Background

In Africa, there is under-utilisation of good researchers due to a lack of good programmes and funding resources. Hence the need to encourage and facilitate more involvement of African researchers in the European Union's Framework Programmes (EU FPs) through partnerships and an increased number of proposal submissions to the EU's project calls. This should lead to capacity building and an improvement in the quality of research. Therefore it is important to improve the quality of bilateral and multilateral co-operation in science and technology between Europe and Africa.

The EU seeks to enhance its specific programme, "integrating and Strengthening the Europe Research Area (ERA)" through leveraging of the international dimension of its co-operation agreements. The EU will improve the achievement of its foreign policy goals (transversality and access to skills) and the opening of the ERA to African research community via:

• a better uptake (both quantitative and qualitative) of African research institutions in Framework Programme 7 (FP7) research programmes, and especially Marie Curie mobility actions
• the possibility of adopting procedures in future that will facilitate greater participation of African institutions in FP7
• more responsive partners from Africa for institutions in the North, allowing them to forge links with better follow-up, and giving them more effective access to the scientific competencies that exist in Africa

Subsequently, African academics will have access to suitable tools to foster their participation in European programmes and to boost the position of their centres of excellence engaging with partners within the European Research Area (ERA).

This EU Africa platform will play an important role within these institutions by providing them with:

• a knowledge of the challenges and political goals that underlie the EU's FPs
• an understanding of the relevant S&T programmes managed by Directorate-Generals other than DG Research (such as the programme on science and technology capacity building for the ACP group, managed by DG DEV and AIDCO)
• an understanding of the administrative principles of the various stages in the life of an FP project (from designing a project through to running one as a partner or coordinator)
• a better understanding of opportunities for participation in other European-funded programmes, such as the European Clinical Trials Developing Countries Partnership (EDCTP), Co-operation in Science and Technology (COST), etc.