No need to chase idea of Joint Technology Initiatives, Potocnik tells Technology Platforms
While the Commission's proposals on the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) include provisions for some Technology Platforms to become Joint Technology Initiatives and thus receive direct co-funding from the European Commission, those that remain Technology Platforms are far from failures, emphasised EU Science and Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik on 9 June. Speaking to industrial leaders currently involved in Technology Platforms, Mr Potocnik took the opportunity to dispel the myth that the platforms are only successful if they lead to a Joint Technology Initiative. The idea is 'unquestionably a false one', he said. 'To be successful, a Technology Platform does not necessarily need to lead to a Joint Technology Initiative. In the majority of cases, a technology platform can be implemented most effectively using the normal instruments of the Framework Programme,' the Commissioner explained. The Commission would like Technology Platforms to become 'champions of knowledge for growth'. As Mr Potocnik said on 9 June, the platforms will ensure that EU research responds to industry's needs, by drafting strategic research agendas that can be used to prioritise priority areas for funding at EU level. Existing strategic research agendas have already influenced the selection of priorities for FP7, according to the Commissioner. Technology Platforms also have an important role to play in mobilising public authorities at national and regional levels, whose participation in the initiative is desirable. In some fields, where the Commission can see a need to establish a 'long term public-private partnership of a scale and scope that cannot be supported through the normal procedures and instruments of the Framework Programme', a proposal may be put forward to create a Joint Technology Initiative. In order to be successful, the proposal would have to meet a number of conditions. The Joint Technology Initiative would not only have to make a unique contribution to Europe's industrial competitiveness in strategic technologies - clear evidence would also be needed, showing that using the normal instruments of the Framework Programme would not achieve the desired outcome. The Commission has already identified six areas where a case could be made for the creation of a Joint Technology Initiative, but this list is by no means final, the Commissioner emphasised. 'It is now for the industries involved in the six areas identified to build a case to demonstrate that their strategic research agendas meet the criteria for a Joint Technology Initiative. It is also for them to show that implementation of a Joint Technology Initiative will lead to concrete deliverables that will impact positively on Europe's industrial competitiveness,' said the Commissioner.