COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION on the final evaluation of the implementation of the Community programme,Establishment of an Internal Information Services Market (1991-1995) IMPACT 2
Date: 1996-06-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, cost-effectiveness analysis, information, market, project evaluation

~ 7^ 

'  COMMISSION  OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  17.06.1996 
COM(96)273  final 

COMMUNICATION  FROM THE COMMISSION 

on the final evaluation  of the implementation  of the Community  programme, 
Establishment of an Internal  Information  Services  Market  (1991-1995) 
IMPACT 2 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
on the final evaluation of the implementation of the Community  programme 
Establishment of an Internal Information  Services Market  (1991-1995) 
IMPACT 2 

Summary 

The final evaluation repprt on the implementation of the IMPACT 2 programme has been 
established by a committee of five external experts who conclude that the programme has 
been well  managed  by the  Commission  and  has provided  value  for  money  in the  results 
achieved.  The  programme  has  demonstrated  the  multiplier  mechanism,  whereby  the 
money spent had an effect  substantially greater than the value of the public funds  invested. 
The programme has achieved to enhance the understanding  of the information  market,  to 
develop  a  real  dialogue  with  leading  market  players,  to  progress  on  legal  issues,  to 
stimulate the use of new media throughout the EU and to encourage business partnerships 
for  collaborative  projects  to  develop  new  multimedia  information  products.  The 
programme's  initiatives  have  attracted  a  large  number  of  partners  and  have  been 
particularly  successful  in involving  a large  number  of  SMEs.  The Evaluation  Committee 
has identified  as the main message from the market place that without Community  funding 
the risk in pan-European ventures would be too high. 

The  Committee  also  has  made  a  number  of  recommendations  with  a view  to  enhancing 
and extending information  market stimulation initiatives under the forthcoming  INFO2000 
programme, to reinforce the dialogue with market players and to substantially increase the 
fmancial  resources.  The  Commission  on  the  whole  agrees  with  the  conclusions  of  the 
Evaluation Committee and will undertake to follow-up  the Committee's  recommendations 
within  the  limits  of  the  financial  resources.  It  should  be  noted  that  some  of  these 
recommendations go beyond the scope of INFO2000, but are already addressed  by other 
EU programmes related to Information  Society developments. 

Introduction 

1. 

2. 

3. 

The  Community  programme  on  the  "Establishment  of  an  Internal  Information 
Services Market"  (commonly  known  and  referred  hereinafter  to  as the  "IMPACT 
2" programme) was launched  on the basis of the Council Decision  91/691/EEC of 
12 December  1991, covering a period  of four years (1991-1995). The total  budget 
estimated  as necessary  for  the  implementation  of the  programme  amounted  to  64 
MECU.  The  programme  had  set  five  objectives  to  be  addressed  by  measures 
undertaken within the framework  of four  action lines. These action  lines addressed 
demand  and  supply  issues  of  the  information  services  market  and  complemented 
each  other  through  the  implementation  of  horizontal  and  vertical  actions  to 
achieve  synergy  across  the  programme.  The  programme  specifically  required  to 
address  SMEs  and  the  development  lag  of less favoured  regions  in the  European 
Union. 

Article 6 of the Council Decision  stipulates that  at  mid-term  and  at the  end  of the 
programme,  the  Commission  shall  submit  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the 
Council, once the committee referred  to in Article 4 has examined  it, an evaluation 
report  drawn  up  by  independent  experts  on  the  results  obtained  in  implementing 
the  action  lines  referred  to  in  Article  2  and  may  present,  on  the  basis  of  these 
results, proposals for  adjusting  the orientation of the programme. 

The final evaluation  was  carried  out  by a panel  of  high-level  independent  experts 
set  up  by  the  Commission,  known  as  IMPACT  2  Final  Evaluation  Committee 
(FEC).  The  panel,  under  the  chairmanship  of  Mr  B.  BLUNDEN,  conducted  its 
evaluation between July  1995 and November  1995. 

4. 

The main objectives  of the review were 

to assess whether the objectives of the IMPACT 2 programme have been 
achieved, 

to analyse how successful  the Commission has achieved  its role as a 
catalyst and stimulator for market  development, 

to identify  the needs for and scope of further  Community actions to 
stimulate market development in the context of the European  information 
society. 

5. 

6. 

In  conducting  the  evaluation  the  Final  Evaluation  Committee  has  pursued  a 
number  of  activities  including  desk  research,  interviews  with  EC  officials  and 
market actors, and a number of panel meetings. 

