The Open Scheme of Future and Emerging Technologies (FET Open)
Pekka Karp and Jacques Lacombe1, 2
Future
and Emerging Technologies (FET) described in this paper is a part of the
Information Society Technologies Programme (IST) of the newly started Fifth
Framework Programme for RTD3. The purpose
of FET is to promote the emergence of new breakthrough ideas and research in
information technologies. To this end, FET uses two complementary approaches,
one very broad (the 'open scheme'), the other focused on a few themes (the
'proactive initiatives'). We present here the opportunities that the open scheme
provides for the European research and development of biomedical technologies4.
As the modalities of participation to FET have been tailored to meet the variety
of the research fields involved, we also give an account of how to submit a
proposal to this specific part of the programme.
1. What is FET?
The IST programme endeavours to support the growth of a user-friendly information society in Europe. For this purpose, it focuses on four inter-related key actions encouraging research that could find applications within a five-year horizon. However, in order to ensure the emergence of new ideas and the yet unexplored research domains of tomorrow, it is recognised that there is a need to balance and complement the key actions with a more visionary and exploratory initiative. This is the purpose of Future and Emerging Technologies (FET).
Specifically, the purpose of FET is to promote research that is of a long-term nature or involves particularly high risks - compensated for by the promise of major advances and the potential of industrial or societal impact. It does so by looking with an open mind towards the horizon of emerging research opportunities. It can be seen as the 'nursery' of novel and emergent ideas, some of which may become the mainstream topics of the future. As such, FET is not constrained by the priorities of the key actions but rather aims to open new possibilities and set new trends for future research programmes.
As already summarised in the introduction, FET aims to fulfil its function by utilising two complementary approaches: one proactive, the other receptive and open. The first of these, the so-called proactive scheme, has a strategic character, setting the agenda for a small number of specific areas that hold particular promise for the future5. The other, the so-called open scheme, employs the opposite approach - it has no 'top-down' prescription whatsoever and is open, at any time, to the broadest possible spectrum of ideas as they come directly 'from the roots'.
2. What is FET Open?
The purpose of FET Open is to enable any range of ideas for future and emerging technologies to be explored and realised. The scheme is open at any time to the widest possible spectrum of research opportunities that relate to information society technologies.
FET Open offers funding for work that could lead to breakthroughs or major advances, in particular:
- The realisation of bold ideas that would involve high risks, or
- High-quality long-term research with sound objectives
It aims to remove some of the obstacles that can hinder the realisation of such work, with a specific funding scheme.
The widest possible spectrum of research opportunities, at any time
The evolution of the information society involves the interplay of a range of technological, social and economic elements. Technologies for the Information Society do not exist in a vacuum-they co-evolve in a complex manner with other societal and economic factors. It is a quickly moving field with many inter-relationships. Keeping the door open to the latest ideas as they arise from grass-root level, and allowing the best of these to be realised, helps aim funding at leading developments. For these reasons, FET is open to any idea related to information society technologies. It not only includes the development of new technologies, but also encompasses new ways of doing things as well as creating new concepts and roles for technology. Proposals are receivable at any time, for practically the entire duration of the programme.
Bold ideas that would involve high risks
In reality, many breakthroughs have depended on sparks of the imagination that resulted in leaps and bounds that were inherently unpredictable. Sometimes new ideas can seem to be 'crazy' or impractical; yet trying out what seems to be risky can often materialise into 'new things', or 'new ways of doing things' that can ultimately become trend-setting. For this reason, it is important to have an environment within which invention and creativity can thrive. Therefore, FET is open to considering bold ideas the realisation of which would involve high risks. The philosophy is to let people try things out - even if based only on a dream or hunch - in the hope of leading to something concrete in the future. In this context, there is no distinction as to how far or how close to the market an idea might be - the important issue is the potential that it has for leading to a breakthrough.
Long-term research with sound objectives
At the same time, it would be wrong to think that it is only 'wild' ideas that lead to major advances. Good, sound ideas can often take a long time and a lot of research in order to come to fruition - they too lead to major advances in the longer term. This is often the case with research work of a generic nature that could ultimately underpin a wide range of application areas. It is also true that one idea leads to another and that progress sometimes comes from the accumulation of many small innovations (for example, innovative super-efficient algorithms). Many ideas may thus have matured past the 'wild phase' and been tested and proved valid to some degree, but still need persistent and long-term work in order to take them to levels acceptable for industrial or commercial take-up.
What FET Open is not
Work that is of a small incremental nature that holds little promise of a significant breakthrough should not be submitted to FET Open. Neither should research that is short term with low risk, nor research with little prospect for impact. In addition, it should be noted that within the IST programme 'each Key Action will, as appropriate, have a balance of the complete range of RTD activities from basic research to demonstration and take-up actions'. Basic research proposals that meet the specific objectives of a particular action line of the IST work programme are therefore best submitted to the corresponding key action.
