Cooperation with EECA-countries
The Academy of Sciences of Moldova collaborates on the basis of bilateral scientific agreements with various research institutions from the Russian Federation (The Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Russian Fund of Fundamental Research, and the Russian Foundation for Humanities), the Belarus Republic (National Academy of Sciences, the State Committee for Science and Technologies of Belarusian Republic created on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement between the Republics of Belarus and Moldova on cooperation in science and technology, and the Republican Fund of Fundamental Research), Ukraine (Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, National Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Agricultural Sciences – including a convention that implied a collaboration between the Academy of Agricultural Sciences “Gheorghe Ionescu-Şişeşti” from Romania and the Academy of Agricultural Sciences from Ukraine, and the Southern Scientific Center of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine), Azerbaijan (signed an agreement on scientific cooperation with the National Academy of Sciences in June 2007), Armenia (signed an agreement on scientific cooperation with the National Academy of Sciences on 16 October 2023), as well as international organisations such as: the International Association of Science Academies (MAAN), the Organisation of the Black Sea Economic cooperation (BSEC), the Science & Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU) and cooperation in the framework of the Organisation for Democracy and Economic Development between Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova (GUAM).
Thus, as part of the bilateral agreement on scientific and technological cooperation between the ASM and the Russian Fund for Basic Research signed on 18 March 2024 and additional protocols, 44 projects were financed for 2006-2007, 45 further projects were implemented in 2008-2009, and in 2010, 5 more projects were financed. In the framework of the agreement on organisation of the joint call between the ASM and the Russian Foundation for Humanities, signed on 23 January 2009, a bilateral competition was organised in the beginning of 2009 and 9 projects were accepted for financing.
Within the cooperation agreement between ASM and the Belarusian Republican Fund of Fundamental Research signed on 3 May 2023 and additional protocols, 16 research projects were financed and implemented for 2008-2009 and another 52 bilateral projects were implemented during 2010-2013. Based on the agreement on cooperation in the field of education, science and culture between the Parliaments of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, signed on 20 March 2024 and additional protocols between the ASM and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, 38 projects were implemented during 2010-2012.
Cooperation with EU Member States and associated countries
Policy dialogue in the field of research and development between the European Union and the Republic of Moldova continues within the framework of the EU – Moldova cooperation Committee and Subcommittee no.4 on “Energy, Environment, Transport and Telecommunications, Science and Technology, and Training and Education” meetings. In the beginning of 2010, negotiations of the EU-Republic of Moldova Association Agreement were launched, the Chapter on “Research, Technological Development and Demonstration” was included as part of the Working Group IV on “People to People cooperation”. Eastern Partnership, launched in early 2009, brought new opportunities in view of enhancing the scientific cooperation between the European Union and the Republic of Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Increasing the participation of Eastern Partners in the opportunities for cooperative research, capacity building and researcher mobility, offered by the Seventh Framework Programme, was declared as the core objective of the Platform 4 ‘Contacts between People’ Work Programme 2009-2011 in the field of research. Following the official request of the Republic of Moldova to associate with the Seventh Framework Programme expressed in May 2008, a short-term Action Plan “Moldova Knowledge Excellence Initiative” was launched, aimed at strengthening the scientific potential and management skills of RDI organisations for participating in FP7. It thus seeks to consolidate the role of science and innovation in the general process of the country’s development. The Action Plan was approved by Decision no.230 of the Supreme Council for Science and Technological Development of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova on 27 November 2008. In this context, by the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Moldova no.515 of 17 August 2009, the National Committee for Association of the Republic of Moldova to FP7 was created. The newly created National Committee has the role of promoting and monitoring the process of association and the measures undertaken for the advancement of Moldova’s participation in FP7. It is composed of representatives of ministries, at the deputy minister level, other central public authorities and state institutions affected by FP7 priorities. On 11 October 2023 the Memorandum of Understanding between the European Union and the Republic of Moldova on the Association of the Republic of Moldova to the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007-2013) was signed. The Memorandum of Understanding entered into force on 1 January 2012. Since then, the Republic of Moldova has been officially associated to the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
In order to make the best possible use of the status of an FP7 associated country and to start the preparations for the H2020 EU programme, the ASM has undertaken the following actions:
The new status of an associated country to FP7 provide the Moldovan scientific community with a number of benefits, one of the most important being the opportunity to fully integrate into the European Research Area. Following association to FP7, the scientific community of the Republic of Moldova has significantly increased its participation in the open calls for project proposals announced within this framework programme. To date, institutions from the Republic of Moldova have participated in 53 FP7 projects attracting more than EUR 3.7 million to the country. In 2013 alone, the scientific community in Moldova signed 18 contracts for new FP7 projects with a total financing of more than EUR 1 million.
