Slovakia has long been lagging behind other countries in engaging in European Research Area (ERA) activities, in particular in EU Framework Programmes projects. The lack of international cooperation has a negative impact on the quality of national research. At the same time, ERA is becoming an increasingly complex structure and requires greater involvement of Member States. The possibilities it provides are quite broad, which poses difficulties in orientation in individual support schemes.Active and full participation in ERA requires the implementation of actions in several areas:1. Supporting the establishment of strategic partnerships with foreign institutions.2. Promotion of Slovak science at European level and support for the participation of researchers and innovators in European projects.3. Greater integration of Slovak research into joint European activities (e.g. ERA-NET Cofund, JPIs).4. Exploiting synergies between European instruments supporting research and innovation – EU Framework Programmes, COSME, Erasmus+, etc. and European Investment and Structural Funds.5. Increasing the uptake of all instruments provided by the EU to finance research and innovation (e.g. risk finance, EFSI, Spreading Excellence and Widening Participation).The aim of the national project reflects these challenges in its activities. The strategic objective is to create a functional system of professional support for the participation of Slovak institutions from the public sector and companies in the European Research Area and in European research and innovation programmes. The planned result of the activities will be (i) increased participation of Slovakia in the European Research Area; (II) increased number of international cooperation projects; (III) better use of national research infrastructure; (IV) Increasing excellence in Slovak research; (v) increased awareness of Slovak research and innovation abroad. The project will improve the quality of the information and services provided to ERA researchers in the priority areas defined in the RIS3 SK strategy.
