This report constitutes a formal deliverable, namely D6.1 “Outline of ERA elements and stakeholders”, of Work Package 6 “Stakeholder Engagement and Communication Strategy” of the VERA Project (Forward Visions on the European Research Area). The main objectives of this project are both to provide relevant strategic knowledge for the governance and priority-setting of the research, technology, development and innovation (RTDI) system in Europe, and to set up a strategic conversation across the European Research Area (ERA). In line with them, this report aims to provide the first edition of the map of ERA as it is today, taking into account its history and the current policy context. The proposed ERA fabric map aims to provide a point of reference for the whole implementation of the VERA project by giving a snapshot of the ERA today in support of developing alternative future scenarios for its evolution and by mapping current involvement of stakeholders in ERA. This ERA fabric map will be updated in Deliverable 6.4 and Deliverable 6.5 in months 20 and 28 of the Project respectively. The report is structured as follows. In section 2 the ERA is looked at from a wider perspective. Section 3 explores the state of the art of ERA, building on the ERA dimensions from the ERA Green Paper, and putting them in the context of Europe 2020. Section 4 looks at current involvement of stakeholders in a selected number of ERA instruments and the roles they take. Main findings are summarised in a concluding section.

Source: JRC