CELEX: 51988PC0386
Language: en
Date: 1988-07-27
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION CONCERNING A COMMUNITY PROGRAMME IN THE FIELD OF STRATEGIC ANALYSIS, FORECASTING AND EVALUATION IN MATTERS OF RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY ( 1988-1992 ) MONITOR

N o C 29/4                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                   4. 2. 89
                                                              II
                                                      (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
             Proposal for a Council Decision concerning a Community programme in the field of strategic
                   analysis, forecasting an evaluation in matters of research and technology (Monitor)
                                                        (1988 to 1992)
                                               COM(88) 386 final — SYN 147
                                       (Submitted by the Commission on 29 July 1988)
                                                         (89/C 29/04)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                          and renewing of long term and strategic analysis and
                                                                  technological assessment:
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European             Whereas the growing impact of science and technology
Economic Community, an in particular Article 130 Q (2)            on social and economic life reinforces, as underlined by
thereof,                                                          the Economic and Social Committee, the role and utility
                                                                  of long term analysis of the social and economic conse-
                                                                  quences of developments in science and technology in
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                the highlighting of choices in matters of R D T ;
                                                                  Whereas in 1987 the European Parliament approved, on
In cooperation with the European Parliament,                      an experimental basis, the setting up of an assessment
                                                                  body of scientific and technological options (STOA:
                                                                  Scientific and Technological Options Assessment) and
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                  given     the importance       of    cooperation   between
Social Committee,                                                 Community institutions at this level;
                                                                  Whereas several important initiatives have been taken in
Whereas Article 130 K of the Treaty states that the               the Member States in matters of programme evaluation,
framework programme should be implemented through                 forecasting and technology assessment;
specific programmes developed within each activity;
                                                                  Whereas the Commission, in carrying out its duties
                                                                  regarding evaluation of R & D activities, must have the
Whereas by its Decision of 28 September 1987 (') the              support of reliable methods, appropriate indicators and a
                                                                  network of experienced European specialists in order
Council has adopted a framework programme of
                                                                  that the effectiveness of its evaluations and its capability
Community research and technological development
                                                                  to measure the impact of R & D activities are improved;
(1987 to 1991), providing for activities in the fields of
forecasting and assessment in science and technology
                                                                  Whereas the evaluation report of FAST II has been
and in evaluation of programmes;
                                                                  taken into account;
                                                                  Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research
Whereas, for the selection of Community actions, the              Committee (Crest) has been consulted on the following
framework programme sets out criteria among which is              measures,
that of contributing to the strengthening of economic
and social cohesion of the Community, consistent with
the pursuit of scientific and technical quality;                  HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
                                                                                            Article 1
Whereas the Single European Act enters the European
                                                                  A specific research, and technological development
Communities into a phase of European construction —
                                                                  programme for the European Economic Community in
notably in scientific, technological and industrial
                                                                  the field of strategic analysis, forecasting and evaluation
cooperation — and therefore calls for a strengthening
                                                                  in matters of research and technology (Monitor), as
                                                                  defined in the Annex is hereby adopted for a period of
(') OJ No L 302, 24. 10. 1987, p. 1.                              five years from 1 January 1988.
 ---pagebreak--- 4. 2. 89                                   Official Journal of the European Communities                                     No C 29/5
                             Article 2                                  implementation by a Management and Coordination
The amount deemed necessary for the execution of the                    Advisory Committee (CGC), which shall be set up in
programme is ECU 22 million, including expenditure on                   accordance with the provisions laid down in Council
a staff of 12 to 27 persons (six A, two B, four C for                   Decision 84/338/Euratom, ECSC, EEC (').
1988; 12 A, two B, eight C for 1989; 15 A, two B, 10 C
for 1990 to 1992) and costs associated with researchers                 2.     The contracts entered into by the Commission shall
seconded from Member States to a maximum of 47 man                      regulate the rights and obligations of each party,
years.                                                                   including the methods of disseminating, protecting and
                                                                        exploiting the research results.
