TERMS OF REFERENCE
OF THE WORKING GROUP
ON COOPERATION IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
The Working Group on Cooperation in Science and Technology is operating in compliance with Articles 4 and 12 of the BSEC Charter as a BSEC Subsidiary Organ in charge of the
cooperation among the BSEC Member States in the area of science and technology with the following mandate.
The mission of the Working Group is to:
- promote cooperative activities in the BSEC Region in the field of science and technology being guided by the relevant provisions of the BSEC Charter and other BSEC Statutory Documents, the
BSEC Economic Agenda for the Future, the Resolutions, Decisions and Recommendations adopted by the BSEC Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the BSEC Action Plan on Cooperation in Science and Technology, approved by the BSEC Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Chisinau, 28 October 2005) and the Workprogramme to it, the Declaration of the Ministers Responsible for
Science and Technology of the BSEC Member States (Athens, 28 September 2005, the Resolution of the 15th BSEC Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Moscow, 1 November 2006) “Follow up
of Bucharest Statement: a) Monitoring the implementation of the Resolutions, Decisions and Recommendations approved by the BSEC Council of Foreign Ministers” and the priorities of the
Member States;
- strengthen further regional cooperation in the field of scientific research and technological development as a major driving force of dynamic sustainable economic growth and prosperity for
the peoples of the region;
- initiate agreed policies directed toward better utilisation of the existing human and material resources, research infrastructure and administrative capacities through improved access to
knowledge, training activities and research programmes, enhanced cross-border mobility of scientists and regular exchanges of information and publications, bilateral and regional networking, fellowships and joint scientific events;
- contribute to the development of an appropriate legal and regulatory framework at a national level, including competition rules and protection of intellectual property;
- seek innovative ways for combining public and private investment in research and technological development, including public-private partnerships for funding specific projects involving crossborder
or region-wide cooperation and for disseminating relevant information about procedures for accessing other available financial resources (EU and UN programmes, IFIs, specialised foundations, etc);
- promote a dynamic dialogue among stakeholders in the science and technology community – research organisations, industry, user groups – in order to ensure their cost-effective and resultoriented
interaction for the purpose of converting scientific discoveries into innovative, commercially viable products and processes;
- foster convergent approaches on ethical questions related to the progress of scientific and technological knowledge;
- facilitate closer cooperation in the field of science and technology with other partners and international organisations and to encourage co-funding schemes in order to formulate and
implement regional research projects and to generate new synergies, in particular with the activities carried out under EU programmes and initiatives;
- consider the elaboration of legally binding documents, at bilateral and multilateral level, stipulating the procedures for the joint activities to be undertaken and the resources required to achieve specific agreed scientific and technological objectives;
- undertake measures aimed to enhance the efficiency of cooperation in the field of science and technology.
The Working Group is assigned with the following tasks:
1. To coordinate and promote the activities on science and technology cooperation within the BSEC region.
2. To contribute to the development of the communication infrastructure of the BSEC Member States and the use of modern information and communication technologies in organization and
realization of joint actions through:
- developing the exchange of relevant and timely information related to cooperation in areas of science and technology;
- organizing workshops and conferences on the issues of cooperation in science and technology;
- promoting the exchange of scientists with a view to accumulating collective experience;
- establish information banks listing eminent scientists, research and scientific institutions;
- supporting comprehensive training programs.
3. To submit recommendations on specific activities in the following areas of action, such as:
- joint projects for scientific research and technological development;
- human resources;
- capacity building;
- research infrastructure;
- innovation;
- priority domains for research;
- securing the sources of funding.
The above recommendations shall be submitted to the Meeting of the Ministers in charge of Science and Technology for endorsement.
The Working Group when appropriate should propose draft Resolutions, Decisions and Recommendations to be adopted by the BSEC Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
4. To monitor the implementation of the BSEC Action Plan on Cooperation in Science and Technology and of the Workprogramme.
Whenever necessary and practicable, at the initiative of the Country-Coordinator and the Chairmanship-in-Office, a special meeting may be convened to review the implementation of the
Action Plan and Workprogramme, to prepare an interim report for the Working Group meeting and to propose new activities.
5. To act in accordance with two-year Plans of Action to be proposed by the Country-Coordinator.
The Country-Coordinator should consult with each successive Chairman-in-Office on the manner in which the latter would integrate in the Chairmanship program of activities the priorities of the Plan of Action; to this end the Country-Coordinator should present to the Chairman-in-Office a detailed outline of activities it intends to implement over the term of each sessional Chairmanship.
Sessional Chairmanships’ Calendars of Events should encompass the events of the Working Groups Plans of Action scheduled for respective six-month periods.
After the appointment of the new Country-Coordinator a meeting of incoming and outgoing Country-Coordinators and PERMIS should be held.
6. To hold regular meetings at least once a year.
7. To initially assess, further elaborate and submit to the Committee of Senior Officials PDF Standard Applications.
8. To engage, on a regular basis, in exchange of information and practical cooperation with the ICBSS and other BSEC Working Groups in related spheres of activity.
9. To promote awareness activities and evolve dialogue between BSEC and the relevant partner countries and international organizations, the EU in particular, in order to identify synergies and
enhance the participation of the BSEC research community in international cooperation activities of mutual interest.
Accountability and continuity of functioning:
1. The European Commission shall be invited to attend the meetings of the Working Group on Science and Technology in order to exchange views and create synergies between the Action Plan
and the European Community Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development and other EU financial instruments.
2. A month ahead of the of the Meeting of the BSEC Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs the Country-Coordinator should communicate to PERMIS an evaluation report on the implementation and the follow-up of texts adopted on the cooperation in science and technology by the previous Council Meetings and the Meetings of Ministers in charge of Science and Technology, to be taken into account in the Progress Report, the Chart of Implementation of the BSEC Economic Agenda and the Annotated Agenda of the Meeting.
3. Meetings of the Working Group preceding the Meeting of Ministers in charge of Science and Technology should consider and submit to said Meeting evaluation reports on implementation and
the follow-up of relevant texts adopted by the Council and the previous Ministerial Meeting. The reports should be drafted jointly by the Country-Coordinators and PERMIS on the basis of the
Member States inputs.
4. The Country-Coordinator should appoint a person or service, which will be the focal point for the Chairman-in-Office and for the Member States. There should be constant operational interaction between the Country-Coordinator’s focal point and respective PERMIS Executive Manager.
The Member States should appoint representatives to the Working Group on a long-term basis who will attend the successive meetings for as long as possible and act as their national contact points in the Group.