This proposal aims to reinforce the cooperation with Europe’s neighbours in the context of the European Research Area. The An-Najah National University (NNU) in the Palestinian-administered Areas (PS) will coordinate the proposal, supported by the European Centre for Training and Research in Earthquake Engineering (EUCENTRE) and the Institute for Advanced Study of Pavia (IUSS) in Italy.The supporting action of EUCENTRE will lead NNU to become a globally competitive and experienced research centre in the field of seismic risk mitigation and disaster management. EUCENTRE will collaborate with NNU to devise a research strategy capable of increasing the scope and visibility of NNU at the national and international levels.The supporting action of IUSS will be fundamental for the training activities for students and young researchers. The long experience of IUSS in the field of earthquake engineering and engineering seismology post-graduate courses will represent a distinguishing feature of the international vocation of the SASPARM activities.The project activities are identified with the goal to create a research infrastructure and to develop and enhance international cooperation with PS in the field of scientific technology and capacity building, i.e. human resources, research policy, networks of researchers and research institutes. In an international framework the proposed activities will lead NNU to a fruitful cooperation with EU.At national level an enhancement of capability will ensure PS to gain a centre prepared to respond to earthquake engineering needs of the local community. The latter target will be pursued by enhancing the capability of NNU for training activity in the field of earthquake engineering. Furthermore, a higher visibility of NNU will encourage researchers to compete internationally in terms of scientific excellence (e.g., acquiring and participating in EU Framework projects related to seismic risk reductions) and increase their incentives to continue their research activities in PS.By developing a comprehensive research strategy, the significant strengthening of NNU role will be fundamental in meeting the national socio-economic challenges and regional and international research activities.