Area of investment and support

ERA-NET on coordinating action in plant sciences

European Research Area (ERA-NET) on Coordinating Action in Plant Sciences (ERA-CAPS) aims to increase European and international collaboration to create and coordinate sustainable transnational plant science research programmes.

• Budget: €55.6 million from three funding rounds
• Duration: 2013 to 2016
• Partners involved: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

The scope and what we're doing

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is the central coordinator of the European Research Area network on Coordinating Action in Plant Sciences (ERA-CAPS). This followed on from the European Research Area network on Plant Genomics (ERA-PG), which ran from 2004 to 2009. ERA-CAPS has a broader remit covering molecular plant sciences.

ERA-CAPS was funded through the European Commission’s Framework Programme 7 (FP7) from 2012 to 2015, and is now a self-sustained network supported by its member funding organisations.

Participants

Now in its self-sustained phase, ERA-CAPS comprises partners and observers, representing many different countries.

Why we're doing it

ERA-CAPS’ principal objective is to increase coordination and unite the resources of predominantly European research funding agencies with those of an enlarged Europe and beyond, to enable a pooling of scientific and economic capabilities of member countries.

This engenders the creation and coordination of sustainable transnational plant science research programmes to meet the global challenges of food security and sustainability.

The programme focuses on a number of complementary mechanisms for achieving this:

• transnational coordination and integration of national plant science programmes
• joint funding of a transnational research programme
• networking with other European and international plant science initiatives.

Opportunities, support and resources available

 

 

Past projects, outcomes and impact

During its European Commission’s Framework Programme 7 (FP7) phase, ERA-CAPS launched two joint funding opportunities. These supported 26 transnational collaborative research projects between participating countries totalling over €40 million.

In 2016, the self-sustained ERA-CAPS network launched its third joint funding opportunity.

Who to contact

Rocio Gaudioso Pedraza

Email: rocio.gaudiosopedraza@bbsrc.ukri.org
Telephone: 01793 414662

Last updated: 18 December 2023