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1.

Smart specialisation, sustainable development goals and environmental commons [er] : conceptual framework in the context of EU policy. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

This report contributes to a new transformative narrative aligning Smart Specialisation with the UN 2030 Agenda and the European Green Deal by offering directionality towards the Sustainable Development Goals and combining different levels of policy to achieve the needed sustainability transformations. The report highlights the role of policy coherence and coordination for the transformation. It presents approaches to increase policy coherence to harness synergies and alleviate trade-offs across different objectives with a focus on environmental issues. Throughout this report a number of selected cases is used to illustrate the conceptual discussion developed in a more theoretical part of the report. These cases presented in the report cover countries and regions from within and outside the European Union. Both EU and third countries present lessons learnt on the different topics linked to Smart Specialisation, sustainability and environmental commons. The report concludes by a discussion on how to orient existing smart specialisation approaches towards sustainability challenges and the achievement of the SDGs. This is a part of a broader ongoing effort on place-based innovation strategies for sustainability (S4).

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2.

Climate action in the post-COVID world [er] : insights from EU-funded projects on how to build forward better. European Commission. Directorate-General for Research and Innovation.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

The recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change could not have been clearer about the urgent need to act on the climate crisis if we want to save the planet and ourselves. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been a stark reminder that our well-being depends on the health of the planet, the recovery strategies offer a once-in-a-century opportunity for a genuine paradigm shift towards a society that respects planetary boundaries. What advice can the research community give to policymakers at this critical moment, against the backdrop of the decisive UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), to help them shape a greener, more equitable and prosperous future for all? EU-funded Horizon 2020 projects have some ideas.

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3.

Regional cohesion in Europe 2020-2021 [er] : insights from the EIB Investment Survey. European Investment Bank.

Publication

[Luxembourg] : [EIB], [2021], c2021.

Summary

The EU has committed to a joint recovery centred on green and digital transition. The extent to which this will mitigate the risks of rising inequalities and rising divergences across firms and regions depends not least on support for cohesion. Data coming from the EIB Investment Survey provides a unique tool to gain insights on how non-financial corporates in different regions are behaving. EIBIS information sheds new light on investment needs and gaps, financing requirements as well as firm activity on innovation, digitalization and climate change. EU Cohesion Policy aims to strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion across the European Union and to correct imbalances between countries and regions. The green and digital transition are key priorities of Cohesion Policy for the next years. Cohesion support 2021-2027 is focused on five key policy objectives to support growth: - A more competitive and smarter Europe - A greener, low-carbon transition towards a net zero carbon economy - A more connected Europe by enhancing mobility - A more social and inclusive Europe - A Europe closer to citizens by fostering the sustainable and integrated development of all types of territories. EU funds will support investment across these policy objectives with a particular focus on a smart and green Europe. However, the COVID-19 pandemic risks deepening divergences between citizens, territories and firms. Firms across the EU will need to adapt to the post-pandemic environment and megatrends, notably digitalization and climate change, to stay competitive looking ahead. The EU has committed to a joint recovery centered on fostering the transition towards a greener and smarter economy across the EU. The extent to which this will mitigate the risks of rising inequalities and divergences across firms depends not least on support for cohesion. Data coming from the EIB Investment Survey (EIBIS) provides a unique tool to gain insights on how non-financial corporates in cohesion and non-cohesion regions are behaving. EIBIS information sheds new light on investment needs and gaps, financing requirements as well as firm activity on innovation, digitalization and climate change.

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4.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions 2021-2027 [er] : developing talents, advancing research. European Commission. Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.

Publication	Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.
Summary	Under Pillar I of Horizon Europe, the MSCA are the European Union’s reference programme for doctoral education and postdoctoral training. They support researchers from all over the world, at all stages of their careers, with a focus on their training, skills and career development.

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5.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions [er] : over 25 years of European support for researchers’ work. European Commission. Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

Since 1994, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions have provided grants to train excellent researchers at all stages of their careers – be they doctoral candidates or highly experienced researchers – while encouraging transnational, inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary mobility. In 1996, the programme was named after the double Nobel Prize winner Marie Skłodowska-Curie to honour and spread the values she stood for. To date, more than 145 000 researchers have participated in the programme with many more benefiting from it – among them twelve Nobel laureates and an Oscar winner.

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6.

The defence transfers directive : handbook for SMEs. European Commission. Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space.

Publication	Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.
Edition	1° edition
Summary	The aim of this Handbook is to provide SMEs active in the defence sector with a simple presentation of the Transfers Directive and useful advice on how to make the most of it.

