Experiences in the management of research funding programmes for environmental protection. Including recommendations for best practice

The ERA-NET scheme, which is designed to support the networking of national research funding organisations, is among the means of the European Union to create an integrated European Research Area for innovative knowledge production. The SKEP ERA-NET aims at improving the co-ordination of environmental research, including among other things the management and assessment of research programmes. This report documents and analyses the practices of research programme planning and management in the EU and highlights some of the best practices available in environment-related research. Information on research programme management of thirtyseven case programmes of eight countries was collected through a questionnaire survey. In addition, interviews considering research programme management in seven countries and workshop discussions among twenty-one representatives from nine countries were used to gain comprehensive insight examples. There is a great deal of variation in countries' experience in programme management. Based on the country experiences from the study, readers are provided with set procedures and practices for the research programme management.The variety of funding structures and governance cultures, however, requires flexibility in implementing the recommended procedures, and the recommendations of the report should be interpreted in such a way. Working with stakeholders is an example of culture-dependent practice. Careful but flexible planning is needed despite the culture and context. Therefore, the report recommends that objectives and goals should be developed on the subject of the research programme but also for more general issues such as dissemination, evaluation and gender. A core management team is seen as the crucial operational tool of programme management and should thus be carefully planned to serve the programme. Evaluation finally reveals how well the programme has succeeded, also from the management point of view. For the sake of continuity i