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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(78)761
Vol.1978/0276

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(78)761 final.
Brussels,15January1979*
Communication fromtheCommissiontotheCouncil
Communitydataprocessingpolicy
FIRSTPRIORITYACTIVITIES :
THREEJOINTPROJECTS OHCOMPUTERAPPLICATIONS
FIRSTANNUALREPORT
C0M(78)761.final.A?«»

SUMMARY ANJPROSPECTS j
Thefirst priority activities inthefield ofcomputer applications decided ;
Jjy •theCouncil inJuly 1976 arenowunder way , •* (
They relate topublic health (data bank fororgan andblood matching )rthe
improvement ofthe ,legal documentation retrieval system inthe .Community and .
future developments incomputer-aided design techniques forthebenefit ,of •. .
twoimportant industrial sectors ,advanced electronics andconstruction . ,
InSeptember 1977 theCouncil decided onasecond setofpriority activities ;
itsaims aremore ambitious andrelate totheindustry itself (software
portability ),research cooperation (three studies insupport oftheuseof
data processing )andapplications offuture interest toEuropean remote data
processing (high-speed data transmission )andtothemanagement ofthe
customs union and theCommunity agricultural market .This second set of
projects isnowbeing putinhand . j
Both thefirst andsecond sets ofprojects consist offeasibility studies
intended tolead topractical applications under thefuture four–year data
processing programme nowunder discussion intheCouncil .These applications
were chosen because oftheir general interest and thereal impact they will
hove atindustrial ,economic andsocial level intheCommunity .Itisof
course tooearly todraw conclusions from theimplementation ofthese pro­
jects ,butsome interesting aspects arealready apparent .
Theinvitations totender issued under these programmes aroused keen interest
intherelevant circles .Asaresult ,consortia have been formed and this
ishelping tocreate industrial links between firms which will sometimes
prove tobemore than temporary .Although management procedures arerather
cumbersome andcosts higher when work iscarried outbyaconsortium ,optimum
results cannevertheless beobtained since these unfavourable aspects are ;
offset bythefact that theactual situations inallCommunity countries are
properly understook andtaken into account inthecourse ofthework .
Acrucial problem inthecontext ofthese projects istheuseoftheresults
obtained .There areplans toputthem topractical useunder themultiannual
programme ,butinanycase itisvital that theresults ofcurrent studies be
disseminated anddiscussed with thecircles concerned sothat their precise ,
value and their impact ontherelevant sectors canbeassessed . i
t
TheTechnical Committees ofusers setupforeach ofthese projects provide ;
aforum fordiscussion anddissemination ofinformation during thecourse .
oftheprojects .Later ,theCommission andnational administrations will j
use their own information facilities todisseminate the results .The Com­
mission also intends tomake use ofsymposia both tokeep specialists infor­
med and toobtain their comments andassessments . \
Itistherefore organizing inNovember 1978 asymposium atwhich theresults
ofthestudies oncomputer-aided design forelectronic circuits will be
examined .Itplans tohold afurther symposium in1979 onlegal data pro­
cessing ..
A

Foralmost twoyears theCommission departments have been gaining experience
onthemanagement andutilization ofcomputer studies inthis field .The <
implementation ofthese projects with theassistance oftheAdvisory Com- j
mittee onJoint Data Processing Projects hasalready produced anumber of j
results that canberegarded aspromising .They indicate that there are
reasonable prospects ofsuccessfully extending ,theexisting system tothe ;
management ofvarious projects included intheproposal foramultiannual '
programme . j

Coramunity data procès si.ngpolxcy
FIRST PRIORITY ACTIVITIES :
THREE JOINT PROJECTS ONCOMPUTER APPLICATIONS
FIRST
ANNUAL REPORT
Table ofcontents
Page
INTRODUCTION :TheCommunity approach toadata processing
policy •
1.CONTENT OFTHE INITIAL PRIORITY PROJECTS 3
1.1 .Study onthesetting upofadata bank formatching
organs andblood 3
1.2 .Study ofrequirements inthefield oflegal documen­
tation retrieval systems intheCommunity 4
1.3 .Development studies incomputer-aided design (CAD ).... 5
1.3.1 .Study ,definition andevaluation oflogic ....
circuit design aids offered byCADtechniques . 5
1.3.2 .Study onconstruction management 5
2.MANAGEMENT OFTHE PROJECT .. 6
; 'ι
2.1 .Selection ofproject leaders 6
2.2 .Procedures forinvitations totender ,examination of
thereplies andresults 7
3. STATUS REPORT
3.1 .Description ofthework done onthefirst priority
proj ects 8

