FP6 must be more inclusive, says Irish paper
The encouragement of SME participation in the EU's RTD programmes, enhancing Europe's competitiveness and making the programmes more inclusive are some of the priorities highlighted in the Irish position paper on the Sixth Framework programme. On the whole, the Irish government's Office of science and technology is in favour of continuing with the model that the Fifth Framework programme has established, but wishes to build on this success by making certain modifications and improvements. Ensuring that more SMEs are involved in EU research is also a top Irish priority. This should be done by reducing the bureaucracy of EU programmes and guarantee equality of opportunity and access. Every effort must also be made to 'nurture the innovative potential of SMEs'. The importance of underpinning the competitiveness of the enterprise sector is also highlighted in the paper, particularly in the areas of advanced manufacturing, services and the knowledge-based enterprises in the 'new economy'. The reinforcement cooperation is outlined as one way of enhancing Europe's competitiveness: 'The quality of networks and alliances which facilitate the acquisition, understanding and application of knowledge to social and economic objectives is a factor in economic competitiveness. In FP6 it will be important to ensure that enterprise is adequately aware of and linked to leading-edge developments in Europe and elsewhere.' The Irish opinion also focuses on the human aspect of research, in terms of making the EU's RTD programmes more inclusive and accessible, improving the relationship between science and society and addressing the issue of the European researcher shortage. 'Ireland considers that researcher training and mobility is a core element in the development of the European Research Area [ERA]. Therefore, the current work of the EU Commission High Level Group on Mobility is crucial in the quest to minimise and eliminate the various barriers and disincentives to researcher mobility that currently exist in Europe. An additional challenge for FP6 is to stimulate and facilitate greater mobility of researchers not only between different countries but also between the academic and business world,' states the paper. The challenge of changing the less than attractive image of science and technology is also touched upon, and the paper stresses Europe's need for more science, technology and engineering graduates; 'The challenge is to develop an S&T (science and technology) literacy amongst the population as a whole, to stimulate more young people to study engineering, science and technology, to facilitate the uptake of research as a career by more young people and through improved life long learning and other approaches to address current skills shortages.' In order to address this shortage, the Irish suggest supporting highly speculative research in new and emerging areas in FP6, which they believe would encourage more young researchers. Innovative ways of addressing existing research topics also need to be found, the paper states. In addition to encouraging further participation by SMEs in the Commission's RTD programmes, the opinion also takes up the under representation of women in the programmes, which is described as a 'loss for women, society and science'. Continuing with participation targets for women is suggested. 'We feel that there is a need for a mix of actions at national and community level to raise awareness and familiarise the citizen with science issues', the paper continues. One suggestion of how to deal with this is a statement by each EU funded RTD project team, aimed at the general public, to explain the project. The creation of a European biotechnology information centre is also proposed, as a way of dealing with the current biotechnology debate in an open, transparent and inclusive fashion. In terms of specific research priorities, the Irish paper draws attention to the competitiveness of materials, advanced manufacturing and services and proposes the introduction of a green technologies programme, the knowledge economy and the citizen, where the digital divide should be addressed, the welfare of the citizen through the faster development of new and safe medicines and closer attention to food safety research. The exploitation of biotechnology research in areas of genomics, bio-materials and nano materials is also prioritised, as is the field of environment, energy and transport. A new separate area - the sustainable development of marine resources - is proposed, who see this as vital to the well being of the European economy, quality of life and business. This area is highlighted as 'one of the areas where we can truly develop a European research ethos and partnership utilising the mechanisms proposed under FP6'. On the subject of structuring the research programmes, the paper states that the basic concept behind FP5 should continue, but that more effort must be made to develop entrepreneurial culture. Futile projects must also be terminated in the interests of budgetary effectiveness, says the Irish office of science and technology.
Countries
Ireland