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At the request of DG Research & Innovation of the European Commission (EC), France like other European countries has set up a network of National Contact Points (NCPs). The NCP's general mission is to promote the programmes and actions proposed by the EC to implement the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, HORIZON 2020.

• The French FP7-NCP network is coordinated by the French Directorate General for Research and Innovation (DGRI) of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR). It consists of 21 NCPs, corresponding to the themes and specific programs of Horizon 2020.

• Each NCP is organised as a "consortium" of members (public research organizations, universities, agencies and national associations, ministries ...) with expertise in different aspects of the specific theme.

• Upon proposal of the inter-organisations alliance AllEnvi, INRA has been designated by the MESR in October 2013 for a period of seven years as coordinator of the "BIO-NCP consortium" corresponding to Societal Challege 2 '"Food security, Sustainable Agricultue & Forestry, Marine, Maritime & Inland Water research, and the Bioeconomy"

• The H2020 BIO-NCP also promotes the calls regarding the Key Enabling Technology "Biotechnology" under the Industrial Leadership pillar of Horizon 2020.

INRA's Chief Executive Officer, president of AllEnvi, has appointed Rafael Garcia-Villar (Research Director, TOXALIM, Toulouse) on behalf of INRA, to co-ordinate the "BIO-NCP" for the benefit of the French scientific community of the field.