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Partnerships, the cornerstone of mission-oriented research
Partnerships are crucial to mission-oriented research, particularly with respect to:
- identifying research themes and objectives, thanks to constant dialogue with scientific and socioeconomic partners,
- carrying out prospective analyses to explore future options and guide research orientations,
- mobilising skills and forming strong alliances for the conduct of research and experimentation,
- reporting on the activities of the Institute to citizens and consumers.
Diversified and renewed socioeconomic partnerships
Farmers, industry (both upstream and downstream), political decision-makers, technical centres and collective producer organisations have been the historical partners of INRA and have been fundamental to its activities in different regions. It is because of these collaborations that from the start, INRA was able to understand some of society's expectations and thus integrate them in its thinking with respect to research orientations, and include them in research programmes and projects. Broadening the scope of INRA research over the years has encouraged it to develop partnerships with new technical and production sectors, extend its collaborations to include those managing the regions and natural resources and to non-profit organisations in the field of the environment and consumption, and to regenerate its partnership policies.
Today, INRA is:
- renewing its approach to relations between research and agricultural development in a context of sustainable development,
- strengthening its partnerships with economic actors and improving the transfer and exploitation of results, notably with respect to SME,
- innovating in the participative and deliberative methods it employs,
- developing its collective scientific expertise activities in support of public policies,
- deepening and broadening its ethical thinking.
In 2008, 234 research contracts were signed with the private sector (+14% compared to 2007).
Stronger and increasingly international scientific partnerships
Within the world of French research and higher education, INRA has considerably developed its collaborative activities, notably since 1999 through deliberate policies to encourage the development of Joint Research Units, but even before that with respect to foreign partnerships. Much current research requires combined efforts at the local, regional and international levels, and the pooling of tools and research resources. For this reason, INRA intends to pursue and develop such collaborative projects. To achieve this, the Institute is:
- developing links with universities, higher education institutions in the agricultural and veterinary fields, and regional clusters,
- internationalising its research activities by participating in construction of the European Research Area based on bilateral links, and by encouraging researcher mobility,
- playing an active role in national research efforts, as a support establishment for the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) (National Research Agency) regarding the design and scientific management of research programmes.
A balance between the free dissemination and transmission of knowledge and its utilisation by society, and protecting public assets
In terms of intellectual property, INRA's policy is to pool public sector research patents in the field of agricultural biotechnologies.
>>link to the Intellectual Property Charter
Funding principally from public sources
In 2008, 79% of INRA's resources were provided by government funding, 14.8% were from grants or funds for research activities or contracts, 6.2% from provision of services and research products.
INRA budget per resource category
Breakdown of income per financing body
Source: INRA's Annual Report 2010, p.52
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