From 2009 to 2017, the EUROFLEETS 1 and 2 projects have been the cornerstone of European Research Vessel Fleet cooperation. Their success across diversified thematic areas has been significant, successfully implementing and testing solutions for broad European cooperation in areas such as: o Providing European researchers with access to cruises on board high performing research vessels (RVs) flying various national flags, on the basis of scientific excellence in addition to promoting innovative e-access to RVs during scientific cruises, o Updating a consolidated view of the European RV fleets, thus building a European shared strategic vision of the foreseeable evolution of this infrastructure, o Fostering coordinated and development of European RV fleets, thanks to new interoperable software and innovative underwater vehicle payloads, thus enabling better structuring and coordination of fleets through a relevant information platform such as EVIOR, o Developing training and education at sea with young scientists and/or technicians, o Promoting greener and more sustainable RV and underwater vehicle operations and design. The Transnational Access (TA) Programme has been an incredible success, allowing the scheduling of about twenty campaigns during each project, for the benefit of more than 200 (EUROFLEETS 1), then almost 500 (EUROFLEETS 2) European and international researchers and students. Although TA has involved a limited percentage of European marine researchers, it has proven itself to be vital for a significant number of countries who otherwise would not have the necessary means to access research vessels. The scientific requirement is now a reference, and the EUROFLEETS projects have made it possible to strengthen European cooperation by bringing on board scientific teams of several nationalities. EUROFLEETS1 and 2 Networking Activities contributed to an impressive sharing of knowledge, best practices and expertise. They have significantly consolidated the links between European RV operators. The developments made in collaboration have shown how the association of the R&D forces of various European teams can be fruitful and open the way to technological innovations, and shared software tools vital for European marine research. Education and Training programmers developed in EUROFLEETS1 and 2 are now a reference programme at European level for at-sea training. The major risk, at the end of the EUROFLEETS project series is the disappearance of fruitful scientific cooperation through TA, especially for non-equipped countries that are not capable of providing the necessary at sea facilities to its national teams. There is a real possibility that when the EUROFLEETS project series comes to an end the development and structuring of a national infrastructures and/or the establishment of a sustainable system for European cooperation will not have been carried out in time to take over the "relay baton" in order to maintain and develop further TA for RVs and associated scientific equipment and instruments. It is also clear that if no follow up of the EUROFLEETS Networking Activities is set up from 2024, it will mean the loss of a space of cooperation, of mutual knowledge exchange and of capacity to build together a European arena for marine research cooperation, which will disappear. Faced with this observation, and based on the detailed SWOT reported in the document (Chapter 3), the members of WP8 worked on the definition of scenarios for a future platform for the coordination of European fleets (hereafter EUROFLEETS RI), which would take the form of a Research Infrastructure with legal existence. From a methodological point of view, we relied on a methodology provided by the University of Milan Bicocca (UNIMIB). We have therefore worked to identify the values that we share, the vision that we have of this future infrastructure, as well as the missions that it could carry out (Chapter 4). The result of this work, which is currently being pursued through the definition of a business model, is a strong dynamic shared by all the operators and institutions present in WP8, and a reaffirmed willingness to propose sustainable and ambitious solutions to amplify European cooperation in the field of research fleets, beyond the EUROFLEETS 1 and 2 projects, then EUROFLEETS+.
Eurofleets+ D8.2_First report on Eurofleets + legacy
Giuseppe Magnifico;Lorenza Evangelista
2021
Abstract
From 2009 to 2017, the EUROFLEETS 1 and 2 projects have been the cornerstone of European Research Vessel Fleet cooperation. Their success across diversified thematic areas has been significant, successfully implementing and testing solutions for broad European cooperation in areas such as: o Providing European researchers with access to cruises on board high performing research vessels (RVs) flying various national flags, on the basis of scientific excellence in addition to promoting innovative e-access to RVs during scientific cruises, o Updating a consolidated view of the European RV fleets, thus building a European shared strategic vision of the foreseeable evolution of this infrastructure, o Fostering coordinated and development of European RV fleets, thanks to new interoperable software and innovative underwater vehicle payloads, thus enabling better structuring and coordination of fleets through a relevant information platform such as EVIOR, o Developing training and education at sea with young scientists and/or technicians, o Promoting greener and more sustainable RV and underwater vehicle operations and design. The Transnational Access (TA) Programme has been an incredible success, allowing the scheduling of about twenty campaigns during each project, for the benefit of more than 200 (EUROFLEETS 1), then almost 500 (EUROFLEETS 2) European and international researchers and students. Although TA has involved a limited percentage of European marine researchers, it has proven itself to be vital for a significant number of countries who otherwise would not have the necessary means to access research vessels. The scientific requirement is now a reference, and the EUROFLEETS projects have made it possible to strengthen European cooperation by bringing on board scientific teams of several nationalities. EUROFLEETS1 and 2 Networking Activities contributed to an impressive sharing of knowledge, best practices and expertise. They have significantly consolidated the links between European RV operators. The developments made in collaboration have shown how the association of the R&D forces of various European teams can be fruitful and open the way to technological innovations, and shared software tools vital for European marine research. Education and Training programmers developed in EUROFLEETS1 and 2 are now a reference programme at European level for at-sea training. The major risk, at the end of the EUROFLEETS project series is the disappearance of fruitful scientific cooperation through TA, especially for non-equipped countries that are not capable of providing the necessary at sea facilities to its national teams. There is a real possibility that when the EUROFLEETS project series comes to an end the development and structuring of a national infrastructures and/or the establishment of a sustainable system for European cooperation will not have been carried out in time to take over the "relay baton" in order to maintain and develop further TA for RVs and associated scientific equipment and instruments. It is also clear that if no follow up of the EUROFLEETS Networking Activities is set up from 2024, it will mean the loss of a space of cooperation, of mutual knowledge exchange and of capacity to build together a European arena for marine research cooperation, which will disappear. Faced with this observation, and based on the detailed SWOT reported in the document (Chapter 3), the members of WP8 worked on the definition of scenarios for a future platform for the coordination of European fleets (hereafter EUROFLEETS RI), which would take the form of a Research Infrastructure with legal existence. From a methodological point of view, we relied on a methodology provided by the University of Milan Bicocca (UNIMIB). We have therefore worked to identify the values that we share, the vision that we have of this future infrastructure, as well as the missions that it could carry out (Chapter 4). The result of this work, which is currently being pursued through the definition of a business model, is a strong dynamic shared by all the operators and institutions present in WP8, and a reaffirmed willingness to propose sustainable and ambitious solutions to amplify European cooperation in the field of research fleets, beyond the EUROFLEETS 1 and 2 projects, then EUROFLEETS+.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
