The Specific Programme “Cooperation” addresses the need to strengthen competitiveness and underpin EU policies through gaining leadership in key scientific and technological areas. This need will be met by supporting research cooperation of the highest level of excellence between universities, industry, research centres and public authorities across the European Union as well as the rest of the world.

The value added will be to bring together resources, disciplines, scientific excellence, thus achieving critical mass, learning and synergies which could not be attained at national level.

The better integration of European R&D will be achieved through,

• improved coordination of national policies,
• EU wide dissemination of results,
• creation of pan-European research teams and networks , and
• addressing pan-European policy challenges,

The overarching aim is to contribute to sustainable development within the context of promoting research at the highest level of excellence. The objective is to support transnational co-operation in a number of thematic areas corresponding to major fields of the progress of knowledge and technology, where research must be supported and strengthened to address European social, economic, environmental and industrial challenges.

The nine themes determined for EU action are the following:

(1) Health;

(2) Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology;

(3) Information and Communication Technologies;

(4) Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production

Technologies;

(5) Energy;

(6) Environment (including Climate Change);

(7) Transport (including Aeronautics);

(8) Socio-economic Sciences and the Humanities;

(9) Security and Space.

Performance indicators will be developed at three levels:

• Quantitative and qualitative indicators to show the path or direction of scientific and technical progress, such as new standards and tools, scientific techniques, patent applications and licence agreements, new products, processes and services.
• Management indicators to monitor performance internally []
• Outcome (impact) indicators to assess the overall effectiveness of the research against high level objectives. These could include [] e.g. impact on the achievement of the Lisbon, Goeteborg, Barcelona and other objectives and []e.g. contribution made to the EU S&T and economic performance.

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Extract from

COM(2005) 440 final/2: Amended proposal for a COUNCIL DECISION concerning the Specific Programme “Cooperation”