FORWIT urges swift adoption of outstanding RTI Pact

According to the Research Funding Act, the RTI Pact 2027-29, which operationally implements the RTI Strategy 2030, should have been adopted by the end of 2025. FORWIT considers the fact that the resolution is still outstanding to be a concerning signal. “Secure and reliable funding for research and innovation is a crucial factor for competitiveness, growth and prosperity for tomorrow. This lever, which is so essential for future viability, must therefore be treated with the necessary priority and endowed with the intended funding,” appeals Thomas Henzinger, Chair of the Federal Government’s advisory body.

Over the past two decades, Austria has undergone an impressive development in terms of research and innovation policy and now ranks amongst the innovation-strong countries of the European Union. However, Austria cannot rest on its laurels, Henzinger cautions. “In the current European Innovation Scoreboard, Austria lost two places; in the Global Innovation Index, we are back at the 2020 level; and in the World Competitiveness Index, Austria has lost 10 places in five years. It may be that our performance in research, technology and innovation is as good as it was five years ago. But other countries have improved during this time.”

From FORWIT’s perspective, given the many major challenges, there is a need for a sense of urgency for decisive and ambitious action. This includes, in particular, properly deploying the keys to the great challenges of our time—research and innovation. “Particularly in Austria’s economically and budgetarily challenging situation, the country needs a reliable, future-proof RTI policy,” says Henzinger.