The FInES Task Force on "Collaborative Networks" aims at contributing to the establishment of a sound scientific / technological and engineering basis for Collaborative Networks.

Along the last 15 years Europe has established a clear lead in this area, supported by a large number of projects and practical implementations on different forms of collaborative networks, including virtual enterprises, virtual organizations, extended enterprises and dynamic supply chains, business ecosystems and other forms of virtual organizations breeding environments, professional virtual communities, etc. Consolidating those results and pursuing a sounder foundation that provides a common basis for further sustainable developments is a critical need.

The new set of projects recently funded under the 'Factories of the Future' (FoF) challenge, strongly focused on building working solutions for collaborative enterprise networks, open new opportunities for creating synergies, leveraging the existing scientific legacy, and establishing new research avenues.

Under a more general perspective, the Task Force will actively seek the engagement of other active researchers and communities in the area, namely the SOCOLNET (Society of Collaborative Networks) and PRO-VE (Working Conference on Virtual Enterprises) communities.

In particular, the scope of the Task Force is to: