Archive:Science, technology and digital society statistics introduced

Latest update of text: September 2016. Planned article update: September 2017.

European Union (EU) statistics in the fields of science, technology and innovation cover a range of issues, most notably: research and development (R & D) statistics, statistics on human resources in science and technology, innovation statistics, and statistics on intellectual property rights.

EU information society statistics mainly come from a pair of surveys of ICT usage, one of which focuses on households and individuals while the other focuses on enterprises. Statistics on the information society benchmark ICT-driven developments in enterprises and society: these annual surveys follow developments for core variables over time and look in greater depth at other aspects at a specific point in time. While the surveys initially concentrated on access and connectivity issues, their scope has subsequently been extended to cover a variety of subjects (for example, e-government and e-commerce) and socioeconomic analysis, such as regional diversity, gender specificity, age, educational differences and the individual’s employment situation in the household survey, or an analysis by enterprise size (small, medium-sized and large enterprises) in the enterprise survey.

Science and technology

Science is part of almost every aspect of our lives: at the flick of a switch, we have light; when we are ill, medicines help us get better; when we want to talk to a friend we just pick up the telephone or send a text message or e-mail. Europe has a long tradition of excellence in research and innovation, having been the birthplace of the industrial revolution. The EU is a world leader in a range of cutting-edge industrial sectors, for example, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications or aerospace.

R & D is often considered as one of the driving forces behind growth and job creation. However, its influence extends well beyond the economic sphere, as it can potentially — among others — resolve environmental or international security threats, ensure safer food, or lead to the development of new medicines to prevent and fight illness and disease.

International statistics

Official European statistics on science and technology provide a leading example of cooperation activities between international statistical organisations. In the domain of R & D statistics a joint survey produced by the OECD and Eurostat is used, which is based on the collection of information following guidelines laid out in the Frascati manual.

As regards human capital, Eurostat participated — with the OECD and UNESCO — in the first two rounds (2006 and 2009) of a joint international survey aimed at developing internationally comparable indicators on the careers and mobility of doctorate (PhD) holders (CDH statistics).

Within the domain of innovation statistics, Eurostat conducts a Community innovation survey, which is based on the guidelines laid out within the Oslo manual (jointly produced with other European Commission services and the OECD).

In the framework of the International Patent Statistics Task Force (bringing together the European Patent Office (EPO), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the OECD, the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and the United States National Science Foundation (NSF)), Eurostat has worked towards the improvement of PATSTAT as the main provider of patent data. PATSTAT is a harmonised database held by EPO and covering WIPO and EPO patent applications and USPTO patents granted (besides data from more than 70 other national patent offices). In 2014, and in order to address officially issues related to the measurement and analysis of the broader bundle of intellectual property (IP) rights, the International Patent Statistics Task Force officially became the International IP Statistics Task Force, integrating IP Australia (IPA) and the United Kingdom's Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) as full members; the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) is also a member. In the same year, Eurostat started the production of Community trademarks and designs data to complement patent data by showing the statistics of these non-technological based IP rights protection methods.

Innovation union and the innovation union scoreboard

In October 2010, the European Commission launched a Europe 2020 flagship initiative titled ‘Innovation union’ (COM(2010) 546 final) which sets out a strategic approach to a range of challenges like climate change, energy and food security, health and an ageing population. The proposals seek to use public sector intervention to stimulate the private sector and to remove bottlenecks which stop ideas reaching the market (such as access to finance, fragmented research systems and markets, under-use of public procurement for innovation, and speeding-up harmonised standards and technical specifications). In March 2013, the European Commission released the ‘State of the innovation union 2012 — accelerating change’ (COM(2013) 149 final), which reviewed progress made with respect to the 34 commitments made in the innovation union. This review concluded that more than 80 % of commitments were on track (at that time). In June 2014, the European Commission released a Communication titled ‘Research and innovation as sources of renewed growth’ (COM(2014) 339 final) and this was accompanied by an updated report on the ‘State of the innovation union — taking stock 2010–2014’. For more information, see the article on innovation statistics.

The innovation union scoreboard (formerly the innovation scoreboard) is used to monitor the implementation of the innovation union. This tool aims to provide a comparative assessment of the performance of the EU Member States, including also data for a number of EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), candidate countries (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey), other neighbours (Israel and Ukraine), as well as 10 global competitors ^[1] and the relative strengths and weaknesses of their research and innovation systems. The 2016 scoreboard was based on 25 research and innovation-related indicators grouped into three main categories and eight innovation dimensions, covering:

enablers such as human resources, finance and support, open and excellent research systems;
activities of enterprises, such as investment, linkages and entrepreneurship, or intellectual assets; and
outputs, such as innovators and economic effects.

Horizon 2020 — the framework programme

While most research within the EU is funded on a national level by private and public sources, since their launch in 1984, the EU’s framework programmes for research have played a leading role in multidisciplinary research activities.

