Hour-for-hour, they are paid 4 – 5 time less than counterparts in western Europe. But scientists in Slovenia are determined to make up for a lack of government funding and the structural disadvantages facing the country’s research and innovation system

There have already been 140,000 proposals for Horizon 2020 – the same number as submitted in the whole of Framework Programme 7

Mark Ferguson makes no bones about the opportunities, saying “With Brexit, there is more upside than downside for Irish science”

A forum within the European Research Area Committee (ERAC) — a committee that advises the Council, the Commission and member states on the governance of the European Research Area —has given an opinion criticising Horizon 2020 for largely failing to improve international participation.

Billionaire philanthropist pitches for sustained EU research support in developing world, amidst fears that UK and US governments may dramatically scale back

Changes to Horizon 2020 salary rules are compounding difficulties Romania faces in attracting and retaining researchers. The EU could help by speeding up amendments on how salaries are calculated, says Daniel David, Vice-Rector for R&D, Babeș-Bolyai University

As the EU new defence programme starts to take shape, the question of how it relates to civil R&D is up in the air. But European subsidiaries of US or Chinese companies are likely to be allowed take part

CLORA has called for a strengthened and impactful FP9 and European Research Area (ERA). They argue for fostering excellence and greater collaboration. They also call for FP9 to be more accessible to citizens — through outreach — and to researchers through simplification and improved success rates

A European alliance of life-science research centres, EU-LIFE, is arguing for strengthened excellence and enhanced collaborative research across FP9. They call upon the Commission to focus on human capital and the early stages of innovation to provide fuel to the innovation process

The Guild details nine key propositions for FP9 and argues for collaborative, fundamental research as the key priority, putting universities at the centre of a more open and inclusive R&I framework