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:?

The Heitor group’s report on FP10 is finally out and the main conclusion is tough to swallow: The way the EU funds research and innovation isn’t really working, and the European Commission urgently needs to experiment with new ways to do it.??

?“Disruptive, paradigm shifting research and innovation”, the report says, the kind that remakes entire economies or societies, is “unlikely to be fostered by conventional procedures and programmes that are prevalent in the EU today”.??

David Matthews takes a look at how these experimental funding schemes would work. Martin Greenacre analyses all 12 recommendations presented in the Heitor report, and we also have a first round-up of reactions from the research community.?

Meanwhile, EU regions ring the alarm bell over proposed EU competitiveness fund. In a leaked memo, the regions say a more centralised, policy-driven approach to managing EU research funds, could endanger efforts to close Europe’s innovation divide.??

We also interviewed ERC president Maria Leptin on plans for restructuring EU’s research and innovation policy in the coming years. For her, it’s not good news if the reforms result in less independence for the ERC.?

In funding news:??

We start with an analysis of which countries do particularly well or poorly in EU competitions for European Research Council and Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Actions grants. David Matthews asks if stronger economies perform better, or if that’s an oversimplification.?

Next, we have news from the European Investment Bank, which has proposed new instruments to provide the capital companies need to scale up. On the cards are an exit fund to finance the acquisition or listing of tech start-ups, as well as a bigger fund for scale-ups.?

The Funding Radar this week looks at mental health research, with calls listed in the EU, the UK, Singapore, Canada and the US.?

The Ecosystem column travels to Milan, where the Tech Europe Foundation, anchored by two universities, is looking to raise €1 billion by the end of the decade to bridge the gap between the region’s considerable basic research achievements and its lagging start-up formation.?

In health research news, CEPI and the Gates Foundation have launched a search for experts to train a network of infectious disease modellers in the Global South. The group will build much-needed expertise in infectious disease modelling in regions that currently lack capacity.?

Finally, this week’s Insider’s View explores dialogue-based funding, in which rather than bare metrics such as number of degrees awarded, universities and governments agree funding on the basis of expected outcomes.??

Policy Bulletin

Time for a major shakeup of how the EU funds research, expert group says

The chair of the Commission’s FP10 advisory group says each part of the next Framework Programme should be run by independent councils. Click here to read more

News analysis: EU needs to experiment with new R&I funding mechanisms, Heitor report says

The existing system is not producing radical breakthroughs – but FP10 could change that, according to a high-level report. Click here to read more

EU research community reacts to the Heitor report

Industry endorses the idea of two new councils, to oversee industrial competitiveness and technology, and European societal challenges. Click here to read more

Regions ring alarm bell over proposed EU competitiveness fund

A more centralised, policy-driven approach to managing EU research funds, could endanger efforts to close Europe’s innovation divide. Click here to read more

European Research Council needs to remain independent in FP10, Maria Leptin says

The head of the EU’s most prestigious research funding body is once again campaigning to defend its autonomy. Click here to read more

Funding Newswire

European Research Council winners and losers in Horizon Europe

New data shows which countries punch above or below their economic weight in the ERC and Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Actions. Click here to read more

European Investment Bank hatches plans to keep start-ups in Europe

EIB proposes new instruments to ensure companies get the financing they need to scale up without moving to the US. Click here to read more

Funding Radar: This week’s round up of calls in mental health research

Here’s a list of funding opportunities in the EU, the UK, Singapore, Canada, and the US. Click here to read more

The Ecosystem: Milan moves to bridge the gap between basic research and start-up formation

Tech Europe Foundation hopes to raise €1 billion by 2030 to support the city’s innovation ecosystem. Click here to read more

CEPI and the Gates Foundation are looking for epidemic modellers

The two funders are on a hunt for experts to train a network of infectious disease modellers in the Global South. Click here to read more

Dialogue-based funding is making headway in university budgets

Public funding based on dialogue and setting agreed outcomes is beginning to edge out quantitative performance-based funding formulae. Click here to read more

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