An Analysis of Synthetic Biology Research in Europe, the United States and Canada

Proposal Acronym: SYNBIOLOGY

The proposed project is designed to identify key attributes of synthetic biology research in Europe, the United States and Canada, and determine potential differences in research environments (including funding arrangements) across European countries, the United States and Canada that impact the level and nature of synthetic biology research and the potential short–run and long–run commercial possibilities. The project will also investigate the relationship in synthetic biology research between the main project areas (Europe, the United States and Canada) and Japan and Australia.

This will be accomplished through developing a comprehensive study that includes a detailed review of relevant studies, and identification and survey of Key Stakeholders representing research, industry and government. The results will be used as a basis to form policy recommendations for the EC to help maximize the effectiveness of its support to synthetic biology. These policy recommendations will be presented to policy makers via a seminar and other dissemination activities.

List of Participants:

Objectives of the proposed project

The first objective of this proposal is to provide a sector analysis to assist the EC NEST Programme in furthering its understanding of the European synthetic biology sector and, in particular, advancing the Programme's knowledge of:

• Which are the main actors in the sector?
• What are the different types of actors (for instance universities, research institutes, research companies, production companies)?
• What is the geographic distribution of these actors?
• How is research information disseminated between these actors?
• What funding and support services are currently available?

This global, and especially the US and Canadian, aspect to the synthetic biology sector will be used to provide excellent information and learning experiences for European development of synthetic biology.

Using the results of this sector analysis, the second objective of the project is to provide recommendations to the NEST Programme on how it can most effectively design funding programmes to both maximize the effectiveness of synthetic biology developments in Europe and the influence that the NEST Programme can have on the sector.

The third objective of the project is to disseminate the sector information and analysis to all interested stakeholders and the general public. This will be done through providing a workshop and seminar, a project website and a series of other dissemination activities.

Potential impact

The project results will be disseminated to the relevant Commission representatives and other pertinent research policy stakeholders through a Synthetic Biology Research Seminar in Brussels as well as direct correspondences. The objective of the seminar will be to disseminate the project findings and discuss specific policy recommendations. Therefore, it is anticipated that the project findings will be related directly to the strategy implemented through the NEST programme and a series of possible programme adjustments identified. This has the potential to have a significant impact on the NEST programme's future success as well as the success of subsequent programmes, thus impacting potentially hundreds of projects across all scientific disciplines.

The seminar activity will provide the necessary setting to discuss current policies, identify opportunities for improvement, and estimate the potential impact of the changes with regard to synthetic biology. A unique aspect of the project results is the conscious effort to conduct a comparative analysis between European countries, the United States and Canada. This will allow for potentially beneficial factors that positively influence synthetic biology research in the United States and Canada to be identified and proposed as effective measures at the European Union and European country level. Through conducting the analysis at an international level, the proposed project will also be able to identify cultural, economic and funding factors that may influence the level of synthetic biology research.

A group of Key Stakeholders will provide critical input to the project and act as dissemination points within their respective countries. The Key Stakeholders will consist of leading individuals representing synthetic biology research, industry and government across the European countries and, therefore, will be in a position to disseminate the findings to their country's synthetic biology research policy makers.

The Consortium and project resources

The project team was selected in order to ensure the specific objectives are achieved. The team is comprised of personnel from the Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (SPI), Center for Economic Research and Environmental Strategy (CERES), ATG:Biosynthetics (ATG), and the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).

SPI has extensive experience with coordinating projects within various areas of the 4th, 5th and now 6th Framework Programmes, conducting numerous studies related to research and development, and working directly with research organisations on strategy development. SPI also has significant experience with the United States research community through its affiliated offices. The partnering organisations are well experienced in a range of research areas and policy representing diverse cultures and regions within Europe and the United States.

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