Devred, Arnaud Baudouy, B Baynham, D Elwyn Boutboul, T Canfer, S Chorowski, M Fabbricatore, P Farinon, S Félice, H Fessia, P Fydrych, J Granata, V Greco, Michela Greenhalgh, J Leroy, D Loveridge, P W Matkowski, M Michalski, G Michel, F Oberli, L R den Ouden, A Pedrini, D Pietrowicz, S Polinski, J Previtali, V Quettier, L Richter, D Rifflet, J M Rochford, J Rondeaux, F Sanz, S Scheuerlein, C Schwerg, N Sgobba, Stefano Sorbi, M Toral-Fernandez, F Van Weelderen, R Védrine, P Volpini, G Supercond. Sci. Technol. 10.1088/0953-2048/19/3/010 S67-S83 19 03 2006 2006 The Next European Dipole (NED) Joint Research Activity was launched on 1st January 2004 to promote the development of high performance Nb$_{3}$Sn conductors in collaboration with European industry (aiming at a non-copper critical current density of 1500 A/mm2 at 4.2 K and 15 T) and to assess the suitability of Nb$_{3}$Sn technology to the next generation of accelerator magnets (aiming at an aperture of 88 mm and a conductor peak field of ~ 15 T). It is part of the Coordinated Accelerator Research in Europe (CARE) project, involves eight collaborators and is half-funded by the European Union. After briefly recalling the Activity organization, we report the main progress achieved over the last year, which includes: the manufacturing of a double-bath He II cryostat for heat transfer measurements through Nb$_{3}$Sn conductor insulation, detailed quench computations for various NED-like magnet configurations, the award of two industrial subcontracts for Nb$_{3}$Sn conductor development, the first results of a cross-calibration program of test facilities for Nb$_{3}$Sn wire characterization, detailed investigations of the mechanical properties of heavily cold-drawn Cu/Nb/Sn composite wires and the preliminary assessment of a new insulation system based on polyimide-sized fiber glass tapes. Last, we briefly review the efforts of an ongoing Working Group on magnet design and optimization.