European Commission Announces 1.2 Billion Euros for ICT Research in Europe
ICT research in Europe is set to get a major boost in 2011 with the announcement today by the European Commission of a call for proposals for research projects worth 1.2 billion euros.
The projects will include a number of Public Private Partnerships:
The future Internet
ICT for energy efficient buildings
ICT for the fully electric vehicle
ICT for factories of the future.
These four projects have a combined budget of 220 million euros. Details of other budget provisions are available here (PDF).
All documentation is available through the links above. The deadline for submission of proposals is 2 December 2010.
The research funding is part of Europe’s Digital Agenda (launched in May 2010) and is the first significant increase for EU ICT research in more than 10 years. The digital agenda has seven priority areas:
- Creating a digital Single Market
- Greater interoperability
- Boosting Internet trust and security
- Much faster Internet access
- More investment in research and development
- Enhancing digital literacy skills and inclusion and
- Applying information and communications technologies to address challenges facing society like climate change and the ageing population.
Further details on the Digital Agenda and the seven priority action areas are available here.
The Commission expects that SMEs will benefit from the work programmes funded from the research funding, which will be welcome in the current economic climate.
There are many opportuities for funding available on the EU Information Society website, which is always worth keeping an eye on. Let’s hope the research under these calls is successful and leads to an improvement in the lives of European citizens. We still have a long way to go to catch up on our American and Asian competitors.






