Newsletters

An important milestone of the last 3 months was the presentation of the outcomes of the PACE-Net Plus workshop on observation systems to the European Commission in Brussels in September 2015, and to the Global Earth Observation Summit in Mexico in November 2015. In parallel, 21 projects have been selected after the successful seed-funding call; their results will be presented next year, in Nandi (Fiji), during the project’s last bi-regional platform. PACE-Net Plus also contributed to the Regional Seminar on Innovation in Overseas Countries and Territories held in November 2015 in Noumea, where the preliminary results of the project’s survey on innovation in the Pacific region were presented, as well as the strategies of innovation in New Zealand and Australia. read newsletter

After a successful workshop on Observation Systems held in Noumea in June, PACE-Net Plus took a significant step with the organisation, in Brussels, of its 2nd bi-regional dialogue platform. The coming months will be devoted to the implementation of the seed funding activity. A call for projects was opened until the 31st of May, and the process of selection of successful proposals is now drawing to an end. Successful projects will be supported by PACE-Net Plus up to the limit of €10,000 per initiative. The project will also focus this year on innovation, with among others, the finalization of a regional survey launched by the UNIDO partner on New Caledonia, Fiji, Samoa, Cook Islands and Papua New-Guinea. CTA will also lead a complementary survey on innovation niches for food and nutrition security. read newsletter

2014 was an intense and fruitful year for PACE-Net Plus 16 partners who organized three thematic Think-Tanks in Europe, and three more in the Pacific - together with Horizon 2020 Info Days - and a first successful bi-regional Platform of Policy dialogue in Auckland in December. One more Think-Tank will be organized by IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement) in Nouméa on Strengthening the Observation Systems of Climate change and its impacts in the Pacific, for sustainable management of resources and adaptation. The year ended with the signature of Memorandum of Understanding between PACE-Net Plus and the Regional Universities Network (RUN) of Australia, promising further opportunities of collaboration. In 2015, the project will keep up the pace, hold its 2nd bi-regional Platform of Policy dialogue and continue on the Innovation chapter with the launch of a (call for projects) supported by a seed-funding envelop. read newsletter

PACE-Net Plus entered in a very active phase, with all partners preparing several events planned until the end of the year (Think Tanks in Bremen, Papeete, Noumea and Auckland and finally a first bi-regional platform also in Auckland). The innovation topic holds a strategic place in the project, with activities aiming for instance at enhancing the cooperation on innovation issues and bridge the gap between the private and public sectors. read newsletter

After 6 months of existence, PACE-Net Plus has already undertaken several of its activities: Two InfoDays were organised in December and March 2014, two others are under preparation (Papeete and Auckland); A three-day Conference covering the three project themes (health; food security & bio economy; climate & resource efficiency) will be held in September in Bremen. More details will be published soon on the project website; Three other workshops / think tanks will be held in Papeete, Noumea and Auckland; A bi-regional platform is planned to be held in Auckland in December 2014; A large key stakeholders consultation has been launched this month in order to collect and analyse information related to regional and bi-regional ST&I collaborative programmes and their effectiveness in enhancing EU-Pacific cooperation; Country files listing research organisations in the Pacific will be produced. read newsletter