On Thursday 17 October, a team of 10 experts commissioned by the European Commission unveiled recommendations aimed at using the European Union’s research and innovation programmes to boost economic competitiveness.
Chaired by the former Portuguese Minister for Science and Higher Education, Manuel Heitor, the group is recommending that a ‘transformative agenda’ be integrated into the Horizon Europe programme, with specific actions for the period 2025-2027, and that this agenda be extended to the successor programme to Horizon Europe.
The 12 recommendations include: - the creation of high added-value actions focused on industrial competitiveness, societal challenges and a strong research and innovation ecosystem; - setting up an experimental unit to launch disruptive innovation programmes with fast funding options (ARPA-type initiatives, in reference to the US agency DARPA); - increasing funding for the European Research Council, the European Innovation Council and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions to attract the best talent; - creating an Industrial Competitiveness and Technology Council to boost investment in industrial research and promote strategic autonomy; - setting up a Societal Challenges Council to address societal issues; - supporting a European research and innovation ecosystem that guarantees long-term investment, fosters university alliances and encourages co-investment by Member States; - developing an innovation procurement programme to stimulate industrial scaling through demand-led solutions; - optimising technological innovation for both civil and military use.
On the basis of these recommendations, the experts are calling for a larger, better-targeted and better-protected research budget.
See the report: https://aeur.eu/f/dyk (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)