Outline programme for the research and technological development

The Outline programmes for the Research and technological development , also called Outline programmes or in summary FP (of the English initials Framework Program), are programs of financing created by the European Union in order to support and to encourage European research and, more recently, the Espace European of Research (EER). The objectives and the actions precis vary one period of financing to another.

History

July 25th, 1983, a Council Resolution institutes “outline programme for Community activities of research, development and demonstration”, and launches the first program for the period of 1984 to 1987. Article 2 of this resolution, which is based in particular on article 235 of the TCE and the opinion of CREST (“It is important to promote a development scientific and technical balanced within the community”), stipulates: The common strategy in the field of science and technology is defined in outline programmes presenting the objectives scientific and technical has to realize on the level of the communities as well as the selection criteria for the relative Community actions, priorities and the indications financières.

These outline programmes, budgeted for by the European Community, are financial allocations distributed to the actors of European research by a mechanism of call for projects. It is thus a question of designing an instrument with the service of the construction of more integrated Community research. The selection criteria of the projects integrate this objective explicitly. Thus, for the first outline programme, it is specified in the resolution that to ensure on a general level, according to the scientific and technical objectives selected, the choice of the Community activities, it is appropriate to devote, after evaluation of their scientific and technical interest, a special attention with the activities which contribute to the definition or the implementation of the Community policies.

According to this resolution, Community research actions can be justified, and thus taken of load by an outline programme in cases or the action has advantages compared to the national activities (public or private). There one finds the Principe of subsidiarity. It acts:

of searchs for great scale Member States
of research whose joint realization presents obvious financial advantages
of research which, because of the complementarity of the national partial activities can make it possible as a whole to obtain significant results for the community
of research which contributes has to reinforce the cohesion of walk commun run and has to unify scientific and technical space European and research, it or the need is felt, leading to the establishment of standards and uniform standards.

The outline programmes are worked out by the Commission in consultation with the Member States. Commission work out proposals concerning of the specific activities of research, development and demonstration , while the Council, on the basis of proposal presented for this purpose by the commission and after opinion of the assembly, the outline programmes take the specific decisions of the research activities, development and demonstration of the communities.

Operation

The piloting of the European policies of research and the implementation of the European research programs are in first approaches a legal requirement and policy resulting from the Traité of Amsterdam. The Treaty includes in fact a complete chapter on the Technological Research and development (RDT), in order to stress that the RDT is an essential component in the operation of industrialized countries, like the États-membres of the European Union: the competitiveness of the companies and the employment which they can provide depend on the whole of the RDT; and the RDT is also essential for the support of the other policies like the consumer protection or environmental protection. In short: the individual and collective wellbeing of the citizens depends on the quality and the relevance of the RDT.

But Europe must also play an active role in the RDT because of a certain number of developments inherent in the sector of the RDT itself:

the high level of research is increasingly complex and interdisciplinary;
the high level of research is increasingly expensive;
the high level of research requires a “critical mass” increasingly larger.

No team or research laboratory, no company can reasonably claim to be able to answer these challenges. Even whole États-membres find increasingly difficult to be active and to play a part of leader in the many important fields of scientific and technological projection. The organization of the co-operation at various levels, national coordination or the policies European, to put in network the teams and to increase the mobility of the individuals and the ideas are thus a requirement which results from the development of modern research in a total environment. Without actions determined at the European level, one cannot overcome the current fragmentation of the efforts of Europe.

There were however criticisms of these programs. A serious defect of the outline programmes is that they imply a long process to agree on the fields which must be financed and on the extent of the financing. The subsidies of the European Union in Research and development almost always imply companies of various countries organized in consortia difficult to direct. The selection process and the negotiation process of the contracts can take more than one year, which means that the control of the Innovation is often choked by the Bureaucratie. It is not rare that the European Union makes decisions on the financing whereas technologies already penetrated the market. It is the case with many technologies Web which the European Union financed but which was exceeded by the events (the Search engines and the social software are good examples of fields where the European Union was circumvented by the market).

To take up this challenge, the European commission, the Member States and the the European Parliament, the scientific community and industry are now committed working jointly towards the creation of a Espace European of Research (EER). Although it is a creditable political objective, it is necessary to hold account with the inflexibility of the Decision-making process and of financing.

The Sixth outline programme was held June 3rd 2002 until 2006. The financing of the Seventh outline programme will begin in 2007. The outline programmes until FP6 covered some five years periods, but the future programs (including FP7) will proceed over seven years.

List outline programmes

First outline programme 1984 – 1987
Second outline programme 1987 – 1991
Third outline programme 1991 – 1994
Fourth outline programme 1994 – 1998
Fifth outline programme 1998 – 2002
Sixth outline programme 2002 – 2006
Seventh outline programme 2007 – 2013

See too

Directorate-General for Directorate-General Research
off the Joint Research Centers
European Council of Research (ERC)
European Institut of technology (EIT)
European Research Advisory Board (EURAB)
European Recherche

External bonds

the relations between the central administration and the research organizations with the agencies and funds European
HAVE Research Web site
Nouvelles on the European financing of research
Fourth Outline programme
Fifth Outline programme
Sixth Outline programme
Seventh Outline programme
New OSH will era
OSH Research

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