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7.

The defence transfers directive [er] : handbook for SMEs. European Commission. Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space.

Publication	Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.
Edition	1° edition
Summary	The aim of this Handbook is to provide SMEs active in the defence sector with a simple presentation of the Transfers Directive and useful advice on how to make the most of it.

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8.

Artificial intelligence, blockchain and the future of Europe : how disruptive technologies create opportunities for a green and digital economy : executive summary. European Investment Bank.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

This report, produced by the European Investment Bank and the European Commission, provides a global overview of the state of play of both technologies. It shows that Europe needs to address an investment gap of up to €10 billion that is holding back development and deployment of artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies in the EU. Artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies have the potential to revolutionise the way we work, travel, relax, and organise our societies and day-to-day lives. Already today, they are improving our world: artificial intelligence was crucial in speeding up the development and production of COVID-19 vaccines, while blockchain has the potential to not only disrupt the financial system, but also help us track and report greenhouse gas emissions better, optimise commercial transport and create genuine data privacy protection. The further development of both technologies – guided by ethical and sustainability principles – has the potential to create new pathways for our growth, driving technological solutions to make our societies truly digital and greener, and ultimately keep the planet habitable. This report, produced by the European Investment Bank and the European Commission, provides a global overview of the state of play of both technologies. It shows that Europe needs to address an investment gap of up to €10 billion that is holding back development and deployment of artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies in the EU. It puts forward recommendations how the EU can unleash its full potential in these technologies and reap their benefits for a truly digital and green transformation.

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9.

European Investment Advisory Hub report 2020 [er]. European Investment Bank.

Publication

[Luxembourg] : EIB, [2021], c2021.

Summary

The COVID-19 outbreak upended normal life and forced us to rethink the way we went about our day-to-day activities. In spite of the many challenges we faced in 2020, we offered many advisory solutions that shortened the path to recovery. We also did not stop our work on climate change. Our advisory services have been key to helping clients keep their long-term investment plans on track, laying the foundations for a green and digital recovery.

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10.

European green deal [er] : research & innovation call. European Commission. Directorate-General for Research and Innovation.

Publication	Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.
Summary	With the last call under Horizon 2020, the European Commission is investing in 73 projects that will contribute to accelerating a just and sustainable transition to a climate-neutral Europe by 2050.

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11.

Research*eu. #107, November 2021 [er]. Publications Office of the European Union.

Publication	Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.
Summary	Special feature: squaring the Arctic circle: protecting and preserving Earth’s far north. The EU recently published a new Arctic strategy, reiterating its intent to protect the Arctic’s environment and biodiversity, reduce EU-sourced pollution in the region, and support the inclusive and sustainable development of the area.

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12.

Evaluation study of and potential follow-up to cluster initiatives under COSME, H2020 and FPI [er]. European Commission. Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

The EU cluster initiatives were introduced to facilitate market entry and penetration for SMEs by enabling Europe-wide cluster collaboration, supporting cross-sectoral value-chains, and investment in cluster excellence. A complex picture emerges regarding the functioning of EU cluster support initiatives: Cluster support measures are largely considered as well structured and internally coherent. Direct outputs related to events organised, partnerships initiated, and SMEs funded are widely achieved. The approach to use clusters as facilitators in supporting and disseminating funding to SMEs (cascade funding) is found to be efficient, as administrative hurdles have been comparatively low. Platforms have been effective in improving the main functions such as partnering, matchmaking, and informing clusters as well as their advisory services towards their members. Platforms also contributed towards intelligence gathering and information dissemination about the role of cluster organisations, their activities and achievements. Regarding the overall longer-term impacts of the partnering projects initiatives and cluster platforms findings are more ambivalent. Foreseen impacts are hard to measure and effects on SMEs lack accuracy as they are only targeted indirectly (e.g., ESCPs). Cluster organisations appreciate the transnational and cross-sectoral components of the initiatives which helped them to widen their network and build up capacities. Regarding the coherence of the initiatives, there is room for better integration with EU programmes as well as national policies by further enhancing synergies. Next to initiatives specific suggestions, the study recommends strengthening EU-wide industrial ecosystems through supporting cluster organisations in their glocalisation journey, to foster partnering projects by blending digital adoption and sustainable value creation and by reinforcing investments in upgrading cluster business models.

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13.

EU catalyst partnership [er]. European Commission. Directorate-General for Research and Innovation.

