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The TRACK-STAR project aspires to reinvigorate and support transatlantic policy dialogues regarding economic policy, environmental policy, and the promotion of resilient democratic governance.
This two-year project will provide a mutually beneficial collaboration platform between EU and US civil society organisations to stimulate policy dialogue in EU-US relations.
TRACK-STAR, which stands for TRAnsatlantic Civil society dialogues with Key policy STAkeholdeRs, is funded by the Delegation of the European Union to the United States under their program entitled EuropeAid/168605/DD/ACT/US, EU-US: Getting to Know Europe, Transatlantic Civil Society Dialogue & Building Partnership on the Future of Work. The three partner institutions in the TRACK-STAR project are: Waterford Institute of Technology (Ireland), James Madison University (USA), and the Lares Institute (USA).
According to the project coordinator, James Clarke (above), “the TRACK-STAR project, which started at the beginning of 2021, aspires to reinvigorate and support transatlantic policy dialogues regarding economic policy, environmental policy, and the promotion of resilient democratic governance.” “This two-year project will provide a mutually beneficial collaboration platform between EU and US civil society organisations (CSOs) to stimulate policy dialogue in EU-US relations at this opportunistic moment in time.” “The project establishes working groups in seven policy areas deemed of critical importance to both the EU and US: climate change; energy; circular economy and biodiversity; democracy and transparency; digital economy; trade and investment; and regulatory cooperation.”
Sasitharan Balasubramaniam, Director of Research at TSSG / Walton Institute, welcomes the project, stating, “the timing of this EU – US project is particularly important as we evolve to the Walton Institute since the building and expansion of our existing cooperation with international partners is a key objective of the Walton Institute, especially with partners in the United States.” “In particular, as we embark on numerous evolving challenges in energy, environment, and uncertainty in the global economy, this project will allow us cross-atlantic policy development strategies to tackle these issues”.
Kevin Doolin, Director of Innovation at TSSG / Walton Institute agrees with this sentiment and notes, “TSSG have been doing ground-breaking work in international cooperation for the last 15 years, in the United States, and beyond, and the awarding of this transatlantic project is a further testament to this proven track record.” “The TRACK-STAR project fully dovetails into the Walton Institute’s (launching 24 March 2021) internationalisation strategy, and we as Directors are excited by the opportunities this will enable.”
Ms. Sinead Day, International Affairs Manager in WIT, commented on the success, “We are delighted with your success and wish the TRACK-STAR project well.” “It is well timed since the Office for International Relations has been actively encouraging collaborations with United States’ institutions for many years and have recently been awarded three ERASMUS+ projects for student and staff mobilities, specifically with the United States, which is certainly a priority international education nation for WIT and Irish Higher Education.”
Clarke continued, “the dialogues facilitated by TRACK-STAR will increase understanding of European, US, and transatlantic efforts and improve feedback loops linking society with policymakers.” “The policy areas scoped and examined by these working groups in 2021 and presented as policy recommendations in 2022 and will also be shared on the project website at http://www.track-star.eu/.”
For further information about this EU-funded initiative, please contact jclarke@wit.ie.