Thematic partnerships
Thematic partnerships are different types of collaborative structures that take different forms. These are generally inter-laboratory, inter-agency and inter-university, national or international, partnerships. They were created to address, in a given period, research questions related to a particular theme.
GDRs are groups of research units, in whole or in part, belonging or not to the CNRS alone, working on a common scientific objective. Their mission is to promote the dissemination of knowledge in a thematic community, to bring together several types of partners (institutional, industrial or service providers), to develop exchanges of researchers and doctoral students and to facilitate the establishment of doctoral or post-doctoral grants. The IRN (International Research Network) is an extension of the GDR at the international level. It is a research network formed between French and foreign partners. It includes in principle 1 to 3 laboratories per country and has a coordination committee. The GoRs and IRNs are validated for a period of 4 years, renewable.
IRPs (International Research Projects) are the new tools for international cooperation of the CNRS that replace the LIA (Laboratoires Internationaux Associés). IRPs are collaborative research projects established between one or more CNRS laboratories and laboratories in one or two foreign countries. They allow the consolidation of already established collaborations through short or medium term scientific exchanges. Their purpose is to organize working meetings or seminars, to develop joint research activities, including field research, and to supervise students. The French and foreign teams must have already demonstrated their ability to collaborate together (for example by one or more joint publications). These programs are for a period of 5 years.
LMIs (International Joint Laboratories) are an equivalent of the LIAs proposed by the IRD for Southern countries in its mission to support the strengthening, empowerment and international influence of higher education and research systems in developing countries. A LMI is co-constructed and co-directed by teams from one or more research and higher education institutions in developing countries and one or more joint research units affiliated to the IRD, around a targeted scientific theme. LMIs are validated for a renewable period of 5 years.
A JEAI (Young Team Associated with IRD) is composed of at least three researchers from the South, based in a country of the South, associated with an IRD research unit, on a research topic related to the major current issues of society, health and the environment, and benefiting from a favorable institutional environment. The objective of the JEAI is to enable a group of researchers from the South to form a team by implementing a research and research training project. In close collaboration with an IRD research unit, the project should serve as a catalyst for the supported JEAI to become a solid and recognized team in its field. This partnership aims to facilitate the insertion of the young team in national and international scientific networks.
The Zones Ateliers (ZA) are a tool of the Institute of Ecology and Environment (INEE) of CNRS. They constitute an inter-organizational network for interdisciplinary research on the environment and socio-ecosystems in relation to societal issues. Anchored for several decades in the heart of the territories, the workshop zones are building integrated research over the long term.
