GENNESYS (Grand European Initiative on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology using Neutron- and Synchrotron Radiation Sources) is a report (released April 2010), a conference (to take place May 26-28, 2010 in Barcelona, Spain), and a five-year project about nanomaterials that was undertaken in Europe. The report is some 500 pages long and Michael Berger offers a précis in a Nanowerk Spotlight article.  From Berger’s article,

A European project [GENNEYSIS] has completed an extensive five-year study of the needs and opportunities for coordinating future research and development in nanomaterials science and nanotechnology for the advancement of technologies ranging from communication and information, health and medicine, future energy, environment and climate change to transport and cultural heritage.

With over 600 participating ‘authors’, the report offers a comprehensive view of the European perspective. The objectives for the project were (from the report, p.viii),

The key objectives of the GENNESYS task forces were:

• To assess the “state of the art” of nanoscience and technology in Europe;

• To identify future needs, opportunities and priorities in the field of nanomaterials science for solving urgent problems in Europe and around the world;

• To articulate fundamental scientific challenges, society needs and industrial potentials in this field;

• To define recommendations and objectives for future research, technologies, and development strategies which will lead to major advances;

• To pinpoint areas of research into nanomaterials science and technology that will most benefit from joint research strategies with synchrotron radiation and neutron facilities;

• To review and forecast the effects that a strategic use of large-scale facilities by nanomaterials scientists will have on the facilities;

• To provide evidence of the societal impact of the field and provide a forum for coordinated community-wide communications between basic researchers, industry, policy-makers and the public, respectively;

• To establish a strategic European research programme encapsulated “Nanomaterials research and technology for future technologies exploiting neutron and accelerator-based x-ray facilities”.

I would strongly recommend reading Berger’s article where he offers a summary of the high points before tackling this extraodinary report (the list of authors and contributors spans 30 pages).