Good practice case studies
ERA-LEARN 2020 identified and elaborated more than 20 good practice case studies on alignment within and beyond the P2P community. These analyzed current, novel, and regional/trans-regional approaches to aligning national programmes and strategies to provide examples of good practice that can prove useful to overcoming obstacles and challenges. Broadly, these case studies can be matched to one, and oftentimes several, of the three overarching levels of alignment.
Alignment of national AAL programmes – Practical Implementation from the Austrian Perspective
The focus of this case study is on the practical implementation of alignment of national AAL programmes from an Austrian perspective. AAL can by understood as a synonym for ICT-supported technologies for older adults to increase their quality of life. Since 2008, there exists a transnational Article 185 Initiative dedicated to AAL. In order to participate in Article 185 Initiatives a dedicated national programme is mandatory. Austria is founding member of the transnational AAL Programme. As a necessary pre-condition Austria has established a national programme BENEFITdedicated to AAL in 2007. The case study reveals how Austria aligns its national and transnational activities in AAL related programmes. Two aspects turned out: (1) ‘taking joint actions’ aspect: Within the transnational AAL Programme, Austria aligns its activities at strategic, operational and financial level with other countries in Europe and (2) ‘building complementarities and synergies’ aspect: Within the national programme BENEFIT, Austria aligns its activities by building complementarities to the transnational AAL Programme and looks for synergies.
BONUS
"The joint Baltic Sea research and development programme (BONUS), which was launched under the Article 185 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union as a strategic, multi-annual joint research undertaking of eight Baltic Member States. The Programme has created a macroregional collaboration of research and innovation funding institutions that supports sustainable development of the Baltic Sea ecosystem services. Its purpose is to overcome research fragmentation and duplication by integrating national programmes into a single centrally managed programme. "
CERIC-ERIC
The Central European Research Infrastructures Consortium (CERIC-ERIC, acronym CERIC) was set up under the ERIC legal framework in June 2014 by the Commission's implementing decision, based on the formal request of five Countries. It provides open access to the Member's scientific facilities, such as synchrotron light sources, neutron sources, nuclear magnetic resonance apparatus and similar, based on international peer review. CERIC is a distributed research infrastructure in materials and biomaterials. The ERIC Regulation provides a common legal framework based on Article 187 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The setting up of CERIC by integrating several different facilities into a single distributed infrastructure opens a great opportunity to enhance the circulation of human resources, ideas and innovations. The driving force behind is the common scope to be relevant and attractive at the international level.
EDCTP
The European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) was established in September 2003 by 15 European countries with the aim to develop capacity building for clinical trials and new clinical interventions to address the needs of sub-Saharan Africa in the fields of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Created as an Article 169 of the Treaty (since re-numbered as Article 185 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union), the EDCTP aims at improving coordination and integration of research from different European Member States in the field of poverty related diseases. The programme has facilitated alignment and coordination of European national research programmes and activities; has fostered African leadership in clinical research, and has strengthened the ethics and regulatory environment for conducting clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa.
Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership Joint Undertaking
This case study examines the key features, outputs, and overall strengths and limitations of the Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership Joint Undertaking (ECSEL) and could serve as an inspiration for European P2Ps in the areas of thematic alignment and leveraging European / national / private investment. ECSEL’s unique tripartite funding model financed by the Union, member states, and the private sector makes it an interesting case for European P2Ps planning to establish structures to support collaborative research and innovation. This case study analyses the details of the funding model as well as examines the implementation and experience with tripartite funding in practice. ECSEL’s success in attracting private investment and the challenges it faces regarding different national funding rates and procedures, no multi-annual budgetary commitments from member states, and need for more harmonization and alignment could serve as useful lessons learned for European P2Ps (and PPPs).
EMRP Article 185 Initiative
The European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP), which was launched under the Article 185 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, is a strategic, multi-annual joint research programme that was established amongst the 23 members of the European Association of National Metrology Institutes (EURAMET). The Programme promotes alignment amongst European metrology institutes through the submission of joint research project proposals and associated grant schemes for researchers.
EMRP Article 185 Initiative
The European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP), which was launched under the Article 185 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, is a strategic, multi-annual joint research programme that was established amongst the 23 members of the European Association of National Metrology Institutes (EURAMET). The Programme promotes alignment amongst European metrology institutes through the submission of joint research project proposals and associated grant schemes for researchers.
ERA-PLANET – ERA-NET Cofund ‘The European network for observing our changing planet’
This case study examines the ERA-NET Cofund action named 'The European network for observing our changing planet' (short: ERA-PLANET). The main activity within ERA-NET Cofund actions is the implementation of a co-funded joint call for proposals that leads to the funding of trans-national research and/or innovation projects. The unique character of ERA-Planet is that national programmes and funding stems from institutional in-kind of 36 research performing organisations. Together, they organise one joint call with a call budget of 61 Mill EUR. ERA-Planet demonstrates that an in-kind ERA-NET Cofund can be applied for by research performing organisations. However, ERA-Planet has only started to become operational in 01/2016. A real assessment of strengths and weaknesses can only be done later. Even though ERA-Planet could serve as a showcase for research alliances that want to trigger joint research implementation (with or without Cofunds). The ERA-PLANET case provides lessons to coordinators of P2Ps, scientific directors of research performing organisations, coordinators of national research programmes at RTDI ministries and policy makers at European Commission.
ERA4CS – ERA-NET Cofund EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA FOR CLIMATE SERVICES
This case study examines the ERA-NET Cofund action named ‘ERA-NET Cofund European Research Area for Climate Services’ (short: ERA4CS). The main activity within ERA-NET Cofund actions is the implementation of a co-funded joint call for proposals that leads to the funding of trans-national research and/or innovation projects. ERA4CS supports the Joint Programming Initiative Connecting Climate Change Knowledge for Europe (JPI Climate) in the implementation of a transnational joint call. The novelty in ERA4CS is that ‘national programmes and funding’ stems from two different sources: Research Funding Organisations and Research Performing Organisations. Together, they organise one joint call with one topic for each source and a call budget of 72 Mill EUR. ERA4CS has only officially started in January 2016. Described strengths and limitations are based on activities in the proposal phase and expected outcomes. The ERA4CS case provides lessons to coordinators of P2Ps, scientific directors of research performing organisations, coordinators of national research programmes at RTDI ministries and funding agencies and policy makers at European Commission.
European Energy Research Alliance (EERA)
This case study examines the key features, outputs and overall strengths and limitations of the ‘European Energy Research Alliance’ (EERA) as a mean to support institutional alignment. The objective of EERA is to coordinate research activities in the field of energy. EERA brings together over 175 research organisations from 28 countries. EERA demonstrates how a network of research organisations can turn in a professional and ambitious network over time, launching activities and reaching alignment on all levels of the research programming cycle (research strategy, research funding, research implementation, mobility of researchers, dissemination). The EERA case provides lessons how to develop and support institutional alignment to coordinators of P2Ps, scientific directors of research performing organisations, coordinators of national research programmes at RTDI ministries and research funding organisations and policy makers at European Commission.
FACCE JPI Joint Mapping Meetings
Members of the Joint Programming Initiative on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (FACCE JPI) jointly conducted a mapping of existing and planned national research initiatives in the FACCE JPI remit, as an essential step in the Joint Programming Process. The mapping methodology used relied on Mapping Meetings that brought together delegated national policy, funding and research representatives who exchanged information and views, identified joint programming opportunities and developed a common vision regarding future transnational research priorities. Joint mapping is a pre-requisite for fostering cross-border alignment at strategic/policy level, as well as for assessing the potential for financial and operational alignment.
