the Black Sea Research Programme.

The general objective of the BS-ERA.NET project was to develop and strengthen the coordination of public research programmes conducted at national and regional level, which target a group of countries from the extended Black Sea region. The project provides a framework to network and mutually open national and regional research programmes, leading to concrete cooperation in the frame of a Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP) conducting to the development and implementation of joint programmes and activities in the region.

The BS-ERA.NET actions are focused to step up the coordination between national and regional research programmes targeting the Black Sea Region bringing complementary to the Inco Net EECA which is targeting to enhance the bi-regional S&T policy dialogue, looking for coordination with other EU policies, strengthening the participation of EECA countries in other European initiatives, supporting the NCPs/NCPs in EECA countries, improving S&T Indicators, mapping of key institutes, analysing and reviewing the S&T cooperation patterns and analysing the national policies towards global challenges.

Main objectives of the BS-ERA.NET project are:

• Reducing the fragmentation of the European Research Area (ERA);
• Enhancing research cooperation in Europe by fostering integration of Black Sea Region into the ERA;
• Enhancing the complementarity and synergy between the FPs and activities carried out in the framework of intergovernmental structures;
• Extending and adding value to the existing science and technology co-operations and to develop a multilateral cooperation in the region;
• Improving interregional research cooperation;
• Contributing to the EU-BS cooperation in science and technology;

The main goal of the BS-ERA.NET is to provide Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP). BSRP bring to the EU-BS partnership a useful cooperation tool to be implemented according to the needs of the targeted cooperation. BSRP act as a frame of cooperation that can be adapted to specific needs: transnational cooperation based on the bilateral and/or regional national programmes or transnational cooperation including intergovernmental structures.

The Black Sea Research Programme represent the strongest form of networking and consist of funding and implementing joint programme of transnational research projects and actions. In this sense it will be set up a common strategy, a joint work programme and a common trans-national evaluation. In order to achieve this ambitious goal the project gathered information on the structure and programmes covered by each national research system (including the international dimension) and sustained the communication in order to develop better reciprocal knowledge and promoted trust-building among programme owners or managers through a mutual learning process, and the systematic exchange of information and good practices. Information targeted the national and regional research and innovation activities such as national and regional programmes, funded projects, research priorities, evaluation procedures, organisation and management.

In the frame of BS-ERA.NET was organized and launched, as exercise, a Pilot Joint Call for proposals to represent an early step towards meeting the overall aim of BS.ERA.NET project, the Black Sea Research Programme. Publication date was October 4th 2010 and submission deadline January 14th 2011 having the main objective: to promote the European research targeting the Black Sea region in the Environment and Energy fields taking a proactive and innovative approach to developing solutions for a sustainable development.

Criteria adopted for a project consortia was:

• at least 3 eligible institutions from 3 different countries, of which at least one from an EU country (Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania) and one from a non-EU BS country (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Turkey, Ukraine).
• the eligible institutions could be higher education or research institutes, R&D companies and SMEs.
• the project partners must be eligible for funding by their respective national Funding Party which are members of the Group of Funding Parties.
• applicants non-eligible for funding could join any consortium submitting a proposal in the context of this PJC, however on their own expenses.

As a type of instrument was applied: Joint research projects which have addressed mainly applied research but to a certain extend basic research could be addressed too. The project may include also dedicated measures to enhance mobility, exchanges and access to medium /large scale infrastructures. The project duration: between 18-36 months To support the co-ordination of the national programme, the BS ERA.NET created a programme managers with the benefit of several actions concerning short-term exchanges of programme managers.

In complementarity we took into consideration to develop activities of benchmarking and dissemination of good practices, all supported by good communication tools, including the use of a common portal carried out jointly with ERA-RUS.NET.

BS-Era.NET project enhanced synergies and reinforced the impact of the on-going bilateral S&T cooperation between Member States and the countries from the Black Sea Region.

The 11 funed projects trough BS-ERA.NET Pilot Joint Call (PJC) is expected to have a strong impact in both field of cooperation Environment and Energy and to conduct to future partnership and cooperation between organizations and reserchers from the region. The co-operation developed will provide reliable ground to continue beyond the Community funding.

The contribution of the project to the high quality research

The 11 project funded trough Pilot Joint Call (PJC) are shortly presented below.

RDMMOGT—Reliability and durability of machines and mechanisms used for oil and gas transportation in Black Sea Region (CO: Azerbaijan Technical University, Azerbaijan). The overall goal of project is to develop an integrated model of the piston machine system that is than used to evaluate and improve current design.

CAUCAS-CCS—Natural analogue investigation for CCS in the Southern Caucasus (CO: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany). The project is applied research for CO2 capture, storage and conversion to fuel for the BS-Caucasus area.

MARCY—Molecular approaches for rapid and quantitative detections of cyanobacteria and their toxins from coastal Black Sea (CO: National Institute for Marine Research and Development, Romania). This project focus on a timely, major unsolved problem related to the coastal ecosystems and human health.

CO2TRACCS—CO2 Transportation Risk Assessment for Carbon Capture and Storage (CO: National Technical University of Athens, Greece). The project aims address to thermodynamic analysis, modeling of CO2 mixtures as well as risk analysis of CO2 transportation pipelines.

H2S-PROTON—Hydrogen production from H2S decomposition in micro-structured proton-conducting solid oxide (CO: Centre for Research & Technology Hellas, Greece). The project is directed to develop a micro-structured proton conducting membrane reactor for H2 production.

HYSULFCEL—Hydrogen production from Black Sea water by sulfide-driven fuel cell (CO: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences). The project is directed to produce ‘carbon-free’ energy and to extract valuable compounds from the deep marine water.

RACE—Radiation background of Black Sea coastal environment (CO: National Institute of R&D for Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Romania). The main objective of the project is to establish the level of radiation background and its sources in coastal Black Sea.

IMAWATCO—Innovative materials for waste water purification systems to be installed in tourist and other small polluting objectives on the Black Sea coast (CO: National R&D Institute for Chemistry and Petrochemistry, Romania). The objective of project is to contribute to the implementation of environmental- friendly technologies in the BSEC countries.

CLEARWATER—Geophysical based hydrogeological modeling to prevent pollution from sea water intrusion at coastal areas (CO: Technical University of Crete, Greece). The project aims to develop an integrated systematic sea water intrusion prediction methodology for planning effective prevention measures in coastal areas.

WAPCOAST—Water pollution prevention options for coastal zones and tourist areas: Application to Danube Delta front area (CO: GeoEcoMar, Romania). The project is a multidisciplinary approach of the front area of the Danube Delta and Razelm- Sinoie lagoon complex.

SGD Black—Investigation of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) for preventing pollution and eutrophication of the coastal Black Sea (CO: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research). The project aims to apply the multi-tracer approach for SGD research at two exemplary sites of the Black Sea coast.

Need for Joint Programme in Black Sea Region

There was an extensive mapping exercise in BS-ERA.NET that showed the majority of the programmes in the region are bilateral.

There are a number of initiatives, projects and programmes targeting the Black Sea region at the multilateral level but there is still a serious gap in this area.

Success of BS-ERA.NET and ERA.NET-RUS Calls constitute further motive to establish a Research Programme.

The need for a sustainable multilateral programme is stated within the crucial document, ‘BSEC Economic Agenda: Towards an Enhanced BSEC Partnership’, that contains provisions on all major areas of cooperation, including on Science and Technology also. The document states that one of the objectives for the region should be: Facilitating closer cooperation in the fields of science and technology among the BSEC Member States, the BSEC Related Bodies and with other partners and international organizations in order to encourage co-funding schemes for formulating and implementing regional research projects.

In 2010-11, a Pilot Joint Call for research proposals had been issued and financed by several EU Member States and countries of the Black Sea region under the BS-ERA.NET.

Considering that fact, the BSRP could be seen as a systematic and improved repetition of this process (regarding the Pilot Joint Call under the BS-ERANET), the main orientations of H2020 should be taken into account when defining priority fields for cooperation for the BSRP since joint projects under this programme can pave the way for successful participations in H2020.

The “Horizon 2020” programme addresses the main policy priorities of the Europe 2020 strategy, namely the following key societal challenges:

• Health, demographic change and wellbeing;
• 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 secure societies

Project Results:

All the results achieved during the implementation of this project are presented below, in the respect of work pakages where they were carried out.

