Members of more than 80 nationalities are present in IN2P3 laboratories, with around 30% of staff being foreign. This mix reflects the links forged over the years with leading countries in the fields of nuclear physics, particle physics and astroparticle physics, but also a growing presence of these fields of research in emerging countries.

To encourage and support these collaborations, IN2P3 has a department devoted to setting up and supporting European and international projects (Partnership, Europe and International Cooperation Department). This provides advice, expertise and legal monitoring, as well as links with dedicated CNRS departments (including the European Research and International Cooperation Department - DERCI - and CNRS representative offices abroad and in Brussels) to support researchers in their international endeavours.
 

Present on five continents

IN2P3 international strategy extends to several continents beyond Europe, and in recent years it has been extended to South America and Asia in particular. Collaborations are carried out within the context of framework and specific agreements between IN2P3 and its international partners. The vast majority of these are based on major research infrastructures around the world:

CNRS international cooperation tools

IN2P3 research teams also use CNRS international cooperation tools designed to support collaborations and researcher mobility:

IN2P3 supports the Institute's teams in the definition, set-up, management and implementation of European research programmes, in collaboration with CNRS Regional Delegations present at the local level.

It maintains a network of European correspondents present in each of its laboratories.

By interacting with MESRI (Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation) and CNRS office in Brussels, IN2P3 monitors and participates in the implementation and definition of Horizon 2020 and the next Horizon Europe programme (2021-2027).

IN2P3's participation in Horizon 2020

H2020 programme is organised as three main pillars which fund projects in all existing research fields: scientific excellence, industrial leadership, societal challenges. These main pillars are complemented by several transversal programmes and EURATOM. IN2P3 is mainly involved in the scientific excellence pillar, which includes the INFRA and ERC calls and the EURATOM programme. The projects funded may be collaborative or individual.

Collaborative projects

Since 2014, the European Commission has selected and funded collaborative projects, enabling European Union member countries to carry out large-scale research programmes. In the framework of several calls, IN2P3 has steered 25 such projects, including 3 that are jointly coordinated with CNRS. They involve: the INFRA (European Research Infrastructures of Excellence) and EURATOM (research for the peaceful civil use of nuclear fission and fusion energy) calls, and also Marie-Curie RISE (research and staff exchanges), ICT (information and communication technologies) and Science with and for Society.

IN2P3 researchers are strongly involved in the European Research Council (or ERC) programme. This was created in 2007 and it awards individual research grants based on criteria of scientific excellence for a maximum duration of five years. A total of thirteen IN2P3 researchers have been awarded ERC grants, allowing them to conduct exploratory research in very good conditions:

• Starting Grant for young researchers - two to seven years after their thesis (up to 2.5 million euros): awarded to Raphaël Granier de Cassagnac, Marianne Lemoine-Goumard, Cédric Deffayet, Guillaume Pignol, Julien Billard, Raphaël Dupré;
• Consolidator Grant for researchers - seven to twelve years after their thesis (up to 3 million euros): awarded to Giulia Manca, Vladimir Gligorov, Yolanda Prezado, Justine Serrano;
• Advanced Grant for senior researchers (up to 3.5 million euros): Grant winners Elias Kiritsis, Andrea Giukiani, Paulo Privitera;
• Synergy Grant for a group of 2 to 4 researchers, without conditions of experience (up to 14 million euros);
• Proof of Concept for laureates, to support the development of results obtained in the framework of an ERC grant.