Dear readers,
 

this journal marks the transition of our work from our project see-science.eu, which ends April 30, 2008, to the WBC-INCO.NET. Many activities are therefore running in parallel and our journal is also a bit delayed: a new layout, a new logo and further increased volume of the journal are just the most superficial changes. The new project now includes 26 partners and will continue to inform you via the regular journal – but mainly through the web-newsletter, which will be initiated.

We do not only inform you about the project, but also about EC activities – progress in the association to the Framework Programme on page 2, EU communications on the Balkans on page 3 and 4. We provide an overview on the eligibility of the WBC to community programmes and recommend our updated “Needs-Offers-Matrix”. Updates on the focus of research infrastructure are summarised on page 6 and further interesting programmes and initiatives introduced on page 7 and 8. Our regional focus, starting on page 9, is placed on the one hand on Albania, as we introduce their bilateral programmes and on the other hand on Croatia, with a focus on innovation. In this issue, we invited the Stability Pact / Regional Co-operation Council to inform about the transition and effects on the education and research fields on page 12. Some articles give an insight into the project activities: our focus on global issues in RTD programmes and priorities on page 14, the INCO-NET training workshops in Belgrade and Sarajevo on page 15. On the same page, information on access to scientific literature is provided by eIFL.net, an important global network in this field.
As usual SEE-ERA.NET hosts a specific page in our journal – page 16 informs about the recent project developments. Several event announcements and reviews round up the journal (pages 17-19) and we also recommend some further reading on page 20. We hope you enjoy the new journal and we would like to encourage you to register for our regular e-mail-updates on http://www.wbc-inco.net/ejournal/list.