WP1: Systematic Information Exchange on National and Multilateral initiatives in the Black Sea Region (BSR)

• D1.1 Web-based information tool linked to other regional initiatives and web portals.
• D1.2 Portfolio Analysis of research programmes targeting the Black Sea Region
• D1.3 Analysis of EU-Bi-regional and Intraregional RTDI Initiatives and Comparison with Initiatives in the Black Sea Region
• D1.4 Synthesis report on the existing national and regional RTDI programmes and the current situation of programme setting up and proposal evaluation procedures and best practice
• D1.5 Position Paper on future RTDI co-operation in the Black Sea region - Policy recommendations

Main exploitable results

a. Web portal (D1.1)

A web based portal containing information about the BS ERA.Net project and the involved partner on one hand and information and web-links to other regional RD initiatives, organisations and news, on the other hand. This deliverable (D1.1.) is highly linked to tasks in WP5 -Communication and Dissemination activities and the technical realisation but also contents of the website were managed here. The aim of the project web portal is to serve as a single point of access to information on R&D-related activities in the Black Sea Region (BSR), to joint activities EU-MS/AC and BSR countries and to S&T-related developments at European level targeting the BSR.

Results:

The Web Portal serves as a major dissemination tool for scientific activities and cooperation possibilities into/within BS Countries. The user target group complains the general public, which is interested in R&D cooperation with this region as well as the project partners. Due to the support of the regional correspondents the web portal popularizes comprehensive information at first hand.

b. Identification of the RD programmes in/within the Black Sea Region (D1.2)

Information on regional activities as being the core objective of WP1 was collected throughout:

a. questionnaires separately dedicated to BS ERA.Net project partners and external organisations such as Ministries and Programme owner including programme management agencies

 Desktop research
 Compilation of programme fact sheets by Programme owners
 Short term Visits and interviews of Programme owners (T1.3)

Obtained information were summarised in deliverables D1.2 – D1.4 and in analytical report of the questionnaires.

Results:

Questionnaire A was the first questionnaire disseminated, addressing the partners of the consortium. The questionnaire was disseminated through a web-portal constructed by the coordinators (CNMP) in late March, the filling in was completed by April 15th and the data were extracted at the end of April 2009. The first organization and elaboration of the data was carried out by GSRT at the beginning of May and a rough analysis was presented in the WP1-WP2 meeting held in Istanbul, May 11-12 2009. The results were compiled in the analytical report Analyses of the Questionnaire for Black Sea ERA.NET partner.

Questionnaire B, addressing governmental and non-governmental programme owners in both EU Member States/Associated Countries and countries of the Former Soviet Union located in the BS region was disseminated through the same tool (a web-portal constructed by the coordinators, UEFISCDI). The questionnaire mainly focused on their activities targeting the Black Sea region and their potential of funding the BSRP Joint Call. It was designed in collaboration with the ERA.NET RUS consortium, thus it included questions addressing programme owners relevant to the above project. The results were compiled in the analytical report Analysis of the Questionnaire addressing programme owners in the context of the Black Sea ERA.Net project.

a. Deliverable D1.2: Portfolio Analysis of research programmes targeting the Black Sea Region

The aim of Deliverable 1.2 was to present an overview of the existing R&D programmes targeting the Black Sea region, to list programme owners who are active in BSR and provide a first statistical analysis. The collected information was analysed in later tasks of the BS-ERA.NET project and had impact of the concept for the BS-ERA.NET project pilot joint call. The analysed data mainly picture the existing R&D programmes in the Black Sea Region, but do not reflect the available budgets of the programme, volume of funding and the number of funded projects under a programme.

Results:

Through the BS-ERANET and the ERA.NET RUS fact sheets for existing R&D programmes in the BS region have been collected. This information were assembled to full fill Deliverable 1.2 but are additionally used to inform scientist about existing funding opportunities. Based on these fact sheets a searchable database was implemented and is available through the BS ERA.Net website (picture 3). The programme fact sheets contain basic information about the programmes and a link to the websites and contact persons of the programme owners.

b. Deliverable D1.3: Analysis of EU-Bi-regional and Intraregional RTDI Initiatives and Comparison with Initiatives in the Black Sea Region

Information for the report was gathered from official documents, reports, internet sites and personal communication. In a first step, Policy Dialogue activities in S&T between the EU and neighbouring regions, (either EU-funded activities or initiatives of Member States/Associated Countries) are described in order to provide examples that could be adapted to the Black Sea Region. Therefore, regional cooperation initiatives served as a model in this report. In a second step, existing initiatives in the Black Sea Region were portrayed. Finally, a short conclusion analysed and highlighted the conditions and structures favourable for the sustainable functioning of such regional activities and showed ways how this could be implemented for the Black Sea Region.

c. Short-term exchanges of programme managers for information and best practice identification

The purpose of the exchanges was to share information, concepts and national regulations of funding programmes. In addition the visit was used to identifying good practice RD programmes of the host institutions. Based on the results from T1.1 and D1.2 potential hosts for the short-term exchanges were identified and presented to the BS ERANET partner. BS ERANET partner from Armenia, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova visited partners from France, Germany, Turkey and Italy.

ENEA also organised a two-day event for three delegations from Armenia, Georgia and Moldova. The R&D systems and programme owners from the visiting countries and Italy were presented. The presentations were followed by a round-table discussion during which also major Italian research performers were invited. During this discussion the potential funding for the BSRP joint call were identified as well as a set of specific research topics which could be of interest for the visiting countries.

Results:

The results of each visit were individually summaries in the visit reports and presented to T1.4. Special focus was set on the identification of good practice programmes.

d. Analysis of programme setting up procedures and proposal evaluation procedure

The scope of Task 1.4 and D1.4 was a depth analysis of the Programmes identified in T1.2 and to make an inventory of funding instruments within the countries of the BS.ERA-NET project partners, which can be potentially opened within the BSRP pilot joint call. With a special attention to those programmes identified in T1.6. Such instruments include active intergovernmental agreements (mainly bi-lateral), programmes for international cooperation based on ad-hoc agreements between single programme owners and programme managment agencies, national programmes with mechanisms for opening in international schemes (such as ERA-NETs, Art. 169, JTI), mechanisms for designing of new programmes for international cooperation, unilateral programmes (of a single national funder), which fund international cooperation activities.

Results:

An inventory of potential funding instruments for the BSRP pilot call were identified through the collection of Country Reports, Short Term Visits of Programme owners and the analysis of the 2 questionnaires. Main outcomes of this task is D14 which analysed those instruments.

WP2: Definition and preparation of common strategic activities between coordinated RTDI programmes within BSRP

Deliverables achieved:

a. D2.1. Report on the identified mutual complementarities and common domains of interest between the programmes of the BS-ERA.NET
b. D2.2 SWOT analysis on the practical and concrete networking activities and formulation of recommendations for mutual synergic mechanisms

Black Sea Region consists of many bilateral and some regional cooperation initiatives in the areas of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI). One of the main objectives of the BS-ERA.NET was to develop a database of existing cooperation schemes within the region countries and between EU and BS countries. Information on these initiatives was gathered via online surveys dedicated to stakeholders both from the EU and BS side work which was performed within Work Package 1.

The first deliverable of Work Package 2 was a report dedicated to analyse these programs, examine and observe any commonalities, and provide information on any shared priority areas. To this aim, several aspects of the programmes were taken into consideration, like objectives (aims of the programs), beneficiaries (who could benefit from them), funding instruments (what is funded and how), evaluation procedures (how the evaluation is undertaken), etc. Another area of focus was the thematic priorities that came forward in these initiatives. The main idea was to search for any common area that would emerge as a reflection of shared understandings among the funding institutions in and around the region.

What was targeted in developing such a report was to draw valuable lessons for the Pilot Joint Call (PJC) of the project and Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP). Apart from being a useful informative report on existing cooperating schemes and how they converge or differ in different subject areas, this report provided insights for the Black Sea Pilot Joint Call which was used effectively by the participating partners.

The second deliverable of the WP2 was a SWOT analysis, a report that highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of collaboration in BS region, underlined the opportunities along the way and warned against threats that would endanger any multilateral scheme. The SWOT analysis assured the findings of the first deliverable of WP2 and clearly identified aspects that any joint activity should rely on. The regional weaknesses in the area of STI cooperation assessed not only the existing relations, but it became a source for each and every decision-making actor in the region to look and draw lessons from. It emerged as a legitimate resource and a thorough analysis of major structural problems in the region.

