Call for applications launched by Core Organic II

CORE Organic is the acronym for "Coordination of European Transnational Research in Organic Food and Farming Systems". As an ERA-NET action, it intends to increase cooperation between national research activities.

In FP6, CORE Organic I was established by 11 European partner countries, and the action realized eight transnational research projects between 2007 and 2010. CORE Organic II has now been extended to 22 partner countries. The first CORE Organic II call for research proposals is launched on 1 September 2010.

The overall objective of CORE Organic II is to enhance quality, relevance and utilization of resources in European research in organic food and farming and to establish a joint pool for financing transnational research in organic food and farming.

The specific objectives of the CORE Organic II network are

• to increase exchange of information and expertise
• to coordinate existing research.

The background for these objectives is that the public European research and development effort in organic food and farming is characterized by small research communities, often scattered and fragmented both geographically and institutionally. This generates a need for gathering the dispersed expertise into a critical mass, to maintain and increase the competitive quality and relevance of research.

Core Organic II is launching a transnational joint call for research project proposals based on funds from participating countries. Thanks to the agreement of the partners on common prioritized research areas, the CORE Organic II network will enable a better use of research funding whereas the human resources as well as research facilities will be complementary and more effectively utilized