In  accordance  with  articles  4  and  6  of  the  Council  Decision,  the  IMPACT 
Programme  Committee  (IPC) was  consulted  on the  choice  of the  members  of the 
evaluation  panel  at  its  June  1995  meeting,  and  discussed  the  contents  and 
conclusions  of  the  Final  Evaluation  Report  at  its  December  1995  meeting, 
confirming  its  overall  positive  opinion  on  the  implementation  of  the  IMPACT  2 
programme and its satisfaction with the report. 

Preliminary  Remarks  by the Commission 

7. 

8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

industries  and  will  be 

The Community  has over the  last two  years been  confronted  with new  challenges 
emerging  from  the  developments  in  relation  to  the  Information  Society.  These 
developments  are  leading  to  a  global  restructuring  of  the  information  and 
communication 
economic  growth, 
competitiveness  and employment  for the next  decade.  The  importance  for the  EU 
to  play  a  major  role  has  been  recognised  and  is  being  reflected  in  a  number  of 
initiatives  including  the  Commission's  White  Paper  on  Growth,  Competitiveness 
and  Employment,  the  Bangemann  report  "Europe  and  the  global  information 
society",  the  Commission's  Action  Plan  "Europe's  Way  to  the  Information 
Society" and the Brussels Gl  Conference  devoted to the information  society. 

the  key 

to 

The  multimedia  industry  is  considered  to  play  a  key  role  in  the  development 
towards  an  Information  Society,  and  the  growing  importance  of  the  content 
industry  is  increasingly  recognised  as  a  most  significant  part  of  that  industry, 
because  of  its  economic  potential  in  terms  of  turnover,  trade  balance  and 
employment.  This  potential  is  also  being  perceived  by  big  non-european  global 
players  of  the  ICT  industries  who  are  increasingly  entering  the  content  business, 
thus  threatening  the  European  position  which,  hitherto,  has  been  particularly 
strong in print  publishing. 

The  exploitation  of  Europe's  richness  in  information  content  is  hampered  by  a 
number  of  factors.  The  European  multimedia  publishing  industry  is  composed  of 
mainly small and many new actors who are mostly nationally  or regionally  oriented 
and  operate  in  an  European  market  environment  which  is  fragmented  through 
linguistic  and  cultural  differences.  As  a  result,  the  European  multimedia  market 
lags behind  the  US  by  3-5  years.  This  together  with  the  high  telecommunication 
costs  and  the  problems  of  exploiting  public  sector  information  and  of  trading 
multimedia rights make the European content industry face serious disadvantages. 

The  Community's  IMPACT  2  programme  to  stimulate  information  market 
development  has  moved  in  the  course  of  its  implementation  from  a  limited 
IMPACT  2 
significance  to  the  centre  of  economic  interests.  Although  the 
programme  had  been  designed  in  expectation  of  these  developments  it  had  to  be 
adapted  continuously  to  respond  to  the  fast  changing  environment.  The 
IMPACT  2  final  evaluation  confirms  that  the  Commission  has  managed  to 
accomodate  this  situation,  as  far  as  it  has  been  possible  within  the  constraints 
imposed by budget cuts. 

In implementing  the  IMPACT  2  programme,  the  various  initiatives  have  severely 
suffered  from  budget  reductions  by  which  only  52  MECU  had  effectively  been 
allocated  of the 64  MECU budget estimated as necessary by the Council  Decision. 

The IMPACT 2 programme has operated in a climate of global and highly dynamic 
change  of the information  industry.  This is leading  to  a restructuring  of the  global 
economy  with  the  multimedia  content  industries  becoming  a  key  element  in 
information society  development. 

General Conclusions of the Evaluation Panel and Commission's comments 

13. 

14 

15. 

16. 

The  Final  Evaluation  Committee  concludes  that  the  IMPACT  2  programme  has 
achieved its objectives overall and efficiently  spent the budget allocated to it. It has 
provided  value-for-money  in  the  results  achieved  and  has  demonstrated  the 
'multiplier' mechanism, whereby the money spent by the European Commission has 
had an effect  substantially greater than the value of the public funds  invested.  The 
programme  has  contributed  to  the  development  of  the  European  Union 
infrastructure  in  the  development  of  the  information  market  leading  to  the 
information  society. 