3.1.1.StudyonChesetting-upofadatabank
formatchingorgansandblood 8
3.1.2.Study,ofrequirements inthefieldoflegal
informationretrievalsystemsinthe
Coromunity 9
3.1.3.CADstudies 9
3.1.3.1.Studiesoflogiccircuitdesignaidsusing
CADtechniques 9
3.1.3.2.Studyonconstruction management 10
3.2.Budgetsituationat31December1977 11
3.2.1.Statementofcommitments at31December1977
(UA) 11
3.2.2.Statementofpaymentsat31December1977...11
3.3.Launchingofthesecondsetofpriorityprojects 12
3.3.1.Selectionofprojectleaders....: 12
3.3.2.Negotiation ofcontractswithnational
researchinstitûtes 13
CONCLUSION :Thedevelopment ofcommunitydata-processing
projectsundertheproposedfour-yearprogramme 13
ReportdrawnupinaccordancewithCouncil
decisionn*76/632/EECofJuly221976,
Article3»
rI

FIRST PRIORITY ACTIVITIES ;
THREE JOINT PROJECTS CNCOMPUTER APPLICATIONS
INTRODUCTION :TheCommunity approach toadata processing policy
TheCouncil Resolution of15July 1974 onaCommunity policy fordata pro­
cessing (1)hadestablished theprinciple ofgiving aCommunity orientation ;
topolicies forencouraging andpromoting data processing which initially
was totake theform ofpriority proposals from theCommission onalimited
number ofjoint projects ofEuropean interest inthefield ofdata-proces -
sing applications . ■
Following proposals from theCommission (2),theCouncil adopted in1976(3 )
aseries ofthree joint projects onthefollowing subjects : I
1.thesetting upofadata bank formatching organs andblood ;
2.requirements inthefield oflegal document retrieval systems
intheCommunity ;
3.developments incomputer-aided design applied tologic circuit :
design aids andconstruction management . ;
Another Council Decision taken onthe sa«ie date (4)setupanAdvisory
Committee ontheJoint Data Processing Projects adopted intheearlier
decision ;this Committee was toassist theCommission intheexecution of
these projects . ,
I
This report deals mainly with theimplementation !ofthese projects bythe
Commission and their current status .
I '
Inits1974 Resolution ,theCouncil also referred tothedesirability of j
priority proposals concerning collaboration onstandards andapplications
andinpublic procurement policy andconcerning thepromotion ofindustrial ;
development projects onareas ofcommon interest involving transnational
cooperation .
Italso considered itdesirable toprepare ,inthemedium-term ,asystema­
ticCommunity programme topromote research ,industrial development and :
applications ofdata processing .This programme ,thecentral aimofwhich '
should betoensure that there isafully competitive European-based
industry bytheearly 1980s ,would provide forthecoordination ofnational
promotion andCommunity financing inappropriate fields ofjoint interest .
(1)OJN°C86/1of20July 1974 . 1 :
(2)Initial proposals forpriority data processing projects ,COM(75)35 final
of5March 1975 .
(3)Council Decision N°76/632/EECof22July 1976 ~OJN°L223/11of
16August 1976 . ■
(4)Council Decision N°76/633/EECof22July 1976 -OJNL223/16of
16August 1976 . :