Infravation (ERA-NET Plus)
The ERA-NET Plus (European Research Area Network) Infravation is a transnational joint call for research proposals in the field of road infrastructure that relies on a “real common pot” funding mechanism. It brings together 11 National Road Authorities, including from Israel (FP7 Associated country) and the USA, and benefits from co-funding from the European Commission. This ERA-NET’s funding mechanism promotes greater financial alignment by allowing to pool financial resources from participating countries and optimally use the latter to fund selected transnational research projects, irrespective of applicants’ nationalities. It has also enabled participating countries to identify common research priorities and to promote alignment at the operational level through the delegation of funding, coordination and management responsibilities to a single entity.
JPI Climate’s Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA)
Members of the Joint Programming Initiative “Connecting Climate Knowledge for Europe” (JPI Climate) have recently updated JPI Climate’s former Strategic Research Agenda and as such adopted a new Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda for the timeframe 2016-2025. The process relied on an inclusive and collaborative approach that aimed to foster high involvement and leadership of JPI member countries and strong ownership of the developed SRIA. The latter consists in a visionary and stakeholder-oriented document that outlines common and integrated strategic research and innovation priorities by relying on a cross-disciplinary and challenge-driven approach.
JPI Oceans’ Shared Research Vessel
The Joint Programming Initiative Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans (JPI Oceans) has launched a three-year pilot research action "Ecological Aspects of Deep-Sea Mining" in order to assess the ecological impacts that could arise from commercial mining of deep-sea minerals called polymetallic nodules. This transnational research project, which brings together 11 European countries, was initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, which offered to share the use of its newly built research vessel RV SONNE during 118 days to support this project. The joint use of national research infrastructure has promoted cost-effectiveness, contributed to trust-building amongst researchers, and allowed the integration of national research activities around a common scientific objective. At an operational level, it has facilitated standardised data collection, coordination of research methods and open access to research data. It has also allowed for more effective collective European contributions to international policy-making.
MACSUR Knowledge Hub
The Knowledge Hub for Modelling European Agriculture with Climate Change for Food Security (MACSUR) was launched by the Joint Programming Initiative on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (FACCE-JPI). It is a network of 300 European researchers from 18 European countries who aim to advance the science of modelling and assessment of the impacts of climate variability and change on regional farming systems and food production in Europe. Besides networking amongst researchers, the MACSUR Knowledge Hub also allows for capacity building and the conduct of new research coordinated at trans-national level.
New York University Center for Urban Science and Progress
This case study examines the key features, outputs and overall strengths and limitations of the New York University Center for Urban Science and Progress, a unique public-private research center, with respect to the coordination of policy challenges posed by modern cities and the research and education activities of a graduate school. CUSP utilizes its big data capabilities to integrate, analyze, and model a variety of data from across city agencies, and develops innovative data tools and infrastructure in order to devise practical, impactful findings and solutions to real-world urban challenges. It demonstrates the effectiveness of a research infrastructure built by joint efforts of academia, city authorities, and industry. Universities and faculty can contribute to practical solutions to urban policy challenges by establishing mutual interest and a common language with city agencies, conducting interdisciplinary research, and applying a transdisciplinary approach and innovative data analysis and modeling tools.
NordForsk
NordForsk is an organisation developed at regional level among the Nordic Countries - Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, and three autonomous areas, Faroe Islands, Greenland and the Åland Islands. Established under the Nordic Council of Ministers – inter-governmental body for cooperation in the Nordic Region – NordForsk provides funding for and facilitates Nordic cooperation on research and research infrastructures through the financing and administration of research programmes. Its mandate is in particular to facilitate, to identify and respond to, common strategic priorities for Nordic research cooperation, and thereby create Nordic added value. The peculiarity of this regional initiative relies on the extended use of the “real common pot funding mechanism” in all its programmes and initiatives.
Process towards a Common Position on Alignment in Austria
This case study examines the process towards finding a common position on alignment in Austria among the mayor R&D Stakeholders. The Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology, together with the Austrian Ministry for Science, Research and Economy set up a collaborative process bringing together the relevant Austrian research stakeholders to work towards a common national agreement on transnational alignment in research strategy, planning and funding. In the course of this process, awareness for the alignment topic is raised and commitment for future alignment activities among national RTI stakeholders is built.
