ALTER-Net brings together 24 leading institutes from 17 European countries. They share the goal of integrating their research capability to: assess changes in biodiversity, analyse the effect of those changes on ecosystem services and inform the public and policy makers about this at a European scale. Originally funded by the European Union’s Framework VI program to stimulate a collaborative approach, ALTER-Net is now operating independently.

Objectives

ALTER-Net's main objective is to develop lasting integration amongst its partner institutes, and others, all of whom are involved in biodiversity research, monitoring and/or communication. ALTER-Net is building upon a number of activities developed during the first (EU-funded phase), including:

• Identification of common research priorities and development of a common research programme
• Further development of the LTER-Europe network of Long-Term Ecosystem Research sites (LTER) and Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research platforms (LTSER); ALTER-Net was instrumental in developing this major European research infrastructure
• The ALTER-Net Summer School, which has been providing training for young researchers in inter-disciplinary approaches to biodiversity and ecosystems research since 2006
• Establishment of a vibrant interdiscplinary research community, which ALTER-Net has championed and nurtured, and actively supports through topical workshops
• Communication and knowledge transfer at interfaces such as scientist-to-scientist, scientist-to-policymaker and with the general public
• Supporting the EU LifeWatch project (developing the infrastructure for sharing biodiversity data), of which ALTER-Net is a founder member
• Development of a common data sharing policy.

History: ALTER-Net I

ALTER-Net began life in 2004 as an EU Network of Excellence (Project no. GOCE-CT-2003-505298, Framework Programme 6). This phase (we call it ALTER-Net I) ran until March 2009. The project consisted of a series of linked Work Packages (WP). Six Work Packages dealt with the integration objectives, whilst a further six covered the joint programme of research. These Work Packages interacted and supported one another, so that the research WPs, in identifying gaps in knowledge, tools, etc., informed the integration WPs, which aimed to develop the necessary tools and frameworks for integration.

A further two WPs were specifically tasked with the 'spread of excellence'. One WP addressed communication and dissemination, and focussed on communication of biodiversity research to the wider community, including other researchers, the media and policymakers. The second dealt with training and mobility issues, so that the necessary skills base for biodiversity research and communication could be strengthened.

The majority of the current partners in ALTER-Net were also project partners in ALTER-Net I, and subsequent activities of ALTER-Net have built upon the original project.

Final report of ALTER-Net Phase I...