European Union - Recent Information on Research Activities in Europe

What's new on the Directorate-General Research website

http://ec.europa.eu/research/whatsnew.cfm

Recent Developments

European projects in Life Science and Health

The Life Competence database is an online network and knowledge sharing contact system filled with EU research projects in healthcare biotechnology that have been funded by the EU Commission under FP6. It enables companies, universities, governments and NGOs to find out what research is going on in their area and who are the partners, people and organisations (companies and universities) working in this field. It also enables companies and academia to keep track of the EU projects your organization is involved in or on what your competitors are doing.

Information on all 680 EU projects funded by the European Commission within FP6 Life Science and Health is presented, including EU projects with international cooperation. The database provides an overall description of all FP6 health research projects, including their acronym, budget, thematic area and names of the participants involved. It thus enables users to learn about scientific progress and specific results in a particular health-related research area and also to find out about and contact the organisations participating in relevant projects. Moreover, it provides an overall idea about the allocation of funds to FP6 health and life sciences projects, which amounted to a total of 2.4 billion euros.

This huge dissemination activity aims to stimulate knowledge sharing and enable further partnerships between public research organisations, small and medium-sized enterprises and industry to pursue further research efforts or exploit the results available.

http://www.lifecompetence.eu/

Putting Europe high on the global map of science and technology: Commission advocates new international strategy

On 24-September 2008, the European Commission called on governments to jointly develop a strategy for international cooperation in science and technology. It proposed a strategic framework for jointly strengthening science and technology cooperation with non-EU countries, notably in the field of Information and Communication Technologies where Europe is a strong exporter. The Commission's objective is to contribute to sustainable development worldwide while at the same time improving Europe’s competitiveness in science and technology. The Commission invites Member States to define together, rather than in isolation, priority research and technology areas where a coherent EU effort would have more impact.
For more information please refer to the following links.

Press release
A strategic European framework for international science and technology cooperation

Science Education NOW - the Rocard report on science education

In recent years, many studies have highlighted an alarming decline in young people’s interest for key science studies and mathematics. Unless more effective action is taken, Europe’s longer term capacity to innovate, and the quality of its research will also decline.

The European Commission invited a group of experts, headed by Michel Rocard (former French Prime Minister) to examine what actions could be taken. Their accomplished work – a report titled "Science Education NOW" makes a number of recommendations concerning how improvement can be brought about in science teaching.

Download the full report

Management of intellectual property in knowledge transfer activities

The European Commission on 10 April 2008 adopted a Recommendation on the management of intellectual property in knowledge transfer activities and Code of Practice for universities and other public research organisations.

More information
Download full text of the recommendation
Technology transfer and university-industry relations

2008 EU-Japan Cooperation Forum on ICT Research, March 4-5, 2008, Tokyo
The "2008 EU-Japan Cooperation Forum on ICT Research" is co-organised by the European Commission, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), the Ministry of Foreign Affaires (MOFA), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

The main expected outcome of the forum is the identification and development of cooperation projects in areas of mutual and strategic interest. The European Commission and the Japanese Ministries have proposed a list of such areas, i.e. of ICT research topics to be addressed through thematic sessions: Ubiquitous Network Technology, RFID, Next Generation Information Retrieval and Analysis Technologies, Nanoelectronics, Photonic Network Technology, New Generation Network, e-Transport, Networked Electronic Media, and e-Health.
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European Commission adopts Code of Conduct for Responsible Nanosciences and NanotechnologiesResearch
Europe is in the vanguard of the emerging field of nanosciences and nanotechnologies (N&N), a developing field of science with the potential for major positive impact economically, socially and environmentally. Nevertheless, knowledge gaps remain about the impact of these technologies on human health and the environment, as well as issues relating to ethics and the respect of fundamental rights.
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Clean Sky Research Programme takes off at launch forum
A new generation of greener, more environmentally efficient aircraft moved a step closer today, with the official launch of the Clean Sky JTI research programme, in Brussels. The Clean Sky TAKE-OFF Forum today formally instigated this EU wide collaborative private-public partnership, which encourages the full participation of SMEs, universities and research centres as well as leading aeronautics manufacturers, in the Clean Sky programme.
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Seminar on Roadmap for Research Infrastructures in Europe at NISTEP

Professor John Wood, chairman of ESFRI (European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures) presented at a NISTEP seminar on October 23rd in Tokyo the first European Roadmap for Research Infrastructures. The roadmap includes 35 new large-scale research infrastructures projects as priorities for the development of science and innovation in Europe. Mr. Herve Pero, Head of Unit for Research Infrastructures in DG RTD at the European Commission made a presentation on the relations between the roadmap and the planned activities on research infrastructures within the 7th EU Research Framework Programme (2007-2013).

European Commission launches 10-point innovation plan
On 14 September, the European Commission issued ‘Putting knowledge into practice: A broad-based innovation strategy for the EU’ which calls for urgent action at regional, national and European levels. The plan had been requested by EU heads of state at the Spring Council in March 2006 and is based on a report by the expert group under the leadership of former Finnish Prime Minister Esko Aho which was published earlier this year. In the plan the Commission calls on EU Member States to address the following issues: establish innovation-friendly education systems; establish a European Institute of Technology; develop a single market for researchers; strengthen links between researchers and industry; nurture regional innovation through the new cohesion policy programmes; reform State aid rules for R&D and innovation and provide better guidance for R&D tax incentives; improve protection for intellectual property rights; copyright levies for digital products and services; develop a strategy for innovation-friendly ‘lead markets’; and stimulate innovation through public and private procurement. The document will be discussed by EU heads of state and governments at their informal meeting in Finland on 20 October.
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European Commission outlines Joint Undertaking for European contribution to ITER
On 22 August, the European Commission published the proposals for the creation of a Joint Undertaking to provide the European contribution to the ITER international fusion energy project. Its primary task will be to meet Europe’s obligations towards ITER, by working with European industry and research organisations to supply the components for the construction of ITER, and to administer the EU’s financial contribution. The Joint Undertaking will be based in Barcelona and start work in 2007.
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European companies set to increase their R&D investment over next three years
A survey by the European Commission and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) published on 23 August shows that European companies expect their global investments in R&D to grow by about 5 percent over the next three years. This contrasts with growth of only 0.7 percent for R&D investment reported in the 2005 EU Industrial Investment Scoreboard. The European Commission questioned more than 400 companies in ten major industrial sectors about their R&D investment intentions.
More information on the EU Survey on R&D Investment Business Trends

Research into environmental impact of products identifies key culprits

In the context of Integrated Product Policy (IPP), an integral part of the EU’s Sustainable Development Strategy, DG Environment is investigating which products cause the most severe environmental impacts in the EU, and the potential for improvement. A study carried out by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre’s Institute for Prospective Technological Studies has assessed the impact of 283 product groups on various impact categories, including acidification, toxicity, global warming and ozone layer depletion. It identifies three product groupings as having the greatest impacts: food and drink, private transport, and housing products are together responsible for 70-80% of the environmental impact of consumption and account for some 60% of consumption expenditure. Follow-up projects are now investigating which technological and policy options exist to improve the most polluting products.

The summary of the EIPRO project and full report is available here.

Survey on R&D personnel in the EU
Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union, has published the results of a survey compiling data regarding research and development (R&D) personnel in the EU. The survey shows that Finland and Iceland are the countries with the biggest percentage of researchers employed, with Finland being the leader in the business enterprise sector, where 1.13% of all people employed are researchers. The survey also contains data on science and gender, showing that Latvia and Lithuania are the countries employing the highest proportion of female researchers. Another interesting part of the survey results shows that in larger European countries, in particular Germany and Italy but also France and the UK, a large majority of researchers is employed by big companies. Spain, where only 27% of researchers work in such companies, is an exception. Smaller European countries generally have fewer researchers employed in big companies, with the exception of Luxembourg where the percentage reaches 68%.
See the entire report

Recent Eurostat report on Research & Development expenditures in Europe.
In 2004, 1.90 % of the GDP was spent on R&D expenditure in the EU-25. The highest R&D intensities, above the 2010 target of 3 % set at the Barcelona summit, were observed in Sweden (3.74 %), Finland (3.51 %) and Iceland (3.01 %). Nearly ?200 billions were spent on R&D expenditure in the EU-25 compared to ?250 billions in the United States, ?120 billions in Japan and ?16 billion in China.
More info

