CELEX: 31988D0417
Language: en
Date: 1988-06-29 00:00:00
Title: 88/417/EEC: Council Decision of 29 June 1988 on a Community action in the field of learning technologies - development of European learning through technological advance (Delta) exploratory action

No L 206 / 20                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                          30 . 7 . 88
                                                          COUNCIL DECISION
                                                             of 29 June 1988
                      on a Community action in the field of learning technologies — development of European
                                    learning through technological advance (Delta) exploratory action
                                                              ( 88 / 417 / EEC)
 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                                   Whereas a better understanding of learning and training
                                                                             which can be met by learning technology is beneficial for
                                                                             strategies in this field ;
 Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
 Economic Community, and in particular Article 130Q ( 2 )
 thereof,                                                                    Whereas the European Parliament has emphasized
                                                                             repeatedly the importance it sees in education and training
                                                                             for the future economic and social welfare of the
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (*),                      Community , and adopted on 24 May 1983 a resolution (4 )
                                                                             calling for greater efforts in education arid training;
                                                                             whereas the Parliament adopted on 11 November 1986 a
 In cooperation with the European Parliament ( 2 ),                          resolution inviting the Commission to prepare a
                                                                             programme for the utilization of technology in
 Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social                     education ( s );
 Committee ( 3 ),
                                                                            Whereas the Economic and Social Committee has stressed
Whereas the Community has as its task, by establishing a                    the      importance      of    using       new information      and
 common market and progressively approximating the                          telecommunication technologies to maintain a highly
economic policies of Member States, to promote                               skilled workforce capable of adapting to change job
throughout the Community a harmonious development of                        requirements, thereby making a contribution to the
economic activity and close relations between the Member                    reduction of unemployment caused by lack of skills ;
 States ;
Whereas education and training will play a decisive role in                 Whereas , by Decision 87 / 516 / Euratom / EEC ( 6 ), the
 the future economic development of the Community;                          Council adopted a framework programme for Community
whereas advanced information and telecommunications                         activities in the field of research and technological
technologies offer new and more effective means to support                  development ( 1987 to 1991 ) providing for research to be
learning activities;                                                        undertaken in the field of the application of information
                                                                            technology and telecommunications to meet common social
                                                                            needs; whereas the framework programme contains special
Whereas the Heads of State and Government, meeting in                       provisions for a Community action in the field of
 Stuttgart, Athens , Fontainebleau and Brussels , emphasized                educational technology ;
the importance of strengthening the technology base and
competitiveness of industry and have underlined the
necessity of making better use of human resources by                        Whereas Article 130K of the Treaty provides for the
means of increased cooperation between higher education                     implementation of the framework programme to be carried
and industry ;                                                              out by means of specific programmes developed within
                                                                            each activity ;
Whereas the Heads of State or of Government in their
meeting of 28 and 29 June 1985 approved and endorsed
                                                                            Whereas Decision 87 / 516 / Euratom / EEC provides that a
the Commission memorandum on the strengthening of
                                                                            particular aim of Community research shall be to
technological cooperation in Europe covering, among
                                                                            strengthen the scientific and technological basis of
priority subjects on which to propose action , the education
and training technologies;                                                  European industry especially in strategic areas of high
                                                                            technology and to encourage it to become more
(') OJ No C 265 , 5 . 10 . 1987 , p. 28 .
( 2 ) OJ No C 94 , 11.4.1988 , p . 200 and OJ No C 187 ,                    ( 4 ) OJ No C 135 , 25 . 5 . 1983 , p . 27 .
      18 . 7 . 1988 .                                                       ( s ) OJ No C 322 , 15 . 12 . 1986 , p . 55 .
( 3 ) OJ No C 347 , 22 . 12 . 1987 , p . 14 .                               ( 6 ) OJ No L 302 , 24 . 10 . 1987 , p . 1 .
