ENLACE

Enhancing Scientific Cooperation between the European Union and Central America

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'ENLACE aims at supporting the bi-regional dialogue between the EU and the Central America Countries (CAC) on S&T issues, identifying common interests in research areas, setting up S&T priorities, supporting capacity building activities, and enhancing the dialogue within the region. The planned activities are: policy dialogue meetings between EU and CA stakeholders to identify research priorities of mutual interest; training activities to set up the network of FP7 National Contact Point in Central America and an Enterprise Europe Network correspondent. In addition, the project foresees a set of activities to enhance the networking among EU and CA researchers and to raise awareness on FP7 in CA. Dissemination events from one side and travel allowances for researchers from the other side will provide concrete tools to boost the participation of CA in FP7. The consortium includes 14 multi-skilled partners, 6 from the EU and 8 from the Central America, that will ensure the fulfillment of ENLACE’s objectives.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Researchers in Central America (CA) and the EU joined forces to support and enhance bi-regional dialogue. The focus was on issues related to science and technology (S&T) with an emphasis on common interests, such as research priorities and capacity building.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The project 'Enhancing scientific cooperation between the European Union and Central America' (http://www.enlace-project.eu/ (ENLACE)) was funded under the Specific Programme Capacities, 'Activities of International Cooperation' theme, of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7-INCO). Comprised of eight CA and six EU partners, the consortium's primary goal was to improve on development of the Euro-CA research area and establish bi-regional dialogue.

One objective was to promote and structure the participation of third countries in FP7 activities. Another was to promote regional integration. The third objective was to facilitate the uptake of common identified research areas as well as monitor performance and impacts of international S&T cooperation across FP7 Specific Programmes.

Activities included policy dialogue meetings between stakeholders in both regions, and training activities for networking, support and raising awareness. These efforts helped to establish a network of FP7 National Contact Points (NCPs) in CA, with a total of 29 NCPs being appointed. Expert dialogues involved more than 600 participants and 10 individuals took part in 2 staff exchanges. Travel grants were awarded to 34 individuals: 27 from CA countries and 7 from Europe. Training events reached over 100 participants, as did 2 innovation seminars.

Dissemination activities included an FP7 adventure roadshow. This included five events in CA countries and a final one in the EU, giving ENLACE widespread visibility to a broad audience at all levels of each region's scientific communities. The project resulted in 26 publications, available through the website.

The project also highlighted needs and future views on its area of focus, generating a wealth of information on data analysis, research indicators, private sector issues and sustainability measures.

Overall, ENLACE achieved its goal of enhancing networking among CA and EU researchers. It realised major impact on S&T dialogue by identifying common gaps, highlighting different perceptions of various concepts and producing sound knowledge exchange.