CO-REACH

Basic Information

Description

Promoting research co-operation with China is a priority in the bilateral research policies of most European countries, and in the international science and technology (S&T) policy of the EU. Despite this, the overall European effort to manage and strengthen S&T relations with China remains fragmented. CO-REACH is intended to network European policy-makers and programme managers involved in promoting research co-operation with China in all fields of science. Its primary goal is to navigate its members towards the development of joint activities and, ultimately, the launching of one or more new, European programmes of research co-operation with China. In pursuing this goal, CO-REACH aims to contribute towards building the European Research Area (ERA) and, particularly, to strengthening the international dimension of the ERA by co-ordinating bilateral programmes of research co-operation with China both within and between European countries. In addition CO-REACH seeks to strengthen European S&T relations with China and to foster strategic and coherent policy-making on European research co-operation with this country. In order to realise its primary goal and objectives, CO-REACH will undertake a five-year programme of work. This has been designed to build mutual understanding and trust between the network?s members and, on this basis, to cultivate incremental levels of practical co-operation and collaboration between them. The main tasks included in the programme of work are: mapping and benchmarking existing Europe-China programmes; analysing opportunities for and obstacles to effective collaboration between CO-REACH partners; preparing a generic protocol that can be used in the design, management and evaluation of new European programmes of research co-operation with China; and developing joint activities involving the sharing of programme resources, and the scientific clustering between, as well as linking or merging of existing China programmes or parts