German science organisations fire warning shot over FP10

The Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany has warned the European Commission against taking a narrow view of research and innovation. “The value of R&I extends beyond its contribution to competitiveness,” the alliance says in a letter sent this month to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. 

“To ensure the advancement of excellent research and innovation in Europe, there is a need for long-term funding that allows risk-taking, is open to new topics and is guided by the criterion of scientific excellence,” the letter, seen by Science|Business, goes on.

The alliance brings together Germany’s biggest research and university bodies, including the Max Planck Society, the Fraunhofer Society, and the German Rectors’ Conference, representing universities. 

Economic competitiveness has become a watchword of the new Commission, with a new plan – dubbed a competitiveness compass – expected later this month. Von der Leyen has pledged to put research and innovation “at the heart of our economy” to help the EU catch up with the US and China. 

But this could mean more control over the next Framework Programme, known for now as FP10, to ensure it serves economic goals. A formal proposal for the programme, and its budget, should be put forward this summer, although delays are possible. 

An internal memo leaked last October from the Commission’s budget directorate suggested that the next Framework Programme, along with several other research initiatives, could be bundled into one gigantic competitiveness fund with a stronger “policy agenda and strategic steer.” 

The alliance’s letter does not directly address this proposal, but it does warn that there must be “a clearly defined Framework Programme.” 

It also stresses that the research and innovation budget “must be protected from short-term reallocations in favour of other sectors.” Research leaders have long complained about raids to the research budget to fund other initiatives, such as artificial intelligence. 

“Scientific breakthroughs and excellence cannot be planned in the short term,” the alliance says. 

Elsewhere in the letter, the group says it wants FP10 to have funding “along the entire innovation chain,” involving “basic research, applied research and the transfer of research results to the market and society.”