Welcome Address
Wiktor M. Kurzeja (President) and Paul Craven (Vice President)
European Association of Research Managers and Administrators (EARMA)
We are delighted to be able to present this Welcome Address to the International Neighbourhood. Over the past few years, the working relationship between EARMA and NCURA has developed considerably, and has been strengthened by a number of initiatives, as described below. It is our intention to see these grow still further, as the need for successful international collaboration within the research management and administration community becomes more important.
‘Globalisation’ is a word that is heard ever more frequently. Within the field of scientific and technological development, this implies the growing dependence of countries and organisations around the world to communicate, exchange expertise and services, and integrate with one another.
Collaborative networks are being set up – crossing national borders – to address many large-scale research problems, for example, in climate change, biodiversity loss, and healthcare issues. Many of these problems cannot be solved by single nations alone – access is needed to infrastructures and capabilities in other countries. This requires national and international funding agencies to provide mechanisms to enable the flow of resources – financial and human – between countries.
Within Europe, a community of 27 member states, we already have considerable experience of international collaborative projects through the Framework research programmes. The most recent programme – Framework 7 – has a new emphasis on reaching out beyond Europe to involve other countries. The overall aim is for Europe to meet its own economic and social goals, as well as addressing specific problems elsewhere. You can read more about this new approach to international science and technology cooperation in Framework 7 by clicking here.
As ‘enablers’ and ‘facilitators’ of international research, the communities of EARMA and NCURA members need to continue learning from each other: your ‘RO1’ is our ‘Framework collaborative health project’; your ‘F&A costs’ are our ‘indirect and estate costs’; and yes, Grants.gov has an equivalent in Europe known as EPSS!
As well as understanding the particular details of national and institutional procedures, we need wider appreciation of our respective working cultures, norms, and standards. Not only will this help us develop in our careers, but it should be fulfilling, rewarding, and fun.
This leads us nicely into our experiences at the NCURA Annual Conference last year in Washington, DC! On the invitation the NCURA Board, we presented three workshops relating to international research collaboration. The entire event was extremely informative and educational for us, and the delegates could not have been friendlier in welcoming us. All the workshops and presentations we were involved in proved stimulating and thought-provoking, and it was a privilege to be able to present ourselves and our activities to a US audience.
In 2007, we would like to return the favour by inviting inviting NCURA to our Annual Conference, which this year is being held in Warsaw, Poland. The theme of the event is “Building the European Research Area: the Responsibilities of Research Managers”. But this is a broad field, and North American perspectives will be invaluable to our members, as indeed they proved last year in Paris.
To end this address, we look forward to building on our established links in the future, in order to provide further practical benefits and education to our members. Your thoughts and ideas are always welcome and we look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes for a successful 2007!