How to bridge the innovation gap between EU countries?
The effectiveness of science sponsoring programs and the success of the European Union in the global competition for scientific and innovation results depends partially on a more balanced participation of EU members. During a conference held in Brussels titled “Spreading Excellence and Crossing Innovation Divide” participants negotiated for a more balanced European science sponsoring strategy. During this prestigious event organized within the Slovak EU Presidency program, delegates did not merely discuss the nature and causes of the differing innovative capacity of developed and low R&I performing EU countries but were also provided a platform for submitting concrete proposals.
27 November, 2016
“Although the Committee has initiated several measures in order to solve this problem, the expected goals have not been met. On the contrary, H2020 in its present form amplifies the differences in scientific achievement, which is perfectly reflected in the sums received by new EU members”, said László Lovász, President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He urged specific measures be taken so the EU science sponsoring schemes can provide the talents of low performing EU countries with real opportunities.
László Lovász Source: mta.hu/Tamás Szigeti In his opening speech, Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation announced fast solutions to two problems:
“The Commission is proposing to give an additional 400M Euros to Horizon 2020. As this is still under discussion in the Council and European Parliament I cannot give you any specific numbers, but I can tell you that my top priority for the additional 400 million euros will be the Widening actions.” Moedas also promised changes to grant application rules, which have come under a lot of fire from scholars and research organisations of new member states. The problem is that raised wages of researchers cannot be charged to H2020 tenders, i.e. the present rules help maintain the considerable wage gap.
V4 for EU13 following EU15
Compared to other nations in the region, Hungarians are traditionally considered to be successful when applying for the excellence grants of the European Research Council (ERC). This year for example has proven quite positive from a Hungarian point of view: four researchers have been awarded the ERC Starting Grant. Consequently, new projects supported by the EU can be started at the MTA Institute for Experimental Medicine, Szeged University, the MTA Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences and at ELTE as well.
The prestigious EU Horizon 2020 cooperative “Teaming” action has granted altogether 8 billion HUF to two Hungarian consortiums to create research excellence centres. The MTA Institute for Computer science and Control and the University of Technology and Economics has been awarded grants to develop cyber–physical production and logistic systems, while Debrecen University, Szeged University, the MTA Biological Research Centre and Semmelweiss University have won grants in order to pursue research in molecular medicine. Although several countries with developed research infrastructures have won smaller or bigger sums, most support still goes to the EU15. As of October, 2016, the thirteen new members of the EU have only received 4.37% of the total EU support of H2020.
“We need to develop a structure that addresses the challenges low performing countries face when developing the competitiveness of their research and innovation systems” – stated Mr. Lovász. The President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences summarized the lessons of the October meeting of the Visegrád Four at the Academy and highlighted that besides raising funds, several key steps are needed to increase the efficiency of programs. The most vital question is to balance the wages of researchers working in the European Union. Moreover, national programs reducing the negative effects of the so called “brain drain” phenomenon should also be supported. These initiatives could increase the chances of research institutes to keep or attract talented researchers. The utilization rate of excellent research infrastructures, which have been developed in lower performing countries, should also be increased.
The above facts are quite significant, as the evaluation process of the H2020 Program is scheduled to begin soon. The final act of the conference, which was based on the recommendations and suggestions of the participants, can provide important viewpoints for the above process, while also playing a crucial role in forming the framework for programs after 2020.