Robert-Jan Smits 
© Stian Mathisen/EU-delegasjonen
Robert-Jan Smits © Stian Mathisen/EU-delegasjonen

EU explores H2020 successor

The European Commission has begun exploring ideas for the successor to the Horizon 2020 funding programme.

The commission has launched a study titled ‘Bohemia’, which will collate foresight studies by a number of institutions to support the preparation of the EU’s future policy in research and innovation, which is currently being called Framework Programme 9 (FP9). It has already been suggested that facets of the new policy might include a transition towards a low-carbon economy, and address the potential that growing populations could see rising unemployment and an erosion of science budgets.

Speaking to Science|Business, Robert-Jan Smits, director general for research at the commission, said: “We have asked experts to do a stock take of the different foresight studies by the likes of the OECD and the World Bank. We’re trying to crack open economic models to get research and innovation in there. Future allocations will be based on the bang for the buck we’ve gotten out of Horizon 2020.”

The current programme, Horizon 2020, has €30bn yet to be allocated. The Bohemia study is expected to conclude by mid-2017, with a proposal for the structure of FP9 due in early 2018.