BONUS

BONUS for the Baltic Sea Science – Network of Funding Agencies is an ERA-NET project of the EU Sixth Framework Programme, with a total funding of about EUR 3 million for the years 2004–2008. The BONUS project involves eleven key research funding agencies from eight EU Member States in the Baltic region as well as from Russia. There are also six organisations serving as observers. The new EU Member States Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are also participating in the project. Also participating is ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea), which coordinates the World Bank-funded Baltic Sea Regional Project to Support Sustainable Ecosystem Management.

The goal of the BONUS project is to deepen cooperation between research funding agencies by, for example, establishing common operating methods and practices for the funding of research programmes. The autumn of 2007 saw the launching of the first call within the joint Baltic Sea Research Programme, with an approximate budget of EUR 23 million. The Academy of Finland's share of the funding is at most EUR 4 million for 2008–2011. The project is further intended to promote the joint use of research infrastructure, create a joint curriculum for doctoral students and maintain a website on Baltic Sea research and its funding geared towards researchers, decision-makers and the general public.

The BONUS project has been coordinated by the Academy of Finland. The BONUS Baltic Organisations Network for Funding Science EEIG (BONUS EEIG) was established in April 2007 in Helsinki to manage the Joint Baltic Sea Research Programme. The longer term goal is that the programme will be implemented under article 169 of the EC Treaty.