European Commission - Specific RTD programme in the field of Information Technologies

SPECIFIC INFORMATION
DOCUMENT

ESPRIT
Analysis of Possible Socio-Economic Consequences

February 1997


CONTENTS

1. Introduction
1.1. Objectives
1.2. Scope
1.3. Project Characteristics
1.4. Related Activities
2. Participation
2.1. Rules on Participation
2.2. Financial and Contractual Conditions
3. Evaluation, Format and Criteria
3.1. The evaluation and selection process
3.2. Questions to be answered in a Proposal
3.3. Proposal preparation and evaluation criteria
4. Submitting a Proposal
5. Further Information
6. Annexes
Form 1 : Proposal Administrative Summary
Form 2 : Individual Participant Profile
List of Codes
Acknowledgement of Receipt Form
Glossary
7. List of National Contact Points

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1. Introduction - Socio-economic analysis

Task 0.9 is a newly added task to the 1997 workprogramme of Esprit. It forms part of the Preparatory, Support and Transfer (PST) activities of Esprit. The actions under task 0.9 aim to understanding societal and economic consequences of applications and use of information technologies developed within the programme. They should apply methods and tools from socio-economic sciences in researching the impact of the programme.

Proposals for Task 0.9 will be evaluated in a single step.

Proposers who are new to Esprit are advised to refer first to the Introduction for Proposers and the Work programme of Esprit.

All documents are available on request from the Esprit Information Desk:

Tel: +32 2 296.85.96 Fax: +32 2 296.83.88 E-mail: Esprit@dg3.cec.be

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1.1 Objectives

The main objective of task 0.9 is to invite proposals for analysis of socio-economic consequences of both results of R&D; projects and of PST activities of Esprit. The full range of programme's activities should therefore be covered. Socio-economic consequences of Esprit should be properly placed within the overall context of socio-economic aspects of the Information Society, as the programme contributes to its growth and spread.

A main issue is for proposals to distinguish between direct and indirect implications. Analysis of direct implications should attempt to quantify any measurable result from the programme activities. Programme activities should be seen globally, for example the full range of R&D; projects, the PST activities of Esprit, or the contribution of IT International Cooperation actions, as well as possible effects from the interaction among these activities.

Concerning the indirect implications, proposals should pay due attention on the conditions under which Esprit activities can foster their socio-economic impact. These conditions may include the way the programme itself promotes the take-up and exploitation of results, to user attitudes, and to institutional environments.

An appropriate time frame for analysis socio-economic consequences should be considered. In this context, the responsiveness and contribution of the programme to changing socio-economic needs should be addressed on a short-term basis, as well as over a longer term period.

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1.2 Scope

The following are some main fields where the socio-economic implications of the technologies developed in the IT programme, and other relevant activities, should be analysed. They are structured in four areas. The first three are the main socio-economic objectives of the programme, complementing the mainstream technological objectives of Esprit. The fourth area groups together other major objectives of the EU policies where Esprit is expected to contribute.

1.2.1 - Commercial use of technology output and the programme's impact on industrial competitivenes

This should range from contribution to industrial innovation, through patenting or other exploitation activities coming from project results, to any measurable use of the programme's results related to its contribution to competitiveness of industry. Possible multiplier effects could be addressed, for example in terms of public spending. Externalities from programme activities should also be considered, for example networking activities.

1.2.2 - Employment effects from the technologies developed in the programme

Within the context of the wide debate on the relation between IT and employment, proposals should analyse and measure, wherever possible, the consequences of the programme to employment. They could range from levels of employment, to changes in skills and structure of employment, to conditions which can optimise employment creation, or to contribution of saving existing jobs.

All relevant aspects should be considered, from employment created as a direct consequence of projects, to employment created or made possible from the commercial exploitation of the programme results, up to the wider impact of the programme results on employment throughout the economy.

