Keep in touch … with ICT

There are any number of ways to keep track of developments in European ICT research, ranging from personal contacts through to the mass media. Somewhere in between you have services like Ideal-ist and ICT Results.

While ICT Results mainly looks to showcase the fruits of successful research and technology partnerships funded by the European Union, Ideal-ist aims its sextant squarely at the other end of the horizon. It helps projects to kick start their innovative research and overcome barriers along the way.

With its new platform, the INTOUCH Special Interest Group (SIG), a whole new level of co-operation is possible, where European ICT funding ‘old hands’ can pass on the tricks of the trade to newcomers to the Framework Programmes and ICT research.

As more and more calls in the ICT theme of FP7 are published throughout 2008, this is an opportunity for network members to share ideas and pass on best practices. What’s more, through targeted newsletters, presentations, virtual meetings, moderated forums and downloadable documents, INTOUCH members have at their disposal a veritable online agora.

What it says on the box
“We saw that many newcomers and even some groups in our current community were not getting the full picture of developments in EU-funded ICT research,” says Dunja Swierstra of Ideal-ist. “So, we created INTOUCH to bridge the gap. It does what it says on the box!”

INTOUCH is open to all current Ideal-ist members and partners, including national contact points (NCPs), third-country contacts, and European policy-makers. It is also available to ICT information partners, such as the new Enterprise Europe Network (Innovation Relay Centre plus the Euro Info Centres), CORDIS and ICT Results – as an Ideal-ist umbrella member.