International cooperation

Timed to examine Government's post-election plans for UK science and innovation policy, and informed by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee's inquiry on Priorities for science, this seminar will bring together key stakeholders from the academic community and R&D-intensive industries with policymakers.

Keynote address by Dr Jack Metthey, Director, Policy Development and Coordination: "Making the most of Horizon 2020 ‐ UK involvement in EU science programmes"

This year the theme for the conference is Global Outreach: Enabling Cultures and Diversity in Research Management and Administration. This theme reflects the growing need and ambition to reach out and get connected and work together globally. Cooperating not only in the field of scientific research & innovation and higher education but also in the field of research management and administration.

The nutritional value of staple foods in Africa is being boosted to raise consumption of essential micronutrients. Kenya has made iron fortification mandatory in commercially produced flour, while Nigeria’s farmers are being encouraged to grow high-vitamin-A cassava strains. Both moves result from the EU-funded INSTAPA project, which continues to inform efforts to step up public nutrition through improving foods.

An EU-funded project is helping researchers and policy-makers in Europe and South East Asia form consortia to collaborate on sustainable food, healthcare and water management research. Projects tackle major issues, such as contaminants in food imports or the growing global threat of antimicrobial resistance.

Pregnant women are more prone to becoming infected with malaria than other adults. In their case, the parasite tends to hide in the placenta, unnoticed but damaging to the host and her unborn child. An EU-funded project has set out to improve the antenatal care as well as the malaria diagnosis and treatment available to expectant mothers in endemic areas.

If you had a colony of parasites living in your gut and siphoning off your blood, you might not even know. Many of the hundreds of millions of people suffering from hookworm disease are completely unaware of their wriggly lodgers, which can seriously damage their health. EU-funded researchers are developing a vaccine to keep the tiny trespassers at bay.

First Innovative Enterprise week “Access to Finance for Research, Innovation and SMEs 2015” is a 3-day international conference on:

• the political answer to the macroeconomic situation
• ways to boost growth, jobs and competitiveness through innovation, including the investment Plan for the EU
• how the financial instruments, facilities and accompanying measures launched under Horizon 2020 can enhance access to finance for research, innovation and SMEs

Community-based health insurance schemes are often supported as a route to universal health coverage in countries such as India, with limited public funds. But without government subsidies or technical support, such schemes are unlikely to achieve their objectives, as EU-funded researchers have found out.

End of 2014 the first Horizon 2020 projects were signed. Since then almost four thousand more have been added.

As announced by President Juncker on 13 May 2015, the European Commission intends to set up a new Scientific Advice Mechanism ("SAM"). The mechanism will support the Commission with high-quality, timely and independent scientific advice for its policy-making activities.

EU-funded researchers are developing a highly accurate, cost-effective and simple-to-use test for malaria. The innovative diagnostic tool, which is being refined and tested in Africa and Asia, promises to save lives through early detection while advancing efforts to eradicate the deadly mosquito-borne disease.

Most of the food produced in Africa is supplied by small-scale farmers, many of whom are struggling. New knowledge could help to boost these micro-operations and their contribution to food security, but smallholders are rarely consulted when research agendas are set. An EU-funded project focused on stimulating the necessary dialogue.

Sustainable rural development can only be accomplished by empowering local people to participate in the development of new techniques themselves. In understanding the importance of irrigation for smallholder farmers, the EU-funded EAU4FOOD project has integrated locals within the innovation process.

Where water is scarce, it makes sense to make the most of what you receive for free. An EU-funded project is studying the different ways Africa’s farmers can increase the volume of rain and river water collected, to improve crop yields and bridge dry spells.

To stop the Mediterranean region turning into a desert, the EU-funded MENFRI project is establishing forest management strategies and solutions that address environmental concerns across the Mediterranean and create jobs. These include forest management training, support for women’s associations in North Africa to commercialise forest-based products, certification of sustainably sourced goods in the Mediterranean and promotion of rural tourism.

Akpan, bissap, jujube fruit and monkey bread are part of Africa’s rich food heritage, but are relatively unknown to European palates. Thanks to the EU-funded AFTER project these exciting flavours, and others, could soon be available here, boosting the competitiveness of small food manufacturers on both continents.

What good is an empty clinic? The brain drain that is depleting health care services in many parts of Africa is leaving entire communities stranded. An EU-funded project is looking into ways to mobilise more human resources for primary health care across the continent.

Access to healthcare is a basic human need, but efforts to provide affordable public care in many developing nations have had mixed results. EU-funded researchers sought to find out why through a landmark evaluation of healthcare systems in six Asian countries. The conclusions highlight the influence of insurance schemes’ affordability, understanding what motivates people to take out insurance policies, and how public money is spent.

Climate change may influence the prevalence of various deadly diseases. But with the future climate still clouded in uncertainty, we can neither predict the precise impact nor prepare for it. Having the right tools in place to make decisions is therefore crucial. This is the message that EU-funded HEALTHY FUTURES project is taking to the World Health Organisation – along with decision support tools that it has developed.

EU-funded research has significantly boosted understanding of the links between climate, environment and disease in Sub-Saharan Africa. The research is feeding into global efforts to create an early warning system for major outbreaks of killer diseases such as malaria – and save lives.