The series started with the first workshop on National Policy Priorities and RTD Programmes in the Field of ICT which was held on 8 November 2005 in Brussels, organized by Tekes, the National Technology Agency of Finland. It offered insights into national approaches to research funding for ICT with an outlook towards the future of programme coordination in the European Research Area. At that point first results of the analysis on national policy priorities and RTD programmes were disseminated. The participants included national ICT policy experts and experienced programme managers. Download workshop report or full information pack (report and presentations - 6 MB) here.

On 13 and 14 December 2005 the French CISTRANA project partner, Association Nationale de la Recherche Technique (ANRT), welcomed national stakeholders to the second event in Paris, titled PIANIST - Programme Impact Assessment in National IST Initiatives. This workshop offered the opportunity to come together for common reflections and the sharing of best practices related to the ex-post evaluation of the implementation of R&D programmes as well as ex-post impact assessment of such programmes both from an economical and a societal point of view. Apart from national policy makers and programme managers, EC representatives also actively participated to bear witness of the experience gained in evaluation/impact assessment activities of the Framework Programme. Download workshop report or full information pack (report and presentations - 5.5 MB) here.

The first event in the year 2006 took place on 18 January in Cologne at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) addressing the subject of Best Practice in Multinational Programme Collaboration. Speakers of already existing transnational programmes offered very interesting insight to barriers and enablers of such co-operations and the fruitful experience they accumulated. Special focus was laid on the three programme phases of planning, implementation and assessment which were addressed in individual breakout sessions for lively discussions of the topics. The presentation of the results of the three working groups revealed existing personal motivations as well as reservations and highlighted lessons to be learned from existing transnational collaboration schemes. Download workshop report or full information pack (report and presentations - 1.5 MB) here.

Bringing together experts and representative researchers in the field of taxonomies, classification schemes and portals, the fourth CISTRANA workshop Portals for Information Dissemination and Taxonomies for Classification took place on 20-21 February 2006 in Abingdon, UK organized by the Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CCLRC). The introduction of the CISTRANA IST research portal and other related initiatives was followed by stimulating discussions on the needs, realities and future prospects for portals for disseminating information about national and European RTD activities in IST. The workshop participants debated issues surrounding the choice, use and maintenance of taxonomies for classifying IST RTD information. Download workshop report or full information pack (report and presentations - 7 MB) here.

As the final event in the series, the workshop on Design of National IST Programmes in the Context of ERA Coordination was held on 9 and 10 March 2006 in Budapest, Hungary arranged by the National Office for Research and Technology (NKTH). Experts highlighted aspects of prior programme design experience of particular importance to future programmes open to transnational cooperation, including programme seed phase, socio-economic context, monitoring and evaluation perspectives, the value-added nature of programme-based approaches, as well as new sources and forms of financing. The participants underlined the importance of mobilising and integrating New Member States’ potential in the outlook towards future IST ERA coordination. Download workshop report or full information pack (report and presentations - 12 MB) here.