Madeira Digital  

 

 

 

madeiradigital.madeiratecnopolo.pt

 

 

 

Description and targets

• To impel sustainable development, to promote well-being and quality of life to the citizens, and to preserve the environment.
• To reinforce economic competitiveness, by creating an environment which is favourable to creating and developing projects in the Region through the information and communication technologies and showing that "globalization" means more opportunities and not (only) more threats, thus opening the region to the world market;
• To innovate and approach Public Administration toward the citizen, by making available contents and interesting information to users, and promoting innovation and administrative simplification, concerning adaptation to information technologies and communication techniques;
• To improve job offer, creating new business opportunities, promoting the adaptation of traditional industries and developing competences in the area of digital economy and a culture centered on education and training along the lifetime, as well as divulging the best practices to other regions;
• To contribute for the equality of opportunities and to fight info-exclusion by promoting, training and enhancing the domains of Internet access, by building services the citizens are able and willing to use, having particularly in mind the difficulties of social integration and the mobility problems of citizens with special needs.

 

Partners

The following entities work in partnership concerning this project: Vice-Presidency of the Regional Government; Regional Education Department (SRE); Regional Environment and Natural Resources Department (SRA); Regional Environment Bureau (DRA); Regional Tourism Department (DRT); Regional Agency of Energy and Environment in Madeira (AREAM); City Bus Company - Horários do Funchal) (HF); Madeira Electricity Company (EM); IRIG - Regional Infrastructure of Geo-Reference Information; Calheta Seafood Resources Centre (CMC); Strategic Centre for Information Society (NESI); Madeira Technology and Science Park (MT); University of Madeira (UMa); Madeira General Hospital (CHF); Farmers Association of Madeira (AAM); Association of Commerce and Industry of Funchal - Madeira Chamber of Commerce (ACIF-CCIM)

 

Investment

The program was financed by the Operational Program for the Information Society (POSI).

 

Accomplishment time

Madeira Digital is opened until the end of 2006.

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IRIS-Europe (InterregIIIc)

 

 

 

www.iris-europe.eu

 

 

 

Description and targets

IRIS is the acronym for Regional Initiatives, Innovation and Strategies. The general purpose is to help and speed up the decision making of local and regional authorities concerning the evolution of development policies and the correct use of the Information and Communication Technologies (Its). The IRIS-Europe network addresses to 6 public sectors: economic development, e-administration, education, tourism and culture, health and social welfare, infrastructures.

Some of the foreseen activities are:

• Good practice cases in European ICT projects aiming to improve the public policies of "know-how to take a decision"
• Carrying forward inter-regional benchmarking and sector analysis
• To develop a tool for testing self-consultation/benchmarking
• To organize the active dissemination and suiting of results concerning the regional performers

Consult here the list of all case studies published, available online.

Partners

This projects gathers in partnership: Portugal, France, Italy, Greece and Poland.

Investment

The total budget is of 1,553,572,00 €

Accomplishment time

Started on the 1^st of July 2005, although the real starting time was October 2005, it ended on the 31^st of December, 2007.

Infoband

Description and targets

• Creation of a stable cooperation platform in the domain of the Information Society (IS) composed of a group of experts made of technical staff of all regions and interest areas, that promotes the transfer of knowledge and "best practices", as well as to cooperate on developing preparations and implementing solutions in each and every region;
• Research of the needs in communications and in the model of management and performance of the digital network among public services and schools - regional network, access among regions involved in the project and international access;
• Optimization and expansion of wide band network until rural areas, introducing the concept of public interest networks and taking advantage of the flexibility of the most recent networks
• Study and development of models to accelerate electronical processing (e-Government) with the public administration, fitting the departments still without technological level, with a complete networking solution
• Creation of digital access points and their interconnection in a network of Regional Government services, County Councils and Schools, allowing for a high data transmission capacity
• Installation of wired or wireless computer networks at public entities and schools
• Studying the activities and modalities more interesting to new work methods within the area covered by the project
• Preparation of the tailoring plan concerning the offer of new working methods and of people qualification
• Sustainable development of rural areas, by reinforcing the role of cities in the process
• Implantation of competences at the rural environment
• Creation of cooperation networks between cities and rural areas in a regional, inter-regional (Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands) and European scope
• Identification of complementary strategies of an urban-rural nature
• Creation of a forum (Madeira-Azores-Canary Islands for the promotion, follow-up, cooperation and evaluation of results of complementation and cooperation between urban and rural areas
• Creation of a network Madeira-Canary Islands-Azores of public centres of wide-band access.

