Background Information The European Science and Technology Observatory (ESTO)

Website: esto.jrc.es




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Background Information : Biotechnology



The European Science and Technology Observatory (ESTO) - a network of organisations operating as a virtual institute under the European Commission's - Joint Research Centre's (JRC's) Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) - leadership and funding.

The European Commission JRC-IPTS was formally constituted in 1997. A second formal contract for ESTO started on May 1st 2001 for a period of 5 years.

ESTO comprises a core of around twenty European institutions, all with experience in the field of scientific and technological foresight, forecasting or assessment at the national level. These organisations have a formal obligation towards the IPTS and are the nucleus of a far larger network. Membership is being continuously reviewed and expanded with a view to match the evolving needs of the IPTS and to incorporate new competent organisations from both inside and outside of the EU. This includes the objective to broaden the operation of the ESTO network to include relevant partners from EU Candidate Countries.

In line with the objective of supporting the JRC-IPTS work, ESTO aims at detecting, at an early stage, scientific or technological breakthroughs, trends and events of potential socio-economic importance, which may require action at a European decision-making level. The ESTO core-competence therefore resides in prospective analysis and advice on S&T changes relevant to EU society, economy and policy.

The main customers for these activities is the JRC-IPTS, and through it, European policymakers, in particular within the European Commission and Parliament. ESTO also recognises and addresses the role of a much wider community, such as policy-making circles in the Member States and decision-makers in both non-governmental organisations and industry. ESTO members, therefore, share the responsibility of supplying IPTS with up-to-date and high quality scientific and technological information drawn from all over the world, facilitated by the network's broad presence and linkages, including access to relevant knowledge within the JRC' Institutes.

ESTO is engaged in the following main activities:

• A series of Specific Studies, These studies, usually consist in comparing the situation, practices and/or experiences in various member states, and can be of a different nature
  • Anticipation/Prospective analysis, intended to act as a trigger for in-depth studies of European foresight nature, aiming at the identification and description of trends rather than static situations;
  • Direct support of policies in preparation (ex-ante analysis);
  • Direct support of policies in action (ex-post analysis, anticipating future developments).
• Implementation of Fast-Track actions to provide quick responses to specific S&T assessment queries that can precede or complement Specific Studies.
• To produce input to Monitoring Prospective S&T Activities that serves as a basis of experience and information for all other tasks.

Studies include the following of relevance to the use of agricultural products for non-food uses

• New case studies on the coexistence of GM and non-GM crops in European agriculture
• Techno-economic Feasibility of Large-scale Production of Bio-based Polymers in Europe
• Environmental Impact of the Use of Natural Resources