IT technology to build new EU-Brazil partnership
The 'New Brazilian bureau for enhancing international cooperation with the European Union' (BB.Bice) project grew directly from previous efforts (FP6) and is continuing to ensure continued involvement, interaction and co-operation of the Brazilian interests with deliverables established within FP7 actions. In particular, the aim is to foster and enhance science, technology and innovation between Brazil and Europe. Since primarily the BB.Bice (acronym for the established bureau) serves to disseminate information, it established a communication area that developed several actions to achieve this goal. A primary achievement was a website focusing on the scientific, technological and entrepreneurial communities. It hosts news of FP7 calls, as well as events, meetings, and information on international co-operatives. BB.Bice can measure its current success in a number of ways, including the development of a service area providing assistance and a guide to participating in Brazilian co-ops. It also hosts a document area, electronic newsletter and a well-developed search feature for partnerships, to name but a few. The newsletter is most important as it provides a number of added benefits. First, it broadens the awareness of Brazilian interests in the FP7 actions, and brings credibility to BB.Bice's activities. It is also disseminated in Portuguese and English with a special emphasis on FP7 calls. In addition, it ensures a continued flow of information with three other Latin American countries with which Brazil has bilateral co-operation agreements. With such success already under its belt, continued development holds great promise for expanding European and Latin America's interests.
