1. TC–TIST Oct. 24, 2003 1 Within FP6 Prioritary item 8: Area “Horizontal research activities involving SMEs”. Concerns : 1) COLLECTIVE RESEARCH ( large-scale projects ) 2) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH ( lower-scale projects ) Instruments considered: COST TC-TIST info to Actions wrt FP6 instruments  Projects are specified along bottom-up approach;  Special rules applied for foreground Intellectual Property Rights. In both cases:

2. TC–TIST Oct. 24, 2003 2 Characteristics : COLLECTIVE RESEARCH ( 1 ) COLLECTIVE RESEARCH is a type of research carried out by RTD performers (e.g. research centres, universities, etc.) on behalf of industrial associations / groupings in order to expand the knowledge base and improve the overall competitiveness of large communities of SMEs. COLLECTIVE RESEARCH projects are usually large-scale, Europe-wide initiatives set up to: 1)Reinforce technological basis of specific sectors; 2)Develop ‘technological tools’; 3)Perform pre-normative research to provide a scientific base for setting European norms and standards; 4)Address common problems / challenges (e.g., to meet regulatory requirements, etc.). WIDE KNOW-HOW TO BE OFFERED BY COST-TIST ACTIONS

3. TC–TIST Oct. 24, 2003 3 COLLECTIVE RESEARCH ( 2 ) Activities supported:  Research + Innovation-related activities;  Consortium management activities;  Training activities. Funding + project duration:  Proposals handled in 2 submission steps;  Typical budget: 2 - 5 mio EUR / project;  Typical duration: 2 - 3 years. Estimated nb of approx. 15 large-scale projects / call

4. TC–TIST Oct. 24, 2003 4 COLLECTIVE RESEARCH ( 3 ) Estimated FP6 budget distribution: CALL CLOSURE DEADLINERELATED BUDGET ( First step ) 1)17.12.2002 06.03.2003 40 mio EUR 2)2004Similar budget expected for 3)2005each call in 2004 + 2005

5. TC–TIST Oct. 24, 2003 5 Characteristics : COOPERATIVE RESEARCH ( 1 ) Objectives of COOPERATIVE RESEARCH ( CRAFT ) are similar to those of COLLECTIVE RESEARCH, but are situated at lower-scale project and partner basis. Activities supported ( => same as for COLLECTIVE RESEARCH ):  Research + Innovation-related activities;  Consortium management activities;  Training activities. Funding + project duration:  Proposals handled in 1 submission step;  Typical budget: 0.5 - 2 mio EUR / project;  Typical duration: 1 - 2 years. Estimated nb of approx. 40 lower-scale projects / call

6. TC–TIST Oct. 24, 2003 6 COOPERATIVE RESEARCH ( 2 ) Estimated FP6 budget distribution: CALL CLOSURE DEADLINERELATED BUDGET 1a) 17.12.2002 29.04.2003 95 mio EUR 1b) idem 27.11.2003 60 mio EUR 2-3) 2004 - 2005 ca 155 mio EUR (estimated)

7. TC–TIST Oct. 24, 2003 7 FURTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION  FP6 SME TechWeb site: http://sme.cordis.lu/collective/infobrochure.cfm http://sme.cordis.lu/craft/home.cfm http://sme.cordis.lu/  FP6 Website on Horizontal Research activities involving SMEs: http://www.cordis.lu/fp6/sme.htm  SME network of National Contact Points: http://sme.cordis.lu/assistance/NCPs.cfm  General network of National Contact Points: http://www.cordis.lu/fp6/ncp.htm  FP6 partner search platform: http://fp6.cordis.lu/fp6/partners.cfm  Special info on FP6 participation for the 10 new Member States: http://www.cordis.lu/fp6/accession_info.htm

8. TC–TIST Oct. 24, 2003 8 EXPECTED BENEFITS Expected benefits from participation of COST-TIST Actions to COLLECTIVE + COOPERATIVE RESEARCH:  For SMEs (target beneficiaries): Advantage of entering into contact with experimented and already constituted scientific networks;  For COST-TIST Actions: > Possibility to valorize know-how set up within Actions; > Research funding possibility; > Fundamentally interesting for SMEs belonging to Actions, or emerging from Actions ( start-ups, spin-offs ).  For COST: > Active contribution to ERA-Net; > Contribution to visibility of COST.

9. TC–TIST Oct. 24, 2003 9 RECOMMENDATIONS + INFO Recommendations to COST-TIST Actions:  Consider the participation of COST-TIST Actions to COLLECTIVE + COOPERATIVE RESEARCH projects providing an opportunity to valorize the know-how elaborated within COST Actions and Working Groups.  Please inform COST-TIST Secretariat in case members of your COST-TIST Action have contributed or are contributing to the preparation of such a project proposal. For information:  TC-TIST will inform the SME network of National Contact Points about scientific expertise available within COST-TIST Actions for potential contribution to COLLECTIVE + COOPERATIVE RESEARCH.