 ---pagebreak---        30 . 7 . 88
                                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No L 206 / 21
      competitive      at   international    level;   whereas     the         HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION :
       abovementioned       Decision     further    provides     that
      Community action is justified where research contributes
      inter alia to the strengthening of the economic and social
      cohesion of the Community and the promotion of its                                                Article 1
      overall harmonious development, while being consistent
      with the pursuit of scientific and technical quality; whereas           1 . An exploratory Community action in the field of
      it is intended that the action for development of European              learning technologies, called Delta, is hereby adopted for a
     learning through technological advance (Delta) should                   maximum period of 24 months commencing 1 Tune
     contribute to the achievement of these objectives;                       1988 .
     Whereas the demand for education and training is steadily               2. The action is designed to stimulate incremental
     mounting,       increasing    in   diversity    and    requires         research and development which will enable new
     improvements in accessibility; whereas progress in learning             technologies to be incorporated in the tools and
     technology coincides with the emergence of advanced                     infrastructure supporting advanced learning, in particular
    communications services and equipment which can be                      open and distance learning, in the Community. The action
    harnessed, at incremental cost, to support learning and                 will be based on concertation with the corresponding
    thus to enable demand for training and retraining to be met             activities of the Member States of the Community, in order
    more economically ;                                                     to make available to the final users, at minimum cost and
                                                                            with minimum delay, the learning equipment and systems
                                                                            which will enable an increased demand for education,
    Whereas learning technology represents a strategically                  training and retraining to be met in the most economical
    important growth area for equipment and services                        way .
    world-wide, being the subject of strongly focussed
    development and investment efforts by other regions;
                                                                                                      Article 2
    Whereas national and Community actions in information
   technologies, telecommunications and standardization lay                The action shall consist of pre-normative and pre­
   the ground for introducing advanced learning support, yet               competitive technology exploration as required for the
   additional efforts will be required to realize the full                 objective of concerting European efforts in the field of
   potential of this new field ;                                           learning technology.
   Whereas the Council adopted, by Decision 86 / 365 /                    The field of application of the action includes:
   EEC (*), the Comett programme strengthening                             1 . learning systems research ;
   industry-university cooperation in education and training
  including the encouragement of distance learning, and the               2. collaborative development of advanced learning
  Comett programme would benefit from improvements in                            technology ;
  the technologies , tools, equipment and infrastructure
  required to support distance learning;                                  3 . testing and validation;
                                                                          4 . interoperability;
  Whereas preparatory investigations on behalf of the
  Commission have laid the groundwork for a programme of                  5 . investigation of related factors.
  work responding to the trends of expert opinion in the
  Member States; whereas the presentation of this work has
  attracted a full representation from academics, industry               The summary and objectives of Delta are set out in more
  and publishing; whereas a peer group of academic advisers              detail in Annex II .
  has contributed to the formulation of a preliminary plan of
 work;
                                                                                                     Article 3
 Whereas the Delta exploratory action will benefit from the
 results of Esprit and Race and well as the on-going efforts             1 . Projects relating to the programme shall be executed by
 in standardization ;                                                    means of shared cost contracts. Contractors shall be
                                                                         expected to bear a substantial proportion of the costs,
                                                                        which should normally be at least 50 % of the total
 Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research Committee                expenditure .
 (Crest) has expressed its opinion,
                                                                        Alternatively, in respect of universities and research
                                                                        institutes carrying out projects or actions, the Community
(>) OJ No L 222 , 8 . 8 . 1986 , p. 17.
                                                                        may bear up to 100 % of the additional expenditure
                                                                        involved .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                                                            30 . 7 . 88
No L 206 / 22                               Official Journal of the European Communities
                                                                                                     Article 6
2. The proposals for projects shall, as a rule, be submitted
in reply to an open invitation to tender and involve the
participation of at least two independent partners not all             1 . The Commission shall ensure that the exploratory
established in the same Member State . At least one of the             action is properly performed and establish the appropriate
partners shall be an industrial undertaking. Within each               implementation measures .
project , at least one partner should represent training or
learning interests . The invitation to tender shall be                 2 . The Commission shall establish a draft work plan
published in the Official Journal of the European                      defining the detailed objectives , the type of projects and
 Communities .                                                         actions to be undertaken and the corresponding financial
                                                                       plans .
