With a strong presence in Europe and the world, the CNRS is a driving force for research around the globe, a position that calls for more strategic governance of its international collaborations. THE CNRS, LEADING BENEFICIARY OF THE EU 7TH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME (FP7) CNRSFrance 6.2% 1,465 projets Share and ranking of the top three organizations for contracts signed under the FP7 FRAUNHOFER1 Germany 4.9% CEA2 France 3.0% The CNRS finalized more contracts than any other organization. 1. Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der angewandten Forschung E. V. 2. Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission).. Collaborative projects: the Cooperation Programme (€32.4 billion) CNRS relative share in the FP7 Cooperation Programme Average share in the program 7.6% 7.1% 9.5% 15.3% 5.0% 10.8% 17.9% 2.1% Health ICT 10.2% Nano Energy Environment Transport Space The CNRS is present in every field — a superb illustration of its pluridisciplinarity and excellence. Security Social, economic and human sciences 8.2% Agrifood 8.1% 7 When asked about the CNRS participation in the EU Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7)1, Patrick Nédellec, named director of the CNRS European Research and International Cooperation Department (DERCI) in 2013, is upbeat. “We did not make a bad showing in the FP7—on the contrary!” With 1,465 research contracts (making up 21% of the national total) finalized as part of the EU scheme, the CNRS is Europe's leading organization. Present in all aspects of the FP7, in particular the collaborative projects, CNRS researchers were notably involved in the individual excellence programs, including the European Research Council (ERC) grants. The downside is that they coordinate few European projects. “There is room for improvement on this point, and we will work in that direction,” Patrick Nédellec adds. “While it is true that coordinating an EU project represents a significant investment, it also provides a unique opportunity to influence its scientific orientation.” These observations were taken into account in the run-up to Horizon 2020, the new EU Framework Programme. “The CNRS was active in the preparatory phase of the research projects—and strongly committed to simplifying administrative procedures in 2013,” the director of the DERCI emphasizes. Internally, the organization decided to provide greater support for researchers in setting up projects, especially collaborative ones. To this end, the pool of European Project Engineers (IPEs) was expanded and the Institutes established support procedures for their researchers. In another notable development, the CNRS strengthened its position within a number of EU strategic bodies, including Science Europe, where Alain Fuchs was elected to the board of directors, and the CLORA, an association for French research organizations whose premises will house the CNRS Brussels office. Strategic orientation On the international front, the DERCI undertook an extensive review of the situation in 2013, “prior to adopting an even more strategic orientation in the management of the organization’s collaborations”, Patrick Nédellec reports. All existing data on foreign research trips, international joint publications, budgets earmarked for international cooperation and related resources was cross-referenced. The results of this effort revealed in particular that the breadth of the CNRS's international activities is reflected in the variety of tools made available to researchers. Between exchange agreements (40 in all), PICS2 (312), GDRIs3 (105), LIAs4 (158) and UMIs5 (30), the CNRS has
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