Research and innovation gap in Europe is narrowing, but its elimination requires continuous support and improvements

The recent interim evaluation of the European Commission’s research and innovation framework programme Horizon Europe shows that compared to the budget period ending in 2020, the participation of research institutions from widening countries in collaborative projects has increased by 11 percentage points, reaching 58%. Their funding increased by five percentage points during the same period, reaching 14% of the total budget allocated in the framework programme so far.

Despite the improvement in overall statistics, widening countries still have significantly lower participation and success rates in several parts of the framework programme (e.g. European Research Council grants, partnerships of the European Innovation Council and the Horizon programme) compared to the rest of Europe.

Alliance4Life’s policy recommendations to the European Commission

To make the framework programme of the next budget period of the European Commission (2028–2035) even more inclusive and to best harness the scientific potential of all member states, Alliance4Life has given five recommendations to the European Commission.

1. Supporting talented researchers

Support targeted activities for training doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, foster their returning home and the development of capable institutional human resources management in widening countries. This will help researchers achieve success both locally and internationally.

2. Tailoring support measures to research institutions with diverse levels of readiness

• Instead of a uniform approach to countries, use diverse solutions that match the institutions’ readiness level.

• Create flexible funding measures and project requirements based on the development needs of the institution. Combine capacity-building measures meant for emerging institutions with excellence-oriented support for more advanced ones.

3. Providing a long-term and strategic development pathway for research institutions

Implement a development pathway with well-thought-out and well-timed application rounds with multiannual planning to guide institutions to take on the role of lead partner in competitive research in addition to participating in networks.

4. Better complementarity between EU and national funding measures

Align the next framework programme with the use of national funding measures from European structural funds to maximise the leverage of investments and facilitate cofunding.

5. Leveraging the role of higher education as an initiator of innovation

Universities’ research activities are supported through well-structured doctoral programmes, funding schemes that enable international supervision, and activities that link education and research.

According to Alliance4Life, research institutions from widening countries have demonstrated their capability and potential in strengthening the European Research Area. Sustainable, differentiated and strategic support in the new framework programme is essential to fully harness the research and innovation capacity of the whole of Europe.

Alliance4Life is a network of 12 leading research institutions from 11 Central and Eastern European countries. The network aims to strengthen the research excellence and management capacity of its partners by supporting researcher mobility, developing research project writing skills, and improving international cooperation.

See the full text of the recommendations on the Alliance4Life website.