The second part of the report focused on the opportunities for future cooperation and possible threats that would impede any developing initiative. It was reassuring that all stakeholders in the project chose to build upon these opportunities and gave special importance in cooperation building. The avoidance of possible threats, like putting money in the PJC despite the global recession, is a case in point in the determination of funding organizations in the region.

The general aim of this WP was twofold. First was to give inputs for the PJC and ease the process of decision making with regard to the rules and regulations of the Call. Second was to develop reliable and sustainable analysis of STI cooperation in the BS region, draw lessons from the qualifications of the existing schemes, and feed the building of any regional initiative in the region, Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP) being the first and foremost. Deliverables of this Work Package have succeeded to become reference points that would be consulted in any study focusing on the BS regional initiatives. Both deliverables have shed a light on the weaknesses, common problems, missing points that could emerge as obstacles for PJC and BSRP. Furthermore, they both underlined the commonalities shared; strengths that had developed throughout the years and encouraged future initiatives.

Main exploitable results: The main aim of this WP was to develop a base ground for future strategic activities. It succeeded in doing so via preparation of two reports, one focusing on identifying common and differing aspects of existing cooperation schemes in the region, the other focusing on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in cooperation in general and in STI areas in particular. Findings of these two deliverables were found in the PJC process and also in the formation of BSRP.

The reports provide regional cooperation developers with sound and reliable data that would enlighten their work with profound analysis and certain ‘to do’s and ‘not to do’s.

The first report puts forward the shared notions, aspects and areas of interest among the existing programs in the region. Although mostly bilateral, analysis of the programs gives clues on how to build a successful regional initiative acceptable to interested Parties, which have varyingly different instruments.

Conclusions of the report represent crucial lessons to do well upon in the path to forming a sustainable research program. The SWOT analysis, on the other hand, is not only an important policy tool for decision-makers at all levels; it also is a valuable study that will be beneficial to all future reports with the claim of analysing BS regional collaboration. Both reports contain findings that may be of service even after the life time of the project, and they have fed the development of BSRP throughout the project

C. WP3: Defining the Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP)

WP3 was dedicated to the elaboration of the Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP).

Deliverables achieved:

a) D3.1: Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP);

• 3.1.2 Priority fields for BSRP;

b) D3.2: Identifying financial sources at national and international level for the Black Sea Research Programme;
c) D3.3: Defining possible schemes for mutual opening of facilities.

a) Deliverable D3.1: Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP)

Summary and objectives

One of the main tasks of the BS-ERA.NET project was to elaborate a Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP), a programme that would contribute to the regional STI cooperation in the region. The target was to develop a conceptual framework for combining different tools with the participation of as many stakeholders as possible, thus leading to a full-fledged ‘ready to go’ joint programme. To accomplish this goal, several supportive tasks were undertaken under various work packages. A working group was founded within the project consortium which identified the several instruments that BSRP could include. These ranged from supporting joint projects to mutual opening of infrastructures. Yet, the main priority was to carry the Pilot Joint Call of the BS-ERA.NET to a more sustainable level, allowing major funding institutions to fund joint projects on a regular basis. Hence, the conceptual framework was built upon this framework, prioritizing the establishment of joint calls.

Black Sea Region was not covered within the ERA.NET Plus initiatives in the FP7 2012 Inco Calls. Neither regional organization like BSEC, have the potential of funding large joint research projects. Combined with the global recession and scarce funds, the atmosphere for joint funding in the region was not promising. However, despite all these back holds, many partners showed great enthusiasm in terms of implementing the BSRP and their desire to continue joint activities outside of the BS-ERA.NET Project. With this in mind, elaboration of a Black Sea Research Programme had the aim of consolidating the willingness of the interested Funding Parties, which, in the last analysis, has managed to do so. BSRP was formulated as a tool to overcome the existing setbacks in the region and aligned with the works of policy forums like BSEC Science and Technology Working Group.

Main exploitable results

The BSRP has been designed as a conceptual document that would give the details of the possible joint activities, how these activities could be handled, lessons from the Pilot Joint Call, within which structures should the cooperation, continue etc. The ultimate target of the consortium was to base the discussions on future collaboration on more solid ground, giving the stakeholders in the region something to build on to, and pursue funding institutions in and out of the region to take steps further in regional schemes.

The deliverable benefited from many of the tasks undertaken within the project. All the reports produced within the BS-ERA.NET like analysis of the existing programmes, SWOT analysis, definition of priority fields, mutual opening of facilities and evaluation of the PJC, have in the end fed the structure of the BSRP. The Programme was designed to respond to the needs of the Black Sea region, to overcome the existing and potential threats, to benefit from the opportunities that different cooperation models offer, and to strengthen any existing collaboration models via building on the lessons learnt.

BSRP had the goal of carrying Call activities of the BS-ERA.NET to a long-run cooperation model. To this aim, the inputs from the evaluation of the PJC were also used. Bearing in mind that the success of the Programme depends on what it would offer to potential funding parties and the research community, it was designed with sensitivity to both sides’ needs. There was an effort in the formulation of the concept to measure the interest from the stakeholders in the region, and for this aim a document was filled in by the interesting parties. Considering that the establishment of a joint programme was included in the BSEC 2012-2014 Action Plan and BSRP was specifically mentioned, the efforts will be fueled towards the implementation of the programme in the near future.

A crucial aspect of the BSRP is that it puts forward a base model to build further relations within the region. There were many setbacks throughout the project that would block the cooperation, like the lack of funds in the region due to the global recession, or the unavailability of an ERA.NET Plus scheme to begin with, yet the BSRP had aimed a model that would both overcome these obstacles, and keep alive the cooperation spirit needed to go further. The enthusiasm recorded in the Final Conference denotes the willingness of the several Funding Parties in the region to reach tangible results in the near future. The alignment of the Programme with the medium term goals of the BSEC S&T Working Group is an important fact on how much the scheme it proposes has been embraced in the region.

In order to propose priority fields for the BSRP, an overview of the following initiatives has been conducted:

• priorities of the Pilot Joint Call under the BS-ERANET project,
• priorities of the BSEC Action Plan on S&T,
• priorities of the BS-ResPot project

These have been complemented with newer initiatives in the region, such as ERANET-RUS, SEAS ERANET and Horizon 2020.

Following the overview, it has been concluded that a particular attention when defining the priority fields for the BSRP should be placed on Health, Social Sciences and Humanities and Biology – Biotechnology (themes that scored the highest in the matrix). Furthermore, a narrowing down of the scientific fields has been recommended. At least two possible ways were suggested in this sense:

• Through the organization of Thematic Workshops (in the format of the SICA Ws in the IncoNet EECA or the Expert Ws BS-ResPot);
• Through considering the already available input from the SICA Ws (list of research topics in the three proposed priority fields are annexed to the Deliverable)

Main exploitable results

This sub-task delivered a report offering a sound basis/methodology for the definition of concrete priority fields of mutual interest for the “Black Sea Research Programme” (BSRP) and suggested concrete fields that could be considered by the relevant stakeholders – Programme Owners.

The methodology and the concrete priority fields for research defined under the BS-ERANET project are by far the most valuable past experience since it is the only one that has been implemented in practice, i.e. for the launching of the Pilot Joint Call, a pioneering in the region.

This sub-task contributed to the BSRP report and it was included as annex 2 under the title: “Priority fields for BSRP report”. The definition of priority fields is a major point of agreement for prospective stakeholders that will be interested to finance the implementation of BSRP. This research on the possible preferred priority fields for the Black Sea region will further support the future implementation of BSRP.

c) Deliverable D3.2: Identifying financial sources at national and international level for the Black Sea Research Programme

Summary and objectives

The relevant report was produced under this task as a means to help the implementation of BSRP and future joint calls. Its aim was to analyse the basic elements of BSRP as a multilateral cooperation scheme and provide with a methodology that could help partners identify stakeholders that could possibly finance the implementation of BSRP. Stakeholders are the organisations, agencies, or programme owners at the national level, or international organisations and agencies like EU, BSEC or others, that would be willing to contribute financially.

Stakeholders interested in contributing to a multilateral scheme like BSRP must be able to find a common ground for cooperation with common preferences for the type of activities that they will be willing to contribute to and with common thematic priorities. In order to finance the implementation of BSRP, stakeholders should agree in the overall budget for the implementation of BSRP, their share of contribution and under what procedures and for what purposes would this financial contribution be given.

