Strategic Research Agenda

Objectives

What is the Strategic Research Agenda (SRA)?

The Strategic Research Agenda of the European Steel Technology Platform (Vision 2030) is the outcome of all stakeholders consensus and expresses the ambition and the long-term vision of the whole steel sector.
It addresses the main RTD themes and research areas of the sector on short, mid and long term and presents a time frame for the whole sector, including the existing running projects and the forecast actions.
The Strategic Research Agenda includes a deployment strategy, mechanisms to mobilise private and public funding as well as a communication strategy.
It has been prepared by the Support Group following a specific methodology and was officially endorsed by the Steering Committee of the Steel Technology Platform in December 2004.

The SRA is divided into two volumes:

From SRA to Implementation

The following step of the SRA is its implementation and to this aim a new document has been prepared by the Support Group: "From a Strategic Research Agenda to Implementation"(short version , full version ). It describes the procedure used to implement the R&D programmes of the SRA.

Private funding by the stakeholders and funding from different European, national and regional institutions is foreseen. However, the launch of a Joint Technology Initiative is envisaged and, together with possible loans from the European Investment Bank, it will cover, where appropriate, both the pilot and demonstration and the industrialisation phase of the ULCOS (Ultra Low CO2 Steelmaking) project.
The estimated total budget corresponding to the SRA activities amounts to around € 1.7 billion over 15 years.

From SRA to Implementation is one single document.

Key elements

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Methodology used to draw up the SRA and the implementation document

The Strategic Research Agenda is focused on the main challenges and objectives set out in the Vision 2030 report. The objectives are developed around the 4 Ps concepts of sustainable development: Profit, Partners (both automotive and construction), People, Planet.
The content was prepared by the Support Group and its Working Groups, based on the principle of a balanced bottom up and top down approach.

The methodology used was to create a Working Group (WG) for each strategic objective to achieve:

Profit: ensuring profit through innovation and new technologies

  • Innovation and new production technologies
  • strengthening intelligent manufacturing
  • innovative products
  • reducing time to market and applying the supply chain concept

Partners: improving the steel sector partnership in modern society

  • the automotive sector
  • the construction sector
  • other industrial priorities

Planet: improving environmental aspects

People: attracting and securing human resources and skills

  • internal concerns (safety at work)
  • attract and secure HR/skills.

Each of the 5 WGs has a group leader and is composed of experts put forward by the Support group. Operational work is carried out by email, fax, telephone and meeting in small groups under the coordination of each group leader.

Each WG provided the Support Group with a draft document including:

  • introduction
  • state of the art/challenges/objectives
  • social and economic impact
  • ways and means, timeframe
  • financial implications
  • contributors

The Support Group was responsible for drafting the final document on the basis of the Working Groups documents and similarly for the drafting of the implementation document.