EDI development projects (TEDIS)
The Commission of the European Communities issues an open invitation to tender for projects which aim to improve the situation in Europe with regard to EDI development as follows: There are still obstacles to the growth of trade electronic data interchange. As regards standardization, there is a need to encourage pan-European user groups to migrate from proprietary standards to UN/EDIFACT. It is also necessary to supply message designers with the proper information modelling tools. In the field of telecommunications, Registration Authorities should be created, ISDN technology assessed for EDI users, and tools for EDI telecoms activity modelling set up. In the legal field, the constraints and inadequacies of the Member States' legal systems must be identified, and electronic messages analysed from the legal point of view. To raise awareness of the potential benefits of EDI in Europe, coordination of awareness centres and the level of service offered must be increased. Pan-European sectoral projects continue to make progress in Europe but the creation of new groups or initiatives from existing groups must be encouraged. Finally there is an urgent need to assess the economic and social impact of EDI introduction. Community financial support, in the form of full or partial funding, as appropriate, may be given to projects in the above fields. Where funding of 50% or less is requested, all rights to the results of the project will remain the property of the contractors. Each applicant may tender as a single contractor or (designating a prime contractor) in association with others. The complete tender dossier is obtained from: Commission of the European Communities Directorate-General for Telecommunications, Information Industries and Innovation Department XIII/D-5, TEDIS Office (B 28-1/70) 200 rue de la Loi B-1049 Brussels Tel. +32-2-2990258; Telex 63425 EUROMA B; Fax +32-2-2990286