-2-
Asaresult ,theCommxssion forwarded totheCouncil asecond setofprio­
rity proposals (5)comprising projects inthemain fields listes inthe
Resolution .These projects were intended topave thewayfortheCommunity
programme ,thefoundations ofwhich hadbeen laid bytheCommunication ,and
tolead ontoactivities that would fitinto this programme . ■
Inar;'■. •fitdecisions taken inSeptember 1977 (6)theCouncil adopted
some oi . •..^eproposals :
-three ofthestudies proposed bytheCommission inthefield ofsoftware
portability intended tolead toindustrial developments .
-three studies msupport oftheuseofdata processing tobecarried out
byagroup ofnational centres ,thus instituting Community research and
development collaboration .
-twostudies oncomputer applications ,one ofwhich (77/619/EEC)was inclu­
ded inthefirst setofproposals ;theCouncil decision onithadbeen
postponed .
-anumber ofexploratory studies topave thewayforother computer appli­
cations projects under thefuture programme .
Atthe same time theCommission extended the terms ofreference ofthe
existing Advisory Committee tocover these projects .
*, 1
This report also contains information onthefirst steps taken bytheCom­
mission toimplement these projects ,which inview ofthedates onwhich 1
thedecisions were taken arestill intheinitial stages . !
1
Attheendof1976 theCommission sent theCouncil aproposal forafour- j
year programme onthedevelopment ofdata processing intheCommunity (7) i
which isstill being discussed within theCouncil . !
(5)Second communication from theCommission totheCouncil onaCommunity j
policy fordata processing -COM(75)467 final of10September 1975 .
(6)Council Decision N°77/615/EECadopting aseries ofinformatic projects
inthefield ofsoftware portability .
Council Decision N°77/616/EECadopting aseries ofstudies insupport j
oftheuse ofinformatics . j
Council Decision N°77/617/EECadopting anexperimental application j
project inhigh-speed data-transmission techniques .
Council Decision N°77/618/EECadopting anumber ofexploratory studies j
inthe field ofinformatics . !
Council Decision N°77/619/EECinstituting astudy ofinformatic j
systems fortheprocessing ofdata onimports /exports andonthe j
management andfinancial control ,ofagricultural market organizations • I
Council Decision NO77/620/EECamending Council Decision 76/633/EEC
setting upanAdvisory Committee onJoint Data Processing projects .
Allthese decisions aredated 27September 1977 andarepublished in j
0JN°L255 of6October 1977 . !
(7)Third Communication from theCommission totheCouncil onaCommunity j
data processing policy *-C0M(76)524 final -Volumes ItoIV- j
9November 1976 . !

1.CONTENT OFTHE INITIAL PRIORITY PROJECTS
Thefirst three projects decided onbytheCouncil concerned computer appli­
cations inmedicine ,theCommunity 'slegal documentation andcomputer-aided
design .
They were ofinterest mainly inview oftheir social ,economic andtechnical
spinoff ;their industrial scope varies but isinallcases limited .They
should beregarded above allasaninitial indication ofawillingness in
theCommunity tocooperate incomputer applications .
1,1 .Study onthe setting upofadata bank formatchi ngorgans andblood
Atpresent kidney transplants cangreatly increase thepatient 's
survival prospects when thecharacteristics ofthedonor 'sandthe
recipient 'sblood areidentical asregards antigens having relevance
totransplantation .Akidney transplant between HI-A(human leukocyte
antigens )identical siblings have approximately a90%four-year organ
survival rate ,which falls to50%orless fortransplants between
•ILL--Anon-identical siblings .Thelikelihood ofHL-A identity islow
for40%ofpatients andconsequently iftheblood data ofalarge
number ofpotential donors arestored inadata bank thechances of
discovering anidentical orsimilar formula areincreased .Itisesti­
mated that data on 5000individuals arerequired toprovide reaso­
nable prospects ofsuccess .There areatpresent several kidney banks
intheCommunity with computer facilities :
EUROTRANSPLANT intheNetherlands ,SKAND IATRAN SPLANT inDenmark ,
FRANCETRANSPLANT inParis and THE BRISTOL SYSTEM intheUnited
Kingdom ,
but their installations arenotcompatible .
Theaimofthestudy istherefore toestablish theconditions forset- ,
ting upajoint data bank giving direct access toalldonor files and
allowing future extensions . t
Theproject hasbeen divided into three phases : j
Phase 1:
II ■ ■ ■ !
Analysis ofthepresent mode ofoperation xntheexisting transplant
organizations and thedrawing up,incollaboration with users ,of
specifications forrunning asystem formatching kidneys andblood
within acommon scheme .
Phase 2: i.
After thespecifications have been agreed with theusers ,computer
consultants will investigate thevarious data processing alternatives
andrecommend anappropriate system .During this phase ,thequestion
ofthelocation ofthenecessary computer orcomputers >/illalso be
examined and recommendations made .

