Strengthening EU-Russian research collaboration Enhanced collaboration among European and Russian researchers has the potential to boost developments in several areas. The successes of earlier efforts in this direction have been built on with a view to long-lasting partnerships in the area of research and technological development. Climate Change and Environment © Olga Mazurina The 'Expanding ERA over Russia' (Rusera exe) project was established to further the potential of results achieved in the Rusera project. The new EU-funded project aimed to increase the number and quality of EU-Russian research collaborations by setting the stage for long-lasting researcher-to-researcher research and technological development (RTD) partnerships. The focus was on the five Rusera Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) Regional Information Nodes (RINs) showing the most promise. A number of training workshops or seminars for RINs were held in Moscow, Russia and Vienna, Austria. Manager training had the objective of improving on the support offered to Russian research teams with regard to their participation in EC-funded programmes. Furthermore, a call for proposals for working visits was launched in both the EU and Russia, with 8 researchers from both sides being selected out of a total of 43 applications. These working visits worked to bring together partners from both sides as a means of enhancing already established contacts. Overall, 47 long-lasting contacts were established, 18 project proposals were submitted, 17 joint EU-Russia research articles were published and 10 joint oral presentations were made at international conferences. Project activities helped to highlight the interest of Russia's research and development (R&D) community in EU collaboration. On the basis of such success, the network of RINs intended to continue their support of Russian researchers beyond the duration of Rusera exe. The project succeeded in highlighting the potential for EU-Russian RTD cooperation as well as the respect for Russian scientific competence and its contribution to joint research projects. As such, continued efforts to support joint projects through increased participation, and accumulated experience will also help Russian researchers meet the challenges of collaboration identified by this study.
