Madelin responds to HBP criticism

Robert Madelin, Director General of DG CONNECT, has responded to an open letter from the science community criticising the FET Flagship Human Brain Project (HBP).

In an online blog post, Madelin said he was “pretty confident” that many of the concerns raised would be resolved in the next couple of months with “a satisfactory approach”.  He said that the HBP’s proposed Framework Partnership Agreement with the European Commission was currently under evaluation by high level and independent experts and should report in September.

“We expect recommendations on the proposed structure of the partnership – that is, the balance between the core project and a number of partnering projects – as well as on the governance of the overall initiative. This will address, therefore, the issue of the most effective integration of the cognitive neuroscience community in HBP’s activities,” the director general said in a blog post.

In addition, Madelin said that the Commission was also looking to increase collaboration between other international projects and national research funding agencies, including the BRAIN Initiative in the United States. The HBP brings together scientists from different disciplines in a €1bn investment project over the  next ten years.

“Setting up such groundbreaking projects is not an easy task; researchers have to play their part to meet the challenge. Obstacles will come along the path, but at the end there are huge potential benefits for our society, our economy and for science,” Madelin added.