Scientific Cooperation

The new published texts by the directorate general of scientific research and technological developement on laboratories of excellence, and the thematic networks in august 2019, will require new approachs based on self ability to find funding for scientific cooperation. Many actions are expected…

Virtual Launch of the African Research Initiative for Scientific Excellence (ARISE) pilot programme

L’Union européenne et l’Union Africaine lancent, après trois ans de préparations et de dialogues entre partenaires européens et africains, le programme pilote ARISE visant à promouvoir l’excellence scientifique en Afrique.

Cette ambition ouvrira le chemin vers une Afrique plus attrayante sur le plan scientifique, capable d’attirer et retenir les meilleurs jeunes cerveaux du continent pour déceler les meilleures innovations pour leurs pays.

Doté de 25 millions d’euros sur cinq ans, ce programme permettra de financer 40 bourses sur tout le continent :

  • Bourses pour jeunes chercheurs africains en début de carrière : 2 à 7 ans après la thèse
  • Subvention individuelle de 500 000 Euros sur 5 ans
  • Premier appel : Mars 2021
  • Sélection des premiers lauréats : fin 2021
  • Début des projets : Février 2022

S’inscrivant dans le cadre du Partenariat stratégique Europe-Afrique, le budget provient de l’Instrument de coopération et développement de la Commission européenne à Bruxelles.

L’Académie africaine des sciences (AAS, African Academy of Sciences), institution panafricaine basée à Nairobi sera en charge d’administrer l’appel à propositions, d’évaluer et de faire le suivi des projets qui seront sélectionnés.

 

ARISE s’inspirera de la structure de gouvernance de l’ERC avec un comité Scientifique constitué d’éminents scientifiques africains et européens et un comité de pilotage qui aura un rôle politique important d’orientation et sera constitué de représentants institutionnels européens et africains.

Fin 2020 l’UE a affecté 82,5 millions€ dans le cadre de son programme Panafricain pour renforcer la coopération euro africaine dans les technologies numériques et spatiales.


Ces fonds viennent renforcer la nouvelle plateforme Digital4Development (D4D) récemment lancée  avec le soutien de 5 pays membres* pour favoriser les investissements dans l’économie numérique des pays partenaires.
L’Union Africaine est le premier partenaire vers lequel cette coopération se matérialise (D4D Hub Union Africaine-Union Européenne): en particulier, 25 millions € seront dédiés à la surveillance de la sécurité alimentaire et des écosystèmes à l’aide des technologies spatiales, et 8 millions € seront affectés à la gestion et à la gouvernance durables des ressources naturelles à l’aide des données géo-scientifiques.
La plateforme D4D Hub AU-EU est censée avant tout aider au déploiement de la stratégie de transformation numérique de l’UA adoptée début 2020. 

  H2020 research programmes involving DGRSDT/MESRS  on the way.. 

Algeria’s participation in the European Research Framework Programmes

 

Under Horizon 2020 Algerian entities have participated 12 times to 11 signed grants, receiving 0.7 million euros of direct EU contribution. Regarding internationally open, non bottom-up collaborative actions (therefore excluding projects under ERC, MSCA, SME Instrument and Access to Risk Finance) of Horizon 2020, Algerian applicants were involved 63 times in 53 eligible proposals. Out of 28 high-quality (above threshold) proposals, 6 were mainlisted, leading to a success rate of 11.3% (as compared to 17.7% for non-associated countries and 16.2% overall). Algerian entities have 6 participations in 5 signed grants, receiving 0.7 million euros from the EU.

Regarding the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), Algerian applicants were involved 37 times in 26 eligible proposals for MSCA actions. Out of 15 high-quality proposals (above threshold), 8 were mainlisted. Algerian entities have participated 6 times in MSCA actions, including 1 in Individual Fellowships and 5 in RISE actions). A total of 47 researchers with Algerian nationality have participated in MSCA actions. In addition, one Algerian national was awarded an ERC grant.

In FP7 Algerian entities have participated 51 times to 38 grants of collaborative, ERC and MC actions, receiving 3.7 million euros from the EU while 0.5 million euros is the non-EU budget.

