Quebec research body joins European research network

Montreal, QC – The Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ) has become a partner of Europen research network ERA-NET, as part of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7). ERA-NET NEURON, the first network in which FRSQ is a partner, focuses on neurosciences and mental health.

“This initiative is consistent with our strategy for putting Québec health research on the Canadian and international map,” said Yves Joanette, FRSQ president and CEO. “The goal here is to keep our best neuroscience researchers and attract new ones by offering them access to an impressive network of European colleagues.”

Dr Howard Bergman, FRSQ’s vice-president and scientific director, says he sees the organization’s active participation in ERA-NET NEURON as a way of empowering Quebec researchers involved in any of the FRSQ’s 18 networks to enter the European arena and reap the benefits of the setting for collaborative research through open calls for proposals.

ERA-NET is a European initiative aimed at supporting the coordination of research programs among European countries. It is primarily intended for national or local research funding agencies and concentrates on a series of themes chosen by the partners, with an emphasis on the areas that mesh with FP7 priorities.

Partner agencies within ERA-NET provide financial support for collaborative research from their own research budgets and according to their own rules of funding. By being part of ERA-NET NEURON, FRSQ says it can more easily exchange information with European funding agencies about their activities, evaluation procedures and funding philosophy in order to enhance the standards of member countries.