The CONCERT-Japan project which is coordinated by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) is aimed to coordinate and structure the science, technology and innovation cooperation between European countries and Japan.
Activities in 2011
The discussions and studies on the possible joint actions were ignited with the Kick-off Meeting held in January 2011 in Istanbul/Turkey. The CONCERT-Japan project spent its first year on the preparatory strategic analysis for the joint call and targeted to explore the current cooperation schemes between European countries and Japan in science, technology and innovation (STI) with an extended focus on the future preferences of the programme owners. The first two strategic reports of CONCERT-Japan project, the "Inventory of Japanese International STI Cooperation Programme Owners" and "Informative Report on Japanese STI Funding Policy" which presented the Japanese STI system and its actors have been released in the first quarter of 2011.
The CONCERT-Japan project complemented the current Euro-Japanese science and technology cooperation by bringing together the interested stakeholders around the ERA-NET scheme. The first Stakeholders’ Conference on 27 July 2011 in Budapest/Hungary and Pilot Joint Call Planning Meeting on 5-6 December 2011 in Mühlheim/Germany were designed for discussing the future joint activities with the programme owners and managers that are interested in Euro-Japanese cooperation in STI.
For the second half of the first year, the project mostly concentrated on taking stock of the ongoing STI cooperation between Europe and Japan and thus paving the way for the structuring of the future joint activities. Based on the CONCERT-Japan Questionnaire for Funding Organizations the "Database of STI Cooperation Programmes between European Countries and Japan" has been published on the CONCERT-Japan website (www.concertjapan.eu). The CONCERT-Japan "Recommendatory Report on the Results of the Mapping of STI Cooperation Programmes" compiled the views and recommendations derived from the mapping of relevant bilateral, multilateral and unilateral science, technology and innovation cooperation programmes. The CONCERT-Japan
"Report on Future Preferences and Priorities on STI Cooperation between European Countries and Japan", on the other hand, included the consolidated results of the answers received from the online questionnaire relating to future tendencies of the programme managers or owners in European Countries with regard to STI cooperation with Japan and vice versa.
Plans for 2012
As a result of the activities within this very first year of the project, it is planned to publish a multilateral joint call with the participation of interested funding organizations both from Europe and Japan in the second half of 2012 under the name "CONCERT-Japan Research and Innovation Call". Discussions on call fields and topics, involved countries, target call beneficiaries as well as call budget and funding period are expected to be finalized early 2012. The pre-announcement of the joint call is planned be published within July 2012.
Further information and contact
For more information about the CONCERT-Japan project please consult www.concertjapan.eu. All the reports, databases and inventories of the project are available on this site as well. Interested parties are also encouraged to subscribe for the electronic newsletter of the project through the project website. Further information can also be received by contacting the CONCERT-Japan Coordination Office at TÜBİTAK:
Project Coordinator
Mr. Okan KARA
EU Framework Programmes National Coordinator for Turkey
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK)
E-mail: concertjapan(at)tubitak.gov.tr
Tel. 009(0) 312 427 23 02
Fax. 009(0) 312 427 40 24
Project Managers
Ms. Filiz HAYIRLI
E-mail: concertjapan(at)tubitak.gov.tr
Tel. 009(0) 312 468 53 00 (Ext. 1910)
Ms. Esra OKUMUS
E-mail: concertjapan(at)tubitak.gov.tr
Tel. 009(0) 312 468 53 00 (Ext. 2788)
