“The systematic collection and processing of a comprehensive and coherent set of qualitative and quantitative information on national and regional research structures, research actors and research policies in each of the 25 EU Member States, the states associated to the current Framework Programme and main trading partners (USA, Japan and China) of the European Union”.

The activities carried out under this specific contract provided the basis for the continued and improved operation of the ERAWATCH baseload inventory in subsequent years. The specific objective was achieved through three components, each comprising a series of activities, milestones and deliverables:

• Construction and maintenance of national inventories;
  
• Compilation and presentation of aggregated EU25 information;
• Identification, collection and presentation of information in support of monitoring actions in Member States in relation to the 3% Action Plan.
  

In addition, the specific contract required a set of cross-cutting actions to both support the work of the network of national experts mobilised (quality control, guidance on completing templates) as well as future planning notably with a view to the methodology under-pinning the ‘regionalisation’ of the ERAWATCH inventory and its further conceptual and operational development.