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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - DRAGON-STAR Plus (Dragon - Sustaining Technology And Research Plus (EU-China Collaboration))

Teaser

Summary

The shift in Chinaâ€™s strategy focusing towards R&I and transforming the essence of its economy has been complimented with massive public investments in research and technology. In order to tackle critical global issues demanding close scientific and technological cooperation at an international level, EU has identified in China a natural partner able to contribute and complement its own capacity. Over 3 years, through the DS-Plus project has:
-Supported the European and Chinese research communities to establish collaborations under Horizon 2020 and beyond.
-Provided a cooperation platform and tools to policy makers, aiming ultimately to support and enhance the bilateral cooperation, through the concept of mutual benefit.
-Provided a platform to funding agencies for exchanging best practices and planning joint activities in the field.

Work performed

DS-Plus has demonstrated a substantial work output during its lifetime, as briefly described bellow per WP:

The main objective of WP1 was to provide tangible services to European and Chinese scientists and researchers in public and private organisations, in order to enhance the bilateral cooperation between EU and China, enhance the Chinese participation in Horizon 2020, and of the Europeans in relevant Chinese initiatives. The main outcomes of this work package include: the organisation of 17 H2020 events, in cooperation with the EU delegation in China, the establishment of a network of regional and thematic NCPs, the broad dissemination and provision of support for the Chinese co-funding mechanism and the broad dissemination of the H2020 topics with Chinese focus.
Moroever, the qualitative evaluation of the scientific outcome from the Chinese participation in the framework programs has demonstarted the value of the bilateral cooperation.

The main goals of WP2 were to implement a policy dialogue platform enabling exchange and discussions between Chinese and European RTI actors and policy makers, funding agencies and researchers, promote and screen mutual funding opportunities and bilateral agreements, as well as identify future trends in China for increasing the understanding of ChinaÂ´s RTI landscape in Europe. The main outcomes of this work package were three outstanding reports, three very well received events across China and an online policy dialogue platform through the online business network LinkedIn with a group of 386 members.

Work package 3 focused on identifying obstacles in the bilateral research & innovation cooperation, and on highlighting specific opportunities for cooperation. In this context DS-Plus set up an interactive map to highlight best practice cooperation cases and showcase the opportunities in bilateral cooperation. In addition, activities for direct physical communication between innovation actors were organized both in Europe (2 brokerage events) and in China (2 business tours), that allowed the direct rapprochement of organisations from both sides. Furthermore, special focus was drawn in understanding obstacles in bilateral cooperation, by analyzing through questionnaires and interviews, the European and Chinese participants in Framework Programs. Moreover, two high-level workshops were organized aiming in capacity building and knowledge sharing. Participants from Europe and China, analyzed the current innovation landscape, and highlighted progress in specific directions but also important remaining obstacles.

The dissemination and communication actions were intrinsically linked to the exploitation of the projectâ€™s activities and results. Efficient publicity and wide exposure of DS-Plus and its achievements increased stakeholdersâ€™ engagement with the DRAGON-STAR Plus initiative, and the use of DS-Plus results beyond the projectâ€™s lifetime. Ultimately, communication and dissemination activities leveraged DS-Plus impact on prompting dialogues, cooperation, coordination and establishing connections between EU and China STI players. The activities included the production of infographics, the creation of 2 promotional video trailers presenting the project, the production of press releases and e-Newsletters, and the strong presence in western and Chinese social media.

Workpackage 5 - project management. Project management was a key part of the project and ensures the successful implementation of the various tasks. DS-Plus had to deal with all the usual project issues (e.g. financial administration) and implementation problems (adjustments of the technical project content).

Final results

Impact on on-going Research Collaboration: DS-PLUS worked towards highlighting (through public events & professional dissemination products) the advantages of H2020 and explaining alternative funding sources, and especially the Chinese Co-Funding Mechanism.

Impact on Reciprocity: DS-Plus supported reciprocity by collecting and disseminating relevant information and opportunities to the European researchers, by delivering focused webinars, and by running a special Help-Desk service of European researchers. In addition, DS plus prodcued and published a guide to help EU researchers move to Chinese academic institutions.

Impact on Member & Associated States Cooperation (Funding Agencies): DS-LUS supported ERA-NET like discussions between the European Funding Agencies on specific priority areas such as Urbanization, and FAB. In addition, DS-PLUS collected best practice cooperation initiatives and presented them on an interactive map, with the objective to allow the exchange of best practices, the transfer of knowledge, and potentially the implementation of future Joint initiatives in China.

Impact on Addressing Societal Challenges: A key issue of the ERA objectives is the mobilization of research to address major societal challenges and contribute to sustainable development. DS-PLUS specifically focused on 3 challenges (FAB, Climate Change, and Urbanization) of joint interest and provided support for the implementation of joint initiatives.

Impact on Innovation: During the project life time an information deficit and an asymmetry of information between China and Europe was identified; In order to provide to Europe more up to date information on the latest developments and to support informed strategic choices for collaboration, the project highlighted the research and innovation cooperation opportunities between China and Europe, and took steps towards enhancing the accessibility for both sides.

Socio-Economic Impact: The potential socio-economic impact of DS-Plus is significant in the long term. DS-Plus identified research and innovation actors in China that possess specific S&T potential and cooperated with them to enhance their possibilities for collaboration with relevant European organizations. Thus, it is expected to have a positive impact in generating new employment opportunities, including among young scientists, and to help counter forces pushing for scientific brain-drain to foreign universities, institutes and companies.

Technological Impact: The project team identified technological areas with high cooperation potential through specific workshops and roundtables and through technical reports (e.g. China 2030). Areas that China either lacks expertise and need cooperation, or areas that China could offer know-how to Europe. In that sense, the project allows the S&T community to focus on the most promising scientific fields and to expect high return.