FP7 and the Lisbon Strategy
Supporting the renewed Lisbon Strategy
Although not part of the framework programme, a number of policy areas, programmes and initiatives are related to the aims of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). Some are designed to operate in conjunction with FP7, such as the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP). Others, like the research dimension of regional policy, have been built up in a different EU context but are nonetheless of considerable importance for FP7 due to their realignment in support of the Lisbon Strategy.
The most important ones are briefly explained on this website:
- The Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP)
- i2010 - A strategy for the European Information Society
- The European Institute of Technology
- Research and Regional Policy in the EU
The Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP)
The CIP is one of the European Union's main tools to support progress towards meeting the goals of the Lisbon Strategy. It shares its objective of strengthening Europe's competitiveness and innovative capacities with FP7, but focuses primarily on innovation and research processes, rather than being limited to research. FP7, in contrast, supports trans-national research cooperation, technological development, researcher mobility and research activities in the private sector. Innovation and competitiveness cannot flourish without a solid research basis and research results are best exploited in a competitive and innovative environment. The CIP and FP7 are therefore complementary and mutually reinforcing initiatives, designed to support each other and to contribute to each other's success.
i2010 - A strategy for the European Information Society
Based on the eEurope 2005 action plan, i2010 is the EU's strategy for the development of an inclusive information society working in a modern, efficient regulatory environment. It aims to maintain and extend Europe's leading global role in information technologies by substantially increasing the amount of and investment in ICT research. It is expected that i2010 will result in more productivity, better capacities, new opportunities and increased innovation.
Initiatives for strategic research in priority areas of ICT can be funded via the Information Society policy priority of FP7 by a total of up to EUR 1.8 billion.
The European Institute of Technology
The European Commission has proposed establishing a European Institute of Technology (EIT) in order to improve knowledge creation in Europe and generate a strong network of academic excellence. The creation and use of knowledge is one of the most important challenges facing the EU in the context of the Lisbon process. The EIT is intended to help meet this challenge by increasing the critical mass of knowledge produced in Europe, improving the commercialisation of European research results and by linking research, innovation and knowledge dissemination in a central 'knowledge ecosystem'. The activities of the EIT are intended to cover the areas of education, research and innovation.
Although eligible for public subsidy, the EIT is expected to draw considerable financing from competitive funding, for example, by submitting proposals for grants to FP7's European Research Council. The EIT is not an initiative of FP7, but evidently follows the same aim of supporting academic excellence in Europe and, once up and running, can be expected to carry out a number of research projects financed or co-financed by FP7.
Research and Regional Policy in the EU
Regional and research policies in the EU are closely interlinked and, to a certain extent, interdependent. Research is only one of many aspects covered by regional policy approaches in the period from 2007 - 2013. However, R&D; plays an important role in helping to meet the overall aim of regional policy, which is to increase cohesion by increasing regional competitiveness. At the same time, this can only be implemented efficiently at the regional level if there is a suitable research infrastructure, the creation of which is often assisted by both research and regional policy.
EU research policy thus recognises the vital importance of Europe's regions as research actors and increasingly sees the regional level as the most suitable level of governance for research and innovation. Regional policy, in turn, encourages and supports the transition to a knowledge economy at the regional level and helps to establish a regional infrastructure for research.
FP7 also aims to support 'regions of knowledge' and initiatives to unlock the research potential of the EU's regions, thus creating the right conditions for research, innovation and knowledge creation activities in as many European regions as possible.
Last updated on: 2011-06-23
