Final Report Summary - NEARS (New European Aviation Research Strategy) Executive Summary: Project Summary Objective of the Project The project provided driving support to the development of a strategic agenda for research and innovation in Europe for a 2050 horizon. In particular, it initiated and executed the involvement and consultation of all major stakeholders of this sector for the development of the agenda. Background to the Project In 2001, the Group of Personalities, initiated by then-EC Commissioner Philippe Busquin, presented their Vision 2020 on the future of air transport and the resulting challenges for European research. This report was the impetus for founding the Advisory Council for Aeronautical Research in Europe (ACARE), which published the Strategic Research Agendas SRA 1 (2002), SRA 2 (2004) and a 2008 Addendum to SRA 2. A new vision document, titled 'Flightpath 2050', was created to provide a long term strategic view on research and innovation. Flightpath 2050, in combination with the findings of evaluation and assessment projects such as MEFISTO and AGAPE, formed the basis upon which a new roadmap for European research was developed. Deliveries and Impact The new agenda will be the focus for future aeronautics and air transport research, on the European level as well as for national and industrial programmes. The aim was to ensure that, in times of unpredicted challenges and limited resources, mobility needs of the European citizen are satisfied safely and more sustainably, and that Europe continues to maintain its leading position in a technology sector of strategic and commercial importance and political prestige. Participants Involved and Their Roles Partners - Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR) Planning process management, organisation/support of workshop sessions, supervision of the Agenda Document editing, general project management and coordination. - AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) Co-Management and co-ordination of stakeholder planning process, organisation/support of workshop sessions, interface to stakeholders (in particular industry), steering of endorsement process. - AD Cuenta (ADC) Preparatory activities, data acquisition, support of workshop sessions, support of Agenda Document editing. Subcontracting - Mike Fairbanks (Helios Technology Ltd./ LeighFisher Inc.) Agenda document editing Project Context and Objectives: Objectives The 3rd call in the aeronautics and air transport program () called for projects to support the publication of the third Strategic Research Agenda of ACARE; in particular to: demonstrate the capability to develop a strategic research agenda for research in Europe to realise a vision for this sector in a 2030+ horizon. The agenda should be able to influence the definition of research in the Framework Programmes, national programmes and industrial programmes. The activities subject of this topic should include those required to carry out the broad consultation and involvement of all the stakeholders of this sector for the development of the agenda, from its initial conception to final publication. (FP7-Aeronautics and Air Transport-2010-RTD-1; AAT.2010.7-15 page 54). The NEARS project was responding to this call. Background After the European Commissioner Busquin initiated a Group of Personalities (GoP) in 2000, this group published its report in 2001. Apart from setting a vision on air transport for 2020 and its challenging goals, the Group advised to set up a standing body: the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE). ACARE ACARE was set up in 2001 with the task to create a Strategic Research Agenda that would describe the technical work needed if Vision 2020 was to be realized. ACARE set up a structure of 6 working groups, each addressing a specific challenge for the air transport system of the future. Each working group was chaired by a member of the ACARE Council and each working team had a rapporteur responsible for collecting and assembling the output from the working groups. In some cases subgroups within the working groups were created. More than 300 experts from stakeholder organisations in the Air Transport sector were contributing to this process. In order to make the SRA properly focused and balanced, the ACARE Integration Team (IT) was formed from the leaders and rapporteurs of the working teams. Chaired by the Deputy Chairman of the Council this IT integrated the work of the different Working Groups. The whole process was supported by the industry association ASD. Strategic Research Agenda 1 The SRA #1 proved to be extremely important. Not only was it the first strategic research agenda for a total European sector, it also was used to guide research in industry, Member States and the European Commission to reach the goals set by the Group of Personalities in a coherent way. In fact the effect of the SRA was bigger than could be expected. Most European research in air transport and aeronautics was aligned with the SRA. This enabled closer cooperation in research in Europe as the targets and roadmaps to reach these targets were clear and accepted by all stakeholders in the sector. The Framework Program 6 was fully aligned with the SRA1. Strategic Research Agenda 2 In 2004 ACARE published a second, additional, version of the SRA. Whereas the first SRA assumed business as usual in the development of air transport, the SRA2 added scenario analysis to the strategic planning. Based on these scenarios the SRA2 added High Level Target Concepts (HLTC) for Air Transport in 2020 to SRA1. This made the agenda more robust. Working Groups aligned with the 7 HLTC were initiated as well as Working Groups on institutional enablers. The stakeholders contributed a high amount of working time to create the SRA2. The whole process was supported by ASD again. It received support from the European Commission via support actions (ASTERA) to manage and support the process of writing the SRA and to perform supporting studies. The Framework Program 7 is aligned fully with the SRA2 and its HLTC. Strategic Research Agenda 2 - Addendum In 2008 ACARE published an Addendum to the SRAs to reflect on new developments in the air transport sector. Again all stakeholders were providing their views on the topics that were addressed in the Addendum like the increased interest in reducing the environmental impact of aviation, alternative fuels and the implementation of new, customer friendly security systems. The institutional issues were also addressed as business models in air transport are changing, international competition and cooperation requires new approaches whilst the institutional cooperation in research needs additional attention. Impact of the SRAs Over the last 10 years substantial progress has been made in research. Supported by the actions of the European Commission research is not only performed in a European setting and the cooperation in joint research and technology development in Europe has increased at a bigger pace than would have been thought possible in 2000. Clean Sky has added technology demonstration on a European scale. SESAR has enabled a common view on future ATM in support of the Single European Sky initiative. As the year 2020 is approaching and it is likely that most of the targets set for 2020 will be met, ACARE needed to address the longer term future. Project Results: Scientific and/or Technical Quality Roadmap to a New Strategic Research Agenda The Commission created a new Group of Personalities, which published "Flightpath 2050", a report on air transport and aeronautics in 2050, at the "Aerodays 2011" in Madrid. Following the recommendations, ACARE was re-structured to form the "Advisory Council for Aviation Research and innovation in Europe" (still termed ACARE). The first major activity of ACARE was to start the preparation of a new strategic research agenda that would provide the technology roadmaps to reach the new goals set for the air transport sector by Flightpath 2050. Emphasising also innovation, the new roadmap was termed Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). With addressing the long term perspective of aviation and air transport, Europe is in front again in the world. And the air transport sector is again a leading example for other sectors in Europe to follow. Preparing SRIA was again to constitute a major effort for the air transport and aeronautics stakeholders. But the effort was worthwhile as the new targets and roadmaps are a new guide for: - industrial research actions, - Member State research efforts, - joint programming of research where appropriate, - the new EC framework programme "Horizon 2020". Relevance of the Project Preparing SRIA was a vast effort that needed coordination and support. NEARS provided the necessary support to this major effort. The NEARS team worked closely with ACARE to oversee, guide, coordinate and assist the activities. NEARS supported the whole process of creating SRIA through four consecutive steps. After the necessary preparations (1), the project enabled Working Groups to address the different goals set by Fligthpath 2050 (2), it assembled the different views and contributions from these Working Groups and drafted the new SRA (3). Finally the NEARS project took care of the final editing, design and printing of the new report (4). Dissemination of the new SRIA was also part of the NEARS team activities. Experience in ACARE had shown that working though the regular Committees in ACARE did not result in a timely strategy document. Although the members of these Committees were fully committed to ACARE, it became apparent that without a dedicated team that can work near full time on that task, preparing an important document like a new strategic roadmap would have taken too long. A dedicated support team needs to chase for contributions, chase people to deliver, chase stakeholders to contribute including the airlines and airport communities and to adhere to a tight schedule of operations. Without a dedicated support mechanism such an effort is impossible to accomplish. NEARS offered this mechanism. Quality and Effectiveness of the Support Mechanisms, and Associated Work Plan Strategy of the Work Plan The NEARS project had 6 different work packages that were fully in line with the efforts needed. Work Package 1 was the preparation. It collected relevant data and messages from Flightpath 2050 as well as other sources and structure the work that had to be done to prepare the SRIA. It validated the findings and plans in a workshop with the main stakeholders to check the completeness of the preparation and to motivate the stakeholders to devote substantial efforts again to preparing the SRIA. Work Package 2 collected the inputs for the SRIA. It further developed the process of work, supported the progress of the specialist Working Group, oversaw the timely delivery of results and ensured an adequate level of harmonisation across the five Working Groups. Work Package 3 assembled all relevant material and drafted a SRIA document. Iterations