Objective
Access to information tailored to the specific needs of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is absolutely crucial for them to remain competitive. This has been affirmed in the White Book on Competitiveness, Growth and Employment; and reaffirmed in the Bangemann report, as well as by the G7 Brussels meeting in February 1995. Finally it has also been confirmed by the growing number of SMEs who are awakening to the new possibilities offered by modern information technologies.
SMEs however do not often have the logistical and financial resources to access modern information technologies, or to digest the growing flow of information which businesses need to survive in increasingly competitive markets. Moreover, there appears to be a qualitative gap between the supply of information and the demand on the part of SMEs.
A Confederation of SME Servers (CONFOSS) will be established primarily by the Council of European Professional Informatic Societies (CEPIS), the European Information Technologies Association (EITA), and the European Multimedia Forum (EMF) to bridge this gap.
CONFOSS will extend the services that each of the three partners already provide to their members, by sharing existing services and enhancing those services to provide a common information space that will provide all of its members with:
- a "yellow pages" directory of SME members and their products and services;
- a "co-operation forum";
- information on EU programmes and initiatives of relevance to SMEs;
- information on the market/business environment;
- access to professional and technical expertise;
- information on business services available to SMEs.
The three existing members cover a broad range of SMEs active in the ICT Sector. However, the existing members will seek to broaden the Confederation through the expansion of the range of services available to the Confederation and increasing the number of SMEs participating in the common information space.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project has not yet been classified with EuroSciVoc.
Be the first one to suggest relevant scientific fields and help us improve our classification service
You need to log in or register to use this function
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Data not available
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
NE8 1HE Gateshead
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.