Projects showing good-quality communication skills

EU-funded international co-operation projects have made great efforts to improve their communication techniques in recent times, according to the EC’s ISCP team.

Some of the best websites are attracting droves of visitors, and those projects that focus on producing high-quality communications products have been able to present their results to large audiences. Among the best examples are:

• The FishBase website – www.fishbase.org – which is disseminating project results to fisheries managers, and has a user rate of 14 million hits per month.
• The NORMA project has produced videos about natural resource management in the Himalayas; it can be accessed via: http://www.insightshare.org/redesign/
  case_study_desertification.html

Further information: http://www.macaulay.ac.uk/MRCS/intl/intl2_4.html

Impact study for international co-operation

Recently, interviews with officials from a number of Directorates-General at the European Commission and an on-line survey of external stakeholders have taken place as part of an impact study on the international S&T co-operation programme.

The study will soon be available on the INCO publications site.

New Water Culture

Experts signed up to the new ‘European Declaration for a New Water Culture’ in Madrid, Spain in 2005. Those present at the signing included the Spanish Minister of Environment, representatives from other EU Member States and officials from other continents, many of whose scientists and researchers are participating in INCO projects and activities.

Further information: http://www.unizar.es/fnca/euwater/index2.php?idioma=en

International conference: ‘The international dimension of the Europe of Knowledge: a common interest for Europe and for the world’

Co-organised by two French research centres, IRAD and IRD, with the support of the Research and Development DGs, this international conference was held in Brussels between 6-7 October 2005.

The conference aimed to address the international dimension of S&T in the future Framework Programme (FP7), and the synergies between EU research, foreign and development policies and measures, on the one hand, and with Member State policies, on the other. As such, the conference was of potential interest to many EC services and to all the RTD programmes. Therefore, Directorate N asked all the RTD programmes, and some in INFSO, to provide the conference steering group with potential research projects for selection as case studies for parallel sessions at the conference. Suggestions of names of researchers to be invited by Directorate N, with a special focus on third countries, have also been requested. The various programmes answered our requests in a very satisfactory way, and about 30 researchers and other suggested stakeholders were finally invited by Directorate N.

The conference was very successful in terms of participation. The audience – more than 320 people – comprised European and third country researchers, research consortia co-ordinators, laboratory directors and various S&T stakeholders such as MEPs, NGOs, and national S&T ministry representatives in Brussels.

The conference steering group has expressed its wish to issue a final statement that would be discussed with, and agreed by, conference participants.

After a lively discussion, the final statement, comprising recommendations intended to remind the EC, the EP and the Council of the importance of the international dimension of S&T, was adopted by the participants at the conference.

Publications

A list of INCO publications can be seen via the following link: INCO website