The final evaluation  report  concludes  that  the  recommendations  of  the  mid-term 
evaluation  have been  implemented  successfully  in the  remaining two  years  of the 
IMPACT  2 programme,  and that  the dramatic  changes  in the information  market 
which have taken place since the introduction  of the IMPACT 2 programme have 
been  adequately  reflected  in  the  programme's  implementation.  The  programme's 
initiatives  have  attracted  a  large  number  of  partners  and  have  been  particularly 
successful  in involving a large number of SMEs. 

The strategic changes occurring in the information  market through widespread use 
of electronic trading and the development of multimedia publishing and technology 
convergence  make the work  of the Commission  critical to the  success  of the EU 
information  society.  The  Evaluation  Committee  considers  the  loss  of  resources 
through budget reduction a strategic error, in particular because for  SMEs the risk 
in pan-European  ventures  would  be  too  high  to  continue  without  continued  EC 
funding.  This emerges as a clear message from the marketplace. 

Commission comment: 
The Commission in principle agrees with the evaluation committee's assessment. 
The multiplier effect  underlined in  the report will continue after  the end  of the 
programme  and  will  create  a  solid  basis  on  which  to  build  INFO2000.  The 
budget cuts have in fact  been difficult to manage, in particular for  SME project 
partners for  whom  the  Community funding  is  critical for  the  continuity  and 
success of pan-European ventures. This resource limitations have also limited the 
exploitation of opportunities for pan-European developments which are becoming 
increasingly critical  in  a  global  marketplace.  The  Commission welcomes  the 
Committee's  recommendations  for  actions  to  be 
the 
forthcoming  1NFO2000 programme.  These recommendations will  be  taken  on 
board, provided  that  the  budget  allocated  to  this  new  programme  does  not 
deviate too far from  the Commission proposal (COM(95)  149 final). 

launched  under 

Specific conclusions of the Final Evaluation Panel and Commission's comments 

17. 

18. 

The Final Evaluation Report provides many valid recommendations which deserve 
scrutiny and follow-up. The following paragraphs review the essential conclusions. 

Action  Line  S  aimed  at  improving  the  understanding  of  the  information 
market  through  the  actions  of  the  Information  Market  Observatory  (IMO). 

19. 

20. 

21. 

22. 

Actions have included the publication of working papers analysing specific market 
segments, a number of strategic studies addressing specific  issues, the creation of 
an  Information  Policy  Institutes  Network  and  the  publication  of  a  widely 
recognised  annual report on the main events and developments in the information 
market. Wide dissemination of the results of this work has taken place in printed 
and  electronic  form,  including  dissemination  via  the  Internet  Wrorld Wide  Web 
(WWW). 

The  Final  Evaluation  Committee  concludes  that  improving  the  understanding  of 
the market  demands greater awareness  of  change in that  market.  In that  respect 
the work undertaken by the IMO is considered to be good but insufficient  for the 
needs  of  the  marketplace.  The  budget  reductions  have  caused  constraints  in 
improving the understanding of the market at a time when the development of the 
information  society  requires  stimulation  of  the  user  market.  Consequently,  the 
rapidly  changing  information  market  in  the  EU  must  be  reflected  in  expanded 
coverage of the IMO which needs reassessment. 

The  Final  Evaluation  Committee  has  noted  that  the  three  strategic  studies 
published  by  the  IMO had  a significant  impact  on  the  marketplace  and that 
they  are  good  examples  of  the  Commission  understanding  properly  its  role  to 
articulate  comprehensively  the  views  of  the  information  content  industries,  the 
media and the  user community.  It  is  concluded  that  these  studies  have  been  a 
watershed  in  changing  the  relationship  between  the  Commission  and  the 
leading  players  in  the  EU  information  industry,  and  the  continuation  and 
extension of that concept is strongly recommended. 

Commission comment : 
Ihe Commission  is well aware of the continuous need for  improving the  market 
transparency and for  articulating the views and needs of the information content 
market. Without such investigative work,  the Commission cannot make  its proper 
contribution to  the  development of  a  policy  in  nurturing the  EU  information 
society of the future. Accordingly,  the Commission fully  agrees to implement the 
recommendations made in the context of the new INFO2000 programme,  but it 
will largely depend on the resources which will be made available whether or not 
it will succeed fxdly in this undertaking. 

