Joint Research Centre - Institute for Prospective Technological Studies - Publications

The goals of Smart Specialisation

Smart specialisation is an innovative policy concept which emphasizes the principle of prioritisation in a vertical logic (to favour some technologies, fields, population of firms) and defines a method to identify such desirable areas for innovation policy intervention. Its rationale involves both the fact that, even in the information age, the logic of specialisation is intact, particularly for small entities such as regional economies in Europe and the argument that the task of identification (of what should be prioritised) is very difficult and therefore needs a sophisticated policy design. Smart specialisation is not a planning doctrine that requires a region to specialise in a particular set of industries. Instead, it seeks robust and transparent means for nominating those new activities, at regional level, that aim at exploring and discovering new technological and market opportunities and at opening thereby new domains for constructing regional competitive advantages. Thus, rather than offering a method for determining if a hypothetical region has a “strength” in a particular set of activities, e.g., tourism and fisheries, the crucial question is whether that region would benefit from and should specialise in certain R&D and innovation projects in some lead activities such as tourism or fisheries. With this policy brief, it is our aim to set out a coherent vision of the goals of the policy approach that is evoked by the term smart specialisation. A second policy brief will be soon published and will explore the requirements and implications of operationalising that conceptualisation.

Smart specialisation programmes and implementation

In the design and implementation of policy, Paul Romer (2000) proposed a useful distinction between goals and programmes. Goals should be rather conservative (i.e. easy to accept). They should be objectives that are neither risky nor radical and for which there is a broad base of intellectual and political support. Goals should remain relatively constant over time. They should also involve metrics for measuring success.In contrast to a goal, a programme is a specific policy proposal that seeks to move the system toward a specific goal. It should be possible to judge the success of a programme against the metrics implied by the goal that it serves. All programmes should be designed so that they can be evaluated on a policy-relevant time horizon. If they are, they can also be less conservative and more experimental than the underlying goals. A variety of programmes could be tried, including ones where there is some uncertainty about whether they will succeed. If the evidence shows that they do not work, they can be modified or stopped. This policy brief aims at giving an operational content to the concept of smart specialisation. Starting with the identification of the sequence of programmes that need to be designed and implemented as key components of the policy process, we will proceed further to address very practical issues of implementation.

Best Environmental Management Practice in the Retail Trade Sector

Retailers have a large potential to reduce their environmental impacts and many are already implementing effective actions. This document describes what are the best practices implemented by frontrunner retailers in all aspects under their direct control or on which they have a considerable influence. They cover the energy performance of retailers, the sustainability of retail supply chains, transport and logistics, waste and other areas including engaging with consumers. The document also contains sector-specific environmental performance indicators and benchmarks of excellence. These can be used by retailers to monitor their environmental performance and to benchmark it against the performance of frontrunner retailers in each given specific area. Overall, this document aims at supporting all actors in the retail trade sector who intend to improve their environmental performance and seek for reliable and proven information on how best to do it.

Short Food Supply Chains and Local Food Systems in the EU. A State of Play of their Socio-Economic Characteristics.

The present study aims at describing the state-of-play of short food supply chains (SFSC) in the EU understood as being the chains in which foods involved are identified by, and traceable to a farmer and for which the number of intermediaries between farmer and consumer should be minimal or ideally nil. Several types of SFSCs can be identified, for example CSAs (Community-Supported Agriculture), on-farm sales, off-farm schemes (farmers markets, delivery schemes), collective sales in particular towards public institutions, being mostly local / proximity sales and in some cases distance sales. Such type of food chain has specific social impacts, economic impacts at regional and farm level as well as environmental impacts translating themselves into a clear interest of consumers. SFSCs are present throughout the EU, although there are some differences in the different MS in terms of dominating types of SFSCs. In general, they are dominantly small or microenterprises, composed of small-scale producers, often coupled to organic farming practices. Social values (quality products to consumers and direct contact with the producer) are the values usually highlighted by SFSCs before environmental or economic values. In terms of policy tools, there are pros and cons in developing a specific EU labelling scheme which could bring more recognition, clarity, protection and value added to SFSCs, while potential costs might be an obstacle. Anyhow, a possible labelling scheme should take into account the current different stages and situations of development of SFSCs in the EU and be flexible enough accommodate these differences. Other policy tools, in particular training and knowledge exchange in marketing and communication, are considered important and should continue to be funded by Rural Development programmes, as well as possibly other EU funds in view of the positive social and not specifically rural impacts.

Partial stochastic analysis with the European Commission's version of the AGLINK-COSIMO model

This report describes the methodology for performing partial stochastic analysis of the European Commission’s annual outlook projections for agricultural markets. The simulation model used is AGLINK-COSIMO, which is developed and maintained jointly by the OECD and FAO. Partial stochastic analysis quantifies the extent to which future uncertainty surrounding selected exogenous market drivers, which underlie the projections, affects the projected outlook for markets and prices. It does so by providing the range of values within which medium-term outcomes may lie in a future year, given the unforeseen variability exhibited by these exogenous variables in the past. This information supplements the point estimates provided by the outlook projections and allows the user to take into account the relative uncertainty of the various projected outcomes. The report details the statistical underpinnings of the methodology and the sequence of operational steps involved, as well as the additional software required. It then applies the methodology to the Commission’s 2012 outlook projections, providing information on how the projected agricultural market outcomes are affected by the uncertainty surrounding key macroeconomic variables (including exchange rates and the crude oil price) and agricultural crop yields. The potential of the approach to provide information relating to policy or behavioural discontinuities and thresholds, and for analysing specific ‘less likely’ situations, is also illustrated.

