Mission Europe pour la Recherche recognized as a European success story in Research Management!
Mission Europe pour la Recherche (MER) has been selected as one of 70 exemplary Research Management initiatives on a European scale, in the "Success Stories from the Research Management Community - A Catalogue of Best Practices and Achievements" published in June 2025.
To date, MER is the only French initiative mentioned in the "pre-award" category, underlining the relevance and impact of our model in serving researchers.
A European catalog to highlight Research Management professionalsThis
publication was drawn up at the initiative of the European Commission. It aims to:
- Recognize the central role of Research Management in the success of R&I projects,
- Illustrate the contexts, challenges, actions and concrete results achieved in the field,
- Highlight inspiring practices that help structure more effective and inclusive research ecosystems across Europe.
👉 The full report can be accessed here: http://bit.ly/43ydRTT
The MER: an innovative modelThe
Mission Europe pour la Recherche was born in 2022 from a strategic partnership between Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, Inserm and IRD, with the support of the Agence nationale de la recherche (ANR) andASDESR.
It is the first mutualized and integrated "Europe cell" in France, a one-stop shop for support for European projects, covering:
- Pre-award: awareness-raising, set-up, response strategy for Horizon Europe calls;
- Proposal development and administrative and scientific support;
- Post-award: link with management services and support for coordinators.
This service is aimed at 126 research units on the Aix-Marseille site, and today brings together a team of more than 20 expert staff committed to facilitating access to European funding.
MER is fully in line with the ambitions of the European Research Area, strengthening local capacities and promoting inter-institutional cooperation. It also participates in exchanges of best practice with other universities and institutions in France and Europe.
