Brussels, 13 October 2009
This conference brings together European Technology Platforms (ETPs), national policy makers in the area of research and innovation and representatives of different Commission services. It will enable a first exploratory exchange of experiences and best practices on the contribution of ETPs to addressing societal challenges considered as key EU policy priorities. The conference builds on the results of the work of the ETP expert group and the evaluation of ETPs carried out in 2008. The objectives of the event are to:

• Facilitate the work of ETPs in proposing and implementing research agendas tailored to meet the needs of societal challenges.
• Bring national research actors into the debate, and disseminate best practices as regards interaction between ETPs and national research authorities (through mirror groups, national technology platforms, linkages between ETPs and Eureka clusters and ERA-Nets, research partnerships on a national level, etc).

Invitations were sent at the beginning of July. For logistical reasons, participation is restricted to three representatives per ETP (to be nominated by their secretariats) and two representatives per member state or associated state (to be nominated by their Permanent Representation).

Strengthening the role of ETPs in Community policy-making
In December 2008, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research appointed an eleven-member expert group to analyse the results of the ETP evaluation study and discuss the future role of ETPs in Community policy-making. The ETP expert group consists of representatives from industry, national governments and civil society organisations. Their recommendations will be presented at the ETP conference on 13 October 2009 and frame the discussions in the parallel sessions of that conference.

Business panel opens online debate
The European Commission is preparing an Innovation Plan for Europe. An independent business panel has been established to provide inputs from businesses on the priorities of the future EU innovation policy. From 7 July to 31 August 2009, the business panel is holding an online debate on its initial proposal through the Innovation Unlimited site. Your comments and contributions will be used to finalise the business panel's report, which will be published in autumn 2009 as a major input to the new Innovation Plan for Europe.

Coordinating research on Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases
The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a Council Recommendation on a pilot Joint Programming initiative to combat neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer’s. EU member States and countries associated with the Framework Programme that are willing to participate in this Joint Programming initiative (twenty so far) will work towards developing a shared vision of research coordination in the field of neurodegenerative diseases and will then establish a strategic research agenda with an implementation plan. The management structure envisaged comprises a management board, a scientific board and an executive office/secretariat. The set-up of the management structure by the participating countries has become effective, with the management board convening for the first time on 18 June. This pilot Joint Programming initiative will pave the way for other such initiatives in the future.

Research and innovation as a basis for developing Europe in a global context
The Swedish government recently invited prominent researchers, politicians, entrepreneurs and officials to a conference to discuss the future role of research and innovation in Europe. The conference, entitled "New worlds – new solutions – research and innovation as a basis for developing Europe in a global context'", took place in Lund on 7–8 July 2009.

The purpose of the conference was to deliver a declaration on which to base the development of the European Research Area and the forthcoming EU research framework programme. The overall theme of the conference was the role of research and innovation systems in the development of Europe up to 2025. The conference involved about 350 participants.

Following this Swedish Presidency conference, the "Lund Declaration" was issued. The declaration calls upon decision-makers to abandon thematic, bureaucratic and organizational rigidities and instead focus efforts and resources in cross-cutting and policy-integrating approaches in order to more effectively address the grand challenges facing the world today.

A comprehensive collaboration between SusChem and the Water Supply and Sanitation Technology Platform is underway, building on initial work that identified joint priorities related to water and industry, such as:

• Define, and possibly implement, demonstrations of best practices in integrated water management systems, for the 2020 water footprint of chemical industry operations, in typical geographic diverse locations ( costal zone, urban areas, Mediterranean arid zones, … )
• Drive the developments of enhanced materials, process technologies and systems.
• Define best practices in process efficiency of water use, addressing also the related energy aspect and possible extension to industrial bio technology.

SusChem and WSSTP organised a joint workshop in Brussels, Belgium on 27 July. A formal framework for collaboration will be proposed in the near future.

Fourth status report on ETPs now published
The fourth ETP status report provides an overview of the activities over the past two years of 34 European Technology Platforms.

A total of 3.2 billion euro has been earmarked for European public-private partnerships (PPPs) dedicated to develop new technologies in manufacturing, construction and the automotive sectors. In order to support the preparation of proposals for the first round of cross-thematic coordinated calls for the new PPPs, the European Commission's Directorates-General for Research, Information Society & Media, and Energy & Transport held an information day on 13 July 2009 in Brussels.

On 10 July, the Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative held an information day on its first call for proposals. This first call was launched in June 2009 and addresses five technological areas that will increase the environmental performance of air transport. Proposals can be submitted until 31 August 2009 at 17h00.

The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen JTI launched its second call on 2 July. Around 140 million euro has been allocated to 29 research topics in five application areas. The deadline for submitting proposals is 15 October 2009.

The vision-building process of ETPs was presented as an example of forward-looking activities in support of research policymaking at the seminar 'How can forward-looking activities support the European Research Area' on 2 June 2009. As a case study, Karin Metzlaff of Plants for the Future presented the vision-building process of the Plants ETP. It was concluded that forward-looking activities are a useful tool to share the knowledge on which EU policy-making is based.

The European expert group on "The World in 2025" has developed a report outlining the ways our society might look in fifteen years' time. The prospective analysis is based on the current state of the world and its historical evolution and includes the demographic, economic, trade, financial, environmental, technological and social dimensions as well as the issues of migration, security and governance.