Farming and rural development in Ukraine: making dualisation work

This report syntheses the findings of the European Neighbourhood Policy project on Ukraine “Prospects of the farming sector and rural development in ENP-countries, the case of Ukraine”. After independence in 1991, a dualized agricultural system has emerged in Ukraine, comprising corporate farms and traditional family farms. Corporate farms are largely oriented on exports and benefit from important economies of scale, particularly in mechanized operations, input purchase and marketing of outputs. Traditional family farms cultivate the former private plots. They specialize more on products from animal husbandry and horticulture with higher value added per hectare but their access to foreign markets and even to domestic marketing chains is limited. Furthermore, traditional farmers lack the social amenities they used to have access to before the transition, and their parcels are fragmented over many plots. With its wealth of natural resources and its relatively well educated population, Ukraine has ample means to let both parts of this dualized agriculture flourish in parallel. There is no need to prioritize either of them. Rather the study advocates implementing property rights beyond the regular ownership titles of parcels, such as the right of passage across plots to ensure their accessibility and user rights in commons. Land productivity needs protection as well. Large agricultural exports amount to large outflow of nutrients. Domestic recycling of plant nutrients and fertilizer imports are needed to prevent soil fertility loss. Finally, as regards foreign trade, it draws attention to product labeling as a vehicle for institutional innovation and improved governance, with labels requiring satisfaction of social as well as environmental standards.

Overview and Analysis of 1:1 Learning Initiatives in Europe

This report presents the analysis of 31 recent 1:1 learning initiatives, which equip students of a given school, class or age group with a portable mobile computer device. Overall, the analysed initiatives involve approximately 47,000 schools and 17,480,000 students in primary and secondary education across 19 European countries. Based on desk research (analysis report on 1:1 initiatives and a literature review), in-depth expert interviews and stakeholder consultation in an expert workshop, the implementation strategies, the financing models and the pedagogical frameworks of these initiatives are analysed. Policy options for mainstreaming 1:1 initiatives that focus on the notion of 1:1 learning rather than 1:1 devices and successfully promote technological, pedagogical and organizational innovation are also proposed, contributing to the Europe 2020 strategy to modernize Education and Training across Europe.

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FIDELIO 1: Fully Interregional Dynamic Econometric Long-term Input-Output Model for the EU27

In this report we present complete information about the Fully Interregional Dynamic Econometric Long-term Input-Output Model for the EU27 (FIDELIO 1). First, the macro overview of the model is discussed, which presents the main mechanisms of interactions between various blocks of FIDELIO. The second chapter explains the main economic theories underlying FIDELIO consumption, production and labour market blocks. Here, further econometric approaches for estimation of the parameters of all behavioural equations and their results are presented. Then, derivation of all the necessary base-year data (e.g., various commodity use structure and price structure matrices, trade matrix, base-year residuals, etc.) are discussed in detail. All FIDELIO equations are presented (with discussions) in Chapter 4. Finally, a full description of the data sources is given in the last chapter. It will become clear from this description document that FIDELIO is appropriate for the impact assessment purposes of diverse (economic and/or environmental) policy questions of our times.

International patenting strategies in ICT

We study the drivers of international patent applications in ICT technologies by non-residents. We construct bilateral measures of foreign patent applications for all countries active as both a source of patents and a destination of applications filed between 1990 and 2007 to any patent office in the world. Despite the global character of the ICT industry, applicants from different regions follow different patenting strategies, only Japanese and US applicants are exceptionally active in seeking for patent protection in the majority of world markets. Applying a gravity model to explain the determinants of seeking patent protection in foreign markets, we find that economic and inventive capacity of a country attracts foreign patent applications. Keywords: IPR protection, patenting strategies, international patenting, ICT, gravity model JEL classification: D8, F2, O30, O31, O57

The Global R&D Network: A Network Analysis of International R&D Centres

A firm's decision to establish an R&D centre in a specific location creates externalities affecting other firms and, thus, a random distribution of location choices is unlikely. Expecting that the global distribution of R&D centres fulfils the criteria of a complex network, we apply social network analysis to study the locations of international R&D centres and the relationships between the countries owning and hosting them. We analyse the characteristics of the global R&D network and identify its core members. Further, we include network indices in an empirical analysis of the R&D internationalisation determinants. We find that a country's position in the network, which does not necessarily coincide with its geographical or cultural proximity to other countries, has a significant impact on the formation and intensity of R&D linkages between countries. We provide policy implications addressing the challenges emerging from the increasing internationalisation and network of R&D. Keywords: globalisation of innovation, location of R&D centres, network analysis, gravity model JEL classification: D8, O32, L23

