Joint Programming is a structured and strategic process whereby member countries aim to tackle the grand societal challenges that cannot be solved solely on the national level. It allows Member States and Associated Countries to participate in joint initiatives, with the main objective of increasing the value of relevant national and EU R&D and infrastructure investments by concerted and joint planning, implementation and evaluation of national research programmes. Member countries are expected to coordinate national research activities in the broadest sense, group resources, benefit from complementarities and develop common research and innovation agendas, as a basis for long-term cooperation.

More information on the website of the European Commission.

JPI Oceans is an initiative launched by the Member States of the EU to coordinate their national research efforts and contribute to the European Research Area. In March 2008, the European Council called on the European Commission and Member States to explore the potential of Joint Programming, asking for joint initiatives to be launched. One of these initiatives was JPI Oceans, launched in 2011. The European Council Decision provides the formal basis for JPI Oceans (PDF Council meeting).

There are 9 other Joint Programming Initiatives:

• Alzheimer and other Neurodegenerative Diseases (JPND)
• Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change (FACCE)
• A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life (JPI HDHL)
• Cultural Heritage and Global Change: A New Challenge for Europe
• Urban Europe - Global Urban Challenges, Joint European Solutions (JPI Urban Europe)
• Connecting Climate Knowledge for Europe (JPI Climate)
• More Years, Better Lives - The Potential and Challenges of Demographic Change
• Antimicrobial Resistance- The Microbial Challenge - An Emerging Threat to Human Health (JPIAMR)
• Water Challenges for a Changing World (Water JPI)

Membership is open to sovereign states supporting the purpose of the Association (or one legal entity designated, mandated or authorised by such state to become a member and act as its substitute, which:

• are members of the European Economic Area (EEA), or
• which were/are a member of the JPI Oceans initiative and which are not a member of the EEA; or
• other sovereign states, upon invitation of the Management Board.

The terms of membership, and the process to follow, are set out in the JPI Oceans AISBL statutes (PDF, page two; 'Membership').

For additional information on the process to follow, please contact the Secretariat

Calls are announced on our dedicated Calls page on the website, through our Twitter account and in our newsletters.

Please click here and select your country under 'participating country'.

The strategic areas are part of the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) and were developed through a consultation process which is described in more detail in annex II of the SRIA.

To initiate a JPI Oceans Joint Action, one or more member countries must take the lead and be supported by at least three other countries. The proposal is then discussed by the JPI Oceans Management Board and, if approved as JPI Oceans action, it is then defined in greater detail, also enabling other countries to join.

Participation in the actions is based on the principle of variable geometry, which allows the JPI Oceans member countries to decide whether they wish to participate and how much to contribute, according to the relevance of the action to their national priorities. For instance, within the JPI Oceans pilot actions, and on a case by case basis, countries who have chosen to get involved have contributed using different JPI instruments available: Resources for a joint action are national research budgets, shared infrastructure (e.g. ship time), EC's framework programs, institutional contributions, knowledge hubs and regional initiatives. For more information, refer to the JPI Oceans toolkit.

JPI Oceans actions are initiated by individual member countries and are therefore independent from the European Commission's framework programmes. However, JPI Oceans uses a range of tools to bring forward its actions, including co-funded calls (ERANET Cofunds), in which national research budgets are supplemented by funding instruments from the European Commission. The European Commission attends the Management Board as a non-voting member. In addition, the European Commission has funded the CSA Oceans and CSA Oceans 2 projects, aiming to facilitate the implementation of JPI Oceans in its startup phase.

The national representatives are nominated and can be representatives of either a ministry or from a research funding agency. The AISBL statutes (PDF) define the criteria. Current membership is listed here.

JPI Oceans AISBL is funded through contributions by the member countries. The Secretariat is seconded by organisations including the Research Council Norway (RCN), the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), KDM (Germany), CNR (Italy) and Ifremer (France).

All job vacancies will be advertised in the News section of JPI Oceans, our Newsletter and social media outlets: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

All internship opportunities will be advertised as they become available in the News section of JPI Oceans, our Newsletter and social media outlets: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.