EMAR2RES - Support Action to Initiate Cooperation between the Communities of European MARine and MARitime REsearch and Science
Overview
Background & policy context:
Nearly all significant developments in the marine/maritime area originate from Europe, a true maritime continent. Consequently, the Marine/Maritime Science and Research Communities are among the world leaders in their respective fields, disciplines and sectors. To maintain its leadership and competitiveness, Europe must take advantage of new market opportunities and address the global challenges by means of focused RDI. Unfortunately the complexity and intricacy of the marine/maritime area has lead to widespread fragmentation of research efforts and actors. It is therefore important to identify and establish appropriate mechanisms to strengthen the cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary cooperation, key ferment for innovation, between both research communities.
To this effect, the ETP WATERBORNE and the informal Post Aberdeen Marine Interest Group came together as they would benefit from an appropriate and efficient cooperation framework to achieve the Lisbon agenda in a sustainable way. To tackle global issues such as Climate Change and Competitiveness, the different interests and elements affecting such matters need to be integrated in a consistent way. Building on the EU's Maritime Policy and ERA, the key challenge for the EU Policies is to enable sustainable economic expansion, taking into account the environmental, economical and social aspects in a holistic way.
Objectives:
This objective of the project was to initiate the process for this holistic approach by identifying and generating a framework of cooperation for the two communities. It focused on maritime transport but also formed the basis for a wider reflection in the future.
EMAR2RES aimed at supporting and contributing to the Research and Maritime Policies, including the European Maritime Policy and the European Research Area, at identifying possible synergies between those policies while addressing areas of common interest to both the communities with an underlying emphasis on global challenges such as climate change, strengthening competitiveness, greening surface transport (mainly waterborne transport) and improving safety. EMAR2RES intended to provide a forum for interaction between Europe's Marine and Maritime research communities, so that they could collectively work towards enhanced capabilities.
This is essential to ensure international acknowledged excellence, and of sufficient scale and mass to facilitate, promote and sustain international intellectual interchange and discourse, fundamental to the Lisbon Agenda and the ERA.
The specific objectives of EMAR2RES can be summarised as to:
- support interaction between marine science and maritime transport research communities to assist in the creation of the marine component of the ERA;
- facilitate the networking of the two communities, within the European Union;
- identify areas of common interest and possible synergies, with an underlying emphasis on grand challenges;
- contribute to the evolution of a European Marine Research Strategy, identifying future challenges and opportunities;
- provide a basis for the sharing of available resources to address priority issues;
- progress the inter-awareness between Member States and EU marine science and maritime transport RTD Programmes.
Methodology:
This framework would be built by identifying the areas of common interest, of possible synergies and the most promising cooperation/integration structure. A Policy Interface Panel composed of representatives of the two Research Communities was instrumental in reaching the largest possible consensus to ensure the best support and public awareness.
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