Taking into account that a quarter of the EU GDP growth and 40% of productivity growth are induced by information and communication technologies (ICTs), the second pillar of CIP, the ICT Policy Support Programme (ICT PSP) is very important for reaching the goals defined in the Lisbon Strategy and the i2010 Strategic Framework. Despite progress in the uptake of ICTs, businesses in Europe and in particular SMEs could do more and make better use of ICTs to innovate in product services and processes.

With EUR 730 million over seven years, the ICT PSP is the major financial instrument used at EU level to achieve these objectives. Whereas FP7 supports research in and development of new information and communication technologies, ICT PSP supports deployment through the wider uptake and best use of information and communication technologies by citizens, governments and businesses, in particular SMEs.

The following ICT policy areas are supported by the ICT PSP:

eGovernment aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public administrations and to facilitate their interactions with citizens and businesses. More specifically, the 2007 work programme had the following objectives:

• To implement and give access to electronic public procurement (eProcurement) in all Member States participating in the exercise;
• To set up an interoperable system for the recognition of electronic identification (eID) and authentication available throughout the EU and participating countries;
• To provide innovative ICT based solutions that support administrations' efforts to process and deliver better public services to all, including secure document management and archiving; and
• To stimulate experience sharing, re-use and cooperation in the uptake of innovative eGovernment services.

eInclusion is high on the EU ICT agenda. eInclusion covers two main objectives. On the technical side, the objective is to develop more accessible and usable ICT technology. On the societal side, the use of ICT should achieve the wider inclusion of all society groups (according to age, gender, employment, immigration etc) in the information society. The 2007 work programme especially concentrated on eInclusion projects in the ageing society.

eHealth is important because the maintenance of a sustainable health system will be one of the major challenges for ageing European societies in the coming years. ICT based systems for sustainable and interoperable health services (eHealth) provide the means to address this. Cofinanced European Community research programmes have supported eHealth since the 1990s. Many research results have now been tested and put into practice. This has put Europe in a leading position in the use of electronic health records in primary care and deployment of health (smart) cards. These developments have contributed to the emergence of a new "eHealth industry" that has the potential to be the third largest industry in the health sector with a turnover of EUR 11 billion. The main goal of the programme is to ensure the implementation of EU-wide interoperable health services. Accompanying the increased mobility of European citizens, the 2007 work programme focused on the EU-wide implementation of patients' summaries or Emergency Data Set as well as electronic medication records and ePrescription to support the continuity of care for patients moving across borders.

Other themes with a horizontal dimension supported by ICT PSP are experience-sharing exercises on ICT initiatives for SMEs, such as the deployment of the Digital Business Ecosystem, a concept emerging worldwide as an innovative approach to support the adoption and development of ICT, or innovative solutions such as "Living Labs", experience research centres and other similar initiatives. The "Intelligent Cars awareness action" aims at accelerating the take-up and best use of new ICT-based Intelligent Vehicle Systems for safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly transport and mobility services. An important horizontal concern which affects all policy areas is the development and wide use of trustworthy infrastructure which protects the privacy of personal data used by different services such as eGovernment, eInclusion or eHealth.