On 9th February 2011, the European Commission presented a Green Paper which proposes major changes to EU research and innovation funding to make participation easier, increase scientific and economic impact and provide better value for money. The changes, to be introduced in the next EU budget after 2013, would bring together the current Framework Programme for research, the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme, and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.

A revolutionary new concept in textile production has led to the creation of the world’s first “air purifying” dress. And if the prototype is anything to go by it proves that, in the future, this genre of environmentally responsible fashion can be bang on trend without sacrificing style. The floor length gown is part of the Catalytic Clothing project, a collaboration between experts from the University of Ulster, University of Sheffield and London College of Fashion. They set out to produce a fabric which could eliminate pollutants, making the air around us cleaner and leading to improved respiratory health. The end result is the stunning, textile-sculptured dress entitled “herself” and it’s no ordinary catwalk creation – in fact, at this stage it can’t even be worn, as this prototype is constructed from pliable concrete and textile.

Research by two Victoria University PhD graduates has advanced cutting edge technology that combines wool with gold and silver to create a new range of multi functional textiles.

Dr Fern Kelly and Dr Kerstin Burridge have completed parallel research projects that have pioneered a way of embedding tiny nanoparticles of gold and silver in New Zealand wool, resulting in colourful textiles that have functional and aesthetic benefits. Dr Kelly has worked with silver and Dr Burridge with gold.

This public consultation is about a possible successor to the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP). The CIP consists of three operational programmes: the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme, the ICT – Policy Support Programme and the Intelligent Energy Europe programme. The consultation is being undertaken in order to provide the Commission with public views on what the future priority areas for an EU intervention in these areas should be, and what instruments should be used.