The analysis of basic elements of BSRP has produced five questions to be answered by prospective contributors:

(1) Type of activities: Which type of activity is more interesting for prospective contributors (joint research projects, innovation, other);
(2) Thematic priorities: Prospective contributors must have common thematic priorities, i.e. environment, energy, ICT, other;
(3) Indicative target values for BSRP budget: Prospective contributors should be able to agree to the overall budget necessary for the implementation of BSRP, their fair share of contribution and the annual payments;
(4) Characteristics of the budget: The basic distinction is between a virtual and a real common pot;
(5) Maximum amount per action: If more than one type of actions is agreed, prospective contributors will have to agree upon their share of contribution to each one.

Common ground for stake holders can be found based on the above questions that have been listed as five “criteria” in the report. A template with this list of criteria has been compiled. Partners were requested to use this template in order to investigate for programme owners at their countries that are likely to be interested to finance the implementation of BSRP. The data provided by the partners are included in the final report as annex I.

A list of initiatives (projects, networks, etc.) that are relevant to the implementation of BSRP is compiled as annex II of the report; further development of synergies between BSRP and these initiatives can be investigated.

Main exploitable results

This report had the aim to contribute to the implementation of BSRP. Securing financing by a critical mass of interested programme owners is a sine qua non. The most important result of this report is the methodology for identifying stakeholders and recording their basic preferences for details of the implementation of BSRP, so as to help finding a common ground for multilateral cooperation this structure. Contacting possible stakeholders needs to be supplemented with asking the right questions that are included in the template. During drafting this report the general will of the partners to implement BSRP was supplemented with the intention of 9 programme owners to contribute for it, with half of them giving details of their preferences for intended amount of contribution and for the type of actions, according to the template. An initial core of programme owners with expressed intentions can be considered formed. This number is significant considering the fact that the expression of intentions for many programme owners, even not committing, has to be approved according to their internal procedures and this may take time. Another fact is that FP7 is ending in 2013 and Horizon 2020 will start in 2014, at this transitional period many programme owners may not have their planning for the next couple of years ready. Under more positive circumstances the impetus from the original core of interested programme owners for the implementation of BSRP can be further built up. In any case, the methodology suggested in this report may be a useful tool for identifying interested programme owners at any time in the future.

d) Deliverable D3.3: Defining possible schemes for mutual opening of facilities

Summary and objectives

The objective of the BS-ERA.NET project was to step up the cooperation and coordination of research activities carried out at national or regional level in the extender Black Sea Region through the networking of research activities, and mutual opening of national and regional research programmes, which is part of the networking activities.

Based on such strategic activities, any ERA-NETs could establish the following joint activities:

 Mutual opening of facilities or laboratories;
 Developing a scheme to facilitate mutual access to facilities or laboratories in one country for scientists from another.

Research facilities and laboratories in most cases represent the national research infrastructures (RI). Such RI could play a broad spectrum of vital roles in the country. One key role of these infrastructures is to build and operate major national research facilities and laboratories, facilities that are too large and complex for a corporation or university to support and operate effectively. In order for this research enterprise to operate in an effective and integrated way, scientists from all sectors must have access to these facilities.

However scientists and engineers from one country may also wish to use facilities at national laboratories abroad, for a variety of reasons. Facilities abroad may have unique or highly specialized instruments, have unique research programs in place or simply have facilities that are simpler in use than those in the current country. This is another important role of any research infrastructure.

An overall goal of this report is therefore to investigate the availability and terms of access of existing research infrastructures throughout the extended Black Sea Region. Besides, the concept of schemes for mutual opening of facilities is discussed. While the report naturally has a Black Sea Region perspective, we hope that the findings will be useful to users and facilities outside the Region.

Main exploitable results

Given the existing situation the optimum solution of the issue of mutual opening of facilities for participants of the Black Sea Research Programme will be inclusion of the respective clause to the Model Consortium Agreement. Such clause may contain the description of terms and conditions underlying the joint access to facilities (equipment), as well as a list of facilities supposed to be used for specific project. Presently this is a common practice for the majority of research and technology programmes.

As it was mentioned above, it was important to define access beyond for specific research laboratories or facilities and for national research infrastructures since they are common player in scientific activities at national level. To do this, an inventory of existing infrastructure was carried out in the Black Sea region.

As a result of inventory 45 research infrastructures from 10 countries (Armenia, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Moldova, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine) were examined and arranged in the chart. Climate change, environmental problems in the Black Sea Region result in unexceptional coverage of relevant research infrastructures in all specified countries. It makes possible to find project partner and research facilities in the field of Climate & Environment across whole Black Sea Region. Besides, 9 infrastructures in 5 countries (Germany, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine) are representing Energy research community in the Region.

WP4: Launching and implementation of the first Pilot Joint Call

Deliverables achieved:

D4.1 Management structure of the BS Joint Call & ToR Joint Call Secretariat
D4.2 Joint Evaluation and Administration System (JES)
D4.3 Black Sea Pilot Joint Call package of documents
D4.4 Launching and implementation of the first BS Joint Call (Monitoring of PJC process
D4.5 Interim monitoring of the funded projects

Main results

By sharing information through study visits, by supporting the mobility of researchers and by implementation of projects funded through the joint call, BS-ERA.NET project increased the level of research and shape the way for future research development. He contributed to the identification of common environmental problems (eutrophication, cyano bacteria, radiation coast) and also to identify and exploit the potential of energy sources from Black Sea region.

The Pilot Joint Call (PJC) was implemented successfully. Within PJC, 66 projects were submitted, 56 were eligible and 11 projects were selected and funded. The group of funding countries was formed by: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Romania, Greece and Bulgaria. The funded projects were presented above. Best practices and room for improvement were identified by a Monitoring and assessment report on the PJC delivered by an external expert and should serve as prime material on which the next call would be built.

Wanting to highlight research activities carried out and the environment aspects to which the researchers have to respond, two projects were selected to be presented in more details.

Example 1: Project WAPCOAST—Water pollution prevention options for coastal zones and tourist areas: Application to Danube Delta front area

CO: GeoEcoMar, Romania

Project partners:

• University of Hamburg, Hamburg - GERMANY
• Odessa National Mechnickov University, Odessa - UKRAINE
• EMMA Technologies GmbH, Kiel – GERMANY

Project Objectives:

I. Building of a GIS data management system that will be used as a support tool to accomplish the main goals but also for decision making processes of the main active stakeholers in the area of study. The GIS will provide support for the numerical model and also to represent the results of modeling;

II. Mapping of the Danube River plumes extent (sediment charge and thermal imprints) and Razelm-Sinoie plume into coastal waters; the plume dynamics is variable and we aim to have statistical view on plumes variability, based on satellite images;

III. Quantification of nutrient contents, as well as plankton and benthic organisms of superficial and shallow sediments and the exchange of sediment linked nutrients with plankton and benthic organisms in the water column;

IV. Assessment of governing empirical equations that link the nutrients load, physical and chemical parameters of the coastal waters and eutrophication

V. Building of a numerical model for water, sediment, plankton and benthos, as well as pollutants dynamics and validate it for the investigated area; a standard software for modeling will be used; this type of model is suitable to assess river plume mixing and the preferential distribution on beaches of algal bloom products;

VI. Technical workshops and summer schools for representative organizations from Romania and Ukraine (governmental, local, NGOs, etc.) in order to determine the necessary research infrastructure, suitable research methods and hot topics related to water pollution of coastal waters in front of the Danube Delta – Razelm – Sinoie complex, for the future Black Sea Research Programme. During the final workshop the overall results of the project will be presented, together with the prevention options against the pollution of coastal waters from the study area, as they resulted from runs of the WAPCOAST numerical model. The results of this project will provide local stakeholders the necessary scientific tools for the proper choosing of prevention options regarding the pollution of coastal waters in the front of Danube Delta and Razelm-Sinoie lagoon complex.

