ACTIVITIES :: IS Policy Link

Linking Information Society Projects to European Policies

This activity has now been completed.

However much of the information remains relevant and therefore remains here for your consultation.

HIGHLIGHTS

New Brochures: i2010 Flagship Initiatives; Education; Employment; Health; Inclusion; Regions; Transport
Policy Interfaces meeting: 20 October 2006
New Organisational Working Concepts for European SMEs' Competitiveness Workshop, 11 May 2006: Presentations

- Second Phase Results (2006) including printed material
- First Phase Results (2005)
- Policy Interfaces: DG INFSO and Policy DGs
- IS Policy Workshops

The Information Society promises potentially significant benefits throughout Europe’s economy and society. To ensure this promise is fulfilled, the Information Society Policy Link, a DG INFSO initiative launched in 2004, is linking Information Society projects with relevant European policies as diverse as environmental protection, security and health.

Information Society projects funded by the EU's various relevant programmes offer many benefits throughout Europe’s economy and society. These benefits will not be realised completely, however, if the technologies are not linked closely to European policymaking in the relevant areas.

Hence “Information Society Policy Link” where these cutting-edge projects are connected to the relevant policies, helping Europe both better implement today’s policies and ensure that policy development takes the possibilities offered by ICTs into account.

More than 3,000 projects from DG Information Society and Media programmes (Information Society Technologies, eContent, eTEN and Safer Internet) have been analysed, and interfaces between the various EC Directorates-General are being forged. Information Society project consortia, moreover, will be able to both inform the European policy community about relevant technological developments in different policy areas and raise awareness of their specific projects’ activities and results.

Second phase results

Work on the original ISPL material has resulted in a new range of brochures, including policy areas not previously covered (transport etc). More FP6 projects have been incorporated, as has mention of longer-term initiatives of the Commission, such as i2010. Indeed there are three brochures dedicated to the flagship initiatives of i2010. Printed versions of all this literature are available - please contact INFSO-IS-Policy-Link@ec.europa.eu.

The initiative will continue with further refining of information, expanding actions to all policy areas and launching targeted promotions to policy makers in Europe, mainly addressed to Commission services but also to MEPs and concerned public administrations in the Member states.

First phase results

The Information Society Policy Link exercise, with the support of all INFSO units and pilot policy DGs, led to the identification of several promising INFSO projects and candidate success stories covering a broad spectrum of ICT applications to EU policy areas. The findings were published under the Information Society Policy Link series, along with the factsheets for each policy. An overview leaflet outlining the scope of the initiative was also printed.

Policy Interfaces between DG INFSO and Policy DGs

The first phase of the “Information Society Policy Link” initiative was marked by a Policy Interfaces Meeting between DG INFSO and policy DGs on 17 February 2005, see agenda . A second meeting took place on 20 October 2006, see agenda . The policy interfaces aim at improving co-operation and co-ordination between DG INFSO and all other policy DGs, EU institutions (in particular European Parliament), as well as appropriate services in Member States. These interfaces operate both at plenary and thematic levels, though DGs can participate all together or be organised in thematic groups focussed on specific issues such us public health, environment, security, etc.

IS Policy Workshops

Among other promotional actions, a series of IS Policy Workshops is being organised where project consortia funded by Information Society and Media programmes have the opportunity to meet EU policy makers and discuss best ways to explore their results for the benefit of EU policies.