The BLUEMED Initiative
The BLUEMED initiative, Blue Growth research and Innovation Initiative for the Mediterranean - BLUEMED Initiative, is the result of the efforts of 9 EU member states bordering the Mediterranean sea, to foster a sustainable blue growth in the Mediterranean sea area. Its final goal is to contribute to align or integrate the funding strategies, R&I funds and infrastructures at regional, national and EU level, by avoiding duplication, improving the effectiveness in the use of resources and maximizing the leverage effects. BLUEMED represents a good practice of alignment at strategic level, involving from one side the EU Mediterranean Countries, who committed at political level to adopt common research priorities and strategic agenda, and from the other side, the European Commission DG RTD and MARE, which facilitated and supported the process.
The DACH Agreement and the Lead Agency Procedure
The DACH Agreement is an instrument of cross-border collaboration, signed in May 2008 between the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) and its partner organisations, the FWF (Austrian Science Fund, Austria) and the SNSF (Swiss National Science Foundation, Switzerland). It relates to the mutual opening of the respective funding programmes with the objective to simplify the execution of cross-border research projects. Simplification is achieved by making one of the funding agencies the only responsible of the evaluation process of the transnational projects ("Lead Agency" process). In particular, the DACH Agreement – and the related “Lead Agency Procedure” – is a concrete and successful example of cooperation at trans-regional level, which represents a good practice in implementing inter-operability and creates the basis for an alignment at operational level.
The Network for Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA)
HERA is a transnational network of 25 national research funding organisations in the field of humanities, which has been established thanks to the ERA-NET scheme (European Research Area Networks), that is co-funded by the EC and facilitates the launch of joint calls for project proposals. This 15 year old network has provided an effective framework for trust-building and mutual learning amongst partners, coordination of national research funding strategies and pooling of resources at the European level in order to fund new research activities.
The Network of Centres of Excellence in Neurodegeneration (CoEN)
CoEN is an alliance that facilitates institutional cooperation amongst national Centres of Excellence (research performing organisations) by enabling the launch of transnational calls for project proposals in the field of degenerative diseases. It brings together organisations from nine European and non-European countries, including large nationally mandated Centres of Excellence that have call funding resources as well as national funding organisations that provide funding to recognised Centres of Excellence if the latter have no funding capabilities. By enhancing collaboration and alignment between some of the most influential national research centres working in neurodegeneration across Europe and beyond and by focusing on high risk/high impact research, CoEN has facilitated the implementation of high quality transnational research with strong added value and complementarities with existing research programmes and networks.
The Open Access Infrastructure for Research in Europe (OpenAIRE)
OpenAIRE is a support platform that promotes Open Access (OA) to research outputs across 33 countries from Europe and beyond. It provides a technical infrastructure that includes an online platform and associated services in order to centralise, harmonise, disseminate and interlink open research data. The initiative also facilitates the coordination of national and transnational OA activities through a network of national experts in order to promote open access, disseminate related best practices and support countries and research institutes in developing and aligning OA policies and infrastructures. OpenAIRE has enhanced transparency and awareness of past and current research activities and related outputs and outcomes at the level of researchers, end-users and policy-makers. This has contributed to avoiding unnecessary duplication of research efforts, fostering re-use of research data by scientists, increasing return on investment and supporting efficient progress of research.
The Vanguard Initiative
The political leaders of 15 European industrial regions gathered on 30 January 2014 in Brussels to engage in a joint effort for the industrial future of Europe. The ‘Vanguard Initiative for New Growth through Smart Specialisation’(VI) is now a network of 30 European regions and they are politically committed to support the wider application and visibility of smart specialisation principles with the aim of boosting EU competitiveness and to revitalise European industrial growth. This is delivered by aligning regional areas of strengths and enabling co-investment on the basis of regional smart specialisation strategies.