Publication	[Luxembourg] : [Publications Office], [2021], c2021.
Summary	The EU-Catalyst partnership will support innovative green technologies, drive down the cost of green alternatives, and create markets and supply chains for sustainable solutions.

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14.

Exploring the concept of geographies of innovation [er] : case studies from Amsterdam, Barcelona, Melbourne, and Stockholm. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

In the last decades, so-called geographies of innovation have emerged worldwide as vehicles to drive economic development. These urban areas are planned and actively managed spatial clustering of a wide range of innovative organisations and intermediaries to undertake collaborative innovation activities. However, the concept of geography of innovation (or innovation geography) remains ambiguous. In addition, there are no commonly accepted definitions or classifications of different models of geographies of innovation. Terms such as park, hub, district, cluster, and ecosystem are used interchangeably, and their definitions can be far-reaching and adaptable. The key question addressed in this research is the main challenges of current policies for geographies of innovation in Europe, offering a view on how governments can better support the emergence and development of geographies of innovation in Europe. Hence, this report aims to explore the concept of geographies of innovation as an evolution of industrial and business clustering combining theoretical and practical approaches. The authors propose a definition and classification of the different models of geographies of innovation, highlighting some of the main challenges in implementing this identification and measurement. The comparative case study analysis containing thirteen case studies from four cities provide evidence supporting the development of European, national, or regional policies, enabling current and future geographies of innovation to enhance their performance and their contributions to greener, cleaner, socially more just, and overall to more developed cities and regions in Europe and beyond.

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15.

AI watch, defining Artificial Intelligence 2.0 [er] : towards an operational definition and taxonomy for the AI landscape. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication	Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.
Edition	Second edition
Summary	We present here the second edition of our research aimed at establishing an operational definition of artificial intelligence (AI), to which we refer to in the activities of AI Watch. This edition builds on the first report, published in February 2020, and complements it with several recent developments. Since then, the European Commission has proposed a regulatory framework on artificial intelligence (AI Act) that establishes a legal definition of AI, which we incorporate in the current review. In addition to this legal definition, an operational definition is still needed to better delineate the boundaries and analysis of the AI Watch AI landscape. The proposed AI Watch operational definition consists of an iterative method providing a concise taxonomy and list of keywords that characterise the core domains of the AI research field, complemented by transversal topics such as AI applications or ethical and philosophical considerations - in line with the wider monitoring objective of AI Watch. The AI taxonomy is designed to inform the AI Watch AI landscape analysis and is also expected to cover applications of AI in closely related technological domains, such as robotics (in a broader sense), neuroscience or internet of things. The literature considered for the qualitative analysis of existing definitions and taxonomies has been enlarged to include recently published reports from the three complementary perspectives considered in this work: policy, research and industry. Therefore, the collection of definitions published between 1955 and 2021 and the summary of the main features of the concept of AI appearing in the relevant literature is another valuable output of this work. Finally, alternative approaches to study AI are also briefly presented in this new edition of the report. These include the classification of AI according to: families of algorithms and the theoretical models behind them; cognitive abilities reproduced by AI; functions performed by AI. Applications of AI may be grouped also according to other dimensions, like the economic sector in which such applications are found, or their business functions. These approaches, complementary to the taxonomy used for the analysis of the AI Watch international landscape, are useful to gain a wider understanding of the AI domain, and suitable to be used in studies related to these dimensions.

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16.

Maritime affairs and fisheries newsletter. 29 October 2021 [er]. European Commission. Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

Publication

[Brussels] : [European Commission], [2021]

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17.

Research*eu. #107, November 2021. Publications Office of the European Union.

Publication	Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.
Summary	Special feature: squaring the Arctic circle: protecting and preserving Earth’s far north. The EU recently published a new Arctic strategy, reiterating its intent to protect the Arctic’s environment and biodiversity, reduce EU-sourced pollution in the region, and support the inclusive and sustainable development of the area.

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18.

The 2020 PREDICT [er] : key facts report : an analysis of ICT R&D in the EU and beyond. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

The 2021 PREDICT Key Facts Report provides a detailed analysis of the state of ICT R&D activities in the European Union (EU27) and 13 further economies worldwide. This is the 14th edition of a series that is published annually. Like the previous editions, an online version is available at: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/predict. The report covers the period between 1995 and 2018, providing a long-term analysis of the EU ICT sector and its R&D, covering a whole cycle from the initial expansion years to the double recession that began in early 2008, and the most recent evolution up to 2018. For the EU aggregate the report includes nowcasted data for 2019 and 2020. Therefore, it offers a glimpse of the effects of COVID-19. The statistical information provided by the figures allows the comparison between: the ICT sector and the total economy; the ICT manufacturing sector and the ICT services sector; the four ICT manufacturing sectors, two ICT services sectors, and Media and content and Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet sectors; EU countries; the EU and the international context (including the most relevant countries in the world economy). The report focuses especially on the ICT R&D macroeconomic dynamics.