1.2.3- Contribution of the programme to improvements in quality of life should be addressed

This includes on one hand distinct social groups which may find the technologies developed in the programme directly relevant to them (elderly people, people with special needs, etc.). On the other hand this may concern a group of important fields of social life, like culture, crafts, arts, security, privacy, etc., which can be directly affected by the technologies developed in the programme.

1.2.4- The contribution of the programme to major objectives of the EU, notably regional and socio-economic cohesion, Internal Market, external co-operation and environment.

Cohesion should be analysed both in terms of contribution due to participation to the programme of organisations from the less favoured regions of the EU and in terms of the potential of the technologies developed in the programme to contribute to the efforts by less favoured regions in bridging the development gap.

The contribution made by the programme results and activities to the completion, better functioning and effectiveness of the Internal Market should be analysed.

Analysis of the Esprit contribution to external co-operation should address the following groups of countries: Central and Eastern Europe, Third Mediterranean countries on one hand; industrialised and fast growing economies on the other. In the first case, Esprit's activities can be analysed in terms of, for example, their contribution to the transition of these countries to a market economy, to their integration in the global information society, or to regional integration. In the second case, Esprit's activities should be examined in terms of, for example, their contribution to major aspects of the information society which can only be dealt globally, or contribution to the developing of economic globalisation.

Environmental consequences of the technologies developed in the programme should be analysed within the broad relation of IT with environment.

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1.3 Project characteristics

Each proposal should state clearly the methodology to be developed/used, the way it will approach the programme activities, and the nature of the expected results. It will be possible, if necessary, to devise a two part proposals, where the competion of the project will depend upon the findings of the first part. This is advised especially where there is important methodological work to be developed before proceeding with empirical analysis.

Proposers should prepare their proposals in accordance with the structural recommendations and evaluation criteria given in section 3 of this Specific Information Document. All the necessary administration forms required to submit a proposal are provided in the accompanying annexes or available on diskettes.

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1.4 Related activities

Projects are encouraged to liaise with related activities performed either in other Specific Programmes, notably TSER, ACTS and Telematics, or outside the Commission's activities.

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2. Participation

2.1 Rules on Participation

From EU member states

The programme is open to all legal entities - i.e. people and organisations - established and carrying out RTD activities in the Member States of the European Union (industrial firms both large and small enterprises aimed at bringing products and services to the market - universities, higher education institutes, research organisations, etc.), and to the Joint Research Centre of the EC.

The group of proposers must contain at least two non-affiliated industrial participants from different member states or from one member state and one state associated and financially contributing to the Programme.

From associated and financially contributing states

Participation in this programme, with financial contribution from the EU, is open to any legal entity established or carrying out RTD activities in a third country associated with and contributing financially to the implementation of this Programme.

These are currently: Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein and Norway.

From other European countries, Australia, Canada and South Africa

Legal entities established and carrying out RTD activities in other European countries or in countries who have concluded an S&T; agreement with the EU (not financially contributing as described above) may participate in the programme on condition that:

the participation is in the interest of EU policies

the minimum stipulated number of legal entities from the EU and associated and financially contributing states are involved

These states are at printing date: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldavia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine, for which financial support by the EU, would in the case of acceptance of the proposal, normally be provided from funds other than the Esprit budget (an explicit request for such funding has to accompany the proposal).

Swiss, Australian and Canadian organisations may participate under the above conditions, but without funding from the EC. It is expected that agreement with South Africa will be reached in early 1997, so that organisations from South Africa may from then on also participate under the above conditions without EC funding.

Organisations from other states

Legal entities established in states other than above listed, may participate on condition that:

the participation contributes effectively to the implementation of the Programme and provides mutual benefit to the interests of the EU and the state concerned

the minimum stipulated number of legal entities from the EU or associated and financially contributing states are involved

Organisations from Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan and the USA are not eligible for funding from the EU.

