Latest Science|Business news & analysis

Welcome to the weekly Science|Business roundup of the most significant news in R&D policy and funding, tailored for our LinkedIn audience. 

In this week’s main R&D policy news:  

This week, the European Research Council Scientific Council (ERC) has made moves towards greater autonomy from the European Commission.

The ERC also announced this year’s winners of its advanced grants. According to the latest data, the UK has regained its top spot in ERC competitions after years of Brexit-related uncertainty, which discouraged researchers from applying. 

David Matthews tells us how missile strikes against Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science have disrupted several EU-funded research projects, including an estimated 15 funded by the ERC.

Back in the EU bubble, we hear that the next Framework Programme for research and innovation looks set to keep the name Horizon Europe.

Meanwhile, the heads of the EU’s two public-private partnerships for aviation research and innovation are urging the Commission not to take the sector for granted when thinking about competitiveness and sustainability.

Finally, Juliette Portala speaks with Diana Ürge-Vorsatz, one of the three vice-chairs of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which has a difficult balancing act to perform between scientific integrity and political relevance.

Read the key highlights from this week’s Policy Bulletin:

• ERC makes bid to become a ‘permanent standalone’ EU body

• Weizmann Institute missile strikes hits EU-funded research projects

• Horizon Europe forever: EU research programme brand set to roll over in 2028

• UK back on top of ERC advanced grant winners table

• Aviation partnerships call for expanded scope and budget

• Viewpoint: playing semantics risks undermining climate action

In funding news:   

Martin Greenacre hears at a Science|Business event how the European Commission wants to make it easier for research and innovation projects to move between civilian and military programmes.

Meanwhile, innovation ecosystem development organisation Startup Genome warns that global investors are turning their attention to artificial intelligence at an unprecedented scale.

On her end, Goda Naujokaitytė explains how runners-up in Horizon Europe’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions postdoctoral fellowship programme can now move their projects to Estonian universities.

In the Funding Radar, we have a list of space-related funding calls.

In the Data Corner, a new analysis by the European Commission reveals that the EU spends far more of its R&D budget on undirected, curiosity-driven research than any other major science power.

In Insider’s View, Kat Borlongan of the European Innovation Council board tells us that the EU’s new start-up and scale-up strategy lacks a bold target and a team to take it forward.

Read the key highlights from this week’s Funding Newswire:

• Commission seeks links between civil and military research funds

• European start-up ecosystems risk missing AI train

• Estonia trials Seal of Excellence scheme to attract talent from abroad

• Funding Radar: this week's round up of space research calls

• Data corner: how EU R&D spending measures up against the US and China

• Insider’s View: who is driving the EU start-up and scale-up strategy?

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Funding Newswire, sent out every Tuesday to help you follow where the public and private R&I money is going and which collaborative opportunities you can pursue.

Our weekly Policy Bulletin, released every Thursday, brings you crucial R&D policy updates from Europe and around the world, with a focus on the EU Horizon programme.

The Widening newsletter tracks R&D growth and challenges in central and eastern Europe, science and technology (S&T) investment opportunities in the region, and the people, policies and programmes behind it all.

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