A detailed Review Panel Report submitted to and approved by the ESF Governing Council on 19 - 20 April 2007 outlines how to best develop the EUROCORES (European Collaborative Research) Scheme, one of the European Science Foundation's most successful instruments, in the future. The Scheme currently has 28 active programmes which all individually encompass between five and 15 projects. It offers a flexible framework for researchers to come together to tackle scientific questions which are best addressed in larger scale collaborative research projects. Since its creation in 2001, the EUROCORES Scheme has developed into a widely accepted tool for interdisciplinary scientific cooperation on a European level and a means for improved interaction between national research funding agencies.
"EUROCORES leads to very high-quality projects involving worthwhile cooperation or researchers from across Europe," commented the Irish ESF Member Organisation, Enterprise Ireland.
As part of the Scheme Review Panel Report, which also included an independent survey, the EUROCORES Scheme was identified as the instrument of choice for fighting the fragmentation of research in Europe. This is an important starting point for developing the Scheme. Seventy per cent of the science community feel that the Scheme is a useful instrument which complements other EU instruments, but is more open and flexible in terms of the subject areas, types of project and types of networking activities supported. Out of the 33 consulted ESF Member Organisations, 25 were positive towards the EUROCORES Scheme but would like to see some improvements.
"ESF as an agency of the agencies can offer a healthy new system," said Reinhard Grunwald, Chair of the Scheme Review Panel, at the ESF Governing Council.
However, while the survey found that EUROCORES has considerable strengths, it has yet to build a high profile and credibility within many communities. The Scheme is not well known within many scientific communities mainly due to its small scale compared to other EU instruments and also due to the fact that EUROCORES is still a relatively new scheme. Other areas for improvements were that the procedure takes too long and and there is a risk of duplication of national efforts.
"EUROCORES is now, after a trial and error period, a reasonably well-working instrument; it would be a waste of resources to totally discontinue it. It must find its own and unique role at EU level cooperation," said the Finnish ESF Member Organisation, the Finnish Academy, when asked to comment on EUROCORES in a questionnaire sent out by the Panel in November 2006.
As a result, the Report identifies key areas for improvement through three operative models which aim to improve the speed and reliability of the Scheme procedures, by adding features such as a common pot which would improve and speed up the funding process, a binding peer review and clearer procedures. It was also recommended that the theme selection process could be shortened by requiring more detailed theme proposals and by linking these to other ESF instruments such as Forward Looks.
Nevertheless, the Scheme is also described as more scientifically driven, more focused on fundamental research, less politically motivated, more suitable for collaboration between small teams, and less bureaucratic than other EU instruments. It is considered to support high quality work, and employ good processes.
"EUROCORES stimulates free/bottom up European cooperation as a complement to the more directed initiatives of the European Commission," commented the Swedish Research Council.
The report concluded that developing the EUROCORES Scheme into a more competitive instrument to rival the best and most creative on the European scientific stage and meet the challenges ahead is the only way forward. The EUCORORES Scheme needs to maintain the cutting-edge in a world where international scientific cooperation has developed and become the most fruitful and promising arena for scientific endeavours.