For organisations from other countries, financial support by the EU may be provided from funds other than the Esprit budget. An explicit request for such funding has to accompany the proposal.

International organisations

International Organisations may participate on condition that:

the participation contributes effectively to the implementation of the Programme

the minimum stipulated number of legal entities from the EU or associated and financially contributing states are involved

Financial support from the Esprit Programme may be provided to international organisations situated in Europe on a case by case basis. An explicit request for such funding has to accompany the proposal.

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2.2 Financial and Contractual Conditions

If your proposal is successful in the evaluation and is selected for further negotiation, the Commission services will contact you for finalisation of the Project Programme and budgetary aspects.

The Project Officers assigned to be the responsible Commission official will provide you with the necessary documentation. The time needed in this phase depends on the complexity and evaluators' comments, but normally negotiations would take between 4 and 8 weeks if the work is well planned by the consortium.

The contract to be used for Task 0.9 actions will normally be a Working Group type contract with partners other than the coordinator being associate contractor or a standard multi- or single-partner contract for Accompanying Measures.

The contract provides explicit definitions of the partnership, the reporting obligations, the allowable costs and other financial conditions and the intellectual property rights conditions. The contractual terms cannot be overruled by a consortium agreement, but the latter is recommend to provide further detail for the consortium on management and exploitation aspects.

The essential contractual/financial aspects for R&D; contracts are the following:

The Commission has published an information booklet concerning the contracting conditions and the standard contract. You can obtain this booklet by request from:

**** e-mail: info-dg12@DG12.cec.be; fax: +32/2 295 82 20 ****

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3. Evaluation and Criteria

3.1 The evaluation and selection process

The ESPRIT programme has procedures for both one and two step proposal submission and evaluation.

The submission and evaluation of the proposals as described in this information package will be done in a single step. Proposers must submit a full proposal before any evaluation takes place.

All proposals are evaluated by a panel of specially selected experts who are all bound by a confidentiality agreement and a code of conduct to avoid conflicts of interest. The evaluation will be exclusively based on the criteria set out in this section and will include assessment of the conformity of the work with the objectives and topics as stated in sections 1.1 and 1.3 of this Specific Information Document. The evaluation will be carried out under the responsibility and co-ordination of the Commission who will also interact with associate Programmes, e.g. Telematics Applications, ACTS, IMT.

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3.2 Questions to be answered in a Proposal

When making a proposal, proposers should ask themselves the following questions:

The Why

The industrial relevance concerns the industrial context the proposal refers to, including market situation, needs and opportunities, technical state-of-the-art, and outstanding problems.

The What

The objectives set the specific business and technical targets to be achieved by the proposers, whereas results define the concrete outcomes of the project. They should be innovative within their specific industrial context and provide benefits to a wider community than solely the proposers themselves.

The Who

The proposers include both individual proposers with their profiles and skills and their collaboration, where synergism among partners roles should appear. The soundness of the proposing group is not limited to the technical ability to perform the work, but includes aspects such as whether the work is in-line with the core business of proposers and whether business co-operation among participants is possible, credible and potentially successful.

The How

Exploitation planning addresses the ways to achieve business objectives and provide the expected benefits during and after the project, whereas the work planning mainly concerns the identification of activities needed to achieve technical objectives and how they are co-ordinated with the business aspects.

Duration and resources concerns the staffing and time scale of activities identified in the work plan, whereas Project management focuses on how all the components above are managed to achieve success.

You should keep the above basic questions in mind while fulfilling the criteria detailed below. These criteria address the different aspects of a proposal in detail, and will be used by the expert evaluators to assess how it answers the basic questions above, while conforming with the scope and objectives of the Programme and showing the necessary European-level added value.

The criteria are designed to provide a fair, practical and consistent way of establishing to what extent proposals meet the goals of Esprit. The same set of criteria are used in all evaluations of Industrial R&D; proposals.

