GÉANT2 NA4 - Country Needs Assessments
The GÉANT2 project contributes to the Development and Support of NRENs by producing annual editions of the TERENA Compendium of NRENs and by providing Assistance to the development of research and education networking in less-advanced regions.
As part of this activity TERENA organises technical, management or policy workshops, knowledge transfer, secondment of personnel from an NREN to another NREN with consolidated expertise in certain areas, and other specific actions targeting the needs of the NREN in a country.
The support actions can target NRENs and research networking at regional and local level in the whole GÉANT2 project community as well as in countries connecting to the GÉANT2 network via the SEEREN/SEEREN2 and the EUMEDCONNECT projects and countries under consideration in the Porta Optica project.
In order to focus the concrete support measures in a particular country, TERENA monitors the status and the evolution of research and education networking by means of a preliminary assessment of the country needs. A report providing the Terms of reference for Country Needs Assessment has been authored by TERENA and published early in 2005.
Overall guidance and quality control about the activity to support research and education networking in less developed countries is provided by an Advisory Panel, currently composed by the following NREN experts:
- Artur Binczewski, PSNC
- Sabine Jaume-Rajaonia, RENATER
- Baiba Kaskina, SigmaNet
- Agathoclis Stylianou, CYNET
After initial desk study, based on the data already available to TERENA from the NREN Compendium and other information sources, a part of the preparation of a Country Needs Assessment can consist in a visit of several days by the GÉANT2 team of experts to the country concerned, during which they gather information and have intensive discussions with staff of the NREN, people involved in the provision of network services at the local level, users of the network, management of research institutes and educational institutions, and authorities in the national government and funding bodies. The results of such needs assessment is laid down in a report that includes recommendations and that is made available, on a confidential basis, to the relevant actors in the country as well as to the European Commission.
As of December 2007 TERENA staff members, assisted by various teams of experts from other GÉANT2 project partners, have carried out Country Needs Assessments of Albania, Morocco, Romania, the Republic of Moldova, Malta and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The publication of the following country needs assessment reports has been authorised by the research and education networking organisations in the relevant countries: