"Shaping the ICT research and innovation agenda for the next decade"

Creation date: 11 September 2008

On 4th September the European Commission has launched a public consultation where ICT experts, policy-makers and the wider public are asked to provide their contribution for a new ICT research and innovation strategy at European level. The aim of this consultation is to enable the EU Commission to prepare a Communication on “strategy for ICT R&D and innovation in Europe” planned to be published in April 2009.

This Communication should:

1. Propose a policy approach which would reinforce the European leadership in ICT (Information and Communications Technology) and make Europe more attractive for investments in research, technology and people.
    
2. Give an overview of the future ICT challenges and opportunities as well as propose innovation programmes at EU and Member States level that would support research and innovation through new ways of partnership public-private and through smart public procurement to address Europe’s key societal research.
    
3. Highlight a closer collaboration between Members States at different levels and draw attention to the need to design sustainable policies and financial instruments to support long term innovative projects that are part of the European policy goals.

The Communication seeks to launch a process of political consensus-building to prepare for future actions and initiatives.
Please note that the questionnaire of the consultation has three main sections – trends and changes in ICT, challenges on both the demand and supply side and solutions public policies could offer.

The public consultation is open until 7 November 2008 and can be accessed at:  http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/ipm/forms/dispatch?form=ICTRDI

The EU Commission Press Release can be found at:
http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/08/1287&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en