                             Article 3
Detailed rules for the implementation of the programme
and the rate of the Community's financial participation                                             Article 6
are set out in the Annex.                                               The Commission is authorized to negotiate, in
                             Article 4                                   accordance with Article 130 N of the EEC Treaty,
                                                                         agreements with international organizations, those
1.     In the third year of the programme implementation,
                                                                         non-member        States      participating    in   European
the Commission shall undertake a review of the
                                                                         cooperation in the field of scientific and technological
programme and it shall report to the Council and the
                                                                         research (COST) and those European countries having
European Parliament on the results thereof, together, if
                                                                         concluded framework agreements in scientific and
necessary, with any proposals for modification or
                                                                         technical cooperation with the Community, with a view
prolongation.
                                                                         to associating them wholly or partly with the
2.     An evaluation of the results achieved shall be                    programme.
conducted by the Commission, which shall report
thereon to the Council and the Parliament.
                                                                         Where framework agreements for scientific and technical
3.     The abovementioned reports shall be established                   cooperation between non-Member States and the
having regard to the objectives set out in the Annex to                  European Communities have been concluded, organiz-
this Decision and in conformity with the provisions of                   ations and enterprises established in those countries may
Article 2 (2) of the framework programme.                                participate in a project undertaken within this
4.     The Commission will regularly inform — but                        programme.
particularly in the first half of 1990 and the end of 1991
— the Council and the Parliament of the state of its ac-                                            Article 7
tivities.
                                                                         This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
                             Article 5
 1.    The Commission shall be responsible for the
execution of the programme and shall be assisted in its                  0) OJ No L 177, 4. 7. 1984, p. 25.
                                                                 ANNEX
               COMMUNITY PROGRAMME IN THE FIELD OF STRATEGIC ANALYSIS, FORECASTING AND
                          EVALUATION IN MATTERS OF RESEARCH AN TECHNOLOGY (MONITOR)
               I. AIMS AND ACTIVITIES
                 1. The purpose of the programme is to be instrumental in identifying new directions and priorities for the
                    Community research and technological development policy and to help show more clearly the
                    relationships between it and the other common policies.
                    It involves factual and strategic analysis and forecasting relating to the scientific and technological
                    environment and its interaction with economic and social developments.
                 2. It comprises three activities:
                    — Strategic and impact analysis (SAST),
                    — FAST forecasting,
                    — Research and studies to improve methodologies and effectiveness of evaluation of R & D activities
                        (Spear).
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 29/6                               Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s                  4. 2. 89
           II. C O N T E N T AND W O R K I N G M E T H O D S
           Strategic and impact analysis (SAST)
             3. The SAST activities consist of carrying out 'targeted' analyses in, a scientific field, technology sector, or
                a challenging theme. The aim is to show the options available to the Commission's science and tech-
                nology policy and interactions with other policies as well as the way in which the different concerned
                actors (industrialists, certain local public authorities, Member and non-member States, social groups,
                etc.) situate themselves with regard to the options.
             4. These activities consist of:
                (a) the preparation of reports on the prospects for development and the strengths and weaknesses of
                     the European Community, a group of countries in the Community, particularly with respect to
                     R & D structures, a high technology sector, a scientific field or in relation to important changes in
                     other countries' science and technology policies, particularly those outside the Community;
                (b) the carrying out of technology assessments into the state of development of a technology and its
                     future evolution, constraints to innovation, industrial and socio-economic impact within the
                     Community (by sector, region, etc.), requirements in terms of R & D and investment financing etc;
                     and
                (c) the preparation of reports of strategic analyses ('Strategic dossiers') shedding light, for a given
                     problem, on alternatives open to the European Community and proposing precise orientations for
                     action.
             5. The Commission will establish an annual calendar of priority activities which will be adopted after
                consultation with the CGC.
           FAST forecasting
             6. The FAST forecasting activities are a reoriented follow-up to previous FAST programmes: they include
                study of scientific and technological changes and their many interactions with economic and social
                changes. Their aim is to provide the Commission with global analyses and long term projections. The
                projections are to be useful in relation to the Community's major objectives for the 1990s, namely the
                creation of a single internal market and strengthening economic and soical cohesion within the
                Community, and in the light of worldwide economic and social developments.