Action  line  2  aimed  at  overcoming  legal  barriers  in  the  information  market. 
Actions  have  contributed  to  the  ELTs regulatory  developments  in  the  fields  of 
personal data  protection  and the legal protection of databases.  They have also 
addressed other legal barriers which require urgent solutions in the context of the 
information  society,  such as IPR  in  the  digital  age,  information  security  and 
the legal implications  of the convergence  of technology  and  media.  A number 
of  actions  have  been  launched  to  prepare  specific  initiatives  to  be  undertaken 
under the INFO2000 programme, including access to and exploitation  of public 
sector information  and in the area of copyright dealing. The actions have been 
supported  by  the  Legal  Advisory  Board  (LAB)  which  consists  of  high  level 
experts, policy advisers and information industry representatives. The work of the 
LAB is widely  recognised  and has become more visible through the organisation 
of conferences in Member States. 

23.  Whereas the evaluators are satisfied  with the activities undertaken, they encourage 
a further  strengthening  and  expansion  of  such  activities,  because  actions  by  the 
EC  to  overcome  legal  barriers  are  critical  in  view  of  the  strategic  changes 
occurring  in  the  information  market.  The  role  of  the  LAB  should  further 
develop  to  represent  the  legal  and  regulatory  requirements  of  the  content 
industries,  the  media  and  the  user  communities.  To  fulfil  this  role  properly,  the 
LAB  should  continue  to  re-structure  in  favour  of  increased  representation  from 
private  sector,  and  establish better  liaison with  other  consultative  industry  bodies 
interested in legal and regulatory matters. 

24. 

25. 

26. 

27. 

Commission comment: 
The  Commission  agrees  that  further 
improvements  in  liaison  with  other 
industrial bodies is required to better represent the legal and regulatory needs of 
industry, commerce and  consumers. It  is intended  to  look  into  the  question  of 
how best to reinforce such  links  under  the  INFO2000 programme.  This needs 
to be part  of  a wider Commission strategy as provided for  in  the framework  of 
Information 
the  Commission's  action  plan  "Europe's  Way  towards  the 
Society"  containing  a  number  of  initiatives  to  establish  an  appropriate 
regulatory  framework. 

Concerning  activities  to  stimulate  the  application  of  norms  and  standards  for 
information  encoding  under  Action  line 3.1 they  have  been  aiming  at  increasing 
the awareness  and  understanding  of information  standards  among  market  players 
and to demonstrate the benefit which can be obtained in their use. The publications 
of a newsletter,  "Oil Spectrum",  of guidelines for the application of standards and 
of  an  exhaustive  list  of  information  standards  have  efficiently  contributed  to  this 
objective.  Complementary  to  these  actions the  Commission  has  also  launched  an 
information 
initiative  to  develop  specifications  for  quality  assurance  of 
products  and  services.  The  regularly  updated  list  of  information  standards  is a 
unique  reference  tool  which  is being used  by industry  and  standardisation  bodies 
throughout the EU and beyond. 

The Final Evaluation Report  identifies the standards stimulating work as important 
and  a unique  activity  for  the EC, because the application  of norms and  standards 
will  be  important,  if  the  Single  European  Market  is  to  develop  into  one  which 
captures  a  significant  share  of  global  markets.  Although  the  work  done  under 
IMPACT  2  represents  good  value  for  money,  the  budget  allocated  to  it  has 
been  too  modest.  The  work  on  norms  and  standards  must  be  comprehensive  in 
defining  information  content  owners  and  information  user  needs  across  many 
related technologies. An extension of this activity to improve coverage and market 
representation  is, therefore, strongly recommended. 

Commissions comment: 
Whereas the  Commission in principle  agrees with  this  view, it  should  be noted 
that the scope of the IMPACT 2 programme, and that of INFO 2000 as well, is too 
narrow to give  leverage to this initiative. Instead, those activities are now being 
closely co-ordinated with the Commission's European Standardisation policy and 
the results will be integrated into broader concepts presently being considered 

28. 

29. 

30. 

31 

Action  line  3.2  on  increasing  user-friendliness  and  improving  information 
literacy  has been  addressed  to  users  of  electronic  information  services  and was 
composed  of  three  mutually  supporting  initiatives:  the  operation  of  the 
Commission's  host  service  (ECHO)  together  with  the  World  Wide  Web 
(WWW) server I'M  EUROPE as a central tool for training, guidance, awareness 
and  virtual  meeting  and  discussion  fpra;  the  network  of  National  Awareness 
Partners  (NAPs),  which in the Member  States  maintain close  contacts with the 
regional/national  user  communities,  particularly  SMEs,  and  which  perform  a 
steadily increasing number of awareness and training actions; and kick-off training 
for  information  intermediaries,  SME  managers  and  students  in  less  favoured 
regions  which  were  subsequently  multiplied  through  co-operation  with  the ELPs 
COMETT, SOCRATES and LEONARDO programmes. Since the IMPACT mid 
term evaluation, the number of ECHO users has increased from 16,000 to 33,000, 
and the number of  connect  hours  has doubled  from  5000  to  10,000  per month. 
The rapidly growing interest in the I'M-Europe WWW server is evident from more 
than  178,000  document  accesses  recorded  for  November  1995,  a five-fold 
increase over the same period in 1994. The level of activity of the NAP network is 
reflected  in more than 2000 awareness events for the period  1993-1995,  1000 out 
of which took place in 1995. 

