Iceland delivers verdict on FP7 proposals
Iceland has outlined its position on the Commission's proposals for the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), coming out in favour of a substantial budget increase while also stressing the need to increase the output generated by EU research. Iceland has participated in the framework programmes as an associated country since 1994, and the experiences gained since then have clearly demonstrated the benefit of research cooperation, the paper states. 'To this end adequate funding is required.' 'It should however be kept in mind that a financial input view of the RTD effort needs to be complemented with a broader and systematic review of the scientific and socio-economic effects and outputs of public and private RTD efforts,' it continues. 'Iceland supports proposals for a substantial increase of the budget for the coming Framework Programme and reminds of the importance of paying due regards to the impacts for RTD efforts.' The Commission's vision of a European Research Area (ERA) with increasingly linked national research systems is a wise one, Iceland believes, and the four pillars of FP7 - cooperation, ideas, people and capacities - will contribute to its realisation. 'Iceland is ready participate in a joint effort to realise these objectives but recognises the need to proceed with an evolutionary approach based on common strategies,' reads the position paper. The country therefore argues that regional and national groupings with shared interests should provide the driving force in building the ERA. Plans to increase the participation of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the next framework programme are taken up in detail in the Icelandic position. It argues that the needs of SMEs are not adequately addressed under the current programme, and also highlights the importance of rapidly growing but still financially vulnerable knowledge-based companies that have grown beyond the SME size criteria. 'It should be noted that these are precisely the companies that are likely to attract substantial new investments in R&D and contribute to the Lisbon/Barcelona goals,' continues the paper, adding that the positive experiences gained through CRAFT and STREP actions should form the basis of new efforts to enhance SME participation. The simplification of the framework programme and its procedures is another area where Iceland agrees that action is needed. 'The current instruments and the burdensome procedures that follow may indeed create blocks of insiders who, through their inside knowledge of the mechanisms, gradually may become de facto 'subscribers' to Framework Programme resources,' warns the paper. 'Iceland recommends that the Commission make a special effort in designing a more flexible approach to the choice of instruments for different projects reflecting the needs of small players and give more management independence to project participants.' The position paper then sets out those thematic areas of the Sixth Framework Programme that it would wish to see extended into FP7, while also drawing the Commission's attention to the impacts and challenges of the 'rapidly changing arctic climate due to global warming', which Iceland would like to see addressed in the coming programme. Finally, Iceland's position highlights the contribution that the humanities and social sciences can make to better understanding the socio-cultural challenges of ongoing globalisation. 'A better understanding of the interaction between socio-cultural values and the evolution of citizenship, governance and the position of minorities might be helpful in designing policies to respond to stresses that may arise from the current integration of countries or regions with a distinct cultural or national identity,' it concludes.
Countries
Iceland