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P U B L I C A T I O N S 
Note
Publications are free unless otherwise stated. If specific contact information for obtaining a publication is not supplied, and there is a price listed in euros, then the publication can be purchased from the sales and subscription office in your country of the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities (EUR-OP). Addresses can be found in most EC publications, on the WWW and by contacting EUR-OP (fax: +352 2929 42759). |
 enetics and the Future of Europe
ISBN 92-894-0862-6, KI-NB-19-442-EN-C;  14.00 This 20-page brochure, which is available in English, French and German editions, presents the main discussion points and principal conclusion of the forum 'Genetics and the future of Europe', which took place in Brussels in November 2000. Initiated by the Life Sciences High Level Group, the forum brought together politicians, academics, business people and representatives of the general public to discuss the themes of health, food, environmental issues and ethics. It represents the starting point for an ongoing dialogue.
uarantee mechanisms for financing innovative technology
ISBN 92-894-0787-5, NB-NA-17041-EN-C; 20.50 This survey of best practice in the use of guarantee mechanisms to support innovative technology is the latest in the series of Innovation Policy Studies produced by Enterprise DG's Innovation Policy unit. It examines 47 guarantee schemes in 13 EU countries, the Czech Republic, the United States and Canada. Schemes are classified according to the type of finance for which they provide guarantee, their sponsors, and their relevance to new technology-based firms (NTBFs). Unresolved issues such as inflexibility in financial markets and a weak ability to mobilise dormant capital are considered. Outlining the main benefits of guarantee schemes, the study identifies best practice: oin their use as part of integrated programmes of financial and advisory support measures oin relationships between sponsors, financial intermediaries, entrepreneurs and research institutes oin scheme design and management oin awareness-raising, training, experimentation and evaluation It aims to stimulate the adaptation and transfer of good practice to other countries or regions in order to introduce or improve guarantee schemes across Europe.
 nited Nations Human Development Report 2001
Subtitled 'Making new technologies work for human development', this recent report compiled by the United Nations development programme (UNDP) identifies Finland as the world's most technologically advanced country, ahead of the United States. The report compares 72 countries on the basis of a 'technological achievement index' which measures factors such as technological skill levels, internet usage and the capacity to apply technology in a network economy. Key criteria include patents granted, receipts of royalties and licence fees, number of internet hosts, share of high- and medium-technology exports, number of telephones, consumption of electricity, average number of school years and enrolment in tertiary scientific courses as a proportion of population. At the top of the list behind Finland are the US, Sweden, Japan, Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Germany, Ireland, Belgium, Austria and France are also named as 'leaders'. The report's aim is to demonstrate that information technology can reduce poverty. But it concludes that, to date, most high-tech private sector initiatives have been geared towards high-income consumers rather than the poor. Contact
http://www.undp.org/hdr2001/
 oint Research Centre Annual Report 2000
ISBN 92-894-1279-8, LB-NA-19-900-EN-C The latest annual report from the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) describes 2000 as "a period of evaluation" in which it defined new strategies to fulfil its mission as a research centre supporting EU policies. The JRC devoted considerable effort in 2000 to "improving the interface with European policy-makers" and with its immediate users, the Commission services. The report emphasises the JRC's contribution to "the development of a common scientific and technical reference system for policy-making", and its role as a partner in international research networks, and a co-ordinator of scientific expertise. As well as highlighting the major scientific achievements of its eight institutes, the JRC's annual report also describes and explains its various technology transfer activities. These include a new external seed capital fund and an incubation facility in Ispra for spin-off projects, both established during 2000.
C O N F E R E N C E S
 omen in the life sciences, tools for successful research careers
3-4 December, Stockholm (Sweden) Participants at this event will be given a background description of the situation of woman scientists in the EU and an introduction regarding the current situation in Europe. The ETAN report on the under-representation of women in senior positions in the life sciences will be presented, as well as the work of the Helsinki group. High-level researchers from four European universities will also speak of personal career development experiences. Contact
J. Jeppsson, Karolinska Institutet
Tl. +46 8 728 6079
Fx. +46 8 31 0343
wistool@ki.se
http://www.ki.se/wistool/
 ollutec 2001 - technology transfer day
6-7 December, Paris (France) Held in parallel with the international environmental fair, Pollutec 2001, the Innovation Relay Centre Paris-Île de France hopes to initiate transnational technology transfers and cross-border co-operation in the fields of air treatment, water, recycling and recovery. The IRC invites enterprises, universities and research institutes to participate, and will organise bilateral appointments between potential partners. Contact
M-C. Betsch, IRC Paris-Île de France
Tl. +33 1 5565 3661
Fx. +33 1 5565 3585
mbetsch@ccip.fr
http://www.brist.ccip.fr/
http://www.pollutec.com/
 nnovation Forum - Value chains in the processing of renewable raw materials
10-11 December, Gardelegen (Germany) The objective of this forum, organised by the Innovation Relay Centre for Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, is the exchange of knowledge and experience, and the formation of regional and transregional partnerships, in the fields of: oprocessing and utilisation of wood as a raw material ofibrous and composite materials oprocessing and utilisation of plant oils and starch outilisation of animal products Participants will be able to take part in visits to companies and research institutions. Contact
H. Ilchmann, IRC Lower Saxony/Saxony-Anhalt
Tl. +49 391 744 3542
Fx.+49 391 744 3544
ircpost@tti-md.de
http://www.tti-md.de/
 reating and applying vision in the regions - towards agile and networked regions through foresight
13 December, Dublin (Ireland) This one-day conference is organised by FOREN (Foresight for Regional Development), a 26-member network of regional development organisations and foresight specialists funded by the European Commission's STRATA action. It aims to present and discuss the output of the FOREN network with a wide audience of potential users - in particular, the draft of a Practitioner's Guide to Regional Foresight. Contact
Tl. +44 161 275 5921
Fx. +44 161 273 1123
michael.keenan@man.ac.uk
 tem cells: therapies for the future?
18-19 December, Brussels (Belgium) With stem cell research and the spectre of human cloning regularly hitting the headlines throughout Europe, the European Commission and Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin's High Level Group on Life Sciences are to invite a forum of stakeholders to express their views on the ethical issues behind the use of stem cell research to find treatments for degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and arthritis. The aim of the forum is to encourage debate between scientists who are concerned with the feasibility and consequences of such research, and a wide range of people concerned with the opportunities and risks of such work, such as law experts, patients' associations, students and teachers, public authorities and the media. Contact
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/quality-of-life/stemcells.html
RO-VE '02
1-3 May, Vilamoura (Portugal) This conference on infrastructures for virtual enterprises, which is supported by the IST programme's 'Thinkcreative' project, will enable delegates to discuss the latest developments in dynamic virtual organisations, new business ecosystems, reference models and modelling and clusters. It will also cover the integration and sharing of information, virtual communities, mobility and virtual enterprises, virtual enterprise engineering and SMEs, and low-cost virtual enterprise infrastructures. Contact
http://www.uninova.pt/~prove/ |
September 2001
