Structural effects of EC RT&D programmes

Taking advantage of both ''vertical'' evaluations (of the JOULE and MHR programmes) and of the ''transversal'' study of the effects of all shared-cost programmes in France, the paper argues that such actions have already built large, heterogeneous, trans-border networks, out of which most are nearly stabilized but still in a learning process about collaborative research practices. It also shows that most networks fall under a limited set of collaborative patterns which focus on different outcomes and, in turn, have different structural effects. It, in turn, questions both the articulation and implementation mechanisms of the present framework programme.