Horizon 2020 is the framework programme for research and innovation for the period running from 2014 through to 2020, building upon the seventh framework programme for research and technological development (FP7), the competitiveness and innovation framework programme (CIP) and the European institute of innovation and technology (EIT). By coupling research and innovation, Horizon 2020 emphasises excellent science, industrial leadership and tackling societal challenges. The goal is to ensure Europe produces world-class science, removes barriers to innovation and makes it easier for the public and private sectors to work together to deliver innovation. This framework programme will be complemented by further measures to complete and further develop the ERA. These measures will aim to break down barriers to create a genuine single market for knowledge, research and innovation. In December 2013, Regulation 1291/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing Horizon 2020 was adopted along with Council Regulation (Euratom) 1314/2013 on the research and training programme of the European Atomic Energy Community, together making up Horizon 2020. These were accompanied by further legislation concerning, for example:

the rules for participation;
the specific programme (setting out objectives and implementation rules, the duration of the programme and the means deemed necessary) for Horizon 2020;
and amendments concerning the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.

The total budget for Horizon 2020 is EUR 80 billion, with close to two fifths (39 %) planned for work related to societal challenges, close to one third (32 %) for work related to excellent science (mainly through the European Research Council), and more than one fifth (22 %) for work related to industrial leadership. Work programmes cover two years: the current work programme is for 2016 and 2017.

European Research Area

The European Research Area (ERA) was launched at the Lisbon European Council in March 2000. The ERA aims to ensure open and transparent trade in scientific and technical skills, ideas and know-how. Europe’s research efforts are often described as being fragmented along national and institutional lines. Indeed, individual EU Member States may find it difficult to play a leading role in important areas of scientific and technological advance as research is increasingly complex, interdisciplinary and expensive.

The ERA was given new impetus in April 2007 with the European Commission’s Green paper on the European Research Area: new perspectives (COM(2007) 161 final). In May 2008, the ERA was re-launched as part of what has become known as the Ljubljana process, including specific initiatives for five different areas: researchers’ careers and mobility; research infrastructures; knowledge sharing; research programmes; and international science and technology cooperation. As a result, in the years through to 2020, the ERA will aim to establish a single European labour market for researchers, as well as single markets for knowledge and for innovative goods and services. Furthermore, the ERA should aim to: encourage trust and dialogue between society and the scientific and technological community; benefit from a strong publicly-supported research and technology base and world-class research infrastructures and capacities across Europe; provide for the joint design of research, education and innovation policies; address major challenges through strategic partnerships; and enable Europe to speak with one voice to its main international partners.

International cooperation forms an integral part of the EU’s scientific policy, which includes programmes to enhance Europe’s access to worldwide scientific expertise, attract top scientists to work in Europe, contribute to international responses to shared problems, and put research at the service of EU external and development policies. In December 2008, the Competitiveness Council adopted a 2020 vision for the ERA, which foresees the introduction of a ‘fifth freedom’ for the EU’s internal market — namely, the free circulation of researchers, knowledge and technology.

In July 2012, a Communication from the European Commission titled ‘A reinforced European Research Area Partnership for Excellence and Growth’ (COM(2012) 392 final) was released. This aims to promote a significant improvement in Europe’s research performance, stimulating growth and job creation.

In May 2015 the ERA Roadmap 2015–20 was adopted. This had been prepared by the European Research Area and Innovation Committee (ERAC), ERA Related Groups and organisations which make up the ERA Stakeholder Platform. The purpose of the Roadmap is to identify a limited number of key implementation priorities which are likely to have the biggest impact on Europe’s science, research and innovation systems. The priorities include: effective national research systems; jointly addressing grand challenges; making optimal use of public investments in research infrastructures; an open labour market for researchers; gender equality and gender mainstreaming in research; optimal circulation and transfer of scientific knowledge; international cooperation.

Information society

Information and communication technologies (ICT) affect people’s everyday lives in many ways, both at work and in the home, for example when communicating or buying online. ICT has been one of the main drivers of changes within society and businesses for more than a decade.

A digital agenda for Europe and a digital single market

The policy context for ICT is a European Commission Communication concerning ‘A digital agenda for Europe’ (COM(2010) 245 final/2), which presented a strategy to promote a thriving digital economy in the EU by 2020. The digital agenda for Europe is one of seven flagships initiatives under the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The agenda outlines seven priority areas for action — see the article on information society for more detail — including the creation of a digital single market.

Indeed, one of the main priorities of the College of Commissioners that entered into office in 2014 is to focus on the creation of a digital single market, with the objectives of: establishing common data protection rules, reforming regulation concerning telecommunications, copyright and online purchases by consumers; making it easier for innovators to start their own company; boosting digital skills and learning. A long-term strategy for the digital single market was proposed by the European Commission in its Communication (COM(2015) 192 final) in May 2015. This strategy is based on three pillars: remove existing barriers; high-quality infrastructure; the European digital economy and society.

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Notes

↑ Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and the United States.

[1] Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and the United States.

[1]