Activities performed:

• 1st workshop of the project organized in Constanta, Romania (5 December 2011)
• Two research cruises on the Black Sea (onboard of R/V Mare Nigrum, 3-5 March and 3-7 May, 2012 )
• A short research campaign in the Danube Delta 8-10 May 2012
• 2nd workshop and seminar organized in Bucharest, Romania (14 November, 2012)

Analysis of sea samples (water, biota and sediments), data processing, GIS partial building, satelitte image gathering, processing and interpretation, numerical simulations of water and sediment dynamics in front of the Danube Delta

2012 – Research campaigns: Sea Cruise-3-7 May 2012: Danube Delta campaign 12 may 2012

Example 2: Project MARCY— Molecular Approaches for Rapid and Quantitative Detections of Cyanobacteria and their Toxins from Coastal Black Sea - MARCY http://www.marcy-bs-era-net.ro/;

National Institute for Marine Research and Development “Grigore Antipa” Constanta, ROMANIA (NIMRD), subunit of the National Institute for Research - Development in Environmental Protection Bucharest INCDM, www.rmri.ro

Project partners:

• National Institute of Marine Geology and Geoecology (NIRD GeoEcoMar) Bucharest, ROMANIA, www.geoecomar.ro;
• Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski”, Faculty of Biology (PU), Plovdiv, BULGARIA, www.uni-plovdiv.bg;
• Istanbul University, Fisheries Faculty (UniIST), Istanbul, TURKEY www.istanbul.edu.tr

University of Thessaly, Department of Ichthyology & Aquatic Environment, Nea Ionia, GREECE, www.uth.gr

This project focus on a timely, major unsolved problem related to the coastal ecosystems and human health.

Cyanobacteria, formerly called “blue-green algae” or cyanophytes, are ancient (2.7 billion years old) photosynthetic autotrophic bacteria currently found worldwide in inland and seawater environments.

THE BENEFITS OF CYANOBACTERIA

Cyanobacteria were the first organisms on Earth to do modern photosynthesis; they appeared about 2.7 billion years ago, producing the first O2 and changing the Earth's atmosphere.

Still alive today, cyanobacteria are one of the largest and most important groups of bacteria on Earth, found in bodies of water around the world.

Main functions of modern-day cyanobacteria:

• Total primary production (carbon fixation)
• Mediate biogeochemical cycle of N and regulate climate
• Represent base of food-web

THE DOWNSIDES OF CYANOBACTERIA

In some water-bodies, especially with high levels of nutrients, cyanobacteria proliferate extremely and form so-called cyanobacterial blooms. Cyanobacteria are able to synthesize numerous toxins (cyanotoxins) with differing chemical structures.

Production of cyanobacterial toxins is human and animal (zooplankton, fish, shellfish, domestic animals) health hazard, which can result in risk of illness and mortality at environmentally relevant concentrations.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

The overall goal of MARCY project is to improve detection systems of cyanobacteria & cyanobacterial toxins for a good pollution monitoring and control in coastal waters of the Black Sea. For this purpose, MARCY aims to implement for the first time contemporary research methods for rapid and efficiently detection of cyanobacterial hazards in coastal areas of the Black Sea.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

Objective 1: Assessment of distribution and occurrence of toxigenic cyanobacteria and their toxins in coastal ecosystems of the Black Sea by using molecular and immunochemical methods.
Objective 2: Identification of suitable methods for early-monitoring of cyanobacterial blooms with toxin producing potential.
Objective 3: Estimation of environmental factors responsible for cyanobacterial growth and blooms formatting in coastal Black Sea.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES & IMPACTS

The original scientific results will have a great impact to the Black Sea environment, contributing for setting up a knowledge-based policy measures for control of factors leading to algal bloom development and economic loss through their negative impacts on recreation activities and tourism. In the longer term, the project will be the basis for generating a common monitoring system for harmful and toxic species of cyanobacteria all around the Black Sea countries.

Bulgarian Field Campaign & Sampling Stations (May - October 2012, monthly)

1 - Sinemorets 2 - Primorsko 3 - Nesebar 4 - Kamchiya 5 - Gold sands 6 - Shabla.

The lessons learnt and knowledge gathered in the BS-ERA.NET project will be disseminated in the European Research Area identifying also synergies with other cooperation frameworks as the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership or the Northern Dimension.

During the implementation of funded projects, several project coordinators have publised articles in scinentific reviews, such as:

• CFD and dynamic simulation studies in a H2S-fed proton conducting solid oxide fuel cell. D. Ipsakis, E. Vakouftsi, M. Ouzounidou, G. Marnellos, S. Papadopoulou, F. Stergiopoulos and S. Voutetakis. Book of Abstracts at the European Fuel Cell – Piero Lunghi Conference & Exhibition, Rome, Italy, December 14-16, 2011;
• Bakhshaliev V.I. Mathematical Modelling of the Wear Process of the Nanosurface of Sliding Bearings Made of Self-Lubricating Materials. International Journal of Mechanics and Applications, Vol.2 No.4 2012, p.43-48;
• Pilot Joint Call News. BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 7, 2012;
• Bakhshaliev V.I. About a problem of wear process of nanosurfase of sliding bearing made of self-lubricating materials. Transactions of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan. Series of science and innovation. Baku, 2012, No 1 (9), p. 55-58;
• Electro-catalytic decomposition of H2S towards H2 production in proton-conducting solid electrolyte membrane reactors. T. Kraia, M. Ouzounidou, V. Stathopoulos, M. Konsolakis, S.
• Voutetakis, G.E. Marnellos. Proceedings of the 12th Panhellenic Symposium on Catalysis, Chania, Greece, October 25-27, 2012;
• Towards a joint approach to a sustainable S&T programme in and with the Black Sea Region.BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 8, 2012;
• Davitashvili N., Bakhshaliev V. General task of dynamics of slider-piston mechanism with clearences in kinematical pairs. Scientific Journal of IFToMM “Problems of Mechanics”, Tbilisi, Project No.: 226160 Period number: 3rd Ref: 226160_Final_Report-13_20130228_175330_CET.pdf Page - 14 of 43 2012, No 3(48), pp.21-31
• Conference "From Dialogue to Join Programmes". BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 8, 2012;
• Bllack Sea Researrch Prrogrramme. BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 8, 2012;
• N. Davitashvili, V. Bakhshaliev. Dynamical research of crank-piston mechanism with clearances in two kinematical pairs with consideration of additional and basic motion of mechanism //Is prepared for publishing in International Scientific Journal of IFToMM “Problems of Mechanics” 1(50)/2013;
• N. Davitashvili. Research of operational characteristics (friction and wear) in kinematical pairs of crank-piston mechanisms with clearances//Is prepared for publishing in International Scientific Journal of IFToMM “Problems of Mechanics” No 1(50)/2013.
• Moreover, even with only 11 funded projects involving half less non-EU than EU teams, the PJC allowed researchers to network on a wider scale than bilateral relations and identify common areas of interest for further collaboration. The PJC achieved its objective of promoting S&T cooperation between EU MS/AC and Black Sea countries, and raising the idea of joint funding of transnational projects and actions.
• Opinions concerning the call implementation was collected directly from the BS consortium, from JC Secretariat, from the identified target groups throughout various specific means (i.e interviews, questionnaires), and of course from the leaders of submitted applications.

CONCLUSIONS

1. The demand for a future Black Sea Research Programme

The strong majority of the scientists regardless of being successful or unsuccessful clearly stated that after taking into account the experience from the PJC, they would participate through a collaborative transnational project application in a future call of the Black Sea Research Programme.

The experience from the Pilot Joint Call provided positive motivation for the funding parties to participate in a future Joint Call of the Black Sea Research ProgrammeIt appears that a future call of the Black Sea Research Programme would be both popular and desirable:

The strong majority of the scientists regardless of being successful or unsuccessful clearly declare that taking into account the experience from the Pilot Joint Call, they would participate through a collaborative transnational project application in a future call of the Black Sea Research Programme. The funding parties after the experience from the Pilot Joint Call, have gained a positive attitude towards participating in a future Joint Call of the Black Sea Research Programme with the exception of Italian partner ENEA that expressed specific reservations. More specifically, it was noticed that “the interest of Italy depends on the possibility of finding external to the consortium of BS.ERA-NET funding parties which is also in line with the wish to attract to a future call additional funders. Future calls under Black Sea Research Programme are potentially interesting for the research community in Italy, but on the condition that the funding is provided by a research funding organisation, such as a ministry or funding agency.”

Moreover, many NCPs were contacted by potential applicants, who were interested to participate in a future Black Sea Research Programme

2. Improvements in the future call(s) of the Black Sea Research Programme

It has been proposed by the successful applicants among others to have more thematic topics and more participating countries. The unsuccessful applicants focus their interest on more thematic topics and improvement of the evaluation phase as well as the rules of participation and funding.

It has been mentioned many times, that there is always room for improvement for several aspects of the Pilot joint Call. And it is most interesting that proposals for improvement were suggested for almost all the phases of the Pilot Joint Call.

The successful applicants among others proposed more thematic topics and more participating countries. The unsuccessful applicants focused their interest on more thematic topics and improvement of the evaluation phase as well as the rules of participation and funding.

