Horizon Europe is well underway, but the world of European R&D policy goes well beyond the confines of the €95.5 billion R&D programme. EU climate, digital, agriculture and regional policies all have significant research and innovation components. National governments often come up with new R&D policies, decide to fund new research avenues, and set up international cooperation deals. This blog aims to keep you informed on all of that and more.
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You can read the full archive of this blog here.
The EU should commit to a strong health research strategy in the next Framework Programme for research and innovation, says The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities.
The Guild says the EU should supplement national funding in basic early-stage research and too through FP10. “To keep innovating at a global level, the entire research continuum, starting with fundamental research, must be supported as a matter of priority,” said Jan Palmowski, secretary general of The Guild.
Read the statement here.
EU officials travelled to Seoul last week, prefacing an imminent agreement on Korea’s participation in Horizon Europe.
Representatives of the European Commission’s directorate general for research and innovation and the Korean ministry of science discussed plans to deepen bilateral research and innovation cooperation.
More details here.
The European Innovation Council (EIC) has picked the nine finalists for its annual competition for women innovators.
The finalists competed in three categories:
- Women Innovators: open to founders and co-founders across the EU and associated countries. The winner will receive €100,000, and two runners-up will receive €70,000 and €50,000, respectively.
- Rising Innovators: for promising young innovators under the age of 35. The winner will receive €50,000, and two runners-up will receive €30,000 and €20,000, respectively.
- EIT Women Leadership: For exceptional members of the EIT community. The winner will receive €50,000, and two runners-up will receive €30,000 and €20,000, respectively.
The winners will be revealed at the EIC summit on 3 April.
More information about the finalists is available here.
The European federation of academies of sciences and humanities (ALLEA) decries censorship and funding freezes in US universities and research organisations.
“As science is a global public good, and a collaborative resource, these restrictions threaten the very foundation of international research efforts,” ALLEA said in a statement today.
ALLEA also launched a “Stand Up for Science” campaign aimed at protecting the “integrity of research” and safeguarding “the future of global scientific collaboration”. Research organisations can endorse the ALLEA campaign here.
Read the full state statement here.
University and research leaders call for an increased budget and an ambitious standalone FP10 to ensure that EU research and innovation programmes contribute to the new competitiveness agenda.
“The integrity of FP10 must be safeguarded, to harness the excellent, ground-breaking ideas of our researchers and innovators ,” says a letter signed by academics across Europe.
The letter also says the European Research Council, European Innovation Council and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions should have bigger budgets.
Organised by the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities, the letter can be signed by university directors and other associates until May.
Read the letter here.
The European Commission is to allow “free and safe data flows” with the European Patent Organisation (EPO).
“The decision would benefit innovative entities across the EU, by facilitating essential data flows for patent applications and sets a precedent for similar decisions with other international organisations,” said Michael McGrath, EU commissioner for democracy, justice, the rule of law and consumer protection.
Read more here.
The new government coalition in Austria between social democrats (SPÖ), liberals (NEOS) and conservatives (ÖVP) is pushing for an independent European Framework Programme for research and innovation.
In a joint policy paper, the coalition said research will be crucial to European competitiveness, energy independence and industrial transformation. They also call for a new national R&D expenditure goal of 4% of GDP.
Read the coalition paper here (in German).
The European Commission has announced on Monday the winners of the EU Award for Gender Equality Champions in research and innovation.
University of Gdansk won in the category Newcomer, the Spanish National Research council won in the Sustainability category and the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland in the Inclusion category.
The winners received a cash prize of €100,000.
More information here.
The UK government has announced the Westminster Higher Education Forum is to hold a national conference to discuss the next steps for UK research and innovation policy and to assess the UK's role in global science.
Delegates will discuss regulation on research-focused industries, economic growth and measuring of the impact of research.
More information here.
While it might be beneficial for some European Innovation Council (EIC) applicants to consult external entities, signing contracts with consulting firms specialised in EU research and innovation funding is not entirely necessary, as many applicants are successful without them, according to a new paper published by the EIC Board.
“While for some companies good consultants can provide added value and support to applicants, we have also seen cases of bad practice,” said Michiel Scheffer, President of the EIC Board. “We are particularly concerned that some consultants may claim that it is ‘a must’ to have a consultant to be successful in EIC calls,” he added.
To help applicants decide whether they need consultants, the EIC board published a code of conduct in 2023.
More details here.
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