"Marine biotechnology has the potential to provide a major contribution towards addressing some of the most pressing societal challenges including environmental degradation, human health and delivering sustainable supplies of food and energy.The main goal of the CSA will be to prepare the foundation for a potential ERA-NET in the area of Marine Biotechnology which will require: a) Gaining better understanding of the Marine Biotechnology landscape in Europe and beyond. To this end the consortium envisages carrying out an analysis of the current landscape (research effort, infrastructures, stakeholders, strategies and programmes, gaps and barriers to cooperation). b) Mobilisation of key stakeholders: extending the partnership of funding agencies and European Stakeholders. To this end the consortium envisages pro-active engagement with relevant and potentially interested funding agencies and stakeholders through development of appropriate fora, the organisation of information sessions, workshops and other project activities. c) Sketching the contours of future cooperation between funding agencies in the area of Marine Biotechnology. To this end the consortium envisages workshops involving the extended network of funding agencies and representative governmental organisations to set the stage for the set-up of appropriate cooperation tools to develop joint programmes and pool resources for collaborative research on a European scale. d) Managing information relevant to marine biotechnology research, technology development and innovation, and making this available via a dedicated web-site (including Wiki pages), newsletters, reports and briefing documents."