Electronic commerce initiatives under the ESPRIT programme

As part of its new emphasis on electronic commerce RTD, the Community's specific RTD programme in the field of information technologies (ESPRIT) will be supporting proposals for electronic commerce pilot projects under its call of 15 March 1996. Electronic commerce is part of...

As part of its new emphasis on electronic commerce RTD, the Community's specific RTD programme in the field of information technologies (ESPRIT) will be supporting proposals for electronic commerce pilot projects under its call of 15 March 1996.

Electronic commerce is part of the Technologies for Business Processes (TBP) area of the ESPRIT work programme. This is because electronic commerce will have a major impact on a company's business processes. All forms of electronic support for business-to-business or business-to consumer transactions, including marketing, ordering and payment, information exchange, and cooperative working may be encompassed in systems for electronic commerce.

It is envisaged that electronic commerce will encourage new forms of cooperation between companies. Virtual companies and extended companies are two well-known forms of cooperation. Other elements of cooperation may be outsourcing of internal services or new distributed ways of doing work (e.g. teleworking). Pilot projects should establish and demonstrate best practice in electronic commerce business processes. Electronic commerce best practice pilots can demonstrate any aspect of commerce. The following topics must be addressed and explained in any proposal for an electronic commerce business best practice pilot:
- Business objectives;
- Business processes addressed;
- Scope of electronic commerce;
- New business concepts;
- Actors and stakeholders of electronic commerce;
- Human resources;
- Technological issues;
- Policy and legal issues;
- Architectural adequacy;
- Dissemination of results.

The aim of electronic commerce best practice pilot actions under the ESPRIT programme are as follows:

- Getting started (and create new business paradigms);
- Create awareness;
- Disseminate and promote Electronic Commerce best practice in national, European and global contexts;
- Establish and improve Electronic Commerce best practice in national, European and global contexts;
- Help expose practical problems that users may encounter in such areas as standards, security, copyright and protection of intellectual property rights, the impact of national and international law, taxation and customs regulation;
- Contribute to the creation of a real electronic marketplace where business transactions take place, where new concepts for making business emerge, where facilities are provided for the secure and correct handling of transactions, and where various support services are available when needed;
- Generate and disseminate methodological knowledge of the development of best practice pilots;
- Facilitate the opportunities of European SMEs to enter the global electronic marketplace;
- Develop trusted Electronic Commerce architectures for SMEs.
For further information, please contact:

European Commission
DG III - Industry
Mr. Paul Timmers
Unit III/F-6 - Technologies for Business Processes
105 Av. de Nerviens
B-1040 Brussels
Tel. [phone]; Fax [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]