IST related issues

in the Framework Programme 2002-2006 of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (COM(2001)279 final, Brussels, 30.5.2001)

Original document -  http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/pdf/com-2001-279-en.pdf
 
Structure of the Document IST related issues
Explanatory Memorandum and structure of the document

Specific Programmes 2002-2006 (EC)

Specific Programmes 2002-2006 (Euratom)
  • Nuclear energy 
  • Joint Research Centre activities (Euratom)
1.1.2 Information Society technologies

i) Applied IST research addressing major societal and economic challenges

  • Research on technologies for trust and confidence 
  • Research addressing societal challenges 
  • Research addressing work and business challenges 
  • Complex problem solving in science, engineering, businesses and for society 
ii) Communication and computing infrastructures
  • Communication and network technologies 
  • Software technologies, services and distributed systems 
iii) Components and microsystems
  • Micro, Nano and Opto-electronics 
  • Micro and Nano Technologies, Microsystems, Displays
iv) Knowledge and interface technologies
  • Knowledge technologies and digital content 
  • Intelligent interfaces and surfaces
1.1.7 Citizens and Governance in the European Knowledge-based society

i) Knowledge-based European Society

  • Improving the generation, distribution and use of knowledge and its impact on economic and social development. 
  • Options and choices for the development of a knowledge-based society serving the EU objectives set at the Lisbon summit 
  • The variety of paths towards a knowledge society. 
ii) Citizens, democracy and new forms of governance
  • The implications of European integration and enlargement for governance and the citizen: 
  • Articulation of areas of responsibility and new forms of governance: 
  • Security issues connected with the resolution of conflicts and restoration of peace and justice: 
  • New forms of citizenship and identities

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

For the implementation of the Framework Programme, a structure based on five specific programmes is proposed:

For the EC Framework Programme:

1) A specific programme on "Integrating and strengthening the European Research Area" for the two blocks of activities "Integrating research" and "Strengthening the foundations of the European Research Area" of the Framework Programme proposal.
2) A specific programme on "Structuring the European Research Area".
3) A specific programme for JRC activities.
For the EURATOM Framework Programme: 4) A specific programme for all the indirect actions in the fields of nuclear fission and fusion.
5) A specific programme for JRC activities.
First two programmes are treated as complimentary.

Designed to help bring about the European Research Area, the Framework Programme 2002-2006 is based on three fundamental principles: concentration on a selected number of priorities; structuring effect by means of close liaison with the national efforts; simplification and streamlining of implementation conditions.

The basic principles applying to the new instruments are described in Annex III to the specific programme proposals.
 
 

ANNEX I
Scientific and technological objectives and broad lines of the activities Introduction

1. Integrating research

1.1. PRIORITY THEMATIC AREAS OF RESEARCH

The priority thematic areas of research are:


1.1.2 Information Society technologies

Information society technologies (IST) are transforming the economy and society. Not only are they creating new ways of working and new types of business, but provide solutions to major societal challenges such as healthcare, environment, safety, mobility and employment, and have far reaching implications on our everyday life. The IST sector is now one the most important of the economy, with an annual turnover of EUR 2000 billion, providing employment for more than 12 million people in Europe.

The IST thematic priority will contribute directly to realising European policies for the knowledge society as agreed at the Lisbon Council of 2000, the Stockholm Council of 2001, and reflected in the e-Europe Action Plan. It will ensure European leadership in the generic and applied technologies at the heart of the knowledge economy. It aims to increase innovation and competitiveness in European businesses and industry and to contribute to greater benefits for all European citizens.

Successes, like those achieved in Europe in mobile communications or consumer electronics, will not be repeated unless a real effort is made to achieve critical mass in key domains of IST research. ? Research will focus on the future generation of technologies in which computers and networks will be integrated into the everyday environment, rendering accessible a multitude of services and applications through easy-to-use human interfaces. This vision of "ambient intelligence" places the user, the individual, at the centre of future developments for an inclusive knowledge-based society for all.

The IST priority in support of the eEurope action plan, will help build an information and knowledge based society across Europe, encouraging the participation of least developed regions. It will also include activities linking the EU effort to the international context.

Research priorities

i) Applied IST research addressing major societal and economic challenges

The objective is to extend the scope and efficiency of IST-based solutions addressing major societal and economic challenges, and to make them accessible in the most trusted and natural way, anywhere and anytime to citizens, businesses and organisations.

Research will focus on basic security mechanisms and their interoperability, dynamic security processes, advanced cryptography, privacy enhancing technologies, technologies to handle digital assets and technologies for dependability to support business and organisational functions in dynamic and mobile systems. Research will focus on new computational models, including computing and information GRIDs, peer-to-peer technologies and the associated middleware to make use of large scale highly distributed computing and storage resources and to develop scalable, dependable and secure platforms. It will include novel collaborative tools and programming methods supporting interoperability of applications and new generations of simulation, visualisation and datamining tools. ii) Communication and computing infrastructures

The objectives are to consolidate and further develop European strengths in areas such as mobile communications, consumer electronics and embedded software, and to improve the performance, cost-efficiency, functionality and adaptive capabilities of communications and computing technologies.

Work on terrestrial and satellite based, mobile and wireless systems and networks beyond 3G will focus on the next generation of technologies, ensuring co-operation and seamless inter-working at service and control planes of multiple wireless technologies over a common IP (Internet Protocol) platform as well as novel spectral efficient protocols, tools and technologies, to build wireless re-configurable IP enabled devices, systems and networks.

Research in all optical networks will focus on the management of optical wavelength channels enabling flexibility and speed in service deployment and provisioning and solutions for fibre to the LAN. Research on interoperable network solutions, including end-to-end network management will support generic services provision and interworking, and interoperation between heterogeneous networks and platforms. It will include programmable networks to provide adaptive and real-time allocation of network resources and enhanced service management capabilities by customers.

Research will also address the enabling technologies for personalised access to networked audio-visual systems and applications as well as cross-media service platforms and networks, trusted digital TV architectures and appliances able to process, encode, store, sense and display hybrid 3D multimedia signals and objects

Research will focus on new technologies for software, systems and services, that address composability, scalability, reliability and robustness as well as autonomous self-adaptation. It will address middleware for the management, control and use of fully distributed resources. Work on multifunctional service creation environments and new component frameworks will aim at the development of service functionality, including meta-information, semantics and taxonomy of the building blocks. New strategies, algorithms, and tools for systematic and accurate design, prototyping and control of complex distributed systems will be addressed e.g. with embedded controllers and ubiquitous computing resources. Work will include cognitive techniques for generic object and event recognition. iii) Components and microsystems iv) Knowledge and interface technologies

The objective is to improve usability of IST applications and services and access to the knowledge they embody in order to encourage their wider adoption and faster deployment.

Work will focus on technologies to support the process of acquiring and modelling, representing and visualising, interpreting and sharing knowledge. These functions will be integrated in new semantic-based and context-aware systems including cognitive and agent-based tools. Work will address extensible knowledge resources and ontologies so as to facilitate service interoperabilitiy and enable next-generation Semantic-web applications. Research will also address technologies to support the design, creation, management and publishing of multimedia content, across fixed and mobile networks and devices, with the ability to self-adapt to user expectations. The aim is to stimulate the creation of rich interactive content for personalized broadcasting and advanced trusted media and entertainment applications. Research will focus on interfaces and interactive surfaces that are natural, adaptive and multi-sensorial, for an ambient landscape that is aware of our presence, personality and needs, and which is capable of responding intelligently to speech or gesture. The aim is to hide the complexity of technology by supporting a seamless human interaction with devices, virtual and physical objects and the knowledge embedded in everyday environments.

Work will also address technologies for multilingual and multicultural access and communication that support timely and cost effective provisions of interactive information-rich services meeting the personal, professional and business requirements of all members of linguistically and culturally diverse communities.

1.1.7 Citizens and Governance in the European Knowledge-based society

The Lisbon European Council recognised that the transition towards a European knowledge based society will affect every aspect of people?s lives. The overall objective is to provide a sound knowledge base for the management of this transition, which will be conditioned by national, regional and local policies, programmes and actions, as well as informed decision making by individual citizens, families and other societal units.

Research priorities

i) Knowledge-based European Society

The building of a European knowledge society is a clear political objective for the European Community. The research aims to provide the basis of understanding needed to ensure this takes place in a manner which accords with specific European conditions and aspirations.

Research will focus on: characteristics of knowledge and its functioning in relation to the economy, society and innovation; and the transformation of economic and social institutions; the dynamics of knowledge production, distribution and use, role of knowledge codification and impact of ICTs ; the importance of territorial structures and social networks in these processes. Research will focus on: features of a knowledge based society in line with European social models and the need to improve the quality of life; social and territorial cohesion, gender and intergenerational relations and social networks; implications of changes to work and employment; access to education and training, and life-long learning. Research will focus on: globalisation in relation to pressures for convergence; the implications for regional variation; challenges to European societies from a diversity of cultures and increased sources of knowledge; the role of the media in this context. ii) Citizens, democracy and new forms of governance

The work will identify the main factors influencing changes in governance and citizenship, as well as the impacts of these changes and the possible options to enhance democratic governance, resolve conflicts, protect human rights and take account of cultural diversity and multiple identities.

1.2. ANTICIPATING THE EU?S SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL NEEDS

Activities under this heading will have the following overall objectives:

i) Policy-orientated research and leading edge topics

ii) Specific research activities for SMEs include

Collective Research in a form of research undertaken by RTD performers on behalf of industrial associations or industry groupings in order to expand the knowledge base of large communities of SMEs and thus improve their general standard of competitiveness. Collective research projects could cover, for example :

Co-operative Research to outsource the required research to an RTD performer, while retaining ownership of the results.

iii) Specific international co-operation activities

The general objective of the international cooperation activities carried out under the Framework Programme is to help open up the European Research Area to the rest of the world. These activities represent the particular contribution of the Framework Programme to this opening-up process, which will require a joint effort by the Community and the Member States.

Carried out in support of the Community?s foreign policy and development aid policy, these specific activities will concern three groups of countries: the Mediterranean third countries, Russia and the CIS countries, and the developing countries.
 
 

ANNEX II

INDICATIVE BREAKDOWN OF THE AMOUNT
 
Types of activities  Amount (EUR million)
INTEGRATING RESEARCH  12 05521
Priority thematic areas of research  10 425
  • Genomics and biotechnology for health 
2 000
  • Information Society technologies
3 600
  • Nanotechnologies, intelligent materials, new production processes
1 300
  • Aeronautics and space
1 000
  • Food safety and health risks
600
  • Sustainable development and global change
1 700
  • Citizens and governance in the European knowledge-based society
225
Anticipating the EU?s scientific and technological needs  1 630
  • Policy orientated research and leading edge topics
880
  • Specific research activities for SMEs
450
  • Specific international cooperation activities
300
STRENGTHENING THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA  450
  • Support for the co-ordination of activities
400
  • Support for the coherent development of policies
50
Total  12 505

 

ANNEX III ? MEANS FOR IMPLEMENTING THE PROGRAMME

In order to implement the specific programme, and in accordance with the Decisions of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the multiannual Framework Programme 2002-2006 of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities aimed at contributing towards the creation of the European Research Area (2002/?/EC) and with the rules for the participation of undertakings, research centers and universities and for the dissemination of research results (2002/?/EC), the Commission will use various instruments.

A. NEW INSTRUMENTS

A.1 Networks of excellence

Networks of excellence are implemented in the seven priority thematic areas of the Framework Programme and, in duly justified cases, in research areas meeting the needs of Community policies and as well as in new and emerging areas.

The objective of this instrument is to strengthen European scientific and technological excellence by means of a progressive and lasting integration of research capacities existing or emerging in Europe at both national and regional level. Each network will aim at advancing knowledge in a particular area by assembling a critical mass of skills.

A.2 Integrated projects

Integrated projects will be implemented in the seven priority thematic areas of the Framework Programme and, in duly justified cases, in research areas meeting the needs arising from the implementation of Community policies as well as in new and emerging areas.

The objective of this instrument is to strengthen European competitiveness or contribute to resolve major societal problems by mobilising a critical mass of research and technological development resources and skills existing in Europe.

A.3 Collective research projects

Implemented across the whole field of science and technology, these projects will be carried out by research entities for the benefit of industrial associations or groupings, in areas and on subjects of interest to a large number of SMEs confronted with common problems.

B OTHER INSTRUMENTS

In order to implement the programme, la Commission may also have recourse to:

5. DESCRIPTION AND GROUNDS

5.1. Need for Community intervention

1. INTEGRATING THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH AREA

1.1. Priority thematic areas

1.1.2. Information society technologies (IST)

The actions carried out in this area, in line with the conclusions of the European Council in Lisbon and the objectives of the e-Europe initiative, are intended to stimulate the development in Europe of technologies and applications at the centre of the construction of the Information Society in order to increase the competitiveness of European industry and allow European citizens in all EU regions the possibility of benefiting fully from the development of the knowledge-based society.

Justification and European added value

5.2. Actions envisaged and means of budget intervention

The actions envisaged for the specific programme on "Integrating and strengthening the European Research Area" are set out below presented by detailed action areas. This presentation makes it possible to highlight the estimated results expected, the contributions to the overall objectives of the framework programme or of the Community or potential performance parameters associated with these. These indications are intended as yardsticks and not definitively adopted goals.

A correspondence between the action areas and the types of instruments used is given further on in the form of a table.

1.1.2. Information Society technologies

i) Applied IST research addressing major societal and economic challenges

(Research on technologies for trust and confidence, Research addressing societal challenges, Research addressing work and business challenges, Complex problem solving in science, engineering, business and for society)

ii) Communication and computing infrastructures

(Communication and network technologies, Software technologies, services and distributed systems)

iii) Components and microsystems

(Micro, Nano and Opto-electronics, Micro and Nano Technologies, Microsystems, Displays)

iv) Knowledge and interface technologies

(Knowledge technologies and digital content, Intelligent surfaces and interfaces)

Expected results, contributions to overall objectives or potential performance parameters