The  Final  Evaluation  Committee  acknowledges  that  ECHO  is  an  exemplar 
activity  in  database  host  facilitation  and  provides  a  unique  role  in  the 
European  information  market  Its  I'M  EUROPE  WWW  server  has  since  its 
recent launch in September  1994 acquired an established position in "cyberspace". 
The  Committee  commends  the  continuation  and  further  development  of  this 
successful  activity.  The  evaluators  have  taken  a particular  interest  in  the  NAPs 
activities, because they consider awareness and dissemination  as vital  features 
of  all  EC  activities.  They  conclude  that  the  concept  of  a distributed  system  is 
sound,  but  noted  significant  variations  in the  quality  of the NAPs  and  that their 
operational  concept  may  not  fully  reflect  the  changes  in  the  marketplace.  It is, 
therefore,  recommended to review the composition of the network and the scope 
and  modus  of  operation.  A  new  call  should  set  specifications  that  cause  re-
focusing  and set criteria against which to measure the performance  of the NAPs. 
With  regard  to  the  training  activities  the  Committee  recommends  their 
continuation under the INFO2000 programme. 

Commission comment: 
The  Commission has  made  provisions  to  continue  the  successful  activities 
commended by  the  Committee  under  the  INFO2000 programme.  The  very 
detailed comments and suggestions made in relation to the improvement of NAP 
operations are considered valid and useful,  and the Commission will take account 
thereof in the forthcoming re-alignment of the NAP network and its activities. 

in  the  areas  of 

Strategic  Information  Initiatives  (Action  line  4)  to  stimulate  the  supply  of 
advanced  electronic  information  products  and  services  have  supported  pilot 
projects 
(IMM), 
geographic  information  services  (GIS) and  information  services  for  business 
and  industry  (BIS).  A total of 610 proposais were received in response to three 
calls for proposals published in 1992, 1993 and 1994. From the first two calls (507 
proposals),  84  definition  phase  projects,  leading  to  30  implementation  phase 

interactive  multimedia 

information 

32. 

33. 

projects,  were  supported.  From  the  third  call  (103  proposals),  17  full  projects 
were supported, there being insufficient  remaining time and budget to operate two 
phases in  1995. The total budget for these projects amounted to 24.5 MECU. The 
number of projects  supported  decreased from 59 in the first call to  17 in the third 
one  which  was  due  to  constant  budget  cuts.  The  target  of  particularly 
stimulating  activities  by  SMEs  has  been  achieved,  in  that  65%  of  the  590 
participating  organisations  in  the  pilot  projects  were  SMEs.  Equally,  high 
participation  of organisations from LFRs has been achieved, in that 246 LFR 
organisations  have participated in the pilot projects, i.e. 38%. 

The  Evaluation  Committee  concludes  that  the  Commission  has  successfully 
addressed  two  distinct  aspects  with  these  strategic  initiatives.  The first is  to 
create  exemplars  and  to  reduce  risk  in  experimentation  as  part  of  the  learning 
process.  As a result  many  projects are producing  healthy commercial  results, 
some even appear to have surpassed  expectation. The second  aspect is to develop 
products  which  enter  the  marketplace  and  build  infrastructure  in  a new field, for 
which  visibility  is an  important  feature.  These  initiatives  have  contributed  to  this 
visibility  by  presenting  high  quality  products  at  important  events  such  as  IDT 
Paris,  On-line  London,  the  Frankfurt  Book  Fair  and  MILIA  in  Cannes.  The 
evaluators  are particularly impressed by the very successful  work done in the area 
of  GIS.  Because  of  the  interest  generated  in  the  pilot  projects,  this  area  has 
expanded into one of policy development and should be considered  as an exemplar 
for  further  work  in  other  sectors  under  the  INFO2000  programme.  It  is  also 
confirmed  that  the  criticisms  made  at  the  time  of  the  interim  review  have  been 
overcome.  From  interviews  with  project  participants,  the  Evaluation  Committee 
has identified  the main  message from the marketplace  that without  continued 
IMPACT  2  funding  under  INFO2000  the  risk  in  pan-European  ventures 
would be too high to continue. As a consequence the Committee recommends to 
reinforce  these initiatives in INFO2000 and makes a number of concrete proposals 
for further  improvements. 

