SEAS-ERA

GENERAL DESCRIPTION The construction of a European Research Area on marine sciences is a priority due to the transboundary and basin scale nature of most aspects of marine issues, namely biodiversity, ecology, oceanography, natural resources and ecosystem services. Also, the impacts are not limited to a nation as shown by accidental and microplastics pollution, eutrophication, etc. The main objectives to be attained by Seas-Era were the definition of a European Marine and Maritime Research Agenda, aiming at improving co-operation and co-ordination and promoting harmonisation of national/regional research programmes; foster synergies at national and regional level, mobilising competitive and non-competitive funds for research in a more coordinated way, through joint calls and common programs; propose a plan for a better and sustainable use and sharing of the existing Marine Research Infrastructures, and a road map for new investments; reduce imbalances among regions through human capacity building, setting-up a pan-European training and mobility strategy for human resources; and enhance public awareness towards marine and maritime scientific and policy issues in Europe to translate the RTD activities into social, economic and cultural benefits. These general objectives were to be first implemented at the basin scale as a step forward in building-up the overarched pan-European strategy and making progress in establishing a stable and durable structure for empowering and strengthening marine research all across Europe. RRI FOCUS Ranking of the most relevant RRI dimensions, where 6 is the most relevant to the project •Public engagement •Gender equality •Open access •Ethics PROJECT OUTCOMES RELATED TO RRI Which are the most relevant project outcomes (roadmaps, guidelines, documents, reports, articles, videos etc) in terms of RRI? LESSONS LEARNED How can the project contribute to improve the quality of the marine environment? The established methodologies for the use and sharing of Marine Research Infrastructures as well as the regional and pan-European plans for human capacity building contain durable elements. Link to more info on the oucomes http://www.seas-era.eu/np4/19.html What RRI-related difficulties were encountered? Link to more info on the unexpected difficulties POLICY RELATED LESSONS LEARNED Were policy makers involved in the project and to what extent? Defining an Strategic Marine Research Agenda and Marine Research Plan to record the existing marine research infrastructures to assess the position at EU level and to develop a shared vision for the European Seas area. What were the challenges involved? What was the main message for policy makers and what were the project outputs that engaged policy makers to follow up? Main policy briefs produced by the project and related URL Policy brief 1 Policy brief 2 Policy brief 3 Policy brief 4 Policy brief 5

SEAS-ERA Duration 2010-2014 Project coordinator managementmarina@gmail.com Fundings framework FP7 ERA-NET Scheme (Coordination and support action) Website http://www.seas-era.eu Marine Region Focus Black Sea Mediterranean Sea Marine Related Issues Blue growth Sea transportation Marine change caused by climate Blue energy [Renewable energy (wave, wind, tidal)] Sectors Education and Research Water management (physical restructuring of rivers, costline or seabed) Fisheries Transport Themes Risk, vulnerability and resilience Technology and innovation Climate change Biodiversity Stakeholders Involved •Citizen and Civil Society •Policy Makers and Implementers •Scientists and Research Organization Keyword(s) seasera, marine research, strategic forum, marine research plan, capacity building, governance, public awareness, expertise, knowledge