Overview
ERA-NET TRANSPORT (ENT) has since 2004, evolved into a service platform for Programme Owners and Managers, providing the required framework for initiating and implementing transnational research and innovation funding collaborations.
ENT III will further strengthen the foundation of the ERA, engaging 20 partner countries and regions, represented by Europe's most relevant national transport research and innovation programmes.
ENT III will specifically:
- Prepare and launch large annual flagship initiatives, coordinated with the SST programme, with a size of ideally some € 10 million. Within ENTIII the launch of two flagships is envisaged. A flagship might include multiple topics;
- Prepare and launch small and medium sized transnational research and innovation funding initiatives. Within ENTIII the launch of at least four such funding initiatives is envisaged;
- Explore and, if possible, deploy new ways, geometries and settings for transnational cooperation and funding, e.g. through deployment of Structural and Cohesion funds;
- Enlarge the visibility of national research and innovation funding activities, their results and achievements and of the added value of transnational collaborations through ENT and thereby increased impact in the ERA.
- ENT III will build on the achievements, networks and tools of the previous ENTs and on the acquired experiences and know-how. ENTIII will step beyond through:
- Expanding the network of European countries and regions and intensify the support for (new) ENT partners;
- Launching more large-scale funding initiatives involving budgets of up to 10 million EURO;
- Enhancing the support for programme owners and managers in partner countries and regions to better fit their funding schemes and procedures to transnational funding collaborations.
Funding
Results
Transport research moving fast
The establishment of a transport network to fund and disseminate cutting-edge research is set to contribute to a pan-European vision of better and more sustainable transport.
Established in 2004, the Era-net Transport (ENT) network of national and regional transport research programmes in Europe represents a powerful service platform for EU-funded transport programme owners and managers. It provides an arena for European research, innovation, policymaking and cooperation that advances European transport priorities such as electromobility, intermodality and environmental sustainability.
Building on previous initiatives under ENT, the EU-funded http://transport-era.net (ENTIII) (Era net Transport III) project is launching two annual flagship EU-funded initiatives related to the EU's Horizon 2020 programme. It is supporting four transnational research and innovation funding initiatives, enhancing transnational cooperation, and promoting national research and innovation funding activities, including results and achievements.
Already, the project team successfully established 11 transnational cooperation groups on surface transport, funding joint research and innovation projects worth approximately EUR 50 million. It launched one flagship call in 2013 with a budget of EUR 10 million titled 'Future Travelling', which led to 8 proposals selected for funding. More recently, the project launched the second flagship call in April 2015 on 'Sustainable Logistics and Supply Chains', which will remain open until October 2 of the same year.
These achievements are expected to strengthen the European Research Area (ERA) through better coordination of national and regional research programmes, as well as development of policies for research and innovation. ENTIII will result in stronger cooperation among key players in transport and mobilise researchers, while vigorous dissemination of project results will support emerging research. This is yet another important step in advancing a common transport vision for Europe, one that brings with it a more sustainable future and a better standard of living for Europeans.