Removing the obstacles
Transforming highly creative, new ideas into reality involves high risks. Often, obstacles - such as cultural or financial ones - can stop these being tried out. For example, it can be practically meaningless or impossible to calculate a 'risk' and thus assess a 'return on investment' for some ideas, which in turn can significantly diminish the credibility of the idea to sponsors or investors. Other obstacles can include the significant effort and longer-term investment that may be needed in order for certain concepts to take form. Alternatively, work that is of a highly generic nature can give the impression of not being sufficiently targeted, thus reducing its immediate appeal for investment; yet, given the opportunity, such work could mature and later impact on a large number of areas. By offering the flexible funding scheme described below, FET Open aims to help overcome some of these obstacles.
3. Projects in FET Open
Different ideas may be best implemented in different ways: in certain cases, a concept has to be quickly tested to see if in reality it holds promise; in other cases, it may be natural to directly proceed with a full-scale research test. For this reason, FET Open offers the possibility of funding:
- assessment projects (typically of a duration of up to 1 year, with funding given in the form of a lump-sum);
- full-scale research projects (typically of a duration of up to 3 years, with a standard research contract);
or a combination of these.
An assessment project provides the opportunity of validating an idea or demonstrating an underlying part of it. In particular, it offers the opportunity of testing a particular instance of a concept in a way that should allow the realisation of the concept as a whole to become feasible. The work as a whole could then be carried out in the form of a full-scale project.
At the other end of the spectrum, FET Open will receive proposals for research for which no assessment project is inherently needed. For example, this may include cases where some form of assessment has already taken place or research that requires a large investment of effort and time in order to arrive at initial results. In this case, proposers can apply for a full-scale research project.
It should be clear that if one chooses to opt for an assessment project, there should be a genuine need for it. Furthermore, given that an assessment project aims to underpin a larger piece of work, it must be easily assessable upon its completion. Based on the results, one has to be able to determine if it is worth continuing along those lines or not. For practical purposes, this means that a proposal for an assessment project must describe the criteria (for example, targeted benchmarks) against which the results of the work can be judged. These criteria should be described in terms that are appropriate to the nature of the work to be carried out.
4. A simple entry point to FET Open: a short proposal
The entry point for anybody wishing to submit a proposal to FET Open is a short proposal of 5 pages.6
In this short proposal, you should describe:
- what it is you want to do
- why it is important
- whether you need an assessment phase or not.
This
should be done bearing in mind the criteria7
that will be used to evaluate the proposal. Proposals received will be evaluated
with the assistance of external experts. Following this, those who submit short
proposals that have been positively evaluated will be either: (1) awarded an
assessment project contract; or (2) asked to submit a full research
proposal if an assessment phase is not necessary. The diagram depicts the
overall evaluation scheme, starting from the submission of a short proposal.
(1) Assessment project needed
In the event that an assessment project is needed, the contract awarded can last for 6 months to a year, but up to 18 months if particularly necessary, with a funding of the order of 100,000,000 euro per year. The contract used is a fixed contribution contract, whereby the money is awarded as a lump sum. The results of the assessment project will be evaluated with the assistance of external experts, who may visit a site if necessary, for example, to see demonstrations. The criteria defined for the assessment project will play a crucial role in the evaluation of the work.
If the assessment project is a success, in that it establishes the right conditions for the further pursuit of the work, it may be followed by a standard RTD contract of up to 3 years in order to allow the realisation of the concept in full. In order to request further funding, a full research proposal should be prepared towards the end of the assessment phase. Alternatively, the assessment project can be considered a stand-alone endeavour that may be followed through by other means.
(2) No assessment project needed
Those who submit short proposals that have been positively evaluated, and for which no assessment project is needed, will be requested to submit full proposals. Proposers will be given a period of 2 months to prepare full proposals. These will then be evaluated with the assistance of external experts, and if the evaluation is positive, a standard RTD contract may be awarded for up to 3 years. Since it is expected that many more proposals will be received than can be funded, an evaluation scheme in stages saves proposers the time and effort of writing long and detailed proposals that may never come to fruition.
(3) Submitting a proposal
There are a number of general conditions that have to be met in order to submit a proposal to any part of the IST Programme. The rules for participation and all the other practical information are given in the Guide to Proposers available through the Cordis website.8
5. Conclusion
The
Future and Emerging Technologies part of the IST Programme offers a funding
possibility for ambitious multinational R&D projects in biomedical
technologies when they relate to information sciences and technologies. The
funding options and the proposal preparation modalities have been tailored to
promote the emergence of innovative, risky and high-quality research.
Footnotes:
- European Commission. DGXIII. Future and Emerging Technologies, Rue de la Loi 200, N105, Office 6/55, B-1049 Brussels, Belgium, (pekka.Karp@dg13.cec.be)
- The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not neccessarily reflect the views of the European Commission
- Research and Technological Development
- For full and up-to-date information on FET, see the FET homepage www.cordis.lu/ist/fethome.htm.
- In the 1999 work programme of the IST Programme, the proactive action lines
are:
- quantum information processing and communication
- universal information ecosystems
- nanotechnology information devices
- Note that in addition to a 5-page technical or descriptive proposal some administrative information must also be provided; for details see http://www.cordis.lu/ist/home.html.
- The evaluation criteria are:
- scientific and technological quality and innovation
- Community added value
- contribution to Community social objectives
- economic development and scientific and techological prospects
- resources, partnership and management
- http://www.cordis.lu/ist/home.html