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3.3 Proposal preparation and evaluation criteria

In this section we will specify the recommended structure of, and the evaluation criteria which need to be satisfied by proposals.

A proposal is comprised of two parts :
Part 1: providing the administrative and financial data
Part 2: providing the technical description of the proposed project.

You may submit proposals in any official language of the EC. However, it is appreciated to supply at least the summary in English as this will assist the speedy evaluation of proposals.

The description of the proposal structure given below, includes the criteria which have to be addressed in each of the sections. Certain criteria might be addressed in several sections. In such cases it is advised to refer in the relevant section to other places in the proposal which should be taken into account for assessment.

Part 1: administrative and financial data

To complete Part 1 of the proposal you need to complete all the forms as given in Annex 1. You can obtain an electronic version of these forms on a diskette or download it from the Esprit Web pages. You are strongly recommended to use this method of data preparation and send the prepared diskette along with the proposal.

If you use the diskette or Web software to prepare a diskette, it will make it easier to fill in the data correctly. You can also make clear print-outs and it will help Commission services to enter your data quickly in their database. Of course, you may complete the paper forms, or the forms as they are provided by other programmes for RTD Project proposals, as these contain the same questions. In either case, please follow carefully the detailed instructions.

A complete Part 1 comprises :

Part 2: Description of the Proposed RTD Project

Part 2 (your project description) should follow the recommended structural outline given below and provides all the information requested in not more than 30 pages. It should contain the following sections:

The description of these sections as well as the criteria used for assessment are given below. Evaluators will be asked to use these evaluation criteria to assess your proposal.

It goes without saying that evaluators are best helped in conducting their task if the information provided is concise and follows the recommended structure. Any irrelevant information should be avoided.

Technical Summary

This section should be one page and should capture the essence of the proposal. It should summarise :

Note: This may be a copy of the 1000 character summary given in Part 1 (form 1a).

Project Objectives and Scope

The rationale for the project should be clarified. In particular:

Criteria to be addressed in this section are:

European dimension

Address the relevance of the work to the European socio-economic and industry and the interdependence with ongoing national, European or international programmes

Criteria to be addressed in this section are:

Project Work plan

Describe concisely the work planned to achieve the objectives of the project and include the following elements :

Criteria to be addressed in this section are:

Project management

The project management could form one of the work packages described under Project Work plan. Here one should address:

Criteria to be addressed in this section are:

The Proposers

Present the rationale for the specific consortium and include:

Criteria to be addressed in this section are:

Duration & Resources

The duration should be rationalised in relation to the objectives to be achieved. Estimates of the resources (manpower, equipment, etc.) should be presented for each partner for each work package and summarised at the project level.

Criteria to be addressed in this section are:

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4. Submitting a Proposal

Each proposal must have a co-ordinating proposer, shortly co-ordinator, and this section of the information package is primarily directed to him. Normally, the co-ordinator will become the project co-ordinator, if the proposal is ultimately successful

Proposals should be submitted by you, co-ordinator, and you will be responsible for the liaison with the Commission.

You should submit one full original of each proposal plus 6 copies. This includes the forms and any useful information you choose to include, as long as it is relevant and limited in length.

It is your responsibility to assemble the proposal and you should submit it in one parcel.

It is also your responsibility to ensure that the proposal is delivered at the appropriate address before expiration of the deadline.

Delivery of your Proposal

Your proposal should be sent by courier or postal services or delivered by hand to:

IT Programme Office
Boulevard du Souverain, 191-197
B-1160 Brussels
Belgium

You must clearly mark on the parcel:

'Confidential: Proposal for the programme for RTD in Information Technologies (Esprit)'

Important note

Do not send proposals by fax or E-mail. Do not announce by fax or telephone that the proposals are in the mail. Faxes and telephone calls of this nature hinder the operation of the Commission in handling proposals, and will not be acknowledged. Until two weeks have elapsed, do not telephone or fax to enquire whether your proposal has been received.