Partners

Viceconsejeria de Inovação Tecnológica do Governo de Canárias (Coordinator); Instituto Tecnológico de Canárias S.A; Madeira Technology and Science Park, Madeira Tecnopolo S.A.; Society for Development of the North of Madeira; Society for the Development of Porto Santo; Regional Education Department, Associartion of Madeira County Councils, Centre of Enterprises and Innovation of Madeira; Azores Regional Department of Science and Technology; Cabildo Insular de Tenerife (associated partner).

Investment

The total investment amount is of 4 929 50€.

Accomplishment time

Started on the 24th June, 2004, this Project will end on the 31st October, 2006.

e-Safer

Description and targets

This project has as main goal to evaluate the potential and to offer an alternative to the use of software of FLOSS (Free, Livery, Open Source Software) as regards to eGovernment (electronic government), and-Learning and and-Business, as well as promoting its use and when maintaining a sustainable development of FLOSS in the three mentioned sectors, and at the same time to study and to propose strategic plans of action concrete for the public local and regional administration. When basing in the success and know how of Linex, developed in Extremadura, the eSafer will allow a group of changes of experience and transfer of know how among the participants, increasing value in what respects to the application of FLOSS to the eGovernment, and-Learning and and-Business.  The know-how transfer between Extremadura and remaining partners (Andaluzia (version Gaudalinex of LinEx), Lazio, Shoot, Wood, Nord shovels of Calais and Athena) will allow to reach concrete results of the project and the possibility of applying FLOSS to other sectors.

Partners

The Madeira Tecnopolo is the only Portuguese partner in this project, working in partnership with Athens, Calais, Balearic Islands and Andaluzia.

Investment

The global value is of 1.006.458 €. The part belonging to Madeira Tecnopolo is of 78.707,00 €.

Accomplishment time

1st of May, 2004 until the 31st of April, 2006

One family, one computer

Description and goals

• To increase the number of families (up to 30% in  2006) residing in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, owning a personal computer and complementary equipment
• To ease up Internet access, as well as the purchase of a multimedia personal computer, namely to families with weaker economic resources, so as to allow the use of information technologies;
• To promote and reinforce competences in the use of such technologies

Partners

The Regional Education Department and Madeira Technology and Science Park

Investment

The total investment is of 78,713.34 €

Description and goals

• To foment the increment of new information technologies over all the Autonomous Region of Madeira
• To promote better accessibility conditions and better quality of contents within the scope of the Information Society, creating easier access conditions to a personal multimedia computer and to Internet, by means of specifically created spaces;
• To reinforce competences at the basic level of the use of new technologies, by way of shared leasing of computer equipment;
• Installation of 80 computer rooms, forcibly including all civil parishes in the Region

Partners

To enable this project. Madeira Tecnopolo signed a programme-contract with the Regional Government, having also established agreements with some private companies having in mind the supply of all equipment

Investment

The total investment in this project amounts to 6 043 73€.

Accomplishment time

Phase 1 (main): January 2001 until April 2006
Phase 2: still going on.

Dias.net

www.digitalislands.net

Description and targets

Following a logic of mutual support, with this project it is intended that different regions in Europe can share knowledge and experience, namely between the most advanced and the less advanced regions in terms of new technologies and innovation. Thus, DIAS.Net will create a European network so that a better, more effective, share of resources, information and experience becomes available.

• In the context of best practices development, to create a team environment so as to develop joint projects and initiatives and disseminate and make use of best practices, principally by the identification, evaluation and implementation of services resulting from European programmes and initiatives. To do this the project will have the assistance of the Association itself, the technological and research (R&D) network, the school network and the Information Society observatory.
• To reach a consensus on, the sharing and use of an Information Society system of indicators based upon the ones defined by the Europe initiative, which will allow the comparison and evaluation of the development models, plans, initiatives and programmes prepared in this group of regions.

