EMIDA ERA-NET

WP1. Project coordination, management, communication and dissemination:

To manage and coordinate the Animal Health ERA-NET and to manage the relationship between the ERA-NET and the CWG and other European actions.
To share/disseminate project outputs for the wider benefit of non-participating Animal Health research funders and other stakeholders, both within and outwith the EU.

WP2. Mapping and analysis of existing research and current needs and information on the commissioning and management of joint programmes:

To systematically gather information on existing national and EU funded Animal Health research programmes, taking into consideration research activities outwith the European Research Area, and to map any pre-existing regional/national linkages between research programmes. This will include crosscutting issues relating to human health, sustainable agriculture and socio-economic sciences.
To analyse the gathered information to identify: overlaps, gaps, duplication, strengths/weaknesses, opportunities and common research priorities.
To monitor emerging needs requiring urgent action.
To identify common research requirements, including emerging needs and to develop necessary research calls.
To gather and analyse information on national commissioning mechanisms (procedures for establishing research needs, monitoring and evaluating research output) and to establish best practice for identifying, commissioning and managing jointly funded research programmes (e.g. learning from the activities of existing ERA-NETs and other collaborative funding mechanisms).

WP3. Develop, test, evaluate and refine instruments (Pilots):

To develop the mechanisms needed to enable the joint funding of a trans-national animal health research programme (taking into account the information in WP2). These should include the development of procedures for prioritising and procuring research on animal pathogens when faced with unexpected or rapidly developing threats.
To implement, evaluate and refine these mechanisms through a series of up to three pilot “call for proposals.
To establish the procedures to take forward more ambitious jointly funded trans-national research activities in key areas of animal health (taking into account the priorities identified in WP2 and WP4).

WP4. Developing a strategic trans-national animal health research agenda:

To undertake a ten year, multidisciplinary, forward-look exercise to identify strategic (including infrastructure and expertise) and innovative requirements for animal disease research and to develop criteria for priority setting and subsequently develop a common strategic research agenda based on shared priorities resulting in jointly funded programmes to be taken forward by a sustainable coordination network (SCAR CWG) in the longer term.