Do not send or deliver your proposal to Esprit Commission Offices. This would create considerable delays. The only correct address is the one mentioned above.

Deadlines for Submission

The deadline for submission of the proposal is normally three months after the date of the Call for Proposals. The precise information is given in each call and should be carefully checked and adhered to. Proposals which are received after the deadline are not eligible.

In the case that an RTD proposal results from a SME Exploratory Award and the share in the proposed project costs of the SME proposers which received the award will be more than half of the total proposed cost, the RTD proposal can be submitted continuously, at any time.

Acknowledgement of Receipt Form

You should include – in the parcel in which the proposal is delivered - a separate envelope containing the official 'Acknowledgement of Receipt' form as given in the Annex. On this you – the co-ordinator - must put your organisation's name and address and the title of the proposed project. This will ensure that the acknowledgement is returned to you correctly addressed.

Before it is returned, however, the Commission's reception staff will record the date of receipt and a unique reference number on the form. This reference number must be used in all subsequent correspondence relating to the proposal.

You should ensure that all proposers are given the proposal reference number and use it in all contacts with the Commission.

If you do not receive an 'Acknowledgement of receipt' within two weeks after the closing date of the Call, or the date of submission in case of a continuous Call, you should send a fax to the IT Programme office (Fax: + 32 2 6637200), indicating the acronym, title, domain, type of action and name of co-ordinator. You will receive an answer by fax within one week. You are strongly advised to retain proof of dispatch if the proposal is mailed or send by courier.

Submitting the proposals to other programmes

You are advised to submit proposalsonly once and not to send proposals which are essentially the same to different domains of the Esprit Programme or different programmes.

If the proposal is related to other Esprit domains or to other Community programmes you are advised to indicate this in the proposal itself or in an attached covering letter.

In any case you should give details of similar proposals on form 1a and sign the declaration.

The IT programme will take your comments in account and when appropriate involve the other domains or other programmes in the evaluation.

The IT programme reserves the right to redirect proposals to another domain than that indicated by the proposers or to another programme if EC staff or evaluators indicate that that would be more appropriate.

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5. Further Information

If there are further questions on the content of this Specific Information Document or if there is a need for further clarification in matters relating to the call, please contact:

Mr Thanassis Chrissafis
European Commission DGIII/F
Rue de la Loi 200
B1049 Bruxelles, Belgium.
telephone: +32.2.296.88.77
fax: +32.2.296.85.97
email: Athanassios.Chrissafis@dg3.cec.be


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6. Annexes

Form 1a : Proposal Administrative Summary
Form 1b : Proosal Administrative Summary (continued)
Form 2 : Individual Participant Profile
List of Codes
Acknowledgement of Receipt Form
Glossary

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FORM 1a : PROPOSAL ADMINISTRATIVE SUMMARY

Programme Name: Esprit

Acronym:(max 10 chars)

Proposal Title:
Contact Person during the Proposal Evaluation
First Name: Family Name:
Organisation Name:
Department Name:
Street Name: Street No:
Post Code City Country:
Telephone: Fax:
E-mail:
Project synopsis (maximum 1000 characters)











Please sign your answer to the following question

To the best of your knowledge, has this proposal, or a proposal that is similar in content, with your involvement or with the involvement of any of the partners in your consortium, been submitted to any other domain of Esprit or EU research programme?

Yes / No

If your answer is Yes, please give details (title of proposal, coordinator, name of programme, when submitted).





Signature of Contact Person............................................................................................
FORM 1B : PROPOSAL ADMINISTRATIVE SUMMARY (continued)
Proposal resources breakdown

Programme Name: Esprit

Action Type: AS Acronym (max 10 char):
Proposal Title (max 160 char):

Work Programme Tasks (c):
1st Choice: 0.9
2nd Choice: 3rd Choice: Duration (in months)
List of participants

No

Organisation Names (d)

Country (b)

Admin.Role (b) (C/P/A)

Org. Type (b)

Funding Regime (e) (S/A)

Global Costs in ECU (f)

Effort in Person Years (g)

Total Costs: Total Funding: Total Person Years:

Please copy this form if more space is needed to list the participants.