As a result of the implementation of these projects in Moldova, the interaction of Moldovan researchers with their European partners has increased, access for Moldovan scientists to new knowledge, European research methodologies and infrastructure has become easier, the modernisation of national research infrastructure has been accelerated, and the international visibility of local scientific results has increased. Encouraged by the results obtained by our researchers in FP7, in 2014 the ASM has officially begun negotiations with the EC to become associated to the H2020 Programme.
Therefore, the ASM is undertaking a set of activities to support the scientific community’s path to Horizon 2020, including information days, training courses, video-conferences, seminars and personal consultations on the application procedures to the open calls for project proposals within Horizon 2020 Programme. On a bilateral level, ASM has concluded an agreement on scientific cooperation with science academies from the following EU Member States and associated countries: United Kingdom, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Montenegro, Turkey, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Italy and Portugal.
A Memorandum of Intentions on scientific and technological cooperation was signed between the Academy of Sciences of Moldova and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research in March 2008. On its basis two open calls for collaborative research project proposals were conducted in 2009, 2010 and 2013 respectively. Each year, 10 different projects were accepted for funding. As agreed between funding parties, project proposals submitted must encompass two components: (1) a basic and applied research component; and (2) a pre-feasibility study component for further collaborative research project proposals under future bilateral calls or other programmes such as the EU Research Framework Programmes (FP7).
Within the framework of the S&T cooperation Programme between the Romanian National Authority for Scientific Research (ANCS) and the Academy of Sciences of Moldova signed on 23 October 2008, a collaborative call for proposals was announced in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. In particular, the programme aims at facilitating the integration of the Moldovan scientific community into the research and development system of the European Union, preparation of Moldovan teams to participate in community programmes, especially the Seventh Framework Programme, as well as developing collaboration within regional programmes such as those of BSEC.
In 2011 and 2013 similar cooperative programmes with the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), were launched. cooperative activities are also carried out in the framework of the following organisations: Organisation of the Black Sea Economic cooperation (BSEC), NATO Science for Peace and Security Committee, All European Academies (ALLEA), Central European Initiative (CEI), International Union of Academies (UAI-IUA), the International Council for Science (ICSU), Central and Eastern European Networking Association (CEENet), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), UNESCO etc.
EU-funded cooperation/projects
Since the 7th Framework Programme was launched, 53 project proposals with the participation of Moldovan research groups (including research institutions, higher education institutions, SMEs and NGOs) have been accepted for funding.
In 1994, Moldova joined the Tempus programme. Its initial focus was on university management, curriculum development and teaching staff retraining in the fields of social work, communication studies, modern European languages, and economics. Since 2000, Moldovan non-academic actors – in particular government organisations, and to a lesser extent, enterprises – have gradually become more active in Tempus projects. For the period of 2008-2013, 35 projects with Moldovan partners were selected for funding.
The gradual integration into the European Research Area is linked in large part to the modernisation of the information access in the areas of science and innovation. The informational environment in the area of research and education in the Republic of Moldova is based on the infrastructure of the network RENAM (Research and Educational Networking Association of Moldova), created and continuously developed on the basis of grants provided by NATO (Science for Peace and Security Programme) and the European Commission (FP6 and FP7). The RENAM network has an external channel for internet traffic (capacity of 155 Mbps) that is connected to the academic cross-European network GEANT. In the framework of the Programme on Scientific cooperation between Eastern Europe and Switzerland (SCOPES), as a result of the first open call for the period of 2009-2012, 18 joint project proposals were submitted with Moldovan research groups (4 institutional partnerships and 14 joint research projects) out of which 10 projects were approved for financing (1 IP and 9 JPRs).
Further cooperation
Great support for the development of Moldovan science is granted by the U.S. Civilian Research & Development Foundation (CRDF) through the Moldovan Research and Development Association (MRDA) its partner organisation created in 2000 within a cooperation agreement between the Government of the Republic of Moldova and CRDF.
Up to 2010, CRDF and MRDA have jointly committed about USD 8 million to support more than 300 projects in 38 grants competitions. More than 2000 scientists were involved in the implementation of these projects.
The Academy of Sciences of Moldova is one of the institutions that promote the values of NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme in the Republic of Moldova. European integration and international collaboration in the fields of fundamental and applied scientific research is an important aspect of science policy in Moldova. Various projects and workshops have been implemented in cooperation with NATO Partner Countries, in the fields of geology, agriculture, energy, environment, ICT and others.
