Those of you who are involved in ICT and also other themes in FP7 will already be aware that there are differences in the definition of a Small and medium scale focused project (STREP) between the different themes in the programme.

Those themes which are managed by DG Research define Focused projects simply on budget. All Collaborative research projects can carry out a wide range of activities – R&D, Demonstration, Management and Other are the categories – and those below a certain level of funding are considered to be Focused projects, those above it are Large scale integrating projects.

DG INFSO, managing the ICT theme, chose to maintain that there is qualitative difference between IPs and STREPs, not merely a quantitative one. Specifically, STREPs are expected to be well-planned tightly-focused research or demonstration projects. The implication of this is that in ICT the main activities in a STREP can be just three – R&D, Demonstration and Management. So a proposer who registers for an ICT call will find, when completing his A3 form for a STREP in the EPSS system, that only these three categories can be filled in.

Proposers in ICT who specifically plan to include other activities closely related to the research work of the project, such as protection of their IPR or dissemination of their results, can put these under the Management category (or if they wish to bear some of the cost themselves, under R&D). In themes other than ICT, these activities woud be funded as "other".