The European Commission Directorate General for Research and the Portuguese Presidency organizedthe High-level Conference on 'The Future of Science and Technology in Europe' in Lisbon, Portugal which took place from 8 to 10 October 2007 at the premises of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The Conference provided a large forum for analysis and discussion for more than 400 participants.
The conference consisted of a series of sessions aimed at discussing a broad range of issues at the centre of the debate on future research policy developments in the EU and brought together many of the relevant institutional actors and stakeholders.
The central agenda for the conference was provided both by the Portuguese Presidency priorities and the recent Commission Green Paper entitled "The European Research Area: New Perspectives".
The topics for plenary sessions included 'Challenges for Science and Technology in Europe', 'Promoting and Attracting Human Resources in S&T', 'Increasing Private Investment in R&D', 'Boosting Public Investment in R&D' and 'A Vision for the Future of S&T in Europe'.
Up to nine parallel sessions took also place covering each of the main issues raised in the Green Paper and some additional cross-cutting topics such as ' ERA Rationales', 'Governance issues and links with Lisbon strategy' and 'Science in Society'. The parallel sessions brought a substantial input to the work of the European Commission in drawing the main conclusions of the debate on the Green Paper and to prepare concrete proposals for the future.
