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CO-REACH

The British Academy was a member of an ERA-NET called CO-REACH (Co-ordination of Research between Europe and China), which was launched in Beijing on 11 May 2005 and which formally came to an end on 30 April 2010. 

CO-REACH was a network of European S&T policy and funding organisations involved in promoting research co-operation with China in the natural sciences, medical and life science, engineering sciences, social sciences and humanities. This network was intended to create coherence and synergy in Europe's S&T relations with China. It did so by promoting the co-ordination of China-related policies and associated research funding programmes of individual European countries, and integrating these efforts with those of other multi-lateral European initiatives, including the programmes and agreements of the European Commission.

CO-REACH was supported by the European Commission as an ERA-NET Co-ordination Action. The ERA-NET scheme was the principal means for Framework Programme 6 to support the coherence and co-ordination of national or regional research programmes within Europe, thereby making a reality of the European Research Area (ERA). Participation in the scheme was open exclusively to public bodies or related, mandated agencies responsible for financing or managing national or regional research programmes.

CO-REACH: Pilot Joint Call for Research Proposals: In 2008 CO-REACH launched a joint call for proposals called Social Science Collaborative Research between Europe and China (CO-REACH-SSR). The CO-REACH Social Science Programme aimed to bring together Chinese and European researchers, working in the social sciences and in part of the humanities, to collaborate on a joint topic of mutual interest, and to explore the possibilities of future co-operation in these areas. It was open both to European and Chinese scholars experienced at collaborating together and to those with little or no previous experience of China-Europe collaboration. The Call was successful in attracting over 80 applications.  Of the 14 awards made, 10 involved UK participation, and 7 were led by UK academics. Funding for UK participation was provided by the British Academy, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council. 

The CO-REACH consortium included 16 partners representing 5 scientific academies, 7 research councils and 4 national ministries from 10 European countries.

These partners included:

• Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), The Netherlands (Co-ordinator)
• The Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (BMWF), Austria
• Academy of Finland (AKA), Finland
• French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), France
• French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE), France
• French Ministry of National Education, Higher Education and Research (MESR), France
• Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany
• The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Germany
• German Aerospace Center, Germany (PT-DLR)
• National Office for Research and Technology (NKTH), Hungary
• Royal Irish Academy (RIA) and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Ireland
• Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), The Netherlands
• Research Council of Norway (RCN), Norway
• Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), Poland
• British Academy (BA), UK
• The Royal Society, (RS), UK

For further information see the CO-REACH web site or download a copy of the CO-REACH flyer.