The ARCADE project is to be coordinated by the Institute of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry (IOPC) which is part of the National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF) situated in the Convergent Region of Attiki in Greece. The key concept behind ARCADE is that, in order to strengthen the research profile of the IOPC and to enable its members to participate effectively in research activities at a Community level of excellence, certain measures need to be taken in order to reinforce the institute’s research capability in areas where it has recognised expertise. The ARCADE project, therefore, addresses specific objectives designed to have maximal impact on the IOPC’s research activities that focus on the design and synthesis of functional compounds and, more particularly, of bioactive compounds and materials. The key concept of the project is to build on the Institute’s existing expertise in the design, synthesis and analysis of new compounds with potential applications in medicinal chemistry, catalysis and materials science. To this end it is planned to use the opportunities provided by the REGPOT action for:- personnel exchanges with well-established partner groups in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Slovenia, Switzerland and the UK to reinforce and transfer necessary know-how- the acquisition of new equipment and upgrade of existing infrastructure with the aim of providing state-of-the-art support for the IOPC’s research objectives and advancing, in particular, its capability in Mass Spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy- the recruitment of experienced researchers to fully exploit the newly acquired equipment and to provide added impetus to the IOPC’s research potential- the organisation of an international conference and a number of workshops in close collaboration with the heads of the partner groups, with topics related to core activities of the IOPC- the dissemination and the promotion of the objectives of the project to the wider public through a range of diverse activities.A well-defined management structure has been drawn up which involves the research staff of the IOPC in all of the activities planned. In addition, an International Advisory Board of three distinguished scientists has also been arranged to offer counsel and to make an independent assessment of the project.