CROSSTEXNET · TEXTILE AT THE CROSS ROADS OF NEW APPLICATIONS

Fibre materials and textiles can be a material of choice for the future. The realisation of this potential depends on Europe’s ability to achieve a critical mass of investments in RTD and on our ability to transfer research into innovations. Here Europe faces great challenges and therefore, there is a need to bridge the good intentions of the European Technology Platforms, the Lead Market Initiative and the reality of Europe’s textile research with an instrument that provides new structures and new resources. The foreseen instrument is the herewith proposed ERA-NET project CROSSTEXNET.CROSSTEXNET draws together 18 research funding agencies on regional and national level in a co-operation project aiming at “making more and smarter funding available to European textile research, on a permanent basis, by exploiting the potentials of international co-ordination and programming of research programmes.”CROSSTEXNET is distinguished to be an operative initiative supplying resources for cooperation. Its ambition is to transfer policy and strategy oriented documents to the level of beneficiaries, hereby providing a tool for implementation of research policies and strategies.The dominance of regional funding and policies, while fostering a triple helix between public authorities, RTO’s and companies, also creates fragmentation and duplication of efforts. To this regards, CROSSTEXNET will be instrumental in overcoming fragmentation of policies and funding by helping policy makers to benefit from the experiences of the main textile regions of Europe and further to develop coherent R&D funding systems in a joint strategy. On the basis of synergies and added value of transnational cooperation, the project partners will achieve critical outputs as a joint research programme, based on a joint strategy and four joint calls.Finally, CROSSTEXNET will lead to an increased understanding of research and new mindset as a pre-requisite for innovation and growth in the textile industry.