Austrian Think Tank suggests ideas for next post Horizon 2020 EU research programme

In the week of the 3 October, an Austrian think tank, set up by the Austrian Government, entitled Austrian Framework Programme 9 (FP9) published a paper with ideas for the next EU research programme.

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.



Date: 03/11/2016 | Tag: | News: 519 of 1634
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