Houses of Parliament
Houses of Parliament © Arpingstone 3 May, 2013

UK parliament in greater H2020 funding call

UK legislators have called for more increased for the EU’s next research and innovation framework programme, describing the EU’s position as a leading research and innovation hub as ‘increasingly threatened’ by emerging economies.

The report, entitled ‘The effectiveness of EU research and innovation proposals’, followed several months of evidence from academics, policy makers, universities and research institutes to the House of Lords’ European Union Committee. Members of the upper house in the UK parliament identified a number of key concerns regarding the EU’s R&I proposals, including the ‘effectiveness of impact assessments’, ‘a lack of information about monitoring and evaluation of projects’ and ‘the importance of stakeholder consultation and private sector participation’.

The Lords have also urged the European Council and European Parliament to ‘increase…or at the very least maintain’ the same level of funding for Horizon 2020 compared to FP7.

The committee criticised the current Seventh Framework Programme, describing the long ‘time-to-grant’ and bureaucracy as major barriers to participation, discouraging private sector involvement. The European Commission has stressed that it has made changes to Horizon 2020 in response to such criticisms.

However, the peers also identified the importance of EU research and innovation, particularly to the UK. The report said: ‘EU R&I programmes represent an excellent financial and networking opportunity for UK businesses as well as higher education institutions. We call upon the Government to highlight these opportunities to UK businesses and to continue strengthening their support structures for those businesses wishing to participate.’

The full report can be read here.