Find the most recent information on EU Funding activities in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) by visiting our ICT in FP7 website, which covers ICT in the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) 2007 - 2013.
2003-2004 Work Programme
2.2 OBJECTIVES, STRUCTURE AND OVERALL APPROACH
2.2.1 IST in FP6: the overall vision
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, the Seville Council of 2002, and as reflected in the e-Europe Action Plan.
The strategy adopted in Lisbon 2000 is for an accelerated transition to a competitive and dynamic knowledge economy capable of sustainable growth, with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion. This requires wider adoption, broader availability and an extension of IST applications and services in all economic and public sectors and in the society as a whole. IST are the key underlying technologies for easier and efficient knowledge creation, sharing and exploitation.
The objectives of IST in FP6 are therefore to 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.
The focus of IST in FP6 is 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"1 places the user, the individual, at the centre of future developments for an inclusive knowledge based society for all.
This research effort will therefore reinforce and complement the eEurope 20052 objectives and look beyond them to the 2010 goals of the Union of bringing IST applications and services to everyone, every home, every school and to all businesses.
eEurope2005 aims at a wider deployment of IST including to modernise further the public services including egovernment, ehealth and elearning and to create a dynamic business environment. It also aims at ensuring higher security of the information infrastructure and a wider availability of broadband access.
eEurope will therefore contribute to the adoption of the research results as they emerge. It will also provide feedback about their acceptance and the problems related to their use. This close articulation between the research and policy initiatives is a key component of the Union strategy to achieve the Lisbon goals.
The Community support for IST in FP6 will help mobilise the industrial and research community around high-risk long term goals. It should facilitate the aggregation of public and private research effort on a European scale and enable the development of a European Research Area (ERA) in IST.
1ISTAG report: Ambient Intelligence scenarios for 2010
2including eEurope+, see eEurope