 3 . In exceptional cases concerning projects indispensable
 for implementing key requirements of the work plan:                   3 . The procedure laid down in Article 8 shall apply to:
                                                                       — the establishment of the work plan referred to in
 — where a proposal would involve:
                                                                             paragraph 2 of this Article,
         (i) an unreasonable burden on the participants,
              particularly small and medium-sized enterprises          — any departure from the general conditions laid down in
              and research establishments ;                                  Article 3 ( 1 ) and (2 ),
        (ii ) only one independent partner ;                            — the measures to be undertaken to evaluate each part of
                                                                             the exploratory action by appropriate organizations,
       (iii) only independent partners established in the same               groups and other bodies,
              Member State , or
                                                                        — the assessment of the proposed projects and the
 ;— where an open tendering procedure would be                               estimated amount of the Community's financial
       unjustified on grounds of cost or efficiency , or                     contribution to them where this contribution is in
                                                                             excess of 0,4 million ECU ,
 — where the amount of Community's contribution to the
       cost does not exceed 0,25 million ECU .                          — the participation in any project by European
                                                                             organizations and enterprises as provided for in
                                                                             Article 4 .
  it may be decided , in accordance with the procedures laid
  down in Article 8 , to depart from the general provisions set         4 . The Commission may consult the Committee referred
  out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.                            to in Article 7 on any matter falling within the scope of this
                                                                        Decision .
  4 . The contracts for all parts of the action shall be
  concluded with undertakings, including small and
                                                                                                       Article 7
  medium-sized enterprises, publishing houses, universities,
  research establishments and other bodies established in the
  Community .
                                                                        The Commission shall be assisted in the performance of
                                                                        its tasks by a committee, hereinafter referred to as
                                                                        'the committee'.        The committee consisting of two
                                                                        representatives of each Member State, shall be set up by the
                               Article 4                                Commission on the basis of nominations by the Member
                                                                         States .
   Where framework agreements for scientific and technical
   cooperation between non-Community European countries                  Members of the committee may be assisted by experts or
   and the European Community have been concluded,                       advisers depending on the nature of the issues under
   organizations and enterprises established in these countries          consideration .
   may, in accordance with the procedures laid down in
   Articles 3 and 8 and on the basis of the criterion of mutual
   advantage, become partners to a project undertaken within             The committee shall be chaired by a commission
   this action .                                                         representative .
                                                                         The proceedings of the committee shall be confidential .
                               Article 5
                                                                         The committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure. The
                                                                         secretarial services shall be provided by the Commission .
   1 . The funds estimated as necessary for the Community
   contribution to the execution of the exploratory action                                             Article 8
   amount to 20 million ECU over a maximum period of
   24 months including expenditure on a staff of 12.
                                                                          1 . Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to be
                                                                          followed, the chairman shall refer the matter to the
    2 . The indicative allocation of these funds is set out in            committee, either on his own initiative or at the request of
    Annex 1 .                                                             one of its members .
 ---pagebreak---    30 . 7 . 88
                                          Official Journal of the European Communities                              No L 206 / 23
  2 . Under this procedure, the representative of the                3 . The abovementioned reports will be carried out in
  Commission, who acts as chairman, refers the draft of the          relation to the precise objectives set out in Annex II to this
  measures to be adopted to the committee . The committee            Decision and in conformity with the provisions of Article 2
  delivers an opinion within a time limit which shall normally       (2) of the framework programme.
  be one month and shall in no case exceed two months. The
  opinion is delivered by the majority specified in Article 148
  ( 2 ) of the Treaty for decisions which the Council is                                      Article 10
  required to adopt on a proposal from the Commission, the
  votes of the representatives of the Member States being            1 . With regard to the concertation activities provided for
  weighted as indicated in that Article. The chairman does          in Article 1 (2), the Member States and the Commission
  not vote .
                                                                    shall exchange all appropriate information to which they
                                                                    have access and which they are free to disclose concerning
 3 . The Commission shall adopt the measures envisaged if           activities in the areas covered by this Decision , whether or
 they are in accordance with the opinion of the committee.          not planned or carried out under their authority.