on the draft ultimately resulted in the final Agenda Document that was endorsed by ACARE's highest body, the General Assembly, at Farnborough Airshow in July 2012. Work Package 4 finalised the SRIA according to the requirements of the General Assembly, designed the resulting document, had the SRIA printed and disseminated. The SRIA is an easy to access, easy to read and clear document that is the basis for future EU work programmes, national research programs and private research efforts. A key element in this project was the management of information, in particular of background information to support substantiated work in the Working Groups and the documentation of their results. Work package 5 operated the common database for this project. Additionally, it provided technical, operational and administrative support to the participants which was to be coordinated on the project level, but which went beyond the usual scope of project management (e.g. IT system management, User Help Desk, data acquisition and data mining, other documentation services, etc). The whole process of designing, collecting, writing and publishing of the SRIA and its elements were managed through actions under work package 6. The project was supported and guided by the ACARE Steering Group, which is the management body of ACARE. This ensured the involvement of all stakeholders in the whole process and a balanced approach in SRIA. The SRIA represents the technology roadmap that Europe requires to prepare the future of its air transport system and aeronautics sector. The SRIA - thanks to the involvement of all stakeholders - ensures a common view and roadmap for future research. It is an indispensable instrument to make progress in terms of research and technology development, close coordination and cooperation as well as integration in research and technology development in Europe, and enables policies for international cooperation to be planned and implemented in a fair and balanced way. Potential Impact: Impact Context and Scope The expected impact of this project is to realise a vision for the aeronautics and air transport sector and to be able to influence definition of research in the Framework Programmes, national programmes and industrial programmes. It was clearly intended that the product of the project was to be a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) with a pan-European reach - a cross-stakeholder agenda that is accepted by stakeholders and by funding agencies both European and National as an appropriate route to realise Flightpath 2050. As such it mirrors the previous SRAs in scope but anticipates the incorporation of changes that reflect the Flightpath document. The new SRIA will be able to influence the definition of research in the Framework Programmes, especially the new programme Horizon 2050. The SRA can be expected have an impact in several different ways: At the level of the EU aviation stakeholders in defining the strategic direction of development of the European air transport system through determining the priorities and direction of research. With individual stakeholders in providing a common European platform within which they can plan their strategic mixture of European projects, national projects and private research. With national governments of the member states (MS) in determining the contribution their funding should make to European aviation development through a considered blend of national and EU programmes. The project will also have an impact upon the ability of the stakeholder enterprises to make best use of their respective competences by collaborating with other enterprises, by focusing upon the agreed priorities, and by assessing the risks and rewards present within the agreed strategic research agenda. It will also enhance these abilities by providing a common structure of projects, processes and procedures that will continue the more unified approach to research that has been initiated by the European Commission (EC). The commitment of the major European aviation stakeholders to a new Vision for the air transport sector is, of course, the key directional decision that establishes where the sector wants to go in response to the challenges that it and its markets face across world markets. Such a singular statement of the forward Vision cannot, by its nature, be such as to bind every enterprise to it. Nevertheless, it is expected that it will be able to create an agreed strategic approach that is accepted by a majority of the major stakeholders across the several domains operating in the sector (government, manufacturing, research institutions, operations, ATM, airports, academia and regulators). Given this expression of strategic direction the SRIA cements, to an important degree, the Flightpath 2050 vision by identifying the research that will provide the building blocks for its creation. Understanding and recognising the twin pillars of this building block view, Flightpath 2050 and its offspring, the SRIA, will be matters of importance for various parts of the EU, including the EC, national governments and the whole collection of enterprises that form part of the aviation stakeholder community. The SRA provides a coherent, integrated and unified view of the necessary research programme that needs to be conducted (and funded by a variety of means) if the long term goals are to be realised. As such it will provide a valuable document of reference for a number of years as the research programme is implemented across Europe. The