IS Areas of Work

The work of the Information Society (IS) Unit focuses on various specific areas that contribute to addressing key EU challenges: for example, re-starting economic growth, ensuring long-term competitiveness, fighting unemployment and reinforcing social cohesion.  In particular, the IS Unit:

  • Develops groundbreaking economic research to investigate the new dynamics generated by the wide utilisation of ICT. Policy makers rightly view a healthy, competitive and growing EU digital economy as a key component of European recovery and future prosperity. More on Digital Economy...
  • Undertakes the mapping and analysis of the dynamics of ICT R&D and its innovation potential in the rest of the European economy. The ICT industry sector, with its annual R&D expenditure of ~€34Bill PPP (2007) represents a quarter of total European Business Expenditure in Research and Development (BERD), and is a major engine of innovation and competitiveness. More on ICT Industry Analysis...
  • Investigates the potential of ICT for education and training, innovation and skills, to upgrade the labour force’s skills to match current and future jobs, and to increase the quality of education and the take-up of lifelong learning. This is key to addressing current unemployment, particularly youth unemployment, and sustainable growth. More on Learning & Skills...
  • Analyses the economic aspects of eHealth. It develops quantitative analysis in the area of ICT contribution to the care of the elderly or chronically ill patients, in response to demographic changes and at a time when health budgets are stretched and consume more than 8% of EU GDP.  More on Economic Aspects of eHealth...
  • Analyses the potential of ICT for the socio-economic integration of the migrants, to help maximize the ability of the growing migrant workforce (the foreign-born in the EU represent 10% of the population) to meet EU labour force needs. This is crucial if the economic potential they offer is to be realised. More on Inclusion & Cultural Diversity...
  • Studies the area dealing with identity, privacy and societal attitudes to the adoption of ICT. This work addresses a wide range of sensitive enabling issues centred on the "digital citizen" and measures the opportunities, threats, intrusions and risks that are inherent in a digital, networked society. More on Digital Living & Identity...

  • Explores the potential of ICT for better governance focussing on the emerging field of ICT for governance and policy modelling and investigating new ICT-enabled governance models in European cities. More on eGovernance…
  • Analyses the current and future socio-economic impact of Social Computing in a number of areas to provide robust, evidence-based, scientific analysis to support EU policy makers. More on Social Computing...


In July 2009, the IRIS (Intelligence and Research for the Information Society in Europe) Framework Agreement between DG Information Society and Media, Directorate C (DG INFSO/C) and DG Joint Research Centre, IPTS (JRC-IPTS) was established in order to coordinate and prioritise the topics of techno-economic research and analysis that support the strategic policy work of DG INFSO on an annual basis. More on IRIS...