Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development

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The Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, also called Framework Programmes or abbreviated FP, are funding programmes created by the European Union in order to support and encourage European research or, more specifically, the European Research Area (ERA). The detailed objectives and actions vary from one funding period to another.

Conducting European research policies and implementing European research programmes is in the first instance a legal and political obligation resulting from the Amsterdam Treaty. The Treaty does in fact include a whole chapter on research and technological development (RTD), so as to underline that RTD is an essential element in the functioning of industrialised countries, such as EU Member States: the competitiveness of companies and the employment they can provide depend to a great extent on RTD; and RTD is also essential for the support of other policies such as consumer protection or the protection of the environment. In short: the individual and collective well-being of citizens depends on the quality and relevance of RTD.

But Europe must also play an active role in RTD because of a number of developments inherent to the RTD sector itself:

high level research is increasingly complex and interdisciplinary;
high level research is increasingly costly;
high level research requests a constantly increasing "critical mass".

Hardly any research team or research laboratory, hardly any company can reasonably claim to be able to respond to these challenges. Even entire Member States find it increasingly difficult to be active and play a leading role in the many important areas of scientific and technological advance. Organising co-operation at different levels, co-ordinating national or European policies, networking teams and increasing the mobility of individuals and ideas is therefore a requirement resulting from the development of modern research in a global environment. Without determined actions at European level the present fragmentation of Europe's efforts cannot be overcome.

There has been criticism of these programmes however. A serious shortcoming of Framework Programmes is that they involve a lengthy process of agreeing the areas that will be funded and on the extent of the funding. EU grants in aid of research and development almost always involve companies from different countries organised in unwieldy consortia. The selection process and the process of negotiating contracts can take in excess of a year which means that the drive to innovate is often stifled by the bureaucracy. Not infrequently the EU will be making decisions about funding while technologies will have moved into the market place. This is the case with many web technologies which the EU has funded but which have been overtaken by events (search engines and social software are good examples of where the EU has been by-passed by the market).

Taking up this challenge the European Commission, Member States and the European Parliament, the scientific community and industry are now committed to work jointly towards the creation of a European Research Area (ERA). A laudable political goal it does however add to the inflexibility of decision making and funding.

The Sixth Framework Programme from 3 June 2002 until 2006 is currently ongoing. The Seventh Framework Programme is in preparation, and funding will start in 2007. The framework programmes up until FP6 covered five-year periods, but future programmes (including FP7) will run for seven years.