Impact of the SRIA as a Planning Document In setting out the research to be done if Flightpath 2050 is to be realised no account is being taken in the SRIA of the means or funding by which individual parts of the programme should be initiated and supported. The SRIA, however, provides a valuable planning document to examine the options for these funding decisions. At all levels in the European aviation research community options for funding can be examined using the SRIA as a consistent basis for discussion and decision. In the complex system that is aviation it is common for research to be conducted over several years towards a chosen goal through a number of separate packages of work or projects that taken together form a cluster of projects all heading towards the goal. Each has a separate purpose but each is a vital part of the whole. The SRIA provides a consistent vehicle for assisting enterprises to plan and define the clusters and then consider their contributions to them. It provides a common platform from which cluster discussions can be mounted and individual projects planned within them. The SRIAs Impact on European Research Efficiency The Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda is so styled because it cannot be a "Programme" implying the presence of coercion to conform to it. There remain many freedoms for governments and enterprises to take paths that are divergent in some degree from the path described in the Agenda. However, the greater the benefit for the stakeholders, the greater is the general acceptance of the Agenda as an expression of the common view. Thus, the SRIA influences the efficiency of European research in this field by providing many different kinds of enterprise with a background against which to make investment and resource decisions, collaborative plans and to develop enterprise level technology strategies. Research cannot be, and should not attempt to have, singular efforts on important topics. There is a need for a level of duplication and collaboration that brings different perspectives to bear on problems and which might lead to competitive positioning by enterprises. At the other extreme it is not desirable that the level of duplication should remain overshadowed by the fragmented past of the European experience where practically every MS had its own facilities, resources, and competence across the spectrum. Moving steadily forward to a new accommodation with the realities of European aviation will be made easier and more certain by the existence of this common agenda for research. The SRIA gives good indications of the needs for the future, the dependence on facilities and other resources, the major areas of challenge, the new technologies that will be needed and provide enterprises with a planning framework for their decisions. The net impact of the SRA in this area could, and probably will be substantial in contributing to the progress of the sector to a more efficient and competitive future. Dissemination of Project Results, and Management of Intellectual Property At the important level of stakeholders and enterprises in the sector the most significant exploitation of results will be as described above. There are, however, other impacts that has been achieved by the project. The compilation of a new Agenda from Flightpath 2050 serves as a template for individual enterprises to adapt to their own situation whether they work in the aviation sector or outside it. There is value to be obtained by any enterprise in looking at new approaches to planning and describing the priorities and content of a long term research programme. To this end the project outcome - essentially the SRIA Volume 1 and Volume 2 as well as its compilation process - is be the subject of presentations, a web site and distributive media to broadcast the benefits of the SRA to both those stakeholders specifically engaged in the work and to those other enterprises that seek to examine the benefits that the SRIA could offer in their planning processes. The follow-up project AERA-Pro, led by NEARS partner, has been awarded to further promote the SRIA in more detail in the Member States. Some of the content of the SRIA, and the background work leading to it, is also of interest and utility to a wider audience. All communication and promotion activities (with the exception of the AERA-Pro dissemination events) are managed and coordinated by the ACARE Communications Group. Dissemination Event The new SRIA was presented to the public in a high-profile hand-over ceremony at the Berlin Air Show ILA 2012. Tom Enders, ACARE Chairman and CEO of EADS, presented the SRIA to Matthias Ruete, Director General, DG Mobility and Transport, in the presence of Peter Hintze, Parliamentary State Secretary, Federal coordinator for aviation policy of Germany, and Johann-Dietrich Warner, Vice-Chairman ACARE and Chairman of DLR Executive Board. Nine national SRIA dissemination events will be held by the EC-funded project AERA-Pro http://www.aera-pro-project.eu to ensure optimal publicity and awareness. The events will be held at Germany (Berlin), Belgium (Brussels), Romania (Bucharest), Italy (Capua), France (Toulouse), Poland (Rzeszaw), Spain (Madrid) and Sweden (tbd). Project website: http://www.nears-project.eu Contact: Dr Martin Spieck DLR - German Aerospace Center Air Transportation Systems Blohmstrasse 18, D-21079 Hamburg, Germany Phone : +49 (0)531 295-3830 fax : +49 (0)531 295-3802 Related documents Final Report - NEARS (New European Aviation Research Strategy)
