RESEARCH ERA: REGIONAL ACTORS COULD MAKE THE DIFFERENCE.

According to a new report, regional actors and particularly those participating in forecasting could play a vital role in making the European Research Area (ERA) a reality. This report, written by Gunthar Clar of the Commission's Research DG, states that regional actors, whose role consists in guaranteeing the use of knowledge acquired at regional level in a wider context, could contribute widely to the realisation of the objectives that were defined at the Lisbon Summit in March 2000 and to the realisation of the ERA. The target set in Lisbon consists in turning the European Union into the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010. As for the ERA, the aim is to co-ordinate research activities carried out all over Europe in order to develop synergies to a maximum and to reduce losses and the duplication of activities.The adopted research and development (R&D) policies and scientific policies will, according to Mr Clar, be the key to the realisation of these targets. Political decision-makers must use more reliable systems to identify the risks and advantages associated with new advances in R&D. In practice, regional actors can introduce measures aimed for instance at guaranteeing sufficient co-ordination and networking...