The Research Potential of the BSEC countries (BS-ResPot) is a project coordinated by the ICBSS and funded by the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Commission.
BS-ResPot covers the twelve countries that form the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), namely the Republic of Albania, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bulgaria, Georgia, Hellenic Republic, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia*, Republic of Turkey and Ukraine.
Science and Technology is a prominent area for fruitful cooperation among BSEC member states since most countries in the region have a rich legacy and a promising future in the field, despite the difficulties experienced over the last fifteen years.
The Black Sea region is already moving into a new stage of development, and several of the regional actors are currently involved in the EU’s research activities through their association to the European Framework Programme (Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey).
The aim of BS-ResPot has been to transform the political will for cooperation into concrete actions.
To achieve this goal, BS-ResPot has:
Evaluated the strengths of the research potential in every country;
Investigated the legal and regulatory framework in each country with a view to promote the coordination of national policies at a regional level and with the EU;
Assessed the current state of affairs in the field of innovation and explored more effective ways for the exploitation of research results;
Defined the most promising fields of collaboration in research and innovation among the countries of the region and with the EU.
The results of this project constitute a valuable basis for the EU’s future outreach RTD activities in the Black Sea region and for the next round of the EU Benchmarking exercises. Particular attention has been paid to:
The cooperation of the National Academies of Sciences, through the provision of additional conceptual input on the activity of the Council of the Presidents of the National Academies of Sciences of the BSEC Member States.
The identification of the innovation structures in BSEC and the investigation of the role a Black Sea Innovation Centre (BSIC) could play.
Potential sources of funding that could be used to support the conclusions and recommendations of the project have also been investigated.
Action for the dissemination of the information on the progress and results of BS-ResPot has also been taken leading to the adoption of concrete actions during the Second Conference of the National Academies of Sciences of the BSEC Member States that was held in Antalya, Turkey on 6-7 April 2006.
As part of the BS-ResPot follow-up activities, the ICBSS, having in mind that the 7th Framework Programme of the European Commission (FP7) offers increased possibilities for participation of scientists from Third countries in its projects and following an amendment to the contract with the European Commission, has organised in cooperation with the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TUBA) two Workshops in the Thematic Priorities “Environment” and “Food, Agriculture, and Biotechnology” of the 7th Framework Programme (FP7), in order to identify topics of mutual BSEC – EU interest that could be included in the Calls of FP7. Leading scientists from the Black Sea region and EU countries, as well as EC officials participated in the two events. The reports from both meetings (drafted on the spot) have been sent to the relevant EC services.
Following the same scheme, a third and last Workshop on the thematic priority “Energy” has been organised by TUBA, in cooperation with the ICBSS and took place in Istanbul on 13-14 November.
* In June 2006 “Serbia-and-Montenegro” split into two sovereign states (namely Republic of Serbia and Republic of Montenegro). In accordance with international and domestic provisions the Republic of Serbia is the successor Member State in the BSEC. Concerning the BS-ResPot project, the research conducted before June 2006 provides information for “Serbia-and-Montenegro”.
DURATION
32 months, 1 May 2004 -31 December 2006
CONTACT PERSONS
George Bonas, IncoNet EECA Coordinator
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Dimitrios Filippidis, Project Manager
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4 Xenophontos Str.
10557 Athens
Greece
Tel: +30 210 324 2321
Fax: +30 210 324 2244
Website: www.icbss.org