-4-
Phase3:
.......■■■■ i
Detailedspecifications forthesystemwillbeprepared,includingthe
financialimplications oftheinstallation ,staffingandrunningcosts '
ofthefoundationresponsiblefordirectingthiscommonscheme.
1.2.Studyofrequirements inthefieldoflegaldocumentation retrievali
systemsintheCommunity . (
Communitylawisarecentcreationresultingfromtheestablishment of
•theEuropeanCommunities ;eachMemberStatemusthaveimmediateinfor­
mation,intheappropriate languageandform,ontheeffectsofCoramu->
nitylegislationinitsterritory.
TherapidgrowthofCommunitylegislation (25000textsadoptedbythe|
Institutions bythebeginningof1973and4000newtextsinthecourse
ofthatyear)hasmademanualprocessingofthisinformationimpossible.
ι
TheCommissionhassetupacomputerized systemknownasCELEXfor
legalinformationretrieval,butthisislimitedtothemainrequire­
mentsoftheInstitutions . \
SeveralMemberStateshavestartedtodevelopnationalsystemsforthe;
processingoflegislation andcourtdecisions. :
Themainaimsofthestudyareasfollowsi
I
i)tomakeaninventoryofthelegaldocumentation systemsusedin:
theMemberStatesandasurveyoftheirfuturedevelopmentplans;i
ii)toanalyseusers'requirements (institutions ,governmentdepart-i
ments,professions andothers); i
!
Iiii)tomakeasystematiccollationoftheinformation ontechnical <
standardsusedfortheexchangeoffilesandselectiveinforma­
tionatEuropeanandinternational levelinthisfield,asaj
basisforthedecisionstobetakenoncommonstandards; j
iv)toproposealong-termprogrammefortheintroductionofsyste-j
*maticlink-upsatCommunitylevelwithaccessintheMember jStates,withthepossibility ofusingnetworkssuchasEURONET;<
; i
v)torecommendifnecessarythedevelopmentofsoftwaresuited !
totheseneeds; ( j
vi)toformulatespecificproposalsforthedevelopmentinpriority jphasesofsystemsintheCommunity,includingestimatesofcosts
andtimescaleforeachphase. j
i i
Theseproposalscouldcoveranextensionanddevelopment oftheCom­
mission'sownsystemandofthoseintheMemberStates,inordertoj
ensureeffectiveaccesstoCommunitylawinalltheofficiallanguages.;
I
i

-5-
3,Development studiesincomputer-a ideddesign (CAP)
CADtechniques arenowsufficiently developed tobeapplied succes ™
fully invarious industrial sectors .
Twosectors have been chosen tostudy thedesirability ofCormauni ty
development projects ontheapplications ofCAD :
-thedesign ofelectronic logic circuits which will inparticular
have animpact onthefuture ofcomputer
-construction management ,afield inwhich signif icant work has
already been done within ,theCommunity .
3.1 . Study ,definitionandevaluation oflogic circuit design,aids
offered byCAD techniques
Inrecent years the .design oflogic circuits hasbeen greatly
affected byspectacular technological developments leading to
increasing complexity and ahigher degree ofintegration ofcom­
ponents ,tosuch anextent that acircuit cannowberegarded as
atraditional sub-system .
Equipment manufacturers aretending more andmore torequire
conceptualization ofthelogical processes rather than definition
ofthe circuits themselves .
CADtechniques applied tomodel building andperformance fore­
casting have reached aplateau anduse ofthebest packages
developed recently calls forprecise planning andcapital invest­
ment that can exceed one million EUA .
Theaims ofthis study aretherefore : (
-todetermine thestate oftheart ,taking into account the
cost-benefit ratio ,user requirements and theimpact of
technological developments ,toassess theadequacy ofexisting
techniques inrelation torequirements and toidentify the
main problems ;
-toforecast requirements andpossible solutions for the
period 1979-82 ;
-toinvestigate theadvisability offuture developments inthe
Community inthelight ofachievements intheUnited States
andJapan ;
-toprepare recommendations regarding these developments , '
including aprecise plan ofwork ifappropriate .
3.2 . Study onconstruction management
Theconstruction industry isseeking processes for thecomplete
integration ofdesign andconstruction ,which will warrant the
development ofcomputer systems because ofthecomplex nature
oftheproblems involved and theextensive capital tequired .