Does the Patent Cooperation Treaty work? A global analysis of patent applications by non-residents

We study drivers of international patent applications by non-residents and assess the importance of the PCT membership in their motivations. We construct bilateral measures of foreign patent applications for all countries active as both a source of patents and a destination of applications filed between 1970 and 2009. The data used originates from the EPO Patstat database. Applying a gravity model to explain the determinants of seeking patent protection in foreign markets, we find that there is a negative relationship between PCT membership and a country's attractiveness for foreign applicants. It is mainly the size of the market and a country's inventive capacity that attract foreign applicants to seek for patent protection in foreign countries. Keywords: patent harmonization, PCT, IPR, patenting strategies, international patenting, technology transfer JEL classification: F2, O30, O31, O57

Comparing Innovation Performance in the EU and the USA: Lessons from Three ICT Sub-Sectors

The objective of the study is to document the existence of innovation gaps between the EU and its main competitors in specific ICT sub-sectors – namely web services, industrial robotics and display technologies –and to explore the role of government policies in Europe’s future needs for innovation in information and communication technologies (ICT) through a comparison with the USA and Asian countries. Our analysis shows that rather than there being a simple innovation gap with the EU lagging behind the USA, a more nuanced picture emerges in which firms in different countries have strengths in different sub-sectors and in different parts of the value chain. A key lesson from the analysis of the three subsectors is the critical importance of higher education, particularly elite university research, and of local networks as generated by clusters. Governments can also encourage innovation through appropriate intellectual property and competition laws and, more generally, through the development of a business environment conducive to innovation. Finally, Governments can have a very important role through the funding of early-stage innovation.

International technology transfer between China and the rest of the world

We study the patterns and drivers of international technology transfer to and from China and the rest of the world. Our analysis makes use of patent-based measures of cross-border ownership of inventions. To quantify these technology flows, we a patent database providing a worldwide coverage of patents. We use a gravity model to explain the drivers of the international technology transfer. Although China exhibits a large deficit in international technology transfer, the flow of technology from abroad to China intensifies as its absorptive capacity grows. Excluding Taiwan, the US and China relationship dominates the technology transfer between China and the rest of the world. This is even more emphasised by the relatively weak position of Japan and other Asian countries in the process of technology exchange with China. This is result is not affected by the fact that the US acts mainly as an acquirer of Chinese technology. Keywords: international technology transfer, cross-border ownership of inventions, patent analysis, China JEL classification: D8, F23, O14, O30, O57

Has the Digital Divide Been Reversed? Evidence from Five EU Countries

This paper examines the digital divide in internet use in general and checks whether there may be digital divides in internet use for specific purposes (leisure, improving human capital and obtaining goods and services). It uses a unique dataset which covers the entire clickstream of almost 20.000 internet users in the five largest EU economies during 2011. Our main finding is that, for those who have access to the Internet, the digital divide in internet use has been reversed. Low-income internet users spend more time on the internet than high-income users. In addition, we find the effect of income on internet use is not affected by employment status of the internet users and we discuss several possible explanations for this result. There is some evidence of an education-based digital divide in the ability to use websites related to career, education, health and buying and obtaining goods and services. Tertiary education has a negative effect on time spent on leisure websites and a positive effect on time spent on websites related to human capital and obtaining services and goods. Using quantile regressions, we find that the negative effect of income on time spent on internet and the positive effect of education on time spent on websites related to career, education, health and buying and obtaining goods and services hold for the entire conditional distribution of these online activities and that these effects are higher for the upper quantiles than for the lower quantiles. JEL codes: L86, D12, D13 Keywords: Internet Use, Time allocation, Leisure.

A framework for assessing innovation collaboration partners and its application to BRICs

In this paper, we develop a framework for assessing innovation collaboration partners. Based on the studies explaining the internationalisation of inventive activity, we identify four elements that are drivers of innovation collaboration: inventive capacity, technological specialization patterns, openness to international innovation collaboration and the economic potential of technology. In order to make the framework operational, we propose a set of patent-based indicators that capture the relevant elements. This way the proposed framework serves as a tool to both assess the potential of inventive collaboration and to anticipate benefits of such a collaboration. In a second step, we apply the framework to the analysis of the attractiveness of BRIC countries as potential partners for innovation collaboration. Our analysis shows that BRICs differ not only in terms of inventive performance, but also in terms of their openness to international collaboration, or the economic potential of technology developed by these countries. Keywords: collaborative innovation, science and technology collaboration, globalisation of technology, patent analysis, BRICs JEL classification: D8, F23, O14, O30, O57

Rhomolo: A Dynamic Spatial General Equilibrium Model for Assessing the Impact of Cohesion Policy

The paper presents the newly developed dynamic spatial general equilibrium model of European Commission - RHOMOLO, in which the interplay of agglomeration and dispersion forces can be analysed in a novel and theoretically consistent way. A particular attention is paid to flows of goods, factors and services within and between regions that are generated by the stimulus to the regions. This will allow an assessment of the feedback to the Member States and regions and the possibility that in the longer run they will all benefit from the additional growth that is generated. In doing so, it sheds new light on how the success of cohesion policy can be measured.