See the entire report

Launch of the Public Health Genomics European Network
The Public Health Genomics European Network (PHGEN) has recently been launched to integrate genome-based knowledge and technologies into public health policy and national health services. The aim of this initiative is to clarify the opportunities that modern research in genetics and molecular biology offers for public health authorities.
The PHGEN work plan focuses on the identification of the major priorities and issues in public health genomics, the level of protection that national systems are going to offer to genome-based medical records and the establishment of functional and durable definitions within this new field.
For that reason, the network plans to create links with Community programmes and with national and regional initiatives in this field. Furthermore, it also plans to exchange information on best practices to optimise the adoption of Community policies and to create sustainable systems enabling Member States to coordinate their health-related activities in the field of public health genetics and genomics.
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The European Innovation Portal on CORDIS
The EU's official information service on research, development and innovation has launched a new section focusing on the INNOVA initiative. Europe INNOVA, which is supported under the Sixth Framework Programme, is a European Commission initiative for innovation professionals. It aims to mobilise and inform key stakeholders in entrepreneurial innovation and to facilitate the emergence of innovation networks. The target audience includes company managers, policy makers, cluster managers, investors, relevant associations and other European citizens involved in innovation activities.

For further information, please consult the Europe INNOVA pages at: http://cordis.europa.eu.int/innovation/en/policy/europe-innova.htm

The CORDIS European Innovation Portal is available at:
http://www.cordis.lu/innovation/en/home.html

Agreement reached on the EU budget for 2007-2013
Concerning research, the agreement reached by EU leaders on the EU budget for 2007-2013 states that "EU funding [...] should be increased such that by 2013 the resources available are 75 per cent higher in real terms than in 2006". The Council also supported the Commission's proposal to establish a risk-sharing financing facility for R&D in cooperation with the European Investment Bank (EIB), worth up to 10 billion Euro in order to foster additional investments by the private sector. The summit conclusion states that "particular priority should be given to delivering a substantial and progressive enhancement of the EU's research effort".

http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/misc/87677.pdf

Priorities of the Austrian Presidency in the area of research
The Austrian Government, which has taken over the EU Presidency on 1 January, has stated that it will make every effort to ensure that the Seventh Framework Programmes on Research and Technological Development (FP7) will start on schedule. To avoid any interruption between the current framework programme (FP6), which ends in 2006 and the new framework programme, all decisions relating to the programme and its implementation must be taken before 2006. Other priorities of the Austrian Presidency include the monitoring and driving forward the target of 3% of GDP investments in research, the adoption of an international agreement on ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) and the adoption of communications regarding the European Space Programme and on Global Monitoringfor Environment and Security (GMES).

http://www.eu2006.at/en/Policy_Areas/Competitiveness/Research.html

European Commission proposal for simplified rules for participation in FP7
The European Commission has published a proposal on the rules for participation in the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), laying out simplified contractual arrangements for participants in FP7. Provisions have been simplified in the following areas: intellectual property; grant types; audit certificates and rules on dissemination, use and access rights. The number and size of documents will be reduced and variations in the presentation of the same informationin different documents will be avoided.

http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2005/
com2005_0705en01.pdf

European Commission has launched a public consultation on future patent policy
In the endeavour to boost the competitiveness of European industry, the Commission has identified the field of intellectual property rights as one of the seven cross-sectoral initiatives within its new industrial policy presented in October 2005. Following its commitment to Better Regulation, the Commission has now launched a consultation to gather views of all European stakeholders in orderto shape the IPR system for the benefit of industry.

http://www.ipr-helpdesk.org/controlador/noticia?seccion=noticia&tipoListado=all&id=0000005828&len=en&mode=
subscription

Independent expert group urges Europe's leaders to take radical action on research and innovation "before it is too late"
In a final report submitted to the European Commission today, an independent Expert Group has called for a Pact for Research and Innovation to be signed by political, business and social leaders to show their commitment to creating an Innovative Europe. The experts state that current trends are unsustainable in the face of global competition. Therefore a new vision is needed to address a series of productivity and social challenges faced by Europe. The group was set up by the European Commission following the European Council held at Hampton Court in October 2005 and asked to advise on ways of boosting the EU's researchand innovation performance.

Press release:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/58&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
Report:
http://europa.eu/invest-in-research/research06.htm

European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS)
The EIS is the instrument developed by the European Commission, under the Lisbon Strategy, to evaluate and compare the innovation performance of the Member States. The EIS 2005 includes innovation indicators and trend analyses for all 25 EU Member States, as well as for Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, the US and Japan. The list of indicators and the methodology for calculating the Summary Innovation Index have been revised to capture more dimensions of a country's innovation performance, although ensuring continuity with results of the former EIS editions. The Annex includes tables with definitionsas well as comprehensive data sheets for every country.

http://www.trendchart.org/scoreboards/scoreboard2005/index.cfm