Itisnecessary toidentify thesources ofexpertise andexisting'
systems and todefine theareas common tothevariety ofuses
envisaged soastodacide whether further developments aredesi­
rable .Thastudy should esibreca industry ASwell ASr«f«arch «r*d
development organizations throughout theCommunity andshould be ;
conducted inthree phases : I
1.Sources ofexpertise ,existing andplanned systems ,gaps in
software development ,portability ;
1
2.Hardware andsystem response requirements ,relationship ,
between design andfield ofapplication ,economic benefit of ■
application programs independent ofthedata base ;
t
3.Broad outline systems specifications andfurther development :
strategies . i
: . S
»
2.MANAGEMENT OFTHEPROJECT !
Thearrangements setuptomanage projects ofthis type areatthree
levels ; ;
-within theCommission ,aproject team hasbeen setup (some 'members
being ontemporary contracts ),with aproject leader foreach specific
study orsub-study ; ; ;
f
-theAdvisory Committee onJoint Data Processing Projects setupbythe
Council consists ofrepresentatives appointed bytheMember States J
assisted where necessary byexperts ; . j
-technical sub-committees assist andadvise theproject leaders andrepre-i
sent users foreach oftheprojects .
2.1 .Sélection ofproiect leaders
Theselection procedure was established bytheCommission after consul­
ting theAdvisory Committee and isasfollows :
2.1.1 . Aproject leader isneeded foreach ofthefollowing projects
-Study onlegal data processing
-Study onCAD (electronics ) !,
-Study onCAD (construction
andaproject coordinator forthemedical study . !
2.1.2 . Applications arereceived bytheCommission after anofficial
notice foreach oftheabove posts based onprofiles agreed i
with theAdvisory Committee . j
2.1.3 . Aselection Board consisting ofindependent Community
experts meets toreport ontheorder ofmerit ofcandidates :
selected after individual interviews .
I
2.1.4 . TheAdvisory Committee delivers :anopinion ontheCommission s
choice . r- - - -– •;

-7-
Following this procedure ,posts have nowbeen taken upby :
-theCoordinator forthemedical study ,inNovember 1976 ,
-theproject leaders forthestudy ofCAD (electronics )in
December 1976 andforthestudy ofCAD (construction )in
January 1977 ,
-theproject leader forthelegal data processing study in
January 1977 .
2.2 .Proced ures forinvitations totender ,examination ofthereplies
and results
After theAdvisory Committee hadbeen consulted ,anopen invitation to
tender waspublished inOJN°C24of 1February 1977 forthestudies
onlegal information retrieval systems ,CADinelectronics andCAD
inrelation toconstruction management ,theclosing date for tenders
being 18March .
InMarch andApril 1977 ,thetenders received were examined inaccor­
dance with theprocedure approved bytheAdvisory Committee .InMay ,
this Committee delivered itsopinion onthechoice ofcontractors and
thecontent oftheindustrial contracts ;theselected contractors were
asfollows :
-aconsortium headed bythefirm SAGET inLuxembourg for thestudy
ofCAD inelectronics ;
-aconsortium headed bythefirm SFS ,West Germany ,for thestudy
onlegal information retrieval .
Thebest tenders received forthestudy ofCAD inrelation to
construction management needed clarification andadditional details .
TheAdvisory Committee therefore asked theCommission toobtain
these details .Once these hadbeen examined ,acontract ,was
concluded with CIAD .These three contracts came into effect on
thefollowing dates :
-8June 1977 ,for aperiod ofeighteen months ,for thestudy on
legal information retrieval .The total amount is249965u.a .(8)
-13June 1977 ,for aperiod offourteen months ,for thestudy on
CAD inelectronics .The total amount is229 956 u.a .
-1October 1977 ,for aperiod oftwelve months ,for thestudy of
CAD inrelation toconstruction management .The total amount is
219330 u.a .
Ontheadvice oftheAdvisory Committee ,arestricted invitation to
tender was issued for themedical survey ,theamount forwhich was
only 30000u.a .This was limited toalist oftenpotential
contractors drawn upbytheTechnical Committee for thebroject .
(8)Thechange toEUAdidnottake effect until 1January 1978

