In view of the increasing globalisation of the economy, science and research in the area of information and communication technologies (ICT), it clearly seems wise to coordinate the research funded at the national level within the BMBF programme "IKT 2020" with relevant international - above all European - research objectives and activities.
In cooperation with the technical departments for information and communication technologies of the Project Management Agency of the German Aerospace Center (PT-DLR), efforts are being undertaken to observe and analyse technologies, markets and public funding (technology, funding and market monitoring) in the most important areas of ICT in key countries. This is being pursued within the field of activity "IT Strategy (Synergies IT 2006 and EU)". The ultimate goal of these efforts is to derive strategies and recommendations for action for the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) - in both a national and international context. Most importantly, EU funding activities and strategies are analysed and influenced within the framework of our participation in the programme committee "Information Society Technologies" (IST-C) of the EU Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development. This guarantees a future-oriented conceptualisation, execution and management of funding measures in the area of information and communication technologies designed to take full advantage of potential synergies.
Since 1988, we have been the National Coordinator for IT research within the EU Framework Programme. The National Coordinator serves as a bridge between research at the national and European levels. In addition, we represent the BMBF in the programme committee for EU research in the area of IT (IST-C).
Dr. Herbert Zeisel German Aerospace Center (DLR) Project Management Agency in the DLR ICT Strategy and EU Synergies Linder Höhe 51147 Köln 02203 601-3541