Supercond. Sci. Technol. Supercond. Sci. Technol. Overview and status of the Next European Dipole (NED) joint research activity 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 2006 19 S67 S83 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. research-article