Excerpts from Fifth Framework draft programme

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The convergence between information processing, communication and content is increasingly important to all industrial and societal activities and are increasingly critical to Europe’s competitiveness and quality of life. The advent of the Information Society is opening up the possibility of a wide range of new activities, for both individuals and companies in the Community, in the fields of commerce, work, transport, environment, education and training, health and culture. Continuous efforts in relation to research, technological development and technology take-up are necessary to realise the full potential of the Information Society. The technological range of the key actions allows the possibility of dynamic concentration and flexible implementation of the activities, reflecting socio-economic priorities.

These efforts must, in all activities, tackle universal issues such as usability accessibility, interoperability, dependability and affordability as well as socio-economic impact.

1. Key actions
   1. Information Society (I): systems and services for the citizen
   2. Information Society (II): new methods of work and electronic commerce
   3. Information Society (III): multimedia content and tools
   4. Information Society (IV): essential technologies and infrastructures
2. Research and technological development activities of a generic nature
3. Support for research infrastructure

a) Key actions

i) Information Society (I): systems and services for the citizen

The aim of this key action is to provide users with easier access at the lowest cost to quality general-interest services and boost the industry providing these services. In this context, it will be based on the following priorities:

• As regards health: on computerised medical systems, on secure high-capacity health networks and telemedicine;

• As regards the elderly and the disabled: on advanced interfaces and on tele-systems to integrate the elderly and the disabled into society;

• As regards public administrations: on advanced multimedia systems and tele-systems to facilitate access to and provision of services of public interest;

• As regards the environment: on intelligent systems for analysis, surveillance, management and early warning and support systems for the humanitarian disposal of landmines;
  As regards transport on the advanced intelligent systems needed for management and associated tele-services, including systems for tourism;

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ii) Information Society (II): new methods of work and electronic commerce

The aim of this key action is to develop technologies to help companies operate more efficiently and to make trading in goods and services more efficient and improve working conditions and the quality of work. The priority topics will be:

• Flexible, mobile and remote working methods, for individuals and for cooperative and group working and working methods based on simulation and virtual reality, and analysis of social effects;

• Management systems for suppliers and consumers, including systems supporting mass customisation and interoperable and secure payment systems;

• Information and network security, including cryptography, techniques for combating and preventing piracy of computer sites, the technical means for authentication and the protection of integrity and intellectual property and privacy enhancing technologies;

• Integrated applications platforms, covering the whole of this programme, paving the way to "digital communities".

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iii) Information Society (III): multimedia content and tools

The aim of this key action is to facilitate life-long education and training, to stimulate creativity, facilitate linguistic and cultural diversity and improve the functionality and user-friendliness of future information products and services. The research will place the emphasis on the development of intelligent systems for education and training and of innovative forms of multimedia content, including audiovisual content, and tools for structuring and processing them. It will focus on four main lines:

• Interactive electronic publishing with new methods for creating and structuring publications and for the personalised dissemination of information and accessing of scientific, cultural and other items through networking of libraries, archives and museums;

• Education and training: systems, services and software enabling the development and demonstration of new methods using multimedia, broad-band communications, simulation and virtual reality;

• New language technologies, including interfaces, which help to make information and communications systems more user-friendly;

• Advanced technologies for accessing, filtering, analysing and processing information to help manage the information explosion and facilitate the use of multimedia contents, notably as regards geographical information systems.

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iv) Information Society (IV): essential technologies and infrastructures

The aim of this key action is to promote excellence in the technologies which are crucial to the Information Society, to speed up their introduction and broaden their field of application. This action will focus as a matter of priority on:

• Computing, communication and network technologies, including broadband networks, together with their implementation, management, interoperability and application;

• Technologies and engineering for software systems and services including high-quality statistics;

• Real-time and large scale simulation and visualisation technologies;

• Mobile and personal communications and systems, including satellite-related systems and services;

• Interfaces making use of the various senses;

• Peripherals, subsystems and microsystems;

• Micro-electronics (technologies, tools, equipment and hardware necessary for the design and manufacture of circuits and the development of applications).

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b) Research and technological development activities of a generic nature

To make it possible to develop, from a visionary perspective, future and emerging technologies with a potential impact of industry and society, research topics could include, in a non-prescriptive way:

• Technologies for the representation, creation and handling of knowledge;

• Nanoscale, quantum, photonic, bio-electronic technologies, and technologies for very large scale integration: ultra-high performance computers and super-intelligent networks.

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c) Support for research infrastructure

The priority is to provide support for the advanced high-speed computer systems needed for research in all fields of science and technology, including in the global context of the development of the INTERNET.

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Member States shall continue to have responsibility for the promotion and expansion of national networks and infrastructure. The role of the European Community shall be to provide added value to promote further opening, networking and interoperability.