Article 10 ERDF innovative actions. Information Society

Summary:

As information and communication technologies enter more facets of our lives, the Information Society has progressed to the top of the policy agenda in the European Union. Society and the economy are adapting to the wave of innovation which is associated with this change resulting in new activities and new ways of doing things. The policy challenge is a complex one. The Information Society affects particular individuals, communities, sectors of economic activity, regions and even countries in different ways. The implications of Information Society for Cohesion policy has been recently emphasised by the Commission in its Communication COM (97)7/3 "Cohesion and the Information Society", while another the Communication "The social and labour
market dimension of the Information Society" COM (97) 390 has covered the social and employment issues.

In this context, the Regional Information Society Initiative (RISI) is designed to investigate how to maximise the benefits which the Information Society can provide.

This booklet describes the work of the 22 RISI regions which are using a common methodology, based on public-private partnership and commitment of key regional actors, to develop strategies and action plans for the promotion of the Information Society within Less Favoured Regions. An executive summary of the evaluation of the six pilot actions (IRISI) which preceded the RISI is also provided. The support structures put in place by the European Commission to assist the RISI process are outlined and a description on the European Regional Information Society Association (eris@) is provided. The RISI 2 pluri-regional pilot projects are the second strand of the RISI activity. These pilot projects are transnational and involve up to nine partners per project and over 40 different regional organisations across the European Union.

The objective of the RISI 2 is the development of applications which will contribute to regional socio-economic development. The RISI 2 pilot projects complement the work being carried out by the RISI 1 regions and a transfer of expertise and know-how has already started across regions and projects.