Map to IST Calls for Proposals in 2000

for indirect RTD actions under the specific programme for research, technological development and demonstration on a "User-friendly Information Society (1998 to 2002)"
The IST (Information Society Technologies) Programme Version 2000

The calls relate to Proposals for RTD projects and take-up actions, specified below, called by a fixed deadline - Part 1, and called under a continuous submission scheme - Part 2.

Third IST Call
Publication Date: February 10, 2000
The indicative budget available for this call is 300 million euro of Community contribution. 
Part 1a (proposals for RTD, demonstration, and combined RTD/demonstration projects)
[Call part identifier: IST-00-3-1A]
Deadline for proposals: May 10th, 2000 at 5pm (Brussels local time).
Key Action I - System and Services for the Citizen Actions lines I.1.1, I.1.2, I.1.3, I.2.1, I.4.2
Key Action II - New Methods of Work and Electronic Commerce Actions lines II.1.3, II.2.1, II.2.2, II.4.1
Key Action III - Multimedia Content and Tools Actions lines III.1.2, III.1.4, III.2.1, III.2.2, III.3.1, III.3.2
Key Action IV - Essential Technologies and Infrastructures Actions lines IV.5.2, IV.5.3
Others 
Key Action V - Cross-Programme Themes
Key Action VI - Future and Emerging Technologies
Key Action VII - Research Networking		 Actions lines 
Cross-programme themes: V.1.4 CPA4, V.1.5 CPA5, V.1.7 CPA7, V.1.8 CPA8
Future and emerging technologies: VI.2.1 FET P1
Research Networking: VII.1.2 RN2, VII.1.3 RN3, VII.1.4 RN4
Part 1b (proposals for take-up actions)
[Call part identifier: IST-00-3-1B]
Deadline for proposals: January 17th, 2000 at 5pm (Brussels local time).
Key Action I - System and Services for the Citizen Actions lines I.1.4
Key Action II - New Methods of Work and Electronic Commerce Actions lines II.1.6
Key Action III - Multimedia Content and Tools
Key Action IV - Essential Technologies and Infrastructures
Others 
Key Action V - Cross-Programme Themes
Key Action VI - Future and Emerging Technologies
Key Action VII - Research Networking		 Actions lines 
Cross-programme themes: V.1.5 CPA5, V.1.7 CPA7, V.1.8 CPA8
Part 2a (proposals for RTD, demonstration, and combined RTD/demonstration projects) - Continuous Submission Scheme
[Call part identifier: IST-00-3-2A]
Proposals may be submitted at any time up to September 15, 2000 at 5pm (Brussels local time).
 Key Action VI - Future and Emerging Technologies Action line VI.1.1 (FET O)
Part 2b (proposals for support measures) - Continuous Submission Scheme
[Call part identifier: IST-00-3-2B]
Proposals may be submitted at any time up to June 15, 2000 at 5pm (Brussels local time).
 Key Action VIII - IST Support Measures Action lines VIII.1.1, VIII.1.2, VIII.1.3, VIII.1.4, VIII.1.5, VIII.1.6