-g-
After careful examination ,thecontract was awarded toaconsortium
formed byMESCON B.V. oftheNetherlands andREGNECENTRALEN ,Denmark ,
and took effect on 1June 1977 for aperiod ofsixmonths ,.thetotal
amount being 30000u.a .
3.STATUS REPORT
3.1 .Description ofthework done onthefirst priority projects (
3.1.1 . Study onthesetting-up ofadata bank formatching organs
and blooa '
–– j
!
Thefirst phase ofthework carried outbytheProject
Working Party culminated intheadoption ofthereport on j
thespecifications forakidney andblood matching system in ;
line with anagreed scheme .Thereport ,approved bythe !
Technical Committee ,recommended that thecontractors should :
explore methods of :
I
a)providing communications between thefiles maintained j
bythefour centres concerned ; j
b)maintaining ineach centre thecombination offiles from j
the four centres . * 1
Thecontract concluded forsixmonths with theconsortium (9),,
on 1June 1977 (see2.2.)covered thesecond phase ofthe ;
project . \
!
Attheendofthis contract ,thecontractors defined four j
possible methods : <
; i
-onebased entirely onsoftware , j.
-another based onatelephone link between intelligent i
terminals ineach centre , * !
~athird based onacombination ofexisting hardware and |
DECNET software , }
-the fourth based onthe use ofEuronet .
I
Thecontractor 'sreport wasaccepted bytheWorking Party of
doctors for the ;project .The solution recommended ,which \
was thedevelopment ofasystem forreciprocal consultation i
byintelligent terminals ofthefiles held ineach ofthe
centres ,wasapproved bytheTechnical Committee andthis ;
concluded thesecond phase oftheproject .Preparation of
thedevelopment proposal ,which isthethird andlast phase ,
isnow inprogress intheProject Working Party andTechnical
Committee .Itisplanned topresent theproposal tothe '
Commission inSeptember 1978 . ;
(9)MESCON B.V. ,Netherlands
REGNECENTRALEN ,Denmark

-9-
Study ofrequirements inthefield oflegal information
retrieval systems mtheCounnuiii
Theproject leader isMrN.H. Nunn-Price ..Thefirst phase ,
consisting mainly ofananalysis ofuser requirements in
Europe ,was completed attheend of1977 under acontract
concluded with theconsortium headed bySFSGmbH (10).A
report (Jl.)wasproduced andaccepted bytheCommission 33
complying with thespecifications .
Thereport ,based ontwosurveys ofactual users ofexisting
systems and ofpotential users ,sets out anumber ofconclu­
sions onthecontinuation ofthework ,inparticular onthe
need forstrict updating anda.precise knowledge ofthe
contents ofthe data base .
Ithassince been distributed through official channels to
European centres working inthis field .
The technical phase oftheproject started atthebeginning
of1978 ;tests toevaluate systems inuse inseveral ofthe
main European legal documentation centres have been completed .
While the .results were being analysed ,thepossibilities of
using networks ,including Euronet ,were examined .
Theproject team hasnowembarket onadetailed examination
ofoperational requirements for acomputerized legal documen­
tation system suited totheCommunity environment andthis
will befollowed bythedrafting ofdevelopment specifica­
tions which should beavailable bytheend of1978 .
3.1.3 . CAD studies
3.1.3.1 .Studies oflogic circuit design aids using CADtechniques
I
Immediately thecontract for this study (project leader
DrAdeMari )was signed ,thecontractor (12)started to
prepare three questionnaires intended for :
-users ofCAD techniques , !
-designers ofelectronic circuits notusing these
techniques ,
-suppliers ofCADpackages . i
t
1
!
(10)SEMA Informatique ,France ,SCICON Ltd ,United Kingdom ,
SFSGmbH ,principal contractor ,West Germany and I.I.,France
(11)Doc .Ill/458/78-E i'
(12)Principal contractor :SAGET ,Luxembourg
Consortium :PLESSEY ,United Kingdom
SEMA Informatique ,France
NIXDORF ,West Germany
BRUNEL University (United Kingdom .

