Impressive leap for transport research
A strong European transport sector is crucial for a variety of sectors such as trade, travel and tourism. It also facilitates the lives of commuters who go to work every day, saving time and money for the business sector. Based on the European Research Area Network Scheme (ERA-NET), the EU-funded project 'Era-Net Transport II' (ENT II) launched a network of national transport research programmes to upgrade transport research funding in Europe. Bringing together 12 European countries, the project successfully amassed a research budget of around EUR 50 million covering all modes of surface transport, advancing national and regional transport research considerably. Among the largest projects was the Plus on Electromobility (ELECTROMOBILITY+), which aimed to further the development of electric mobility in Europe by 2025. Beyond successfully facilitating the cooperation and coordination of European national research support programmes in transport through joint transnational calls for projects, ENT II initiated dialogue with new partner countries. Specifically, it established Action Groups on various topics of surface transport. Partners developed instruments and tools for transnational cooperation, in addition to conducting workshops in order to identify topics for transnational research. This also involved bringing together partners in participating countries who wanted to explore the same topic. Moreover, the project team articulated specific guidelines for transnational cooperation aimed at research programme managers who intended to launch new partnerships. Another important achievement was the Electronic Proposal Submission System (EPSS) to improve on implementation of large-scale transnational calls. The system was successfully tested in the ELEKTROMOBILITY+ call. To disseminate its findings, the project created the ENT website, which has been instrumental in providing information to stakeholders and the public. Dedicated events, workshops, newsletters, brochures and a conference also helped communicate the project's messages and findings. ENT II is expected to strengthen the ERA in surface transport, intensify transnational research, further innovation and enhance collaboration among European stakeholders. Such developments can bring countless benefits to the transport sector in the countries involved, from Denmark and Poland to Greece and the Netherlands. New innovations and improvements in the transport sector will likely be transmitted to other European countries and raise the standard of living for all of Europe.