It is extremely interesting that the funding parties as well as the Scientific Council have exactly the same approach with the applicants of the Pilot Joint Call.

3. Recommendations for future Joint Calls

These provide inputs for a possible follow-up funding programme between the EU MS/AC and the Black Sea Region and for possible modifications and improvements of the call procedures, in order to enhance the performance of future trans-national calls, as well as to increase the impact of the projects to be funded.

3.1. There is a strong demand by the applicants and the group of funding parties for new partner countries in future calls. During the future search for new partner countries to participate in new transnational calls in the Black Sea Region, it is suggested that beyond the scientific merit, the strong economics as well as the political benefits should be displayed and reinforced.

3.2. The applicants among others propose more thematic topics. The selection of the thematic focus of the future joint call should rely on existing evidence based identification of the research priorities of the Black Sea region, which should be updated to meet the new financial, scientific and technological demands. The updated procedure should be based on detailed analytical work using the relevant adequate methodologies taking into account the national RTDI priorities of the future funding parties.

3.3. The number of the thematic areas in the new calls should be directly analogous to the available total budget of the call.

3.4. The set-up of the terms of references of the new calls should be elaborated upon by actively involving all the participating countries, in order to avoid any complains and meet the full appreciation of the funding parties.

3.5. It is suggested that the NCPs of the future calls should act following a given methodology on the basis of a NCPs guide, which will organize their work and assure that certain quality standards have been fulfilled. Moreover, the training of the NCPs through a seminar on the needs of the future calls is suggested, in order to be able to provide a better guidance and support to potential applicants.

3.6. It is of great importance that in future calls an efficient and functional web based call management system should be used. Without doubt the use of the PT-Outline system was a great advantage for the Pilot Joint Call.

3.7. Passing over highly ranked projects because of lack of available funds by the funding parties is quite common in all virtual common pot schemes. Of course this presents an injustice to the successfully evaluated scientists to be above the threshold but not receive funding nonetheless. In future calls, 2 solutions are proposed in order to overcome the specific issue:

• To substitute the virtual common pot with a real common pot where the funding of a project will be dependent exclusively on the scientific excellence;
• b. Due to the fact that solution (a) is difficult to be accepted by almost all national funding parties, in the future a combination of real and virtual common pot could be used. More specifically, it could be agreed that a standard percentage of the national contributions (i.e. 20%) be allocated to a pot in order to fund highly ranked projects when national funding is insufficient.

8. In future calls, the Joint Call Secretariat should monitor the progress of the funded projects through scientific and financial periodical reports and direct contacts with the project coordinators and the project partners. A periodic informative report (i.e. every six months) should be prepared by the Joint Call Secretariat and distributed to the Funding Parties.

9. It is strongly recommended that the Pilot Joint Call be ex-post evaluated at programme and project level, in order to identify their scientific and economic impact. Moreover, in future calls, beyond the on-going evaluation (monitoring and assessment), it should be foreseen their post evaluation which will be conducted a short time after the end of their implementation.

10. It was proven through this survey that the strong majority of scientists both successful and unsuccessful, clearly state that taking into account the experience from the Pilot Joint Call, they would participate through a collaborative transnational project application in a future call of the Black Sea Research Programme.

Moreover, the experience from the Pilot Joint Call has given the funding parties a positive attitude towards participating in a future Joint Call of the Black Sea Research Programme. Additionally, many NCPs were contacted by potential applicants interested to participate in a future Black Sea Research Programme. All the above mentioned provide a very strong indication of the sustainability of the Black Sea Programme. It is strongly recommended that this successful so far action in the Black Sea Region should be continued.

18. It is most important to take the most advantage of the momentum of the consortium of the BS-ERA.NET. The existing funding parties have expressed their intention to participate in a future Joint Call of the Black Sea Research Programme by allocating national funds and the

Joint Technical Secretariat has proven its capacity to successfully administrate the future call. Waiting for suitable funding schemes from the EU or other international organizations in order to ensure additional funding might cause serious delays and loss of momentum. It is suggested that the existing funding parties with the addition of new potential partner countries should proceed as soon as possible to launch a scale up joint call. The cost of management and administration of the new call could be covered by a small (2%-5%) percentage of the national financial contributions to the call.

Potential Impact:

Work Package 1: Systematic Information Exchange on National and Multilateral initiatives in the Black Sea Region (BSR)

Main exploitable results

• Web portal (D1.1)
• A web based portal containing information about the BS ERA;
• Analytical report Analysis of the Questionnaire addressing programme owners in the context of the Black Sea ERA.Net project.
• Portfolio Analysis of research programmes targeting the Black Sea Region
• Analysis of EU-Bi-regional and Intraregional RTDI Initiatives and Comparison with Short-term exchanges of programme managers for information and best practice identification
• Short-term exchanges of programme managers for information and best practice identification

Main dissemination activities

Deliverables and Information obtained in this WP were disseminated through the WP Dissemination. In addition the information was presented during the “external” Conferences.The Conference “Towards a joint approach to a sustainable S&T programme in and with the Black Sea Region” was organized by CNMP and held in Bucharest on December, 8th and 9th, 2009. The main objectives of the conference were to present and reflect the outcome of the analytical work performed so far within the BS ERA.NET project and deriving the first ideas for a regional research program; to advertise to policy stakeholders and S & T program owners the potential of the BS-region for enhanced S&T cooperation in the region and with partners beyond the region; allow an exchange among S & T programme owners from the region with actively involving EECA representatives and key S&T programme owners beyond the BS-region; link-up our up-coming activities to other regional initiatives and to share good practice from other regional cooperation - Nordic Cooperation and Mediterranean Cooperation. The conference provided space for fruitful and constructive discussions by bringing together experts and decision makers from the Black Sea Region and beyond, representatives of the European Commission, of International organizations and of involved regional initiatives. It offered the opportunity to widen and share the analytical knowledge on S&T programmes in and with the Black Sea region and to pave the grounds for a common strategic approach to an S&T regional programme.

At this conference were invited to take part several high level representatives as follows: European Commission, ERA.NET coordinators, Governmental institutions, International organizations, Academia, Research institutions The Conference’s outputs were highlighted within the report developed at the end of the event. The main conclusions were presented and it will serve as a background material for developing the D1.5 and D4.5:

Benchmarking and dissemination of good practice

Benchmarking of the programmes submitted in the form of Fact Sheets (input from T1.2) was made in accordance with: (i) objectives of the Task 1.6 - Benchmarking and dissemination of good practice, (ii) agreed selection criteria and (iii) the outcomes of discussions with BS_ERA.NET project participants, mainly with the experts involved in implementation of Work Package1 (WP1), both by exchanging e-mails and participating in the events such as Exchange Conference in Bucharest (8-9 December 2009), Executive Board meeting in Athens (19-20 October 2009), meetings with POs in Germany, France, Italy and Turkey (in November 2009) organised in the frame of Task 1.3 “Short-term exchanges of programme managers for information and best practice identification”.

Work Package 2: Definition and preparation of common strategic activities between coordinated RTDI programmes within BSRP

Main exploitable results

• D2.1. Report on the identified mutual complementarities and common domains of interest between the programmes of the BS-ERA.NET
• D2.2 SWOT analysis on the practical and concrete networking activities and formulation of recommendations for mutual synergic mechanisms

Due to the lack of similar initiatives in the Black Sea Region could represent a good opportunity for future activities of the project. It also encouraged the funding organizations via illustrating the rich cooperation culture in the region and huge number of bilateral programs. Another important impact of the conclusions of the report was its insistence on the need for funding research, as many existing programs were limited with only covering travel expenses. This was one of the qualifications of the PJC, which focused on funding not only travel expenses, but also research expenses like equipment, consumables etc. in many countries. Last but not least, the study on common domains of interest became very useful in the PJC. It smoothed the search for thematic areas for the PJC among the Funding Parties. Environment and Energy was observed as two thematic areas that came forward almost in every initiative in the region, including the bilateral schemes (they were in the top three areas observed).

The impact of this deliverable lies not only in its impact on the PJC, but lies with its potential to be a useful source of knowledge in any common initiative that will be built in the future. The concluding part of the report draws lessons from the existing situation for any future STI activity that will bring together stakeholders throughout the region. This, of course, means critical importance for the BSRP. The implementation of the BSRP will certainly need and utilize such valuable information in the future.