To achieve that, a minimum set of tailor-made communication services and tools to be made available to the member regions and the Association, will have to be implemented:

• A database system allowing real time share of information
• A security system assuring the autheticity of the information made available.
• Safe, shared servers for e-commerce and tele-work.
• A dynamic distance learning and training.

To enable this project, Madeira tecnopolo counts on the help of several institutions in various European countries: the Regional Government of Madeira through the Regional Education Department; Regional Government of Canary Islands through the Technological Innovation Department; Canary Institute for Research and Development;; Canary Islands Federation; International Scientific Council for Island Development (Paris); Network of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of European Union (Grécia); Ansinet (Itália); European Islands Network (Bélgica); Conselho Hundorenho de Ciência e Tecnologia (Honduras).

Investment

This projects means a total investment of 338,600 €, to be totally supported by the European Commission.

Accomplishment time

April, 2002 to July, 2004.

Infocentres/TEC Spaces

Description and targets

The generalisation of the use of information technologies, namely: the Internet, multimedia, graphical creation, email, e-commerce, web producing, videoconference, etc, include its disclosure by means of INFOCENTRES, named TEC spaces, rooms equipped with multimedia computers connected to the Internet, as well as by aptitudes given to the economically less favoured families on buying computers for home use at low prices, and also on having cheaper telecommunication fares.

The creations of these infocentres was carried out by Madeira Tecnopolo as a way of de-centralizing the information society and, therefore, making it accessible to the populations and, above all, to youngsters. Nowadays there are three spaces open to to public. One outside of Funchal, in Machico, another in the Portuguese Scouts Association, in Funchal. The third space is allocated to the University canteen, gathers the ideal conditions for the creation of a new TEC space, not only concerning physical space but also having in mind the increasing demand especially by the University population, creating a new TEC space was considered relevant. It is considered as justified by the University students demand, with a different kind of requests than those of the populations that attend the other spaces created within the scope of the  project "A Computer for All". By opening this new TEC space under this candidature, complemented with the other one situated at the Madeira Tecnopolo building and financed under REGIS II, the cycle of infocentres created and supervised by Madeira Tecnopolo has ended..

The concept of INFOCENTRE was regained already during this year througfh the project A COMPUTER FOR ALL, and consists of fitting rooms with multimedia computers connected to Internet in a local area network, in the premises of the public utility institutions, in order to provide access to the new information technologies to economically disfavoured population, project compulsorily extending to all civil parishes in the Region.

In order to guarantee that all population has the opportunity of using the new information technologies, it is important that the families with less financial resources may have computers connected to the Internet at home, thus avoiding their info-exclusion, and allowing at the same time the youngest members of the family to have the complementary means to use in the official learning system.

The concept of info-exclusion versus info-inclusion is, however, much more comprehensive and implies that the use of ITs extends to the larger number of homes in the Region, both directly and indirectly, enabling to increment the penetration rate from 5% to 30% in 2006, implying thus a widened offer of computer systems made available to the population, at school, at home or at institutions having opened their doors to the populations within their area in order to create a favourable environment for the use of such technologies as a support of an information and knowledge society.

In short, the policy followed is to "pull" the In formation Society by the demand side, allowing families and population in general to access the minimal information technologies needed, namely to access the Internet.

That is the case of three projects assigned to Madeira Tecnopolo, foreseen in action 1.2.1 of POPRAM, namely: CREATION OF INFOCENTRES called TEC SPACES; A COMPUTER FOR ALL and ONE FAMILY, ONE COMPUTER.

The goals are:

1. To build up spaces where citizens become familiar with the use of information technologies, especially Internet;
2. To promote and generalise the use of such technologies, namely multimedia, graphical design, e-mail, e-commerce, web page building and videoconference;
3. Making them act as showroom and laboratory, by being established in great visibility spaces, also easily reachable by the population;
4. To work as meeting point and debate forum about ITs and its use with the support of qualified monitors.
5. To contribute to training and basic qualification of the citizens in the subject of information technologies, within the scope of the Government measure.

Investment

The total investment of Madeira Digital is of 604.373€, FEDER contribution amounting to 302.186 €.

Telerup

 

 

 

 

Description and targets

The main goal of this project is to improve the life quality of people finding with professional introduction problems, specially the physically handicapped, through the use tele-work tools, since it implies transformations in the personal and familiar relations, allowing a better adaptation to individual needs.