 If the measures envisaged are not in accordance with the           2. Information shall be exchanged according to a
 opinion of the committee, or if no opinion is delivered, the       procedure to be defined by the Commission after
 Commission shall , without delay, submit to the Council a          consulting the committee, and shall be treated as
 proposal relating to the measures to be taken . The Council        confidential at the supplier's request.
 shall act by a qualified majority.
 If, on the expiry of a period which may in no case exceed                                    Article 11
 two months from the date of referral to the Council , the
 Council has not acted , the proposed measures shall be             This Decision shall apply from 1 June 1988 .
adopted by the Commission for matters falling within
Article 6 ( 3 ).
                                                                                              Article 12
                           Article 9
                                                                    This Decision is addressed to the Member States .
1 . The result of the action shall be reviewed by the
Commission after 12 months. The Commission shall report
to the Council and the European Parliament on the results           Done at Luxembourg, 29 June 1988 .
of this review .
                                                                                                         For the Council
2. After the completion of the action, the Commission
shall send to Council and the European Parliament a report                                                 The President
on the performance and results of the action .                                                          H. RIESENHUBER
 ---pagebreak--- No L 206 / 24                              Official Journal of the European Communities                            30 . 7 . 88
                                                                  ANNEX I
                                         INDICATIVE INTERNAL ALLOCATION OF FUNDS
                                                                                  Estimated Community contribution
                                                                                            (million ECU )
             1.    Learning systems research (Activity I)                                         2,10
             2.    Collaborative development of advanced learning technology
                   ( Activity II )                                                                9,80
             2.1 . Learner environment
             2.2 . Authoring facility
             2.3 . Learning material production environment
             2.4. Tutoring and monotoring facilities
             2.5 . Information resource management
             3.    Testing and validation (Activity III )                                         2,70
             3.1 . Video-audio conferencing
             3.2 . Information and programme exchange system
             3.3 . Adaptation to ISDN
             3.4 . SOFT operational plan
             3.5 . Design and specification of a satellite educational channel
             3.6 . Controlled experimentation via SOFT
             4.    Interoperability (Activity IV)                                                 2,30
             4.1 . Identification of standards relevant to learning
             4.2 . Organizational support for learning standards
             5.     Investigation of related factors (Activity V)                                 0,85
             5.1 .  Fiscal treatment
             5.2 . Regulatory conditions
             5.3 . Telecommunications policy
             5.4 . Copyright and authors' rights
             Personnel costs                                                                       1,69
             Administration costs                                                                  0,56
                                                                            Total                20,00
 ---pagebreak--- 30 . 7 . 88                                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                       No L 206 / 25
                                                                    ANNEX II
                                                   SUMMARY AND OBJECTIVES DELTA
                                        (Developing European learning through technological advance)
            1 . Rationale
                  Modern society is undergoing a process of profound and rapid technological and social evolution.
                  Symptomatic of this are the explosive developments in information and telecommunication technologies
                  and their integration into complex information systems that span the globe. These systems represent the
                  nervous system of the emerging global economy. These developments have an impact on individuals,
                  institutions and governments, affecting what they do, how they do it, and how they relate to each other.'
                 Already there is evidence that the traditional approach to learning is bound to require a significant change in
                  adaptability to increasingly diversified learner needs to meet future demand. To meet this changing demand
                 entails, in parallel to the deployment of new tools of education and learning, some degree of adaptation on
                 the part of educators, both in the way their activity is organized and in their individual contributions to the
                 teaching process. It will also require adaptation on the part of educational publishers in order to take
                 advantage of the new tools to be developed. The Delta programme is directed to supporting technology and
                 tools. The active participation of educators, both in the definition and implementation, will be of crucial
                 importance for the success of this action. Delta focuses on the common learning support requirements
                 which
                 tasks .
                          will enable educators to exploit the new techniques for the benefit of their respective educational
                Europe has an excellent educational system and a high standing in learning technology research. However,
                seizing the opportunities offered by advanced learning technology will require concerted efforts of
                administrations, academics and industry, including publishers, (the 'main actors') of a sufficient scale and
                continuity .
                The creation of the internal market in this context, the strengthening of the international competitivity of
                industry and businesses as part of a policy for growth and employment, requires a concerted effort in the
                field of human resources at a Community level. Education and training — both initial and continuing
                have a fundamental role to play in relation to both the economic and social challenges.