Main dissemination activities: The reports were widely distributed and promoted not only in project activities and meetings, but also in other project meetings like ERA.NET-RUS and other regional organization meetings like Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Science and Technology Working Group. Especially the dissemination at the BSEC level was warmly welcomed by the Secretariat, and further promotion of project reports was backed up by the strong support of countries which are part in both, i.e. Turkey, Greece, Romania. BSEC S&T Working Group was notified regularly, presentations and verbal notes were given in every meeting and reports were shared online with the Secretariat for a wider distribution.

Work package 3: Defining the Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP)

Main exploitable results

D3.1: Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP);

Sub-task / deliverable 3.1.2 Priority fields for BSRP;

D3.2: Identifying financial sources at national and international level for the Black Sea Research Programme;

D3.3: Defining possible schemes for mutual opening of facilities.

Main dissemination activities

The BSRP was presented to the interested Parties in a meeting held together with ERA.NET-RUS in October 2012 and in the Final Conference of the BS-ERA.NET in December 2012. Both meetings were quiet useful in attracting outside funding parties other than the consortium.

The main dissemination was made at the BSEC level. The BSEC Science and Technology Working Group was informed in every meeting and support for the BS-ERA.NET and BSRP in particular had been mentioned in their reports various times. The 2 year Action Plan of the Working Group for the period 2012-2014 was accepted in late December 2012 and mentioned the need for a joint programme in the region while applauding the efforts put forward in the design of the BSRP. The main goal at this point is to enhance this synergy and meet the efforts of BSEC and consortium members within the BSRP scheme.

b) Sub-task / deliverable 3.1.2 Definition of priority fields for BSRP

Main dissemination activities

• Presentation/dissemination of the results of the Deliverable at the Steering Board and Partners Meeting, Bucharest, 24-25 July 2012 and at the EU-EECA Conference on Science, Technology and Innovation: "From Dialogue to Joint Programmes", Bonn, 10 -11 October 2012;
• Dissemination of the deliverable through the ICBSS and BSEC network of stakeholders/audiences:
• ICBSS website: http://icbss.org/index.php?pid=457
• Presentation at the ICBSS 5th International Black Sea Symposium, July 2012;
• Presentations at the ICBSS Board of Directors and other relevant meetings (BSEC WG S&T)

In view of the Final Conference of the BS.ERA-NET Project organised in Bucharest, on 11-12 December 2012, the ICBSS coordinated the preparation and publication of two booklets:

• The first booklet describes the “Preparation and Evaluation of the BS ERA.NET 2010 PJC for Research Proposals”, with a focus on the context and procedures for the launching and implementation of the call, and including a summary of the external monitoring and assessment of all the phases of the PJC.
• The second booklet was dedicated to the “Funded Projects by the BS ERA.NET 2010 PJC for Research Proposals” provides information on the eleven projects that were funded through the BS.ERA-NET Pilot Joint Call launched in 2010, and more specifically on their objectives, scientific background and added value;

The ICBSS disseminated the publications during the Final Conference of the BS.ERA-NET Project. (December 2012).

c) Deliverable D3.2: Identifying financial sources at national and international level for the Black Sea Research Programme

Potential impact: A significant number of stakeholders consider that the expression of intentions for many programme owners, even not committing, has to be approved according to their internal procedures and this may take time. Another fact is that FP7 is ending in 2013 and Horizon 2020 will start in 2014, at this transitional period many programme owners may not have their planning for the next couple of years ready. Under more positive circumstances the impetus from the original core of interested programme owners for the implementation of BSRP can be further built up. In any case, the methodology suggested in this report may be a useful tool for identifying interested programme owners at any time in the future.

Main dissemination activities:

This report has been disseminated among the partners of the project since the first draft, in order for them to get acquainted with the suggested methodology and use the template with the five criteria so as to investigate for programme owners of their country that would maybe be interested to contribute to the implementation of BSRP.

The report was presented briefly in the final conference of the project and final report has been uploaded to the project’s website.

d) Deliverable D3.3: Defining possible schemes for mutual opening of facilities

Main results and potential impact

The inventory carried out contains 45 relevant research infrastructures from 10 countries: Armenia, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Moldova, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine related to the topic of climate change, environmental across of Black Sea Region. 9 infrastructures in 5 countries: Germany, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine are representing Energy research community in the Region.

Dissemination activity

The dissemination activity under this targeted task was implemented in three major stages. First, it was defined the schemes for mutual access to research facilities. The schemes were circulated in the research community across Black Sea Region and the feedbacks collected were included in this report. On second stage an inventory of existing research infrastructure was carried out in the extended Black Sea region. The information collection exercise was carried out between May 2011 and March 2012 based on questionnaire which was developed by BS-ERA.NET Consortium. Finally, the outputs of the deliverable were presented to research community, governmental bodies and other stakeholders.

Work package 4: Launching and implementation of the first Pilot Joint Call

Main exploitable results

D4.1 Management structure of the BS Joint Call & ToR Joint Call Secretariat
D4.2 Joint Evaluation and Administration System (JES)
D4.3 Black Sea Pilot Joint Call package of documents
D4.4 Launching and implementation of the first BS Joint Call (Monitoring of PJC process
D4.5 Interim monitoring of the funded projects

Launching and implementation of the first BS Joint Call (Monitoring of PJC process) presents the conclusions regarding to the preparation, evaluation, contracting, monitoring phase and the future perspectives of BS Joint Call

Dissemination activities

Main dissemination activities were done through the articles published in the Newsletters and by spreading leaflet and booklets of the project during the partners meetings and conferences such as:

Articles:

• Presenting BS-ERA.NET Project. BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 1, 2009;
• Towards a joint approach to a sustainable S&T programme in and with the Black Sea Region. BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 2, 2009;
• Short-term exchanges of programme managers for information and best practice identification. BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 2, 2009;
• Pre-announcement of the BS-ERA.NET PILOT JOINT CALL 2010. BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 3, 2010;
• Existing national and regional RTDI programmes and the current situation of programmes setting up procedures and best practice in BS region. BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 3, 2010;
• Synthesis Report Summary on Mechanisms for programme setting up and proposal evaluation procedures. BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 3, 2010;
• Project BS-ERA.NET: New Opportunities for Establishing the Scientific and Technical Cooperation in the Black Sea Region Countries. ХІ International Conference “The Up-To-Date Education Quality – the Base of Higher School Competitiveness“, Ukraine 2010;
• BS-ERA.NET Pilot Joint Call 2010. BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 4, 2010;
• 1st Call for Proposals - Submission Results and Evaluation. BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 5, 2011;
• Announcement of the BS-ERA.NET PJC in TÜBİTAK Bulletin, November, 2010
• BS-ERA.NET Pilot Joint Call. Supported proposals. BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 6, 2011;
• Pilot Joint Call News. BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 7, 2012;
• Towards a joint approach to a sustainable S&T programme in and with the Black Sea Region. BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 8, 2012;
• Conference "From Dialogue to Joint Programmes". BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 8, 2012;
• Black Sea Research Programme. BS-ERE.NET Newsletter, Issue 8, 2012;

Conference "From Dialogue to Joint Programmes. Achievements and perspectives of stakeholder coordination in Science, Technology and Innovation between EU, Associated countries, Russia and other Eastern European and Central Asian countries", was organized in Bonn, between 10-11 October 2012. The conference, hosted by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), in Bonn, Germany brought together stakeholders from the EU, Russia, the countries of the Eastern Partnership and Central Asia to share experience gained from collaboration in science, technological development and innovation and to jointly develop perspectives for future collaborative actions.

Many success stories presented during the conference underlined the high level of bi- and multilateral collaboration already achieved. This is reflected in joint funding mechanisms that have also successfully been implemented between the EU and its Eastern partners, such as the ERA-NET RUS, and the Black Sea ERA-NET too. A back-to-back session was organized taking the opportunity to present the final results of of the project and the perspectives for future collaboration between BS-ERA.NET project partners.

The BS-ERA.NET Final Conference took place on Tuesday 11st and Wednesday 12nd December at Bucharest, Romania.

The main objectives of this Conference are:

• To present the BS-ERA-NET Results focused on BSRP;
• To present the projects funding by PJC
• To find new opportunities for colaborative research in the Black Sea Aria

The 1st day of the Conference was dedicated to BSRP and PJC funded projects. At this session have attend the Steering Board members, BS-ERA.NET partners and coordinators of project funding through PJC, stakeholders; decision makers in the field of Research and International Cooperation, organizations interested in cooperation at Black Sea, EU representatives.

