European research funding is set to change

A report published yesterday by the expert group on the interim evaluation of the ‘Horizon Europe’ research framework programme provides new material for discussion in the shaping of European research and innovation policy. The so-called Heitor Report confirms the relevance and effectiveness of the framework programme for research and innovation in Europe. At the same time, it calls for necessary reforms. ‘I see many sensible proposals for the further development of the framework programme in the Heitor report,’ says Helga Nowotny, member of the Council for Research, Science, Innovation and Technology Development (FORWIT).

I see many sensible proposals for the further development of the framework programme in the Heitor report.
Helga Nowotny

However, the report comes at a time when rumours of fundamental changes to the EU budget are intensifying, which could also have an impact on research and innovation policy. ‘It is positive that Ursula von der Leyen has recognised the seriousness of the situation in which Europe finds itself. The project of European integration needs more focus, more decision-making power,’ says Thomas Henzinger, Chairman of FORWIT. However: ‘The EU’s research and innovation policy instruments work comparatively well. They must not become collateral damage in the planned reforms.’

Possible effects on cutting-edge research

Specifically, the European Commission is allegedly planning to create a central Competitiveness Fund, which would give it more room for manoeuvre in decision-making. ‘In our view, transferring the Framework Programme, or at least parts of it, together with many other programmes into such a fund does not do sufficient justice to the central importance of research and innovation,’ says Council member Helga Nowotny. Such an integration could be to the detriment of excellent research and development – not least because it is currently unclear how a ‘policy-orientated’ budget allocation should take place.

If the ERC were to be integrated into a competitiveness fund, European funding for cutting-edge research would no longer be researcher-driven, but policy-driven.
Thomas Henzinger

In the worst case scenario, for example, the European Research Council (ERC) would be integrated into such a fund. ‘The success of the ERC is largely due to its independence. It has created an important space that enables excellent basic research driven by researchers. If the ERC were to be integrated into a competitiveness fund, not only would its independence be lost, but European funding for cutting-edge research would no longer be researcher-driven, but policy-driven,’ warns Henzinger.

Building on Austria’s strengths in corporate research

The programmes of the so-called second pillar of the Framework Programme, which includes the area of cooperative, supranational applied research, are also currently the subject of much discussion. Austrian companies and research organisations are particularly successful in these programme lines. Nowotny calls for a rethink – regardless of how research funding will be organised in the future. ‘We have to move away from thinking that it’s all about getting as much money as possible back from Brussels. Instead, we should learn to make the best possible use of the European research programme – to strengthen the Austrian STI strategy in a European and global context,’ says Nowotny. This means strengthening those fields of cooperative research in which Austria is a leader through European networking and coordination, thereby making an effective contribution to Europe as an STI location.

Austria must play an active role in the debate

Austrian research organisations and companies must prepare for change. ‘The design and governance structure of the next framework programme are not yet foreseeable. It is therefore all the more important that the next federal government, together with the ministries concerned, closely monitors developments and actively and constructively contributes to the European debate,’ appeals Henzinger, who also sees the key organisations and players in the Austrian STI landscape as being called upon to get involved.

European research funding is a cornerstone of Austria’s and Europe’s global competitiveness.
Thomas Henzinger

In line with its mandate, FORWIT will also continue to make its contribution and make its expertise available to the federal government. ‘European research funding is a cornerstone of Austria’s and Europe’s global competitiveness. This is why FORWIT recently spoke out in favour of increasing the next multi-year European research budget to €200 billion,’ concludes Henzinger.

About the Heitor Report

In December 2023, the European Commission commissioned an expert group to carry out an interim evaluation of the European research funding programme Horizon Europe. Chaired by Manuel Heitor, the group brings together fifteen recognised experts from across the EU to provide valuable advice on the state of research and innovation in the EU. Among the members are the President of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Heinz Faßmann and the Vice Chair of FORWIT and innovation expert Sylvia Schwaag Serger. On 16 October 2024, the group published its report on the interim evaluation of the Horizon Europe programme.