Big European Research Push on the Horizon

For researchers and innovation-driven companies across the European Union's 28 member states, new funding and research opportunities with less red tape are on the horizon. They come as part of the economic bloc's appropriately named Horizon 2020 flagship research program, to run from 2014 to 2020. Like its predecessor, the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), Horizon 2020 is huge and complex. That's how Europe works, with its many different languages, cultures, and capabilities. But the latest research program contains several new elements, including a beefed-up budget, less bureaucracy, and a stronger focus on innovation and close-to-market research, all aimed at strengthening Europe's global competitiveness. Although the EU, with 7 percent of the world's population, accounts for 24 percent of global expenditure on research and leads the world in some technologies, it faces increasing competition from both traditional powers such as the United States and emerging powers, particularly China. Indeed, the battle between the US and China for research preeminence--and the industrial and military strength assumed to follow from it--threatens to push Europe to the sidelines. But Europe is pushing back. Horizon 2020 is the only program in the EU's budget to be protected from cuts; in fact, it actually received increased funding. That's the result of months of political wrangling between the European Parliament, the European Commission, and member states. Parliamentarians had tried to increase the seven-year budget to 100 billion [euro] (in constant figures), up from the Commission's 80 [euro] billion ($110 billion) proposal. But with crisis-stricken EU countries tightening their belts, the Parliament accepted a smaller budget of 70.2 billion [euro]. Still, that's about 15 billion [euro], or nearly 30 percent more, than the 55 billion [euro] provided under FP7, which began in 2007. The budget increase initially caused some commotion because of confusion over the use of current and constant prices and how these were publicized. While the European Parliament announced a research budget of 70.2 [euro] billion, the Commission spoke of an 80 [euro] billion budget. Both are correct. While the parliament's figure is based on constant figures, the Commission's is on current figures. The difference is that current prices include the inflation effect, set at 2 percent per year; they also represent the real money that will be distributed. Constant prices, on the other hand, are used to make it easier to compare annual budgets at present value during political negotiations. Besides more money, Horizon 2020 offers less red tape. European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Maire Geoghegan-Quinn prefers to use the word simplification to describe the reduced administration sought by scientists and research-driven businesses. While FP7 had lots of different rules, the new program, she says, applies the same rules everywhere, and reimbursement for project costs is much simpler with a single reimbursement rate for most projects--that means less paperwork and fewer audits. All communications are electronic to simplify and speed up administrative procedures. On top of that, the program is designed to be more coherent, bringing all EU-level funding for research and innovation under one roof. It groups three previously separate initiatives: FP7, the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP), and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Another significant change is Horizon 2020's challenge-based approach, which brings together knowledge across different fields, technologies, and disciplines to tackle key challenges confronting the region. Because the challenges faring Europe--whether energy, clean transportation, public health or security--cannot be solved by a single field of science or technology, let alone a single sector or organization, we need the best researchers to work together irrespective of disciplines, says Geoghegan-Quinn. …