Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

[**Avis juridique important**](../../../editorial/legal_notice.htm)

*|*

# 92001E0741

**WRITTEN QUESTION E-0741/01 by Giles Chichester (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Research and development.** 
  
*Official Journal 318 E , 13/11/2001 P. 0112 - 0113*

  

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0741/01

by Giles Chichester (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 March 2001)

Subject: Research and development

The 2000 Lisbon European Council called on the Council and the Commission, together with the Member States where appropriate, to map by 2001 research and development excellence in all Member States in order to foster the dissemination of excellence. Does the Commission believe this target will be met, and what evidence can it provide to support its view?

Answer given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission

(8 May 2001)

Following the resolution of the Research Council of 15 June 2000 inviting the Commission to map scientific and technological excellence in all the Member States by the end of 2001, the Commission, with the help of a group of representatives appointed by the Member States, undertook to establish the objectives and expected results of the exercise.

On the basis of discussions with the said group, supplemented by expert consultations, the Commission produced a working paper(1) setting out the methodology to be applied and a timetable for the exercise. This was sent to Parliament and the Council on 12 March 2001.

In the first phase, the exercise will be limited to mapping ten or so emerging scientific and technological fields spread over the areas of Life sciences, Nanotechnologies and Economics. An expert panel will be set up for each of these fields to help the Commission characterise the field by keywords and identify best research capacity, initially on the basis of surveys. In parallel with this, a bibliometric analysis will be launched to identify competent and excellent entities on the basis of objective data. The experts' findings should be available in October 2001, while the bibliometric study will produce its first results at the end of 2001. The two sets of results will be compared and consolidated at the beginning of 2002.

The exercise will be conducted in such a way that the majority of areas of science and technology of relevance to the Community are mapped by the end of 2002.

(1) SEC(2001) 434.

[Top](#document1)