-10-
After trying out thequestionnaires ,thecontractor started a
preliminary series ofinterviews (85institutions inEurope ,
theUnited States andJapan ).
Aninterim report containing data obtained from replies to
thequestionnaires andcovering problems regarded asmeriting
priority was submitted totheTechnical Committee for the
study andapproved .
Thesecond cycle continuing theinterviews inorder toanalyse
thepriority problems wascompleted atthebeginning of J978 .
This covered benchmark tests onCADpackages inuse .The
study focused onmodel building ,simulation oftesting and
verification programmes andengineering data bases .
Theresults ofthefirst twocycles were combined inastudy ;
report .
Ananalysis oftheresults ,bearing inmind technological
developments intheperiod 1978-82 ,led toinitial conclusions
ontheadvisability ofthefollowing measures :
-dissemination oftechnical information ,
-establishment ofadata base oncomponent models ,accessible
through aEuropean network , , ■
-training andrefresher training forcircuit designers , '
-formulation andpromotion ofnorms andstandards ,
-development ofpackages .
1 s
Possible solutions arenowbeing ^investigated andrecommenda -;
tions together with adetailed plan ofaction will beissued '
inthemonths ahead . ;
.! \ '
3.1.3.2 .Study onconstruction management , j
Asstated insection 2.2 ,thecontract wasnot signed until
1October 1977 soastoobtain further information oncertain
points that were insufficiently clear .However jthework had
been properly prepared under theproject leader MrP.Van
GALEN and theconsortium (13)headed byCIAD started work I
immediately .
After documents concerning several systems inuseinthe
construction industry hadbeen examined ,aninitial postal
survey amongst companies wascarried out . (
Atthebeginning of1978 ,the .examination ofthe .results indi­
cated the need for additional interviews with users inFrance
andWest Germany . ;
(13)CIAD ,Netherlands ,principal contractor
International Rand DCoLimited ,United Kingdom
TNO-IBBC ,Netherlands
Atkins Rand ,D,United Kingdom
Diaforsk ,Denmark
G.O. Walford andPartners ,United Kingdom

-
The initial results were discussed intheTechnical Committee
inJune 1978 ;itwasdecided toconduct further interviews ,
this time with users specializing inthese techniques .The
second interim report isnowbeing revised toincorporate ■
certain software andhardware changes better suited tothe
specific requirements oftheconstruction industry .Itis
expected tobefinalized inthethird quarter of1978 .
Specifications onlater developments will then beformulated .
3.2 .Budget situation at31December 1977
AstheCommission budgets areclosed atthe :endofeach year ,there
follows astatement ofcommitments andpayments under thefirst priori­
typrogramme atthat date .Thebudget implications ofthesecond
priority programme will notreally befelt until the1978 financial j
year .
3.2.1 . Statement ofcommitments at31December 1977 (UA)
Industrial Technical Total
costs' (14)costs (15)cost
Organ andblood-bank
i
Légal documentation
CAD-electronics
CAD-constructioni30.000 i7.099 *37.099
249.964 103.384 . 353.348
229 .bô 62.066 292.022 ;
219.330 71.134 220.464 !
729.250 243.683 972.933
Administration andmeetings
oftechnical committee 80.078
1.053.01 1
Still tobecommitted
Total appropriation for theprogramme68.989
1.122.000 ;
3.2.2 . Statement ofpayments at31December 1977
Atthat date ,539'273 UAhadbeen paid outofthetotal com­
mitments set out above .
(14)Amount ofoutside study .,| !
(15)Cost ofproject leaders ,their technical assistants ,thepurchase of
studies andthecosts ofattending congresses .