                In the development and implementation of a Community strategy relating to human resources, the new
               technologies play a key role as a subject as well as an option for a more economic and flexible means of
               providing education and training. This is addressed by a set of actions focusing on key aspects in a specific
               manner. These programmes rely on today's technology for education and training.
               The complementary research and development into advanced techniques to support learning is the objective
               of the Delta action, which will focus on the development of new technologies, tools and infrastructures
               required to support distance learning. Specifically, Delta will exploit advances in information technology
               and telecommunications (IT&T) for the support of learning. In this way it will rely on synergy with other
               actions in the provision of education and training as well as on the Community actions in the field of
               information technology (Esprit), telecommunications (Race), IT&T standardization and the information
               market policy.
               Delta is based on the following considerations :
               — identifiable advances in IT&T can enrich and enhance education and training,
                    the high degree of commonality in basic learning requirements at the Community level bring about
                    economies of scale ,
                    action in this field will ensure a supply of leading-edge equipment and systems,
               — new opportunities will open up to the education profession in developing learning technology and their
                    application in learning and training,
                    a sound basis for concerted action is formed by past and on-going work in the field,
 ---pagebreak--- No L 206 / 26                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                       30.-7 . 88
                  — the opening of this innovative market will create opportunities for the Community IT&T sector,
                  — advances requiring the collaboration of several sector actors, in particular industry and
                      educationalists .
                  The rationale for the Delta programme is further based on the following:
                  — identifiable      milestones   in   the  technology   of personal      computing ,   home    entertainment,
                      telecommunications , and artificial intelligence present a unique opportunity for industrial
                      concertation ,
                  — the United States of America and Japan have gained experience over recent years in the effective use of
                      new technology in support of learning covering large geographic areas and populations,
                  — there is a risk that, without a common consistent approach , the effort of individual countries and
                       organizations would remain below critical size and fragmented ,
                  — Delta coincides with the second phase of Esprit, with Race, Comett , Brite efforts towards creating a
                       common information market and the first results of a common standardization policy in the field of
                       information technologies and telecommunications ,
                  — Delta combines short-term with longer-term objectives .
                  The content of the programme results from a series of strategic studies, and from consultations during 1984
                  and 1985 with experts drawn from the academic and user community and from the principal electronic
                  companies concerned within the Community. All those consulted have shown a high degree of interest and
                  conviction about the proposals .
                  The proposal identifies five main areas of action :
                  — concertation between the authorities, academics, the users and the industrial companies , including
                       publishers and information providers , to establish present and future learning support requirements ,
                  — cooperative development of technology appropriate to the progression through the three main stages
                       identified in the programme ,
                  — on-going testing and validation of the concepts on the basis of a shared resource ('test-bed') and selected
                       experimental implementations ,
                  — determined efforts to achieve a considerable degree of harmonization of the many standards and
                       practices which, in this field, would otherwise constitute a continuing obstacle to development and use,
                        by means of reinforcement of the on-going work,
                  — the promotion of favourable conditions for the development of learning technology and its use in open
                        learning. Measures which are proposed for further consideration include the reduction of the 'cost of
                        entry' for learners and companies, and of an appropriate regulatory regime facilitating the introduction
                        of new learning support techniques (open learning).
              2 . Objectives and deliverables
                   The development and application of advanced technology to learning will enable Europe to put into effect
                   the vast effort of training, retraining and continuous professional updating which could not otherwise be
                   undertaken on an economical basis .
                   To this end , the Delta programme seeks, via incremental R&D , to work with academia and industry so as
                   to harness , in the interest of learning, the identifiable advances in information technology and
                   telecommunications to be expected in future years. In the telecommunications area, the main milestones are
                   the advent of the integrated services digital network ( ISDN), followed, over the next decade , by a
                   broadband network ( IBC ). Other potent technological developments to be expected over the same time
                   scale are ever more powerful personal computers/ work stations, providing more economical processing of
                   data and images in real time; direct broadcasting by satellite (DBS); high definition television; more
                   powerful and economic techniques of storing information , and the increasing use of artificial intelligence
                   techniques of computing to complement the conventional methods and to assist both the structuring of
                   information and its accessing by the user .
