BILAT USA 4.0 - Bilateral Coordination for the Enhancement and Development of STI Partnerships between the EU and the USA

Summary

The EU and the USA have highly-productive, immensely-innovative and excellence-driven research and innovation systems. Acknowledging the particular strengths of each landscape, a balanced transatlantic STI partnership of equals bears great potential and contributes to the ultimate goal of tackling societal challenges and boost economic competitiveness. International cooperation between power nodes results in a constant knowledge exchange and more efficient use of STI investment. BILAT USA 4.0’s targeted transatlantic activities work towards:

i) Strategic priority setting for EU-US cooperation through identifying emerging STI fields with a high benefit and added value from cooperation, thus providing evidence-based input for policy decision-making
ii) Stronger interaction between EU and US researchers through thematic events promoting funding opportunities on both sides and thus strengthening the quality and quantity of partnerships between STI actors in EU MS/AC and the USA
iii) Establishing optimal framework conditions through proposing concrete solutions for eliminating cooperation obstacles deriving from researchers’ and innovators’ feedback, thus, creating an environment that favors joint solutions for global challenges
iv) Enhanced coordination and synergies between different policies through analyzing EU, MS/AC and US programmes and detection of duplications, thus, contributing to a greater coherence, joint ownership and resource efficiency
v) Ensuring close synergies with calls launched in H2020 and their int. dimension through screening of US-targeted actions in H2020 and liaising with relevant (ERA) projects to guarantee a consistent information exchange

Ensuring sustainability, project activities build on former and liaise with existing initiatives. Relevance and exploitation of project actions will be assured by a close coordination with the EC. The project will pursue a targeted communication connecting the diverse range of EU-US STI stakeholders.
 

Activities

FFG’s role

• Establishment of Funding Parties Platform
• Promoting the Alignment of R&I Funding Programs for international cooperation, support joint calls
• Proposing enhanced Framework Conditions for Funding Support for Target-EU R&I Cooperation
• Screen existing funding mechanisms, bilateral agreements, and STI collaborations at regional, national, EU  level with target country
• Promotion of  mutual opening of national and regional research programs towards EU/Targeted Third  Country
• Coordination of the communication and Dissemination Platform
• Organization of a Thematic workshop

Other Project Activities

• WP1 supports the policy dialogue between the EU and the USA by activities such as detecting synergies and differences in MS/AC policy approaches towards the USA, thus supporting an effective coordination
• WP2 enhances partnerships between researchers in “established” STI priority areas incl. innovation aspects. This established STI areas have been determined by the EU-US Joint Consultative Group (JCG) and are Marine and Arctic, Health, NMP and Transport Research. Different workshops bringing different actors of the research and innovation community together are planned.
• WP3 identifies “emerging” (foresight) STI fields to initialise partnerships incl. innovation aspects. New areas of mutual benefit will be determined and pilot-tested in several workshops, giving recommendations to policy-makers.
• WP4 engages and focuses in particular on industry actors in EU-US STI collaboration. Activities such as a EU-US cluster delegation visits or competitive calls bringing innovators on both sides together will have the effect of a strengthened innovation cooperation.
• WP5 focuses on dissemination and communication of project results, activities and EU-US-related news.