Modelling Migration and Regional Labour Markets: An Application of the New Economic Geography Model Rhomolo

The present paper describes the modelling approach of regional labour markets taken in the newly developed dynamic spatial general equilibrium model RHOMOLO, where the labour market equilibrium is determined by firms’ labour demand, a wage-curve with unemployment, and interregional labour migration. The RHOMOLO model is parameterised by estimating the key structural parameters econometrically. In order to illustrate the potential of the proposed dynamic spatial general equilibrium approach to inter-regionally integrated labour markets, we carry out simulations showing the effects of a reduction in transportation cost, and assess the impact on regional labour markets. Our results confirm that wages and unemployment are by far the most important channels of adjustment to macro-economic and policy shocks in the EU. In contrast, labour migration plays a secondary role in labour market adjustments in the EU. Our results also suggest that the relationship between market access, labour demand and labour supply is non-linear and spatially inter-dependent, which underlines the importance of the proposed dynamic spatial general equilibrium approach.

An Overview of (International) Large-Scale Land Transactions (LSLT) in the context of Food Security

The present report highlights the main characteristics of large-scale land transactions and the practical implications of the emerging agricultural holdings with respect to food security challenges at global and local level. The analysis makes a distinction of land deals and investors in three different geographical areas (Africa, Black Sea Region and Latin America) while also evaluating the social, economic and environmental impact for the recipient country. Results indicate that the current wave of large-scale land transactions, triggered in the last five years, is largely focused on the production of the so-called flex-crops (that can generate feed, fuel, fiber and feed). Concluding remarks include policy recommendations for the inclusive development of agricultural sectors, particularly in low income countries.

Tourism demand, climatic conditions and transport costs: an integrated analysis for EU regions. Report for the PESETA II study on the impact of climate change in Europe.

This study analyses the potential impact of climate change on EU tourism demand and provide long-term (2100) scenarios to be used in the general equilibrium GEM-E3. Our study brings three novel aspects. First, we derive region-specific estimates of the impact of climate change based on tourists flows between European regions taking into account regions' specific characteristics regarding the nature of (and degree of specialisation in) tourism activities and related vulnerability climate variability. Second, our long-term projections for tourism demand are based on hedonic valuation of climatic conditions combining hotel price information and travel cost estimations. We can thus analyse together the climatic aspect of recreational demand and its travel cost dimension. Third, we derive alternative scenarios for adaptation of holiday demand to potential climate change scenarios combining two dimensions related to adaptation: an institutional dimension, by considering alternative hypotheses regarding the monthly distribution of total tourism demand, and a time dimension by considering alternative scenarios regarding holiday duration. We find that the climate dimension play a significant (economically and statistically) role in explaining hedonic valuations of tourism services and, as a consequence, its variation in the long-term are likely to affect the relative attractiveness of EU regions for recreational demand. In certain cases, most notably the Southern EU Mediterranean countries climate condition in 2100 could under current economic conditions, lower tourism revenues for up to -0.45% of GDP. On the contrary, other areas of the EU, most notably Northern European countries would gain from altered climate conditions, although these gains would be relatively more modest, reaching up to 0.32% of GDP. We also find that adaptation in the duration of holiday rather than on the monthly pattern of holiday could potentially mitigate these losses.

Proceedings of a workshop on "Wheat productivity in the EU: determinants and challenges for food security and for climate change"

The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) is starting a new research line with the aim to describe the current situation and analyze the elements affecting wheat yields and wheat farming productivity. To scope the issue, the JRC organised a workshop on "Wheat productivity in the EU: determinants and challenges for food security and for climate change" in Seville on 22nd and 23rd November 2012. This JRC Scientific and Policy Report provides the proceedings of the workshop, that covered the following topics: Session 1: Wheat productivity trends in Europe and world-wide Session 2: Innovation in production factors affecting wheat productivity Session 3: Policies and regulations affecting wheat productivity Session 4: Outlook on wheat productivity

Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems, Phase 2. Interim Report on Impact Assessment State of the Art and Justifications

The challenges for healthcare systems in the European Union include demand side and supply side drivers. On the demand side, demographic changes due to ageing and increasing personal income are shaping growing expectations of healthcare services to increase quality and access, reduce disease burden, respond to emergency disease risks, and assist mobility and adaptation to the workplace. On the supply side, healthcare systems are under the pressure from limited budgets and the increasing complexity of healthcare provision which requires the management of investments in technology and interoperability of information flows alongside organizational changes.

Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems, Phase 2. Citizens and ICT for Health in 14 European Countries: Results from an Online Panel

The Citizen Panel Survey carried out in SIMPHS2 to better assess users and patients' needs and expectations with regard to ICT for health, directly supports the objectives of the Digital Agenda in the area of eHealth which are to both cope with societal challenges and create opportunities for innovation and economic growth by reducing health inequalities, promoting active and healthy ageing and increasing empowerment. It also contributes to the goals of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Aging which addresses the societal challenge of an ageing population focusing on the main areas of life events (Prevention, Care and cure and Independent living) with the following expected results: - An improvement of the health status and quality of life of Europeans, especially older people; - An improvement of the sustainability and efficiency of health and social care systems; - Boosted EU competitiveness through an improved business environment for innovation. In this policy context the analysis of users' demand undertaken through the SIMPHS2 Citizen panel survey aims to: - develop typologies of digital healthcare users and measure the impact of ICT and the Internet on health status, health care demand and health management. - identify factors that can enhance or inhibit the role and use of Personal Health Systems from a citizen' s perspective with special emphasis on mHealth, RMT, disease management, Telecare, Telemedicine and Wellness. To reach these objectives, we started by defining a theoretical framework for policy-making, which was used to design and gather relevant information. A multivariate statistical analysis was subsequently carried out to identify the underlying conceptual dimensions emerging from the data collected. Key relationships between concepts (underlying dimensions) were identified to understand ICT for Health as a complex ecosystem. We concluded with some lessons learned.

Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems, Phase 2. Market Developments: Remote Patient Monitoring and Treatment, Telecare, Fitness/Wellness and mHealth

This report aims to provide an overview of market developments in RMT and in the new areas of telecare, mobile health, wellness, fitness and independent living, based on the review of market reports acquired from market research companies and other sources like industry newsletters.

Plant breeding for an EU bio-based economy

The JRC Scientific Policy Report provides the results of a study on "Plant Breeding for an EU bio-based economy 2020" which was carried out by Arcadia International in 2012. The study is based on a literature search, a workshop, interviews with experts and a survey directed at public breeding institutes. The first part of the study evaluates the breeding needs relevant for the bioecnomy strategy 2020 for food, feed, biofuel and biochemical uses and to what extent they are covered by the private breeding sector. The second part of the study investigates the capacity of public breeding institutes to fulfill breeding needs where the private sector is not investing sufficiently. On the basis of the results of the study, the authors conclude that the capacity of public breeding in the EU is low and will not be able to fulfil the needs of the bioeconomy-strategy 2020 which are currently not covered by the private sector. In Member States (e.g. PL or RO) where public breeders are still relevant competitors on the market, institutes mainly focus on agronomic traits only. In the other Member States, institutes concentrate mainly on genomic and pre-breeding activities complementing the activities of the private sector in applied plant breeding.

External Cost Calculator for Marco Polo freight transport project proposals. Call 2013 version.

The Marco Polo programme of the European Commission aims to shift or avoid freight transport off the roads to other more environmentally friendly transport modes. The programme is implemented through yearly calls for proposals. The proposals received to each call are selected for financial support inter alia on the basis of their merits in terms of environmental and social benefits. The evaluation of each proposal's merits in terms of environmental and social benefits is based on the external costs for each transport mode. On the Commission’s request the Joint Research Centre, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS) modified and updated the methodology underlying the calculation of external costs and the software application that automates the estimation of the impact on external costs for specific projects. The work was based on a combination of data and model results that allow the estimation of transport volumes, fleet mixes, levels of utilisation and resulting externalities with uptodate methodologies for the economic valuation of these externalities. The new external cost methodology and calculator covers road, rail, inland waterways and short sea shipping. External cost coefficients are provided for environmental impacts (air quality, noise, climate change) and socio-economic impacts (accidents, congestion). The methodology permits the estimation of external cost coefficients for specific mode subcategories based on fuel technology, cruising speed, vehicle size, and cargo type. The present methodological note describes the methodology and calculator used to evaluate proposals submitted for the 2013 Marco Polo call for projects.

Assessing the Benefits of Social Networks for Organizations: Report on the First Phase of the SEA-SoNS Project

The first phase of the SEA-SoNS ("Assessing the Benefits of Social Networks on Organizations”) project aimed to analyse the current market situation for a limited number of social media stakeholders, to identify and analyse best practices for these selected stakeholders, and to define and prioritise relevant policy options. While social media technologies present several potential benefits to organisations, there are considerable challenges and bottlenecks affecting their adoption that may warrant policy intervention. To accomplish the objective of developing suitable policy options, the project undertook a range of research and data collection activities, including a review of the literature, a scoping workshop, semi-structured interviews, an on-line 'animation' of stakeholders, and a brainstorming workshop. The main results were presented at the Digital Agenda Assembly (DAA) 2012.

The Industry and Policy Context for Digital Games for Empowerment and Inclusion: Market Analysis, Future Prospects and Key Challenges in Videogames, Serious Games and Gamification

The effective use of digital games for empowerment and social inclusion (DGEI) of people and communities at risk of exclusion will be shaped by, and may influence the development of a range of sectors that supply products, services, technology and research. The principal industries that would appear to be implicated are the 'videogames' industry, and an emerging 'serious games' industry. The videogames industry is an ecosystem of developers, publishers and other service providers drawn from the interactive media, software and broader ICT industry that services the mainstream leisure market in games, The 'serious games' industry is a rather fragmented and growing network of firms, users, research and policy makers from a variety of sectors. These actors are trying to develop knowledge, products, services and a market for the use of digital games and products inspired by digital games for a range of non-leisure applications. This report provides a summary of the state of play of these industries, their trajectories and the challenges they face. It also analyses the contribution these actors could make to exploiting digital games for empowerment and social inclusion. Finally, it explores existing policy towards activities in these industries and markets, and draws conclusions as to the future policy relevance of engaging with them to support innovation and uptake of effective digital game-based approaches to empowerment and social inclusion.