The participation in the Proposal of all the Partners and Associated Partners, and at the levels indicated above, must be formally sanctioned by representatives of the said organisations in letters accompanying the proposal.

(b) A list of codes is supplied in this Annex.

(c) See Work programme.

(d) Short name for participants that use such a name in Form 2, and legal name if such a short name does not exist.

(e) S for shared costs funded at 50% and A for Research Institutes or Universities with funding at 100% of additional costs. Research Institutes or Universities might be obliged to be funded at 100% of additional costs if they cannot demonstrate that an analytical budget accountancy system is used which can appropriately support the cost reporting required.

(f) If funding regime A is chosen, the figure should only cover additional costs. Costs per partner are not required for short proposals.

(g) In case of funding regime A, the figure should cover the whole effort (and not only the additional one).

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FORM 2 : INDIVIDUAL PARTICIPANT PROFILE
Programme Name: Esprit Acronym:
Proposal Title:
Legal identification of the Participating Organisation
Short name (h): Legal Status (i): Organisation Type(l):
Company Registration No: VAT No:
Legal Name (j):
Department Name (if applicable):
Legal address of the Participating Organisation
Street Name: Street Number:
Post Code: City: Country :
Telephone No: Fax No:
Organisation's role in the proposal
Administrative role (l) (C/P/A): Functional role(l) (S/U): Relevant industrial sector (l):
Organisation details (if applicable)
Number of employees: Is the participant an SME (Y/N)? (k)
Is your organisation affiliated to any other participant(s) in the proposal (Y/N)? (k):
If the answer is Y, please indicate the participant(s) name(s):




(h) A Short name should be included only if it is in common use outside the organisation (max. 20 char.).

(i) e.g. SA, Ltd, GmbH, AG, EEIG, etc.

(j) The legal name is the one used in contracts.

(k) For definition see glossary.

(l) A list of codes is supplied in this Annex.


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LIST OF CODES

1. Action Types
AS Analysis of Socio-Economic Consequences
2. COUNTRY
Code Name Code Name Code Name
A Austria FL Liechtenstein N Norway
B Belgium GR Greece NL Netherlands
CH Switzerland ISR Israel P Portugal
D Germany I Italy S Sweden
DK Denmark IRL Ireland SF Finland
E Spain ISL Iceland UK United Kingdom
F France L Luxembourg
Other according to standard ISO list
3. ADMINISTRATIVE ROLE
C Coordinator A Associate Partner P Partner
4. ORGANISATION TYPE
U University A Public Administration R Research Institute
I Industry O Other
5. FUNCTIONAL ROLE
S Supplier U User
Please note that this relates to the specific role that your organisation has in this proposal with respect to its expected results. If both apply please choose the one most relevant in this project.
6. INDUSTRIAL SECTORS
Identify the relevant industrial sector of the organisation in the proposal and include the corresponding code in the appropriate space on Form 2
Code
Business
Finance and Insurance FI
Business, legal and management consultancy; holdings BC
Publishing, printing and reproduction of recorded media PP
Real estate activities RE
Renting and leasing RL
Lodging and restaurants LR
Technical testing and analysis TA
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of goods WR
Community activities
Community service activities CS
Education ED
Energy production and distribution; gas and water supply EN
Health and social work HS
Recreational, cultural and sporting activities RC
Recycling CY
Post and telecommunications PT
Transportation services TS
Engineering (other than software engineering)
Electrical engineering and related technical consultancy EE
Mechanical engineering and related technical consultancy ME
IT activities
Audiovisual consumer electronics IA
Electronic components IC
Electronic engineering and related technical consultancy IE
Industrial process control systems IP
Office machinery and computers IM
Software consultancy and supply, data processing and related Services IS
Manufacturing
Aircraft and spacecraft AS
Metals and alloys MA
Chemical products CP
Fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment FM
Food products and beverages FB
Furniture FV
Leather and leather products LL
Machinery, electrical and electrical instruments EQ
Medical, precision and optical instruments IN
Non-metallic mineral products MP
Pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemicals and botanical products PH
Pulp, paper and paper products PA
Rubber and plastic products RU
Textile and textile products TE
Vehicles for land transportation VL
Vehicles for sea transportation VS
Wood and wood products WW
Other activites
Agriculture and forestry AF
Construction and building CB
Fishing FS
Mining and quarrying MQ
Telecom products IT
Activity code not provided above NN


