French study names Germany as front runner in FP5
A study on the participation of France and other European countries in the Fifth Framework programme for research, FP5, has found that Germany has the highest level of EU participation in the programme. The study, carried out by the 'Observatoire des sciences et des techniques' for the technology department of the French Ministry of research, analysed the participation of France and other Member States in FP5. It compared FP5 results with statistics from the Fourth Framework programme, FP4, wherever possible. Germany takes the lead with 18.6 per cent of EU participations in FP5 research projects, followed by France with 15 per cent and the UK with 14.8 per cent, according to the study. Luxembourg came bottom of the list, accounting for just 0.2 per cent of participations. The figures represent very little change for France since FP4, during which France accounted for 14.4 per cent of participation. The UK has slipped slightly since FP4, when it lead with 16.7 of participations, and Germany has taken the lead in FP5 from second place in FP4, which it held with 16 per cent of programme participations. Finland and Italy have each increased their rate of participation by approximately 15 per cent each, while Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands have all experienced a decrease in participation from FP4 to FP5. The three FP5 front runners, Germany, France and the UK, also account for a large percentage of global participation in the main FP5 research sectors. Germany tops the list for basic research and training, accounting for 22 per cent of projects in this area, followed by France on 17.9 per cent. Germany also heads the field in the area of research supporting public policy, on 16.2 per cent, with the UK following closely 15.9 per cent. Germany also accounts for the lion's share of projects aimed at encouraging industrial innovation and nuclear energy and security, with 19.4 per cent and 21.5 per cent respectively. In both these areas, France is second strongest, on 15.2 per cent and 17.9 per cent respectively. An analysis of the research specialisations of the 15 EU Member States in FP5 shows France as specialising in nuclear programmes and basic research and training, with a lack of projects supporting public policy. German teams emerged with a similar profile, while the UK was the opposite, specialising in research supporting public policy and with low participation in nuclear projects and basic research and training. The Netherlands, Finland, Denmark and Sweden all showed a high or very high level of specialisation in basic research and training and support for public policy, with particularly low level of specialisation in the encouragement of industrial innovation. Spain, Greece and Italy, on the other hand, all show strong specialisation in this area. The study also examined research collaboration under FP5. It found that again, the 'big three' of Germany, France and the UK lead the field. French, German and UK teams account for 46 per cent of cases of collaboration. With the addition of Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, the six countries together account for 72 per cent of collaborations under FP5. The study also uncovered a tendency for countries with geographical and cultural similarities to cooperate under the programme.