Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

11.2. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 39/5

## II

_(Preparatory Acts)_

# COMMISSION

Proposal for a Council Decision concerning Community action in the field of forecasting and
assessment in science and technology (FAST)

_COM(87) 502 final/2_

_(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 29 October 1987)_

(88/C 39/06)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to Article 130Q (2) of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

In cooperation with the European Parliament,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,

Whereas the Community has as its task the promotion of
a harmonious economic and social development between
the Member States in the context of growing economic
and commercial relations with other countries and

whereas scientific and technological changes play a role
of increasing importance in future economic and social
development;

Whereas closer technological and scientific cooperation
between universities, research centres and enterprises
within the Member States, with extra-Community
cooperation, is absolutely necessary to safeguard a
capacity for long-term European strategies in high technology, comparable to those of other world economic
and technological powers;

Whereas the increasingly complex and stochastic
relations between science and technology, on the one
hand, and the phenomena of growing integration
between the different sciences and basic technologies, on
the other, call for continuous and vigilant monitoring;

Whereas the internationalization of technologies and
markets, in the light of intense competition, increasing
R & D costs, reduction in the life cycle of products and
great uncertainties on a regulatory and monetary level,

require efficient monitoring of research and technology,
particulary on an international and European level;

Whereas forecasting in science and technology based on
European cooperation proves — in the context of the
Single European Act — indispensable for formulating
common visions and strategies with regard to the longterm economic and social outcomes to be given to the
development and utilization of new technologies;

Whereas in 1986 the European Parliament approved, on
an experimental basis, the setting up of an assessement
body of scientific and technological options (STOA:
Scientific and Technological Options Assessment);

Whereas the Economic and Social Committee has on

several occasions emphasized the importance and
usefulness it gives to forecasting and assessment of the
implications and socio-economic consequences of
scientific and technological changes;

Whereas several important initiatives have been taken in
most of the Member States regarding the institutionalization, either within governmental bodies or at
parliamentary level, of activities for forecasting and
assessment in science and technology;

Whereas in the last few years other Commission
departments have developed the means for strategic
analysis of long term developments in their fields of
interest, including the impact of technological change
related thereto;

Whereas the promotion and development of Community
networks for cooperation and research between organizations specializing in forecasting and assessment of
science and technology constitutes one of the most
significant attainments of the FAST activities to date;

Whereas the framework programme of Community
action for research and technological development (1987

No C 39/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 11. 2. 88

to 1991) envisages horizontal Community activity in
forecasting and assessment of science and technology
(encompassing all technological sectors and fields of
application, calling for a transdisciplinary approach);

Whereas the work programme of such an action, in its
function as a tool for the planning of Community
research, must be defined on a flexible basis to adapt
to the needs which emerge in the execution of the
'Framework Programme';

Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research

Committee (Crest) has delivered its opinion,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

_Article 1_

A new Community action in the field of forecasting and
assessment of science and technology (entitled FAST),
defined in the Annex, following the FAST II research
programme, is hereby adopted for a period of five years,
beginning on 1 January 1988.

_Article 2_

The appropriations necessary to cover the Community
contribution in the execution of the new FAST are

estimated at 14,0 million ECU over five years, including
personnel costs (6 A, 2 B, 4 C for 1988 and 8 A, 2 B, 5 C
for the following years) and the cost of researchers
seconded to FAST by the Member States to a maximum
of 25 man-years. The allocation of this amount is given
in the Annex.

_Article 3_

The Commission shall undertake the execution of the

FAST activities. It will be assisted in its work by a
General Advisory Committee (GAC) in accordance with
the resolutions laid down in Decision 84/338 Euratom,
ECSC, EEC( [X] ). The GAC-FAST will be called the
European Committee for the Forecasting and Assessment
of Science and Technology (CEPEST) ( [2] ).

0) OJ No L 53, 22. 2. 1985, p. 5.
( [2] ) Comite Europeen de la Prospective et de l'Evaluation Scientifique et Technique.

_ANNEX_

Action of research in the field of forecasting and assessment in Science and Technology (new FAST)

I. AIMS AND FUNCTIONS

1. The aim of the FAST activities is to contribute to the identification and definition of new directions
and priorites for a common policy for research and technological development in the European
Community and the links with other Community policies. To this end FAST will analyse long term
scientific and technological changes and study their implications for socio-economic development
and the quality of life in the countries of the Community.

2. The actions of the new FAST will respond to three principal functions:

— a 'forecasting' function,

— an 'assessment' function,

— a 'monitoring' function.

