1996 - European Telework Week

Annex 2
ACTS and the Chain Concertation Mechanism
advanced communications concepts and assessing user reaction to them. They may
subsequently lead to a user-pull trial, where applications are tested with enthusiastic
users under real-life conditions. User-pull trials define paths towards the development of
commercial products and services.
Multi Domain Trials projects show how to achieve pan-European interworking and point
the way towards commercial operation of services. They also address the management of
applications, services and networks, taking into account such issues as security, charging
and billing.
Information and dissemination support projects help to integrate the output of the
programme and make it available to those who can exploit it. This may include
facilitating appropriate inter-project contacts, exploring the socio-economic or regulatory
perspective, and facilitating information exchange with external constituencies.
Inter-project relationships are generally only between projects within a technical domain.
In order to achieve a mechanism for managing the ACTS programme allowing to get the
best out of interaction between projects, chains linking projects right across the
programme and often beyond, need to be identified.
Such chains should conceptually link the underlying technologies through components
and systems and terminate in the Applications domain, the eventual output being
evidence for possible new product opportunities for industry or PNOs.
Chains may often be identified with the most permanent results of the programme,
visible to the outside. They can be vehicles for awareness creation, for publishing
guidelines, for documenting the validation of technologies and services, for achieving
impacts in external constituencies. The chain topics and structures must therefore be
given very close attention by the projects and in the concertation mechanisms for the
ACTS programme. Each chain has a clear purpose, focus or objective leading to concrete
results.
Project chains are seen as a vital aspect of the ACTS programme and for making it
operate in a significantly different manner from the predecessor RACE programmes.
Chains offer the opportunity of further increasing the effectiveness and value of the
ACTS programme.
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