Commission comment: 
The  Commission  is  aware  that  there  are  plenty  of  opportunities  to  develop 
successful European multimedia products  and  services, and  these will increase 
over the coming years as the information society progresses. It is understood that 
the  private  sector  is  mainly  responsible  for  exploiting  such  opportunities. 
However,  it is also understood that the public sector has a role to play  in creating 
favourable  conditions and in stimulating investment thus reducing the financial 
risk  of  the private  actors.  These public  responsibilities need  to  be fulfilled  in 
consideration of  the  subsidiarity principle  at  national  and  at  European  levels. 
The Commission's role  consists of  addressing  these  issues  in  a  pan-European 
context and has made appropriate provisions  under the INFO2000 programme. 
In  implementing further  initiatives, the Commission will take due account of the 
many valuable suggestions made in the Evaluation Report.  The main obstacle in 
fully  exploiting  these  unique  opportunities for  the  benefit  of  the  European 
positions  in  a  global  marketplace  may  ultimately  consist  of  inadequate 
Community financial resources made available to the programme. 

10 

Proposals for future developments 

34. 

The Final Evaluation  Committee  has conducted  the  evaluation  in the light  of the 
information  society developments,  and it has reflected  the Commission's  proposal 
for  the  INFO2000  programme  in  its  recommendations.  In  recognition  of  the 
success  of IMPACT  2 and the growing  importance  of the  information  market  to 
EC  policy  overall,  the  Committee  recommends  to  extend  the  Commission's 
information  content  initiatives  by  building  on  the  results  of  IMPACT  2  and  to 
consider  an  increase  of  budget  for  INFO2000.  The  report  provides  a  rich 
source of extremely valid and detailed  suggestions for  such extensions and  further 
improvements. 

35. 

Commission comment: 
The Committee's considerations are fully  in  line  with  the  Commission's  views 
which  have  found  its  place  in  the  INFO2000  programme  proposal.  As  a 
consequence, the suggestions made by the Committee will be taken into account 
in the implementation ofINFO2000 as far  as feasible. 

M 

ANNEX 1 

Executive Summary of the Report on the IMPACT 2 Final Evaluation 

Composition of the IMPACT 2 Final Evaluation Committee 

Mr Brian BLUNDEN, Chief Executive, IEPRC, UK - Chairman, 
Mr Rolf KAT, Business Development and Analysis, VNU, Netherlands, 
Mr René MAYER, Président de section honoraire, Conseil Général des Ponts et Chaussées, France, 
Mr Franz G. MÔSL, Unternehmensberatung, Germany, 
Mr José Joao CAMPOS RODRIGUES, Director, Challenge, Portugal, 
Mr Mogens RASMUS SEN, Managing Director, Sarbaek A/S, Denmark, Secretary 

The full text of the evaluation report is available in English from 

European Commission 
DGXIII/E 
L-2920 LUXEMBOURG 
Fax:+352-430133190 

AL 

Executive  Summary:  Final  Evaluation  Committee  (FEC) for the  IMPACT  2  programme: 

The  Final  Evaluation  Committee  (FEC)  concludesLthat  the  IMPACT  2  programme  has 

achieved  its  objectives  overall  and  efficiently  spent  the  budget  allocated  to  it  by  the Council.-

The  programme  has  been well  managed  by  DGXIII/E.  It has  provided  value-for-money  in 

the  results  achieved.  The  programme  has  demonstrated  the  multiplier  mechanism. 

whereby  the  money  spent  by  the  European  Commission  (EC)  has  had  an  effect 

substantially  greater  than  the  value  of  the  public  funds  invested.  This  multiplier  effect  will 

continue  after  the  end  of  the  programme  and will  create  a  solid  basis  on which  to  build 

Info2000. 