                   As means towards this objective , Delta will undertake a concertation with the actors concerned — the
                   administrators, educators , industrial companies , publishers — in order to fully ascertain the requirements
                   which are then to be implemented in the course of the programme. Delta will build on the many relevant
                   activities of Member States in this field .
 ---pagebreak--- 30 . 7 . 88                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                         No L 206 / 27
               The requirements will be analysed in terms of the various sectors of the field which have been identified in
               the course of consultation during the preparatory phase as the most significant. The first of these is the
               learner environment, with the objective that the learner may be served in the future by the technological
               supports which best meet his/ her needs and aspirations. Delta envisages the learner in a number of possible
               scenarios: he/ she may be at home, or using a terminal or work station provided at the place of work; or
               he/ she may be using a dedicated work station related to the professional activity of the learner.
               In relation to the author, Delta seeks to provide that help and support which will enable the talents of the
               teaching profession to be deployed far more effectively than at present in the writing of learning material.
               Delta will not give financial support to the writing of learning course ware as such. (This task lies within the
               field of Comett.) Delta will seek rather to research and develop an environment, complete with all the
               required software tools, which will enable the author of multi-media course ware to call up the material
               required, by the use of standard commands and formats, so that it can then be passed on with optimal
               efficiency for putting into production .
              At the production stage, Delta's objective is to ensure that learning material is produced — i.e. made ready
              for delivery and/ or publication — at the very highest standards available.
              The learner of the future will be able, potentially, to acquire knowledge, by a process of discovery, to an
              extent hitherto impracticable. To this end, Delta will aim to establish a learner knowledge base, organized
              so as to encourage access by reference to content and context , and with the use of near-natural
              language .
              Delta will , as a complement to the technological thrust, aim to consider with the relevant authorities what
              help can be given to the demand side of learning, particularly as regards fiscal, regulatory and copyright
              matters .
              The goals of Delta , seen in this light, are to remedy the present shortcomings of European activities in the
             learning field i.e. :
              1 . to bring a medium or longer-term view to bear on European learning support;
             2. to provide the opportunity and the incentive for European producer organizations and publishers to
                    adopt common strategies in the learning field ;
             3 . to improve the accessibility and flexibility of systems to help both the learner and the author of learning
                    material ;
             4. to ensure a supply of learning material of good quality and able, technologically and economically, to
                    command a wide European market;
             5 . to this end, to achieve sufficient standardization to make learning material readily transportable as
                    between machines, including authoring stations and establishments;
             6. to assist the use of new techniques of transfer and delivery — in particular direct broadcasting by
                   satellite with video return channel — both by collaborative research and by the development of key
                   elements and interfaces, together with organizational assistance where a number of European
                   educational organizations require similar logistical and other support.
             Delta as an exploratory action:
            Delta, as an exploratory action designed to last for a maximum period of 24 months, will not have the
            resources or the time to meet the full range of these challenges . It seeks, therefore :
            (a) to test the approach to work collaboration on a European level within the framework envisaged bv
                   Delta ;
            (b) to validate the initial assumptions about the relations between the actors, the objectives and priorities
                   of work best suited for cooperation on a European level ;
            (c) to do initial work for the most promising activities to be undertaken in the future;
            (d) to provide tangible results as part of the exploratory action.
 ---pagebreak--- No L 206 / 28                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                      30 . 7 . 88
              The exploratory action will aim specifically at the following deliverables:
              1 . functional specifications for the categories of learner station referred to above and for the interfaces
                  which will enable them to link to the peripherals and other equipment of future systems;
              2. functional specifications for the equipment and the software required for the efficient operation of the
                  authoring and production activities ;
              3 . specification for the software and the hardware support which enable advanced knowledge bases to be
                  constructed, together with specifications for the access language;
              4 . early identification of the standards important to learning which require to be negotiated , and the
                  provision of the organizational framework whereby the learning input can be made to the ongoing
                  international discussions on standards ;
              5 . continuous monitoring by the assessment of progress towards the specific goals which will be built into
                  the detailed work programme .