Methodology to assess EU Biofuel Policies: The CAPRI Approach

This report is based on the outcome of a study carried out by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre - Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS, Spain) in cooperation with EuroCARE (Bonn, Germany). The report provides a detailed description of the methodology developed to assess the implications of the European Renewable Energy Directive on the agricultural sector, with an explicit focus on regional effects of biofuel targets in the EU. For the analysis, the spatial agricultural sector model CAPRI has been extended to include a global representation of biofuel markets (with endogenous supply, demand and trade flows for biofuels and biofuel feedstocks) while keeping the focus on regional impacts in the EU. The model is capable to simulate the impacts of EU biofuel policies on food production and prices, the potential use of by-products in the feed chain, the increasing pressure on marginal and idle land and the share of imported biofuels (self-sufficiency indicators). CAPRI is now able to jointly assess biofuel and agricultural policies, including policy instruments defined at the Member State level. The CAPRI biofuel module allows for a detailed analysis of most relevant biofuel support instruments like consumer tax exemptions, quota obligations, import tariffs and other trade measures. Additionally, the model allows for analysing scenarios regarding technical progress in 2nd generation technologies for biofuels.

Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems, Phase 2. Evidence Consolidation: Report on Best Practices and Key Drivers of Success

This report is the main deliverable of the Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems, Phase 2 project (Simphs 2). It is based on an analysis of developments in integrated care in thirty-one care schemes across eight different Members States: Denmark, the UK, Spain, Italy, Estonia, the Netherlands, Germany and France. It summarises the main outcomes of the research, suggests areas where policy input is needed and propose the development of a monitoring framework to enable decision makers to assess the state of maturity of the deployment efforts in a mainstreaming process.

Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems, Phase 2. Country Study: Denmark

This study presents and discusses the status for integrated personal health systems (IPHS) in Denmark. It aims to illustrate through case studies the patient and health monitoring systems that are available, the level of implementation of these systems, the impact they have on the general socio-economic context, as well as their cost-effectiveness where applicable. The analysis presented in this report is based on interviews with key experts and stakeholders from Denmark and a substantial secondary data collection.

Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems, Phase 2: Country Study Estonia

This study presents and discusses the status of integrated personal health systems (IPHS) in Estonia. It aims to illustrate through case studies the patient and health monitoring systems that are available, the level of implementation of these systems, the impact they have on the general socio-economic context, as well as their cost-effectiveness where applicable. The analysis presented in this report is based on interviews with key experts and stakeholders from Estonia and a substantial secondary data collection.

The Use of ICT for the Assessment of Key Competences

This report assesses current trends in the area of ICT for learning and assessment in view of their value for supporting the assessment of Key Competences. Based on an extensive review of the literature, it provides an overview of current ICT-enabled assessment practices, with a particular focus on more recent developments that support the holistic assessment of Key Competences for Lifelong Learning. The report presents and discusses a number of relevant cases of eAssessment, looks into examples of the potential of emerging technologies for eAssessment and discusses innovation and policy issues. It considers both summative and formative assessment and discusses how ICT can lever the potential of more innovative assessment formats, such as peer-assessment and portfolio assessment and how more recent technological developments, such as Learning Analytics, could, in the future, foster assessment for learning. Reflecting on the use of the different ICT tools and services for each of the eight different Key Competences for Lifelong Learning it derives policy options for further exploiting the potential of ICT for competence-based assessment.

Digital Music Consumption on the Internet: Evidence from Clickstream Data

This paper analyses the behaviour of digital music consumers on the Internet. Using clickstream data on a panel of more than 16,000 European consumers, we estimate the effects of illegal downloading and legal streaming on the legal purchases of digital music. Our results suggest that Internet users do not view illegal downloading as a substitute for legal digital music. Although positive and significant, our estimated elasticities are essentially zero: a 10% increase in clicks on illegal downloading websites leads to a 0.2% increase in clicks on legal purchase websites. Online music streaming services are found to have a somewhat larger (but still small) effect on the purchases of digital sound recordings, suggesting complementarities between these two modes of music consumption. According to our results, a 10% increase in clicks on legal streaming websites leads to up to a 0.7% increase in clicks on legal digital purchase websites. We find important cross country differences in these effects.

What does Economic Research tell us about Cross-border e-Commerce in the EU Digital Single Market? A Summary of Recent Research

This working paper presents a non-technical summary of the latest economic research studies on cross-border e-commerce in the EU and elsewhere, and combines this with findings from older research on this subject. It compares online with offline cross-border trade and investigates the differences in drivers and impediments to both. It also looks into research findings regarding consumer motives for shifting from offline to online trade and explores possible sources of increased consumer benefits that result from this shift. Finally, it flags issues for further research. The main purpose of this working paper is to bring the findings from recent research together in a coherent framework and make it accessible to stakeholders and decision-makers involved in EU policy-making on the Digital Agenda for Europe and the EU Digital Single Market.