The  IMPACT  2 programme  has  contributed  to  the  development  of  European  Union  (EU) 

infrastructure  in the  development  of  the  Information  Market  leading  to  the  creation  of  the 

Information  Society.  Specifically  the  achievements  of  IMPACT  2  are  demonstrated  by: 

•  ennanced  understanding  by  industry  and  governments  of  the  Information  Market  through 

the work  of  the  Information  Market  Observatory  (IMO) 

real  dialogue  with  leading players  in the  information  industry  through  the  strategic  studies 

commissioned  by  DGXIII/E 

progress  on  regulatory  and  legislative  issues  through  the work  of  the  Legal  Advisory  Board 

(LAB) 

reduction  in technological  barriers  to  information  transfer  and  electronic  trading  through 

work  on  norms  and  standards 

growth  in the  use  of  information  by  industry  and  commerce  through  the work  of  the 

European  Commission  Host  Organisation  (ECHO) 

stimulation  in the  use  of  new  media  throughout  the  European  Union  by  exemplars  such  as 

the  I M-EUROPE  W WW  server  on the  Internet 

amplification  in the  appreciation  in industry  of  the  benefits  of  cooperation  throughout  the 

European  Union  through  the work  of  the  National  Awareness  Partners  (NAPs) 

through  kick-off  actions  in the  area  of  training  in  Less  Favoured  Regions  a large  multiplier 

effect  has  been  achieved  by  the  COMETT  programme 

provision  of  opportunity  for  the  encouragement  of  business  partnerships  ~ particularly 

SMEs  -  by  Calls  for  Proposals  and  financial  priming  to  collaborative  projects  such  as  those 

stimulated  by  the  IMM and  GIS  programmes 

as  a result  of  the  large  interest  in GIS  a communication  to  Council  and  the  European 

Parliament  is  underway 

creation  of  a European-wide  focus  on the  benefits  from  the  use  of  information  by  industry 

through  the  Call  for  Information  Services  for  Business  and  Industry  (BIS) 

development  of  the  total  European  market  by  international  cooperation  programmes  such 

as  the  Copernicus  projects 

Ai 

The Final Evaluation Committee considers the success of the IMPACT 2 programme to 
make an overwhelming case for support by Member States, the Council and the  European 
Parliament to the Info2000 programme; and for consideration to be given to increasing the 
budget allocation given to the Info2000 programme. 

The reason the Final Evaluation Committee advocates  budget increase for  Info2000 is that 
it would follow the logic of recent EC White Papers and the findings of the Bangemann 
Committee on stimulation to the growth of the Information Society.  The EU needs to 
create jobs and to improve competitiveness  in global markets.  The Information Market is 
recognised as a major driver of these two objectives.  In turn, the driver of the  Information 
Market is that of users of information and providers of content -  such as publishers 
Without users and content providers there is no demand for software, hardware, or facilities 
such as telecommunications.  Hence the role of  DGXIII/E is critical to the development of 
the Information Market and to the formulation of EC policy overall.  At present this work is 
under-funded when compared with the size of the challenge which it should address. 
There appears to be a failure in strategic understanding of this driver mechanism in the EC. 

DGXIII/E must be encouraged to continue to articulate the views and aspirations of all 
information users  -  industry, commerce and the many branches  of the public sector 
including cultural communities  such as education -  together with the views and aspiration 
of content owners, the media and functional activities  of commerce  such as advertising 
DGXIII/E must be mandated to give coherence to these views on all matters  related to the 
Information Market development  including the regulatory  framework  required for 
competitive trading. 

Since the introduction of the IMPACT 2 programme the Information  Market has changed 
dramatically. The Information Market now permeates virtually all organisations  in the pnvate 
and public sectors of the European Union.  Multimedia has become the focus of activity by 
global players as well as industry, commerce, academia and the public sectors and 
governments  in the Member States.  This change in the Information Services  marketplace 
has been reflected in the work of  DGXIII/E.  However, the issue of  mandate clarity 
disadvantages the players in the information industries  in the EU and deprives  Member 
State programmes of the benefits of leadership in cooperation, and thus gaining the 
maximum multiplier effect throughout the EU from Information Society programmes.  This 
situation must be changed.  It is a subject which requires urgent political attention at the 
highest level. 

Thus, the recommendations  of the Final Evaluation Committee arising from the IMPACT 2 
programme may be summarised as follows. 

1  The IMPACT 2 programme has been completed successfully  and within the budget 

guidelines set out by the Council. 

