Teaming for success: How to capitalise on centres of excellence in Widening countries?

Countries in central and eastern Europe have traditionally been considered as a drag to European R&I, and their lower performance in almost all R&I indicators as a gap that needs filling. Many efforts have been put in place to remedy this, including the “Teaming for excellence” action, introduced as part of the Widening scheme under Horizon 2020 programme with the objective to create new or modernise existing centres of excellence in Widening countries through strategic partnerships with leading institutions abroad. After almost a decade, it is time to take stock of what the scheme has achieved so far. Looking ahead, several questions arise, including:

• What makes a centre of excellence successful and attractive to researchers, innovators and investors?
• What is the role of centres of excellence in strengthening R&I performance?
• How to build on these new and modernised centres of excellence and boost overall R&I capacity in EU13 countries?
• What has been the level of monitoring – both at national and EU levels – of the Teaming scheme’s impact? What conclusions can be drawn?
• How to ensure newly created centres of excellence in EU13 are sustainable in the longer run?
• Is the Teaming/Widening initiative still fit for purpose?

This roundtable will bring together 30 key regional and European stakeholders from research, industry, regional authorities, national governments and EU institutions to draw lessons from what the Widening and Teaming instruments have delivered to date and discuss the prospects for leveraging and boosting excellence in Central and Eastern Europe. The event will highlight regional success stories and challenge the perception that countries in CEE may have little to contribute to European R&I. Recommendations emerging from the discussion will be captured and disseminated to the wider research and innovation community.