ESREA is the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults that promotes and disseminates theoretical and empirical research on the education of adults and adult learning in Europe through research networks, conferences and publications. Active members come from most parts of Europe.

The European Journal for Research on the Education and Learning of Adults (RELA) is a refereed academic journal creating a forum for the publication of critical research on adult education and learning. It has a particular focus on issues at stake for adult education and learning in Europe, as these emerge in connection with wider international and transnational dynamics and trends. Such a forum is important at a time when local and regional explorations of issues are often difficult to foreground across language barriers. As academic and policy debate is increasingly carried out in the English language, this masks the richness of research knowledge, responses and trends from diverse traditions and foci. The journal thus attempts to be linguistically 'open access'. Whilst creating a forum for international and transnational debate, contributions are particularly welcome from authors in Europe and other locations where English is not the first language.

An international, voluntary association of senior and junior researchers and students, who want to practice cross-cultural, independent and critical research, debate and academic teaching about relations between education, work and politics. The aim of this network is: To build and foster a cross-cultural research network; to build capacity and cross-cultural expertise for a new generation of research experts; to promote cross-cultural expertise in lifelong learning and work; to create cooperative networks in universities that cross boundaries and enhance collaborative learning through the exploration of cultural diversity; to develop research led programmes which can include many different types of research that connect to the interests of learners.

WIFO is a Research Forum in collaboration with European experts. It is an information service, free of charge, provided by researchers for researchers. From its beginning in 1997, the WIFO site has collected resources in the field of European education, with a focus on vocational education, more recently also including human resource development. Major sections of the WIFO site have benefited from contract work for Cedefop and also from collaboration with both the European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training (VETNET) and the University Forum for Human Resource Development (UFHRD).

EAEA (European Association for the Education of Adults) is a European NGO with 131 member organisations from 41 countries working in the field of adult learning and representing more than 60 million women and men learners Europe-wide. The main roles of EAEA are: policy advocacy for lifelong learning at a European level; provision of information and services for our members; development of practice through projects, publications and training; international co-operation with other stakeholders in the field. The EAEA promotes the social inclusion aspects of the Lisbon Strategy; it promotes adult learning and the widening of access and participation in formal and non-formal adult education for all, particularly for groups currently under-represented. The purposes of learning may be competence development for personal fulfilment and in employment related fields; for social change and active citizenship; for sustainable development and gender mainstreaming; for cultural and intercultural awareness and knowledge.

The German Institute for Adult Education | Leibniz Centre for Lifelong Learning (DIE) is a central forum for the fields of science and practice in the area of continuing education in Germany. In its capacity as a service institute for the field of research, the DIE acts as a go-between for research and the field of practice in the area of adult education, supplying the foundations for research orientated towards the field of practice while developing innovative strategies. Service, developmental research, networking and international activities form the cornerstones of the Institute

Research voor Beleid (RvB) is one of the oldest independent research institutes in the Netherlands and member of Panteia. RvB provides policy-makers with the specific knowledge necessary to make well-founded decisions in every stage of policy making: before (ex ante evaluation), during (monitoring) and after (post evaluations) implementation of policy measures. It is characterised by research that is scientifically grounded, pragmatic and concise.

EERA was founded in June 1994 as a result of discussions among many national educational research associations and several major research institutes throughout Europe which identified the need for a European association to foster the exchange of ideas amongst European researchers, promote collaboration in research, improve research quality and offer independent advice on educational research to European policy-makers, administrators and practitioners. EERA was therefore founded as a learned society specifically for the purposes of: encouraging collaboration amongst educational researchers in Europe; promoting communication between educational researchers and international governmental organisations such as the EU, Council of Europe, OECD and UNESCO; improving communication amongst educational research associations and institutes within Europe; disseminating the findings of educational research and highlighting their contribution to policy and practice. EERA membership is made up of 23 national and regional Educational Research Associations from all parts of Europe. It is governed by the Council and the Annual General Assembly. The academic work is organised in 25 thematic networks. From 1994 to 2008 EERA was constituted as a Charity under British Law and was based in Scotland. Since 2008 EERA has been based in Berlin, Germany and is constituted as a "Verein" (i.e. Charity under German Law). EERA is dependent on the participation of the national associations to take forward its mission of promoting educational research in Europe and of fostering cooperation between associations of educational researchers.

The European Research Council (ERC) is the first European funding body set up to support investigator-driven frontier research. Its main aim is to stimulate scientific excellence by supporting and encouraging the very best, truly creative scientists, scholars and engineers to be adventurous and take risks in their research. The scientists are encouraged to go beyond established frontiers of knowledge and the boundaries of disciplines. The ERC complements other funding activities in Europe such as those of the national research funding agencies, and is a flagship component of the 'Ideas Programme' of the European Union's Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7). Being 'investigator-driven', or 'bottom-up', in nature, the ERC approach allows researchers to identify new opportunities and directions in any field of research, rather than being led by priorities set by politicians. This approach ensures that funds are channelled into new and promising areas of research with a greater degree of flexibility. ERC grants are awarded through open competition to projects headed by starting and established researchers, irrespective of their origins, who are working or moving to work in Europe - the sole criterion for selection is scientific excellence. The aim here is to recognise the best ideas, and retain and confer status and visibility to the best brains in Europe, while also attracting talent from abroad. However the ERC aims to do more than simply fund research. In the long term, it looks to substantially strengthen and shape the European research system. This is done through high quality peer review, the establishment of international benchmarks of success, and the provision of up-to-date information on who is succeeding and why. The hope is that these processes will help universities and other research institutions gauge their performance and encourage them to develop better strategies to establish themselves as more effective global players. By challenging Europe's brightest minds, the ERC expects that its grants will help to bring about new and unpredictable scientific and technological discoveries - the kind that can form the basis of new industries, markets, and broader social innovations of the future. Ultimately, the ERC aims to make the European research base more prepared to respond to the needs of a knowledge-based society and provide Europe with the capabilities in frontier research necessary to meet global challenges.

