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:
Eleonora Francica had the mother of all scoops. A leaked draft proposal for FP10 shows large chunks of collaborative research in Pillar 2 will be managed through the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF).
As they prepare to negotiate the details of the new research programme, stakeholders and commentators in the EU research bubble are carefully scrutinising the details and are wary of the ‘tight’ connection with the ECF.
Manuel Heitor, Portugal’s former science minister who led the expert group advising the European Commission on the structure of the next research programme, FP10, says the proposal is “quite far away” from what his group proposed. German centre-right MEP Christian Ehler, who is slated to become the European Parliament’s rapporteur on the FP10 legislation, told Science|Business that through the ECF plans look like a “power grab” by the Commission.
Non-EU countries associated to Horizon Europe have also reacted warily to the leaked draft proposal, with confusion over whether they will also have to join the ECF to make the most of the programme.
Also in the leaks, the Widening programme could change significantly, as the Commission is planning to create two-tiers of eligible countries, by adding a new category for countries that have been able to show progress in the EU innovation scoreboard. The new category would be called “transition countries” and will include member states with an innovation scoreboard index above 75% that have been able to increase their participation in Horizon Europe.
Going beyond the leaks, an MEP from the pan-European Volt Europa party is urging the EU to launch a €50 billion moonshot fund to drive breakthrough innovations in food and agriculture.
Outside the Brussels bubble, the Hungarian academic and research community is protesting to the government over the Hungarian Research Network’s decision to transfer four of its humanities research centres to Eötvös Loránd University. They warn that the transfer would “cause historically significant harm to the entirety of Hungarian scientific life.”
Read the key highlights from this week’s Policy Bulletin:
In funding news:
Looking across the Atlantic, Fintan Burke reflects on Canada’s first year in Horizon Europe, which has been marked by inexperience, bureaucracy and false starts.
Meanwhile, David Matthews reports on claims that US science cuts could see China overtake its rival in R&D spending this year.
Back in Europe, research groups respond to the EU’s new life sciences strategy, as the Commission opens its clean steel research fund to dual-use projects, reflecting a broader shift in EU policy.
And Martin Greenacre speaks with the French research institute CEA-Leti about its plans to target energy efficiency in the second iteration of the EU Chips Act.
In this week’s Funding Radar, we spotlight health research calls. And in the Data Corner, we explore Horizon Europe’s health research data, where Dutch medical universities lead the ranking.
Read the key highlights from this week’s Funding Newswire:
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