European Economic Community industrial research priorities for the early 1980s

Respondents claimed that European effort on basic research rnay have so diminished that the long-term competitiveness of its industries is endangered. They saw a major role for the Commission in redressing this imbalance. There was little support for Commission sponsorship of applied industrial research. Some respondents felt that this could even be counter-productive by diluting effort in areas seen as important by industrial management. A role was seen for the commission in supporting more research on the legislative context and general environment in which industry operates ('contextual research'). The need for such research imposes a growing burden on industry and diverts scarce resources from work directly related to competitiveness.
A study sponsored by the Commission of the European Communities aimed to identify the types of R & D activity in aid of European industry that the Commission might support over the next three or four years. The findings are based on interviews with senior managers from some fifty firms, representing eight sectors of manufacturing industry in five European countries.