Au 

2 

In recognition  of  the  success  of  IMPACT  2  and  the  growing  importance  of  the  Information 

Services  Market  to  EC  policy  overall,  consideration  should  be  given to  increasing  the 

budget for  Info2000.  Any  attempts  by  Member  States to  change  -  by elimination  of 

activities  -  any  part  of the  proposed  Info2000  programme  should  be  rejected 

3  The  Council  and the  European  Parliament  should  support  an  enhanced  mandate  for 

DGXIII/E.  Four  specific  changes  are  recommended.  They  are: 

• 

to  ensure  that  DGXIII/E  has  the  mandate  to  realise  its  mission  to  articulate  the  aspirations 

of  the  content  and  media  industries  and  the  total  information  user  community 

• 

revision  by  some  Member  States  governments  of  their  representation  on the  Advisory 

Committee  for  Info2000 

• 

increased  representation  from  the  information  content  industries  in the  Information  Society 

Forum 

•  creation  of  a small  high  level  group  of  commercially  expert  advisers  from  private  and  public 

sector  business  communities  to  advise  DGXIII/E  in  matters  of  policy  development 

4  Allocation  of  budget  resources  in  !nfo2000  to  the  development  of  a methodology  for  the 

stimulation  of  particular  sectors  or topics  is required. 

5 

In project  calls,  the  adoption  of  a  standard  procedure  for  feasibility  stage  work  which  is 

minimal  in bureaucratic  procedure  is needed.  Independent  investigation  of  the  project 

administration  procedures  in the  administrative  departments  of  the  EC  to  reduce  drastically 

paperwork,  timescales.  approval,  acceptance  and  project  support  payment  settlement 

should  be  instigated. 

6  The  scope  of  the work  of  the  IMO  should  be  enlarged  to  take  full  account  of  the  changes 

taking  place  in the  Information  Market;  the  dissemination  of  the  IMO  report  should  be 

speeded  up. 

7 

Increase  in the  budget  for  strategic  studies  with  a minimum  provision  of  750.000  ECU  per 

annum  during  the  duration  of  the  Info2000  programme  is  advisable. 

8  An  enhanced  mandate  for  the  LAB  -  and  if  necessary  increased  budget  -  is  recommended 

by: 

• 

re-statement  of  the  LAB  mandate  to  ensure  that  all  Directorates-General  recognise  its  role 

to represent  the  regulatory  and  legal  requirements  of  the  information  content  industries,  the 

media  and the  information  user  community 

• 

re-assessment  by  the  management  of  DGXIII/E  to  ensure  it has  adequate  budgets  and 

resource  provision 

•  management  of  DGXIII/E  to  ensure  the  LAB  undertakes  systematic  and  comprehensive 

liaison with  interested  organisations  concerned  with  regulation  and  legal  affairs  in  the 

Information  Services  Market 

•  continued  re-structuring  of  the  LAB  to  reduce  the  representation  from  academia  and 

increased  representation  from  commercial  players  in the  information  market  and  re 

structuring  of  the  representation  to  reflect  a proper  balance  of  all  interested  parties  in the 

Information  Services  Market. 

9 

Increased  budget  allocation  to work  on the  promotion  of  standards  and  specifications  under 

the  Info2000  programme  is proposed;  this  should  specifically  address  the  issues  of: 

xr 

•  measures of quality  in new media products 
•  meaningful measures of advertising effectiveness  in new media. 
10 A new Call for NAPs should go out to demonstrate understanding of the total  Information 

Market, and to put in place a system of milestones and performance criteria which requires 
the activity to resemble a marketing development  programme for EC activities. 

11 Continued funding to support ECHO and I'M-EUROPE  WWW  server is proposed, as well 

as continued support to training initiatives  under Info2000 in conjunction with DGXXII 

12 Continued support to interactive multimedia services (IMM) is recommended and 

specifically: 

•  continued monitoring of IMM projects over the next two years to ascertain their impact on 

the information  marketplace 

•  continuation of a similar initiative to ensure a constant flow of exemplar products 
•  extension of this exemplar concept to include creative use of new media in advertising 
•  continuation to the initiative to ensure the nurturing of SMEs in the EU as producers  and 

users of information services. 

12 Re-consideration  of  soecific allocation of budget resources in line with the  communication 

on GIS to Council and the European  Parliament. 

14 Development of stimulation to business and industry information  services should be 

encouraged by: 

•  continued support for business and industry information services  (BIS) which will contribute 

• 

most to the development  of EU infrastructure 
initiating a programme with private sector research and technology  organisations  (RTOs) 
and relevant public sector bodies to develop a coherent business  and industry  information 
service network in the EU 

•  development of pan-European virtual communities concerned with business and industry 

futures issues throughout the EU. 

/& 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(96) 273  final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

16  10 

Catalogue number  : CB-CO-96-283-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-05490-9 

Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 

L-2985 Luxembourg