Target basic research and Joint Technology Initiatives

04 Mar 2008 | News
Spend a third of the EU’s basic research budget through the European Research Council – and spend all the rest on Joint Technology Initiatives.
By Balz Abplanalp

Boost the basic: Balz Abplanalp’s radical programme.

In order to become the world’s leading knowledge based economy and to achieve its R&D goals within the Lisbon process, Europe must make a big step forward in its R&D achievements. The history of science shows that such big steps forward in developing new technologies have mostly been achieved by findings coming from basic research. Therefore a maximum of attention and funding has to be addressed to the best performers in basic research in Europe.

The funding schemes set up by the European Research Council are an important move in this direction, but the ratio of funded researchers to applicants is still too small. In order to raise this ratio, a third of the EU R&D funds have to be dedicated to basic research steered by a completely independent European Research Council (instead of the 14 per cent of the current money spent for the Framework programme). The aim should be to finance at least 10 per cent of the best basic research performed in Europe in all potentially relevant disciplines for competitiveness and growth.

On the other hand, a big step forward is only possible – given a certain financial framework – by aiming at the maximum added value of every euro invested in R&D.

With the Joint Technology Initiatives (JTIs), a first achievement has been made in order to multiply EU money dedicated to key areas with money from industry and in some cases from Member States. Following this logic of multiplying EU money, the JTIs as exemplary multipliers have to be strengthened by setting them up in all relevant areas where industry participation is possible.

At the same time, the JTIs should boost innovation and integrate all parts of the knowledge triangle not only by the participation of the best industry partners, but also by delivering education and training to the best (PhD) students in the relevant disciplines. The degrees in the corresponding disciplines of the JTIs would be delivered by networks of excellent universities under whose patronage and sponsorship the integrated JTI stands.

Finally, the degree should include also compulsory entrepreneurship training within the JTI in collaboration with the partners from industry, with the incentive of building up a start-up SME after its completion (funded through the Risk Sharing Finance Facility). Since they currently represent the best structure to multiply R&D from the EU and to integrate the knowledge triangle, the integrated JTIs should receive two-thirds of the money spent for EU R&D.

With such a new funding combination set up from 2013 onwards, the landscape of EU R&D would change towards an independent European institution for basic research, the European Research Council, and the unified applied research programme called Integrated JTIs. The whole “Cooperation” and “Euratom” part of the current Framework programme should be transferred into thematic cooperation within the Integrated JTIs (there will be e.g. a Fusion JTI) and the “People” part transferred to the Lifelong Learning Programme. The money of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology will also be available for the Integrated JTIs since the Knowledge and Innovation Community will be set up in the logic of integrated JTIs and transformed into, for example, a Renewable Energy JTI after 2013.

This very targeted funding for the excellent cutting-edge basic research and R&D within the Integrated JTIs that are PPPs of industry and academia might allow a quicker set off of the growth expected from European R&D, integrate the knowledge triangle, make the Lisbon goals a reality and still help to deepen the European Research Area through competition and cooperation within targeted areas.

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