RTD activities in the field of cooperation with third countries and international organizations
The European Commission, DG XII, has published a call for proposals for RTD activities to be carried out under the Community's specific RTD programme in the field of cooperation with third countries and international organizations (1994-1998) (INCO). The call relates specifically to Area C (Scientific and technological cooperation with developing countries) of the INCO work programme. Parties eligible to participate in this programme are invited to submit proposals for RTD actions in the following areas: - Area C.1: Sectors of general importance: . 1.1. Sustainable management of renewable natural resources (research on policies, on basic natural resources and on ecosystems); . 1.2. Sustainable improvement of agricultural and agro-industrial production (particularly actions aimed at facilitating the access of small and medium-sized farms and agro-industrial enterprises in developing countries to the market); . 1.3. Health, including: . 1.3.1. Research on health systems in the context of health-sector reform; . 1.3.2. Research on the tools for the control of predominant diseases: vaccines, drugs, diagnosis and clinical intervention studies; . 1.3.3. Research on the biology of diseases and preclinical models; . 1.3.4. Complementary research, bridging science and application in the areas of: relevance and methodology of health interventions; and reproductive health; - Area C.2: Additional sectors of mutual interest: . 2.1. Information and communications technologies, including: . 2.1.1. Software Technologies; . 2.1.2. Computer integrated manufacturing; . 2.1.3. Information Society; . 2.1.4. Advanced communication technologies; . 2.1.5. R&D Informatics Networks. The research and technological development work will be addressed, as a general rule, by shared-cost actions. In addition, concerted actions will be carried out as described in the Council Decision and in the work programme. Proposals submitted under sector 2.1 will also include certain accompanying measures, such as "keep-in-touch" actions. Proposals concerning technical assistance, transfers of technology or know-how, or demonstration, and those lacking a dominant research component will not be eligible. Projects should involve at least two non-affiliated partners from different Member States or from one Member State and one Associated State including EFTA/EEA countries and one or more partner(s) from developing countries. Strong preference will be given to projects involving two or more partners from separate developing countries in the same region (China and India, by their geographic or demographic dimension, can be considered as individual regions). Attention is drawn to the fact that industrial partners, based in the EU or in a developing country, are encouraged to participate in this programme. The areas selected for this call are of widespread importance and are, in principle, applicable to all developing countries. However, with the aim of enhancing the focus of research proposals and concentrating activities, priority topics have been identified for the different regions (normally groups of countries). These may be consulted in the original tender document. For regions where priorities have been identified, proposals will be eligible only if they fall within one or more of the mentioned regional priorities. If there is added scientific/technical value, partners from outside the region may be incorporated in proposals. When a topic is mentioned as a priority in several regions, transregional proposals on this topic may be submitted. Interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral scientific approaches are often required to adequately meet the programme's objectives. Research proposals addressing several sectors or topics and applying interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral scientific approaches are, therefore, encouraged. Proposals should be prepared in line with the instructions given in the information package and in the requested format. The Commission reserves the right to refuse proposals which have not been prepared in this way. Requests for supporting documentation should be sent to: European Commission DG XII - Science, research and development Unit XII/B-4 - INCO 8 Square de Meeûs B-1040 Brussels Fax +32-2-2966252 E-mail: research@ec.europa.eu. Proposals should also be submitted to this address (facsimile copies or versions sent by electronic mail will not be accepted). The information pack containing the INCO work programme, details on the procedures for submitting proposals, and proposal application forms, will be available on the Internet through the CORDIS World Wide Web server at: http://cordis.europa.eu/