IN THE DOMAIN OF IT ;
( D ) APPRAISING THE RESULTS OF THE PROGRAMME AS A WHOLE AND FOR EVALUATING THE SUITABILITY OF ITS TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES AND OPTIONS TO MEET THE STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES : THIS TO BE DONE IN THE LIGHT OF THE RESULTS OBTAINED AND OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRAMMES WITHIN AS WELL AS OUTSIDE THE COMMUNITY ;
3 . TYPE A AND TYPE B PROJECTS
THE EXISTENCE AND NEED OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF PROJECTS FOR THE CHARACTER OF WORK AND THE SIZE OF EFFORT IN A LARGE R AND D PROGRAMME OF THE NATURE OF ESPRIT IS A FACT OF LIFE ; INDUSTRIAL R AND D IS ACKNOWLEDGED TO REST ESSENTIALLY ON TWO BROAD CLASSES OF PROJECTS :
( A ) PROJECTS THAT REQUIRE LARGE INFRASTRUCTURE AND RESOURCES , BOTH HUMAN AND FINANCIAL , AS WELL AS CLEAR AND CONSTANT STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE TO ENSURE CONTINUITY OF ACTIONS AND THE BREADTH NECESSARY TO REAP THE LONG-TERM BENEFITS . SUCH MEDIUM - TO LONG-TERM " SYSTEM DRIVEN " R AND D ACTIVITIES , THAT WILL BE REFERRED TO IN THIS DOCUMENT AS " TYPE A PROJECTS " , WILL REPRESENT THE BACKBONE OF ESPRIT AND ARE EXPECTED TO ACCOUNT FOR SOME 75 % OF THE OVERALL RESOURCES .
( B ) PROJECTS THAT RELY MAINLY ON FLEXIBLE INFRASTRUCTURE AND ON INDIVIDUAL THINKING RATHER THAN ON A SYSTEM APPROACH , AND REQUIRE RELATIVELY MUCH SMALLER RESOURCES . SUCH ACTIVITIES , THAT WILL BE REFERRED TO AS " TYPE B PROJECTS " , COULD RANGE FROM VERY LONG TERM , VERY SPECULATIVE R AND D TO SPECIFICALLY ORIENTED R AND D WHICH MAY WELL BE OF SHORTER DURATION , AND ARE EXPECTED TO ACCOUNT FOR SOME 25 % OF THE OVERALL EFFORT UNDER ESPRIT .
ESSENTIALLY TYPE A PROJECTS ARE BIG , COMPLEX , SYSTEM-ORIENTED WHEREAS TYPE B ARE SMALL , IDEA-ORIENTED .
THE PURSUIT OF STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES OF COMMON INTEREST REQUIRES THAT A NUMBER OF WELL-IDENTIFIABLE MAJOR ACTIVITIES ARE UNDERTAKEN AND CARRIED OUT ACCORDING TO AGREED , AND IN SOME CASES MUTUALLY INTERRELATED , TIME SCHEDULES : TYPE A PROJECTS ARE DESIGNED TO REPRESENT THESE ACTIVITIES . IN ORDER TO OPTIMIZE RESOURCES ALLOCATION AND PROVIDE THE BEST CONDITIONS FOR SYNERGISM , PROPOSALS FOR SUCH PROJECTS WILL THEREFORE HAVE TO BE INVITED GIVING DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS PRECISELY IDENTIFYING THE OBJECTIVES AND THE EXPECTED TIMING OF THEIR ACHIEVEMENT , WHEREAS THE PARTICULAR APPROACH OR THE CHOICE OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL OPTIONS WOULD , AS A RULE , BE LEFT FREE .
SINCE B TYPE PROJECTS ARE DESIGNED TO FILL POSSIBLE GAPS BETWEEN THE A TYPES ; TACKLING ALTERNATIVE , OR COMPLEMENTARY , OR MORE SPECULATIVE ACTIVITIES , THE LEVEL OF THEIR DEFINITION WOULD HAVE TO BE MORE GENERAL IN ORDER TO MAXIMIZE FLEXIBILITY AND LEAVE MAXIMUM ROOM TO INNOVATION . THEIR TIMING , AS A RULE , COULD ALSO BE LESS CRITICAL . AS A CONSEQUENCE AND BY CONTRAST WITH THE TYPE A PROJECTS THEY ARE IDENTIFIED AS A RULE BY THEME ONLY .
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