improve the general R&D effort. Will governments be able to develop "innovation plans" that favor interac­tions between universities, industries and governments? Will the public and the private sector reach a consen­sus on priorities? Since the KST system is composed of both the public and the private sector, working with the whole system could lead to a consensus on priori­ties. This would allow the public sector to take better account of the private sector and consumer needs and concentrate on the development of public goods.
•     Innovation is a strategic element in economic competi­tion, but companies make investment decisions accord­ing to their expected returns. The level of private sector contributions to R&D varies among countries. Large multinationals are increasingly influencing priorities and investments in agricultural science and technology and are heavily involved in agricultural extension. Some see this trend as positive, others as negative. Will policies that enable firms to pursue the "best quality according to international standards" clash with policies aimed at ensuring that "research is a means for local economic development?" Will enterprises be able to earn money from research, invest massively in research and produce significant industrial innovation? How does the interna­tionalization of science interact with the international­ization of industrial R&D? How do innovation systems adapt to maximize benefits and lower costs of interna­tionalization?  How will the potential contradictions between local development and internationalization be addressed?
•     How far will the current regionalization trend go in Eu­rope? Will excessive competition between regions, in the absence of coordination at the European level, lead to a fragmentation of efforts and the absence of a coherent strategic vision? Will Europe be able to reinforce excel­lence, especially in new, fast-growing research areas and areas where science and technology are closely inter­linked? Will the strengthening of large-scale pan-Euro­pean projects concentrate and integrate research without accommodating local concerns and context? Will Euro­pean universities serve the industrial economy, or simply become more closely linked to "external" research? Will there be a more open and dynamic European market for funding post-doctoral researchers, including opening ac­cess to non-academic research? Will greater importance be given to service sector activities and SMEs? Will the Russian Federation manage to transform its R&D sys­tem and attract young people to R&D?

5.3.3 Information technology: trends and uncertainties

5.3.3.1 Trends
The information technology boom started over thirty years ago. Information technology is the most important among the key technologies because of its dominant role in all other areas and in the convergence of technologies. It de­serves continued special attention due to its economic and societal relevance not least for innovation. Information and Communication  Technologies,  especially  Artificial  Intel-

ligence and Cognitive Science can help breaking up rigid organizational structures hindering innovation, and do so in harmony with cultural, social and natural heritage. There is a trend towards modeling more and more of reality in com­putational systems. There is literally no part of reality which might not be subject to such modeling, including intelligent human beings as the most challenging goal. Information Technology is a cross-sectoral discipline par excellence. Its applications virtually cover any sector and any discipline (Bibel, 2005).
      New forms of expertise are emerging, facilitated by the development of information and communication technolo­gies (ICT) that allows both access to content and contact amongst actors. ICT will play a part in all fields of science and technology and in agriculture, especially by providing images, real-time data wherever needed (Cuhls, 2006). Im­aging will be available very soon (NISTEP, 2005) and will contribute to precision farming and to making agriculture, especially the related resource and land management, more efficient. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) could re­place common barcodes and have a huge impact on agricul­ture and the marketing of products (Cuhls, 2006). Models and simulations will improve and support crop manage­ment, weather forecasts, etc.
     Currently, IT availability and use in NAE is uneven among countries and sectors. Europe, in general, is behind North America. Within Europe, there are major differences. Some countries of Eastern Europe and to a lesser extent, Central Europe, have relatively low access to information technologies.

5.3.3.2 Uncertainties of the future
There are a number of uncertainties related to the future and the way these questions will be answered in the dif­ferent regions of NAE will affect the AKST systems. These questions are:
•     Will drastic cost reduction in ICT-based Microsystems and artificial intelligence and knowledge management software lead to widespread self education, training and research generation tools?
•     Will Eastern Europe be able to reduce the digital divide with the rest of Europe?
•     As far as Information Technology is concerned, will Europe manage to catch up and keep pace with North America?

5.3.4 Evolution of KST with potential impact on AKST
Beyond what is happening in the ICT sector, other devel­opments in the knowledge, science and technology systems could have important consequences for AKST. Technology forecasting and foresighting activities have been carried out at the European (EC, 2006) and national levels (Technolo­gies Clés in France; Futur in Germany; National Intelligence Council's 2020 project in the USA, etc.) to identify emerg­ing priority technologies that will be of paramount impor­tance for Europe in the future. At the European level, forty technologies have been grouped within four main scientific fields (EC, 2006):
•     Nanotechnologies,   knowledge-based   multifunctional materials, new production processes,