Overview

WP2 is designed to maintain and further develop a common European vision, strategy and goals. The objective is on the one hand to provide the community with a widely accepted comprehensive strategic vision and future goals for QIPC research in a broad sense. On the other hand we will take the first steps to ensure the future sustainability of the field. These goals will be achieved through a set of actions (regular updates of the QIPC Strategic Report, preparation of reports, position papers, and strategy/policy documents) and tools that will serve the scope of helping the EC to shape the research program in the field of IST in general and in QIPC in particular. Finally, the organization of working Virtual Institutes Experts in the various sub-fields, their interaction and integration, as well as the constitution of a virtual observatory of the QIPC field will constitute also an important part of WP2 work.

Objectives

The aim of WP2 is twofold. On the one hand, it will provide the community with a widely accepted comprehensive strategic vision and future goals of QIPC research; on the other hand it will explore possible ways to ensure the future sustainability of the field. These goals will be mainly achieved through the elaboration of a series of documents and tools serving the WP different purposes, which will be maintained and regularly updated.

Tasks
 

T2.1 Virtual Institutes Experts (FBK-ECT*)

The first task of this WP will be that of setting up a formal network of experts for each of the four different Virtual Institutes (quantum computation, quantum communication, quantum information sciences and quantum information technologies). The thematic subject of each VI will be split according to the quantum information classification scheme, and VI experts (initially chosen from the contributors to the QIPC Strategic Report, but afterwards expanded by the initial members according to their needs) nominated for each sub-area identified. Satellite meetings of VI experts where the state-of-the-art and goals of QIPC will be reviewed and updated will be planned during the major QUIE2T conferences. Thus, to maximize flexibility, several experts per sub-area will be appointed, so that at least one expert per sub-area will be present during the meetings.

T2.2 QIPC Strategic Report, Quantum Information Classification Scheme and position documents (UULM, FBK-ECT*)

The main purpose of this task is to periodically update the QIPC Strategic Report (expressing the common strategy, vision and goals of the QIPC community) and the Quantum Information Classification Scheme (an indexed list of all sub-topics within the field of QIPC). These updates will be based both on the VI experts judgment of the state-of-the-art and recent advances in the field, as well as on direct community input provided via the web portal set up in WP3. Given the long-term strategy nature of these documents there will be only two updates following the two major conferences organized by the CA (and therefore the VI expert meeting).

In addition, this task will prepare all position documents needed to promote the QIPC field during the preparation of the Commission Work-Program 2011-13, in particular the one concerning the proposals to ensure the future sustainability of the field (see task 2.4 below).

T2.3 QIPC Virtual Observatory (UULM, FBK-ECT*)

The data collected by the previous QIPC CAs, will be maintained and complemented by QUIE2T, most notably by WP1 (and partly, through the previous task). Unquestionably, these data represent a valuable asset for the QIPC community that can be further exploited through the application of appropriate visualization tools (such e.g., tables, Google maps mash-up, graphs or trees) which could be used, e.g., to highlight the development and advances of the field.

Take for example the quantum information classification scheme. By classifying the scientific papers according to it, one can single out, e.g., the more active areas in the past years, unveil past and future trends, and the time evolution during the analyzed period (for example one can study the correlation between the scientific production in Europe and worldwide and the content of the different FET Proactive calls).

As a first step, we plan to analyze along these lines the worldwide QIPC scientific publication from 2004 to 2006, for which existing databases (built up when first developing the quantum information classification scheme) can be exploited; this will allow to fine tune the visualization tools and to get a feeling of how interesting our procedure can be. Starting from this initial seed, we will explore in which directions our analysis and tools (which will be made public via the CA web portal) can be further developed and made more comprehensive (e.g., we could address the scientific production of leading European institutions in the field during the years).

T2.4 Towards sustainability in QIPC (UULM, FBK-ECT*, Coordination Steering Committee)

QIPC is clearly entering in the second stage of its evolution, turning from an embryonic high-risk research field, into a more mature medium-risk field that has reached critical mass and already delivered several technological applications (e.g., quantum key distribution systems, random numbers generators, etc.). Measures to ensure the future sustainability of the entire field are urgent and the different options need to be fully explored. One of the possibilities at stake (as explicitly mentioned in the call for this objective), is to gather sufficient commitment from the different QIPC actors to set up an ERA-NET+ action in the field, leading possibly in the long-term to a co-decision for an Article 169 Initiative.

The aim of this task is therefore to us the QUIE2T consortium members' network in order to reach high-profile policy makers of key European Member States and gauge their interest for an ERA-NET+ action in QIPC. In a second phase, if and once a critical mass of different member states is achieved it will ask letters of intent to participate to the ERA-NET+ action. A white paper will be then drafted and submitted to the Commission as input for the preparation of the Work Programme 2011-13.
Collaboration and coordination with other similar initiatives in the field (such as ERA-NET initiatives eventually applying in this or the next two calls) will be sought for and maximized.