Viewpoint

More than 850,000 amateurs across the UK have contributed observations to a volunteer data collection programme at Imperial College London. Governments could capture such enthusiasm to promote environmental protection, says David Slawson of the Open Air Laboratories project

Today massive demand, tomorrow resentment: if the European Commission fails to acknowledge the overheads of applying for grants and act on low success rates, the credibility of its R&D programme could begin to slide

There are great UK-EU science stories buried under all the one-sided anti-Brussels spin and now is the time to tell them, says Mike Galsworthy, researcher turned political activist

The EU has put in considerable effort to attract research-based companies to take part in Horizon 2020. But two-stage evaluations and prioritising economic impact are not working, says GE’s Director of EU Funding, Chris Haenen

Poorly spread-out cuts to the European Institute of Innovation & Technology’s budget means we can’t plan research agendas for the next two years or train the same number of students, says Diego Pavía, chief of EIT energy

The EU needs objective science advice when framing its policies. Action is needed to clarify how and by whom this is delivered, says the former EU science chief Anne Glover

Science advice in Brussels needs improvement, but the “flawed” office of chief science adviser was not the way to do it, says Doug Parr, chief scientist and policy director at Greenpeace UK

EU training programmes in particle physics are ending at a time when the need for these skills is increasing. As a result, Europe risks losing ground in a field that is key to its competitiveness, says Carsten Welsch

Cold air and abundant renewable energy are the ingredients for greener data centres, says Matz Engman, who helped entice internet giant Facebook to set up shop in the remote north of Sweden

Mounds of paperwork and regulation are blocking the route to capital markets for small companies. It’s time for reforms to change this, says Rainer Riess, head of the Federation for European Securities