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Partnerships
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INRA
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Whether scientific, economic or agricultural, with public authorities or society as a whole, partnerships are the cornerstone of INRA’s mission-oriented research. From the assessment of the scientific and socio-economic risks involved through to technology transfer, partnerships play an important role on a regional, national, European and international level.
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Scientific partnerships: diverse and complementary
In 1998, INRA signed framework agreements with CNRS, INSERM, CEA and other French research organisations to develop joint research projects. Today, more than half of all INRA research units are joint research units. Furthermore, some research topics require a combined effort, such as the national strategy for sustainable development, biodiversity or agricultural research in French overseas territories. In this case, INRA sets up specific, coordinated networks with similar research organisations.
Several organisational structures enable the INRA scientific community to collaborate with research bodies and higher education institutions and to share research facilities: joint research units, collective scientific units, research federations, inter-organisation network platforms (RIO) and research groups, to mention just a few.
INRA is associated with about 15 schools specialising in agricultural or veterinary studies and nearly 40 universities through their joint research units. Roughly two-thirds of INRA researchers give lectures and tutorials to graduate and post-graduate students. INRA is also involved in doctoral schools and in establishing new Master’s degrees and PhDs. About 1,600 doctoral students are currently part of INRA research teams.
Since 2005, INRA has also been delegated by the National Research Agency (ANR) to ensure the management and scientific leadership of programmes which directly concern the areas of sustainable agriculture, human nutrition or genomics.
International relations
INRA has long pursued a policy of cooperation with industrialised countries, Mediterranean countries and some developing countries. Since 1995, it has maintained partnerships with the principal emerging countries, China, India and Brazil.
To date, INRA has signed nearly 30 bilateral agreements with foreign research organisations like Wageningen University and Research Centre (Wageningen UR) in the Netherlands and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) in Brazil. These agreements establish cooperation between the two countries for research programmes and projects on topics such as the multifunctionality of agriculture. They bring together multidisciplinary research teams and encourage student exchanges between the institutions.
European Research Area
INRA is involved in the creation of the European Research Area for a sustainable, competitive economy that fulfils the political objectives of the European Union. It seeks to develop research in the life sciences to meet society’s needs with respect to:
- Food that satisfies consumers’ needs and expectations;
- Agriculture that respects the environment while remaining competitive;
- Sustainable land management.
INRA is involved in European research programmes but also opens up its programmes to European researchers—to doctoral students, post-graduate researchers and to European laboratories and platforms. It makes its resources available to the international scientific community.
Socio-economics
Socio-economic partnerships are part of all INRA research from the proposal of research topics to development and technology transfer. While INRA’s partnerships were traditionally with farmers and the agricultural sector, they have expanded to include not only companies, but also representatives of civil society and various associations. Corporate partnerships contribute to economic development and job creation. However, INRA seeks to ensure that knowledge is protected from unjustified appropriation and that a pool of expertise is available to all.
Regional Commitments
Long established in the heart of many French regions, INRA has forged a number of partnerships with those involved in regional development. It also contributes to creating regional research centres and higher education institutions that are of importance at a European level.
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Written by :
Communications Department
Label for the news :
Topic
Date for the news :
2011.03.08
Date of creation : 11/10/2005
Date of last update : 16/11/2006
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