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IntranetWorkpackage 4 - Interaction with non-European institutions
Leading partner - FEEM
This workpackage continues to promote one of the main objectives already set within the first phase of the TranSust network, namely the interaction with research and policy institutions outside of Europe. In particular, this activity is aimed at augmenting the perspectives on sustainability issues and on related future policy scenarios.
Indeed, in the first phase TranSust has benefited greatly from communication with the modelling community in the United States, which has proven to be particularly valuable for comprehensive discussions. These contacts of the extended TranSust.Scan consortium were extended in the second phase to Japanese and Australian research institutions, stakeholders an policy experts in order to exchange new perspectives both in the context of modelling and policy issues.
The core activities of Workpackage 4 were:
- Extension of the current network of modelling groups devoted to sustainability issues to non-European scientific communities
- Increasing communication, information exchange and dissemination of existing research among European and non-European research institutions.
- Assuring quality of the project’s outcome through peer review by the participating non-European institutions.
- Exchanging information about policy issues addressed in the simulation exercises conducted within the TranSust.Scan project.
This interaction was most evident at the workshops, and especially at the conferences organised by TranSust.Scan where selected leading sustainability experts not directly involved in the project served as scientific advisers. In addition, the non-European institutions were asked to react to the ongoing work of the project. They contributed relevant information on the issues of the first three workpackages in order to improve the overview on existing research and the identification of future research needs. Furthermore, they were asked to prepare comments on the periodical reports of the Workpackage Leaders in order to ensure the scientific quality and policy relevance of the project’s outcomes.
The interaction with non-European institutions served several aims:
- It extended the knowledge of existing research on sustainability modelling that has been done within the TranSust community by including all major research groups.
- It included the results of these research groups in the development of policy scenarios, and improve the analytical framework for sustainability scenario building.
- It stimulated global efforts for improving the capability of economic models to deal with sustainability issues.
This workpackage thus improved the project’s support to current and future policy decisions in relation to the European Sustainable Development Strategy as well as the project’s ability to identify pressing future research needs.
PRIORITY 8.1
Policy-oriented research, Scientific support to policies, Integrating and Strengthening the European Research Area