EU Framework Programme for European research and technological development : evidence / Select Committee on Science and Technology.
- Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. Science and Technology Committee.
- Date:
- 1997
Licence: Open Government Licence
Credit: EU Framework Programme for European research and technological development : evidence / Select Committee on Science and Technology. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![6 November 1996 ] [ Continued 48. Many of the recommendations of evaluations have been incorporated in later programmes, with the aim of improving effectiveness and value for money. In FP4 for example, changes made included stronger encouragement of SME participation through granting awards for feasibility studies and for research to be carried out on behalf of groups of SMEs by third parties. Greater emphasis has been given to the dissemination and exploitation of results through the requirement to submit a plan for the exploitation of results as part of the application process and the decision to devote | per cent of the funding of FP4’s specific programmes to dissemination and exploitation activities. As well as dissemination measures such as publications and conferences, these will include means to stimulate the uptake of unused results such as demonstration projects, brokerage activities, and technology transfer and exploitation projects. A number of improvements were made to programme administration, notably through harmonisation and synchronisation of procedures across programmes. And as already mentioned, a more systematic and comprehensive system for monitoring and evaluation was introduced in FP4, reflecting UK pressure for more rigorous and effective means of reaching adjustments on programme effectiveness and impact. 49. Many of the changes have been useful though in some cases the impact is not yet fully felt. It is evident however that there remains scope for still further improvements in many aspects of the programme, to achieve fully satisfactory effectiveness and value for money, as the comments in this note, and the UK position paper on FPS, make clear: Impact on sectors 50. Since the framework programmes are concerned primarily with the development of generic technologies of wide application, it is not possible meaningfully to identify the impact of EU RTD on individual sectors. The small scale of EU RTD in comparison with the aggregate expenditure of member States on RTD accentuates this. In addition, it is clear that there are many significant influences on the innovation process, of which investment in RTD is only one. 51. Nevertheless a number of examples of the contribution of EU RTD to developing technologies in key areas for competitiveness can be quoted. In the IT field, for example, the major EU effort in developing silicon technology through the Framework Programme IT programmes has helped European semi-conductor companies, including British ones, retain market share against fierce competition from the US and Japan; the UK company ARM, exploiting EU funded results, has licensed embedded microprocessor designs across the world; EU supported advances in high speed computing and parallel processing have brought improved techniques for large scale data processing; and EU support for advanced IT applications has benefited manufacturing industry in a range of sectors as well as private and public sector services. Discussions with industrial participants in the EU Industrial and Materials Technologies programme support the generally positive view of its contribution given by evaluations. One specific example is the significant reduction in car body weight achieved through advances in materials development and manufacturing and design technologies. Another is the development of improved dying processes for the textiles industry bringing quality improvements and reduced costs. 52. There have been significant achievements too in other areas of the programme. For example the EU Biotechnology programme contributed significantly to the funding involved in sequencing the yeast genome. This is the first complete DNA sequence from a higher species and will allow advances in the understanding of the basic mechanisms of life in higher cells. As well as advancing research into human health, the findings will benefit food processing, other industrial processes and the pharmaceutical industry. As an example from the EU Biomedicine programme, a UK led, EU supported, collaboration has led to a standardised approach to the monitoring of CJD in Europe and added significantly to understanding of the disease. Its findings provided a solid basis for establishing the existence of a new variant of CJD earlier this year. 53. The value of some other programmes is more difficult to assess, particularly in the absence of clear output data. For example, in the agriculture and fisheries area, the wide variety of regional needs within the Community has led to the creation of very broadly structured programmes which encourage scientific innovation but are less effective in meeting the objective of underpinning Community policy. Because many member States already have substantial domestic research programmes in these sectors, there is also scope within the EU programmes for making greater use of the most cost effective mechanisms for co-ordinated research (eg concerted actions and thematic networks), thereby directing research towards the common problems and priorities of member States. JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE 54. In FP4, as a result of strong UK efforts, the JRC was obliged for the first time both to compete for a specific proportion of its funding, to ensure that its RTD activities were complementary with corresponding specific programmes, and to work towards a clearer customer-contractor relationship in all its activities. The JRC has made some progress but still needs to go much further down this road. There has been a good deal of support and encouragement from other member States for our view that the JRC should win more of its funding competitively.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32218734_0015.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