Since the opening of the Science & Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU) Office in November 2006 in Chisinau, 45 grants have been allocated to Moldovan organisations, with a total cost of approx. USD 2.8 million.
Major international events in the S&T field
On 4-5 May 2007, the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, together with UNESCO Office in Venice (BRESCE), the UNESCO Office in Moscow and the International Council for Science (ICSU), organised the Conference of the Academies from Eastern and South-Eastern Europe with the title “Global Science and National Policies: the Role of Academies”. It was attended by over 50 representatives from 23 countries and international organisations.
Main topics of the conference included: science for knowledge and sustainable development; mitigation of natural and human-induced environmental disasters; science education; gender issues in science; science and national development; role of Academies in the SEE countries. At this conference, the scholars recognised the ASM as a unique model of science management, recommending its implementation in states with similar particularities to the Republic of Moldova.
On 18-21 September 2008, the International Conference for the Central and Eastern Europe, Balkans, Caucasus and Baltic States on “Science & Education Policies” in Chisinau was organised jointly by the Academy of Sciences of Moldova and the Ministry of Education and Youth of the Republic of Moldova, with the support of the UNESCO Office in Moscow, the Central European Initiative, the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), Office of Naval Research Global (ONRG) and Moldovan Research and Development Association (MRDA), among others.
The programme of the conference addressed several challenges affecting science and higher education policies today, focusing on strengthening the international impact of national research and education programmes; strengthening research in higher education; developing a knowledge-based economy; stemming and reversing brain drain.
As a result of the conference, two documents were issued: the Final Communique & Declaration, intended as a contribution to developing better science and higher education policies in the regions targeted by the conference and beyond. In addition, these documents constitute a contribution of the states of represented regions to the World Conference on Higher Education (Paris, July 2009) and the World Science Forum (Budapest, November 2009).
Full reports presented during both conferences mentioned above were published by the UNESCO Office in Venice and Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe (BRESCE) in “Science Policy Series” Volumes no. 6 and no.7, respectively.
On 2-3 March 2012, the conference-symposium “Ecological Chemistry – 2012” took place at the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Moldova (ASM), and was attended by more than 250 specialists from Europe, USA and CSI. The chairman of the conference-symposium was the President of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Moldova, Mr Gheorghe Duca, with the participation of other Presidents of the Academies of Sciences from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Romania and Tajikistan.
The Ecological Chemistry 2012 conference-symposium is part of a series of successful conferences organised in 1995, 2002, 2005 and 2008 supported by UNESCO, CRDF/MRDA, ONRG, and some local R&D organisations, including the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, the Department of Ecological and Industrial Chemistry and the Scientific Center for Ecological and Applied Chemistry of Moldova State University, and the Moldovan Research and Development Association.
This event was a good opportunity for developing international cooperation, experience exchange and discussion of recent achievements in the study of physico-chemical and biochemical processes occurring in natural water, atmosphere and soil, affected by contaminants of human origin, their influence on human health and habitat, and discussion of the ways of preventing and reducing environmental impact and promoting a healthy lifestyle.
On 12 October 2012, the Academy of Sciences of Moldova and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland), with the support of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Mission to Chisinau and the European Union, jointly organised the regional workshop: “Highly skilled mobility and the development of the research and innovation sector of the Republic of Moldova: the need for a structured vision”. The workshop was planned as part of the 5th Moldovan Diaspora Congress. This biannual event brings together Moldovans who are living overseas for open dialogue with the Moldovan authorities.
The main objective of the regional workshop was to offer a public platform for the presentation and discussion of the final results of two initiatives implemented by the ASM and to bring together diverse stakeholders (including scientists, regional and international experts, representatives of Moldovan R&D institutions, representatives of Moldovan public authorities, and representatives of international organisations and funding agencies), and to exchange and brainstorm on possible instruments and strategies that could be implemented to harness the skills and resources of the Moldovan scientific diasporas in order to strengthen the national research and innovation sectors.
A number of specific policy recommendations were made to ensure positive impact from cooperation with the Moldovan scientific diaspora:
Source: ASM
Last update: March 2014
[PDF - 339.5 kB]
(general information - research structure - research policies - international cooperation) (URL: http://www.increast.eu/_media/Moldova_Country_Report_EN_2014_rv.pdf)
[PDF - 1.21 MB]
(November 2011, compiled as an annex to the "White Paper on Opportunities and Challenges in View of Enhancing the EU Cooperation with Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and South Caucasus in Science, Research, and Innovation".) (URL: http://www.increast.eu/_media/Country_Report_Moldova_2011.pdf)