Fourth IST Call
Publication Date: June 25, 2000
The indicative budget available for this call is 450 million euro of Community contribution. 
Part 1a (proposals for RTD, demonstration, and combined RTD/demonstration projects)
[Call part identifier: IST-00-4-1A]
Deadline for proposals: October 15
Key Action I - System and Services for the Citizen Actions lines I.3.1, I.4.1, I.5.1, I.5.2, I.5.4
Key Action II - New Methods of Work and Electronic Commerce Actions lines II.1.1, II.1.2, II.3.1, II.4.2
Key Action III - Multimedia Content and Tools Actions lines  III.1.1, III.1.6, III.3.3, III.4.1, III.4.2
Key Action IV - Essential Technologies and Infrastructures Actions lines IV.2.2, IV.2.4, IV.3.1, IV.4.1, IV.4.2, IV.5.4, IV.6.1, IV.6.2, IV.7.1, IV.7.3, IV.8.4, IV.8.5
Others 
Key Action V - Cross-Programme Themes
Key Action VI - Future and Emerging Technologies
Key Action VII - Research Networking		 Actions lines 
Cross-programme themes: V.1.1 CPA1, V.1.2 CPA2
Future and emerging technologies:VI.2.2 FET P2
Part 1b (proposals for take-up actions)
[Call part identifier: IST-00-4-1B]
Deadline for proposals: October 15
Key Action I - System and Services for the Citizen Actions lines I.5.3
Key Action II - New Methods of Work and Electronic Commerce Actions lines II.1.1, II.1.4, II.1.5, II.1.6, II.4.2
Key Action III - Multimedia Content and Tools Actions lines III.1.3, III.1.5, III.2.3, III.4.3, III.5.1
Key Action IV - Essential Technologies and Infrastructures Actions lines IV.1.1, IV.2.5, IV.3.4, IV.4.3, IV.6.3, IV.7.5, IV.7.6, IV.8.6, IV.8.7, IV.8.8
Others 
Key Action V - Cross-Programme Themes
Key Action VI - Future and Emerging Technologies
Key Action VII - Research Networking
Part 2a (proposals for RTD, demonstration, and combined RTD/demonstration projects) - Continuous Submission Scheme
[Call part identifier: IST-00-4-2A]
Proposals may be submitted at any time up to TBA.
 Key Action VI - Future and Emerging Technologies Actions lines VI.1.1. FET O
Part 2b (proposals for support measures) - Continuous Submission Scheme
[Call part identifier: IST-00-4-2B]
Proposals may be submitted at any time up to TBA.
 Key Action VIII - IST Support Measures Action lines VIII.1.1, VIII.1.2, VIII.1.3, VIII.1.4, VIII.1.5, VIII.1.6

Fifth IST Call
Publication Date: October 14, 2000
The indicative budget available for this call is 200 million euro of Community contribution. 
Part 1a (proposals for RTD, demonstration, and combined RTD/demonstration projects)
[Call part identifier: IST-00-5-1A]
Deadline for proposals: February 15, 2001
Key Action I - System and Services for the Citizen
Key Action II - New Methods of Work and Electronic Commerce
Key Action III - Multimedia Content and Tools
Key Action IV - Essential Technologies and Infrastructures Actions lines IV.2.1, IV.2.3, IV.3.2, IV.3.3, IV.5.1, IV.7.2, IV.8.1, IV.8.2, IV.8.3
Others 
Key Action V - Cross-Programme Themes
Key Action VI - Future and Emerging Technologies
Key Action VII - Research Networking		 Actions lines 
Cross-programme themes: V.1.3 CPA3, V.1.6 CPA6
Part 1b (proposals for take-up actions)
[Call part identifier: IST-00-5-1B]
Deadline for proposals: February 15, 2001
Key Action I - System and Services for the Citizen
Key Action II - New Methods of Work and Electronic Commerce Actions lines II.1.6
Key Action III - Multimedia Content and Tools Actions lines III.3.4, III.5.1
Key Action IV - Essential Technologies and Infrastructures Actions lines IV.3.5, IV.5.5, IV.6.4, IV.7.4, IV.8.9
Others 
Key Action V - Cross-Programme Themes
Key Action VI - Future and Emerging Technologies
Key Action VII - Research Networking
Part 2a (proposals for RTD, demonstration, and combined RTD/demonstration projects) - Continuous Submission Scheme
[Call part identifier: IST-00-5-2A]
Proposals may be submitted at any time up to TBA.
 Key Action VI - Future and Emerging Technologies Action line VI.1.1 (FET O)
Part 2b (proposals for support measures) - Continuous Submission Scheme
[Call part identifier: IST-00-5-2B]
Proposals may be submitted at any time up to TBA.
 Key Action VIII - IST Support Measures Action lines VIII.1.1, VIII.1.2, VIII.1.3, VIII.1.4, VIII.1.5, VIII.1.6

 
 

NOTE 1. When submitting a proposal for an RTD project, a demonstration project, a combined project or a concerted action, proposers may include an application for a Bursary for young researcher from Developing Countries. Further information on this scheme is given in the Guide for Proposers.

