Preliminary results of INFO2000 calls for proposals
The European Commission, DG XIII, has released preliminary information on the results of the first two calls for proposals launched, in June 1996, under the Community's multiannual programme to stimulate the development of a European multimedia content industry and to encourage the use of multimedia content in the emerging Information Society (INFO2000). The first of the two calls was for proposals in connection with the establishment of a multimedia information demonstration and support network (MIDAS-NET) (OJ No S 118 of 21.6.1996 p. 14). The closing date for this call was 9 September 1996. A total of 115 proposals were received. These 115 proposals involved 366 organizations, of which 77% were SMEs. The other call launched at the same time was for multimedia content projects (OJ No S 118 of 21.6.1996 p. 15). In all, 501 proposals, involving over 2,400 organizations and requesting funding amounting to ECU 45 million, were received in response to this call. Overall, the Commission is pleased with the high level of response from less-favoured regions and from SMEs. The distribution of proposals in the four targeted subject areas was as follows: - Cultural heritage: 231 proposals; - Business information for firms: 155 proposals; - Geographic information: 50 proposals; - Scientific, technical and medical information: 65 proposals. The call was aimed primarily at the private sector. The preliminary results indicate that this target group has to a large extent been reached with private enterprises accounting for almost 60% of participation.