ETRANET

Basic Information

Description

eTRANET will enable national governments and agencies from 13 countries to increase the national and European impact of their investment in RTD within the domain of 'ICT for Traditional Manufacturing Industries'. Itwill also provide the opportunity for par tners to collaborate on next generation futuristic R&D themes through exchanging best practice, carrying out joint studies/activities, exploiting synergies between programmes and pioneering new approaches to pan-European collaboration. A high-level Net work Policy Group of senior representatives from national government ministries/agencies will meet annually to steer the coordination actions and develop a common agenda for trans-national research. This common agenda will be articulated as a Joint Action Plan by the end of the third year and will be underpinned by pilot projects during the first three years. In addition, members of the Policy Group will prepare for trans-national activities by exploring possibilities for collaboration on specific thematic areas for futuristic RTD. eTRANET aims to launch at least one Joint Call for a trans-national research programme at a European Conference for domain researchers in year three. The consortium has a strong commitment to trans-national collaboration having or iginated from the Synergy Group of the EUREKA FACTORY Umbrella Programme and the TAFTIE Network (The Association For Technology Implementation in Europe). ERA-NET objectives of 'networking of research activities at a national level' and 'mutual opening of national research programmes' are clearly encompassed by eTRANET's five main objectives: 1. Information exchange, sharing best practice 2. Strategic activities between programmes, preparing for eTRANET expansion 3. Joint activities between partners 4. Tran s-national research activities 5. Management of ERA-NET activities, technical packages and information dissemination'.'