NOTE 2.  SME specific measures are implemented through the continuous submission scheme for support measures. More information on this can be obtained from the SME Helpdesk (http://www.cordis.lu/sme).

According to the rules for participation and dissemination and the European Commission regulation for implementing them, Member States and Associated States may have access, on presentation of a reasoned request, to useful knowledge which is relevant to policy-making. This knowledge must have been generated by those RTD actions supported as a result of this call and which addressed a part of the work programme specified as eligible for such access.

1. Detailed Objectives and RTD Priorities (from 1999 Workprogramme

1.1. Key Action I - System and Services for the Citizen

Objectives

"The aim of this work is to foster the creation of the next generation of user-friendly, dependable, cost-effective and interoperable general-interest services, meeting user demands for flexible access, for everybody, from anywhere, at any time. Work, including the associated education and training, encompasses RTD addressing the whole of the Key Action, as well as specific RTD in the following fields: health; special needs, including ageing and disability; administrations, environment; and transport. Certain of the ubiquitous issues addressed throughout the whole of this programme will be taken up further in order to pay due consideration to the needs and expectations of the typical users in this Key Action, in particular the usability and acceptability of new services, including the security and privacy of information and the socio-economic and ethical aspects."
Overview Action Lines for 2000 Future priorities beyond 2000

I.1 Health		 I.1.1. Intelligent environment for health promotion and disease prevention
I.1.2. Intelligent environment for patients
I.1.3. Advanced interactive environment for doctors and nurses
I.1.4. Best practice and demonstration actions in regional healthcare networks
  • Personal health systems
  • Secure high-speed regional health care networks
  • Ambient intelligence for social integration and participation, especially employment
  • Systems for single point access to improve on-line interactive services
  • Systems for improving the business processes of public administrations
  • Smart sensors for environmental management
  • Ambient, seamless access for intelligence based services for mobile users
  • Comprehensive integration of sub-systems to improve transport safety and performance
I.2 Persons with Special Needs, including the Elderly  and the Disabled I.2.1. Intelligent assistive systems and interfaces to compensate for functional impairments
I.3 Administrations I.3.1. Smart government 2005-2010
I.4 Environment I.4.1. Intelligent environmental management, risk and emergency systems (focusing on generic systems).
I.4.2. Data fusion and smart sensor technologies for humanitarian demining
I.5 Transport and Tourism I.5.1. Intelligent transport infrastructures 
I.5.2. Intelligent vehicle systems 
I.5.3. Best practice and demonstration actions in electronic fee collection 
I.5.4. Intelligent systems for improved tourism and travel services

1.2. Key Action II - New Methods of Work and Electronic Commerce

Objectives

"The aim of this work is to develop information society technologies to enable European workers and enterprises, in particular SMEs, to increase their competitiveness in the global marketplace, whilst at the same time improving the quality of the individual's working life, through the use of information society technologies to provide the flexibility to be free from many existing constraints on both working methods and organisation, including those imposed by distance and time. Specific attention will be paid to the social implications of new working methods, in particular their impact on equal opportunities and quality of life. It covers both the development and the trading of goods and services, in particular in the electronic marketplace, and takes into account the different requirements and capabilities of the individual worker, consumer and of businesses and organisations, and includes the related training. Considerations of the global context, in particular the rapid evolution of the marketplace, and socio-economic factors will guide the work, and the objective will be to develop and demonstrate world-best work and business practices, exploiting European strengths such as electronic payments, smart cards, mobile systems, software for business process modelling and enterprise management and consumer protection."
Overview Action Lines for 2000 Future priorities beyond 2000
II.1 Work Spanning Key Action II II.1.1. New perspectives for work and business
II.1.2. Knowledge management for eCommerce and eWork
II.1.3. Mobile and ubiquitous  eCommerce and eWork
II.1.4. Early exploitation and adoption of eCommerce and eWork solutions and practices
II.1.5. Promoting broad adoption of eCommerce and eWork in regional and sectoral settings
II.1.6. Specific support measures		 Priorities in 2001 will generally aim at reinforcing work initiated in 1999 and 2000, taking into account new technological, social, market and policy developments.  The objective is to continue focusing on strategic and visionary RTD priorities that are at the very least one step ahead of current market developments (i.e. medium- to long-term/high-risk RTD) and complement these activities with measures to promote early exploitation and broad adoption of novel solutions and practices.
II.2 Flexible, Mobile and Remote Working Methods and Tools II.2.1. Sustainable workplace design
II.2.2. ?Smart? organisations
II.3 Management Systems for Suppliers and Consumers II.3.1. Dynamic value constellations
II.4 Information and Network Security and other Confidence Building Technologies II.4.1. Technology building blocks for trust and security
II.4.2. Large-scale trust and confidence 

1.3. Key Action III - Multimedia Content and Tools

Objectives

"The aim of this work is to improve the functionality, usability and acceptability of future information products and services to enable linguistic and cultural diversity and contribute to the valorisation and exploitation of Europe's cultural patrimony, to stimulate creativity, and to enhance education and training systems for lifelong learning. Work will cover new models, methods, technologies and systems for creating, processing, managing, networking, accessing and exploiting digital content, including audio-visual content. An important research dimension will be new socio-economic and technological models for representing information, knowledge and know-how. The work will address both applications-oriented research, focusing on publishing, audio-visual, culture and education and training and generic research in language and content technologies for all applications areas, and will include validation, take-up, concertation and standards."
Strategy, Architecture and Focus
Innovative middleware, including new methods, tools and technologies, has an important role in enhancing content-rich information, communication systems and services, by embedding in them higher levels of interactivity, multilinguality, multimodality and naturalness. It enables as well, the exploitation of the semantics of content in pursuit of full knowledge acquisition and exchange. The development and integration of cross-media standards and meta-data should accelerate the provision of digital content components and systems. Processes, practices and flows associated with the content value chain should become more effective through extensive user involvement in take-up trials.

Work in Key Action III will focus on specific topics in the multimedia content value chain, where industry?s and society?s? needs have become increasingly visible. These are: Authoring and personalising creative content for the Web marketplace; access to cultural and scientific collections, including virtual repositories; new systems for schools and lifelong learning that improve knowledge and skills acquisition; naturalness and effectiveness of interactive systems, multilingual communication and knowledge management; interactive multimedia content for new domestic and mobile networks, and information visualisation tools.

Overview Action Lines for 2000 Future priorities beyond 2000
III.1 Interactive publishing, digital content and cultural heritage III.1.1. Authoring interactive Web content
III.1.2. Personalising content
III.1.3. Trials and test-beds for  digital content authoring and personalising systems (Take-up)
III.1.4. Access to digital collections of cultural and scientific content
III.1.5. Trials on new access modes to cultural and scientific content (Take-up)
III.1.6. Virtual representations of cultural objects
  • Web-based audio-visual production
  • Personalised advertising and personalised services for Web communities
  • Access and visualisation of cultural and scientific collections
  • Intelligent cultural information services for the citizen
  • Digital archiving and long-term preservation test-beds
  • Advanced learning environments, and strategic follow-up to previous activities
  • Natural interactivity
  • Cross-lingual information management and knowledge discovery 
  • Novel approaches and technologies for written and spoken language translation
  • Validation projects and take-up measures for multilingual public-interest services
  • Mobile cross-media 
III.2 Education and training III.2.1. The school of tomorrow
III.2.2. The learning citizen
III.2.3. Trials and best practice addressing advanced solutions for on-the-job training in SMEs (Take-up)

 
III.3 Human Language Technologies III.3.1. Natural interactivity 
III.3.2. Cross-lingual information management and knowledge discovery
III.3.3. Multilingual communication services and appliances
III.3.4. Trials and best practice in multilingual e-service and e-commerce (Take-up)
III.4 Information Access, Filtering, Analysis and Handling III.4.1. Content-processing for domestic and mobile multimedia platforms 
III.4.2. Information visualisation
III.4.3. Trials and best practice in information access, filtering, analysis and handling (Take-up)
III.5 Specific Support Measures III.5.1. Working Groups and Awareness and Dissemination

1.4. Key Action IV - Essential Technologies and Infrastructures

Objectives

"The aim of this work is to promote excellence in the technologies which are crucial to the Information Society, to accelerate their take-up and broaden their field of application. The work will address the convergence of information processing, communications and networking technologies and infrastructures. The focus will be on technologies and infrastructures common to several applications, while those specific to one application only would be addressed in the context of that application in other parts of the Framework Programme."
Overview Action Lines for 2000
IV.1 Implications Assessment IV.1.1. Implication Assessment
IV.2 Computing, communications and networks IV.2.1. Distributed systems and services provision
IV.2.2. Real-time systems
IV.2.3. Network integration, interoperability and interworking
IV.2.4. Terabit core networks
IV.2.5. Computing, communications and networks ? take-up measures
IV.3 Technologies and engineering for software, systems and services IV.3.1. Distributed development of software and systems
IV.3.2. Software-Engineering for generic end-user services
IV.3.3. User-centred interaction and functionality design
IV.3.4. Software, systems and services ? take-up measures
IV.3.5. Software, systems and services ? thematic networks, accompanying measures
IV.4 Real-time and large-scale simulation and visualisation technologies IV.4.1. Real-time simulation and visualisation technologies and services
IV.4.2. Mixed realities and new imaging frontiers for innovative applications and services
IV.4.3. Real-time simulation and visualisation, mixed reality ? take-up measures
IV.5 Mobile and personal communications and systems, including satellite related systems and services IV.5.1. Re-configurable radio systems & networks
IV.5.2. Terrestrial wireless systems and networks
IV.5.3. Integrated satellite systems and services
IV.5.4. Fourth Generation system and network concepts for wireless communications
IV.5.5. Mobile and personal communications and satellite systems ? take-up measures
IV.6 Interfaces making use of the various senses IV.6.1. Advanced displays and sensors to support system and service level interfaces
IV.6.2. User and service interfaces and buffers for seamless end-to-end services
IV.6.3. Advanced displays and sensors ? take-up measures
IV.6.4. Advanced interfaces ? take-up measures
IV.7 Peripherals, sub-systems and microsystems IV.7.1. Peripherals and networked embedded technologies
IV.7.2. Subsystems
IV.7.3. Microsystems
IV.7.4. Peripherals technologies ? take-up measures
IV.7.5. Subsystems ? take-up measures
IV.7.6. Microsystems ? take-up measures
IV.8 Microelectronics - optoelectronics IV.8.1. Microelectronics design and test
IV.8.2. Application-specific microelectronics
IV.8.3. Industrial microelectronics technologies: processes, equipment and materials
IV.8.4. Optoelectronic technologies
IV.8.5. Advanced micro- and optoelectronics
IV.8.6. Microelectronics design and test ? take-up measures
IV.8.7. Application-specific microelectronics ? take-up measures
IV.8.8. Industrial microelectronics technologies: processes, equipment and materials ? take-up measures
IV.8.9. Research training in microelectronics ? accompanying measures

1.5. Cross- Programme Themes

Objectives

Cross-programme themes are the most practical manifestations of both the integrated nature of the Information Society Technologies (IST) Programme and of the underlying convergence of information processing, communications and media. The objective of the cross programme "actions" and "clusters" is to ensure that topics associated with more than one Key Action are addressed in a coherent manner, with each Key Action concentrating on and contributing from its particular perspective. These activities add value by facilitating information exchange, consensus and co-ordination on themes that cut across the programme.
Strategy and Architecture

The strategy for facilitating the emergence of Cross-programme themes is twofold:

V.1.1 CPA.1: Extended Home environments
V.1.2 CPA2: User friendliness, Human factors, multilingual and multi-modal dialogue modes
V.1.3 CPA3: Ubiquitous and intelligent info-mobility and geo-information systems
V.1.4 CPA4: Large scale systems survivability 
V.1.5 CPA5: Smart cards 
V.1.6 CPA6: Next generation networks
V.1.7 CPA7: Socio-Economic analysis for the information society
V.1.8 CPA8: Statistical tools, methods, indicators & applications for the Information Society


CPA6: Next generation networks

Objectives:

To foster deployment and early market adoption of an "open" modern networking infrastructure that results from the convergence of IP (Internet Protocol), fixed, mobile and wireless technologies by supporting industry driven experimentation, integration, validation and deployment of cross-boundary applications and technologies addressing interoperability and scalability. These experiments will complement laboratory test-beds and trials conducted in other parts of the Programme and allow testing usability and user-friendliness in a larger scale in terms of both number of users and duration of the experiments.
Focus:
The work focuses on novel infrastructures that results from the convergence of IP (Internet Protocol), fixed, mobile and wireless technologies and architectures from a technological and service perspective. The availability of large scale converged network experiments will permit to validate technological choices in relation to issues such as scalability, security and Quality of Service and to experiment and demonstrate full service and application capabilities particularly in the context of specific industries and application sectors. Complementary dimensions are the testing of effective management tools (possibly using agent technology) across all network layers and the exploration of integrated accounting, billing and payment systems.


1.6. Future and Emerging Technologies

Objectives

"This specific activity on future and emerging technologies covers research that is of a longer-term nature or involves particularly high risks - compensated by the promise of major advances and the potential for industrial and societal impact. Such research will typically be either trans-disciplinary or in an emerging discipline. It will reinforce the link and flow of ideas, initiatives and people between academia and industry in the EU."
Open Domain
The open domain ensures a seamless coverage of all Information Society technologies by keeping the door open to any new idea, with a potential for industrial or societal impact, in a bottom-up fashion. A Call for proposals will be open throughout the duration of the Programme.
VI.1.1 Open domain Objective: 
To nurture invention, creativity, and bright-spark ideas. It is open to any idea that pertains to Information Society technologies, as long as the ideas are highly innovative, and the realisation of these ideas is either high risk or requires longer-term research. 

Work submitted must have the potential of leading to significant breakthroughs in industrial or societal terms. The domain is open to developing new technologies; exploring new ways of doing things; or creating new contexts and roles for emerging technologies. Funding is available for short assessment phases (typically for one year) and for full-scale research projects. The Call for proposals will remain open for the duration of the Programme (i.e. proposals can be submitted at any time).
 

Proactive initiatives

The proactive initiatives have as objective the focusing of resources on a few key emerging visionary and challenging long-term goals. The selection of Action Lines for proactive initiatives is based on their potential for long-term industrial and societal impact and their timeliness. Each initiative consists of a set of autonomous but closely interacting and appropriately networked projects that co-ordinate their research, reinforced with some shared research facilities when these provide economies of scale.
VI.2.1 P1: Disappearing computing Focus:
Specifically, the initiative will focus on three inter-linked targets: 
1) Developing new tools and methods for the embedding of computation in everyday objects so as to create artefacts. 
2) Research on how new functionality and new use can emerge from collections of interacting artefacts. 
3) Ensuring that people?s experience of these environments is both coherent and engaging in space and time.
VI.2.2 P2: Neuroinformatics  for ?living? artefacts Objective:
To explore new synergies between Neurosciences and Information Technologies in order to enable the construction of hardware/software ?artefacts that live and grow?, i.e. artefacts that self-adapt and evolve beyond pure programming. 
Focus:
Preference will be given to work that demonstrates adaptability and growth in the ?real world? and that does not simply extrapolate from an already established research field (such as neural-networks or genetic algorithms).

1.7. Research Networking

 Objectives

The first objective (action line RN1) is to build a world-class Gbit/s network to ensure continuity by upgrading the existing European interconnection of national research and education networks. The resulting networking services and capacity must match the aggregated needs of European researchers and allow for the deployment of application experiments and address the needs of virtual institutes and labs.
The second objective (Action Lines RN2, RN3 and RN4) is to support the use of advanced network features and test-beds that are needed to test, validate and demonstrate new technologies and services in ?real-world? settings. The practical experience gained in deploying emerging technologies in realistic settings will help European research and industry to play a leading role in defining the next generation of networking and application technologies that go beyond the state-of-the-art.
Architecture and Implementation
The first action line (RN1) concerns the provision of networking capacity and services. It will be implemented in concertation with the National Research Networks that will organise competitive tenders, according to the public procurement rules and in compliance with market regulation.
Any legal entity participating in projects selected under the 5th Framework Programme may use and access the interconnection infrastructure. Usage and access costs should be supported in the framework of these projects.
The second objective will be implemented through RTD activities, demonstration projects and complementary IST Support Measures.
Both objectives are related in the sense that the provision of advanced network features and test-beds can be based on the services provided by the trans-European research networking infrastructure (for example to interconnect local test-beds). Within the IST workprogramme 2000, all the four Action Lines are designed to play a central role in supporting services for research networking and networking research. Openness, scalability, interworking and convergence of technologies are fundamental issues to be addressed.
Action Lines for 2000 Objectives
VII.1.1 RN1: Interconnection of Research Networks To procure and manage state-of-the-art trans-European broadband interconnections amongst National Research Networks. That will lead to a scalable, smoothly expandable pervasive European interconnection network that can serve the growing needs of national research networks, scientific labs, industrial research institutions and IST projects. This implies upgrading existing capacities to multi-Gbit/s, introducing end-to-end support for different levels of ?Quality of Service? (QoS), improving connectivity to third countries, and includes monitoring the usage of such services and the capability to track evolving user requirements.
VII.1.2 RN2: End-to-End Application Experiments Support large scale experimentation with middleware and end-to-end applications making use of innovative types of terminals. This experimentation calls for the involvement of real users in the context of problem-oriented test-beds (including also the support of virtual communities). The applications addressed might require non-disruptive network services such as ad hoc (plug and play) connectivity, active networking, reliable multicast, security, mobility, seamless transition over heterogeneous networks, QoS and scalable and adaptable network protocols for evolving applications. In this context IPv6 is seen as a key enabler for future test-beds, applications and middleware running on them.
VII.1.3 RN3: Test-beds for Integration of Access Technologies  To support the use of test-beds to promote the rapid deployment and integration of competitive access technologies and their seamless integration with existing fixed infrastructure, through validation and demonstration in realistic settings. The aim is to provide support for improving the availability of applications and services and their accessibility by a realistic user base. Focus is on integration and interworking of various access technologies (e.g. fixed, mobile and wireless) and mobile devices enabling increased levels of mobility across local and wide area networks.
VII.1.4 RN4: Test-beds for Future network technologies To support the use of long term test-beds to foster experimentation with alternative/disruptive network technologies (all optical networks, terabit and petabit-routing, IP(Internet Protocol) over WDM, optical packets, wireless core networks, etc) and their proof-of-concept demonstration. Such test-beds may also include the industrial validation of newly-developed optoelectronic components.

Test-beds which cannot be accommodated on the research networking infrastructure resulting from RN1, and which require a separate infrastructure capable of supporting trials which could cause network disruption, can be considered in this context.

The work will lay the foundation for future advancement and accelerate the availability of new components, services and applications. The establishment of the right partnerships amongst research organisations, industry, equipment manufacturers and carriers is essential.
 

1.8. IST Support Measures
 

IST Support Activities run in parallel with the RTD, and are employed to prepare (before), support (during) and facilitate the rapid adoption and transfer (after) of technologies, experiences and know-how gained in the execution of RTD. The IST Programme also specifically encourages the formation of clusters of RTD projects (sharing common objectives), concertation between projects (needing to exchange information), and working groups and networks of excellence (to encourage flexible collaboration between leading researchers both inside and outside of this Programme). Support to the standards and pre-standards process are encouraged in all areas.
Support activities may be submitted at any time (refer to the current Call for proposals) and are evaluated in batches
Action Lines for 2000 Objectives and Focus
VIII.1.1 Project clusters Objectives: 
To facilitate synergy between existing projects that have agreed to undertake part(s) of their work in close-co-operation with one another. Clusters can address areas within one key-action or cross-programme themes. Participation of relevant interest groups (that may not otherwise be present in IST) is specifically to be encouraged.
Focus: 
Though the issues to bear as addressed in this action line are left totally open to suggestions from proposers, the analyses of results of previous Calls and consultations with funding partners concur on several domains where projects clustering can bring a significant added value. These domains include: The 21st century home, service dialogues and interoperability, cross-sensory transposition of content and - internet services on mobile networks.
VIII.1.2 Networks of Excellence and working groups  Networks of Excellence: aim at bringing together a critical mass of industrial and academic research groups to co-ordinate their research or other activities in order to advance towards common strategic goals. Networks of Excellence can be particularly beneficial for groups and organisations in outlying regions through the channel they provide for training, technology transfer, and access to expertise and resources.

Working Groups: aim at improving the systematic exchange of information and the forging of links between teams which share a common theme in RTD or take-up activities. 
Working groups and networks of excellence  are also used to support co-operation in areas that are complementary to the RTD work such as fostering the entrepreneur-ship culture in academic curricula and normalisation and standardisation activities. 
 
VIII.1.3 Channelling of Standardisation and Interoperability initiatives Objectives: 
To maximise the openness, balance, the coherence and timeliness of contributions channelled towards specific standardisation and interoperability initiatives
Focus:
Networks of excellence and joint working groups bridging IST researchers and the competent technical committees of standards bodies and other open forums.
VIII.1.4 Improving Human Capital in IST-Research (IHC) Objectives: 
To help improve Europe?s knowledge base by developing the professional skills of academic graduates working in fields related to the ?User-friendly Information Society?. Funded actions should aim to reduce existing knowledge gaps, and stimulate progress in the societal and economic aspects of what is to be an Information Society, also from the viewpoint of non-technological disciplines. Co-operation and exchange between industry, academia and research centres will play an important role in this context.
Focus: 
Specific individual measures, or framework structures for inter-alia, broadening the expertise of senior personnel; efficient use and / or transfer of knowledge from those about to leave their jobs; training of younger personnel. 
Cross-disciplinary co-operation in the training of researchers, which might variously take the form of ?on-the-job? training schemes, educational courses or other appropriate actions; either as local ?IHC training measures? or ?IHC training networks? or ?Marie Curie Industry Host Fellowships ?(see Guide for Proposers)
VIII.1.5 Enabling RTD Co-operation with Newly Associated States Objectives: 
To build awareness of IST and facilitate the formation of project consortia that will include partners from the Newly Associated States.
Focus: 
Support will be considered for working groups and thematic, information, and partnering networks, for regional information centres, facilities and web-sites, and for the organisation of events, in conjunction with the horizontal Programme on "confirming the international role of the European Community". Sub-regional activities (e.g. in the Balkan area) are encouraged. 
VIII.1.6 Enabling RTD Co-operation with 3rd Countries Objectives: 
To build awareness of IST and facilitate the formation of project consortia that will include partners from 3rd countries. To support and develop more efficient means of co-operation with such countries.
Focus: 
Support will be considered for working groups and thematic, information, and partnering networks, for regional information centres, facilities and web-sites, and for the organisation of events. Co-ordination with other major RTD frameworks via ?business partnership workshops? and via international conferences and forums is encouraged.

2. Further Information

More detailed information about second Call for proposals is available from CORDIS web site at

 http://www.cordis.lu/ist/calls/200001.htm

Detailed guidance on how to prepare and submit a proposal is contained in the Guide for proposers and especially Version of 2000 for the user-friendly Information Society which can be downloaded from same site.

Work Programme of the Information Society Technologies (IST) Programme, which is valid for calls in 2000, is available for downloading from the IST website http://www.cordis.lu/ist/wp2000.htm