Abstract

The main aim of the Project is to contribute to the quality of the Euro-Mediterranean research area, with a particular focus on the bi-regional Euro-Mediterranean S&T cooperation, research & innovation, policy dialogue and cooperation monitoring. The proposal aims at tackling the key issues and policy objectives outlined in the Work Programme by creating a dialogue and coordination platform of governmental institutions, research organizations, associations and NGOs helping integrate society in the institutional dialogue. To this end, the Project foresees a comprehensive analysis of selected societal challenges and will address capacity building to increase research capacity, shared knowledge and cooperation. It will also support synergies and networking to strengthen joint activities and EU- MS-MPCs cooperation in EU programmes, as well as a monitoring of regional RTD cooperation and policies. In particular, the proposal is structured to address three societal challenges: energy, high quality affordable food, scarcity of resources. These challenges have been selected on the basis of the result of the long-standing and ongoing EU-MPCs policy dialogue and represent the most significant areas of common interest in current Euro-Mediterranean cooperation. The specific objectives of the Project are thus: enhancing EU-MPCs co-ownership in research cooperation; creating synergies in order to reduce fragmentation of research actions; involving the civil society in the institutional dialogue on research and innovation; developing cooperation instruments to tackle societal challenges with a view to sustainability; supporting research and innovation capacity building through comprehensive training and contributing build an Euro-Mediterranean shared knowledge space in order to develop common EU-MPCs planning capacity and a sustainable regional RDT policy and cooperation.