What is PROMISE?

What is epsilon?

What relationship do epsilon projects and resources have to the outside world?

What is PROMISE ?

PROMISE means "Promoting Information Society in Europe". It is a multi-annual programme for the stimulation of the establishment of Information Society in Europe, approved by the Council in December 1997, whose main objectives are:

• increasing awareness and understanding of the potential impact of the IS and its new applications
• optimising the socio-economic benefits of information society in Europe, by promoting widespread access to and familiarity in the use of new information services and applications
• enhancing the role and visibility of Europe within the global dimension of the Information Society

ISAC/ISPO are responsible for the implementation of this programme.

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What is epsilon ?

epsilon is a 1-year initiative funded by the PROMISE 1998 Programme. It comprises 15 projects in 8 Member States, and 2 'streams':

• Information Society and Industry: Best use of IT - a networking initiative for business executives, raising awareness of industrial actors to the best integration of new technologies in business functions. This stream is managed by DG III.
• From regional awareness to trans-national partnership: establishing EU wide co-ordination and dissemination schemes integrating SMEs from a particular sector at regional or local level. This stream is managed by DG XIII.

The two initiatives are co-ordinated through a common Umbrella Structure to ensure a real European dimension within each initiative and a sound co-ordination between the two initiatives, as well as provide a number of networking and support activities vis-à-vis the projects.

The initative began in February 1999 and will continue until March 2000.

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What relationship do epsilon projects and resources have to the outside world ?

As well as awareness raising, the projects have a strong commitment to networking and clustering, both internally between their project consortia and SMEs, across the epsilon initative, and externally.

We are keen for epsilon projects to link with other projects, around Europe and elsewhere.

This website contains a range of resources and information about specific projects. As time progresses and projects develop, more resources and materials will be added. These will include the outcomes of surveys and other research activities; opportunities to link in with cluster actions; and ideas of what constitutes 'best practice'.

We welcome opportunities to collaborate with other projects and organisations. Please feel free to contact the Umbrella Structure team.

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