This project intends to provide basic information about how interesting it would be to create an organisations consortium for the active participation in the communitarian initiative Interreg IIIb (Azores-Madeira-Canaries). The finality is the creation of a resources central of tele-work in the mentioned regions with special orientation to people with physical handicaps.

Partners

Department of Employment and Social Affairs of Canaries; Regional Direction for Special Education and Rehabilitation; Madeira Tecnopolo.

Investment

This project has a foreseen cost of 99 600 00€ and is applying for Interreg IIIb.

Accomplishment time

Between September, 2002, and June, 2004.

Description and targets

Nitoura was thought and conceived with the objective to use New Technologies of Information to allow opening new paths of access to the rural areas, aiming to.

• Stop the exodus of people from rural areas;
• Support the competitiveness and productivity of local industry.

To achieve that purpose, Nitoura intended to introduce and stimulate access from small and medium sized companies to the new Information and Communication Technologies, through:

• Support for e-business,
• Remote co-operative work,
• Telework,
• Video-conference,
• Electronic document management,
• Remote access to multimedia services

The exploration of these tools allowed the development of a methodology for the development of the Virtual Office Environment.

During the operational phase of this project, it was intended (with the financial aid of the European Community), to offer a Virtual Office Environment for use by the regional SMEs, evaluate the results reached, to develop the methodology to better implement and construct a solid commercial business plan.

One of the first steps was the creation of a portal with several news and directories that where made available in the Internet. Besides being an entry point for the VOE (Virtual Office Environment), this portal was a source of local, regional, national and, in certain cases, even international information.

Through this portal, the SMEs could also access the private services:

• Common Website
• E-commerce service
• Email
• Fax Gateway
• Document Management

these services being available in VOE.

Partners

Five European regions participated in the project: (Waterford in Ireland, Ganderkesee in Germany, Karlskrona in Sweden, Ardéche in France and Madeira)

Investment

This project had a budget of 306652€, with 50% of funding by the European Union and the other 50% by Madeira Tecnopolo, executor of the Nitoura project in the region.

Accomplishment time

Nitoura II started in November 1999 and ended June 2001.

Toureg-Research Driven Cluster for Tourism Sector. Competitiveness and Knowledge

The project

By getting together Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) with Tour Agents and Hotel Groups, the intention on an initial stage is to collect a situation status, which will lead to establishing strategies aiming globally to fulfil the needs the sector may evidence. In global terms, the project is directed to improving competitiveness in companies belonging to that services sector, especially those connected to Tourism, by establishing a platform to generate and transmit knowledge based on technological innovation and research in the Tourism domain.  

Global goals

TOUREG several targets can be summarized, globally, in:   

• Adapting and strengthening the public policies of Research and Development (R&D) specifically under the Tourism area;
• Establishing a procedure that allows generating and transferring knowledge in the Tourism sector;
• Promoting, diversifying and specializing under R&D the activities in that sector;
• Making the establishment of a knowledge generating platform become easier;
• Increasing productivity in the Tourism sector;
• Exchanging experiences among regions and participating countries.

Specific Objectives

In order to achieve the global goals, there are a few specific actions foreseen in the project:  

• Creation and consolidation of a research cluster in the tourism sector, at an international level;
• Creation of a labour network able to increase competitiveness within the sector of services focused on tourism;
• Elaboration of a SWOT analysis that allows for a perspective of the different realities;
• Creation of a Technological Map to identify synergies within the cluster as a whole;
• Producing conclusions and recommendations that help improving and adapting the public Technological R&D policies throughout the different regions concerning the Tourism sector.

Partners

There are seven countries participating in TOUREG through several institutions: Madeira Tecnopolo (Madeira, Portugal), Expedita (Madeira, Portugal), AREAM (Madeira, Portugal), The Regional Government of Balearic Islands (Balearic Islands, Spain), IBIT (Balearic Islands, Spain), GIT Consulting (Balearic Islands, Spain), Technical University of Crete (Crete, Greece), Foundation Hellas (Crete, Greece), Pemenco (Sweden), University of Luela (Sweden), CG-GC (Rumania), ARCF (Bulgaria).

Investment and finantial participation

The total budget assigned to this Project is of € 1,078,968.33 the parcel assigned to Madeira Tecnopolo being of € 110,100.00.