             7. Forecasting includes:
                (a) the preparation of reports ('Forecasting dossiers') on major topics or phenomena of a global
                     character. The choice of these topics will depend on their relevance and significance in relation to
                     the objectives of the common RDT policy. They may extend beyond the strictly European
                     framework;
                (b) the undertaking of studies of the implications and consequences of selected scientific and technical
                     developments which present important challenges for society in the fucture;
                (c) the synthesis and critical analysis of the main forecasting studies published worldwide;
                (d) the preparation every two years of a report on the economic and social implications of tech-
                     nological change, particularly in Europe.
             8. These activities will be defined according to a biennial work programme established by the
                Commission in consultation with the CGC.
             9. These activities will involve the participation of experts and working groups from outside the
                Commission under the responsibility and guidance of the FAST team in consultation with other
                concerned Commission services (including, where necessary, officials from other Directorates-General
                seconded to the FAST team for limited periods) and visiting scientists on secondment from the
                Member States or even from non-member countries.
                In addition, the activities under (a) and (b) will be organized in such a way as to ensure the broadest
                and most efficient possible interaction between the actors involved. T o that end the Council, the
                Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee will be regularly informed of the results of these
                activities.
            10. FAST forecasting activities are also intended to continue to stimulate the development of European
                forecasting efforts and expertise. T o this end it will be necessary to reinforce the FAST '12 -I- 1'
                network (comprising the 12 national FAST units nominated by the Member States to ensure inter-
                action between Community activities and similar work undertaken in their own countries) and to
 ---pagebreak--- 4. 2. 89                              Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s               No C 29/7
              encourage the setting up of an informal network of European 'prospectivists'.
         Activities in support of the evaluation of R & D Programmes (Spear)
         11. Research and studies in support of evaluation of R & D activities at the Community level are intended
              to improve the theoretical and methodological bases, as well as the methods of organization and
              management of Community, national and international R & D programmes. They will also analyse and
              improve the effectiveness and impact of R & D activities, and support the evaluation 'plan of action'.
         12. T o this end, the Spear activities comprise:
              — the preparation, in conformity with the evaluation plan of action (') of four to five horizontal
                  evaluations of certain activities common to Community, national or international research in order
                  to analyse their impact and identify means to improve their effectiveness at Community level. This
                  covers analyses of methods of support and of management of national and Community research,
              — research actions into methodologies of evaluation of R & D programmes in order to- increase their
                  utility and make them more credible to their users. This will be in conformity with Articles 5, 6 and
                  7 of the plan of action referenced above.
                  In particular it must:
                  — improve methods for evaluations which cover at the same time Community and related national
                       R & D programmes,
                  — stimulate research into the methodology of evaluation and its use in Member States,
                  — develop quantitative indicators that can describe the quality and utility of research and its
                       contribution to the Community's economic and social development, and
                  — prepare guidelines for the carrying out of R & D programme evaluations in the light of the
                       European experience.
         13. The Commission will establish an annual calendar of priority activities which will be adopted after
              consultation with the CGC.
         III. IMPLEMENTATION
         14. The preceding paragraphs define the aims of the various activities. They specify the products and
              services expected and the appropriate working methods.
              Given the different nature of these activities, and their specificity, implementation will include:
              — involving in the abovementioned activities, research centres or research teams from the Community
                  countries specializing in strategic and impact analyses, forecasting and evaluation of R & D
                  programmes, especially by setting up networks, organizing workshops, seminars, etc.,
              — the setting up of two '12 + 1' networks, one linked to FAST forecasting, the other to Spear. Their
                  objectives will be the exchange and diffusion of information, promotion within the Community of
                  more effective means of forecasting and of evaluation of R & D , and also the exploitation of
                  results, and
              — secondment of visiting scientists from national institutions and governments to take part in the
                  various activities.
              The financial contribution of the Community towards these activities could be up to 1 0 0 % of
              necessary expenditures.
         (') See action plan in OJ No C 14, 20. 1. 1987, pp. 5 to 8.