1. Call identifier: H2020-WIDESPREAD-2016-2017
Topic: WIDESPREAD : Teaming Phase 1
Project proposal: Blue Centre of Excellence (BLUES)
Project coordinator: Ivica Vilibić
Project co-coordinator: Sandi Orlić
Leading institution: Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (HR)
Participating institutions: Institute Ruđer Bošković (HR), MARUM - Center for Environmental Studies (DE) (to be confirmed), IMEDEA - Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (ES) (to be confirmed); Max Planck Society (DE) (to be confirmed)

2. Expected Impact: The creation of new (or significant upgrades of existing) Centres of Excellence in "Widening" Countries through the Teaming partnerships is expected to:
- increase their scientific capabilities and enable them to engage in a strategic growth path pointing to long-term opportunities for economic development. Potential links to innovative clusters would be an asset.
- through improved scientific capabilities allow these countries to improve their chances to seek competitive funding in international fora (including the EU Framework Programmes).
over the medium to long term achieve a measurable and significant improvement in terms of research and innovation culture (as shown through indicators such as research intensity, innovation performance, values and attitudes towards research and innovation) of those countries.
Benefits will also accrue to the institutions from the more intensive research and innovation performers, in terms of access to new research avenues, increased creativity and development of new approaches, as well as a source for increased mobility (inwards and outwards) of qualified scientists. 2

3. Succinct SWOT analysis of the blue (ocean) research in Croatia
Strengths:
Tradition and longevity of research
Strong international contacts
Existing infrastructure (incl. research vessels)
Weaknesses:
Low research excellence (low frontier and cutting-edge research)
Low international visibility and participation in international projects
Low mobility (outward and inward)
Low usage efficiency of infrastructure and instrumentation
High fragmentation between and within institutions, departments, labs, researchers, ...
Underfinanced and defocused research activities
Researchers are overloaded with non-science obligations (monitoring programmes, non-science projects, administration, ...)
Low connections to the blue-oriented economies and sector 3

4. Succinct SWOT analysis of the blue (ocean) research in Croatia
Opportunities:
Excellence hub(s) like the BLUES Centre of Excellence can have a spill-over effect towards existing research institutions, increasing skills and capabilities of researhers and research-performing organisation as a whole
Irreversibily, an increase in average mobility, skills and competeneces of blue researchers within and under umbrella of the BLUES Centre of Excellence will results in larger participation in international projects
New and innovative research approaches and activities will have a benefit for the whole Croatian science system, blue-oriented economies and sector and the society as a whole
Threats:
Low stability (long-term support, incl. financing) of the blue research system, no clear vision of way to go, may suppress the blue/BLUES research excellence
Spill-over effect may reverse and decrease excellence in the BLUES Centre of Excellence 4

5. BLUES Mission:
BLUES Centre of Excellence has a mission of conducting the excellent research in ocean-related sciences, its spreading towards research-performing organisations, with an ultimate goal of improving scientific capabilities in Croatia and beyond.
BLUES Vision:
Vision of the BLUES Centre of Excellence is to become a hub of excellence in ocean-related research and to continuously improve blue growth-oriented research and innovation culture in Croatia and beyond. 5

6. What is expected by national policy-makers (MSES in our case):6