The Data Corner: where does EIC funding go?

17 Sep 2024 | News

The EU’s newest research funding instrument does not break the old pattern. EU13 member states are still having a hard time getting access

Photo credits: BigStock

Readers of this column will have noticed that however the data are sliced, institutions in western Europe and the Nordics usually top the rankings in winning EU research funding. The story for European Innovation Council (EIC) funding is no different.

The EIC launched in 2021 with Horizon Europe, and according to the latest EU data the organisation getting the most EIC funding is the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and the most successful country is Germany.

Yet, according to the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), which divides EU member states into the four categories of innovation leaders, strong innovators, moderate innovators, and emerging innovators, neither France nor Germany are in the top category. …