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Acknowledgement of receipt

European Commission
Directorate General III: Industry
RTD: Information Technologies

Please write the name and address to
which the acknowledgement of receipt
should be sent in the box








VERY IMPORTANT

We may ask the representatives of proposers to attend meetings and/or provide further information at any time after the closing date and especially in the first two months after this date. In your own interest please ensure that representatives are available at short notice during this period.

To be completed by Coordinating Partner

Reference :

Proposal Title :

Acronym :

Domain :

To be completed by Esprit Evaluation Coordinator

We are pleased to acknowledge receipt of your proposal above on :..................................................................


Your proposal is registered under Nr: ........................ (Please refer to this proposal number in future correspondence)



Yours sincerely,




Esprit Evaluation Manager


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Glossary

Affiliated Organisation Two organisations are affiliated if either one directly or indirectly controls the other or if both are directly or indirectly controlled by the same parent organisation. Organisation A is considered as controlling B if:
  • A holds more than 50% of the share capital of B, or
  • A holds more than 50% of the shareholder's voting rights of B, or
  • A holds the decision making powers of B
CORDIS Community Research and Development Information Service (see Section 5 in Introductory Booklet)
EC European Commission
EU European Union
EEA European Economic Area, includes the EU, Iceland and Norway. The EEA agreement is not in force for Liechtenstein at the time of printing this document
EEIG European Economic Interest Grouping. A legal entity consisting of several European organisations which could participate as such in a project under an EU programme. A guide to the role of EEIGs in RTD can be obtained from the IT Programme Information Desk (see section 5 in Introductory Booklet) and more detailed documentation is also available from Directorate General XV (Financial Institutions and Company Law)
EFTA European Free Trade Association, includes Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland
ESSI European Software Systems Initiative, a best practice activity in ST
HPCN High Performance Computing and Networking: one of the four focused clusters in the IT work programme
ICT Information and Communication Technologies
IiM Integration in manufacturing: one of the four focused clusters in the IT programme
IT Information technology
IPR Intellectual property rights
JRC Joint Research Centre of the EC
LTR Long term research: one of the domains in the IT work programme
MS Multimedia systems: one of the three domains of underpinning technologies in the IT work programme
OMI Open microprocessor systems initiative: one of the four focused clusters in the IT work programme
RTD Research and technological development, including demonstration
SME Small/medium sized enterprise. For SME Exploratory Awards, enterprises will be eligible if they satisfy simultaneously the following three criteria:
  • has no more than 500 employees
  • has an annual turnover of not more than 50 million ECUs
  • is no more than one third owned by an organisation that does not satisfy the first two criteria, unless it is a financial investor such as a bank or venture capitalist
ST Software technologies: one of the three domains of underpinning technologies in the IT work programme
TBP Technologies for business processes: one of the four focused clusters in the IT work programme
TCS Technologies for components and subsystems: one of the three domains of underpinning technologies in the IT work programme


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7. Esprit National Contact Points

National Contact Points will help if you have any questions about the Programme and the preparation of proposals.

A list of National Contact Points is available for consultation.


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It was last updated on 5 March 1997 and is maintained by Susan Panter