Collaborative superconductivity research in Europe

The collaboration in Europe for research in superconductivity, especially for large Scale applications, has a long tradition. In the early seventies already a so-called "GESSS group" (Group on European Superconducting System Studies) became active for accelerator and detector magnet development. In the second half of the seventies the fusion technology programme in Europe called for an increasing effort in magnet development. Due to the fact that the fusion work is at all a collaborative European effort and the earlier GESSS laboratories got involved in that area too, these activities were carried out jointly from the beginning. Participation in the IEA-Large Coil Task by two European groups also proved the capability of an even broader international collaboration. Based on the different management schemes for the collaborations lessons have been learned and are discussed, which might be valuable for foreseeable large European projects such as NET (Next European Torus) and LHC (Large Hadron Collider) in the next decade. The role of industry as a collaboration partner in the different areas is discussed, too.