FOSC: New ERA-NET Cofund on Food Systems and Climate

One of the most complex societal challenges is to achieve food and nutrition security and sustainable agriculture. In order to support research that will contribute to meeting this challenge, the new European Research Area Network Cofund (ERA-Net Cofund) Food Systems and Climate (FOSC) has been formed. The FOSC Consortium consists of 28 international partners from Europe, Africa, and Latin America. The foundations of FOSC were set by joint contributions from the Joint Programming Initiative on agriculture, food security and climate change (FACCE-JPI), the Belmont Forum, and the ERA-Net Cofund LEAP-Agri. With a funding budget of more than 12 million euros (including European Commission co-fund contribution), FOSC aims to initiate and push ahead transnational collaboration on the societal and systemic transition for the development of sustainable and climate-resilient food systems. The network will initiate and organise a number of activities to this end. In addition to a transnational collaborative call for joint research, dedicated outreach events and
seminars will be organised. The joint call for research proposals will be announced soon. Get informed and stay updated by registering for our newsletter and checking our website regularly: www.foscera.net.

Contacts
Prof. Mokhtar Sellami, DGRSDT, MESRS

LEAP-RE: African-European joint open calls for partnership in Renewable Energy (LEAP-RE)

The long-term approach of LEAP-RE addresses the development of Research & Innovation as well as human and institutional capacity building agendas in renewable energy, including possible deployment of innovative technologies and technology transfer. Furthermore, the development of long-term collaboration models, methods and infrastructures are another major goal. The range of activities for collaboration under LEAP-RE were identified through consultations with a broad range of stakeholders in the two continents, and have been formulated in six Multi-Annual Roadmaps:

– Evaluation of priority actions for next steps development of RE;
– End-of-life and second-life management of RE components;
– Smart stand-alone systems;
– Smart grid solutions (at different scale) for off-grid application;
– Processes and appliances based on renewable energy for productive uses;
– Innovative RE solutions for domestic uses (clean cooking cold chain)

Research & Innovation, as well as capacity building agendas are drafted for each of the roadmaps. 

Contacts
Prof. Mokhtar Sellami, DGRSDT, MESRS

  Wich place for international cooperation in algerian STI Strategy?

The globalization of research has allowed the emergence of national elites at the forefront of knowledge and technological progress. This action has become possible thanks to the rise of cross-border scientific networks facilitated by the development of digital technology and the pooling of large research infrastructures that have become excessively expensive to be financed by a single country. It is widely accepted that International cooperation produces appreciable results as confirmed by the trend of co-authorship of scientific papers and their influence on the quality and ranking of training and research institutions. This partnership in science is more dynamic between northern countries, at a time when the elites of the developing countries are struggling to access research laboratories or to establish collaborations with their counterparts in Europe or North America. Times have changed a lot. To the mobility and massive exchanges of researchers and students in the 1980s, a defiant attitude towards the communities of the southern countries happened with the introduction of a very selective policy for visas delivery.  The commitment to excellence in research is conditioned by the elites’ adherence to networks of excellence. The challenge is to join thematic networks through international programs

like horizon2020, or to setup bilateral institutional partnerships which is linked to political strategies. To join these binding networks, national scientists have to invest in cutting-edge disciplines that does not necessarily meet national priorities. The challenge is to focus on teamwork, multidisciplinarity, and co-supervision of PhD theses with superviser from foreign institutions. The new published texts on laboratories of excellence, and the thematic networks, by the directorate general of scientific research and technological developement in august 2019, will require new approachs based on self ability to find funding for scientific cooperation. Many actions are expected, some driven by researchers through academic social networks, conferences participation,  co-publications,  and the other by the establishment of an institutional mechanism supervised by experts in scientific cooperation and international partnership. This strategy could be assisted  by our large committed diaspora for opening the doors of their hosted institutions to deepen and broaden this fundamental strategy. The problem remaining is to build trust and to mobilise the research communities in the respect of IP rules.  

Prof. Mokhtar SELLAMI
{m.sellami@mesrs.dz}

Rely on the diaspora  

Elias Zerhouni visited Algeria many times to assist algerian stakeholders in health. He was born in Nedroma and emigrated to the United States at 24, after  his doctorate in medicine at the University of Algiers (School of Medicine) in 1975. After completing his internship in diagnostic radiology at Johns Hopkins University in 1978 as Chief Resident, he became Assistant Professor in 1979. Between 1981 and 1985, He  worked in the Department of Radiology at Eastern Virginia Medical School. In 2002, US President George W. Bush named Elias Zerhouni president of the National Institutes of Health, regulator of medical research in the United States.

CAPACITY STENGTHENING FRAMEWORK 
CNRST - 46 Boulevard Mohamed V, Alger
DGRSDT - 24 Mohamed Guassem, Alger
LRI-Annaba, Université Badji Mokhtar