The _forecasting_ _/unction_ will develop hypotheses and shed light on the long term opportunities,
problems and challenges to Europe of scientific, technological, social and economic developments. It
will focus on a number of key problem areas of a global nature, such as:

— the long term implications and consequences for European industry and its competitiveness in the
context of the internationalization of the economy, of the increasing convergence and interaction
between different technologies (notably: materials, microelectronics, advanced production technologies and light technologies). The integration between the agricultural, chemical and energy
industries which was already studied in FAST II should be developed further,

— the implications and long term consequences for the smaller countries of the Community (in
terms of population, market size, etc.) of the development and diffusion of new technologies,

— the implications and long term consequences of developments in human biology,

— the long term implications and consequences of scientific and technological development in
transport, energy, communications, etc. for the Community's urban areas as we enter the 21st
century.

11. 2. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities N o C 39/7

The _technology assessment Junction_ will comprise three types of analyses:

—
_factual analyses_ concerning the prospects for a technology, sector or scientific field, the analysis of
a major event,

—
_anticipation and impact analyses_ into the technological, economic and social implications of likely
development in a particular field, family of technologies or at the interface between a number of
different technologies and sectors,

—
_strategic analyses of the European position_ (strengths and weaknesses, inter-regional comparisons
with the Community, international comparisons).

The _monitoring /unction_ will include analyses on scientific and technological indicators, the methodology of forecasting and technology assessment and their institutionalization and utilization.

II. MODE OF OPERATION

3. The preceding paragraphs have laid down the general framework — and the major guidelines — of
the FAST activities in relation to which the work programme is defined. Bearing in mind the nature
of forecasting and assessment activities and the integrative function of FAST in the different stages
of the planning process of Community research, the work programme has been defined on a flexible
basis to correspond to the needs of the Commission and Member States as they emerge during the
execution of the 'Framework Programme'.

4. The work programme will be defined and put into effect by the Commission, in cooperation with
CEPEST, according to the following arrangements.

5. For the first year (1988) three lines of action are to be followed:

Line of Action I concerns activities of diffusion and analysis of the results of FAST II in view of
their utilization:

(a) _Within the Commission_

— organization of internal seminars for the presentation and debate of the results and proposals
of FAST, by groups of Directorates-General according to the subject, and also to CODEST,
IRDAC and other consultative committees of the Commission,

— diffusion of short information flashes on the most significant results.

(b) _In the Member States_ with the aid and active participation of the members of CEPEST:

— organization of seminars and working meetings in each Member State of the Community
with specialized audiences, (for example, those responsible for R & D, or industrialists in the
European food system) based on strategic and/or exploratory synthesis dossiers already
produced by FAST before December 1987; also to a larger public in the form of one-day
conferences focused, for example, on the presentation of the second FAST final report,

— drafting and translating into Community languages of new short synthesis documents
presenting principal messages issuing from FAST's research,

— continuation of the publication of articles in specialized scientific reviews,

— publication of the results'of FAST in bulletins, journals or reviews of national ministries
responsible for research and scientific development policy.

Line of Action II aims in particular at experimenting with and verifying:

— the capacity of FAST to produce short term studies responding to demands expressed by the
Commission,

— the function of the GIP (Groupe Interservices de Prospective), and

— conditions which must be met in order that FAST's work can analyse problems at a world level
more effectively than in the past.

Equally under this line of action will figure the experimentation and verification of propositions
submitted by the evaluation group of FAST II and retained by the Commission in cooperation with
CEPEST.

Official Journal of the European Communities 11. 2. 88

Line of Action III concerns the realization of the research activities themselves:

(a) two assessment exercises on the long term implications and consequences of scientific and technological change; the first would aim at developing an in-depth assessment of the impact of new
technologies on land use within the perspective of a common European policy on land use; the
second would refer to the implications and consequences over the next 20 to 30 years of the
development and diffusion of new technologies for the smaller countries of the Community (in
terms of population, market size, etc.);

(b) the development of two cooperative networks, one on science and technology indicators in the
European Community; the other on research methodologies for technology assessment and forecasting.

6. In conformity with paragraph 11,3 above, during the course of the first year the Commission will
define:

— the precise content of the central key areas of research mentioned in paragraph 1,2 for 1989 to
1992,

— the detailed programme of further FAST activities for the years 1989 and 1990.

7. The Commission will define the detailed programme of FAST activities for 1991 and 1992 in 1990.

8. The structuring of FAST activities does not exclude the possibility of carrying out studies of short
duration which correspond to the particular circumstances of the Commission.

9. The setting up of the FAST activities will involve the following elements:

— the development and reinforcement of the FAST '12 + 1' network, comprising 12 national FAST
units nominated by the Member States,

— the association of research centres or teams in the Community countries specialized in the work
of forecasting and assessment in science and technology for the realization of the three lines of
action mentioned above by, for example, setting up ad hoc European cooperative networks,

— the detachment to the FAST unit by Community and national institutions of high level scientific
'visiting fellows' (to a maximum of 5 men for 1988) each of whom will actively participate in the
realization of the activities described above.