TUR&BO is an international non-profit association (a.i.s.b.l.) established under Belgian Law. The founding members are: TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey), TOBB (The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey), KOSGEB (Small and Medium Sized Industry Development Organization) and TESK (The Confederation of Turkish Craftsmen and Artisans). TUR&BO officially started its activities in March 2004 to serve public interest with private sector productivity and efficiency and to gain maximum benefit for the country. TUR&BO aims to help Turkey attain maximum success in the EUÂ’s research and technological development (RTD) and private sector-oriented programmes within the framework of the Lisbon Strategy. Based in Brussels, the organisation provides information, communication, and consultancy and training services to would-be Turkish participants in the FP, such as public research institutes and Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). It also provides support to the National Contact Points (NCPs), relaying information on events and issues at the heart of EU research policy and facilitating meetings between them and their counterparts from other countries.
For the business community, TUR&BO keeps an eye on the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP), and helps SMEs to get to grips with proposal writing. TUR&BO also helps its members to find partners with whom they can participate in FP7, mainly through IGLO, the informal group of RTD liaison offices with which it is affiliated.

Previous experience:
TURBO has been working closely with International Cooperation departments in TUBITAK and supporting the production of INCO strategies. It has maintained cooperations with Western Balkan countries to provide networks to its founding partners and facilitated the participation to INCO projects of them. TURBO is a member to NIROC (Network of Representative Offices from Candidate Countries) and RIBN (Regional Innovation and Business Network).

Source: project partner description