-12-
3-3 .Launching ofthesecond set ofpriority projects !
(Council Decisions N°77/635 ,616 ,617 ,618 ,619 ,620of27September
1977 ). !
3.3.1 . Sélection ofproject leaders l
Inview ofthedate oftheCouncil Decisions ,thestudies j
proper had not been started at31December 1977 .The !
Advisory Committee ,having received wider terns ofreference ,
met several times toadvise theCommission ontheprocedure
forselecting project leaders ,which followed asimilar ;
course tothat described forthefirst setofprojects j
(see 2.1.). j
I
Itwasdecided : j
(a)that aproject leader would supervise allthestudies j
concerning software portability (Decision .N°615); '
(b)that anassistant project leader would beparticularly I
responsible forthestudies byresearch institutes t
(Décision N616); ;
É
f
(c)that for theproject concerning high-speed data-
transmission techniques (Decision N°617),which invol -|
vesCommunity participation ^.naproject designed by <
ESA (16)andCERN (17)»theCommission andtheAdvisory i
Committee didnotconsider itnecessary toselect a j
,project leader asparticipation intheproject would be •
supervised iyrepresentatives oftheCommission itself ;I
i
(d)that aproject leader would berecruited forthestudy !
ofimport-export data systems (Decision N°619); j
(e)that theexploratory studies (Decision N°618)would be
followed directly bytheCommission team .
Consequently applications for theposts ofproject leaders
were examined onthebasis oftheprofiles established after "
consulting theAdvisory Committee and thefinal selection j
vasbased onshort lists prepared byboards ofindependent !
experts andwas ,approved bytheAdvisory Committee in
November 1977 . I
:I ·
3.3.2 . Negotiation ofcontracts with national research institutes
(Decision N~d616). !
AstheCouncil Decision indicated that 50%ofthecost of 1
thestudies would bepaid bytheinstitutes themselves ,the I
Commission made initial contact with representatives of <
these institutes todecide oncontractual arrangements j
valid both for thestudies proper andforanyextensions .
(16)ESA =European Space Agency
(17)CERN =European Organization forNuclear Research .

The technical specifications forthethree studies hsve now
been finalised anditisplanned tosign thecontracts in <
July 978 . I
COXCLVSIO m:thecevelop~ entofCc:-n:urity data-processing projects under
theproposed four –year programme
Asindicated above ,theexecution ofthestudies inthefirst setofpriority
projects during their first year mayberegarded assatisfactory .
Thefeasability study onthedata bank fororgan andblood matching should
lead totheestablishment ofspecifications for thefurther development
oftheproject bytheendofthefirst half of1978 .
TheTechnical Conanittee considers that thecontinuation ofthis project is
nowofinterest toCommunity health andmedical authorities .Ithasreques­
tedtheCommission representative torefer thematter totherelevant
Directorate General .
Thestudy oflegal documentation systems should also produce development
specifications bytheendof19/8.Thereport concluding thefirst phase
ofthestudy wasvery favourably received bythecircles concerned .
Thestudies oncomputer-aided design (electronic logic circuits andcons- ;
truction management )areexpected toprovide anumber ofdetailed recomaen –•
dations onthefuture development ofthetechniques . " ;
i
Inallthese preliminary studies ,careful attention hasbeen paid tothe
software portability aspect ,which isoneofthemain subjects ofconcern
tothe Cousnission .
Inthesecond setofpriority projects ,those onsoftware portability ,
which could have significant industrial spin-off ,will probably notbedeve­
loped until 1979 inview ofthenumber ofpreparatory tasks inprogress ,
andinparticular : !
-thepreparation ofspecifications , I
-theopinions oftheTechnical Committee andthe j
Advisory Committee , !
-theinvitation totender procedure planned fortheend !
ofthefirst half of1978 , j
-theselection ofreplies with theaidoftheTechnical
Committee andafter consulting theAdvisory Committee ,
-thenegotiation andconclusion ofcontracts . I
Asinthecase ofthestudy ofimport-export data systems andparticipation '
intheproject onhigh-speed data transmission ,most ofthese preliminary j
studies should lead tothedefinition ofsuccessive development stages
which will each beincorporated inthefuture four-year programme .
Finally ,thestudies tobecarried outbynational research anddevelopment
institutes areregarded bytheCommission asthefirst stage inestablishing
closer collaboration between these bodies onaCommunity scale ;asregards
both information andtraining forusers and theeffective application of
future norms andstandards ,these arrangements could evolve into auseful
operational framework .Allthese developments will have tobeexamined in
greater detail when theCouncil takes itsdecision onthefour-year programme .