EUA urges full cost reimbursement in H2020
Higher education institutions in Europe are calling for a full reimbursement of costs during Horizon 2020.
The European University Association (EUA) made the statement as the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission continued negotiations on the rules for the participation and dissemination for the EU’s next research and innovation funding programme.
In a press statement, the EUA, which represents 850 higher education institutions across Europe, said: “The European Parliament is the sole institution in the negotiations advocating, in addition to a flat rate model, a reimbursement option based on full costing methodologies for those universities that are able to identify the full costs of a project. Both the Council of the EU and Commission are proposing only one model of reimbursement covering 100% of eligible direct costs, with a flat rate contribution of 25% (Council) or 20% (Commission) of direct costs to cover for indirect costs.”
The EUA also commented that universities had now developed better costing methods due to FP7 and that it would be a “backward step to exclude reimbursement based on full costing methodologies in Horizon 2020”.
The Commission has aimed to simplify the rules and funding for Horizon 2020 in response to suggestions from scientists and researchers working with FP7 funding.
The EUA also reiterated the concerns of an increasing number of European scientists who fear a possible budget cut in Horizon 2020. The association said that Europe risked a ‘lost generation’ due to a lack of investment in higher education and research.
Horizon 2020 will run between 2014 and 2020 and will bring together all existing EU research and innovation funding provided under FP7, the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.
