The CoreGRID Network of Excellence (NoE) aims at strengthening and advancing scientific and technological excellence in the area of Grid and Peer-to-Peer technologies. To achieve this objective, the Network brings together a critical mass of well-established researchers (119 permanent researchers and 165 PhD students) from forty-two institutions who have constructed an ambitious joint programme of activities. This joint programme of activity is structured around six complementary research areas that have been selected on the basis of their strategic importance, their research challenges and the recognised European expertise to develop next generation Grid middleware, namely:

• knowledge & data management;
• programming models;
• system architecture;
• Grid information and monitoring services;
• resource management and scheduling;
• problem solving environments, tools and GRID systems.

The Network is operated as a European Research Laboratory (known as the CoreGRID Research Laboratory) having six virtual institutes mapped to the areas that have been identified in the joint programme of activity. The Network is thus committed to set up this Laboratory and to make it internationally recognised and sustainable. It is funded by a European grant (8.2 M euros) assigned to the CoreGRID NoE, for a duration of four years (starting September 1st, 2004), to cover the integration costs while the network partners cover the expense required to perform the research associated with the joint programme of activities.

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