The seminar was chaired by Isi Saragossi ? Director for ERA: Knowledge-based Economy, DG Research (European Commission), while Commissioner Potocnik delivered the opening address and shared his observations on the European Technology Platforms (ETPs) during the first session of the meeting.
70 representatives of ETPs and 30 representatives of Commission departments participated in the seminar, which had the following objectives:
? Present and discuss the conclusions and recommendations of the ETP evaluation study developed by IDEA Consult;
? Discuss views on the way ahead for ETPs;
? Present and discuss the evolving "ERA Vision 2020" and the status of the five ERA initiatives.
The summary report is available here.
The program was divided into 3 sessions:
Session 1: Assessing the role of ETPs in ERA - the evaluation study
Arnold Verbeek of IDEA Consult, the evaluation contractor, described the rationale for the study and summarised its findings and recommendations.
The study is available here.
Session 2: The way ahead for ETPs
This session was arranged as a panel discussion. Horst Soboll (ERTRAC, ERA working group chair) acted as moderator, and the panellists were Fiona Williams (eMobility chair); Gernot Klotz (SusChem); Graeme Sweeney (ZEP chair); and Jean-Dominique Meunier (NEM executive director). The main points made in the panel and general discussions were as follows:
? There is a role to play for ETPs in the years to come, but they need to go beyond addressing scientific and technical challenges and start focusing on the take-up and application of research results.
? Several ETPs have become social networks that can, for example, quickly disseminate information on a range of funding sources to members. This networking role should be more consciously enhanced.
? JTIs are a clear destination for particular ETPs but are definitely neither an inevitable outcome nor a necessarily desirable goal for all.
Session 3: Developing the European Research Area
Laure Reinhart, strategy director of the Research & Innovation DG of the French Ministry for Higher Education & Research, gave a presentation on behalf of the French Presidency of the "ERA 2020 Vision".
The main point raised in discussion was the question of how best to combine an emphasis on excellence, which could eventually result (given researcher mobility and the easy sharing of knowledge) in an undesirable geographical concentration of skills and know-how, with the need to uphold the general level of research and innovation across Europe.
James Gavigan, head of unit for ERA policy in DG Research, presented an update on the five ERA initiatives (the relevant presentation is available here).
The programme of this seminar is available here.
The seminar was chaired by Commissioner Potocnik. 60 representatives of European Technology Platforms and 40 representatives of Commission services participated in the 8th seminar of the industrial leaders of ETPs, which focussed on the evolving role of ETPs. The objectives of the seminar were:
The summary report is available here. The program was divided into 3 sessions:
Session 1: Commission Policy Initiatives
Session 2: Evaluation Study and Future of ETPs
The objective of this session was to present the ETP evaluation study. Mr. Verbeek from IDEA Consult, the contractor in charge of the study, summarised its objectives and milestones. ETPs were invited to contribute to the evaluation study, for which they will be contacted by IDEA Consult. The presentation is available here.
Session 3: Risk Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF)
The objective of this session was to inform ETP leaders about the first projects financed by the Risk Sharing Finance Facility. Kim Kreilgaard, from the EIB, explained the implementation modalities of the RSFF and presented a case study. The presentation was followed by a short discussion and bilateral, confidential meetings between EIB representatives and individual ETPs. Information on the RSFF is available here.
The programme and presentations of this seminar are available here.
The background document of the Seminar is "European Commission, GREEN PAPER The European Research Area: New Perspectives, COM(2007) 161 final". A summary of this document is available here.
The Seminar was chaired by Commissioner Potocnik. It was a half yearly meeting, focused on the European Research Area, with a specific emphasis on International cooperation. The minutes are available here.
The list of the invited Technology Platforms is online at:
http://cordis.europa.eu/technology-platforms/individual_en.html
The list of participants is online at:
ftp://ftp.cordis.europa.eu/pub/technology-platforms/docs/list_participants_tp_210607.pdf
Program and the presentations are online at:
http://cordis.europa.eu/technology-platforms/seminar8_en.html
Only 8 platforms out of 35 were invited to provide a presentation. Henning Kruse was invited for a 10-minutes speech. The presentation is online at:
ftp://ftp.cordis.europa.eu/pub/technology-platforms/docs/kruse21june07_en.pdf
This meeting was an opportunity to:
- provide questions and comments on the European Research Area,
- propose solutions to use the European Research Area for the benefit of the different technologies,
- network with the platforms involved on relevant issues for the Wind industry.