BONUS - 'Joint Baltic Sea Research Programme
BONUS brings together the research communities of marine, maritime, economical and societal research to address the major challenges faced by the Baltic Sea region. A full understanding of the Baltic Sea system is needed. This requires sound knowledge that is scientifically first-rate and relevant for society.
The overarching objective of BONUS-169 is to integrate the Baltic Sea System research into a durable cooperative, interdisciplinary, well integrated and focused multinational programme to support the region’s sustainable development. It will enhance our understanding and predictive capacity about the Baltic Sea System’s response to impending changes caused by both natural and human-induced pressures and about linkages between environmental problems and the social and economic dynamics in responding to them. In turn, it will form the basis for prudent management aimed at safeguarding the sustainable use of the ecosystem’s goods and services.
The BONUS 'Joint Baltic Sea Research Programme' is fully aligned with the objectives of the European Strategy for Marine and Maritime Research. It is an integral part of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea which seeks to provide both a co-ordinated, and inclusive framework in response to the key challenges facing the Baltic Sea Region, together with concrete solutions for these challenges. By implementing a policy-driven, fully-integrated joint research programme, based on extensive and on-going stakeholder consultations, BONUS will provide concrete scientific outputs facilitating the implementation of ecosystem-based management of environmental issues in the Baltic Sea. BONUS thereby supports sustainable development in the region while strengthening research collaboration and facilitating the use of common resources and infrastructure in the region.
Objectives
The strategic objectives of BONUS (2010-2016) are:
The scientific approach towards the above strategic objectives is interdisciplinary with a balanced representation natural and socioeconomic disciplines.
EUR 100 million
The maximum funding available is EUR 100 million for the years 2010-2016. Half of the sum, up to EUR 50 million matching national contributions, is provided by the European Community Seventh Framework Programme, and the other half by the participating funding institutions.
Besides outlining its strategic objectives and themes, the overall framework of the BONUS strategic research agenda 2010-2016 provides the basis for developing practical priorities for the years to come in managing calls, projects, stakeholder – and in particular end-user – effective communications and reporting about the progress and results achieved.