An Appropriate Model for the Estimation of Consumer Time Expenditure Patterns on the Internet

IPTS recently acquired a consumer internet clickstream database containing the full set of annual (2011) clickstream records for about 25,000 internet users in the five largest EU economies (UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain). It contains time spend on each webpage and socio-economic characteristics of the internet users. This study describes a model of consumer Internet time use that is capable of empirical implementation with the clickstream database. A natural model of Internet search time could be developed to fit neatly with the database as it currently exists. The basic structure of such a model is discussed in detail. The study recommends that IPTS should not rely on any existing model of Internet time expenditures. There does not appear to be a good contender in the literature that would adequately address the requirements of IPTS nor the realities of available data. A purpose-built model needs to be considered.

Literature Review on Employability, Inclusion and ICT, Report 1: The Concept of Employability, with a Specific Focus on Young People, Older Workers and Migrants

IPTS has launched a research project on how ICT can support employability, in the context of its policy support activities for the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy, and the Digital Agenda for Europe. As a first step, JRC‐IPTS contracted the Institute of Employment Research, University of Warwick, UK to prepare: a) a review of the literature on employability, its dimensions and the factors which affect it in general and for groups at risk of exclusion, namely migrants, youth and older workers; and b) a report on how ICT contribute to employability, support the reduction of barriers and create pathways to employment for all, including the three specific groups at risk of exclusion. This report presents the findings of the first part of the research.

Literature Review on Employability, Inclusion and ICT, Report 2: ICT and Employability

IPTS has launched a project on how ICT can support employability, in the context of its policy support activities for the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy, and the Digital Agenda for Europe. As a first step, JRC-IPTS contracted the Institute of Employment Research, University of Warwick, UK to prepare: a) a review of the literature on employability, its dimensions and the factors which affect it in general and for groups at risk of exclusion, namely migrants, youth and older workers; and b) a report on how ICT contribute to employability, support the reduction of barriers and create pathways to employment for all, including the three specific groups at risk of exclusion. This report presents the findings of the second part of the research.

Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems, Phase 2. Country Study: The United Kingdom

This study presents and discusses the status for integrated personal health systems (IPHS) in the United Kingdom. It aims to illustrate through case studies the patient and health monitoring systems that are available, the level of implementation of these systems, the impact they have on the general socio-economic context, as well as their cost-effectiveness where applicable. The analysis presented in this report is based on interviews with key experts and stakeholders from the United Kingdom and a substantial secondary data collection.

Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems, Phase 2. Country Study: Spain

This study presents and discusses the status for integrated personal health systems (IPHS) in Spain. It aims to illustrate through case studies the patient and health monitoring systems that are available, the level of implementation of these systems, the impact they have on the general socio-economic context, as well as their cost-effectiveness where applicable. The analysis presented in this report is based on interviews with key experts and stakeholders from Spain and a substantial secondary data collection.

Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems, Phase 2. Country Study: The Netherlands

This study presents and discusses the status for integrated personal health systems (IPHS) in the Netherlands. It aims to illustrate through case studies the patient and health monitoring systems that are available, the level of implementation of these systems, the impact they have on the general socio-economic context, as well as their cost-effectiveness where applicable. The analysis presented in this report is based on interviews with key experts and stakeholders from the Netherlands and a substantial secondary data collection.

Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems, Phase 2. Country Study: Italy

This study presents and discusses the status for integrated personal health systems (IPHS) in Italy. It aims to illustrate through case studies the patient and health monitoring systems that are available, the level of implementation of these systems, the impact they have on the general socio-economic context, as well as their cost-effectiveness where applicable. The analysis presented in this report is based on interviews with key experts and stakeholders from Italy and a substantial secondary data collection.

Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems, Phase 2. Country Study: Germany

This study presents and discusses the status of integrated personal health systems (IPHS) in Germany. It aims to illustrate through case studies the patient and health monitoring systems that are available, the level of implementation of these systems, the impact they have on the general socio-economic context, as well as their cost-effectiveness where applicable. The analysis presented in this report is based on interviews with key experts and stakeholders from Germany and a substantial secondary data collection.

Strategic Intelligence Monitor on Personal Health Systems, Phase 2: Country Study France

This study presents and discusses the status of integrated personal health systems (IPHS) in France. It aims to illustrate through case studies the patient and health monitoring systems that are available, the level of implementation of these systems, the impact they have on the general socio-economic context, as well as their cost-effectiveness where applicable. The analysis presented in this report is based on interviews with key experts and stakeholders from France and a substantial secondary data collection.

The agri-food sector in Russia: current situation and market outlook until 2025

This report gives an overview on the Russian agri-food sector and provides an outlook for the developments in agricultural markets for Russia, focussing on the main agricultural commodities. For the purpose of the study a detailed dataset and modelling structure for the main agricultural commodities in Russia has been developed and integrated into the overall AGMEMOD modelling framework.

