Canada has established an office to boost Canadian participation in the sixth round of European Framework Projects (FP6), laying the groundwork for FP7 which runs from 2006 to 2010. The European Research Area-Canada (ERA-CAN) office begins operations this September, offering a host of services to increase research collaboration on pre-competitive R&D.

The ERA-CAN office will provide outreach, training sessions and personalized information and service to individual researchers, including brokering, advice and news alerts. It will even underwrite certain travel costs required to establish R&D partnerships. The office has a budget of $1.3 million over three years, with $525,000 coming from the European Commission and $771,000 contributed by the office’s eight Canadian stakeholders (see chart).

Spearheaded by International Trade Canada (IT Can), the office will receive administrative support from Federal Partners in Technology Transfer (FPTT) and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and all parties will have a say in key decisions.

ERA-CAN builds on the Canada-EU S&T Cooperation agreement signed in 1996 and extended in 1998. It’s hoped that it will be more effective in boosting Canadian-European research collaboration. Throughout FP5 (1998-2002), 125 Canadian researchers were involved in 80 projects, representing just 0.5% of the 16,252 projects funded during that phase.

Canadian researchers are demonstrating greater interest in FP6 projects, with Canadian participation in 325 proposed projects. To date 36 of those projects are approved or in the contract stage, but FP6 calls for proposals are 80% oversubscribed. That could result in lower Canadian participation under FP6 than FP5, despite strong Canadian performance during peer review. The four-year budget for FP6 is nearly $30 billion.

“There’s lots of room for further engagement. Europe is now encouraging participation by foreign researchers. It’s much more open than it used to be,” says Marta Farsang, a trade commissioner with IT Can’s science and technology division. “FPTT and CFI are the lead organizations on paper but all eight organizations will have a say for all events. Also, IT Can will oversee the focus of the office.”

SMALL BUDGET

While its backers have high hopes for ERA-CAN, the office is constrained by several factors. With less than $500,000 per year in operating funds, staffing levels will be miniscule and funds to provide services and stage workshops are extremely limited. In addition, there is no dedicated research funding for Canada-EU collaboration. That means Canadian researchers must obtain their own support while their EU colleagues have access to dedicated FP6 funding.

“We will provide one-on-one assistance on a first-come, first-served basis until we become saturated,” says Farsang. “There needs to be political will to create a single pot of funds. Other countries do this successfully.”

ERA-CAN was unveiled late last month in Ottawa at a forum hosted by IT Can. The event drew than 250 participants including researchers from universities, provincial ministries and federal departments.

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