C I T Y A W A R D S
The call for tenders will be part of the "city of tomorrow and cultural heritage" key action line within the Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development thematic programme, recently launched as part of the European Commission's Fifth Framework Research, Technological Development, and Demonstration Programme (VFP), spanning 1999-2002.
Calls will be for research projects that offer "new models for the sustainable development of European cities and city regions" with a focus on supporting economic competitiveness, town planning, energy efficiency, information networks (i.e. digital cities) and sustainable transport systems. Other key actions include: sustainable management and quality of waters; global changes, climate and biodiversity; sustainable management of marine ecosystems; cleaner energy systems, including renewable energy; and economic and efficient energy for a competitive Europe.
The aims of the VFP, with a total budget of EUR 14.960 billion, are to improve industrial competitiveness and the quality of life for European citizens through research areas that combine technological, industrial, economic, social and cultural issues. Three other thematic programmes are also being launched, one being the Information Society Technology (IST) Programme offering more than EUR 3,600 million to research projects from four separate key action lines. One action line is titled "systems and services for the citizen" (i.e. user-friendly information systems for decision-makers and citizens). A subset of this key action will concentrate on the environment.
The first calls for projects under the IST Environment Programme were made on March 19 and concentrate on: pollution monitoring, prevention and warning, environmental risks and emergency management. Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries are invited to participate in all VFP calls, in cooperation with at least one EU-based lead partner. Further information on the VFP and its calls can be obtained from <www.cordis.lu/fp5>.
If you are looking for CEE partners, visit the REC's Local Government Environment Database. Containing over 550 environmental experts from local government authorities in the 10 EU accession countries, the database provides full contact information to those local bodies which have registered an interest in IST and who are interested in participating in forthcoming EC research and demonstration projects. To search the database, visit <www.rec.org/REC/Databases/LocGov/LocGovFind.html>.