ICT to support the Everyday Life Integration of Immigrants in the European Union: An Online Survey of Connected

This methodological report documents the development of an online-based methodology for collecting quantitative evidence on the adoption and uses of information and communication technologies (ICT) by third-country nationals in Europe. The evidence produced by using this methodology is expected to allow an examination of the extent to which technology can accelerate or trigger the process of integration of immigrants in their host societies. This report was prepared as a part of the research study "ICT to support the everyday life integration of immigrants or ethnic minority people (IEM)" (ConnectIEM) which was co-funded by JRC-IPTS and DG INFSO, European Commission. The following external research teams collaborated in the study: the Migration and Network Society Programme (MNS) hosted by the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) of the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), the Technological and Social Change Group (TASCHA) hosted by the University of Washington, and a network of local researchers based in the target countries.

European Research Area Impact on Member States' policy development

The central aim of this report is to identify policy trends on national levels and across all six ERA dimensions, the latter as set out by in the 2007 ERA Green Paper. In particular, the report sheds light on those national policy developments driven by EU/ERA level activities, and on the relative importance of specific dimensions in the overall ERA framework from a national perspective. This work is based on two main sources of information: the 2010 ERAWATCH Analytical country reports and the responses to a questionnaire circulated among the ERAWATCH country experts. The report covers the 27 EU MS clustered in 4 four country groups according to their innovation performance.

The Drivers and Impediments for Cross-border eCommerce in the EU

There are no official statistics on international online trade in goods so far. This paper uses a consumer survey to construct a unique matrix of online B2C domestic and cross-border trade in goods between the 27 EU Member States. We compare online and offline trade patterns for similar goods. We find that the standard gravity model performs well in explaining online cross-border trade flows. The model confirms the strong reduction in geographical distance-related trade costs, compared to offline trade. However, the trade costs associated with crossing language barriers increase when moving from offline to online trade. Institutional variables such as the quality of legal institutions, online payments facilities and costefficiency of parcel delivery systems might play a role in cross-border trade but they remain statistically insignificant in this dataset. In a linguistically segmented market like the EU, online home market bias remains high compared to bias in offline cross-border trade. We conclude that it is hard to predict at this stage whether regulators could boost online cross-border trade through improvements in legal and financial systems, and parcel delivery infrastructure.

Can Technology-based Services support Long-term Care Challenges in Home Care? Analysis of Evidence from Social Innovation Good Practices across the EU: CARICT Project Summary Report

Deployment and use of technological services for informal carers is still limited, mainly due to users' low digital skills, the lack of demonstrated business cases, and the poor evidence of the impact and sustainability of these services. The CARICT project aimed to collect evidence-based results on the impact of ICT-enabled domiciliary care services, and to make policy recommendations to develop, scale and replicate them in the European Union. The methodology was based on a mapping of 52 ICT-based services for informal carers developed in Europe, and a cross–analysis of 12 of these initiatives to get data on their impacts, drivers, business models, success factors, and challenges. The main results show that there is a wide range of successful, not very costly and beneficial examples of ICT-based support for carers across Europe. The cross-analysis indicated that these services had positive impacts on the quality of life of elderly people and informal carers, the quality of care and the financial sustainability of the health and social systems. The data also confirm that policy at European, national, regional and local levels can promote the successful development, implementation and transferability of these services through funding, policy leadership and by promoting stronger cooperation among stakeholders including end-users, mainly from the third sector and informal carers, to create a new value chain in the provision of long-term care. These findings help to achieve the objectives of European policy defined by the 2020 Strategy, and more specifically the Digital Agenda for Europe (DAE) and the European Innovation Partnership on Healthy and Active Ageing (EIP AHA).

Defining European ICT Poles of Excellence: A Literature Review

The Commission Communication entitled "A Strategy for ICT R&D and Innovation in Europe: Raising the Game" proposes reinforcing Europe's industrial and technology leadership in ICT. Building on Europe's assets, the Communication anticipates a landscape where, by 2020, "(…) Europe has nurtured an additional five ICT poles of world-class excellence (…)". This study attempts to identify ICT R&D&I-related agglomeration economies in Europe that would meet world-level excellence, and to identify weak signals that would indicate the dynamics of a changing ICT-related economic geography in Europe. Both of those identification processes are based on quantitative data, built on a set of relevant criteria leading to measurable indicators. The study is developed around several tasks, the results of which are presented in a series of IPTS working papers. This first Working Paper synthesises the conclusions of the conceptual and empirical literature review that was carried out both at the beginning of the study. It summarises the most prominent concepts discussed in the relevant literature, the methods that were developed and leads to a definition of the European ICT Poles of Excellence that will guide later work.

The Digital Shift in the Media and Content Industries: Policy Brief

This policy brief offers a structured review of the major transformations the MCI industries have been going through. It provides some insights into the policy questions these transformations are raising. New ways of implementing policies are suggested and their effectiveness in a digital world is discussed. The first section gives some figures showing the significance of the MCI industries. The second section follows the digital shifts and its impact. The third section reviews the policies.