According to the think tank, the next EU research
programme needs simpler rules, a more robust evaluation and greater
participation from researchers outside of the EU.
As the current EU research programme, Horizon 2020
runs out at the end of 2020 and the next legislative proposal, which is
referred to as the ninth Framework Programme (FP9) is expected to be published
in Spring 2018 and to start on 1 January 2021. These dates coincide with the
Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European, which rotates among the EU
member states every 6 months.
The task of the Think Tank has been to come up with
ideas and proposals for a future European Research, Technology and Innovation
(RTI) policy and to this end, the Think Tank produced the following 10 Theses:
- Thesis 1: The need for a common Research, Technology-
and Innovation Policy (CRTIP) to enable the complementary use of all its
structures and mechanisms in an efficient and sustainable way
- Thesis 2: A triple investment into the development of
world class human resources, into frontier research and into world class
research infrastructures
- Thesis 3: The Framework Programme should move towards
a more integrated programme for European economic policy through Research,
Technology and Innovation. It should therefore give a strong role to
partnership approaches (PPPs), focussing mainly on transformative innovation
and include elements such as smart regulation and innovative procurement.
- Thesis 4: Contributing to the grand societal challenges
of our times and bringing science closer to the people should be main
objectives of FP9. The societal challenges element of the programme should get
at least one third of the budget.
- Thesis 5: The Future Framework Programme needs to
focus on a limited number of priority areas both in a competitiveness pillar
and in a societal challenges pillar.
- Thesis 6: The Framework Programme should have few and
clear objectives, a clear and easy-to-comprehend structure, and a single set of
instruments as simple and as un-bureaucratic as possible.
- Thesis 7: A profound and independent monitoring and
evaluation culture, equipped with sufficient resources should be established.
- Thesis 8: Each priority area of the future FP should
have a dedicated and comprehensive Strategic Programme Management provided by
the European Commission, in close collaboration with the implementing agencies
and containing an effective interface with the Member States.
- Thesis 9: The next FP should contain a more
strategic, proactive and enduring approach for the cooperation with third
countries.
- Thesis 10: The compatibility and complementarity of
the FP and the cohesion funds need to be improved significantly for the next
programming period.
Especially Thesis 9 is of relevance seeing that the
Horizon 2020 has not been considered successful when it comes to international
cooperation, these new proposals are supposed to be more open to researchers
outside of the EU; it would allow for closer research collaborations with the
US; boost transatlantic collaboration include opening up of research
programmes.
This closer transatlantic cooperation would be in
line with the work of the Avicenna Alliance’s EU/US/Asia-Pacific Working Group,
whose goal is to ensure wherever possible, harmonisation of policies on the
emerging policy field of in silico
medicine.
The Austrian Think Tank’s paper can be found here.