The Research Executive Agency (REA) is a funding body created by the European Commission to foster excellence in research and innovation. It manages large parts of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities (FP7), the main EU funding package to respond to Europe's needs in terms of jobs and competitiveness in the global knowledge economy. The Agency aims at delivering efficient and effective services to the research community and supporting diverse European Commission services dealing with research and innovation. By establishing close contact with final beneficiaries and providing a high visibility of the European Union, the REA acts as promoter of the European Research Area (ERA). The REA has no policy remit: all research-related policy remains within the relevant European Commission services. As an executive agency, it focuses on management tasks outsourced by the Commission and fosters efficiency when addressing the research community's needs. Autonomous since 15 June 2009, the Agency was set up in 2007 in Brussels for the lifetime of FP7. Although FP7 runs until 2013, the REA is expected to remain in place until 2017 in order to finish managing the projects funded under FP7. The life of the REA may then be extended depending on the decisions on EU research funding subsequent to FP7.

This site is designed to help you find out about European Research. Whether you are a researcher or a teacher, in business or in politics, there is something for you here. You can read about the latest political decisions, or the latest advances in research; there is even a set of online leaflets about European Research in Action, written for the non-specialist and available in 11 or more languages.

Eve is the electronic platform for the dissemination and exploitation of results of projects supported by programmes managed by the European Commission in the fields of Education, Training, Culture, Youth and Citizenship. Eve is a new tool available for project beneficiaries of the "Lifelong learning", "Culture", "Youth in Action" and "Citizenship" programmes, to have visibility on the European Union website. Eve will acquire much information as the projects develop and the results are introduced by the project coordinators. Through its collaborative approach, the Eve platform is an innovative tool offering users a centralized vision of the majority of funded projects. Eve is a new tool available to project beneficiaries. Eve will acquire much information through the introduction of results by the project coordinators and the progress of its recently launched projects belonging to the current Education and Culture programmes (Culture, Youth in Action, Citizenship, Lifelong Learning, ...). Eve is not only a tool for the future: from its inception, projects funded in the past have been introduced in the platform. Thus, Eve already contains hundreds of projects funded under the 2000-2006 Education and Culture Programmes: Leonardo da Vinci, Culture 2000, European Active Citizenship, Youth and Socrates (including Comenius, Grundtvig, Erasmus, ...).

The European Research Area is not only for specialists. It is a project designed to improve our lives by making Europe a place where scientific research, technological development and innovation thrive and address the major challenges of our times. Browse the left side menu to learn more about what ERA is, why it is needed, who benefits, the history and milestones of the project. The ERA Partnership is carried through specific “partnership initiatives” addressing priority issues. They are presented in the corresponding pages of the menu you can find on the left-hand side.

The system is a support mechanism for both the Education and Training 2010 work programme and its successor, the Strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training. The website offers relevant, up-to-date, easily accessible and comparable information on national policy initiatives and practices in prioritised areas in the field of Education and Training for the development of lifelong learning. It mainly builds on the work of Peer Learning Clusters and other working groups. Using it will allow you to easily access and/or identify examples of policies and practices and to review past events within the peer learning clusters and other working groups.

The Project PALADIN (Promoting Active Learning and Ageing of Disadvantage Seniors) intents to contribute to the empowerment of the disadvantage seniors (over 50 years old low qualified) through the development of their readiness for self-directed learning in the following fields: health, activity (employment, voluntary or other), education (either formal, no-formal and informal), citizenship and finances.

GINCO (Grundtvig International Network of Course Organiser) wants to network actual and potential GRU course organisers, not only offering a forum for cooperation and exchange of expertise but also offering support for development, promotion of access, delivery, accreditation and sustainability of their courses.

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) is a non-profit, policy-driven, international research, training, information, documentation and publishing centre of UNESCO. One of seven educational institutes of UNESCO, UIL promotes lifelong learning policy and practice with a focus on adult learning and education, especially literacy and non-formal education and alternative learning opportunities for marginalized and disadvantaged groups. UIL???s activities are geared towards achieving the Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) along with the objectives of the International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA) series, the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD), the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), and the UNESCO Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE). UIL answers to the concerns of Member States, giving priority to Africa, Least Developed Countries and E-9 countries. Although UIL???s main focus is on Africa and the developing countries, the Institute was among the first organisations to examine functional adult literacy in Europe. Currently, UIL is addressing the thematic area of literacy in Europe through advocacy, networking and collaborative research activities. UIL???s goal for its literacy-related activities is to further literacy as a foundation for lifelong learning.

The mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. The OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems. We work with governments to understand what drives economic, social and environmental change. We measure productivity and global flows of trade and investment. We analyse and compare data to predict future trends. We set international standards on a wide range of things, from agriculture and tax to the safety of chemicals. We also look at issues that directly affect everyone???s daily life, like how much people pay in taxes and social security, and how much leisure time they can take. We compare how different countries??? school systems are readying their young people for modern life, and how different countries??? pension systems will look after their citizens in old age. Drawing on facts and real-life experience, we recommend policies designed to improve the quality of people's lives. We work with business, through the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, and with labour, through the Trade Union Advisory Committee. We have active contacts as well with other civil society organisations. The common thread of our work is a shared commitment to market economies backed by democratic institutions and focused on the wellbeing of all citizens. Along the way, we also set out to make life harder for the terrorists, tax dodgers, crooked businessmen and others whose actions undermine a fair and open society.