IPTS is located in Seville, Spain. Since 1994, IPTS promotes and enables a better understanding of the links between technology, economy and society. Its mission is to provide customer-driven support to the EU policy-making process by researching science-based responses to policy challenges that have both a socio-economic and a scientific or technological dimension.

The work undertaken by IPTS is mainly done at the request of other Directorates General of the European Commission. In addition in recent years several assignements have been carried out for the European Parliament.

IPTS collaborates closely with the other Institutes of the Directorate General Joint Research Centre and multiple partners across Europe.

The JRC-IPTS Action “ERA-Policies” aims at providing policy makers both in the Commission and in Member States with relevant information and intelligence, in order to support evidence-based policy-making in the research field in Europe and to contribute to the realisation of the European Research Area (ERA) and to increased investments in RTD.

The ERA-Policies Action is in particular responsible for the operation and development of the web-based ERAWATCH Strategic Intelligence Service, in closed coordination with DG Research.