Other ERA-NETs

ERA-NETs are - in addition to BILAT and INCO-NET projects - the main instrument used for activities in the area of International Cooperation of the Capacities programme of the 7th Research Framework Programme. ERA-NETs are a coordination action that aim at reducing the fragmentation of the ERA resulting from the coexistence of several national and regional public research programmes by favouring actions supported together by several Member States and the Commission (such as joint calls, joint programmes, etc.).

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Under the ERA-NET scheme, national and regional authorities identify research programmes they wish to coordinate or open up mutually. The participants in these actions are therefore programme owners (typically ministries or regional authorities defining research programmes) or programme managers (such as research councils or other research funding agencies managing research programmes).

An ERA-NET can include the following activities:

• Systematic exchange of information and best practices with the aim of enhancing the communication between the project partners.
• Strategically targeted activities that develop an evaluation of the options and barriers for cooperation and lead to the development of complementarities and joint objectives of national and regional research projects. Implementation of joint activities (e.g. clustering of nationally and regionally financed research programmes), utilization of multinational evaluation processes, joint training measures or the mutual opening of national infrastructures.
• Transnational research activities, e.g. the formulation of joint strategies and work programmes or the implementation of joint calls for research funding. National funding sources of different Member States can be pooled for this.

Two specific types of ERA-NETs exist:

• ERA-NETs that provide a framework for actors implementing public research programmes to coordinate their activities, e.g. by developing joint activities or by mutually supporting joint calls for transnational proposals.
• ERA-NETs Plus (usually based on an already successfully finished ERA-NET) for which a common funding pot should be established and additional funding can be obtained from the European Commission (‘top-up funding’ for joint calls).

The ERA-NET instrument exists since the 6th Framework Programme (2002-2006), under which 71 ERA-NETs were supported. Only a few ERA-NETs are horizontal, i.e. international ERA-NETS that target the cooperation with a selected third country.

For a full list of all ERA-NETs under FP6 see: http://cordis.europa.eu/coordination/projects.htm.
All running ERA-NETs under FP7 are listed at: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/coordination/era-actions_en.html.

International ERA-NETs of the 7th Research Framework Programme

• KORANET (Korea)
  http://www.koranet.eu/
• ERA-NET RUS (Russia)
  http://www.eranet-rus.eu/
• NEW INDIGO (India)
  http://www.new-indigo.eu/
• BS-ERA.NET (Black Sea Region)
  http://www.bs-era.net/
• SEE-ERA.NET Plus (South-Eastern Europe)
  http://plus.see-era.net/start.html
• CONCERT (Japan)
  http://www.concertjapan.eu
• ERAFRICA (Africa) 
  http://www.erafrica.eu

'Speaking with one voice' European Commission publication featuring information on all 5 international ERA-NETs of FP7

International ERA-NETs of the 6th Research Framework Programme

• SEE-ERA.NET (South-Eastern Europe)
  http://www.see-era.net/start.html
• EULANEST (Latin-America)
  http://www.s2lat.eu/eulanest
• CO-REACH (China)
  http://www.co-reach.org/