The European Commission awarded €580k to EU research diasporas in the UK CONNECTS-UK.

CONNECTS-UK is the first pan-European platform in the UK aimed at fostering scientific collaborations between the EU and the UK. The UK's exit from the EU posed new challenges for international research such as uncertainty in funding, mobility and joint projects.
The associations of scientists and researchers in the UK, with Native Scientists, have joined forces to create CONNECTS-UK: a partnership between AISUK, Finnish Science Society in the UK, FERN UK, Dutch Academic Network UK, Polonium Foundation, PARSUK, SRUK/CERU, with additional funding from Santander Foundacion, FECYT Innovacion, Higher Education, French Embassy, Italian Embassy, and Netherlands Embassy.

The main aim of CONNECTS-UK is to strengthen European scientific communities in through 4 objectives:

1. Establish a network of European researchers in the UK;

2. Analyse our communities and scientific relationships;

3. Advocate for EU-UK relations and provide advice;

4. Develop science outreach programmes.

CONNECTS-UK aims to establish itself as a staple in modern scientific diplomacy using the strong foundations of its members, which have been supporting EU-UK relations for over 15 years and have connections with academic and political institutions in the UK and the EU. The EU support will give new impetus to promoting EU-UK common values and achievements at a larger scale. The €580k of funding will contribute towards growing networks, undertaking research, providing science-policy advice, and communicating science to younger audiences.