Chloe Somers - increasing internationalisation of European Research
-
Upload
universities-uk -
Category
Education
-
view
472 -
download
6
description
Transcript of Chloe Somers - increasing internationalisation of European Research
The increasing internationalisation of European research
Chloë Somers Research Councils UK
26 June 2013
Why international engagement?
• Strategic approach to international co-operation helps:– develop (access to) large-scale high quality facilities– increase mobility– build capacity– knowledge exchange– enhance impact of research publications– increase inward investment– tackle ‘grand challenges’
RCUK Overseas
• UK Research Office (UKRO) (established 1984 and located in Brussels, to promote UK participation in EU programmes - first European country to do this)
HEI and counterpart subscribers
• RCUK China (2007)• RCUK US (2007)• RCUK India (2008)
Role of the Overseas Teams
• Gather intelligence on the strategic and research priorities of major overseas funding agencies and institutions
• Build partnerships with overseas funding agencies to align strategic priorities and set the scene for sustainable joint research programmes
• Help to overcome institutional barriers and to form productive relationships with the research base
• Increase the RCUK presence and work with other UK stakeholders in-county to promote UK research and its impact
EU drivers for international co-operation
• EU’s drivers to engage in international cooperation (as a single entity) are:– support to policy dialogue and priority setting– capacity building– networking and partnership building– “speak with one voice”– set common rules and regulations– support capabilities in developing countries with more
impacts due to opportunities of scale– assessment and monitoring– dissemination and outreach
Support available
• Institutional support• UK funding
– within grants– partnering awards– joint calls
• ‘Money Follows Researcher’• ‘Money Follows Co-operation’• Lead Agency agreements• Bilateral/multilateral programmes• European Union funding
Internationalising European research: key issues
• Must be seen as extension of existing activities, rather than separate
• Principle of variable geometry must be applied• Recognition of differences between research
communities• Alignment of policy with funding (e.g. SET plan)• Need to remain agile and responsive• No compromise on excellence• Any strategy must be developed in partnership
Council conclusions: May 2013
• Underlines the importance of preparing “multi-annual roadmaps for co-operation with the EU's strategic partners, which will identify priorities and instruments for activities within Horizon 2020 for international co-operation on research and innovation.”
• States that Member States must be involved from an early stage in this process
• Calls on the Commission to present the first roadmaps by the end of 2013
EU activities: looking ahead
• EU instruments have allowed Member States to experiment ambitiously with bilateral and multilateral collaboration for many years
• Approaches becoming common practice• Underpinning success of ERA• Demonstrate to international partners experience of
working collaboratively– ERA-Nets: RCUK involved in 20+ current ERA-Nets
– Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs): UK involved in all ten JPIs
Example: ERA-CAPs
• Co-ordinating Action in Plant Sciences• 3 year ERA-Net, started 2011• Built on success of ERA-Plant Genomics• Arose from need to develop EU-wide plant science
research structure• 19 partners, inc. Canada and New Zealand• 7 observers, inc. India, Japan, USA• 1st joint call:
– 110 proposals– 500 research teams– 21 European and non-European countries
Example: FACCE JPI
Belmont Forum
+FACCE-JPI
Multiscalar interactions for drivers of Food Security and Land-use Change€1.75M
BBSRC ESRC NERC
€10M+In-kind14 Funders
Alignment and added value: national to
global scales
Example: Open Research Area
• Agreement launched in 2009 between funders in UK, FR, DE, NL, USA providing joint funding for researchers
• Grew out of NORFACE ERA-Net (launched 2004)• NSF joined in 2012 for third call• ORA principles used to support wider international
collaboration with India and China (in development)– First Indian-European Social Science Research Networking
project launched in Aug 2012: six projects awarded funding
– Early discussion with the NSF (China) about a possible thematic call based on the ORA model
– Thematic Open Research Area in Social Media: discussions to develop joint activities with European ORA members
Science Europe
• 51 Science Europe member organisations from 26 countries
• Science Europe represents funders and performers
• Promotes collective interests of members
• Promotes co-operation at policy and activity level:– 6 Scientific Committees– Working Groups on key policy areas (e.g. cross-border
collaboration)
• Professor Paul Boyle, RCUK International Champion, is currently President of Science Europe
Science Europe: international outlook
• Ideal forum to work with international partners as a collaborative ‘bloc’
• Facility to collaborate while retaining diversity• Bottom-up approach• Importance of engaging internationally with many
key issues: open access, research integrity, data…
• Role on Global Research Council