Objectives

Research Coordination Objectives

The core research coordination objectives are:

1. To create a transnational network to coordinate and drive carotenoid research in Europe in the context of agro-food and health and
2. To bridge the gap between science, policy makers and the society.

Specific research coordination objectives will be:

• To implement a functional network of previously scattered groups to foster the sharing of knowledge, know-how and infrastructures;
• Harmonization of key protocols for experimentation or testing, for which Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) will be established (for example: extraction techniques or models and techniques for the assessment of biological activities);
• The identification and adoption of cutting-edge methodologies and approaches to propel research (like “omic” and in silico ones to better understand the role of CRS in complex systems);
• Inter-laboratory comparison of common practices and relevant methodologies (for example: assessment of methodologies for the preservation of materials or evaluation of the performance of routine analytical methods);
• The development and sharing of relevant databases (for example: carotenoid content in different sources, carotenoid levels in human fluids and tissues, effect of technological, storage and cooking practices) that can help establish recommended intakes of CRS to maintain or improve health;
• The joint development of science-based information about CRS in an appropriate language and format to improve communication with the industry, policy makers and the general public. 

Capacity-Building Objectives

The core capacity-building objective is to gather a critical mass of interacting actors all over Europe to place the region at the forefront of scientific research in the context of the thematic area.

Specific capacity-building objectives will be:

• To act as a Pan-European platform for the sharing of knowledge around essential and emerging topics of scientific, technological and socio-economic relevance;
• The identification of knowledge gaps and establishment of a consensus roadmap to foster excellence and innovative scientific research in the area;
• The organization and prioritization of research lines within and between working groups to avoid duplications and promote synergisms;
• The promotion of collaborative interdisciplinary approaches to achieve breakthroughs (for example between microbiologists, food scientists and technologists, biologists and toxicologists to harnessing microbiological sources of compounds to improve health);
• To facilitate and favour the involvement of diversity such as the under-represented gender, emerging groups and actors from countries with less capacity in the topic of the Action;
• To attract, facilitate the mobility, the multidisciplinary training and the participation in research excellence programs (e.g. Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions and the like) of Early Career Investigators (ECI) to pave the way to their future leadership in research.