Commission seeks proposals to support European science and technology policy
The European Commission is calling for proposals for indirect RTD actions under the specific programme for research, technological development and demonstration on 'Improving the Human Research Potential and the Socio-Economic Knowledge Base'. The call relates to support for the development of science and technology policies in Europe. Proposals are called for by two fixed deadlines. An evaluation will take place following each deadline. The objective of these projects and networks should be to provide relevant and comparable indicators and analysis at different levels (regional, national, European, world) required for the design, co-ordination and assessment of RTD strategies in Europe. In particular, it will be important for these activities to respond to the new debate on research policy emerging from the Commission Communication 'Towards a European Research Area', and from the European Council meetings in Portugal in March and June 2000. With this in mind, and in order to contribute to the development of new indicators and new analytical approaches to S&T indicators that address the needs of European science and technology policy makers, the following themes will be the subject of the call for proposals: - Theme 1: New indicators for the European Research Area The aim is to build new S&T indicators useful for analysing the development of the European Research Area, including, for example, new indicators and quantitative approaches needed for the benchmarking of national research policies; new indicators necessary for the analysis of S&T efforts and performance at the level of the Member States, the regions and the main research actors; and indicators required to assess the impact of research and innovation on competitiveness, employment and cohesion in the context of the knowledge-based society. - Theme 2: Linking indicators of S&T, innovation and economic performance Through a better exploitation of the different sources of available data, research should aim to develop the linkage between different types of indicators for the analysis of the interactions between R&D, innovation and economic and commercial activities at the level of individual enterprises, universities, research centres, etc, while respecting rules on confidentiality of such data in Member States. The results should facilitate the comparative analysis of the performance of the S&T and innovation actors across the different European countries. - Theme 3: Indicators of dynamics, inertia and efficiency of research and innovation systems and policies in Europe The aim is to improve the use of indicators for the quantitative analysis of the factors of change and inertia in the long-term evolution of R&D and innovation systems and policies at the European, national and regional levels. It should encompass the development of indicators to strengthen the analysis of the co-evolution of the education system, the research and innovation system, and the industrial system, as well as the efficiency of the various policies and instruments affecting the competitiveness and innovative nature of the European economies. - Theme 4: New approaches and indicators for the quantitative analysis of S&T The aim of this theme is to develop new indicators and new methodological and quantitative approaches in order to improve the assessment, comparison and prospective analysis of research and innovation policies in Europe. Examples of research questions that might be addressed include the establishment of better links between indicators (e.g. demographic, education and human resources in S&T) or between nomenclatures (e.g. science, technology and industry classifications), or the measurement of new developments in the framework of the knowledge economy (e.g. technology start-ups, spin-offs, knowledge intensive services, new modes of financing research and innovation etc.). Research may address the development of new indicators or new ways of exploiting existing S&T statistics and indicators, and of improving their quality and comparability (in terms of concepts, standards, statistical methods, nomenclatures, classifications, breakdowns), as well as the development of practical tools for assisting S&T data collection. The indicative budget available for thematic networks under this call notice is 5 million euro of Community contribution with an indicative split of 70 per cent for projects and networks resulting from the first evaluation and 30 per cent for projects and networks resulting from the second evaluation. Proposers are encouraged to prepare proposals with a software tool (the Proposal Preparation Tool -ProTool), which is available from the Commission via the Internet (address below), e-mail or CD-ROM. For further information, please contact: European Commission Directorate-General Research Unit RTD/K/2 Competitiveness, Economic Analysis and Indicators rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200 B-1049 Brussels Fax +32-2-296 28 40 E-mail: rtd-improving@ec.europa.eu URL: http://cordis.europa.eu/improving(odnośnik otworzy się w nowym oknie) For ProTool, please consult the following website: URL: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp5/protool(odnośnik otworzy się w nowym oknie)