Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Adoption as a Tool for Agricultural Research Coordination and Information Dissemination

This 16-page paper describes the European Commission's European Research Area Net (ERA-NET) programme's tools and policies related to agricultural research programmes.

From the Abstract:
"The European Commission has established specific ERA-NETs for new applications of agricultural research incorporating ethical, legal and social aspects (ELSA) for example in the new field of genomics. Specific benefits include creating close, long-term links between national research programs with shared goals. The background and potential benefits for ICT adoption and current program details in two such ERA-NETs: ERA-PG and ERA-SAGE are presented and reviewed."

"A unique prerequisite of coordinating national activities within the newly established ERA-NET community objectives is to encourage and support joint initiatives undertaken by several countries in areas of common strategic interest." The ERA-NET programme supports existing networks of European transnational scientific research that already have a sufficiently large and active transnational membership to enter ERA-NET at the implementation phase, while networks that are in a formative stage carry out an initial preparatory phase.

The author analyses ICT support possibilities for ERA-NET and discusses its structure and function related to the field of genomics (the science of the large-scale characterisation of genes and gene products, particularly for new applications in health care, medicine, nutrition, the processing industries, agricultural production, and other economic areas.) The author recommends the use of Integrated Information Systems (IIS) to facilitate the provision and exchange of information on national or regional research policies, programmes, and joint activities. Further information sharing can, according to the document, enhance work in the field of genetically modified crops (GM), which has been surrounded by controversy in Europe. "The GM controversy dictates, in effect, research regarding the Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects (ELSA) of genomics. In order to come to terms with the impact, increased awareness of genomics and its implications for the public, ELSA research is imperative. Consequently the ERA-NETs will emphasize the importance of ELSA co-ordination and co-operation at the research program management levels."

Two ERA-NET network sites have been established for that purpose: one for reporting technical progress (ERA-PG) and one for ELSA support to this field (ERA-SAGE). Communication dissemination of ERA-PG research is currently done through a national contact person for each research project who keeps archives and provides to stakeholders and partners intranet updates of papers produced. The ERA-SAGE programme works on the four areas of synergy building, needs assessment, capacity building (improving coordination), and research capacity building (clustering current research activities).

August 2008 update, courtesy of the author: "Due to the ERA-PG program time table its activity is continued only in the line of continued research programs in the framework of the first and the second common calls (the last one has been launched only this year). The ERA-PG program will continue in this framework until the end of these research programs in 2010-2011 respectively. This part of the program will be then reviewed and evaluated in a final report, including also the general aspects of the networking. This information will be disseminated.

The ERA-SAGE program has been mid-term reviewed in 2007. On the basis of the evaluation of this review it was concluded that the ELSA of genomics activity should be continued in the framework of the 7th EU program for research within the relevant research areas (plant and medical genomics, science and society etc.)"