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Dr. Ecommerce:
I know that developing an E-Commerce project would mean spending a great
amount of money (software, hardware, consultants). I am wondering if the
EU is willing to finance a part of these projects, especially for SMEs.
Thank you,
Francesco
Dear Francesco:
As you say, an e-commerce project can be expensive and risky, particularly
for innovative projects. And, the European Commission wants to ensure
that Europe remains highly competitive in this field.
The Commission's Information Society Technologies (IST) Workprogramme
provides co-financing and other support for research, technological
development and demonstration (RTD) projects. Please go to http://www.cordis.lu/ist/
for information about the programme and to download the appropriate
documents. You'll want to start with the Workprogramme and the
Guide to Proposers in order to understand how it operates and
how to propose. However, we are presently rewriting the Workprogramme
for the year 2000, and although the overall programme will remain the
same, some details may change. In particular, some action lines may
be updated or removed and some new action lines may be added.
In order to participate, there are a number of requirements, particularly
that you have a truly innovative idea, that there are at least two partner
organisations from at least two member states (however, we have databases
of organisations looking for partners), that all organisations are financially
viable and more.
On the positive side, you will receive partial funding from the Commission;
the project will be periodically reviewed by independent, outside experts;
and you will be able to tap into our combined expertise.
Good luck, and I hope to be reading about your IST project one day soon.