Mr. Gediminas Ramanauskas, EU Commission higlighted the objectives of the BS-ERANET project and highlighted the importance of the BS-ERA.NET project in the BS region to increase cooperation and to support sustainable development in the region.

Aliosha Nedelchev - Deputy Secretary General of the BSEC Secretariat informed the participants on the current activities and achievements in the regional cooperation in the field of S&T under the framework of BSEC. A special attention was devoted to the implementation of the relevant provisions of the Economic Agenda, the preparation of the BSEC Ministerial Meeting on S&T and the suggestion to organize a high level BSEC-EU Conference.

Newsletter

The news bulletins that contain a description of the project implementation and progress of the Pilot Joint Call as well as brief notes of interesting news has been recently issued, and they are relevant to the Black Sea Region policies and initiatives.

The project’s Newsletter is published at fixed dates, twice a year in the electronic and paper formats. Relevant information from different public and governmental resources (journals, websites, etc.) as well information from the respective region provided by the project partners on the national research policy, relevant news were collected, analyzed and disseminated through upcoming issue. Eight bulletins were carried and disseminated during the project lifetime.

Socio-economic impact, wider societal implications

The impact of the The BS-ERA NET project can by quantify in the increasing level of collaboration between EU and Eastern coutries. On medium and long term, to secure sustainable results and benefits, dissemination of results and monitoring of joint activities should be intensified. A stable and favourable frameworks for collaboration is needed based on existing instruments and structures (e.g. the 7th Framework Programme/ Horizon 2020, the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI), sector policies, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), or the Strategic Forum for International S&T Cooperation (SFIC)).The development of good practice concerning framework conditions was considered especially vital in this context and BSRP could be used as an exemple of best practice in reserach field in nthe BS region.

The participants agreed that joint funding and joint infrastructures are core elements to setting up sustainable frameworks for collaboration among the countries involved.

A joint initiative based on Article 185 was proposed in order to provide a sustainable and medium term umbrella for public-public partnership building on the present success stories of the various ERA-NETs.

The socio-economic impact is defficult to assess since quantitative aspects are sometimes misleading when talking about the impact and importance of patents and publications. The value of scientific cooperation lies above all in access to knowledge, markets and solutions to problems.

Success of BS-ERA. call constitute further motive to establish a Research Programme in the BS aria. A significant number of stakeholders consider that the expression of intentions for many programme owners, even not committing, has to be approved according to their internal procedures and this may take time. Another fact is that FP7 is ending in 2013 and Horizon 2020 will start in 2014, at this transitional period many programme owners may not have their planning for the next couple of years ready. Under more positive circumstances the impetus from the original core of interested programme owners for the implementation of BSRP can be further built up. In any case, the methodology suggested in this report may be a useful tool for identifying interested programme owners at any time in the future.

The Pilot Joint Call (PJC) was implemented successfully and without hitch. Moreover, even with only 11 funded projects involving half less non-EU than EU teams, the PJC allowed researchers to network on a wider scale than bilateral relations and identify common areas of interest for further collaboration. The PJC achieved its objective of promoting S&T cooperation between EU MS/AC and Black Sea countries, and raising the idea of joint funding of transnational projects and actions.

The wider impact of the PJC is difficult to assess at the moment and can be measured effectively only on a longer term. However, we can quite safely assure that the achievements of BS-ERA.Net will be very beneficial to future researchers by creating multilateral S&T networks and therefore furthering the integration of the Black Sea region (BSR) in the ERA.

The development and implementation of a common strategy will also give a new and wider perspective to researchers and programme owners and managers.

On a larger scale, we are hopeful that strengthening the scientific collaboration between EU MS/AC and the BSR will contribute to their policy cooperation. In addition, the results from joint projects should in the future give way to innovative goods and services with common benefit for societies.

The need for a sustainable multilateral programme is stated within the crucial document, ‘BSEC Economic Agenda: Towards an Enhanced BSEC Partnership’, that contains provisions on all major areas of cooperation, including on Science and Technology also. The document states that one of the objectives for the region should be:

Facilitating closer cooperation in the fields of science and technology among the BSEC Member States, the BSEC Related Bodies and with other partners and international organizations in order to encourage co-funding schemes for formulating and implementing regional research projects. Considering that fact, the BSRP could be seen as a systematic and improved repetition of this process (regarding the Pilot Joint Call under the BS-ERANET).

Level of Integration: The model used in BS-ERA.NET Project - national funding and international evaluation – is a more realistic target rather than a real common pot.

Stakeholders: Should be formed on a variable geometry basis

The BSRP should include a procedure for the identification and inclusion of additional interested stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of the Programme.

Once the GFP is established, an agreement (i.e. Consortium Agreement, Memorandum of Understanding) will be prepared to describe the basic rules for the cooperation in the implementation of the BSRP.

Duration:BSRP should be multiannual allowing for a systematic repetition of the foreseen activities. Duration of the BSRP could be set to 4 to 6 years, allowing for few cycles for the planned activities.

Funding Mechanism and Budget: Indicative target values for the annual and overall budget of the BSRP should be set from the beginning, based on the experience from the Pilot Joint Call, as well as the characteristics of the budget (common pot, virtual pot, etc.).

The maximum amount per supported action should be defined, based on the overall available budget and on the type of activities to support. It is suggested that all the funding parties should specify the amount of funds that they could allocate for the joint activities. As the national funding organizations will only fund their national researchers, it is important that the parties stay committed to funding until the end in order to avoid any problems that would endanger activities of researchers and mutual collaboration.

Once a Group of Funding Parties has been formed, the structure of the programme should be decided upon. A possible timeline for BSRP activities would include following stages:

• Determination of Programme Features
• Thematic Fields
• Call
• Eligibility Check
• Evaluation
• Ranking
• Contracting and funding of projects

General Conclusion

BS-ERA.NET project is not focused on research, but supporting cooperation of project partners for RD&I activities in Black Sea Region.

The impact of the The BS-ERA NET project can be quantify in the increasing level of collaboration between EU and Eastern coutries. On medium and long term, to secure sustainable results and benefits, dissemination of results and monitoring of joint activities should be intensified. A stable and favourable frameworks for collaboration is needed based on existing instruments and structures (e.g. the 7th Framework Programme/ Horizon 2020, the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI), sector policies, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), or the Strategic Forum for International S&T Cooperation (SFIC).The development of good practice concerning framework conditions was considered especially vital in this context and BSRP could be used as an exemple of best practice in reserach field in nthe BS region. The participants agreed that joint funding and joint infrastructures are core elements to setting up sustainable frameworks for collaboration among the countries involved.

During the Final Conference organized in the frame of BS-ERA.NET project „New opportunities for collaborative research in the Black Sea Area”, in Bucharest 10-11 of December 2012 were presented the results of the project, the Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP), projects funded by Pilot Join Call (monitoring the performance of call, interviews with participants and representatives of the joint secretariat) and identified new paths for developing and implementing BSRP. The project partners, stakeholders and the representatives of BSEC and EU Commission share their oppinion regarding the collaboration in Black Sea region and gave some recommandation on it. Below are presented two of the oppinion expressed with this occassion.

The commitments under the BSEC Summit Declaration (Istanbul, June 2012) should be translated into practice in order to insure a sustainable development in the region by implementing the strategy on environmental protection and energy efficiency. Therefore the results of the project have to be disseminated broadly outside the consortium of the project, among the relevant regional organizations (BSEC, Black Sea Commission) and the decision making national authorities for their consideration and taking appropriate actions. The BSEC Working Group on Science and Technology is preparing a meeting of the BSEC ministers in charge of S&T as well as the BSEC-EU Conference. The scientific community of the region could take this opportunity and participate actively in the preparation of the relevant political decisions, including the modalities for a future multilateral cooperation on S&T following the fulfillment of the BS-ERA.NET project“(Ambassador Aliosha Nedelcev, Final Conference, Bucharest, and 10 December 2012).

“The cooperation between EU and BS region is on the right track. BSEC event is gone to be high level event and will give the opportunity to cooperate in S&T. There will be more opportunities for EU partners, Danube Region and Black Sea Region. BS region must be included in INCO programme. BS region was not in this call for INCO. On 2014 a decision must be taken to include BS region“(Gediminas Ramanauskas, Project Officer, EU Commission).

The general conclusion is that the road for the development of a Black Sea Research Programme (BSRP) is more than open.

List of Websites:

http://icbss.org/index.php?pid=457 ;

http://www.bs-era.net; http://nip.sci.am/content/bsi.htm; http://www.gsrt.gr