La Lettre du Gerpisa 159

LA LETTRE DU GERPISA

n^o 159 (Avril 2002)

Editorial

Yannick Lung

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD IN STORE FOR THE GERPISA?

The usefulness of having an international researcher network such as the GERPISA no longer requires proving. Similarly, we should not forget the great help the network gets from its back-office, i.e., from the infrastructure that allows it to operate on a regular and uninterrupted basis. The scientific investments of the research and practitioner community would no longer suffice if this infrastructure had not been consolidated. In the terminology used by the French administration, GERPISA is a " équipe d'accueil " (one way of an official recognition of a university's research centre) of the Université d'Evry-Val d'Essonne. This has allowed it to receive funding from France's Ministry of National Education, and above all to benefit from the presence of a technical staff which is responsible for managing the various tasks involved in its co-ordination activities, publications (Lettre, Actes du Gerpisa, website, preparation of manuscripts, etc.) and organisation. This " Équipe d'accueil " status is reassessed every four years. The latest evaluation enabled us to maintain this status for 2002-2005. Carole Assellaou, Kemal Becirspahic (Bécir) and Danielle Lacroix will continue to fulfil their functions with their customary friendliness and efficiency, for the benefit of the entire GERPISA research community. Carmakers like PSA Peugeot-Citroën and Renault, plus the Committee of French Automobile Manufacturers (CCFA), have also renewed their support for our network's activities over the next few months. The upcoming GERPISA conference will be an opportunity to present and to discuss the main findings of the studies that we have been carrying out as part of the CoCKEAS European thematic network supported by European Commission (5th framework). Moreover, the conference will conclude the network's third international research programme. The network's activities could continue by the support it gets from the French Ministry of National Education and from carmakers. This gives us the time to think calmly about the new research programme that we want to put together. After all, number of issues have yet to be resolved :

what should we focus on ? Given that the research programme is the main driver behind the structuring of our activity, what is the main research issue we should be dealing with (i.e., which issue is likely to constitute a focal point for whatever work the network's members will be carrying out over the next few years) ?
which co-ordinator(s) should manage the new research programme ? After all, if new approaches are to be integrated, there has to be a certain renewal of persons.
what status should we be claiming? The GERPISA is in actual fact a " network of excellence ", but should we be requesting that this status be placed under the aegis of the European Commission's 6th framework?

We can certainly take our time to explore the various possible answers to these questions, but it remains that these issues have been raised and do require a response. All of the network's different entities are involved in this thought process and all of its members are invited to participate.

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