Viewpoint

Why the UK should spend more on R&D

With a government spending review looming, the research lobby is out to make the case for protecting the R&D budget. Here, Hayaatun Sillem of the Royal Academy of Engineering argues an increase in public R&D will pull in more private investment

How to fix Horizon 2020’s disheartening success rate

One of the best features of Horizon 2020 risks becoming its fatal flaw. Open-ended competitions have resulted in a flood of doomed applications, some 80 pages in length. Proposals should be shorter, and call topics tightened