MEDSPRING project survey of Euro-Mediterranean Observatories

Internationalization and multi-polarization of research opens a critical avenue to "observatories" that describe the many aspects of global challenges, which need to be address with interdisciplinary teams and a long-term vision. The Mediterranean Observatories are now sufficiently numerous to create a diversified and heterogeneous institutional landscape. These differences need to be respected, and complementarities highlighted. They are both the result of thematic focus and institutional history.

In order to meet the demand of giving support to the Observatories in the Mediterreanean region, one of the aims of MED-SPRING is to explore and facilitate the creation of « a dialogue/cooperation Platform » of Euro-Mediterranean observatories linking, describing and analyzing the research and innovation potential in the region, to support monitoring policy development and cooperation in areas of mutual interests and needs, with emphasis on the societal challenges addressed by MedSpring “Resource Efficiency”, High Quality Affordable Food”, “Energy” as well as other related challenges and cross-cutting issues.

Survey on Euro-Mediterranean Observatories

MEDSPRING has launched a survey of Euro-Mediterranean Observatories - quite diversified up to now in their aims, organization, uses and activities -, in order to provide information on research and data collection structures in the region.

The aim of this survey is therefore to elaborate a state of the art of existing thematic observatories acting in the region, their functionalities and dynamics in order to understand their needs and role in the regional cooperation. The First Networking Meeting of Euro-Mediterranean Observatories - to be held by the end of 2013 - will discuss on the preliminary results of this survey, in view of defining the best categorization of the observatories and to find common aspects.

Research organizations, NGOs, public and private entities that produce and manage data on the Mediterranean region are welcome to participate to the survey by following this link: http://sondages.cortext.fr/index.php?sid=78931&lang=en. We thank you in advance for your cooperation!

See here the presentations and best practices discussed during the First Networking Meeting of Euro-Mediterranean Observatories, held in Paris last 19th December 2013.