Dear Members,

 

Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation Carlos Moedas received today the report on a new vision for EU research and innovation prepared by an independent group of high-level experts chaired by Pascal Lamy, President Emeritus of the Jacques Delors Institute. The report was presented at the conference  “Research & Innovation – Shaping our Future” that took place today in Brussels, attended by more than 700 scientists, innovators, business people and policy makers.

 

The report, entitled “LAB – FAB – APP: Investing in the European future we want” highlights that in the last twenty years, two thirds of economic growth in industrialised countries is attributed to research and innovation. Its recommendations focus on maximising the impact of EU investments in research and innovation in order to increase prosperity and solve our biggest societal challenges.

 

The Group proposes eleven recommendations:

 

1.     Prioritise research and innovation in EU and national budgets

Action: double the budget of the post 2020 EU research and innovation programme.

 

2.     Build a true EU innovation policy that creates future markets

Action: Foster ecosystems for researchers, innovators, industries and governments; promote and invest in innovative ideas with rapid scale-up potential through a European Innovation Council.

 

3.     Educate for the future and invest in people who will make the change

Action: modernise, reward and resource the education and training of people for a creative and innovative Europe.

 

4.     Design the EU R&I programme for greater impact

Action: make the future programme's pillars driven by purpose and impact, fine-tune the proposal evaluation system and increase flexibility.

 

5.     Adopt a mission-oriented, impact-focused approach to address global challenges

Action: set research and innovation missions that address global challenges and mobilise researchers, innovators and other stakeholders to realise them.

 

6.     Rationalise the EU funding landscape and achieve synergy with structural funds

Action: cut the number of R&I funding schemes and instruments, make those remaining reinforce each other and make synergy with other programmes work.

 

7.     Simplify further

Action: become the most attractive R&I funder in the world, privileging impact over process.

 

8.     Mobilise and involve citizens

Action: stimulate co-design and co-creation through citizen involvement.

 

9.     Better align EU and national R&I investment

Action: ensure EU and national alignment where it adds value to the EU's R&I ambitions and missions.

 

10.  Make international R&I cooperation a trademark of EU research and innovation

Action: open up the R&I programme to association by the best and participation by all, based on reciprocal co-funding or access to co-funding in the partner country.

 

11.  Capture and better communicate impact

Action: brand EU research and innovation and ensure wide communication of its results and impacts.

 

The Commission will respond to recommendations of the High Level Group in a Communication to be published later this year. The recommendations and results of the conference will feed into the preparation of the successor research and innovation programme to Horizon 2020, due to be proposed by the Commission in 2018. 

 

The first reaction to the report comes from LERU – League of European Research Universities. LERU welcomes the report and agrees with the eleven high-level messages, but disagrees with a few of the specific suggestions in the report:

·         As a high-level strategic body, the EIC should include at least one academic innovation expert. Its primary role is to advise. It should not become a funding council (section 2).

·         Making EU labels for universities may not be the best way to achieve actual change, for instance on open science and internal assessment procedures (section 3).

·         No additional and separate industry schemes in MSCA are needed (section 3).

·         Spreading excellence and widening participation should not be done by assisting regions in setting up transnational, mission-like smart specialisation strategies with FP money (section 6).

·         Offering FP project applicants the choice between cost-based or lump-sum payments is not likely to lead to further simplification (section 7).

·         National R&I strategies should not be subject to EU-supported international peer review but continue to be dealt with through the European semester exercise (section 9).

·         An online “EU University” is not the best way of linking EU-supported researchers or innovators with R&I related questions from citizens (section 11).

 

More information:

Full report:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/evaluations/pdf/archive/other_reports_studies_and_documents/hlg_2017_report.pdf

Press memo:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/press/2017/pdf/170703_memo_future-event.pdf

LERU opinion:

http://www.leru.org/files/publications/Policy_Brief_20170703_LERU_comments_on_LAMY_report_1.pdf

 

Attached Files

 

Kind regards,

Rosemary

 

Rosemary STREVINIOTI

Head of Brussels Office
European Office of Cyprus
Rue du Luxembourg 3, 2nd floor
B-1000 Brussels
Tel./Fax: +32 (0) 2 280 22 85
E-mail: strevinioti.rozamaria@ucy.ac.cy