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19.

EC ocean observation [er] : sharing responsibility : report & community recommendations from the virtual eventon 18 June 2021. European Commission. Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

As Europe steps up to meet the ambitious targets of the EU Green Deal and related Climate Pact, the value of high quality, standardised marine data has never been clearer. This will continue to increase as Europe contributes marine knowledge to global efforts including the international United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the COP21 Paris agreement and upcoming COP26, and the challenges and objectives of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). Ocean observations - and the resulting data - at the start of the marine knowledge value chain, the foundation upon which information and knowledge are created for society. Marine data and information underpins and enables Blue Economy operations at sea, drives research and innovation to improve our understanding of ocean health, of geo-hazards, and of the oceans’ role in climate regulation. Information on the status of the marine environment and human activities at sea also inform marine spatial planning and wider evidence based decision-making concerning our environment, society and future wellbeing. The ongoing success of existing long-term EU marine data services EMODnet and the Copernicus Marine Service are inherently linked – and completely dependent on – marine data collected through ocean observations and marine monitoring. However, the marine knowledge chain is only as strong as its weakest link. In particular, in situ ocean observation technology development, infrastructure operation and data collection are currently fragmented, under-resourced and largely un-sustained (EMB, 20214). The European Ocean Observing System (EOOS) Conference Call to Action5 recommended three specific actions for national, regional and European stakeholders to examine the existing capability in ocean observing and monitoring and the efforts that lie under their responsibility. Since then, the community has continued to develop EOOS as a coordination framework to connect stakeholders and initiatives and to further align and integrate Europe’s ocean observing capacity. In 2020 the European Commission (EC) Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) commissioned an EC study on Marine Technology6 on the state of the development of sensors and platforms in ocean observation. In addition, 2020 saw the launch of an EC Ocean Observation initiative titled EC Ocean Observation – sharing responsibility 7 with a public consultation which gathered feedback from over 150 stakeholders, including perspectives on the needs, requirements and opportunities for strengthened coordination at national level across marine and coastal data collection efforts. The consultation culminated in February 2021 with an online event hosted by the European Parliament Intergroup on Seas, Rivers, Islands and Coastal Areas (SEARICA), in cooperation with the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission and the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions.

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20.

AI watch, beyond pilots [er] : sustainable implementation of AI in public services. European Commission. Joint Research Centre.

Publication

Luxembourg : Publications Office, 2021.

Summary

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a peculiar case of General Purpose Technology that differs from other examples in history because it embeds specific uncertainties or ambiguous character that may lead to a number of risks when used to support transformative solutions in the public sector. AI has extremely powerful and, in many cases, disruptive effects on the internal management, decision-making and service provision processes of public administration. Over the past few years, the European Union and its Member States have designed regulatory policies and initiatives to mitigate the AI risks and make its opportunities a reality for national, regional and local government institutions. ‘AI Watch’ is one of these initiatives which has, among its goals, the monitoring of European Union’s industrial, technological, and research capacity in AI and the development of an analytical framework of the impact potential of AI in the public sector. This report, in particular, follows a previous landscaping study and collection of European cases, which was delivered in 2020. This document first introduces the concept of AI appropriation in government, seen as a sequence of two logically distinct phases, respectively named adoption and implementation of related technologies in public services and processes. Then, it analyses the situation of AI governance in the US and China and contrasts it to an emerging, truly European model, rooted in a systemic vision and with an emphasis on the revitalised role of the member states in the EU integration process, Next, it points out some critical challenges to AI implementation in the EU public sector, including: the generation of a critical mass of public investments, the availability of widely shared and suitable datasets, the improvement of AI literacy and skills in the involved staff, and the threats associated with the legitimacy of decisions taken by AI algorithms alone. Finally, it draws a set of common actions for EU decision-makers willing to undertake the systemic approach to AI governance through a more advanced equilibrium between AI promotion and regulation. The three main recommendations of this work include a more robust integration of AI with data policies, facing the issue of so-called “explainability of AI” (XAI), and broadening the current perspectives of both Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) and Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI) at the service of smart AI purchasing by the EU public administration. These recommendations will represent the baseline for a generic implementation roadmap for enhancing the use and impact of AI in the European public sector.

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