CASRI · Collaborative Action coordinating and enhancing systemic, actionable and transversal Sustainability Research and Innovation

CASRI unites Environment Protection Agencies (EPAs) and similar partners from 13 European countries to support national policy makers and societies to address the Global Challenges and Sustainable Development Goals. EPAs are direct or semi-governmental organisations responsible for monitoring and protecting the environment. CASRI EPAs highly value environmental and sustainability research and innovation (ES R&I), i.e. R&I that is systemic, actionable and transversal. These EPAs and the European Environment Agency have formed an Interest Group (IG) to enhance ES R&I collaboration in the EPA Network representing 37 countries. This CSA HEU-WIDERA Topic proposal aims at facilitating the IG through Collaborative Action coordinating and enhancing systemic, actionable and transversal Sustainability Research and Innovation (CASRI) related to research, policy and R&I funding. CASRI capitalises on the unique capacities of the EPAs and, for the first time, aligns them with the European Research Area. CASRI aims to identify and coordinate ES R&I needs, align national ES R&I programmes and facilitate and converge the application of ES R&I results at both the multilateral and European level while also complementing existing EU and Member State programmes. To achieve this, CASRI addresses eight objectives: 1) Conduct a comprehensive review of national ES R&I funding, exploitation programmes and knowledge needs; 2) Identify national and transnational gaps; 3) Derive transnational commons and develop a Strategic R&I Agenda; 4) Identify opportunities for co-implementation of the SRIA; 5) Bring together funders to collaboratively invest and synergistically deliver the SRIA, or parts thereof, at regional, national and transnational scales; 6) Prepare the implementation of multiannual joint calls; 7) Implement other joint supporting activities for ES R&I; 8) Improve the mid to long term capacities for the collaboration of EPAs and the European Research Area stakeholders.