Guidelines attempt to close gap with the US

The European Commission has issued guidelines on how public authorities can close the research and development gap with the US by adopting a more creative approach to the way Europe uses its considerable purchasing power.

The Commission is urging public authorities to become involved much earlier in the development lifecycle, participating in research into hi-tech areas such as medicine and healthcare, according to a Reuters report.

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been employing this strategy for nearly 50 years, according to the report.

"Europe's public sector has massive buying power but has not found a clear way to link mid- to long-term public purchasing needs with research and development programmes," said EU Information Society Commissioner Viviane Reding.