CUSP is coordinated by the Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI) and was featured in Project Pitching Group 6, alongside projects addressing European science diplomacy, EU enlargement, open strategic autonomy, economic security, and climate-related migration. The pitching session took place on 14 September at Covent Garden in Brussels.
Building European science diplomacy
CUSP responds to the Horizon Europe topic on fostering the consolidation of European science diplomacy. The project will contribute to a stronger, more coherent and more inclusive European approach to science diplomacy at a time when international research cooperation is increasingly shaped by geopolitical uncertainty, global challenges and the need to safeguard open, trusted and mutually beneficial collaboration.
The project brings together expertise from across Europe to examine how science diplomacy is understood and practised, identify effective approaches and capacities, and support closer connections between research, innovation, foreign-policy and diplomatic communities.
An opportunity for exchange
The Coordinators’ Day provided an important first opportunity for CUSP and its partners to meet fellow projects, European Commission representatives and the wider Cluster 2 community. In particular, the exchanges with projects on EU enlargement, research security and democratic resilience highlighted the closely connected policy contexts in which European science diplomacy is evolving.
The event’s second day focuses on practical guidance for Horizon Europe implementation, including project clustering and synergies, reporting, financial and legal issues, communication, open science, data management and ethics.
ZSI looks forward to working with the CUSP consortium, European institutions and relevant stakeholder communities to help consolidate science diplomacy as a meaningful dimension of Europe’s international research and innovation cooperation.
