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Italy - National Programme Information

National policies

2005, the Italian Council of Ministers approved the programme for the Innovation, Growth and Employment (PICO), on proposal of the Ministry for the communitarian politics. PICO stresses what the Italian government intends to do in order to improve the economic and social environment of the country, stimulating growth and employment. Above all, the plan aims at extending individuals freedom of choice, supporting scientific research and technological innovation, developing new infrastructures, improving education and training systems and protecting the environment. These are the features are indicated in the plan as the major goals to be achieved.

Main specific plan's projects related to research and development issues refer to implementation of 12 strategic research programmes settled by National Research Program (PNR) in several sectors: health, pharmaceutical and bio-medical industries, manufacturing systems, automotive, shipbuilding and aircraft, etc...;

The total amount of public funds available for the purposes of the Plan, for the 2005-2008 period as a whole, is of 46 billion euros. Funds for Research and Development activities amount to 9,3 billion euros. The combination of general measures and projects proposed with PICO should enable Italy to approach the goal of 3% of GDP spending for research and development proposed by the European Commission.

Priority areas

The main areas for research and development of the National Industrial Programme are reflected in the research programmes undertaken and these are as follows: Programme of Research at CETENA 1994-96. Mathematical models, design methodologies, production technologies, and ship operation. The project objectives are to improve the degree of competitiveness of the National shipbuilding industry. Important achievements were obtained in hydrodynamics, structural beam laser welding technology and ship-land interfaces.

Funding organisations

Since its foundation in 1962, CETENA has been regularly awarded funding for research in the maritime field by the Italian Government (Ministry of Transport and Infrastructures, Ministry of Productive Activities, Ministry of University and Research). Until 2002, the funding was provided to support comprehensive three-year research programmes covering a number of different ship and sea related topics. The programmes were ultimately meant to increase the competitiveness of the Italian maritime sector as a whole, and for this reason University and various Italian maritime institutions were involved by CETENA in the programmes through specific research contracts. Since 2002, funding has been provided in a different form, through support to a number of independent research projects each covering a relevant issue, such as safety and the environmental impact of navigation.

Amongst the recently closed national research programmes, it is important to mention the special programme on the ‘Enhancement of Short Sea Shipping and Inland Navigation’, jointly developed by CETENA and COFIR (Consorzio Confitarma – Finmare per la Ricerca) in the years 1999-2001, with a follow-up in 2002-2004. Sea transport and safety are the subject of the ongoing project ‘Trasporto Marittimo Sicuro’ (2003 - 2005).

Programme information

Italy has a National Industrial Programme for research in the area of shipbuilding. The most relevant companies for maritime research involve CETENA (Italian Ship Research Centre), Fincantieri (Shipyard), Conns. A.R., Intituto per studi ed esperienze di architettura navale (National Institute for Naval Architecture Studies and Experiences), RINA (Classification Society), CNR (National Research Centre), and to a lesser extent the Italian universities of Naval Architecture. Many National research projects are funded by Ministry of Transports such as INSEAN research programme and CETENA maritime research programme.

Contact Point

Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport

Director General for Maritime and Inland Waterways Transport

Ministero dei Trasporti

Viale dell'Arte 16 - 00144 - Rome, Italy

Dr. Enrico Maria PUJIA

Tel: +39 06 59084205

Fax: +39 06 59084282

Email: enrico.pujia@mit.gov.it

URL:

www.mit.gov.it

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