Rebecca L. Keiser´s Message to the Transatlantic ICT Forum 2017

Rebecca L. Keiser, Head Office of International Science and Engineering, National Science Foundation – NSF, is addressing the three questions discussed in the funding mechanism panel in the Transatlantic ICT Forum on 30th November, 2017. Those questions are: the challenges confronted in transatlantic ICT cooperation, more effective mechanisms for coordination between transatlantic funding agencies and ways to improve EU-North America cooperation in ICT R&I.

It has been highlighted that NSF currently supports more than 1000 projects with EU members, many of which involve multiple countries. They range from catalytic workshops and multiple joint research projects. A few of these projects involve bilateral agreements. But a vast majority are researcher to researcher partnerships, that develop organically on a bottom up basis.

Challenges pointed out range from multiple proposal reviews to navigating through different legal, administrative, cultural and linguistic environments. But it has been reiterated that despite the challenges, NSF commitments supporting and coordinating international cooperation.

In terms of more effective mechanisms for more effective coordination between transatlantic funding agencies, communication between programme managers has been emphasized. From the perspective of ways to improve EU-North America cooperation in ICT R&I, researcher-to-researcher relationship has been highlighted to reinforce international cooperation and catalyse scientific discovery.

Enjoy the video!