Capacities is one of the four main support programmes of FP7. With a budget of €4.09 billion, it is intended to develop the research community throughout Europe by enhancing the overall capacity for research and innovation and ensuring their optimal use.
Capacities will provide support to strengthen and consolidate the research community throughout Europe and improve the relationship between SMEs and the research base.
The programme is divided into seven areas:
- Research infrastructures – to optimise the use and development of the best research infrastructures existing in Europe.
- Research for the benefit of SMEs – to strengthen the research and innovation capacity of SMEs.
- Regions of knowledge – to strengthen the research potential of European regions through research-driven clusters.
- Research potential of Convergence Regions – to stimulate the research potential of the Convergence and outermost regions of the EU.
- Science in society – to stimulate the integration of scientific and technological endeavour and research policies into European society.
- Support to the coherent development of research policies – to enhance the effectiveness and coherence of national and Community research policies and their articulation with other policies.
- Specific activities of international cooperation – to improve the global role of the European Union in relation to science and technology.
