In January 2008 connectivity between the Research and Education Communities in Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa was established with a 1 Gbps between the UbuntuNet Alliance and GÉANT.
The objective of Idealist7fp was to stimulate, encourage and facilitate the participation in current and future Community ICT research of organisations of all types. Special focus was put on newcomers and SMEs, including organisations from New Member States (NMS), Associated Candidate Countries (ACC) and INCO comprising countries from broader Europe, Mediterranean countries and non-European Countries with high technical and economical potential. The proposal relied on the specific information and assistance structures, basing on the network of NCPs, established by the Member States and the Associated Countries at local, regional and national level. However the activities of Idealist7fp were incremental to the NCPs as they addressed the international aspects not covered by the nationally funded NCP role.
It was built upon: -Experience gained from the five preceding projects covering FP4, FP5 and FP6: Idealfit, Idealist, Ideal5FP, Idealist34 and Idealist-Extend -Further enhancement to partner search support -Focused support for SMEs in Information and Communications Technology sector and for organisations new to the Framework Program -Strengthening international cooperation with support for NMS, ACC and INCO -Provision of support for countries with SandT international agreements -Provision of training and mentoring for the less experienced country representatives -Promotion of opportunities and Idealist services -More focus on the Quality aspects of the support
Based on the positive experience in the current project Idealist34, there was further emphasis on Quality Control in our activities via an independent Project Quality Management function.
Target/Beneficiary community
Ideal-ist is an international ICT partner search network, with more than 60.000 contacts in line with the international cooperation strategy of the European Commission. Today the Ideal-ist network consists of 67 ICT national partners from EU and Non-EU Countries, such as Associated States, Eastern European Partner Countries (EEPC) and Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPC) and emerging countries like China, Brazil, India, and South Africa in line with the international cooperation strategy of the European Commission.
Ideal-ist supports Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs), Academia, Non-profit Organisations, larger Companies and public Administration, Newcomers, Research Organisations and consultancies in: 1. interpreting the ICT work programme of FP7 2. submitting project ideas in line with the Challenges & Objectives of FP7 3. finding the right partners for their project 4. joining as partners to other proposals 5. joining on-going projects via competitive calls launched by project coordinators
Technology used, standards and services employed
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Research activities carried and out and scientific data generated
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Principal outcomes and documentation (plus link to case studies)
A network of over 60 National Contact Points (NCPs) in the ICT theme and organisations appointed by them are supporting proposers www.ideal-ist.net/representatives
Brokerage Service: Face2Face Face2Face is an online event brokerage tool where you can promote your profile and Partner offers/requests, get in touch and book your meetings with potential partners on-line. www.ideal-ist.net/f2f/
Other potential application areas/ actual spillovers
